Inertial and geometrical effects of self-propelled elliptical Brownian particles

Active particles that self-propel by transforming energy into mechanical motion represent a growing area of research in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Here we investigate the dynamics of nonspherical inertial active particles moving in a harmonic potential, introducing geometric parameters which take into account the role of eccentricity for nonspherical particles. A comparison between the overdamped and underdamped models for elliptical particles is performed. The model of overdamped active Brownian motion has been used to describe most of the basic aspects of micrometer-sized particles moving in a liquid (“microswimmers”). We consider active particles by extending the active Brownian motion model to incorporate translation and rotation inertia and account for the role of eccentricity. We show how the overdamped and the underdamped models behave in the same way for small values of activity (Brownian case) if eccentricity is equal to zero, but increasing eccentricity leads the two dynamics to substantially depart from each other—in particular, the action of a torque induced by external forces, induced a marked difference close to the walls of the domain if eccentricity is high. Effects induced by inertia include an inertial delay time of the self-propulsion direction from the particle velocity, and the differences between the overdamped and underdamped systems are particularly evident in the first and second moments of the particle velocities. Comparison with the experimental results of vibrated granular particles shows good agreement and corroborates the notion that self-propelling massive particles moving in gaseous media are dominated by inertial effects

Efficacy of 1998 <i>vs</i> 2006 first-line antiretroviral regimens for HIV infection: an ordinary clinics retrospective investigation

Purpose: The evidence suggesting increased HAART efficacy over time comes from randomized trials or cohort studies. This retrospective multicenter survey aimed to assess the variation over time in the efficacy and tolerability of first-line HAART regimens in unselected patients treated in ordinary clinical settings. Methods: Retrospective analysis of data of all patients starting first-line HAART regimens in 1998 and 2006 at adhering centers in the Italian CISAI group. Results: For the 543 patients included, mean age was 39.1 ± 9.8y in 1998 and 41.0 ± 10.7y in 2006 (p=0.03), with a similar proportion of males. Baseline mean log10 HIV-RNA was 4.56 ± 0.97 copies/mL in 1998 vs 4.91 ± 0.96 copies/mL in 2006 (p&lt;0.001); baseline mean CD4 T-cell counts were 343 ± 314/mm3 in 1998 vs 244 ± 174/mm3 in 2006 (p&lt;0.001). The following outcomes were significantly improved at 48w in 2006: proportion with undetectable HIV-RNA (86.3% vs 58.0%; p&lt;0.001); mean increase in CD4 T-cells count (252 ± 225 vs 173 ± 246; p&lt;0.001); HAART modification (20.1% vs 29.2%; p=0.02); HAART interruption (7.3% vs 14.6%; p=0.01); proportion reporting optimal adherence (92.2% vs 82.7%, p=0.03). No differences were observed in the prevalence of grade 3-4 WHO toxicities (26.4% vs 26.6%; p=0.9). Multivariate logistic regression showed that being treated in 1998 remained an independent predictor of virological failure after several adjustments, including adherence. Conclusions: Our data from patients not included in clinical trials or cohort studies provide an additional line of evidence that the effectiveness of HAART significantly improved in 2006. Treated patients, however, were significantly older and more frequently late HIV presenters in 2006 than in 1998.</br

Comparison of Monocyte Distribution Width (MDW) and Procalcitonin for early recognition of sepsis

We carried out a prospective observational study to evaluate whether Monocyte Distribution Width (MDW) may play a role in identifying patients with sepsis in comparison with Procalcitonin (PCT). We prospectively enrolled all consecutive patients hospitalized at the Infectious Diseases Unit of Pescara General Hospital for bacterial infection or sepsis. MDW values were collected for all patients. Clinical characteristics, demographic data, past and present medical history, microbiological results, PCT, as well as neutrophil and monocytes indices at entry were compared in the 2 groups. Two-hundred-sixty patients were enrolled, 63.5% males, aged 59.1±19.5 years. Sepsis was diagnosed in 105 (40.4%); in 60 (57.1%) at least 1 microorganism was isolated from blood cultures. In multivariate models, MDW as a continuous variable (OR:1.57 for each unit increase; 95%CI: 1.31-1.87, p&lt;0.001) and PCT˃1 ng/mL (OR: 48.5; 95%CI: 14.7-160.1, p&lt;0.001) were independently associated with sepsis. Statistical best cut points associated with sepsis were 22.0 for MDW and 1.0 ng/mL for PCT whereas MDW values&lt;20 were invariably associated with negative blood cultures. At ROC curve analysis, the AUC of MDW (0.87) was nearly overlapping that of PCT (0.88). Our data suggest that incorporating MDW within current routine WBC counts and indices may be of remarkable use for detection of sepsis. Further research is warranted

