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Damage to the middle ear (ME) caused by penetrating welding sparks can lead to a variety of adverse outcomes. An exhaustive review of the literature is lacking, particularly with regard to clinical presentation, diagnostic-therapeutic work-up, and outcomes. Here we describe the clinical details of an injury caused by the largest welding foreign body ever reported in the ME. In addition, we present a comprehensive review of the relevant literature.

There has been a growing interest in additive manufacturing in recent years, with researchers actively working on improving component quality through adjustments to printing parameters, lead time, and productivity. Rapid L-PBF printing has emerged as an attractive approach to expedite component manufacturing. However, employing a rapid building strategy may lead to additional internal flaws, which can be addressed during a Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) cycle. In this study, Inconel 718 was L-PBF printed using two distinct strategies: one involving the creation of a dense 1 mm shell with loosely packed powders in the core and the other utilizing different sets of printing parameters for the shell and core, respectively. These strategies resulted in a 60% and 45% printing time reduction, respectively, compared with the time requirement for printing same-size cubic samples with optimized parameters. Additionally, full densification and porosity elimination were achieved through a HIP-quench approach, obviating the need for further heat treatment. The study presents the final microstructures and retained flaws, along with assessing the degree of recrystallization via EBSD analysis and evaluating mechanical properties using hardness measurements and compression tests.

Organo-mineral fertilizers (OMFs) with low organic carbon (Corg) content have been associated with higher mineral fraction nutrient use efficiency. However, the extraction of peat, which is typically used in these OMFs, from endangered ecosystems causes long-time stored Corg to mineralize and to be released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2). This study analyzes the replacement of peat in OMFs with biowaste materials. These materials, considered organic byproducts that microorganisms and other living things can decompose through composting and aerobic or anaerobic digestion, offer a viable opportunity. This study investigated three stabilized biowastes—green compost (GC) from pruning residues, municipal solid waste compost (MSWC), and manure-based vermicompost (VC)—as the organic matrices for granular OMFs. These matrices were impregnated with dissolved ammonium sulfate and urea and used to coat diammonium phosphate granules. Each biowaste OMF contained 7.5% Corg, 20% mineral N, and 10% mineral P2O5 (OMF20 − 10). Fertilizers with high nutrient concentrations have the advantage of requiring low application volumes, facilitating their application in the field. Biowaste OMFs were compared with peat OMFs with the same Corg-N-P2O5 concentration. Peat and MSWC were also used to create OMFs containing 7.5% Corg, 10% mineral N, and 5% mineral P2O5 (OMF10 − 5). A 75-day tunnel trial was conducted under semi-controlled conditions using tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fertilized to an equivalent of 81 mg N kg−1 soil and 18 mg P kg−1 soil. Controls included no fertilization (N0P0) and mineral N and P fertilization (MFNP). The Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) chlorophyll meter and the BBCH (from German Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt und CHemische Industrie) scale as well as the number of shoots were measured over time, as berry and total aboveground yield, N and P uptakes, and N and P use efficiencies (NUE and PUE, respectively) were calculated at harvest. All treatments outperformed the control N0P0 in most indicators. Peat20 − 10 did not have more berry yield than other OMF20 − 10; however, the higher number of shoots indicated a higher potential yield in the event of prolonging the experiment. At the end of 75 days, VC20 − 10 and MSWC20 − 10 showed similar PUE to peat, suggesting that those materials can be used as replacements. In the case of OMF10 − 5, MSWC10 − 5 had yield and N and P uptakes like peat OMFs, confirming the potential use of MSWC as peat replacement even at different nutrient concentrations. This research provides reassuring evidence of the effectiveness of biowaste OMFs, offering a positive outlook for sustainable agriculture. However, their use is not recommendable for short growing seasons.

