Aim
Phenolic compounds naturally contained in extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) have demonstrated anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The present study aimed at evaluating the effects of a ...polyphenol-rich extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) (high-polyphenol EVOO, HP-EVOO) on the metabolic control and the production of specific pro-/anti-inflammatory adipokines in overweight patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D).
Methods
Eleven overweight T2D patients not in treatment with insulin were invited to follow their habitual diet for a total of 8 weeks. During the first 4 weeks (wash-out period), they were asked to consume refined olive oil (ROO, polyphenols not detectable) and then to replace ROO with HP-EVOO (25 mL/day, 577 mg of phenolic compounds/kg) for the remaining 4 weeks. Anthropometric parameters, fasting glycaemia, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), high-sensitive C-reactive protein, plasma lipid profile, liver function and serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, adiponectin, visfatin and apelin were assessed at the end of each 4-week period.
Results
HP-EVOO consumption significantly reduced fasting plasma glucose (
P
= 0.023) and HbA1c (
P
= 0.039) levels as well as BMI (
P
= 0.012) and body weight (
P
= 0.012). HP-EVOO ingestion determined a reduction in serum level of aspartate aminotransferase (AST,
P
= 0.0056) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT,
P
= 0.024). Serum visfatin levels strongly decreased after HP-EVOO ingestion (
P
= 0.0021).
Conclusions
Daily consumption of polyphenol-rich EVOO might improve metabolic control and circulating inflammatory adipokines profile in overweight T2D patients.
The Level-1 barrel trigger of the ATLAS experiment is based on the resistive plate chambers (RPCs) detectors. The on-detector trigger electronics identifies muons with specific values of transverse ...momentum, by using coincidences between different layers of detectors. Trigger data are then transferred from on-detector to off-detector trigger electronics boards. Data are processed by a complex system, which combines trigger data from the barrel and the end-cap regions and provide the combined muon candidate to the central trigger processor (CTP). The system has been performing well for almost a decade. However, in order to cope with continuously increasing large hadron collider luminosity and more demanding requirements on trigger efficiency and performance, various upgrades for the full-trigger system were already deployed and others are foreseen in the next years. Most of the trigger upgrades are based on the state-of-the-art technologies and allow designing more complex trigger menus, increasing processing power and data transfer bandwidth in order to send more trigger candidates, to perform topological selections, and to support new physics studies. In this paper, we describe the design of the first prototype of the barrel interface board, designed around a Xilinx field-programmable gate array, which transfers RPC trigger data to the CTP system; the board supports the optical transmission of trigger data with fixed latency and new trigger algorithms. We discuss the design strategies, the hardware implementation, and the results of the first functional and integration tests.
Purpose
Aim of this study was to identify a possible relationship among dietary fatty acids (FA) intake, FA adipose tissue (AT) profile and cancer condition in lean vs obese subjects affected or not ...by colorectal cancer (CRC). Actually, inadequate dietary habits together with physical inactivity are primary determinants of obesity and cancer risk. Changes in lipid metabolism play a crucial role in different types of cancer and key enzymes involved in lipid-metabolic pathways, such as stearoyl-coA-desaturase 1 (SCD-1), are differentially expressed in normal and cancer tissues.
Methods
Food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) were analyzed by Winfood software. FA were assessed by gas–liquid chromatography in visceral AT samples. Estimated desaturase activities were calculated as precursor FA/product FA ratio. Desaturase gene expressions were evaluated by RT-qPCR.
Results
Lean and obese CRC subjects showed inadequate dietary habits. In particular, lean CRC subjects showed increase in the intake of saturated FA, specifically palmitic (
p
= 0.0042) and stearic acid (
p
= 0.0091), and a corresponding reduction of monounsaturated FA consumption, in particular oleic acid (
p
= 0.002) with respect to lean without CRC. Estimated SCD-1 activity in AT was increased in all the groups vs lean without CRC (
p
ANOVA = 0.029).
Conclusions
Unhealthy eating habits, characterizing obese and CRC subjects, may influence the visceral AT profile and contribute to the alteration of the metabolic pathways. The quality of the diet, other than the quantity, can have a main role in the establishment of inflammatory microenvironment and in metabolic changes favouring CRC.
Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) devices have been used in a variety of detector electronics for the ATLAS experiment, including the regions with a significant amount of radiation from the beam ...collision. Thorough radiation characterization must be performed for COTS in these applications to validate their function and performance in a harsh radiation environment. We present an evaluation of the radiation tolerance for COTS components used in a signal packet router for an upgrade of the ATLAS muon spectrometer. The evaluation is a reference for similar applications.
Abstract
The Muon System of the ATLAS experiment at the CERN LHC will be upgraded for the high-luminosity phase of LHC to cope with higher rates and higher radiation levels. Most of the Muon-System ...on-detector electronics will be replaced. Commercial low-dropout voltage regulators have been considered as a robust, low-noise and economic solution to power distribution. These components should be selected based on their capability to comply to radiation requirements. We tested 7 different types of CMOS LDOs, monitoring online the output voltage of 10 samples of each type. Irradiations were performed in the Radial Channel 1 of the RSV TAPIRO fast neutron reactor at ENEA Casaccia (Rome), to test resistance to non-ionizing energy loss, and at the PIF 200 MeV proton beam at PSI (Villigen), to test for total ionizing dose and single event effects. The experimental setup and the results are presented and discussed in this paper.
The New Small Wheel electronics Iakovidis, G.; Levinson, L.; Afik, Y. ...
