Congestion phenomena on complex networks.

We define a minimal model of traffic flows in complex networks in order to study the trade-off between topological-based and traffic-based routing strategies. The resulting collective behavior is obtained analytically for an ensemble of uncorrelated networks and summarized in a rich phase diagram presenting second-order as well as first-order phase transitions between a free-flow phase and a congested phase. We find that traffic control improves global performance, enlarging the free-flow region in parameter space only in heterogeneous networks.

The TOR1A polymorphism rs1182 and the risk of spread in primary blepharospasm.

We studied the influence of the rs1182 polymorphism of the TOR1A gene on the risk of dystonia spread in two representative cohorts of patients presenting with primary blepharospasm (BSP), one from Italy and the other from the United States of America. The relationship between rs1182 polymorphism and spread was estimated by Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazard regression models adjusted by age and sex, age of BSP onset. In both series, patients carrying the T allele (G/T or T/T) in the rs1182 polymorphism were more likely to have dystonia spread as compared with the homozygous carriers of the common G allele.

Structure of the nucleotide radical formed during reaction of CDP/TTP with the E441Q-alpha2beta2 of E. coli ribonucleotide reductase.

The Escherichia coli ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) catalyzes the conversion of nucleoside diphosphates to deoxynucleotides and requires a diferric-tyrosyl radical cofactor for catalysis. RNR is composed of a 1:1 complex of two homodimeric subunits: alpha and beta. Incubation of the E441Q-alpha mutant RNR with substrate CDP and allosteric effector TTP results in loss of the tyrosyl radical and formation of two new radicals on the 200 ms to min time scale.

An unusual pattern of B-cell immunological reconstitution after allogeneic stem cell transplantation: a possible correlation with CMV reactivation?

IR after HSCT is a slow process that involves several components of the immune response, and, in allogeneic setting, it can be delayed by GvHD and immuno-suppressive therapy. Our study on IR post-HSCT included a child with FA who underwent MUD transplantation. To evaluate B, T and NK cell reconstitution and to investigate the differentiation of B lymphocyte repertoire, this patient was carefully monitored at various time points by IgHCDR3 (third complementarity determining region of the immunoglobulin heavy chain) fingerprinting and by FACS analysis.

Unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for Cernunnos-XLF deficiency.

Cernunnos-XLF deficiency is a rare CI characterized by a defective DNA DSB repair mechanism. Its clinical manifestations are growth retardation, dysmorphic features, malformations, and severe B- and T-cell lymphopenia. BM failure may complicate the clinical picture.

Reliability and correlation study of a new homocysteine assay.

Background: Hyperhomocysteinemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular, cerebrovascular diseases and is also associated with congenital birth defects, pregnancy complications and cancer. Many homocysteine assays have been developed since the 1960s and most companies have commercially available kits for homocysteine determination. In this paper, we report the performance characteristics of the new Architect homocysteine assay and the correlation with HPLC and other routine analytical methods.

Neurocognitive and symptomatic predictors of functional outcome in bipolar disorders: a prospective 1 year follow-up study.

Background: The aim of this study was to estimate the predictive value of cognitive impairments and time spent ill in long-term functional outcome of patients with bipolar disorder (BD).

Methods: Thirty five patients with euthymic BD completed a neurocognitive battery to assess verbal memory, attention, and executive functions at study entry. The course of illness was documented prospectively for a period longer than 12 months using a modified life charting technique based on the NIMH life-charting method.

Pain as a nonmotor symptom of Parkinson disease: evidence from a case-control study.

Objective: To determine whether pain is more frequent among people with Parkinson disease (PD) than among age-matched controls.

Design: Case-control study.

Patients And Methods: Logistic regression models taking into account type of pain, time between pain and PD onset, and possible confounders were used to compare 402 PD patients with 317 age-matched healthy control subjects.

Photosensitization of bioinspired thymine-containing polymers.

Here, we report a sensitization study on a family of water-soluble photopolymers based on thymine. The goal of this study was to determine whether the presence of sensitizer molecules would promote photocrosslinking/immobilization of the polymers using low-energy irradiation (520 nm) as compared to the UV irradiation (approximately 280 nm) necessary for the standard photoinduced process to take place. With the aid of Eosin Y Spirit Soluble (EY) as a sensitizer, water-soluble polystyrene copolymers of vinylbenzylthymine-vinylbenzyltriethylammonium chloride (VBT-VBA) were immobilized after exposure to visible irradiation.

Antineuronal antibodies in Parkinson's disease.

Antineuronal antibodies (ANAs) have been implicated in the pathophysiology of postinfectious movement disorders, such as Sydenham's chorea. However, their relevance in other movement disorders--in the absence of infectious triggers--remains much disputed. We sought to assess the frequency of ANAs in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) and to explore whether a specific phenotype is associated with the presence of ANAs.

Anti-basal ganglia antibodies and Tourette's syndrome: a voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging study in an adult population.

Anti-basal ganglia antibodies (ABGAs) have been suggested to be a hallmark of autoimmunity in Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome (GTS), possibly related to prior exposure to streptococcal infection. In order to detect whether the presence of ABGAs was associated with subtle structural changes in GTS, whole-brain analysis using independent sets of T(1) and diffusion tensor imaging MRI-based methods were performed on 22 adults with GTS with (n = 9) and without (n = 13) detectable ABGAs in the serum. Voxel-based morphometry analysis failed to detect any significant difference in grey matter density between ABGA-positive and ABGA-negative groups in caudate nuclei, putamina, thalami and frontal lobes.

Heterogeneity in cognitive functioning among patients with bipolar disorder.

Background: Nowadays it is not clear if in bipolar disorders (BD) cognitive impairments are heterogeneous and if so which are the variables that determine it.

