Effect of electrode distance in grid electrode: Numerical models and in vitro tests

Electrochemotherapy is an emerging local treatment for the management of superficial tumors and, among these, also chest wall recurrences from breast cancer. Generally, the treatment of this peculiar type of tumor requires the coverage of large skin areas. In these cases, electrochemotherapy treatment by means of standard small size needle electrodes (an array of 0.73 cm spaced needles, which covers an area of 1.5 cm2) is time-consuming and can allow an inhomogeneous coverage of the target area. We have previously designed grid devices suitable for treating an area ranging from 12 to 200 cm2. In this study, we propose different approaches to study advantages and drawbacks of a grid device with needles positioned 2 cm apart. The described approach includes a numerical evaluation to estimate electric field intensity, followed by an experimental quantification of electroporation on a cell culture. The electric field generated in a conductive medium has been studied by means of 3-dimensional numerical models with varying needle pair distance from 1 to 2 cm. In particular, the electric field evaluation shows that the electric field intensity with varying needle distance is comparable in the area in the middle of the 2 electrodes. Differently, near needles, the electric field intensity increases with the increasing electrode distance and supply voltage. The computational results have been correlated with experimental ones obtained in vitro on cell culture. In particular, electroporation effect has been assessed on human breast cancer cell line MCF7, cultured in monolayer. The use of 2-cm distant needles, supplied by 2000 V, produced an electroporation effect in the whole area comprised between the electrodes. Areas of cell culture where reversible and irreversible electroporation occurred were identified under microscope by using fluorescent dyes. The coupling of computation and experimental results could be helpful to evaluate the effect of the needle distance on the electric field intensity in cell cultures in terms of reversible or irreversible electroporation

Implementing Social Assistance and Welfare Programs for European Children Challenged by Parental Loss

adolescents. According to the life cycle model, the crisis originates from different roots and causes and leads to a large spectrum of acute psychomental and physical effects on child health and later may induce long-term effects on adult health. There are several scenarios that involve the separation of children and adolescents from their mothers and fathers (Table I; available at www.jpeds.com), and there are short- and long-term effects of parental loss on health Sociology defines the family as a gr up that is made up of people who are related to each another by blood and legal bonds. In the history of humankind, family and clan structures are a resilient social unit that has adapted successfully to the external threats and to the changing world. However, the structure of families differs from culture to culture and from one nation to the other. Ongoing research in family sociology has expanded our understanding of the diversity of family life according to nations, regions, classes, ethnic groups, and religions. In the affluent Western world, there have been many reports on the fact that traditional types of families are in decline. In a 2013 survey of the European Paediatric Association–Union of National European Paediatric Societies and Associations (EPA-UNEPSA) on new types of families, pediatricians from 26 European countries reported the alarming signal that ~20% of all children were born out of wedlock, one-fifth of families lived in poverty, and 50% of all mothers with children younger than 3 years were working outside their own home, leaving the care of their young children to nurseries, other family members, or babysitters. The authors of this commentary, many of whom are part of a working group on social pediatrics supported by some of the European national pediatric societies member of EPA-UNEPSA, conclude that more studies are needed to cross the boundaries between disciplines, for example, looking at the inter-relationship of family life and child health and how parental loss is affecting the micro and macro level of child healthcare service systems. Therefore, this article aims to alert pediatricians to the impact of parental loss on child health and wellbeing. It emphasizes the importance of implementing preventive and social support programs for achieving health promotion and health-protective effects