Urineprint of high-altitude: Insights from analyses of urinary biomarkers and bio-physical-chemical features of extracellular vesicles.

Humans exposed to altitude hypoxia experience dysfunctions of the urinary system. As a non-invasive, easily manageable and informative biological sample, urine represents a relevant matrix for detecting clinical impairments of urinary system, as well as alterations of other systems and extracellular vesicles (EVs) biology during high-altitude expeditions. Nevertheless, gaps exist in the comprehensive assessment of dysfunction, molecular burden and EVs biology due to high-altitude acute exposure.

Emerging new phases in correlated Mott insulator CaRuO.

The Mott insulator CaRuOis a paradigmatic example among transition metal oxides, where the interplay of charge, spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom leads to competing quantum phases. In this paper, we focus on and review some key aspects, from the underlying physical framework and its basic properties, to recent theoretical efforts that aim to trigger unconventional quantum ground states, using several external parameters and stimuli. Using first-principle calculations, we demonstrate that CaRuOshows a spin splitting in the reciprocal space, and identify it as an altermagnetic candidate material.

Nutrition, Physical Activity and Smoking Habit in the Italian General Adult Population: CUORE Project Health Examination Survey 2018-2019.

Background: Tobacco consumption, incorrect nutrition and insufficient physical activity/sedentariness represent modifiable NCDs risk factors in Western countries. To evaluate recent lifestyle indicators in Italy, data from the national Health Examination Survey (HES), implemented in 2018-2019 within the CUORE Project, were assessed.

Methods: Age-sex standardized results from random samples of Italian general population (35-74 years) were reported by sex, age-class, educational level and geographical area.

Guillain-Barré syndrome in patients dying with COVID-19 in Italy: a retrospective study.

Introduction: We presented a four-case series of COVID-19 related deaths occurred in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) between February 2020 and January 2022 in Italy.

Methods: They were extracted from 8,436 medical charts of COVID-19 patients dying. All cases, ranged 48-73 years, showed classical GBS clinical onset - limb weakness, sensory deficits, hypoareflexia - and three of them were admitted in intensive care unit (ICU) for ventilator support.

Pattern Formation by Electric-Field Quench in a Mott Crystal.

The control of the Mott phase is intertwined with the spatial reorganization of the electronic states. Out-of-equilibrium driving forces typically lead to electronic patterns that are absent at equilibrium, whose nature is however often elusive. Here, we unveil a nanoscale pattern formation in the CaRuO Mott insulator.

Designing spin and orbital sources of Berry curvature at oxide interfaces.

Quantum materials can display physical phenomena rooted in the geometry of electronic wavefunctions. The corresponding geometric tensor is characterized by an emergent field known as the Berry curvature (BC). Large BCs typically arise when electronic states with different spin, orbital or sublattice quantum numbers hybridize at finite crystal momentum.

Effect of Liposomal-Lactoferrin-Based Eye Drops on the Conjunctival Microflora of Patients Undergoing Cataract Surgery.

Introduction: Postoperative endophthalmitis is typically caused by the patient's conjunctival bacterial flora. Povidone iodine solution (5%) is used perioperatively to obtain periocular and ocular antisepsis. However, an adjunctive prophylaxis procedure could further help control the conjunctival microbial load.

Oral manifestations of sporotrichosis: A neglected disease.

Sporotrichosis is an uncommon subacute or chronic infection caused by Sporothrix spp. In some urban areas of Latin America, sporotrichosis has been considered an emergent cosmopolitan disease of zoonotic transmission by domestic cats. There are four different clinical forms of the disease: fixed cutaneous, lymphocutaneous, multifocal or disseminated cutaneous, and extracutaneous.

Hospital-acquired bloodstream infections in patients deceased with COVID-19 in Italy (2020-2021).

Introduction: In hospitalized patients with COVID-19, bloodstream infections (BSI) are associated with high mortality and high antibiotic resistance rates. The aim of this study was to describe BSI etiology, antimicrobial resistance profile and risk factors in a sample of patients deceased with COVID-19 from the Italian National COVID-19 surveillance.

Methods: Hospital charts of patients who developed BSI during hospitalization were reviewed to describe the causative microorganisms and their antimicrobial susceptibility profiles.

Trends of blood pressure, raised blood pressure, hypertension and its control among Italian adults: CUORE Project cross-sectional health examination surveys 1998/2008/2018.

Objectives: To assess in the Italian general adult population the trends of blood pressure (BP) and prevalence of raised BP (RBP), hypertension and its control in order to evaluate population health and care, and the achievement of an RBP 25% relative reduction as recommended by the WHO at population level.

Design: Results comparison of health examination surveys, cross-sectional observational studies based on health examination of randomly selected age and sex stratified samples including residents aged 35-74 years. Data of the 2018/2019 survey were compared with the previous ones collected in 1998/2002 and 2008/2012.

Dopamine/BDNF loss underscores narcosis cognitive impairment in divers: a proof of concept in a dry condition.

Purpose: Divers can experience cognitive impairment due to inert gas narcosis (IGN) at depth. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) rules neuronal connectivity/metabolism to maintain cognitive function and protect tissues against oxidative stress (OxS). Dopamine and glutamate enhance BDNF bioavailability.

Obesity and Dysmetabolic Factors among Deceased COVID-19 Adults under 65 Years of Age in Italy: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.

