A Simulation Model for the Non-Electrogenic Uniport Carrier-Assisted Transport of Ions across Lipid Membranes

Impressive work has been completed in recent decades on the transmembrane anion transport capability of small synthetic transporters from many different structural classes. However, very few predicting models have been proposed for the fast screening of compound libraries before spending time and resources on the laboratory bench for their synthesis. In this work, a new approach is presented which aims at describing the transport process by taking all the steps into explicit consideration, and includes all possible experiment-derived parameters. The algorithm is able to simulate the macroscopic experiments performed with lipid vesicles to assess the ion-transport ability of the synthetic transporters following a non-electrogenic uniport mechanism. While keeping calculation time affordable, the final goal is the curve-fitting of real experimental data—so, to obtain both an analysis and a predictive tool. The role and the relative weight of the different parameters is discussed and the agreement with the literature is shown by using the simulations of a virtual benchmark case. The fitting of real experimental curves is also shown for two transporters of different structural type.This research was funded by the University of Cagliari (FIR 2020). Financial support from MIUR (PRIN 2017 project 2017EKCS35), Fondazione di Sardegna (FdS Progetti Biennali di Ateneo, annualità 2018 and 2020) is also gratefully acknowledged

The 2010 Report on R&D in ICT in the European Union

This report is the 2010 edition of a report that is published annually. It presents all the data available on ICT R&D private and public expenditures in Europe, at sector, country and company levels, and from an international perspective (benchmarking). It provides data up to 2007. The second part of the report includes a thematic analysis on ICT R&D internationalisation.JRC.DDG.J.4-Information Societ

Lessons learned during the development of LEDSAT from the students of the S5Lab

The LEDSAT 1U Cubesat, a satellite roughly 10x10x11cm, was developed between late 2016 and 2021 by students of Sapienza University of Rome. The project was conceived with the help of the University of Michigan and started being developed by space engineering master students of Sapienza in a class context. The team of the S5Lab (Sapienza Space System and Space Surveillance Laboratory) continued the project and applied for the Fly Your Satellite! Programme of ESA Education, which has followed the development of the CubeSat, providing important expert support and periodic reviews. The approach brought to the students an invaluable educational experience as they participated actively in the development of a spacecraft with the typical milestones of satellite projects. The mission objectives of LEDSAT include the use of onboard LEDs for improved orbit determination, experimental attitude determination and backup light communication. Each of the six sides of the CubeSat houses an LED board of a different color (red, green, and blue) with opposite sides with paired color. The LEDs can flash a pattern predefined by radio telecommand and the light is observed using ground telescopes. The design of the spacecraft started in late 2016 and was presented at the selection workshop of the Fly Your Satellite! Programme in May 2017. Final assembly took place in mid-2020 after which the team performed functional and environmental testing between October and December 2020, with the objective of ensuring the survivability of the spacecraft in the space environment and characterization of its behavior. After successful testing, the spacecraft was integrated inside the deployer in July 2021 in Brno, Czech Republic and was launched from Kourou, French Guiana on August 17th, 2021, aboard the Vega VV19 launcher. The spacecraft is now in orbit and operating nominally, with the LED flashes having been observed several times. The development of the spacecraft was not without difficulty, with preventable issues arising through testing that imposed design changes and further analysis - the paper will walk through the project since its conception, throughout the development, the functional and environmental testing of the payload and at system level, emphasizing the lessons learned by the students

Disorder Post-Traumatic Stress, sleep quality, anxiety, depression and quality of life in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of disorder Posttraumatic Stress (DPTS), anxiety and depression, quality of sleep and quality of life in cancer patients consecutively during chemotherapy compared to the general population, the prevalence of benchmarking Disorder Post Traumatic Stress (DPTS), anxiety and depression, quality of sleep and quality of life in cancer patients during adjuvant treatment versus cancer patients in treatment for metastatic disease. Methods: We surveyed consecutive patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment for neoplastic disease in accordance with the following instruments: the disorder Posttraumatic Stress was assessed by questionnaire Impact of Event Scale (IES), the levels of anxiety and depression through the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); sleep quality with the help of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the quality of life through the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - General (FACT-G). Results: We evaluated 173 patients, of whom 61 (35.3%) treated with adjuvant chemotherapy and 112 (64.7%) in chemotherapy for metastatic disease. In the overall population, the supremacy of Disorder Posttraumatic Stress was 8%, a sleep disorder 30%; anxiety to 15 - 20%, 15% from depression. The prevalence in the study population Disorder Posttraumatic Stress was higher compared to data in the literature (45.1% versus 8%), the largest of sleep disorders (62.8% versus 30%) of the anxiety higher (40% vs. 15-20%), the major depression (15% versus 31.1%). No significant differences were found with regard to the prevalence of disorder Posttraumatic Stress (P = 0.768), sleep disorders (P = 0.978), anxiety (p = 0.351), depression (P = 0.958) and quality of  life (P = 0.675) in patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment for metastatic disease compared to patients treated adjuvante.Conclusões: The prevalence of psychological disorders in the study population appears significantly higher than in the general population; This finding confirms the need for psychiatric intervention consultation and liaison (liaison) in neoplastic patients undergoing chemotherapy. This need not differ between patients in the adjuvant treatment and those receiving treatment for metastatic disease, with no significant differences in the incidence of the disorders assessed between the two groups above

