Commentary: Coordinated infraslow neural and cardiac oscillations mark fragility and offline periods in mammalian sleep.

We read with interest the paper by Lecci et al. (2017), who showed oscillations of the electroencephalographic (EEG) spectral power in the sigma band (10\u201315 Hz) during non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep at frequencies in the infra-slow range (ISO = 0.001\u20130.1 Hz). The occurrence of this rhythm (sigma-ISO) in human subjects and mice, and its correlation with autonomic and behavioral components suggest that it reflects a fundamental physiological mechanism

Contribution of pulsars to cosmic-ray positrons in light of recent observation of inverse-Compton halos

The hypothesis that pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) can significantly contribute to the excess of the positron ($e^+$) cosmic-ray flux has been consolidated after the observation of a $\gamma$-ray emission at TeV energies of a few degree size around Geminga and Monogem PWNe, and at GeV energies for Geminga at a much larger extension. The $\gamma$-ray halos around these PWNe are interpreted as due to electrons ($e^-$) and $e^+$ accelerated and escaped by their PWNe, and inverse Compton scattering low-energy photons of the interstellar radiation fields. The extension of these halos suggests that the diffusion around these PWNe is suppressed by two orders of magnitude with respect to the average in the Galaxy. We implement a two-zone diffusion model for the propagation of $e^+$ accelerated by the Galactic population of PWNe. We consider pulsars from the ATNF catalog and build up simulations of the PWN Galactic population. In both scenarios, we find that within a two-zone diffusion model, the total contribution from PWNe and secondary $e^+$ is at the level of AMS-02 data, for an efficiency of conversion of the pulsar spin down energy in $e^\pm$ of $\eta\sim0.1$. For the simulated PWNe, a $1\sigma$ uncertainty band is determined, which is of at least one order of magnitude from 10 GeV up to few TeV. The hint for a decreasing $e^+$ flux at TeV energies is found, even if it is strongly connected to the chosen value of the radius of the low diffusion bubble around each source.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures. Figures 2, 3 and 5 updated. Results unchange

Raltegravir, tenofovir, and emtricitabine in an HIV-Infected patient with HCV chronic hepatitis, NNRTI intolerance and protease inhibitors-induced severe liver toxicity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>in HIV-infected patients with HCV-related chronic hepatitis, liver impairment and drug toxicity may substantially reduce the number of possible therapeutic options.</p> <p>Case Description</p> <p>we here describe the case of an HCV-HIV coinfected woman who had repeated severe episodes of drug-related liver toxicity with indinavir, saquinavir, fosamprenavir, and darunavir, with minimal further therapeutic options left in this class. Previous treatment-limiting side effects with efavirenz and nevirapine also precluded use of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Introduction of an integrase-inhibitor regimen based on raltegravir, tenofovir, and emtricitabine allowed a prompt achievement of undetectable viral load and a substantial rise of CD4 count to high levels, with no subsequent episodes of hepatic toxicity, and no other side effects.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>given the relatively common prevalence of HCV-related chronic hepatitis among people with HIV, raltegravir might represent an important alternative option for a substantial number of patients who cannot be treated with protease inhibitors or NNRTI because of drug-related hepatic toxicity.</p

Sleep/wake rhythm modifications in the Italian population during SARS-CoV2 pandemic: a web-based cross-sectional survey.

Abstract. – OBJECTIVE: The study aims to investigate in a representative sample of the Italian population whether the SARS-CoV2 pandemic and the subsequent home isolation had repercussion on the daily sleep/wake cycling and habits. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A web-based cross-sectional survey consisted of various multiple-choice questions concerning demographic characteristics, sleep habits, and sleep-related problems was broadcast through mainstream social-media. Individuals were randomly allowed to participate from April 29th to May 17th, namely 50 days after the lockdown imposition and the day before its abrogation. RESULTS: 58.84% of respondents experienced a change in their sleep habits. 71% of those whose sleep changed showed a delayed sleep pattern. Overall, a two-fold risk of delayed sleep pattern without any change in total sleep time emerged during the investigation period. Females emerged almost 2 times more likely to modify their sleep habits than males. Youths were also more likely to experience modifications than old people, who conversely appeared protected. A significant improvement in daytime sleepiness occurred during the home isolation which additionally correlated with delayed bedtime and less sleep time. CONCLUSIONS: A high rate of change in sleep habits, especially among youths and females, occurred in Italian population during the home isolation to limit the SARS-CoV2 pandemic. Moreover, self-reported daytime sleepiness decreased in severity

