Publications by authors named "Masciocchi S"

Background And Objectives: Antibodies to proteolipid protein-1 (PLP1-IgG), a major central myelin protein also expressed in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) as the isoform DM20, have been previously identified mostly in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), with unclear clinical implications. However, most studies relied on nonconformational immunoassays and included few patients with non-MS CNS autoimmune demyelinating disorders (ADDs). We aimed to investigate conformational PLP1-IgG in the whole ADD spectrum.

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  • The Letter reports the most accurate measurement so far of the matter-antimatter imbalance during Pb-Pb collisions at a high energy level of 5.02 TeV.
  • It utilizes the Statistical Hadronization framework to determine precise values for the electric charge and baryon chemical potentials, μ_{Q} and μ_{B}.
  • The analysis of antiparticle-to-particle yield ratios shows that the collisions create a system that is generally baryon-free and electrically neutral at midrapidity.
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The ALICE Collaboration reports the measurement of semi-inclusive distributions of charged-particle jets recoiling from a high transverse momentum (high p_{T}) hadron trigger in proton-proton and central Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV. A data-driven statistical method is used to mitigate the large uncorrelated background in central Pb-Pb collisions.

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K^{+}K^{-} pairs may be produced in photonuclear collisions, either from the decays of photoproduced ϕ(1020) mesons or directly as nonresonant K^{+}K^{-} pairs. Measurements of K^{+}K^{-} photoproduction probe the couplings between the ϕ(1020) and charged kaons with photons and nuclear targets. The kaon-proton scattering occurs at energies far above those available elsewhere.

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Background: Cerebrospinal fluid myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein IgG (CSF MOG-IgG) are found in a proportion of patients with MOG antibody-associated disorder (MOGAD) and have been associated with severe disease presentations. However, most studies did not systematically investigate the role of MOG-IgG intrathecal synthesis (ITS).

Methods: We retrospectively studied 960 consecutive patients with paired serum and CSF samples screened for MOG-IgG using a live cell-based assays.

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  • - This Letter discusses the measurement of ridge yields from charged hadron angular correlations in proton-proton collisions at a high energy of 13 TeV, specifically within certain pseudorapidity and transverse momentum ranges.
  • - The research extends ridge yield measurements to low charged-particle multiplicity regions, where typically a strong interacting medium is not expected to form during collisions.
  • - Findings indicate that ridge yields in pp collisions are significantly higher than those observed in e^{+}e^{-} collisions, suggesting that processes in e^{+}e^{-} annihilations do not significantly influence long-range correlations in proton-proton interactions.
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  • The ALICE detector measured the cross section for incoherent photonuclear production of J/ψ vector mesons, focusing on the Mandelstam |t| variable, during ultraperipheral collisions of Pb nuclei at a very high energy of 5.02 TeV.
  • The measurement was conducted within a rapidity interval of |y|<0.8 and covers a specific range of Bjorken-x values.
  • Analysis showed that models without quantum fluctuations in the gluon density predicted a much steeper |t|-dependence than observed, but including these fluctuations improved the models' alignment with the data.
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Autoimmune encephalitis is a relatively novel nosological entity characterized by an immune-mediated damage of the central nervous system. While originally described as a paraneoplastic inflammatory phenomenon affecting limbic structures, numerous instances of non-paraneoplastic pathogenesis, as well as extra-limbic involvement, have been characterized. Given the wide spectrum of insidious clinical presentations ranging from cognitive impairment to psychiatric symptoms or seizures, it is crucial to raise awareness about this disease category.

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The production of the ψ(2S) charmonium state was measured with ALICE in Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV, in the dimuon decay channel. A significant signal was observed for the first time at LHC energies down to zero transverse momentum, at forward rapidity (2.

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Background: Live cell-based assay (LCBA) is the gold standard for MOG-IgG detection, and fixed CBA (FCBA) is a widely used commercial alternative. Recent criteria attributed a diagnostic value to MOG-IgG titration with both LCBA and FCBA, with low-titre samples requiring additional supporting features for MOGAD diagnosis. However, FCBA titration is not validated.

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  • Understanding how parton mass and Casimir color factors affect heavy quark emissions is key to studying quantum chromodynamics (QCD).
  • This research presents the first experimental constraint on the charm-quark splitting function, obtained through measurements in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV.
  • Findings indicate that charm quarks show a steeper splitting function compared to gluons and light quarks, experiencing fewer emissions with a lower likelihood of large-angle emissions.
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Autoimmune encephalitis (AE) is a group of inflammatory conditions that can associate with the presence of antibodies directed to neuronal intracellular, or cell surface antigens. These disorders are increasingly recognized as an important differential diagnosis of infectious encephalitis and of other common neuropsychiatric conditions. Autoantibody diagnostics plays a pivotal role for accurate diagnosis of AE, which is of utmost importance for the prompt recognition and early treatment.

