Complex sine-Gordon-2: a new algorithm for multivortex solutions on the plane

We present a new vorticity-raising transformation for the second integrable complexification of the sine-Gordon equation on the plane. The new transformation is a product of four Schlesinger maps of the Painlev\'{e}-V to itself, and allows a more efficient construction of the $n$-vortex solution than the previously reported transformation comprising a product of $2n$ maps.Comment: Part of a talk given at a conference on "Nonlinear Physics. Theory and Experiment", Gallipoli (Lecce), June-July 2004. To appear in a topical issue of "Theoretical and Mathematical Physics". 7 pages, 1 figur

Hyaluronan-carnosine conjugates inhibit Aβ aggregation and toxicity

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative disorder. Finding a pharmacological approach that cures and/or prevents the onset of this devastating disease represents an important challenge for researchers. According to the amyloid cascade hypothesis, increases in extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) levels give rise to different aggregated species, such as protofibrils, fibrils and oligomers, with oligomers being the more toxic species for cells. Many efforts have recently been focused on multi-target ligands to address the multiple events that occur concurrently with toxic aggregation at the onset of the disease. Moreover, investigating the effect of endogenous compounds or a combination thereof is a promising approach to prevent the side effects of entirely synthetic drugs. In this work, we report the synthesis, structural characterization and Aβ antiaggregant ability of new derivatives of hyaluronic acid (Hy, 200 and 700 kDa) functionalized with carnosine (Car), a multi-functional natural dipeptide. The bioactive substances (HyCar) inhibit the formation of amyloid-type aggregates of Aβ42 more than the parent compounds; this effect is proportional to Car loading. Furthermore, the HyCar derivatives are able to dissolve the amyloid fibrils and to reduce Aβ-induced toxicity in vitro. The enzymatic degradation of Aβ is also affected by the interaction with HyCar

Transcellular diapedesis is initiated by invasive podosomes

Producción CientíficaDiapedesis is critical for immune system function and inflammatory responses. This occurs by migration of blood leukocytes either directly through individual microvascular endothelial cells (the “transcellular” route) or between them (the “paracellular” route). Mechanisms for transcellular pore formation in endothelium remain unknown. Here we demonstrate that lymphocytes used podosomes and extended “invasive podosomes” to palpate the surface of, and ultimately form transcellular pores through, the endothelium. In lymphocytes, these structures were dependent on Src kinase and the actin regulatory protein WASP; inhibition of podosome formation selectively blocked the transcellular route of diapedesis. In endothelium, membrane fusion events dependent on the SNARE-containing membrane fusion complex and intracellular calcium were required for efficient transcellular pore formation in response to podosomes. These findings provide insights into basic mechanisms for leukocyte trafficking and the functions of podosomes

Has VZV epidemiology changed in Italy? Results of a seroprevalence study

The aim of the study was to evaluate if and how varicella prevalence has changed in Italy. In particular a seroprevalence study was performed, comparing it to similar surveys conducted in pre-immunization era. During 2013–2014, sera obtained from blood samples taken for diagnostic purposes or routine investigations were collected in collaboration with at least one laboratory/center for each region, following the approval of the Ethics Committee. Data were stratified by sex and age. All samples were processed in a national reference laboratory by an immunoassay with high sensitivity and specificity. Statutory notifications, national hospital discharge database and mortality data related to VZV infection were analyzed as well. A total of 3707 sera were collected and tested. In the studied period both incidence and hospitalization rates decreased and about 5 deaths per year have been registered. The seroprevalence decreased in the first year of life in subjects passively protected by their mother, followed by an increase in the following age classes. The overall antibody prevalence was 84%. The comparison with surveys conducted with the same methodology in 1996–1997 and 2003–2004 showed significant differences in age groups 1–19 y. The study confirms that in Italy VZV infection typically occurs in children. The impact of varicella on Italian population is changing. The comparison between studies performed in different periods shows a significant increase of seropositivity in age class 1–4 years, expression of vaccine interventions already adopted in some regions

The Duality between IIB String Theory on PP-wave and N=4 SYM: a Status Report

The aim of this report is to give an overview of the duality between type IIB string theory on the maximally supersymmetric PP-wave and the BMN sector of N=4 Super Yang-Mills theory. The general features of the string and the field theory descriptions are reviewed, but the main focus of this report is on the comparison between the two sides of the duality. In particular, it is first explained how free IIB strings emerge on the gauge theory side and then the generalizations of this relation to the full interacting theory are considered. An ``historical'' approach is taken and the various proposals presented in the literature are described.Comment: 35 pages, 5 figures; Contribution to the proceedings of the Copenhagen RTN workshop, 15-20 September 2003; v3, few comments added, misprints correcte

Detecting early-warning signals for sudden deterioration of complex diseases by dynamical network biomarkers

