Publications by authors named "Last D"

Purpose: Postoperative pain is a common consequence of surgery. Pre-emptive analgesia involves the initiation of analgesics prior to surgical incision. This has been proposed as a simple method to help reduce postoperative pain, which may be more effective in higher-risk populations such as cervical spine surgery.

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Introduction: Assessing the treatment response of glioblastoma multiforme during immunotherapy (IT) is an open issue. Treatment response assessment maps (TRAMs) might help distinguish true tumor progression (TTP) and pseudoprogression (PsP) in this setting.

Methods: We recruited 16 naïve glioblastoma patients enrolled in a phase II trial consisting of the Stupp protocol (a standardized treatment for glioblastoma involving combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy with temozolomide, followed by adjuvant temozolomide) plus IT with dendritic cells.

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The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is composed of brain microvasculature that provides selective transport of solutes from the systemic circulation into the central nervous system to protect the brain and spinal microenvironment. Damage to the BBB in the acute phase after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is recognized as a major underlying mechanism leading to secondary long-term damage. Because of the lack of technological ability to detect subtle BBB disruption (BBBd) in the chronic phase, however, the presence of chronic BBBd is disputable.

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Background: Pharmacological treatment of CNS diseases is limited due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Recent years showed significant advancement in the field of CNS drug delivery enablers, with technologies such as MR-guided focused ultrasound reaching clinical trials. This have inspired researchers in the field to invent novel brain barriers opening (BBo) technologies that are required to be simple, fast, safe and efficient.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The T2K experiment reports enhanced measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters through new proton-on-target (POT) neutrino data, significantly improving analysis methods with a major focus on the near detector's new selection procedures.
  • - This analysis is the first to utilize data from the NA61/SHINE experiment, helping to refine the neutrino flux model and enhance the neutrino interaction model by incorporating new nuclear effects.
  • - Both frequentist and Bayesian approaches indicate a preference for normal mass ordering and a nearly maximal CP-violating phase, with notable exclusions and constraints on certain parameters aligning with past T2K studies.
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MINERvA has measured the ν_{μ}-induced coherent π^{+} cross section simultaneously in hydrocarbon (CH), graphite (C), iron (Fe), and lead (Pb) targets using neutrinos from 2 to 20 GeV. The measurements exceed the predictions of the Rein-Sehgal and Berger-Sehgal PCAC based models at multi-GeV ν_{μ} energies and at produced π^{+} energies and angles, E_{π}>1  GeV and θ_{π}<10°. Measurements of the cross-section ratios of Fe and Pb relative to CH reveal the effective A scaling to increase from an approximate A^{1/3} scaling at few GeV to an A^{2/3} scaling for E_{ν}>10  GeV.

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Neutrino-induced charged-current single π^{+} production in the Δ(1232) resonance region is of considerable interest to accelerator-based neutrino oscillation experiments. In this Letter, high statistic differential cross sections are reported for the semiexclusive reaction ν_{μ}A→μ^{-}π^{+}+ nucleon(s) on scintillator, carbon, water, iron, and lead targets recorded by MINERvA using a wideband ν_{μ} beam with ⟨E_{ν}⟩≈6  GeV. Suppression of the cross section at low Q^{2} and enhancement of low T_{π} are observed in both light and heavy nuclear targets compared with phenomenological models used in current neutrino interaction generators.

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This Letter presents the first simultaneous measurement of the quasielasticlike neutrino-nucleus cross sections on C, water, Fe, Pb, and scintillator (hydrocarbon or CH) as a function of longitudinal and transverse muon momentum. The ratio of cross sections per nucleon between Pb and CH is always above unity and has a characteristic shape as a function of transverse muon momentum that evolves slowly as a function of longitudinal muon momentum. The ratio is constant versus longitudinal momentum within uncertainties above a longitudinal momentum of 4.

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Article Synopsis
  • High-energy particle scattering experiments have been used to probe the structure of nucleons, revealing the size of protons and measuring electric charge distributions through vector form factors.
  • Neutrinos offer a unique way to measure both vector and axial vector form factors of nucleons, providing complementary insights into nucleon structure compared to other methods.
  • The latest findings from the MINERvA experiment present the first direct measurement of the nucleon axial charge radius using antineutrino-hydrogen scattering, which avoids complex nuclear corrections and improves our understanding of nucleon interactions relevant to neutrino oscillation studies.
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Organophosphates (OPs) are inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase and have deleterious effects on the central nervous system. Clinical manifestations of OP poisoning include convulsions, which represent an underlying toxic neuro-pathological process, leading to permanent neuronal damage. This neurotoxicity is mediated through the cholinergic, GABAergic and glutamatergic (NMDA) systems.

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Neutrino charged-current quasielastic-like scattering, a reaction category extensively used in neutrino oscillation measurements, probes nuclear effects that govern neutrino-nucleus interactions. This Letter reports the first measurement of the triple-differential cross section for ν_{μ} quasielastic-like reactions using the hydrocarbon medium of the MINERvA detector exposed to a wideband beam spanning 2≤E_{ν}≤20  GeV. The measurement maps the correlations among transverse and longitudinal muon momenta and summed proton kinetic energies, and compares them to predictions from a state-of-art simulation.

