2,673 research outputs found
Chorea as a First Manifestation in Young Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Who Was Initially Diagnosed With Rheumatic Fever
Chorea is a rare manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We report on a young patient with chorea who was diagnosed initially with rheumatic fever. Follow up and further evaluation confirmed the diagnosis of SLE and anti-phospholipid syndrome. Of special interest were the negative antiphospholipid (aPL) antibodies and the initial diagnosis of rheumatic fever which is still not uncommon problem in our region. The rarity of such presentation with joint and non specific increase of antistreptolysin O (ASO) titer might be the factors that led to an incorrect diagnosis. Early diagnosis and treatment of SLE and anti-phospholipid syndrome are very crucial and should be considered with such presentation
Slow magnetic fluctuations and superconductivity in fluorine-doped NdFeAsO
Among the widely studied superconducting iron-pnictide compounds belonging to
the Ln1111 family (with Ln a lanthanide), a systematic investigation of the
crossover region between the superconducting and the antiferromagnetic phase
for the Ln = Nd case has been missing. We fill this gap by focusing on the
intermediate doping regime of NdFeAsO(1-x)F(x) by means of dc-magnetometry and
muon-spin spectroscopy measurements. The long-range order we detect at low
fluorine doping is replaced by short-range magnetic interactions at x = 0.08,
where also superconductivity appears. In this case, longitudinal-field
muon-spin spectroscopy experiments show clear evidence of slow magnetic
fluctuations that disappear at low temperatures. This fluctuating component is
ascribed to the glassy-like character of the magnetically ordered phase of
NdFeAsO at intermediate fluorine doping
Tuning of competing magnetic and superconducting phase volumes in LaFeAsO$_0.945F_0.055 by hydrostatic pressure
The interplay between magnetism and superconductivity in LaFeAsO_0.945F_0.055
was studied as a function of hydrostatic pressure up to p~2.4GPa by means of
muon-spin rotation (\muSR) and magnetization measurements. The application of
pressure leads to a substantial decrease of the magnetic ordering temperature
T_N and a reduction of the magnetic phase volume and, at the same time, to a
strong increase of the superconducting transition temperature T_c and the
diamagnetic susceptibility. From the volume sensitive \muSR measurements it can
be concluded that the superconducting and the magnetic areas which coexist in
the same sample are inclined towards spatial separation and compete for phase
volume as a function of pressure.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Phononic Self energy effects and superconductivity in CaC
We study the graphite intercalated compound CaC by means of Eliashberg
theory, focusing on the anisotropy properties. An analysis of the
electron-phonon coupling is performed, and we define a minimal 6-band
anisotropy structure. Comparing with Superconducting Density Functional Theory
(SCDFT) the condition under which Eliashberg theory is able to reproduce the
SCDFT gap structure is determined, and we discuss the role of Coulomb
interactions. The Engelsberg-Schrieffer polaron structure is computed by
solving the Eliashberg equation on the Matsubara axis and analytically
continuing it to the full complex plane. This reveals the polaronic
quasiparticle bands anisotropic features as well as the interplay with
superconductivity
Anthelmintics efficacy against intestinal strongyles in horses of Sardinia, Italy
Intestinal strongyles (IS) are the most important parasites of equids, due to their high prevalence worldwide, pathogenicity and the spread of drug-resistant populations. Despite the large number of horses bred in Sardinia Island, Italy, no data are available on the efficacy of anthelmintic compounds in the control of horse strongylosis. Therefore the aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of five commercial anthelmintic formulations containing fenbendazole (FBZ), pyrantel (PYR), moxidectin (MOX) and two ivermectin formulations (IVM1 and IVM2) against IS in Sardinia by performing a fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) and investigating the egg reappearance period (ERP) after treatment. In total, 74 horses from 7 farms were examined. Coprocultures performed for individual fecal samples collected at the day of the treatment revealed that cyathostomins were the predominant parasitic species (98.6%). The FECR for all horses belonging to the treatment groups after two weeks was ≥ 95% with a 95% C.I. > 90%. The expected ERP did not decrease in any of the treatment group as FECR values < 90% were found at D60 for FBZ, at D90 for PYR and IVM1, at D150 for IVM2. All horses treated with MOX showed FECRT > 90% for the entire duration of the trial until D150. The results of the present survey indicate that drug-resistant cyathostomin populations are not present in the examined horse population, contrariwise to what observed in other Italian and European regions. The reasons and implications of these results are discussed