From BEXUS to HEMERA: The application of lessons learned on the development and manufacturing of stratospheric payloads at S5Lab

In the last years the S5Lab (Sapienza Space Systems and Space Surveillance Laboratory) from Sapienza University of Rome has given to the students the opportunity to gather knowledge on stratospheric payloads by supporting the design and development of two experiments selected for the participation in the REXUS/BEXUS educational Programme, managed by three european space institutions. The insights and lessons learned gathered during the participations in the REXUS/BEXUS educational programme gave the possibility to the student to take part in the development of a third experiment in the frame of the professional research programme HEMERA and complete it successfully. STRATONAV (STRATOspheric NAVigation experiment) was a stratospheric experiment based on Software Defined Radios (SDRs) technology whose aim was the testing of the VOR (VHF Omnidirectional Range) navigation system, evaluating its performance above the standard service volume, which was launched on BEXUS 22 in October 2016. TARDIS (Tracking and Attitude Radio-based Determination In Stratosphere) was developed as a follow up of STRATONAV between 2018 and 2019. Similarly to its predecessor TARDIS was a stratospheric experiment aimed at exploiting the VOR signal, with the aid of SDRs, to perform in-flight attitude and position determination, and was launched on BEXUS 28 in October 2019. After the launch of TARDIS, a team composed both by former STRATONAV and TARDIS students was formed for the development of a third stratospheric experiment going by the name of STRAINS (Stratospheric Tracking Innovative Systems), conceived by Sapienza University of Rome and ALTEC and supported by ASI. STRAINS main objective was the proof of concept of the possibility of achieving the Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) and the Frequency Difference of Arrival (FDOA) for navigation purposes with the aid of SDRs. The experiment was developed between 2020 and 2021 exploiting the lessons learned from the former team members of the two BEXUS campaigns and was launched on board of the Hemera H2020 stratospheric balloon in September 2021 from Esrange Space Center, Kiruna, Sweden. After a brief description of the stratospheric payloads design and manufacturing, the paper will present the major lessons learned from the previous stratospheric experiments, STRATONAV and TARDIS, and their application to the development and manufacturing of the latest launched stratospheric experiment STRAINS, as well as their educational return to the students involved in the projects

Denosumab in patients with aneurysmal bone systs: A case series with preliminary results

Abstract PURPOSE:: Aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) is a rare skeletal tumor usually treated with surgery/embolization. We hypothesized that owing to similarities with giant cell tumor of bone (GCTB), denosumab was active also in ABC. METHODS:: In this observational study, a retrospective analysis of ABC patients treated with denosumab was performed. Patients underwent radiologic disease assessment every 3 months. Symptoms and adverse events were noted. RESULTS:: Nine patients were identified (6 male, 3 female), with a median age of 17 years (range 14-42 years). Primary sites were 6 spine-pelvis, 1 ulna, 1 tibia, and 1 humerus. Patients were followed for a median time of 23 months (range 3-55 months). Patients received a median of 8 denosumab administrations (range 3-61). All symptomatic patients had pain relief and 1 had paresthesia improvement. Signs of denosumab activity were observed after 3 to 6 months of administration: bone formation by computed tomography scan was demonstrated in all patients and magnetic resonance imaging gadolinium contrast media decrease was observed in 7/9 patients. Adverse events were negligible. At last follow-up, all patients were progression-free: 5 still on denosumab treatment, 2 off denosumab were disease-free 11 and 17 months after surgery, and the last 2 patients reported no progression 12 and 24 months after denosumab interruption and no surgery. CONCLUSIONS:: Denosumab has substantial activity in ABCs, with favorable toxicity profile. We strongly support the use of surgery and/or embolization for the treatment of ABC, but denosumab could have a role as a therapeutic option in patients with uncontrollable, locally destructive, or recurrent disease