Sistema per la manipolazione remota in vuoto dei bersagli per la camera di reazione di GALILEO installata presso i LNL

The realisation of a remotely-controlled target-exchange system for the multi-detector array GALILEO has been proposed to the Mechanical Design and Machine Workshop Department of INFN Milano, with the following requirements: possibility of pre-loading 7-10 targets, including quartz and collimators for beam centering procedures; downstream location in front of the beam-dump, almost 3 m away from the scattering chamber; minimum material which can interact with the beam, and under vacuum working conditions, with pressures around 10−6 mbar. The system has been designed and built within the Mechanical Design and Machine Workshop Department of INFN-Milano and installed onto the GALILEO beam line at the LNL INFN laboratories in Legnaro

Search for 22Na in novae supported by a novel method for measuring femtosecond nuclear lifetimes

Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions in stellar binary systems, and important sources of 26Al and 22Na. While ¿ rays from the decay of the former radioisotope have been observed throughout the Galaxy, 22Na remains untraceable. Its half-life (2.6 yr) would allow the observation of its 1.275 MeV ¿-ray line from a cosmic source. However, the prediction of such an observation requires good knowledge of its nucleosynthesis. The 22Na(p,¿¿)23Mg reaction remains the only source of large uncertainty about the amount of 22Na ejected. Its rate is dominated by a single resonance on the short-lived state at 7785.0(7) keV in 23Mg. Here, we propose a combined analysis of particle-particle correlations and velocity-difference profiles to measure femtosecond nuclear lifetimes. The application of this method to the study of the 23Mg states, places strong limits on the amount of 22Na produced in novae and constrains its detectability with future space-borne observatories.Postprint (published version

Human iPSC modelling of a familial form of atrial fibrillation reveals a gain of function of I-f and I-CaL in patient-derived cardiomyocytes

Aims: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmias, whose incidence is likely to increase with the aging of the population. It is considered a progressive condition, frequently observed as a complication of other cardiovascular disorders. However, recent genetic studies revealed the presence of several mutations and variants linked to AF, findings that define AF as a multifactorial disease. Due to the complex genetics and paucity of models, molecular mechanisms underlying the initiation of AF are still poorly understood. Here we investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms of a familial form of AF, with particular attention to the identification of putative triggering cellular mechanisms, using patient's derived cardiomyocytes (CMs) differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Methods and results: Here we report the clinical case of three siblings with untreatable persistent AF whose whole-exome sequence analysis revealed several mutated genes. To understand the pathophysiology of this multifactorial form of AF we generated three iPSC clones from two of these patients and differentiated these cells towards the cardiac lineage. Electrophysiological characterization of patient-derived CMs (AF-CMs) revealed that they have higher beating rates compared to control (CTRL)-CMs. The analysis showed an increased contribution of the If and ICaL currents. No differences were observed in the repolarizing current IKr and in the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium handling. Paced AF-CMs presented significantly prolonged action potentials and, under stressful conditions, generated both delayed after-depolarizations of bigger amplitude and more ectopic beats than CTRL cells. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that the common genetic background of the patients induces functional alterations of If and ICaL currents leading to a cardiac substrate more prone to develop arrhythmias under demanding conditions. To our knowledge this is the first report that, using patient-derived CMs differentiated from iPSC, suggests a plausible cellular mechanism underlying this complex familial form of AF

Study of the neutron-rich region in the vicinity of 208Pb via multinucleon transfer reactions

The multinucleon transfer reaction mechanism was employed to populate isotopes around the doubly- magic 208 Pb nucleus. We used an unstable 94 Rb beam on 208 Pb targets of different thickness. Transfer channels were studied via the fragment-γ and γ-γ coincidences, by using MINIBALL γ spectrometer coupled to a particle detector. Gamma transitions associated to the different Pb isotopes, populated by the neutron transfers, are discussed in terms of excitation energy and spin. Fragment angular distributions were extracted, andcompared with the reaction model

