Managing Adult-onset Still's disease: The effectiveness of high-dosage of corticosteroids as first-line treatment in inducing the clinical remission. Results from an observational study

To assess the effectiveness of the treatment with high dosage of corticosteroids (CCSs), as first-line therapy, in inducing remission in naïve Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) patients compared with low dosage of CCSs, after 6 months. To further evaluate the rate of patients maintaining the remission and the rate of CCSs discontinuation, after additional 12 months of follow-up.A retrospective evaluation of patients prospectively followed was designed to compare the rate of clinical remission in naïve AOSD patients treated with high dosages of CCSs (0.8-1 mg/kg/day of prednisone-equivalent) or low dosage of CCSs (0.2-0.3 mg/kg/day of prednisone-equivalent), after 6 months. An additional analysis was performed to compare the rate of monocyclic pattern between these groups, after further 12 months of follow-up.The clinical remission was achieved in a higher percentage of patients treated with the first-line treatment with high dosage of CCSs than treated the first-line treatment with low dosage of CCSs. At the end of 18 months of follow-up, a larger percentage of patients treated the first-line treatment with high dosage of CCSs was classified as monocyclic pattern and discontinued CCSs when compared with patients treated the first-line treatment with low dosage of CCSs. Patients defined as CCSs non-responder were treated with methotrexate (MTX)+CCSs or with combination therapy CCSs+MTX+biologic drug. The clinical remission was observed in a percentage of these patients.We showed the effectiveness of the first-line treatment with high dosage of CCSs in inducing clinical remission in naïve AOSD patients when compared with the first-line treatment with low dosage of CCSs. The first-line treatment with high dosage of CCSs was also associated with the achievement of monocyclic pattern and CCSs discontinuation, after 18 months of follow-up

Gender assessment through three-dimensional analysis of maxillary sinuses by means of Cone Beam Computed Tomography

OBJECTIVE: The availability of a low dose radiation technology such as Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) in dental practice has increased the number of scans available for forensic purposes. Moreover, specific software allows for three-dimensional (3D) characterization of the maxillary sinuses. This study was performed to determine whether sinus maxillary volumes can be useful to identify gender after validating the use of the Dolphin software as a tool for volumetric estimation of maxillary sinus volumes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The validation was performed by four different operators measuring the volume of six phantoms, where the real volume was already known. The maxillary sinus volumes of 52 patients (26 males and 26 females) mean age 24.3 were calculated and compared between genders and sagittal skeletal class subdivision. The measurements for patients and phantoms were based on CBCT scans (ILUMA™) processed by Dolphin 3D software. RESULTS: No statistical difference was observed between the real volume and the volume measurements performed by the operators. No statistical difference was found in patient's maxillary sinus volumes between gender. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our results, it is not possible to support the use of maxillary sinuses to discern sexual difference in corpse identification

Ergodic property of Markovian semigroups on standard forms of von Neumann algebras

We give sufficient conditions for ergodicity of the Markovian semigroups associated to Dirichlet forms on standard forms of von Neumann algebras constructed by the method proposed in Refs. [Par1,Par2]. We apply our result to show that the diffusion type Markovian semigroups for quantum spin systems are ergodic in the region of high temperatures where the uniqueness of the KMS-state holds.Comment: 25 page

Eco-efficient and sustainable settlement experimentation in Mediterranean housing

Eco-efficient and sustainable settlement experimentation in Mediterranean housing Settlement experimentation in Europe is currently characterised by the attempt to promote energy efficient and environmentally sustainable housing in an evolutionary, organic and integrated sense; this approach could become a guiding tool for the transformation of the built environment, the latter consisting in the development and construction of a urban environment that shows sensibility towards ecological-environmental issues and social ones. The focal points of such research experiences are housing projects built in Northern and Central European countries; the latter being very interesting projects that have become models for the rest of EU countries, showing what can be obtained in the contemporary experimentation field. In respect to these study cases, now all we need is to find ways to transfer the acquired knowhow in Mediterranean countries and therefore to adapt the new sustainable strategies to the Mediterranean climate. In this framework the paper wishes to offer an exploration on a research case study, carried out in central Italy, about the development of Mediterranean sustainable development

On the ultraviolet behaviour of quantum fields over noncommutative manifolds

By exploiting the relation between Fredholm modules and the Segal-Shale-Stinespring version of canonical quantization, and taking as starting point the first-quantized fields described by Connes' axioms for noncommutative spin geometries, a Hamiltonian framework for fermion quantum fields over noncommutative manifolds is introduced. We analyze the ultraviolet behaviour of second-quantized fields over noncommutative 3-tori, and discuss what behaviour should be expected on other noncommutative spin manifolds.Comment: 10 pages, RevTeX version, a few references adde

FROM THE GENERAL DOCUMENTATION OF HADRIAN'S VILLA TO DESIGN ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX CUPOLAS: A PROCEDURAL APPROACH

