Mode family analysis for PMMA WGM micro resonators using spot intensity changes

2021

The whispering gallery modes (WGM) micro resonators are based on elliptical objects, which can be made from optically transparent materials, The geometry of the object enables optical wave circulating inside the ellipse using total internal reflection. If there is a monochromatic light source with constant intensity to the ellipse, constructive interference may be observed. Poly methyl methacrylate acrylic (PMMA) WGM micro resonators are commercially available with typical optical quality factor of 103-104. These could limit problems with WGM micro resonator expensive manufacturing. Thanks to advances in high resolution image processing, read-outs using spectroscopy (single photo detector) …

The Challenge of Unlocking the Biological Secrets of Aging.

2021

Clinical use of BCG and its complications: a case series

2021

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), a live, attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis, is the essential constituent of the vaccine against tuberculosis and the gold-standard adjuvant treatment for urothelial cancer of the bladder. Being a live, attenuated strain with a potential pathogenic action, bacilli can cause several complications, both locally near the inoculation site and remotely through blood dissemination. BCG-related disease can represent a side effect of anti-TB vaccination in patient with congenital or acquired immunodeficiency or a complication of the therapeutic schedule in oncologic patients. Herein we report five cases of BCG-related disease which occurred at the Infectious Dis…

Characterization and biodistribution of Au nanoparticles loaded in PLGA nanocarriers using an original encapsulation process

2021

Due to their imaging and radiosensitizing properties, ultrasmall gadolinium chelate-coated gold nanoparticles (AuNP) represent a promising approach in the diagnosis and the treatment of tumors. However, their poor pharmacokinetic profile, especially their rapid renal clearance prevents from an efficient exploitation of their potential for medical applications. The present study focuses on a strategy which resides in the encapsulation of AuNP in large polymeric NP to avoid the glomerular filtration and then to prolong the vascular residence time. An original encapsulation procedure using the polyethyleneimine (PEI) was set up to electrostatically entrap AuNP in biodegradable poly(lactic-co-g…

Performance Test of Various Teeth Diameter of Cylinder Type Sago Rasping Machine

2021

Traditional method of sago starch extraction was a time and labor intensive process. The most laborious stage is pith disintegration which is done by using hammer-like tools called pounder. However, the use of rasping machine to disintegrate the pith is saving time and energy significantly. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of teeth diameter and cylinder rotation speed on performance of cylinder type sago rasping machine. In the experiment, four variations of teeth diameter i.e. 3mm, 4 mm, 5 mm and 6 mm, and three levels of cylinder rotation speed i.e. 1500 rpm, 2000 rpm and 2500 rpm were examined. Results showed that both teeth diameter and cylinder rotation speed s…

Influence of polymorphisms in anthracyclines metabolism genes in the standard induction chemotherapy of acute myeloid leukemia

2021

Objectives Genetic variability in anthracycline metabolism could modify the response and safety of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) induction. Methods Polymorphisms in genes that encodes enzymes of anthracyclines metabolic pathway (CBR3: rs1056892, rs8133052, NQO1: rs1800566, NQO2: rs1143684, NOS3: rs1799983, rs2070744) were evaluated in 225 adult de novo AML patients. Results The variant CBR3 rs8133052 was associated with lower hepatotoxicity (P = 0.028). Wild-type genotype of NQO2 rs1143684 was related to higher complete remission (P = 0.014), and the variant allele with greater gastrointestinal toxicity (P = 0.024). However, the variant genotype of NQO1 rs1800566 was associated with mucositi…

Agreement between body surface and rectal temperature in cats

2021

Measuring body temperature in cats is an essential part of every clinical examination. Typically, rectal temperature measurement is conducted, but the procedure is poorly tolerated, and it often triggers stress-related changes in physiological parameters like pulse rate and blood pressure. Therefore, non-contact infrared thermometers have been studied on a few body surface measurement sites. However, existing studies included only commercial thermometers, which do not guarantee the correct temperature readings. In this study, we applied a custom-made and calibrated infrared thermometer for measuring feline body surface temperature on easily-accessible measurement sites of the eye, gum, and …

Ten-year assessment of a cancer fast-track programme to connect primary care with oncology: reducing time from initial symptoms to diagnosis and trea…

2021

Background Cancer is the second leading cause of mortality worldwide. Integrating different levels of care by implementing screening programmes, extending diagnostic tools and applying therapeutic advances may increase survival. We implemented a cancer fast-track programme (CFP) to shorten the time between suspected cancer symptoms, diagnosis and therapy initiation. Patients and methods Descriptive data were collected from the 10 years since the CFP was implemented (2009-2019) at the Clinico-Malvarrosa Health Department in Valencia, Spain. General practitioners (GPs), an oncology coordinator and 11 specialists designed guidelines for GP patient referral to the CFP, including criteria for br…

