Object grasping and manipulation in capuchin monkeys (genera Cebus and Sapajus)

The abilities to perform skilled hand movements and to manipulate objects dexterously are landmarks in the evolution of primates. The study of how primates use their hands to grasp and manipulate objects in accordance with their needs sheds light on how these species are physically and mentally equipped to deal with the problems they encounter in their daily life. We report data on capuchin monkeys, highly manipulative platyrrhine species that usually spend a great deal of time in active manipulation to search for food and to prepare it for ingestion. Our aim is to provide an overview of current knowledge on the ability of capuchins to grasp and manipulate objects, with a special focus on how these species express their cognitive potential through manual behaviour. Data on the ability of capuchins to move their hands and on the neural correlates sustaining their actions are reported, as are findings on the manipulative ability of capuchins to anticipate future actions and to relate objects to other objects and substrates. The manual behaviour of capuchins is considered in different domains, such as motor planning, extractive foraging and tool use, in both captive and natural settings. Anatomofunctional and behavioural similarities to and differences from other haplorrhine species regarding manual dexterity are also discussed

Long-Term Functional Outcome after Internal Delorme's Procedure for Obstructed Defecation Syndrome, and the Role of Postoperative Rehabilitation

PURPOSE: To evaluate long-term functional outcomes of Internal Delorme's Procedure (IDP) in patients refractory to conservative treatment for Obstructed Defecation Syndrome (ODS), and to compare those who received postoperative rehabilitation with those who did not. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients with ODS refractory to nonoperative therapy were identified across three regional pelvic floor referral hospitals, and IDP was performed. Postoperatively selected patients received biofeedback therapy. Functional outcomes were established using the Cleveland Clinic Constipation (CCC) score and obstructed defecation score (OD score) preoperatively at 12 months and at the last available follow-up. Patient satisfaction was assessed with a visual analogue score. RESULTS: From October 2006 to September 2013, IDP was performed in 170 patients: 77 received postoperative biofeedback and 93 did not. Mean follow-up was 6.3 years (range 1-8 years). CCC and OD scores improved significantly in both groups after 12 months and at the last follow-up (p > 0.05). When comparing two groups while there was no significant difference between CCC and OD scores at 12 months, score was significantly better in the group that received rehabilitation at the last follow-up (p = 0.001). Patient satisfaction was higher in the rehabilitation group (67%) compared with those without rehabilitation (55%). Clinical recurrence was recorded in nine patients who did not have postoperative rehabilitation. CONCLUSIONS: It has been demonstrated that IDP is associated with good long-term functional outcomes. Patients receiving rehabilitation had a better long-term follow-up, a higher overall satisfaction, and lower recurrence rate when compared with the patients who did not receive postoperative rehabilitation

Hip viscosupplementation under ultra-sound guidance riduces NSAID consumption in symptomatic hip osteoarthritis patients in a long follow-up. Data from Italian registry.

Introduction: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) consumption is strictly related to a high gastrointestinal and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity rate. Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) recommendations in patients with symptomatic hip or knee OA stated that NSAIDs should be used at the lowest effective dose but their long-term use should be avoided if possible. OARSI guidelines for the treatment of the hip OA include the use of viscosupplementation, which aims to restore physiological and Theological features of the synovial fluid. Objective: Aim of this multicentric, open and retrospective study is to investigate if NSAID consumption may be reduced by the use of ultrasound-guided intra-articular injection of several hyaluronic acid (HA) products in hip joint administered in patients affected by symptomatic hip OA. Materials and Methods: Patients affected by mono or bilateral symptomatic hip OA according to American Rheumatology Association (ARA) criteria, radiological OA graded II-IV (Kellgren and Lawrence) entered the study and were administered with ultrasound-guided intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid products. As a primary endpoint, consumption of NSAIDs was evaluated by recording the number of days a month (range 0-30) the patient had used NSAID during the previous month, reported at each visit during the 24 months follow-up period. Secondary endpoints included further analysis for subgroups of patients categorized for Lequesne index score, Kellgren-Lawrence score, pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score, ultrasound pattern, age, hyaluronic acid used. Results: 2343 patients entered the study. Regarding primary endpoint, the consumption of NSAIDs was reduced of 48.2% at the third month when compared with baseline values. This sparing effect increased at 12th and 24th month with a reduction respectively of 50% and 61% in comparison to baseline values. These differences were statistically significant. Conclusions: These data point out that intraarticular hyaluronan preparations provide OA pain relief and reduce NSAIDs consumption in a large cohort of patients for a long period of follow-up. Multiple courses of viscosupplementation (vs) are required to maintain low dose of NSAID consumption over time. NSAIDs consumption is strictly related to an high gastrointestinal and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity rate, instead HA intra-articular treatment is well tolerated and is associated with a low incidence of adverse effects. For these reasons further studies evaluating cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of VS in the management of hip OA are required

