140 research outputs found
The ceramic evidence. The stratigraphic deposits and their chronology
Nell'ambito dell'edizione delle ricerche condotte dal Gabii Project presso l'antica città di Gabii (Roma), il contributo analizza i reperti ceramici relativi ad una domus realizzata nella prima metà del III secolo a.C. e abbandonata nel I secolo a.C. (Tinku House). Vengono presentati i contesti nel loro complesso, con particolare attenzione agli elementi necessari per fissare la cronologia assoluta degli interventi documentati
Puzzles in charm spectroscopy
We briefly analyze aspects of open and hidden charm resonances, discussing in
particular the mesons and X(3872).Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Invited talk given at the YKIS Seminar on New
Frontiers in QCD: Exotic Hadrons and Hadronic Matter, Kyoto, Japan, 20 Nov. -
8 Dec. 200
FCNC and transitions: Standard Model versus a single Universal Extra Dimension scenario
We study the FCNC and transitions in the Standard Model and in
a scenario with a single Universal Extra Dimension. In particular, we focus on
the present knowledge of the hadronic uncertainties and on possible
improvements. We discuss how the measurements of these modes can be used to
constrain the new parameter involved in the extra dimensional scenario, the
radius of the extra dimension, completing the information available from
B-factories. The rates of these induced decays are within the reach
of new experiments, such as LHCb.Comment: LaTex, 8 pages, 7 eps figures. Version to be published in Physical
Review
The first extensive study of an Imperial Roman Garden in the city of Rome. The Horti Lamiani
This paper presents the first systematic results of integrated plant macrofossil and pollen analyses from the Horti Lamiani (1st-3rd century ce), an aristocratic residence with a luxury garden which was established on the Esquilino (Esquiline Hill) in Rome during the time of the first Emperor, Caesar Augustus (27 bce-14 ce) and later became one of the most famous Imperial gardens around the ancient city. Different types of plant remains such as charcoal, seeds and fruits and pollen were recovered from pits and pots in the garden and reflect the presence of plants there. There seem to have been ornamental shrubs which were probably grown as decorative modelled hedges and/or isolated bushes, as well as cultivated trees. Several ornamental flowering plants grew in pots. Although this archaeobotanical assemblage could represent some
patches of wild vegetation still growing in the study area at the time of the Imperial garden, it is likely that most of the identified plants were intentionally planted and organised to create a glimpse of the past wild landscape of Rome. They have special characteristics, such as bearing coloured flowers or fruits and offering shade, that made them suitable for embellishing a magnificent garden. Moreover this reflects the Roman desire to control nature, testified by the expansion of luxury gardens during the Imperial period and the spread of decorative horticultural techniques, like the miniaturisation of trees and shaping of trees and shrubs by topiary
Estimating Form Factors of and their Applications to Semi-leptonic and Non-leptonic Decays
and weak transition
form factors are estimated for the whole physical region with a method based on
an instantaneous approximated Mandelstam formulation of transition matrix
elements and the instantaneous Bethe-Salpeter equation. We apply the estimated
form factors to branching ratios, CP asymmetries and polarization fractions of
non-leptonic decays within the factorization approximation. And we study the
non-factorizable effects and annihilation contributions with the perturbative
QCD approach. The branching ratios of semi-leptonic decays are also evaluated. We show that the calculated
decay rates agree well with the available experimental data. The longitudinal
polarization fraction of decays are when
denotes a light meson, and are when denotes a
() meson.Comment: Final version published in J Phys. G 39 (2012) 045002 (Title also
changed
Bounding effective parameters in the chiral Lagrangian for excited heavy mesons
We use recent experimental data on charmed mesons to constrain three coupling
constants in the effective lagrangian describing the interactions of excited
heavy-light mesons with light pseudoscalar mesons at order .
Predictions in the beauty sector are also derived.Comment: LaTex, 11 pages, 1 eps figur
Short-latency afferent inhibition and somato-sensory evoked potentials during the migraine cycle: surrogate markers of a cycling cholinergic thalamo-cortical drive?
BACKGROUND: Short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) consists of motor cortex inhibition induced by sensory afferents and depends on the excitatory effect of cholinergic thalamocortical projections on inhibitory GABAergic cortical networks. Given the electrophysiological evidence for thalamo-cortical dysrhythmia in migraine, we studied SAI in migraineurs during and between attacks and searched for correlations with somatosensory habituation, thalamocortical activation, and clinical features. METHODS: SAI was obtained by conditioning the transcranial magnetic stimulation-induced motor evoked potential (MEP) with an electric stimulus on the median nerve at the wrist with random stimulus intervals corresponding to the latency of individual somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) N20 plus 2, 4, 6, or 8\u2009ms. We recruited 30 migraine without aura patients, 16 between (MO), 14 during an attack (MI), and 16 healthy volunteers (HV). We calculated the slope of the linear regression between the unconditioned MEP amplitude and the 4-conditioned MEPs as a measure of SAI. We also measured SSEP amplitude habituation, and high-frequency oscillations (HFO) as an index of thalamo-cortical activation. RESULTS: Compared to HV, SAI, SSEP habituation and early SSEP HFOs were significantly reduced in MO patients between attacks, but enhanced during an attack. There was a positive correlation between degree of SAI and amplitude of early HFOs in HV, but not in MO or MI. CONCLUSIONS: The migraine cycle-dependent variations of SAI and SSEP HFOs are further evidence that facilitatory thalamocortical activation (of GABAergic networks in the motor cortex for SAI), likely to be cholinergic, is reduced in migraine between attacks, but increased ictally
Recommendations for pre-symptomatic genetic testing for hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in the era of effective therapy: a multicenter Italian consensus
Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv, v for variant) is a late-onset, autosomal dominant disease caused by progressive extracellular deposition of transthyretin amyloid fibrils, leading to organ damage and death. For other late-onset fatal diseases, as Huntington's disease, protocols for pre-symptomatic genetic testing (PST) are available since decades. For ATTRv, limited experience has been reported to date, mostly gathered before the availability of approved therapies. We aimed at developing recommendations for a safe and feasible PST protocol in ATTRv in the era of emerging treatments, taking also into account Italian patients' characteristics and healthcare system rules. After an initial survey on ongoing approaches to PST for ATTRv in Italy, two roundtable meetings were attended by 24 experts from 16 Italian centers involved in the diagnosis and care of this disease. Minimal requirements for PST offer and potential critical issues were highlighted. By November 2019, 457 families affected by ATTRv with 209 molecularly confirmed pre-symptomatic carriers were counted. The median age at PST was 41.3years of age, regardless of the specific mutation. Half of the Italian centers had a multidisciplinary team, including a neurologist, an internist, a cardiologist, a medical geneticist and a psychologist, although in most cases not all the specialists were available in the same center. A variable number of visits was performed at each site. Experts agreed that PST should be offered only in the context of genetic counselling to at risk individuals aged 18 or older. Advertised commercial options for DNA testing should be avoided. The protocol should consist of several steps, including a preliminary clinical examination, a pre-test information session, an interval time, the genetic test and a post-test session with the disclosure of the test results, in the context of an experienced multidisciplinary team. Recommendations for best timing were also defined. Protocols for PST in the context of ATTRv can be refined to offer at risk individuals the best chance for early diagnosis and timely treatment start, while respecting autonomous decisions and promoting safe psychological adjustment to the genetic result
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