Control of the urban pigeon Columba livia population and the preservation of common swift Apus apus and bats Chiroptera during the restoration of the Ghirlandina tower in the city of Modena (Italy)

Ferri, M., Ferraresi, M., Gelati, A., Zannetti, G., Domenichini, A., Ravizza, L., Cadignani, R

A fuzzy approach to addressing uncertainty in Airport Ground Movement optimisation

Funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Counci

IMU-based classification of resistive exercises for real-time training monitoring on board the international space station with potential telemedicine spin-off

The microgravity exposure that astronauts undergo during space missions lasting up to 6 months induces biochemical and physiological changes potentially impacting on their health. As a countermeasure, astronauts perform an in-flight training program consisting in different resistive exercises. To train optimally and safely, astronauts need guidance by on-ground specialists via a real-time audio/video system that, however, is subject to a communication delay that increases in proportion to the distance between sender and receiver. The aim of this work was to develop and validate a wearable IMU-based biofeedback system to monitor astronauts in-flight training displaying real-time feedback on exercises execution. Such a system has potential spin-offs also on personalized home/remote training for fitness and rehabilitation. 29 subjects were recruited according to their physical shape and performance criteria to collect kinematics data under ethical committee approval. Tests were conducted to (i) compare the signals acquired with our system to those obtained with the current state-of-the-art inertial sensors and (ii) to assess the exercises classification performance. The magnitude square coherence between the signals collected with the two different systems shows good agreement between the data. Multiple classification algorithms were tested and the best accuracy was obtained using a MultiLayer Perceptron (MLP). MLP was also able to identify mixed errors during the exercise execution, a scenario that is quite common during training. The resulting system represents a novel low-cost training monitor tool that has space application, but also potential use on Earth for individuals working-out at home or remotely thanks to its ease of use and portability

Lipid profile during pregnancy in HIV-infected women

Purpose: We investigated the evolution of serum lipid levels in HIV-infected pregnant women and the potential effect of antiretroviral treatment during pregnancy using data from a national surveillance study. Method: Fasting lipid measurements collected during routine care in pregnancy were used, analyzing longitudinal changes and differences in lipid values at each trimester by protease inhibitors (Pls) and stavudine use. Multivariate analyses were used to control for simultaneous factors potentially leading to hyperlipidemia. Study population included 248 women. Results: Lipid values increased progressively and significantly during pregnancy: mean increases between the first and third trimesters were 141.6 mg/dL for triglycerides (p <.001), 60.8 mg/dL for total cholesterol (p <.001), 13.7 mg/dL for HDL cholesterol (p <.001), and 17.8 mg/dL for LDL cholesterol (p =.001). At all trimesters, women on PIs had significantly higher triglyceride values compared to women not on Pis. The effect of Pls on cholesterol levels was less consistent. Stavudine showed a dyslipidemic effect at first trimester only. Multivariate analyses confirmed these observations and suggested a potential role of other cofactors in the development of hyperlipidemia during pregnancy. Conclusion: The changes observed point to the need to further explore the causes and the clinical correlates of hyperlipidemia during pregnancy in women with HIV

Psychological models in sport psychology:A preliminary investigation

Applied psychology is characterised by a variety of theoretical models, informing distinct approaches to classification, explanation, and intervention in service-delivery. Such theoretical or psychological models include behavioural, biological, cognitive, humanistic, psychodynamic, and social paradigms, with exposure to these models and attitude formation occurring within the structured university-based stage of sport psychology development. It is, therefore, important for the sport psychological domain to investigate developing attitudes, given these models inform subsequent professional practice and decision making. Accordingly, the present study explored the attitudes of Stage-1 sport psychology students through a modified form of the Maudsley Attitude Questionnaire (34 males, Mage = 24.71 years, SD = 7.23 and 42 females, Mage = 24.76 years, SD = 6.20). The questionnaire was designed to assess attitudes across eight psychological models (e.g., biological, cognitive) and four sport psychology issues (pre-performance anxiety, a lack of confidence, depression, and eating disorders). Analyses of variance demonstrated significant main, model, and interaction effects. No one psychological model was endorsed by all respondents, with model endorsement varying significantly as a function of the issue presented. Principal Axis Factoring revealed a large contribution attributable to cognitive-behavioural and ‘eclectic’ (mixed elements of social constructionism, biological, and psychodynamic) models. In contrast, the spiritual model represented low levels of participant endorsement and application. Investigation of Stage-1 students can promote an evidence-based understanding on currently developing attitudes and inform the development of sport psychology education, supervision of training routes, and subsequent professional delivery

Toll-like receptor 4 and high-mobility group box-1 are involved in ictogenesis and can be targeted to reduce seizures

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Pregnancy Loss in Women with HIV is not Associated with HIV Markers: Data from a National Study in Italy, 2001-2018.

BACKGROUND: There is limited information on pregnancy loss in women with HIV, and it is still debated whether HIV-related markers may play a role.Objectives: To explore potential risk factors for pregnancy loss in women with HIV, with particular reference to modifiable risk factors and markers of HIV disease. METHODS: Multicenter observational study of HIV-positive pregnant women. The main outcome measure was pregnancy loss, including both miscarriage (&lt;22 weeks) and stillbirth ( 6522 weeks). Possible associations of pregnancy loss were evaluated in univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Among 2696 eligible pregnancies reported between 2001 and 2018, 226 (8.4%) ended in pregnancy loss (miscarriage 198, 7.3%; stillbirth 28, 1.0%). In multivariate analyses, only older age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] per additional year of age: 1.079, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.046-1.113), HIV diagnosis before pregnancy (AOR: 2.533, 95%CI 1.407-4.561) and history of pregnancy loss (AOR: 1.625, 95%CI 1.178-2.243) were significantly associated with pregnancy loss. No significant association with pregnancy loss was found for parity, coinfections, sexually transmitted diseases, hypertension, smoking, alcohol and substance use, CD4 cell count, HIV-RNA viral load, and CDC HIV stage. CONCLUSIONS: Older women and those with a previous history of pregnancy loss should be considered at higher risk of pregnancy loss. The severity of HIV disease and potentially modifiable risk factors did not increase the risk of pregnancy loss

Downstream Intensification Effects Associated with CO2 Laser Mitigation of Fused Silica

Mitigation of 351nm laser-induced damage sites on fused silica exit surfaces by selective CO{sub 2} treatment has been shown to effectively arrest the exponential growth responsible for limiting the lifetime of optics in high-fluence laser systems. However, the perturbation to the optical surface profile following the mitigation process introduces phase contrast to the beam, causing some amount of downstream intensification with the potential to damage downstream optics. Control of the laser treatment process and measurement of the associated phase modulation is essential to preventing downstream 'fratricide' in damage-mitigated optical systems. In this work we present measurements of the surface morphology, intensification patterns and damage associated with various CO{sub 2} mitigation treatments on fused silica surfaces. Specifically, two components of intensification pattern, one on-axis and another off-axis can lead to damage of downstream optics and are related to rims around the ablation pit left from the mitigation process. It is shown that control of the rim structure around the edge of typical mitigation sites is crucial in preventing damage to downstream optics