AVALIAÇÃO DA QUALIDADE DE VIDA E RELIGIOSIDADE/ESPIRITUALIDADE EM MULHERES APÓS CÂNCER DE MAMA: ESTUDO TRANSVERSAL

Objetivou-se avaliar a qualidade de vida e a religiosidade/espiritualidade em pacientes após câncer de mama. Estudo transversal, com mulheres maiores de 18 anos, com história de câncer de mama. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: ficha de avaliação da paciente, questionário de avaliação da qualidade de vida Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B), Short Form (SF-36) e Escala Multidimensional Breve de Religiosidade/Espiritualidade (BMMRS-P). Neste estudo, houve predomínio de participantes com média de 55 anos, com sobrepeso, casadas, mastectomizadas, com grau de escolaridade superior completo. Nos dados referentes da escala SF-36 foram observados maiores escores nos domínios: aspecto social, saúde mental e capacidade funcional. Na escala FACT-B, as participantes apresentaram uma qualidade de vida específica após o câncer de mama, abaixo do esperado. Em relação a BMMRS as participantes se consideram muito ou moderadamente religiosas e espiritualizadas. As participantes deste estudo apresentavam boa qualidade de vida geral e espiritualidade, porém menor qualidade de vida específica para câncer de mama.    The objective was to evaluate the quality of life and religiosity/spirituality in patients after breast cancer. Cross-sectional study, with women over 18 years old, with a history of breast cancer. The instruments used were: patient assessment form, quality of life questionnaire Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B), Short Form (SF-36) and Brief Multidimensional Scale of Religiosity/Spirituality (BMMRS-P). In this study, there was a predominance of participants with a mean age of 55 years, overweight, married, mastectomized, with complete college education. The SF-36 scale data showed higher scores in the domains: social aspects, mental health and functional capacity. In the FACT-B scale, the participants presented a specific quality of life after breast cancer below what was expected. In relation to the BMMRS the participants considered themselves very or moderately religious and spiritualized. The participants in this study had good general quality of life and spirituality, but lower breast cancer-specific quality of life.      El objetivo fue evaluar la calidad de vida y la religiosidad/espiritualidad en pacientes poscáncer de mama. Estudio transversal, con mujeres mayores de 18 años, con antecedente de cáncer de mama. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron: formulario de evaluación de pacientes, Evaluación Funcional de la Terapia del Cáncer-Cuestionario de calidad de vida de mama (FACT-B), Formulario Corto (SF-36) y Escala Breve Multidimensional de Religiosidad/Espiritualidad (BMMRS-P). En este estudio hubo predominio de participantes con edad media de 55 años, con sobrepeso, casadas, mastectomizadas, con estudios superiores completos. En los datos referentes a la escala SF-36, se observaron puntuaciones más altas en los dominios: aspecto social, salud mental y capacidad funcional. En la escala FACT-B, las participantes tenían una calidad de vida específica después del cáncer de mama, por debajo de las expectativas. En cuanto a BMMRS, los participantes se consideran muy o moderadamente religiosos y espirituales. Las participantes de este estudio tenían buena calidad de vida general y espiritualidad, pero menor calidad de vida específica para el cáncer de mama      Objetivou-se avaliar a qualidade de vida e a religiosidade/espiritualidade em pacientes após câncer de mama. Estudo transversal, com mulheres maiores de 18 anos, com história de câncer de mama. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: ficha de avaliação da paciente, questionário de avaliação da qualidade de vida Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B), Short Form (SF-36) e Escala Multidimensional Breve de Religiosidade/Espiritualidade (BMMRS-P). Neste estudo, houve predomínio de participantes com média de 55 anos, com sobrepeso, casadas, mastectomizadas, com grau de escolaridade superior completo. Nos dados referentes da escala SF-36 foram observados maiores escores nos domínios: aspecto social, saúde mental e capacidade funcional. Na escala FACT-B, as participantes apresentaram uma qualidade de vida específica após o câncer de mama, abaixo do esperado. Em relação a BMMRS as participantes se consideram muito ou moderadamente religiosas e espiritualizadas. As participantes deste estudo apresentavam boa qualidade de vida geral e espiritualidade, porém menor qualidade de vida específica para câncer de mama.      

Contrasting properties of particle-particle and hole-hole excitations in ²⁰⁶Tl and ²¹⁰Bi nuclei

A complete-spectroscopy investigation of low-lying, low-spin states in the one-proton-hole and one-neutron-hole nucleus 206Tl has been performed by using thermal neutron capture and γ-coincidence technique with the FIPPS Ge array at ILL Grenoble. The new experimental results, together with data for the one-proton-particle and one-neutron-particle nucleus 210Bi (taken from a previous study done at ILL in the EXILL campaign), allowed for an extensive comparison with predictions of shell-model calculations performed with realistic interactions. No phenomenological adjustments were introduced in the calculations. In 210Bi, state energies, transition multipolarities and decay branchings agree well with theory for the three well separated multiplets of states which dominate the low-lying excitations. On the contrary, in 206Tl significant discrepancies are observed: in the same energy region, six multiplets were identified, with a significant mixing among them being predicted, as a consequence of the smaller energy separation between the active orbitals. The discrepancies in 206Tl are attributed to the larger uncertainties in the determination of the off-diagonal matrix elements of the realistic shell-model interaction with respect to the calculated diagonal matrix elements, the only ones playing a major role in the case of 210Bi. The work points to the need of more advanced approaches in the construction of the realistic interactions

Search for 22^{22}Na in novae supported by a novel method for measuring femtosecond nuclear lifetimes

Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions in stellar binary systems, and important sources of $^{26}$Al and $^{22}$Na. While gamma rays from the decay of the former radioisotope have been observed throughout the Galaxy, $^{22}$Na remains untraceable. The half-life of $^{22}$Na (2.6 yr) would allow the observation of its 1.275 MeV gamma-ray line from a cosmic source. However, the prediction of such an observation requires good knowledge of the nuclear reactions involved in the production and destruction of this nucleus. The $^{22}$Na($p,\gamma$)$^{23}$Mg reaction remains the only source of large uncertainty about the amount of $^{22}$Na ejected. Its rate is dominated by a single resonance on the short-lived state at 7785.0(7) keV in $^{23}$Mg. In the present work, a combined analysis of particle-particle correlations and velocity-difference profiles is proposed to measure femtosecond nuclear lifetimes. The application of this novel method to the study of the $^{23}$Mg states, combining magnetic and highly-segmented tracking gamma-ray spectrometers, places strong limits on the amount of $^{22}$Na produced in novae, explains its non-observation to date in gamma rays (flux < 2.5x$10^{-4}$ ph/(cm$^2$s)), and constrains its detectability with future space-borne observatories.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Prescription appropriateness of anti-diabetes drugs in elderly patients hospitalized in a clinical setting: evidence from the REPOSI Register