Le plaisir chez Sade

2021

International audience; « Le degré de violence dont on est ému, caractérise seul l’essence du plaisir », déclare le personnage de Noirceuil dans l’Histoire de Juliette de Sade (1799). Ce récit, l’un des plus célèbres et surtout l’un des plus libertins du corpus sadien, ne cesse en effet d’interroger la nature et l’origine du plaisir : qu’est-ce qui nous plaît ? D’où vient la diversité de nos « goûts » ? Y en a-t-il d’illégitimes ? Et que se passe-t-il en nous lorsque nous éprouvons du plaisir ? Le plaisir, ainsi envisagé, ne soulève pas seulement des questions physiques (est-ce le corps ou l’âme qui le sent ?) : il déie aussi la morale (y a-t-il de bons et de mauvais plaisirs ?), la politiq…

Special Issue “Mental Health Issues and Quality of Life in Older Individuals”

2021

There are numerous biological, psychological, and social factors that have a more or less prominent impact on the mental health of older adults [...]

ZnS Ultrathin interfacial layers for optimizing carrier management in Sb2S3-based photovoltaics

2021

Antimony chalcogenides represent a family of materials of low toxicity and relative abundance, with a high potential for future sustainable solar energy conversion technology. However, solar cells based on antimony chalcogenides present open-circuit voltage losses that limit their efficiencies. These losses are attributed to several recombination mechanisms, with interfacial recombination being considered as one of the dominant processes. In this work, we exploit atomic layer deposition (ALD) to grow a series of ultrathin ZnS interfacial layers at the TiO2/Sb2S3 interface to mitigate interfacial recombination and to increase the carrier lifetime. ALD allows for very accurate control over th…

Il fine vita e il legislatore pensante. Il punto di vista dei comparatisti - Parte I

2021

Il saggio - nella parte riferibile all'Autore - si preoccupa di ricostruire la relazione fra cure palliative e aiuto al suicidio. L'attenzione è in particolare proiettata sulla descrizione dell'itinerario della sedazione palliativa allo scopo di ridurre la possibilità che lo stato avanzato della patologia induca il paziente a chiedere di porre fine alla propria vita ormai costellata da insopportabili sofferenze. L'indagine si articola lungo la valorizzazione, incoraggiata dallo studio comparatistico, della libertà di autodeterminazione.

Intervening in domestic violence : interprofessional collaboration among social and health care professionals and the police

2021

Encountering domestic violence victims, perpetrators and witnesses in the multiprofessional fields of health and social care and policing includes various challenges. Each professional group perceives domestic violence from its own perspective, linked to its position in the field, core tasks, institutional practices and organizational structures. In this study, we examine interprofessional collaboration among Finnish social and health care professionals and police officers, focusing on the practices and conceptions concerning domestic violence interventions. The data consists of 16 focus group interviews, involving a total of 67 interviewees from social and health care professions and the p…

Perinatal stress events and burnout among midwives in Poland. The mediating role of self-efficacy

2021

Aim: The aim of the study was to check whether there is a link between perinatal stress events, self-efficacy, and burnout in a group of midwives. According to the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R model), perinatal stress events may be linked to burnout, and self-efficacy can play a mediating role in this connection. Design: A quantitative longitudinal study. Methods: The research involved 99 midwives working in the Polish public health service. Results: Stepwise regression analysis showed a direct relationship between perinatal stress events and emotional exhaustion (β = 0.12; p = 0.02). The results of mediation analysis suggest that self-efficacy plays the role of mediator in the perinat…

Influence of Teacher and Family Support on University Student Motivation and Engagement

2021

Although many studies endorse the notion that the way students perceive support influences their engagement, very few have explored the possible mediator role of intention to learn between these variables. The present work provides new evidence to the existing literature because it analyses the work of intention to learn (measured with expectancy–value beliefs and achievement goals) as a mediating motivational variable in the relation between university students’ external support (teacher and family) and their engagement. The Educational Situation Quality Model (MOCSE, its acronym in Spanish) has employed as a theoretical framework to perform this analysis. A sample of 267 Spanish universit…

Language and Mind : towards a linguistic and critical study of spectacular language.

