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By assuming that ultra dense hybrid neutron stars are endowed with a distribution of electric charge, we study the corresponding twin star solutions and their properties resulting from a sharp first order transition from confined hadronic to a deconfined quark phase. Two distinct quark matter equations of state with increasing stiffness are considered and the values for the maximum gravitational masses of the hadronic and hybrid twin configurations are obtained for different values of the total electric charge. Interestingly, our calculations indicate that sharp transitions make charged twin hybrid stars more massive than their neutral counterparts, and that the {$\SI{2}{M_{\odot}}$ constraint from PSR J0740+6620} is surpassed for standard values of electric charge and can be considered stable only satisfying $\partial M/\partial \epsilon_0 > 0$. In particular, our charged stellar models reach masses even higher than the unknown compact object measured in the GW190814 event., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. Improved version to be published in EPJC

The description of the heaviest neutron stars observed in Nature depends on the understanding of the physical concepts present in General Relativity and Quantum Chromodynamics. In this work, we review the basic concepts need to describe strange stars, constituted by up, down and strange quarks, which is one of the possible alternatives to describe the general properties of the most dense neutron stars. We will review the Bodmer-Witten-Terazawa hypothesis, which states that strange matter is absolutely stable in relation to ordinary nuclear matter, and discuss the basic properties that characterize strange stars. Our goal is to present the necessary concepts to understand this important theme of Astroparticles., Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures. Text in Portuguese. To be published in Revista Brasileira de Ensino de Fisica

Background: Obesity is a well-established risk factor for venous thromboembolic events, such as pulmonary emoblism and deep vein thrombosis. The rising prevalence of obesity and its associated co-morbidities, including VTE, represent a growing public health issue. Bariatric surgery has been widely validated as an effective method of achieving weight reduction in patients with obesity. However, the impact of this weight loss on the long-term risk of thromboembolic events has yet to be explored. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of bariatric surgery on long-term risk of venous thromboembolic events in a large cohort of patients with obesity. Methods: A nested cohort study was designed; including the 4,056 patients of the Clinical Practice Research Datalink database who had undergone bariatric surgery, and equal numbers of age, gender and BMI matched controls. The primary endpoint of the study was the occurrence of any venous thromboembolic event; with secondary endpoints of deep vein thrombosis alone, pulmonary embolism alone and all-cause mortality. A landmark analysis was carried out to describe and quantify the time-dependent pattern of thromboembolic risk in the initial three years following bariatric surgery. Data was analysed using a Cox proportional hazards model accounting for multiple covariates. Results: Patients were followed up for a median of 10·7 years. The bariatric surgery cohort had a significantly lower occurrence of the primary outcome (HR 0·601; 95%CI 0·430-0·841, p=0·003); mainly driven by a reduction in deep vein thrombosis (HR 0·523; 95% CI 0·349-0·783, p=0·002) and not in pumonary embolism (HR 0·882; 95% CI 0·511-1.521, p=0·651). Conclusion: The results of this nation-wide investigation set out to characterise the impact of bariatric surgery on long-term risk of thromboembolic events in patients with obesity outline a significant reduction in thromboembolic events, driven by a reduction in deep vein thrombosis only.

Electrocardiographic algorithms are particularly useful to differentiate, in the presence of a wide complex tachycardia, between supraventricular aberrancy and ventricular tachycardias (VT). There are numerous limitations to the sensitivity and specificity of these algorithms including the presence of accessory pathways, use of antiarrhythmic drugs, congenital heart diseases, electrolytes impairments, and artificial pacing. Once the diagnosis of VT has been reached, other algorithms can help in localizing the origin of the ventricular arrhythmia. These approaches are also limited by the anatomic structure of where the arrhythmia originates. This article illustrates the difficulties in applying common algorithms in many clinical circumstances.

