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We report measurements of the charged daughter fraction of 218Po as a result of the 222Rn alpha decay, and the mobility of 218Po+ ions, using radon-polonium coincidences from the 238U chain identified in 532 live-days of DarkSide-50 WIMP-search data. The fraction of 218Po that is charged is found to be 0.37 ± 0.03 and the mobility of 218Po+ is (8.6 ± 0.1) × 10−4 cmVs2.

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Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is a systematic multidimensional and interdisciplinary evaluation that enables clinicians to recognize age-related impairments and develop a coordinated treatment plan and follow-up suited to the patient's needs. Considering the growing number of older persons requiring care in health systems everywhere and the importance of shifting from a disease-specific care model to a more comprehensive care model, we aimed to present the benefits of CGA for older people in different healthcare settings using a narrative review. This patient-centered model of care has been associated with lower hospital (re)admission, maintenance of function, improved quality of life, less caregiver burden, and higher patient satisfaction with the care provided across different healthcare settings. In some contexts – for example, hospitalized older people –, CGA has already been established as the standard model of care as it was consistently related to reduced mortality. Consistent findings from specific contexts (eg, oncology, orthopaedics) also show the importance of CGA in aiding clinicians make better decisions for older patients. It is noteworthy that further evidence from costeffectiveness studies is still warranted, particularly in community settings. Another encouraging topic for future research is the role of technology in disseminating CGA-based models of care.

Tyrosine metabolism has an intense role in the synthesis of neurotransmitters. Our study used an untargeted, sportomics-based analysis of urine samples to investigate changes in metabolism during a soccer match in 30 male junior professional soccer players. Samples were collected before and after the match and analyzed using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Results showed significant changes in tyrosine metabolism. Exercise caused a downregulation of the homogentisate metabolites 4-maleylacetoacetate and succinylacetone to 20% (p = 4.69E−5) and 16% (p = 4.25E−14), respectively. 4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate, a homogentisate precursor, was found to be upregulated by 26% (p = 7.20E−3). The concentration of hawkinsin and its metabolite 4-hydroxycyclohexyl acetate increased ~six-fold (p = 1.49E−6 and p = 9.81E−6, respectively). Different DOPA metabolism pathways were also affected by exercise. DOPA and dopaquinone increased four-to six-fold (p = 5.62E−14 and p = 4.98E−13, respectively). 3-Methoxytyrosine, indole-5,6-quinone, and melanin were downregulated from 1 to 25%, as were dopamine and tyramine (decreasing to up to 5% or 80%; p= 5.62E−14 and p = 2.47E−2, respectively). Blood TCO2 decreased as well as urinary glutathione and glutamate (40% and 10% respectively) associated with a two-fold increase in pyroglutamate. Our study found unexpected similarities between exercise-induced changes in metabolism and the inherited disorder Hawkinsinuria, suggesting a possible transient condition called exercise-induced hawkinsinuria (EIh). Additionally, our research suggests changes in DOPA pathways may be involved. Our findings suggest that soccer exercise could be used as a model to search for potential countermeasures in Hawkinsinuria and other tyrosine metabolism disorders.

IntroductionThrombotic events in neonates and children represent a rare although severe occurrence in view of the associated risk of mortality and sequelae. Quality evidence is limited in this field, and registry studies provide an essential base for research. The aim of this paper is to present the new Italian Registry of Infantile Thrombosis (RITI), set it into the scene of international thrombosis and stroke registries, and provide some insight on the challenges associated with registry management.MethodsWe present the detailed structure and content of the new RITI registry, a brief overview of its main data, and a reflection on its features, pitfalls and the main challenges related to its management.ResultsThe RITI, initially started in 2007 and officially re-launched in 2017 after structural modifications, is a non-interventional retrospective and prospective registry study collecting data on neonatal and pediatric patients (0–18 years) who experienced a systemic or cerebral thrombotic event in Italy. The RITI is managed by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in pediatric thrombosis, and participation is open to all Italian physicians, on a voluntary basis. The overall aim of the registry is to acquire new evidence to better characterize the population of children with thrombotic events and improve their management and outcome. 48 Italian pediatric and intensive care units are actively involved in the RITI, including 85 medical doctors from 16 Italian regions. A total of 1,001 neonates and children affected by cerebral or systemic thrombosis have been enrolled.DiscussionThe RITI is one of the largest available European registries of neonatal and pediatric thrombosis. National registries like the RITI represent a model for the study of rare conditions based on multidisciplinary and multicenter collaboration, aimed at overcoming the limitations due to small populations of patients, and creating a network of experts for patient referral and continuous education. Moreover, registry studies have a pivotal role in the research on pediatric thrombosis, due to the limited feasibility of high-quality studies. In our experience, the main critical stages, pitfalls and challenges in registry management include adequate registry designing, diffusion, data completeness and quality control.