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Coenzyme F is involved in bioprocesses such as biosynthesis of antibiotics by streptomycetes, prodrug activation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and methanogenesis in archaea. F-dependent enzymes also attract interest as biocatalysts in organic chemistry. However, as only low F levels are produced in microorganisms, F availability is a serious bottleneck for research and application.

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DUNE is a dual-site experiment for long-baseline neutrino oscillation studies, neutrino astrophysics and nucleon decay searches. ProtoDUNE Dual Phase (DP) is a 6   6   6 m liquid argon time-projection-chamber (LArTPC) that recorded cosmic-muon data at the CERN Neutrino Platform in 2019-2020 as a prototype of the DUNE Far Detector. Charged particles propagating through the LArTPC produce ionization and scintillation light.

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Coenzyme F is a microbial redox cofactor that mediates diverse physiological functions and is increasingly used for biocatalytic applications. Recently, diversified biosynthetic routes to F and the discovery of a derivative, 3PG-F, were reported. 3PG-F is formed via activation of 3-phospho-d-glycerate (3-PG) by CofC, but the structural basis of substrate binding, its evolution, as well as the role of CofD in substrate selection remained elusive.

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The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will be a powerful tool for a variety of physics topics. The high-intensity proton beams provide a large neutrino flux, sampled by a near detector system consisting of a combination of capable precision detectors, and by the massive far detector system located deep underground. This configuration sets up DUNE as a machine for discovery, as it enables opportunities not only to perform precision neutrino measurements that may uncover deviations from the present three-flavor mixing paradigm, but also to discover new particles and unveil new interactions and symmetries beyond those predicted in the Standard Model (SM).

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Background: Only a small proportion of schizophrenia patients present with catatonic symptoms. Imaging studies suggest that brain motor circuits are involved in the underlying pathology of catatonia. However, data about diffusivity dysregulation of these circuits in catatonic schizophrenia are scarce.

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Titanium dioxide (TiO) is a frequently used biomaterial, particularly in orthopedic and dental implants, and it is considered an inert and benign compound. This has resulted in toxicological scrutiny for TiO in the past decade, with numerus studies showing potential pathologic downstream effects. Herein we describe case report of a 77-year-old male with subacute CNS dysfunction, secondary to breakdown of a titanium-based carotid stent and leading to blood levels 1000 times higher (3 ppm) than the reported normal.

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The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a major hurdle for the treatment of central nervous system disorders, limiting passage of both small and large therapeutic agents from the blood stream into the brain. Thus, means for inducing BBB disruption (BBBd) are urgently needed. Here, we studied the application of low pulsed electrical fields (PEFs) for inducing BBBd in mice.

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We measure neutrino charged-current quasielasticlike scattering on hydrocarbon at high statistics using the wideband Neutrinos at the Main Injector beam with neutrino energy peaked at 6 GeV. The double-differential cross section is reported in terms of muon longitudinal (p_{∥}) and transverse (p_{⊥}) momentum. Cross section contours versus lepton momentum components are approximately described by a conventional generator-based simulation, however, discrepancies are observed for transverse momenta above 0.

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Coenzyme F is a redox cofactor involved in hydride transfer reactions in archaea and bacteria. Since F-dependent enzymes are attracting increasing interest as tools in biocatalysis, F biosynthesis is being revisited. While it was commonly accepted for a long time that the 2-phospho-l-lactate (2-PL) moiety of F is formed from free 2-PL, it was recently shown that phosphoenolpyruvate is incorporated in and that the C-terminal domain of the FbiB protein, a member of the nitroreductase (NTR) superfamily, converts dehydro-F into saturated F Outside the , however, the situation is still unclear because FbiB is missing in these organisms and enzymes of the NTR family are highly diversified.

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When applying electroporation to the brain, it is important to understand the effects on the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and brain vasculature. Here we studied the effects of point-source electroporation on rats' brains as a function of time from treatment using conventional contrast-enhanced MRI and treatment response assessment maps (TRAMs), enabling depiction of subtle BBB disruption and differentiating contrast agent clearance from accumulation. Effects on vessels were also studied using Lectin staining.

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The prognosis of Glioblastoma Multiforme patients is poor despite aggressive therapy. Reasons include poor chemotherapy penetration across the blood-brain barrier and tumor infiltration into surrounding tissues. Here we studied the effects of combined point-source electroporation (EP) and systemic chemotherapy in glioma-bearing rats.

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Coenzyme F is a specialized redox cofactor with a negative redox potential. It supports biochemical processes like methanogenesis, degradation of xenobiotics, and the biosynthesis of antibiotics. Although well-studied in methanogenic archaea and actinobacteria, not much is known about F in Gram-negative bacteria.

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The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is limiting transcellular and paracellular movement of molecules and cells, controls molecular traffic, and keeps out toxins. However, this protective function is the major hurdle for treating brain diseases such as brain tumors, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, etc. It was previously demonstrated that high pulsed electrical fields (PEFs) can disrupt the BBB by inducing electroporation (EP) which increases the permeability of the transcellular route.

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Background: Retinal degeneration diseases affect millions of patients worldwide and lead to incurable vision loss. These diseases are caused by pathologies in the retina and underlying choroid, located in the back of the eye. One of the major challenges in the development of treatments for these blinding diseases is the safe and efficient delivery of therapeutics into the back of the eye.

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