Background: To report health-related quality of life outcomes as assessed by validated patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) after radical prostatectomy (RP). ­Methods: This study analyzed patients treated with RP within The PROState cancer monitoring in Italy, from the National Research Council (Pros-IT CNR). Italian versions of Short-Form Heath Survey and university of California los Angeles-prostate cancer index questionnaires were administered. PROMs were physical composite scores, mental composite scores and urinary, bowel, sexual functions and bothers (UF/B, BF/B, SF/B). Baseline unbalances were controlled with propensity scores and stabilized inverse weights; differences in PROMs between different RP approaches were estimated by mixed models. Results: Of 541 patients treated with RP, 115 (21%) received open RP (ORP), 90 (17%) laparoscopic RP (LRP) and 336 (61%) robot-assisted RP (RARP). At head-to-head ­comparisons, RARP showed higher 12-month UF vs. LRP (interaction treatment * time p = 0.03) and 6-month SF vs. ORP (p < 0.001). At 12-month from surgery, 67, 73 and 79% of patients used no pad for urinary loss in ORP, LRP and RARP respectively (no differences for each comparison). Conversely, 16, 27 and 40% of patients declared erections firm enough for sexual intercourse in ORP, LRP and RARP respectively (only significant difference for ORP vs. RARP, p = 0.0004). Conclusions: Different RP approaches lead to significant variations in urinary and sexual PROMs, with a general trend in favour of RARP. However, their clinical significance seems limited.

Tiziana Montemurro, Mariele Viganò, Silvia Budelli, Elisa Montelatici, Cristiana Lavazza, Luigi Marino, Valentina Parazzi, Lorenza Lazzari, Rosaria GiordanoCell Factory, Unit of Cell Therapy and Cryobiology, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano, ItalyAbstract: In the 21st century scenario, new therapeutic tools are needed to take up the social and medical challenge posed by the more and more frequent degenerative disorders and by the aging of population. The recent category of advanced therapy medicinal products has been created to comprise cellular, gene therapy, and tissue engineered products, as a new class of drugs. Their manufacture requires the same pharmaceutical framework as for conventional drugs and this means that industrial, large-scale manufacturing process has to be adapted to the peculiar characteristics of cell-containing products. Our hospital took up the challenge of this new path in the early 2000s; and herein we describe the approach we followed to set up a pharmaceutical-grade facility in a public hospital context, with the aim to share the solutions we found to make cell therapy compliant with the requirements for the production and the quality control of a high-standard medicinal product.Keywords: advanced therapy medicinal product, good manufacturing practices, stem cells

Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) is a rare neurodegenerative disease whose etiopathogenesis remains elusive. The intraneuronal accumulation of hyperphosphorylated Tau, a pivotal protein in regulating microtubules (MT), leads to include PSP into tauopathies. Pathological hallmarks are well known in neural cells but no word yet if PSP‐linked dysfunctions occur also in other cell types. We focused on bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) that have recently gained attention for therapeutic interventions due to their anti‐inflammatory, antiapoptotic and trophic properties. Here, we aimed to investigate MSCs biology and to disclose if any disease‐linked defect occurs in this non‐neuronal compartment. First, we found that cells obtained from patients showed altered morphology and growth. Next, Western blotting analysis unravelled the imbalance in α‐tubulin post‐translational modifications and in MT stability. Interestingly, MT mass is significantly decreased in patient cells at baseline and differently changes overtime compared to controls, suggesting their inability to efficiently remodel MT cytoskeleton during ageing in culture. Thus, our results provide the first evidence that defects in MT regulation and stability occur and are detectable in a non‐neuronal compartment in patients with PSP. We suggest that MSCs could be a novel model system for unravelling cellular processes implicated in this neurodegenerative disorder.

The Preface to the volume Hagiography in Anglo-Saxon England: Adopting and Adapting Saints’ Lives into Old English Prose describes the contents of the essays within the aims of the larger project on Anglo-Saxon and early Middle English hagiography