2021

He thesis focuses on a sample of written messages drawn from the daily environment. In the general framework of the relationship between language and power, the thesis consists in the analysis of written messages broadcast in daily life. The research is based on the collection of messages found on various media, including advertising displays. The thesis begins with the reception and use of the notions of newspeak and wooden tongue in their historical and contemporary context in order to show the topicality of linguistic and sociological questions about the relationship between language and power. The study of these two notions, through the linguistic and epistemological issues they involve…

Free school meals as an opportunity to target social equality, healthy eating, and school functioning: experiences from students and teachers in Norw…

2021

Background There are no national arrangements for free school meals provision in Norway despite this being an important opportunity to improve children's and adolescents' nutritional status and ultimately their physical and cognitive development. During a one academic year (2014-2015), a group of Norwegian sixth graders were served a free healthy school meal in a project called 'The School Meal Project'. Objective To explore students' and teachers' experiences of receiving free school meals after the free school meal in 2015 and 5 years later. Design In-depth, semi-structured interviews with separate groups in 2015 and in 2020 were conducted face to face or via telephone or digital platform…

Real-life patient journey in neovascular age-related macular degeneration: a narrative medicine analysis in the Italian setting

2021

Objectives To investigate the real-life experience of patients affected by neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), in the healthcare pathway for the management of the disease, using a "patient journey" and narrative method approach. Methods The patient journey of subjects affected by nAMD was designed using a process-mapping methodology involving a team from 11 Italian centres. Subsequently, narratives were collected from nAMD patients and family members. The interviews were analyzed using the narrative medicine methodology. Results Eleven specialized retina centres across Italy were involved and 205 narratives collected. In 29% of cases, patients underestimated their symptoms …

Identification of ABA-Mediated Genetic and Metabolic Responses to Soil Flooding in Tomato (

2021

Soil flooding is a compound abiotic stress that alters soil properties and limits atmospheric gas diffusion (O2 and CO2) to the roots. The involvement of abscisic acid (ABA) in the regulation of soil flooding-specific genetic and metabolic responses has been scarcely studied despite its key importance as regulator in other abiotic stress conditions. To attain this objective, wild type and ABA-deficient tomatoes were subjected to short-term (24 h) soil waterlogging. After this period, gas exchange parameters were reduced in the wild type but not in ABA-deficient plants that always had higher E and gs. Transcript and metabolite alterations were more intense in waterlogged tissues, with genoty…

Impact of maternal age on infants' emotional regulation and psychomotor development

2021

AbstractBackgroundMaternal age has progressively increased in industrialized countries. Most studies focus on the consequences of delayed motherhood for women's physical and mental health, but little is known about potential effects on infants' neurodevelopment. This prospective study examines the association between maternal age and offspring neurodevelopment in terms of both psychomotor development (Ages & Stages Questionnaires-3) and emotional competences (Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire).MethodsWe evaluated a cohort of healthy pregnant women aged 20–41 years and their offspring, assessed at 38 weeks gestation (n= 131) and 24 months after birth (n= 101). Potential age-related …

Computer modelling of WGM microresonators with a zinc oxide nanolayer using COMSOL multiphysics software

2021

Whispering gallery mode resonators (WGMRs) are small axial symmetrical structures from transparent material, that can exceptionally well confine light within, thus making them ideal for studying light-matter interactions and using them as sensors. Various WGMR designs can be simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics. Sometimes an extra layer is coated on the surface of the resonator for achieving desirable effects. The extra layer changes quality factor of the resonator and ads extra modes for some frequencies. Different methods and studies are used for the exploration of this topic such as changing the thickness of the coating and using random functions to describe the roughness of the surface, …

The gait is less stable in children with cerebral palsy in normal and dual-task gait compared to typically developed peers

2021

There is limited evidence about gait stability and its alteration by concurrent motor and cognitive tasks in children with cerebral palsy (CP). We examined gait stability and how it is altered by constrained cognitive or motor task in CP and their typically developed (TD) controls. Gait kinematics were recorded using inertial-measurement units (IMU) from 18 patients with hemiplegia (13.5 +/- 2.4 years), 12 with diplegia (13.0 +/- 2.1 years), and 31 TD controls (13.5 +/- 2.2 years) during unconstrained gait, and motor (carrying a tray) and cognitive (word naming) task constrained gait at preferred speed (similar to 400 steps/task). Step duration, its standard deviation and refined-compound-m…

Variable crab camouflage patterns defeat search image formation.

