Prognostic significance of immune reconstitution following CD19 CAR T-cell therapy for relapsed/refractory B-cell lymphoma.

Immune deficits after CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy can be long-lasting, predisposing patients to infections and non-relapse mortality. In B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL), the prognostic impact of immune reconstitution (IR) remains ill-defined, and detailed cross-product comparisons have not been performed to date. In this retrospective observational study, we longitudinally characterized lymphocyte subsets and immunoglobulin levels in 105 B-NHL patients to assess patterns of immune recovery arising after CD19 CAR-T.

The COVID-19 health emergency: the influence of the Human Development Index on the reorganization of primary care.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze and compare the organization and care offered by Primary Health Care (PHC) to people with suspected and/or diagnosed COVID-19 in Brazilian municipalities, considering the Human Development Index (HDI).

Methods: This is an analytical cross-sectional study carried out with managers of PHC services in Brazilian municipalities. The data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire via Google Forms between April and September 2022 and were analyzed using prevalence ratios, using a Poisson regression model with a random effect and a 5% significance level.

Multi-colour reflective metagrating with neutral transparency for augmented reality.

This paper presents the design and experimental validation of an all-dielectric and transparent metagrating-based metalens. Leveraging multiple guided mode resonances simultaneously, the metagrating enables the generation of two or more spectrally narrow reflection peaks. These peaks are achieved through the precise engineering of guided mode resonances, allowing for the reflection of a comb of vibrant and saturated colours.

Stone Babies: A Pictorial Essay With Insights From 25 Museal Lithopaedions.

Background: Lithopaedion, or "stone baby," represents an exceptionally rare clinical phenomenon with fewer than 350 documented cases existing in the medical literature. This condition arises when an advanced extrauterine pregnancy ceases its developmental trajectory and undergoes a lithification process, potentially resulting in a calcified mass with fetal-like morphology. Typically, lithopaedions remain asymptomatic for decades, but may occasionally elicit acute symptoms necessitating medical intervention.

Blood-Based FTIR Spectroscopy as a Minimally Invasive Diagnostic Method for Colorectal Cancer: A Meta-Analysis.

Objective: This meta-analysis aims to pool the results of existing studies to obtain more precise estimates on the diagnostic efficiency of the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy in detecting CRC using blood-based samples.

Methods: A comprehensive database search identified 4,931 studies that were screened for eligibility. Relevant data were then extracted and collated and analyzed using Meta-DiSc 1.

Application of blinatumomab, a bispecific anti-CD3/CD19 T-cell engager, in treating severe systemic sclerosis: A case study.

Systemic sclerosis, a severe inflammatory autoimmune disease, shares a common thread with cancer through the underlying mechanism of inflammation. This inflammatory milieu not only drives the immune dysregulation characteristic of autoimmune diseases but also plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of cancer. Among the cellular components involved, B cells have emerged as key players in hematologic tumor and autoimmune disease, contributing to immune dysregulation and persistent tissue fibrosis in systemic sclerosis, as well as tumor progression and immune evasion in cancer.

Compact angled multimode interference duplexers for multi-gas sensing applications.

A compact, low-loss 2 × 1 angled-multi-mode-interference-based duplexer is proposed as an optical component for integrating several wavelengths with high coupling efficiency. The self-imaging principle in multimode waveguides is exploited to combine two target wavelengths, corresponding to distinctive absorption lines of important trace gases. The device performance has been numerically enhanced by engineering the geometrical parameters, offering trade-offs in coupling efficiency ratios.

Highly efficient and selective integrated directional couplers for multigas sensing applications.

The design and fabrication of a compact, low-loss, broadband directional coupler (DC) based duplexer operating in the near-infrared (NIR) region are demonstrated. The duplexer exhibits high selectivity and coupling efficiency (CE), for target wavelengths of 1530 nm and 1653.7 nm, making it applicable in systems for the multi-gas detection of ammonia and methane.

Augusto Bonome and his revolutionary studies on leprosy in the early 20th century.

Background: Augusto Bonome (1857-1922), professor at the University of Padua until 1922, was involved in a study about a particular kind of pulmonary leprosy, being the first to testify the lepromatous alterations also in the deepest parts of the respiratory tract, even though the same Gerhard Hansen (1841-1912) had denied the possibility that lungs could host Mycobacterium leprae.

Objectives: It is necessary to reevaluate the research done by Bonome to also demonstrate how it can still be relevant today in further comprehension of leprosy.

Methods: Bonome's advances in leprosy studies are testified by some specimens from the Morgagni Museum of Pathological Anatomy of the University of Padua.

Postoperative Morbidity Following Loop Ileostomy Reversal after Primary Elective or Urgent Surgery: A Retrospective Study with 145 Patients.

Temporary loop ileostomy is usually performed to protect distal anastomosis or to treat urgent surgical cases. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether, after primary urgent stoma construction, patients undergoing ileostomy reversal have different postoperative outcomes compared with patients who have protective stoma performed in an elective setting. A retrospective observational study was conducted including patients who underwent ileostomy reversal.

Paleopathology of the skull of Santorio Santorio, father of modern clinical experimental physiology.

