Impact of patent ductus arteriosus on non-invasive assessments of lung fluids in very preterm infants during the transitional period

This prospective observational study aimed to evaluate whether lung fluids, assessed by lung ultrasonography and transthoracic electrical bioimpedance (TEB), may be influenced by the presence of a haemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (hsPDA) in very preterm infants during the transitional period. Infants < 32 weeks of gestational age (GA) admitted to the neonatal intensive care units of IRCCS AOU Bologna and Niguarda Metropolitan Hospital of Milan (Italy) underwent a daily assessment of a lung ultrasound score (LUS) and of a TEB-derived index of thoracic fluid contents (TFC) during the first 72 h after birth. Echocardiographic scans were simultaneously performed to evaluate the concomitant ductal status (hsPDA vs. restrictive or closed duct). The correlation between LUS, TFC, and the ductal status was tested using generalized estimating equations. Forty-six infants (median GA: 29 [interquartile range, IQR: 27-31] weeks; median birth weight: 1099 [IQR: 880-1406] g) were included. At each daily evaluation, the presence of a hsPDA was associated with significantly higher LUS and TFC compared with a restrictive or closed ductus (p < 0.01 for all comparisons). These results were confirmed significant even after adjustment for GA and for the ongoing modality of respiratory support.Conclusion: Even during the first 72 h of life, the presence of a hsPDA determines a significant increase in pulmonary fluids which can be non-invasively detected and monitored over time using lung ultrasonography and TEB

Energy efficiency considerations in integrated IT and optical network resilient infrastructures

The European Integrated Project GEYSERS - Generalised Architecture for Dynamic Infrastructure Services - is concentrating on infrastructures incorporating integrated optical network and IT resources in support of the Future Internet with special emphasis on cloud computing. More specifically GEYSERS proposes the concept of Virtual Infrastructures over one or more interconnected Physical Infrastructures comprising both network and IT resources. Taking into consideration the energy consumption levels associated with the ICT today and the expansion of the Internet in size and complexity, that incurring increased energy consumption of both IT and network resources, energy efficient infrastructure design becomes critical. To address this need, in the framework of GEYSERS, we propose energy efficient design of infrastructures incorporating integrated optical network and IT resources, supporting resilient end-to-end services. Our modeling results quantify significant energy savings of the proposed solution by jointly optimizing the allocation of both network and IT resources

Energy efficiency in optical networks

This paper proposes a new framework, specifically designed for introducing and suitably managing/using green metrics in ASON/GMPLS Optical Transport Networks (OTNs). The core element of such a framework is the Green Abstraction Layer (GAL), a standard interface proposed by the ECONET project, which has been specifically designed to give a simplified a common view of power management primitives available in next-generation green network equipment. The Green Abstraction Layer allows to extract available power management settings, and to set the desired configuration into a device, hiding heterogeneous and complex details of device internal physical architecture of nodes

Coexistence of OTN and VCSEL-based DMT Channels for Multi-Tb/s Transmission in Metropolitan Area Networks

We demonstrate the coexistence of 100G-200G OTN channels with a novel transmitter technology based on directly modulated VCSELs exploiting DMT. Multi-Tb/s transmission is achieved in links typical of the metro network

