Search

To assess men's preferences for healthcare provider from whom they would obtain hormonal male contraceptive (HMC) methods.We asked participants from 3 clinical trials of investigational HMC methods-an oral pill (11β-Methyl-19-nortestosterone-17β-dodecylcarbonate, 11β-MNTDC), intramuscular or subcutaneous injection (Dimethandrolone undecanoate), and transdermal gel (Nestorone and testosterone)-to rank their top 3 preferred HMC providers from a list including: men's health doctor (urologist/andrologist), hormonal doctor (endocrinologist), reproductive health doctor (OB/GYN), family planning clinician (community health worker, midwife, nurse practitioner), regular doctor (family medicine/internal medicine), and community pharmacist. We examined preferences based on their rankings and conducted bivariate analyses. Collapsing the various specialists (men's health doctor, hormonal doctor, reproductive health doctor, and family planning clinician) into a single provider type, we examined participant demographics against provider preference (regular doctor, pharmacist, or specialist).Participants across the 3 trials (n = 124) ranked their regular doctor (44%) and community pharmacist (18%) as their most preferred HMC provider; these preferences did not differ significantly by trial and drug formulation. Specialists in family planning (13%), men's health (12%), reproductive health (10%), and hormones (4%) were least frequently ranked as their preferred provider. Older and higher educated participants more often preferred specialists over regular doctors and pharmacists (p = 0.02 and p = 0.01).Despite receiving contraceptive steroid hormones and care from endocrinologists and family planning specialists in a clinical trial, participants would prefer to obtain contraception from their regular doctor.As most men expect to obtain hormonal male contraceptives from their regular doctor when commercially available, primary care physicians should become familiar with HMCs and be prepared to provide counseling and options accordingly.

Laura Caruso,1 Alessia Castellino,2 Daniela Dessì,3 Leonardo Flenghi,4 Antonio Giordano,5 Adalberto Ibatici,6 Cesare Massone,7 Alessandro Pileri,8 Ilaria Proietti,9 Livio Pupo,10 Pietro Quaglino,11 Serena Rupoli,12 Pier Luigi Zinzani13,14 1Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Policlinico G. Rodolico - San Marco Di Catania, Catania, Italy; 2Department of Hematology, Santa Croce E Carle Hospital, Cuneo, Italy; 3Department of Hematology, Businco Hospital Arnas AOB, Cagliari, Italy; 4Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, Santa Maria Della Misericordia Hospital, Perugia, Italy; 5Department of Hematology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli—IRCCS, Rome, Italy; 6Hematology and Transplant Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy; 7Dermatology Unit, Ospedali Galliera, Genova, Italy; 8Dermatology Unit, IRCCS S. Orsola-Malpighi Polyclinic, Bologna, Italy. Department of Specialistic, Diagnostic and Experimental Medicine (DIMES), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; 9Dermatology Unit”Daniele Innocenzi”, Department of Medical-Surgical Sciences and Bio-Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Terracina, Italy; 10UOC Lymphoproliferative Diseases, Fondazione PTV Policlinico Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy; 11Dermatologic Clinic, Department of Medical Sciences University of Turin Medical School, Turin, Italy; 12Clinic of Hematology, Ospedali Riuniti Ancona, Ancona, Italy; 13IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Serà gnoli”, Bologna, Italy; 14Dipartimento di Medicina Specialistica, Diagnostica e Sperimentale Università di Bologna, Bologna, ItalyCorrespondence: Pier Luigi Zinzani, IRCCS University Hospital of Bologna, Serà gnoli Institute of Hematology, and Department of Specialized, Diagnostic and Experimental Medicine, University of Bologna, via Massarenti 9, Bologna, 40138, Italy, Tel +39 051 2144042, Fax +39 051 2144037, Email pierluigi.zinzani@unibo.itAbstract: Mycosis fungoides and Sèzary syndrome are the most studied subtypes common cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. The current treatment objective is to improve the clinical manifestations of the disease in the affected areas, to relieve symptoms and to halt disease progression. Patients with early-stage mycosis fungoides are usually managed with skin-directed therapies, whereas patients with resistant or advanced-stage mycosis fungoides or Sèzary syndrome often require systemic drugs. Over the last decade, new drugs have been developed, increasing the breadth of treatment options for cutaneous T-cell lymphomas patients. Mogamulizumab is a first-in-class defucosylated humanized IgG1 κ monoclonal antibody, which exerts its anti-tumour action by selectively binding to C-C chemokine receptor 4 and increasing antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity activity against malignant T-cells. Several clinical trials showed that mogamulizumab is able to effectively control the cutaneous T-cell lymphomas in each site (skin, blood, lymph nodes and viscera), improving patients’ symptoms, function and overall quality of life with a manageable safety profile. In this report, we discuss 12 cases of patients with mycosis fungoides or Sèzary syndrome successfully treated with mogamulizumab in real-life clinical practice in Italy.Keywords: cutaneous T- cell lymphoma, mycosis fungoides, Sèzary syndrome, mogamulizumab