Background: Italy has witnessed high levels of COVID-19 deaths, mainly at the elderly age. We assessed the comorbidity and the biochemical profiles of consecutive patients ≤65 years of age to identify a potential risk profile for death.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data from consecutive hospitalized-for-COVID-19 patients ≤65 years, who were died (593 patients) or discharged (912 patients) during February-December 2020.

Microbiologically confirmed infections and antibiotic-resistance in a national surveillance study of hospitalised patients who died with COVID-19, Italy 2020-2021.

Background: Patients hospitalised for COVID-19 may present with or acquire bacterial or fungal infections that can affect the course of the disease. The aim of this study was to describe the microbiological characteristics of laboratory-confirmed infections in hospitalised patients with severe COVID-19.

Methods: We reviewed the hospital charts of a sample of patients deceased with COVID-19 from the Italian National COVID-19 Surveillance, who had laboratory-confirmed bacterial or fungal bloodstream infections (BSI) or lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI), evaluating the pathogens responsible for the infections and their antimicrobial susceptibility.

Limited Ferromagnetic Interactions in Monolayers of MPS (M = Mn and Ni).

We present a systematic study of the electronic and magnetic properties of two-dimensional ordered alloys, consisting of two representative hosts (MnPS and NiPS) of transition metal phosphorus trichalcogenides doped with 3d elements. For both hosts, our DFT + calculations are able to qualitatively reproduce the ratios and signs of all experimentally observed magnetic couplings. The relative strength of all antiferromagnetic exchange couplings, both in MnPS and in NiPS, can successfully be explained using an effective direct exchange model: it reveals that the third-neighbor exchange dominates in NiPS due to the filling of the t subshell, whereas for MnPS, the first-neighbor exchange prevails, owing to the presence of the t magnetism.

Notch-Signaling Deregulation Induces Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells in T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Notch receptors deeply influence T-cell development and differentiation, and their dysregulation represents a frequent causative event in "T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia" (T-ALL). "Myeloid-derived suppressor cells" (MDSCs) inhibit host immune responses in the tumor environment, favoring cancer progression, as reported in solid and hematologic tumors, with the notable exception of T-ALL. Here, we prove that Notch-signaling deregulation in immature T cells promotes CD11bGr-1 MDSCs in the Notch3-transgenic murine model of T-ALL.

Magnetic Instabilities in the Quasi-One-Dimensional KCrAs Material with Twisted Triangular Tubes.

The magnetic response of a frustrated KCrAs sample having triangular arrays of twisted tubes has been studied by means of dc magnetization measurements as a function of the magnetic field () at different temperatures ranging from 5 K up to 300 K. Looking at the magnetic hysteresis loops (), a diamagnetic behavior of the sample was inferred at temperatures higher than 60 K, whereas at lower temperatures the sample showed a hysteresis loop compatible with the presence of ferrimagnetism. Moreover, spike-like magnetization jumps, both positive and negative, were observed in a narrow range of the magnetic field around 800 Oe, regardless of the temperature considered and they were compared with the theoretical predictions on frustrated systems.

Trends of overweight, obesity and anthropometric measurements among the adult population in Italy: The CUORE Project health examination surveys 1998, 2008, and 2018.

Background/objectives: Obesity is associated with an increased risk of noncommunicable diseases, such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, cancers, and conditions, including obstructive sleep apnea and osteoarthritis. Obesity is largely preventable, and halting its rise is one of the World Health Organization Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases targets. This study aimed to assess trends of anthropometric measurements in Italy using the data collected within the CUORE Project health examination surveys (HESs) 1998, 2008, and 2018.

Dimensionality of the Superconductivity in the Transition Metal Pnictide WP.

We report theoretical and experimental results on the transition metal pnictide WP. The theoretical outcomes based on tight-binding calculations and density functional theory indicate that WP is a three-dimensional superconductor with an anisotropic electronic structure and nonsymmorphic symmetries. On the other hand, magnetoresistance experimental data and the analysis of superconducting fluctuations of the conductivity in external magnetic field indicate a weakly anisotropic three-dimensional superconducting phase.

Evaluation of peripapillary vascular flow in patients with Thyroid-Associated Ophthalmopathy (TAO) by OCT Angiography.

Purpose: To evaluate changes in peripapillary vascular blood flow indices (PVBFI) in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) using OCT angiography (OCTA) technology.

Methods: Patients with TAO and control subjects matched for age and sex were included in the study. Eye examination, Clinical Activity Score (CAS) evaluation and OCTA scan analysis (Topcon ImageNet 6; DRI OCT Triton, Topcon Corporation) were performed.

Iodine Intake from Food and Iodized Salt as Related to Dietary Salt Consumption in the Italian Adult General Population.

Since the Italian iodoprophylaxis strategy is based on the use of iodized salt, we assessed the relationship between dietary salt consumption and iodine intake in the Italian adult population. We estimated the relative contribution given by the use of iodized salt and by the iodine introduced by foods to the total iodine intake. The study population included 2219 adults aged 25-79 years (1138 men and 1081 women) from all Italian regions, participating to the Osservatorio Epidemiologico Cardiovascolare/Health Examination Survey 2008-2012 (OEC/HES), and examined for sodium and iodine intake in the framework of the MINISAL-GIRCSI Programme.