Developments on CMOS with LF, AMS and TJ technology

HV-CMOS sensors represent a solid candidate detector for the future of high-energy physics experiments. The LFoundry (LF) 150 nm, the Austria Micro System (AMS) aH18 180 nm and the TowerJazz (TJ) 180 nm HV-CMOS process has been under investigation for pixel detectors at the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). The pixel response of an LF prototype in terms of gain and times of signal, an efficiency estimation of an AMS one along with measurements on fall and rise times, ToT and time walk and for TJ results from a test beam at CERN showed that this technology can qualify for the design of the outer pixel layers of the ATLAS Inner Tracker (ITk)

Vertigo and dizziness in children: An update

Background: Vertigo and dizziness are relatively infrequent in paediatric patients, but specific data on the prevalence of these disorders are limited and influenced by various factors, including the age of the examined population. These conditions often have a significant impact on patients’ and parents’ quality of life. The aim of this paper is to investigate the prevalence of different aetiologies of vertigo in the paediatric population through a systematic review. Methods: According to PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review of the literature was performed. Medline and Embase were searched from January 2011 through to 10 September 2021. The search yielded 1094 manuscripts, which were reduced to 7 upon the application of inclusion criteria. Results: A total of 2470 paediatric patients were evaluated by the selected papers. Vestibular Migraine was the most frequently diagnosed condition, occurring alone or in association with other diseases. Overall, audio-vestibular disorders represented the second cause of vertigo, and the prevalence appears to increase according to age growth. Over the years, even though we assisted in the amelioration of diagnostic rates, partially related to an improvement in diagnostic tools, the aetiology of vertigo remains still unclear in a variable percentage of patients. Conclusion: Vertigo in children, despite being an uncommon symptom, requires a multidisciplinary approach, often involving Paediatricians, Neurologists and Otorhinolaryngologists. A comprehensive evaluation of children suffering from vertigo is crucial for establishing a successful therapy and reducing parental worries

Crystal structure of Leishmania tarentolae hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT) (EC 2.4.2.8) is a central enzyme in the purine recycling pathway. Parasitic protozoa of the order <it>Kinetoplastida </it>cannot synthesize purines <it>de novo </it>and use the salvage pathway to synthesize purine bases, making this an attractive target for antiparasitic drug design.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The glycosomal HGPRT from <it>Leishmania tarentolae </it>in a catalytically active form purified and co-crystallized with a guanosine monophosphate (GMP) in the active site. The dimeric structure of HGPRT has been solved by molecular replacement and refined against data extending to 2.1 Å resolution. The structure reveals the contacts of the active site residues with GMP.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Comparative analysis of the active sites of <it>Leishmania </it>and human HGPRT revealed subtle differences in the position of the ligand and its interaction with the active site residues, which could be responsible for the different reactivities of the enzymes to allopurinol reported in the literature. The solution and analysis of the structure of <it>Leishmania </it>HGPRT may contribute to further investigations leading to a full understanding of this important enzyme family in protozoan parasites.</p

Breakfast skipping, weight, cardiometabolic risk, and nutrition quality in children and adolescents: A systematic review of randomized controlled and intervention longitudinal trials

Breakfast skipping increases with age, and an association with a high risk of being overweight (OW) and of obesity (OB), cardiometabolic risk, and unhealthy diet regimen has been demonstrated in observational studies with children and adults. Short-term intervention trials in adults reported conflicting results. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize the association of breakfast skipping with body weight, metabolic features, and nutrition quality in the groups of young people that underwent randomized controlled (RCT) or intervention longitudinal trials lasting more than two months. We searched relevant databases (2000–2021) and identified 584 articles, of which 16 were suitable for inclusion. Overall, 50,066 children and adolescents were in-cluded. No studies analyzed cardiometabolic features. Interventions were efficacious in reducing breakfast skipping prevalence when multi-level approaches were used. Two longitudinal studies reported a high prevalence of OW/OB in breakfast skippers, whereas RCTs had negligible effects. Ten studies reported a lower-quality dietary intake in breakfast skippers. This review provides in-sight into the fact that breakfast skipping is a modifiable marker of the risk of OW/OB and unhealthy nutritional habits in children and adolescents. Further long-term multi-level intervention studies are needed to investigate the relationship between breakfast, nutrition quality, chronotypes, and cardiometabolic risk in youths

