Dysphagia: What we know? a minireview

Dysphagia refers either to the difficulty someone may have with the initial phases of a swallow (usually described as oropharyngeal dysphagia, “OD”) or to the sensation that foods and or liquids are somehow being obstructed in their passage from the mouth to the stomach (usually described as “esophageal dysphagia”). In patients with no indication of a somatic disease or abnormality, psychiatric conditions must be considered as a possible cause of OD. Moreover, diagnosis and treatment of dysphagia are not standardized. There is no universal standard tool for screening or clinical assessment of OD. Education of health professionals on early diagnosis and improvement of therapeutic strategies are mainstays to allow maximal recovery potential in this population. Future studies, clinical trials, clinical evidence and clear guidelines are needed to manage this condition

Quantum fluctuations in thin superconducting wires of finite length

In one dimensional wires, fluctuations destroy superconducting long-range order and stiffness at finite temperatures; in an infinite wire, quasi-long range order and stiffness survive at zero temperature if the wire's dimensionless admittance $\mu$ is large, $\mu > 2$. We analyze the disappearance of this superconductor-insulator quantum phase transition in a finite wire and its resurrection due to the wire's coupling to its environment characterized through the dimensionless conductance $K$. Integrating over phase slips, we determine the flow of couplings and establish the $\mu$--$K$ phase diagram.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Human-Animal Interaction in Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI)s: Zoonosis Risks, Benefits, and Future Directions—A One Health Approach

: Animal-assisted interventions (AAI)s represent the expression of integrated medicine, according to the One Health approach. Actually, animal-assisted therapies and animal-assisted activities are implemented in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, etc. The efficacy of AAIs is based on interspecific interactions and would be impacted by different factors, such as the characters of both the animal and the handler, a suitable selection of animal species, an appropriate animal educational protocol, the relationship between the handler and the animal, and mutual relationship among the animal, the patients, and members of the working team. AAIs produce many advantages for the patients but could expose them to zoonotic-pathogens transmission. Therefore, positive animal welfare, as preventative medicine to avoid incidents or transmission of zoonosis, is a relevant aspect with implications for human and animal health and wellbeing. This review aims to summarize the current published knowledge regarding the occurrence of pathogens in AAIs and to discuss their relevance in light of health and safety in AAIs participants. In addition, this review will contribute to defining the state of the art of AAIs through a careful benefits/challenges analysis and offers discussion points on the possible future developments according to the One Health approach

Oxygen therapy in headache disorders: A systematic review

Background: The global active prevalence of migraines is approximately 14.7%. Oxygen therapy may reduce the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) which often have various negative side effects. The purpose of this systematic review is to analyze the literature on the efficacy of high flow oxygen for the management of headache disorders, compared to placebo treatment. Methods: Studies were identified by PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus database from 1980 to the 30 October 2020. The search included the following terms: “oxygen therapy” and “headache” and “migraine”. Studies were included if high flow oxygen was used in the treatment of headache disorders. All selected studies were qualitatively analyzed. Results: Our literature search identified 71 studies, of which 65 were discarded and 6 were included in the meta-analysis. The random effect model did not show a pooled significant resolution of headache disorders (OR 2.08 (95% CI 0.92–4.70), p < 0.0001) in the oxygen therapy group compared to the placebo group. Conclusion: In our systematic review of six studies, there were no significant differences between high flow oxygen and placebo treatment groups

Human Bone-Marrow-Derived Stem-Cell-Seeded 3D Chitosan–Gelatin–Genipin Scaffolds Show Enhanced Extracellular Matrix Mineralization When Cultured under a Perfusion Flow in Osteogenic Medium

Tissue-engineered bone tissue grafts are a promising alternative to the more conventional use of natural donor bone grafts. However, choosing an appropriate biomaterial/scaffold to sustain cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation in a 3D environment remains one of the most critical issues in this domain. Recently, chitosan/gelatin/genipin (CGG) hybrid scaffolds have been proven as a more suitable environment to induce osteogenic commitment in undifferentiated cells when doped with graphene oxide (GO). Some concern is, however, raised towards the use of graphene and graphene-related material in medical applications. The purpose of this work was thus to check if the osteogenic potential of CGG scaffolds without added GO could be increased by improving the medium diffusion in a 3D culture of differentiating cells. To this aim, the level of extracellular matrix (ECM) mineralization was evaluated in human bone-marrow-derived stem cell (hBMSC)-seeded 3D CGG scaffolds upon culture under a perfusion flow in a dedicated custom-made bioreactor system. One week after initiating dynamic culture, histological/histochemical evaluations of CGG scaffolds were carried out to analyze the early osteogenic commitment of the culture. The analyses show the enhanced ECM mineralization of the 3D perfused culture compared to the static counterpart. The results of this investigation reveal a new perspective on more efficient clinical applications of CGG scaffolds without added GO

