Estimates for the background of the ATHENA X-IFU instrument: the cosmic rays contribution

The background of the ATHENA X-IFU instrument is evaluated by Geant4 simulations. A new, highly detailed, mass model of the X-IFU and of its cryostat has been produced, a new model for the Galactic Cosmic Ray protons in L2 has been developed from satellite data, and a set of physics models tuned to ATHENA needs has been refined through extensive validations against experimental results. We are going to report the latest results in the estimate of the background of the X-IFU instrument, obtained after the update of all the elements of the Geant4 simulations and of the post processing software

ATHENA Italian Management Plan

The scope of this management plan (MP) is to describe the management of the Italian team in the ATHENA space mission and to clarify roles and responsibilities within the Italian team. Objective of this document is to provide a structured and consistent approach to the Italian management of the ATHENA project to be compliant with the ESA programmatic development. This MP considers all the project management activities that are addressed by the ESA standard ECSS-M-ST-10C “Space project management” in the framework of the Italian Collaboration in the ATHENA mission. The Funding Agency (FA) responsible for the national contribution to the mission is the Italian Space Agency (ASI)

ATHENA X-IFU Demonstration Model: First Joint Operation of the Main TES Array and its Cryogenic AntiCoincidence Detector (CryoAC)

The X-IFU is the cryogenic spectrometer onboard the future ATHENA X-ray observatory. It is based on a large array of TES microcalorimeters, which work in combination with a Cryogenic AntiCoincidence detector (CryoAC). This is necessary to reduce the particle background level thus enabling part of the mission science goals. Here we present the first joint test of X-IFU TES array and CryoAC Demonstration Models, performed in a FDM setup. We show that it is possible to operate properly both detectors, and we provide a preliminary demonstration of the anti-coincidence capability of the system achieved by the simultaneous detection of cosmic muons

How future surgery will benefit from SARS-COV-2-related measures: a SPIGC survey conveying the perspective of Italian surgeons

COVID-19 negatively affected surgical activity, but the potential benefits resulting from adopted measures remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in surgical activity and potential benefit from COVID-19 measures in perspective of Italian surgeons on behalf of SPIGC. A nationwide online survey on surgical practice before, during, and after COVID-19 pandemic was conducted in March-April 2022 (NCT:05323851). Effects of COVID-19 hospital-related measures on surgical patients' management and personal professional development across surgical specialties were explored. Data on demographics, pre-operative/peri-operative/post-operative management, and professional development were collected. Outcomes were matched with the corresponding volume. Four hundred and seventy-three respondents were included in final analysis across 14 surgical specialties. Since SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, application of telematic consultations (4.1% vs. 21.6%; p < 0.0001) and diagnostic evaluations (16.4% vs. 42.2%; p < 0.0001) increased. Elective surgical activities significantly reduced and surgeons opted more frequently for conservative management with a possible indication for elective (26.3% vs. 35.7%; p < 0.0001) or urgent (20.4% vs. 38.5%; p < 0.0001) surgery. All new COVID-related measures are perceived to be maintained in the future. Surgeons' personal education online increased from 12.6% (pre-COVID) to 86.6% (post-COVID; p < 0.0001). Online educational activities are considered a beneficial effect from COVID pandemic (56.4%). COVID-19 had a great impact on surgical specialties, with significant reduction of operation volume. However, some forced changes turned out to be benefits. Isolation measures pushed the use of telemedicine and telemetric devices for outpatient practice and favored communication for educational purposes and surgeon-patient/family communication. From the Italian surgeons' perspective, COVID-related measures will continue to influence future surgical clinical practice

