Capacitance study of thin film SnO2:F/p-type a-Si:H heterojunctions

Abstract We characterized SnO 2 :F/p-type a-Si:H heterojunctions by current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements at room temperature to determine the junction parameters. Samples with circular geometry and different diameters were characterized. The current scales with the junction area, and the current density J as a function of the voltage V is a slightly asymmetric curve with a super-linear behaviour (cubic law) for high voltages. Using a transmission line model valid for devices with circular geometry, we studied the effects of the SnO 2 :F resistivity on the measured capacitance when the SnO2:F layer works as an electrical contact. The measured C-V curve allows us to determine junction parameters as doping of p-type a-Si:H, built-in potential and depletion width for the heterojunction with the smallest diameters, demonstrating that for these samples the TCO effects can be neglected. We compared theoretical and measured data to explain qualitatively the transport mechanism in this heterojunction

Cancer risk evaluation: Preliminary analysis of inflammatory biomarkers in farmers exposed to zoonotic agents

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High Grade Glioma Treatment in Elderly People: Is It Different Than in Younger Patients? Analysis of Surgical Management Guided by an Intraoperative Multimodal Approach and Its Impact on Clinical Outcome

Objective: Age is considered a negative prognostic factor for High Grade Gliomas (HGGs) and many neurosurgeons remain skeptical about the benefits of aggressive treatment. New surgical and technological improvements may allow extended safe resection, with lower level of post-operative complications. This opportunity opens the unsolved question about the most appropriate HGG treatment in elderly patients. The aim of this study is to analyze if HGG maximal safe resection guided by an intraoperative multimodal imaging protocol coupled with neuromonitoring is associated with differences in outcome in elderly patients versus younger ones. Methods: We reviewed 100 patients, 53 (53%) males and 47 (47%) females, with median (IQR) age of 64 (57; 72) years. Eight patients were diagnosed with Anaplastic Astrocytoma (AA), 92 with Glioblastoma (GBM). Surgery was aimed to achieve safe maximal resection. An intraoperative multimodal imaging protocol, including neuronavigation, neurophysiological monitoring, 5-ALA fluorescence, 11C MET-PET, navigated i-US system and i-CT, was used, and its impact on EOTR and clinical outcome in elderly patients was analyzed. We divided patients in two groups according to their age: 65 years, and surgical and clinical results (EOTR, post-operative KPS, OS and PFS) were compared. Yet, to better understand age-related differences, the same patient cohort was also divided into 70 years and all the above data reanalyzed. Results: In the first cohort division, we did not found KPS difference over time and survival analysis did not show significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.36 for OS and p = 0.49 for PFS). Same results were obtained increasing the age cut-off for age up to 70 years (p = 0.52 for OS and p = 0.92 for PFS). Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that there is not statistically significant difference in post-operative EOTR, KPS, OS, and PFS between younger and elderly patients treated with extensive tumor resection aided by a intraoperative multimodal protocol

Muon calibration of the ASTRI-Horn telescope: preliminary results

Astri-Horn is a Small-Sized Telescope (SST) for very-high energy gamma-ray astronomy installed in Italy at the INAF "M.C. Fracastoro" observing station (Mt. Etna, Sicily). The ASTRI-Horn telescope is characterized by a dual-mirror optical system and a curved focal surface covered by SiPM sensors managed by a innovative fast front-end electronics. Dedicated studies were performed to verify the feasibility of the calibration through muons on the relatively small size of the primary mirror (~4 m diameter), as in the case of larger Cherenkov telescopes. A number of tests were performed using simulations of the atmospheric showers with the CORSIKA package and of the telescope response with a dedicated simulator. In this contribution we present a preliminary analysis of muon events detected by ASTRI-Horn during the regular scientific data taking performed in December 2018 and March 2019. These muon events validate the results obtained with the simulations and definitively confirm the feasibility of calibrating the ASTRI-Horn SST telescope with muons.Comment: Proceedings of the 36th International Cosmic Ray Conference, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, 24 July-1 August 201

Maintaining good practice in breast cancer management and reducing the carbon footprint of care: study protocol and preliminary results

