The Northern Cross fast radio burst project–I: overview and pilot observations at 408 MHz

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) remain one of the most enigmatic astrophysical sources. Observations have significantly progressed over the last few years, due to the capabilities of new radio telescopes and the refurbishment of existing ones. Here, we describe the upgrade of the Northern Cross radio telescope, operating in the 400–416 MHz frequency band, with the ultimate goal of turning the array into a dedicated instrument to survey the sky for FRBs

Discovering the most elusive radio relic in the sky: Diffuse Shock Acceleration caught in the act?

The origin of radio relics is usually explained via diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) or re-acceleration of electrons at/from merger shocks in galaxy clusters. The case of acceleration is challenged by the low predicted efficiency of low-Mach number merger shocks, unable to explain the power observed in most radio relics. In this Letter we present the discovery of a new giant radio relic around the galaxy cluster Abell 2249 ($z=0.0838$) using LOFAR. It is special since it has the lowest surface brightness of all known radio relics. We study its radio and X-ray properties combinig LOFAR data with uGMRT, JVLA and XMM. This object has a total power of $L_{1.4\rm GHz}=4.1\pm 0.8 \times 10^{23}$ W Hz$^{-1}$ and integrated spectral index $\alpha = 1.15\pm 0.23$. We infer for this radio relic a lower bound on the magnetisation of $B\geq 0.4\, \mu$G, a shock Mach number of $\mathcal{M}\approx 3.79$, and a low acceleration efficiency consistent with DSA. This result suggests that a missing population of relics may become visible thanks to the unprecedented sensitivity of the new generation of radio telescopes.Comment: Letter, 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication on MNRAS Letter

Peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and infants: NEonate and Children audiT of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe: A prospective European multicentre observational study

BACKGROUND: Little is known about current clinical practice concerning peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and small infants. Guidelines suggest transfusions based on haemoglobin thresholds ranging from 8.5 to 12 g dl-1, distinguishing between children from birth to day 7 (week 1), from day 8 to day 14 (week 2) or from day 15 (≥week 3) onwards. OBJECTIVE: To observe peri-operative red blood cell transfusion practice according to guidelines in relation to patient outcome. DESIGN: A multicentre observational study. SETTING: The NEonate-Children sTudy of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe (NECTARINE) trial recruited patients up to 60 weeks' postmenstrual age undergoing anaesthesia for surgical or diagnostic procedures from 165 centres in 31 European countries between March 2016 and January 2017. PATIENTS: The data included 5609 patients undergoing 6542 procedures. Inclusion criteria was a peri-operative red blood cell transfusion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary endpoint was the haemoglobin level triggering a transfusion for neonates in week 1, week 2 and week 3. Secondary endpoints were transfusion volumes, 'delta haemoglobin' (preprocedure - transfusion-triggering) and 30-day and 90-day morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: Peri-operative red blood cell transfusions were recorded during 447 procedures (6.9%). The median haemoglobin levels triggering a transfusion were 9.6 [IQR 8.7 to 10.9] g dl-1 for neonates in week 1, 9.6 [7.7 to 10.4] g dl-1 in week 2 and 8.0 [7.3 to 9.0] g dl-1 in week 3. The median transfusion volume was 17.1 [11.1 to 26.4] ml kg-1 with a median delta haemoglobin of 1.8 [0.0 to 3.6] g dl-1. Thirty-day morbidity was 47.8% with an overall mortality of 11.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate lower transfusion-triggering haemoglobin thresholds in clinical practice than suggested by current guidelines. The high morbidity and mortality of this NECTARINE sub-cohort calls for investigative action and evidence-based guidelines addressing peri-operative red blood cell transfusions strategies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02350348

Clinical guidelines for perioperative hemodynamic management of non cardiac surgical adult patients