The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase

The Athena X-ray Integral Unit (X-IFU) is the high resolution X-ray spectrometer, studied since 2015 for flying in the mid-30s on the Athena space X-ray Observatory, a versatile observatory designed to address the Hot and Energetic Universe science theme, selected in November 2013 by the Survey Science Committee. Based on a large format array of Transition Edge Sensors (TES), it aims to provide spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, with a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV (up to 7 keV) over an hexagonal field of view of 5 arc minutes (equivalent diameter). The X-IFU entered its System Requirement Review (SRR) in June 2022, at about the same time when ESA called for an overall X-IFU redesign (including the X-IFU cryostat and the cooling chain), due to an unanticipated cost overrun of Athena. In this paper, after illustrating the breakthrough capabilities of the X-IFU, we describe the instrument as presented at its SRR, browsing through all the subsystems and associated requirements. We then show the instrument budgets, with a particular emphasis on the anticipated budgets of some of its key performance parameters. Finally we briefly discuss on the ongoing key technology demonstration activities, the calibration and the activities foreseen in the X-IFU Instrument Science Center, and touch on communication and outreach activities, the consortium organisation, and finally on the life cycle assessment of X-IFU aiming at minimising the environmental footprint, associated with the development of the instrument. Thanks to the studies conducted so far on X-IFU, it is expected that along the design-to-cost exercise requested by ESA, the X-IFU will maintain flagship capabilities in spatially resolved high resolution X-ray spectroscopy, enabling most of the original X-IFU related scientific objectives of the Athena mission to be retained. (abridged).Comment: 48 pages, 29 figures, Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy with minor editin

The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase

The Athena X-ray Integral Unit (X-IFU) is the high resolution X-ray spectrometer studied since 2015 for flying in the mid-30s on the Athena space X-ray Observatory. Athena is a versatile observatory designed to address the Hot and Energetic Universe science theme, as selected in November 2013 by the Survey Science Committee. Based on a large format array of Transition Edge Sensors (TES), X-IFU aims to provide spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, with a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV (up to 7 keV) over a hexagonal field of view of 5 arc minutes (equivalent diameter). The X-IFU entered its System Requirement Review (SRR) in June 2022, at about the same time when ESA called for an overall X-IFU redesign (including the X-IFU cryostat and the cooling chain), due to an unanticipated cost overrun of Athena. In this paper, after illustrating the breakthrough capabilities of the X-IFU, we describe the instrument as presented at its SRR (i.e. in the course of its preliminary definition phase, so-called B1), browsing through all the subsystems and associated requirements. We then show the instrument budgets, with a particular emphasis on the anticipated budgets of some of its key performance parameters, such as the instrument efficiency, spectral resolution, energy scale knowledge, count rate capability, non X-ray background and target of opportunity efficiency. Finally, we briefly discuss the ongoing key technology demonstration activities, the calibration and the activities foreseen in the X-IFU Instrument Science Center, touch on communication and outreach activities, the consortium organisation and the life cycle assessment of X-IFU aiming at minimising the environmental footprint, associated with the development of the instrument. Thanks to the studies conducted so far on X-IFU, it is expected that along the design-to-cost exercise requested by ESA, the X-IFU will maintain flagship capabilities in spatially resolved high resolution X-ray spectroscopy, enabling most of the original X-IFU related scientific objectives of the Athena mission to be retained. The X-IFU will be provided by an international consortium led by France, The Netherlands and Italy, with ESA member state contributions from Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, with additional contributions from the United States and Japan.The French contribution to X-IFU is funded by CNES, CNRS and CEA. This work has been also supported by ASI (Italian Space Agency) through the Contract 2019-27-HH.0, and by the ESA (European Space Agency) Core Technology Program (CTP) Contract No. 4000114932/15/NL/BW and the AREMBES - ESA CTP No.4000116655/16/NL/BW. This publication is part of grant RTI2018-096686-B-C21 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. This publication is part of grant RTI2018-096686-B-C21 and PID2020-115325GB-C31 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033

Critical assessment of protein intrinsic disorder prediction

Abstract: Intrinsically disordered proteins, defying the traditional protein structure–function paradigm, are a challenge to study experimentally. Because a large part of our knowledge rests on computational predictions, it is crucial that their accuracy is high. The Critical Assessment of protein Intrinsic Disorder prediction (CAID) experiment was established as a community-based blind test to determine the state of the art in prediction of intrinsically disordered regions and the subset of residues involved in binding. A total of 43 methods were evaluated on a dataset of 646 proteins from DisProt. The best methods use deep learning techniques and notably outperform physicochemical methods. The top disorder predictor has Fmax = 0.483 on the full dataset and Fmax = 0.792 following filtering out of bona fide structured regions. Disordered binding regions remain hard to predict, with Fmax = 0.231. Interestingly, computing times among methods can vary by up to four orders of magnitude

