Electric Vehicles Charging Sessions Classification Technique for Optimized Battery Charge Based on Machine Learning

The fast increase in electric vehicle (EV) usage in the last 10 years has raised the need to properly forecast their energy consumption during charge. Lithium-ion batteries have become the major storage component for electric vehicles, avoiding their overcharge can preserve their health and prolong their lifetime. This paper proposes a Machine Learning model based on the K-Nearest Neighbors classification algorithm for EV charging session duration forecast. The model forecasts the duration of the charge by assigning the event to its correct class. Each class contains the charging events whose duration is comprised of a certain interval. The only information used by the algorithm is the one available at the beginning of the charging event (arrival time, starting SOC, calendar data). The model is validated on a real-world dataset containing records of charging sessions from more than 100 users, a sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the impact of different information given as input. The effectiveness of the model with respect to the benchmark models is demonstrated with an increase in performance

Doxorubicin and congo red effectiveness on prion infectivity in golden Syrian hamster

The effect of doxorubicin and Congo Red on prion protein (PrP) infectivity in experimental scrapie was studied to better understand the effect of these compounds in prion diseases and to establish whether a dose-response correlation exists for Congo Red. This was performed in order to test the effectiveness of compounds that may easily be used in human prion diseases. Brain homogenate containing membrane bound PrPSc monomers was used as inoculum and was previously incubated with doxorubicin 10(-3) M and with increasing concentrations of Congo Red ranging from 10(-7) to 10(-2) M. This study shows for the first time that doxorubicin, and confirms that Congo Red, may interact with pathological PrP monomers modifying their infectious properties. Pre-incubation of infected brain homogenate with Congo Red resulted in prolonged incubation time and survival, independently of Congo Red concentration (p<0.05). Doxorubicin and Congo Red effects do not depend upon interaction with PrP amyloid material

Evaluación participativa de experimentos de maíz (Zea mays L.) con agricultores en Santa Catarina, Brasil

La actividad presentada consistió en tres evaluaciones participativas de maíz (Zea mays L.) realizadas como parte de la difusión de los trabajos de NEABio con variedades criollas conservadas in situ on farm. Con el objetivo de identificar la percepción que lo/as agricultore/as tienen de las variedades se pidió a cada uno de los participantes que diera una nota global a cada parcela de un experimento de caracterización de variedades colectadas entre agricultores de la región. El promedio de notas de ocho variedades criollas fue superior al testigo comercial, las notas entre las evaluaciones tuvieron una correlación de entre 0,7 y 0,5. Las notas de agricultore/as tuvieron una correlación de 0,64 para las características peso de granos totales y 0,56 para materia seca total. Las características consideradas por los participantes al momento de evaluar fueron altura de planta, tamaño de espiga y enraizamiento.Eje: B5 Sistemas de conocimiento (Relatos de experiencias)Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale

Evaluación participativa de experimentos de maíz (Zea mays L.) con agricultores en Santa Catarina, Brasil

La actividad presentada consistió en tres evaluaciones participativas de maíz (Zea mays L.) realizadas como parte de la difusión de los trabajos de NEABio con variedades criollas conservadas in situ on farm. Con el objetivo de identificar la percepción que lo/as agricultore/as tienen de las variedades se pidió a cada uno de los participantes que diera una nota global a cada parcela de un experimento de caracterización de variedades colectadas entre agricultores de la región. El promedio de notas de ocho variedades criollas fue superior al testigo comercial, las notas entre las evaluaciones tuvieron una correlación de entre 0,7 y 0,5. Las notas de agricultore/as tuvieron una correlación de 0,64 para las características peso de granos totales y 0,56 para materia seca total. Las características consideradas por los participantes al momento de evaluar fueron altura de planta, tamaño de espiga y enraizamiento.Eje: B5 Sistemas de conocimiento (Relatos de experiencias)Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale

No association between frailty index and epigenetic clocks in Italian semi-supercentenarians

Centenarians experience successful ageing, although they still present high heterogeneity in their health status. The frailty index is a biomarker of biological age, able to capture such heterogeneity, even at extreme old age. At the same time, other biomarkers (e.g., epigenetic clocks) may be informative the biological age of the individual and potentially describe the ageing status in centenarians. In this article, we explore the relationship between epigenetic clocks and frailty index in a cohort of Italian centenarians. No association was reported, suggesting that these two approaches may describe different aspects of the same ageing process

