Eosinophilic giant cell arteritis: A different subset of disease?

Objectives: To describe the clinical findings, response to therapy and course of patients with transmural eosinophilic infiltration at temporal artery biopsy (TAB). Methods: The study consisted of a retrospective cohort of 254 consecutive GCA patients with evidence of transmural inflammation at TAB seen at the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital over a 28-year period. The findings of the 22 patients with eosinophilic infiltration (≥ 20 eosinophils/hpf) at TAB were compared with those of 232 patients without. Among these 232 patients, we sampled 42 GCA patients matched for age, sex and follow-up duration to the 22 with eosinophilic infiltration, to compare allergic manifestations. Results: GCA patients with eosinophilic infiltration compared to those without presented more frequently cranial symptoms (p = 0.052), headaches (p = 0.005), abnormalities of TAs at physical examination (p = 0.045), jaw claudication (p = 0.024), and systemic manifestations (p = 0.016) and had higher CRP levels at diagnosis (p = 0.001). Regarding histological lesions, a severe transmural inflammation, laminar necrosis and intraluminal acute thrombosis were more frequently observed in patients with eosinophilic infiltration (p = 0.066, p < 0.001, and p = 0.010, respectively). Long-term remission and flares were similar in the two groups. When 21 GCA patients with eosinophilic infiltration were compared to 42 without, blood eosinophilic counts at diagnosis were normal and no patients had evidence or developed allergic manifestations and/or clinical findings of systemic necrotizing vasculitis. Conclusion: Patients with transmural eosinophilic infiltration represent a subset of GCA with cranial disease and more severe inflammation

Personalizing Multimodal Large Language Models for Image Captioning: An Experimental Analysis

The task of image captioning demands an algorithm to generate natural language descriptions of visual inputs. Recent advancements have seen a convergence between image captioning research and the development of Large Language Models (LLMs) and Multimodal LLMs - like GPT-4V and Gemini - which extend the capabilities of text-only LLMs to multiple modalities. This paper investigates whether Multimodal LLMs can supplant traditional image captioning networks by evaluating their performance on various image description benchmarks. We explore both the zero-shot capabilities of these models and their adaptability to different semantic domains through fine-tuning methods, including prompt learning, prefix tuning, and low-rank adaptation. Our results demonstrate that while Multimodal LLMs achieve impressive zero-shot performance, fine-tuning for specific domains while maintaining their generalization capabilities intact remains challenging. We discuss the implications of these findings for future research in image captioning and the development of more adaptable Multimodal LLMs

Ozone therapy in dentistry: An overview of the biological mechanisms involved (Review)

At low medically‐relevant concentrations, ozone serves as an oxidant with a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity and the ability to promote healing and reduce inflammation. Despite providing therapeutic benefits in a range of diseases, certain adverse effects and contraindications of ozone treatment must be considered. These are primarily related to toxicity from inhalation and systemic types of administration and can be avoided by following relevant guidelines and recommendations. Ozone therapy has been implemented in a number of fields of dentistry and the most commonly used formulations for the oral cavity are gaseous ozone, ozonized water and ozonized oil. The biological mechanisms underlying the molecular effects of ozone have been increasingly reported, but currently remain largely unknown. The aim of the present review was to provide an overview of the mechanisms involved in ozone interaction with dental tissues. The present review focused on relevant evidence regarding the effect of ozone on dental tissues, including periodontal structures, dental cells, enamel and dentine, considering in vitro studies in addition to animal and human studies. A variety of biological mechanisms acting through multiple biochemical target pathways were reported to be responsible for the therapeutic effects of ozone. The main beneficial effects of ozone occurred in the following domains: antimicrobial activity, remineralization and microstructural changes of hard dental tissues, immunomodulation and biostimulation of dental and periodontal cells. Additional research could provide further insights into the use of ozone, increase its use for broader clinical applications and assist in the selection of targeted protocols

Modification of χc1 (3872) and ψ (2S) Production in pPb Collisions at sNN =8.16 TeV

