Does air pollution affect the impact of economic development on cancer mortality? The case of OECD countries

This paper’s principle aim is to investigate if the level of fine particular matter (PM10) affects the impact of economic development on cancer mortality. At this scope, we consider a polynomial model with the number of cancer deaths as dependent variable for a panel of 26 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Countries (OECD) during the 1990-2013 time span. The covariates are PM10, income, public health-expenditure, the share of urban population, the number of daily sold cigarettes and alcohol daily consumption. For the scope of our investigation, we implement a quartile division of covariates using the level of PM10 as reference variable in order to estimate the effect of the same variable for each subgroup. Technically, we first use PM10 values to construct quartiles. Then, we use cancer-mortality rates by PM10 quartile to run separate regressions for each quartile. We also calculate the social costs arising from cancer deaths caused by PM10 emissions. According to our results, increasing pollution levels weaken the moderating effect of income and health expenditure on cancer-deaths. As far as PM10 is concerned, it seems that it increasingly affects cancer-deaths until it reaches a threshold level, then its influence on the number of deaths lowers down. Finally, we simulate that a 1% increase in PM10 emissions leads to an increase of 0.205 cancer-deaths every 100.000 inhabitants. In terms of social costs, these deaths amount to 881.500 US$

Bis(2-pyridylmethyl)alkyl(thioalkyl)diamines as promising scaffolds for the construction of fluorescent and redox chemosensors for transition and post-transition metal ions

Abstract N , N ′- Bis (2-pyridylmethyl)propylendiamine ( 1 ) and N , N ′- bis (2-pyridylmethyl)-1,5-diamino-3-thiapentane ( 2 ) have been functionalised at the secondary nitrogen atoms with dansylamidoethyl ( L 1 , L 3 ), 2-quinolinylmethyl ( L 2 , L 4 ) and ferrocenylmethyl ( L 6 , L 7 ) pendant arms with the intention to study their potentiality as receptor units in molecular sensors. The optical response of L 1 – L 4 to the presence of the metal ions Cu 2+ , Zn 2+ , Cd 2+ , Hg 2+ and Pb 2+ has been investigated in MeCN/H 2 O (4:1 v/v) solution. The electrochemical response of L 6 and L 7 to the presence of the same metal ions has been investigated in anhydrous MeCN/CH 2 Cl 2 10:1 (v/v) solution. Results are compared and discussed with the aim to clarify the mutual role played by the bis (2-methylpyridyl)alkyl(thioalkyl)diamines and the signalling units attached to them in reaching the selectivity of the responses observed

PPAR-Alpha Agonists as Novel Antiepileptic Drugs: Preclinical Findings

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are involved in seizure mechanisms. Hence, nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy was the first idiopathic epilepsy linked with specific mutations in a4 or b2 nAChR subunit genes. These mutations confer gain of function to nAChRs by increasing sensitivity toward acetylcholine. Consistently, nicotine elicits seizures through nAChRs and mimics the excessive nAChR activation observed in animal models of the disease. Treatments aimed at reducing nicotinic inputs are sought as therapies for epilepsies where these receptors contribute to neuronal excitation and synchronization. Previous studies demonstrated that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors-a (PPARa), nuclear receptor transcription factors, suppress nicotine-induced behavioral and electrophysiological effects by modulating nAChRs containing b2 subunits. On these bases, we tested whether PPARa agonists were protective against nicotine-induced seizures. To this aim we utilized behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) experiments in C57BL/J6 mice and in vitro patch clamp recordings from mice and rats. Convulsive doses of nicotine evoked severe seizures and bursts of spike-waves discharges in ,100% of mice. A single dose of the synthetic PPARa agonist WY14643 (WY, 80 mg/kg, i.p.) or chronic administration of fenofibrate, clinically available for lipid metabolism disorders, in the diet (0.2%) for 14 days significantly reduced or abolished behavioral and EEG expressions of nicotine-induced seizures. Acute WY effects were reverted by the PPARa antagonist MK886 (3 mg/kg, i.p.). Since neocortical networks are crucial in the generation of ictal activity and synchrony, we performed patch clamp recordings of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) from frontal cortex layer II/III pyramidal neurons. We found that both acute and chronic treatment with PPARa agonists abolished nicotine-induced sIPSC increases. PPARa within the CNS are key regulators of neuronal activity through modulation of nAChRs. These effects might be therapeutically exploited for idiopathic or genetically determined forms of epilepsy where nAChRs play a major role

Status of the RFQ linac installation and conditioning of the Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator

