215 research outputs found
Covid-19 in children with down syndrome: Data from the trisomy 21 research society survey
Adults with Down Syndrome (DS) are at higher risk for severe outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than the general population, but evidence is required to understand the risks for children with DS, which is necessary to inform COVID-19 shielding advice and vaccination priorities. We aimed to determine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in children with DS. Using data from an international survey obtained from a range of countries and control data from the United States, we compared the prevalence of symptoms and medical complications and risk factors for severe outcomes between DS and non-DS paediatric populations with COVID-19. Hospitalised COVID-19 patients <18 years with DS had a higher incidence of respiratory symptoms, fever, and several medical complications from COVID-19 than control patients without DS <18 years. Older age, obesity, and epilepsy were significant risk factors for hospitalisation among paediatric COVID-19 patients with DS, and age and thyroid disorder were significant risk factors for acute respiratory distress syndrome. Mortality rates were low in all paediatric COVID-19 patients (with and without DS), contrasting with previous findings in adults with DS (who exhibit higher mortality than those without DS). Children with DS are at increased risk for more severe presentations of COVID-19. Efforts should be made to ensure the comprehensive and early detection of COVID-19 in this population and to identify children with DS who present comorbidities that pose a risk for a severe course of COVID-19. Our results emphasize the importance of vaccinating children with DS as soon as they become eligible
Expression of functional TRPV1 receptor in primary culture of canine keratinocytes
The interest for the endovanilloid system and for transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) is continuously increasing, due to their involvement in inflammation, nociception and pruritus. Even if TRPV1 enrolment was highlighted in both physiological and pathological conditions, some aspects remain unclear, mostly in veterinary medicine. This study aimed to verify the expression and functionality of TRPV1 in canine keratinocytes to investigate in vitro the role of TRPV1 in these cells that are involved in different cutaneous pathologies. Keratinocytes primary cultures were isolated from bioptical samples and cultivated. Binding assay (using 3 [H]-resiniferatoxin), displacement assay (in the presence of 1.2 nM 3 [H]-resiniferatoxin) and functional assays (in the presence of 1 μCi/45 Ca2+ ) with vanilloid agonists and antagonists, specifically addressed to TRPV1 receptor, were performed. Binding assay demonstrated the presence of measurable concentrations of TRPV1 (Bmax = 1,240 ± 120 fmol/mg protein; Kd = 0.01 ± 0.004 nM). Displacement assay highlighted the highest affinity for resiniferatoxin (RTX) and 5-iodo-resiniferatoxin (5-I-RTX), among agonists and antagonists, respectively. The same compounds results as the most potent in the functional assays. This study demonstrated the identification and the characterization of TRPV1 receptor in primary canine keratinocytes cultures. The results are promising for a clinical use, but further in vivo investigations are required
Medical vulnerability of individuals with Down syndrome to severe COVID-19–data from the Trisomy 21 Research Society and the UK ISARIC4C survey
Background: Health conditions, immune dysfunction, and premature aging associated with trisomy 21 (Down syndrome, DS) may impact the clinical course of COVID-19. /
Methods: The T21RS COVID-19 Initiative launched an international survey for clinicians or caregivers on patients with COVID-19 and DS. Data collected between April and October 2020 (N=1046) were analysed and compared with the UK ISARIC4C survey of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with and without DS. /
Findings: The mean age of COVID-19 patients with DS in the T21RS survey was 29 years (SD = 18). Similar to the general population, the most frequent signs and symptoms of COVID-19 were fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Joint/muscle pain and vomiting or nausea were less frequent (p < 0.01), whereas altered consciousness/confusion were more frequent (p < 0.01). Risk factors for hospitalization and mortality were similar to the general population with the addition of congenital heart defects as a risk factor for hospitalization. Mortality rates showed a rapid increase from age 40 and were higher in patients with DS (T21RS DS versus non-DS patients: risk ratio (RR) = 3.5 (95%-CI=2.6;4.4), ISARIC4C DS versus non-DS patients: RR = 2.9 (95%-CI=2.1;3.8)) even after adjusting for known risk factors for COVID-19 mortality. /
Interpretation: Leading signs/symptoms of COVID-19 and risk factors for severe disease course are similar to the general population. However, individuals with DS present significantly higher rates of medical complications and mortality, especially from age 40. /
Funding: Down Syndrome Affiliates in Action, DSMIG-USA, GiGi's Playhouse, Jerome Lejeune Foundation, LuMind IDSC Foundation, The Matthew Foundation, NDSS, National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices
Overview on the phenomenon of two-qubit entanglement revivals in classical environments
The occurrence of revivals of quantum entanglement between separated open
quantum systems has been shown not only for dissipative non-Markovian quantum
environments but also for classical environments in absence of back-action.
While the phenomenon is well understood in the first case, the possibility to
retrieve entanglement when the composite quantum system is subject to local
classical noise has generated a debate regarding its interpretation. This
dynamical property of open quantum systems assumes an important role in quantum
information theory from both fundamental and practical perspectives. Hybrid
quantum-classical systems are in fact promising candidates to investigate the
interplay among quantum and classical features and to look for possible control
strategies of a quantum system by means of a classical device. Here we present
an overview on this topic, reporting the most recent theoretical and
experimental results about the revivals of entanglement between two qubits
locally interacting with classical environments. We also review and discuss the
interpretations provided so far to explain this phenomenon, suggesting that
they can be cast under a unified viewpoint.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures. Chapter written for the upcoming book "Lectures
on general quantum correlations and their applications
Allelic frequencies and statistical data obtained from 12 codis STR loci in an admixed population of the Brazilian Amazon
The allelic frequencies of 12 short tandem repeat loci were obtained from a sample of 307 unrelated individuals living in Macapá, a city in the northern Amazon region, Brazil. These loci are the most commonly used in forensics and paternity testing. Based on the allele frequency obtained for the population of Macapá, we estimated an interethnic admixture for the three parental groups (European, Native American and African) of, respectively, 46%, 35% and 19%. Comparing these allele frequencies with those of other Brazilian populations and of the Iberian Peninsula population, no significant distances were observed. The interpopulation genetic distances (FST coefficients) to the present database ranged from FST = 0.0016 between Macapá and Belém to FST = 0.0036 between Macapá and the Iberian Peninsula
The sudden change phenomenon of quantum discord
Even if the parameters determining a system's state are varied smoothly, the
behavior of quantum correlations alike to quantum discord, and of its classical
counterparts, can be very peculiar, with the appearance of non-analyticities in
its rate of change. Here we review this sudden change phenomenon (SCP)
discussing some important points related to it: Its uncovering,
interpretations, and experimental verifications, its use in the context of the
emergence of the pointer basis in a quantum measurement process, its appearance
and universality under Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics, its theoretical
and experimental investigation in some other physical scenarios, and the
related phenomenon of double sudden change of trace distance discord. Several
open questions are identified, and we envisage that in answering them we will
gain significant further insight about the relation between the SCP and the
symmetry-geometric aspects of the quantum state space.Comment: Lectures on General Quantum Correlations and their Applications, F.
F. Fanchini, D. O. Soares Pinto, and G. Adesso (Eds.), Springer (2017), pp
309-33
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