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In July 2022, we conducted a pilot cross-sectional study, within a project funded by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, to investigate the prevalence and predictors of anemia in children aged 6-59 months living in the Ntele camp (Mozambique), created for internally displaced persons (IDPs). We analyzed blood samples for hemoglobin (Hb) and Plasmodium antigens; stool and urine for parasites. Associations between variables were assessed by performing univariate and multivariate logistic regressions. Based on the World Health Organization's Hb cut-offs, we defined anemia (Hb < 110 g/L) as mild (Hb = 100-109 g/L), moderate (Hb = 70-99 g/L), and severe (Hb < 70 g/L). We included 245 children, 212 (83%) were anemic, with 30 (12%) being severely anemic, and 95 (39%) suffered from malaria. Children with moderate-severe anemia were younger than others (mean age = 25.3 and 29.5 months, respectively; p = 0.02). Malaria was positively correlated with moderate to severe anemia (crude OR [95%CI] = 2.5 [1.5-4.5]; sex and age-adjusted OR [95%CI] = 3.1 [1.7-5.6]). Anemia in children under 5 years of age represents an urgent public health threat in the IDPs camp of Ntele, with malaria potentially making them much more susceptible to moderate-severe anemia and other diseases., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Aim: Early childhood caries (ECC) represent a relevant public health issue in paediatric population globally. The current study aimed to investigate the main risk factors of this condition., Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out at the Child Dentistry Clinics of the Istituto Stomatologico Italiano, Milan, Italy, including patients aged 12-71 months and their parents. Demographical data, anthropometric measurements, oral hygiene and health assessment, and children's eating habits were collected., Conclusion: Our findings, according to recommendations, suggest that the prevention of ECC needs to begin in infancy. Oral health providers, physicians, nurses, and other health care personnel play an important role in educating parents about their child's oral and dental care and food choices.

A supposedly nonmagnetic 5d^{1} double perovskite oxide is investigated by a combination of spectroscopic and theoretical methods, namely, resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, x-ray absorption spectroscopy, magnetic circular dichroism, and multiplet ligand-field calculations. We found that the large spin-orbit coupling admixes the 5d t&#95;{2g} and e&#95;{g} orbitals, covalency raises the 5d population well above the nominal value, and the local symmetry is lower than O&#95;{h}. The obtained electronic interactions account for the finite magnetic moment of Os in this compound and, in general, of 5d^{1} ions. Our results provide direct evidence of elusive Jahn-Teller distortions, hinting at a strong electron-lattice coupling.

Deep learning (DL) networks have shown attractive performance in medical image processing tasks such as brain tumor classification. However, they are often criticized as mysterious "black boxes". The opaqueness of the model and the reasoning process make it difficult for health workers to decide whether to trust the prediction outcomes. In this study, we develop an interpretable multi-part attention network (IMPA-Net) for brain tumor classification to enhance the interpretability and trustworthiness of classification outcomes. The proposed model not only predicts the tumor grade but also provides a global explanation for the model interpretability and a local explanation as justification for the proffered prediction. Global explanation is represented as a group of feature patterns that the model learns to distinguish high-grade glioma (HGG) and low-grade glioma (LGG) classes. Local explanation interprets the reasoning process of an individual prediction by calculating the similarity between the prototypical parts of the image and a group of pre-learned task-related features. Experiments conducted on the BraTS2017 dataset demonstrate that IMPA-Net is a verifiable model for the classification task. A percentage of 86% of feature patterns were assessed by two radiologists to be valid for representing task-relevant medical features. The model shows a classification accuracy of 92.12%, of which 81.17% were evaluated as trustworthy based on local explanations. Our interpretable model is a trustworthy model that can be used for decision aids for glioma classification. Compared with black-box CNNs, it allows health workers and patients to understand the reasoning process and trust the prediction outcomes.

High energy resolution fluorescence detected X-ray absorption spectroscopy is a powerful method for probing the electronic structure of functional materials. The X-ray penetration depth and photon-in/photon-out nature of the method allow operando experiments to be performed, in particular in electrochemical cells. Here, operando high-resolution X-ray absorption measurements of a BiVO 4 photoanode are reported, simultaneously probing the local electronic states of both cations. Small but significant variations of the spectral lineshapes induced by the applied potential were observed and an explanation in terms of the occupation of electronic states at or near the band edges is proposed., (open access.)