THE ROLE OF POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS IN THE LIVER DISEASE PROGRESSION IN OBESE PATIENTS

Background and aim: In obesity NAFLD is associated with insulin resistance (IR), that may induce advanced liver fibrosis leading to cirrhosis, through NASH. BARD score (BMI, AST/ALT Ratio, Diabetes mellitus) is reported to predict accurately advanced liver fibrosis (score >= 2 points). Liver damage could be also affected by inadequate nutrient intakes in obese subjects. The aim was to investigate in obese patients the relationships between nutrient intakes and the markers of metabolic and liver dysfunction. Material and methods: From June 2010 to September 2014, 198 obese (BMI 40.4±6.5 kg/m2) inpatients (F 150, aged 42.5±11.4 yr) were admitted to the study, under their informed consent. HOMA-IR (values>2.5) and BARD score (>=2 points) were calculated. Patients with T1DM, HBV (+), HCV (+), alcohol abuse, and steatogenic drugs in the history, were excluded. Dietary habits were obtained by detailed questioning and the recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) for the Italian population were used as the reference range. To highlight the variation of each selected nutrient from the corresponding RDA, we calculated the rate of variance, as a percent value, over or below the RDA. Results: The following prevalences were observed, T2DM (11.1%), HOMAIR >2.5 (67.2%), AST/ALT ratio >0.8 (53.5%), BARD score >=2 points(42.4%). The rate of variances for each nutrient, as percent values, overor below the RDA, are reported in the table, expressed as 50th, 25th, 75th percentile. The logistic regression shows that BARD score >=2 points is significantly associated with the very low intake of PUFA which is, as median, 42% below the RDA (OR 5.3; 95% CI: 1.8–37.5). The inadequately low intake of PUFA is significantly associated with the HOMA-IR (OR 9.8; 95% CI:1.7–57.2). On the other hand the excessive -6 fatty acid intake, 60% over the RDA in the median value, is significantly associated with a positive BARD score (OR 8.2; 95% CI: 1.8–37,5). Conclusions: We observed that the highest variation rates were for fat and protein, and especially for animal protein, averaging 273% over the RDA, without significant association with the investigated markers. The low PUFA intake is associated with increased risk of IR and liver dysfunction. The excessive -6 fatty acid intake, highly associated with positive BARD score, suggests a close relation with liver inflammation and fibrosis, probably due to the increased levels of 6-derived pro-inflammatory eicosanoids

The low Energy COnsumption NETworks (ECONET) project

The ECONET project is a 3-year large-scale Integrating Project (IP) running from October 2010 to September 2013, co-funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme. The ECONET project aims at studying and exploiting dynamic adaptive technologies (based on standby and performance scaling capabilities) for wired network devices that allow saving energy when a device (or part of it) is not used. The project will be devoted to re-thinking and redesigning wired network equipment and infrastructures towards more energy-sustainable and eco-friendly technologies and perspectives. The overall idea is to introduce novel green network-specific paradigms and concepts enabling to reduce the energy requirements of wired network equipment by 50% in the short to mid-term (and by 80% in the long run). To this end, the main challenge will be to design, develop and test novel technologies, integrated control criteria and mechanisms for network equipment. The final aim is to enable energy saving by adapting network capacities and resources to current traffic loads and user requirements, while ensuring end-to-end Quality of Service

LAPAROSCOPIC ADJUSTABLE GASTRIC BANDING (LAGB) IMPROVES METABOLIC CONTROL AND MODIFIES NUTRIENT INTAKES IN A GROUP OF ITALIAN FEMALE OBESE PATIENTS

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), the most popular weight loss surgery for morbid obesity, is reported to improveglucose metabolism. On the other hand few studies have reported the LAGB induced modifications of the nutrient intakes. The aim was to investigate the metabolic control and nutrient intake variations in a group of obese patients before and after 5 months of LAGB intervention.Material and methods: Thirteen obese female patients (aged 32–66 yr) were admitted to the study. BMI, waist, blood glucose, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were determined. Dietary habits were recorded by detailed questioning and a computed database determined the nutrient intakes. The recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) for the Italian population were used for reference range. The data were recorded immediately before LAGB (T0) and after five months (T1). The data are expressed as 50th (25th, 75th) percentile. Results: The variations of anthropometric, laboratory data, and of the nutrient intakes are shown in the table. BMI and waist decreased without significance. Blood glucose significantly decreased; HOMA was reduced without significance. Most nutrient intakes showed significant differences with RDAs. All but MUFA and -6/ -3 fatty acid intakes decreased after 5 months of LAGB, even though they were still higher than RDA. Nutrients with protective effect (PUFA) significantly decreased and at T1 they were still lower than RDA.Conclusions: LAGB improved metabolic control with a significant decrease of blood glucose, even though HOMA-IR was not significantly reduced in the short period. Protein, especially animal protein, and fat significantly decreased after five months of bariatric treatment, even though they kept higher than RDAs. On the contrary, PUFA formerly below the RDA, showed a further significant reduction. -6/ -3 ratio did not decrease and it was almost twice higher than RDA. These findings show that our obese patients after LAGB insertion reduced all foodstuff portion without improving their dietary habi