Wildfires have increased in the last years and, when caused by intentional illegal burnings, are frequently run out of control. Wildfire has been pointed out as an important source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and trace elements (TEs) - such as, As, Ni, and Pb - to environmental compartments, and thus may pose a risk to human health and to the ecosystem. In 2020, the Brazilian biome, Pantanal, faced the largest losses by wildfires in the last 22 years. Ashes from the topsoil layer in Pantanal were collected after these wildfires at 20 sites divided into the sediment, forest, PF, PS, and degraded sites. Toxicity and associated risks for human health were also evaluated. The areas highly impacted by wildfires and by artisanal gold mining activities showed higher concentrations for TEs and PAHs than the protected areas. Pb varied from 8 ± 4 to 224 ± 81 mg kgThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11869-022-01248-2.

The solar corona is the outer layer of the Sun atmosphere. The brightness of the solar corona is a million times lower than the solar disk. The Earth’s sky brightness itself is higher enough to cover the coronal signal during ground-based observations. For this reason, the study of sky characteristics plays a fundamental role in observing the solar corona. To date, the only place with the sky characteristics that allow continuous coronagraphic measurements from Earth is at the MLO (Mauna Loa Observatory; Hawaii, ≈ 3400 m a.s.l.). This paper shows the results obtained as part of the “Extreme Solar Coronagraphy Antarctic Program Experiment” (ESCAPE) at Concordia Base, Antarctica (Dome C plateau-coord: 75 06S; 123 20E-≈ 3300 m above sea level) during the 37th campaign and give a summary of all the sky-brightness measurements obtained from this site (campaign 34th and 35th). Dome C is confirmed to be a coronagraphic site with a sky brightness value of about 1×10^−6 B⊙. For the first time, it was also possible to detect a coronal signal and to compare it with what was measured by the COronal Solar Magnetism Observatory (COSMO) K-coronagraph (K-Cor) at the MLO. All these results were obtained by using a micropolarizer camera mounted within a coronagraph designed for Antarctic environments.

Considering that the current water crisis is largely a governance crisis, improving water governance will help address current and future water challenges. Water governance is defined as the range of political, institutional and administrative rules, practices and processes through which decisions are taken and implemented, stakeholders can articulate their interests and have their concerns considered, and decision-makers are held accountable for water management. The Water Governance Principles proposed by the OECD contribute to the creation of tangible public policies oriented towards effectiveness, efficiency, reliability and participation. The aim of this research is to apply the OECD Water Governance Indicator Framework at a local level and to identify gaps and challenges for water governance in the General Pueyrredon Municipality (GPM), Buenos Aires Province (BAP), Argentina. This framework was used as a diagnostic tool to assess water governance policy frameworks (what), institutions (who) and instruments (how). In general terms, there is a robust legal framework, there are enforcement institutions regarding water management and there is a good connection with them. However, the main challenges identified were in the ‘how’ since most of the instruments are partly or not implemented.

The Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) on-board Solar Orbiter measures the X-ray photons emitted by thermal and non-thermal electrons via bremsstrahlung mechanisms. STIX modulates the incident radiation by means of 30 sub-collimators that provide information on the complex values of specific Fourier components of the flaring X-ray source. This talk will illustrate this data formation process and explain how this model can be exploited to formulate image reconstruction methods including constrained maximum entropy, multi-scale CLEAN, feature augmentation, and Particle Swarm Optimization for parametric imaging. These methods will be applied against several experimental STIX observations and the reliability of the reconstructed morphologies will be validated by comparison with EUV maps recorded by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on-board the Solar Dynamics Observatory.