Proteomics and disease network associations evaluation of environmentally relevant Bisphenol A concentrations in a human 3D neural stem cell model

Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure is associated with a plethora of neurodevelopmental abnormalities and brain disorders. Previous studies have demonstrated BPA-induced perturbations to critical neural stem cell (NSC) characteristics, such as proliferation and differentiation, although the underlying molecular mechanisms remain under debate. The present study evaluated the effects of a repeated-dose exposure of environmentally relevant BPA concentrations during the in vitro 3D neural induction of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), emulating a chronic exposure scenario. Firstly, we demonstrated that our model is suitable for NSC differentiation during the early stages of embryonic brain development. Our morphological image analysis showed that BPA exposure at 0.01, 0.1 and 1 µM decreased the average spheroid size by day 21 (D21) of the neural induction, while no effect on cell viability was detected. No alteration to the rate of the neural induction was observed based on the expression of key neural lineage and neuroectodermal transcripts. Quantitative proteomics at D21 revealed several differentially abundant proteins across all BPA-treated groups with important functions in NSC proliferation and maintenance (e.g., FABP7, GPC4, GAP43, Wnt-8B, TPPP3). Additionally, a network analysis demonstrated alterations to the glycolytic pathway, potentially implicating BPA-induced changes to glycolytic signalling in NSC proliferation impairments, as well as the pathophysiology of brain disorders including intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorders, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This study enhances the current understanding of BPA-related NSC aberrations based mostly on acute, often high dose exposures of rodent in vivo and in vitro models and human GWAS data in a novel human 3D cell-based model with real-life scenario relevant prolonged and low-level exposures, offering further mechanistic insights into the ramifications of BPA exposure on the developing human brain and consequently, later life neurological disorders

Comparison of the efficacy at 48 weeks of first-line antiretroviral treatment for HIV infection in 1998 and 2006: a multicentric investigation

HAART efficacy for HIV-infected patients increased over time as more drugs and novel drug classes became available. It is not yet fully clear, however, which factors are most relevant to the increased success of more recent first-line regimens. We therefore planned to retrospectively investigate the efficacy of first-line regimens prescribed at our Institutions in 1998 and 2006

Predictors of pain intensity and persistence in a prospective Italian cohort of patients with herpes zoster: relevance of smoking, trauma and antiviral therapy

Herpes zoster (HZ) is a common disease, characterized by rash-associated localized pain. Its main complication, post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), is difficult to treat and may last for months to years in the wake of rash resolution. Uncertainties remain as to the knowledge of predictors of HZ-related pain, including the role of antiviral therapy in preventing PHN in ordinary clinical practice. This prospective cohort study was aimed at investigating pain intensity at HZ presentation and its correlates, as well as the incidence of PHN and its predictors

Risk factors associated with adverse fetal outcomes in pregnancies affected by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a secondary analysis of the WAPM study on COVID-19.

