Background Specific immunotherapy (SIT) is a recognized way of treating IgE‐mediated respiratory diseases. The clinical outcome is usually better in allergic children than in adults.
Objective To ...increase our knowledge of the ability of SIT to prevent the onset of new sensitizations in monosensitized subjects, so far poorly documented.
Methods 134 children (age range 5–8 years), who had intermittent asthma with or without rhinitis, with single sensitization to mite allergen (skin prick test and serum‐specific IgE), were enrolled. SIT was proposed to all the children's parents, but was accepted by only 75 of them (SIT Group). The remaining 63 children were treated with medication only, and were considered the Control Group. Injective SIT with mite mix was administered to the SIT Group during the first three years and all patients were followed for a total of 6 years. All patients were checked for allergic sensitization(s) by skin prick test and serum‐specific IgE every year until the end of the follow‐up period.
Results Both groups were comparable in terms of age, sex and disease characteristics. 123 children completed the follow‐up study. At the end of the study, 52 out of 69 children (75.4%) in the SIT Group showed no new sensitization, compared to 18 out of 54 children (33.3%) in the Control Group (P < 0.0002). Parietaria, Gramineae and Olea were the most common allergens responsible for the new sensitization(s).
Conclusions According to our data, SIT may prevent the onset of new sensitizations in children with respiratory symptoms monosensitized to house dust mite (HDM).
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The optical properties of a compact disc (CD) under “skimming” light rays have been
analyzed. We have noticed that a clear green line can be detected when the disc is
irradiated with light rays ...coming from a lamp in such a way that only those skimming the
CD, held horizontally, are selected. We provide a physical interpretation of this
phenomenon on the basis of elementary optics concepts. Extension of these concepts to
digital versatile discs (DVDs) is given.
In recent years, Modern Physics has been included in the curricula of Italian secondary schools, so that many teachers are asking for specific didactical tools to allow their students to acquire the ...right skills to deal with final examinations. The Physics Department at University of Salerno (Italy) is, therefore, planning PLS (Piano Lauree Scientifiche / Scientific Degree Project) training courses to give some valid educational paths through new didactical strategies for Physics learning. Introducing quantum mechanics by experimental set-ups with commonly used materials is a rather interesting and challenging task. In fact, this practice allows teacher attending the course to reproduce the same experiments in their own class. Moreover, by using readily available material for the experimental set-up, a soft approach to Modern Physics can be achieved. In the present work, we propose the analysis of an experiment: the measurement of Planck's constant, one of the most important fundamental quantities in Modern Physics, by means of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). The properties of LEDs can be explained by means of elementary quantum mechanics concepts. As a consequence, when describing the quantum behaviour of these commonly used physical systems, Planck's constant needs to be considered. Therefore, to illustrate one possible way of measuring Planck's constant to high-school students, we can make use of the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of a LED. In fact, by opportunely interpreting the measured I-V curves of these systems, by means of a linear fitting the value of Planck's constant can be obtained.
Nivolumab is an anti-PD-1 antibody that restores the antitumour immune function of T cells, blocking the binding of PD-1 with its ligand PD-L1. PD-1 is expressed on T cells and interacts with PD-L1 ...on tumour cells. The PD-1-PD-L1 link inhibits T cell activation. In metastatic melanoma, PD-1-PD-L1 binding plays a critical role, and the advent of the immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab has delivered new and effective treatment options with proven clinical benefit. In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy of nivolumab in elderly patients with metastatic melanoma.
The study enrolled 55 elderly patients (75 years of age and older) with a diagnosis of metastatic melanoma. Primary endpoints of the study were progression-free survival (pfs) and the objective response rate; secondary endpoints were overall survival, reduction in serum lactate dehydrogenase (ldh) from before to after treatment, and tolerability.
Nivolumab was well tolerated and resulted in good disease control, with a manageable toxicity profile and significant clinical benefit. The duration of pfs was 5.1 months (95% confidence interval: 3.5 months to 6.8 months). A significant correlation was observed between reduction in serum ldh and pfs: 0.60 (95% confidence interval: 0.28 to 0.86;
= 0.002).
Nivolumab is an immunotherapy treatment that has proved to be an effective and well-tolerated therapeutic option in elderly patients with metastatic melanoma.
