social engagement in late life may attenuate the burden of depressive symptoms due to financial strain in childhood

Abstract Background : It remains poorly understood if childhood financial strain is associated with old-age depression and if active social life may mitigate this relationship. Aims : To investigate the association between childhood financial strain and depressive symptoms during aging; to examine whether late-life social engagement modifies this association. Method : 2884 dementia-free individuals (aged 60+) from the Swedish National study of Aging and Care-Kungsholmen were clinically examined over a 15-year follow-up. Presence of childhood financial strain was ascertained at baseline. Depressive symptoms were repeatedly assessed with the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Social engagement comprised information on baseline social network and leisure activities. Linear, logistic and mixed-effect models estimated baseline and longitudinal associations accounting for sociodemographic, clinical, and lifestyle factors. Results : Childhood financial strain was independently associated with a higher baseline level of depressive symptoms (β = 0.37, 95%CI 0.10-0.65), but not with symptom change over time. Relative to those without financial strain and with active social engagement, depressive burden was increased in those without financial strain but with inactive social engagement (β = 0.43, 95%CI: 0.15-0.71), and in those with both financial strain and inactive engagement (β = 0.99; 95%CI: 0.59-1.40). Individuals with financial strain and active social engagement exhibited similar depressive burden as those without financial strain and with active social engagement. Limitations : Recall bias and reverse causality may affect study results, although sensitivity analyses suggest their limited effect. Conclusions : Early-life financial strain may be of lasting importance for old-age depressive symptoms. Active social engagement in late-life may mitigate this association

Wearable and interactive mixed reality solutions for fault diagnosis and assistance in manufacturing systems: Implementation and testing in an aseptic bottling line

Abstract Thanks to the spread of technologies stemming from the fourth industrial revolution, also the topic of fault diagnosis and assistance in industrial contexts has benefited. Indeed, several smart tools were developed for assisting with maintenance and troubleshooting, without interfering with operations and facilitating tasks. In line with that, the present manuscript aims at presenting a web smart solution with two possible applications installed on an Android smartphone and Microsoft HoloLens. The solution aims at alerting the operators when an alarm occurs on a machine through notifications, and then at providing the instructions needed for solving the alarm detected. The two devices were tested by the operators of an industrial aseptic bottling line consisting of five machines in real working conditions. The usability of both devices was positively rated by these users based on the System Usability Scale (SUS) and additional appropriate statements. Moreover, the in situ application brought out the main difficulties and interesting issues for the practical implementation of the solutions tested

Sleep disturbances and the speed of multimorbidity development in old age : results from a longitudinal population-based study

Sleep disturbances are prevalent among older adults and are associated with various individual diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate whether sleep disturbances are associated with the speed of multimorbidity development among older adults. Data were gathered from the Swedish National study of Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K), an ongoing population-based study of subjects aged 60+ (N = 3363). The study included a subsample (n = 1189) without multimorbidity at baseline (< 2 chronic diseases). Baseline sleep disturbances were derived from the Comprehensive Psychiatric Rating Scale and categorized as none, mild, and moderate-severe. The number of chronic conditions throughout the 9-year follow-up was obtained from clinical examinations. Linear mixed models were used to study the association between sleep disturbances and the speed of chronic disease accumulation, adjusting for sex, age, education, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, depression, pain, and psychotropic drug use. We repeated the analyses including only cardiovascular, neuropsychiatric, or musculoskeletal diseases as the outcome. Moderate-severe sleep disturbances were associated with a higher speed of chronic disease accumulation (ß /year = 0.142, p = 0.008), regardless of potential confounders. Significant positive associations were also found between moderate-severe sleep disturbances and neuropsychiatric (ß /year = 0.041, p = 0.016) and musculoskeletal (ß /year = 0.038, p = 0.025) disease accumulation, but not with cardiovascular diseases. Results remained stable when participants with baseline dementia, cognitive impairment, or depression were excluded. The finding that sleep disturbances are associated with faster chronic disease accumulation points towards the importance of early detection and treatment of sleep disturbances as a possible strategy to reduce chronic multimorbidity among older adults. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12916-020-01846-w

NKp46-expressing human gut-resident intraepithelial V\u3b41 T cell subpopulation exhibits high anti-tumor activity against colorectal cancer

