826 research outputs found
Data-driven architecture to encode information in the kinematics of robots and artificial avatars
We present a data-driven control architecture for modifying the kinematics of
robots and artificial avatars to encode specific information such as the
presence or not of an emotion in the movements of an avatar or robot driven by
a human operator. We validate our approach on an experimental dataset obtained
during the reach-to-grasp phase of a pick-and-place task
Helicobacter pylori and gastroesophageal reflux disease
Background: The nature of the relationship between Helicobacter pylori and reflux oesophagitis is still not clear. To investigate the correlation between Helicobacter pylori infection and GERD taking into account endoscopic, pH-metric and histopathological data. Methods: Between January 2001 and January 2003 a prospective study was performed in 146 patients with GERD in order to determine the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection at gastric mucosa; further the value of the De Meester score endoscopic, manometric and pH-metric parameters, i.e. reflux episodes, pathological reflux episodes and extent of oesophageal acid exposure, of the patients with and without Helicobacter pylori infection were studied and statistically compared. Finally, univariate analysis of the above mentioned data were performed in order to evaluate the statistical correlation with reflux esophagitis. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups, HP infected and HP negative patients, regarding age, gender and type of symptoms. There was no statistical difference between the two groups regarding severity of symptoms and manometric parameters. The value of the De Meester score and the ph-metric parameters were similar in both groups. On univariate analysis, we observed that hiatal hernia ( p = 0,01), LES size ( p = 0,05), oesophageal wave length ( p = 0,01) and pathological reflux number ( p = 0,05) were significantly related to the presence of reflux oesophagitis. Conclusion: Based on these findings, it seems that there is no significant evidence for an important role for H. pylori infection in the development of GERD and erosive esophagitis. Nevertheless, current data do not provide sufficient evidence to define the relationship between HP and GERD. Further assessments in prospective large studies are warranted
Light-Induced Access to Carbazole-1,3-dicarbonitrile: A Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescent (TADF) Photocatalyst for Cobalt-Mediated Allylations
The stability of a photocatalyst under irradiation is important in photoredox applications. In this work, we investigated the stability of a thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) photocatalyst {3DPAFIPN [2,4,6-tris(diphenylamino)-5-fluoroisophthalonitrile]}, recently employed in photoredox-mediated processes, discovering that in the absence of quenchers the chromophore is unstable and is efficiently converted by irradiation with visible light into another species based on the carbazole-1,3-dicarbonitrile moiety. The new species obtained is itself a TADF emitter and finds useful applications in photoredox transformations. At the excited state, it is a strong reductant and was efficiently applied to cobalt-mediated allylation of aldehydes, whereas other TADFs (4CzIPN and 3DPAFIPN) failed to promote efficient photocatalytic cycles
Faecal calprotectin and ultrasonography as non-invasive screening tools for detecting colorectal polyps in children with sporadic rectal bleeding. a prospective study
Background: Colorectal polyps are reported in 6,1% of paediatric colonoscopies and in 12% of those performed for
lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Although colonoscopy is widely used in paediatric patients, it requires bowel
preparation and general anaesthesia or deep sedation, and in rare cases, it can cause complications. Non-invasive
screening techniques able to predict polyps in children with isolated and sporadic rectal bleeding may play a key
role in the selection of patients needing colonoscopy.
Methods: We enrolled all children undergoing colonoscopy for isolated and sporadic rectal bleeding to determine
the diagnostic accuracy of faecal calprotectin, ultrasonography (US) and digital rectal examination as diagnostic
methods for screening colorectal polyps.
Results: A total of 26 of 59 enrolled patients (44.1%) had colonic polyps, one patient had multiple polyps, and 23%
of children had polyps proximal to the splenic flexure. The diagnostic accuracy of faecal calprotectin for detecting
colorectal polyps was 96.6%, with a sensitivity of 100%. False-positive faecal calprotectin was shown in 2 patients
with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-related lesions. The diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound was 77.9%. Polyps
not seen with ultrasound tended to be relatively smaller (1.5 vs 2.3, p = 0.001) and located in the rectum. The
combined use of FC, US and digital rectal examination obtained a specificity and PPV of 100%.
Conclusions: FC combined with US and digital rectal examination is a good and promising non-invasive screening
test for detecting colorectal polyps in children with isolated and sporadic rectal bleeding
Primary melanoma of the bladder: Case report and review of the literature
Skin melanoma represents one of the most common and lethal solid tumor. It usually develops on the skin but it can occur in any tissues with melanine- containing-cells (extracutaneous malignant melanoma). Only 4-5% of malignant melanomas originate in extracutaneous tissues, and they have an extremely lethal behavior (1). These non-skin malignant melanomas are rare but extremely aggressive. Primary melanoma of the genitourinary tract accounts for less than 0.2% of all melanomas. To date only 28 cases of primary bladder melanoma (PMM) are described. We report a rare case of PMM of the bladder in a 72 years old man treated with radical cystectomy and immunotherapy with Nivolumab
Beam manipulation for resonant plasma wakefield acceleration
Plasma-based acceleration has already proved the ability to reach ultra-high accelerating gradients. However
the step towards the realization of a plasma-based accelerator still requires some e
ff ort to guarantee high brightness beams, stability and reliability. A significant improvement in the efficiency of PWFA has been
demonstrated so far accelerating a witness bunch in the wake of a higher charge driver bunch. The transformer
ratio, therefore the energy transfer from the driver to the witness beam, can be increased by resonantly exciting
the plasma with a properly pre-shaped drive electron beam. Theoretical and experimental studies of beam
manipulation for resonant PWFA will be presented her
In-flight calibration and verification of the Planck-LFI instrument
In this paper we discuss the Planck-LFI in-flight calibration campaign. After
a brief overview of the ground test campaigns, we describe in detail the
calibration and performance verification (CPV) phase, carried out in space
during and just after the cool-down of LFI. We discuss in detail the
functionality verification, the tuning of the front-end and warm electronics,
the preliminary performance assessment and the thermal susceptibility tests.
