A search for time-integrated CP violation in D0→h−h+D^{0} \rightarrow h^{-}h^{+} decays

The LHCb Collaboration has recently observed evidence of CP violation in neutral D meson decays. CP violation in the charm sector is generically expected to be very small in the Standard Model, but can be enhanced in many models of new physics. In this document we will present the results of a search for time-integrated \CP violation in $D^0 \rightarrow h^- h^+$ with $(h=K,\pi)$ decays, performed with around 0.6 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected by LHCb in 2011. The difference in CP asymmetry between $D^0 \rightarrow K^- K^+$ and $D^0 \rightarrow \pi^- \pi^+$, $\Delta A_{CP} = A_{CP}(K^- K^+) - A_{CP}(\pi^- \pi^+)$ is measured to be $\Delta A_{CP} = [-0.82 \pm 0.21 (stat.) \pm 0.11 (syst.)]$ . This differs from the hypothesis of CP conservation by 3.5 sigma.Comment: to appear in the proceedings of The 5th International Workshop on Charm Physics (Charm 2012

Measuring the angle γ\gamma from penguin decays at LHCb

In this paper we present first LHCb results on charmless charged two- and three-body $B$ meson decays. In particular, using the first picobarn of integrated luminosity, LHCb observed the $B^{0}\rightarrow K^{+}\pi^{-}$ and $B^{+}\rightarrow K^{+}\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$ decays. Such decays provide an interesting way to determine the angle $\gamma$ of the Unitary Triangle, thanks to the possible presence of New Physics in the penguin loops.Comment: Proceedings of CKM2010, the 6th International Workshop on the CKM Unitarity Triangle, University of Warwick, UK, 6-10 September 201

Power Laws in Solar Flares: Self-Organized Criticality or Turbulence?

We study the time evolution of Solar Flares activity by looking at the statistics of quiescent times $\tau_{L}$ between successive bursts. The analysis of 20 years of data reveals a power law distribution with exponent $\alpha \simeq 2.4$ which is an indication of complex dynamics with long correlation times. The observed scaling behavior is in contradiction with the Self-Organized Criticality models of Solar Flares which predict Poisson-like statistics. Chaotic models, including the destabilization of the laminar phases and subsequent restabilization due to nonlinear dynamics, are able to reproduce the power law for the quiescent times. In the case of the more realistic Shell Model of MHD turbulence we are able to reproduce all the observed distributions.Comment: 4 pages, 4 postscript figures. Submitted to Physical Review Letter

Usefulness of Ultrasound Imaging in Detecting Psoriatic Arthritis of Fingers and Toes in Patients with Psoriasis

Background. Given that clinical evaluation may underestimate the joint damage and that early treatment can slow down psoriatic arthritis (PsA) progression, screening psoriasis patients with imaging tools that can depict early PsA changes would entail clear benefits. Objective. To compare the ability of X-ray and ultrasound (US) examination in detecting morphological abnormalities consistent with early PsA in patients with psoriasis, using rheumatological evaluation as the gold standard for diagnosis. Methods. Patients with chronic plaque psoriasis and no previous PsA diagnosis attending our outpatient dermatology clinic and reporting finger/toe joint and/or tendon pain underwent X-ray and US evaluation; they were subsequently referred to a rheumatologist for clinical examination and review of imaging findings. Results. Abnormal US and/or X-ray findings involving at least one finger and/or toe (joints and/or tendons) were seen in 36/52 patients: 11 had one or more X-ray abnormalities, including erosion, joint space narrowing, new bone formation, periarticular soft tissue swelling, and periarticular osteoporosis; 36 had suspicious changes on US. Conclusion. US proved valuable in detecting joint and/or tendon abnormalities in the fingers and toes of patients with suspicious changes. The dermatologist should consider US to obtain an accurate assessment of suspicious findings

Use of Knee Fractures Physical Replicas for Surgical Training and Rehearsal: Proof of Concept Study

