New system for measuring cosmogenic Ne in terrestrial and extra-terrestrial rocks

Cosmogenic Ne isotopes are used for constraining the timing and rate of cosmological and Earth surface processes. We combined an automated gas extraction (laser) and purification system with a Thermo Fisher ARGUS VI mass spectrometer for high through-put, high precision Ne isotope analysis. For extra-terrestrial material with high cosmogenic Ne concentrations, we used multi-collection on Faraday detectors. Multiple measurements (n = 26) of 1.67 × 10−8 cm3 air-derived 20Ne yielded an uncertainty of 0.32%, and 21Ne/20Ne = 0.17% and 22Ne/20Ne = 0.09%. We reproduced the isotope composition of cosmogenic Ne in the Bruderheim chondrite and Imilac pallasite in a sub-ten mg sample. For lower Ne amounts that are typical of terrestrial samples, an electron multiplier detector was used in peak jumping mode. Repeated analysis of 3.2 × 10−11 cm3 STP 20Ne from air reproduced 21Ne/20Ne and 22Ne/20Ne with 1.1% and 0.58%, respectively, and 20Ne intensity with 1.7% (n = 103) over a 4-month period. Multiple (n = 8) analysis of cosmogenic Ne in CREU-1 quartz yielded 3.25 ± 0.24 × 108 atoms/g (2 s), which overlaps with the global mean value. The repeatability is comparable to the best data reported in the international experiments performed so far on samples that are 2–5× smaller. The ability to make precise Ne isotope determinations in terrestrial and extra-terrestrial samples that are significantly smaller than previously analysed suggests that the new system holds great promise for studies with limited material

Multi-aliquot method for determining (U+Th)/He ages of hydrothermal hematite: Returning to Elba

We have used a multi-aliquot method to obtain precise (U+Th)/He ages of hydrothermal hematite and to assess the extent to which He loss from fine-grained hematite caused by diffusion and recoil. Hematite (n=6) from the Rio Marina mine, Elba (Italy) yields (U+Th)/He ages that range from 5.36 ± 0.33 to 5.64 ± 0.11 Ma, giving a weighted mean age of 5.53 ± 0.14 Ma and an isochron age of 5.25 ± 0.20 Ma. 40Ar/39Ar data from cogenetic adularia yield flat age spectra with analytically indistinguishable plateau ages (5.575 ± 0.008 and 5.583 ± 0.013 Ma). An additional adularia has a more complex spectrum and yields an interpreted age of 5.64 ± 0.03 Ma. The hematite (U+Th)/He ages overlap the 40Ar/39Ar ages, albeit they are less precise (2-6% vs. 0.2-0.5%). This indicates that the loss of in situ radiogenic 4He from complex fine-grained hematite, either by diffusion and recoil, is insignificant. The study shows that multi-aliquot method has the potential to reliably deliver precise and accurate ages for iron oxide mineralisation that has not suffered significant post-crystallisation thermal perturbation

Surface exposure ages imply multiple low-amplitude Pleistocene variations in East Antarctic Ice Sheet, Ricker Hills, Victoria Land

One of the major issues in (palaeo-) climatology is the response of Antarctic ice sheets to global climate changes. Antarctic ice volume has varied in the past but the extent and timing of these fluctuations are not well known. In this study, we address the question of amplitude and timing of past Antarctic ice level changes by surface exposure dating using in situ produced cosmogenic nuclides (10Be and 21Ne). The study area lies in the Ricker Hills, a nunatak at the boundary of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet in southern Victoria Land. By determining exposure ages of erratic boulders from glacial drifts we directly date East Antarctic Ice Sheet variations. Erosion-corrected neon and beryllium exposure ages indicate that a major ice advance reaching elevations of about 500m above present ice levels occurred between 1.125 and 1.375 million years before present. Subsequent ice fluctuations were of lesser extent but timing is difficult as all erratic boulders from related deposits show complex exposure histories. Sample-specific erosion rates were on the order of 20-45cmMa-1 for a quartzite and 10-65cmMa-1 for a sandstone boulder and imply that the modern cold, arid climate has persisted since at least the early Pleistocen