The logic, sequence, goals and results of the in-flight tests are discussed.
All the calibration activities were successfully carried out and the instrument
response was comparable to the one observed on ground. For some channels the
in-flight tuning activity allowed us to improve significantly the noise
performance.Comment: Long technical paper on Planck LFI in flight calibration campaign:
109 pages in this (not final) version, 100 page in the final JINST versio
Phosphodiesterases S-sulfhydration contributes to human skeletal muscle function
The increase in intracellular calcium is influenced by cyclic nucleotides (cAMP
and cGMP) content, which rating is governed by phosphodiesterases (PDEs)
activity.Despite it has been demonstrated a beneficial effect of PDEs inhibitors
in different pathological conditions involving SKM, not much is known on the
role exerted by cAMP-cGMP/PDEs axis in human SKM contractility. Here, we show
that Ssulfhydration of PDEs modulates human SKM contractility in physiological
and pathological conditions. Having previously demonstrated that, in the rare
human syndrome Malignant Hyperthermia (MH), there is an overproduction of
hydrogen sulfide (H2S) within SKM contributing to hyper-contractility, here we
have used MH negative diagnosed biopsies (MHN) as healthy SKM, and MH
susceptible diagnosed biopsies (MHS) as a pathological model of SKM
hypercontractility. The study has been performed on MHS and MHN human biopsies
after diagnosis has been made and on primary SKM cells derived from both MHN and
MHS biopsies. Our data demonstrate that in normal conditions PDEs are
S-sulfhydrated in both quadriceps' biopsies and primary SKM cells. This post
translational modification (PTM) negatively regulates PDEs activity with
consequent increase of both cAMP and cGMP levels. In hypercontractile biopsies,
due to an excessive H2S content, there is an enhanced Ssulfhydration of PDEs
that further increases cyclic nucleotides levels contributing to SKM
hyper-contractility. Thus, the identification of a new endogenous PTM modulating
PDEs activity represents an advancement in SKM physiopathology understanding
Interleukin-17 (IL-17) triggers systemic inflammation, peripheral vascular dysfunction, and related prothrombotic state in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most prevalent forms of neurodegenerative disorders. Previously, we have shown that in vivo administration of an IL-17 neutralizing antibody (IL-17Ab) rescues amyloid-β-induced neuro-inflammation and memory impairment, demonstrating the pivotal role of IL-17 in AD-derived cognitive deficit. Recently, AD has been recognized as a more intriguing pathology affecting vascular networks and platelet function. However, not much is known about peripheral vascular inflammation and how pro-inflammatory circulating cells/mediators could affect peripheral vessels' function. This study aimed to evaluate whether IL-17Ab treatment could also impact peripheral AD features, such as systemic inflammation, peripheral vascular dysfunction, and related pro-thrombotic state in a non-genetic mouse model of AD. Mice were injected intracerebroventricularly with Aβ1-42 peptide (3 μg/3 μl). To evaluate the systemic/peripheral protective profile of IL-17Ab, we used an intranasal administration of IL-17Ab (1 μg/10 μl) at 5, 12, and 19 days after Aβ1-42 injection. Circulating Th17/Treg cells and related cyto-chemokines, haematological parameters, vascular/endothelial reactivity, platelets and coagulation function in mice were evaluated. IL-17Ab treatment ameliorates the systemic/peripheral inflammation, immunological perturbance, vascular/endothelial impairment and pro-thrombotic state, suggesting a key role for this cytokine in fostering inflammatory processes that characterize the multifaced aspects of AD. </p
The STRIP instrument of the Large Scale Polarization Explorer: microwave eyes to map the Galactic polarized foregrounds
In this paper we discuss the latest developments of the STRIP instrument of
the "Large Scale Polarization Explorer" (LSPE) experiment. LSPE is a novel
project that combines ground-based (STRIP) and balloon-borne (SWIPE)
polarization measurements of the microwave sky on large angular scales to
attempt a detection of the "B-modes" of the Cosmic Microwave Background
polarization. STRIP will observe approximately 25% of the Northern sky from the
"Observatorio del Teide" in Tenerife, using an array of forty-nine coherent
polarimeters at 43 GHz, coupled to a 1.5 m fully rotating crossed-Dragone
telescope. A second frequency channel with six-elements at 95 GHz will be
exploited as an atmospheric monitor. At present, most of the hardware of the
STRIP instrument has been developed and tested at sub-system level.
System-level characterization, starting in July 2018, will lead STRIP to be
shipped and installed at the observation site within the end of the year. The
on-site verification and calibration of the whole instrument will prepare STRIP
for a 2-years campaign for the observation of the CMB polarization.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical Telescopes
+ Instrumentation conference "Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared
Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy IX", on June 15th, 2018, Austin
(TX
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