Constraining the Nature of the 18 min Periodic Radio Transient GLEAM-X J162759.5-523504.3 via Multiwavelength Observations and Magneto-thermal Simulations

We observed the periodic radio transient GLEAM-X J162759.5-523504.3 (GLEAM-X J1627) using the Chandra X-ray Observatory for about 30 ks on 2022 January 22–23, simultaneously with radio observations from the Murchison Widefield Array, MeerKAT, and the Australia Telescope Compact Array. Its radio emission and 18 min periodicity led the source to be tentatively interpreted as an extreme magnetar or a peculiar highly magnetic white dwarf. The source was not detected in the 0.3–8 keV energy range with a 3σ upper limit on the count rate of 3 × 10−4 counts s−1. No radio emission was detected during our X-ray observations either. Furthermore, we studied the field around GLEAM-X J1627 using archival European Southern Observatory and DECam Plane Survey data, as well as recent Southern African Large Telescope observations. Many sources are present close to the position of GLEAM-X J1627, but only two within the 2'' radio position uncertainty. Depending on the assumed spectral distribution, the upper limits converted to an X-ray luminosity of LX < 6.5 × 1029 erg s−1 for a blackbody with temperature kT = 0.3 keV, or LX < 9 × 1029 erg s−1 for a power law with photon index Γ = 2 (assuming a 1.3 kpc distance). Furthermore, we performed magneto-thermal simulations for neutron stars considering crust- and core-dominated field configurations. Based on our multiband limits, we conclude that (i) in the magnetar scenario, the X-ray upper limits suggest that GLEAM-X J1627 should be older than ∼1 Myr, unless it has a core-dominated magnetic field or has experienced fast cooling; (ii) in the white dwarf scenario, we can rule out most binary systems, a hot sub-dwarf, and a hot magnetic isolated white dwarf (T ≳ 10.000 K), while a cold isolated white dwarf is still compatible with our limits.N.R., F.C.Z., C.D., M.R., V.G., C.P., A.B., and E.P. are supported by the ERC Consolidator Grant "MAGNESIA" under grant agreement No. 817661, and National Spanish grant No. PGC2018-095512-BI00. F.C.Z., A.B., and V.G. are also supported by Juan de la Cierva Fellowships. C.D., M.R., and C.A.'s work has been carried out within the framework of the doctoral program in Physics of the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona. N.H.W. is supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (project number FT190100231) funded by the Australian Government. D.d.M. acknowledges financial support from the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) under agreements ASI-INAF I/037/12/0 and ASI-INAF n.2017-14-H.0 and from INAF "Sostegno alla ricerca scientifica main streams dell'INAF," Presidential Decree 43/2018 and from INAF "SKA/CTA projects," Presidential Decree 70/2016. D.B. acknowledges support from the South African National Research Foundation. D.V. is supported by the ERC Starting Grant "IMAGINE" under grant agreement No. 948582. This work was also partially supported by the program Unidad de Excelencia Maria de Maetzu de Maeztu CEX2020-001058-M and by the PHAROS COST Action (grant No. CA16214)

Constraining the nature of the 18-min periodic radio transient GLEAM-X J162759.5-523504.3 via multi-wavelength observations and magneto-thermal simulations

We observed the periodic radio transient GLEAM-X J162759.5-523504.3 (GLEAM-X J1627) using the Chandra X-ray Observatory for about 30-ks on January 22-23, 2022, simultaneously with radio observations from MWA, MeerKAT and ATCA. Its radio emission and 18-min periodicity led the source to be tentatively interpreted as an extreme magnetar or a peculiar highly magnetic white dwarf. The source was not detected in the 0.3-8 keV energy range with a 3-sigma upper-limit on the count rate of 3x10^{-4} counts/s. No radio emission was detected during our X-ray observations either. Furthermore, we studied the field around GLEAM-X J1627 using archival ESO and DECam data, as well as recent SALT observations. Many sources are present close to the position of GLEAM-X J1627, but only two within the 2" radio position uncertainty. Depending on the assumed spectral distribution, the upper limits converted to an X-ray luminosity of L_{X}<6.5x10^{29} erg/s for a blackbody with temperature kT=0.3 keV, or L_{X}<9x10^{29} erg/s for a power-law with photon index Gamma = 2 (assuming a 1.3 kpc distance). Furthermore, we performed magneto-thermal simulations for neutron stars considering crust- and core-dominated field configurations. Based on our multi-band limits, we conclude that: i) in the magnetar scenario, the X-ray upper limits suggest that GLEAM-X J1627 should be older than ~1 Myr, unless it has a core-dominated magnetic field or has experienced fast-cooling; ii) in the white dwarf scenario, we can rule out most binary systems, a hot sub-dwarf and a hot magnetic isolated white dwarf (T>10.000 K), while a cold isolated white dwarf is still compatible with our limits.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures; ApJ accepte

