Formation and Evolution of Planetary Nebulae: A Radiation Hydrodynamics Study

The formation and evolution of a planetary nebula is based on the occurrence of a strong AGB wind and the rapid evolution of the central star with corresponding changes of its ionizing flux and wind power. We have studied the influence of different mass-loss histories in combination with various central-star properties

Pre-operational short-term forecasts for Mediterranean Sea biogeochemistry

Operational prediction of the marine environment is recognised as a fundamental research issue in Europe. We present a pre-operational implementation of a biogeochem- ical model for the pelagic waters of the Mediterranean Sea, developed within the framework of the MERSEA-IP Euro- pean project. The OPATM-BFM coupled model is the core of a fully automatic system that delivers weekly analyses and forecast maps for the Mediterranean Sea biogeochem- istry. The system has been working in its current configura- tion since April 2007 with successful execution of the fully automatic operational chain in 87% of the cases while in the remaining cases the runs were successfully accomplished af- ter operator intervention. A description of the system devel- oped and also a comparison of the model results with satel- lite data are presented, together with a measure of the model skill evaluated by means of seasonal target diagrams. Future studies will address the implementation of a data assimila- tion scheme for the biogeochemical compartment in order to increase the skill of the model’s performance

Health-related quality of life assessment in eating disorders: adjustment and validation of a specific scale with the inclusion of an interpersonal domain

Purpose: Quality of life is a fundamental aspect of both clinical practice and research on eating disorders (ED) due to the significant impacts these disorders have on everyday life. Disorder-specific scales can improve the quality of research and findings and offer greater sensitivity and responsiveness. However, no specific instrument is available in Italian for ED. The aim of this paper is to adjust and to validate a reliable scale with specific items regarding physical and interpersonal well-being. Methods: The Italian version of the Eating Disorder Quality of Life (IEDQOL) scale was developed, on the basis of the original English scale, with the addition of items pertaining to physical well-being and interpersonal interactions. In this study, 180 ED patients and 190 healthy controls from the community were enrolled both from inpatient units and outpatient services. A statistical analysis with an exploratory factorial approach was performed in order to validate the tool. Results: The results showed that the IEDQOL has very good psychometric properties with test–retest validity and sensitivity between patients and controls (d = 2.17 for total score). Moreover, the interpersonal domain showed excellent psychometric values (Cronbach’s α > 0.70 in all the subgroups) and a robust correlation with other quality of life constructs. Conclusion: Future studies on the Italian population should use IEDQOL as outcome element that can be useful also with other disorder-specific psychopathological constructs and corroborate the reliability of the data. Future research in the ED field should only use this specific tool. Level of evidence: Case–control analytic study, Level III

13q Deletion Syndrome Involving RB1: Characterization of a New Minimal Critical Region for Psychomotor Delay.

Retinoblastoma (RB) is an ocular tumor of the pediatric age caused by biallelic inactivation of the RB1 gene (13q14). About 10% of cases are due to gross-sized molecular deletions. The deletions can involve the surrounding genes delineating a contiguous gene syndrome characterized by RB, developmental anomalies, and peculiar facial dysmorphisms. Overlapping deletions previously found by traditional and/or molecular cytogenetic analysis allowed to define some critical regions for intellectual disability (ID) and multiple congenital anomalies, with key candidate genes. In the present study, using array-CGH, we characterized seven new patients with interstitial 13q deletion involving RB1. Among these cases, three patients with medium or large 13q deletions did not present psychomotor delay. This allowed defining a minimal critical region for ID that excludes the previously suggested candidate genes (HTR2A, NUFIP1, PCDH8, and PCDH17). The region contains 36 genes including NBEA, which emerged as the candidate gene associated with developmental delay. In addition, MAB21L1, DCLK1, EXOSC8, and SPART haploinsufficiency might contribute to the observed impaired neurodevelopmental phenotype. In conclusion, this study adds important novelties to the 13q deletion syndrome, although further studies are needed to better characterize the contribution of different genes and to understand how the haploinsufficiency of this region can determine ID. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

The evolution of planetary nebulae

We follow hydrodynamically the evolution of spherical model planetary nebulae subject to different initial conditions and with various central stars, investigating how combinations of central-star mass and asymptotic giant branch mass-loss rate determine the shape and kinematics of a planetary nebula. With this approach we aim at constituting a framework useful for the interpretation of the evolutionary status and previous mass-loss history of observed individual nebulae, making use of their kinematical properties and surface brightness characteristics. In particular, the models are compared with the observed morphologies and kinematics of double shell nebulae. The dynamical structure of all the models is characterized by a more or less complicated shock wave pattern set up by ionization and wind interaction whose combined action results in general in a typical double-shell structure. We have found that models with simple initial structures based on a constant AGB mass-loss rate fail to comply with observed shell morphologies and surface-brightness distributions. A reasonable agreement with the observations is only found for a model where the mass-loss rate is strongly increasing towards the end of the asymptotic giant-branch evolution. Depending on the central star's evolutionary speed and the density of the cool wind expelled along the asymptotic giant-branch, planetary nebulae may never get optically thin. This is primarily the case for the more massive central stars, and this fact offers a rather natural explanation for the long standing problem of the very existence of molecular hydrogen in the immediate vicinity of hot central stars. We also show that distances to planetary nebulae based on expansion parallaxes are systematically too small by a significant amount

Formation and evolution of planetary nebulae : a radiation hydrodynamics study

The formation and evolution of a planetary nebula is based on the occurrence of a strong AGB wind and the rapid evolution of the central star with corresponding changes of its ionizing flux and wind power. We have studied the influence of different mass-loss histories in combination with various central-star properties

A randomized controlled study comparing harmonic versus electrosurgery in laparoscopic myomectomy.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness and safety of harmonic scalpel versus electrosurgery to reduce blood loss during laparoscopic myomectomy. DESIGN: Prospective randomized controlled study. SETTING: Tertiary referral centers for gynecological care. PATIENT(S): One hundred sixty consecutive premenopausal women with symptomatic uterine leiomyomata who were assigned to one of the two treatment groups (a total of 80 patients in each group): treatment with electrosurgery devices with a vasoconstrictive solution (50 mL of saline solution and 0.5 mL of epinephrine [1/2 vial of 1 mg/mL]; group A) or harmonic scalpel (group B). INTERVENTION(S): Laparoscopic myomectomy. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURE(S): The global operative time, the time spent for myoma enucleation and for suturing uterine wall defects, and intraoperative blood loss as well as the surgical difficulty degree and postoperative pain at 24 and 48 hours after the laparoscopic procedure. RESULT(S): No relevant intra- or postoperative complications were observed in either group. The degree of pain 24 hours after surgery was significantly lower in patients in whom the harmonic scalpel was used. The degree of surgical difficulty did not differ between groups, but the global operative time was significantly shorter in the harmonic scalpel group. CONCLUSION(S): The use of the harmonic scalpel for laparoscopic myomectomy is associated with low total operative time, low intraoperative blood loss, and low postoperative pain, with no increase in surgical difficulty