I Movimenti oculari saccadici come modello sperimentale per lo studio della fatica nei pazienti affetti da sclerosi multipla

Background:INO in MS causes slowed adduction due to demyelination of the medial longitudinal fasciculus(MLF). Objective: To determine whether changes in horizontal eye-movement conjugacy during repetitive saccades provides a model for the phenomenon of fatigue in MS. Methods:We measured horizontal eye movements in 9 MS patients with INO(4 bilateral,total 13 INOs)and 8 normals as they made saccades between targets separated 20 degrees horizontally for 10 minutes(fatigue test).Conjugacy of horizontal saccades was measured during the first and last minute of the trial from:(1)amplitude ratio(AR)of abducting to adducting movement;(2)ratio of abducting/adducting peak velocity (versional disconjugacy index, VDI);(3)normalized, interocular velocity difference(IVD)at 20% of eye displacement on phase-plane plots. Results:AR changes in patients were variable and inconsistent.Velocity VDI and IVD values showed consistent changes after fatigue in 10/13 INOs,with increase in 5 cases and decrease in other 5.Worsening of conjugacy(increased VDI and IVD values)was generally observed in those INOs with initial VDI<1.9,while improvement of conjugacy (decreased VDI and IVD values)was observed in those with initial VDI>1.9. Conclusions: A saccade fatigue test induced changes of conjugacy in MS patients as measured by velocity criteria.Worsening of conjugacy may reflect deterioration in transmission of the saccadic pulse signal along demyelinated MLF,and occurred in patients with milder INO. Improvement of conjugacy occurred in patients with more severe INO, and may be due to adaptive mechanisms, such as recruitment of vergence to aid gaze shifts.The reductionist model for INO provides a promising circuit to study the phenomenon of fatigue due to reduced neural transmission,as well as the brain’s adaptive responses

Humoral response after the booster dose of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in multiple sclerosis patients treated with high-efficacy therapies

Anti-SARS-CoV2 mRNA vaccines showed a blunted antibody (Ab) response in people with MS (pwMS) on high efficacy therapies, suggesting the need for a booster dose. We evaluated the kinetics of the production of anti-receptor binding domain (RBD) Immunoglobulins G (IgG) after the vaccination cycle and the booster in pwMS receiving ocrelizumab, fingolimod and cladribine. A significant increase of anti-RBD IgG seroconversion was observed after booster respect to the vaccination cycle. Results obtained from this study will be useful for the management of pwMS in relation to their disease modifying therapy (DMT) and for any future vaccination campaign

