3,588 research outputs found
Medical use of cannabis: italian and european legislation
This review illustrates some brief
considerations of the medical use of cannabis recently
issued in Italy. History and uses of cannabis
throughout centuries and different countries
are illustrated together with a description of botany
and active phytocannabinoids. Then, medical
use of cannabis anti-pain treatment for patients
resistant to conventional therapies is described
in case of chronic neuropathic pain, spasticity,
for anticinetosic and antiemetic effect in nausea
and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, for appetite
stimulating effect in cachexia, anorexia, loss
of appetite in cancer patients or patients with
AIDS and in anorexia nervosa, hypotensive effect
in glaucoma resistant to conventional therapies
and for reduction of involuntary body and facial
movements in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.
Italian most recent legislation on medical cannabis
is detailed with some law proposals, also
showing the inconsistent legislation within European
Union. Some final considerations of future
studies are also reported
Ethical and medico-legal remarks on uterus transplantation: may it solve uterine factor infertility?
Uterus transplantation was firstly tested with animal trials sixty-five years ago. Despite several successful attempts in human subjects, the different procedures still lay at the experimental stage, in need of further studies and investigations before they can be considered as standard clinical practices. Uterus transplant cannot be regarded as a life-saving procedure, but rather a method to restore woman ability to procreate, when lost, thus improving her quality of life. Uterus transplant is a complex surgical procedure and presents significant health threats. Medical staff should therefore always obtain informed consent from patients, emphasizing such risks. Before that, women undergoing uterine transplants should be thoroughly informed about the hazards inherent to the procedure and especially about the dangers of immunosuppressant drugs, administered after the surgery which may injure the fetus, eventually formed in the restored organ and even lead to its death, thus nullifying the purpose of the transplant itself. Therefore, the risk-benefit ratio of uterus transplantation needs to be carefully assessed and described
Effectiveness of antipsychotics in reducing suicidal ideation: Possible physiologic mechanisms
Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate whether any specific antipsychotic regi-men or dosage is effective in managing suicidal ideation in schizophrenia. Four comparisons were conducted between: (1) clozapine and other antipsychotics; (2) long-acting injectable and oral antipsy-chotics; (3) atypical and typical antipsychotics; (4) antipsychotics augmented with antidepressants and antipsychotic treatment without antidepressant augmentation. Methods: We recruited 103 participants diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Participants were followed for at least six months. The Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSS) was used to assess the severity of suicidal ideation at each visit. We performed a multiple linear regression model controlling for BSS score at study entry and other confounding variables to predict the change in the BSS scores between two visits. Results: Overall, there were 28 subjects treated with clozapine (27.2%), and 21 subjects with depot antipsychotics (20.4%). In our sample, 30 subjects experienced some suicidal ideation at study entry. When considering the entire sample, there was a statistically significant decrease in suicidal ideation severity in the follow-up visit compared to the study entry visit (p = 0.043). Conclusions: To conclude, our preliminary analysis implies that antipsychotics are effective in controlling suicidal ideation in schizophrenia patients, but no difference was found among alternative antipsychotics’ classes or dosages
Dynamical charge density fluctuations pervading the phase diagram of a Cu-based high-Tc superconductor
Charge density waves are a common occurrence in all families of high critical
temperature superconducting cuprates. Although consistently observed in the
underdoped region of the phase diagram and at relatively low temperatures, it
is still unclear to what extent they influence the unusual properties of these
systems. Using resonant x-ray scattering we carefully determined the
temperature dependence of charge density modulations in
(Y,Nd)BaCuO for three doping levels. We discovered
short-range dynamical charge density fluctuations besides the previously known
quasi-critical charge density waves. They persist up to well above the
pseudogap temperature T*, are characterized by energies of few meV and pervade
a large area of the phase diagram, so that they can play a key role in shaping
the peculiar normal-state properties of cuprates.Comment: 34 pages, 4 figures, 11 supplementary figure
apeNEXT: A multi-TFlops Computer for Simulations in Lattice Gauge Theory
We present the APE (Array Processor Experiment) project for the development
of dedicated parallel computers for numerical simulations in lattice gauge
theories. While APEmille is a production machine in today's physics simulations
at various sites in Europe, a new machine, apeNEXT, is currently being
developed to provide multi-Tflops computing performance. Like previous APE
machines, the new supercomputer is largely custom designed and specifically
optimized for simulations of Lattice QCD.Comment: Poster at the XXIII Physics in Collisions Conference (PIC03),
Zeuthen, Germany, June 2003, 3 pages, Latex. PSN FRAP15. Replaced for adding
forgotten autho
The SciCryo Project and Cryogenic Scintillation of for Dark Matter
International audienceWe discuss cryogenic scintillation of Al2O3. Room-temperature measurements with α particles are first carried out to study effect of Ti concentration on response. Measurements under X-rays between room temperature and 10 K confirm a doubling of light output. The integration of a scintillation-phonon detector into an ionization-phonon dark matter search is underway, and the quenching factor for neutrons has been verified
Symmetry breaking at the (111) interfaces of SrTiO hosting a 2D-electron system
We used x-ray absorption spectroscopy to study the orbital symmetry and the
energy band splitting of (111) LaAlO/SrTiO and
LaAlO/EuTiO/SrTiO heterostructures, hosting a quasi
two-dimensional electron system (q2DES), and of a Ti-terminated (111)
SrTiO single crystal, also known to form a q2DES at its surface. We
demonstrate that the bulk tetragonal Ti-3d D crystal field is
turned into trigonal D crystal field in all cases. The symmetry
adapted a and e orbitals are non-degenerate in energy and
their splitting, \Delta, is positive at the bare STO surface but negative in
the heterostructures, where the a orbital is lowest in energy.
These results demonstrate that the interfacial symmetry breaking induced by
epitaxial engineering of oxide interfaces has a dramatic effect on their
electronic properties, and it can be used to manipulate the ground state of the
q2DES.Comment: 6 pages article, plus 5 pages supplementary informatio
Observation of a two-dimensional electron gas at the surface of annealed SrTiO3 single crystals by scanning tunneling spectroscopy
Scanning tunneling spectroscopy suggests the formation of a two dimensional
electron gas (2DEG) on the TiO2 terminated surface of undoped SrTiO3 single
crystals annealed at temperature lower than 400 {\deg}C in ultra high vacuum
conditions. Low energy electron diffraction indicates that the 2D metallic
SrTiO3 surface is not structurally reconstructed, suggesting that non-ordered
oxygen vacancies created in the annealing process introduce carriers leading to
an electronic reconstruction. The experimental results are interpreted in a
frame of competition between oxygen diffusion from the bulk to the surface and
oxygen loss from the surface itself.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review
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