Abstract In a N $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 2 superconformal gauge theory with matter hypermultiplets transforming in the symmetric and anti-symmetric representations of SU(N), we study the integrated correlators of two Coulomb-branch operators and two moment-map operators using localization. In the corresponding matrix model we identify the operator associated with the integrated insertions of moment-map operators and provide for it an exact expression valid for all values of the coupling constant in the planar limit. This allows us to study the integrated correlators at strong-coupling where we show that they behave as the 2-point functions of the Coulomb-branch operators, up to an overall constant dependent only on the conformal dimensions of the latter. The strong-coupling relation between integrated correlators and 2-point functions turns out to be the same as in N $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 4 SYM at large N, despite the reduced amount of supersymmetry in our theory.

Abstract In the context of integrated correlators in N $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 4 SYM, we study the 2-point functions of local operators with a superconformal line defect. Starting from the mass-deformed N $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 2* theory in presence of a 1 2 $$ \frac{1}{2} $$ -BPS Wilson line, we exploit the residual superconformal symmetry after the defect insertion, and show that the massive deformation corresponds to integrated insertions of the superconformal primaries belonging to the stress tensor multiplet with a specific integration measure which is explicitly derived after enforcing the superconformal Ward identities. Finally, we show how the Wilson line integrated correlator can be computed by the N $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 2* Wilson loop vacuum expectation value on a 4-sphere in terms of a matrix model using supersymmetric localization. In particular, we reformulate previous matrix model computations by making use of recursion relations and Bessel kernels, providing a direct link with more general localization computations in N $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 2 theories.

This paper deals with the development and characterization of an Inconel 625 (IN625) reinforced with 2 wt.% of sub-micrometrical TiC particles produced by the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process. IN625 and IN625 2 wt.% TiC microstructural evolution was evaluated in the as-built, solution-annealed (2 h at 1150 °C), and prolonged heat-treated (2 h at 1150 °C + 100 h at 1000 °C) conditions. The IN625 and IN625 + TiC samples were successfully produced with low residual porosity (

Rice paddy soils have high organic carbon (OC) storage potential, but predicting OC stocks in these soils is difficult due to the complex OC stabilization mechanisms under fluctuating redox conditions. Especially in temperate climates, these mechanisms remain understudied and comparisons to OC stocks under natural vegetation are scarce. Semi-natural forests could have similar or higher OC inputs than rice paddies, but in the latter mineralization under anoxic conditions and interactions between OC and redox-sensitive minerals (in particular Fe oxyhydroxides, hereafter referred to as Fe oxides) could promote OC stabilization. Moreover, management-induced soil redox cycling in rice paddies can interact with pre-existing pedogenetic differences of soils having different degrees of evolution. To disentangle these drivers of soil OC stocks, we focused on a soil age gradient in Northern Italy with a long (30 + years) history of rice cultivation and remnant semi-natural forests. Irrespective of soil age, soils under semi-natural forest and paddy land-use showed comparable OC stocks. While, in topsoil, stocks of crystalline Fe and short-ranged Fe and Al oxides did not differ between land-uses, under paddy management more OC was found in the mineral-associated fraction. This hints to a stronger redox-driven OC stabilization in the paddy topsoil compared to semi-natural forest soils that might compensate for the presumed lower OC inputs under rice cropping. Despite the higher clay contents over the whole profile and more crystalline pedogenetic Fe stocks in the topsoil in older soils, OC stocks were higher in the younger soils, in particular in the 50–70 cm layer, where short-range ordered pedogenetic oxides were also more abundant. These patterns might be explained by differences in hydrological flows responsible for the translocation of Fe and dissolved OC to the subsoil, preferentially in the younger, coarse-textured soils. Taken together, these results indicate the importance of the complex interplay between redox-cycling affected by paddy-management and soil-age related hydrological properties.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a complex autoimmune disease characterized by significant fibrosis of the skin and internal organs, with the main involvement of the lungs, kidneys, heart, esophagus, and intestines. SSc is also characterized by macro- and microvascular damage with reduced peripheral blood perfusion. Several studies have reported more than 240 pathways and numerous dysregulation proteins, giving insight into how the field of biomarkers in SSc is still extremely complex and evolving. Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) are present in more than 90% of SSc patients, and anti-centromere and anti-topoisomerase I antibodies are considered classic biomarkers with precise clinical features. Recent studies have reported that trans-forming growth factor β (TGF-β) plays a central role in the fibrotic process. In addition, interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5), interleukin receptor-associated kinase-1 (IRAK-1), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), transducer and activator of transcription signal 4 (STAT4), pyrin-containing domain 1 (NLRP1), as well as genetic factors, including DRB1 alleles, are implicated in SSc damage. Several interleukins (e.g., IL-1, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, IL-22, and IL-35) and chemokines (e.g., CCL 2, 5, 23, and CXC 9, 10, 16) are elevated in SSc. While adiponectin and maresin 1 are reduced in patients with SSc, biomarkers are important in research but will be increasingly so in the diagnosis and therapeutic approach to SSc. This review aims to present and highlight the various biomarker molecules, pathways, and receptors involved in the pathology of SSc.

