Improvement of Urinary Stones Analysis Combining Morphological Analysis and Infrared Spectroscopy

Daudon et al. have developed a complex morphoconstitutional classification of renal stone in six different morphological types and several subtypes. According to this classification, a precise correspondence exists between causes of renal stones and subtypes with a great clinical relevance and can be considering a sort of shortcut for the metabolic diagnosis in renal stone patients. Now the diagnosis of causes of renal stones generally requires repeated biochemical investigations on urine and blood samples and usually remains presumptive. We analyzed 150 urinary stones both by stereoscopic microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The comparison of 150 stones did not reveal any disagreement. We have only 20 partial agreement, and clinicians agreed that the imprecise information obtained with morphological analysis alone would have missed an important clinical finding only in 3 cases. In conclusion, in our opinion, the analysis of urinary stone must combine two different analytical techniques: morphological analysis by stereomicroscope and biochemical analysis with the FT-IR

On the classical capacity of quantum Gaussian channels

The set of quantum Gaussian channels acting on one bosonic mode can be classified according to the action of the group of Gaussian unitaries. We look for bounds on the classical capacity for channels belonging to such a classification. Lower bounds can be efficiently calculated by restricting to Gaussian encodings, for which we provide analytical expressions.Comment: 10 pages, IOP style. v2: minor corrections, close to the published versio

A combination of infrared spectroscopy and morphological analysis allows successfully identifying rare crystals and atypical urinary stones

Background: The combination of infrared spectroscopy and morphological analysis significantly improves the urinary stone analysis.In addition to common urinary stones, it is not unusual to encounter spurious or factitious stones that, if not appropriately identified, can lead to errors in the diagnosis. In this study we shows the importance of Infrared spectroscopy and the morphological analysis, for determining the presence of drugs crystals or atypical components in the calculi.Methods: among 1.041 urinary stones analyzed by morphocostitutional analysis the rare stones were also analyzed by chemical spot test analysis.Results: Among 1.041 calculi analyzed, 1.018 had a known composition, 23 samples were stones with rare composition or fake urinary stones.Conclusions: FT-IR, allows to identify, theoretically, any substance, including drug-containing calculi or calculi with unusual composition and identify false stones. This is mandatory to treat patients affected by urolithiasis with a personalized clinical approach

Probing the Formation and Evolution of the Galactic Halo with Strega@VST

STREGA (STRucture and Evolution of the Galaxy) is an ongoing VLT Survey Telescope Guaranteed Time survey, aimed at investigating the mechanisms of formation and evolution of the Galactic Halo on an area of about 150 square degrees. The main programme searches for the signatures of interaction between selected stellar systems and the Galactic Halo. We present the results obtained for a number of Galactici Globular Clusters (Omega Cen, NGC6752, Pal 12 and Pal3) and discuss future perspectives

COVID-19 Severity in Multiple Sclerosis: Putting Data Into Context

Background and objectives: It is unclear how multiple sclerosis (MS) affects the severity of COVID-19. The aim of this study is to compare COVID-19-related outcomes collected in an Italian cohort of patients with MS with the outcomes expected in the age- and sex-matched Italian population. Methods: Hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and death after COVID-19 diagnosis of 1,362 patients with MS were compared with the age- and sex-matched Italian population in a retrospective observational case-cohort study with population-based control. The observed vs the expected events were compared in the whole MS cohort and in different subgroups (higher risk: Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] score > 3 or at least 1 comorbidity, lower risk: EDSS score ≤ 3 and no comorbidities) by the χ2 test, and the risk excess was quantified by risk ratios (RRs). Results: The risk of severe events was about twice the risk in the age- and sex-matched Italian population: RR = 2.12 for hospitalization (p < 0.001), RR = 2.19 for ICU admission (p < 0.001), and RR = 2.43 for death (p < 0.001). The excess of risk was confined to the higher-risk group (n = 553). In lower-risk patients (n = 809), the rate of events was close to that of the Italian age- and sex-matched population (RR = 1.12 for hospitalization, RR = 1.52 for ICU admission, and RR = 1.19 for death). In the lower-risk group, an increased hospitalization risk was detected in patients on anti-CD20 (RR = 3.03, p = 0.005), whereas a decrease was detected in patients on interferon (0 observed vs 4 expected events, p = 0.04). Discussion: Overall, the MS cohort had a risk of severe events that is twice the risk than the age- and sex-matched Italian population. This excess of risk is mainly explained by the EDSS score and comorbidities, whereas a residual increase of hospitalization risk was observed in patients on anti-CD20 therapies and a decrease in people on interferon

DMTs and Covid-19 severity in MS: a pooled analysis from Italy and France

We evaluated the effect of DMTs on Covid-19 severity in patients with MS, with a pooled-analysis of two large cohorts from Italy and France. The association of baseline characteristics and DMTs with Covid-19 severity was assessed by multivariate ordinal-logistic models and pooled by a fixed-effect meta-analysis. 1066 patients with MS from Italy and 721 from France were included. In the multivariate model, anti-CD20 therapies were significantly associated (OR = 2.05, 95%CI = 1.39–3.02, p < 0.001) with Covid-19 severity, whereas interferon indicated a decreased risk (OR = 0.42, 95%CI = 0.18–0.99, p = 0.047). This pooled-analysis confirms an increased risk of severe Covid-19 in patients on anti-CD20 therapies and supports the protective role of interferon