Diabetes is an increasing global health burden with the highest prevalence (24.0%) observed in elderly people. Older diabetic adults have a greater risk of hospitalization and several geriatric syndromes than older nondiabetic adults. For these conditions, special care is required in prescribing therapies including anti- diabetes drugs. Aim of this study was to evaluate the appropriateness and the adherence to safety recommendations in the prescriptions of glucose-lowering drugs in hospitalized elderly patients with diabetes. Data for this cross-sectional study were obtained from the REgistro POliterapie-Società Italiana Medicina Interna (REPOSI) that collected clinical information on patients aged ≥ 65 years acutely admitted to Italian internal medicine and geriatric non-intensive care units (ICU) from 2010 up to 2019. Prescription appropriateness was assessed according to the 2019 AGS Beers Criteria and anti-diabetes drug data sheets.Among 5349 patients, 1624 (30.3%) had diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. At admission, 37.7% of diabetic patients received treatment with metformin, 37.3% insulin therapy, 16.4% sulfonylureas, and 11.4% glinides. Surprisingly, only 3.1% of diabetic patients were treated with new classes of anti- diabetes drugs. According to prescription criteria, at admission 15.4% of patients treated with metformin and 2.6% with sulfonylureas received inappropriately these treatments. At discharge, the inappropriateness of metformin therapy decreased (10.2%, P &lt; 0.0001). According to Beers criteria, the inappropriate prescriptions of sulfonylureas raised to 29% both at admission and at discharge. This study shows a poor adherence to current guidelines on diabetes management in hospitalized elderly people with a high prevalence of inappropriate use of sulfonylureas according to the Beers criteria

The “Diabetes Comorbidome”: A Different Way for Health Professionals to Approach the Comorbidity Burden of Diabetes

(1) Background: The disease burden related to diabetes is increasing greatly, particularly in older subjects. A more comprehensive approach towards the assessment and management of diabetes’ comorbidities is necessary. The aim of this study was to implement our previous data identifying and representing the prevalence of the comorbidities, their association with mortality, and the strength of their relationship in hospitalized elderly patients with diabetes, developing, at the same time, a new graphic representation model of the comorbidome called “Diabetes Comorbidome”. (2) Methods: Data were collected from the RePoSi register. Comorbidities, socio-demographic data, severity and comorbidity indexes (Cumulative Illness rating Scale CIRS-SI and CIRS-CI), and functional status (Barthel Index), were recorded. Mortality rates were assessed in hospital and 3 and 12 months after discharge. (3) Results: Of the 4714 hospitalized elderly patients, 1378 had diabetes. The comorbidities distribution showed that arterial hypertension (57.1%), ischemic heart disease (31.4%), chronic renal failure (28.8%), atrial fibrillation (25.6%), and COPD (22.7%), were the more frequent in subjects with diabetes. The graphic comorbidome showed that the strongest predictors of death at in hospital and at the 3-month follow-up were dementia and cancer. At the 1-year follow-up, cancer was the first comorbidity independently associated with mortality. (4) Conclusions: The “Diabetes Comorbidome” represents the perfect instrument for determining the prevalence of comorbidities and the strength of their relationship with risk of death, as well as the need for an effective treatment for improving clinical outcomes

Antidiabetic Drug Prescription Pattern in Hospitalized Older Patients with Diabetes

Objective: To describe the prescription pattern of antidiabetic and cardiovascular drugs in a cohort of hospitalized older patients with diabetes. Methods: Patients with diabetes aged 65 years or older hospitalized in internal medicine and/or geriatric wards throughout Italy and enrolled in the REPOSI (REgistro POliterapuie SIMI—Società Italiana di Medicina Interna) registry from 2010 to 2019 and discharged alive were included. Results: Among 1703 patients with diabetes, 1433 (84.2%) were on treatment with at least one antidiabetic drug at hospital admission, mainly prescribed as monotherapy with insulin (28.3%) or metformin (19.2%). The proportion of treated patients decreased at discharge (N = 1309, 76.9%), with a significant reduction over time. Among those prescribed, the proportion of those with insulin alone increased over time (p = 0.0066), while the proportion of those prescribed sulfonylureas decreased (p &lt; 0.0001). Among patients receiving antidiabetic therapy at discharge, 1063 (81.2%) were also prescribed cardiovascular drugs, mainly with an antihypertensive drug alone or in combination (N = 777, 73.1%). Conclusion: The management of older patients with diabetes in a hospital setting is often sub-optimal, as shown by the increasing trend in insulin at discharge, even if an overall improvement has been highlighted by the prevalent decrease in sulfonylureas prescription