Full text
Available for:
IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
Single crystals of cuprorivaite (CaCuSi
4
O
10
), one of the oldest synthetic color pigments of Egyptian history, have been synthesized by slow-cooling flux method. Several runs were carried out at ...temperatures between 800 and 960 °C and with reaction times ranging from 10 to 72 h. The starting materials and run products were characterized by binocular microscope, X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with annexed energy-dispersive spectrometry, and μ-Raman spectroscopy. The effects of growth parameters (temperature, flux, silica source) on yield and size of crystals were studied. The growth of cuprorivaite depends greatly on the starting materials: they are observed as run products only using natron as flux. Furthermore, colorimetric analysis performed on the synthesizing pigment was compared with the archeological samples present in the literature in order to value similarities and differences.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
47.
An ideal free-kick De Luca, R; Faella, O
European journal of physics,
01/2017, Volume:
38, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The kinematics of a free-kick is studied. As in projectile motion, the free-kick is ideal since we assume that a point-like ball moves in the absence of air resistance. We have experienced the ...fortunate conjuncture of a classical mechanics lecture taught right before an important football game. These types of sports events might trigger a great deal of attention from the classroom. The idealized problem is devised in such a way that students are eager to come to the end of the whole story.
Power exhaust is a key mission for the realization of fusion electricity. Engineering challenges may arise from the extreme heat fluxes developed during plasma transients, above the limit offered by ...existing materials. These can reduce the lifetime of plasma-facing components (PFCs), imposing extraordinary maintenance, reactor safety issues and ultimately delayed return to normal operation. Concerning the EU DEMO reactor, discrete sacrificial limiters are being investigated as the last safety resource of the reactor’s wall in case of unmitigated events. Within this context, micro-engineered tungsten (W) lattices are proposed to cope with unmitigated plasma disruptions. Unlike bulk W, lattices can be tailored to meet the operational requirements of the limiter, compromise between steady-state and off-design performances while avoiding overloading of the heat sink and delay the need for extraordinary maintenance. By calibrating an equivalent solid model originally developed and validated for open-cell aluminum (Al) foams, tailored lattices have been modelled and samples fabricated through additive manufacturing for characterization and testing, currently ongoing.
In the present work, the thermal response of lattice samples during thermal shock high heat flux (HHF) tests performed at the linear facility QSPA Kh-50 facility is simulated using ANSYS and compared with available results. Enthalpy changes of W were imposed to simulate phase change. Good agreement with experiments and SDC-IC reference up to melting point was observed. Ultimately, a thermal quench of an unmitigated DEMO disruption was simulated involving an original MAPDL routine that removes mesh elements at the melting or vaporization point.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
An over-damped pendulum can be adopted as a mechanical analogue of an over-damped Josephson junction (JJ). The basic equations leading to the driving torque versus the time average of the angular ...frequency are studied. The mechanical analogue can be used to provide additional insight into the current-voltage characteristics of over-damped JJs.
Oncological Genetic Counselling (CGO) allows the identification of a genetic component that increases the risk of developing a cancer. Individuals’ psychological reactions are influenced by both the ...content of the received information and the subjective perception of their own risk of becoming ill or being a carrier of a genetic mutation. This study included 120 participants who underwent genetic counselling for breast and/or ovarian cancer. The aim of the study was to examine the relation between their cancer risk perception and the genetic risk during CGO before receiving genetic test results, considering the influence of some psychological variables, in particular distress, anxiety and depression. Participants completed the following tools during a psychological interview: a socio-demographic form, Cancer Risk Perception (CRP) and Genetic Risk Perception (GRP), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Distress Thermometer (DT). The data seem to confirm our hypothesis. Positive and significant correlations were found between the observed variables. Moreover, genetic risk perception determined an increase in depressive symptomatology and cancer risk perception led to an increase in anxious symptomatology, specifically in participants during cancer treatment. The present results suggest the importance of assessing genetic and cancer risk perception in individuals who undergo CGO, to identify those who are at risk of a decrease in psychological well-being and of developing greater psychological distress.
Full text
Available for:
FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, VSZLJ, ZAGLJ
PDF
