The natural pseudo-distance as a quotient pseudo-metric, and applications

The natural pseudo-distance is a similarity measure conceived for the purpose of comparing shapes. In this paper we revisit this pseudo-distance from the point of view of quotients. In particular, we show that the natural pseudo-distance coincides with the quotient pseudo-metric on the space of continuous functions on a compact manifold, endowed with the uniform convergence metric, modulo self-homeomorphisms of the manifold. As applications of this result, the natural pseudo-distance is shown to be actually a metric on a number of function subspaces such as the space of topological embeddings, of isometries, and of simple Morse functions on surfaces

Benefici e svantaggi delle eparine a basso peso molecolare

Premesse e Scopo dello studio: Le eparine a basso peso molecolare vengono utilizzate per la prevenzione e il trattamento della coagula- zione del sangue, l’obiettivo è quello di ridurre al minimo gli effetti collaterali in seguito alla somministrazione delle varie molecole. Metodi e Risultati: L’analisi stata effettuata presso il Dipartimento di Chirurgia Generale e di Urgenza dell’A.O. Ospedali riuniti Villa Sofia - Cervello, su un campione di circa 80 pazienti con età compresa tra i 35-80 anni, 50 sono di sesso femminile e 30 sono di sesso maschile, sono stati riscontrati dall'osservazione effettuata i seguenti effetti collaterali: per quanto riguarda la Parnaparina e la Bemiparina sanguinamento delle gengive durante il lavaggio dei denti maggiormente in soggetti anziani (3 donne); mestruazioni particolarmente abbondanti (7 donne); eccessiva perdita di sangue per tagli o piccole ferite (5 donne e 5 uomini); ematomi in sede d'inezione (in tutti i pazienti osservati). Conclusioni: Dalle analisi finali possiamo dedurre che la Parnaparina e la Bemiparina svolgono un’intensa e rapida dissoluzione di trombi che possono essersi formati nelle arterie o nelle vene mentre con la Nadroparina e con l’Enoxaparina non abbiamo mai osservato variazioni dell'A.P. E della P.T.T

Aggiunte alla flora vascolare d’Abruzzo e aree limitrofe. IV contributo

Additions to the vascular flora of Abruzzo and surrounding. IV contribution. In this paper new floristic records for 22 units are reported for Central Italy, mainly for Abruzzo. In particular 14 taxa are native and 8 aliens, 16 are new or confirmed to Abruzzo, 1 is new to Marche. In addition new distribution data for 4 rare or interesting in Abruzzo and 1 in Lazio regions have been recorded. Some of these species are particularly interesting from a phytogeographical or conservational point of view as they are very rare in Central Italy (Antirrhinum siculum, Convolvulus pentapetaloides and Vicia melanops)

Low pH immobilizes and kills human leukocytes and prevents transmission of cell-associated HIV in a mouse model

BACKGROUND: Both cell-associated and cell-free HIV virions are present in semen and cervical secretions of HIV-infected individuals. Thus, topical microbicides may need to inactivate both cell-associated and cell-free HIV to prevent sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS. To determine if the mild acidity of the healthy vagina and acid buffering microbicides would prevent transmission by HIV-infected leukocytes, we measured the effect of pH on leukocyte motility, viability and intracellular pH and tested the ability of an acidic buffering microbicide (BufferGel(®)) to prevent the transmission of cell-associated HIV in a HuPBL-SCID mouse model. METHODS: Human lymphocyte, monocyte, and macrophage motilities were measured as a function of time and pH using various acidifying agents. Lymphocyte and macrophage motilities were measured using video microscopy. Monocyte motility was measured using video microscopy and chemotactic chambers. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) viability and intracellular pH were determined as a function of time and pH using fluorescent dyes. HuPBL-SCID mice were pretreated with BufferGel, saline, or a control gel and challenged with HIV-1-infected human PBMCs. RESULTS: Progressive motility was completely abolished in all cell types between pH 5.5 and 6.0. Concomitantly, at and below pH 5.5, the intracellular pH of PBMCs dropped precipitously to match the extracellular medium and did not recover. After acidification with hydrochloric acid to pH 4.5 for 60 min, although completely immotile, 58% of PBMCs excluded ethidium homodimer-1 (dead-cell dye). In contrast, when acidified to this pH with BufferGel, a microbicide designed to maintain vaginal acidity in the presence of semen, only 4% excluded dye at 10 min and none excluded dye after 30 min. BufferGel significantly reduced transmission of HIV-1 in HuPBL-SCID mice (1 of 12 infected) compared to saline (12 of 12 infected) and a control gel (5 of 7 infected). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that physiologic or microbicide-induced acid immobilization and killing of infected white blood cells may be effective in preventing sexual transmission of cell-associated HIV

