Cloud Chamber: A Performance with Real Time Two-Way Interaction between Subatomic Particles and Violinist

‘Cloud Chamber’ - a composition by Alexis Kirke, Antonino Chiaramonte, and Anna Troisi - is a live performance in which the invisible quantum world becomes visible as a violinist and subatomic particle tracks interact together. An electronic instrument was developed which can be “played” live by radioactive atomic particles. Electronic circuitry was developed enabling a violin to create a physical force field that directly affects the ions generated by cosmic radiation particles. This enabled the violinist and the ions to influence each other musically in real time. A glass cloud chamber was used onstage to make radioactivity visible in bright white tracks moving within, with the tracks projected onto a large screen

Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) in chronic hepatitis C virus infection: correlates of positivity and clinical relevance.

We examined correlates of antinuclear antibody (ANA) positivity (ANA+) in individuals with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and the effect of positivity on clinical outcome of HCV. Pretreatment sera from 645 patients from three centres in Sweden (n = 225), the UK (n = 207) and Italy (n = 213) were evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence on Hep-2 cells for ANA pattern and titre by a single laboratory. Liver biopsies were all scored by one pathologist. A total of 258 patients were subsequently treated with interferon monotherapy. There was a significant difference in the prevalence of ANA (1:40) by geographic location: Lund 4.4%, London 8.7%, Padova 10.3% [odds ratio (OR) = 0.66; 95% CI: 0.46-0.94; P = 0.023]. Duration of HCV infection, age at infection, current age, route of infection, viral genotype, alcohol consumption, fibrosis stage and inflammatory score were not correlated with ANA+ or ANA pattern. Female gender was correlated with ANA+ and this association persisted in multivariable analyses (OR = 3.0; P = 0.002). Increased plasma cells were observed in the liver biopsies of ANA-positive individuals compared with ANA-negative individuals, while a trend towards decreased lymphoid aggregates was observed [hazard ratio (HR) = 9.0, P = 0.037; HR = 0.291, P = 0.118, respectively]. No correlations were observed between ANA positivity and nonresponse to therapy (OR = 1.4; P = 0.513), although ANA+ was correlated with faster rates of liver fibrosis, this was not statistically significant (OR = 1.8; P = 0.1452). Low titre ANA+ should not be a contraindication for interferon treatment. Our observation of increased plasma cells in ANA+ biopsies might suggest B-cell polyclonal activity with a secondary clinical manifestation of increased serum immunoglobulins

Probabilistic assessment of equivalent fracture aperture constrained on quasi-real-time drilling mud loss data

We provide a rigorous workflow to quantify the effects of key sources of uncertainty associated with equivalent fracture aperture estimates w constrained through mud loss information acquired while drilling a well in a reservoir. A stochastic inverse modeling framework is employed to estimate the probability distribution of w. This choice is consistent with the quantity and quality of available data. The approach allows assessing the probability that values of w inferred from mud loss events exceed a given threshold. We rely on a streamlined analytical solution to model mud losses while drilling. We explicitly consider uncertainties associated with model parameters and forcing terms, including drilling fluid rheological properties and flow rates, pore fluid pressure, and dynamic drilling fluid pressure. A synthetic scenario is considered to provide a transparent reference setting against which our stochastic inverse modeling workflow can be appraised. The approach is then applied to a real-case scenario. The latter is associated with data monitored on a rig site. A direct comparison of the impact of data collected through two common techniques (respectively, relying on flow meter sensors or pump strokes) on the ensuing probability of w is provided. A detailed analysis of the uncertainty related to the level of data corruption is also performed, considering various levels of measurement errors. Results associated with the field setting suggest that the proposed workflow yields probability distribution of w that are compatible with interpretations relying on traditional analyses of image logs. Results stemming from direct and indirect flow data display similar shapes. This suggests the viability of the probabilistic inversion methodology to assist quasi-real-time identification of equivalent fracture apertures on the basis of routinely acquired information during drilling

Enhanced Eshelby twist on thin wurtzite InP nanowires and measurement of local crystal rotation

We have performed a detailed study of the lattice distortions of InP wurtzite nanowires containing an axial screw dislocation. Eshelby predicted that this kind of system should show a crystal rotation due to the dislocation induced torque. We have measured the twisting rate and the dislocation Burgers vector on individual wires, revealing that nanowires with a 10-nm radius have a twist up to 100% larger than estimated from elasticity theory. The strain induced by the deformation has a Mexican-hat-like geometry, which may create a tube-like potential well for carriers

