GCFR Coupled Neutronic and Thermal-Fluid-Dynamics Analyses for a Core Containing Minor Actinides

Problems about future energy availability, climate changes, and air quality seem to play an important role in energy production. While current reactor generations provide a guaranteed and economical energy production, new nuclear power plant generation would increase the ways and purposes in which nuclear energy can be used. To explore these new technological applications, several governments, industries, and research communities decided to contribute to the next reactor generation, called "Generation IV." Among the six Gen-IV reactor designs, the Gas Cooled Fast Reactor (GCFR) uses a direct-cycle helium turbine for electricity generation and for a -free thermochemical production of hydrogen. Additionally, the use of a fast spectrum allows actinides transmutation, minimizing the production of long-lived radioactive waste in an integrated fuel cycle. This paper presents an analysis of GCFR fuel cycle optimization and of a thermal-hydraulic of a GCFR-prototype under steady-state and transient conditions. The fuel cycle optimization was performed to assess the capability of the GCFR to transmute MAs, while the thermal-hydraulic analysis was performed to investigate the reactor and the safety systems behavior during a LOFA. Preliminary results show that limited quantities of MA are not affecting significantly the thermal-fluid-dynamics behavior of a GCFR core

Explosive type of moderate-resistance training induces functional, cardiovascular, and molecular adaptations in the elderly

Current recommendations aimed at reducing neuromuscular and functional loss in aged muscle have identified muscle power as a key target for intervention trials, although little is known about the biological and cardiovascular systemic response in the elderly. This study investigated the effects of 12 weeks of low-frequency, moderate-intensity, explosive-type resistance training (EMRT) on muscle strength and powerin oldcommunity-dwellingpeople(70–75years), monitoring functional performance linked to daily liv- ing activities (ADL) and cardiovascular response, as well as biomarkers of muscle damage, cardiovascular risk, and cellular stress response. The present study provides the first evidence that EMRT was highly effective in achieving a significant enhancement in muscular strength and power as well as in functional performance without causing any detrimental modification in cardiovascular, inflammatory, and damage parameters. Moreover, trained elderly subjects showed an adaptive response at both systemic and cellular levels by modulation of antioxidant and stress-induced markers such as myeloperoxidase (MPO), heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) and 27 (Hsp27), and thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR1)

CONVENTIONAL INTERNAL LIMITING MEMBRANE PEELING VERSUS INVERTED FLAP FOR SMALL-TO-MEDIUM IDIOPATHIC MACULAR HOLE: A Randomized Trial

Purpose: To compare conventional internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling versus inverted flap technique in small-to-medium idiopathic macular hole. Methods: Eyes with ≤400 μ m idiopathic macular holes were randomized into the conventional ILM peeling group (25 eyes) and inverted flap group (25 eyes). A 12-month follow-up was considered. Macular sensitivity (MS) change detected with MP-1 microperimetry was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included best-corrected visual acuity change, closure rate, anatomical findings on optical coherence tomography such as U-shape foveal contour, restoration of external limiting membrane, and ellipsoid zone. Results: In both groups, MS improved throughout the follow-up. Final MS was greater in the conventional ILM peeling group compared with the inverted flap group, being 16.6 ± 2.3 dB versus 14.9 ± 2.9 dB, respectively ( P = 0.026). In both groups best-corrected visual acuity improved throughout the follow-up, with a final best-corrected visual acuity of 0.19 ± 0.14 logMar (20/31 Snellen) in the conventional ILM group and 0.22 ± 0.11 logMar (20/33 Snellen) in the inverted flap group ( P = 0.398). Anatomical hole closure was achieved in all cases. No difference in optical coherence tomography findings was shown between the two groups. Conclusion: A better final MS was found in eyes undergoing conventional ILM peeling. Inverted flap technique has disadvantages compared with conventional peeling for the treatment of small-to-medium idiopathic macular holes

Transmyocardial laser revascularization. Personal experience

Background. Indirect revascularization is a therapeutic approach in case of severe angina not suitable for percutaneous or surgical revascularization. Transmyocardial revascularization (TMR) is one of the techniques used for indirect revascularization and it allows to create transmyocardial channels by a laser energy bundle delivered on left ventricular epicardial surface. Benefits of the procedure are related mainly to the angiogenesis caused by inflammation and secondly to the destruction of the nervous fibers of the heart. Patients and method. From September 1996 up to July 1997, 14 patients (9 males – 66.7%, mean age 64.8±7.9 years) underwent TMR. All patients referred angina at rest; Canadian Angina Class was IV in 7 patients (58.3%), III in 5 (41.7%). Before the enrollment, coronarography was routinely performed to find out the feasibility of Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG): 13 patients (91,6%) had coronary arteries lesions not suitable for direct revascularization; this condition was limited only to postero-lateral area in one patient submitted to combined TMR + CABG procedures. Results. Mean discharge time was 3,2±1,3 days after surgery. All patients were discharged in good clinical conditions. Perfusion thallium scintigraphy was performed in 7 patients at a mean follow-up of 4±2 months, showing in all but one an improvement of perfusion defects. Moreover an exercise treadmill improvement was observed in the same patients and all of them are in good clinical conditions, with significantly reduced use of active drugs. Conclusion. Our experience confirms that TMR is a safe and feasible procedure and it offers a therapeutic solution in case of untreatable angina. Moreover, it could be a hybrid approach for patients undergoing CABGs in case of absence of vessels suitable for surgical approach in limited areas of the heart

