Accessing phonon polaritons in hyperbolic crystals by ARPES

Recently studied hyperbolic materials host unique phonon-polariton (PP) modes. The ultra-short wavelengths of these modes, which can be much smaller than those of conventional exciton-polaritons, are of high interest for extreme sub-diffraction nanophotonics schemes. Polar hyperbolic materials such as hexagonal boron nitride can be used to realize strong long-range coupling between PP modes and extraneous charge degrees of freedom. The latter, in turn, can be used to control and probe PP modes. Of special interest is coupling between PP modes and plasmons in an adjacent graphene sheet, which opens the door to accessing PP modes by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). A rich structure in the graphene ARPES spectrum due to PP modes is predicted, providing a new probe of PP modes and their coupling to graphene plasmons

NeuronUnityIntegration2. 0. A Unity Based Application for Motion Capture and Gesture Recognition

NeuronUnityIntgration2.0 (demo video is avilable at http://tiny.cc/u1lz6y) is a plugin for Unity which provides gesture recognition functionalities through the Perception Neuron motion capture suit. The system offers a recording mode, which guides the user through the collection of a dataset of gestures, and a recognition mode, capable of detecting the recorded actions in real time. Gestures are recognized by training Support Vector Machines directly within our plugin. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our application through an experimental evaluation on a newly collected dataset. Furthermore, external applications can exploit NeuronUnityIntgration2.0's recognition capabilities thanks to a set of exposed API

Active Aging: Social Entrepreneuring in Local Communities of Five European Countries

From MDPI via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: accepted 2020-04-01, pub-electronic 2020-04-03Publication status: PublishedFunder: Erasmus+; Grant(s): Erasmus+ Programme; KA2 Strategic Partnership Projects, Grant Agreement KA204-2016-001Building on the active aging framework, the aim of this study, carried out between 2016 and 2018, is to analyze concrete experiences of older individuals acting as key players of social change in six local communities of five European countries (Bulgaria, Denmark, England, France, Spain). The 19 seniors involved in the study, according to social contexts, individual past experiences, knowledge, and motivations, acted as senior social entrepreneurs, trying to build a pathway towards social solutions for unmet social problems they detected in local communities. Data were collected via templates and questionnaires and analyzed using the thematic analysis. The results highlighted that the 16 local initiatives created by seniors concerned social problems such as food waste, social isolation, multicultural integration, etc. The social solutions implemented by seniors seemed to have the potential to produce social value and, to different degrees, encouraging results and impact. Since this “social experiment” provided evidence that senior social entrepreneuring could be a driver to solve societal problems, policy makers should sustain the spread of both social entrepreneurial mindset and practices at the European level, for catalyzing the active potential of older people for the benefit of European local communities

Depth profiling of melting and metallization in Si(111) and Si(001) surfaces

International audienc

Partnering to develop resilience in health professionals and faculty through mindfulness-based education

Given the pressures that exist in our health care system, health care professionals often are under significant stress to provide both quality clinical care to patients and quality teaching to their learners. We present an innovative program to develop faculty and health professional  skills in reflective practice and resilience, which strengthen participants' ability to act as effective clinicians, educators, role models, and leaders. The basis of the curriculum  rests in the neuroscience of mindfulness  and its applications. This program was enabled through a unique partnership between acute care hospitals (Hamilton Health Sciences and St Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton), Family Health Teams (McMaster Family Health Team and Hamilton Family Health Team) and the McMaster Faculty of Health Sciences Program for Faculty Development (PFD), with additional funding support in 2013 from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOH-LTC). Data from 2013 course participants (validated measurement  tools and qualitative feedback) was analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of this initiative. This poster outlines the journey of this work and a summary of the data gathered to inform further education.

Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 in ulcerative colitis treatment: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Background & Aims: Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) has been recommended as a therapeutic tool for ulcerative colitis (UC) treatment. However, to date, no meta-analysis has been performed on this topic. Methods. We performed a literature search on PubMed, MEDLINE, Science Direct and EMBASE. We evaluated success rates for induction of remission, relapse rates and side effects, expressed as Intention-To-Treat. Odd ratios (OR), pooled OR and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated, based on the Mantel-Haenszel method. Heterogeneity was assessed by using the χ2 and I2 statistics and, if present, a random-effects model was adopted. Results. We selected six eligible trials, with 719 patients, 390 assigned to the study group and 329 to the control group. EcN induced remission in 61.6% of cases, while in the control group (mesalazine) the remission was achieved in 69.5% of cases, with a mean difference of 7.9%. The pooled OR was 0.92 (95% CI 0.15-9.66, p=0.93). A single study showed a better performance of EcN than the placebo. A relapse of the disease occurred in 36.8% in the EcN group and in 36.1% in the control group (mesalazine), with a mean difference of 0.8%, OR=1.07, with a 95% CI of 0.70-1.64 (p=0.74). Side effects were comparable (OR=1.44, 95% CI 0.80-2.59, p=0.22). Conclusions. EcN is equivalent to mesalazine in preventing disease relapse, thus confirming current guideline recommendations. EcN seems to be as effective as controls in inducing remission and therefore, its use cannot be recommended as in one study the comparison was performed against placebo. Further studies may be helpful for this subject

Relatos de viajeros e historiografía: paisaje rural y sociedad urbana en el Buenos Aires de la primera mitad del siglo XIX.

