Meningococcal serogroup B vaccine in Italy: state-of-art, organizational aspects and perspectives

Neisseria meningitidis causes severe invasive meningococcal diseases (IMDs) in humans including meningitis and septicemia, responsible for serious clinical conditions and leading to life-long disabilities and death. Serogroup B dominates IMDs burden in Italy, accounting for over 60% of total cases. On January 2013 the European Medicine Agency (EMA) licensed the first serogroup B meningococcal (Men B) vaccine in Europe. A number of European countries and Regions have introduced the new Men B vaccine in their immunization schedule, including Italy. In this paper we present the state of art, related critical issues and future perspectives of Men B vaccine introduction in Italy, in the context of the most recent available epidemiological data. In particular, we systematically assess the ongoing processes in the 8 Italian regions and one autonomous province that have already introduced Men B vaccine. With the new National Vaccine Prevention Plan including active Men B vaccine offer about to be adopted, it is of fundamental importance to gather further evidence on Men B vaccine clinical effectiveness, duration of protection and cost-effectiveness. Italian regions are called to organize and manage Men B immunization programs. Careful consideration will need to be devoted on timing, doses, and co-administration with other vaccines but also to economic assessments and strengthened communication to the general public. Our data will help to plan, implement and evaluate Men B immunization programmes in other Italian and international settings

Classificazione SIAPEC 2014: nostra esperienza nella predittività diagnostica di malignità nella categoria indeterminata della tiroide

INTRODUZIONE: In questo studio vi presentiamo una serie di casi di pazienti che avevano noduli tiroidei segnalati 'indeterminati' alla citologia e che sono stati trattati con tiroidectomia al fine di valutare la correlazione tra la TIR3A / B ed i risultati istologici definitivi. Questo studio è stato fatto nel tentativo di fornire ulteriori dati riguardo al rischio atteso di neoplasie maligne associate ai due sottogruppi di noduli tiroidei indeterminati e valutare se la nuova classificazione abbia aiutato i medici nel processo decisionale. METODI: Al fine di confermare che la citologia a basso rischio (TIR 3a) è meno frequentemente associata alla malignità della citologia ad alto rischio (TIR 3b) abbiamo identificato due gruppi di pazienti: il primo gruppo era composto da quei pazienti il cui FNAC li aveva segnalati come TIR 3 prima della pubblicazione della nuova classificazione del 2014; il secondo gruppo era composto da tutti quei pazienti il cui FNAC era stato eseguito dopo la nuova classificazione e che quindi erano già stati suddivisi in TIR 3 A e TIR 3 B. RISULTATI: Considerando il totale dei pazienti del primo e del secondo gruppo abbiamo un totale di 47 pazienti. 18 di questi pazienti con un TIR3A e 29 con un TIR3B. Rivedendo il referto anatomo-patologico definitivo, abbiamo trovato 13 (27,6% del totale) casi di cancro e 34 (72,4% del totale) casi benigni.Su un totale di 18 casi di Tir3A 4 sono stati trovati maligni in base al referto post operatorio dell’anatomo patologo (22%), mentre nel totale dei 29 Tir3B 9 casi sono risultati maligni (31%). DISCUSSIONE: Dal nostro studio è evidente che il FNAC rimane un passo importante nel follow up dei pazienti con noduli tiroidei indeterminati, e che la nuova classificazione italiana del 2014 ha anche migliorato la precisione del sistema di reporting citologio. Anche se crediamo che la decisione di procedere alla chirurgia o continuare con un atteggiamento conservativo non può completamente essere affidata al risultato citologico soprattutto in vista del tasso di malignità elevato trovato nel gruppo TIR3A (22%). Siamo forti sostenitori del fatto che la decisione finale deve essere multidisciplinare e che debbano essere prese in considerazione tutte le altre indagini e fattori. Per quanto riguarda i sottogruppi 3A e 3B, riteniamo che i pazienti il cui FNAC abbia avuto come risultato TIR3B debbano essere indirizzati alla chirurgia in quanto il tasso di malignità dimostrato può arrivare fino al 40%, tuttavia, anche i pazienti TIR3A non possono essere indirizzati al monitoraggio, se non dopo aver eseguito uno screening completo e accurato associato ad un attenta storia clinica e familiare

Precision Measurement of the W-Boson Mass: Theoretical Contributions and Uncertainties

We perform a comprehensive analysis of electroweak, QED and mixed QCD-electroweak corrections underlying the precise measurement of the W-boson mass M_W at hadron colliders. By applying a template fitting technique, we detail the impact on M_W of next-to-leading order electroweak and QCD corrections, multiple photon emission, lepton pair radiation and factorizable QCD-electroweak contributions. As a by-product, we provide an up-to-date estimate of the main theoretical uncertainties of perturbative nature. Our results can serve as a guideline for the assessment of the theoretical systematics at the Tevatron and LHC and allow a more robust precision measurement of the W-boson mass at hadron colliders.Comment: 51 pages, 10 figures and 16 tables. Minor corrections: new citations and reference to the svn revisions of the POWHEG code. Numerical results and conclusions unchange