The fundamental science objective behind solar X-ray imaging spectroscopy is to gain information on the electrons accelerated by magnetic reconnection and on the temperature of the correspondingly heated plasma throughout the whole flaring volume. This talk will prove that the visibility-based technology at the base of the Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) allows the construction of electron flux and differential emission measure maps that are nicely smoothed along the energy and temperature directions, respectively. Using this approach, we will perform a spatially resolved analysis of the electron flux spectra associated with hard X-ray emissions measured by STIX and discuss the spatially resolved consistency of such emissions with a thermal distribution of the electrons in the flaring source.

In our view, machine/deep learning for flare forecasting is still more a promise for future scenarios than the reference framework for current operational facilities. This delay from the application of AI methods in research settings to their use for real-time forecasting is probably due to the persistence of technical open issues involving, by instance, the optimization strategy of the training phase, the quantitative assessment of the prediction performances, the reduction of the computational burden. This talk proposes a video-based deep learning approach to flare forecasting in which the optimization of the network’s parameters is realized by means of a probabilistic score-oriented loss function, the training procedure accounts for the part of the solar cycle progression when the prediction is requested, and the prediction performances are assessed by means of value-weighted skill scores that give greater importance to the values of the prediction than to its quality. The talk will also show the operational potentialities of this approach and discuss how feature selection may reduce the information redundancy, thus increasing the computational efficiency.

In September 2021 on the platform of the Italian Association of Hospital Dermatologists (ADOI; https://www.adoi.it/) a monthly on-line live session of teledermatopathology was started involving collegial discussion among experienced Italian pathologists about challenging melanocytic tumors using the virtual microscope [...].

This case was presented at the on-line telepathology meeting on the ADOI platform held on October 19th 2022 by Dr Luongo.

Variably scaled kernels and mapped bases constructed via the so-called fake nodes approach are two different strategies to provide adaptive bases for function interpolation. In this paper, we focus on kernel-based interpolation and we present what we call mapped variably scaled kernels, which take advantage of both strategies. We present some theoretical analysis and then we show their efficacy via numerical experiments. Moreover, we test such a new basis for image reconstruction tasks in the framework of hard X-ray astronomical imaging.

Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) correspond to dramatic expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the solar corona into the heliosphere. CMEs are scientifically relevant because they are involved in the physical mechanisms characterizing the active Sun. However, more recently CMEs have attracted attention for their impact on space weather, as they are correlated to geomagnetic storms and may induce the generation of Solar Energetic Particles streams. In this space weather framework, the present paper introduces a physics-driven artificial intelligence (AI) approach to the prediction of CMEs travel time, in which the deterministic drag-based model is exploited to improve the training phase of a cascade of two neural networks fed with both remote sensing and in-situ data. This study shows that the use of physical information in the AI architecture significantly improves both the accuracy and the robustness of the travel time prediction.

This Letter reports the first observational estimate of the heating rate in the slowly expanding solar corona. The analysis exploits the simultaneous remote and local observations of the same coronal plasma volume with the Solar Orbiter/Metis and the Parker Solar Probe instruments, respectively, and relies on the basic solar wind magnetohydrodynamic equations. As expected, energy losses are a minor fraction of the solar wind energy flux, since most of the energy dissipation that feeds the heating and acceleration of the coronal flow occurs much closer to the Sun than the heights probed in the present study, which range from 6.3 to 13.3 solar radii. The energy deposited to the supersonic wind is then used to explain the observed slight residual wind acceleration and to maintain the plasma in a non-adiabatic state. As derived in the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin limit, the present energy transfer rate estimates provide a lower limit, which can be very useful in refining the turbulence-based modeling of coronal heating and subsequent solar wind acceleration.

