Characterization of Natural Killer cells from patients affected by pleural effusions. Caratterizzazione di cellule Natural Killer in pazienti affetti da versamento pleurico.

Natural killer (NK) cells are large innate lymphocytes involved in tumor recognition and eradication. NK cell activity is impaired in cancer patients and in NSCLC these cells showed a pro-angiogenic phenotype and function. We investigated whether NK cells infiltrating inflammatory or malignant pleural effusions caused by primary or metastatic tumors of different origins (iPE, ptPE and tmPE, respectively) are able to acquire pro-tumor and pro-angiogenic features. PE-NK cells are enriched in CD56bright CD16- NK cells expressing the decidual NK marker CD49a and the activation marker CD69, in addition to a lower expression of the CD57 maturation marker. Furthermore, NK cells derived from tmPE display pro-angiogenic properties: they are predominantly VEGF+ and they are able to induce capillary-like structures in vitro on human endothelial cells. Moreover, NK cells from all patient samples showed lower cytotoxicity against K562 tumor target cells and lower positivity for perforin in comparison to peripheral blood of healthy donors (hPB) NK cells. After 3-day of NK culture with IL-2, PE-NK cells restored their cytotoxicity, whereas in PB-NK cells from patients did not reach a high level of killing capacity. 3-day culture using IL-2 plus TGF\u3b2 or IL-2 added with enriched pleural effusion milieu, only partially restored the cytotoxic potential. Purified hPB NK cells treated for 7 days with IL-15 and pleural effusions acquired a pro-angiogenic phenotype, showing cell polarization towards the CD56bright CD16dim IFN\u3b3low NK cell subset, suggesting that in the PE milieu, diverse soluble factors are able to skew cytotoxic NK cells into pro-tumor, pro-angiogenic NK cells

Problematic smartphone use and psychological well-being: the role of loneliness and metacognitive beliefs

openL’utilizzo massivo della tecnologia, nel corso degli anni, ha contribuito a modificare la vita quotidiana di ciascun individuo, trasformando non solo le forme di comunicazione, ora globalizzate, ma anche la percezione del mondo e il modo in cui lo stesso viene esperito. La disponibilità degli strumenti digitali, in primis lo smartphone, ha infatti generato una graduale ma repentina “rivoluzione” tecnologica e sociologica. Non sorprende, allora, che uno dei problemi principali della società contemporanea sia la quotidiana iperstimolazione causata dai dispositivi digitali, la quale può sfociare in deficit dell’attenzione, difficoltà di adattamento e comunicazione sociale o ancora isolamento e distress emotivo. Risulta sempre più evidente come un numero elevato di giovani sviluppi un attaccamento ossessivo allo smartphone e come, in generale, stiano aumentando drasticamente gli utenti che presentano un utilizzo problematico dello strumento, il quale interferisce nello sviluppo dell’identità e dell’immagine di sé stessi. Il fine del presente lavoro di ricerca è proprio quello di raccogliere informazioni utili allo sviluppo di interventi e protocolli atti a minimizzare i danni psicofisici, siano essi potenziali o attuali, causati dall’uso disfunzionale dei devices digitali. Assumendo che il pubblico usufruisca dinamicamente dei mezzi di comunicazione per soddisfare determinate necessità, si sono volute indagare le modalità e le preferenze di utilizzo dello smartphone, nonché gli stati interni e le credenze che sostengono tali scelte. I risultati mostrano che esistono correlazioni positive tra l’utilizzo problematico dello smartphone e l’insorgenza di sintomatologia ansiosa e depressiva e come lo specifico tipo di utilizzo contribuisca a definire la portata della compromissione, maggiore nel campione di popolazione giovane. Ulteriori variabili indagate sono la percezione soggettiva di solitudine, con particolare riguardo alla sua componente psicologica, e la presenza di credenze metacognitive negative. Entrambe risultano correlate positivamente alle variabili principali (utilizzo problematico dello smartphone e insorgenza di sintomi ansiosi e depressivi), consentendo una comprensione più approfondita del fenomeno in questione e offendo un’opportunità per raggiungere più agevolmente determinati obiettivi clinici e/o sviluppare nuovi interventi preventivi

Considering Core Density in Hybrid Clusters

As new HPC technologies appear, small local research laboratories face uncertain options when building hybrid clusters. Users may find difficult to choose among several multicore products with different core densities. Our research project intends to build knowledge about HPC problems to be able to help local researchers. We analyze NUMA hardware for use in clusters and present a case study. We run a well-known benchmark over MPI and advise the user depending on application features.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Profiling MPI applications with mixed instrumentation

Our research project intends to build knowledge about HPC problems to be able to help local researchers. In order to advise users in choosing parallel machines to run their applications, we want to establish a general methodology, requiring as shallow information as possible, to characterize parallel applications. To draw a profile of a closed, message-passing application, we look for convenient tools for inspection on the distribution of communication primitives. We show a feasible way to do black-box instrumentation of closed MPI applications.Presentado en el X Workshop Procesamiento Distribuido y Paralelo (WPDP)Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030