2021

Understanding what maintains the broad spectrum of variation in animal phenotypes and how this influences survival is a key question in biology. Frequency dependent selection – where predators temporarily focus on one morph at the expense of others by forming a “search image” – can help explain this phenomenon. However, past work has never tested real prey colour patterns, and rarely considered the role of different types of camouflage. Using a novel citizen science computer experiment that presented crab “prey” to humans against natural backgrounds in specific sequences, we were able to test a range of key hypotheses concerning the interactions between predator learning, camouflage and mor…

Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative post-neurosurgical meningitis and the role of intraventricular colistin: a case series

2021

: The aim of this study was to report the clinical experience of intraventricular colistin for the treatment of multi-resistant Gram-negative post-surgical meningitis in a tertiary hospital. Post-neurosurgical meningitis (PNM) is one of the life-threatening complications of neurosurgical procedures, and is frequently sustained by Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Here we describe our experience of five cases of PNM caused by gram-negative multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria, treated with intraventricular (IVT) colistin, admitted to the Neurosurgery Unit of A.R.N.A.S. Civico of Palermo, Italy, from January 2016 to June 2020. In four patients the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cul…

The Female Sex Confers Different Prognosis in Heart Failure: Same Mortality but More Readmissions

2021

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is a major cause of morbimortality both in men and women. Differences between sex in etiopathogenesis, response to treatment, and quality of care have been found in patients with HF. Females are usually under-represented in clinical trials and there is no solid evidence demonstrating the influence of sex in the prognostic of chronic HF. The primary objective of this study was to analyse the differences in mortality and probability of hospital readmission between males and females with HF. The secondary objective was to compare mortality and probability of hospital readmission by ejection fraction (reduced vs. preserved).Methods: Patients with decompensated H…

Intervención psicológica mediante el coaching motivacional en un caso de pérdida de peso

2021

Objetivo: El objetivo de este estudio es obtener datos acerca de la eficacia del modelo de coaching motivacional de reciente creación “La Jirafa de Cantón”1,2, concretamente su capacidad de influir positivamente en variables como el bienestar psicológico y la autoestima. 
 Materiales y método: Se utiliza un diseño de caso único de triangulación metodológica, donde se combina la información cuantitativa obtenida mediante la evaluación test-retest con las escalas de Bienestar Psicológico de Ryff y el test de autoestima de Rosenberg con el análisis cualitativo de las entrevistas realizadas. La intervención tiene una duración de cinco sesiones y se realiza con una mujer de 20 años cuyo pri…

Mediterranean Diet and Physical Activity Decrease the Initiation of Cardiovascular Drug Use in High Cardiovascular Risk Individuals: A Cohort Study

2021

Our aim was to assess whether long-term adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) were associated with a lower initiation of cardiovascular drug use. We studied the association between cumulative average of MedDiet adherence and LTPA and the risk of cardiovascular drug initiation in older adults at high cardiovascular risk (PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea trial participants) non-medicated at baseline: glucose-lowering drugs (n = 4437), antihypertensives (n = 2145), statins (n = 3977), fibrates (n = 6391), antiplatelets (n = 5760), vitamin K antagonists (n = 6877), antianginal drugs (n = 6837), and cardiac glycosides (n = 6954). One-point increas…

Evidence-Based Strategies to Promote Long-Term Cardiac Implant Site Health: Review of the Literature

2021

Cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) are commonly used nowadays. The association between CIED placement and infections is responsible for the high mortality and device explantation rate. Since CIED placement has increased in the past decade, CIED-related complications have risen. In order to reduce the CIED-related complications rate, the prevention of device infection represents the main goal. Over time, many different studies have proven the importance of the measures to prevent CIED-related infections. This review aims to collect the actual recommendations for CIED infection prevention, providing an overview of the main evidence-based strategies.

Fiber-based planar antennas for spectroscopy and sensing

2021

Fluorescence detection is a well-established method for spectroscopy and sensing. However, since dye molecules are dipolar light sources, a large fraction of the emitted photons can be lost. An effective approach to overcome this problem relies on a planar antenna configuration, which beams the radiation pattern of the dye into a narrow cone. A planar antenna works like a Yagi-Uda antenna, but reflector and director elements are made of thin metal films. Here, by introducing a scanning optical fiber, which incorporates the reflector or the director, we demonstrate a tunable planar antenna for spectroscopic and sensing applications. Our results show that the radiation pattern narrows down to…

Frequency comb generation in whispering gallery mode silica microsphere resonators

2021

Optical frequency combs (OFC) using different kinds of whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) microresonators have already shown different applications and especially their applications in fiber optical communication systems as replacements of laser-arrays. For this application the free spectral range (FSR) of 200 GHz or less is desirable. Besides the fabrication material for microspheres, the resonator radius can be modified to change the FSR. In this paper use of silica microspheres for OFC represents an inexpensive alternative over the other microcombs: microring, microdisk, and microtoroid. We experimentally present a microsphere fabrication process from a different kind of silica (SiO2) fibers …

Natural products and analogs as preventive agents for metabolic syndrome via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors: An overview.