A pilot study on aesthetic treatments performed by qualified aesthetic practitioners: efficacy on health-related quality of life in breast cancer patients

Purpose: Cancer treatments often produce undesirable side-effects, such as skin toxicity, impacting on everyday functioning and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This experimental study sought to determine whether aesthetic products and treatments could significantly decrease perceived skin symptoms, psychological distress and improve skin-related QoL (SRQoL). Methods: An experimental group composed of 100 breast patients was enrolled for specialized aesthetic treatments at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) and compared to a control group of 70 breast patients who did not receive any aesthetic treatment. A measure of SRQoL (i.e., Skindex-16) and a distress thermometer were administered longitudinally at three time points: at baseline (T0), at 7 days from beginning of aesthetic treatment (T1) and at 28 days from beginning of aesthetic treatment (T2). Results: Results demonstrated the efficacy of aesthetic treatment in reducing distress and improving SRQoL: while the experimental group showed significant improvements in all HRQoL areas, the control group worsened. Specifically, at T1 and T2 there were significant improvements on distress and Skindex subscales in the experimental group, with an almost complete remission of perceived symptoms at T2. Moreover, all reported cutaneous reactions significantly improved after the specialized treatments, with no differences in SRQoL in skin reaction type. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that aesthetic treatments for side-effects of cancer therapies can alleviate perceived distress and improve skin symptoms and HRQoL

From virtual to real healing: a critical overview of the therapeutic use of virtual reality to cope with mourning

In recent years, virtual reality (VR) has been effectively employed in several settings, ranging from health care needs to leisure and gaming activities. A new application of virtual stimuli appeared in social media: in the documentary ‘I met you’ from the South-Korean Munhwa Broadcasting, a mother made the experience of interacting with the avatar of the seven-year-old daughter, who died four years before. We think that this new application of virtual stimuli should open a debate on its possible implications: it represents contents related to grief, a dramatic and yet natural experience, that can have deep psychological impacts on fragile subjects put in virtual environments. In the present work, possible side-effects, as well as hypothetical therapeutical application of VR for the treatment of mourning, are discussed

Role of the Cysteine in R3 Tau Peptide in Copper Binding and Reactivity

Tau is a widespread neuroprotein that regulates the cytoskeleton assembly. In some neurological disorders, known as tauopathies, tau is dissociated from the microtubule and forms insoluble neurofibrillary tangles. Tau comprises four pseudorepeats (R1-R4), containing one (R1, R2, R4) or two (R3) histidines, that potentially act as metal binding sites. Moreover, Cys291 and Cys322 in R2 and R3, respectively, might have an important role in protein aggregation, through possible disulfide bond formation, and/or affecting the binding and reactivity of redox-active metal ions, as copper. We, therefore, compare the interaction of copper with octadeca-R3-peptide (R3C) and with the mutant containing an alanine residue (R3A) to assess the role of thiol group. Spectrophotometric titrations allow to calculate the formation constant of the copper(I) complexes, showing a remarkable stronger interaction in the case of R3C (log K-f = 13.4 and 10.5 for copper(I)-R3C and copper(I)-R3A, respectively). We also evaluate the oxidative reactivity associated to these copper complexes in the presence of dopamine and ascorbate. Both R3A and R3C peptides increase the capability of copper to oxidize catechols, but copper-R3C displays a peculiar mechanism due to the presence of cysteine. HPLC-MS analysis shows that cysteine can form disulfide bonds and dopamine-Cys covalent adducts, with potential implication in tau aggregation process

Epidemic outbreak of tegumentary leishmaniasis in Puerto Esperanza, Misiones, 1998

