High‐Density Sb2Te3 Nanopillars Arrays by Templated, Bottom‐Up MOCVD Growth

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Early X-ray and optical observations of the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 0418+5729

Emission of two short hard X-ray bursts on 2009 June 5 disclosed the existence of a new soft gamma-ray repeater, now catalogued as SGR 0418+5729. After a few days, X-ray pulsations at a period of 9.1 s were discovered in its persistent emission. SGR 0418+5729 was monitored almost since its discovery with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (2-10 keV energy range) and observed many times with Swift (0.2-10 keV). The source persistent X-ray emission faded by a factor 10 in about 160 days, with a steepening in the decay about 19 days after the activation. The X-ray spectrum is well described by a simple absorbed blackbody, with a temperature decreasing in time. A phase-coherent timing solution over the 160 day time span yielded no evidence for any significant evolution of the spin period, implying a 3-sigma upper limit of 1.1E-13 s/s on the period derivative and of 3E+13 G on the surface dipole magnetic field. Phase-resolved spectroscopy provided evidence for a significant variation of the spectrum as a function of the stellar rotation, pointing to the presence of two emitting caps, one of which became hotter during the outburst. Finally, a deep observation of the field of SGR 0418+5729 with the new Gran Telescopio Canarias 10.4-m telescope allowed us to set an upper limit on the source optical flux of i'>25.1 mag, corresponding to an X-ray-to-optical flux ratio exceeding 10000, consistent with the characteristics of other magnetars.Comment: The paper (10 pages) contains 6 colour figures and 2 tables; accepted for publication in MNRA

X-ray emission from isolated neutron stars

X-ray emission is a common feature of all varieties of isolated neutron stars (INS) and, thanks to the advent of sensitive instruments with good spectroscopic, timing, and imaging capabilities, X-ray observations have become an essential tool in the study of these objects. Non-thermal X-rays from young, energetic radio pulsars have been detected since the beginning of X-ray astronomy, and the long-sought thermal emission from cooling neutron star's surfaces can now be studied in detail in many pulsars spanning different ages, magnetic fields, and, possibly, surface compositions. In addition, other different manifestations of INS have been discovered with X-ray observations. These new classes of high-energy sources, comprising the nearby X-ray Dim Isolated Neutron Stars, the Central Compact Objects in supernova remnants, the Anomalous X-ray Pulsars, and the Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters, now add up to several tens of confirmed members, plus many candidates, and allow us to study a variety of phenomena unobservable in "standard'' radio pulsars.Comment: Chapter to be published in the book of proceedings of the 1st Sant Cugat Forum on Astrophysics, "ICREA Workshop on the high-energy emission from pulsars and their systems", held in April, 201

Transcriptional Subtyping and CD8 Immunohistochemistry Identifies Patients With Stage II and III Colorectal Cancer With Poor Prognosis Who Benefit From Adjuvant Chemotherapy

This work was funded by Cancer Research UK: C212/A13721 and C11884/A24387Peer reviewedPublisher PD

"Galileo Galilei" (GG) a small satellite to test the equivalence principle of Galileo, Newton and Einstein

"Galileo Galilei" (GG) is a small satellite designed to fly in low Earth orbit with the goal of testing the Equivalence Principle-which is at the basis of the General Theory of Relativity-to 1 part in 1017. If successful, it would improve current laboratory results by 4 orders of magnitude. A confirmation would strongly constrain theories; proof of violation is believed to lead to a scientific revolution. The experiment design allows it to be carried out at ambient temperature inside a small 1-axis stabilized satellite (250 kg total mass). GG is under investigation at Phase A-2 level by ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana) at Thales Alenia Space in Torino, while a laboratory prototype (known as GGG) is operational at INFN laboratories in Pisa, supported by INFN (Istituto Nazionale di fisica Nucleare) and ASI. A final study report will be published in 2009

P3‐209: Impact of Biomarkers On Diagnostic Confidence in Clinical Assessment of Patients with Suspected Alzheimer's Disease and High Diagnostic Uncertainty: An EADC Study

Background: NIA-AA and IWG diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) include core structural, functional, and CSF biomarkers. The impact of core biomarkers in clinical settings is still unclear. This study aimed at measuring the impact of core biomarkers on the diagnostic confidence of uncertain AD cases in a routine memory clinic setting. // Methods: 356 patients with mild dementia (MMSE = 20) or Mild Cognitive Impairment possibly due to AD were recruited in 17 European Alzheimer's Disease Consortium (EADC) memory clinics. The following variables were collected: age; sex; MMSE; neuropsychological evaluation including long term memory, executive functions, language and visuospatial abilities. Core biomarkers were collected following local practices: Scheltens’s visual assessment of medial temporal atrophy (MTA) on MR scan; visual assessment of hypometabolism/hypoperfusion on FDG-PET/SPECT brain scan; CSF Aß1-42, tau and phospho-tau levels. At diagnostic workup completion, an estimate of confidence that cognitive complaints were due to AD was elicited from clinicians on a structured scale ranging from 0 to 100. Only cases with uncertain diagnoses (confidence between 15% and 85%) were retained for analysis. Generalized linear models were used to describe the relationship between the collected measures and the diagnostic confidence of AD. // Results: Neuropsychological assessment was carried out in almost all cases (98% of the cases). Medial temporal atrophy ratings were done in 40% of cases, assessment of cortical hypometabolism/hypoperfusion in 34%, and CSF Aß and tau levels in 26%. The markers that better explained the variability of diagnostic confidence were CSF Aß1-42 level (R2=0.46) and hypometabolism/hypoperfusion (R2=0.45), followed by CSF tau level (R2=0.35), MTA assessment (R2=0.32) and. All figures were highly significant, at p<<0.001. The diagnostic confidence variability due to neuropsychological tests for different domains was lower: MMSE (R2=0.29); long term memory (R2=0.23); executive functions (R2=0.05); language (R2=0.02); visuospatial abilities (R2=0.04) even if significant (p<0.01). // Conclusions: The use of core biomarkers in the clinical assessment of subjects with suspected AD and high diagnostic uncertainty is still limited. However, when assessed, these biomarkers show a higher impact on diagnostic confidence of AD than the most widespread clinical measures

