Resting state functional thalamic connectivity abnormalities in patients with post-stroke sleep apnoea: a pilot case-control study

OBJECTIVE: Sleep apnoea is common after stroke, and has adverse effects on the clinical outcome of affected cases. Its pathophysiological mechanisms are only partially known. Increases in brain connectivity after stroke might influence networks involved in arousal modulation and breathing control. The aim of this study was to investigate the resting state functional MRI thalamic hyper connectivity of stroke patients affected by sleep apnoea (SA) with respect to cases not affected, and to healthy controls (HC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A series of stabilized strokes were submitted to 3T resting state functional MRI imaging and full polysomnography. The ventral-posterior-lateral thalamic nucleus was used as seed. RESULTS: At the between groups comparison analysis, in SA cases versus HC, the regions significantly hyper-connected with the seed were those encoding noxious threats (frontal eye field, somatosensory association, secondary visual cortices). Comparisons between SA cases versus those without SA, revealed in the former group significantly increased connectivity with regions modulating the response to stimuli independently to their potentiality of threat (prefrontal, primary and somatosensory association, superolateral and medial-inferior temporal, associative and secondary occipital ones). Further significantly functionally hyper connections were documented with regions involved also in the modulation of breathing during sleep (pons, midbrain, cerebellum, posterior cingulate cortices), and in the modulation of breathing response to chemical variations (anterior, posterior and para-hippocampal cingulate cortices). CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary data support the presence of functional hyper connectivity in thalamic circuits modulating sensorial stimuli, in patients with post-stroke sleep apnoea, possibly influencing both their arousal ability and breathing modulation during sleep

A Robotized Raspberry-Based System for Pothole 3D Reconstruction and Mapping

Repairing potholes is a task for municipalities to prevent serious road user injuries and vehicle damage. This study presents a low-cost, high-performance pothole monitoring system to maintain urban roads. The authors developed a methodology based on photogrammetry techniques to predict the pothole's shape and volume. A collection of overlapping 2D images shot by a Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3 connected to a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B has been used to create a pothole 3D model. The Raspberry-based configuration has been mounted on an autonomous and remote-controlled robot (developed in the InfraROB European project) to reduce workers' exposure to live traffic in survey activities and automate the process. The outputs of photogrammetry processing software have been validated through laboratory tests set as ground truth; the trial has been conducted on a tile made of asphalt mixture, reproducing a real pothole. Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) technologies allowed visualising potholes on a map with information about their centre, volume, backfill material, and an associated image. Ten on-site tests validated that the system works in an uncontrolled environment and not only in the laboratory. The results showed that the system is a valuable tool for monitoring road potholes taking into account construction workers' and road users' health and safety

RANKL-RANK-OPG Pathway in Charcot Diabetic Foot: Pathophysiology and Clinical-Therapeutic Implications

Charcot Foot (CF), part of a broader condition known as Charcot Neuro-Osteoarthropathy (CNO), is characterized by neuropathic arthropathy with a progressive alteration of the foot. CNO is one of the most devastating complications in patients with diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy but can also be caused by neurological or infectious diseases. The pathogenesis is multifactorial; many studies have demonstrated the central role of inflammation and the Receptor Activator of NF-kappa B ligand (RANKL)-Receptor Activator of NF-kappa B (RANK)-Osteoprotegerin (OPG) pathway in the acute phase of the disease, resulting in the serum overexpression of RANKL. This overexpression and activation of this signal lead to increased osteoclast activity and osteolysis, which is a prelude to bone destruction. The aim of this narrative review is to analyze this signaling pathway in bone remodeling, and in CF in particular, to highlight its clinical aspects and possible therapeutic implications of targeting drugs at different levels of the pathway. Drugs that act at different levels in this pathway are anti-RANKL monoclonal antibodies (Denosumab), bisphosphonates (BP), and calcitonin. The literature review showed encouraging data on treatment with Denosumab, although in a few studies and in small sample sizes. In contrast, BPs have been re-evaluated in recent years in relation to the high possibility of side effects, while calcitonin has shown little efficacy on CNO

