Attentional deficits have tragic consequences on road safety. These deficits are not solely caused by distraction, since they can also arise from other mental impairments such as, most frequently, mental fatigue. Fatigue is among the most prevalent impairing conditions while driving, degrading drivers' cognitive and physical abilities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObesity is a chronic disease associated with increased morbidity and mortality and reduced quality of life. Pharmacotherapy can be associated with life style changes in increasing and maintaining weight loss and ameliorating obesity-related complications and comorbidities. In patients affected by obesity and uncontrolled obesity-associated complications or high degrees of BMI (> 40 Kg/m), metabolic bariatric surgery can be a valid therapeutic option.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: We evaluated the prevalence of "heart stress" (HS) based on NT-proBNP cut-points proposed by the 2023 Consensus of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) in asymptomatic patients with T2DM and hypertension or high-normal blood pressure (BP) eligible for SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and/or GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RA), drugs with proven benefits on reducing the incidence of HF, hospitalizations, cardiovascular events and mortality.
Methods: A cross-sectional multicentric study was conducted on 192 consecutive outpatients, aged ≥ 55 years, with hypertension or high-normal BP, referred to three diabetology units. NT-proBNP was collected before starting new anti-diabetic therapy.
Plastics accumulating in the environment are nowadays of great concern for aquatic systems and for the living organisms populating them. In this context, nanoplastics (NPs) are considered the major and most dangerous contaminants because of their small size and active surface, which allow them to interact with a variety of other molecules. Current methods used for the detection of NPs rely on bulky and expensive techniques such as spectroscopy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn vitro simulators of the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract are remarkable technological platforms for studying the impact of food on the gut microbiota, enabling continuous and real-time monitoring of key biomarkers. However, comprehensive real-time monitoring of gaseous biomarkers in these systems is required with a cost-effective approach, which has been challenging to perform experimentally to date. In this work, we demonstrate the integration and in-line use of carbon nanotube (CNT)-based chemiresitive gas sensors coated with a thin polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane for the continuous monitoring of gases within the Simulator of the Human Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe human factor plays a key role in the automotive field since most accidents are due to drivers' unsafe and risky behaviors. The industry is now pursuing two main solutions to deal with this concern: in the short term, there is the development of systems monitoring drivers' psychophysical states, such as inattention and fatigue, and in the medium-long term, there is the development of fully autonomous driving. This second solution is promoted by recent technological progress in terms of Artificial Intelligence and sensing systems aimed at making vehicles more and more accurately aware of their "surroundings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrobiol Resour Announc
January 2024
We report here a draft genome assembly of CRL 2244, recovered from wastewater in Argentina. The genome has a size of 2,898,100 bp, with G + C content of 46.73%.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAptamers that undergo large conformational rearrangements at the surface of electrolyte-gated field-effect transistor (EG-FETs)-based biosensors can overcome the Debye length limitation in physiological high ionic strength environments. For the sensitive detection of small molecules, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) that approach the dimensions of analytes of interest are promising channel materials for EG-FETs. However, functionalization of CNTs with bioreceptors using frequently reported surface modification strategies (, π-π stacking), requires highly pristine CNTs deposited through methods that are incompatible with low-cost fabrication methods and flexible substrates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe pigments used by artists since ancient times play an important role in historical, artistic, and cultural investigations. They allow the acquisition of useful information for the study of human and technological development. This research aims at differentiating the various sources of azurite exploited in antiquity, based on the study of minor and trace elements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Mol Sci
April 2023
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a disease characterized by a prolonged hyperglycemic condition caused by insulin resistance mechanisms in muscle and liver, reduced insulin production by pancreatic β cells, and a chronic inflammatory state with increased levels of the pro-inflammatory marker semaphorin 3E. Phytochemicals present in several foods have been used to complement oral hypoglycemic drugs for the management of T2DM. Notably, dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) inhibitors have demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of T2DM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Overweight and obesity are highly prevalent conditions associated with premature morbidity and mortality worldwide. Capsiate, a nonpungent analogue of capsaicin, binds to TRP vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) receptor, which is involved in adipogenesis, and could be effective as a weight-lowering agent.
Methods: Eighteen slightly overweight women were enrolled in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
Diabetes Res Clin Pract
August 2022
Aim: To construct predictive models of diabetes complications (DCs) by big data machine learning, based on electronic medical records.
Methods: Six groups of DCs were considered: eye complications, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and peripheral vascular disease, nephropathy, diabetic neuropathy. A supervised, tree-based learning approach (XGBoost) was used to predict the onset of each complication within 5 years (task 1).
