Broad-band X-ray analysis of local mid-infrared selected Compton-thick AGN candidates

The estimate of the number and space density of obscured AGN over cosmic time still represents an open issue. While the obscured AGN population is a key ingredient of the X-ray background synthesis models and is needed to reproduce its shape, a complete census of obscured AGN is still missing. Here we test the selection of obscured sources among the local 12-micron sample of Seyfert galaxies. Our selection is based on a difference up to three orders of magnitude in the ratio between the AGN bolometric luminosity, derived from the spectral energy distribution (SED) decomposition, and the same quantity obtained by the published XMM-Newton 2-10 keV luminosity. The selected sources are UGC05101, NGC1194 and NGC3079 for which the available X-ray wide bandpass, from Chandra and XMM-Newton plus NuSTAR data, extending to energies up to ~30-45 keV, allows us an accurate determination of the column density, and hence of the true intrinsic power. The newly derived NH values clearly indicate heavy obscuration (about 1.2, 2.1 and 2.4 x10^{24} cm-2 for UGC05101, NGC1194 and NGC3079, respectively) and are consistent with the prominent silicate absorption feature observed in the Spitzer-IRS spectra of these sources (at 9.7 micron rest frame). We finally checked that the resulting X-ray luminosities in the 2-10 keV band are in good agreement with those derived from the mid-IR band through empirical L_MIR-L_X relations.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Towards a traceable divider for composite voltage waveforms below 1 kV

open3Voltage divider · Composite and combined voltages · Traceability · Scale factor calibration · Step response · Measurement uncertaintyIn the framework of the European Project 19NRM07 HV-com2 supporting the standardization in high-voltage testing with composite and combined wave shapes, a divider to employ in a test set-up for validation of electrical devices submitted to composite voltages below 1 kV has been developed at the Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRIM) and currently is under extensive testing. After a simulation stage, an available divider has been modified to comply with the IEC 60,060 requirements in terms of step response and scale factor. To be suitably fast in replying to step voltages, an adjustment of the components of the low-voltage arm has been made. The divider has been calibrated with traceability to the relevant INRIM National Standards and characterized exploiting its scale factor at different voltages and frequencies. The divider has been then inserted in a set-up with a sinusoidal generator, an impulse generator and coupling–blocking elements to carry out tests at low voltages (below 1 kV) with single voltages. In these tests, the divider showed a satisfactory attitude as converting device and its scale factor is traceable with suitable uncertaintyopenGalliana, F.; Caria, S. E.; Roccato, P. E.Galliana, F.; Caria, S. E.; Roccato, P. E

The Effect of Thermal Stresses on the Electrical Resistance of Crimped Connections

Cables headed with crimped lugs are frequently used in test laboratories in temperature rise tests carried out to validate electrical devices. The increase in the electrical resistance of the crimped connections can cause high dissipation of power and heat during these tests, impairing their outcome. This work evaluates the effect of thermal stresses on the resistance and on the dissipated power of crimped connections. This resistance was found to be more sensitive to thermal stresses than to mechanical ones analysed in a previous work. A limit of the dissipated power from crimped connections during temperature rise tests was estimated to be about 4 W corresponding to a crimp resistance of 24 mu ohm for tests made at 400 A. Respecting these limits could avoid unnecessary rejections of equipment under test

A Case of Central Nervous System Infection by Candida Famata in an Immunosuppressed Patient with HIV-1 Infection

Invasive fungal infections caused by Candida species are increasingly observed in immunosuppressed patients. Candida albicans is the more often identified species and neurocandidiasis is associated with high mortality rates. Diagnosis and treatment of these infections are frequently challenging. We report a case of central nervous system infection caused by Candida famata in an HIV-1 infected patient. To our best knowledge this is just the second published case of neural infection by this agent.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Optimizing detection of RET and PPARg rearrangements in thyroid neoplastic cells using a home-brew tetracolor probe

