[Production of accentuated personality traits in baroque opera : Opera buffa Arcifanfano-Re dei matti (1749)]

BACKGROUND

Madness served primarily as a form of amusement for the spectators in operas of the seventeenth century. This representation was far removed from clinical reality. This circumstance changed in the eighteenth century at the time when tragic madness emerged in numerous operas.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The opera buffa Arcifanfano-Re dei matti (Arcifanfano-King of fools, premiered in 1749 in Venice, text by Carlo Goldoni 1707-1793 and music by Baldassare Galuppi 1706-1785), which continuously enacts a realm of fools and is meant to appear amusing, is riddled with psychopathological abnormalities for which a retrospective diagnosis is methodologically rejected. However, the opera presents many subjects for working out a typology of fools based on outlasting personality traits of the protagonists. The libretto is investigated. A musical analysis is spared.

RESULTS

The conceptualized typology of fools in the opera, which is oriented towards the seven main vices or deadly sins serves, in the tradition of moral satire, to critically hold up a mirror to the audience to reflect their own vices by an amusing characterization of the latter. Historically classified, the treatment of fools by means of isolation, custody, locking up in cages as well as authoritarian measures of submission reflects the custom in those days before humanizing the treatment of people with mental illness in the course of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.

CONCLUSION

The opera Arcifanfano is essentially characterized by continuous madness. A typology of the fools can be worked out from the precise depiction of the personalities. A mirror is held up to the spectators in terms of vices, in the tradition of the contemporary baroque opera. At the same time, the opera can be classified psychiatrically and historically as a seismograph of its time when in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries people with mental illness were isolated and incarcerated.

X-ray tests of a two-dimensional stigmatic imaging scheme with variable magnifications

A two-dimensional stigmatic x-ray imaging scheme, consisting of two spherically bent crystals, one concave and one convex, was recently proposed [M. Bitter et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 10E527 (2012)]. The Bragg angles and the radii of curvature of the two crystals of this imaging scheme are matched to eliminate the astigmatism and to satisfy the Bragg condition across both crystal surfaces for a given x-ray energy. In this paper, we consider more general configurations of this imaging scheme, which allow us to vary the magnification for a given pair of crystals and x-ray energy. The stigmatic imaging scheme has been validated for the first time by imaging x-rays generated by a micro-focus x-ray source with source size of 8.4 μm validated by knife-edge measurements. Results are presented from imaging the tungsten Lα1 emission at 8.3976 keV, using a convex Si-422 crystal and a concave Si-533 crystal with 2d-spacings of 2.21707 Å and 1.65635 Å and radii of curvature of 500 ± 1 mm and 823 ± 1 mm, respectively, showing a spatial resolution of 54.9 μm. This imaging scheme is expected to be of interest for the two-dimensional imaging of laser produced plasmas.

Feeding practice and influence on selected blood parameters in show jumping horses competing in Switzerland

The aim of this study was to compare the nutritional management of show jumping horses in practice with recommendations from the literature. Additionally, the effects of these feeding practices on several blood metabolic parameters before and after exercise were studied. Blood samples were collected in the field from 27 different horses at 71 trials on the level M1 to S2 show jumping competitions in Switzerland and questionnaires on feeding practice of the studied horses were evaluated. The questionnaires revealed that during training and on tournament days horses received on average 3.1 kg of concentrate per day (min. 2.0 kg, max. 6.6 kg) divided into two to three meals. The horses were fed on average 6.9 kg of roughage per day (min. 4.0 kg, max. 13.0 kg). Additionally, it was observed that the horses received the last meal on average 6 h 10 min (min. 1 h 50 min, max. 12 h 30 min) before the start of the first show jumping turn, respectively, 7 h 30 min (min 1 h 50 min, max. 13 h 0 min) before the second turn. Seven horses (35%) had access to hay waiting in the trailer between two turns. The statistical analysis revealed no significant influence of the concentrate feeding time point on lactate, triglyceride and insulin levels, but a significant influence on free fatty acids (FFA) and blood glucose concentrations. Roughage feeding of the show jumping horses 2-4 h prior to exercise revealed the most remarkable changes in blood parameters during the show jumping course. These results received under field conditions should be approved in future under standardized conditions.

Evidence for high-energy extraterrestrial neutrinos at the IceCube detector

We report on results of an all-sky search for high-energy neutrino events interacting within the IceCube neutrino detector conducted between May 2010 and May 2012. The search follows up on the previous detection of two PeV neutrino events, with improved sensitivity and extended energy coverage down to about 30 TeV. Twenty-six additional events were observed, substantially more than expected from atmospheric backgrounds. Combined, both searches reject a purely atmospheric origin for the 28 events at the 4σ level. These 28 events, which include the highest energy neutrinos ever observed, have flavors, directions, and energies inconsistent with those expected from the atmospheric muon and neutrino backgrounds. These properties are, however, consistent with generic predictions for an additional component of extraterrestrial origin.