Introducción: Las fístulas durales arterio venosas (FAVd) etmoidales son infrecuentes, representan 6-10% de las FAVd y se caracterizan un alto riesgo de hemorragia con potenciales complicaciones neurológicas severas. Caso clínico: Paciente hombre, de 58 años, encontrado en domicilio con compromiso de conciencia. El estudio con TC de encéfalo muestra un extenso hematoma intracerebral frontal izquierdo con efecto de masa, en el estudio con angioTC de encéfalo se observa FAVd etmoidal. Se realiza cirugía de urgencia, evacuación de hematoma y desconexión de la FAVd. La angiografía cerebral de control postoperatorio no mostró fístula residual. Discusión: Las FAVd de piso anterior presentan un alto riesgo de hemorragia, dado el patrón de drenaje venoso, por lo cual se debe considerar el tratamiento. Dada la angioarquitectura de este tipo de FAVd son poco favorables para tratamiento endovascular, siendo la cirugía el tratamiento de elección.

We conducted the first taphonomic and paleoenvironmental study based on late Pleistocene–Holocene small mammal remains recovered from the famous Mylodon Cave (Cerro Benítez area, Última Esperanza, Chile). Most of the analyzed material came from the extensive excavations made by Earl Saxon in 1976. We also studied late Holocene small mammal samples of the neighboring rock shelter Dos Herraduras 1. Analyzed remains were mostly produced by owls, probably living inside the caves. In Mylodon Cave, the higher values of girdle bones are consistent with a windblown litter. We recorded nine species of rodents, seven cricetids, and two caviomorphs; almost all the identified taxa integrate recent local communities. Late Pleistocene–Holocene assemblages are characterized by the chinchilla ratEuneomys, indicating unforested areas around the caves under cold and moist climatic conditions. Middle Holocene amelioration is reflected by incremental rodent species richness, including the first record of taxa clearly associated with forest (e.g.,Abrothrix lanosa). Late Holocene assemblages are markedly stable, indicating local conditions similar to the current (historical) environment. Quaternary rodents from Cerro Benítez area do not indicate abrupt environmental changes during middle–late Holocene, but a progressive trend towards forest increase.

Not available.

Not available.

Driving is a common activity with a significant impact on the quality of life since enables independence and fosters social activities. Nevertheless, driving is a rather complex task that requires different skills, such as physical abilities, proper judgement, risks perception / evaluation. Both these physical and cognitive abilities can be impaired after Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and can additionally be affected by the individual emotional state and disease progression. Driving simulators can be a good solution to assess and train driving skills of people with MS, but there are currently few studies focused on MS and driving ability. Moreover, they mostly aim at understanding driving performance impairments, mostly during monotonous highway drives. Here, we describe the framework of a new personalized driving simulator ADRIS 2.0, and the results of a first test on a group of unimpaired young adults and of a pilot test with three MS and sex and age-matched control subjects. Subjects trained with ADRIS 2.0 for a session of 30 minutes, driving through scenarios with different levels of difficulties. The system resulted easy to use and able to provide a realistic driving experience for all three groups of subjects. It also provided quantitative metrics that described MS drivers slower and prone to commit more infractions and collisions than control subjects. Thus, the developed simulator resulted well tolerated by all users, capable of detecting differences between control and MS subjects and its potential could be further exploited into the design of a personalized training of MS people.

The deterioration of water quality worldwide is a serious environmental problem. Water managers still need operational tools to assess water issues and to inform water planning and decision-making. The aim of this article is to propose a 3-step methodological framework for assessing water pollution problems by combining a conceptual modeling tool (DPSIR) with the development of a quantitative model (Multi-Criteria Decision Model). This contribution provides a practical and flexible evaluation tool for conducting an integrated assessment of eutrophication and agrochemicals delivered to groundwater-dependent shallow lakes. It lays out action guidelines for decision-making environmental managers within the context of intermediate cities in developing countries. Forty-one indicators were identified to characterize the D-P-S-I compartments and for the multi-criteria model conceptualization. In this work, response options analysis consisted of evaluating and choosing water management instruments via a decision support tool. Two lake watersheds located in the peri-urban of two middle-size cities, in Argentina, were chosen to illustrate this methodological approach. The ensuing results allowed establishing a ranking of areas to prioritize, identifying a criteria and sub-criteria to focus on in order to set out action guidelines to minimize water pollution and eutrophication. These action guidelines are urgently needed in emerging countries, where financial, human resources and infrastructure are limited. The scarcity of such causes important implications regarding policy solutions for environmental issues. The implemented decision support tool in both lake watersheds provided a common basis for the understanding of the ongoing water pollution problems and a quantitative ranking (i.e., decision scores) for defining specific actions (responses) for human-induced stresses on such natural systems.

