Mesothelioma and thymic tumors: Treatment challenges in (outside) a network setting

The management of patients with mesothelioma and thymic malignancy requires continuous multidisciplinary expertise at any step of the disease. A dramatic improvement in our knowledge has occurred in the last few years, through the development of databases, translational research programs, and clinical trials. Access to innovative strategies represents a major challenge, as there is a lack of funding for clinical research in rare cancers and their rarity precludes the design of robust clinical trials that could lead to specific approval of drugs. In this context, patient-centered initiatives, such as the establishment of dedicated networks, are warranted. International societies, such as IMIG (International Mesothelioma Interest Group) and ITMIG (International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group) provide infrastructure for global collaboration, and there are many advantages to having strong regional groups working on the same issues. There may be regional differences in risk factors, susceptibility, management and outcomes. The ability to address questions both regionally as well as globally is ideal to develop a full understanding of mesothelioma and thymic malignancies. In Europe, through the integration of national networks with EURACAN, the collaboration with academic societies and international groups, the development of networks in thoracic oncology provides multiplex integration of clinical care and research, ultimately ensuring equal access to high quality care to all patients, with the opportunity of conducting high level clinical and translational research projects

The Kirillov picture for the Wigner particle

We discuss the Kirillov method for massless Wigner particles, usually (mis)named "continuous spin" or "infinite spin" particles. These appear in Wigner's classification of the unitary representations of the Poincar\'e group, labelled by elements of the enveloping algebra of the Poincar\'e Lie algebra. Now, the coadjoint orbit procedure introduced by Kirillov is a prelude to quantization. Here we exhibit for those particles the classical Casimir functions on phase space, in parallel to quantum representation theory. A good set of position coordinates are identified on the coadjoint orbits of the Wigner particles; the stabilizer subgroups and the symplectic structures of these orbits are also described.Comment: 19 pages; v2: updated to coincide with published versio

Monopole-based quantization: a programme

We describe a programme to quantize a particle in the field of a (three dimensional) magnetic monopole using a Weyl system. We propose using the mapping of position and momenta as operators on a quaternionic Hilbert module following the work of Emch and Jadczyk.Comment: Contribution to the volume: Mathematical Physics and Field Theory, Julio Abad, In Memoriam}, M. Asorey, J.V. Garcia Esteve, M.F. Ranada and J. Sesma Editors, Prensas Universitaria de Zaragoza, (2009

Gauge and Poincare' Invariant Regularization and Hopf Symmetries

We consider the regularization of a gauge quantum field theory following a modification of the Polchinski proof based on the introduction of a cutoff function. We work with a Poincare' invariant deformation of the ordinary point-wise product of fields introduced by Ardalan, Arfaei, Ghasemkhani and Sadooghi, and show that it yields, through a limiting procedure of the cutoff functions, to a regularized theory, preserving all symmetries at every stage. The new gauge symmetry yields a new Hopf algebra with deformed co-structures, which is inequivalent to the standard one.Comment: Revised version. 14 pages. Incorrect statements eliminate

Canola-Wheat Rotation versus Continuous Wheat for the Southern Plains

Crop rotations are not common in the wheat belt of the Southern Plains. After years of continuous wheat, weeds have become increasingly difficult and expensive to manage. Yield data were elicited from farmers and used to determine if canola-wheat-wheat rotations are economically competitive with continuous wheat in the region.crop rotation, wheat, canola, elicited yield distributions, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Q10, Q12,

Noncommutative spacetime symmetries: Twist versus covariance

We prove that the Moyal product is covariant under linear affine spacetime transformations. From the covariance law, by introducing an $(x,\Theta)$-space where the spacetime coordinates and the noncommutativity matrix components are on the same footing, we obtain a noncommutative representation of the affine algebra, its generators being differential operators in $(x,\Theta)$-space. As a particular case, the Weyl Lie algebra is studied and known results for Weyl invariant noncommutative field theories are rederived in a nutshell. We also show that this covariance cannot be extended to spacetime transformations generated by differential operators whose coefficients are polynomials of order larger than one. We compare our approach with the twist-deformed enveloping algebra description of spacetime transformations.Comment: 19 pages in revtex, references adde

Trends of influenza B during the 2010–2016 seasons in 2 regions of north and south Italy: The impact of the vaccine mismatch on influenza immunisation strategy

Influenza A and B viruses are responsible for respiratory infections, representing globally seasonal threats to human health. The 2 viral types often co-circulate and influenza B plays an important role in the spread of infection. A 6-year retrospective surveillance study was conducted between 2010 and 2016 in 2 large administrative regions of Italy, located in the north (Liguria) and in the south (Sicily) of the country, to describe the burden and epidemiology of both B/Victoria and B/Yamagata lineages in different healthcare settings. Influenza B viruses were detected in 5 of 6 seasonal outbreaks, exceeding influenza A during the season 2012–2013. Most of influenza B infections were found in children aged ≤ 14 y and significant differences were observed in the age-groups infected by the different lineages. B/Victoria strains prevailed in younger population than B/Yamagata, but also were more frequently found in the community setting. Conversely, B/Yamagata viruses were prevalent among hospitalized cases suggesting their potential role in the development of more severe disease. The relative proportions of viral lineages varied from year to year, resulting in different lineage-level mismatch for the B component of trivalent influenza vaccine. Our findings confirmed the need for continuous virological surveillance of seasonal epidemics and bring attention to the adoption of universal influenza immunization program in the childhood. The use of tetravalent vaccine formulations may be useful to improve the prevention and control of the influenza burden in general population

Impact of communicative and informative strategies on influenza vaccination adherence and absenteeism from work of health care professionals working at the university hospital of palermo, Italy: A quasi-experimental field trial on twelve influenza seasons

Every year, about 20% of health care workers (HCWs) acquire influenza, continuing to work and encouraging virus spreading. Influenza vaccination coverage rates and absenteeism from work among HCWs of the University Hospital (UH) of Palermo were analyzed before and after the implementation of several initiatives in order to increase HCWs’ awareness about influenza vaccination. Vaccines administration within hospital units, dedicated web pages on social media and on the UH of Palermo institutional web site, and mandatory compilation of a dissent form for those HCWs who refused vaccination were carried out during the last four influenza seasons. After the introduction of these strategies, influenza vaccination coverage went up from 5.2% (2014/2015 season) to 37.2% (2018/2019 season) (p<0.001), and mean age of vaccinated HCWs significantly decreased from 48.1 years (95% CI: 45.7–50.5) to 35.9 years (95% CI: 35.0–36.8). A reduction of working days lost due to acute sickness among HCWs of the UH of Palermo was observed. Fear of adverse reactions and not considering themselves as a high-risk group for contracting influenza were the main reasons reported by HCWs that refused vaccination. Strategies undertaken at the UH of Palermo allowed a significant increase in vaccination adherence and a significant reduction of absenteeism from work