The LHCb Collaboration measures production of the exotic hadron χc1(3872) in proton-nucleus collisions for the first time. Comparison with the charmonium state ψ(2S) suggests that the exotic χc1(3872) experiences different dynamics in the nuclear medium than conventional hadrons, and comparison with data from proton-proton collisions indicates that the presence of the nucleus may modify χc1(3872) production rates. This is the first measurement of the nuclear modification factor of an exotic hadron

Tempi di lavoro, misure di conciliazione e welfare negoziale tra legge e contratto collettivo

Il volume indaga, in una prospettiva giuslavoristica e di relazioni industriali, come le trasformazioni in corso dell’ultimo decennio stiano ridefinendo i termini e le condizioni dello scambio sotteso al rapporto di lavoro. Una serie di cambiamenti significativi, come la transizione digitale ed ecologica e gli impatti della pandemia e della decrescita demografica, ha influenzato profondamente non solo il mercato del lavoro, ma anche il concetto stesso di “lavoro”. Questi stravolgimenti hanno accelerato il processo di professionalizzazione dei lavoratori, rendendo più collaborativi i rapporti di lavoro e portando alla luce nuove esigenze sociali legate alla conciliazione tra lavoro e vita personale, spesso contrastata dalla tecnologia. Le crescenti necessità di assistenza, legate sia alla famiglia sia all’invecchiamento della popolazione, insieme alle varie richieste di soddisfazione e realizzazione personale, stanno ridefinendo il concetto di benessere dei lavoratori e le strategie di protezione ad esso correlate. Attraverso l’interpretazione delle evoluzioni legislative, nonché della prassi contrattual-collettiva, i contributi raccolti nel volume analizzano i fenomeni in atto, esplorando i principali profili di innovazione (e di criticità)

Effectiveness of Sprayed Strain-Hardening Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (SHLC3) Composites in Retrofitting Concrete-Beams

The attractiveness of strain-hardening cement-based composites (SHCC) in civil engineering applications results from their pseudo-ductile response and multiple fine cracks under tensile loading. Previous research has demonstrated that SHCC show high potential as a repair material for concrete structures. They also hold promise to overcome the current limitations of traditional application techniques, paving the way for advanced automated systems. In this contribution, the effectiveness of a novel SHCC formulation for retrofitting concrete elements is investigated. This formulation is based on limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) and polyethylene fibres. The focus is on the influence of different technological parameters, such as the volume fraction of fibres and the application technique, on the mechanical performance of SHCC. Two different SHCC strengthening systems are developed and applied to the tensile side of concrete beams, either with or without a biaxial carbon textile reinforcement. In total, 18 beams are prepared and subjected to three-point bending (3PB) tests. The influence of the repair systems on the flexural behavior of the retrofitted concrete beams is demonstrated and discussed. The test results reveal that the strengthening layers under investigation significantly improve the flexural performance of concrete beams

Le scritture dei filosofi - Un’introduzione - Lo stile è il filosofo

The Count of Buffon stated that ‘style is the man’. What this monographic issue of «Thaumàzein» intends to demonstrate is that ‘style is the philosopher’. The manner in which a thinker expounds his theory is one with the content of it. So, is philosophy a literature? On closer inspection, the history of philosophy can be read as a long quest in this sense: from Plato, who harnesses his artistic vein in the form of Socratic dialogues, to Lucretius, who chooses to contain his ideas in a poem, to Seneca, who pours them out in letters, to Marcus Aurelius, who makes a conversation with his own soul; and again, from Campanella and Bacon, who narrate utopia following the example of the Platonic myth of Atlantis, to Galileo, the greatest Italian prose writer of his century; from Descartes and his mathematical method, to Hegel and his academic rival Schopenhauer. Freud forbade himself from reading Nietzsche so as not to be overly influenced by him, while Bergson was the philosopher who won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Wittgenstein is the ultimate censor of language, while Eco uses his massmediological knowledge to give birth to philosophical novels. Of course, all this does not imply that great philosophers are great writers, but only that their style, even when seemingly obscure and arduous, is mostly appropriate to their conception, as the cases of Vico and Kant demonstrate