Study design Multicentre cross-sectional study. Objective The objective of this study is to evaluate prevalence, location and characteristics of pain in hospital inpatients people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Setting Ten Italian rehabilitation centres specialized in spinal injury care, where inpatients are admitted both after the acute lesion and for late complications (time since injury, median [IQR]: 0.8 [0.2-8.2] years). Methods All the persons were submitted to AIS scale assessment [1] and modified Ashworth scale [2]; personal data and anamnesis were recorded; any pain within 1 week was investigated and the International Spinal Cord Injury Pain Basic Data Set (ISCIPBDS) Italian version [3] was administered by physicians expert in type of pain definition. Results Of 385 included persons, 275 (72%) suffered pain, with the score value median [IQR]: 6 [4-8]. The worst pain of the person was nociceptive in 52% and neuropathic in 48% of the cases; 46% of nociceptive pain was located in the neck-shoulder region, whereas 67% of neuropathic pain was located in the sublesional part of the body. In 48% of the whole population, spasticity was observed but only 74% of them had pain. Being old and female are associated with high pain development, OR (95% CI): 1.24 (1.01-1.04) and 1.83 (1.05-3.20), respectively. Conclusions A high prevalence of pain is confirmed in persons with SCI, with both nociceptive and neuropathic pain characteristics. Only old age and female sex resulted as variables highly associated with pain.

Palliative care (PC) and hospice services have experienced shortages before 2020, and during the initial phases of the current pandemic, more critical gaps are expected with future surges, much as scarcity in intensive care unit services may recur during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although ethical allocation of ventilators and intensive care unit care is the subject of important discussions during this pandemic, caring for those at the end of life and those not desiring or qualifying for critical interventions must not be neglected, as critical care and comfort-focused care are intertwined. We review state and regional gaps already recognized in planning for scarcity in PC and hospice services during this pandemic and describe the planning initiatives Colorado has developed to address potential scarcities for this vulnerable and diverse group of people. We hope to encourage other state and regional groups to anticipate needs in the coming surges of this pandemic or in public health crises to come. Such planning is key to avoid the degradation of care that may result if it is necessary to invoke crisis standards of care and ration these essential services to our communities.

Psoriasis is a complex disease often needing a multidisciplinary approach. In particular, the collaboration between dermatologist and rheumatologist is crucial for the management of patients suffering from both psoriasis (PSO) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Here we report a series of recommendations from a group of experts, as a result of a Consensus Conference, defining the circumstances in which it is preferable or even mandatory, depending on the available settings, to rely on the opinion of the two specialists, jointly or in a deferred manner. Indications are given on how to organize a 3rd level joint Dermatology- Rheumatology care unit, in connection with 1st and 2nd level clinicians of both specialties, GPs, and other specialists involved in the management of psoriasis. A potential patient journey is suggested, that can be used as a basis for future design and validation of national and/or local diagnostic therapeutic and assistance pathways.

Reinforced concrete structural walls (RCSWs) are one of the most efficient lateral force-resisting systems used in buildings, providing sufficient strength, stiffness, and deformation capacities to withstand the forces generated during earthquake ground motions. Identifying the failure mode of the RCSWs is a critical task that can assist engineers and designers in choosing appropriate retrofitting solutions. This study evaluates the efficiency of three ensemble deep neural network models, including the model averaging ensemble, weighted average ensemble, and integrated stacking ensemble for predicting the failure mode of the RCSWs. The ensemble deep neural network models are compared against previous studies that used traditional well-known ensemble models (AdaBoost, XGBoost, LightGBM, CatBoost) and traditional machine learning methods (Naïve Bayes, K-Nearest Neighbors, Decision Tree, and Random Forest). The weighted average ensemble model is proposed as the best-suited prediction model for identifying the failure mode since it has the highest accuracy, precision, and recall among the alternative models. In addition, since complex and advanced machine learning-based models are commonly referred to as black-box, the SHapley Additive exPlanation method is also used to interpret the model workflow and illustrate the importance and contribution of the components that impact determining the failure mode of the RCSWs.