The purpose of this registry is to report the immediate and long-term safety and efficacy of the Biotronik Orsiro stent in an unselected population during everyday practice.Between May 2012 and June 2013, 246 consecutive coronary angioplasty procedures were performed using at least one Orsiro drug-eluting stent, in 225 patients and 303 lesions.Diabetes was present in 34.7% of patients. Procedures were non-elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in 17.1% of cases and acute coronary syndromes were 55.1%. Radial vascular access was used in 78% of cases, multivessel PCI was performed in 19.5% of the procedures. In 81.6% of cases lesions were B2/C type, 20.7% of procedures had bifurcation lesions. Procedural success was 99.6%. No acute thrombosis occurred. Clinical follow-up median period was 24.3 (±8.28) months and FU was available in 93.7% of patients. Death for any cause occurred in 11 patients (5.2%), 6 of them were non cardiac-related. Cardiac-related death rate was 2.4%. Two patients had in-stent restenosis. The overall target lesion failure rate was 3.3%.This observational data regards our experience with Biotronik Orsiro stent in an unselected population. This initial data, although limited by a mainly clinical follow-up and restricted number of patients, confirms the good clinical performance of this sirolimus-eluting stent with a biodegradable polymer in everyday practice, including complex lesions, according to current larger studies in the literature.

To assess cathodic protection criteria in the presence of alternating current (AC) interference, weight loss testson cathodically protected carbon steel specimens were performed in soil-simulated conditions in the presenceof AC densities ranging from 10 to about 500 A/m2. Tests last for four months. Carbon steel potential wasperiodically monitored by means of a Luggin capillary in order to eliminate the ohmic drop contribution and torecord the true polarization level of the polarised carbon steel samples. At the end of the test weight loss wasevaluated. On the basis of the results, a corrosion risk map is proposed. Main conclusion is that overprotectionis the most dangerous condition in the presence of AC interference.

La corrosione delle armature è la principale causa di degrado delle strutture in calcestruzzo armato. La suaprevenzione si attua in primo luogo in fase di progettazione mediante l’utilizzo di calcestruzzo di adeguataqualità e spessore di copriferro opportuno. In presenza di ambienti particolarmente aggressivi o per struttureche richiedano una vita di servizio particolarmente lunga, è possibile adottare metodi di prevenzione aggiuntivatra i quali gli inibitori di corrosione offrono una soluzione semplice ed a costi contenuti. Gli inibitori di corrosionepossono essere utilizzati sia come tecnica preventiva, qualora siano aggiunti durante l’impasto del calcestruzzo,sia come sistema di ripristino se applicati sul calcestruzzo indurito. In questa memoria sono presentati i risultatidella sperimentazione relativa all’utilizzo di inibitori di corrosione per calcestruzzo che si è sviluppata negli ultimi15 anni presso PoliLaPP, Laboratorio di corrosione dei materiali “P. Pedeferri” del Politecnico di Milano.

DIffusione e intrappolamento dell'idrogeno in acciai per condotteG. Fumagalli, L. Lazzari, F. Bolzoni, G. Re, E. Fallahmohammadi

La memoria riporta i risultati di prove di laboratorio su una sonda di potenziale con elettrodo di zincoincorporato. Il lavoro sperimentale è suddiviso in due parti. Nella prima, sono state effettuate prove al finedi mettere a punto la composizione di un opportuno backfill per l’elettrodo di zinco. Sono stateeffettuate misure d’assorbimento d’acqua, di conducibilità elettrica e di perdita di massa su miscele a basedi gesso e altri additivi aggiunti per migliorare le proprietà igroscopiche del backfill, limitando allo stessotempo il dilavamento del gesso. Nella seconda parte, sono state fatte prove su una sonda prototipo perverificare la stabilità dell’elettrodo di zinco durante la misura in continuo del potenziale in condizioni diprotezione catodica in ambienti a diversa secchezza.

SUMMARY Minimally-invasive autologous fat injection of the head and neck region can be considered a valid alternative to major invasive surgical procedures both for aesthetic and functional purposes. The favourable outcomes of autologous fat injection in otolaryngological practice are due to the filling of soft tissue and, mainly, to the potential regenerative effect of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells. Herewith, some important biological preliminary remarks are described underlying the potential of autologous fat injection in regenerative medicine, and personal experience in using it for both consolidated clinical applications, such as fat grafting to the face and vocal fold augmentation in the treatment of glottic incompetence, and more recent applications including the treatment of post-parotidectomy Frey syndrome and velopharyngeal insufficiency.