Perioperative hemodynamic management, through monitoring and intervention on physiological parameters to improve cardiac output and oxygen delivery (goal-directed therapy, GDT), may improve outcome. However, an Italian survey has revealed that hemodynamic protocols are applied by only 29.1% of anesthesiologists. Aim of this paper is to provide clinical guidelines for a rationale use of perioperative hemodynamic management in non cardiac surgical adult patients, oriented for Italy and updated with most recent studies. Guidelines were elaborated according to NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) and GRADE system (Grading of Recommendations of Assessment Development and Evaluations). Key questions were formulated according to PICO system (Population, Intervention, Comparators, Outcome). Guidelines and systematic reviews were identified on main research databases and strategy was updated to June 2018. There is not enough good quality evidence to support the adoption of a GDT protocol in order to reduce mortality, although it may be useful in high risk patients. Perioperative GDT protocol to guide fluid therapy is recommended to reduce morbidity. Continuous monitoring of arterial pressure may help to identify short periods of hemodynamic instability and hypotension. Fluid strategy should aim to a near zero balance in normovolemic patients at the beginning of surgery, and a slight positive fluid balance may be allowed to protect renal function. Drugs such as inotropes, vasocostrictors, and vasodilatator should be used only when fluids alone are not sufficient to optimize hemodynamics. Perioperative GDT protocols are associated with a reduction in costs, although no economic study has been performed in Italy

Intrapartum-related neonatal encephalopathy incidence and impairment at regional and global levels for 2010 with trends from 1990.

BACKGROUND: Intrapartum hypoxic events ("birth asphyxia") may result in stillbirth, neonatal or postneonatal mortality, and impairment. Systematic morbidity estimates for the burden of impairment outcomes are currently limited. Neonatal encephalopathy (NE) following an intrapartum hypoxic event is a strong predictor of long-term impairment. METHODS: Linear regression modeling was conducted on data identified through systematic reviews to estimate NE incidence and time trends for 184 countries. Meta-analyses were undertaken to estimate the risk of NE by sex of the newborn, neonatal case fatality rate, and impairment risk. A compartmental model estimated postneonatal survivors of NE, depending on access to care, and then the proportion of survivors with impairment. Separate modeling for the Global Burden of Disease 2010 (GBD2010) study estimated disability adjusted life years (DALYs), years of life with disability (YLDs), and years of life lost (YLLs) attributed to intrapartum-related events. RESULTS: In 2010, 1.15 million babies (uncertainty range: 0.89-1.60 million; 8.5 cases per 1,000 live births) were estimated to have developed NE associated with intrapartum events, with 96% born in low- and middle-income countries, as compared with 1.60 million in 1990 (11.7 cases per 1,000 live births). An estimated 287,000 (181,000-440,000) neonates with NE died in 2010; 233,000 (163,000-342,000) survived with moderate or severe neurodevelopmental impairment; and 181,000 (82,000-319,000) had mild impairment. In GBD2010, intrapartum-related conditions comprised 50.2 million DALYs (2.4% of total) and 6.1 million YLDs. CONCLUSION: Intrapartum-related conditions are a large global burden, mostly due to high mortality in low-income countries. Universal coverage of obstetric care and neonatal resuscitation would prevent most of these deaths and disabilities. Rates of impairment are highest in middle-income countries where neonatal intensive care was more recently introduced, but quality may be poor. In settings without neonatal intensive care, the impairment rate is low due to high mortality, which is relevant for the scale-up of basic neonatal resuscitation

Che-1 is targeted by c-Myc to sustain proliferation in pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Despite progress in treating B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL), disease recurrence remains the main cause of treatment failure. New strategies to improve therapeutic outcomes are needed, particularly in high-risk relapsed patients. Che-1/AATF (Che-1) is an RNA polymerase II-binding protein involved in proliferation and tumor survival, but its role in hematological malignancies has not been clarified. Here, we show that Che-1 is overexpressed in pediatric BCP-ALL during disease onset and at relapse, and that its depletion inhibits the proliferation of BCP-ALL cells. Furthermore, we report that c-Myc regulates Che-1 expression by direct binding to its promoter and describe a strict correlation between Che-1 expression and c-Myc expression. RNA-seq analyses upon Che-1 or c-Myc depletion reveal a strong overlap of the respective controlled pathways. Genomewide ChIP-seq experiments suggest that Che-1 acts as a downstream effector of c-Myc. These results identify the pivotal role of Che-1 in the control of BCP-ALL proliferation and present the protein as a possible therapeutic target in children with relapsed BCP-ALL