Association of neovascular age-related macular degeneration with month and season of birth in Italy

In order to investigate the influence of season and month of birth on the risk of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (n-AMD) in Italy, we evaluated the month birth and sex of all patients, recorded in the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) monitoring registry of the Italian Medicines Agency, born between 1925-1944, who received intravitreal anti-VEGF injections for n-AMD between January 1, 2013 and July 29, 2015. The numbers of all births in Italy in the same years, extracted from the Italian National Institute of Statistics, were used to calculate the expected number of n-AMD cases. Overall, 45,845 patients (19,207 men, 26,638 women) received intravitreal anti-VEGF for n-AMD; in the same years, 20,140,426 people (10,334,262 male, 9,806,164 female) were born in Italy. Comparing the observed number of n-AMD cases with the expected number of n- AMD cases in each season, we found that the season-specific risk for n-AMD was 2.5% higher for those born in summer (OR=1.03, Bonferroni-corrected P=0.008) and 3% lower for those born in winter (OR=0.96, Bonferroni-corrected P=0.0004). When considering the month of birth, the risk of n-AMD was 5.9% lower for people born in January (OR=0.93, Bonferroni-corrected P=0.0012). The factors causing such differences should be determined

Primary vitrectomy for degenerative and tractional lamellar macular holes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE: To assess the efficacy of vitrectomy in degenerative and tractional lamellar macular holes (LMHs) by meta-analysis of published studies.METHODS: PubMed, Medline and Embase databases were searched up to May 2020. Included cohorts were divided into three groups: degenerative LMH group, lamellar hole associated epiretinal proliferation (LHEP) group and tractional LMH group. LHEP is likely to be associated with degenerative LMHs, but less commonly could be associated with mixed LMHs. To reduce risk of possible misclassification bias, eyes with LHEP which could not have been precisely classified by the authors, were included into the LHEP group. The primary outcome was to investigate the visual change following primary vitrectomy in the degenerative LMH and LHEP group versus the tractional LMH group. A sensitivity analysis excluding the LHEP group was also performed on the primary outcome. Mean difference (MD) in best corrected visual acuity between baseline and post-treatment was calculated, along with 95% confidence interval (CI). Rate of incidence of post-operative full-thickness macular hole (FTMH) was assessed as secondary outcome.RESULTS: Thirteen studies were included. Pooled analyses including all groups showed a significant visual improvement following vitrectomy (pre-post MD = -0.17;95%CI = -0.22,-0.12;p<0.001), with no difference in visual improvement between the degenerative LMH and LHEP group and the tractional LMH group. The sensitivity analysis excluding LHEP group confirmed no difference in visual change between the degenerative LMH group (pre-post MD = -0.18;95%CI = -0.24,-0.12;p<0.001) and the tractional LMH group (MD = -0.16;95%CI = -0.26,-0.07;p<0.001). The incidence rate of post-operative FTMH was higher in the degenerative LMH and LHEP group than in the tractional LMH group (p = 0.002).CONCLUSION: Primary vitrectomy for LMH ensured a favorable visual outcome, with no difference in visual gain between degenerative and tractional LMHs. However, a higher incidence of post-operative FTMHs was found in eyes with the degenerative LMH subtype

Overexpression of Both CXC Chemokine Receptor 4 and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Proteins Predicts Early Distant Relapse in Stage II-III Colorectal Cancer Patients