Purpose With an increase in the number of adapted sports, the need to monitor sports performance in people with different abilities has grown. Indeed, a thorough evaluation of the sports gesture could prevent the occurrence of injuries, enable a continuous performance assessment, and allow to verify the compliance of the requirements for the competitions. Gesture kinematics provides an assessment of performance, while the muscle activities reveal the underlying strategies adopted by each athlete. In this context, we propose an instrumented evaluation to assess performance in Para-powerlifting. Our goal is to define and test a setup and a protocol to quantitatively assess the execution of bench press exercise in athletes with different abilities. Methods We recruited an unimpaired athlete and three Paralympic athletes. They were requested to execute the bench press exercise while we recorded muscle activity and kinematic data from the upper body. We investigated the sport gesture by extracting parameters describing coordination, symmetry, and synchronism between arms, and motor variability while repeating the gesture. Results Paralympic athletes performed the gestures with higher coordination between arms and low variability across repetitions compared to the unimpaired athlete, who was not at the Olympic level. All participants obtained similar kinematic performance by adopting different muscle strategies. Conclusions This study is a proof of concept that the instrumented evaluation proposed here can allow to conduct a complete assessment of the bench press exercise, in terms of kinematics, muscle activity and performance in athletes with different abilities.

Cutaneous papillomas (CPs) and cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (CSCCs) are usual epidermal tumours in dogs. CPs and CSCCs probably arise from the neoplastic transformation of the keratinocytes within the stem cell compartment, since these cells are the only keratinocytes that would reside long enough to accumulate the number of molecular alterations to drive the progression towards a tumour cell phenotype. However, the role of these cells in common epidermal tumours in dogs is still unknown. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression pattern of p63 together with CK5, molecular markers of epidermal stem cells, on sections of tissue microarrays constructed from canine samples of CP and CSCC to investigate the contribution of stem cells in those canine tumours. p63/CK5 coexpression was retained in most basal and some suprabasal cells in CPs and CSCCs. In addition, increased coexpression of these molecules was observed in a group of CPs and CSCCs, as a result of a higher p63 expression. These results suggest that the coexpression of p63/CK5 may mark epidermal keratinocytes that possess self-renewal capacity rather than only stem cells, and suggest that transit amplifying cells, and even differentiated keratinocytes, may also contribute to the pathogenesis of epidermal tumours in dogs.

This work focuses on the study of the influence of microshrinkage cavities on the plastic deformation and fracture of ferritic ductile iron. Cast samples were especially developed to include dispersed microshrinkage. Tensile testing and digital image correlation analysis are employed to assess the influence of dispersed microshrinkage cavities as preferential sites for crack initiation and propagation under uniaxial static load. The results show that small microshrinkage cavities of up to 3.5 times the area of graphite nodules are not linked to the initiation and propagation of cracks in ductile iron. The methodology developed in this work becomes useful to evaluate the influence of size, distribution, and morphology of different microshrinkage defects on the damage evolution during tensile loading.

The satisfactory structural behavior observed during large earthquakes and the high seismicity of the country has conditioned the Chilean society to expect immediate occupancy performance level for their buildings under these extreme events, although the seismic design code in Chile mandates only a scope of life safety performance level. Based on observational and statistical evidence from recent strong earthquakes in Chile, it is concluded that the observed seismic resilience of buildings is a consequence of limiting damage, considering that operational performance and life safety are different challenges that require different approaches; furthermore, to provide society with resilient and safe buildings, both challenges must be met simultaneously and not alternatively. The present article describes the concepts, strategies, and future challenges in the context of the Chilean practice, and the authors describe several lessons learned from the design of thousands of concrete buildings that have experienced earthquakes with a magnitude of 8.0 and higher with limited damage; these lessons have proven to be effective in ensuring resilient structural performance under extreme seismic events.

In 2019, as well as being my last year of service in the hospital, I thought that it would also be the last as the organizer of melanocyte meetings. So, I thought of organizing these meeting as traveling sessions. In February and in March we were hosted in Modena by Anna Maria Cesinaro, in April and May in Reggio Emilia by Simonetta Piana, then in Trento by Mattia Barbareschi [...].

