Surface X-ray Diffraction Study of a Bi-Layer Junction Based on Cu and Cd Sulfides for Photovoltaic Applications

none9noThis study investigates the crystal structure of thin films of chalcogenides, particularly a junction with a p-type (Cu2S) and an n-type (CdS) layer deposited one on top of the other on a Ag(111) substrate, starting from an aqueous solution and by means of electrochemical atomic layer deposition (E-ALD) (the system is denoted by (Cu2S)60/(CdS)60/Ag(111)).mixedTommaso Baroni; Francesco Di Benedetto; Andrea Giaccherini; Enrico Berretti; Francesca Russo; Annalisa Guerri; Massimo Innocenti; Francesco Carlà; Roberto FeliciBaroni, Tommaso; DI BENEDETTO, Francesco; Giaccherini, Andrea; Berretti, Enrico; Russo, Francesca; Guerri, Annalisa; Innocenti, Massimo; Carlà, Francesco; Felici, Robert

Identification of a panel of tumor-associated antigens from breast carcinoma cell lines, solid tumors and testis cDNA libraries displayed on lambda phage

BACKGROUND: Tumor-associated antigens recognized by humoral effectors of the immune system are a very attractive target for human cancer diagnostics and therapy. Recent advances in molecular techniques have led to molecular definition of immunogenic tumor proteins based on their reactivity with autologous patient sera (SEREX). METHODS: Several high complexity phage-displayed cDNA libraries from breast carcinomas, human testis and breast carcinoma cell lines MCF-7, MDA-MB-468 were constructed. The cDNAs were expressed in the libraries as fusion to bacteriophage lambda protein D. Lambda-displayed libraries were efficiently screened with sera from patients with breast cancer. RESULTS: A panel of 21 clones representing 18 different antigens, including eight proteins of unknown function, was identified. Three of these antigens (T7-1, T11-3 and T11-9) were found to be overexpressed in tumors as compared to normal breast. A serological analysis of the 21 different antigens revealed a strong cancer-related profile for at least five clones (T6-2, T6-7, T7-1, T9-21 and T9-27). CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary results indicate that patient serum reactivity against five of the antigens is associated with tumor disease. The novel T7-1 antigen, which is overexpressed in breast tumors and recognized specifically by breast cancer patient sera, is potentially useful in cancer diagnosis

Prevalence of Non-erosive Esophageal Phenotypes in Children. A European Multicenter Study

Background/aims: Since available data on pediatric non-erosive esophageal phenotypes (NEEPs) are scant, we investigated their prevalence and the phenotype-dependent treatment response in these children. Methods: Over a 5-year period, children with negative upper endoscopy, who underwent esophageal pH-impedance (off-therapy) for persisting symptoms not responsive to proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-treatment, were recruited. Based on the results of acid reflux index (RI) and symptom association probability (SAP), patients were categorized into: (1) abnormal RI (non-erosive reflux disease [NERD]), (2) normal RI and abnormal SAP (reflux hypersensitivity [RH]), (3) normal RI and normal SAP (functional heartburn [FH]), and (4) normal RI and not-reliable SAP (normal-RI-not otherwise-specified [normal-RI-NOS]). For each subgroup, treatment response was evaluated. Results: Out of 2333 children who underwent esophageal pH-impedance, 68 cases, including 18 NERD, 14 RH, 26 FH, and 10 normal-RI-NOS were identified as fulfilling the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Considering symptoms before endoscopy, chest pain was more reported in NERD than in other cases (6/18 vs 5/50, P = 0.031). At long-term follow-up of 23 patients (8 NERD, 8 FH, 2 RH, and 5 normal-RI-NOS): 17 were on PPIs and 2 combined alginate, 1 (FH) was on benzodiazepine + anticholinergic, 1 (normal-RI-NOS) on citalopram, and 3 had no therapy. A complete symptom-resolution was observed in 5/8 NERD, in 2/8 FH, and in 2/5 normal-RI-NOS. Conclusions: FH may be the most common pediatric NEEP. At long-term follow-up, there was a trend toward a more frequent complete symptom resolution with PPI-therapy in NERD patients while other groups did not benefit from extended acid-suppressive-treatment

WHO standards-based tools to measure service providers' and service users' views on the quality of hospital child care: development and validation in Italy

Objectives Evidence showed that, even in high-income countries, children and adolescents may not receive high quality of care (QOC). We describe the development and initial validation, in Italy, of two WHO standards-based questionnaires to conduct an assessment of QOC for children and young adolescents at inpatient level, based on the provider and user perspectives. Design Multiphase, mixed-methods study. Setting, participants and methods The two questionnaires were developed in four phases equally conducted for each tool. Phase 1 which included the prioritisation of the WHO Quality Measures according to predefined criteria and the development of the draft questionnaires. In phase 2 content face validation of the draft questionnaires was assessed among both experts and end-users. In phase 3 the optimised questionnaires were field tested to assess acceptability, perceived utility and comprehensiveness (N=163 end-users). In phase 4 intrarater reliability and internal consistency were evaluated (N=170 and N=301 end-users, respectively). Results The final questionnaires included 150 WHO Quality Measures. Observed face validity was excellent (kappa value of 1). The field test resulted in response rates of 98% and 76% for service users and health providers, respectively. Among respondents, 96.9% service users and 90.4% providers rated the questionnaires as useful, and 86.9% and 93.9%, respectively rated them as comprehensive. Intrarater reliability was good, with Cohen's kappa values exceeding 0.70. Cronbach alpha values ranged from 0.83 to 0.95, indicating excellent internal consistency. Conclusions Study findings suggest these tools developed have good content and face validity, high acceptability and perceived utility, and good intrarater reliability and internal consistency, and therefore could be used in health facilities in Italy and similar contexts. Priority areas for future research include how tools measuring paediatric QOC can be more effectively used to help health professionals provide the best possible care