Thermobarometry is a fundamental tool to quantitatively interrogate magma plumbing systems and broaden our appreciation of volcanic processes. Developments in random forest-based machine learning lend themselves to a data-driven approach to clinopyroxene thermobarometry, allowing users to access large experimental data sets that can be tailored to individual applications in Earth Sciences. We present a methodological assessment of random forest thermobarometry using the R freeware package extraTrees.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe precise monitoring of environmental contaminants and agricultural plant stress factors, respectively responsible for damages to our ecosystems and crop losses, has nowadays become a topic of uttermost importance. This is also highlighted by the recent introduction of the so-called "Sustainable Development Goals" of the United Nations, which aim at reducing pollutants while implementing more sustainable food production practices, leading to a reduced impact on all ecosystems. In this context, the standard methods currently used in these fields represent a sub-optimal solution, being expensive, laboratory-based techniques, and typically requiring trained personnel with high expertise.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Gdue is a nutraceutical obtained from the association of two marine algae, Ascophyllum nodosum and Fucus vesiculosus, in addition to chromium picolinate, which could be useful for the treatment of dysglycemia, overweight, and the other components of the metabolic syndrome. The aim of the study was to assess the real-world effectiveness and safety of Gdue when administered to subjects with one or more components of the metabolic syndrome.
Methods: A longitudinal, retrospective, observational study, conducted among primary care physicians, nutritionists, and specialists from various disciplines.
The paper describes research activities of monitoring, modeling, and planning of people mobility in Rome during the Covid-19 epidemic period from March to June 2020. The results of data collection for different transport modes (walking, bicycle, car, and transit) are presented and analyzed. A specific focus is provided for the subway mass transit, where 1 m interpersonal distancing is required to prevent the risks for Covid-19 contagion together with the use of masks and gloves.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report the results of simultaneous astigmatic arcuate keratotomy (AK) and Descemet automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK). A 55-year-old patient with a history of high myopia was referred for the management of bullous keratopathy secondary to an anterior chamber phakic intraocular lens (pIOL). IOL explantation through a 5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To describe a simple technique of diamond burr-assisted superficial keratectomy for the treatment of peripheral corneal edema.
Cases Presentation: Two patients with persistent symptomatic peripheral corneal edema underwent superficial keratectomy with the use of a diamond ophthalmic burr. The efficacy of the treatment was evaluated clinically as well as with anterior segment optical coherence tomography.
Purpose: To determine and compare the origin of the external surface reflections produced by commonly used intraocular lenses (IOLs).
Methods: The specular reflection taking place at the anterior surface of eight types of IOLs (IOL power = 22.00 diopters [D]) with different refractive indices (RIs), optical design, and ultraviolet and blue light-filtering function were measured.
Purpose: To present the long-term outcomes of photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) combined with accelerated corneal cross-linking (CXL) for refractive error correction in a series of keratoconus suspects.
Setting: University practice.
Design: Retrospective case series.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to present a new surgical technique, namely corneal plication, for the management of high astigmatism and progressive corneal graft protrusion after penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) for keratoconus.
Methods: New surgical approach description.
Results: A 61-year-old woman with a history of bilateral keratoconus was referred to our institute for the management of progressive corneal graft protrusion in her left eye 25 years after PKP.
Open conduit basaltic volcanoes can be potentially hazardous as the eruptive activity may turn suddenly from a steady state to highly explosive. Unexpected changes in explosion intensity are recurrent at Stromboli volcano, where major explosions and large-scale paroxysms sometimes break off the ordinary, Strombolian activity with little or no warning. Two powerful paroxysmal eruptions took place at Stromboli volcano during the summer 2019, causing widespread fires, consistent damages across the island, injuries and one fatality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCivil aviation pilots who develop insulin-treated diabetes and want to renew a Commercial Pilot License (CPL) represent a medical, social and regulatory problem. This depends on justified concerns about hypoglycemia, the most threatening event for people who carry out jobs requiring a high level of concentration and reliability. This negatively affects social and working aspects of pilots' lives, who have a high profile and a high-cost professional qualification.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe past two decades have witnessed an unprecedented evolution in the management of keratoconus that demands a holistic approach comprising of inhibiting the ectatic progression as well as visual rehabilitation. The advent of corneal cross-linking (CXL) in the late 1990s resulted in long-term stabilization of the ectatic cornea along with limited reduction in corneal steepening and regularization of corneal curvature. However, CXL as a standalone procedure does not suffice in rehabilitating the functional vision especially in patients who are unwilling or intolerant towards contact lenses.
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