Lower All-Cause Mortality Risk in Females and Males with Peripheral Artery Disease following Pain-Free Home-Based Exercise: A 7-Year Observational Study

We evaluated the sex-specific difference in response upon participation in an exercise program with respect to the risk of adverse clinical outcomes among patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) and claudication. The records of 400 PAD patients were assessed between 2012 and 2015. Two hundred of them were addressed to a walking program prescribed at the hospital and executed at home at symptom-free walking speed (Ex), while the remaining 200 acted as a control group (Co). The number and date of deaths, all-cause hospitalizations, and amputations for a 7-year period were collected from the regional registry. At baseline, no differences were observed (MEX n = 138; FEX n = 62; MCO n = 149; FCO n = 51). The 7-year survival rate was significantly higher in FEX (90%) than in MEX (82% hazard ratio, HR: 0.542 95% CI 0.331–0.885), FCO (45%, HR: 0.164 95% CI 0.088–0.305), and MCO (44%; HR: 0.157 95% CI 0.096–0.256). A significantly lower rate of hospitalization (p < 0.001) and amputations (p = 0.016) was observed for the Ex group compared to the Co group, without differences by sex. In conclusion, in PAD patients, active participation in a home-based pain-free exercise program was associated with a lower rate of death and better long-term clinical outcomes, particularly among women

Survival and clinical outcomes of diabetic peripheral artery disease patients following a pain-free homebased walking program

Aim: We retrospectively examined the impact on the rate of survival of pain-free home-based exercise in diabetic peripheral artery disease patients compared to patients receiving usual care. Methods: In total, 202 patients at Fontaine's Stage II with diabetes were studied. Half were enrolled in a structured home-based exercise program (E), whereas the other half received walking advice as the active control group (C). Long-term clinical outcomes at five years were gathered from the Emilia-Romagna Health Service Registry, with survival probability selected as the primary outcome. Results: At baseline, the two groups did not differ for any demographic or clinical characteristics. High adherence to the program was recorded in Group E (88% of home-walking sessions executed, with an average distance walked during the program of 174 km). After five years, a survival rate of 90% for Group E and 60% for Group C was observed, with a significantly (P < 0.001) higher mortality risk for Group C [Hazard ratio (HR) = 3.92]. Additionally, among secondary outcomes, Group E showed a significantly (P = 0.048) lower rate of peripheral revascularizations than Group C (15% vs. 24%, respectively; HR = 1.91), all-cause hospitalizations (P = 0.007; 61% vs. 80%, HR = 1.58), and amputations (P = 0.049; 6% vs. 13%, HR = 2.47). In a Cox multivariate-proportional regression model of the entire population, the predictors of survival probability were age (HR = 1.05), Charlson index (HR = 1.24), lower ankle-brachial index (HR = 6.66), and control group (HR = 4.99). Conclusion: A simple sustainable program aimed at improving mobility of diabetic patients with claudication at high cardiovascular risk was associated with better survival and long-term clinical outcomes

Ascomycetous yeast species recovered from grapes damaged by honeydew and sour rot

Aims: To identify ascomycetous yeasts recovered from sound and damaged grapes by the presence of honeydew or sour rot. Methods and Results: In sound grapes, the mean yeast counts ranged from 3.20 ± 1.04 log CFU g-1 to 5.87 ± 0.64 log CFU g-1. In honeydew grapes, the mean counts ranged from 3.88 ± 0.80 log CFU g-1 to 6.64 ± 0.77 log CFU g-1. In sour rot grapes counts varied between 6.34 ± 1.03 and 7.68 ± 0.38 log CFU g-1. Hanseniaspora uvarum was the most frequent species from sound samples. In both types of damage, the most frequent species were Candida vanderwaltii, H. uvarum and Zygoascus hellenicus. The latter species was recovered in high frequency because of the utilization of the selective medium DBDM (Dekkera ⁄ Brettanomyces differential medium). The scarce isolation frequency of the wine spoilage species Zygosaccharomyces bailii (in sour rotten grapes) and Zygosaccharomyces bisporus (in honeydew affected grapes) could only be demonstrated by the use of the selective medium ZDM (Zygosaccharomyces differential medium). Conclusions: The isolation of several species only from damaged grapes indicates that damage constituted the main factor determining yeast diversity. The utilization of selective media is required for eliciting the recovery of potentially wine spoilage species. Significance and Impact of the Study: The impact of damaged grapes in the yeast ecology of grapes has been underestimate

Acute chest syndrome in children with sickle cell disease: Data from a national AIEOP cohort identify priority areas of intervention in a hub-and-spoke system

: Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is a frequent cause of hospitalization in sickle cell disease (SCD). Despite advances in acute care, many settings still lack knowledge about ACS best practices. After the AIEOP Guidelines were published in 2012, suggesting standardized management in Italy, a retrospective study was performed to assess the diagnostic and therapeutic pathways of ACS in children. From 2013 to 2018, 208 ACS episodes were presented by 122/583 kids in 11 centres. 73 were male, mean age 10.9 years, 85% African, 92% HbSS or Sβ°. In our hub-and-spoke system, a good adherence to Guidelines was documented, but discrepancies between reference centres and general hospitals were noted. Improvement is needed for timely transfer to reference centres, use of incentive spirometry, oxygen therapy and pain management