Le recenti attivazioni delle linee ad alta velocità/alta capacità (AV/AC), elettrificate con un sistema dialimentazione a 25kV e 50 Hz con autotrasformatori (2×25kV), all'interno della rete ferroviariaitaliana convenzionale, alimentata a 3kV in corrente continua, fanno sì che l’ipotesi disovrapposizione di interferenze di corrente continua e alternata su strutture metalliche interrate siadiventata, in Italia, una realtà oggettiva da investigare. Da novembre 2008 sono in corso, in collaborazionecon l’Istituto Sperimentale RFI di Roma, prove di corrosione libera e di protezione catodica su provini inacciaio al carbonio interrati presso il campo prove allestito da RFI al km 91 del tratto Roma-Napoli della lineaalta velocità/alta capacità Milano-Napoli. Scopo delle prove è verificare l’effetto dell’interferenza da correntealternata sulla velocità di corrosione e sul livello di protezione al fine di definire le soglie critiche e icriteri di protezione da adottare in presenza di tale tipologia di interferenza elettrica.

La memoria illustra le indagini e le metodologie impiegate per la stima delle condizioni di corrosionedi tubazioni interrate in presenza di correnti vaganti disperse da impianti di trazione elettrica.Il campionamento è stato effettuato con criterio di “cluster”, cioè relativo a famiglie omogenee delle zonedella rete idrica con diversa potenzialità di interferenza. In ciascun sito sono state eseguite registrazionidel potenziale, misure di caduta ohmica laterale per l’estrapolazione del potenziale vero, la misuradella resistività del terreno secondo il metodo Wenner, analisi chimica del terreno (pH, cloruri e solfatisull’estratto acquoso). I risultati sono stati elaborati al fine di definire il rischio di corrosione nelle zonein prossimità delle fonti di interferenza. La valutazione del rischio di corrosione è stata basata su indicidefiniti sulla base di: potenziale medio e notturno; potenziale in corrispondenza alla deviazione standard+2?; permanenza temporale delle condizioni anodiche e la stima della velocità di corrosione calcolatacon il metodo della polarizzazione lineare. Il modello proposto e discusso si è dimostrato di agevoleapplicazione e ha permesso di classificare in ordine di rischio di corrosione le zone investigate

La memoria illustra i risultati di prove di laboratorio condotte su una sonda di potenziale con elettrododi zinco. L’obiettivo principale della sperimentazione è la messa a punto di un opportuno backfill per lo zincopuro in grado di assicurare la condizione di attività dello zinco e il contatto ionico con il terreno.Sono state provate miscele di gesso-bentonite-cellulosa e gesso-bentonite-fibre polimeriche.Il ponte salino è stato realizzato con membrane polimeriche ioniche e membrane cellulosiche.Sono riportati e discussi i risultati di dilavamento delle diverse composizioni di backfill e la stabilitàdella sonda in ambiente simulante terreni.

Worldwide interest in reducing greenhouse gases has led to apply the more accurate, less invasive imaging methods of geophysics for quantifying the root biomass and evaluating their critical role in space and time. The general aim of this work is to apply the combined application of geoelectrical imaging techniques (non-destructive) and conventional soil methods (destructive) on representative soil samples to study the spatial distribution of orchard tree roots and their relation to physical soil properties in tilled soil. This combined application aims at investigating roots, characterising them from other subsurface heterogeneities and studying (empirical) relationships between electrical resistivity, pedo-hydrological properties (e.g., texture, stone content, water content and quality) and root parameters (e.g., woody and fine root length, root density). This serve identify all sources of variability encountered in the experiment in an effort to improve the applicability of electrical resistivity techniques in this field. Using 2-D electrical tomography a set of field geoelectrical measurements were carried out at the study site for studying the spatial variability of soil root zone under varying conditions of soil management, stone content, clay content and moisture content. Resulting 2D and 3D resistivity Ú models can image root zones and hydro pedological horizons and heterogeneities. The Ú models are correlated with soil and root multiparameters measured directly on a sequence of core samples collected from trenches excavated below electrical profiles post to the survey. Results reflect a complex spatial variability of these parameters. The effects on the resistivity of the measured soil system parameters were investigated through multiregressive statistical analysis using backward method with confidence intervals of 95%. Resistivity shows significant relationships with stone content, woody root length and total root biomass density, soil salinity (measured by electrical conductivity) and particularly water content ?.