A method for the determination of four classes of potentially toxic substances (PTSs) was developed and applied in marine sediments, including (i) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), (ii) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), (iii) polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and (iv) organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs). The method is based on ultrasonic extraction with a mixture of dichloromethane:methanol (9:1 v/v) and gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS/MS) in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. A total of 89 compounds were identified using two precursor-product ion standards for each analyte. The method detection limit (MDL; 0.001-0.055 ng g

A strong association between periodontitis and higher susceptibility to pregnancy complications like preeclampsia has been reported although the mechanisms remain elusive. Trophoblast cells modulate the recruitment and functional shaping of maternal leukocytes at early stages to sustain an antiinflammatory microenvironment and fetal growth. Neutrophil activation with reactive oxygen species (ROS) release is associated with preeclampsia. Our aim was to study the effect of the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) from pregnant women on trophoblast cell function and trophoblast-neutrophil interaction.Pregnant women at 16-20 weeks of gestation (n = 27) and non-pregnant women (n = 8) as the control group were studied for gingivoperiodontal clinical score evaluation and GCF collection. Total bacteria and common periodontal pathogens were analyzed in GCF samples. The effect of each GCF sample was tested on first trimester trophoblast-derived cells to assess cell migration, cytokine expression and glucose uptake. Also, the effect of GCF on human peripheral neutrophil chemoattraction by trophoblast cells and ROS formation was assessed.Gingival crevicular fluid from pregnant women reduced trophoblast cell migration, increased proinflammatory marker expression and glucose uptake. A significant correlation between gingivoperiodontal score and trophoblast dysfunction was observed. Upon conditioning of trophoblast cells with GCF, only the GCF from pregnant women stimulated neutrophil chemoattraction. Similarly, GCF from pregnant but not from non-pregnant controls stimulated ROS formation in neutrophils.Gingival crevicular fluid from pregnant women is deleterious for first trimester trophoblast cell function. These effects could lead to placental homeostasis disruption underlying a pathogenic mechanism of pregnancy complications associated to periodontal disease.

The Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) is one of six remote sensing instruments on-board Solar Orbiter. The telescope applies an indirect imaging technique that uses the measurement of 30 visibilities, i.e., angular Fourier components of the solar flare X-ray source. Hence, the imaging problem for STIX consists of the Fourier inversion of the data measured by the instrument. In this work, we show that the visibility amplitude and phase calibration of 24 out of 30 STIX sub-collimators has reached a satisfactory level for scientific data exploitation and that a set of imaging methods is able to provide the first hard X-ray images of solar flares from Solar Orbiter. Four visibility-based image reconstruction methods and one count-based are applied to calibrated STIX observations of six events with GOES class between C4 and M4 that occurred in May 2021. The resulting reconstructions are compared to those provided by an optimization algorithm used for fitting the amplitudes of STIX visibilities. We show that the five imaging methods produce results morphologically consistent with the ones provided by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO/AIA) in UV wavelengths. The χ2 values and the parameters of the reconstructed sources are comparable between methods, thus confirming their robustness., Solar Physics, 297 (7), ISSN:0038-0938, ISSN:1573-093X

The evaluation of sky characteristics plays a fundamental role for many astrophysical experiments and ground-based observations. In solar physics, the main requirement for such observations is a very low sky brightness value, less than $10^{-6}$ 10 − 6 of the solar disk brightness ($\mathrm{B}_{\odot }$ B ⊙ ). Few places match such a requirement for ground-based, out-of-eclipse coronagraphic measurements. One of these places is, for instance, the Mauna Loa Observatory ($\approx 3400~\mbox{m}$ ≈ 3400 m a.s.l.). Another candidate coronagraphic site is the Dome C plateau in Antarctica. In this article, we show the first results of the sky brightness measurements at Dome C with the Extreme Solar Coronagraphy Antarctic Program Experiment (ESCAPE) at the Italian–French Concordia Station, on Dome C, Antarctica ($\approx 3300~\mbox{m}$ ≈ 3300 m a.s.l.) during the 34th and 35th summer Campaigns of the Italian Piano Nazionale Ricerche Antartiche (PNRA). The sky brightness measurements were carried out with the internally occulted Antarctic coronagraph AntarctiCor. In optimal atmospheric conditions the sky brightness of Dome C has reached values of the order of 1.0 – $0.7 \times 10^{-6}~\mathrm{B}_{\odot }$ 0.7 × 10 − 6 B ⊙ .