\u3b3\u3b4 T cells account for a large fraction of human intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) endowed with potent anti-tumor activities. However, little is known about their origin, phenotype and clinical relevance in colorectal cancer (CRC). To determine \u3b3\u3b4 IEL gut-specificity, homing and functions, \u3b3\u3b4 T cells were purified from human healthy blood, lymph nodes, liver, skin, intestine either disease-free or affected by CRC or generated from thymic precursors. The constitutive expression of NKp46 specifically identifies a new subset of cytotoxic V\u3b41 T cells representing the largest fraction of gut-resident IELs. The ontogeny and gut-tropism of NKp46pos/V\u3b41 IELs depends both on distinctive features of V\u3b41 thymic precursors and gut-environmental factors. Either the constitutive presence of NKp46 on tissue-resident V\u3b41 intestinal IELs or its induced-expression on IL-2/IL-15 activated V\u3b41 thymocytes are associated with anti-tumor functions. Higher frequencies of NKp46pos/V\u3b41 IELs in tumor-free specimens from CRC patients correlate with a lower risk of developing metastatic III/IV disease stages. Additionally, our in vitro settings reproducing CRC tumor-microenvironment inhibited the expansion of NKp46pos/V\u3b41 cells from activated thymic precursors. These results parallel the very low frequencies of NKp46pos/V\u3b41 IELs able to infiltrate CRC, thus providing new insights to either follow-up cancer progression or develop novel adoptive cellular therapies

Clinical Features, Cardiovascular Risk Profile, and Therapeutic Trajectories of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Candidate for Oral Semaglutide Therapy in the Italian Specialist Care

Introduction: This study aimed to address therapeutic inertia in the management of type 2 diabetes (T2D) by investigating the potential of early treatment with oral semaglutide. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between October 2021 and April 2022 among specialists treating individuals with T2D. A scientific committee designed a data collection form covering demographics, cardiovascular risk, glucose control metrics, ongoing therapies, and physician judgments on treatment appropriateness. Participants completed anonymous patient questionnaires reflecting routine clinical encounters. The preferred therapeutic regimen for each patient was also identified. Results: The analysis was conducted on 4449 patients initiating oral semaglutide. The population had a relatively short disease duration (42%  60% of patients, and more often than sitagliptin or empagliflozin. Conclusion: The study supports the potential of early implementation of oral semaglutide as a strategy to overcome therapeutic inertia and enhance T2D management

Characteristics of the Mesophotic Megabenthic Assemblages of the Vercelli Seamount (North Tyrrhenian Sea)

The biodiversity of the megabenthic assemblages of the mesophotic zone of a Tyrrhenian seamount (Vercelli Seamount) is described using Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) video imaging from 100 m depth to the top of the mount around 61 m depth. This pinnacle hosts a rich coralligenous community characterized by three different assemblages: (i) the top shows a dense covering of the kelp Laminaria rodriguezii; (ii) the southern side biocoenosis is mainly dominated by the octocorals Paramuricea clavata and Eunicella cavolinii; while (iii) the northern side of the seamount assemblage is colonized by active filter-feeding organisms such as sponges (sometimes covering 100% of the surface) with numerous colonies of the ascidian Diazona violacea, and the polychaete Sabella pavonina. This study highlights, also for a Mediterranean seamount, the potential role of an isolated rocky peak penetrating the euphotic zone, to work as an aggregating structure, hosting abundant benthic communities dominated by suspension feeders, whose distribution may vary in accordance to the geomorphology of the area and the different local hydrodynamic conditions

Cold atoms in space: community workshop summary and proposed road-map

We summarise the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. We review the current status of cold atom technologies and outline the requirements for their space qualification, including the development paths and the corresponding technical milestones, and identifying possible pathfinder missions to pave the way for missions to exploit the full potential of cold atoms in space. Finally, we present a first draft of a possible road-map for achieving these goals, that we propose for discussion by the interested cold atom, Earth Observation, fundamental physics and other prospective scientific user communities, together with the European Space Agency (ESA) and national space and research funding agencies.publishedVersio

Cold atoms in space: community workshop summary and proposed road-map

We summarise the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. We review the current status of cold atom technologies and outline the requirements for their space qualification, including the development paths and the corresponding technical milestones, and identifying possible pathfinder missions to pave the way for missions to exploit the full potential of cold atoms in space. Finally, we present a first draft of a possible road-map for achieving these goals, that we propose for discussion by the interested cold atom, Earth Observation, fundamental physics and other prospective scientific user communities, together with the European Space Agency (ESA) and national space and research funding agencies

Cold atoms in space: community workshop summary and proposed road-map

We summarise the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. We review the current status of cold atom technologies and outline the requirements for their space qualification, including the development paths and the corresponding technical milestones, and identifying possible pathfinder missions to pave the way for missions to exploit the full potential of cold atoms in space. Finally, we present a first draft of a possible road-map for achieving these goals, that we propose for discussion by the interested cold atom, Earth Observation, fundamental physics and other prospective scientific user communities, together with the European Space Agency (ESA) and national space and research funding agencies