Learning to Navigate Enterprise Bargaining: The NTEU and Employment Relations in Higher Education
This thesis is built on the premise that Enterprise Bargaining is a difficult thing to do. The introduction of Enterprise Bargaining to the higher education sector was a steep learning curve for all parties. This thesis focuses on leadership, strategic decision making and organisation learning in the National Tertiary Education Union. It offers a novel approach to the study of workplace leadership and organisational learning by combining traditional approaches to the study of trade unions with research in the fields of knowledge management and social network theory to study the learning process in the NTEU. Mapping the decision making process over time for four rounds of enterprise bargaining in higher education has shown how learning is cumulative as lessons learned are folded into a collective understanding which guided the NTEU’s approach to the next problem. A further major finding relates to the process of innovation. The process of adapting t o the changing external environment was often accompanied by clashes of opinion and battles for influence as new ideas confronted the collective learning of the past. Finally, the site of innovation can be found at any level of the organisation. In the case of the NTEU, it was often from the periphery of the union, the branches, where the full impact of the changes in the external environment was being felt and where new ideas were being developed to address them
Single-cell gene network analysis and transcriptional landscape of MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cell lines
Neuroblastoma (NBL) is a pediatric cancer responsible for more than 15% of cancer deaths in children, with 800 new cases each year in the United States alone. Genomic amplification of the MYC oncogene family member MYCN characterizes a subset of high-risk pediatric neuroblastomas. Several cellular models have been implemented to study this disease over the years. Two of these, SK-N-BE-2-C (BE2C) and Kelly, are amongst the most used worldwide as models of MYCN-Amplified human NBL. Here, we provide a transcriptome-wide quantitative measurement of gene expression and transcriptional network activity in BE2C and Kelly cell lines at an unprecedented single-cell resolution. We obtained 1105 Kelly and 962 BE2C unsynchronized cells, with an average number of mapped reads/cell of roughly 38,000. The single-cell data recapitulate gene expression signatures previously generated from bulk RNA-Seq. We highlight low variance for commonly used housekeeping genes between different cells (ACTB, B2M and GAPDH), while showing higher than expected variance for metallothionein transcripts in Kelly cells. The high number of samples, despite the relatively low read coverage of single cells, allowed for robust pathway enrichment analysis and master regulator analysis (MRA), both of which highlight the more mesenchymal nature of BE2C cells as compared to Kelly cells, and the upregulation of TWIST1 and DNAJC1 transcriptional networks. We further defined master regulators at the single cell level and showed that MYCN is not constantly active or expressed within Kelly and BE2C cells, independently of cell cycle phase. The dataset, alongside a detailed and commented programming protocol to analyze it, is fully shared and reusable
Electronic correlations in iron-pnictide superconductors and beyond; what can we learn from optics
The Coulomb repulsion, impeding electrons' motion, has an important impact on
the charge dynamics. It mainly causes a reduction of the effective metallic
Drude weight (proportional to the so-called optical kinetic energy),
encountered in the optical conductivity, with respect to the expectation within
the nearly-free electron limit (defining the so-called band kinetic energy), as
evinced from band-structure theory. In principle, the ratio between the optical
and band kinetic energy allows defining the degree of electronic correlations.
Through spectral weight arguments based on the excitation spectrum, we provide
an experimental tool, free from any theoretical or band-structure based
assumptions, in order to estimate the degree of electronic correlations in
several systems. We first address the novel iron-pnictide superconductors,
which serve to set the stage for our approach. We then revisit a large variety
of materials, ranging from superconductors, to Kondo-like systems as well as
materials close to the Mott-insulating state. As comparison we also tackle
materials, where the electron-phonon coupling dominates. We establish a direct
relationship between the strength of interaction and the resulting reduction of
the optical kinetic energy of the itinerant charge carriers
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