In the last years also in orthopedic surgery, there was an increasing interest in the development of surgical simulators using methods of additive manufacturing combined or not with augmented reality systems (hybrid simulators). Aim of this work was to evaluate the use of a new patient’s specific tibial plateau fractures simulator for surgical training of young resident surgeons in fracture fixation with an external fixator. The simulator is a realistic knee phantom including a patient-specific replica of a fractured tibia and fibula, obtained by CT segmentation and rapid prototyping techniques. Each training session started with the presentation, and planning, of the surgical case that it was followed by the external fixation session on the simulator. At the end of each session, all participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire, concerning the phantom realism and appropriateness as a teaching modality. The results of the Likert Questionnaire indicating that there is an overall significant agreement with the phantom realism and its appropriateness as a teaching modality. The solid model of the patient’s anatomy can faithfully reproduce the surgical complexity of the patient and it allows to generate surgical simulators with an increasing difficulty to perform structured training paths: from the "simple" case to the "complex" case. The use of simulators based on 3D models has proved to be a very useful tool both for didactic and surgical training purposes, allowing surgeons to perform a real procedure simulation outside the surgical room

Dual-mode wake-up nodes for IoT monitoring applications: Measurements and algorithms

Internet of Things (IoTs)-based monitoring applications usually involve large-scale deployments of battery-enabled sensor nodes providing measurements at regular intervals. In order to guarantee the service continuity over time, the energy-efficiency of the networked system should be maximized. In this paper, we address such issue via a combination of novel hardware/software solutions including new classes of Wake-up radio IoT Nodes (WuNs) and novel data- and hardware-driven network management algorithms. Three main contributions are provided. First, we present the design and prototype implementation of WuN nodes able to support two different energy-saving modes; such modes can be configured via software, and hence dynamically tuned. Second, we show by experimental measurements that the optimal policy strictly depends on the application requirements. Third, we move from the node design to the network design, and we devise proper orchestration algorithms which select both the optimal set of WuN to wake-up and the proper energy-saving mode for each WuN, so that the application lifetime is maximized, while the redundancy of correlated measurements is minimized. The proposed solutions are extensively evaluated via OMNeT++ simulations under different IoT scenarios and requirements of the monitoring applications

Problematic Use of the Internet Mediates the Association between Reduced Mentalization and Suicidal Ideation: A Cross-Sectional Study in Young Adults

© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Suicide is a major public health problem, and it is urgent to investigate its underlying clinical and psychological concomitants. It has been suggested that low mentalization skills and problematic use of the internet (PUI) are factors that can play a role in suicidal behaviors. It is possible that poor mentalization skills contribute to leading to forms of PUI, which, in turn, can represent triggers for suicidal ideation (SI). We tested this hypothesis through a quantitative and cross-sectional study on a sample (n = 623) of young adults (age range: 18−34). Self-report measures investigating symptoms related to Social Media Addiction (SMA), Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD), mentalization capacity, and SI were used. A single mediation analysis with two mediators was carried out to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of mentalization on SI through the mediating role of SMA- and IGD-related symptoms, controlling for potential confounding factors (e.g., socio-demographic and addiction-related variables). The four explored variables were significantly associated with each other (all p 0.001) across all subjects; the mediational model showed that the total effect of mentalization on SI was significant (B = −0.821, SE = 0.092 (95% CI: −1.001; −0.641)) and that both SMA- (B = −0.073, SE = 0.034 (95% CI: −0.145; −0.008)) and IGD-related symptoms (B = 0.046, SE = 0.027 (95% CI: −0.107; −0.001)) were significant mediators of such association. Our findings support the possibility that PUI severity plays a relevant role in mediating the association between low mentalization skills and levels of SI.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Validation of cardiovascular magnetic resonance assessment of pericardial adipose tissue volume