Abstract Purpose: CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are implicated in the metastatic process of malignant tumors. However, no data are currently available on the biological relationship between these molecules in colorectal cancer. We studied whether CXCR4 and VEGF expression could predict relapse and evaluated in vitro the contribution of CXCR4 in promoting clonogenic growth, VEGF secretion, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression of colorectal cancer cells. Experimental Design: CXCR4 and VEGF were studied in colorectal cancer tissues and in Lovo, HT29, and SW620 colorectal cancer cell lines by immunohistochemistry. Correlations with baseline characteristics of patients and tumors were analyzed by χ2 test. VEGF secretion induced by CXCL12 was measured by ELISA. The effect of CXCL12 on ICAM-1 expression was evaluated by flow cytometry. Clonogenic growth induced by CXCL12 was determined by clonogenic assays. Functional effects induced by CXCL12 were prevented by the administration in vitro of AMD3100, a bicyclam noncompetitive antagonist of CXCR4. Results: Seventy-two patients, seen between January 2003 and January 2004, were studied. CXCR4 was absent in 16 tumors (22.2%); it was expressed in ≤50% of cells in 25 (34.7%) tumors and in >50% of cells in 31 (43.0%) tumors. VEGF was absent in 17 (23.6%) tumors; it was expressed in ≤50% of cells in 16 (22.2%) tumors and in >50% of cells in 39 (54.2%) tumors. There was a significant association between CXCR4 expression and lymph nodal status (P = 0.0393). There were significant associations between VEGF and tumor invasion (P = 0.0386) and lymph nodal involvement (P = 0.0044). American Joint Committee on Cancer stage (P = 0.0016), VEGF expression (P = 0.0450), CXCR4 expression (P = 0.0428), and VEGF/CXCR4 expression (P = 0.0004) had a significant prognostic value for disease-free survival with univariate analysis. The predictive ability of the American Joint Committee on Cancer stage and of the concomitant and high expression of VEGF and CXCR4 was confirmed by multivariate analysis. Prognosis is particularly unfavorable for patients whose primary tumors express CXCR4 and VEGF in >50% of cells (median disease-free survival in relapsed patients, 5.8 months; hazard ratio of relapse, 8.23; 95% confidence interval, 7.24-14.29). In clonogenic assays, CXCL12 (20 ng/mL/d) significantly increased the number of clones in SW620, HT29, and Lovo cells at 7 and 14 days. Again, CXCL12 was able to stimulate VEGF secretion in SW620, HT29, and Lovo cells as well as up-regulated ICAM-1. These effects were prevented by the administration of AMD3100 (1 μmol/L). Conclusions: We have shown that concomitant and high expression of CXCR4 and VEGF is a strong and independent predictor of early distant relapse in colorectal cancer. CXCR4 triggers a plethora of phenomena, including stimulation of clonogenic growth, induction of VEGF release, and ICAM-1 up-regulation. These data support the inhibition of CXCR4 to prevent the development of colorectal cancer metastasis

An Italian Multicenter Study on the Epidemiology of Respiratory Syncytial Virus During SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in Hospitalized Children

Since the beginning of 2020, a remarkably low incidence of respiratory virus hospitalizations has been reported worldwide. We prospectively evaluated 587 children, aged <12 years, admitted for respiratory tract infections from 1 September 2021 to 15 March 2022 in four Italian pediatric hospitals to assess the burden of respiratory viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. At admission, a Clinical Respiratory Score was assigned and nasopharyngeal or nasal washing samples were collected and tested for respiratory viruses. Total admissions increased from the second half of October 2021 to the first half of December 2021 with a peak in early November 2021. The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) incidence curve coincided with the total hospitalizations curve, occurred earlier than in the pre-pandemic years, and showed an opposite trend with respect to the incidence rate of SARS-CoV-2. Our results demonstrated an early peak in pediatric hospitalizations for RSV. SARS-CoV-2 may exhibit a competitive pressure on other respiratory viruses, most notably RSV

Lack of SARS-CoV-2 RNA environmental contamination in a tertiary referral hospital for infectious diseases in Northern Italy

