Controlled Deposition of Nanostructured Hierarchical TiO Thin Films by Low Pressure Supersonic Plasma Jets.

Plasma-assisted supersonic jet deposition (PA-SJD) is a precise technique for the fabrication of thin films with a desired nanostructured morphology. In this work, we used quadrupole mass spectrometry of the neutral species in the jet and the extensive characterization of TiO films to improve our understanding of the relationship between jet chemistry and film properties. To do this, an organo-metallic precursor (titanium tetra-isopropoxide or TTIP) was first dissociated using a reactive argon-oxygen plasma in a vacuum chamber and then delivered into a second, lower pressure chamber through a nozzle.

BEST-MS: A prospective head-to-head comparative study of natalizumab and fingolimod in active relapsing MS.

Background: There are few head-to-head studies to compare highly active treatments in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness between natalizumab (NTZ) and fingolimod (FTY) in active relapsing-remitting MS.

Method: Best Escalation STrategy in Multiple Sclerosis (BEST-MS) is a multicentric, prospective study with a 12-month follow-up including patients with active MS.

Culture-specific development of early mother-infant emotional co-regulation: Italian, Cameroonian, and West African immigrant dyads.

Studies conducted in Western countries document the special role of mother-infant face-to-face exchanges for early emotional development including social smiling. A few cross-cultural studies have shown that the Western pattern of face-to-face communication is absent in traditional rural cultures, without identifying other processes that promote emotional Co-regulation. The present study compared three different samples: Western middle-class families in Italy, rural traditional Nso farmer families in Cameroon, and West African sub-Saharan immigrant families in Italy using biweekly observations of 20 mother-infant dyads from each cultural context from age 4 to 12 weeks.