Abstract The Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) linac and 1.6 MW RF power system of the Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc) facility in the International Fusion Energy Research Center (IFERC) in Rokkasho (Japan) has been installed and conditioned. During the assembly and tuning process, the RFQ cavity was protected with a temporary tent from the potential deterioration of performance caused by dust. The vacuum in the cavity was improved through the 100 °C baking process of the cavity. The high power test of the 175 MHz RF systems up to 200 kW in CW for each of the eight RF chains was performed for checking its stable output reproducibility in Japan, before connecting 9–3/16 inch coaxial transmission lines from the RF chains to the RF input couplers of the cavity. It was confirmed that the eight RF chains provided the balanced RF power to the single RFQ cavity in-phase using a feedback loop and a synchronization system. The peak power in the cavity achieved 150 kW in the pulsed mode, which corresponds approximately to the required electric field to accelerate proton beam. Such RF conditioning process is ongoing to achieve 600 kW approximately required for deuteron beam commissioning planned in 2018

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Interaction of Metallic Nanoparticles With Biomimetic Lipid Liquid Crystalline Cubic Interfaces

In the past decades, events occurring at the nano-bio interface (i.e., where engineered nanoparticles (NPs) meet biological interfaces such as biomembranes) have been intensively investigated, to address the cytotoxicity of nanomaterials and boost their clinical translation. In this field, lamellar synthetic model membranes have been instrumental to disentangle non-specific interactions between NPs and planar biological interfaces. Much less is known on nano-biointeractions occurring at highly curved biological interfaces, such as cubic membranes. These non-lamellar architectures play a crucial -but far from understood-role in several biological processes and occur in cells as a defence mechanism against bacterial and viral pathologies, including coronaviruses infections. Despite its relevance, the interaction of cubic membranes with nano-sized objects (such as viral pathogens, biological macromolecules and synthetic NPs) remains largely unexplored to date. Here, we address the interaction of model lipid cubic phase membranes with two prototypical classes of NPs for Nanomedicine, i.e., gold (AuNPs) and silver NPs (AgNPs). To this purpose, we challenged lipid cubic phase membranes, either in the form of dispersed nanoparticles (i.e., cubosomes) or solid-supported layers of nanometric thickness, with citrate-stabilized AuNPs and AgNPs and monitored the interaction combining bulk techniques (UV-visible spectroscopy, Light and Synchrotron Small-Angle X-ray Scattering) with surface methods (Quartz Crystal Microbalance and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy). We show that the composition of the metal core of NPs (i.e., Au vs Ag) modulates their adsorption and self-assembly at cubic interfaces, leading to an extensive membrane-induced clustering of AuNPs, while only to a mild adsorption of isolated AgNPs. Such differences mirror opposite effects at the membrane level, where AuNPs induce lipid extraction followed by a fast disruption of the cubic assembly, while AgNPs do not affect the membrane morphology. Finally, we propose an interaction mechanism accounting for the different behaviour of AuNPs and AgNPs at the cubic interface, highlighting a prominent role of NPs’ composition and surface chemistry in the overall interaction mechanism

Nanoparticles at Biomimetic Interfaces: Combined Experimental and Simulation Study on Charged Gold Nanoparticles/Lipid Bilayer Interfaces

The poor understanding of the interaction of nanomaterials with biologically relevant interfaces is recognized as one of the major issues currently limiting the development of nanomedicine. The central purpose of this study is to compare experimental (confocal microscopy, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, X-ray reflectivity) and computational (molecular dynamics simulations) results to thoroughly describe the interaction of cationic gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with mixed zwitterionic/anionic lipid membranes. The adhesion of AuNPs to the lipid membrane is investigated on different length scales from a structural and dynamical point of view; with this approach, a series of complex phenomena, spanning from lipid extraction, localized membrane disruption, lateral phase separation, and slaved diffusion, are characterized and interpreted from a molecular level to macroscopic observations

Integration of 175 MHz LIPAc RF system and RFQ Linac for Beam Commissioning

The eight-chain RF system and radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) linac were successfully integrated at the facility of the Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc). We achieved an unprecedented high current deuteron beam up to55 mA in pulse operation (300 μs, 1 Hz). The keys of the success were (1) understanding reflected power from RFQ to RF system, (2) tuning each RF chain individually, (3) intensive RF conditioning for holding the stable RF power in the RFQ, and (4) optimizing the beam loading compensation control. Interestingly, the reflection at the breakdown in RF conditioning was higher than an estimation and reached up to 600 kW so far. In order to avoid damage on tetrodes by the high reflection, the impedance of each circulator was accurately adjusted

Commissioning Status of Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc)

International audienceThe IFMIF project aiming at material tests for a future fusion DEMO reactor is under the EVEDA phase in the BA Agreement of fusion program between Japan and EU. As the accelerator activity, the installation and commissioning of the Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc) is at the second stage of demonstration of the feasibility of the low energy section of an IFMIF deuteron accelerator up to 9 MeV with a beam current of 125 mA, CW. The installation of injector, RFQ, MEBT, D-Plate and LPBD for LIPAc with 8 coaxial high-power transmission lines and RF power system was just done in 2017 at Rokkasho, Japan. After that, the RF conditioning of RFQ for beam commissioning is underway. The beam commissioning of RFQ with H⁺/D⁺ and the acceleration demonstration up to 5 MeV-125 mA-0.1% duty cycle with D⁺ will be done