Non-linear macroscopic polarization in III-V nitride alloys

We study the dependence of macroscopic polarization on composition and strain in wurtzite III-V nitride ternary alloys using ab initio density-functional techniques. The spontaneous polarization is characterized by a large bowing, strongly dependent on the alloy microscopic structure. The bowing is due to the different response of the bulk binaries to hydrostatic pressure, and to internal strain effects (bond alternation). Disorder effects are instead minor. Deviations from parabolicity (simple bowing) are of order 10 % in the most extreme case of AlInN alloy, much less at all other compositions. Piezoelectric polarization is also strongly non-linear. At variance with the spontaneous component, this behavior is independent of microscopic alloy structure or disorder effects, and due entirely to the non-linear strain dependence of the bulk piezoelectric response. It is thus possible to predict the piezoelectric polarization for any alloy composition using the piezoelectricity of the parent binaries.Comment: RevTex 7 pages, 7 postscript figures embedde

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

Prenatal tobacco smoke exposure increases hospitalizations for bronchiolitis in infants

BACKGROUND: Tobacco smoke exposure (TSE) is a worldwide health problem and it is considered a risk factor for pregnant women's and children's health, particularly for respiratory morbidity during the first year of life. Few significant birth cohort studies on the effect of prenatal TSE via passive and active maternal smoking on the development of severe bronchiolitis in early childhood have been carried out worldwide. METHODS: From November 2009 to December 2012, newborns born at ≥ 33 weeks of gestational age (wGA) were recruited in a longitudinal multi-center cohort study in Italy to investigate the effects of prenatal and postnatal TSE, among other risk factors, on bronchiolitis hospitalization and/or death during the first year of life. RESULTS: Two thousand two hundred ten newborns enrolled at birth were followed-up during their first year of life. Of these, 120 (5.4%) were hospitalized for bronchiolitis. No enrolled infants died during the study period. Prenatal passive TSE and maternal active smoking of more than 15 cigarettes/daily are associated to a significant increase of the risk of offspring children hospitalization for bronchiolitis, with an adjHR of 3.5 (CI 1.5-8.1) and of 1.7 (CI 1.1-2.6) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm the detrimental effects of passive TSE and active heavy smoke during pregnancy for infants' respiratory health, since the exposure significantly increases the risk of hospitalization for bronchiolitis in the first year of lif

Analysis of biological diversity and miscegenation in the city of Puerto Madryn (Prov.of Chubut, Argentina)

