Wnt10b is a member of the Wnt ligand gene family that encodes for secreted proteins, which activate the ancient and highly conserved Wnt signalling cascade. The Wnt pathway has been shown to be ...essential for embryonic development, tissue integrity, and stem cell activity, but if deregulated, also causes disease such as cancer. Although the 19 different Wnt ligands found in both human and mouse can activate several branches of the Wnt pathway, WNT10B specifically activates canonical Wnt/β‐catenin signalling and thus triggers β‐catenin/LEF/TCF‐mediated transcriptional programs. In this review, we highlight the unique functions of WNT10B and mechanisms of how WNT10B acts in the immune system, mammary gland, adipose tissue, bone and skin. In these organs, WNT10B has been well established to be involved in signalling networks controlling stemness, pluripotency and cell fate decisions. Deregulation of these processes causes diseases such as breast cancer, obesity and osteoporosis. Compelling evidence suggests that WNT10B is a valuable candidate for the development of therapeutic regimens for human diseases.
The last decades have seen a surge of robots working in contact with humans. However, until now these contact robots have made little use of the opportunities offered by physical interaction and lack ...a systematic methodology to produce versatile behaviours. Here, we develop an interactive robot controller able to understand the control strategy of the human user and react optimally to their movements. We demonstrate that combining an observer with a differential game theory controller can induce a stable interaction between the two partners, precisely identify each other’s control law, and allow them to successfully perform the task with minimum effort. Simulations and experiments with human subjects demonstrate these properties and illustrate how this controller can induce different representative interaction strategies.Robots need to estimate and adapt to human behaviour, especially when human dynamics change over time. Now adaptive game theory controllers can help robots adapt to human behaviour in a reaching task.
The history of LHCb Belyaev, I.; Carboni, G.; Harnew, N. ...
European physical journal H,
12/2021, Letnik:
46, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
In this paper, we describe the history of the LHCb experiment over the last three decades, and its remarkable successes and achievements. LHCb was conceived primarily as a
b
-physics experiment, ...dedicated to
CP
violation studies and measurements of very rare
b
decays; however, the tremendous potential for
c
-physics was also clear. At first data taking, the versatility of the experiment as a general-purpose detector in the forward region also became evident, with measurements achievable such as electroweak physics, jets and new particle searches in open states. These were facilitated by the excellent capability of the detector to identify muons and to reconstruct decay vertices close to the primary
pp
interaction region. By the end of the LHC Run 2 in 2018, before the accelerator paused for its second long shut down, LHCb had measured the CKM quark mixing matrix elements and
CP
violation parameters to world-leading precision in the heavy-quark systems. The experiment had also measured many rare decays of
b
and
c
quark mesons and baryons to below their Standard Model expectations, some down to branching ratios of order 10
-
9
. In addition, world knowledge of
b
and
c
spectroscopy had improved significantly through discoveries of many new resonances already anticipated in the quark model, and also adding new exotic four and five quark states. The paper describes the evolution of the LHCb detector, from conception to its operation at the present time. The authors’ subjective summary of the experiment’s important contributions is then presented, demonstrating the wide domain of successful physics measurements that have been achieved over the years.
Reelin and glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD)67expressed by cortical γ-aminobutyric acid-ergic interneurons are down-regulated in schizophrenia. Because epidemiological studies of schizophrenia fail ...to support candidate gene haploinsufficiency of Mendelian origin, we hypothesize that epigenetic mechanisms (i.e., cytosine hypermethylation of CpG islands present in the promoter of these genes) may be responsible for this down-regulation. Protracted L-methionine (6.6 mmol/kg for 15 days, twice a day) treatment in mice elicited in brain an increase of S-adenosyl-homocysteine, the processing product of the methyl donor S-adenosyl-methionine, and a marked decrease of reelin and GAD67mRNAs in both WT and heterozygous reeler mice. This effect of L-methionine was associated with an increase in the number of methylated cytosines in the CpG island of the reelin promoter region. This effect was not observed for GAD65or neuronal-specific enolase and was not replicated by glycine doses 2-fold greater than those of L-methionine. Prepulse inhibition of startle declined at a faster rate as the prepulse/startle interval increased in mice receiving L-methionine. Valproic acid (2 mmol/kg for 15 days, twice a day) reverted L-methionine-induced down-regulation of reelin and GAD67in both WT and heterozygous reeler mice, suggesting an epigenetic action through the inhibition of histone deacetylases. The same dose of valproate increased acetylation of histone H3 in mouse brain nearly 4-fold. This epigenetic mouse model may be useful in evaluating drug efficacy on schizophrenia vulnerability. Hence the inhibition of histone deacetylases could represent a pharmacological intervention mitigating epigenetically induced vulnerability to schizophrenia in individuals at risk.