Energetic sustainability of the building substitution: the rewards and the facilitations of the Italian Piano Casa

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Diagnostic factors for recurrent pregnancy loss: an expanded workup

Purpose: There is limited information on the risk factors for recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). Methods: In this study, a patient-based approach was used to investigate the possible involvement and relative relevance of a large number of diagnostic factors in 843 women with RPL who underwent an extensive diagnostic workup including 44 diagnostic factors divided into 7 major categories. Results: The rates of abnormalities found were: (1) genital infections: 11.74%; (2) uterine anatomic defects: 23.72%; (3) endocrine disorders: 29.42%; (4) thrombophilias: 62%; (5) autoimmune abnormalities: 39.2%; (6) parental karyotype abnormalities 2.25%; (7) clinical factors: 87.78%. Six hundred and fifty-nine out of eight hundred and forty-three women (78.17%) had more than one abnormality. The mean number of pregnancy losses increased by increasing the number of the abnormalities found (r = 0.86949, P < 0.02). The factors associated with the highest mean number of pregnancy losses were cervical isthmic incompetence, anti-beta-2-glycoprotein-1 antibodies, unicornuate uterus, anti-prothrombin A antibodies, protein C deficiency, and lupus anticoagulant. The majority of the considered abnormalities had similar, non-significant prevalence between women with 2 versus ≥ 3 pregnancy losses with the exception of age ≥ 35 years and MTHFR A1298C heterozygote mutation. No difference was found between women with primary and secondary RPL stratified according to the number of abnormalities detected (Chi-square: 8.55, P = 0.07). In these women, the only factors found to be present with statistically different rates were age ≥ 35 years, cigarette smoking, and genital infection by Ureaplasma. Conclusion: A patient-based diagnostic approach in women with RPL could be clinically useful and could represent a basis for future research

Effect of virtual reality rehabilitation on functional outcomes for return-to-work patients with Parkinson's disease: an umbrella review of systematic reviews

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by loss of substantia nigra neurons with deficiency of dopamine. The main symptoms are tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia. Rehabilitation has an important role in the treatment of this condition and virtual reality (VR) is one of the most recent tools. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this umbrella review is to evaluate the effectiveness of VR systems on gait control for return to work in patients with PD. METHODS: The electronic search, for reviews and meta-analysis studies that investigated the effectiveness of VR on gait control in PD patients, was performed through December 2021 using the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, PEDro, and Google Scholar. Mesh terms used were: Job integration/reintegration OR return-to-work AND Parkinson's disease AND virtual reality OR exergame. No limit on the year of publication of the article was used. CONCLUSIONS: A total of 14 articles were included in our analysis. The included evidence shows a stride length improvement in patients treated with VR compared to conventional active treatments. No difference was found in walking speed. Also, the included articles show an improvement on various measures of balance, motor function and severity of PD motor symptoms. In addition, the literature shows an improvement in the quality of life and neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients undergoing VR rehabilitation training. RESULTS: he results of our study suggest that VR rehabilitation improves gait performance, particularly stride length, thus being able to provide an improvement in the quality of life and a more effective return to work training in patients with PD

An integrated pharmacophore/docking/3D-QSAR approach to screening a large library of products in search of future botulinum neurotoxin a inhibitors

Botulinum toxins are neurotoxins produced by Clostridium botulinum. This toxin can be lethal for humans as a cause of botulism; however, in small doses, the same toxin is used to treat different conditions. Even if the therapeutic doses are effective and safe, the adverse reactions could be local and could unmask a subclinical impairment of neuromuscular transmissions. There are not many cases of adverse events in the literature; however, it is possible that sometimes they do not occur as they are transient and, if they do occur, there is no possibility of a cure other than to wait for the pharmacological effect to end. Inhibition of botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A) effects is a strategy for treating botulism as it can provide an effective post-exposure remedy. In this paper, 13,592,287 compounds were screened through a pharmacophore filter, a 3D-QSAR model, and a virtual screening; then, the compounds with the best affinity were selected. Molecular dynamics simulation studies on the first four compounds predicted to be the most active were conducted to verify that the poses foreseen by the docking were stable. This approach allowed us to identify compounds with a calculated inhibitory activity in the range of 316–500 nM