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Pre-partecipation ECG screening of large populations has a significant socioeconomic impact. Technological progress now allows for high-tech-low-cost ECG screening using validated smartphone-based devices capable of guiding to the correct performance of a 12‑lead ECG by layman with no medical background.We enrolled 728 (364, 52% males) individuals, aged 12-13 years who underwent ECG screening with a smartphone 12‑lead ECG during school hours by layman volunteers. Correct electrodes placement was provided by a validated image-processing algorithm by the smartphone camera in the App. ECG interpretation was via a telecardiology platform and alterations classified following current standards.A total of 741 ECGs were recorded, of which 13(2%) were technically not interpretable. Mean PR, QRS and QTc were: 145 ± 22, 85 ± 19 and 387 ± 57 msec. No QTc prolongation was observed. Mean QRS axis was 15°; 26 (4%) patients presented an iRBB. T-wave inversion from V1-V3 was present in 145 (21%) subjects. Twenty-one(3%) patients were referred to second level examination: deep Q-waves in inferior leads in 12(1.6%), ventricular ectopics in 5(0.7%), anterior T-waves inversions V1-V4 in 3(0.4%); extreme right axis deviation in 1(0.3%). Second line investigations did not provide any definitive diagnosis. Total project costs (material equipment and human cost) was 14.460€, 19.51€ per individual. The potential net saving with respect to current pre-participation screening cost was 19%.Layman 12‑lead Smartphone-ECG population screening proved feasible and effective, with a rate of non-interpretable ECG of5%. Potential cost-saving in ECG screening and recording was 19%, providing an appealing opportunity when large campaigns should be addressed also in developing countries.

The Covid-19 pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time. Chest X-Rays (CXR) have been an important imaging modality for assisting in the diagnosis and management of hospitalised Covid-19 patients. However, their interpretation is time intensive for radiologists. Accurate computer aided systems can facilitate early diagnosis of Covid-19 and effective triaging. In this paper, we propose a fuzzy logic based deep learning (DL) approach to differentiate between CXR images of patients with Covid-19 pneumonia and with interstitial pneumonias not related to Covid-19. The developed model here, referred to as CovNNet, is used to extract some relevant features from CXR images, combined with fuzzy images generated by a fuzzy edge detection algorithm. Experimental results show that using a combination of CXR and fuzzy features, within a deep learning approach by developing a deep network inputed to a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), results in a higher classification performance (accuracy rate up to 81%), compared to benchmark deep learning approaches. The approach has been validated through additional datasets which are continously generated due to the spread of the virus and would help triage patients in acute settings. A permutation analysis is carried out, and a simple occlusion methodology for explaining decisions is also proposed. The proposed pipeline can be easily embedded into present clinical decision support systems.

Objective This paper presents the differential diagnosis of a calcified mass found in the pelvic cavity of an adult male dating to the 10th century AD. Materials Skeletal remains of an adult male exhumed from the cemetery associated with the early medieval church of Riner (Solsones, Catalonia). Methods The structure and composition of the mass were examined by x-ray imaging, microscopic stereoscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry analysis. Results The examination reveals a light brown kidney-shaped calcification with well-defined margins, irregular hypodense zones, and several thin concentric layers. The obtained spectra showed a mixture of carbonate apatite (with a high level of carbonation) and calcite in all the sections studied. Conclusion The calcification most likely corresponds to a urinary calculus of infectious origin. Significance Given the insights that urinary calculi can provide towards understanding consequences of infection and environmental conditions, this case will be of interest to other researchers wishing to initiate comparative analyses. Limitations The discussion of the etiology of the stone is limited by the lack of preservation of certain elements such as struvite.