The University of Padua (Italy) preserves the skull of Santorio Santorio, father of the modern clinical experimental physiology. A recent study performed with modern anthropological methods and medical instruments (CT scan) revealed the presence of a lobular formation in the left temporal bone, with an irregular morphology, internal bone sequestrum, a well-defined non-continuous sclerosis and both internal and external thinning of the cranial plate. Three oval depressions observed in the cranial vault, edentulism and moderate osteoarthritis of the temporomandibular joint were also investigated.

The role of the University of Padua medical school in the study of conjoined twins between 18th and early 19th century.

The Medical School of Padua (Italy) contributed profoundly to the study of teratology. Many famous physicians and professors of medicine, such as Liceti, Vallisneri, Morgagni, and Malacarne, have studied and investigated these anomalies to better understand the causes and to find a potential explanation, often preserving the specimens for future studies. The present study highlights some historical cases of conjoined twins and a conjoined triplet preserved at the Morgagni Museum of Human Anatomy to show the development of medical theories in the teratological field between the 18th and early 19th century.

Conjoined twins and conjoined triplets: At the heart of the matter.

Conjoined triplets are among the rarest of human malformations, as are asymmetric or parasitic conjoined twins. Based on a very modest corpus of recent literature, we applied the embryonic disk model of conjoined twinning to 10 previously reported cases involving asymmetric anatomical multiplications to determine whether they concerned conjoined twins or conjoined triplets. In spite of their phenotypic similarities, we diagnosed four of these cases as conjoined twins and three of them as conjoined triplets.

Numerical demonstration of surface lattice resonance excitation in integrated localized surface plasmon waveguides.

We numerically show that surface lattice resonances (SLR) in periodic localized surface plasmon (LSP) waveguides integrated on a dielectric waveguide can be excited via in-phase evanescent coupling, by incident propagation vector outside the light cone and without any constraint on the structural symmetry. FDTD simulations show that the coupling between wideband LSP resonances and narrowband SLR results in a Fano-like resonance, showing few nanometers large sharp spectral features that may be exploited for achieving new functions for integrated optics and sensing.

Design of mesoscopic self-collimating photonic crystals under oblique incidence.

Mesoscopic Photonic Crystals (MPhCs) are composed of alternating natural or artificial materials with compensating spatial dispersion. In their simplest form, as presented here, MPhCs are composed by the periodic repetition of a MPhC supercell made of a short slab of bulk material and a short slab of Photonic Crystal (PhCs). Therefore, MPhCs present a multiscale periodicity with a subwavelength periodicity within each PhC slab and with a few-wavelength periodicity for its supercell.

Multifunctional and reconfigurable graphene/liquid crystal-assisted asymmetrical Fabry-Pérot cavity for reflected light control.

Multifunctional and reconfigurable devices are crucial for compact and smart optoelectronic devices. In this paper, we propose a multifunctional and spectrally reconfigurable asymmetric 1D PhC Fabry-Pérot cavity filled with nematic liquid crystal and bounded by two graphene monolayers. Due to the large number of available degrees of freedom, such a structure can behave as either a notch filter, an absorber, an amplitude modulator, or a phase shifter for the reflected electromagnetic waves.

Lodovico Brunetti, the Unknown Father of Modern Crematorium.

The cremation has been documented since prehistoric times and it was a common funerary custom until the advent of Catholicism. Falling into disuse, during XVII-XVIII centuries there were new movements to bring it back according to modern criteria, mainly due to hygienic reasons and cemeteries overcrowding. This also led to the prototyping of new crematory ovens to improve the ancient open-air pyre.

When self-medication goes wrong: the case of argyria at the Padua Morgagni Museum of Pathology.

A unique specimen of argyria is preserved in the Morgagni Museum of Pathological Anatomy at the University of Padua (Italy). It is a stuffed head belonging to a man who decided to cure his syphilis by himself with the so-called infernal stone (silver nitrate) every day for years, thus developing argyria in the second half of the nineteenth century. Paleopathological and historical studies were performed on the specimen to confirm the diagnosis of argyria.

Biodegradation of Paracetamol by Some Gram-Positive Bacterial Isolates.

Bacterial isolates with the capacity to remove paracetamol were selected from an activated sludge sample collected in an oxidation ditch of a wastewater treatment plant. Among these, twelve bacterial isolates were selected according to their capacity to grow in the presence of paracetamol. They were identified using the colony morphotype procedure and by 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis, but only four of them showed the ability to utilise paracetamol as the sole carbon source in the presence of a nitrogen supply.

Usefulness of digital measurements for functional evaluation of paediatric elbow range of motion.

Background: Elbow immobilization due to fractures of the upper limb is frequent in paediatric patients. Proper follow-up is critical to assess elbow functional recovery. Telemedicine can be an option for remote monitoring of these patients.

Broad-band plasmonic isolator compatible with low-gyrotropy magneto-optical material.

Integration of optical isolators remains one the main technological issues of photonic circuits despite several decades of research. We propose a radically new concept which enables performing broad-band isolation even in the case of low-gyrotropy material, opening the road to a new class of non-reciprocal devices using easy-to-integrate composite materials. The principle explores the separation of back-and-forth light paths, induced by the coupled mode asymmetry in magnetoplasmonic slot waveguides.