139 research outputs found
Commonalities in immune modulation between mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and neural stem/precursor cells (NPCs)
No full textOwing to their unique immunomodulatory properties, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been advocated as a potential therapy for numerous pathological conditions in which immune-mediated inflammatory reactions play a crucial role, such as autoimmune disorders, cerebrovascular diseases and tumours. Increasing evidence suggest that stem cells, other than MSCs, are also capable of immunomodulation. Neural stem/precursor cells (NPCs) have been among the first stem cells to show immunomodulatory properties and nowadays represent one the most studied and promising stem cell subtype in still uncurable acute and chronic inflammatory neurological disorders. Although the ontogeny of NPCs and MSCs greatly diverges, their immunomodulatory mechanisms are similar and are largely based on the bystander (paracrine) effect through membrane-bound and soluble mediators that influence the behavior of host immune cells: This observation suggests the existence of a core stem cell signature across different stem cell lineages and that shared signalling pathways between the stem cell niche and the inflammatory immune response likely mediate both NPC and MSC immunomodulatory effect. (C) 2015 European Federation of Immunological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Alpha-lipoic Acid After Median Nerve Decompression at the Carpal Tunnel: A Randomized Controlled Trial
No full textPurpose The postoperative course of median nerve decompression in carpal tunnel syndrome may be associated with complications. The aim of this study was to explore the possible effects of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) in the postoperative period after surgical decompression of the median nerve at the wrist. Methods We conducted a double-blind prospective, randomized, controlled trial. A total of 64 patients with proven carpal tunnel syndrome were enrolled and randomly assigned into 1 of 2 groups: group A (n = 32) patients had surgical decompression of the median nerve followed by ALA for 40 days, and group P (n = 32) patients had surgical decompression followed by placebo. The primary end point of the study was a comprehensive indicator of sensory and motor nerve conduction velocity (electrophysiology score) at 3 months after surgery, Other end points were static 2-point discrimination, Boston Carpal Tunnel score, presence or absence of pillar pain, and use of analgesics beyond the second postoperative day. Results Alpha-lipoic acid did not improve nerve conduction velocity or Boston Carpal Tunnel score significantly. However, a statistically significant reduction in the postoperative incidence of pillar pain was noted in the ALA group. In addition, static 2-point discrimination improved in both groups. Conclusions Postoperative administration of ALA for 40 days after median nerve decompression may result in a lower incidence of pillar pain. This treatment is relatively well tolerated, which may support its value as standard postoperative supplementation after carpal tunnel decompression if further studies on larger samples confirm these preliminary findings. Type of study/level of evidence Therapeutic I
C-Finite Sequences and Riordan Arrays
No full textMany prominent combinatorial sequences, such as the Fibonacci, Lucas, Pell, Jacobsthal and Tribonacci sequences, are defined by homogeneous linear recurrence relations with constant coefficients. These sequences are often referred to as C-finite sequences, and a variety of representations have been employed throughout the literature, largely influenced by the author’s background and the specific application under consideration. Beyond the representation through recurrence relations, other approaches include those based on generating functions, explicit formulas, matrix exponentiation, the method of undetermined coefficients and several others. Among these, the generating function approach is particularly prevalent in enumerative combinatorics due to its versatility and widespread use. The primary objective of this work is to introduce an alternative representation grounded in the theory of Riordan arrays. This representation provides a general formula expressed in terms of the vectors of constants and initial conditions associated with any recurrence relation of a given order, offering a new perspective on the structure of such sequences
Generating functions for the area below some lattice paths
No full textWe study some lattice paths related to the concept of generating trees. When the matrix associated to this kind of trees is a Riordan array D ¡ d ¡ t¢¤ £ h ¡ t¢¥ ¢ , we are able to find the generating function for the total area below these paths expressed in terms of the functions d ¡ t ¢ and h ¡ t¢¤
Proper generating trees and their internal path length
No full textAbstractWe find the generating function counting the total internal path length of any proper generating tree. This function is expressed in terms of the functions (d(t),h(t)) defining the associated proper Riordan array. This result is important in the theory of Riordan arrays and has several combinatorial interpretations
Studi di campagna per la applicazione di semplici modelli previsionali del destino ambientale degli antiparassitari
No full textDottorato di ricerca in chimica, biochimica ed ecologia degli antiparassitari. 8. ciclo. Coordinatore L. Merlini. Tutore D. CalamariConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7, Rome; Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale - P.za Cavalleggeri, 1, Florence / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal
Smooth movement and Manhattan path based Random Waypoint mobility
No full textIn this paper, we study the stationary node distribution of a variation of the Random Waypoint mobility model, in which nodes move in a smooth way following one randomly chosen Manhattan path connecting two points. We provide analytical results for the spatial node stationary distribution of this model. As an application, we exploit this result to derive an upper bound on the transmission range of the nodes of a MANET, moving according to this model, that guarantees the connectivity of the communication graph with high probability
The Tennis ball problem. Algorithms Seminar 2000-2001, Rapport de recherche 4406, Institute National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique
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