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The Rice-lognormal (RLN) channel model was recently generalized to include an additive scattering component having constant average power. The generalized Rice-lognormal (GRLN) model includes as limiting cases many well-known narrowband models such as, e.g. Rice, lognormal (and combinations), and Loo's. The paper provides the GRLN first-order statistical description of envelope and phase, and the second-order statistics in terms of level crossing rate. The paper then provides a fitting procedure to extract model parameters from experimental data. Finally, it presents a new simulation procedure and validates it through comparison with theoretical results. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines whether self-employed, high-income, and college-educated blacks are more conservative and republican than blacks who are less economically successful and schooled. The black political alignment that began in the 1930s with the New Deal policies of FDR; Inconclusive research on the relationships between class and political conservatism; Work of Wayne Parent and Paul Stekler; Work of I.A. Lewis and William Schneider; More.

Introduction: Management of severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) has changed significantly in recent years, with different treatments now available including biologics and endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS), although there are still few comparative studies. We aimed to compare 1-year outcomes of patients with severe CRSwNP treated with dupilumab or ESS plus intranasal corticosteroids (INCS)., Methods: In this retrospective, real-life, observational, cohort study, we enrolled 101 patients with severe CRSwNP who were treated with INCS and either ESS (n = 49) or dupilumab (n = 52). The following outcomes were considered: nasal polyp score (NPS), Sino Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22), visual analogue scale (VAS) for specific symptoms, Sniffin' Sticks identification test (SSIT), need for oral corticosteroids (OCS) and local eosinophilia detected by nasal cytology., Results: ΔNPS was significantly higher in the surgery group up to 12 months when the difference with dupilumab group was no longer significant (ΔNPS: 4 vs. 4.1). ΔVAS rhinorrhoea, ΔVAS smell and ΔSNOT-22 were significantly higher in the dupilumab group at 12 months (p < .05). SSIT scores were significantly better in the dupilumab group starting from the first month of follow-up (p < .05). In the dupilumab group, only 6.1% of patients had detectable local eosinophilia compared to 57% in the surgery group alongside with a lower need for OCS (16.3% vs. 61%)., Conclusions: Both dupilumab and ESS were effective in improving outcomes in patients with severe CRSwNP over 12 months. Nevertheless, patients treated with dupilumab had greater improvement in terms of SNOT-22, VAS rhinorrhoea, VAS smell and SSIT scores, with better control of local inflammation and less need for OCS., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) may have a heterogeneous response to medical/surgical treatments based on endotypes. Data correlating biomarkers and severity of the disease are lacking. We aimed to determine if IL-5 and calprotectin may be useful in defining severity of disease and identifying uncontrolled patients., Methods: This was a case-control study including 81 patients with diffuse CRSwNP who underwent at least one previous surgery and treated with intranasal steroids. We enrolled 39 uncontrolled patients (SNOT-22 ≥ 40 and two or more cycles of systemic corticosteroids in last year) (Group A) and 42 controlled one (SNOT-22 < 40 and less than two cycles of systemic corticosteroids in last year) (Group B). We analyzed IL-5 and calprotectin in both nasal secretions and nasal polyp tissue., Results: Calprotectin and IL-5 were significantly higher in Group A in both secretions and tissue, and the higher the number of previous surgeries, the higher the levels detected in nasal secretions. At univariate analyses, smoking, asthma, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs-exacerbated respiratory disease (NSAID-ERD), blood eosinophilia, neutrophils, and eosinophils at nasal cytology were significantly associated with uncontrolled disease. Multivariate analyses showed that asthma, NSAID-ERD, and IL-5 in nasal secretion/polyp tissue were significantly related to the risk of uncontrolled disease., Conclusions: Our data suggest that asthma, NSAID-ERD, and IL-5 in nasal secretions/tissue may be helpful to identify more severe patients, as they are related to the risk of uncontrolled disease. Nonetheless, high levels of calprotectin and neutrophilia were also observed in uncontrolled patients, especially after multiple surgeries., (© 2024 The Authors. International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy and American Rhinologic Society.)

