Factorization in Formal Languages

We consider several novel aspects of unique factorization in formal languages. We reprove the familiar fact that the set uf(L) of words having unique factorization into elements of L is regular if L is regular, and from this deduce an quadratic upper and lower bound on the length of the shortest word not in uf(L). We observe that uf(L) need not be context-free if L is context-free. Next, we consider variations on unique factorization. We define a notion of "semi-unique" factorization, where every factorization has the same number of terms, and show that, if L is regular or even finite, the set of words having such a factorization need not be context-free. Finally, we consider additional variations, such as unique factorization "up to permutation" and "up to subset"

Utilization of Interactive Internet in High Education

The present work reports on the practical cooperation between two Universities from Hungary and Portugal. Students from Portugal are remotely accessing an experimental facility, which is physically in Hungary. The cooperation among these Higher Education establishments allowed the development and testing of a Remote Laboratory at the BME. This paper reports on the characteristics and initial testing of the Thermocouples Rise Time Measurement System and provides information on development and students' feedback

Experimental Study of Informal Rewards in Peer Production

We test the effects of informal rewards in online peer production. Using a randomized, experimental design, we assigned editing awards or “barnstars” to a subset of the 1% most productive Wikipedia contributors. Comparison with the control group shows that receiving a barnstar increases productivity by 60% and makes contributors six times more likely to receive additional barnstars from other community members, revealing that informal rewards significantly impact individual effort

Prevalence of Pneumococcal Serotypes in Community-Acquired Pneumonia among Older Adults in Italy: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a leading cause of mortality. Following the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) in children, a decrease in the burden of the disease was reported. In parallel, an increase in non-vaccine serotypes was also noted. The objective of this study was to assess the current serotype-specific epidemiology of pneumococci among Italian older adults hospitalized for CAP. A prospective study was conducted between 2017 and 2020 in four Italian regions. Subjects aged ≥65 years hospitalized with confirmed CAP were tested for pneumococci using both pneumococcal urinary antigen and serotype-specific urine antigen tests able to identify all 24 serotypes included in the available vaccines. Of the 1155 CAP cases, 13.1% were positive for pneumococci. The most prevalent serotypes were 3 (2.0%), 8 (1.7%), 22F (0.8 %) and 11A (0.7%). These serotypes are all included in the newly licensed PCV20. The serotypes included in PCV13, PCV15 and PCV20 contributed to 3.3%, 4.4% and 7.5% of the CAP cases, respectively. In the context of a low PCV13 coverage among older adults and a high PCV coverage in children, a substantial proportion of CAP is caused by PCV13 serotypes. Higher valency PCV15 and PCV20 may provide additional benefits for the prevention of CAP in vaccinated older adults

Evaluation of humoral and cellular response to four vaccines against COVID-19 in different age groups: A longitudinal study

To date there has been limited head-to-head evaluation of immune responses to different types of COVID-19 vaccines. A real-world population-based longitudinal study was designed with the aim to define the magnitude and duration of immunity induced by each of four different COVID-19 vaccines available in Italy at the time of this study. Overall, 2497 individuals were enrolled at time of their first vaccination (T0). Vaccine-specific antibody responses induced over time by Comirnaty, Spikevax, Vaxzevria, Janssen Ad26.COV2.S and heterologous vaccination were compared up to six months after immunization. On a subset of Comirnaty vaccinees, serology data were correlated with the ability to neutralize a reference SARS-CoV-2 B strain, as well as Delta AY.4 and Omicron BA.1. The frequency of SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and memory B cells induced by the four different vaccines was assessed six months after the immunization. We found that mRNA vaccines are stronger inducer of anti-Spike IgG and B-memory cell responses. Humoral immune responses are lower in frail elderly subjects. Neutralization of the Delta AY.4 and Omicron BA.1 variants is severely impaired, especially in older individuals. Most vaccinees display a vaccine-specific T-cell memory six months after the vaccination. By describing the immunological response during the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination campaign in different cohorts and considering several aspects of the immunological response, this study allowed to collect key information that could facilitate the implementation of effective prevention and control measures against SARS-CoV-

A 12-month follow-up of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 primary vaccination: evidence from a real-world study

A real-world population-based longitudinal study, aimed at determining the magnitude and duration of immunity induced by different types of vaccines against COVID-19, started in 2021 by enrolling a cohort of 2,497 individuals at time of their first vaccination. The study cohort included both healthy adults aged ≤65 years and elderly subjects aged >65 years with two or more co-morbidities. Here, patterns of anti-SARS-CoV-2 humoral and cell-mediated specific immune response, assessed on 1,182 remaining subjects, at 6 (T6) and 12 months (T12) after the first vaccine dose, are described. At T12 median anti-Spike IgG antibody levels were increased compared to T6. The determinants of increased anti-Spike IgG were the receipt of a third vaccine dose between T6 and T12 and being positive for anti-Nucleocapside IgG at T12, a marker of recent infection, while age had no significant effect. The capacity of T12 sera to neutralize in vitro the ancestral B strain and the Omicron BA.5 variant was assessed in a subgroup of vaccinated subjects. A correlation between anti-S IgG levels and sera neutralizing capacity was identified and higher neutralizing capacity was evident in healthy adults compared to frail elderly subjects and in those who were positive for anti-Nucleocapside IgG at T12. Remarkably, one third of T12 sera from anti-Nucleocapside IgG negative older individuals were unable to neutralize the BA.5 variant strain. Finally, the evaluation of T-cell mediated immunity showed that most analysed subjects, independently from age and comorbidity, displayed Spike-specific responses with a high degree of polyfunctionality, especially in the CD8 compartment. In conclusion, vaccinated subjects had high levels of circulating antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein 12 months after the primary vaccination, which increased as compared to T6. The enhancing effect could be attributable to the administration of a third vaccine dose but also to the occurrence of breakthrough infection. Older individuals, especially those who were anti-Nucleocapside IgG negative, displayed an impaired capacity to neutralize the BA.5 variant strain. Spike specific T-cell responses, able to sustain immunity and maintain the ability to fight the infection, were present in most of older and younger subjects assayed at T1

Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 7

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, and status changes for Italy or for Italian administrative regions of taxa in the genera Abies, Actinidia, Alooe, Amaryllis, Anredera, Arctotheca, Bidens, Cardiospermum, Celosia, Commelina, Cotoneaster, Cyclamen, Eclipta, Euphorbia, Grevillea, Hedera, Hibiscus, Impatiens, Juglans, Kalanchoe, Koelreuteria, Lindernia, Melinis, Myriophyllum, Nandina, Nicotiana, Oenothera, Oxalis, Parthenocissus, Phoenix, Phyllanthus, Physalis, Plumbago, Pteris, Quercus, Setaria, Symphytum, Tagetes, and Washingtonia. Nomenclatural and distribution updates, published elsewhere are provided as Suppl. material 1

Supportive and symptomatic management of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

The main aims in the care of individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are to minimize morbidity and maximize quality of life. Although no cure exists for ALS, supportive and symptomatic care provided by a specialist multidisciplinary team can improve survival. The basis for supportive management is shifting from expert consensus guidelines towards an evidence-based approach, which encourages the use of effective treatments and could reduce the risk of harm caused by ineffective or unsafe interventions. For example, respiratory support using noninvasive ventilation has been demonstrated to improve survival and quality of life, whereas evidence supporting other respiratory interventions is insufficient. Increasing evidence implicates a causal role for metabolic dysfunction in ALS, suggesting that optimizing nutrition could improve quality of life and survival. The high incidence of cognitive dysfunction and its impact on prognosis is increasingly recognized, although evidence for effective treatments is lacking. A variety of strategies are used to manage the other physical and psychological symptoms, the majority of which have yet to be thoroughly evaluated. The need for specialist palliative care throughout the disease is increasingly recognized. This Review describes the current approaches to symptomatic and supportive care in ALS and outlines the current guidance and evidence for these strategies

Comet-FISH for the evaluation of plant DNA damage after mutagenic treatments

The aim of this study was to perform a comparative investigation of the actions of three mutagens that are widely used in plant mutagenesis using the comet-FISH technique. The comet-FISH technique was used for the analysis of DNA damage and the kinetics of repair within specific DNA sequences. FISH with rDNA and telomeric/centromeric DNA probes was applied to comets that were obtained from an alkaline/neutral comet assay. Migration within specific DNA sequences was analysed after treatment with two chemical mutagens-maleic hydrazide (MH) and N-nitroso-N-methylurea (MNU), and γ-rays. Barley was used as a model plant in this study. The possible utility of specific DNA sequences in a comparative assessment of the distribution of DNA damage within a plant genome was evaluated. This study proved that the comet-FISH technique is suitable for a detailed quantification of DNA damage and repair within specific DNA sequences in plant mutagenesis. The analysis of FISH signals demonstrated that the involvement of specific DNA sequences in DNA damage was different and was dependent on the mutagen used. We showed that 5S rDNA and telomeric DNA sequences are more sensitive to mutagenic treatment, which was expressed by a stronger fragmentation and migration in comparison to the other probes used in the study. We found that 5S rDNA and telomeric DNA probes are more suitable for testing the genotoxicity of environmental factors. A comparison of the involvement of specific chromosome domains in direct DNA breakage/repair and in chromosome aberration formation after mutagen treatment indicates the compatibility of the results

Frequency of left ventricular hypertrophy in non-valvular atrial fibrillation

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is significantly related to adverse clinical outcomes in patients at high risk of cardiovascular events. In patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), data on LVH, that is, prevalence and determinants, are inconsistent mainly because of different definitions and heterogeneity of study populations. We determined echocardiographic-based LVH prevalence and clinical factors independently associated with its development in a prospective cohort of patients with non-valvular (NV) AF. From the "Atrial Fibrillation Registry for Ankle-brachial Index Prevalence Assessment: Collaborative Italian Study" (ARAPACIS) population, 1,184 patients with NVAF (mean age 72 \ub1 11 years; 56% men) with complete data to define LVH were selected. ARAPACIS is a multicenter, observational, prospective, longitudinal on-going study designed to estimate prevalence of peripheral artery disease in patients with NVAF. We found a high prevalence of LVH (52%) in patients with NVAF. Compared to those without LVH, patients with AF with LVH were older and had a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, and previous myocardial infarction (MI). A higher prevalence of ankle-brachial index 640.90 was seen in patients with LVH (22 vs 17%, p = 0.0392). Patients with LVH were at significantly higher thromboembolic risk, with CHA2DS2-VASc 652 seen in 93% of LVH and in 73% of patients without LVH (p <0.05). Women with LVH had a higher prevalence of concentric hypertrophy than men (46% vs 29%, p = 0.0003). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that female gender (odds ratio [OR] 2.80, p <0.0001), age (OR 1.03 per year, p <0.001), hypertension (OR 2.30, p <0.001), diabetes (OR 1.62, p = 0.004), and previous MI (OR 1.96, p = 0.001) were independently associated with LVH. In conclusion, patients with NVAF have a high prevalence of LVH, which is related to female gender, older age, hypertension, and previous MI. These patients are at high thromboembolic risk and deserve a holistic approach to cardiovascular prevention