Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with a sharp increase in the risk for cardiovascular disease, which can only be partially explained by known classical risk factors. However, there is a ...well-established association with increased systemic inflammation. In the last decade, an unique cytotoxic CD4(+) T cell population has been identified, which can be recognized by the loss of the costimulatory cell surface marker CD28, hence their name CD4(+)CD28null T cells. These cells are highly proinflammatory, have the functional features of professional killer lymphocytes and can expand from less than 1% to over 50% of the total CD4(+) T cell population. In this review, we show that these cells probably play an important role in destabilizing atherosclerotic plaques and could explain, at least in part, the association of cardiovascular disease with an increased inflammatory milieu in CKD patients.
Activity of CERN and LNF groups on large area GEM detectors Alfonsi, M.; Bencivenni, G.; Brock, I. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
05/2010, Volume:
617, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
We report on the activity of CERN and INFN-LNF groups on the development of large area GEM detectors. The two groups work together within the RD51 Collaboration, to aim at the development of ...Micro-pattern Gas detectors technologies. The vast request for large area foils by the GEM community has driven a change in the manufacturing procedure by the TS-DEM-PMT laboratory, needed to overcome the previous size limitation of
450
×
450
mm
2
. Now a single-mask technology is used allowing foils to be made as large as
450
×
2000
mm
2
. The limitation in the short size, due to the definite width of the raw material, can be overcome by splicing more foils together. A
10
×
10
cm
2
GEM detector with the new single-mask foil has been tested with X-rays and the results are shown. Possible future applications for large area GEM are the TOTEM experiment upgrade at CERN, and the KLOE-2 experiment at the Dafne
Φ
-factory in Frascati.
We present a precise measurement of the ratio RK=Γ(K→eν(γ))/Γ(K→μν(γ)) and a study of the radiative process K→eνγ, performed with the KLOE detector. The results are based on data collected at the ...Frascati e+e− collider DAΦNE for an integrated luminosity of 2.2 fb−1. We find RK=(2.493±0.025stat±0.019syst)×10−5, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation. This result is used to improve constraints on parameters of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with lepton flavor violation. We also measured the differential decay rate dΓ(K→eνγ)/dEγ for photon energies 10<Eγ< 250 MeV. Results are compared with predictions from theory.
The KLOE-2 Inner Tracker: Detector commissioning and operation Balla, A.; Bencivenni, G.; Branchini, P. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
02/2017, Volume:
845
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The KLOE-2 experiment started its data taking campaign in November 2014 with an upgraded tracking system including an Inner Tracker built with the cylindrical GEM technology, to operate together with ...the Drift Chamber improving the apparatus tracking performance. The Inner Tracker is composed of four cylindrical triple-GEM, each provided with an X–V strips-pads stereo readout and equipped with the GASTONE ASIC developed inside the KLOE-2 collaboration. Although GEM detectors are already used in high energy physics experiment, this device is considered a frontier detector due to its cylindrical geometry: KLOE-2 is the first experiment to use this novel solution. The results of the detector commissioning, detection efficiency evaluation, calibration studies and alignment, both with dedicated cosmic-ray muon and Bhabha scattering events, will be reported.
Las bebidas de plantas medicinales que se venden en las calles del Perú, constituyen alimentos nutracéuticos tradicionales, poco estudiados. Se evaluaron los cambios y los factores socioeconómicos ...asociados a estos cambios, en las bebidas que se expenden en la ciudad de Cajamarca (Perú), entre 2004 y 2018. Se aplicaron encuestas, entrevistas, observación directa y observación participativa. El número de bebidas ofertadas varió de 6 a 12. Salió del mercado la carreta de “maca” (Lepidium meyenii Walp.) y entró la de jugo de “caña de azúcar” (Saccharum officinarum L.). El número de carretas se incrementó en 84% y la de jugo de “naranja” Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck se convirtió en la más importante. Las especies medicinales usadas disminuyeron en 26%, con exclusiones, inclusiones y nuevas combinaciones y, fueron recomendadas para nueve tipos de afecciones. La demanda general creció en 251%. Los factores más importantes asociados a los cambios fueron el crecimiento de la población flotante (universitarios, trabajadores mineros y turistas) y la relevancia o “boom” de la gastronomía peruana. Las bebidas lograron posicionarse y crecer, mediante diversificación y mejoras. Esta investigación aporta información sobre la dinámica de las bebidas y las plantas usadas y tiene carácter histórico para la ciudad de Cajamarca y el Perú.
Abstract Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) is a type I pattern recognition receptor that has been shown to participate in intestinal homeostasis. Its increased expression in the lamina propria has been ...associated with the pathogenesis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). Recently, soluble TLR2 (sTLR2) variants have been shown to counteract inflammatory responses driven by the cognate receptor. Despite the evident roles of TLR2 in intestinal immunity, no study has elucidated the production and cellular source of sTLR2 in IBD. Furthermore, an increase in the population of activated macrophages expressing TLR2 that infiltrates the intestine in IBD has been reported. We aimed first to assess the production of the sTLR2 by UC and CD organ culture biopsies and lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMCs) as well as the levels of sTLR2 in serum, and then characterize the cell population from lamina propria producing the soluble protein. Mucosa explants, LPMCs and serum were obtained from UC, CD patients and control subjects. The level of sTLR2 was higher in conditioned media from organ culture biopsies and LPMCs from UC patients in comparison to CD and controls. Moreover, an inverse correlation between the content of intestinal and serum sTLR2 levels was observed in UC patients. Additionally, when characterizing the cellular source of the increased sTLR2 by LPMCs from UC patients, an increase in TLR2+ /CD33+ cell population was found. Also, these cells expressed CX3CR1, which was related to the increased levels of intestinal FKN in UC patients, suggesting that a higher proportion of TLR2+ mononuclear cells infiltrate the lamina propria. The increased production of sTLR2 suggests that a differential regulating factor of the innate immune system is present in the intestinal mucosa of UC patients.
The upgrade of the KLOE detector at DAFNE, the Φ-factory at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, foresees the insertion of an Inner Tracker around the interaction region, composed of four layers ...with diameters from 26cm to 41cm and an active length of 70cm. Each layer is realized as a cylindrical triple-GEM detector, a solution that allows to keep the total material of the Inner Tracker below 2% of a radiation length, which is of utmost importance to limit the multiple scattering of low-momentum tracks and to minimize dead spaces, thus maximizing the detector's active area. The peculiar read-out pattern with X and V strips provides a spatial resolution of about 200μm and 400μm for azimuthal and longitudinal coordinates, respectively.
After 2 years, the construction of the Inner Tracker has been completed and the detector is ready to be inserted in the KLOE apparatus for a next data-taking run. The details of the manufacturing procedure as well as the results of validation tests are reported.
A Time Domain Reflectometer implemented in a single cost-effective Field Programmable Gate Array device is shown to achieve a precision around 100 ps. The Time to Digital Converter section of the ...device is based on a tapped delay line followed by an encoder and shows both Differential and Integral Non-Linearity below one least significant bit. The same Field Programmable Gate Array houses an 8051 8-bits microprocessor, for the control of the pulse signals generation, the acquisition and the first treatment of raw data. Principles of operation, architecture, performance and preliminary trials on the prototype are presented in this paper. As an example of possible application, the proposed circuit has been usefully used to perform the quality control of the micro-strip anodic planes of the Gas Electron Multiplier Inner Tracker of the KLOE-2 experiment.
PDF