Cost Minimization Analysis of Radiofrequency Compared to Laser Thermal Ablation in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Over the last decade of years, minimally invasive techniques have been developed for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and liver metastases. We sought to investigate the health costs associated with the management of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with radiofrequency vs laser thermal ablation and their clinical outcomes.METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of the ablations performed in two referral centers in southern Italy, from 2009 to 2013. Resource use was valued by year 2017 official prices, in €. Direct healthcare costs (drugs, visits, tests and hospitalizations) of different ablation techniques were compared. Total costs were analyzed from Italian NHS perspective.RESULTS: A total of 140 patients were identified. Baseline demographics and clinical outcomes of interest did not differ between the two groups. Patients treated with laser thermal ablation resulted in an expected annually cost savings of 258.9 € per patient, in one-year follow-up healthcare costs compared with radiofrequency. The largest components of annual medical expenditures were attributable to drugs, regardless of the type of ablative technique.CONCLUSIONS: The ablation using either laser thermal ablation or radiofrequency is equally effective. Laser thermal ablation would carry disposable cost savings as compared to radiofrequency. The costs associated with management of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, treated with laser thermal ablation were lower than those treated with radiofrequency ablation

Severe asthma features in children: A case–control online survey

Background: Very few studies have explored the distinguishing features of severe asthma in childhood in Europe, and only one study was conducted in Southern Europe. The aim of this study was to provide a detailed characterization of children with severe asthma treated in specialized pediatric asthma centers across Italy. Methods: We conducted a web-based data collection of family, environmental, clinical and laboratory characteristics of 41 patients aged 6–17 years with severe asthma, defined according to the recent guidelines of the European Respiratory Society and the American Thoracic Society, and 78 age-matched peers with non-severe persistent asthma. The patients have been enrolled from 16 hospital-based pediatric pulmonology and allergy centers in Northern, Central, and Southern Italy. Logistic regression analysis assessed the relationship between patients’ characteristics and severe asthma or non-severe persistent asthma. Results: Features independently and significantly associated with severe asthma included lifetime sensitization to food allergens [Odds ratio (OR), 4.73; 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.21–18.53; p = 0.03], lifetime hospitalization for asthma (OR, 3.71; 95% CI, 1.11–12.33; p = 0.03), emergency-department visits for asthma during the past year (OR = 11.98; 95% CI, 2.70–53.11; p = 0.001), and symptoms triggered by physical activity (OR = 12.78; 95% CI, 2.66–61.40; p = 0.001). Quality-of-life score was worse in patients with severe asthma than in subjects with non-severe persistent asthma (5.9 versus 6.6, p = 0.005). Self-perception of wellbeing was compromised in more than 40% of patients in both groups. Children with severe asthma had lower spirometric z scores than non-severe asthmatic peers (all p < 0.001), although 56% of them had a normal forced expiratory volume in 1 s. No differences were found between the two groups for parental education, home environment, patients’ comorbidities, adherence to therapy, exhaled nitric oxide values, and serum eosinophils and IgE. Conclusions: As expected, children with severe asthma had more severe clinical course and worse lung function than peers with non-severe persistent asthma. Unlike previous reports, we found greater sensitization to food allergens and similar environmental and personal characteristics in patients with severe asthma compared to those with non-severe persistent asthma. Psychological aspects are compromised in a large number of cases and deserve further investigation

Severe asthma features in children: a case-control online survey

BACKGROUND: Very few studies have explored the distinguishing features of severe asthma in childhood in Europe, and only one study was conducted in Southern Europe. The aim of this study was to provide a detailed characterization of children with severe asthma treated in specialized pediatric asthma centers across Italy. METHODS: We conducted a web-based data collection of family, environmental, clinical and laboratory characteristics of 41 patients aged 6-17 years with severe asthma, defined according to the recent guidelines of the European Respiratory Society and the American Thoracic Society, and 78 age-matched peers with non-severe persistent asthma. The patients have been enrolled from 16 hospital-based pediatric pulmonology and allergy centers in Northern, Central, and Southern Italy. Logistic regression analysis assessed the relationship between patients' characteristics and severe asthma or non-severe persistent asthma. RESULTS: Features independently and significantly associated with severe asthma included lifetime sensitization to food allergens [Odds ratio (OR), 4.73; 95 % Confidence Interval (CI), 1.21-18.53; p = 0.03], lifetime hospitalization for asthma (OR, 3.71; 95 % CI, 1.11-12.33; p = 0.03), emergency-department visits for asthma during the past year (OR = 11.98; 95 % CI, 2.70-53.11; p = 0.001), and symptoms triggered by physical activity (OR = 12.78; 95 % CI, 2.66-61.40; p = 0.001). Quality-of-life score was worse in patients with severe asthma than in subjects with non-severe persistent asthma (5.9 versus 6.6, p = 0.005). Self-perception of wellbeing was compromised in more than 40 % of patients in both groups. Children with severe asthma had lower spirometric z scores than non-severe asthmatic peers (all p < 0.001), although 56 % of them had a normal forced expiratory volume in 1 s. No differences were found between the two groups for parental education, home environment, patients' comorbidities, adherence to therapy, exhaled nitric oxide values, and serum eosinophils and IgE . CONCLUSIONS: As expected, children with severe asthma had more severe clinical course and worse lung function than peers with non-severe persistent asthma. Unlike previous reports, we found greater sensitization to food allergens and similar environmental and personal characteristics in patients with severe asthma compared to those with non-severe persistent asthma. Psychological aspects are compromised in a large number of cases and deserve further investigation

