Comparison of screening tools for the detection of neurocognitive impairment in HAART-treated patients

Background: Neurocognitive impairment (NCI) and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) remain prevalent despite HAART. We examined sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and correct classification rate (CCR) of screening tools for the detection of NCI and HAND in HAART treated patients. Methods: We examined 101 unselected HAART-treated patients. Patients were administered the self-reported three questions (EACS Guidelines), the International HIV-Dementia Scale (IHDS), the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), and a comprehensive 6-domain (17-test) neuropsychological (NP) battery (120 minutes) that included, among others, the Digit Symbol (DS), the Trail Making Modalities (TM), and the Grooved Pegboard (GP) tests. NCI was defined according to the AAN criteria. HAND was diagnosed after exclusion of confounding conditions. Results: Our cohort was relatively healthy (mean CD4 count: 575 cells/mm3, undetectable plasma HIV RNA 85%). Prevalence of NCI and HAND were 39.6% (40 of 101) and 30.7% (31 of 101), respectively. Mean scores of IHDS (9.9 vs 10.8; p<0.001) and MMSE (26.8 vs 28.2; p=0.004) differed significantly between impaired and unimpaired patients, while mean three-questions scores (8.0 vs 7.0; p=0.23) did not. The three questions showed also poor sensitivity for the detection of both NCI (20%) and HAND (22%). The IHDS showed fairly good sensitivity (55%) and NPV (73.5%). Adding to the IHDS some easy to administer NP tests, i.e. TM, DS, and GP, resulted in an increase in sensitivity and NPV for the detection of NCI (table). Similar results were obtained regarding the detection of HAND (not shown in table). Conclusions: Both NCI and HAND are still very prevalent in HAART-treated patients. Among screening tools the self-reported three question show poor sensitivity. The IHDS performed better in terms of sensitivity, PPV, and NPV. Combinations of easy-to-administer NP tests with the IHDS resulted in increased sensitivity and NPV. Combining IHDS with one or two simple NP test may represent an improvement in the screening approach to the detection of both NCI and HAND

A Crucial Test for Color-Octet Production Mechanism in Z^0 Decays

The direct production rates of $D$-wave charmonia in the decays of $Z^0$ is evaluated. The color-octet production processes $Z^0\rightarrow ^3D_J(c\bar c) q\bar q$ are shown to have distinctively large branching ratios, the same order of magnitude as that of $J/\psi$ prodution, as compared with other $D$-wave charmonium production mechanisms. This may suggest a crucial channel to test the color-octet mechanism as well as to observe the $D$-wave charmonium states in $Z^0$ decays. In addition, a signal for the $^3D_J$ charmonium as strong as $J/\psi$ or $\psi^\prime$ with large transverse momentum at the Tevatron should also be observed.Comment: 14 pages in LaTex (3 figures in PS-file

Gluon fragmentation to ^3D_J quarkonia

We present a calculation of the leading order QCD fragmentation functions for gluons to split into spin-triplet D-wave quarkonia. We apply them to evaluate the gluon fragmentation contributions to inclusive ^3D_J quarkonium production at large transverse momentum processes like the Tevatron and find that the D-wave quarkonia, especially the charmonium 2^{--} state, could be observed through color-octet mechanism with present luminosity. Since there are distinctively large gaps between the contributions of two different (i.e, color-singlet and color-octet) quarkonium production mechanisms, our results may stand as a unique test to NRQCD color-octet quarkonium production mechanism.Comment: 15 pages in LaTex (2 figures in PS-file

Precision measurements of the total and partial widths of the psi(2S) charmonium meson with a new complementary-scan technique in antiproton-proton annihilations

We present new precision measurements of the psi(2S) total and partial widths from excitation curves obtained in antiproton-proton annihilations by Fermilab experiment E835 at the Antiproton Accumulator in the year 2000. A new technique of complementary scans was developed to study narrow resonances with stochastically cooled antiproton beams. The technique relies on precise revolution-frequency and orbit-length measurements, while making the analysis of the excitation curve almost independent of machine lattice parameters. We study the psi(2S) meson through the processes pbar p -> e+ e- and pbar p -> J/psi + X -> e+ e- + X. We measure the width to be Gamma = 290 +- 25(sta) +- 4(sys) keV and the combination of partial widths Gamma_e+e- * Gamma_pbarp / Gamma = 579 +- 38(sta) +- 36(sys) meV, which represent the most precise measurements to date.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables. Final manuscript accepted for publication in Phys. Lett. B. Parts of the text slightly expanded or rearranged; results are unchange

