Capacitive actuation and switching of add\u2013drop graphene-silicon micro-ring filters

We propose and experimentally demonstrate capacitive actuation of a graphene\u2013silicon micro-ring add/drop filter. The mechanism is based on a silicon\u2013SiO2\u2013graphene capacitor on top of the ring waveguide. We show the capacitive actuation of the add/drop functionality by a voltage-driven change of the graphene optical absorption. The proposed capacitive solution overcomes the need for continuous heating to keep tuned the filter\u2019s in/out resonance and therefore eliminates \u201cin operation\u201d energy consumption

New insights on occupational exposure and bladder cancer risk: a pooled analysis of two Italian case-control studies.

Purpose: The main risk factor for bladder cancer (BC) is cigarette smoking, but also occupational exposure to carcinogens is relevant, causing about 4-10% of BC. We aimed at investigating the association between BC risk, occupations held in the past and exposure to occupational carcinogens, also assessing whether these associations were influenced by tumor grade. Methods: We pooled data from two Italian case-control studies on male BC, analyzing 893 cases and 978 controls. Occupations were classified using the International Standard Classification of Occupations and exposure to carcinogens was assigned using a validated Job Exposure Matrix. Logistic regression approach was used as well as a semi- Bayesian model, based on a priori information on exposure. Results: A significantly increased BC risk was found for chemical engineering technicians, postmen, and lathe operators, but only for the latter the association remained significant after Bayesian control for type I error. Among carcinogens, cadmium and trichloroethylene were associated with BC. When analyzing data by grade, exposure to these carcinogens was associated with low-grade BC only. Conclusions: Our results suggest that monitoring workplaces to prevent exposure to carcinogenic agents is still an important task, which should be still given adequate importance in public health

More than Pneumonia: Distinctive Features of SARS-Cov-2 Infection. From Autopsy Findings to Clinical Implications: A Systematic Review

Despite safety recommendations for the management of corpses with COVID-19 infection and the high number of deaths worldwide, the post-mortem investigation rate is extremely low as well as the scientific contributions describing the pathological features. The first results of post-mortem investigations provided interesting findings and contributed to promoting unexplored therapeutic approaches and new frontiers of research. A systematic review is provided with the aim of summarizing all autopsy studies up to February 2020 in which a complete post-mortem investigation in patients with COVID-19 disease was performed, focusing on histopathological features. We included case reports, case series, retrospective and prospective studies, letters to the editor, and reviews. A total of 28 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria, producing a pooled dataset of 407 full autopsies. Analyzing the medical history data, only 12 subjects had died without any comorbidities (for 15 cases the data were not available). The post-mortem investigation highlighted that acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multiple organ failure represent the main clinical features of COVID-19 disease, often leading to pulmonary thromboembolism and superimposed bronchopneumonia. The discussed data showed a strict relationship among the inflammatory processes, diffuse alveolar, and endothelial damage. In light of these results, the full autopsy can be considered as the gold standard to investigate unknown infections or pathogens resulting in death

APPLICABILIT\uc0 DI UN SET DI CRITERI ED INDICATORI PER LA PREVENZIONE DELLE ICA IN OSPEDALE AI FINI DELL\u2019ACCREDITAMENTO: VALUTAZIONE DI UN CAMPIONE DI AZIENDE SANITARIE ED OSPEDALIERE ITALIANE

ospedale da proporre ai fini dell\u2019accreditamento. Obiettivo del presente studio pilota \ue8 verificare l\u2019applicabilit\ue0 di tale sistema di standard ad un campione di Aziende Sanitarie ed Ospedaliere italiane. Metodi: Il sistema include 96 standard derivanti da una revisione dei criteri e requisiti per la prevenzione delle ICA presenti in letteratura, nei principali sistemi di accreditamento internazionali e nei sistemi di accreditamento istituzionale delle Regioni e Provincie Autonome italiane. I criteri e requisiti selezionati sono stati raggruppati in 20 aree e valutati, quando applicabili, su una scala Likert a 4 punti (da 0 \u201cnon risponde al requisito\u201d a 3 \u201csoddisfa pienamente il requisito\u201d). Vengono presentati dati descrittivi sui livelli medi di rispondenza ai requisiti per organizzazione valutando separatamente gli indicatori di esito. Risultati: Hanno partecipato 18 Aziende Sanitarie ed Ospedaliere di diversa tipologia. In media per organizzazione sono risultati \u201cnon applicabili\u201d 5 (IC 3;8) dei 96 requisiti, \u201cnon rispondenti\u201d 13 (5;20), \u201cparzialmente rispondenti\u201d 12 (15;9), \u201cin gran parte rispondenti\u201d 11 (7;15) e \u201cpienamente rispondenti\u201d 55 (46;65). In media la percentuale di rispondenza per organizzazione \ue8 risultata del 72,8% (63,9;81,7) sul totale dei requisiti e del 47,0% (29,6;64,5) per l\u2019area inerente la valutazione dell\u2019esito. Conclusioni: Lo studio ha mostrato un\u2019ampia variabilit\ue0 nelle risposte fornite dalle diverse Aziende. Critica appare la rispondenza ai requisiti di esito con ampio margine di miglioramento. Nel complesso, il sistema appare un utile ed applicabile strumento per valutare l\u2019implementazione di adeguate misure di controllo delle ICA ai fini dell\u2019accreditamento in un\u2019ottica di autovalutazione