Abstract. The paper illustrates the progress of Hadrian's Villa digital documentation with special emphasis on a series of modelling issues emerged while studying vaults and cupolas of the site. Together with the more general problem of giving scientific coherence to both active and passive sensor outputs – systematically gathered from 2013 – a methodological problem concerning data interpretation of complex opus caementicium vaults have become dramatically important for the interdisciplinary research team. A methodology for improving the understanding the original shapes of Hadrianic cupolas was designed to provide scholars and professionals operating at the Villa with reliable and easy to use outputs, for interpretation, restoration, maintenance practice. Sensors integration played a fundamental role since allowed researchers a global understanding of intrados and extrados surfaces using reverse modelling applications. Features and 2D primitives extracted from high-resolution models were analysed in order to create flexible procedural models of reconstruction hypothesis/completion of cupolas. Due to the very nature of these shapes (apparently irregular), but with a solid geometric conception, we applied the last achievements of Catmull-Clark bicubic surfaces in combination with Visual Programming Language (VPL).</p

Heron’s Legacy: An Example of Ancient Calculations Applied to Roman Imperial Architecture

Heron of Alexandria is a well-known author in the field of mathematics and engineering, but his work is of great interest for understanding ancient construction problems related to architecture. The formulas translated and commented on by Heiberg (1914a, b) are analyzed through geometric diagrams and applied to famous Roman domed architecture

Report 1 PHIN-CARE-JRA2-WP3 Second Task: Pulse Shaping

This report presents the activity developed on laser pulse shaping argument in years 2004-2005 by Milano-INFN within the framework of CARE /JRA2 \Charge production with Photoinjectors" second task \Pulse Shaping". A dedicated laser system with the relative diagnostic tools have been developed. A liquid crystal programmable spatial light modulator(LCP-SLM) shaper have been studied and set for the generation of di®erent waveforms. The shaper is integrated in the laser system for an automatic generation of the target waveforms via the insetion of a computer which drives the system through the developed software. The system can be programmed to generate any target waveform compatible with the spectral bandwidth of the laser system and some exemples are presented. The following issues are treated: (i) the operation stability as function of perturbations of the set-up parameters, (ii) the design of the shaper for the SPARC project, (iii) a new shaper concept for the generation of long target waveforms and (iiii) the rectangular pulse generation at the second harmonic

Blocking CD248 molecules in perivascular stromal cells of patients with systemic sclerosis strongly inhibits their differentiation toward myofibroblasts and proliferation: A new potential target for antifibrotic therapy

Background: Fibrosis may be considered the hallmark of systemic sclerosis (SSc), the end stage triggered by different pathological events. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) are profibrotic molecules modulating myofibroblast differentiation and proliferation, respectively. There is evidence linking CD248 with these two molecules, both highly expressed in patients with SSc, and suggesting that CD248 may be a therapeutic target for several diseases. The aim of this work was to evaluate the expression of CD248 in SSc skin and its ability to modulate SSc fibrotic process. Methods: After ethical approval was obtained, skin biopsies were collected from 20 patients with SSc and 10 healthy control subjects (HC). CD248 expression was investigated in the skin, as well as in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) treated with TGF-β or PDGF-BB, by immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR, and Western blotting. Finally, in SSc-MSCs, the CD248 gene was silenced by siRNA. Results: Increased expression of CD248 was found in endothelial cells and perivascular stromal cells of SSc skin. In SSc-MSCs, the levels of CD248 and α-smooth muscle actin expression were significantly higher than in HC-MSCs. In both SSc- and HC-MSCs, PDGF-BB induced increased expression of Ki-67 when compared with untreated cells but was unable to modulate CD248 levels. After CD248 silencing, both TGF-β and PDGF-BB signaling were inhibited in SSc-MSCs. Conclusions: CD248 overexpression may play an important role in the fibrotic process by modulating the molecular target, leading to perivascular cells differentiation toward myofibroblasts and interfering with its expression, and thus might open a new therapeutic strategy to inhibit myofibroblast generation during SSc

Development and validation of the Music Cognitive Test: a music-based cognitive screening test

Specific tools to measure the cognitive benefits of music therapy and music-rehabilitation training available to music therapists are few and empirically weak: they are mostly psychometrically unrefined or based on unclear tasks and scoring protocols; they do not take into consideration distinct cognitive functions or are based on exclusively observational protocols. To overcome these limitations, we developed a 15-min cognitive screening tool suitable for music therapists, MCT (Music Cognitive Test), which assesses cognitive abilities stimulated by music-making activities (e.g., attentional, verbal and executive functions, short- and long-term memory) by including music-based items. MCT was validated with 335 participants (aged 18-100y.o.) presenting a range of cognitive levels, from healthy cognition to severe impairment. MCT correlated strongly and positively with well-known tests: MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination), MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) and SMMSE (Severe Mini-Mental State Examination). MCT also displayed excellent sensitivity in identifying impaired individuals according to both MMSE and MoCA diagnostic criteria (99.4% and 93.0%, respectively), and excellent specificity in identifying healthy participants based on MMSE (93.5%) and MoCA (97.8%) criteria. Overall, results highlight the reliability of this novel brief music-focused cognitive screening test, to enable music therapists to independently and consistently monitor the effectiveness of their intervention on cognitive functions