Cosmological radiation density with non-standard neutrino-electron interactions

2021

Neutrino non-standard interactions (NSI) with electrons are known to alter the picture of neutrino decoupling from the cosmic plasma. NSI modify both flavour oscillations through matter effects, and the annihilation and scattering between neutrinos and electrons and positrons in the thermal plasma. In view of the forthcoming cosmological observations, we perform a precision study of the impact of non-universal and flavour-changing NSI on the effective number of neutrinos, $N_{eff}$. We present the variation of $N_{eff}$ arising from the different NSI parameters and discuss the existing degeneracies among them, from cosmology alone and in relation to the current bounds from terrestrial exper…

Does abdominal obesity influence immunological response to SARS-CoV-2 infection?

2021

Several hundred studies, 40 systematic reviews, and nearly 20 meta-analyses had been published by early 2021, confirming an increased need for medical services for people living with overweight or ...

Effectiveness of appropriate care pathways for frail older adults: a pilot study in Valencia (Spain)

2021

Introduction Frail older adults often have multiple health and social problems [1] but experience reduced care coordination due to fragmented service provision [2], and therefore are in need of integrated care. A comprehensive model integrating the provision of health and psychosocial care can promote health and wellbeing among frail older adults. This study explored the effects of a comprehensive model (APPCARE model) on health and wellbeing, and the healthcare resources use, of +75 frail older adults with complex and co-morbid clinical situations after their hospitalization. Methods Within the APPCARE model, two specific care pathways were designed and piloted in the city of Valencia (Spa…

Palliative Care Principles and Anesthesiology Clinical Practice: Current Perspectives

2021

Background Palliative care is a person-centered approach aiming to relieve patient's health-related suffering and it is often needed when caring for critically ill patients to manage symptoms and identify goals of care. Aim To describe the integration of palliative care principles in anesthesiology clinical practice, within and outside the ICU and to analyze the additional challenges that COVID-19 pandemic is posing in this context. Methods For the purpose of this review, PubMed database was searched for studies concerning palliative care and end of life care, in contexts involving anesthesiologists and intensivists, published in the last 5 years. Results Anesthesiologists and intensivists …

Diagnostische Arbeit mit dem Befundbogen der Konfliktachse der OPD-KJ: Empirische Ergebnisse an stationären und ambulanten Patient_innen

2021

Zusammenfassung. In der Kinder- und Jugendlichenpsychiatrie und -psychotherapie findet die Operationalisierte Psychodynamische Diagnostik (OPD-KJ) in den letzten Jahren zunehmend Anwendung. Dieser Beitrag stellt die Konfliktachse der OPD-KJ vor, die eine Operationalisierung von sieben psychodynamischen Konflikten und den jeweils zugeordneten Verarbeitungsmodi enthält. Er beschreibt empirische Ergebnisse zum Vergleich der Konfliktachsenratings und des Strukturratings in einer ambulanten und einer stationären Gruppe von Kindern und Jugendlichen (gesamt N = 186, 12.7 Jahre, 54 % weiblich). Die Befunde zeigen an der Gesamtgruppe, dass die diagnosespezifischen Geschlechtsunterschiede verschwind…

Analysis of pseudouridines and other RNA modifications using hydraPsiSeq protocol

2021

Detection of RNA modified nucleotides using deep sequencing can be performed by several approaches, including antibody-driven enrichment and natural or chemically induced RT signatures. However, only very few RNA modified nucleotides generate natural RT signatures and antibody-driven enrichment heavily depends on the quality of antibodies used and may be highly biased. Thus, the use of chemically-induced RT signatures is now considered as the most trusted experimental approach. In addition, the use of chemical reagents allows inclusion of simple "mock-treated" controls, to exclude spontaneous RT arrests, SNPs and other misincorporation-prone sites. Hydrazine is a well-known RNA-specific rea…

Volcanic Lakes in Africa: The VOLADA_Africa 2.0 Database, and Implications for Volcanic Hazard