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The most precise measurements to date of the _{Λ}^{3}H lifetime τ and Λ separation energy B_{Λ} are obtained using the data sample of Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV collected by ALICE at the LHC. The _{Λ}^{3}H is reconstructed via its charged two-body mesonic decay channel (_{Λ}^{3}H→^{3}He+π^{-} and the charge-conjugate process).

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Background And Objectives: Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) antibodies can associate with an astrocytopathy often presenting as a meningoencephalitis. Visual involvement has been reported but scarcely defined. We describe 2 cases of GFAP astrocytopathy with predominant visual symptoms and present a systematic review of the literature.

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  • * A notable negative correlation between the production of antiprotons and antideuterons was found across various collision centralities.
  • * Comparisons with theoretical models show that while a coalescence calculation explains certain statistical features, it struggles with the specifics of antiproton-antideuteron correlations, whereas thermal-statistical models can align with observations but imply different correlation volumes.
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The transverse-momentum (p_{T}) spectra and coalescence parameters B_{2} of (anti)deuterons are measured in p-p collisions at sqrt[s]=13  TeV for the first time in and out of jets. In this measurement, the direction of the leading particle with the highest p_{T} in the event (p_{T}^{lead}>5  GeV/c) is used as an approximation for the jet axis. The event is consequently divided into three azimuthal regions, and the jet signal is obtained as the difference between the toward region, that contains jet fragmentation products in addition to the underlying event (UE), and the transverse region, which is dominated by the UE.

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We study the polarization of inclusive J/ψ produced in Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV at the LHC in the dimuon channel, via the measurement of the angular distribution of its decay products. We perform the study in the rapidity region 2.

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Aim: Nodopathies and paranodopathies are autoimmune neuropathies associated with antibodies to nodal-paranodal antigens (neurofascin 140/186 and 155, contactin-1, contactin-associated protein 1 [Caspr1]) characterized by peculiar clinical features, poor response to standard immunotherapies (e.g., intravenous immunoglobulins, IVIg).

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It is well established that neurological and non-neurological autoimmune disorders can be triggered by viral infections. It remains unclear whether SARS-CoV-2 infection induces similar conditions and whether they show a distinctive phenotype. We retrospectively identified patients with acute inflammatory CNS conditions referred to our laboratory for antibody testing during the pandemic (March 1 to August 31, 2020).

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  • IgG antibodies against myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG-IgG) are linked to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein associated disorders (MOGAD), which may flare up over time, but there's limited info on predicting these relapses.* -
  • This study analyzed 102 MOGAD patients by measuring MOG-IgG titres over time and found that higher titres during remission indicated a greater risk of future relapses.* -
  • The findings suggest that monitoring MOG-IgG levels could help identify patients who might need long-term treatment to prevent relapse, especially those with persistent positivity or high remission titres.*
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The study of nuclei and antinuclei production has proven to be a powerful tool to investigate the formation mechanism of loosely bound states in high-energy hadronic collisions. The first measurement of the production of _{Λ}^{3}H in p-Pb collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV is presented in this Letter.

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The approval of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) led to an improvement in the treatment of several types of cancer. The main targets of these drugs are cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and programmed cell death protein-1/programmed death-ligand 1 pathway (PD-1/PD-L1), which are important inhibitory molecules for the immune system. Besides being generally safer than common chemotherapy, the use of ICIs has been associated with several immune-related adverse effects (irAEs).

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The polarization of the Λ and Λ[over ¯] hyperons along the beam (z) direction, P_{z}, has been measured in Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV recorded with ALICE at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The main contribution to P_{z} comes from elliptic flow-induced vorticity and can be characterized by the second Fourier sine coefficient P_{z,s2}=⟨P_{z}sin(2φ-2Ψ_{2})⟩, where φ is the hyperon azimuthal emission angle and Ψ_{2} is the elliptic flow plane angle.

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  • This article discusses the analysis of groomed jet substructure in proton-proton (pp) and lead-lead (Pb-Pb) collisions using the ALICE detector at a collision energy of 5.02 TeV.
  • The study employs a soft drop grooming algorithm to isolate hard parton splittings and measures the groomed jet momentum splitting fraction and radius, revealing distinct behavior in jet structure under different collision conditions.
  • Notably, a narrowing of the groomed jet radius distribution in Pb-Pb collisions suggests changes in jet angular structure due to quark-gluon plasma, while no significant differences are observed in momentum splitting fractions, contributing valuable insights into jet energy-loss mechanisms.
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Introduction: Previous studies reported increased plasma levels of cystatin C (Cys-C) in Parkinson's disease (PD) and claimed for a possible association with disease severity and progression. The aim of this study was to evaluate plasma Cys-C in PD and healthy controls (HC) and test its association with markers of peripheral inflammation, neurodegeneration, and clinical progression in a longitudinal study.

Methods: Plasma Cys-C, high-sensitive C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, and neurofilament light chain (NfL) were assessed at the baseline in 71 consecutive non-demented PD and 69 HC.

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