Background The fungi present in the decaying remains enable a better understanding of the processes of decomposition after death. There are not many studies about fungi on decaying bodies and it is not known which fungal sampling methods are effective. Aims The main objective of this study was to find the best method for sampling fungi in carcasses, prove the effectiveness of this method and identify the fungal colonies in animal carcasses from experimental burials. Methods Samples from 13 carcasses of Sus scrofa domestica, from the experimental project Taphos-m, were taken with different materials: spatula, sterile swabs and RODAC contact plates. Results RODAC contact plates with the RBA culture medium showed higher proliferation of fungal colonies. Thirty genera of fungi were isolated from different substrates (bone, tissue, lime). Most of the fungi genera or groups identified have been described before in the literature, but the substrates they came from were different in some cases. Conclusions Sampling with RODAC contact plates was found to be the most effective method, as it provides a nutritional culture medium that may allow growth since the moment of sampling. Fungi colonies grew better in RBA culture medium because bacterial growth is inhibited. Most of the observed fungi are related to the environment but some others have been found related to decomposing bodies for the first time.

With the aim to reduce multidrug resistance several molecules were synthesized and tested for their ability to inhibit ATP-binding cassette (ABC) proteins, which are responsible for drugs transport out from cells. The compound 8-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-methyl-8-[(2Z)-pent-2-en-1-yloxy]-8H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[3,4-c][1,4]thiazin-3-one namely 2c, is structurally related to the myocardial-calcium-channel-modulator diltiazem and is considered one of the most efficient P-glycoprotein inhibitors, able to induce apoptosis at low concentrations of doxorubicin in multidrug resistant ovarian cells. In this study experiments were carried out to evaluate other biological activities of compound 2c. We verified the ability of 2c to inhibit ABC transporters do not involved in drug resistance and considering the inhibitory effect of diltiazem on recombinant human carboxylesterase, we observed its inhibitory effect on the esterase activity. Our findings demonstrated that 2c exhibits broad-spectrum activity as ABC transporters inhibitor being able to inhibit ABCC6, a protein belonging to the ABC family although poorly involved in drug resistance. 2c also inhibits cell esterase activity, acetylcholine esterase activity in vitro and cell histone H3 acetylation according to its structural homology with some known HAT inhibitors. The results obtained provide new knowledge on the biological activities of 2c and represent useful information when it is used as an inhibitor of drug resistance.

Resume Objectifs Les squelettes des femmes en cours de grossesse avec un fœtus situe au niveau de la region pelvienne sont rares au sein des archives archeologiques. Nous avons voulu recenser les differents cas decrits de deces fœto-maternels dans les societes prehistoriques et pre-modernes. Methodes Nous avons realise une revue de la litterature via Pubmed et Google concernant la mortalite maternofœtale pendant la Prehistoire, l’Antiquite et le Moyen-Age. Les mots cles suivant ont ete utilises : ancient times ; paleopathology ; immature fetus ; medieval ; pregnancy ; mummies ; Antiquity ; maternal mortality. Resultats Trente articles ont repondu a nos criteres de selection auxquels nous avons ajoute un cas personnel non publie. Sur les 64 squelettes feminins, on retrouvait majoritairement des anomalies infectieuses (10 abces dentaires et 2 pneumonies) et des lesions traumatiques (2 fractures de l’os frontal et une luxation de la tete femorale). Au niveau fœtal, il y avait 48 singletons et 3 paires de jumeaux. Ont ete mis en evidence 8 accouchements compliques (3 sieges, 4 presentations transverses et une probable dystocie des epaules). Conclusions La rarete des deces fœto-maternels en lien avec ce sous-groupe de morts maternelles pose la question de leurs etiologies et de leurs relations exactes avec la grossesse et l’accouchement. Cette minorite de la mortalite maternelle globale ne doit pas faire oublier les autres etiologies, a savoir les conditions environnementales defavorables (la malnutrition chronique et les risques infectieux notamment) et l’absence de soins prodigues a la mere et son enfant.