2021

Volcanic lakes pose specific hazards inherent to the presence of water: phreatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions, lahars, limnic gas bursts and dispersion of brines in the hydrological network. Here we introduce the updated, interactive and open-access database for African volcanic lakes, country by country. The previous database VOLADA (VOlcanic LAke DAta Base, Rouwet et al., Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 2014, 272, 78–97) reported 96 volcanic lakes for Africa. This number is now revised and established at 220, converting VOLADA_Africa 2.0 in the most comprehensive resource for African volcanic lakes: 81 in Uganda, 37 in Kenya, 33 in Cameroon, 28 in Madagascar, 19 in Ethiop…

Streamlining distributed Deep Learning I/O with ad hoc file systems

2021

With evolving techniques to parallelize Deep Learning (DL) and the growing amount of training data and model complexity, High-Performance Computing (HPC) has become increasingly important for machine learning engineers. Although many compute clusters already use learning accelerators or GPUs, HPC storage systems are not suitable for the I/O requirements of DL workflows. Therefore, users typically copy the whole training data to the worker nodes or distribute partitions. Because DL depends on randomized input data, prior work stated that partitioning impacts DL accuracy. Their solutions focused mainly on training I/O performance on a high-speed network but did not cover the data stage-in pro…

Airways cephalometric norms from a sample of Caucasian Children

2021

Background: The diagnosis of the respiratory pattern and the analysis of airway dimension using lateral cephalometric radiographs include the study of the adenoid region, free air space of the nasopharynx and oropharynx, soft palate and posterior part of the tongue. The objective of this study is to identify the airways cephalometric norms from a sample of Caucasian children, in relation to gender, age and type of malocclusion. Material and Methods: A total of 480 patients of both sexes were included in the study, the age ranged between 6-12 years. The radiographic records were analyzed using the Nemoceph® 11.3.0 software and the diagnosis of skeletal class was performed using the Steiner a…

Epigenetic modifications precede molecular alterations and drive human hepatocarcinogenesis

2021

Development of primary liver cancer is a multistage process. Detailed understanding of sequential epigenetic alterations is largely missing. Here, we performed Infinium Human Methylation 450k BeadChips and RNA-Seq analyses for genome-wide methylome and transcriptome profiling of cirrhotic liver (n = 7), low- (n = 4) and high-grade (n = 9) dysplastic lesions, and early (n = 5) and progressed (n = 3) hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) synchronously detected in 8 patients with HCC with chronic hepatitis B infection. Integrative analyses of epigenetically driven molecular changes were identified and validated in 2 independent cohorts comprising 887 HCCs. Mitochondrial DNA sequencing was further em…

Soil Fungal Community in Grazed Inner Mongolian Grassland Adjacent to Coal-Mining Activity.

2021

Coal mining results in reduced soil quality and makes environments less stable. Soil fungi are suitable indicators of soil quality for monitoring purposes. Here, the objective was therefore to investigate the effects of grazing and mining on the composition of the soil fungal community at the periphery of an opencast coal-mine dump in the Shengli mining area, Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia. A total of 2110 fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified and subdivided into 81 orders and nine categories, based on trophic modes. The sensitivity of soil factors to coal-mining and grazing was differently. The sensitive factor to mining was soil pH, and that to grazing were soil nitra…

Effect of Intravenous IgM-Enriched Immunoglobulins on Presepsin and Other Sepsis Biomarkers

2021

Patients in septic shock with low IgG and IgM serum concentrations have higher mortality rates compared to those with normal immunoglobulin levels and, therefore, there is a rational explanation to administer intravenous IgM-enriched immunoglobulins to septic patients in ICU. Aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of intravenous IgM-enriched immunoglobulins in decreasing several sepsis biomarker concentrations. 26 sepsis patients were enrolled in this observational cohort study and Nitric Oxide, Endocan, Pentraxin and presepsin serum levels were measured during their first 3 days of ICU stay. The use of intravenous IgM-enriched immunoglobulins did not influence the temporal evol…

