SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in the Vatican city state

The results of this seroprevalence analysis showed a positivity rate among individuals assisted by the internal healthcare system of the Vatican City State lower than that found in other studies on similar samples. This may be due to the small sample size and to the low number of COVID-19 cases tracked in the Vatican City State thanks to the control and prevention measures taken by the Directorate of Health and Hygiene. These measures were applied uninterruptedly through the first and second waves and included preventive measures such as hand disinfection, social distancing, use of face masks, body temperature measurement and symptom screening, as well as clinical surveillance, isolation protocols for symptomatic individuals and careful evaluation of all potential contacts

Treating Anti-Vax Patients, a New Occupational Stressor—Data from the 4th Wave of the Prospective Study of Intensivists and COVID-19 (PSIC)

The Prospective Study of Intensivists and COVID-19 (PSIC) is a longitudinal study that besides investigating a cohort of intensivists from one of the two COVID-19 hub hospitals in Central Italy since the beginning of the pandemic (first wave, April 2020), has conducted a new survey at each successive wave. In addition to the variables investigated in previous surveys (job changes due to the pandemic, justice of safety procedures, job stress, sleep quality, satisfaction, happiness, anxiety, depression, burnout, and intention to quit), the latest fourth wave (December 2021) study has evalu-ated discomfort in caring for anti-vax patients. A multivariate logistic regression model confirmed that high levels of occupational stress (distressed 75.8%) were associated with isolation, monotony, lack of time for meditation, and poor relationships with anti-vaccination patients. Compared to the first phase, there was a reduction in levels of insomnia and anxiety, but the percentage of intensivists manifesting symptoms of depression remained high (58.9%). The study underlined the efficacy of organizational interventions and psychological support

Prolonged stress causes depression in frontline workers facing the covid-19 pandemic—a repeated cross-sectional study in a covid-19 hub-hospital in central italy

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely tested the mental health of frontline health care workers. A repeated cross-sectional study can provide information on how their mental health evolved during the various phases of the pandemic. The intensivists of a COVID-19 hub hospital in Rome were investigated with a baseline survey during the first wave of the pandemic in April 2020, and they were contacted again in December 2020, during the second wave. Of the 205 eligible workers, 152 responded to an online questionnaire designed to measure procedural justice, occupational stress (effort/reward imbalance), sleep quality, anxiety, depression, burnout, job satisfaction, happiness, and turnover intention. Workers reported a further increase in workload and compassion fatigue, which had already risen during the first wave, and a marked reduction in the time devoted to meditation and mental activities. A low level of confidence in the adequacy of safety procedures and the need to work in isolation, together with an increased workload and lack of time for meditation, were the most significant predictors of occupational stress in a stepwise linear regression model. Occupational stress was, in turn, a significant predictor of insomnia, anxiety, low job satisfaction, burnout, and intention to leave the hospital. The number of workers manifesting symptoms of depression increased significantly to exceed 60%. Action to prevent occupational risks and enhance individual resilience cannot be postponed

A one-year prospective study of work-related mental health in the intensivists of a COVID-19 hub hospital

; e h b Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has severely tested the physical and mental health of health care workers (HCWs). The various stages of the epidemic have posed different problems; consequently, only a prospective study can effectively describe the changes in the workers’ health. This repeated cross-sectional study is based on a one-year investigation (spring 2020 to spring 2021) of intensive care physicians in one of the two COVID-19 hub hospitals in Central Italy and aims to study the evolution of the mental health status of intensivists during the pandemic. Changes in their work activity due to the pandemic were studied anonymously together with their perception of organisational justice, occupational stress, sleep quality, anxiety, depression, burnout, job satisfaction, happiness, and intention to quit. In May–June 2021, one year after the baseline, doctors reported an increased workload, isolation at work and in their social life, a lack of time for physical activity and meditation, and compassion fatigue. Stress was inversely associated with the perception of justice in safety procedures and directly correlated with work isolation. Occupational stress was significantly associated with anxiety, depression, burnout, dissatisfaction, and their intention to quit. Procedural justice was significantly associated with happiness. Doctors believed vaccinations would help control the problem; however, this positive attitude had not yet resulted in improved mental health. Doctors reported high levels of distress (73%), sleep problems (28%), anxiety (25%), and depression (64%). Interventions to correct the situation are urgently needed

Symbolic dynamics for the NN-centre problem at negative energies

We consider the planar $N$-centre problem, with homogeneous potentials of degree -\a<0, \a \in [1,2). We prove the existence of infinitely many collisions-free periodic solutions with negative and small energy, for any distribution of the centres inside a compact set. The proof is based upon topological, variational and geometric arguments. The existence result allows to characterize the associated dynamical system with a symbolic dynamics, where the symbols are the partitions of the $N$ centres in two non-empty sets

The ALICE Zero Degree Calorimeters

In the ALICE experiment at Cern LHC, a set of hadron calorimeters will be used to determine the centrality of the Pb-Pb collision. The spectator protons and neutrons, will be separated from the ion beams, using the separator magnet (D1) of the LHC beam optics and respectively detected by a proton (ZP) and a neutron (ZN) "Zero-degree Calorimeter" (ZDC). The detectors will be placed in front of the separator D2 magnet, 115 meters away from the beam intersection point. The ZDCs are quartz-fiber spaghetti calorimeters that exploit the Cherenkov light produced by the shower particles in silica optical fibers.This technique offers the advantages of high radiation hardness (up to several Grad), fast response and reduced lateral dimension of the detectable shower. In addition, quartz-fiber calorimeters are intrinsically insensitive to radio-activation background, which produces particles below the Cherenkov threshold.The ALICE ZDC should have an energy resolution comparable with the intrinsic energy fluctuations, which range from about 20 0.000000or central events to about 5 0.000000or peripheral ones, according to simulations that use HIJING as event generator. The fiber-to-absorber filling ratio must be chosen as a good compromise between the required energy resolution and the fiber cost.The design of the proposed calorimeter will be discussed, together with the expected performances. Whenever possible, the simulated results will be compared with the experimental ones, obtained with the built prototypes and with the NA50 ZDC, which can be considered as a working prototype for the ALICE neutron calorimeter

Postoperative respiratory failure in liver transplantation: Risk factors and effect on prognosis

Background :Postoperative respiratory failure (PRF, namely mechanical ventilation &gt;48 hours) significantly affects morbidity and mortality in liver transplantation (LTx). Previous studies analyzed only one or two categories of PRF risk factors (preoperative, intraoperative or postoperative ones). The aims of this study were to identify PRF predictors, to assess the length of stay (LoS) in ICU and the 90-day survival according to the PRF in LTx patients. Methods: Two classification approaches were used: systematic classification (recipient-related preoperative factors; intraoperative factors; logistic factors; donor factors; postoperative ICU factors; postoperative surgical factors) and patient/organ classification (patient-related general factors; native-liver factors; new-liver factors; kidney factors; heart factors; brain factors; lung factors). Two hundred adult non-acute patients were included. Missing analysis was performed. The competitive role of each factor was assessed. Results: PRF occurred in 36.0% of cases. Among 28 significant PRF predictors at univariate analysis, 6 were excluded because of collinearity, 22 were investigated by ROC curves and by logistic regression analysis. Recipient age (OR = 1.05; p = 0.010), female sex (OR = 2.75; p = 0.018), Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD, OR = 1.09; p&lt;0.001), restrictive lung pattern (OR = 2.49; p = 0.027), intraoperative veno-venous bypass (VVBP, OR = 3.03; p = 0.008), pre-extubation PaCO 2 (OR = 1.11; p = 0.003) and Model for Early Allograft Function (MEAF, OR = 1.37; p&lt;0.001) resulted independent PRF risk factors. As compared to patients without PRF, the PRF-group had longer LoS (10 days IQR 7-18 versus 5 days IQR 4-7, respectively; p&lt;0.001) and lower day-90 survival (86.0% versus 97.6% respectively, p&lt;0.001). Conclusion: In conclusion, MELD, restrictive lung pattern, surgical complexity as captured by VVBP, pre-extubation PaCO 2 and MEAF are the main predictors of PRF in non-acute LTx patients

Marcadores SSR y EST-SSR aplicados al análisis del genoma de especies silvestres del genero Arachis, y el anfiploide sintético [(A. Correntina x A. Cardenasii) x A. Batizocoi] 4x

Ponencia presentada en XXVIII Jornada Nacional del Maní. General Cabrera, Córdoba, Argentina, 19 de septiembre de 2013Numerosas especies vegetales cultivadas son, desde el punto de vista genético, poliploides naturales. Esta condición presenta tanto ventajas como desventajas, entre éstas, la ocurrencia del aislamiento reproductivo con respecto a los progenitores lo cual, sumado al proceso de domesticación y selección de genotipos superiores de interés productivo, repercute sobre la variabilidad genética. Tal es el caso de los cultivares de maní (Arachis hypogaea L.), que presentan entre otros problemas, alta susceptibilidad a enfermedades y plagas que afectan al rendimiento del cultivo. La sección Arachis, una de las nueve dentro del género Arachis, incluye al 40% de las especies silvestres, y constituyen un reservorio de genes de resistencia. En esta sección, las especies diploides silvestres (2n=20, x=10 y 2n=18, x=9), presentan genomas diferentes denominados A, B, D, F y K, en tanto que, A. hypogaea y A. montícola son las únicas tetraploides, cultivada y silvestre respectivamente. Esta diferencia en los niveles de ploidía e incompatibilidad genómica, dificulta la transferencia de genes de resistencia al maní cultivado, siendo una estrategia posible, la obtención de un anfiploide sintético con 40 cromosomas, a partir de un híbrido diploide. Mediante trabajos de hibridación y retrocruzas, junto a técnicas biotecnológicas, se pueden obtener variedades de maní con atributos deseables, en menor tiempo y costo. Los marcadores moleculares de tipo microsatélites genómicos ─SSRs─ y de secuencias expresadas ─EST-SSRs─, entre otros, permiten asistir la tarea del mejorador, mediante la caracterización genómica de los materiales sintéticos con respecto a sus progenitores, incrementando así la eficiencia y predictibilidad de los resultados. A partir de librerías genómicas tanto de A. hypogaea (genoma AA-BB) como de otras pertenecientes a tribus o secciones relacionadas a Arachis, se han desarrollado cientos de marcadores basados en la reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR) que permiten identificar los genomas propuestos para las especies del género. El objetivo del trabajo fue analizar mediante marcadores SSR y EST-SSR, el genoma de especies silvestres de maní y su permanencia en el híbrido [(A. correntina x A. cardenasii) x A. batizocoi] y en el anfiploide derivado [(A. correntina x A. cardenasii) x A. batizocoi]4x.Fil: Torres, Laura Ester. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Costero, Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Teich, Ingrid. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Cátedra de Estadística y Biometría; Argentina.Fil: Teich, Ingrid. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Argentina.Fil: Taborda, Ricardo Jorge. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Cisneros, M. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Franceschini, L. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: De Blas, F. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Soave, S. J. Criadero El Carmen; Argentina.Fil: Buteler, M. I. Criadero El Carmen; Argentina.Fil: Faustinelli, P. C. Universidad Católica de Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Faustinelli, P. C. Criadero El Carmen; Argentina