The multifaceted spectrum of liver cirrhosis in older hospitalised patients: Analysis of the REPOSI registry

Background: Knowledge on the main clinical and prognostic characteristics of older multimorbid subjects with liver cirrhosis (LC) admitted to acute medical wards is scarce. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of LC among older patients admitted to acute medical wards and to assess the main clinical characteristics of LC along with its association with major clinical outcomes and to explore the possibility that well-distinguished phenotypic profiles of LC have classificatory and prognostic properties. Methods: A cohort of 6,193 older subjects hospitalised between 2010 and 2018 and included in the REPOSI registry was analysed. Results: LC was diagnosed in 315 patients (5%). LC was associated with rehospitalisation (age-sex adjusted hazard ratio, [aHR] 1.44; 95% CI, 1.10-1.88) and with mortality after discharge, independently of all confounders (multiple aHR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.37-3.22), but not with in-hospital mortality and incident disability. Three main clinical phenotypes of LC patients were recognised: relatively fit subjects (FIT, N = 150), subjects characterised by poor social support (PSS, N = 89) and, finally, subjects with disability and multimorbidity (D&amp;M, N = 76). PSS subjects had an increased incident disability (35% vs 13%, P &lt; 0.05) compared to FIT. D&amp;M patients had a higher mortality (in-hospital: 12% vs 3%/1%, P &lt; 0.01; post-discharge: 41% vs 12%/15%, P &lt; 0.01) and less rehospitalisation (10% vs 32%/34%, P &lt; 0.01) compared to PSS and FIT. Conclusions: LC has a relatively low prevalence in older hospitalised subjects but, when present, accounts for worse post-discharge outcomes. Phenotypic analysis unravelled the heterogeneity of LC older population and the association of selected phenotypes with different clinical and prognostic features

Pain and Frailty in Hospitalized Older Adults

Introduction: Pain and frailty are prevalent conditions in the older population. Many chronic diseases are likely involved in their origin, and both have a negative impact on quality of life. However, few studies have analysed their association. Methods: In light of this knowledge gap, 3577 acutely hospitalized patients 65&nbsp;years or older enrolled in the REPOSI register, an Italian network of internal medicine and geriatric hospital wards, were assessed to calculate the frailty index (FI). The impact of pain and some of its characteristics on the degree of frailty was evaluated using an ordinal logistic regression model after adjusting for age and gender. Results: The prevalence of pain was 24.7%, and among patients with pain, 42.9% was regarded as chronic pain. Chronic pain was associated with severe frailty (OR = 1.69, 95% CI 1.38–2.07). Somatic pain (OR = 1.59, 95% CI 1.23–2.07) and widespread pain (OR = 1.60, 95% CI 0.93–2.78) were associated with frailty. Osteoarthritis was the most common cause of chronic pain, diagnosed in 157 patients (33.5%). Polymyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and other musculoskeletal diseases causing chronic pain were associated with a lower degree of frailty than osteoarthritis (OR = 0.49, 95%CI 0.28–0.85). Conclusions: Chronic and somatic pain negatively affect the degree of frailty. The duration and type of pain, as well as the underlying diseases associated with chronic pain, should be evaluated to improve the hospital management of frail older people

Adherence to antibiotic treatment guidelines and outcomes in the hospitalized elderly with different types of pneumonia

Background: Few studies evaluated the clinical outcomes of Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP), Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (HAP) and Health Care-Associated Pneumonia (HCAP) in relation to the adherence of antibiotic treatment to the guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Thoracic Society (ATS) in hospitalized elderly people (65 years or older). Methods: Data were obtained from REPOSI, a prospective registry held in 87 Italian internal medicine and geriatric wards. Patients with a diagnosis of pneumonia (ICD-9 480-487) or prescribed with an antibiotic for pneumonia as indication were selected. The empirical antibiotic regimen was defined to be adherent to guidelines if concordant with the treatment regimens recommended by IDSA/ATS for CAP, HAP, and HCAP. Outcomes were assessed by logistic regression models. Results: A diagnosis of pneumonia was made in 317 patients. Only 38.8% of them received an empirical antibiotic regimen that was adherent to guidelines. However, no significant association was found between adherence to guidelines and outcomes. Having HAP, older age, and higher CIRS severity index were the main factors associated with in-hospital mortality. Conclusions: The adherence to antibiotic treatment guidelines was poor, particularly for HAP and HCAP, suggesting the need for more adherence to the optimal management of antibiotics in the elderly with pneumonia