Echocardiographic features and outcome of restrictive foramen ovale in fetuses with and without cardiac malformations. literature review

Foramen ovale is a small communication between the left and the right atrium and its restriction is a rare congenital heart anomaly. There is no consensus on diagnosis and management of fetal restrictive foramen ovale (RFO). In our paper we included 11 studies about fetuses affected by isolated RFO, RFO with D-Transposition of the Great Arteries (dTGA) and RFO with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). While fetuses affected from HLHS and dTGA with RFO have a poor prognosis, premature RFO in an otherwise structurally normal heart, if found in later gestation, have an overall good outcome

Linear Accelerator Test Facility at LNF Conceptual Design Report

Test beam and irradiation facilities are the key enabling infrastructures for research in high energy physics (HEP) and astro-particles. In the last 11 years the Beam-Test Facility (BTF) of the DA{\Phi}NE accelerator complex in the Frascati laboratory has gained an important role in the European infrastructures devoted to the development and testing of particle detectors. At the same time the BTF operation has been largely shadowed, in terms of resources, by the running of the DA{\Phi}NE electron-positron collider. The present proposal is aimed at improving the present performance of the facility from two different points of view: extending the range of application for the LINAC beam extracted to the BTF lines, in particular in the (in some sense opposite) directions of hosting fundamental physics and providing electron irradiation also for industrial users; extending the life of the LINAC beyond or independently from its use as injector of the DA{\Phi}NE collider, as it is also a key element of the electron/positron beam facility. The main lines of these two developments can be identified as: consolidation of the LINAC infrastructure, in order to guarantee a stable operation in the longer term; upgrade of the LINAC energy, in order to increase the facility capability (especially for the almost unique extracted positron beam); doubling of the BTF beam-lines, in order to cope with the signicant increase of users due to the much wider range of applications.Comment: 71 page

Asfalti tappabuche e Green Deal

This article presents the first results of a study conducted as part of the european research project InfraROB, whose aim is to increase the safety of workers and road users at road maintenance sites. In particular, as part of the project, a system for repairing small potholes by means of an autonomous device is currently being studied. A 3D printer will be installed on this device in order to extrude a mixture suitable for the pothole to be repaired, without the prior cleaning and compaction of the backfill. In particular, this article presents the laboratory and in situ study aimed at defining the optimal characteristics for the mixture to be used to power the 3D printer. Grain size, Marshall stability, void content, indirect tensile strength and material loss were studied in the laboratory using the Cantabro test. These characteristics were evaluated by varying the additive content in the range of 1.5-3.5 per cent and the water content in the range of 3.1-5%. The maximum aggregate size was limited to 8 mm, because the InfraROB project only deals with the repair of small potholes, with a maximum size of 5 cm depth and 20 cm diameter. From the point of view of sustainability, the technology involves the use of 100% rejuvenated RAP (Iterlene ACF 1000 HP Green) with blending at room temperature. A total of eight mixtures were tested. Laboratory tests gave very good results in terms of indirect tensile strength, Marshall stability and particle loss; the mixture proved to be very stable during in-situ tests. Other cold asphalt mixtures are still being studied within the InfraROB project, but at the moment, the mixture presented in this article seems to meet all the requirements of consistency, homogeneity, fluidity and internal structure necessary to be used with a 3D printer

Utilità delle tecniche di assorbimento nei casi dubbi di incompatibilità Rh materno fetale: un case report

