Near-surface eddy dynamics in the southern ocean

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is a crucial component of the global ocean conveyor belt, acting as a zonal link among the major ocean basins but, to some extent, limiting meridional exchange and tending to isolate the ocean south of it from momentum and heat income. In this work we investigate one of the most important mechanisms contributing to the poleward transfer of properties in the Southern Ocean, that is the eddy component of the dynamics. For this particular purpose, observations obtained from near-surface drifters have been used: they represent a very useful data set to analyse the eddy field because of their ability to catch a large number of scales of motion while providing a quasi-synoptic coverage of the investigated area. Estimates of the eddy heat and momentum fluxes are carried out using data taken from the Global Drifter Program databank; they refer to Surface Velocity Program drifter trajectories collected in the area south of 35°S between 1995 and 2006. Eddy kinetic energies, variance ellipses, momentum and heat fluxes have been calculated using the pseudo-Eulerian method, showing patterns in good agreement with those present in the literature based on observational and model data, although there are some quantitative differences. The eddy fluxes have been separated into their rotational and divergent portions, the latter being responsible for the meridional transports. The associated zonal and depth-exponentially integrated meridional heat transport exhibits values spanning over a range between -0.4 PW and -1.1 PW in the ACC region, consistent with previous estimates. © 2011 M. Trani et al

Interleukin-12 message in a bottle

IL12 is a very potent cancer immunotherapy agent, but is difficult to harness safely if given systemically. Local gene transfer aims to confine the effects of IL12 to malignant tissues, thus avoiding toxicity. Lipid-nanoparticle mRNA achieves IL12 expression and efficacy in mouse models, opening the way to an ongoing trial

Engineering Silicon Nanocrystals: Theoretical study of the effect of Codoping with Boron and Phosphorus

We show that the optical and electronic properties of nanocrystalline silicon can be efficiently tuned using impurity doping. In particular, we give evidence, by means of ab-initio calculations, that by properly controlling the doping with either one or two atomic species, a significant modification of both the absorption and the emission of light can be achieved. We have considered impurities, either boron or phosphorous (doping) or both (codoping), located at different substitutional sites of silicon nanocrystals with size ranging from 1.1 nm to 1.8 nm in diameter. We have found that the codoped nanocrystals have the lowest impurity formation energies when the two impurities occupy nearest neighbor sites near the surface. In addition, such systems present band-edge states localized on the impurities giving rise to a red-shift of the absorption thresholds with respect to that of undoped nanocrystals. Our detailed theoretical analysis shows that the creation of an electron-hole pair due to light absorption determines a geometry distortion that in turn results in a Stokes shift between adsorption and emission spectra. In order to give a deeper insight in this effect, in one case we have calculated the absorption and emission spectra going beyond the single-particle approach showing the important role played by many-body effects. The entire set of results we have collected in this work give a strong indication that with the doping it is possible to tune the optical properties of silicon nanocrystals.Comment: 14 pages 19 figure

Pandemic influenza A/H1N1 virus in a swine farm house in Sicily, Italy

This report describes a pandemic A/H1N1 (H1N1 pdm) virus outbreak occurred in December, 2009 in a swine farm used as research facility (Istituto Mediterraneo Trapianti e Terapie ad Alta Specializzazione) for preclinical studies, located in Sicily, Italy. All the 13 pigs of the farm, showed cough, fever, inappetence and weakness. At the same time, an unvaccinated worker of the stabling showed influenza-like symptoms. RNAv extracted from two swabs collected from infected pigs resulted positive by Real Time RT-PCR for Influenza A virus. Furthermore, after growth on embryonated eggs, viral isolates were identified by Real Time RT-PCR specific for H1N1 pdm virus and characterized antigenically. Sequencing of the whole genome was also performed. All sera taken from animals and from the worker were tested by a competitive Influenza A ELISA and by the haemoagglutination inhibition test. Serological findings confirmed the circulation of influenza virus H1N1 pdm in pigs and the presence of specific antibodies against H1N1 pdm in human serum. The results of this study seem to support a H1N1 pdm transmission from man to animals showing the importance of serological and virological investigation to control the pig farms and the importance of close cooperation between the different authorities like veterinarian and human public. © 2012 Triveni Enterprises

Symbolic-Numeric Algorithms for Computer Analysis of Spheroidal Quantum Dot Models

A computation scheme for solving elliptic boundary value problems with axially symmetric confining potentials using different sets of one-parameter basis functions is presented. The efficiency of the proposed symbolic-numerical algorithms implemented in Maple is shown by examples of spheroidal quantum dot models, for which energy spectra and eigenfunctions versus the spheroid aspect ratio were calculated within the conventional effective mass approximation. Critical values of the aspect ratio, at which the discrete spectrum of models with finite-wall potentials is transformed into a continuous one in strong dimensional quantization regime, were revealed using the exact and adiabatic classifications.Comment: 6 figures, Submitted to Proc. of The 12th International Workshop on Computer Algebra in Scientific Computing (CASC 2010) Tsakhkadzor, Armenia, September 5 - 12, 201

Mental illness, poverty and stigma in India: a case-control study

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of experienced stigma on depth of multidimensional poverty of persons with severe mental illness (PSMI) in Delhi, India, controlling for gender, age and caste. DESIGN: Matching case (hospital)–control (population) study. SETTING: University Hospital (cases) and National Capital Region (controls), India. PARTICIPANTS: A case–control study was conducted from November 2011 to June 2012. 647 cases diagnosed with schizophrenia or affective disorders were recruited and 647 individuals of same age, sex and location of residence were matched as controls at a ratio of 1:2:1. Individuals who refused consent or provided incomplete interview were excluded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Higher risk of poverty due to stigma among PSMI. RESULTS: 38.5% of PSMI compared with 22.2% of controls were found poor on six dimensions or more. The difference in multidimensional poverty index was 69% between groups with employment and income of the main contributors. Multidimensional poverty was strongly associated with stigma (OR 2.60, 95% CI 1.27 to 5.31), scheduled castes/scheduled tribes/other backward castes (2.39, 1.39 to 4.08), mental illness (2.07, 1.25 to 3.41) and female gender (1.87, 1.36 to 2.58). A significant interaction between stigma, mental illness and gender or caste indicates female PSMI or PSMI from ‘lower castes’ were more likely to be poor due to stigma than male controls (p<0.001) or controls from other castes (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Public stigma and multidimensional poverty linked to SMI are pervasive and intertwined. In particular for low caste and women, it is a strong predictor of poverty. Exclusion from employment linked to negative attitudes and lack of income are the highest contributors to multidimensional poverty, increasing the burden for the family. Mental health professionals need to be aware of and address these issues

Nomophobia in healthcare: an observational study between nurses and students

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The abuse of technical devices can be considered a form of addiction that is defined in current literature as Nomophobia. The phenomenon appears to be quite widespread among nurses and nursing students, and nomophobic behaviours of professionals can lead to a reduction in the quality of the care provided. The aim of this study is to investigate the situation in a University and in a hospital in northern Italy and evaluate the levels of nomophobia among nurses and students. METHODS: An observational study was conducted with a questionnaire using a sample of nursing students and nurses.&nbsp; Both of the studies had the common goal of investigating the levels of nomophobia and&nbsp;&nbsp; evaluate the comparison between the two groups. RESULTS: In general, neither nurses nor students seem to demonstrate nomophobia's critical levels. The comparison of the daily use of the smartphone between nurses and students shows that the frequent use of students is balanced by the nurses' daily trend line that progressively decreases. Both nurses and students affirm to use their smartphones at work with a certain frequency although, especially among the students, it is usually for appropriate and justified reasons. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to consider the development of an educational project that regulates the use of smartphones, explaining the meaning of nomophobia, right from the first year of the University experience so as to correctly address the students'&nbsp; (and future professionals') behaviours&nbsp; to make them aware of the misuse of mobile phones, especially in the clinical setting that can easily cause distractions and consequently irreversible&nbsp; errors

Long-term clinical impact of permanent pacemaker implantation in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

AIMS: The aims of this study is to assess by an updated meta-analysis the clinical outcomes related to permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) at long-term (≥12 months) follow-up (LTF). METHODS AND RESULTS: A comprehensive literature research was performed on PubMed and EMBASE. The primary endpoint was all-cause death. Secondary endpoints were rehospitalization for heart failure, stroke, and myocardial infarction. A subgroup analysis was performed according to the Society of Thoracic Surgeon-Predicted Risk of Mortality (STS-PROM) score. This study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021243301). A total of 51 069 patients undergoing TAVI from 31 observational studies were included. The mean duration of follow-up was 22 months. At LTF, PPI post-TAVI was associated with a higher risk of all-cause death [risk ratio (RR) 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10-1.25; P &lt; 0.001] and rehospitalization for heart failure (RR 1.32, 95% CI 1.13-1.52; P &lt; 0.001). In contrast, the risks of stroke and myocardial infarction were not affected. Among the 20 studies that reported procedural risk, the association between PPI and all-cause death risk at LTF was statistically significant only in studies enrolling patients with high STS-PROM score (RR 1.25, 95% CI 1.12-1.40), although there was a similar tendency of the results in those at medium and low risk. CONCLUSION: Patients necessitating PPI after TAVI have a higher long-term risk of all-cause death and rehospitalization for heart failure as compared to those who do not receive PPI