Measurement of atmospheric neutrino oscillations with IceCube

We present the first statistically significant detection of neutrino oscillations in the high-energy regime (>20 GeV) from an analysis of IceCube Neutrino Observatory data collected in 2010 and 2011. This measurement is made possible by the low-energy threshold of the DeepCore detector (~20 GeV) and benefits from the use of the IceCube detector as a veto against cosmic-ray-induced muon background. The oscillation signal was detected within a low-energy muon neutrino sample (20-100 GeV) extracted from data collected by DeepCore. A high-energy muon neutrino sample (100 GeV-10 TeV) was extracted from IceCube data to constrain systematic uncertainties. The disappearance of low-energy upward-going muon neutrinos was observed, and the nonoscillation hypothesis is rejected with more than 5σ significance. In a two-neutrino flavor formalism, our data are best described by the atmospheric neutrino oscillation parameters |Δm(32)(2)|=(2.3(-0.5)(+0.6))×10(-3) eV(2) and sin(2)(2θ(23))>0.93, and maximum mixing is favored.

First observation of PeV-energy neutrinos with IceCube

We report on the observation of two neutrino-induced events which have an estimated deposited energy in the IceCube detector of 1.04±0.16 and 1.14±0.17 PeV, respectively, the highest neutrino energies observed so far. These events are consistent with fully contained particle showers induced by neutral-current ν(e,μ,τ) (ν(e,μ,τ)) or charged-current ν(e) (ν(e)) interactions within the IceCube detector. The events were discovered in a search for ultrahigh energy neutrinos using data corresponding to 615.9 days effective live time. The expected number of atmospheric background is 0.082±0.004(stat)(-0.057)(+0.041)(syst). The probability of observing two or more candidate events under the atmospheric background-only hypothesis is 2.9×10(-3) (2.8σ) taking into account the uncertainty on the expected number of background events. These two events could be a first indication of an astrophysical neutrino flux; the moderate significance, however, does not permit a definitive conclusion at this time.

Measurement of the atmospheric νe flux in IceCube

We report the first measurement of the atmospheric electron neutrino flux in the energy range between approximately 80 GeV and 6 TeV, using data recorded during the first year of operation of IceCube's DeepCore low-energy extension. Techniques to identify neutrinos interacting within the DeepCore volume and veto muons originating outside the detector are demonstrated. A sample of 1029 events is observed in 281 days of data, of which 496±66(stat)±88(syst) are estimated to be cascade events, including both electron neutrino and neutral current events. The rest of the sample includes residual backgrounds due to atmospheric muons and charged current interactions of atmospheric muon neutrinos. The flux of the atmospheric electron neutrinos is consistent with models of atmospheric neutrinos in this energy range. This constitutes the first observation of electron neutrinos and neutral current interactions in a very large volume neutrino telescope optimized for the TeV energy range.

Search for dark matter annihilations in the sun with the 79-string IceCube detector

We have performed a search for muon neutrinos from dark matter annihilation in the center of the Sun with the 79-string configuration of the IceCube neutrino telescope. For the first time, the DeepCore subarray is included in the analysis, lowering the energy threshold and extending the search to the austral summer. The 317 days of data collected between June 2010 and May 2011 are consistent with the expected background from atmospheric muons and neutrinos. Upper limits are set on the dark matter annihilation rate, with conversions to limits on spin-dependent and spin-independent scattering cross sections of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) on protons, for WIMP masses in the range 20-5000  GeV/c2. These are the most stringent spin-dependent WIMP-proton cross section limits to date above 35  GeV/c2 for most WIMP models.

A new scheme for stigmatic x-ray imaging with large magnification

This paper describes a new x-ray scheme for stigmatic imaging. The scheme consists of one convex spherically bent crystal and one concave spherically bent crystal. The radii of curvature and Bragg reflecting lattice planes of the two crystals are properly matched to eliminate the astigmatism, so that the conditions for stigmatic imaging are met for a particular wavelength. The magnification is adjustable and solely a function of the two Bragg angles or angles of incidence. Although the choice of Bragg angles is constrained by the availability of crystals, this is not a severe limitation for the imaging of plasmas, since a particular wavelength can be selected from the bremsstrahlung continuum. The working principle of this imaging scheme has been verified with visible light. Further tests with x rays are planned for the near future.

Force-conductance correlation in individual molecular junctions

Conducting atomic force microscopy is an attractive approach enabling the correlation of mechanical and electrical properties in individual molecular junctions. Here we report on measurements of gold-gold and gold-octanedithiol-gold junctions. We introduce two-dimensional histograms in the form of scatter plots to better analyze the correlation between force and conductance. In this representation, the junction-forming octanedithiol compounds lead to a very clear step in the force-conductance data, which is not observed for control monothiol compounds. The conductance found for octanedithiols is in agreement with the idea that junction conductance is dominated by a single molecule.