INTRODUCCIÓN: La Yerba Mate, es una infusión hecha de las hojas del árbol Ilex paraguariensis, planta de la familia Aquifoliaceae. Es una bebida que se consume principalmente en los países de América del Sur como Argentina, Uruguay, Brasil, Paraguay y está logrando una mayor penetración en Estados Unidos como en otros países del mundo. OBJETIVO: El presente estudio evalúa la genotoxicidad de la yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis), previamente probado para la presencia de hongos toxigénicos en cultivos específicos. MATERIAL Y METODOS: Se utilizó el sistema Allium cepa para el estudio de genotoxicidad, las células meristemáticas fueron tratadas con una infusión filtrada de mate, con agua destilada como control negativo y Dimetilsulfóxido (DMS) al 0,2 % como control positivo. RESULTADOS: El crecimiento radicular fue reducido dependiendo de la concentración, y al estudiar la proliferación celular se observó que la frecuencia de células mitóticas se reducía progresivamente a medida que aumentaba la concentración de yerba mate. Por otra parte, se observó un aumento en la frecuencia de células aberrantes con la concentración de yerba mate más alta (1400 µg/ml). CONCLUSIONES: Los hallazgos de este estudio muestran que la yerba mate induce efectos clastogénicos en las raíces meristemáticas de Allium cepa.

COVID-19 has been a global health problem since 2020. There are different spectrums of manifestation of this disease, ranging from asymptomatic to extremely severe forms requiring admission to intensive care units and life-support therapies, mainly due to severe pneumonia. The progressive understanding of this disease has allowed researchers and clinicians to implement different therapeutic alternatives, depending on both the severity of clinical involvement and the causative molecular mechanism that has been progressively explored. In this review, we analysed the main therapeutic options available to date based on modulating the host inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with severe and critical illness. Although current guidelines are moving toward a personalised treatment approach titrated on the timing of presentation, disease severity, and laboratory parameters, future research is needed to identify additional biomarkers that can anticipate the disease course and guide targeted interventions on an individual basis.