Drought Stress Memory at the Plant Cycle Level: A Review

2021

International audience; Plants are sessile organisms whose survival depends on their strategy to cope with dynamic, stressful conditions. It is urgent to improve the ability of crops to adapt to recurrent stresses in order to alleviate the negative impacts on their productivity. Although our knowledge of plant adaptation to drought has been extensively enhanced during the last decades, recent studies have tackled plant responses to recurrent stresses. The present review synthesizes the major findings from studies addressing plant responses to multiple drought events, and demonstrates the ability of plants to memorize drought stress. Stress memory is described as a priming effect allowing a …

Spontaneous extrusion of male genital pearling

2021

Pearling is a practice of inserting small beads beneath the skin of the genitalia. Patients generally underwent this practice believing that this would have made their penis bigger and able to better satisfy their partners during intercourse. Pearling can cause complications. We report a case of spontaneous extrusion of genital pearling exiting in a granuloma of the inner face of the foreskin.

The "PC-WIRED" study: Patient Centred Evolution of Websites of Italian Radiotherapy Departments.

2021

Abstract Objectives The aim of this paper was to conduct a survey about the evolution of the information provided by Italian radiotherapy departments with a special focus on patients’ perspective. Methods A two-steps analysis was conducted in 2013 and 2020. Starting from analysis of data for the existing websites of Italian radiotherapy departments, main potential areas of interest for patients were discussed within a dedicated multidisciplinary team composed of radiation oncologists, a web designer, a blogger, a psyco-oncologist, a volunteer and a representative of patients’ association. Results Six patient-oriented features to evaluate the websites of Italian radiotherapy departments were…

Metabolic Syndrome: From Molecular Mechanisms to Novel Therapies

2021

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) consists of a cluster of metabolic abnormalities including central obesity, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, hypertension, and atherogenic dyslipidemia [...]

Molecular Proteomics and Signalling of Human Platelets in Health and Disease

2021

Platelets are small anucleate blood cells that play vital roles in haemostasis and thrombosis, besides other physiological and pathophysiological processes. These roles are tightly regulated by a complex network of signalling pathways. Mass spectrometry-based proteomic techniques are contributing not only to the identification and quantification of new platelet proteins, but also reveal post-translational modifications of these molecules, such as acetylation, glycosylation and phosphorylation. Moreover, target proteomic analysis of platelets can provide molecular biomarkers for genetic aberrations with established or non-established links to platelet dysfunctions. In this report, we review …

Exploring the mechanisms by which reindeer droppings induce fen peat methane production

2021

Abstract Peatlands, especially fens, are known to emit methane. Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) use mires mainly as spring and summer pastures. In this work we observed that adding reindeer droppings to fen peat increased the potential methane production by 40%. This became apparent when droppings originating from reindeer kept in pen or pasture in winter were added to methanogenic fen peat samples. The droppings introduced Methanobacteriaceae (Methanobrevibacter; > 90% of the mcrA MiSeq reads) to the peat, which was originally populated by Methanosarcinaceae, Methanosaetaceae, Methanoregulaceae, Methanobacteriaceae, Methanomassiliicoccaceae, Methanocellaceae and Methanomicrobiaceae. The origi…

Oscillatory brain activity associated with skin conductance responses in the context of risk

2021

Understanding the neural correlates of risk-sensitive skin conductance responses can provide insights into their connection to emotional and cognitive processes. To provide insights into this connection, we studied the cortical correlates of risk-sensitive skin conductance peaks using electroencephalography. Fluctuations in skin conductance responses were elicited while participants played a threat-of-shock card game. Precise temporal information about skin conductance peaks was obtained by applying continuous decomposition analysis on raw electrodermal signals. Shortly preceding skin conductance peaks, we observed a decrease in oscillatory power in the frequency range between 3 and 17 Hz i…

Experience in Implementing Distance Learning Technologies in an International Context

2021

The relevance of the study is determined by socio-cultural processes, which necessitate the revision of methods for organising the educational process, in particular the transition to distance learning, and the establishment of correlations with international standards. The purpose of the article is to identify the features, advantages, and disadvantages of distance learning, along with the prospects for development in accordance with the comparative analysis of Ukrainian and foreign experience with distance education. Methods and techniques varied depending on the tasks at each research stage, thus, the method of a targeted selection, the comparative method, the generalisation and systemat…

