Effects of naltrexone on neural and subjective response to alcohol in treatment-seeking alcohol-dependent patients.

Background: Positively reinforcing properties of alcohol are in part mediated by activation of the ventral striatum (VS). Alcohol-induced release of endogenous opioids is thought to contribute to this response. Preclinical studies show that the opioid antagonist naltrexone (NTX) can block this cascade, but its ability to do so in treatment-seeking alcoholics has not been examined.

A pilot study on behavioral and cognitive effects of Cognitive Stimulation Training based on 3R Mental Stimulation. The Treviso Dementia (TREDEM) Study.

Objectives: Cognitive Stimulation (CS) trainings are non-pharmacological treatments widely used in dementia care. 3R Mental Stimulation is a particular type of CS, which consists of sequential association of ROT, Reminiscence and Remotivation during the same session. This pilot study sought to investigate whether CS, based on 3R program, could benefit cognitive functions, autonomy and behavioral disorders.

The corticotropin releasing hormone-1 (CRH1) receptor antagonist pexacerfont in alcohol dependence: a randomized controlled experimental medicine study.

Extensive preclinical data implicate corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), acting through its CRH1 receptor, in stress- and dependence-induced alcohol seeking. We evaluated pexacerfont, an orally available, brain penetrant CRH1 antagonist for its ability to suppress stress-induced alcohol craving and brain responses in treatment seeking alcohol-dependent patients in early abstinence. Fifty-four anxious alcohol-dependent participants were admitted to an inpatient unit at the NIH Clinical Center, completed withdrawal treatment, and were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study with pexacerfont (300 mg/day for 7 days, followed by 100 mg/day for 23 days).

Evidence of b-jet quenching in PbPb collisions at √(s(NN))=2.76 TeV.

The production of jets associated to bottom quarks is measured for the first time in PbPb collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 2.76 TeV per nucleon pair. Jet spectra are reported in the transverse momentum (p(T)) range of 80-250  GeV/c, and within pseudorapidity |η|<2.

Differential diagnosis of usual interstitial pneumonia: when is it truly idiopathic?

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), the most common and lethal of the idiopathic interstitial pneumonias, is defined by a radiological and/or pathological pattern of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP). However, UIP is not synonymous with IPF as other clinical conditions may be associated with UIP, including chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis, collagen vascular disease, drug toxicity, asbestosis, familial IPF and Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome. Differentiating IPF ("idiopathic UIP") from conditions that mimic IPF ("secondary UIP") has substantial therapeutic and prognostic implications.

Measurement of the Bs(0)→μ+ μ- branching fraction and search for B(0)→μ+ μ- with the CMS experiment.

Results are presented from a search for the rare decays Bs(0)→μ+ μ- and B(0)→μ+ μ- in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7 and 8 TeV, with data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of 5 and 20  fb(-1), respectively, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. An unbinned maximum-likelihood fit to the dimuon invariant mass distribution gives a branching fraction B(Bs(0)→μ+ μ-)=(3.0(-0.

The value of chest radiograph and computed tomography in pulmonary sarcoidosis.

Imaging makes a significant contribution to the diagnosis, prognosis and follow-up in sarcoidosis. Despite its increasing use, the role of computed tomography (CT) scanning in patients with known or suspected pulmonary sarcoidosis is still undefined. This review aims to compare the utility and limitations of chest radiograph and CT in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, with regards to the most critical clinical issues such as the diagnostic sensitivity, the differential diagnosis, and the prediction of the disease reversibility.

The neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist aprepitant in co-morbid alcohol dependence and posttraumatic stress disorder: a human experimental study.

Rationale: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcoholism are frequently comorbid, suggesting the possibility of overlapping neural substrates. The neurokinin 1 (NK1) receptor for substance P (SP) has been implicated in both stress- and alcohol-related behaviors. The NK1 antagonist aprepitant, clinically available as a treatment for chemotherapy-induced nausea, offers a tool to probe a potential role of the SP/NK1 system in comorbid PTSD and alcoholism.

Multidimensional prognostic index in a cognitive impairment outpatient setting: mortality and hospitalizations. The Treviso Dementia (TREDEM) study.

Background: The Multidimensional Prognostic Index (MPI) based on a comprehensive geriatric assessment has been developed to predict mortality in hospitalized elderly patients. The Treviso Dementia (TREDEM) Study is an observational prospective cohort study of 1,364 outpatients evaluated at the Cognitive Impairment Center in Treviso, Italy from 2000 to January 2010.

Objective: To use the MPI in the TREDEM outpatient setting to assess the correlation of MPI with mortality and hospitalizations for acute cases that occurred after the date of assessment.

Genetics of sarcoidosis.

Sarcoidosis is a multifactorial and polygenic disorder. Recently, several novel predisposing genes have been identified by genome-wide association studies, and fast progress in molecular technologies such as systematic and large-scale resequencing will aid the discovery of further risk loci and variants. In this article, the current knowledge of its genetics will be presented, including known and candidate risk variants and loci, with a focus on loci in the human leukocyte antigen region.

Observation of the associated production of a single top quark and a W boson in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 8 TeV.

The first observation of the associated production of a single top quark and a W boson is presented. The analysis is based on a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 12.2 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s] = 8 TeV recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC.

Pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and its clinical implications.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common and lethal form of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia. The disease is thought to arise following an aberrant reparative response to recurrent alveolar epithelial cell injury leading to progressive loss of function. The median survival time is 3-5 years from diagnosis.

Measurements of tt spin correlations and top-quark polarization using dilepton final states in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7 TeV.

Spin correlations and polarization in the top quark-antiquark system are measured using dilepton final states produced in pp collisions at the LHC at sqrt[s]=7  TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.0  fb(-1) collected with the CMS detector.

Genetic determinants of pulmonary fibrosis: evolving concepts.

Interstitial lung diseases encompass a wide range of diffuse lung disorders that are often complicated by the development of pulmonary fibrosis and that can occur in isolation or in systemic diseases. In the past decade, availability of high-throughput genotyping and large collaborative clinical networks has led to the identification of many genetic variants associated with sporadic and familial fibrotic interstitial pneumonias. Susceptibility to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis seems to involve a combination of polymorphisms related to epithelial cell injury and dysfunction and abnormal wound healing, whereas chronic inflammation seems important in the development of pulmonary fibrosis in sarcoidosis or collagen vascular diseases such as systemic sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis; however, each of the disease-associated variants typically has a small effect and they are therefore not helpful in prediction of risk.

Search for top squark and Higgsino production using diphoton Higgs boson decays.

Results are presented of a search for a "natural" supersymmetry scenario with gauge mediated symmetry breaking. It is assumed that only the supersymmetric partners of the top quark (the top squark) and the Higgs boson (Higgsino) are accessible. Events are examined in which there are two photons forming a Higgs boson candidate, and at least two b-quark jets.

Usefulness of baseline activated clotting time-guided heparin administration in reducing bleeding events during transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the impact of baseline activated clotting time (ACT)-guided heparin administration on major bleeding after transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Background: Bleeding after TAVI is frequent and associated with unfavorable prognosis. Proper intraprocedural heparin dose administration may reduce the risk of potential overdosing in this frail study group.

Impact of mean platelet volume on combined safety endpoint and vascular and bleeding complications following percutaneous transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Background: Vascular and bleeding complications remain important complications in patients undergoing percutaneous transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TF-TAVI). Platelets play an important role in bleeding events. Mean platelet volume (MPV) is an indicator of platelet activation.