The physics of spreading processes in multilayer networks

The study of networks plays a crucial role in investigating the structure, dynamics, and function of a wide variety of complex systems in myriad disciplines. Despite the success of traditional network analysis, standard networks provide a limited representation of complex systems, which often include different types of relationships (i.e., "multiplexity") among their constituent components and/or multiple interacting subsystems. Such structural complexity has a significant effect on both dynamics and function. Throwing away or aggregating available structural information can generate misleading results and be a major obstacle towards attempts to understand complex systems. The recent "multilayer" approach for modeling networked systems explicitly allows the incorporation of multiplexity and other features of realistic systems. On one hand, it allows one to couple different structural relationships by encoding them in a convenient mathematical object. On the other hand, it also allows one to couple different dynamical processes on top of such interconnected structures. The resulting framework plays a crucial role in helping achieve a thorough, accurate understanding of complex systems. The study of multilayer networks has also revealed new physical phenomena that remain hidden when using ordinary graphs, the traditional network representation. Here we survey progress towards attaining a deeper understanding of spreading processes on multilayer networks, and we highlight some of the physical phenomena related to spreading processes that emerge from multilayer structure.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figure

Chain breaking antioxidant activity of heavy (S, Se, Te) chalcogens substituted polyphenols

Polyphenols are probably the most important family of natural and synthetic chain-breaking antioxidants. Since long ago, chemists have studied how structural (bioinspired) modifications can improve the antioxidant activity of these compounds in terms of reaction rate with radical reactive oxygen species (ROS), catalytic character, multi-defence action, hydrophilicity/lipophilicity, biodistribution etc. In this framework, we will discuss the effect played on the overall antioxidant profile by the insertion of heavy chalcogens (S, Se and Te) in the phenolic skeleton

Measurement of the branching ratio of the decay Ξ0→Σ+μ−νˉμ\Xi^{0}\rightarrow \Sigma^{+} \mu^{-} \bar{\nu}_{\mu}

From the 2002 data taking with a neutral kaon beam extracted from the CERN-SPS, the NA48/1 experiment observed 97 $\Xi^{0}\rightarrow \Sigma^{+} \mu^{-} \bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ candidates with a background contamination of $30.8 \pm 4.2$ events. From this sample, the BR($\Xi^{0}\rightarrow \Sigma^{+} \mu^{-} \bar{\nu}_{\mu}$) is measured to be $(2.17 \pm 0.32_{\mathrm{stat}}\pm 0.17_{\mathrm{syst}})\times10^{-6}$

Interference Study of the chi_c0 (1^3P_0) in the Reaction Proton-Antiproton -> pi^0 pi^0

Fermilab experiment E835 has observed proton-antiproton annihilation production of the charmonium state chi_c0 and its subsequent decay into pi^0 pi^0. Although the resonant amplitude is an order of magnitude smaller than that of the non-resonant continuum production of pi^0 pi^0, an enhanced interference signal is evident. A partial wave expansion is used to extract physics parameters. The amplitudes J=0 and 2, of comparable strength, dominate the expansion. Both are accessed by L=1 in the entrance proton-antiproton channel. The product of the input and output branching fractions is determined to be B(pbar p -> chi_c0) x B(chi_c0 -> pi^0 pi^0)= (5.09 +- 0.81 +- 0.25) x 10^-7.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Accepted by PRL (July 2003

Prospects for K+→π+ννˉK^+ \to \pi^+ \nu \bar{ \nu } at CERN in NA62

The NA62 experiment will begin taking data in 2015. Its primary purpose is a 10% measurement of the branching ratio of the ultrarare kaon decay $K^+ \to \pi^+ \nu \bar{ \nu }$, using the decay in flight of kaons in an unseparated beam with momentum 75 GeV/c.The detector and analysis technique are described here.Comment: 8 pages for proceedings of 50 Years of CP