BACKGROUND Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to identify specific DNA target sequences in the nuclei of nondividing cells of numerous solid neoplasms has contributed to the introduction of molecular cytogenetics as a useful adjunct to cytology, leading recently to the "marriage" of the 2 disciplines. Numerous cancer molecular markers can now be investigated using different technical approaches, at both the gene and expression levels, in biopsies of various suspected cancers, including differentiated thyroid carcinoma. The limited amount of bioptic material is often insufficient to carry out multiple tests, and optimizing handling of the biopsy is desirable. METHODS We have developed a home-brew tetracolor break-apart probe able to simultaneously identify the 2 most common genetic alterations in differentiated thyroid carcinoma: RET/PTC variants in papillary thyroid carcinoma and PAX8/PPARg fusion and variants in follicular thyroid carcinoma. RESULTS The probe had 100% specificity, 99.5% sensitivity, and >= 3% cutoff. The probe was tested on RET/PTC and PAX8/PPARg RT-PCR positive controls, and feasibility was assessed in 368 thyroid nodule fine-needle aspirations (FNA). In the latter analysis, 24 FNAs had split RET signal, and 9 had split PPARg signal. FISH analysis of available surgically removed nodules confirmed the sensitivity of FISH in detecting abnormal clones and oligoclones. CONCLUSIONS The home-brew tetracolor probe showed high feasibility, optimizing the use of the biological material in relation to the available molecular tests and maximizing the FISH experimental and slide-scoring times. This probe may be considered an alternative to RT-PCR when recovery and quality of RNA amplification from FNA are insufficient

Efficient second harmonic generation from thin films of V-shaped benzo[b]thiophene based molecules

We have designed an original approach for efficient Second Harmonic Generation of tailored V-shape benzo[b]thiophene molecular systems enabling versatile and flexible one-step, dry and technologically friendly thin film processing. The designed moieties show χ(2) values at least as high as the reference LiNbO3 single crystal, without poling processing and matching the constrains of integrated optical configuration for nonlinear optical devices. This may open the way to a new class of organic materials exploitable for photonic applications

Opioid overdose risk during and after drug treatment for heroin dependence: An incidence density case–control study nested in the VEdeTTE cohort

Introduction and Aims: To corroborate protective effects of a range of drug treatment modalities against overdose mortality risk. Design and Methods: Nested case–control study, with incidence density sampling, selecting controls retrospectively at each case event. Cases and controls came from a sub-cohort of opioid-dependent patients (n = 4444) from two Italian regions (Lazio and Piedmont). From 1998 to 2005, there were 91 overdose deaths (cases) matched to 352 controls. The primary outcome was overdose mortality and the primary exposure was drug treatment: opioid agonist treatment (OAT), opioid detoxification, residential community, psychosocial and other pharmacological treatment. Conditional logistic regression models generated intervention effects comparing mortality risk in and out of treatment, adjusting for confounding variables. Results: Overall, drug treatment reduced overdose mortality risk by 80% [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.10–0.33, P < 0.001] compared to being out of treatment. There was a particularly strong protective effect of OAT on overdose mortality (AOR 0.08, 95% CI 0.03–0.23, P < 0.001) compared to being out of treatment. There was evidence of a substantially elevated risk of overdose in the first month of leaving treatment (AOR 23.50, 95% CI 7.84–70.19, P < 0.001) compared to being in treatment. Discussion and Conclusions: The nested case–control design strengthened earlier findings that OAT in Italy has strong protective effects on overdose mortality risk, much stronger than has been previously seen in other Western European settings

Foramen caróticoclinoideo en cráneos humanos: incidencia, morfometría y sus implicaciones clínicas

