The effect of quarantine due to Covid-19 pandemic on seizure frequency in 102 adult people with epilepsy from Apulia and Basilicata regions, Southern Italy

Objective: following the COVID-19 pandemic, a quarantine was imposed to all of regions Italy by 9th March until 3rd May 2020. We investigated the effect of COVID-19 infection and quarantine on seizure frequency in adult people with epilepsy (PwE) of Apulia and Basilicata regions, Southern Italy. Methods: This is an observational, retrospective study based on prospective data collection of 102 successive PWE. The frequency of seizures was evaluated during pre-quarantine (January- February), quarantine (March-April), and post-quarantine period (May-June), while PwE were divided into A) cases responding to treatment with ≤ 1 seizure per year; B) cases responding to treatment with 2-5 seizure per year; C) cases with drug-resistant epilepsy with ≤ 4 seizures per month; D) cases with drug-resistant epilepsy with 5-10 seizures per month. PwE underwent several self-report questionnaires regarding therapeutic compliance, mood, stress and sleep during quarantine period. Results: Approximately 50 % of PwE showed seizure frequency changes (22.55 % an increase and 27.45 % a reduction) during quarantine. Seizure frequency significantly (p < 0.05) increased in PwE responding to treatment with ≤ 1 seizure per year, while significantly (p < 0.05) reduced in PwE with drug-resistant epilepsy with 5-10 seizures per month. The data was not influenced by therapeutic adherence, sleep and depression. The analysis of anxiety showed a moderate level of anxiety in PwE responding to treatment with < 1 seizure per year, while moderate stress was perceived by all PwE. Seizure frequency changes were related to quarantine, but not to COVID-19 infection. In fact, unlike other regions of Italy, particularly Northern Italy, Apulia and Basilicata regions were less affected by COVID-19 infection, and almost all PwE recognized the quarantine as a stressful event. Emotional distress and anxiety due to social isolation, but also the relative reduction of triggers for epileptic seizures were the most important factors for changes in seizure frequency. Conclusions: Our study adds to the growing concern that the indirect effects of COVID-19 pandemic will far outstrip the direct consequences of the infection

PEGylated Liposomes Loaded with Carbamate Inhibitor ANP0903 Trigger Apoptosis by Enhancing ER Stress in HepG2 Cancer Cells

Liver cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer death worldwide. In recent years, substantial progress has been made in the development of systemic therapies, but there is still the need for new drugs and technologies that can increase the survival and quality of life of patients. The present investigation reports the development of a liposomal formulation of a carbamate molecule, reported as ANP0903, previously tested as an inhibitor of HIV-1 protease and now evaluated for its ability to induce cytotoxicity in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. PEGylated liposomes were prepared and characterized. Small, oligolamellar vesicles were produced, as demonstrated by light scattering results and TEM images. The physical stability of the vesicles in biological fluids was demonstrated in vitro, alongside the stability during storage. An enhanced cellular uptake was verified in HepG2 cells treated with liposomal ANP0903, resulting in a greater cytotoxicity. Several biological assays were performed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms explaining the proapoptotic effect of ANP0903. Our results allow us to hypothesize that the cytotoxic action in tumor cells is probably due to the inhibition of the proteasome, resulting in an increase in the amount of ubiquitinated proteins within the cells, which in turn triggers activation of autophagy and apoptosis processes, resulting in cell death. The proposed liposomal formulation represents a promising approach to deliver a novel antitumor agent to cancer cells and enhance its activity

VST: the telescope progress toward stars

The VST telescope is in an advanced stage of integration in Chile, after a period of work spent mainly on the active optics system, started in mid-2007. We present the results of the recent work on the primary and secondary mirror support systems and on the mirror cell auxiliary units

International Variation in Screening Mammography Interpretations in Community-Based Programs

Variations in mammography interpretations may have important clinical and economic implications. To evaluate international variability in mammography interpretation, we analyzed published reports from community-based screening programs from around the world