BioNoMo. The biodiversity network of Mozambique

Mozambique biodiversity richness plays a pivotal role to achieve the sustainable development of the country. However, Mozambique's flora and fauna diversity still remains broadly unknown and poorly documented. To properly address this issue, one of the strategic needs expressed by the Mozambican institutions was the development of a national biodiversity data repository to aggregate, manage and make data available online. Thus, a sustainable infrastructure for the standardisation, aggregation, organisation and sharing of primary biodiversity data was developed. Named the "Biodiversity Network of Mozambique" (BioNoMo), such a tool serves as a national repository of biodiversity data and aggregates occurrence records of plants and animals in the country obtained from floristic and faunistic observations and from specimens of biological collections. In this paper, the authors present the structure and data of BioNoMO, including software details, the process of data gathering and aggregation, the taxonomic coverage and the WebGIS development. Currently, aggregating a total of 273,172 records, including 85,092 occurrence records of plants and 188,080 occurrence records of animals (41.2% terrestrial, 58,8% aquatic), BioNoMo represents the largest aggregator of primary biodiversity data in Mozambique and it is planned to grow further by aggregating new datasets

Pediatric admissions to emergency departments of North-Western Italy during COVID-19 pandemic: A retrospective observational study

COVID-19 pandemic caused huge decrease of pediatric admissions to Emergency Department (ED), arising concerns about possible delays in diagnosis and treatment of severe disorders

Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome in Children

Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS) is an underdiagnosed episodic syndrome characterized by frequent hospitalizations, multiple comorbidities, and poor quality of life. It is often misdiagnosed due to the unappreciated pattern of recurrence and lack of confirmatory testing. CVS mainly occurs in pre-school or early school-age, but infants and elderly onset have been also described. The etiopathogenesis is largely unknown, but it is likely to be multifactorial. Recent evidence suggests that aberrant brain-gut pathways, mitochondrial enzymopathies, gastrointestinal motility disorders, calcium channel abnormalities, and hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in response to a triggering environmental stimulus are involved. CVS is characterized by acute, stereotyped and recurrent episodes of intense nausea and incoercible vomiting with predictable periodicity and return to baseline health between episodes. A distinction with other differential diagnoses is a challenge for clinicians. Although extensive and invasive investigations should be avoided, baseline testing toward identifying organic causes is recommended in all children with CVS. The management of CVS requires an individually tailored therapy Management of acute phase is mainly based on supportive and symptomatic care. Early intervention with abortive agents during the brief prodromal phase can be used to attempt to terminate the attack. During the interictal period, non-pharmacologic measures as lifestyle changes and the use of reassurance and anticipatory guidance seem to be effective as a preventive treatment. The indication for prophylactic pharmacotherapy depends on attack intensity and severity, the impairment of the QoL and if attack treatments are ineffective or cause side effects. When children remain refractory to acute or prophylactic treatment, or the episode differs from previous ones, the clinician should consider the possibility of an underlying disease and further mono- or combination therapy and psychotherapy can be guided by accompanying comorbidities and specific sub-phenotype. This review was developed by a joint task force of the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (SIGENP) and Italian Society of Pediatric Neurology (SINP) to identify relevant current issues and to propose future research directions on pediatric CV

Epidemiology, Clinical Features and Prognostic Factors of Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Results From an Italian Multicenter Study

Background: Many aspects of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents remain unclear and optimal treatment is debated. The objective of our study was to investigate epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infection, focusing on risk factors for complicated and critical disease. Methods: The present multicenter Italian study was promoted by the Italian Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, involving both pediatric hospitals and general pediatricians/family doctors. All subjects under 18 years of age with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection and referred to the coordinating center were enrolled from March 2020. Results: As of 15 September 2020, 759 children were enrolled (median age 7.2 years, IQR 1.4; 12.4). Among the 688 symptomatic children, fever was the most common symptom (81.9%). Barely 47% of children were hospitalized for COVID-19. Age was inversely related to hospital admission (p < 0.01) and linearly to length of stay (p = 0.014). One hundred forty-nine children (19.6%) developed complications. Comorbidities were risk factors for complications (p < 0.001). Viral coinfections, underlying clinical conditions, age 5\u20139 years and lymphopenia were statistically related to ICU admission (p < 0.05). Garazzino et al. SARS-CoV-2 in Children and Adolescents Conclusions: Complications of COVID-19 in children are related to comorbidities and increase with age. Viral co-infections are additional risk factors for disease progression and multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporarily related to COVID-19 (MIS-C) for ICU admission