The caroticoclinoid foramen is an inconstant structure, formed by the union of the anterior and middle clinoid processes. The aim of this study was to perform an incidence and morphometry of the caroticoclinoid foramen in Brazilian human skulls and discuss its clinical implications. Eighty dry human skulls with sex distinction were used, and 3 groups of incidence were determined: General, sex, and sides. The morphometry was performed using a manual caliper and the major diameter of the foramina was measured; the values were also divided in general, according to sex and sides. The incidence of skulls with at least one foramen was 8.5%. According to the sides, 8.5% of the skulls showed foramen on the right side and 2.5% on the left. We found 2.5% of the skulls with bilateral foramen and 6.25% with unilateral foramen. In relation to sex, the foramens were found in 5% of male skulls and 12.5% of female skulls. The major diameter of this structure presented on mean, values of 5.23 mm on general, 5.18 mm on the right side and 5.35 mm on the left, 5.30 mm in male skulls and 5.18 mm in female skulls. The anatomical characteristics of this foramen should be considered in view of its clinical implications associated with neurosurgery as clinoid process removal, and symptoms as headache due to internal carotid artery alterations in this region. In conclusion knowledge of this structure supports the diagnosis and treatment of clinical complications related to this variation.The caroticoclinoid foramen is an inconstant structure, formed by the union of the anterior and middle clinoid processes. The aim of this study was to perform an incidence and morphometry of the caroticoclinoid foramen in Brazilian human skulls and discuss its clinical implications. Eighty dry human skulls with sex distinction were used, and 3 groups of incidence were determined: General, sex, and sides. The morphometry was performed using a manual caliper and the major diameter of the foramina was measured; the values were also divided in general, according to sex and sides. The incidence of skulls with at least one foramen was 8.5%. According to the sides, 8.5% of the skulls showed foramen on the right side and 2.5% on the left. We found 2.5% of the skulls with bilateral foramen and 6.25% with unilateral foramen. In relation to sex, the foramens were found in 5% of male skulls and 12.5% of female skulls. The major diameter of this structure presented on mean, values of 5.23 mm on general, 5.18 mm on the right side and 5.35 mm on the left, 5.30 mm in male skulls and 5.18 mm in female skulls. The anatomical characteristics of this foramen should be considered in view of its clinical implications associated with neurosurgery as clinoid process removal, and symptoms as headache due to internal carotid artery alterations in this region. In conclusion knowledge of this structure supports the diagnosis and treatment of clinical complications related to this variation292427431Das, S., Suri, R., Kapur, V., Ossification of caroticoclinoid ligament and its clinical importance in skull-based surgery (2007) São Paulo Med. J, 125, pp. 351-353Dodo, Y., Ishida, H., Incidence of nonmetric cranial variant in several population samples from East Asia and North America (1987) J. Anthrop. Soc. Nippon, 95, pp. 161-167Dolenc, V.V., A combined epi and subdural direct approach to carotidophthalmic artery aneurysms (1985) J. Neurosurg, 5, pp. 667-672Donald, P.J., (1998) Surgery of the Skull Base, , Philadelphia, Lippincott- RavenErturk, M., Kayalioglu, G., Govsa, F., Anatomy of the clinoidal region with special emphasis on the caroticoclinoid foramen and interclinoid osseous brid- ge in a recent Turkish population (2004) Neurosurg. Rev, pp. 22-26Gupta, N., Ray, B., Ghosh, S., A study on anterior clinoid process and optic strut with emphasis on variations of caroticoclinoid foramen (2005) Nep. Med. Coll. J, 7, pp. 140-144Hochstetter, F., Über die Taenia interclinoidea,die Commissura alicochlearis und die Cartilago supracochlearis des menschlichen Primordialkraniums.Gegenbaurs Morph (1940) Jahrb, 84, pp. 220-243Inoue, T., Rhoton Jr., A.L., Theele, D., Barry, M.E., Surgical approaches to the cavernous sinus:A microsurgical study (1990) Neurosurg, 6, pp. 903-932Kier, E.L., Embryology of the normal optic canal and its anomalies.An anatomic and roentgenographic stud (1966) Invest. Radiol, 1, pp. 346-362Kobayashi, S., Kyoshima, K., Gibo, H., Hedge, S.A., Takemae, T., Sugita, K., Carotid cave aneurysms of the internal carotid artery (1989) J. Neurosurg, 70, p. 216Lee, H.Y., Chung, I.H., Choi B., Y., Anterior, C., (1997) Yonsei Med. J, 38, pp. 151-154Narolewski, R., Significance of anatomic variants of bony surroundings of the internal carotid artery and their significance for lateral surgical approaches to the cavernous sinus (2003) Ann. Acad. Med. Stetin, 49, pp. 205-229Saka, E., Ozdoǧmus, O., Tulay, C., Gürdal, E., Uzün, I., The anatomy of the carotico-clinoid foramen and its relation with the internal carotid artery (2003) Surg. Radiol. Anat, 25, pp. 241-246Reisch, R., Vutskits, L., Filippi, R., Patonay, L., Fries, G., Perneczky, A., Topographic microsurgical anatomy of the paraclinoid carotid artery (2002) Neurosurg Rev, 25, pp. 177-183Sekhar, L.N., Akin, O., Anatomical study of the cavernous sinus emphasizing operative approaches and related vascular and neural reconstruction (1987) Neurosurg, 21, pp. 806-816Seoane, E., Rhoton, A.L., Oliveira, E., Microsurgical anatomy of the dural collar (carotid collar) and rings around the clinoid segment of the internal carotid artery (1998) Neurosurg, 42, pp. 869-886Sicher, H., du Brul, E.L., (1977) Oral Anatomy, , 6ed. Rio de Janeiro, Guanabara KooganStandring, S., Overview of the Development of the Head and Neck Head: Skull and Mandible Gray's anatomy: The anatomical basis of clinical practice, p. 2005. , New York, ElsevierEl foramen caróticoclinoideo es una estructura inconstante formada por la unión de la procesos clinoides anterior y medio. El objetivo de este estudio fue revisar la incidencia y la morfometría del foramen caróticoclinoideo en cráneos humanos brasileños y discutir sus implicaciones clínicas. Se utilizaron 80 cráneos humanos secos, de ambos sexos, determinando tres variables: sexo y lados derecho e izquierdo. La morfometría se realizó con un cáliper manual midiéndose el diámetro máximo del foramen. La incidencia de cráneos con al menos un foramen fue de 8,5%. El 8,5% de los cráneos presentó un foramen en el lado derecho y el 2,5% en el izquierdo. El 2,5% de los cráneos presentó un foramen bilateral y el 6,25% un foramen unilateral. En relación al sexo, los forámenes se encontraron en el 5% de los cráneos de hombres y el 12,5% de los cráneos de mujeres. El diámetro máximo de esta estructura presentó en promedio, valores de 5,23 mm; 5,18 mm en el lado derecho y 5,35 mm en el izquierdo; 5,30 mm en cráneos de hombres y 5.18 mm en cráneos de mujeres. Las características anatómicas de este foramen deben ser consideradas debido a las implicaciones clínicas asociadas a la neurocirugía, como la eliminación del proceso clinoides y a síntomas como cefaleas producto de alteraciones en la arteria carótida interna en esta región. En conclusión, el conocimiento de esta estructura mejora el diagnóstico y tratamiento de las complicaciones clínicas relacionadas con esta variació