Laparoscopic paraesophageal hernia repair with absorbable mesh: a systematic review

Background: Laparoscopic repair is the standard of care for patients with paraesophageal hernia (PEH). Different prosthetic materials have been proposed to bolster the hiatus thus theoretically minimizing the probability for hernia recurrence. The use of non-absorbable mesh has been reported however, their safety profile has been questioned because the noteworthy mesh-related complication rate. Opposite, absorbable mesh (synthetic and biologic) seems associated with mitigated mesh-related complications and comparable hernia recurrence in the short- and medium-term. Methods: PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Google Scholar, and ClinicalTrials.gov were executed according to the PRISMA statement until May 2022. Primary endpoints were technical details and surgical outcomes of adult patients (>= 18 years old) that underwent laparoscopic PEH repair and crural reinforcement with absorbable mesh. The ROBINS-I tool was used to assess the methodological quality of included studies. Results: Thirty-nine studies (3,103 patients) were included. The age of the patient population ranged from 18 to 93 years old and 62.8% were females. Posterior cruroplasty was performed in all patients. U-shape (83.7%), circumferential (8.1%), keyhole (5.4%) and starburst (2.8%) mesh configuration were described. Different methods for mesh fixation (sutures vs. fibrin glue vs. absorbable tacks) were adopted while Nissen (75.1%) and Toupet (21.1%) fundoplication were mainly fashioned. The overall postoperative complication rate was 2.5%. Pulmonary and cardiac complication rates were 1.8% and 0.9%, respectively while in-hospital mortality was 0.2%. Postoperative follow-up ranged from 12 to 166 months. Mesh-related complication rate was 0.06% (esophageal stricture related to fibrosis). Hernia recurrence rate was 12.7% while re-do surgery was required in 1.9% of patients. Postoperative dysphagia rate was 5.1%. Discussion: Consensus concerning the optimal mesh material for crural buttressing is lacking. Given the potential for tissue ingrowth rather than encapsulation and reduced degree of perivisceral inflammation, absorbable meshes are mostly preferred over non-absorbable meshes. The use of absorbable mesh seems safe and effective with low overall and mesh-related complications, acceptable recurrence rate and low need for re-do surgery in the short/medium-term. Because heterogeneity related to different hernia characteristics, intraoperative technical variations (i.e., method for mesh fixation, etc.), definition of hernia recurrence and diverse follow-up, a conclusive evidence is still to be defined

Remodelling of biological parameters during human ageing: evidence for complex regulation in longevity and in type 2 diabetes.

Factor structure analyses have revealed the presence of specific biological system markers in healthy humans and diseases. However, this type of approach in very old persons and in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is lacking. A total sample of 2,137 Italians consisted of two groups: 1,604 healthy and 533 with T2DM. Age (years) was categorized as adults (≤65), old (66-85), oldest old (>85-98) and centenarians (≥99). Specific biomarkers of routine haematological and biochemical testing were tested across each age group. Exploratory factorial analysis (EFA) by principal component method with Varimax rotation was used to identify factors including related variables. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to confirm factor solutions for each age group. EFA and SEM identified specific factor structures according to age in both groups. An age-associated reduction of factor structure was observed from adults to oldest old in the healthy group (explained variance 60.4% vs 50.3%) and from adults to old in the T2DM group (explained variance 57.4% vs 44.2%). Centenarians showed three-factor structure similar to those of adults (explained variance 58.4%). The inflammatory component became the major factor in old group and was the first one in T2DM. SEM analysis in healthy subjects suggested that the glucose levels had an important role in the oldest old. Factorial structure change during healthy ageing was associated with a decrease in complexity but showed an increase in variability and inflammation. Structural relationship changes observed in healthy subjects appeared earlier in diabetic patients and later in centenarians

Immune parameters identify Italian centenarians with a longer five-year survival independent of their health and functional status.

