Risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalization, and death for COVID-19 in people with Parkinson disease or parkinsonism over a 15-month period: A cohort study

Background and purpose: The patterns of long-term risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalization for COVID-19, and related death are uncertain in people with Parkinson disease (PD) or parkinsonism (PS). The aim of the study was to quantify these risks compared to a control population cohort, during the period March 2020–May 2021, in Bologna, Northern Italy. Methods: ParkLink Bologna cohort (759 PD, 192 PS) and controls (9226) anonymously matched (ratio = 1:10) for sex, age, district, and comorbidity were included. Data were analysed in the whole period and in the two different pandemic waves (March–May 2020 and October 2020–May 2021). Results: Adjusted hazard ratio of SARS-CoV-2 infection was 1.3 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.04–1.7) in PD and 1.9 (95% CI = 1.3–2.8) in PS compared to the controls. The trend was detected in both the pandemic waves. Adjusted hazard ratio of hospitalization for COVID-19 was 1.1 (95% CI = 0.8–1.7) in PD and 1.8 (95% CI = 0.97–3.1) in PS. A higher risk of hospital admission was detected in PS only in the first wave. The 30-day mortality risk after hospitalization was higher (p = 0.048) in PS (58%) than in PD (19%) and controls (26%). Conclusions: Compared with controls, after adjustment for key covariates, people with PD and PS showed a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection throughout the first 15 months of the pandemic. COVID-19 hospitalization risk was increased only in people with PS and only during the first wave. This group of patients was burdened by a very high risk of death after infection and hospitalization

Bread baking monitoring by smart sensory system: A feasibility study

The concepts of process optimization and product innovation are revolutionizing consumers' needs both at home and on an industrial level, pushing the scientific research to the development of smart products. In this context, this paper describes the realization and the preliminary testing of an E-Nose prototype for bread baking monitoring. More in detail, it explored its potentialities in the discrimination of different bread cooking status aimed at the development of an E-Nose module to be implemented in smart home appliances for the on-line monitoring of baking progress. The feasibility study proved, with accuracies close or above 95%, that the E-Nose prototype can monitor odour alterations occurring during baking and identify the achievement of bread optimal cooking

Long-Term Characterization of a New Wide-Angle Micromirror With PZT Actuation and PZR Sensing

This work presents a long-term characterization of a newly designed microelectromechanical-system (MEMS) micromirror capable of achieving a field-of-view (FOV) of almost 94°. The process used to fabricate the device allows to combine piezoelectric (PZT) actuation and piezoresistive (PZR) sensing of the tilt angle, enabling testing under closed loop control. Consistently with the adopted design guidelines, which considered fatigue limits on the silicon springs, the tested devices are able to withstand up to 3.6 billion continuous operating cycles in an uncontrolled laboratory environment when operated in resonant mode at 500 Hz. [2020-0366

Coexisting YAP expression and TP53 missense mutations delineates a molecular scenario unexpectedly associated with better survival outcomes in advanced gastric cancer

We have previously reported that nuclear expression of the Hippo transducer TAZ in association with Wnt pathway mutations negatively impacts survival outcomes in advanced gastric cancer (GC) patients. Here, we extended these previous findings by investigating another oncogenic cooperation, namely, the interplay between YAP, the TAZ paralogue, and p53. The molecular output of the YAP-p53 cooperation is dependent on TP53 mutational status. In the absence of mutations, the YAP-p53 crosstalk elicits a pro-apoptotic response, whereas in the presence of TP53 mutations it activates a pro-proliferative transcriptional program. In order to study this phenomenon, we re-analyzed data from 83 advanced GC patients treated with chemotherapy whose tissue samples had been characterized for YAP expression (immunohistochemistry, IHC) and TP53 mutations (deep sequencing). In doing so, we generated a molecular model combining nuclear YAP expression in association with TP53 missense variants (YAP+/TP53mut(mv)). Surprisingly, this signature was associated with a decreased risk of disease progression (multivariate Cox for progression-free survival: HR 0.53, 95% CI 0.30-0.91, p=0.022). The YAP+/TP53mut(mv)model was also associated with better OS in the subgroup of patients who received chemotherapy beyond the first-line setting (multivariate Cox: HR 0.36, 95% CI 0.16-0.81, p=0.013). Collectively, our findings suggest that the oncogenic cooperation between YAP and mutant p53 may translate into better survival outcomes. This apparent paradox can be explained by the pro-proliferative program triggered by YAP and mutant p53, that supposedly renders cancer cells more vulnerable to cytotoxic therapies

Physical exercise for late-life major depression

Background Interventions including physical exercise may help improve the outcomes of late-life major depression, but few studies are available. Aims To investigate whether augmenting sertraline therapy with physical exercise leads to better outcomes of late-life major depression. Method Primary care patients (465 years) with major depression were randomised to 24 weeks of higher-intensity, progressive aerobic exercise plus sertraline (S+PAE), lowerintensity, non-progressive exercise plus sertraline (S+NPE) and sertraline alone. The primary outcome was remission (a score of 410 on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression). Results A total of 121 patients were included. At study end, 45% of participants in the sertraline group, 73% of those in the S+NPE group and 81% of those in the S+PAE group achieved remission (P = 0.001). A shorter time to remission was observed in the S+PAE group than in the sertraline-only group. Conclusions Physical exercise may be a safe and effective augmentation to antidepressant therapy in late-life major depression