Meropenem vs standard of care for treatment of neonatal late onset sepsis (NeoMero1): A randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The early use of broad-spectrum antibiotics remains the cornerstone for the treatment of neonatal late onset sepsis (LOS). However, which antibiotics should be used is still debatable, as relevant studies were conducted more than 20 years ago, recruited in single centres or countries, evaluated antibiotics not in clinical use anymore and had variable inclusion/exclusion criteria and outcome measures. Moreover, antibiotic-resistant bacteria have become a major problem in many countries worldwide. We hypothesized that efficacy of meropenem as a broad-spectrum antibiotic is superior to standard of care regimens (SOC) in empiric treatment of LOS and aimed to compare meropenem to SOC in infants aged 44 weeks meeting the Goldstein criteria of sepsis, were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive meropenem or one of the two SOC regimens (ampicillin+gentamicin or cefotaxime+gentamicin) chosen by each site prior to the start of the study for 8-14 days. The primary outcome was treatment success (survival, no modification of allocated therapy, resolution/improvement of clinical and laboratory markers, no need of additional antibiotics and presumed/confirmed eradication of pathogens) at test-of-cure visit (TOC) in full analysis set. Stool samples were tested at baseline and Day 28 for meropenem-resistant Gram-negative organisms (CRGNO). The primary analysis was performed in all randomised patients and in patients with culture confirmed LOS. Proportions of participants with successful outcome were compared by using a logistic regression model adjusted for the stratification factors. From September 3, 2012 to November 30th 2014, total of 136 patients (instead of planned 275) in each arm were randomized; 140 (52%) were culture positive. Successful outcome at TOC was achieved in 44/136 (32%) in the meropenem arm vs. 31/135 (23%) in the SOC arm (p = 0.087). The respective numbers in patients with positive cultures were 17/63 (27%) vs. 10/77 (13%) (p = 0.022). The main reason of failure was modification of allocated therapy. Treatment emergent adverse events occurred in 72% and serious adverse events in 17% of patients, the Day 28 mortality was 6%. Cumulative acquisition of CRGNO by Day 28 occurred in 4% of patients in the meropenem and 12% in the SOC arm (p = 0.052). CONCLUSIONS: Within this study population, we found no evidence that meropenem was superior to SOC in terms of success at TOC, short term hearing disturbances, safety or mortality were similar in both treatment arms but the study was underpowered to detect the planned effect. Meropenem treatment did not select for colonization with CRGNOs. We suggest that meropenem as broad-spectrum antibiotic should be reserved for neonates who are more likely to have Gram-negative LOS, especially in NICUs where microorganisms producing extended spectrum- and AmpC type beta-lactamases are circulating

Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13  TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139  fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV

Search for direct stau production in events with two hadronic tau-leptons in root s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of the supersymmetric partners ofτ-leptons (staus) in final stateswith two hadronically decayingτ-leptons is presented. The analysis uses a dataset of pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of139fb−1, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LargeHadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. No significant deviation from the expected StandardModel background is observed. Limits are derived in scenarios of direct production of stau pairs with eachstau decaying into the stable lightest neutralino and oneτ-lepton in simplified models where the two staumass eigenstates are degenerate. Stau masses from 120 GeV to 390 GeV are excluded at 95% confidencelevel for a massless lightest neutralino

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase III Study of Tasquinimod in Men With Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

PURPOSE: Tasquinimod, a novel oral therapy targeting the tumor microenvironment, significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) in a randomized, placebo-controlled phase II trial in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). This phase III study was conducted to confirm the phase II results and to detect an overall survival (OS) benefit. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Men with chemotherapy-naïve mCRPC and evidence of bone metastases were assigned (2:1) to receive tasquinimod once per day or placebo until progression or toxicity. The primary end point was radiographic PFS (rPFS; time from random assignment to radiologic progression or death) per Prostate Cancer Working Group 2 criteria and RECIST 1.1. The study had 99.9% power to detect an rPFS hazard ratio (HR) of 0.6 with a two-sided alpha error of .05 and 80% power to detect a target HR of 0.8 for OS, the key secondary end point. RESULTS: In all, 1,245 patients were randomly assigned to either tasquinimod (n = 832) or placebo (n = 413) between March 2011 and December 2012 at 241 sites in 37 countries. Baseline characteristics were balanced between groups: median age, 71 years; Karnofsky performance status ≥ 90%, 77.3%; and visceral metastases, 21.1%. Estimated median rPFS by central review was 7.0 months (95% CI, 5.8 to 8.2 months) with tasquinimod and 4.4 months (95% CI, 3.5 to 5.5 months) with placebo (HR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.75; P < .001). Median OS was 21.3 months (95% CI, 19.5 to 23.0 months) with tasquinimod and 24.0 months (95% CI, 21.4 to 26.9 months) with placebo (HR, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.94 to 1.28; P = .25). Grade ≥ 3 adverse events were more frequent with tasquinimod (42.8% v 33.6%), the most common being anemia, fatigue, and cancer pain. CONCLUSION: In chemotherapy-naïve men with mCRPC, tasquinimod significantly improved rPFS compared with placebo. However, no OS benefit was observed

Использование барий-стронциевого карбонатита при изготовлении сварочных флюсов на основе техногенных отходов металлургического производства

В данной работе рассмотрена возможность использования барий-стронциевого карбонатита при изготовлении сварочных флюсов на основе шлака производства силикомарганца, а так же на основе ковшевых электросталеплавильных шлаков, образованных при производстве рельсовых марок стали. В серии опытов в лабораторных условиях изготавливали и исследовали различные составы сварочных флюсов, были определены химические составы наплавленного металла, проведен металлографический анализ.In this paper the possibility of using barium-strontium carbonatite in the manufacture of welding fluxes on the basis of slag from the production of silicomanganese, and based on ladle steelmaking slags formed in the production of rail steel grades. In a series of experiments in the laboratory have produced and investigated different compositions of welding fluxes, were determined the chemical compositions of the weld metal metallographic analysis