Quality of T-Cell Response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine in ART-Treated PLWH

We investigated specific humoral and T-cell responses in people living with HIV (PLWH) before (T0), after two (T1) and after six months (T2) from the third dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine. Healthy donors (HD) were enrolled. The specific humoral response was present in most PLWH already after the second dose, but the third dose increased both the rate of response and its magnitude. Collectively, no significant differences were found in the percentage of responding T-cells between PLWH and HD. At T0, stratifying PLWH according to CD4 cell count, a lower percentage of responding T-cells in <200 cells/µL subgroup compared to >200 cells/µL one was observed. At T1, this parameter was comparable between the two subgroups, and the same result was found at T2. However, the pattern of co-expression of IFNγ, IL2 and TNFα in PLWH was characterized by a higher expression of TNFα, independently of CD4 cell count, indicating a persistent immunological signature despite successful ART. mRNA vaccination elicited a specific response in most PLWH, although the cellular one seems qualitatively inferior compared to HD. Therefore, an understanding of the T-cell quality dynamic is needed to determine the best vaccination strategy and, in general, the capability of immune response in ART-treated PLWH.     

Dynamic price forecast in a competitive electricity market

Price forecast is a key issue in competitive electricity markets. It provides useful information for the market players and the regulators, in both short and long run. Different approaches have been proposed and implemented. A new dynamic approach for forecasting the market price of electricity in the short term is proposed. The price dates are first clustered according to different types of daily profiles and then, given a proper function representing the trend in price, the set of unknown parameters are identified based on the zeroing of a Lyapunov function. The forecast can be dynamically updated with the latest data available. Higher weight can be attributed to this data in determining the future prices. The proposed approach is validated with reference to real systems in the form of the Italian, New England and New York electricity markets. In addition, an extensive price forecast is provided for the Italian market, an example of a young market that is rather difficult to predict patterns for.     

Classification of olive oils according to geographical origin by using H NMR fingerprinting combined with multivariate analysis

Authentic extravirgin olive oils from 7 different regions (Italy – 3 regions, Greece – 4 regions) have been investigated by ¹H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) fingerprinting in combination with multivariate statistical analysis. In order to cover the dominating lipid signals as well as signals from compounds of low abundance in the oil, both a simple one pulse experiment and an experiment with multiple saturation of the lipid signals was applied to each sample. Thus, the dynamic range of concentrations covered by the two experiments was of the order of 100,000 allowing for a more comprehensive NMR assessment of the samples. Monte-Carlo embedded cross-validation was used to demonstrate that a combination of principal component analysis, canonical analysis, and classification via nearest class mean can be used to predict the origin of olive oil samples from ¹H NMR data. Given the rather limited number of samples tested, correct prediction probabilities of 78% were achieved with region specific correct predictions between 53% and 100%.     

Dendritic Growth Morphologies in Al-Zn Alloys—Part II: Phase-Field Computations

In Part I of this article, the role of the Zn content in the development of solidification microstructures in Al-Zn alloys was investigated experimentally using X-ray tomographic microscopy. The transition region between ${\langle{100}\rangle}$ dendrites found at low Zn content and ${\langle{110}\rangle}$ dendrites found at high Zn content was characterized by textured seaweed-type structures. This Dendrite Orientation Transition (DOT) was explained by the effect of the Zn content on the weak anisotropy of the solid–liquid interfacial energy of Al. In order to further support this interpretation and to elucidate the growth mechanisms of the complex structures that form in the DOT region, a detailed phase-field study exploring anisotropy parameters’ space is presented in this paper. For equiaxed growth, our results essentially recapitulate those of Haxhimali et al.[1] in simulations for pure materials. We find distinct regions of the parameter space associated with ${\langle{100}\rangle}$ and ${\langle{110}\rangle}$ dendrites, separated by a region where hyperbranched dendrites are observed. In simulations of directional solidification, we find similar behavior at the extrema, but in this case, the anisotropy parameters corresponding to the hyperbranched region produce textured seaweeds. As noted in the experimental work reported in Part I, these structures are actually dendrites that prefer to grow misaligned with respect to the thermal gradient direction. We also show that in this region, the dendrites grow with a blunted tip that oscillates and splits, resulting in an oriented trunk that continuously emits side branches in other directions. We conclude by making a correlation between the alloy composition and surface energy anisotropy parameters.     

Preparation of macroscopically distinguishable superpositions of circular or linear oscillatory states of a bidimensionally trapped ion

Abstract

A simple scheme for the generation of two different classes of bidimensional vibrational Schrödinger cat-like states of an isotropically trapped ion is presented. We show that by appropriately adjusting an easily controllable parameter having a clear physical meaning, the states prepared by our procedure are quantum superpositions of either vibrational axial angular momentum eigenstates or Fock states along two orthogonal directions.     