Pirfenidone and Nintedanib are specific drugs used against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) that showed efficacy in non-IPF fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILD). Both drugs have side effects that affect patients in different ways and have different levels of severity, making treatment even more challenging for patients and clinicians. The present review aims to assess the effectiveness and potential complications of Pirfenidone and Nintedanib treatment regimens across various ILD diseases. A detailed search was performed in relevant articles published between 2018 and 2023 listed in PubMed, UpToDate, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate, supplemented with manual research. The following keywords were searched in the databases in all possible combinations: Nintedanib; Pirfenidone, interstitial lung disease, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The most widely accepted method for evaluating the progression of ILD is through the decline in forced vital capacity (FVC), as determined by respiratory function tests. Specifically, a decrease in FVC over a 6–12-month period correlates directly with increased mortality rates. Antifibrotic drugs Pirfenidone and Nintedanib have been extensively validated; however, some patients reported several side effects, predominantly gastrointestinal symptoms (such as diarrhea, dyspepsia, and vomiting), as well as photosensitivity and skin rashes, particularly associated with Pirfenidone. In cases where the side effects are extremely severe and are more threatening than the disease itself, the treatment has to be discontinued. However, further research is needed to optimize the use of antifibrotic agents in patients with PF-ILDs, which could slow disease progression and decrease all-cause mortality. Finally, other studies are requested to establish the treatments that can stop ILD progression.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has higher rates among the general population, so early identification and prevention is the goal. The mechanisms of COPD development have not been completely established, although it has been demonstrated that endothelial dysfunction plays an important role. However, to date, the measurement of endothelial dysfunction is still invasive or not fully established. Nailfold video capillaroscopy (NVC) is a safe, non-invasive diagnostic tool that can be used to easily evaluate the microcirculation and can show any possible endothelial dysfunctions early on. The aim of this review is to evaluate if nailfold microcirculation abnormalities can reflect altered pulmonary vasculature and can predict the risk of cardiovascular comorbidities in COPD patients. Methods: A systematic literature search concerning COPD was performed in electronic databases (PUBMED, UpToDate, Google Scholar, ResearchGate), supplemented with manual research. We searched in these databases for articles published until March 2024. The following search words were searched in the databases in all possible combinations: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), endothelial damage, vascular impairment, functional evaluation, capillaroscopy, video capillaroscopy, nailfold video capillaroscopy. Only manuscripts written in English were considered for this review. Papers were included only if they were able to define a relationship between COPD and endothelium dysfunction. Results: The search selected 10 articles, and among these, only three previous reviews were available. Retinal vessel imaging, flow-mediated dilation (FMD), and skin autofluorescence (AF) are reported as the most valuable methods for assessing endothelial dysfunction in COPD patients. Conclusions: It has been assumed that decreased nitric oxide (NO) levels leads to microvascular damage in COPD patients. This finding allows us to assume NVC’s potential effectiveness in COPD patients. However, this potential link is based on assumption; further investigations are needed to confirm this hypothesis.

Abstract We study the 3-point functions of gauge-invariant scalar operators in four dimensional N $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 2 superconformal quiver theories using supersymmetric localization in the planar limit of a large number of colors. By exploiting a web of nontrivial relations, we show that the 3-point functions can be expressed in terms of the 2-point functions through exact Ward-like identities that are valid for all values of the coupling constant. In this way, using recent results about the 2-point functions, we are able to obtain the asymptotic strong-coupling expansion of the 3-point functions and of the corresponding structure constants in the planar limit. Our results extend to sub-leading orders what has been recently found at leading order, where a precise match with calculations within the AdS/CFT correspondence at the supergravity level is possible. Therefore, our findings can be interpreted also as a prediction for the sub-leading string corrections to these holographic calculations.

Abstract We study 4-dimensional N $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 2 superconformal quiver gauge theories obtained with an orbifold projection from N $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 4 SYM, and compute the 2- and 3-point correlation functions among chiral/anti-chiral single-trace scalar operators and the corresponding structure constants. Exploiting localization, we map the computation to an interacting matrix model and obtain expressions for the correlators and the structure constants that are valid for any value of the ’t Hooft coupling in the planar limit of the theory. At strong coupling, these expressions simplify and allow us to extract the leading behavior in an analytic way. Finally, using the AdS/CFT correspondence, we compute the structure constants from the dual supergravity theory and obtain results that perfectly match the strong-coupling predictions from localization.

