Extra-abdominal cryptorchidism associated with gastroschisis and impacted urethral calculus: two uncommon urologic conditions in one patient

The testis is rarely encountered within the organs prolapsed outside the abdominal wall defect of patients with gastroschisis. Optimal treatment strategy of this unusual type of cryptorchidism remains undefined, with less than 30 cases reported to date. We describe a new case where simple relocation of the testis into the abdomen was followed by spontaneous testicular descent. Additionally, he developed a urinary calculus impacted in the navicular fossa 4 years later. Given the rarity of the 2 conditions, the probability of their co-occurrence is exceptionally rare, especially considering that they seem to be causally and temporally unrelated to one another

Future newborns with opioid-induced neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) could be assessed with the genetic addiction risk severity (GARS) test and potentially treated using precision amino-acid enkephalinase inhibition therapy (KB220) as a frontline modality instead of potent opioids

In this nonsystematic review and opinion, including articles primarily selected from PubMed, we examine the pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in order to craft a reasonable opinion to help forge a paradigm shift in the treatment and prevention of primarily opioid-induced NAS. Newborns of individuals who use illicit and licit substances during pregnancy are at risk for withdrawal, also known as NAS. In the US, the reported prevalence of NAS has increased from 4.0 per 1000 hospital births in 2010 to 7.3 per 1000 hospital births in 2017, which is an 82% increase. The management of NAS is varied and involves a combination of nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic therapy. The preferred first-line pharmacological treatment for NAS is opioid therapy, specifically morphine, and the goal is the short-term improvement in NAS symptomatology. Nonpharmacological therapies are individualized and typically focus on general care measures, the newborn-parent/caregiver relationship, the environment, and feeding. When used appropriately, nonpharmacologic therapies can help newborns with NAS avoid or reduce the amount of pharmacologic therapy required and the length of hospitalization. In addition, genetic polymorphisms of the catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) and mu-opioid receptor (OPRM1) genes appear to affect the length of stay and the need for pharmacotherapy in newborns with prenatal opioid exposure. Therefore, based on this extensive literature and additional research, this team of coauthors suggests that, in the future, in addition to the current nonpharmacological therapies, patients with opioid-induced NAS should undergo genetic assessment (i.e., the genetic addiction risk severity (GARS) test), which can subsequently be used to guide DNA-directed precision amino-acid enkephalinase inhibition (KB220) therapy as a frontline modality instead of potent opioids

The synergistic effect between positivity, socio-demographic factors and smoking cessation: results of a cohort study

OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent to which a effect does exist between Positivity (POS), smoking and socio-demographic factors in determining quitting smoking in subjects participating in a Group Counselling Program (GCP) for smoking cessation.METHODS: 481 subjects were contacted through a telephone call. A logistic regression analysis was carried out. Possible interaction between sociodemographic variables and POS level was tested using the Synergism Index (SI).RESULTS: For individuals with a POS level over or equal to 3.4 the odds of being smoker was significantly higher among females (OR = 1.55), who smoked at home (OR = 2.16) and lower if there had children at home (OR = 0.53). For individuals with a POS level under 3.4, the only significant variable associated with smoking was beinga female (OR = 2.58). As far concerns the synergistic effect between the variables considered does exist between POS levels and having children at home (SI=1.13) and female gender (SI = 2.8).CONCLUSIONS: The synergistic effect between POS and sociodemographic factors adds evidence on the use of POS as possible determinants of individual happiness

Genetic addiction risk severity assessment identifies polymorphic reward genes as antecedents to reward deficiency syndrome (RDS) hypodopaminergia\u27s effect on addictive and non-addictive behaviors in a nuclear family