En el marco del estudio de la composición genética de las poblaciones cosmopolitas de Argentina, se analizó una muestra poblacional de la localidad de Puerto Madryn (PM) con la finalidad de evaluar su diversidad biológica mediante la utilización de marcadores biparentales y uniparentales y comparar los resultados con los obtenidos previamente por nuestro equipo de investigación en seis poblaciones cosmopolitas de distintas regiones de la Argentina, aunque poniendo el énfasis a las correspondientes a la Región Patagónica. Las muestras biológicas fueron tomadas con consentimiento informado a 82 dadores de sangre no emparentados que concurrieron al Banco de Sangre y al Hospital Subzonal de dicha localidad, a quienes también se les realizó una encuesta genealógica. A partir de los datos proporcionados por los marcadores autosómicos se registró una contribución europea de 67.2%, amerindia de 29.4% y africana de 3.4%. A un origen amerindio fueron adscriptos el 59.9% y 8.7% de los linajes maternos y paternos, respectivamente, revelando un desigual aporte autóctono por género. El aporte europeo se vio representado principalmente por el Hg H (19.5%) y se detectaron sólo dos linajes subsaharianos. En PM las migraciones desde el centro del país han generado un fuerte impacto, reflejado en la mayor contribución de marcadores europeos respecto de dos muestras estudiadas previamente en Chubut (Comodoro Rivadavia y Esquel). Estas diferencias al interior de una misma provincia nos advierten que no puede abordarse el análisis de la constitución genética de las poblaciones sin dar cuenta de las particularidades regionales.In the frame of the study of the genetic composition of Argentinean cosmopolitan populations, a population sample of the city of Puerto Madryn (PM) was analyzed in order to evaluate its biological diversity using biparental and uniparental markers and compare the results with those previously obtained by our research team in six cosmopolitan populations from different regions of Argentina. The emphasis was laid on the populations of the Patagonia region. Biological samples were taken with informed consent from 82 unrelated blood donors, who attended the Regional Blood Bank and Hospital of the town and also underwent a genealogical survey. From the data obtained by analyzing autosomal markers, a European contribution of 67.2%, an Amerindian one of 29.4%, and an African one of 3.4% were estimated. The 59.9% and 8.7% of the maternal and paternal lineages, respectively, were ascribed to Native American origins, revealing an unequal gender indigenous contribution. The European contribution was mainly represented by H Hg (19.5%), and only two sub-Saharan lineages were detected. In PM, migrations from the center of the country have had a strong impact, as reflected in the greater contribution of European markers, with respect to the two samples previously studied in the province of Chubut (Comodoro Rivadavia and Esquel). These differences warn us of the necessity of accounting for the regional particularities when analyzing the genetic constitution of populations.Fil: Parolin, María Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Avena, Sergio Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias Antropologicas; ArgentinaFil: Fleischer, Silvina. Puerto Madryn. Hospital Subzonal Andrés Isola; ArgentinaFil: Pretell, Mariana. Puerto Madryn. Hospital Subzonal Andrés Isola; ArgentinaFil: Di Fabio Rocca, Francisco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias Antropologicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez, Debora A.. Universidad Maimonides. Area de Invest.biomedicas y Biotecnologicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; ArgentinaFil: Dejean, Cristina B.. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias Antropologicas; ArgentinaFil: Postillone, María Bárbara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias Antropologicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; ArgentinaFil: Vaccaro, Maria S.. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias Antropologicas; ArgentinaFil: Dahinten, Silvia Lucrecia V.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Manera, Guillermo. Puerto Madryn. Hospital Subzonal Andrés Isola; ArgentinaFil: Carnese, Francisco Raul. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias Antropologicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentin

Search for 14.4 keV solar axions from M1 transition of Fe-57 with CUORE crystals

We report the results of a search for axions from the 14.4 keV M1 transition from Fe-57 in the core of the sun using the axio-electric effect in TeO2 bolometers. The detectors are 5x5x5 cm3 crystals operated at about 10 mK in a facility used to test bolometers for the CUORE experiment at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy. An analysis of 43.65 kg d of data was made using a newly developed low energy trigger which was optimized to reduce the detectors energy threshold. An upper limit of 0.63 c kg-1 d-1 was established at 95% C.L.. From this value, a lower bound at 95% C.L. was placed on the Peccei-Quinn energy scale of fa >= 0.76 10**6 GeV for a value of S=0.55 for the flavor-singlet axial vector matrix element. Bounds are given for the interval 0.15 < S < 0.55.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, submitted to JCA