Considerable evidence suggests that during the progression of complex diseases, the deteriorations are not necessarily smooth but are abrupt, and may cause a critical transition from one state to another at a tipping point. Here, we develop a model-free method to detect early-warning signals of such critical transitions, even with only a small number of samples. Specifically, we theoretically derive an index based on a dynamical network biomarker (DNB) that serves as a general early-warning signal indicating an imminent bifurcation or sudden deterioration before the critical transition occurs. Based on theoretical analyses, we show that predicting a sudden transition from small samples is achievable provided that there are a large number of measurements for each sample, e.g., high-throughput data. We employ microarray data of three diseases to demonstrate the effectiveness of our method. The relevance of DNBs with the diseases was also validated by related experimental data and functional analysis

Unpublished Mediterranean and Black Sea records of marine alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species

To enrich spatio-temporal information on the distribution of alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, a collective effort by 173 marine scientists was made to provide unpublished records and make them open access to the scientific community. Through this effort, we collected and harmonized a dataset of 12,649 records. It includes 247 taxa, of which 217 are Animalia, 25 Plantae and 5 Chromista, from 23 countries surrounding the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Chordata was the most abundant taxonomic group, followed by Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Annelida. In terms of species records, Siganus luridus, Siganus rivulatus, Saurida lessepsianus, Pterois miles, Upeneus moluccensis, Charybdis (Archias) longicollis, and Caulerpa cylindracea were the most numerous. The temporal distribution of the records ranges from 1973 to 2022, with 44% of the records in 2020–2021. Lethrinus borbonicus is reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, while Pomatoschistus quagga, Caulerpa cylindracea, Grateloupia turuturu, and Misophria pallida are first records for the Black Sea; Kapraunia schneideri is recorded for the second time in the Mediterranean and for the first time in Israel; Prionospio depauperata and Pseudonereis anomala are reported for the first time from the Sea of Marmara. Many first country records are also included, namely: Amathia verticillata (Montenegro), Ampithoe valida (Italy), Antithamnion amphigeneum (Greece), Clavelina oblonga (Tunisia and Slovenia), Dendostrea cf. folium (Syria), Epinephelus fasciatus (Tunisia), Ganonema farinosum (Montenegro), Macrorhynchia philippina (Tunisia), Marenzelleria neglecta (Romania), Paratapes textilis (Tunisia), and Botrylloides diegensis (Tunisia)

Prevalence of interstitial pneumonia suggestive of COVID-19 at 18F-FDG PET/CT in oncological asymptomatic patients in a high prevalence country during pandemic period: a national multi-centric retrospective study

Purpose: To assess the presence and pattern of incidental interstitial lung alterations suspicious of COVID-19 on fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) ([18F]FDG PET/CT) in asymptomatic oncological patients during the period of active COVID-19 in a country with high prevalence of the virus. Methods: This is a multi-center retrospective observational study involving 59 Italian centers. We retrospectively reviewed the prevalence of interstitial pneumonia detected during the COVID period (between March 16 and 27, 2020) and compared to a pre-COVID period (January\u2013February 2020) and a control time (in 2019). The diagnosis of interstitial pneumonia was done considering lung alterations of CT of PET. Results: Overall, [18F]FDG PET/CT was performed on 4008 patients in the COVID period, 19,267 in the pre-COVID period, and 5513 in the control period. The rate of interstitial pneumonia suspicious for COVID-19 was significantly higher during the COVID period (7.1%) compared with that found in the pre-COVID (5.35%) and control periods (5.15%) (p < 0.001). Instead, no significant difference among pre-COVID and control periods was present. The prevalence of interstitial pneumonia detected at PET/CT was directly associated with geographic virus diffusion, with the higher rate in Northern Italy. Among 284 interstitial pneumonia detected during COVID period, 169 (59%) were FDG-avid (average SUVmax of 4.1). Conclusions: A significant increase of interstitial pneumonia incidentally detected with [18F]FDG PET/CT has been demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. A majority of interstitial pneumonia were FDG-avid. Our results underlined the importance of paying attention to incidental CT findings of pneumonia detected at PET/CT, and these reports might help to recognize early COVID-19 cases guiding the subsequent management

HE-LHC: The High-Energy Large Hadron Collider – Future Circular Collider Conceptual Design Report Volume 4

In response to the 2013 Update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics (EPPSU), the Future Circular Collider (FCC) study was launched as a world-wide international collaboration hosted by CERN. The FCC study covered an energy-frontier hadron collider (FCC-hh), a highest-luminosity high-energy lepton collider (FCC-ee), the corresponding 100 km tunnel infrastructure, as well as the physics opportunities of these two colliders, and a high-energy LHC, based on FCC-hh technology. This document constitutes the third volume of the FCC Conceptual Design Report, devoted to the hadron collider FCC-hh. It summarizes the FCC-hh physics discovery opportunities, presents the FCC-hh accelerator design, performance reach, and staged operation plan, discusses the underlying technologies, the civil engineering and technical infrastructure, and also sketches a possible implementation. Combining ingredients from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the high-luminosity LHC upgrade and adding novel technologies and approaches, the FCC-hh design aims at significantly extending the energy frontier to 100 TeV. Its unprecedented centre-of-mass collision energy will make the FCC-hh a unique instrument to explore physics beyond the Standard Model, offering great direct sensitivity to new physics and discoveries