Abstract En este trabajo analizamos cómo las imágenes de los viajeros europeos que recorren la campaña en la primera mitad del siglo XIX se toman como punto de partida indiscutido en la construcción de un estereotipo historiográfico que contrapone ciudad y campaña. Para ello, centramos nuestra atención en aquellos relatos que detienen su mirada en los principales aspectos que conforman esta imagen de lo rural como un paisaje vacío de relaciones en contraste con lo urbano como una sociedad compleja. Desde esta perspectiva abordamos la construcción y entrecruzamiento de dos territorios, el histórico y el historiográfico. El primero, efectivamente recorrido y reconstruido por los viajeros europeos, y el segundo, construido a partir de sus impresiones, en función de las necesidades políticas y las tradiciones culturales de los fundadores de la historiografía nacional. Palabras claves: viajeros – urbano - rural – historiografía Contes de voyageurs et de l'historiographie: les paysages ruraux et la société urbaine à Buenos Aires pendat la première moitié du dix-neuvième siècle. Résumé Dans le présent document, nous analysons comment les images des voyageurs européennes qui ont visité la campagne dans la première moitié du XIXe siècle sont pris comme point de départ incontesté dans la construction d'un stéréotype historique qui contraste ville et la campagne. Pour ce faire, nous nous contentrerons notre attention sur ces histoires qui détiennent leur regard sur les principaux aspects qui composent cette image de la vie rurale comme un paysage vide de relations contrairement à l'urbain comme une société complexe. De ce point de vue, nous allons aborder la construction et l'intersection des deux territoires, l'historique et le historiographique. La première, tournée en fait et reconstruite par les voyageurs européens, et le second, construit à partir de leurs impressions, en fonction de la politique et les traditions culturelles des fondateurs de l'historiographie nationale. Mots clés: les voyageurs - urbain - rural - historiographi

Negocios e inversiones entre la campaña y la ciudad: los pulperos en las cercanías de Buenos Aires (primera mitad del siglo XIX)

En los últimos años, distintas investigaciones han comenzado a indagar sobre los negocios de los pequeños y medianos comerciantes rurales y sus relaciones con la producción agraria. Sin embargo, el perfil de los mercaderes minoristas del hinterland porteño, sus funciones a nivel local y su inserción en las redes regionales que vinculaban la campaña con el puerto ciudad ofrecen aún muchas facetas a explorar. Por ello, interesadas en la dinámica del comercio al menudeo indagaremos sobre las características de los negocios de los pequeños y medianos mercaderes que operaban en la campaña cercana a Buenos Aires. Poniendo en perspectiva historiográfica los datos relevados sobre los pulperos y comerciantes de las jurisdicciones aledañas a la ciudad, nos detendremos en sus características socioocupacionales y demográficas, en sus patrimonios y estrategias de inversión mercantil/productivas así como también en sus modos de participación en los nuevos espacios de poder local.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Trends of Liver Stiffness in Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Chronic Hepatitis C

Concomitant inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a relevant comorbidity since IBD itself exposes to a high risk of liver damage. We aimed to evaluate liver stiffness (LS) in IBD-HCV after antiviral treatment. We enrolled IBD patients with HCV. All patients at baseline underwent LS measurement by elastography. Patients who were eligible for antiviral therapy received direct antiviral agents (DAAs) and sustained viral response was evaluated at the 12th week. A control group was selected within IBD patients without HCV. One year later, all IBD-HCV patients and controls repeated LS measurement. Twenty-four IBD-HCV patients and 24 IBD controls entered the study. Only twelve out of 24 received DAAs and all achieved sustained viral response (SVR). All IBD subjects were in remission at enrollment and maintained remission for one year. After one year, IBD patients who eradicated HCV passed from a liver stiffness of 8.5 ± 6.2 kPa to 7.1 ± 3.9, p = 0.13. IBD patients who did not eradicate HCV worsened liver stiffness: from 7.6 ± 4.4 to 8.6 ± 4.6, p = 0.01. In the IBD control group, stiffness decreased from 7.8 ± 4.4 to 6.0 ± 3.1, p < 0.001. In conclusion, HCV eradication is able to stop the evolution of liver fibrosis in IBD, while failure to treat may lead to its progression. A stable IBD remission may improve LS even in non-infected subjects