Morfometría de la apertura piriforme y morfología de los huesos nasales en la población brasileña por la radiografía postero-anterior de Caldwell

CAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOPiriform aperture and nasal bone contribute to the formation of the nose. Its morphology varies according to ethnic group and gender. The piriform apertures and nasal bones of 97 individuals were examined radiographically through Caldwell radiographic technique and the types of nasal bones were classified according to Hwang et al. (2005). The width, height and area of piriform aperture were measured to demonstrate the difference according to gender. Statistical analysis was performed from the Student t test and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The most frequent type of nasal bone was A, and D was the most uncommon in both genders. In the Student t test significant differences between genders, height, width and area of the piriform aperture were obtained and were larger in males when compared to females. The dimensions of the piriform aperture were higher in males when compared to females, and therefore may be used as parameter for the distinction of gender in Brazilian population. The type A of nasal bone was the most frequent in the Brazilian population, contributing to ethnic differentiation in human identification292393398CAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOsem informaçãosem informaçãoLa apertura piriforme y el hueso nasal contribuyen a la formación de la nariz. Su morfología varía de acuerdo a los grupos étnicos y al sexo. Este estudio evaluó la morfología de la apertura piriforme y el hueso nasal y su relación con el sexo. Las aperturas piriformes y los huesos nasales de 97 personas fueron examinados radiográficamente mediante la técnica radiográfica de Caldwell, y los tipos de huesos nasales se clasificaron de acuerdo con Hwang et al. (2005). Se midió el ancho, la altura y el área de la apertura piriforme para demostrar las diferencias por sexo. El análisis estadístico se realizó a partir de la prueba t de Student y análisis de varianza (ANOVA). El tipo más frecuente de hueso nasal fue la A, y la D fue la menos común, en ambos sexos. En la prueba t de Student se obtuvo diferencias significativas entre los sexos, altura, ancho y área de la apertura piriforme, las que fueron mayores en hombres en comparación a las mujeres. Las dimensiones de la apertura piriforme fueron mayores en los hombres que en las mujeres, por lo que se puede utilizar como parámetro para la distinción de sexo en la población brasileña. En la población brasileña el tipo A de hueso nasal fue el más frecuente, lo que contribuye para la diferenciación étnica en la identificación human