Prospects for the measurement of muon-neutrino disappearance at the FNAL-Booster

Neutrino physics is nowadays receiving more and more attention as a possible source of information for the long-standing problem of new physics beyond the Standard Model. The recent measurement of the mixing angle $\theta_{13}$ in the standard mixing oscillation scenario encourages us to pursue the still missing results on leptonic CP violation and absolute neutrino masses. However, puzzling measurements exist that deserve an exhaustive evaluation. The NESSiE Collaboration has been setup to undertake conclusive experiments to clarify the muon-neutrino disappearance measurements at small $L/E$, which will be able to put severe constraints to models with more than the three-standard neutrinos, or even to robustly measure the presence of a new kind of neutrino oscillation for the first time. To this aim the use of the current FNAL-Booster neutrino beam for a Short-Baseline experiment has been carefully evaluated. This proposal refers to the use of magnetic spectrometers at two different sites, Near and Far. Their positions have been extensively studied, together with the possible performances of two OPERA-like spectrometers. The proposal is constrained by availability of existing hardware and a time-schedule compatible with the CERN project for a new more performant neutrino beam, which will nicely extend the physics results achievable at the Booster. The possible FNAL experiment will allow to clarify the current $\nu_{\mu}$ disappearance tension with $\nu_e$ appearance and disappearance at the eV mass scale. Instead, a new CERN neutrino beam would allow a further span in the parameter space together with a refined control of systematics and, more relevant, the measurement of the antineutrino sector, by upgrading the spectrometer with detectors currently under R&D study.Comment: 76 pages, 52 figure

Yeasts and wine off-flavours: a technological perspective

Review article. Part of the special issue "Wine microbiology and safety: from the vineyard to the bottle (Microsafety Wine)", 19-20 Nov. 2009, ItalyIn wine production, yeasts have both beneficial and detrimental activities. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the yeast mainly responsible for turning grape juice into wine but this species and several others may also show undesirable effects in wines. Among such effects, technologists are particularly concerned with the production of offflavours that may occur during all stages of winemaking. Typical spoiling activities include the production of ethyl acetate by apiculate yeasts before fermentation, hydrogen sulphide by S. cerevisiae during fermentation phases, acetaldehyde by film-forming yeasts during bulk storage, and volatile phenols by Dekkera bruxellensis during storage or after bottling. The occurrence of these hazards depends on the technological operations designed to obtain a given type of wine and most can be avoided by current preventive or curative measures. On the contrary, good manufacturing practices must be strengthened to deal with the problem of volatile phenol production in red wines. Appropriate monitoring of D. bruxellensis populations and quantification of 4-ethylphenol is advised during storage, particularly when oak barrels are used, and absence of viable cells must be guaranteed in bottled wines. This work, which is based on our experience at winery level, aims to provide information on appropriate technological strategies to deal with the problem of off-flavours produced by yeasts

INFN What Next: Ultra-relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions

This document was prepared by the community that is active in Italy, within INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare), in the field of ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The experimental study of the phase diagram of strongly-interacting matter and of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) deconfined state will proceed, in the next 10-15 years, along two directions: the high-energy regime at RHIC and at the LHC, and the low-energy regime at FAIR, NICA, SPS and RHIC. The Italian community is strongly involved in the present and future programme of the ALICE experiment, the upgrade of which will open, in the 2020s, a new phase of high-precision characterisation of the QGP properties at the LHC. As a complement of this main activity, there is a growing interest in a possible future experiment at the SPS, which would target the search for the onset of deconfinement using dimuon measurements. On a longer timescale, the community looks with interest at the ongoing studies and discussions on a possible fixed-target programme using the LHC ion beams and on the Future Circular Collider.Comment: 99 pages, 56 figure

High Macromolecular Crowding in Liposomes from Microfluidics

The intracellular environment is crowded with macromolecules that influence biochemical equilibria and biomacromolecule diffusion. The incorporation of such crowding in synthetic cells would be needed to mimic the biochemistry of living cells. However, only a few methods provide crowded artificial cells, moreover providing cells with either heterogeneous size and composition or containing a significant oil fraction. Therefore, a method that generates monodisperse liposomes with minimal oil content and tunable macromolecular crowding using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based microfluidics is presented. Lipid stabilized water-in-oil-in-water emulsions that are stable for at least several months and with a high macromolecular crowder concentration that can be controlled with the external osmolality are formed. A crucial feature is that the oil phase can be removed using high flow conditions at any point after production, providing the highly crowded liposomes. Genetically encoded macromolecular crowding sensors show that the high level of macromolecular crowding in the emulsions is fully retained throughout the generation of minimal-oil lipid bilayers. This modular and robust platform will serve the study of biochemistry under physiologically relevant crowding conditions