Centenarians are rare and exceptional individuals characterized by a peculiar phenotype. They are the best ex- ample of healthy aging in humans as most of them have escaped or substantially delayed the onset of major age-related diseases. Within this scenario, the purpose of the present work was to understand if immune status is associated with survival and health status in centenarians. To this aim, 116 centenarians were concomitantly characterized for their immunological, health and functional status, and followed-up for five-year survival. On the basis of previous knowledge we focused on a core of fundamental and basic immune parameters (number of leukocytes, monocytes, total lymphocytes, CD3+ T lymphocytes, CD4+ helper T lymphocytes, CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes, CD19+ B lymphocytes and plasma levels of IgM), and the most important findings can be sum- marized as follows: i. a hierarchical cluster analysis was able to define Cluster1 (88 centenarians) and Cluster2 (28 centenarians) characterized by low and high values of all these immune parameters, respectively; ii. cente- narians of Cluster2 showed a statistically longer five-year survival and more favorable values of other important immune (naïve, activated/memory and effector/memory T cells) and metabolic (glycemia, insulin and HOMA-IR) parameters, in accord with previous observations that centenarians have a peculiar immune profile, a preserved insulin pathway and a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes; and iii. unexpectedly, parameters related to frailty, as well as functional and cognitive status, did not show any significant correlation with the immune clustering, de- spite being capable per se of predicting survival. In conclusion, high values of basic immunological parameters and important T cell subsets correlate with five-year survival in centenarians, independent of other phenotypic characteristics. This unexpected biological scenario is compatible with the general hypothesis that in centenarians a progressive disconnection and loss of biological coherence among the different functions of the body occur, where survival/mortality result from the failure of any of these domains which apparently follow an independent age-related trajectory

Association between pain intensity and depressive symptoms in community-dwelling adults: longitudinal findings from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)

Purpose: To investigate the longitudinal associations between pain and depressive symptoms in adults. Methods: Prospective cohort study on data from 28,515 community-dwelling adults ≥ 50 years, free from depression at baseline (Wave 5), with follow-up in Wave 6 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Significant depressive symptoms were defined by a EURO-D score ≥ 4. The longitudinal association between baseline pain intensity and significant depressive symptoms at follow-up was analysed using logistic regression models; odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals (CI) were calculated, adjusting for socio-demographic and clinical factors, physical inactivity, loneliness, mobility and functional impairments. Results: Mean age was 65.4 years (standard deviation 9.0, range 50–99); 14,360 (50.4%) participants were women. Mean follow-up was 23.4 (standard deviation 3.4) months. At baseline, 2803 (9.8%) participants reported mild pain, 5253 (18.4%) moderate pain and 1431 (5.0%) severe pain. At follow-up, 3868 (13.6%) participants—1451 (10.3%) men and 2417 (16.8%) women—reported significant depressive symptoms. After adjustment, mild, moderate and severe baseline pain, versus no pain, were associated with an increased likelihood of significant depressive symptoms at follow-up: ORs (95% CI) were 1.20 (1.06–1.35), 1.32 (1.20–1.46) and 1.39 (1.19–1.63), respectively. These associations were more pronounced in men compared to women, and consistent in participants aged 50–64 years, those without mobility or functional impairment, and those without loneliness at baseline. Conclusion: Higher baseline pain intensity was longitudinally associated with a greater risk of significant depressive symptoms at 2-year follow-up, in community-dwelling adults without baseline depression

Developmental Strategy and Validation of the Midwifery Interventions Classification (MIC): A Delphi Study Protocol and Results from the Developmental Phase

This study protocol aims to describe the rationale and developmental strategy of the first study in the Italian context which aimed to define a Midwifery Interventions Classification, an evidence-based, standardized taxonomy and classification of midwifery interventions. Midwifery interventions require a specific definition, developed through a consensus-building process by stakeholders to develop the Italian taxonomy of the Midwifery Interventions Classification with the potential for international transferability, implementation, and scaling up. A multi-round Delphi study was designed between June and September 2022, and data collection is planned between February 2023 and February 2024. The developmental phase of the study is based on a literature review to select meaningful midwifery interventions from the international literature, aiming to identify an evidence-based list of midwifery interventions. This phase led to including 16 articles derived from a systematic search performed on PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus; 164 midwifery interventions were selected from the data extraction performed on the 16 included articles. Healthcare professionals, researchers, and service users will be eligible panelists for the Delphi surveys. The protocol designed a dynamic number of consultation rounds based on the ratings and interim analysis. A nine-point Likert scoring system is designed to evaluate midwifery interventions. Attrition and attrition bias will be evaluated. The results from the study designed in this protocol will inform the development of the Italian taxonomy of the Midwifery Interventions Classification. A shared classification of midwifery interventions will support audit and quality improvement, education, and comparable data collections for research, sustaining public recognition of midwifery interventions to promote optimal maternal and newborn health