JUNO Conceptual Design Report

The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is proposed to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy using an underground liquid scintillator detector. It is located 53 km away from both Yangjiang and Taishan Nuclear Power Plants in Guangdong, China. The experimental hall, spanning more than 50 meters, is under a granite mountain of over 700 m overburden. Within six years of running, the detection of reactor antineutrinos can resolve the neutrino mass hierarchy at a confidence level of 3-4$\sigma$, and determine neutrino oscillation parameters $\sin^2\theta_{12}$, $\Delta m^2_{21}$, and $|\Delta m^2_{ee}|$ to an accuracy of better than 1%. The JUNO detector can be also used to study terrestrial and extra-terrestrial neutrinos and new physics beyond the Standard Model. The central detector contains 20,000 tons liquid scintillator with an acrylic sphere of 35 m in diameter. $\sim$17,000 508-mm diameter PMTs with high quantum efficiency provide $\sim$75% optical coverage. The current choice of the liquid scintillator is: linear alkyl benzene (LAB) as the solvent, plus PPO as the scintillation fluor and a wavelength-shifter (Bis-MSB). The number of detected photoelectrons per MeV is larger than 1,100 and the energy resolution is expected to be 3% at 1 MeV. The calibration system is designed to deploy multiple sources to cover the entire energy range of reactor antineutrinos, and to achieve a full-volume position coverage inside the detector. The veto system is used for muon detection, muon induced background study and reduction. It consists of a Water Cherenkov detector and a Top Tracker system. The readout system, the detector control system and the offline system insure efficient and stable data acquisition and processing.Comment: 328 pages, 211 figure

Rat brain and testicular tissue effects of radiofrequency radiation exposure: Histopathological, DNA damage of brain and qRT-PCR analysis

Background: The Background: We evaluate the effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) on rat brain and testicular tissue using histopathology, comet assay, and real-time quantitative PCR techniques. Materials and Methods: Two equal groups of fourteen rats one for sham-control and the other for exposure (n = seven) were created. For a duration of 14 days, the exposure group (2100 MHz, testicular tissue SAR values of 163 mW/kg for 10 g, brain tissue SAR values of 292 mW/kg on average) was subjected to five hours of exposure per day. Evaluations were conducted on tissue gene expression levels, histopathology, and DNA damage to brain tissue. Results: The histological examination of brain tissue from the exposed group revealed vascular alterations and significant edema (p 0.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that it may cause some histopathological and cellular damage in brain and testis tissue. © 2024 Novin Medical Radiation Institute. All rights reserved

The European internet-based patient and research database for primary immunodeficiencies: results 2006-2008

Primary immunodeficiencies (PID) are rare diseases; therefore transnational studies are essential to maximize the scientific outcome and to improve diagnosis and therapy. In order to estimate the prevalence of PID in Europe as well as to establish and evaluate harmonized guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of PID, the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) has developed an internet-based database for clinical and research data on patients with PID. This database is a platform for epidemiological analyses as well as the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies and the identification of novel disease-associated genes. Within 4 years, 7430 patients from 39 countries have been documented in the ESID database. Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) represents the most common entity, with 1540 patients or 20.7% of all entries, followed by isolated immunoglobulin (Ig)G subclass deficiency (546 patients, 7.4%). Evaluations show that the average life expectancy for PID patients varies from 1 to 49 years (median), depending on the type of PID. The prevalence and incidence of PID remains a key question to be answered. As the registration progress is far from finished we can only calculate minimum values for PID, with e.g. France currently showing a minimum prevalence of 3.72 patients per 100,000 inhabitants. The most frequently documented permanent treatment is immunoglobulin replacement; 2819 patients (42% of all patients alive) currently receive this form of treatment

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia in the era of third generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors : A retrospective study by the chronic malignancies working party of the EBMT

Peer reviewe

Theories of schizophrenia: a genetic-inflammatory-vascular synthesis

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia, a relatively common psychiatric syndrome, affects virtually all brain functions yet has eluded explanation for more than 100 years. Whether by developmental and/or degenerative processes, abnormalities of neurons and their synaptic connections have been the recent focus of attention. However, our inability to fathom the pathophysiology of schizophrenia forces us to challenge our theoretical models and beliefs. A search for a more satisfying model to explain aspects of schizophrenia uncovers clues pointing to genetically mediated CNS microvascular inflammatory disease. DISCUSSION: A vascular component to a theory of schizophrenia posits that the physiologic abnormalities leading to illness involve disruption of the exquisitely precise regulation of the delivery of energy and oxygen required for normal brain function. The theory further proposes that abnormalities of CNS metabolism arise because genetically modulated inflammatory reactions damage the microvascular system of the brain in reaction to environmental agents, including infections, hypoxia, and physical trauma. Damage may accumulate with repeated exposure to triggering agents resulting in exacerbation and deterioration, or healing with their removal. There are clear examples of genetic polymorphisms in inflammatory regulators leading to exaggerated inflammatory responses. There is also ample evidence that inflammatory vascular disease of the brain can lead to psychosis, often waxing and waning, and exhibiting a fluctuating course, as seen in schizophrenia. Disturbances of CNS blood flow have repeatedly been observed in people with schizophrenia using old and new technologies. To account for the myriad of behavioral and other curious findings in schizophrenia such as minor physical anomalies, or reported decreased rates of rheumatoid arthritis and highly visible nail fold capillaries, we would have to evoke a process that is systemic such as the vascular and immune/inflammatory systems. SUMMARY: A vascular-inflammatory theory of schizophrenia brings together environmental and genetic factors in a way that can explain the diversity of symptoms and outcomes observed. If these ideas are confirmed, they would lead in new directions for treatments or preventions by avoiding inducers of inflammation or by way of inflammatory modulating agents, thus preventing exaggerated inflammation and consequent triggering of a psychotic episode in genetically predisposed persons

Levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel in advanced Parkinson's : Final results of the GLORIA registry

This registry evaluated the 24-month safety and efficacy of levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) treatment in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) patients under routine clinical care. Motor fluctuations, dyskinesia, non-motor symptoms, quality of life, and safety were evaluated. Observations were fully prospective for treatment-naïve patients (60% of patients) and partially retrospective for patients with ≤12 months of pre-treatment with LCIG (40% of patients). Hours of "On" and "Off" time were assessed with a modified version of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part IV items 32 and 39. Overall, 375 patients were enrolled by 75 movement disorder centers in 18 countries and 258 patients completed the registry. At 24 months LCIG treatment led to significant reductions from baseline in "Off" time (hours/day) (mean ± SD = −4.1 ± 3.5, P < 0.001), "On" time with dyskinesia (hours/day) (−1.1 ± 4.8, P = 0.006), Non-Motor Symptom Scale total (−16.7 ± 43.2, P < 0.001) and individual domains scores, and Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-8 item total score (−7.1 ± 21.0, P < 0.001). Adverse events deemed to have a possible/probable causal relationship to treatment drug/device were reported in 194 (54%) patients; the most frequently reported were decreased weight (6.7%), device related infections (5.9%), device dislocations (4.8%), device issues (4.8%), and polyneuropathy (4.5%). LCIG treatment led to sustained improvements in motor fluctuations, non-motor symptoms particularly sleep/fatigue, mood/cognition and gastrointestinal domains, as well as quality of life in advanced PD patients over 24 months. Safety events were consistent with the established safety profile of LCIG