Effect of thermal/pressure processing and simulated human digestion on the immunoreactivity of extractable peanut allergens

Peanut allergy is one of the most widespread types of food allergies especially affecting developed countries. To reduce the risk of triggering allergic reactions, several technological strategies have been devised to modify or remove allergens from foods. Herein we investigated the combination of high temperature and pressure on the modulation of peanuts immunoreactivity after simulated gastro-duodenal digestion. Extractable proteins of raw and autoclaved peanuts were separated on SDS-PAGE and immunogenicity was assessed by ELISA and Western Blot analyses. Proteins surviving the heat treatment and reacting towards allergic patients' sera were analysed and attributed to Ara h 3 and Ara h 1 proteins by untargeted LC-high resolution-MS/MS. A progressive reduction in the intensity of the major allergen proteins was also highlighted in the protein fraction extracted from autoclaved peanuts, with a total disappearance of the high molecular allergens when samples were preliminary exposed to 2 h hydration although the lower molecular weight fraction was not investigated in the present work. Furthermore, raw and processed peanuts underwent simulated digestion experiments and the IgE binding was assessed by using allergic patients' sera. The persistence of an immunoreactive band was displayed around 20 kDa. In conclusion, the synergistic effects of heat and pressure played a pivotal role in the disappearance of the major peanut allergens also contributing to the significant alteration of the final immunoreactivity. In addition, the surviving of allergenic determinants in peanuts after gastrointestinal breakdown provides more insights on the fate of allergenic proteins after autoclaving treatments

Orexin-A Prevents Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Neuroinflammation at the Level of the Intestinal Barrier

In states of intestinal dysbiosis, a perturbation of the normal microbiome composition, the intestinal epithelial barrier (IEB) permeability is increased as a result of the disruption of the epithelial tight junction protein network, in which occludin is mostly affected. The loss of IEB integrity promotes endotoxemia, that is, bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) translocation from the intestinal lumen to the circulatory system. This condition induces an enhancement of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which leads to neuroinflammation through the gut-brain axis. Orexin-A (OX-A), a neuropeptide implicated in many physiological functions and produced mainly in the brain lateral hypothalamic area, is expressed also in several peripheral tissues. Orexin-producing neurons have been found in the myenteric plexus to project to orexin receptor 1 (OX-1R)-expressing enterocytes of the intestinal villi. In the present study we investigated the protective role of OX-A against LPS-induced increase of IEB permeability and microglia activation in both an in vivo and in vitro model of the gut-brain axis. By exploiting biochemical, immunocytochemical, immunohistochemical, and functional approaches, we demonstrate that OX-A preserves the IEB and occludin expression, thus preventing endotoxemia and subsequent neuroinflammation

Benefit-risk profile of cytoreductive drugs along with antiplatelet and antithrombotic therapy after transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke in myeloproliferative neoplasms

We analyzed 597 patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) who presented transient ischemic attacks (TIA, n = 270) or ischemic stroke (IS, n = 327). Treatment included aspirin, oral anticoagulants, and cytoreductive drugs. The composite incidence of recurrent TIA and IS, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and cardiovascular (CV) death was 4.21 and 19.2%, respectively at one and five years after the index event, an estimate unexpectedly lower than reported in the general population. Patients tended to replicate the first clinical manifestation (hazard ratio, HR: 2.41 and 4.41 for recurrent TIA and IS, respectively); additional factors for recurrent TIA were previous TIA (HR: 3.40) and microvascular disturbances (HR: 2.30); for recurrent IS arterial hypertension (HR: 4.24) and IS occurrence after MPN diagnosis (HR: 4.47). CV mortality was predicted by age over 60 years (HR: 3.98), an index IS (HR: 3.61), and the occurrence of index events after MPN diagnosis (HR: 2.62). Cytoreductive therapy was a strong protective factor (HR: 0.24). The rate of major bleeding was similar to the general population (0.90 per 100 patient-years). In conclusion, the long-term clinical outcome after TIA and IS in MPN appears even more favorable than in the general population, suggesting an advantageous benefit-risk profile of antithrombotic and cytoreductive treatment