Vitamin D, an essential nutrient, plays a crucial role in numerous biological functions, acting as a hormone and being important for the proper functioning of the immune system. This review illustrates the interactions between adequate vitamin D levels and an appropriate immune response, highlighting the implications for Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), a chronic inflammation of the thyroid characterized by the production of autoantibodies. A comprehensive review of the existing literature shows that vitamin D inhibits the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, leading to an improvement in the clinical picture in HT by switching from a pro-inflammatory to immune balance. Vitamin D supplementation has been shown to reduce elevated serum levels of thyroid peroxidase antibodies, a key marker of HT. Although the results are conflicting, the evidence suggests that an adequate vitamin D intake supports the immune function and counteracts autoimmune conditions such as HT by improving their symptoms. There is evidence of vitamin D's key role in supporting the immune system function and managing autoimmunity, such as in HT. An adequate vitamin D intake is crucial for improving the clinical picture and the symptoms of HT.

Purpose: Induced eosinophilia is commonly related to dupilumab treatment. We analysed the temporal trends of blood eosinophilia in patients with severe uncontrolled CRSwNP during the first year of treatment with dupilumab in real-life setting to evaluate its correlation with outcomes of response and adverse events (AEs)., Methods: Seventy-four patients with severe uncontrolled CRSwNP treated with dupilumab at our institution were enrolled. At each visit, we evaluated AEC, outcomes of response to treatment and AEs., Results: A significant increase in AEC was observed since the first month with a peak at 3 months; at 12 months, the values returned comparable to those at baseline. A ≥ 50% increase of the baseline AEC with a value greater than 500 cells/mm 3 was documented in 38/74 patients (Group A) regardless of the time of observation, whereas in 36/74 patients (Group B), no changes were observed. Analysing the blood eosinophilia trend over time in group A, we observed a temporary eosinophilia with early onset (within 6 months), persistent eosinophilia with early onset, and eosinophilia with late onset. No differences in terms of outcomes of response to treatment or AEs were found between Group A and Group B, or between patients who developed an AEC ≥ 1500 cells/mm 3 or not., Conclusion: In our series, we observed that an increase in AEC with different temporal trends may be observed in CRSwNP patients during the first year of treatment with dupilumab. In our series, eosinophilia is not correlated with a negative outcome of response to treatment or a risk of AEs., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The significant heterogeneity in smoking behavior among smokers, coupled with the inconsistent efficacy of approved smoking cessation therapies, supports the presence of individual variations in the mechanisms underlying smoking. This emphasizes the need to shift from standardized to personalized smoking cessation therapies. However, informed precision medicine demands precision fundamental research. Tobacco smoking is influenced and sustained by diverse psychopharmacological interactions between nicotine and environmental stimuli. In the classical experimental rodent model for studying tobacco dependence, namely intravenous self-administration of nicotine, seeking behavior is reinforced by the combined delivery of nicotine and a discrete cue (nicotine+cue). Whether self-administration behavior is driven by the same psychopharmacological mechanisms across individual rats remains unknown and unexplored. To address this, we employed behavioral pharmacology and unbiased cluster analysis to investigate individual differences in the mechanisms supporting classical intravenous nicotine self-administration (0.04 mg/kg/infusion) in male outbred Sprague-Dawley rats. Our analysis identified two clusters: one subset of rats sought nicotine primarily for its reinforcing effects, while the second subset sought nicotine to enhance the reinforcing effects of the discrete cue. Varenicline (1 mg/kg i.p.) reduced seeking behavior in the former group, whereas it tended to increase in the latter group. Crucially, despite this fundamental qualitative difference revealed by behavioral manipulation, the two clusters exhibited quantitatively identical nicotine+cue self-administration behavior. The traditional application of rodent models to study the reinforcing and addictive effects of nicotine may mask individual variability in the underlying motivational mechanisms. Accounting for this variability could significantly enhance the predictive validity of translational research., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is a multifactorial disease that significantly impacts patients' quality of life. New therapeutic strategies and in particular biologic treatments are now available for these patients. It has been demonstrated that Dupilumab (an anti IL-4/IL-13 biologic drug) is effective in reducing the size of nasal polyps and in improving patients' symptoms and thus, quality of life. No real-world studies examining Dupilamab's efficacy in the elderly with respect to other adult age groups have as yet been carried out. The aim of this multicentric study was to evaluate Dupilumab's efficacy in young-middle adults as opposed to an older adult population affected by severe, uncontrolled CRSwNP. Of the 96 patients included in the study, 22 were 65 years old or older. Significant improvements were observed in all the parameters considered in both age groups after treatment was begun (T0 mean values for SNOT-22 = 58.5 ± 20.3, VAS NO = 7.6 ± 2.2, VAS smell = 8.6 ± 2.1, NPS = 5.6 ± 1.4, PNIF = 101.6 ± 59.4, S'S = 5.1 ± 3.1), T4 mean values for SNOT-22 = 15.1 ± 12.7, VAS NO = 1.7 ± 1.8, VAS smell = 2.4 ± 3, NPS = 1.7 ± 1.7, PNIF = 162.4 ± 43.2, S'S = 10.4 ± 3.7) ( p < 0.0001). No differences in the variables considered were observed between the two age groups during the study, with the exception of the Peak Nasal Inspiratory Flow (PNIF), which was marginally higher; this was also the case according to multivariate analyses ( p = 0.008) in the young-middle adult group with respect to the elderly one ( p = 0.07). At multivariate analyses, asthma and the female sex negatively influenced the PNIF values ( p = 0.001 and p = 0.012, respectively). Age negatively influenced the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for nasal obstruction ( p = 0.0032) and Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (ESS) negatively influenced the patents' olfactory performance ( p = 0.028) to the same degree in both groups. Dupilumab was found to be effective to the same degree in both age groups. It can be considered a safe and reliable option for the treatment of elderly patients with severe, uncontrolled CRSwNP.