Five-year follow-up of children with perinatal HIV-1 infection receiving early highly active antiretroviral therapy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Early highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), started within the first months of age, has been proven to be the optimal strategy to prevent immunological and clinical deterioration in perinatally HIV-infected children. Nevertheless, data about long-term follow-up of early treated children are lacking.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We report data from 40 perinatally HIV-infected-children receiving early HAART, with a median follow-up period of 5.96 years (interquartile range [IQR]:4.21–7.62). Children were enrolled at birth in the Italian Register for HIV Infection in Children. Comparison with 91 infected children born in the same period, followed-up from birth, and receiving deferred treatment was also provided.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Nineteen children (47.5%) were still receiving their first HAART regimen at last follow-up. In the remaining children the first regimen was discontinued, after a median period of 3.77 years (IQR: 1.71–5.71) because of viral failure (8 cases), liver toxicity (1 case), structured therapy interruption (3 cases), or simplification/switch to a PI-sparing regimen (9 cases). Thirty-nine (97.5%) children showed CD4⁺T-lymphocyte values>25%, and undetectable viral load was reached in 31 (77.5%) children at last visit. Early treated children displayed significantly lower viral load than not-early treated children, until 6 years of age, and higher median CD4⁺T-lymphocyte percentages until 4 years of age. Twenty-seven (29.7%) not-early treated vs. 0/40 early treated children were in clinical category C at last follow-up (P < 0.0001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings suggest that clinical, virologic and immunological advantages from early-HAART are long-lasting. Recommendations indicating the long-term management of early treated children are needed.</p

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 &lt; 0.0001) and diagnostic evaluations (16.4% vs. 42.2%; p &lt; 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 &lt; 0.0001) or urgent (20.4% vs. 38.5%; p &lt; 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 &lt; 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

QUBIC: A Fizeau Interferometer Targeting Primordial B-Modes

Q and U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology (QUBIC) is a Fizeau interferometer sensitive to linear polarisation, to be deployed at the Antarctic station of Dome C. This experiment in its final configuration will be operated at 97, 150 and 220 GHz and is intended to target CMB primordial B-modes in a multipole window 20<ℓ<150. A sensitivity of r=0.05 (95 % CL) can be reached by the first module alone, after 2 years of operation. Here we review in particular its working principles, and we show how the QUBIC interferometric configuration can be considered equivalent to a pupil-plane filtered imaging system. In this context, we show how our instrument can be self-calibrated. Finally, we conclude by showing an overview of the first dual-band module (150/220 GHz), which will serve also as a demonstrator for the subsequent units, and review the technological choices we made for each subsystem, with particular emphasis on the detection system

When neurosurgery and orthopaedics were close in the past: Harvey Cushing and Vittorio Putti

BACKGROUND: Harvey Cushing and Vittorio Putti are well recognised medical eminence. The Italian orthopaedic surgeon Vittorio Putti was a promoter of modern orthopaedics and a scholar of orthopaedic history. Putti was a frequent world traveler and lecturer, and a close friend of the American neurosurgeon, pathologist and writer Dr. Harvey Cushing. Correspondence between the two surgeons can be found at Yale medical historical library and the Rizzoli Institute. METHODS: A research was performed: an extensive documentation on the correspondence between the two surgeons was found. RESULTS: The research allowed to analyze and confirm the strong relationship between the two surgeons and highlighted their passion for collecting antique medical books. CONCLUSIONS: The present paper represents a tribute to two great surgeons in the history of medicine with the aim of describing their personality and witnessing their great friendship through an unprecedented documentation. Both surgeons still live on through those who can continue to admire and study the fruit of their passion, as both men donated their precious collection of antique texts to public institutions, Putti to the Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute in Bologna, and Cushing to Yale University

What Is the Influence of Femoral Version on Size, Tear Location, and Tear Pattern of the Acetabular Labrum in Patients With FAI?