none140noNAnoneColaneri M.; Seminari E.; Piralla A.; Zuccaro V.; Di Filippo A.; Baldanti F.; Bruno R.; Mondelli M.U.; Brunetti E.; Di Matteo A.; Maiocchi L.; Pagnucco L.; Mariani B.; Ludovisi S.; Lissandrin R.; Parisi A.; Sacchi P.; Patruno S.F.A.; Michelone G.; Gulminetti R.; Zanaboni D.; Novati S.; Maserati R.; Orsolini P.; Vecchia M.; Sciarra M.; Asperges E.; Sambo M.; Biscarini S.; Lupi M.; Roda S.; Chiara Pieri T.; Gallazzi I.; Sachs M.; Valsecchi P.; Perlini S.; Alfano C.; Bonzano M.; Briganti F.; Crescenzi G.; Giulia Falchi A.; Guarnone R.; Guglielmana B.; Maggi E.; Martino I.; Pettenazza P.; Pioli di Marco S.; Quaglia F.; Sabena A.; Salinaro F.; Speciale F.; Zunino I.; De Lorenzo M.; Secco G.; Dimitry L.; Cappa G.; Maisak I.; Chiodi B.; Sciarrini M.; Barcella B.; Resta F.; Moroni L.; Vezzoni G.; Scattaglia L.; Boscolo E.; Zattera C.; Michele Fidel T.; Vincenzo C.; Vignaroli D.; Bazzini M.; Iotti G.; Mojoli F.; Belliato M.; Perotti L.; Mongodi S.; Tavazzi G.; Marseglia G.; Licari A.; Brambilla I.; Daniela B.; Antonella B.; Patrizia C.; Giulia C.; Giuditta C.; Marta C.; Rossana D.; Milena F.; Bianca M.; Roberta M.; Enza M.; Stefania P.; Maurizio P.; Elena P.; Antonio P.; Francesca R.; Antonella S.; Maurizio Z.; Guy A.; Laura B.; Ermanna C.; Giuliana C.; Luca D.; Gabriella F.; Gabriella G.; Alessia G.; Viviana L.; Claudia L.; Valentina M.; Simona P.; Marta P.; Alice B.; Giacomo C.; Irene C.; Alfonso C.; Di Martino R.; Di Napoli A.; Alessandro F.; Guglielmo F.; Loretta F.; Federica G.; Alessandra M.; Federica N.; Giacomo R.; Beatrice R.; Maria S.I.; Monica T.; Nepita Edoardo V.; Calvi M.; Tizzoni M.; Nicora C.; Triarico A.; Petronella V.; Marena C.; Muzzi A.; Lago P.; Comandatore F.; Bissignandi G.; Gaiarsa S.; Rettani M.; Bandi C.Colaneri, M.; Seminari, E.; Piralla, A.; Zuccaro, V.; Di Filippo, A.; Baldanti, F.; Bruno, R.; Mondelli, M. U.; Brunetti, E.; Di Matteo, A.; Maiocchi, L.; Pagnucco, L.; Mariani, B.; Ludovisi, S.; Lissandrin, R.; Parisi, A.; Sacchi, P.; Patruno, S. F. A.; Michelone, G.; Gulminetti, R.; Zanaboni, D.; Novati, S.; Maserati, R.; Orsolini, P.; Vecchia, M.; Sciarra, M.; Asperges, E.; Sambo, M.; Biscarini, S.; Lupi, M.; Roda, S.; Chiara Pieri, T.; Gallazzi, I.; Sachs, M.; Valsecchi, P.; Perlini, S.; Alfano, C.; Bonzano, M.; Briganti, F.; Crescenzi, G.; Giulia Falchi, A.; Guarnone, R.; Guglielmana, B.; Maggi, E.; Martino, I.; Pettenazza, P.; Pioli di Marco, S.; Quaglia, F.; Sabena, A.; Salinaro, F.; Speciale, F.; Zunino, I.; De Lorenzo, M.; Secco, G.; Dimitry, L.; Cappa, G.; Maisak, I.; Chiodi, B.; Sciarrini, M.; Barcella, B.; Resta, F.; Moroni, L.; Vezzoni, G.; Scattaglia, L.; Boscolo, E.; Zattera, C.; Michele Fidel, T.; Vincenzo, C.; Vignaroli, D.; Bazzini, M.; Iotti, G.; Mojoli, F.; Belliato, M.; Perotti, L.; Mongodi, S.; Tavazzi, G.; Marseglia, G.; Licari, A.; Brambilla, I.; Daniela, B.; Antonella, B.; Patrizia, C.; Giulia, C.; Giuditta, C.; Marta, C.; D'Alterio, Rossana; Milena, F.; Bianca, M.; Roberta, M.; Enza, M.; Stefania, P.; Maurizio, P.; Elena, P.; Antonio, P.; Francesca, R.; Antonella, S.; Maurizio, Z.; Guy, A.; Laura, B.; Ermanna, C.; Giuliana, C.; Luca, D.; Gabriella, F.; Gabriella, G.; Alessia, G.; Viviana, L.; Meisina, Claudia; Valentina, M.; Simona, P.; Marta, P.; Alice, B.; Giacomo, C.; Irene, C.; Alfonso, C.; Di Martino, R.; Di Napoli, A.; Alessandro, F.; Guglielmo, F.; Loretta, F.; Federica, G.; Albertini, Alessandra; Federica, N.; Giacomo, R.; Beatrice, R.; Maria, S. I.; Monica, T.; Nepita Edoardo, V.; Calvi, M.; Tizzoni, M.; Nicora, C.; Triarico, A.; Petronella, V.; Marena, C.; Muzzi, A.; Lago, P.; Comandatore, F.; Bissignandi, G.; Gaiarsa, S.; Rettani, M.; Bandi, C

Clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) early findings from a teaching hospital in Pavia, North Italy, 21 to 28 February 2020

We describe clinical characteristics, treatments and outcomes of 44 Caucasian patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a single hospital in Pavia, Italy, from 21\u201328 February 2020, at the beginning of the outbreak in Europe. Seventeen patients developed severe disease, two died. After a median of 6 days, 14 patients were discharged from hospital. Predictors of lower odds of discharge were age>65 years, antiviral treatment and for severe disease, lactate dehydrogenase >300 mg/dL