This case series presents the novel genetic addiction risk score (GARS), which shows a high prevalence of polymorphic risk alleles of reward genes in a nuclear family with multiple reward deficiency syndrome (RDS) behavioral issues expressing a hypodopaminergic antecedent. The family consists of a mother, father, son, and daughter. The mother experienced issues with focus, memory, anger, and amotivational syndrome. The father experienced weight issues and depression. The son experienced heavy drinking, along with some drug abuse and anxiety. The daughter experienced depression, lethargy, brain fog, focus issues, and anxiety, among others. A major clinical outcome of the results presented to the family members helped reduce personal guilt and augment potential hope for future healing. Our laboratory\u27s prior research established that carriers of four or more alleles measured by GARS

Performance studies of the Belle II Silicon Vertex Detector with data taken at the DESY test beam in April 2016

Belle II is a multipurpose detector currently under construction which will be operated at the next generation B-factory SuberKEKB in Japan. Its main devices for the vertex reconstruction are the Silicon Vertex Detector (SVD) and the Pixel Detector (PXD). In April 2016 a sector of the Belle II SVD and PXD have been tested in a beam of high energetic electrons at the test beam facility at DESY Hamburg (Germany). We report here the results for the hit efficiency estimation and the measurement of the resolution for the Belle II silicon vertex etector. We find that the hit efficiencies are on average above 99.5% and that the measured resolution is within the expectations

The Belle II SVD detector

The Silicon Vertex Detector (SVD) is one of the main detectors in the Belle II experiment at KEK, Japan. In combination with a pixel detector, the SVD determines precise decay vertex and low-momentum track reconstruction. The SVD ladders are being developed at several institutes. For the development of the tracking algorithm as well as the performance estimation of the ladders, beam tests for the ladders were performed. We report an overview of the SVD development, its performance measured in the beam test, and the prospect of its assembly and commissioning until installation

Performance studies of the Belle II Silicon Vertex Detector with data taken at the DESY test beam in April 2016

Belle II is a multipurpose detector currently under construction which will be operated at the next generation B-factory SuberKEKB in Japan. Its main devices for the vertex reconstruction are the Silicon Vertex Detector (SVD) and the Pixel Detector (PXD). In April 2016 a sector of the Belle II SVD and PXD have been tested in a beam of high energetic electrons at the test beam facility at DESY Hamburg (Germany). We report here the results for the hit efficiency estimation and the measurement of the resolution for the Belle II silicon vertex etector. We find that the hit efficiencies are on average above 99.5% and that the measured resolution is within the expectations

Fermi LAT observations of cosmic-ray electrons from 7 GeV to 1 TeV

We present the results of our analysis of cosmic-ray electrons using about 8 million electron candidates detected in the first 12 months on-orbit by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. This work extends our previously-published cosmic-ray electron spectrum down to 7 GeV, giving a spectral range of approximately 2.5 decades up to 1 TeV. We describe in detail the analysis and its validation using beam-test and on-orbit data. In addition, we describe the spectrum measured via a subset of events selected for the best energy resolution as a cross-check on the measurement using the full event sample. Our electron spectrum can be described with a power law $\propto {\rm E}^{-3.08 \pm 0.05}$ with no prominent spectral features within systematic uncertainties. Within the limits of our uncertainties, we can accommodate a slight spectral hardening at around 100 GeV and a slight softening above 500 GeV.Comment: 20 pages, 23 figures, 2 tables, published in Physical Review D 82, 092004 (2010) - contact authors: C. Sgro', A. Moisee

Preparedness and response to the covid-19 emergency: Experience from the teaching hospital of Pisa, Italy

In Italy, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency took hold in Lombardy and Veneto at the end of February 2020 and spread unevenly among the other regions in the following weeks. In Tuscany, the progressive increase of hospitalized COVID-19 patients required the set-up of a regional task force to prepare for and effectively respond to the emergency. In this case report, we aim to describe the key elements that have been identified and implemented in our center, a 1082-bed hospital located in the Pisa district, to rapidly respond to the COVID-19 outbreak in order to guarantee safety of patients and healthcare workers