In questo lavoro si presentano i primi risultati relativi all'utilizzo di metodologie geofi-siche per la ricostruzione di apparati radicali di piante arboree, per la detezione di radicierbacee e per lo studio dei complessi fenomeni idrobiogeofisici che avvengono all'interfac-cia pianta-suolo-sottosuolo. Le misure geofisiche sono state effettuate sia in condizioni controllate, utilizzandovasche contenenti piante di pesco e riempite con terreno omogeneo, e sia in un campo spe-rimentale situato un'area del metapontino (Basilicata) a forte vocazione agricola. Le misu-re di laboratorio sono state ripetute modificando sia la tipologia del terreno che la geome-tria delle radici, in particolare sono stati utilizzati terreni di natura sabbiosa ed argillosa.È stata utilizzata la tecnica della tomografia elettrica di resistività e sono state ottenuteimmagini ad alta risoluzione sia 2D che 3D che hanno ben evidenziato il volume maggior-mente interessato dalla presenza di radici fini erbacee e legnose e le singole strutture legno-se ipogee con diametro superiore ai 50 mm. Le indagini geofisiche sono state opportuna-mente integrate e validate da misure di densità radicale nel sottosuolo, misure di conducibi-lità e di contenuto d'acqua effettuate in una trincea scavata in corrispondenza di uno dei pro-fili geoelettrici.In una seconda fase sono state utilizzate tecniche statistiche multivariate per analizzarele correlazioni tra i valori di resistività ed i parametri di interesse agronomico. I primi risul-tati ottenuti ci permettono di considerare la tomografia geoelettrica uno strumento ottimaleper la diagnostica non invasiva di apparati radicali anche complessi, mostrando la capacitàdi discriminare fra strutture ipogee lignificate e non, e fra le radici erbacee funzionali e quel-le morte. La tecnica ha permesso anche di ottenere informazioni sulla distribuzione spazia-le della fase liquida del suolo, e della sua conducibilità elettrica, legate alla fisiologia delleradici e di diretto interesse per la gestione agronomica dei sistemi suolo-pianta. Tali attività sono state svolte nell'ambito di una collaborazione tra il Dip.di Scienze deiSistemi Colturali, Forestali e dell'Ambiente dell'Università degli Studi della Basilicata, l'Ist.di Metodologie per l'Analisi Ambientale del CNR e la società Geostudi che ha come obiet-tivo strategico la definizione di un approccio fortemente multidisciplinare per lo studio dellageometria e della funzionalità degli apparati radicali.

La memoria illustra il comportamento di anodi galvanici per la protezione catodica in acqua di mare in condizioni anossiche (che generano un ambiente propizio per lo sviluppo di batteri solfato riduttori) e, come termine di paragone, in condizioni aerobiche. Il lavoro fa parte di una ricerca più ampia, che ha l’obiettivo di studiare le condizioni di protezione catodica, il comportamento degli anodi e la formazione del deposito calcareo, in condizioni che simulano quelle delle acque profonde. I risultati presentati in questo articolo fanno riferimento a prove effettuate in laboratorio con acqua di mare sintetica utilizzando come anodi leghe commerciali di zinco, alluminio e magnesio, e catodi di acciaio al carbonio. I risultati ottenuti fino a questo momento hanno mostrato una scarsa influenza delle condizioni anaerobiche sulla densità di corrente di protezione.