Methods: Fifty patients with BD and thirty healthy controls were clinically evaluated including measures of obstetric complications history. All subjects completed an extensive neuropsychological battery selected to asses premorbid IQ and different cognitive domains.

Gender and urban perceptions of nature and protected areas in Bañados del Este biosphere reserve.

Participation in conservation projects is key to the success and fair outcome of these initiatives, and perceptions of nature can affect the outcome of the participatory process. It has been argued that women hold different attitudes toward nature. Therefore an understanding of their perceptions and attitudes is vital.

Shear- and vibration-induced order-disorder transitions in granular media.

By molecular dynamics simulations we investigate the order-disorder transitions induced in granular media by an applied drive combining vibrations and shear. As the steady state is attained, the pack is found in disordered configurations for comparatively high intensities of the drive; conversely, ordering and packing fractions exceeding the random close packing are found when vibrations and shear are weak. As forcing amplitudes get smaller, we find diverging time scales in the dynamics, as the system enters a jamming region.

Cortical excitability is abnormal in patients with the "fixed dystonia" syndrome.

A form of fixed dystonia (FD) without evidence of basal ganglia lesions or neurodegeneration has been recently characterized (Schrag et al., Brain 2004;127:2360-2372), which may overlap the clinical spectrum of either complex regional pain syndrome or psychogenic dystonia. Transcranial magnetic stimulation studies in typically mobile dystonia revealed abnormal motor cortical excitability and sensori-motor integration.

Slow-growing melanoma: Report of five cases.

Background: Epidemiologic data on melanoma reveal a considerable increase in incidence, especially of the early forms (melanoma in situ and early invasive melanoma), but the mortality rates are relatively stable. These data suggest the hypothesis of the existence of a melanoma with less aggressive biological behaviour. This hypothesis is, however, hard to be proven if the assumption is true that more and less aggressive melanomas very often exhibit overlapping clinical and histopathologic features.

The natural history of Unverricht-Lundborg disease: a report of eight genetically proven cases.

We report eight cases of genetically proven ULD, with the aim of reassessing the clinical characteristics and natural history of ULD in genetically characterized patients. The eight patients had their first symptoms at mean age of 10.6 years (range: 6-14 years).

Relationship between early intestinal colonization, mucosal immunoglobulin A production and systemic immune development.

Background: Variations in early intestinal colonization patterns have been implicated in the predispostion to allergic disease through effects on mucosal and systemic immune function.

Methods: Colonization patterns and mucosal IgA production at 6 months of age were examined in relation to early exposures, systemic immune development and early allergic outcomes. This was performed in a cohort (n=189) who had received either Lactobacillus acidophilus or a placebo since birth.

Bilateral striatal necrosis, dystonia and multiple mitochondrial DNA deletions: case study and effect of deep brain stimulation.

Bilateral striatal necrosis (BSN) is relatively rare and has been related to a wide array of causes, including nuclear and mitochondrial DNA mutations. We report the clinical vignette of a patient with a 37 year-history of generalized dystonia secondary to BSN associated with multiple mitochondrial DNA deletions of undefined origin. Globus pallidus interna deep brain stimulation produced sustained benefit, with predominant improvements in disability.

Greenhouse gas mitigation in agriculture.

Agricultural lands occupy 37% of the earth's land surface. Agriculture accounts for 52 and 84% of global anthropogenic methane and nitrous oxide emissions. Agricultural soils may also act as a sink or source for CO2, but the net flux is small.

Quantitative measures of electrocardiographic left ventricular mass, conduction, and repolarization, and long-term survival after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Background: Quantitative ECG measures of left ventricular mass and repolarization predict outcome in population-based cohorts and patients with hypertension. We assessed the prognostic value of preoperative quantitative electrocardiography in patients who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting.

Methods And Results: For 6 years we followed 8166 patients who underwent primary isolated coronary artery bypass grafting between 1990 and 2003, all of whom had routine preoperative ECGs.

Long-term assessment of the risk of spread in primary late-onset focal dystonia.

Background: Primary late-onset focal dystonias may spread over time to adjacent body regions, but differences in the risk of spread over time among the various focal forms and the influence of age at dystonia onset on the risk of spread are not well established.

Methods: Patients presenting with primary late-onset focal blepharospasm (BSP, n = 124), cervical dystonia (CD, n = 73) and focal hand dystonia (FHD, n = 24) with 10 years or more of disease duration (mean +/- SD, 15.3 (SD 4.

Influence of coffee drinking and cigarette smoking on the risk of primary late onset blepharospasm: evidence from a multicentre case control study.

Prior coffee and smoking habits were investigated in a multicentre case control study involving 166 patients presenting with primary late onset blepharospasm (BSP), 228 hospital control patients with primary hemifacial spasm and 187 population control subjects from five Italian centres. Information on age at disease onset, smoking and coffee drinking status at the reference age and average number of cups of coffee drunk/cigarettes smoked per day reached high and similar test-retest reproducibility in case and control patients. Unadjusted logistic regression analysis yielded a significant inverse association of prior coffee drinking and cigarette smoking with case status for the control groups.

Cognitive and motor features in elderly people with bipolar disorder.

Background: Although elderly people will represent one third of the bipolar population in a few years, data about cognitive and motor features in these patients are very scarce. The aim of this study was to compare the cognitive and motor functioning between elderly euthymic patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and healthy controls, as well as to determine the degree of correlation with psychosocial functioning.

Methods: Euthymic older adults with BD (n=20) and healthy controls (n=20) were evaluated with traditional clinical instruments and measures of exposure to psychotropic drugs and extrapyramidal symptoms.