7,819 research outputs found
Measurements of direct CP violation
We review the experimental searches and determinations of direct CP violation
in meson decays and other systems.Comment: 115 pages, 19 figure
Palmitoylethanolamide is a disease-modifying agent in peripheral neuropathy : pain relief and neuroprotection share a PPAR-alpha-mediated mechanism
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
de Sitter Vacua, Renormalization and Locality
We analyze the renormalization properties of quantum field theories in de
Sitter space and show that only two of the maximally invariant vacuum states of
free fields lead to consistent perturbation expansions. One is the Euclidean
vacuum, and the other can be viewed as an analytic continuation of Euclidean
functional integrals on . The corresponding Lorentzian manifold is the
future half of global de Sitter space with boundary conditions on fields at the
origin of time. We argue that the perturbation series in this case has
divergences at the origin, which render the future evolution of the system
indeterminate without a better understanding of high energy physics.Comment: JHEP Latex, 13 pages, v2. references adde
Relationship of serum prolactin with severity of drug use and treatment outcome in cocaine dependence.
RATIONALE: Alteration in serum prolactin (PRL) levels may reflect changes in central dopamine activity, which modulates the behavioral effects of cocaine. Therefore, serum PRL may have a potential role as a biological marker of drug severity and treatment outcome in cocaine dependence.
OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether serum PRL levels differed between cocaine-dependent (CD) subjects and controls, and whether PRL levels were associated with severity of drug use and treatment outcome in CD subjects.
METHODS: Basal PRL concentrations were assayed in 141 African-American (AA) CD patients attending an outpatient treatment program and 60 AA controls. Severity of drug use was assessed using the Addiction Severity Index (ASI). Measures of abstinence and retention during 12 weeks of treatment and at 6-month follow-up were employed as outcome variables.
RESULTS: The basal PRL (ng/ml) in CD patients (9.28+/-4.13) was significantly higher than controls (7.33+/-2.94) (t=3.77, P\u3c0.01). At baseline, PRL was positively correlated with ASI-drug (r=0.38, P\u3c0.01), ASI-alcohol (r=0.19, P\u3c0.05), and ASI-psychological (r=0.25, P\u3c0.01) composite scores, and with the quantity of cocaine use (r=0.18, P\u3c0.05). However, PRL levels were not significantly associated with number of negative urine screens, days in treatment, number of sessions attended, dropout rate or changes in ASI scores during treatment and at follow-up. Also, basal PRL did not significantly contribute toward the variance in predicting any of the outcome measures.
CONCLUSION: Although cocaine use seems to influence PRL levels, it does not appear that PRL is a predictor of treatment outcome in cocaine dependence
Associations between dogs that were serologically positive for Rickettsia conorii relative to the residences of two human cases of Mediterranean spotted fever in Piemonte (Italy)
Spontaneous internal carotid artery rupture during neck dissection in osteogenesis imperfecta patient.
Several connective tissue disorders are associated with vascular wall abnormalities, including spontaneous dissection of the cervical arteries. Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a hereditary disorder, with rare neurovascular complications, which potentially lead to life-threatening events.We presented a case of spontaneous internal carotid artery (ICA) rupture that occurred in a 52-year-old-woman, suffering from OI type I, and who underwent a bilateral modified radical neck dissection (mRND) plus total thyroidectomy for a T4aN1b thyroid cancer. During mRND, an ICA's spontaneous rupture occurred.Histopathologic report suggested a structural defect of the arterial wall without cancer infiltration. The patient did not experience any neurologic complications.Head and neck surgeons have to be aware about early clinical recognition of possible cervical vascular abnormalities, in patients with connective tissue disorders, potentially responsible for dramatic vascular rupture during cervical surgical procedures
The adipokines in cancer cachexia
Cachexia is a devastating pathology induced by several kinds of diseases, including cancer. The hallmark of cancer cachexia is an extended weight loss mainly due to skeletal muscle wasting and fat storage depletion from adipose tissue. The latter exerts key functions for the health of the whole organism, also through the secretion of several adipokines. These hormones induce a plethora of effects in target tissues, ranging from metabolic to differentiating ones. Conversely, the decrease of the circulating level of several adipokines positively correlates with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. A lot of findings suggest that cancer cachexia is associated with changed secretion of adipokines by adipose tissue. In agreement, cachectic patients show often altered circulating levels of adipokines. This review reported the findings of adipokines (leptin, adiponectin, resistin, apelin, and visfatin) in cancer cachexia, highlighting that to study in-depth the involvement of these hormones in this pathology could lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies
Polyphenols and organic acids as alternatives to antimicrobials in poultry rearing: a review.
For decades antibiotics have been used in poultry rearing to support high levels of production. Nevertheless, several problems have arisen because of the misuse of antibiotics (i.e., antibiotic resistance, residues in animal products, environmental pollution). Thus, the European Union (EU) as well as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) promote action plans to diminish the use of antibiotics in animal production. Alternatives to antibiotics have been studied. Polyphenols (PPs) or organic acids (OAs) seem to be two accredited solutions. Phenolic compounds, such as phenols, flavonoids, and tannins exert their antimicrobial effect with specific mechanisms. In contrast, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs), the OAs mainly used as antibiotics alternative, act on the pathogens depending on the pKa value. This review aims to collect the literature reporting the effects of these substances applied as antimicrobial molecules or growth promoter in poultry feeding (both for broilers and laying hens). Organic acids and PPs can be used individually or in blends, exploiting the properties of each component. Collected data highlighted that further research needs to focus on OAs in laying hensâ feeding and also determine the right combination in blends with PPs
- âŠ