Geomorphic and tectonic features from the western flank of the upper Agri River valley in the southern Apennines have been examined to determine regional and local uplift rates in the geodynamic framework of southern Italy. The high valley is a NW-SE trending fault-bounded intermontane basin located in the Lucanian segment of the southern Apennines, along the axial zone of the chain. The basin has an area of about 540 km2 large (a little more than 1/3 of the whole catchment basin) and formed during Quaternary times. Tectonics has strongly controlled both geomorphological and sedimentary evolution of the basin up to the present. As a matter of fact, the valley has been affected by large earthquakes such as the 1857 Basilicata earthquake and the basin floor is filled by middle-upper Pleistocene faulted alluvial deposits. On the grounds of recent geomorphological and structural studies the valley appears to be a more complex structure than an extensional graben or than a simple pull-apart basin as suggested by some authors. In any case, the last generation of lineations on fault planes documents an extensional regime with a NE-SW tensile axis. Such a tectonic regime persists until the present day, as inferred by the regional seismicity and in situ stress measurements and as proved by the occurrence of palaeosols affected by normal faulting. The pre-Quaternary bedrock is constituted of Mesozoic-Cenozoic shallow-water and slope carbonates (Monte Marzano-Monti della Maddalena Unit, after BONARDI et alii, 1988b), prevalently outcropping along the western side of the basin, thrust over coeval pelagic successions (Lagonegro units) which crop out mainly along the eastern flank. Toward the east and south-east the bedrock is formed by Tertiary siliciclastic sediments (Albidona Fm, Gorgoglione Flysch) which occupy the southern part of the high valley. The Quaternary sediments are entirely constituted of continental clastics, represented by lower to upper Pleistocene slope coarsegrained deposits, which form coalescent fans along the flanks of the basin, and by middle Pleistocene alluvial deposits in the plain. Since the plain is deeply dissected by recent fluvial erosion, it is possible to observe, at several points, more than 100 m of the alluvial sequence. The age of the Quaternary sediments has been deduced by correlating some morphostratigraphic features of the upper Agri valley with the post-Sicilian features from the nearby Sant'Arcangelo Pliocene-Pleistocene basin. Four orders of polygenic landsurfaces, of which relics are well preserved along the water divide and suspended on the present valley floor, are recognizable in the high valley. Two of them are erosional (S1 and S2) whereas the lower ones (S3 and S4) are both depositional and erosional. According to previous regional interpretations, the ages of these landsurfaces are included in a time span ranging from 1.8 to 0.125 Ma. A more ancient landsurface, probably sculptured during late Pliocene times, can be also recognized in the neighbouring areas of the Campania-Lucania Apennines. Using geomorphic features of this kind, and Pleistocene deposits involved in the genesis of erosional and depositional landsurfaces, a set of uplift rates has been calculated for the western flank of the valley. The values of the Quaternary local uplift rates may vary from a minimum of 0.3 mm/yr to a maximum of about 1 mm/yr whereas the values of the regional uplift rate are always equal or higher than 1 mm/yr in the last 1.2 Ma. All these data are in good agreement with those from other areas of southern Apennines . Due to high slip rates on fault planes (0.5 to 0.8 mm/yr in the 1.2-0.73 Ma time span) the major part of the relief energy can be ascribed to the activity of basin-border faults. Yet, the local morphostructural offsets have to be coupled with the regional uplift of the orogen to reach the total amount of Quaternary uplift. An acceleration of the local component of vertical motion starting from the early-middle Pleistocene can be also deduced. It is noteworthy that during late Pleistocene to Holocene times the same fault system was characterized by strongly reduced slip rate of up to 0.1 mm/yr.

A due anni dall'entrata in servizio della prima release del sistema informatico SBBL (Sistema Bibliotecario Biomedico Lombardo), riteniamo utile raccogliere in un quadro di insieme lo stato attuale del progetto che mette in rilievo il percorso che ha visto impegnati la Regione Lombardia, il gruppo SBBL e il CILEA. La realizzazione del Catalogo Collettivo dei periodici, consultabile e gestibile via Internet, le funzioni di document delivery, l'analisi statistica del lavoro di scambio di documenti e articoli, lo sforzo per l'integrazione con altri servizi di editoria digitale, sono risultati raggiunti e che costituiscono un nuovo punto di partenza per altri obiettivi che già sono allo studio per offrire un servizio sempre più consono alle esigenze degli enti e degli istituti che vi partecipano.