Background Arthroplasties in elderly patients are surgeries performed to ensure their quality of life. Perioperative care with specific nutrients can improve nutrition status and metabolic response to orthopedic surgeries, such as total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA). Methods Retrospective study with elderly patients divided into 2 groups: control and immunonutrition. The immunonutrition group was instructed to start oral intake of the nutrition supplement 5 days before and to resume it 5 days after arthroplasty (200 mL, 3 times per day). The following were analyzed as primary and secondary outcomes: length of stay (LOS), infectious and noninfectious complications, need for intensive care unit (ICU), transfusion requirement, and C‐reactive protein. Results A total of 3015 elderly patients met the inclusion criteria: control group (n = 1398) and immunonutrition group (n = 1617). Overall, 81.2% were women and mean age was 72.6 ± 6.9 years. Immunonutrition group had a shorter LOS in hours (32.0 ± 19.4 vs 56.0 ± 26.4; P < .001) and lower rates of infectious complications (2.2% vs 4.6%; P < .001). Noninfectious complications and need for ICU also had lower rates in the immunonutrition group. In the logistic regression analysis, immunonutrition reduced the chance of infectious complications by 55% (odds ratio [OR], 0.45; 95% CI, 0.30–0.68; P < .001) even after adjusting for variables (OR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.28–0.71; P < .001). Conclusion Perioperative immunonutrition in elderly patients undergoing THA or TKA may shorten postoperative LOS and reduce infectious and noninfectious complications and transfusion requirement.

Three medium-carbon, high-silicon cast steels with different alloy contents were austempered at 330 °C for different holding times in order to obtain carbide-free bainitic microstructures. Aiming at evaluating the influence of holding time and microstructural features on strength and ductility, tensile properties were measured for each steel at selected austempering times. The results obtained indicate that it is possible to adjust holding time in order to obtain the best strength/ductility combination at determined austempering temperature. Moreover, it has been shown that the mechanical stability of retained austenite is the key factor in controlling tensile performance. Short austempering times result in low carbon enrichment of the austenite (low stability) and promote higher ultimate tensile strength and lower ductility. For longer austempering times, steels present a slight decrease in ultimate tensile strength but a marked increase in ductility. This work shows that it is possible to obtain cast steels with ultimate tensile strength of 1682 MPa, yield strength of 1493 MPa and total elongation of 12.5% by means of bainitic reaction. This strength/ductility combination and others reported in this study are remarkable for cast steels.

Background Increasing hospice need, a growing shortage of hospice providers, and concerns about in-person services because of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) require hospices to innovate care delivery. Measures This project compared outcomes between hospice reauthorization visits conducted via telehealth and in person. After each visit, providers, patients, and caregivers completed telehealth acceptance surveys, and providers recorded reauthorization recommendations. Intervention Providers conducted 88 concurrent in-person and telehealth visits between June and November 2019. Outcomes No statistically significant differences in reauthorization recommendations were found between telehealth and in-person visits. Satisfaction with telehealth was high; 88% of patients/caregivers and 78% of providers found telehealth services as effective as in-person visits. Conclusions/Lessons Learned Results indicate that telehealth can successfully support clinical decision making for hospice reauthorization. These findings show telehealth to be reliable and acceptable for certain types of hospice care even before COVID-19, which emphasizes its importance both during and after the current public health emergency.

Groundwater plays a substantial role in resource supply, in ecosystem functioning and human well-being. The aim of this study is develop a tool to assess the groundwater vulnerability through of fuzzy predicates in an area in the Pampas Plain in Argentina. Knowledge is represented as a main fuzzy predicate whose degree of truth is computed by means of numerical variables to determine a degree of groundwater vulnerability. Thematic Fuzzy System (TFS) software has been developed using MATLAB® to design and optimize a fuzzy predicates based model. The results in the final fuzzy map identified the middle and lower basin as areas with high and very high truth values for the main predicate “Groundwater is vulnerable”, thus, these sectors were defined as the main areas of greatest vulnerability. This study showed that fuzzy models are more efficient computer-base tools for decision-makers in the water resources management due to high discrimination of the territory, producing successful results using fewer variables than other ordinary approaches.