Individuals who deviate from social norms by committing crimes may have reduced facial emotion recognition abilities. Nevertheless, a specific category of offenders - i.e. organised crime (OC) members - is characterised by hierarchically organised social networks and a tendency to manipulate others to reach their illicit goals. Since recognising emotions is crucial to building social networks, OC members may be more skilled in recognising the facial emotion expressions of others to use this information for their criminal purposes. Evidence of a difference between OC and non-organised crime (NOC) offenders in terms of facial emotion recognition is still lacking. To fill this gap in the literature, we tested 50 OC, 50 NOC offenders, and 50 non-offender controls for their ability to identify six basic emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and surprise). All participants underwent a cognitive and psychological evaluation to avoid alternative explanations. Results show that OC members were more able to detect the expression of fear in others as compared to NOC. We interpreted this finding in light of the social context and the behavioural criminal attitude of OC members.

Risk-taking behaviour is an essential aspect of our interactions with the environment. Here we investigated whether vestibular inputs influence behavioural measurement of risk-taking propensity. We have combined bipolar Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS) with a well-known and established risk-taking behaviour task, namely the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). A sham stimulation was used to control for non-specific effects. Left-anodal and right-cathodal GVS (L-GVS), which preferentially activates the vestibular projections in the right hemisphere, decreased the willingness to take risk during the BART compared with right-anodal and left-cathodal GVS (R-GVS), which activates the left hemisphere. This proved a specific vestibular effect which depends on GVS polarity. Conversely, no generic vestibular effect, defined as the adjusted average of L-GVS and R-GVS conditions compared to sham, emerged, excluding non-specific vestibular effects. Our results confirmed recent findings of a vestibular contribution to decision-making and strategy control behaviour. We suggest that the vestibular-mediated balancing of risk seeking behaviour is an important element of the brain's capacity to adapt to the environment., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Medecins Sans Frontieres set up a clinic to provide multidisciplinary care to a vulnerable migrant population experiencing torture. We describe the population accessing care, the characteristics of care provided and patient outcomes., Methods: A descriptive retrospective cohort study of patients enrolled in care during January 2017-June 2019 was conducted., Results: Of 2512 victims of torture cases accessing the clinic, the male: female ratio was 1:1. About 67% of patients received medical care, mostly for chronic pain treatment. About 73% of patients received mental healthcare, 37% received physiotherapy and 33% received social support care; 49% came to the clinic upon the recommendation of a friend or family member. The discharge with improvement rate ranged from 23% in the mental health service to 9% in the sociolegal service. Patients retained in care had a median IQR of 3 (2-4) follow-up visits for medical care, 4 (2-7) for mental health, 6 (3-10) for physiotherapy and 2 (1-4) for sociolegal., Conclusion: Care for victims of torture cases among vulnerable migrants is complex. For those who did receive care that led to an improvement in their condition, their care models have been described, to allow its implementation in other non-specialised settings., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.)