Under what conditions can prefrontal cortex direct the composition of brain states, to generate coherent streams of thoughts? Using a simplified Potts model of cortical dynamics, crudely differentiated into two halves, we show that once activity levels are regulated, so as to disambiguate a single temporal sequence, whether the contents of the sequence are mainly determined by the frontal or by the posterior half, or by neither, depends on statistical parameters that describe its microcircuits. The frontal cortex tends to lead if it has more local attractors, longer lasting and stronger ones, in order of increasing importance. Its guidance is particularly effective to the extent that posterior cortices do not tend to transition from state to state on their own. The result may be related to prefrontal cortex enforcing its temporally-oriented schemata driving coherent sequences of brain states, unlike the atemporal "context" contributed by the hippocampus. Modelling a mild prefrontal (vs. posterior) lesion offers an account of mind-wandering and event construction deficits observed in prefrontal patients., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This study investigates individual differences in protective and risk factors among rescue workers (RWs), particularly Red Cross members, to optimize well-being and job performance under high-stress conditions. Employing a person-centered approach, two psychological profiles were identified: an adaptively resilient profile and a maladaptively vulnerable profile, characterized by distinct personality traits, coping methods, life events, and social support networks. A notable external criterion, self-compassion, discerned the profiles with maladaptively vulnerable individuals who exhibited higher self-judgment, social isolation, and emotional over-identification. The study also examined the impact of job roles on these profiles, discovering a prevalence of adaptive resilience among drivers, contrasting with team members who displayed maladaptive resilience and lower self-compassion scores. These insights suggest a nuanced method for identifying RWs who require specialized support, proposing tailored interventions, especially those enhancing self-compassion. The study, through an extensive psychological metric analysis, provides a deeper comprehension of resilience and vulnerability among RWs. This research highlights the importance of recognizing individual differences in protective and risk factors, thereby contributing to the enhancement of mental health and resilience in high-stress professions.

A multistep synthesis of a new tetra-amidate macrocyclic ligand functionalized with alkyl-thiophene moieties, 15,15-bis(6-(thiophen-3-yl)hexyl)-8,13-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[b,h][1,4,7,10]tetraazacyclotridecine-6,7,14,16(15H,17H)-tetraone, H 4 L, is reported. The reaction of the deprotonated ligand, L 4- , and Cu(II) generates the complex [LCu] 2- , that can be further oxidized to Cu(III) with iodine to generate [LCu] - . The H 4 L ligand and their Cu complexes have been thoroughly characterized by analytic and spectroscopic techniques (including X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy, XAS). Under oxidative conditions, the thiophene group of [LCu] 2- complex polymerizes on the surface of graphitic electrodes (glassy carbon disks (GC), glassy carbon plates (GC p ), carbon nanotubes (CNT), or graphite felts (GF)) generating highly stable thin films. With CNTs deposited on a GC by drop casting, hybrid molecular materials labeled as GC/CNT@p-[LCu] 2- are obtained. The latter are characterized by electrochemical techniques that show their capacity to electrocatalytically oxidize water to dioxygen at neutral pH. These new molecular anodes achieve current densities in the range of 0.4 mA cm -2 at 1.30 V versus NHE with an onset overpotential at ≈250 mV. Bulk electrolysis experiments show an excellent stability achieving TONs in the range of 7600 during 24 h with no apparent loss of catalytic activity and maintaining the molecular catalyst integrity, as evidenced by electrochemical techniques and XAS spectroscopy., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Candida auris has emerged globally as a multidrug-resistant health care-associated fungal pathogen. In the literature, nosocomial outbreaks are reported worldwide. In addition, C. auris diffusion occurs in high-dependency settings with infections typically affecting critically ill patients, resulting in life-threatening disease. We describe the first documented case of C. auris in northeastern Italy and the measures applied to contain the transmission that led to zero collateral infections.