A strategy for the design of skyrmion racetrack memories

Magnetic storage based on racetrack memory is very promising for the design of ultra-dense, low-cost and low-power storage technology. Information can be coded in a magnetic region between two domain walls or, as predicted recently, in topological magnetic objects known as skyrmions. Here, we show the technological advantages and limitations of using Bloch and Neel skyrmions manipulated by spin current generated within the ferromagnet or via the spin-Hall effect arising from a non-magnetic heavy metal underlayer. We found that the Neel skyrmion moved by the spin-Hall effect is a very promising strategy for technological implementation of the next generation of skyrmion racetrack memories (zero field, high thermal stability, and ultra-dense storage). We employed micromagnetics reinforced with an analytical formulation of skyrmion dynamics that we developed from the Thiele equation. We identified that the excitation, at high currents, of a breathing mode of the skyrmion limits the maximal velocity of the memory

Prediction of diabetes mellitus induced by steroid overtreatment in adrenal insufficiency.

To assess the differences between patients with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and prediabetes/diabetes mellitus (DM) in secondary adrenal insufficiency (SAI). We cross-sectionally evaluated 102, out of a total of 140, patients with SAI, who were on hydrocortisone (HC) (n = 50) and cortisone acetate (n = 52) replacement therapy. Clinical, anthropometric, and metabolic parameters were compared in patients with NGT (n = 60) and DM (n = 42). Patients with prediabetes/DM have a more marked family history of DM (p = 0.002), BMI (p < 0.001), higher waist circumference (p < 0.001), total cholesterol (p = 0.012), LDL-cholesterol (p = 0.004), triglycerides (p = 0.031), fasting glucose (p = 0.002), fasting insulin (p = 0.035), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (p = 0.018), HOMA-IR (p = 0.039), area under curves of glucose (p = 0.001) and insulin (p = 0.002), HbA1c (p < 0.001), Visceral adiposity index (VAI) (p = 0.038) and lower ISI-Matsuda (p = 0.008) and oral disposition index (p < 0.001) than patients with NGT. Multivariate analysis showed that family history of DM and VAI are independent predictive facAdrenal Insufficiencytors for DM in patients with SAI. Family history of DM and VAI can be predictors of the development of DM in patients with SAI and need to be investigated during steroid replacement therapy. Interestingly, the type and the dose of replacement steroid do not impact on diabetes mellitus

Ground-state factorization and correlations with broken symmetry

We show how the phenomenon of factorization in a quantum many-body system is of collective nature. To this aim we study the quantum discord Q in the one-dimensional XY model in a transverse field. We analyze the behavior of Q at both the critical point and at the non-critical factorizing field. The factorization is found to be governed by an exponential scaling law for Q. We also address the thermal effects fanning out from the anomalies occurring at zero temperature. Close to the quantum phase transition, Q exhibits a finite-temperature crossover with universal scaling behavior, while the factorization phenomenon results in a non-trivial pattern of correlations present at low temperature. Copyright (C) EPLA, 2011 RI Rossini, Davide/A-8156-201

Instantaneous neural processing of communicative functions conveyed by speech prosody

During conversations, speech prosody provides important clues about the speaker’s communicative intentions. In many languages, a rising vocal pitch at the end of a sentence typically expresses a question function, whereas a falling pitch suggests a statement. Here, the neurophysiological basis of intonation and speech act understanding were investigated with high-density electroencephalography (EEG) to determine whether prosodic features are reflected at the neurophysiological level. Already approximately 100 ms after the sentence-final word differing in prosody, questions, and statements expressed with the same sentences led to different neurophysiological activity recorded in the event-related potential. Interestingly, low-pass filtered sentences and acoustically matched nonvocal musical signals failed to show any neurophysiological dissociations, thus suggesting that the physical intonation alone cannot explain this modulation. Our results show rapid neurophysiological indexes of prosodic communicative information processing that emerge only when pragmatic and lexico-semantic information are fully expressed. The early enhancement of question-related activity compared with statements was due to sources in the articulatory-motor region, which may reflect the richer action knowledge immanent to questions, namely the expectation of the partner action of answering the question. The present findings demonstrate a neurophysiological correlate of prosodic communicative information processing, which enables humans to rapidly detect and understand speaker intentions in linguistic interactions

POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF COLOSTRUM IN GASTROINTESTINAL DISEASES

This paper reviews the composition of colostrum and the potebntial preventive and therapeutic use of this "first milk" for treating various gastrointestinal disorders in humans. Colostrum is a complex biological liquid that is rich in antimicrobial peptides, immune-regulanting compounds and growth factors than the subsequent mature milk. The main functions of colostrum are to provide essential nutritional components, strenghten the natural defense system, modulate immune response, balance intestinal microbiota and enhance the growth and repair of several tissues. several studies and clinical trials carried out both in vitro and in vivo on humans and animals suggest the clinical benefits of bovine colostrum (BC) supplementation in gastro-intestinal diseases. Despite the encouraging results, there are no contraindications regarding high dose levels and few side effects of clinical relevance have been reported. In conclusion, in the near future, colostrum-based supplementations may be play a role to synthetic drugs in the prevention and treatment of various gastrointestinal disorders

Synergistic Effect of Physical Therapy Plus Pharmacological Therapy with Eperisone in Tension-Type Cervicalgia