Summary: Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) describes the formation of pseudo blood vessels constructed of tumor cells that have acquired endothelial-like properties. VM channels endow the tumor with a tumor-derived vascular system that directly connects to host blood vessels, and their presence is generally associated with poor patient prognosis. Here we show that the transcription factor, Foxc2, promotes VM in diverse solid tumor types by driving ectopic expression of endothelial genes in tumor cells, a process that is stimulated by hypoxia. VM-proficient tumors are resistant to anti-angiogenic therapy, and suppression of Foxc2 augments response. This work establishes co-option of an embryonic endothelial transcription factor by tumor cells as a key mechanism driving VM proclivity and motivates the search for VM-inhibitory agents that could form the basis of combination therapies with anti-angiogenics.

Background: Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) includes granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), and eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), all of which are characterised by inflammation of small–medium-sized vessels. Progressive understanding of these diseases has allowed researchers and clinicians to start discussing nailfold video capillaroscopy (NVC) as a future tool for many applications in daily practice. Today, NVC plays a well-established and validated role in differentiating primary from secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon correlated with scleroderma. Nevertheless, there has not been sufficient attention paid to its real potential in the ANCA-associated vasculitis. In fact, the role of NVC in vasculitis has never been defined and studied in a multicentre and multinational study. In this review, we carried out a literature analysis to identify and synthesise the possible role of capillaroscopy for patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis. Methods: Critical research was performed in the electronic archive (PUBMED, UpToDate, Google Scholar, ResearchGate), supplemented with manual research. We searched in these databases for articles published until November 2023. The following search words were searched in the databases in all possible combinations: capillaroscopy, video capillaroscopy, nailfold-video capillaroscopy, ANCA-associated vasculitis, vasculitis, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, EGPA, and microscopic polyangiitis. Results: The search identified 102 unique search results. After the evaluation, eight articles were selected for further study. The literature reported that capillaroscopy investigations documented non-specific abnormalities in 70–80% of AAV patients. Several patients showed neoangiogenesis, capillary loss, microhaemorrhages, and bushy and enlarged capillaries as the most frequent findings. Furthermore, the difference between active phase and non-active phase in AAV patients was clearly discernible. The non-active phase showed similar rates of capillaroscopy alterations compared to the healthy subjects, but the active phase had higher rates in almost all common abnormalities instead. Conclusions: Microvascular nailfold changes, observed in patients affected by vasculitis, may correlate with the outcome of these patients. However, these non-specific abnormalities may help in the diagnosis of vasculitis. As such, new analysis analyses are necessary to confirm our results.

In response to global challenges such as climate change and food insecurity, plant proteins have gained interest. Among these, lentils have emerged as a promising source of proteins due to their good nutritional profile and sustainability considerations. However, their widespread use in food products has been impeded by limited solubility. This study aimed to investigate the potential of high-shear mixing, a resource-efficient technique, to enhance lentil protein solubility and its functional properties. Red lentil protein isolate powders were rehydrated and subjected to a semi-continuous in-line high-shear treatment at 10,200 rpm for a timespan ranging from 0 to 15 min. The results highlighted a significant (p < 0.05) increase in solubility from 46.87 to 68.42% after 15 min of shearing and a reduction in particle size as a result of the intense shearing and disruption provided by the rotor and forced passage through the perforations of the stator. The volume-weighted mean diameter decreased from 5.13 to 1.72 µm after 15 min of shearing, also highlighted by the confocal micrographs which confirmed the breakdown of larger particles into smaller and more uniform particles. Rheological analysis indicated consistent Newtonian behaviour across all dispersions, with apparent viscosities ranging from 1.69 to 1.78 mPa.s. Surface hydrophobicity increased significantly (p < 0.05), from 830 to 1245, indicating exposure of otherwise buried hydrophobic groups. Furthermore, colloidal stability of the dispersion was improved, with separation rates decreasing from 71.23 to 24.16%·h−1. The significant enhancements in solubility, particle size reduction, and colloidal stability, highlight the potential of in-line high-shear mixing in improving the functional properties of lentil protein isolates for formulating sustainable food products with enhanced techno-functional properties.