Asymptotic Energy Dependence of Hadronic Total Cross Sections from Lattice QCD

The nonperturbative approach to soft high-energy hadron-hadron scattering, based on the analytic continuation of Wilson-loop correlation functions from Euclidean to Minkowskian theory, allows to investigate the asymptotic energy dependence of hadron-hadron total cross sections in lattice QCD. In this paper we will show, using best fits of the lattice data with proper functional forms satisfying unitarity and other physical constraints, how indications emerge in favor of a universal asymptotic high-energy behavior of the kind B log^2 s for hadronic total cross sections.Comment: Revised and extended version; 29 pages, 4 figure

Spin-Orbit-Induced Magnetic Anisotropy for Impurities in Metallic Samples I. Surface Anisotropy

Motivated by the recent measurements of Kondo resistivity in thin films and wires, where the Kondo amplitude is suppressed for thinner samples, the surface anisotropy for magnetic impurities is studied. That anisotropy is developed in those cases where in addition to the exchange interaction with the impurity there is strong spin-orbit interaction for conduction electrons around the impurity in the ballistic region. The asymmetry in the neighborhood of the magnetic impurity exhibits the anisotropy axis $n$ which, in the case of a plane surface, is perpendicular to the surface. The anisotropy energy is $\Delta E=K_d (nS)^2$ for spin $S$, and the anisotropy constant $K_d$ is inversionally proportional to distance $d$ measured from the surface and $K_d>0$. Thus at low temperature the spin is frozen in a singlet or doublet of lowest energy. The influence of that anisotropy on the electrical resistivity is the subject of the following paper (part II).Comment: 28 pages, RevTeX (using epsfig), 8 eps figures included, submitted to PR

Theory of magnetoresistance in films of dilute magnetic alloys

Earlier a magnetic anisotropy for magnetic impurities nearby the surface of non-magnetic host was proposed in order to explain the size dependence of the Kondo effect in dilute magnetic alloys. Recently Giordano has measured the magnetoresistance of dilute Au(Fe) films for different thicknesses well above the Kondo temperature $T_K$. In this way he verified the existence of that anisotropy even for such a case where the Kondo effect is not dominating. For detailed comparison of that suggestion with experiments, the magnetic field dependence of the magnetoresistance is calculated in the lowest approximation, thus in the second order of the exchange coupling. The strength of the anisotropy is very close to earlier estimates deduced from the size dependence of the Kondo resistivity amplitude.Comment: (11 pages, 8 figures, essential changes compared to the old version

Wilson-loop formalism for Reggeon exchange in soft high-energy scattering

We derive a nonperturbative expression for the non-vacuum, qqbar-Reggeon-exchange contribution to the meson-meson elastic scattering amplitude at high energy and low momentum transfer, in the framework of QCD. Describing the mesons in terms of colourless qqbar dipoles, the problem is reduced to the two-fermion-exchange contribution to the dipole-dipole scattering amplitudes, which is expressed as a path integral, over the trajectories of the exchanged fermions, of the expectation value of a certain Wilson loop. We also show how the resulting expression can be reconstructed from a corresponding quantity in the Euclidean theory, by means of analytic continuation. Finally, we make contact with previous work on Reggeon exchange in the gauge/gravity duality approach.Comment: A few misprints in the expressions for the relevant Wilson loops have been corrected. 55 pages, 7 figure

Pasta consumption and connected dietary habits: Associations with glucose control, adiposity measures, and cardiovascular risk factors in people with type 2 diabetes—TOSCA.IT study

Background: Pasta is a refined carbohydrate with a low glycemic index. Whether pasta shares the metabolic advantages of other low glycemic index foods has not really been investigated. The aim of this study is to document, in people with type-2 diabetes, the consumption of pasta, the connected dietary habits, and the association with glucose control, measures of adiposity, and major cardiovascular risk factors. Methods: We studied 2562 participants. The dietary habits were assessed with the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) questionnaire. Sex-specific quartiles of pasta consumption were created in order to explore the study aims. Results: A higher pasta consumption was associated with a lower intake of proteins, total and saturated fat, cholesterol, added sugar, and fiber. Glucose control, body mass index, prevalence of obesity, and visceral obesity were not significantly different across the quartiles of pasta intake. No relation was found with LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, but there was an inverse relation with HDL-cholesterol. Systolic blood pressure increased with pasta consumption; but this relation was not confirmed after correction for confounders. Conclusions: In people with type-2 diabetes, the consumption of pasta, within the limits recommended for total carbohydrates intake, is not associated with worsening of glucose control, measures of adiposity, and major cardiovascular risk factors