M-BIM: a new tool for the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze

[EN] The paper deals with an ongoing research activity for developing a Building Information Model (BIM) for the facility and collections management of museums. The BIM success lies not only in its application for the design and construction of buildings but also because it helps the information management of a building throughout its life cycle. Compared to other activities, in museums management, the container/content relationship is essential for the preventive conservation of artworks, according to national and international guidelines. Then, an effective BIM-based museum information system linked to external databases (called M-BIM) should include also the art collections for managing information regarding both the building and artworks by 3D objects handling. This facilitates the management of the procedures prescribed by international best practices (as the facility and conservation reports set up for the loan of artworks) or by Italian regulations (as to check the compliance of a museum with the minimum standards or to archive renovations and temporary exhibitions). The proposed methodology has been tested on the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze (Florence, Italy), situated in a complex heritage building. Starting from data acquired during a laser scanner survey carried out in 2011, a HBIM of the whole building has been created. Then, the sculptures and paintings of a consistent part of the museum have been modelled with different approaches and inserted as BIM objects. Artworks instances include 3D geometry and physical data (dimensions, materials, weight, etc.), other data are obtained from links to already existing external catalogues. A database conceptual model has been formalised, according to INSPIRE Consolidated Unified Modelling Language (UML) of the INSPIRE Directive, with the aim to maintain the independence of the BIM approach but improving data connection with other databases and sources.Highlights:A holistic information management system for museums (M-BIM) is proposed, including both information on the building and the collections.International and Italian guidelines, and best practices on museums management are compared.The Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze is used as a case study for testing the application of M-BIM on a heritage building.[ES] El artículo trata una investigación en curso que aborda el desarrollo del modelado de información de la construcción (BIM) para la gestión de instalaciones y colecciones de museos. El éxito del BIM no reside sólo en su aplicación en el diseño y la construcción de edificios, sino también en que ayuda en la gestión de la información de una construcción durante todo su ciclo de vida. En comparación con otras actividades, en la gestión de los museos, la relación contenedor/contenido es esencial en la conservación preventiva de las obras de arte, de acuerdo con las directrices nacionales e internacionales. Entonces, un sistema eficaz de información museística mediante BIM y que se enlace con bases de datos externas (denominado M-BIM) debería incluir las colecciones de arte para la gestión de la información relativa tanto al edificio como a las obras de arte mediante la manipulación de objetos en 3D. Esto facilita la gestión de los procedimientos prescritos por las mejores prácticas internacionales (como los informes de instalación y conservación establecidos para el préstamo de obras de arte) o por la normativa italiana (como el control de la conformidad de un museo con los estándares mínimos o almacenar renovaciones y exposiciones temporales). La metodología propuesta se ha probado en la Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze (Italia), situada en un edificio patrimonial de gran complejidad. Se ha creado un HBIM de todo el edificio a partir de los datos capturados en 2011 en un levantamiento con escáner láser. Después, las esculturas y pinturas de una parte consistente del museo se han modelado con diferentes enfoques e insertado como objetos BIM. Los ejemplos de obras de arte incluyen geometría 3D y datos físicos (dimensiones, materiales, peso, etc.), otros datos se obtienen a partir de enlaces a catálogos externos ya existentes. Se ha formalizado un modelo conceptual de bases de datos, según el el lenguaje unificado de modelado (UML) Consolidado INSPIRE de la Directiva INSPIRE, con el objetivo de mantener la independencia del procedimiento BIM, pero mejorando la conexión de los datos con otras bases de datos y fuentes.The research has been carried out as part of the GAMHer project: Geomatics Data Acquisition and Management for Landscape and Built Heritage in a European Perspective, PRIN:–Bando 2015, Prot. 2015HJLS7E.Tucci, G.; Conti, A.; Fiorini, L.; Corongiu, M.; Valdambrini, N.; Matta, C. (2019). M-BIM: una nueva herramienta para la Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze (Florencia). Virtual Archaeology Review. 10(21):40-55. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2019.11943SWORD4055102

D-dimer Increasing After First Alemtuzumab Administration in a Multiple Sclerosis Patient

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DIAGNÓSTICO DA QUALIDADE DA ÁGUA AO LONGO DE UM CANAL DE CONCRETO: UM ESTUDO DE CASO DO CANAL DO SERTÃO ALAGOANO - BRASIL

Para atender a demanda, a transferência de água de rios por canal é uma prática comum no Nordeste brasileiro. O Canal do Sertão Alagoano capta água do rio São Francisco (no reservatório Apolônio Sales) para abastecer municípios do estado de Alagoas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a evolução de parâmetros físico-químicos da água (temperatura, pH, turbidez, condutividade, dureza, sulfatos, cloretos, nitrogênio total e fósforo total) ao longo dos 29 km iniciais. Foram realizadas duas coletas no período seco em 10 pontos. Por meio do teste não-paramétrico MannWhitney, evidenciou-se que temporalmente as duas coletas são significativamente diferentes para todos os parâmetros, mesmo sendo ambas realizadas no período seco. Longitudinalmente, nas duas coletas, temperatura, pH e condutividade, foram significativamente diferentes entre o início e o final dos 29 km, apresentando uma tendência crescente nos valores. Quanto à qualidade, conforme a Resolução 357/2005 do CONAMA, a água do Canal apresentou valores dentro da Classe 1, com exceção do fósforo total