The detection of mJy/sub-mJy point sources is a significant challenge for single-dish radio telescopes. Detection or upper limits on the faint afterglow from GRBs or other sources at cosmological ...distances are important means of constraining the source modeling. Using the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT), we compare the sensitivity and robustness of three methods applied to the detection of faint radio sources from raster maps around a known source position: the smart ‘quick-look’ method, the ‘source extraction’ method (typical of high-energy astronomy), and the fit with a 2-D Gaussian. We developed a Python code specific for the analysis of point-like radio sources applied to the SRT C-band (6.9 GHz) observations of both undetected sources (GRB afterglows of 181201A and 190114C) and the detected Galactic X-ray binary GRS 1915 + 105. Our comparative analysis of the different detection methods made extensive use of simulations as a useful complement to actual radio observations. The best method for the SRT data analysis is the fit with a 2-D Gaussian, as it pushes down the sensitivity limits of single-dish observations – with respect to more traditional techniques – to
∼
1.8
mJy, improving by
∼
40
% compared with the initial value. This analysis shows that – especially for faint sources – good maps of the scanned region pre- or post-outburst are essential.
Severe hemodilution and perioperative bleeding are determinants of hematocrit (HCT) variations in cardiac surgery patients. These variations may be direct determinants of bad outcomes, and may ...trigger allogeneic blood product transfusions, which are associated with morbidity and mortality. The present study introduces the Percentage HEmatocrit VARiation (PHEVAR) index as a tool to assess the quality of patient blood management (PBM) and to possibly guide specific interventions.
Seven-hundred-thirteen adult cardiac surgery patients were included in a retrospective analysis. The PHEVAR index was assessed based on the HCT determination at six points in time, being represented by the area under the curve of the percentage HCT variation from baseline. The PHEVAR index was explored for association with operative mortality and other outcome measurements.
The PHEVAR index was an independent predictor of operative mortality (odds ratio 1.015, 95% confidence interval 1.005-1.026), postoperative bleeding, length of mechanical ventilation; significantly higher values of PHEVAR were detected in patients with acute kidney injury, low cardiac output, and ventricular arrhythmias. Acute kidney injury was associated with a larger HCT variation during surgery; low cardiac output with a larger postoperative HCT variation; and ventricular arrhythmias with a larger preoperative HCT variation.
The PHEVAR index reflects HCT variations during 7 days of hospital stay in cardiac surgery patients, is associated with mortality and morbidity, and may be used as a quality index for PBM.
Introduction:
Excessive hemodilution during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is associated with an increased rate of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion and acute kidney injury (AKI). Minimization of the ...oxygenator priming volume is a measure to contain hemodilution. In this study, we evaluated the new oxygenator, Sorin Inspire 6™, with respect to its ability to limit hemodilution, RBC transfusion rate and postoperative AKI rate.
Methods:
A retrospective study on a consecutive series of 1,724 adult patients receiving heart surgery with CPB. Patients treated with the Inspire 6™ were assigned to the low priming volume oxygenator (LPVO) group (N=383) and patients treated with conventional oxygenators to the conventional group (N=1,341). Dynamic priming volume, time course of the hematocrit, RBC transfusions and AKI rate were compared between the groups.
Results:
Priming volume was significantly (p=0.001) lower in the LPVO group (624±113 mL) vs. the conventional group (775±150 mL), with higher values of hematocrit during and after CPB. After correction for other confounders, patients in the LPVO group had a significantly lower RBC transfusion rate (odds ratio 0.68, 95% confidence interval 0.52-0.90, p=0.006) and AKI rate (odds ratio 0.55, 95% confidence interval 0.32-0.93, p=0.032).
Conclusion:
The Inspire 6™ oxygenator allows a significant containment of hemodilution during CPB, reducing the risk of RBC transfusions and postoperative AKI.
In order to evaluate the possible effects of heatwave phenomena on background O
3 concentrations, the average summer O
3 concentrations at the high mountain station of Mt. Cimone (MTC—2165
m a.s.l.) ...have been analyzed. In particular, at this baseline station unusually high O
3 concentrations were recorded during August 2003, when an intense heatwave (the “August heatwave”) affected Europe. During this heatwave, the highest O
3 concentrations were recorded at MTC in connection with air masses coming from continental Europe and the Po basin boundary layer as shown by three-dimensional air mass back-trajectory and mixing height analyzes. However, high O
3 concentrations were also recorded in air masses coming from the middle troposphere (above 3000
m a.s.l.), thus suggesting the presence of O
3-rich atmospheric layers over Europe. This could be due to the large extension of the mixing layer which favoured the transport of high concentrations of O
3 and its precursors to altitudes that would usually be in the free troposphere. Other than from traffic and industrial activities, a contribution to the high O
3 concentrations recorded at MTC during the August heatwave could derive from fires in the North of Italy, as suggested by a well-documented episode and supported by in situ CO
2 measurements used as non-conventional tracer for fire emissions.
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