Linee guida di idrogeologia: approccio ai progetti

Da Cap. Introduzione: Lavorare in idrogeologia significa studiare il moto delle acque sotterranee, la geometria degli acquiferi, la dinamica dell’interazione fra acque sotterranee di differenti acquiferi e fra queste e le acque superficiali; non solo, significa anche comprendere come e perché opere antropiche, sia intenzionalmente che involontariamente, interagiscono con la risorsa acqua e conoscere metodologie e tecniche per progettare in modo ecosostenibile e nel rispetto della risorsa stessa. Nessun progetto di opera che interagisce, intenzionalmente o meno, poco o tanto, con le acque sotterranee può prescindere da un adeguato studio idrogeologico. I capitoli che seguono non pretendono il titolo di manuale, né aspirano a quello di “Bignami” di idrogeologia; le stesse parole “linee guida” presenti nel titolo, lungi dal presumere ogni valore normatorio, hanno solo carattere esplicativo, non una regola, ma piuttosto una traccia, anche perché la “dinamicità” con cui i quadri normativi comunitari, nazionali, regionali e locali si sono recentemente evoluti non permette di confrontarsi con un ambito di leggi e consuetudini collaudato e consolidato. Scopo esclusivo del documento è quello di fornire una guida ai colleghi, liberi professionisti o funzionari che siano, alle prese con la preparazione di studi, relazioni, istruttorie, controlli in materia di risorsa idrica. La prima parte dell’elaborato sintetizza i metodi e gli strumenti dell’idrogeologia (dal rilievo geologico alla geofisica, alla geochimica, ai metodi modellistici), puntualizzando i contenuti indispensabili e opzionali della relazione idrogeologica e della carta idrogeologica; la seconda parte tratta, più specificamente, di normativa e supporto idrogeologico per alcuni selezionati campi di attività (siti inquinati e discariche, viabilità ed infrastrutture lineari, ricerca idrica, pianificazione, attività estrattive). Il documento, privo di qualsiasi pretesa di esaustività sulle problematiche trattate, ha mirato comunque, approfittando della ricchezza di punti di vista derivante dalla vasta gamma di ruoli svolti nella professione dai colleghi della commissione, ad armonizzare le posizioni in un documento tecnico, forse dissonante nello stile, ma univoco negli scopi. Il capitolo 9 “Viabilità ed infrastrutture lineari” tratta del supporto idrogeologico per viabilità, in galleria o meno, di una certa rilevanza regionale; gli stessi approfondimenti, ovviamente tarati sull’importanza dell’opera, sono validi anche per le viabilità Provinciali e Comunali e per le minori. Un accenno a parte per il capitolo 10 “Ricerca idrica ed opere di approvvigionamento idrico” dove è stato ripreso in toto il documento della Commissione Pozzi del 2005, aggiornandolo ed aggiungendo un capitolo relativo alle sorgenti ed un capitolo su problematiche ambientali in cui fra l’altro si è affrontato il critico argomento, purtroppo in Italia ad oggi sottostimato (garbatissimo eufemismo), della definizione, mantenimento e ripristino della separazione fra falde idriche naturalmente distinte. Per quanto concerne le sorgenti, la trattazione tecnico-scientifica è stata privilegiata rispetto a quella burocratico-procedurale, soprattutto perché, nel 90% dei casi, l’iter burocratico per autorizzazioni e concessioni per le sorgenti è identico a quello per i pozzi, alla cui trattazione quindi si rimanda. Riguardo alla Pianificazione (capitolo 11), si è scelto di trattare a grandi linee solo la pianificazione a scala comunale nella Regione Toscana. Il settore pianificazione idrogeologica, che non poteva ovviamente essere omesso in un documento che tratta di idrogeologia, è un settore che in Italia è stato sviluppato, con un certo grado di approfondimento, solo in alcune regioni del nord, regioni che hanno dovuto affrontare gravi emergenze; per il resto, in genere, esso è sempre considerato, quando sia preso in considerazione, come appendice della pianificazione urbanistico-edilizia. La mancanza di norme specifiche in materia rende necessario un approccio di tipo scientifico-tecnico ed una trattazione ben più vasta ed articolata di quella necessaria per semplici linee guida quali sono, o per lo meno vorrebbero essere, quelle che seguono