Objectives To evaluate the strength of association between maternal and pregnancy characteristics and the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in pregnancies with laboratory confirmed COVID-19. Methods Secondary analysis of a multinational, cohort study on all consecutive pregnant women with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from February 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020 from 73 centers from 22 different countries. A confirmed case of COVID-19 was defined as a positive result on real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) assay of nasal and pharyngeal swab specimens. The primary outcome was a composite adverse fetal outcome, defined as the presence of either abortion (pregnancy loss before 22 weeks of gestations), stillbirth (intrauterine fetal death after 22 weeks of gestation), neonatal death (death of a live-born infant within the first 28 days of life), and perinatal death (either stillbirth or neonatal death). Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate parameters independently associated with the primary outcome. Logistic regression was reported as odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Mean gestational age at diagnosis was 30.6+/-9.5 weeks, with 8.0% of women being diagnosed in the first, 22.2% in the second and 69.8% in the third trimester of pregnancy. There were six miscarriage (2.3%), six intrauterine device (IUD) (2.3) and 5 (2.0%) neonatal deaths, with an overall rate of perinatal death of 4.2% (11/265), thus resulting into 17 cases experiencing and 226 not experiencing composite adverse fetal outcome. Neither stillbirths nor neonatal deaths had congenital anomalies found at antenatal or postnatal evaluation. Furthermore, none of the cases experiencing IUD had signs of impending demise at arterial or venous Doppler. Neonatal deaths were all considered as prematurity-related adverse events. Of the 250 live-born neonates, one (0.4%) was found positive at RT-PCR pharyngeal swabs performed after delivery. The mother was tested positive during the third trimester of pregnancy. The newborn was asymptomatic and had negative RT-PCR test after 14 days of life. At logistic regression analysis, gestational age at diagnosis (OR: 0.85, 95% CI 0.8-0.9 per week increase; pPeer reviewe

Associations between depressive symptoms and disease progression in older patients with chronic kidney disease: results of the EQUAL study

Background Depressive symptoms are associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients with end-stage kidney disease; however, few small studies have examined this association in patients with earlier phases of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We studied associations between baseline depressive symptoms and clinical outcomes in older patients with advanced CKD and examined whether these associations differed depending on sex. Methods CKD patients (&gt;= 65 years; estimated glomerular filtration rate &lt;= 20 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) were included from a European multicentre prospective cohort between 2012 and 2019. Depressive symptoms were measured by the five-item Mental Health Inventory (cut-off &lt;= 70; 0-100 scale). Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to study associations between depressive symptoms and time to dialysis initiation, all-cause mortality and these outcomes combined. A joint model was used to study the association between depressive symptoms and kidney function over time. Analyses were adjusted for potential baseline confounders. Results Overall kidney function decline in 1326 patients was -0.12 mL/min/1.73 m(2)/month. A total of 515 patients showed depressive symptoms. No significant association was found between depressive symptoms and kidney function over time (P = 0.08). Unlike women, men with depressive symptoms had an increased mortality rate compared with those without symptoms [adjusted hazard ratio 1.41 (95% confidence interval 1.03-1.93)]. Depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with a higher hazard of dialysis initiation, or with the combined outcome (i.e. dialysis initiation and all-cause mortality). Conclusions There was no significant association between depressive symptoms at baseline and decline in kidney function over time in older patients with advanced CKD. Depressive symptoms at baseline were associated with a higher mortality rate in men

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

Maternal and perinatal outcomes of pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the maternal and perinatal outcomes of pregnancies affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHODS: This was a multinational retrospective cohort study including women with a singleton pregnancy and laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, conducted in 72 centers in 22 different countries in Europe, the USA, South America, Asia and Australia, between 1 February 2020 and 30 April 2020. Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection was defined as a positive result on real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay of nasopharyngeal swab specimens. The primary outcome was a composite measure of maternal mortality and morbidity, including admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), use of mechanical ventilation and death. RESULTS: In total, 388 women with a singleton pregnancy tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR of a nasopharyngeal swab and were included in the study. Composite adverse maternal outcome was observed in 47/388 (12.1%) women; 43 (11.1%) women were admitted to the ICU, 36 (9.3%) required mechanical ventilation and three (0.8%) died. Of the 388 women included in the study, 122 (31.4%) were still pregnant at the time of data analysis. Among the other 266 women, six (19.4% of the 31 women with first-trimester infection) had miscarriage, three (1.1%) had termination of pregnancy, six (2.3%) had stillbirth and 251 (94.4%) delivered a liveborn infant. The rate of preterm birth before 37 weeks' gestation was 26.3% (70/266). Of the 251 liveborn infants, 69/251 (27.5%) were admitted to the neonatal ICU, and there were five (2.0%) neonatal deaths. The overall rate of perinatal death was 4.1% (11/266). Only one (1/251, 0.4%) infant, born to a mother who tested positive during the third trimester, was found to be positive for SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR. CONCLUSIONS: SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women is associated with a 0.8% rate of maternal mortality, but an 11.1% rate of admission to the ICU. The risk of vertical transmission seems to be negligible. © 2020 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology