Effective description of the short-time dynamics in open quantum systems

We address the dynamics of a bosonic system coupled to either a bosonic or a magnetic environment, and derive a set of sufficient conditions that allow one to describe the dynamics in terms of the effective interaction with a classical fluctuating field. We find that for short interaction times the dynamics of the open system is described by a Gaussian noise map for several different interaction models and independently on the temperature of the environment. In order to go beyond a qualitative understanding of the origin and physical meaning of the above short-time constraint, we take a general viewpoint and, based on an algebraic approach, suggest that any quantum environment can be described by classical fields whenever global symmetries lead to the definition of environmental operators that remain well defined when increasing the size, i.e. the number of dynamical variables, of the environment. In the case of the bosonic environment this statement is exactly demonstrated via a constructive procedure that explicitly shows why a large number of environmental dynamical variables and, necessarily, global symmetries, entail the set of conditions derived in the first part of the work.Comment: 9 pages, close to published versio

Antiepileptic drugs in the treatment of headache: Neuroprotective effect or something else?

The hypothesis that cortical hyperexcitability may play an important role in the physiopathology of migraine has lead to the therapeutic use of antiepileptic drugs in headache prophylaxis. Cortical hyperexcitability is due to an imbalance between neuronal inhibition, mediated by gamma-aminobutyrric acid (GABA), and neuronal excitement, mediated by excitatory aminoacids. It becomes therefore clear how cortical excitability may be modulated by acting on mechanisms such as the synthesis and metabolism of GABA and on targets such as GABA and glutamate receptors and on sodium and calcium channels. The question is, whether, thanks to their tolerability and rapidity of action, these should be considered as first-choice prophylaxis drugs rather than simply as alternative drugs. Thanks to their action on the key-mechanisms implicated in the genesis and maintenance of pain, valproic acid, gabapentin, topiramate, levetiracetam and lamotrigine have all the requisites in terms of efficacy, tolerability and rapidity of action that are requested from a drug in order to be considered a firstchoice drug rather than simply an alternative to the drugs currently used. The expansion, however, of medical areas in which antiepileptic drugs are prescribed and the growing number of patients using them, require an increased sensitivization in order to avoid their incorrect use. © Springer-Verlag Italia 2004

Lung ultrasound may support internal medicine physicians in predicting the diagnosis, bacterial etiology and favorable outcome of community-acquired pneumonia

To assess the usefulness of lung ultrasound (LUS) for identifying community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) among adult patients with suspected lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) and for discriminating between CAP with different cultural statuses, etiologies, and outcomes. LUS was performed at internal medicine ward admission. The performance of chest X-ray (CXR) and LUS in diagnosing CAP in 410 patients with suspected LRTI was determined. All possible positive results for pneumonia on LUS were condensed into pattern 1 (consolidation + / - alveolar-interstitial syndrome) and pattern 2 (alveolar-interstitial syndrome). The performance of LUS in predicting culture-positive status, bacterial etiology, and adverse outcomes of CAP was assessed in 315 patients. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for diagnosing CAP by LUS was significantly higher than for diagnosis CAP by CXR (0.93 and 0.71, respectively; p < 0.001). Pattern 1 predicted CAP with bacterial and mixed bacterial and viral etiologies with positive predictive values of 99% (95% CI, 94-100%) and 97% (95% CI, 81-99%), respectively. Pattern 2 ruled out mortality with a negative predictive value of 95% (95% CI, 86-98%), respectively. In this study, LUS was useful in predicting a diagnosis of CAP, the bacterial etiology of CAP, and favorable outcome in patients with CAP

Effects of bariatric and metabolic surgical procedures on dyslipidemia: a retrospective, observational analysis.

Aim: Obesity and co-existing metabolic comorbidities are associated with increased cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality risks, generally clustered to risk factors such as dyslipidemia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the lipid profile changes in subjects with severe obesity undergoing different procedures of bariatric and metabolic surgery (BMS), sleeve gastrectomy (SG), and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) in a real-world, clinical setting. Methods: A single-center, retrospective, observational clinical study was performed enrolling patients undergoing BMS. The primary outcome was the change in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides. Results: In total, 123 patients were enrolled (males 25.2% and females 74.8%) with a mean age of 48.2 ± 7.9 years and a mean BMI of 47.0 ± 9.1 kg/m2. All patients were evaluated until 16.9 ± 8.1 months after surgery. Total and HDL cholesterol did not change after surgery, while a significant reduction in triglyceride levels was recorded. Moreover, a rapid decline of both LDL and non-HDL cholesterol among follow-up visits was observed. In particular, significant inverse correlations were found between total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides and the number of months elapsed after bariatric surgery. Similarly, a direct correlation was found considering HDL cholesterol. Moreover, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides significantly changed among visits after RYGB, while no changes were observed in the SG group. Finally, considering lipid-lowering therapies, the improvement in lipid asset was detected only in non-treated patients. Conclusion: This study corroborates the knowledge of the improvement in lipid profile with BMS in clinical practice. Together with sustained weight loss, the BMS approach efficiently corrects dyslipidemia, contributing to decreasing the CV risk

Pick-up & Deliver in Maintenance Management of Renewable Energy Power Plants

Logistic optimization is a strategic element in many industrial processes, given that an optimized logistics makes the processes more efficient. A relevant case, in which the optimization of logistics can be decisive, is the maintenance in a Wind Farm where it can lead directly to a saving of energy cost. Wind farm maintenance presents, in fact, significant logistical challenges. They are usually distributed throughout the territory and also located at considerable distances from each other, they are generally found in places far from uninhabited centers and sometimes difficult to reach and finally spare parts are rarely available on the site of the plant itself. In this paper, we will study the problem concerning the optimization of maintenance logistics of wind plants based on the use of specific vehicle routing optimization algorithms. In particular a pickup-and-delivery algorithm with time-window is adopted to satisfy the maintenance requests of these plants, reducing their management costs. The solution was applied to a case study in a renewable energy power plant. Results time reduction and simplification and optimization obtained in the real case are discussed to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the adopted approach

Effectiveness of Ginseng, Rutin and Moringa for the Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction: A Systematic Review

Introduction, The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the current evidence for the effectiveness of ginseng, Rutin and Moringa for treating erectile dysfunction. Methods, A broad search of the Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane and Web of Science databases was performed in complicance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The following criteria were required for articles to be included in the review: English language; observational studies (cohort studies, case control/comparative studies, single-arm studies); randomized controlled trials; non-randomized comparative studies; case series; number of participants: ≥5 for case series or ≥5 patients per group for comparative studies. The Cochrane risk of bias (RoB) assessment tool for RCTs was used to assess the risk of bias of included studies. Results, Seven full-text articles were included in this review. All studies were randomized controlled trials. No studies on Rutin and Moringa alone matched the inclusion criteria. The methodological quality of the RCTs was variable. In all studies, the group treated with ginseng reported an improvement of erectile function (EF) compared to the control groups. IIEF and IIEF-5 were used to evaluate erectile function in six studies and in four of them, the improvement of the scores in the group treated with ginseng over the control group reached the statistical significance. Conclusion, This review suggests a positive effect of ginseng on EF in men. The association of ginseng along with other nutritional components with potential beneficial effects on ED appears promising and deserves further investigation in large randomized controlled trials