Hepatitis-virus-positive patients management in dental office

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the liver, which can be caused by several viruses including hepatitis A, B, C, D and E. This condition can affect the oral health of patients and increase the risk of complications during dental management. The clinical management of hepatitis patients in the dental setting requires a comprehensive and individualized approach to ensure safety and optimal treatment outcomes. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current literature on the dental management of patients with different forms of hepatitis.METHODS: The article focuses on the specific challenges associated with dental treatments in hepatitis patients, including increased risk of infection and bleeding. Additionally, the article provides recommendations for dental practitioners, including infection control measures, communication with medical providers, and the use of prophylactic antibiotics.RESULTS: The authors show that the dental management of patients with hepatitis requires a thorough understanding of the specific challenges associated with this condition, as well as the implementation of appropriate preventive measures to ensure the safety and well-being of these patients.CONCLUSIONS: Further research is needed to better understand the impact of hepatitis on oral health and the most effective approaches to managing dental treatments in this patient population

Temporomandibular disorders and orofacial neuropathic pain in children and adolescents: a systematic review

: Pediatric orofacial pain (OFP) is a blanket term referring to the pain of soft and hard tissue in the face, neck and headaches affecting subjects younger than 18. OFP encompasses pain due to various causes, i.e., (i) Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD), (ii) Headache, and (iii) Neuropathies. This review aims to provide an overview of these three causes of OFP. The inclusion criteria are: (1) articles in English; (2) human studies; (3) clinical trials; (4) systematic review. Data from the included studies using a customized data extraction on a Microsoft Excel sheet. PubMed, Web of Science and Lilacs were systematically searched. The time window considered for the electronic search was from 01 January 1950 to 21 October 2022. A total of 3399 articles published were found from electronic searches. Finally, six full-text articles satisfied the inclusion criteria. The included studies have been published over the past 27 years (1993 to 2020). The studies analyzed were conducted in various parts of the world: USA, Argentina, Canada, South America (Brazil), and India. A total of 308 subjects were analyzed. TMD, headache, and neuropathies are among the leading causes of orofacial pain. Lifestyle changes and psychological approaches could be curative. However, some patients need pharmacotherapy. Regarding the inadequate treatment of pain after hospital discharge due to the difficulty of following the scheduled intervals prescribed, remote monitoring through telemedicine tools could be a solution in the future. Several conditions present with pain in children and adolescents; in most of them, pain is the most prominent symptom. This review found that one of the most critical causes of OFP is temporomandibular dysfunction. Treatment is founded on a multidisciplinary approach

Economic inequalities and temporomandibular disorders: A systematic review with meta-analysis

Introduction: Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are a common and debilitating condition that affects millions of people globally. Despite extensive research on TMDs, the exact causes of these conditions remain unclear. However, various factors, including genetics, injury and stress, have been implicated in their development. In addition to these traditional risk factors, the literature suggests that socioeconomic status (SES) may also play a role in the development and progression of TMDs. By synthesizing the available evidence, this review will provide a comprehensive understanding of the role of SES in TMDs and will inform the development of targeted interventions to reduce the burden of these disorders among individuals with lower SES. Methods: We conducted this systematic review followed the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020. PubMed, Scopus and Lilacs were searched using the terms: ((socio-economic status OR economic status) AND (temporomandibular disorders OR temporomandibular joint) from the inception until February 10, 2023. We applied the following questions: (P) Participants consisted of human subjects. (E) The Exposure consisted of low economic stats. (C) The Comparison: subjects reporting low economic status were compared to subjects reporting medium-high economic status. (O) The Outcome consisted of TMDs diagnosis. Review Manager version 5.2.8 (Cochrane Collaboration; 2014) software was applied to perform the pooled analysis. Results: The included subjects in this review were 14 607. Among them, 631 reported a low economic income, 1880 a medium-high economic income, 4617 were blue-collar workers and 7478 were white-collar workers or entrepreneurs. Among those reporting a low economic income or belonging to the blue-collar workers 12.93% (679/5248) presented sign/symptoms of TMD or a diagnosis of TMD whereas 10.6% (997/9358) of those with a high economic income/white-collar worker. Conclusion: We observed a slightly higher prevalence of TMD among individuals with a low economic income Further research is needed to better understand this relationship and to develop effective interventions to reduce the burden of TMD among individuals with low income