Biological and forensic anthropologists face limitations while studying skeletal remains altered by taphonomic alterations and perimortem trauma, such as in remains from the Spanish Civil War. However, virtual anthropology techniques can optimize the information inferred from fragmented and deformed remains by generating and restoring three-dimensional bone models. We applied a low-cost 3D modelling methodology based on photogrammetry to develop novel forensic applications of virtual 3D skull reconstruction, assembly, restoration and ancestry estimation. Crania and mandible fragments from five Spanish Civil War victims were reconstructed with high accuracy, and only one cranium could not be assembled due to extensive bone loss. Virtual mirroring successfully restored reconstructed crania, producing 3D models with reduced deformation and perimortem trauma. High correlation between traditional and virtual craniofacial measurements confirmed that 3D models are suitable for forensic applications. Craniometric databases of world-wide and Spanish populations were used to assess the potential of discriminant analysis to estimate population ancestry. Our protocol correctly estimated the continental origin of 86.7 % of 15 crania of known origin, and despite low morphological differentiation within European populations, correctly identified 54.5 % as Spanish and 27.3 % of them with high posterior probabilities. Two restored crania from the Civil War were estimated as Spanish, and one as a non-Spanish European. Results were not conclusive for one cranium and did not confirm previous archeological hypotheses. Overall, our research shows the potential to assess the presence of foreign volunteers in the Spanish Civil War and highlights the added value of 3D-virtual techniques in forensic anthropology.

The structurally well-defined copper(I) acetate was immobilized on silica gel via electrostatic interactions. The catalytic activity of the immobilized catalyst Cu(I)–SiO2 was examined in the click synthesis of 1,2,3-triazoles in water/ethanol at room temperature. The catalyst showed high catalytic activity and regioselectivity for the Huisgen [3+2] cycloaddition reaction between terminal alkynes and azides. The catalyst was recovered by simple filtration and reused for up to five times. The analysis of the local electrophilicity/nucleophilicity has been performed on the dinuclear copper–acetylide complex intermediate. Conceptual DFT (CDFT) analysis enabled the explanation of the formation of 1,2,3-triazole in a regioselective manner. FT-IR, XRPD, SEM and ICP techniques were used to characterize the immobilized catalyst.

In this paper we develop and analyze a unified approximation of the velocity–pressure pair for the Stokes–Darcy coupled problem in a plane domain. It is well known that, stable finite element approximations for the Stokes problem may not be appropriate for Darcy problem and for the coupling of fluid flow (modeled by the Stokes equations) with porous media flow (modeled by the Darcy equation), and therefore, different spaces are commonly used for the discretizations of the Darcy and the Stokes problems. In this work we proposed a modification of the Darcy problem which allows us to apply the classical Mini-element to the whole coupled Stokes–Darcy problem. The proposed method is probably one of the cheapest method for continuous approximation of the coupled system, has optimal accuracy with respect to solution regularity, and has simple and straightforward implementations. Numerical experiments are also presented, which confirm the excellent stability and accuracy of our method.

Aims The bioactivities of Santolina corsica Jord. & Fourr. n-hexane (EHS) and methanol (EMS) extracts were evaluated in relation to their chemical profile. Main methods EHS and EMS were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry () and high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD), respectively. Antioxidant activity was determined by β-carotene bleaching, Ferric Reducing Activity Power (FRAP), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and 2,2′-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) tests. Nitric oxide (NO) production was assessed in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Anti-proliferative activity was evaluated by MTT assay on A549, HeLa, PC3, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 cancer cells, and non-tumorigenic MCF10 A cells. Cell motility, migration and invasion were assessed by wound-healing scratch, migration and invasion assays, respectively. DNA fragmentation was tested by TUNEL assay. Cells morphology was studied by phase-contrast microscopy. Procaspase-8, -9, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase and COX-2 expression levels were evaluated by immunoblotting analysis. Key findings Kaempferol-3-O-glucoside (5878.67 mg/100 g of extract), chlorogenic acid (746.11 mg/100 g), and rosmarinic acid (550.16 mg/100 g) were the dominant EMS constituents. EHS showed myrcene (18.86%) as the main compound, followed by palmitic acid methyl and ethyl esters (9.35 and 9.16%, respectively), β-phellandrene (8.48%), and ar-curcumene (5.63%). Both extracts showed promising anti-proliferative activity on all tested cancer cells, without inducing cytotoxicity in non-tumorigenic cells MCF-10 A. Moreover, extracts inhibited motility, migration, and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells, inducing apoptosis. EHS decreased NO production, showing anti-inflammatory activity. Significance S. corsica extracts might be potentially useful in cancer treatment, since reduce invasive and migratory potential of MDA-MB-231 cells triggering apoptosis.