Comparison of the standard laryngeal mask airway and the ProSeal laryngeal mask airway in obese patients

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A Pearson-Dirichlet random walk

A constrained diffusive random walk of n steps and a random flight in Rd, which can be expressed in the same terms, were investigated independently in recent papers. The n steps of the walk are identically and independently distributed random vectors of exponential length and uniform orientation. Conditioned on the sum of their lengths being equal to a given value l, closed-form expressions for the distribution of the endpoint of the walk were obtained altogether for any n for d=1, 2, 4 . Uniform distributions of the endpoint inside a ball of radius l were evidenced for a walk of three steps in 2D and of two steps in 4D. The previous walk is generalized by considering step lengths which are distributed over the unit (n-1) simplex according to a Dirichlet distribution whose parameters are all equal to q, a given positive value. The walk and the flight above correspond to q=1. For any d >= 3, there exist, for integer and half-integer values of q, two families of Pearson-Dirichlet walks which share a common property. For any n, the d components of the endpoint are jointly distributed as are the d components of a vector uniformly distributed over the surface of a hypersphere of radius l in a space Rk whose dimension k is an affine function of n for a given d. Five additional walks, with a uniform distribution of the endpoint in the inside of a ball, are found from known finite integrals of products of powers and Bessel functions of the first kind. They include four different walks in R3 and two walks in R4. Pearson-Liouville random walks, obtained by distributing the total lengths of the previous Pearson-Dirichlet walks, are finally discussed.Comment: 33 pages 1 figure, the paper includes the content of a recently submitted work together with additional results and an extended section on Pearson-Liouville random walk

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of binary black hole coalescences confidently observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include the effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that have already been identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total source-frame mass M > 70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz emitted gravitational-wave frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place a conservative upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0 < e ≤ 0.3 at 16.9 Gpc−3 yr−1 at the 90% confidence level

Effetti sistemici ed intestinali dei fluorochinoloni

Le concentrazioni intestinali di fluorochinoloni sembrano dipendere dalla dose e dalle caratteristiche di penetrazione dei FQ. I FQ possono interagire con il DNA cellulare e interferire con i sistemi metabolici. Inoltre, gli effetti dei FQ sono dose-dipendenti e struttura-specific

Fluoroquinolones (FQs) effects on enterocytes and lymphocytes.

The aim was to study fluoroquinolones intestinal concentrations and their potential interference with cells. Our preliminary results indicate that fluoroquinolones present different pharmacokinetic properties in relation to intestianal concentrations and may interfere with metabolic systems and interact with cellular DNA. These effects are dose-dependent and structure-specifi

Il metodo UniFe per la valutazione del rischio parodontale.

Objectives: Periodontitis progression varies widely among individuals, with or without treatment. Not all risk determinants for periodontitis are relevant for diagnosing the disease. The purpose of the present report is to present two cases, which show how a simplified method for periodontal risk assessment (UniFe), devised by the University of Ferrara’s Research Center for the Study of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases, can identify differences in periodontal risk among individuals with similarly severe periodontitis. Materials and methods: The UniFe method is described in detail, and its use is illustrated for calculating periodontal risk in two patients with similarly severe periodontitis. Results: Periodontal risk assessment with the UniFe method revealed different risk levels in the two patients although both had similarly severe disease. The UniFe method revealed that the poorer prognosis in one of the patients was due to exposure to environmental risk factors (i.e., smoking) and a higher prevalence of gingival bleeding. Conclusions: Preliminary data suggest that the UniFe method is a simple and reliable tool for periodontal risk assessment and that it can identify differences in periodontal risk among individuals with periodontitis of similar severity

Effects on C57/BL mice of subchronic treatment with benzene

Benzene, a chemical widely used in industry, is capable of causing aplastic anemia and acute myelogenous leukemia in humans and multiple forms of cancer in rodents. Hepatic cytochrome P450 2E1 catalyzes the formation of phenolic metabolites of benzene. Mielopeoxidase (MPO), present in bone marrow, may further convert the phenolic metabolites to free radicals, which are responsible for in situ bioactivation of benezene. The aim of this work was to study the effects of low and high doses of benzene (5 and 100 mg/Kg) in subchronically treated mice. Treatment with 100 mg/Kg led to a significative increase in MPO and in NAD(P)H:quinone-oxidoreductase (NADHQ). Furthermore "comet assay" in myelocytes revealed DNA damage for both types of benzene treatment

Effetti microbiologici della strumentazione meccanica ultrasonica.

OBJECTIVES. To evaluate the microbiological effects of mechanical instrumentation (SM) associated to self-administrated use of local antimicrobials (AmF/SnF 2) in periodontal patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Patients underwent single or multiple sessions of SM and were prescribed with AmF/SnF 2-containing toothpaste and mouthrinse for 12 weeks. Subgingival microflora was sampled before SM and 12 weeks after SM. RESULTS. 12-week after SM bacterial counts still exhibited a substantial reduction with respect to those before SM (Total Bacterial Count: - 70%; Total Pathogens: - 69%; Red Complex: - 75%; Aggregatibacter (Actinobacillus) actynomicetemcomitans: - 94%). CONCLUSIONS. SM plus antimicrobial regimen induce a non-selective reduction of subgingival microbial flora, including periodontal pathogens bacteria, which persists after 3 months following treatment