Comparison of magnetic resonance spectroscopy, proton density fat fraction and histological analysis in the quantification of liver steatosis in children and adolescents

AIM: To establish a threshold value for liver fat content between healthy children and those with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with liver biopsy serving as a reference standard. METHODS: The study was approved by the local ethics committee, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants and their legal guardians before the study began. Twenty-seven children with NAFLD underwent liver biopsy to assess the presence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. The assessment of liver fat fraction was performed using MRI, with a high field magnet and 2D gradient-echo and multiple-echo T1-weighted sequence with low flip angle and single-voxel point-resolved ¹H MR-Spectroscopy (¹H-MRS), corrected for T1 and T2* decays. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine the best cut-off value. Lin coefficient test was used to evaluate the correlation between histology, MRS and MRI-PDFF. A Mann-Whitney U-test and multivariate analysis were performed to analyze the continuous variables. RESULTS: According to MRS, the threshold value between healthy children and those with NAFLD is 6%; using MRI-PDFF, a cut-off value of 3.5% is suggested. The Lin analysis revealed a good fit between the histology and MRS as well as MRI-PDFF. CONCLUSION: MRS is an accurate and precise method for detecting NAFLD in children

SISTEMA DI PROPULSIONE PER VELIVOLO E METODO DI CONTROLLO DEL SISTEMA DI PROPULSIONE PER VELIVOLO

Brevetto per invenzione industriale intitolato "Sistema di propulsione per velivolo e metodo di controllo di sistema di propulsione per velivolo". Titolari: Politecnico di Torino, Torino; Alenia Aermacchi S.P.A., Venegono Superiore (VA). Inventori: Ronchetto Davide, Chiesa Sergio, Ragusa Carlo Stefano, Armando Eric Giacomo, Farfaglia Salvatore

Efficiency enhancement in two-cell CIGS photovoltaic system with low-cost optical spectral splitter.

Spectrum splitting represents a valid alternative to multi-junction solar cells for broadband light-to-electricity conversion. While this concept has existed for decades, its adoption at the industrial scale is still stifled by high manufacturing costs and inability to scale to large areas. Here we report the experimental validation of a novel design that could allow the widespread adoption of spectrum splitting as a low-cost approach to high efficiency photovoltaic conversion. Our system consists of a prismatic lens that can be manufactured using the same methods employed for conventional CPV optic production, and two inexpensive CuInGaSe(2) (CIGS) solar cells having different composition and, thus, band gaps. We demonstrate a large improvement in cell efficiency under the splitter and show how this can lead to substantial increases in system output at competitive cost using existing technologies

Deconstructing the governing dissipative phenomena in the nanoscale

An expression describing the controlling parameters involved in short range nanoscale dissipation is proposed and supported by simulations and experimental findings. The expression is deconstructed into the geometrical, dynamic, chemical and mechanical properties of the system. In atomic force microscopy these are translated into 1) tip radius and tip-sample deformation, 2) resonant frequency and oscillation amplitude and 3) hysteretic and viscous dissipation. The latter are characteristic parameters defining the chemical and mechanical properties of the tip-sample system. Long range processes are also discussed and footprints are identified in experiments conducted on mica and silicon samples. The present methodology can be exploited to validate or invalidate nanoscale dissipative models by comparing predictions with experimental observables

Electroweak corrections to e+e−→γγe^+e^-\to\gamma\gamma as a luminosity process at FCC-ee

We consider large-angle two photon production in $e^+ e^-$ annihilation as a possible process to monitor the luminosity of a future $e^+ e^-$ circular collider (FCC-ee). We review and assess the status of the theoretical accuracy by performing a detailed phenomenological study of next-to-leading order electroweak corrections and leading logarithmic QED contributions due to multiple photon radiation. We also estimate the impact of photonic and fermion-loop corrections at next-to-next-to-leading order and the uncertainty induced by the hadronic contribution to the vacuum polarization. Possible perspectives to address the target theoretical accuracy are briefly discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables. Extended version, with theoretical details and further numerical results, of the contribution to the workshop proceedings arXiv:1905.05078 by the same authors. v2: minor text modification, one reference adde

Reconstructing force profiles with an amplitude-modulation AFM in tapping mode

Here we demonstrate how to reconstruct force profiles with an amplitude-modulation AFM operated in in standard tapping mode. Our example is based on the Cypher scanning probe microscope from Asylum Research. The method is based on Sader and Katan’s algorithm, but we have implemented an experimental set-up that allows for robust reconstruction. We discuss the details here