Fathers and Murders: a retrospective study of paternal filicide in Italy

Background. An amount of literature has heavy focused on homicidal mothers. Nevertheless, due to the lower frequency of these events, yet little is known about the paternal filicides. Aim. The purpose of this study was to identify the spatio-temporal coordinates, authors and victims characteristics, and the context in which these murders take place, in order to identify specific patterns. Methods. We analyzed 76 events occurred in Italy, between 1996 and 2012 involving 134 victims. The data were collected through a careful and thorough review of the daily press and encoded on a Excel ® sheet specially designed for data collection. Results. Findings show a significant incidence of psychiatric disorders, history of violent behavior, employment problems and low-skilled professional roles. In particular, violence seems to be determined by the fear of loss which is more common among the common law partner and among youngest male, especially when son is far. Conclusion. The in-depth analysis of the phenomenon may contribute to its best knowledge and to identify the areas on which psycho-social intervention, based on prevention best practices, are required

Human Herpesvirus-8 Infection Leads to Expansion of the Preimmune/Natural Effector B Cell Compartment

BACKGROUND: Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) is the etiological agent of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and of some lymphoproliferative disorders of B cells. Most malignancies develop after long-lasting viral dormancy, and a preventing role for both humoral and cellular immune control is suggested by the high frequency of these pathologies in immunosuppressed patients. B cells, macrophages and dendritic cells of peripheral lymphoid organs and blood represent the major reservoir of HHV-8. Due to the dual role of B cells in HHV-8 infection, both as virus reservoir and as agents of humoral immune control, we analyzed the subset distribution and the functional state of peripheral blood B cells in HHV-8-infected individuals with and without cKS. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Circulating B cells and their subsets were analyzed by 6-color flow cytometry in the following groups: 1- patients HHV-8 positive with classic KS (cKS) (n = 47); 2- subjects HHV-8 positive and cKS negative (HSP) (n = 10); 3- healthy controls, HHV-8 negative and cKS negative (HC) (n = 43). The number of B cells belonging to the preimmune/natural effector compartment, including transitional, pre-naïve, naïve and MZ-like subsets, was significantly higher among HHV-8 positive subjects, with or without cKS, while was comparable to healthy controls in the antigen-experienced T-cell dependent compartment. The increased number of preimmune/natural effector B cells was associated with increased resistance to spontaneous apoptosis, while it did not correlate with HHV-8 viral load. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results indicate that long-lasting HHV-8 infection promotes an imbalance in peripheral B cell subsets, perturbing the equilibrium between earlier and later steps of maturation and activation processes. This observation may broaden our understanding of the complex interplay between viral and immune factors leading HHV-8-infected individuals to develop HHV-8-associated malignancies

Novel hybrid organic/inorganic 2D quasiperiodic PC: from diffraction pattern to vertical light extraction

Recently, important efforts have been dedicated to the realization of a fascinating class of new photonic materials or metamaterials, known as photonic quasicrystals (PQCs), in which the lack of the translational symmetry is compensated by rotational symmetries not achievable by the conventional periodic crystals. As ever, more advanced functionality is demanded and one strategy is the introduction of non-linear and/or active functionality in photonic materials. In this view, core/shell nanorods (NRs) are a promising active material for light-emitting applications. In this article a two-dimensional (2D) hybrid a 2D octagonal PQC which consists of air rods in an organic/inorganic nanocomposite is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The nanocomposite was prepared by incorporating CdSe/CdS core/shell NRs into a polymer matrix. The PQC was realized by electron beam lithography (EBL) technique. Scanning electron microscopy, far field diffraction and spectra measurements are used to characterize the experimental structure. The vertical extraction of the light, by the coupling of the modes guided by the PQC slab to the free radiation via Bragg scattering, consists of a narrow red emissions band at 690 nm with a full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 21.5 nm. The original characteristics of hybrid materials based on polymers and colloidal NRs, able to combine the unique optical properties of the inorganic moiety with the processability of the host matrix, are extremely appealing in view of their technological impact on the development of new high performing optical devices such as organic light-emitting diodes, ultra-low threshold lasers, and non-linear devices

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

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

A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

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