Background. This study assessed the effect of eperisone + physical therapy compared with physical therapy alone on the alleviation of pain and disability experienced by patients with tension-type cervicalgia. Methods. Patients with tension-type cervicalgia were randomized to eperisone + physical therapy (Group A) or physical therapy alone (Group B). Patients were assessed at baseline (T0), after 4-weeks’ treatment (T1), and at 2 months’ follow-up (T2). Outcome measures included the Numerical Rating Scale, the Italian version of the Neck Pain and Disability Scale, the Short Form-McGill Pain Questionnaire, and the Italian version of the Neck Disability Index. Results. Ninety-eight patients (50 patients in Group A and 48 patients in Group B) completed the study. Pain and disability scores for all outcome measures were significantly lower at both T1 and T2 for patients in Group A compared with Group B (all p<0.001). A small, improvement between T1 and T2 was observed in Group A patients but not in Group B patients, and significantly more Group B than Group A patients were worse at 2 months’ follow-up (all p<0.001). Conclusions. Eperisone in synergy with physical therapy can be a valuable tool in the therapeutic management of patients suffering from tension-type cervicalgia

Acquiring and processing verb argument structure : distributional learning in a miniature language

Adult knowledge of a language involves correctly balancing lexically-based and more language-general patterns. For example, verb argument structures may sometimes readily generalize to new verbs, yet with particular verbs may resist generalization. From the perspective of acquisition, this creates significant learnability problems, with some researchers claiming a crucial role for verb semantics in the determination of when generalization may and may not occur. Similarly, there has been debate regarding how verb-specific and more generalized constraints interact in sentence processing and on the role of semantics in this process. The current work explores these issues using artificial language learning. In three experiments using languages without semantic cues to verb distribution, we demonstrate that learners can acquire both verb-specific and verb-general patterns, based on distributional information in the linguistic input regarding each of the verbs as well as across the language as a whole. As with natural languages, these factors are shown to affect production, judgments and real-time processing. We demonstrate that learners apply a rational procedure in determining their usage of these different input statistics and conclude by suggesting that a Bayesian perspective on statistical learning may be an appropriate framework for capturing our findings

COLON MICROBIAL COMPOSITION IS CORRELATED WITH THE SEVERITY OF COLITIS INDUCED BY 2,4,6-TRINITROBENZESULFONIC ACID IN MICE.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes in some bacterial species of colonic microbiota, the clinical signs and the intestinal changes in mice with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) induced colitis. CD-1 male mice were randomly divided into three groups and inoculated intrarectally with saline ethanol or TNBS solutions. ethanol and TNBS treatments induced weight loss accompained by mild and severe inflammation of the colon mucosa, respectively. however, TNBS-treated mice displayed significant differences compared to the saline group in terms of disease activity index and histological scoring. Both ethanol and TNBS groups showed an increased prevalence of escherichia coli and Clostridium supp., a decrease in lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria counts, as well as changes in the relative proportions of bacteria in the colon. The results confirm the validity of TNBS treatment to study the mechanism involved in the pathogenesis and progression of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in CD-1 mice. Gut microbiota may become a diagnostic biomarker with therapeutic potential for IBD in the future

Human limbal fibroblast-like stem cells induce immune-tolerance in autoreactive T lymphocytes from female patients with Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis

Abstract Background: Due to their \u201cnatural immune privilege\u201d and immunoregulatory properties human fibroblast-like limbal stem cells (f-LSCs) have acquired great interest as a potential tool for achieving immunotolerance. Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis (HT) is the most common thyroid autoimmune disease and cause of hypothyroidism. To date, conventional hormone replacement therapy and unspecific immunosuppressive regimens cannot provide a definitive cure for HT subjects. We explored the immunosuppressant potential of human f-LSCs on circulating lymphomonocytes (PBMCs) collected from healthy donors and female HT patients. Methods: We assessed the immunophenotyping of f-LSCs, both untreated and after 48 h of proinflammatory cytokine exposure, by means of quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and flow cytometry. The immunosuppressant effects of f-LSCs on healthy activated PBMCs were investigated in cell-cell contact and transwell settings through cell cycle assay, acridine orange staining, and caspase-3 detection. We also studied T-cell responses and possible Treg conversion by means of flow cytometry. Functional assays were conducted in activated HT lymphocytes cocultured with f-LSCs after carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester labeling and intracellular detection of pro- and antiinflammatory cytokines. Results: The hypo-immunogenicity of the f-LSC population depended on both cell contact and soluble factors produced, as well as the undetectable expression of all those molecules required to fully activate T lymphocytes. Following exposure to Th1 cytokines, f-LSCs augmented expression of programmed death-ligand 1 and 2 (PDL-1 and -2), indoleamine-pyrrole-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), interleukin (IL)-6, and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1) while maintaining their negative phenotype for major histocompatibility (MHC) class II and costimulatory molecules. During coculture, f-LSCs suppressed up to 40% of proliferation in healthy activated PBMCs, arrested them in the G0/G1 cell cycle phase without inducing apoptosis cascade, inverted the CD4/CD8 ratio, and promoted sustained expression of the immunomodulator marker CD69. Under coculture conditions the Th imbalance of autoreactive T cells from female HT patients was fully restored. Conclusions: Our study describes an in vitro coculture system able to prevent inappropriate activation of autoreactive T lymphocytes of female HT patients and to generate a tolerogenic environment even in an inflammatory background. Further investigations are necessary to establish whether this stem cell-based therapy approach in HT could avoid lifetime hormone replacement therapy by inducing T-cell education