Breakthroughs on the Dark Matter Issue

Last year observations had a profound impact on our views on the amount and nature of dark matter in the universe. We give a brief review of the recent history of dark matter models beyond the pure cold dark matter universe. In view of the most recent cosmological data, we then go on to discuss models with a positive cosmological constant. Finally we explicitly analyse a class of particle physics models for a dynamical cosmological component with negative pressure (``quintessence''), in the context of supersymmetric theories.Comment: 13 pages; Talk given by Antonio Masiero at the 8^th International Workshop on Neutrino Telescopes, 23-26 Feb. 1999, Venice, Italy. To be published in the Proceeding

Ultrabiomicroscopy anterior segment evaluation of ocular contusive trauma caused by pressurized bottled drink caps. a case report

We report the case of a patient presented to the emergency department because of a contu-sive trauma from a pressurized bottled drink cap. During the visit, the patient indicated that he had been hit in his left eye by a cork while he was opening a sparkling wine bottle. He underwent a total ophthalmology examination. He had an important reduction of visual acuity, corneal swelling, Descemet’s folds, and hyphema. Therefore, we decided to perform ultrabio-microscopy (UBM) of the anterior segment to study the endothelial damage and Descemet’s membrane. UBM images confirmed the direct biomicroscopy, highlighting the damaged loca-tion

Ocriplasmin in the treatment of vitreomacular traction in a patient with central retinal vein occlusion. a case report

Aim: To investigate the efficacy of intravitreal injection of ocriplasmin (JETREA®) in the treat-ment of vitreomacular traction (VMT). Materials and Methods: An 81-year-old man with VMT associated with central retinal vein occlusion in his left eye, was treated with a single intravitreal injection of ocriplasmin (25 μg). Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), ocular fundus, and optical coherence tomography were examined before and after treatment. Results: Complete release of VMT produced a reduction of central macular thickness, ranging from 459 to 141 μm. BCVA remained stable. Discussion and Conclusions: The use of ocriplasmin was effective in the treatment of VMT. Ocriplasmin represents a valid alternative to conventional pars plana vitrec-tomy

Effects of omalizumab therapy on allergic rhinitis: a pilot study

The use of omalizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody able to binding Ig-E, is currently authorized only for treatment of severe bronchial asthma. The use of omalizumab in other Ig-E related diseases is off-label, although some studies have provided promising results about it. The aim of this study was to evaluate if therapy with omalizumab in patients affected by asthma and allergic rhinitis has an impact also on allergic rhinitis-related symptoms

Use of balloon catheter dilation and steroid-eluting stent in light and severe rhinosinusitis of frontal sinus: a multicenter retrospective randomized study

OBJECTIVE: Frontal sinus surgery has an increased rate of re-stenosis, if compared to other sinuses, that mainly depends on recurrent inflammation and abnormal scarring at the frontal recess; its reduction represents one of the keys of therapeutic success. Balloon catheter dilation (BCD) and implantable sinus stents/spacers represent strategies to improve sinus ventilation respecting the integrity of mucosa and reducing abnormal post-surgical scarring. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness, safety and correct indication for the use of BCD and a non-absorbable stent (Relieva Stratus™ MicroFlow spacer) in the management of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) of the frontal sinus. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this multicentric retrospective study we included a population of 76 frontal sinuses with non-polypoid CRS. Forty-one frontal sinuses were treated with BCD alone and 35 with BCD + Spacer. We analysed both radiological (Lund-McKay CT scoring modified by Zienrich) and symptomatologic results (SNOT-20 questionnaire) before surgery and after 12 months, dividing patients in two main groups: group “L” (light/mild frontal CRS) and group “S” (moderate/severe frontal CRS). RESULTS: Our results confirm a good safety and effectiveness of BCD in management of frontal CRS and show a good safety, although without significant effectiveness, of Relieva Stratus™ MicroFlow spacer when added to BCD in the management of light and severe frontal CRS. CONCLUSIONS: BCD is an option in management of frontal CRS; the use of stents/spacers could become a new and effective tool in management of CSR, both in addition to standard therapies and in patients where the use of systemic drugs is contraindicated

Building a sanitary vulnerability map from open source data in Argentina (2010-2018)

Background: Designing public health policies to target the needs of specific places requires highly granular data. When geographic health statistics from official sources are absent or lacking in spatial detail, Sanitary Vulnerability metrics derived from Census and other georeferenced public data can be used to identify areas in particular need of attention. With that aim, a Vulnerability Map was developed, identifying areas with a substantial deficit in its population health coverage. As a result a novel methodology for measuring Sanitary Vulnerability is presented, that can potentially be applied to different time periods or geographies. Methods: Census, official listings of public health facilities and crowdsourced georeferenced data are used. The Vulnerability Index is built using dimensionality reduction techniques such as Autoencoders and Non-parametric PCA. Main results: The high resolution map shows the geographical distribution of a Sanitary Vulnerability Index, produced using official and crowdsourced open data sources, overcoming the lack of official sources on health indicators at the local level. Conclusions: The Sanitary Vulnerability Map’s value as a tool for place specific policymaking was validated by using it to predict local health related metrics such as health coverage. Further lines of work contemplate using the Map to study the interaction between Sanitary Vulnerability and the prevalence of different diseases, and also applying its methodology in the context of other public services such as education, security, housing, etc.Fil: Rosati, Germán Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Altos Estudios Sociales; ArgentinaFil: Olego, Tomás Alberto. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales; Argentina. Fundacion Bunge y Born.; ArgentinaFil: Vázquez Brust, Antonio. Fundacion Bunge y Born.; Argentin

Effect of vacuum level on milk flow traits in Mediterranean Italian buffalo cow

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of six different working vacuum levels (range from 37 to 52 kPa) on the milk production, milk flow rate and milking times in Mediterranean Italian buffalo. A total of eight hundred and one milk flow curves were recorded at random from all of the four hundred and fifty animals in different parity and stage of lactation over a period of 12 weeks, with electronic milk flow meters (Lactocorder®). The different vacuum levels tested did not affect significantly the individual milk production per milking (on average 4.02±0.06 kg). When diminishing vacuum level, a decrease in average and peak flow rate occurred (P<0.001), as well as an increase in effective milking time between attaching the teat cup and reaching the value of 0.20 kg/min at the end of milking (P<0.001). The vacuum levels of 37 and 40 kPa showed good milkability conditions, at which plateau phase was longer than decline phase and lag time was not affected by vacuum level

The molecular sources of reactive oxygen species in hypertension.

In both animal models and humans, increased blood pressure has been associated with oxidative stress in the vasculature, i.e. an excessive endothelial production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which may be both a cause and an effect of hypertension. In addition to NADPH oxidase, the best characterized source of ROS, several other enzymes may contribute to ROS generation, including nitric oxide synthase, lipoxygenases, cyclo-oxygenases, xanthine oxidase and cytochrome P450 enzymes. It has been suggested that also mitochondria could be considered a major source of ROS: in situations of metabolic perturbation, increased mitochondrial ROS generation might trigger endothelial dysfunction, possibly contributing to the development of hypertension. However, the use of antioxidants in the clinical setting induced only limited effects on human hypertension or cardiovascular endpoints. More clinical studies are needed to fully elucidate this so called "oxidative paradox" of hypertension