Malnutrition is a common condition in cancer patients which is usually associated with functional limitations, as well as increased morbidity and mortality. Based on the support of the young sections of Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM), Italian Association of Radiotherapy and Clinical Oncology (AIRO) and Italian Society of Surgical Oncology (SICO) merged into the NutriOnc Research Group, we performed a multidisciplinary national survey with the aim to define the awareness of nutritional issues among healthcare professionals delivering anticancer care. The questionnaire was organized in four sections, as follows: Knowledge and practices regarding Nutritional Management of cancer patients; Timing of screening and assessment of Nutritional Status; Nutritional Treatment and prescription criteria; Immunonutrition and educational topics. The modules focused on esophagogastric, hepato-bilio-pancreatic and colorectal malignancies. Overall, 215 physicians completed the survey. As regards the management of Nutritional Status of cancer patients, many responders adopted the ERAS program (49.3%), while a consistent number of professionals did not follow a specific validated nutritional care protocol (41.8%), mainly due to lack of educational courses (14.5%) and financial support (15.3%). Nearly all the included institutions had a multidisciplinary team (92%) to finalize the treatment decision-making. Cancer patients routinely underwent nutritional screening according to 57.2% of interviewed physicians. The timing of nutritional assessment was at diagnosis (37.8%), before surgery (25.9%), after surgery (16.7%), before radiochemotherapy (13.5%) and after radiochemotherapy (7%). Most of the responders reported that nutritional status was assessed throughout the duration of cancer treatments (55.6%). An important gap between current delivery and need of nutritional assessment persists. The development of specific and defined care protocols and the adherence to these tools may be the key to improving nutritional support management in clinical practice.

To carry out effective and quick identification of SARS-CoV-2 from nasopharyngeal swabs and contain outbreaks, reliable and rapid tools are needed. Herein, we compared a rapid antigen test based on active microfluidic technology to an RT-qPCR assay in pediatric and young adult patients admitted to the Pediatric Emergency Unit of a Children’s Hospital. Nasopharyngeal swabs collected from patients with suspected COVID-19 disease and from those without COVID-19 related symptoms, but requiring hospitalization, were performed with both antigen test and RT-qPCR assays. We included 375 patients with a median age of 5 years in the study, with an estimated overall prevalence of 7.2%. Overall, we observed a specificity of 97.4% (95% CI: 94.9–98.7) and a sensitivity of 66.6% (95% CI: 46.0–82.7) with a positive likelihood ratio (LR+) of 25.8 (95% CI: 12.8–51.8). In the subgroup of symptomatic patients, the specificity and the sensitivity were 95.2% (95% CI: 89.4–98.0) and 80.0% (95% CI: 44.2–96.5) respectively; LR+ was 16.6 (95% CI: 7.19–38.6). In the asymptomatic subset, the performance showed a specificity of 98.7% (95% CI: 95.8–99.7), a sensitivity of 58.8% (95% CI: 33.5–80.6), and an LR+ of 43.7 (95% CI: 13.3–144.0). Compared to RT-qPCR, the new microfluidic-based antigen test showed higher specificity (>95%) in the pediatric population, thus representing a suitable point-of-care testing (POCT) in a clinical setting with low prevalence of COVID-19.

Keeping sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) within the root canal is challenging in regenerative endodontics. In this study, we developed a drug delivery system using a gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel incorporated with aluminosilicate clay nanotubes (HNTs) loaded with NaOCl. Pure GelMA, pure HNTs, and NaOCl-loaded HNTs carrying varying concentrations were assessed for chemo-mechanical properties, degradability, swelling capacity, cytocompatibility, antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities, and in vivo for inflammatory response and degradation. SEM images revealed consistent pore sizes of 70–80 µm for all samples, irrespective of the HNT and NaOCl concentration, while HNT-loaded hydrogels exhibited rougher surfaces. The hydrogel’s compressive modulus remained between 100 and 200 kPa, with no significant variations. All hydrogels demonstrated a 6–7-fold mass increase and complete degradation by the seventh day. Despite an initial decrease in cell viability, all groups recovered to 65–80% compared to the control. Regarding antibacterial and antibiofilm properties, 12.5 HNT(Double) showed the highest inhibition zone on agar plates and the most significant reduction in biofilm compared to other groups. In vivo, the 12.5 HNT(Double) group displayed partial degradation after 21 days, with mild localized inflammatory responses but no tissue necrosis. In conclusion, the HNT-NaOCl-loaded GelMA hydrogel retains the disinfectant properties, providing a safer option for endodontic procedures without harmful potential.

Given the ongoing pandemic, there is a need to identify SARS-CoV-2 and differentiate it from other respiratory viral infections in various critical settings. Since its introduction, rapid antigen testing is spreading worldwide, but diagnostic accuracy is extremely variable and often in disagreement with the manufacturer’s specifications. Our study compared the clinical performances of two microfluidic rapid antigen tests towards a molecular assay, starting from positive samples. A total of 151 swabs collected at the Microbiology and Virology Laboratory of A.O. “SS Antonio e Biagio e C. Arrigo” (Alessandria, Italy) for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 were simultaneously tested to evaluate accuracy, specificity, and agreement with the RT-qPCR results. Both assays showed an overall agreement of 100% for negative specimens, while positive accuracy comprised between 45.10% and 54.90%. According to the manufacturer’s instructions, the greatest correlation between the antigenic and molecular assays was observed for the subset with high viral load (18/19, 94.74%), while it dramatically decreased for other subsets. Moreover, the ability to differentiate between SARS-CoV-2 and Flu provides an added value and could be addressed in an epidemic context. However, an in-house validation should be performed due to differences observed in performance declared by manufacturers and those actually obtained.