La provincia de Misiones en 1998 notificó 205 casos de leishmaniosis, 98% en la localidad de Puerto Esperanza. El análisis de las fichas clínicas (n:129) de los casos atendidos en Hospital Puerto Esperanza (enero a septiembre 1998) mostró una mayor proporción de lesión cutánea simple (97,2%), localizada en miembros inferiores (72,5%), sin casos de lesión mucosa. Los resultados fueron coherentes con los de la literatura de otros focos epidémicos en Argentina debidos a Leishmania (V.) Braziliensis. No hubo diferencia significativa de incidencia entre sexos, se registró en todos los grupos etarios, y fue susceptible al tratamiento convencional. El foco principal se registró en el Barrio Km1 con un máximo de transmisión en abril de 1998. La intradermoreacción de Montenegro en población general (n:205) no mostró reactividad en asintomáticos. Se capturaron 577 Phlebotominae pertenecientes a 8 especies, las más abundantes fueron Lutzomyia intermedia (79,7%) y Lu. whitmani (10,9%), presentes en peridomicilios de Km1 asociados a selva paranaense residual y vegetación secundaria. Los resultados se discuten en el marco de estrategias posibles de vigilancia y control.The province of Misiones reported 205 leishmaniasis cases during 1998, 98% of them from the locality of Puerto Esperanza. The resports of Puerto Esperanza Hospital (January to September 1998) for leishmanuasis were analysed (n:129). The mainly reported lesion was the single cutaneous ulcer (97,2%), localized in the inferior limbs (72,5%), without any mucosa involvement. The reults are consistent with the knowledge from other Argentinean leishmaniasis foci due to Leishmania (V.) braziliensis. The difference in incidence among sexes was not significant, leishmaniasis was reported in all age groups, and it was suceptible to the convenctional treatment. The main focus was located in Km1 neighbourhood, the transmission peak was during April 1998. The Montenegro skin test among general population (m:205) did not show reactivity among asymptomatic people. The prevalent Phlebotominae species was Lutzomyia intermedia (79,7%) and Lu. whitmani (10,9%), among the 577 individuals belonging to 8 species collected. The Phlebotominae were abundant in periodomestic habitats of Km1 neighbourhoood, close to human dwellings, in places associated with residual primary forest and secondary vegetation. The results are discussed in the fram of surveillance and possible control stategies.Fil: Salomón, Oscar Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Dirección Nacional de Institutos de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. Centro Nacional de Diagnóstico e Investigaciones Endemo-epidémicas; ArgentinaFil: Sosa-estani, Sergio Alejandro. Dirección Nacional de Institutos de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. Centro Nacional de Diagnóstico e Investigaciones Endemo-epidémicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Monzani, Ángel S.. Dirección Nacional de Institutos de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. Centro Nacional de Diagnóstico e Investigaciones Endemo-epidémicas; ArgentinaFil: Studer, Catalina. Dirección Nacional de Institutos de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. Centro Nacional de Diagnóstico e Investigaciones Endemo-epidémicas; Argentin

When in doubt, Google it: distress-related information seeking in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Psychological health has been one of the aspects affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to evaluate the patterns of Google search for mental distress symptoms of Italian citizens during the various phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We assessed Google searches for psychological-health related words. We gathered and analyzed data on daily search queries on depression, anxiety, and insomnia from Google Trends, in a time ranging from the Pre-COVID phase (beginning 25th January 2020) up to the second wave phase (ending 17th October 2020). We performed three general linear models on search trends of the three words and tested whether and to what extent official data about new cases of COVID-19, information searching on new cases, and the government health measures impacted on these trends. Results: Average daily search queries were higher for anxiety, followed by depression and insomnia. General linear models performed to assess differences in daily search queries for anxiety, depression and insomnia were significant, respectively [F(13, 253) = 6.80, P &lt;.001]; [F(13, 253) = 10.25, P &lt;.001]; [F(13, 253) = 6.61, P &lt;.001]. Specifically, daily search queries differed among different phases of managing the COVID-19 outbreak: anxiety [F(5, 253) = 10.35, P &lt;.001, np2 =.17]; depression [F(5, 253) = 13.59, P &lt;.001, np2 =.21]; insomnia [F(5, 253) = 3.52, P =.004, np2 =.07]. Conclusions: Our study contributed to the investigation of online information-seeking behaviors of Italians regarding mental health throughout the entire phase of the pandemic and provides insights on the possible future trends of mental distress during upcoming pandemic phases