2021

Abstract Natural products and synthetic analogs have drawn much attention as potential therapeutical drugs to treat metabolic syndrome. We reviewed the underlying mechanisms of 32 natural products and analogs with potential pharmacological effects in vitro, and especially in rodent models and/or patients, that usually act on the PPAR pathway, along with other molecular targets. Recent outstanding total syntheses or semisyntheses of these lead compounds are stated. In general, they can activate the transcriptional activity of PPARα, PPARγ, PPARα/γ, PPARβ/δ, PPARα/δ, PPARγ/δ and panPPAR as weak, partial agonists or selective PPARγ modulators (SPPARγM), which may be useful for managing obesity…

Adapter Chimeric Antigen Receptor (AdCAR)-Engineered NK-92 Cells for the Multiplex Targeting of Bone Metastases

2021

Simple Summary Metastatic disease remains one of the biggest challenges for tumor therapy. The aim of our study was the preclinical evaluation of adapter chimeric antigen receptor (AdCAR)-engineered NK-92 cell efficacy as a possible treatment strategy for various types of bone metastatic cancers. We confirmed that AdCAR NK-92 cells successfully induces tumor cell lysis in bone metastasis cell lines derived from mammary, renal cell and colorectal carcinoma as well as melanoma in a specific and controllable manner, thus, establishing a potent cellular product with universal applicability and quick clinical translation potential for the treatment of solid tumors, including metastases. Abstract…

Primary vitrectomy for degenerative and tractional lamellar macular holes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2021

Purpose To assess the efficacy of vitrectomy in degenerative and tractional lamellar macular holes (LMHs) by meta-analysis of published studies. Methods PubMed, Medline and Embase databases were searched up to May 2020. Included cohorts were divided into three groups: degenerative LMH group, lamellar hole associated epiretinal proliferation (LHEP) group and tractional LMH group. LHEP is likely to be associated with degenerative LMHs, but less commonly could be associated with mixed LMHs. To reduce risk of possible misclassification bias, eyes with LHEP which could not have been precisely classified by the authors, were included into the LHEP group. The primary outcome was to investigate th…

Optical coherence tomography and Raman spectroscopy for ex vivo characterization of canine skin and subcutaneous tumors: preliminary results

2021

Cancer is one of the leading causes of companion animal mortality. Up to 30% of all canine and feline tumors appear on or directly under the skin. To date, only a limited number of studies applied biophotonics techniques for optical characterization and detection of tumors in pets. In this work, we acquired ex vivo optical coherence tomography (OCT) images and Raman spectra of native skin and the most common canine and feline skin and subcutaneous tumors; lipomas, mast cell tumors, and soft tissues sarcomas. Lipomas exhibited the most distinctive tissue morphology (i.e., honeycomb structure) and biochemistry (lipid-related Raman peaks of 1063, 1301, and 1652 cm-1). Moreover, lipomas had sig…

How does an In-containing underlayer prevent the propagation of defects in InGaN QW LEDs?: identification of SRH centers and modeling of trap profile

2021

Recent reports indicated that the use of an InAlN underlayer (UL) can significantly improve the efficiency of InGaN/GaN quantum well (QW) LEDs. Currently, this result is explained by considering that the UL reduces the density of nonradiative recombination centers in the QWs. However, an experimental proof of the reduction of defects in the QWs is not straightforward. In this paper, we use combined electrical (I-V), optical (L-I), capacitance (C-V), steady-state photocapacitance (SSPC) and light-assisted capacitance-voltage (LCV) measurements to explain why devices with UL have a much higher efficiency than identical LEDs without UL. Specifically, we demonstrated an improvement in both elec…

Model-Independent Determination of the Spin of the Ω− and Its Polarization Alignment in ψ(3686)→Ω−Ω¯+

2021

We present an analysis of the process $\psi(3686) \to \Omega^- \bar{\Omega}^+$ ($\Omega^-\to K^-\Lambda$, $\bar{\Omega}^+\to K^+\bar{\Lambda}$, $\Lambda\to p\pi^-$, $\bar{\Lambda}\to \bar{p}\pi^+$) based on a data set of $448\times 10^6$ $\psi(3686)$ decays collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII electron-positron collider. The helicity amplitudes for the process $\psi(3686) \to \Omega^- \bar{\Omega}^+$ and the decay parameters of the subsequent decay $\Omega^-\to K^-\Lambda$ $(\bar{\Omega}^+\to K^+\bar{\Lambda})$ are measured for the first time by a fit to the angular distribution of the complete decay chain. The branching fraction of $\psi(3686) \to \Omega^- \bar{\Omega}^+$ is me…