Business Cooperation - Improving The Working Life Relevance of Higher Education

2021

Education programmes should provide students with the skills for working life. This is important not only for students, but also for companies. Skills refers, in addition to competence in a specific area, to general competencies, working life practices in common use and, for example, knowledge of software used in the business world. It is even more important to take into account the needs of working life when teaching adult students, who often study alongside work with the aim of progressing in their careers. In spring 2019, Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius conducted a survey targeting information and communication technology (ICT) companies in its local area. The results highlighted…

Ethical Issues Invoked by Industry 4.0

2021

Industry 4.0 is universally referred to as the fourth industrial revolution. It is a current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. The computerisation of manufacturing includes, amongst other, cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and cognitive computing. There are many challenges in the realisation of Industry 4.0. In order to adopt a “smart factory” and improved (software) processes many ethical considerations need to be identified and considered if a company is to obtain an ethical development and deployment of Industry 4.0. The purpose of normative ethics is to scrutinise standards about the rightness and wrongness of action…

1543P Gemcitabine in classic Kaposi’s sarcoma: A pilot study

2021

Changes in Stress, Coping Styles, and Life Satisfaction between the First and Second Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Cross-Lagged Stud…

2021

In this study, we aimed to explain the interplay mechanism between stress, life satisfaction, and coping styles among university students. A cohort study was performed during the first (wave 1; W1) and second (wave 2; W2) waves of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The total sample included 231 university students, of which 59.31% were women. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) were included in one online survey. Stress, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented coping styles increased from W1 to W2 of the COVID-19 pandemic, while life satisfaction and task-oriented coping decreased. The pa…

EASL Clinical Practice Guidelines on non-invasive tests for evaluation of liver disease severity and prognosis – 2021 update

2021

Summary Non-invasive tests are increasingly being used to improve the diagnosis and prognostication of chronic liver diseases across aetiologies. Herein, we provide the latest update to the EASL Clinical Practice Guidelines on the use of non-invasive tests for the evaluation of liver disease severity and prognosis, focusing on the topics for which relevant evidence has been published in the last 5 years.

Effect of genetic variation in CYP450 on Gonadal impairment in a European cohort of female childhood cancer survivors, based on a candidate gene appr…

2021

Background: Female childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) carry a risk of therapy-related gonadal dysfunction. Alkylating agents (AA) are well-established risk factors, yet inter-individual variability in ovarian function is observed. Polymorphisms in CYP450 enzymes may explain this variability in AA-induced ovarian damage. We aimed to evaluate associations between previously identified genetic polymorphisms in CYP450 enzymes and AA-related ovarian function among adult CCSs. Methods: Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels served as a proxy for ovarian function in a discovery cohort of adult female CCSs, from the pan-European PanCareLIFE cohort (n = 743

Trend analysis of convective and stratiform precipitation over a Mediterranean area

2021

Separating convective and stratiform rainfall is still today an open challenge, especially because of the difficulty in defining a clear distinction between the two rainfall regimes. At the same time, the study of convective rainfall is essential to better understand the dynamics that generate them and the proactive measures that could reduce the risk of important consequences (e.g., human life losses and economic damages). Furthermore, the shadow of a changing climate makes these aspects even more alarming, due to the possibility of an increase in the occurrence of such severe events. Sicily, whose climate could be considered as representative of the central Mediterranean area, has been of…

CFD-PBM simulation of Mg(OH)2 precipitation from saltwork brine

2021

Effect of the several epoxy resin-based sealer compositions on adhesion interface in radicular dentin after calcium hydroxide intracanal medication r…

2021

Made available in DSpace on 2022-04-29T08:32:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-09-01 Background: This study evaluated the effects of several epoxy resin-based sealer compositions (AHP, AH Plus; ADS, Adseal; SPL, Sealer Plus) on bond strength and intratubular dentin penetration of the endodontic obturation, in root canal previously treated with calcium hydroxide intracanal medication (CH) and removed by continuous ultrasonic irrigation (CUI). Material and Methods: Forty-five maxillary canines were prepared up to F5 (ProTaper system), filled with CH, coronally sealed, and stored at 37ºC. After 1 week, CH was removed using 2.5% sodium hypochlorite energized by CUI. The …