Objective: Health care accounts for up to 8-10% of greenhouse emission yearly in the US and surgical room contributes an estimated 25-30% of hospital waste. Despite the major role of greenhouse emissions because of surgery, little has been done by surgeons to reduce their impact. In this paper, we present a multicentric retrospective analysis to evaluate the carbon footprint of the most common breast surgical treatment and a preliminary analysis of our results. Patients and Methods: Retrospective analysis with processed-based life cycle assessment (LCA) has been obtained to determine carbon footprint of different surgical procedures. In our preliminary study, we enrolled all consecutive patients undergoing breast conserving procedure (BCP) between 9th March 2019 and 9th March 2021 to underline the reduction in fuel consumption with postoperative telehealth application (pre-COVID-19 vs. COVID-19). A propensity score matching was implemented to optimize comparability. Results: From 276 BCP patients, PSM included 69 pre-COVID-19 and 69 COVID-19 groups, respectively. No statistically significant difference was found in the tumor stage, marital status, and distance from the hospital. A total of 466 postoperative visits was performed and a statistically significant difference in telehealth visit rate was found between groups (1.75% vs. 51.68%; p<0.001). A reduction of 4312.38 km in travel to the hospital was found in the COVID-19 group. No difference was found in postoperative complications. Conclusions: Health systems worldwide are implementing zero-carbon programs to reduce their carbon footprint. Breast surgeons should consider the consequences of their actions and embrace the pillars of the circular economy. Our data could promote further action in order to raise awareness regarding carbon footprint of breast surgery

Breast cancer rehabilitation and reconditioning

Breast Cancer (BC), a prominent oncological disease, has become an increasing concern for countless women across the globe. The rising incidences underscore the urgent need for a comprehensive post-treatment rehabilitation strategy to address the challenges posed by intensive treatments. This rehabilitation is not merely about physical recovery but requires a holistic lens, considering disability as an overarching loss of functional integrity. Embracing this perspective enables healthcare professionals to devise strategies that focus on the entirety of a patient's well-being. Central to this approach is the Individual Rehabilitation Project (IRP), a tailored program designed to elevate the post-treatment quality of life. It stresses the importance of early interventions, particularly after surgery, to mitigate potential complications and functional deficits. Physical activities, curated and executed under professional guidance, form a cornerstone of the rehabilitation process. Depending on each patient's specific condition and stage of recovery, a range of exercises is recommended. Beyond the immediate post-surgical phase, patients are introduced to adaptive physical endeavors like fencing and dragon boating. Such activities are not merely for physical recovery but also play a significant role in enhancing self-esteem, self-perception, and overall mental resilience. Once acute and post-acute care has been completed, and a clinical functional stability is reached, BC patients, now better defined as person with BC disability (PwBC). As the narrative unfolds, it becomes clear that BC rehabilitation is an intricate dance between physical recovery and psychological well-being, necessitating an individualized, patient-centric approach. Furthermore, this opinion paper highlights the urgency for rigorous research, especially randomized trials, to refine and validate the efficacy of these rehabilitation procedures, ensuring that patients not only survive but thrive post-treatment

Guanosine-mediated anxiolytic-like effect: Interplay with adenosine a1 and a2a receptors

Acute or chronic administration of guanosine (GUO) induces anxiolytic-like effects, for which the adenosine (ADO) system involvement has been postulated yet without a direct experimental evidence. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether adenosine receptors (ARs) are involved in the GUO-mediated anxiolytic-like effect, evaluated by three anxiety-related paradigms in rats. First, we confirmed that acute treatment with GUO exerts an anxiolytic-like effect. Subsequently, we investigated the effects of pretreatment with ADO or A1R (CPA, CCPA) or A2AR (CGS21680) agonists 10 min prior to GUO on a GUO-induced anxiolytic-like effect. All the combined treatments blocked the GUO anxiolytic-like effect, whereas when administered alone, each compound was ineffective as compared to the control group. Interestingly, the pretreatment with nonselective antagonist caffeine or selective A1R (DPCPX) or A2AR (ZM241385) antagonists did not modify the GUO-induced anxiolytic-like effect. Finally, binding assay performed in hippocampal membranes showed that [3H]GUO binding became saturable at 100–300 nM, suggesting the existence of a putative GUO binding site. In competition experiments, ADO showed a potency order similar to GUO in displacing [3H]GUO binding, whereas AR selective agonists, CPA and CGS21680, partially displaced [3H]GUO binding, but the sum of the two effects was able to displace [3H]GUO binding to the same extent of ADO alone. Overall, our results strengthen previous data supporting GUO-mediated anxiolytic-like effects, add new evidence that these effects are blocked by A1R and A2AR agonists and pave, although they do not elucidate the mechanism of GUO and ADO receptor interaction, for a better characterization of GUO binding sites in ARs

A new enhanced PSPICE implementation of the equivalent circuit model of SiPM detectors

The present work proposes an improved PSPICE implementation of the equivalent electrical model of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) to simulate and predict their transient re-sponse to avalanche trigger events. In particular, the developed model provides a detailed investigation of magnitude and timing of the read-out signals and can therefore be exploited to perform reliable circuit-level simulations. The modeling approach used is strictly related to the physics of each basic microcell constituting the SiPM device, and allows the avalanche timing as well as the photodiode current and voltage to be accurately simulated. Predictive capabilities of the proposed model are demonstrated by means of experimental measurements on a real detector. Versatility of the proposed model is also confirmed