Long-lasting neutralizing antibodies and T cell response after the third dose of mRNA anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in multiple sclerosis

Background and objectivesLong lasting immune response to anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in people with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS) is still largely unexplored. Our study aimed at evaluating the persistence of the elicited amount of neutralizing antibodies (Ab), their activity and T cell response after three doses of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in pwMS.MethodsWe performed a prospective observational study in pwMS undergoing SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinations. Anti-Region Binding Domain (anti-RBD) of the spike (S) protein immunoglobulin G (IgG) titers were measured by ELISA. The neutralization efficacy of collected sera was measured by SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirion-based neutralization assay. The frequency of Spike-specific IFNγ-producing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was measured by stimulating Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) with a pool of peptides covering the complete protein coding sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 S.ResultsBlood samples from 70 pwMS (11 untreated pwMS, 11 under dimethyl fumarate, 9 under interferon-γ, 6 under alemtuzumab, 8 under cladribine, 12 under fingolimod and 13 under ocrelizumab) and 24 healthy donors were collected before and up to six months after three vaccine doses. Overall, anti-SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine elicited comparable levels of anti-RBD IgGs, neutralizing activity and anti-S T cell response both in untreated, treated pwMS and HD that last six months after vaccination. An exception was represented by ocrelizumab-treated pwMS that showed reduced levels of IgGs (p<0.0001) and a neutralizing activity under the limit of detection (p<0.001) compared to untreated pwMS. Considering the occurrence of a SARS-CoV-2 infection after vaccination, the Ab neutralizing efficacy (p=0.04), as well as CD4+ (p=0.016) and CD8+ (p=0.04) S-specific T cells, increased in treated COVID+ pwMS compared to uninfected treated pwMS at 6 months after vaccination.DiscussionOur follow-up provides a detailed evaluation of Ab, especially in terms of neutralizing activity, and T cell responses after anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in MS context, over time, considering a wide number of therapies, and eventually breakthrough infection. Altogether, our observations highlight the vaccine response data to current protocols in pwMS and underline the necessity to carefully follow-up anti-CD20- treated patients for higher risk of breakthrough infections. Our study may provide useful information to refine future vaccination strategies in pwMS

Antioxidant compounds recovery from Juçara residue by thermal assisted extraction

This study aimed to recover bioactive compounds by solid-liquid extraction from the agro-industrial residue obtained during juçara fruits processing into pulp. A preliminary study using different solvents (methanol, ethanol and water) indicated ethanol in aqueous solution as the best solvent for antioxidants recovery. Then, a Box-Behnken design was applied considering as independent variables the solvent composition (3070% ethanol in water), temperature (3070 °C) and time (3060 min), in order to evaluate the effects of these factors on antioxidant activity in juçara extract. Results showed that the extracts with higher antioxidant activity were obtained using 30% ethanol at 70 °C for 60 min; measurements included ABTS and DPPH assays, determination of total phenolic content and total monomeric anthocyanins. Furthermore, the effect of pH in antioxidants recovery was evaluated. For this purpose, the 30% ethanol solution was acidified to pH 1 and 2 with HCl. Principal component analysis showed the formation of three distinct groups: one characterized by high bioactive compounds content (pH 1.0), another with superior antioxidant activity (pH 5.75, non-acidified), and finally the group at pH 2 presenting the worst concentrations in the evaluated responses. HPLC analysis showed the presence of cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside in the extracts. Therefore, the conventional solid-liquid extraction using renewable solvent can be successfully applied to recover bioactive compounds from juçara residue, which can be used by different food industries.The authors gratefully acknowledge the institutions: Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento Pessoal deEnsinoSuperior (CAPES), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Embrapa Agroindústria de Alimentos and University of Minho by the financial support of the research work and Juçaí Alimentos for the juçara residue. Ricardo N. Pereira gratefully acknowledge to Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) the financial grant with reference SFRH/BPD/ 81887/2011.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

New generation implantable cardiac rhythm devices allow safe radiotherapy treatments: A large single centre study

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