A Soft-Voting Ensemble Classifier for Detecting Patients Affected by COVID-19

COVID-19 is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019, which may cause severe acute respiratory syndrome. This disease highlighted the limitations of health systems worldwide regarding managing the pandemic. In particular, the lack of diagnostic tests that can quickly and reliably detect infected patients has contributed to the spread of the virus. Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and antigen tests, which are the main diagnostic tests for COVID-19, showed their limitations during the pandemic. In fact, RT-PCR requires several hours to provide a diagnosis and is not properly accurate, thus generating a high number of false negatives. Unlike RT-PCR, antigen tests provide rapid diagnosis but are less accurate in detecting COVID-19 positive patients. Medical imaging is an alternative diagnostic test for COVID-19. In particular, chest computed tomography allows detecting lung infections related to the disease with high accuracy. However, visual analysis of a chest scan generated by computed tomography is a demanding activity for radiologists, making widespread use of this test unfeasible. Therefore, it is essential to lighten their work with automated tools able to provide accurate diagnosis in a short time. To deal with this challenge, in this work, an approach based on 3D Inception CNNs is proposed. Specifically, 3D Inception-V1 and Inception-V3 models have been built and compared. Then, soft-voting ensemble classifier models have been separately built on these models to boost the performance. As for the individual models, results showed that Inception-V1 outperformed Inception-V3 according to different measures. As for the ensemble classifier models, the outcome of experiments pointed out that the adopted voting strategy boosted the performance of individual models. The best results have been achieved enforcing soft voting on Inception-V1 models

Free and forced wave motion in a two-dimensional plate with radial periodicity

In many practical engineering situations, a source of vibrations may excite a large and flexible structure such as a ship’s deck, an aeroplane fuselage, a satellite antenna, a wall panel. To avoid transmission of the vibration and structure-borne sound, radial or polar periodicity may be used. In these cases, numerical approaches to study free and forced wave propagation close to the excitation source in polar coordinates are desirable. This is the paper’s aim, where a numerical method based on Floquet-theory and the FE discretision of a finite slice of the radial periodic structure is presented and verified. Only a small slice of the structure is analysed, which is approximated using piecewise Cartesian segments. Wave characteristics in each segment are obtained by the theory of wave propagation in periodic Cartesian structures and Finite Element analysis, while wave amplitude change due to the changes in the geometry of the slice is accommodated in the model assuming that the energy flow through the segments is the same. Forced response of the structure is then evaluated in the wave domain. Results are verified for an infinite isotropic thin plate excited by a point harmonic force. A plate with a periodic radial change of thickness is then studied. Free waves propagation are shown, and the forced response in the nearfield is evaluated, showing the validity of the method and the computational advantage compared to FE harmonic analysis for infinite structures

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of a newly identified chemotype of Achillea wilhelmsii K.Koch from Kashan, Iran

Achillea wilhelmsii K.Koch (Asteraceae) is traditionally used in Kashan (Iran) to control diabetes, headaches, kidney stones and heartburn. Due to its beneficial properties, the aerial parts of the plant were collected from the area of Maragheh (Kashan, Isfahan, Iran), in June 2022, during its full flowering, and the essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation (Clevenger). The yield, composition and antimicrobial activity of the extractive solution were measured. Qualitative evaluation was performed by means of gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy method, and antimicrobial activity was determined against 12 strains of microorganisms by measuring inhibition halo, minimum inhibitory concentration, and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). The yield of essential oil was ~ 0.1071% (w/w) and it mainly contained oxygenated monoterpenes (47.87%), being for the first time fragranol (33.22%), fragranyl acetate (16.18%) and oleic acid (6.33%) the most abundant. The highest inhibitory halo was found against Candida albicans and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (~ 10 mm). The essential oil was also effective against gram-negative bacteria such as Acinetobacter baumannii and Shigella dysenteriae, as the inhibition halo was ~ 9 mm and similar to that of rifampin, used as a reference. Therefore, it seems that this essential oil from and endemic species has a unique chemotype with potential antimicrobial activity, which may be a possible option for fragranol isolation and the production of natural antibiotics effective against various microorganisms