University of Udine

About: University of Udine is a education organization based out in Udine, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Large Hadron Collider. The organization has 6745 authors who have published 20530 publications receiving 669088 citations. The organization is also known as: Università degli Studi di Udine & Universita degli Studi di Udine.

Neuroanatomical substrates of action perception and understanding: an anatomic likelihood estimation meta-analysis of lesion-symptom mapping studies in brain injured patients

Abstract: Several neurophysiologic and neuroimaging studies suggested that motor and perceptual systems are tightly linked along a continuum rather than providing segregated mechanisms supporting different functions. Using correlational approaches, these studies demonstrated that action observation activates not only visual but also motor brain regions. On the other hand, brain stimulation and brain lesion evidence allows tackling the critical question of whether our action representations are necessary to perceive and understand others’ actions. In particular, recent neuropsychological studies have shown that patients with temporal, parietal, and frontal lesions exhibit a number of possible deficits in the visual perception and the understanding of others’ actions. The specific anatomical substrates of such neuropsychological deficits however, are still a matter of debate. Here we review the existing literature on this issue and perform an anatomic likelihood estimation meta-analysis of studies using lesion-symptom mapping methods on the causal relation between brain lesions and non-linguistic action perception and understanding deficits. The meta-analysis encompassed data from 361 patients tested in 11 studies and identified regions in the inferior frontal cortex, the inferior parietal cortex and the middle/superior temporal cortex, whose damage is consistently associated with poor performance in action perception and understanding tasks across studies. Interestingly, these areas correspond to the three nodes of the action observation network that are strongly activated in response to visual action perception in neuroimaging research and that have been targeted in previous brain stimulation studies. Thus, brain lesion mapping research provides converging causal evidence that premotor, parietal and temporal regions play a crucial role in action recognition and understanding.

New insights on non-enzymatic glycosylation may lead to therapeutic approaches for the prevention of diabetic complications.

Abstract: It is generally accepted that chronic hyperglycaemia is responsible for most of the long-term complications of diabetes. Several studies suggest that accelerated non-enzymatic glycosylation may be the underlying mechanism by which hyperglycaemia causes complications. More recently, glucose auto-oxidation has been linked to non-enzymatic glycosylation, and glycosylated proteins have been shown to be a source of free radicals. These findings suggest the possibility that oxidative stress may be related to the development of diabetic complications. Anti-oxidants such as vitamins C and E have recently been demonstrated to reduce protein glycosylation both in vivo and in vitro. In addition they also act as scavengers of free radicals generated by non-enzymatic glycosylation of protein. These findings may lead to new therapeutic approaches for the prevention of complications by limiting the damage caused by non-enzymatic glycosylation and oxidant stress. Such therapies may also be useful in complementing existing treatment in those with the long-term complications of diabetes.

Search for New Particles in Two-Jet Final States in 7 TeV Proton-Proton Collisions with the ATLAS Detector at the LHC

Abstract: A search for new heavy particles manifested as resonances in two-jet final states is presented. The data were produced in 7 TeV proton-proton collisions by the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 315 nb(-1) collected by the ATLAS detector. No resonances were observed. Upper limits were set on the product of cross section and signal acceptance for excited-quark (q*) production as a function of q* mass. These exclude at the 95% C. L. the q* mass interval 0: 30< m(q)*< 1:26 TeV, extending the reach of previous experiments.