Invasive fungal infections in patients with hematologic malignancies (aurora project): lights and shadows during 18-months surveillance

The aim of this multicenter prospective study was to evaluate the incidence of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) in adult and pediatric patients with hematologic malignancies, involving nine nosocomial facilities in Southern Italy over a period of 18 months. Furthermore, results of an environmental microbial surveillance routinely carried out in some of the enrolled hospitals are reported. A total of 589 onco-hematological patients were enrolled and 27 IFIs were documented. The main infections were caused by yeasts, more than filamentous fungi (overall incidence of 2.7% and 1.9%, respectively). The yeasts were mainly represented by Candida spp. (87.5%), all isolated by blood cultures; C. parapsilosis was the most common species. Among mould infections, the most frequent site was the lung, with regard to aspergillosis (81.8%). In six of the 10 patients with suspected aspergillosis, the diagnosis was made by the detection of galactomannan and (1,3)-β-d-glucan antigens. The microbiological surveillance carried out on 156 air, 312 water and 312 surface samples revealed low environmental contamination: Alternaria alternata was the only fungus isolated from two surface samples. Our data, especially the low occurrence of filamentous fungi, suggest a particular local epidemiology. Further studies are needed to confirm this microbiological trend in onco-hematological patients in Southern Italy, the results of which might be helpful to improve the management of these patients.     

Experimental study of the separation behavior of nanoparticles in micro- and nanochannels

In this article, we investigate the effects of pH, ionic strength, and channel height on the mobility and diffusivity of charged spherical particles within planar microfluidic channels. Specifically, we report results of a broad experimental study on the transport and separation behavior of 50 and 100 nm spherical carboxylated polystyrene nanoparticles, confined in 20 μm, 1 μm, and 250 nm deep fluidic channels. We find that pH, ionic strength, and channel height have coupled impacts on mobility changes. In particular, we show that, depending on pH, the dependence of particle mobility on channel size can have opposing behavior. In addition, we also show that at the nanoscale, at lower ionic strengths, there is a substantial increase in mobility, due to enhanced electric fields within the nanochannels. These effects are important to understand in order to avoid potential downfalls in terms of separation efficiency as well as design for better tuning of separation performance in micro- and nanochannels. Finally, we propose a method to estimate the effective zeta potential of spherical particles from measured electrophoretic mobility data. This could prove useful in characterizing a heterogeneous collection of particles having a distribution over a range of values of the zeta potential.     

Proton and neutron alignments of the k^ π=5/2^- band in ^79Kr

An experimental study of high-spin states in ^79Kr has been performed at the GASP array using the reaction ^55Mn(^20Si, αpn),Nine new states along with 10 new gamma ray transitions were found in the k^ π=5/2^- band in ^79Kr Three band crossings,associated with the allignments of a πg9/2 pair and a πg9/2 pair and also a high-j 5h11/2 intrude orbital,were observed at rotational frequency h=0.50,0.65 and 0.90 MeV,respectively ,A cranked shell model analysis has been made to interpret the experimental results.     

Evolution of post-traumatic aortic aneurysm in the subacute phase: magnetic resonance imaging follow-up as a support of the surgical timing

OBJECTIVES: A recent surgical series documented that in traumatic aortic rupture (TAR) a surgical repair postponed to the treatment of associated lesions reduced operative and overall mortality. Nevertheless some isolated cases may develop to free rupture. Until now, no imaging follow-up studies of post-traumatic aortic lesions have been reported in the early stage. The aim of this study is to analyze the behaviour of traumatic aortic ruptures in the subacute phase, in order to detect the morphological characteristics of unstable post-traumatic aneurysms. METHODS: Twenty-five consecutive patients affected by traumatic aortic rupture (one intimal hemorrhage, 19 partial lesions and five circumferential lesions) were admitted to the department of cardiac surgery. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was the imaging method used to confirm the diagnosis. No one was operated on during the acute phase. All patients were treated with beta-blockers and vasodilators as well as limited fluid administration. Delayed surgery was carried out in 18 patients at 243 days (+/-127), after the resolution of associated lesions. A scheduled MRI follow-up was performed at 7, 15 and 30 days and immediately before the operation. The parameters examined were increase of post-traumatic aneurysm, increase of periaortic hematoma and modification of the thoracic associated lesions. RESULTS: At 30 days a 3.0 +/- 3.7 mm median increase of the aneurysm was observed, while in the subsequent period the lesions became substantially stable, resulting in a 4.4 +/- 3.6 mm increment at the end of the follow-up. The circumferential lesions presented a higher increment with respect to the partial lesions. In three cases an augmentation of 6, 7 and 12 mm was detected and surgical repair was anticipated. In 13 cases a periadventitial hematoma surrounding the aortic aneurysm decreased through the time. One case of intimal hemorrhage healed spontaneously, with no aneurysm formation. Thoracic associated lesions (pleural and pericardial effusions, rib fractures, lung focal contusions and two cases of ARDS) resolved at 30-60 days. CONCLUSIONS: Despite common knowledge, considering TAR highly evolutive in the acute and subacute phase, this study demonstrated that this pathological entity is relatively stable if a proper pharmacological treatment is administrated. MRI follow-up is recommended in order to detect isolated cases of unstable aneurysm.