BACKGROUND Femoral version deformities have recently been identified as a major contributor to femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). An in-depth understanding of the specific labral damage patterns caused by femoral version deformities may help to understand the underlying pathomorphologies in symptomatic patients and select the appropriate surgical treatment. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES We asked: (1) Is there a correlation between femoral version and the mean cross-sectional area of the acetabular labrum? (2) Is there a difference in the location of lesions of the acetabular labrum between hips with increased femoral version and hips with decreased femoral version? (3) Is there a difference in the pattern of lesions of the acetabular labrum between hips with increased femoral version and hips with decreased femoral version? METHODS This was a retrospective, comparative study. Between November 2009 and September 2016, we evaluated 640 hips with FAI. We considered patients with complete diagnostic imaging including magnetic resonance arthrography (MRA) of the affected hip with radial slices of the proximal femur and axial imaging of the distal femoral condyles (allowing for calculation of femoral version) as eligible. Based on that, 97% (620 of 640 hips) were eligible; a further 77% (491 of 640 hips) were excluded because they had either normal femoral version (384 hips), incomplete imaging (20 hips), a lateral center-edge angle 39° (16 hips), age > 50 years (8 hips), or a history of pediatric hip disease (20 hips), leaving 20% (129 of 640 hips) of patients with a mean age of 27 ± 9 years for analysis, and 61% (79 of 129 hips) were female. Patients were assigned to either the increased (> 30°) or decreased (< 5°) femoral version group. The labral cross-sectional area was measured on radial MR images in all patients. The location-dependent labral cross-sectional area, presence of labral tears, and labral tear patterns were assessed using the acetabular clockface system and compared among groups. RESULTS In hips with increased femoral version, the labrum was normal in size (21 ± 6 mm2 [95% confidence interval 20 to 23 mm2]), whereas hips with decreased femoral version showed labral hypotrophy (14 ± 4 mm2 [95% CI 13 to 15 mm2]; p < 0.01). In hips with increased femoral version, labral tears were located more anteriorly (median 1:30 versus 12:00; p < 0.01). Hips with increased femoral version exhibited damage of the anterior labrum with more intrasubstance tears anterosuperiorly (17% [222 of 1322] versus 9% [93 of 1084]; p < 0.01) and partial tears anteroinferiorly (22% [36 of 165] versus 6% [8 of 126]; p < 0.01). Hips with decreased femoral version showed superior labral damage consisting primarily of partial labral tears. CONCLUSION In the evaluation of patients with FAI, the term "labral tear" is not accurate enough to describe labral pathology. Based on high-quality radial MR images, surgeons should always evaluate the combination of labral tear location and labral tear pattern, because these may provide insight into associated femoral version abnormalities, which can inform appropriate surgical treatment. Future studies should examine symptomatic patients with normal femoral version, as well as an asymptomatic control group, to describe the effect of femoral version on labral morphology across the entire spectrum of pathomorphologies. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level III, prognostic study

Influence of Surgical Technique, Performance Status, and Peritonitis Exposure on Surgical Site Infection in Acute Complicated Diverticulitis: A Matched Case-Control Study

Background: Acute generalized peritonitis secondary to complicated diverticulitis is a life-threatening condition; the standard treatment is surgery. Despite advances in peri-operative care, this condition is accompanied by a high peri-operative complication rate (22%-25%). No definitive evidence is available to recommend a preferred surgical technique in patients with Hinchey stage III/IV disease. Methods: A matched case-control study enrolling patients from four surgical units at Italian university hospital was planned to assess the most appropriate surgical treatment on the basis of patient performance status and peritonitis exposure, with the aim of minimizing the surgical site infection (SSI). A series of 1,175 patients undergoing surgery for Hinchey III/IV peritonitis in 2003-2013 were analyzed. Cases (n=145) were selected from among those patients who developed an SSI. The case:control ratio was 1:3. Cases and control groups were matched by age, gender, body mass index, and Hinchey grade. We considered three surgical techniques: T-1=Hartman's procedure; T-2=sigmoid resection, anastomosis, and ileostomy; and T-3=sigmoid resection and anastomosis. Six scoring systems were analyzed to assess performance status; subsequently, patients were divided into low, mild, and high risk (LR, MR, HR) according to the system producing the highest area under the curve. We classified peritonitis exposition as P-1=24h. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed. Results: The Apgar scoring system defined the risk groups according to performance status. Lowest SSI risk was expected when applying T-3 in P1 (OR=0.22), P-2 (OR=0.5) for LR and in P-1 (OR=0.63) for MR; T-2 in P2 (OR=0.5) in LR and in P1 (OR=0.61) in MR; T-1 in P-3 (OR=0.56) in LR; in P-2 (OR=0.63) and P-3 (OR=0.54) in MR patients, and in each P subgroup (OR=0.93;0.97;1.01) in HR. Conclusions: Pre-operative assessment based on Apgar scoring system integrated with peritonitis exposure in complicated diverticulitis may offer a ready-to-use tool for reducing SSI-related complications and applying appropriate treatment, reducing the need for disabling ostomy