© 2009 Nelson et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.Background Pericardial adipose tissue (PAT) has been shown to be an independent predictor of coronary artery disease. To date its assessment has been restricted to the use of surrogate echocardiographic indices such as measurement of epicardial fat thickness over the right ventricular free wall, which have limitations. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) offers the potential to non-invasively assess total PAT, however like other imaging modalities, CMR has not yet been validated for this purpose. Thus, we sought to describe a novel technique for assessing total PAT with validation in an ovine model. Methods 11 merino sheep were studied. A standard clinical series of ventricular short axis CMR images (1.5T Siemens Sonata) were obtained during mechanical ventilation breath-holds. Beginning at the mitral annulus, consecutive end-diastolic ventricular images were used to determine the area and volume of epicardial, paracardial and pericardial adipose tissue. In addition adipose thickness was measured at the right ventricular free wall. Following euthanasia, the paracardial adipose tissue was removed from the ventricle and weighed to allow comparison with corresponding CMR measurements. Results There was a strong correlation between CMR-derived paracardial adipose tissue volume and ex vivo paracardial mass (R2 = 0.89, p < 0.001). In contrast, CMR measurements of corresponding RV free wall paracardial adipose thickness did not correlate with ex vivo paracardial mass (R2 = 0.003, p = 0.878). Conclusion In this ovine model, CMR-derived paracardial adipose tissue volume, but not the corresponding and conventional measure of paracardial adipose thickness over the RV free wall, accurately reflected paracardial adipose tissue mass. This study validates for the first time, the use of clinically utilised CMR sequences for the accurate and reproducible assessment of pericardial adiposity. Furthermore this non-invasive modality does not use ionising radiation and therefore is ideally suited for future studies of PAT and its role in cardiovascular risk prediction and disease in clinical practiceAdam J Nelson, Matthew I Worthley, Peter J Psaltis, Angelo Carbone, Benjamin K Dundon, Rae F Duncan, Cynthia Piantadosi, Dennis H Lau, Prashanthan Sanders, Gary A Wittert and Stephen G Worthle

Children with special health care needs attending emergency department in Italy: analysis of 3479 cases

Background: Although children with special health care needs (CSHCN) represent a minority of the population, they go through more hospitalizations, more admissions to the Emergency Department (ED), and receive a major number of medical prescriptions, in comparison to general pediatric population. Objectives of the study were to determine the reasons for admission to the ED in Italian CSHCN, and to describe the association between patient's demographic data, clinical history, and health services requirements. Methods: Ad hoc web site was created to collect retrospective data of 3479 visits of CSHCN to the ED in 58 Italian Hospitals. Results: Seventy-two percent of patients admitted to ED were affected by a previously defined medical condition. Most of the ED admissions were children with syndromic conditions (54%). 44.2% of the ED admissions were registered during the night-time and/or at the weekends. The hospitalization rate was of 45.6% among patients admitted to the ED. The most common reason for admission to the ED was the presence of respiratory symptoms (26.6%), followed by gastrointestinal problems (21.3%) and neurological disorders (18.2%). 51.4% of the access were classified as 'urgent', with a red/yellow triage code. Considering the type of ED, 61.9% of the visits were conducted at the Pediatric EDs (PedEDs), 33.5% at the Functional EDs (FunEDs) and 4.6% at the Dedicated EDs (DedEDs). Patients with more complex clinical presentation were more likely to be evaluated at the PedEDs. CSHCN underwent to a higher number of medical procedures at the PedEDs, more in comparison to other EDs. Children with medical devices were directed to a PedED quite exclusively when in need for medical attention. Subjects under multiple anti-epileptic drug therapy attended to PedEDs or FunEDs generally. Patients affected by metabolic diseases were more likely to look for medical attention at FunEDs. Syndromic patients mostly required medical attention at the DedEDs. Conclusions: Access of CSHCN to an ED is not infrequent. For this reason, it is fundamental for pediatricians working in any kind of ED to increase their general knowledge about CHSCN and to gain expertise in the management of such patients and their related medical complexity