A survey on the feeding of eventing horses during competition

This study aims at the comparison of the actual feeding of horses with the recommendations from the literature, and it studies the effects of feeding and exercise on several blood metabolic parameters before and after exercise. Blood samples were collected from 25 horses during one-star eventing competitions and evaluated for blood glucose, insulin, lactate, free fatty acids and triglyceride levels. Questionnaires on the feeding practices of the horses were evaluated. The questionnaires revealed that during training, and on tournament days, horses received on average 4.3 kg of concentrate per day (min. 1.54 kg, max. 8 kg). The statistical analysis showed no significant effect of the amount of concentrate fed before exercise on the measured blood values. Oil was supplied as a supplementary energy source to 30% of the horses, but most of them only received very small quantities (0.02-0.4 l/day). Five horses (20%) had no access to salt supplements at all, and eleven horses (45%) had no access to salt on tournament days. Fifteen horses (60%) were supplied with mineral feed. Twenty-one horses (84%) had daily access to pasture during the training period. During competition, 55% of the horses received roughage ad libitum, compared with 37% during training. The majority of the horses received less roughage on days before the cross-country competition. It could not be ascertained whether feeding a large amounts of roughage had a beneficial effect on performance, because only a few horses in this study were fed with very restrictive roughage. Feeding of most of the horses was in agreement with the recommendations from the literature, except the need for sodium and chloride. The sodium and chloride need for sport horses may be overestimated in literature and needs to be re-evaluated.

Ranavirus: past, present and future

Emerging infectious diseases are a significant threat to global biodiversity. While historically overlooked, a group of iridoviruses in the genus Ranavirus has been responsible for die-offs in captive and wild amphibian, reptile and fish populations around the globe over the past two decades. In order to share contemporary information on ranaviruses and identify critical research directions, the First International Symposium on Ranaviruses was held in July 2011 in Minneapolis, MN, USA. Twenty-three scientists and veterinarians from nine countries examined the ecology and evolution of ranavirus-host interactions, potential reservoirs, transmission dynamics, as well as immunological and histopathological responses to infection. In addition, speakers discussed possible mechanisms for die-offs, and conservation strategies to control outbreaks.

Decreased apoptosis despite severe CD4 depletion in the thymus of a human immunodeficiency virus-1 infected child

Thymic epithelial space (TES), where thymopoiesis is located, and thymic perivascular space (PVS), where T lymphocytes are pooled, appear differentially involved in human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1)-infected children. The decline of CD4+ T cells during HIV-1 infection is probably due to a relative predominance of CD4+ T cell destruction on cell proliferation. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) typically increases circulating CD4+ T cell counts, but it is debated whether ART reduces the destruction of existing CD4+ T cells or enhances the production of new cells. We report on postmortem flow-cytometry, immunohistochemistry, and terminal deoxynucleotide transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) studies performed on thymus of an 11-year-old vertically HIV-1 infected child receiving ART. Thymus tissue sections showed that CD4+ and CD8+ cells were more numerous in PVS than in TES (p=0.0334 for CD4+ cells, p<0.0001 for CD8+ cells). Thymus cell suspension showed that CD4+ CD8+ cells (immature thymocytes) were 15.4% (age-related control: 80.5%). Very few apoptotic CD4+ cells were seen in TES. Very low to absent proliferation activity was demonstrated in both TES and PVS. We suggest that 1) lymphocyte depletion in HIV-1 infection is more pronounced in TES than in PVS, 2) immature thymocytes are not enhanced, and 3) an anti-apoptotic effect in the thymus seems to be a potential ART mechanism to explain the CD4+ pool increase.

[Long-term efficacy of second-line treatment of HIV infection after class change following virological failure on protease inhibitor-based therapy]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

While there are evidence-based recommendations for the initial combination antiretroviral treatment (cART) of HIV infection, there are no comparative studies on long-term efficacy of different second-line strategies after initial virological failure. The aim of this study was to compare different second-line strategies after virological failure of an initial protease inhibitor (PI) based regimen, specifically the comparison between change to a different PI and class change to a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This cohort study retrospectively analyzed patient data documented for the Clinical Surveillance of HIV Disease project (ClinSurv) between 1999 and 2008, run by the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, Germany. Follow-up data for at least three months of a treatment switch after virological failure of the first-line regimen were available for 157 patients out of the 14,377 patients in the ClinSurv cohort. Eighty-four (54%) of these had a PI-based first-line regimen and were therefore included into the analysis. Fifty-one (61%) of the 84 patients were switched to a different PI (group 1), 33 (39%) to a NNRTI (group 2). Primary end points were the probability of virological failure of the second-line regimen, the duration of a successful second-line regimen and the time to suppression of viral load below the level of detectability.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in the median time to virological suppression with 88 days in group 1 and 57 days in group 2 (p = 0.16). After > 3,000 days more than 50% of patients in group 2 (class switch to NNRTI) were still on an effective regimen, their risk of virologic failure thus was significantly lower than in group 1 (switch to a different PI), where the median duration of second-line therapy was only 581 days. Multivariate Cox regression analysis did not identify any of the available covariates as significant predictors of duration of the second-line treatment or as confounders. For group 1, with patients switching within the PI class, there was a more than two-fold risk of virological failure during the time of observation (HR = 2.3; 95%CI 1.1 - 4.9; p = 0.03).

CONCLUSION

Class switch to a NNRTI as opposed to changing to a different PI following virological failure of a PI-based first-line regimen is associated with significantly better durability of the second-line regimen.