Neurinoma intralaberíntico: manejo, exéresis y restauración auditiva con implante coclear

2021

Resumen Introduccion y objetivo El schwannoma vestibular es un tumor benigno que se origina en el octavo par craneal. Se denomina schwannoma intralaberintico (SIL) cuando se origina en el oido interno, siendo este origen poco frecuente. Presentamos nuestra experiencia en el manejo de 3 pacientes con SIL. Material y metodos Los resultados de la exeresis tumoral e implantacion coclear fueron evaluados en 3 pacientes con SIL: 2 casos de schwannoma intracoclear y un caso de schwannoma intravestibular. Resultados Previo a la cirugia, todos los pacientes presentaban hipoacusia neurosensorial progresiva y acufeno ipsilateral. La reseccion tumoral completa y la colocacion de un implante coclear fue…

Dipole model at Next-to-Leading Order meets HERA data

2021

Deep inelastic scattering (DIS) total cross section data at small-x as measured by the HERA experiments is well described by Balitsky-Kovchegov (BK) evolution in the leading order dipole picture. Recently the full Next-to-Leading Order (NLO) dipole picture total cross sections have become available for DIS, and a working factorization scheme has been devised which subtracts the soft gluon divergence present at NLO. We report our recently published work in which we make the first comparisons of the NLO DIS total cross sections to HERA data. The non-perturbative initial condition to BK evolution is fixed by fitting the HERA reduced cross section data. As the NLO results for the DIS total cros…

Masonry structures: A proposal of analytical generation of fragility functions for tsunami impact – Application to the Mediterranean coasts

2021

Abstract Evaluation of tsunami vulnerability of coastal buildings is gaining high interest in recent years in the areas with high tsunami hazard. Fragility evaluation is a fundamental step to obtain a quantitative estimation of the probability of building damage and in order to define possible strategies for risk mitigation. Several empirical fragility curves are available for masonry structures. However, an empirical fragility curve is generally based on field surveys after tsunami events, not always available. Conversely, analytical fragility curves are based on prediction approaches. In this paper, a proposal for the evaluation of analytical fragility curves for masonry structures typica…

Initiations à la sociologie. Questions pour apprendre à devenir sociologue

2021

International audience

VENTILATOR CONFIGURATION IN CHILDREN ON LONG TERM HOME VENTILATION DURING THE COVID19 PANDEMIC

2021

Large-Eddy Simulation e tecnica LS-PIV: lo studio della turbolenza superficiale

2021

Gli avanzamenti tecnologici degli ultimi decenni hanno fatto registrare la rapida diffusione di tecnologie innovative con cui condurre un monitoraggio ambientale più efficiente ed efficace. Nel campo del monitoraggio fluviale sono sempre più utilizzate le tecniche basate sull’elaborazione di immagini, fornendo una valida alternativa alle metodologie tradizionalmente adottate. Le tecniche ottiche restituiscono infatti misure non intrusive, assicurando migliori condizioni di sicurezza per gli operatori. I metodi ottici più utilizzati sono la Large-Scale Particle Image Velocimetry (LS-PIV) [1] e la Large-Scale Particle Tracking Velocimetry (LS-PTV) [2]. Le tecniche LS-PIV e LS-PTV si basano su…

Early switch to oral anticoagulation in patients with acute intermediate-risk pulmonary embolism (PEITHO-2) : a multinational, multicentre, single-ar…

2021

BACKGROUND: Current guidelines recommend a risk-adjusted treatment strategy for the management of acute pulmonary embolism. This is a particular patient category for whom optimal treatment (anticoagulant treatment, reperfusion strategies, and duration of hospitalisation) is currently unknown. We investigated whether treatment of acute intermediate-risk pulmonary embolism with parenteral anticoagulation for a short period of 72 h, followed by a switch to a direct oral anticoagulant (dabigatran), is effective and safe. METHODS: We did a multinational, multicentre, single-arm, phase 4 trial at 42 hospitals in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain. …