SOXS: a wide band spectrograph to follow up transients

SOXS (Son Of X-Shooter) will be a spectrograph for the ESO NTT telescope capable to cover the optical and NIR bands, based on the heritage of the X-Shooter at the ESO-VLT. SOXS will be built and run by an international consortium, carrying out rapid and longer term Target of Opportunity requests on a variety of astronomical objects. SOXS will observe all kind of transient and variable sources from different surveys. These will be a mixture of fast alerts (e.g. gamma-ray bursts, gravitational waves, neutrino events), mid-term alerts (e.g. supernovae, X-ray transients), fixed time events (e.g. close-by passage of minor bodies). While the focus is on transients and variables, still there is a wide range of other astrophysical targets and science topics that will benefit from SOXS. The design foresees a spectrograph with a Resolution-Slit product ~ 4500, capable of simultaneously observing over the entire band the complete spectral range from the U- to the H-band. The limiting magnitude of R~20 (1 hr at S/N~10) is suited to study transients identified from on-going imaging surveys. Light imaging capabilities in the optical band (grizy) are also envisaged to allow for multi-band photometry of the faintest transients. This paper outlines the status of the project, now in Final Design Phase.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, to be published in SPIE Proceedings 1070

SARS-CoV-2 serological profile in healthcare professionals of a Southern Italy hospital

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the first coronavirus that has caused a pandemic. Assessing the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare worker groups offers a unique opportunity to study the correlation between seroconversion and immunization because of their occupational exposure and a higher risk of contagion. The study enrolled 3242 asymptomatic employees of “Policlinico Riuniti”, Foggia. After the first screening, we collected sequential serum samples for up to 23 weeks from the same subjects. In order to perform a longitudinal follow-up study and get information about the titration of IgG levels, we analyzed data from subjects (33) with at least two consecutive serological IgG—positive tests; 62 (1.9%; 95% CI: 1.4–2.3) tested positive for at least one anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody. The seroprevalence was lower in the high-risk group 1.4% (6/428; 95% CI: 0.5–2.6) vs. the intermediate-risk group 2.0% (55/2736; 95% CI: 1.5–2.5). Overall, within eight weeks, we detected a mean reduction of –17% in IgG levels. Our data suggest a reduction of about 9.27 AU/mL every week (R2 = 0.35, p = 0.0003). This study revealed the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among Foggia’s hospital healthcare staff (1.9%). Moreover, the IgG level reduction suggests that the serological response fades fast in asymptomatic infections

Breast cancer detection: radiologists’ performance using mammography with and without automated whole-breast ultrasound

ObjectiveRadiologist reader performance for breast cancer detection using mammography plus automated whole-breast ultrasound (AWBU) was compared with mammography alone.MethodsScreenings for non-palpable breast malignancies in women with radiographically dense breasts with contemporaneous mammograms and AWBU were reviewed by 12 radiologists blinded to the diagnoses; half the studies were abnormal. Readers first reviewed the 102 mammograms. The American College of Radiology (ACR) Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BIRADS) and Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST) likelihood ratings were recorded with location information for identified abnormalities. Readers then reviewed the mammograms and AWBU with knowledge of previous mammogram-only evaluation. We compared reader performance across screening techniques using absolute callback, areas under the curve (AUC), and figure of merit (FOM).ResultsTrue positivity of cancer detection increased 63%, with only a 4% decrease in true negativity. Reader-averaged AUC was higher for mammography plus AWBU compared with mammography alone by BIRADS (0.808 versus 0.701) and likelihood scores (0.810 versus 0.703). Similarly, FOM was higher for mammography plus AWBU compared with mammography alone by BIRADS (0.786 versus 0.613) and likelihood scores (0.791 versus 0.614).ConclusionAdding AWBU to mammography improved callback rates, accuracy of breast cancer detection, and confidence in callbacks for dense-breasted women

One-stop diagnostic breast clinics: how often are breast cancers missed?

The aim of this study was to estimate the number of patients discharged from a symptomatic breast clinic who subsequently develop breast cancer and to determine how many of these cancers had been ‘missed' at initial assessment. Over a 3-year period, 7004 patients were discharged with a nonmalignant diagnosis. Twenty-nine patients were subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer over the next 36 months. This equates to a symptomatic ‘interval' cancer rate of 4.1 per 1000 women in the 36 months after initial assessment (0.9 per 1000 women within 12 months, 2.6 per 1000 women within 24 months). The lowest sensitivity of initial assessment was seen in patients of 40–49 years of age, and these patients present the greatest imaging and diagnostic challenge. Following multidisciplinary review, a consensus was reached on whether a cancer had been missed or not. No delay occurred in 10 patients (35%) and probably no delay in 7 patients (24%). Possible delay occurred in three patients (10%) and definite delay in diagnosis (i.e., a ‘missed' cancer) occurred in only nine patients (31%). The overall diagnostic accuracy of ‘triple' assessment is 99.6% and the ‘missed' cancer rate is 1.7 per 1000 women discharged

Computerized analysis of mammographic microcalcifications in morphological and texture feature spaces

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134952/1/mp8389.pd