Stretched Horizon and Entropy of Superstars

Amongst the class of supergravity solutions found by Lin, Lunin and Maldacena, we consider pure and mixed state configurations generated by phase space densities in the dual fermionic picture. A one-to-one map is constructed between the phase space densities and piecewise monotonic curves, which generalize the Young diagrams corresponding to pure states. Within the fermionic phase space picture, a microscopic formula for the entropy of mixed states is proposed. Considering thermal ensembles, agreement is found between the thermodynamic and the proposed microscopic entropies. Furthermore, we study fluctuations in thermodynamic ensembles for the superstar and compare the entropy of these ensembles with the area of stretched horizons predicted by the mean fluctuation size.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures, 2 references adde

Hospital discharges-based search of acute flaccid paralysis cases 2007-2016 in Italy and comparison with the National Surveillance System for monitoring the risk of polio reintroduction

Background: Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance has been adopted globally as a key strategy for monitoring the progress of the polio eradication initiative. Hereby, to evaluate the completeness of the ascertainment of AFP cases in Italy, a hospital-discharges based search was carried out. Methods: AFP cases occurring between 2007 and 2016 among children under 15 years of age were searched in the Italian Hospital Discharge Records (HDR) database using specific ICD-9-CM diagnostic codes. AFP cases identified between 2015 and 2016 were then compared with those notified to the National Surveillance System (NSS). Results: Over a 10-year period, 4163 hospital discharges with diagnosis of AFP were reported in Italy. Among these, 956 (23.0%) were acute infective polyneuritis, 1803 (43.3%) myopathy, and 1408 (33.8%) encephalitis, myelitis and encephalomyelitis. During the study period, a decreasing trend was observed for all diagnoses and overall the annual incidence rate (IR) declined from 5.5 to 4.5 per 100,000 children. Comparing NSS with HDR data in 2015-2016, we found a remarkable underreporting, being AFP cases from NSS only 14% of those recorded in HDR. In particular, the acute infective polyneuritis cases reported to NSS accounted for 42.6% of those detected in HDR, while only 0.9% of myopathy cases and 13.1% of encephalitis/myelitis/encephalomyelitis cases have been notified to NSS. The highest AFP IRs per 100,000 children calculated on HDR data were identified in Liguria (17.4), Sicily (5.7), and Veneto (5.1) Regions; regarding the AFP notified to the NSS, 11 out of 21 Regions failed to reach the number of expected cases (based on 1/100,000 rate), and the highest discrepancies were observed in the Northern Regions. Overall, the national AFP rate was equal to 0.6, therefore did not reach the target value. Conclusions: AFP surveillance data are the final measure of a country's progress towards polio eradication. The historical data obtained by the HDR have been useful to assess the completeness of the notification data and to identify the Regions with a low AFP ascertainment rate in order to improve the national surveillance system

History of the Tfam gene in primates

Tfam is a single copy nuclear gene mapping on chromosome 10 in human and mouse, 20 in rat and 12 in Presbytis cristata. It encodes for an HMG (high-mobility-group) protein showing a high affinity with the two transcriptional promoters and other mitochondrial DNA regions. It is an activator of mitochondrial transcription acting in the presence of mitochondrial RNA polymerase and of transcription factor B. Other interesting features of Tfam gene in human and rat are reported such as the existence of a smaller isoform, originated by an alternative splicing mechanism of the exon 5 (D5 isoform) and the presence of different processed pseudogenes in addition to the active copy of the gene. In order to widen knowledge about Tfam gene and the appearance of some of its properties in the evolutionary history of primates, we have studied some aspects of this gene in different species. In particular we have determined its chromosomal localization, suggesting that its locus is highly conserved; we have searched for the presence of the D5 isoform, demonstrating that it is present only in hominids; we have provided evidence of Tfam processed pseudogenes in the majority of the analysed genomes. Sequence data from this article have been deposited in the EMBL nucleotide database

Gestational age as a single predictor of health care-associated bloodstream infections in neonatal intensive care unit patients.

Neonates rank among those at highest risk for health care-associated bloodstream infections (BSIs), which are linked to high morbidity and mortality rates. The importance of surveillance in preventing BSIs has been reported; however, a comparison of rates between different institution depends on methods used for risk adjustment and on factors identified as associated with infection. The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of different stratification models in identifying neonates at risk for health care-associated sepsis. An observational prospective study was performed. The effectiveness of risk stratification models was assessed by receiver operating characteristic analysis. Our findings suggest the potential role of gestational age as a simple classification criteria for identifying patients at risk for BSI

Fish oil supplementation reduces cortisol basal levels and perceived stress: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial in abstinent alcoholics.

Behavioral distress and dysfunctions of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis play a central role in alcohol abuse. Omega-3 fatty acids are proposed as having antistress, regulatory effects on HPA responsiveness, but a possible protective role in ethanol addiction is unexplored.A randomized, doubleblind, placebo-controlled trial was performed in male alcoholics undergoing residential rehabilitation program, to evaluate the effects of 3-week supplementation with fish-oil providing eicosapentaenoic (60 mg/day) and docosahexaenoic acid (252 mg/day) on perceived stress/anxiety and HPA activity, assessed by measuring saliva basal cortisol levels at various daytimes (0730 h, 1130 h, 1600 h, 2000 h, and 2400 h) and the acute cortisol response to Trier Social Stress Test.Results showed that in supplemented subjects, before versus after decrease of stress/anxiety ratings was accompanied by reduction of cortisol basal levels throughout the day; no changes were observed in placebo group. At the end of intervention, amplitude, and duration of stress-evoked cortisol response did not differ between groups; however, the peak of cortisol response was temporally anticipated in supplemented subjects. In conclusion, an elevated omega-3 intake may reduce distress symptoms and basal cortisol secretion in abstinent alcoholics, thus providing a valid subsidiary measure to increase the efficacy of rehabilitation programs in ethanol addicts

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among adults in Italy: use and related satisfaction

Introduction: Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is attracting attention within the context of health care provision in western countries. Patterns of CAM use and related satisfaction were analysed in Italy according to socio-demographic and health variables. Materials and methods: 104,544 individuals (aged. >18) were interviewed by the cross-sectional ISTAT survey on " Health status of the population and use of health services" (2004-2005). CAM use and related satisfaction were evaluated by bivariate analysis and logistic regression models. Results: 14.4% (n=14,963) of sample used at least one CAM typology in the three years before the interview; manual treatments were the most widespread (7.6%), followed by homeopathy (7.0%), herbal medicine (4.1%), and acupuncture (2.1%). Factors associated with CAM use included gender, age, educational level, social class and area of residence: use was more frequent among women, middle-aged, highly educated and upper-middle class persons, living in Northern Italy. People with chronic diseases used CAM more frequently. Most CAM users reported complete satisfaction (60.6% acupuncture; 69.2% herbal medicine; 70.8% homeopathy; 77.8% manual treatments), with high satisfaction also among subjects with chronic conditions. A higher education level predicted satisfaction more than social class while refusing to combine conventional medicine and CAM was the strongest determinants of complete satisfaction. Conclusion: One out of seven adult Italians had used CAM the last three years. Users are mainly highly educated persons, belonging to the upper social class, and people affected by chronic conditions. Levels of self-rated satisfaction are generally high, both in the absence and in the presence of chronic diseases