Journal of instrumentation,
05/2023, Letnik:
18, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Abstract
The increase in luminosity, and consequent higher
backgrounds, of the LHC upgrades require improved rejection of fake
tracks in the forward region of the ATLAS Muon Spectrometer. The
New ...Small Wheel upgrade of the Muon Spectrometer aims to reduce the
large background of fake triggers from track segments that don't
originate from the interaction point. The New Small Wheel employs
two detector technologies, the resistive strip Micromegas detectors
and the “small” Thin Gap Chambers, with a total of 2.45 million
electrodes to be sensed. The two technologies require the design of
a complex electronics system given that it consists of two different
detector technologies and is required to provide both precision
readout and a fast trigger. It will operate in a high background
radiation region up to about 20 kHz/cm
2
at the expected HL-LHC
luminosity of
ℒ = 7.5 × 10
34
cm
-2
s
-1
. The
architecture of the system is strongly defined by the GBTx data
aggregation ASIC, the newly-introduced FELIX data router and the
software based data handler of the ATLAS detector. The electronics
complex of this new detector was designed and developed in the last
ten years and consists of multiple radiation tolerant Application
Specific Integrated Circuits, multiple front-end boards, dense
boards with FPGA's and purpose-built Trigger Processor boards within
the ATCA standard. The New Small Wheel has been installed in 2021
and is undergoing integration within ATLAS for LHC Run 3. It should
operate through the end of Run 4 (December 2032). In this
manuscript, the overall design of the New Small Wheel electronics is
presented.
Polyphenols are wide variety of compounds that occur in fruits and vegetables, wine, tea, extra virgin olive oil, chocolate and other cocoa products. Several polyphenols have been demonstrated to ...have clear antioxidant properties in vitro, and many of their biological actions have been attributed to their intrinsic reducing capabilities. However, this concept appears now to be a simplistic way to conceive their activity. Evidence is indeed accumulating that polyphenols might exert several other specific biological effects that are as yet poorly understood. In this article we review the most recent data on the subject and describe the additional functions that polyphenols can have in biological systems, focusing on their effects on glutathione and its related enzymes. Experimental data indicate that polyhenols may offer an indirect protection by activating endogenous defense systems. Several lines of evidence suggest a tight connection between exogenous and endogenous antioxidants that appear to act in a coordinated fashion. It is reasonable to hypothesize that this is achieved, at least in part, through antioxidant responsive elements (AREs) present in the promoter regions of many of the genes inducible by oxidative and chemical stress. The latest studies strongly suggest that dietary polyphenols can stimulate antioxidant transcription and detoxification defense systems through ARE.
Drug-facilitated sexual assaults (DFSA) currently represent overwhelming issue in its multidisciplinary approach. They occur when alcohol or drugs are used to compromise an individual's ability to ...consent to a sexual act. These substances facilitate a perpetrator to commit sexual assault because they inhibit a person's ability to resist and can prevent them from remembering the assault. If on the one hand alcohol remains the most commonly used drug in crimes of sexual assault, on the other hand drugs being used by perpetrators in crimes of sexual assault include, but are not limited to, Rohypnol (but also other benzodiazepines can be used), GHB (Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid), GBL (Gamma-Butyrolactone), ketamine and others. The authors briefly examine the main issues of GHB-facilitated sexual assault in forensic investigation, drawing the attention of the whole scientific community to the importance of a correct assessment of each GHB-FSA, even when it is only suspected and by providing some practical advices.
Drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) is a nonconsensual sexual act in which the victim is incapacitated or unconscious due to the effects of alcohol, a drug and/or other intoxicating substances. ...Dozens of drugs (including ethanol) can potentially be used to commit sexual assaults, but γ-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and flunitrazepam are the most common "date rape drugs".
Multidisciplinary databases were browsed using the following search terms: "drug-facilitated sexual assault", "chemical submission", "date rape", "rape drugs", and "drink-spiking". Moreover, a search for reports was conducted on Institutional websites to identify documentation published by international agencies or institutions. Articles and reports were independently evaluated by each author.
There are no accurate estimates of the number of DFSA occurring each year, although assaults are increasingly reported. Many DFSA, however, are still not reported. Victims are reluctant to report incidents because of embarrassment, guilt or perceived responsibility, or because they do not clearly remember the assault. Moreover, most of the drugs typically used in sexual assaults are rapidly metabolized, making them undetectable in routine drug screenings.
Most of the substances involved in DFSA, with the exception of alcohol, are under international control and scheduled under the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971. However, several psychotropic substances and antihistamines used in sexual assaults are still not under international control, allowing for trafficking, often via the Internet and courier. The absence of international control makes it difficult to obtain accurate data on the nature and the extent of the problem.
The fight against doping in sport, formally started in 1960 with the constitution of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and culminated in 1999 with the birth of the World Anti-Doping Agency ...(WADA), commissioned to chair various activities, including the publication of the annual list of prohibited substances and methods for doping. In Europe, as early as 1967, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution to stigmatise the intake of substances foreign to the body for the sole purpose of artificially and unfairly influencing sports performance. In 2002, the Council of Europe adopted an Additional Protocol to the 1989 Strasbourg Convention against Doping to ensure mutual recognition of doping controls and to strengthen the enforcement of the Convention. In Italy, the Law of 14 December 2000 n. 376 "Discipline of the health protection of sports activities and the fight against doping", defines doping as "the administration or intake of drugs or biologically or pharmacologically active substances and the adoption or submission to medical practices not justified by pathological conditions and suitable to modify the psychophysical or biological conditions of the organism in order to alter the athletic performance of athletes". The same law regulates the use of drugs or biologically or pharmacologically active substances and update an annual list in agreement with WADA. The article aims to analyse the legislation from a national perspective, offering as complete a view as possible of the current situation.
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