INTRODUZIONE Questo case report ripercorre l’iter diagnostico e terapeutico del Servizio Immuno-Trasfusionale in un caso di anemia fetale caratterizzato da varie incongruenze tra i dati clinici e di laboratorio. Nell’articolo viene descritta anche una tecnica alternativa attuata con l’obiettivo di risolvere le incompatibilità tra Test di Coombs Indiretto positivo e Test di Coombs Diretto negativo. Si ripercorre, inoltre, l’algoritmo necessario al raggiungimento di una diagnosi in un laboratorio di Medicina Trasfusionale, ovvero l’esecuzione degli esami immunoematologici di primo e secondo livello, la valutazione dei segni clinici fetali e la preparazione degli emocomponenti necessari alla trasfusione intrauterina. PRESENTAZIONE DEL CASO Il caso riguarda una donna gravida che giunge nel servizio Immuno-Trasfusionale per il riscontro di un Test di Coombs Indiretto positivo e di un’anemia fetale.  I principali quesiti riguardano non solo la presenza di immunizzazione nella donna, che si sarebbe dovuta evitare con l’immunoprofilassi (essendo di gruppo 0 Rh negativo), ma anche la stabilità del titolo anticorpale durante tutta la gravidanza, il recupero del feto dopo TIU e la presenza di un Test di Coombs Diretto negativo. CONCLUSIONI I quesiti che sono stati risolti in sede di taglio cesareo con la scoperta di un corioangioma gigante che, sequestrando i globuli rossi fetali, causava l’anemia e la conferma di un fenotipo sanguigno raro del padre che ha causato l’immunizzazione della donna

Usefulness of absorption techniques in doubtful cases of incompatibility Rh maternal fetal: a case report

INTRODUCTION This case report traces the diagnostic and therapeutic process of the Immuno-Transfusion Service in a case of fetal anaemia characterized by various inconsistencies between clinical and laboratory data. The paper describes an alternative technique implemented with the aim of resolving incompatibilities between positive IAT and negative DAT. In addition, the algorithm necessary to reach a diagnosis in a transfusion medicine laboratory is traced, namely, the performance of first- and second-level immuno-haematological tests, the evaluation of fetal clinical signs, and the preparation of blood components necessary for intrauterine transfusion. CASE PRESENTATION The case involves a pregnant woman who comes to the Immuno-Transfusion Service following a positive Indirect Antiglobulin Test and fetal anaemia. The main questions relate not only the presence of immunization in the woman, which should have been avoided by immunoprophylaxis (being group 0 Rh negative), but also the stability of the antibody titer (or level) throughout the pregnancy, fetal recovery after TIU, and the presence of a negative Direct Antiglobulin Test. CONCLUSIONS Questions that were completely resolved at caesarean section with the discovery of a giant chorioangioma that, by sequestering fetal red blood cells, caused anaemia and the confirmation of a rare blood phenotype of the father that caused the woman's immunization

Common and rare variants in TMEM175 gene concur to the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s Disease in Italian patients

Parkinson’s disease (PD) represents the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder. We recently identified 16 novel genes associated with PD. In this study, we focused the attention on the common and rare variants identified in the lysosomal K+ channel TMEM175. The study includes a detailed clinical and genetic analysis of 400 cases and 300 controls. Molecular studies were performed on patient-derived fibroblasts. The functional properties of the mutant channels were assessed by patch-clamp technique and co-immunoprecipitation. We have found that TMEM175 was highly expressed in dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta and in microglia of the cerebral cortex of the human brain. Four common variants were associated with PD, including two novel variants rs2290402 (c.-10C > T) and rs80114247 (c.T1022C, p.M341T), located in the Kozak consensus sequence and TM3II domain, respectively. We also disclosed 13 novel highly penetrant detrimental mutations in the TMEM175 gene associated with PD. At least nine of these mutations (p.R35C, p. R183X, p.A270T, p.P308L, p.S348L, p. L405V, p.R414W, p.P427fs, p.R481W) may be sufficient to cause the disease, and the presence of mutations of other genes correlated with an earlier disease onset. In vitro functional analysis of the ion channel encoded by the mutated TMEM175 gene revealed a loss of the K+ conductance and a reduced channel affinity for Akt. Moreover, we observed an impaired autophagic/lysosomal proteolytic flux and an increase expression of unfolded protein response markers in patient-derived fibroblasts. These data suggest that mutations in TMEM175 gene may contribute to the pathophysiology of PD

22nd International Conference Information Visualisation, IV 2018

22nd International Conference Information Visualisation, IV 2018, Fisciano, Italy, July 10-13, 201