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We compare the mean-over-variance ratio of the net-kaon distribution calculated within a state-of-the-art hadron resonance gas model to the latest experimental data from the Beam Energy Scan at RHIC by the STAR collaboration. Our analysis indicates that it is not possible to reproduce the experimental results using the freeze-out parameters from the existing combined fit of net-proton and net-electric charge mean-over-variance. The strange mesons need about 10-15 MeV higher temperatures than the light hadrons at the highest collision energies. In view of the future $\Lambda$ fluctuation measurements, we predict the $\Lambda$ variance-over-mean and skewness-times-variance at the light and strange chemical freeze-out parameters. We observe that the $\Lambda$ fluctuations are sensitive to the difference in the freeze-out temperatures established in this analysis. Our results have implications for other phenomenological models in the field of relativistic heavy ion collisions., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

This chapter examines the possibility to analyze and compare human activities in an urban environment based on the detection of mobile phone usage patterns. Thanks to an unprecedented collection of counter data recording the number of calls, SMS, and data transfers resolved both in time and space, we confirm the connection between temporal activity profile and land usage in three global cities: New York, London and Hong Kong. By comparing whole cities typical patterns, we provide insights on how cultural, technological and economical factors shape human dynamics. At a more local scale, we use clustering analysis to identify locations with similar patterns within a city. Our research reveals a universal structure of cities, with core financial centers all sharing similar activity patterns and commercial or residential areas with more city-specific patterns. These findings hint that as the economy becomes more global, common patterns emerge in business areas of different cities across the globe, while the impact of local conditions still remains recognizable on the level of routine people activity., Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, book chapter to be published in "Computational Approaches for Urban Environments" (Springer Ed.), October 2014

We present continuum extrapolated lattice results for the higher order fluctuations of conserved charges in high temperature Quantum Chromodynamics. Through the matching of the grand canonical ensemble on the lattice to the net charge and net baryon distribution realized in heavy ion experiments the temperature and the chemical potential may be estimated at the time of chemical freeze-out, Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, presented at the 31st International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2013), 29 July - 3 August 2013, Mainz, Germany

We extend a previous work on the study of heavy charmonia and bottomonia in a deconfined quark-gluon plasma by considering the Bc family of mesons. With the introduction of this bound state of a charm and a beauty quark, we investigate at finite temperature the behavior of the quarkonium, in an energy region between the {\psi} and the {\Upsilon} states., Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures

The number of elderly people is steadily increasing: in the United States it will increase from 12.9% to 20% in 2030 with respect to the total population. Italy, with UK, Denmark and Sweden are the countries with the largest number of octogenarians (about 4% of the population) and it is estimated that this rate will increase by 300% over the next 50 years. The number of people affected by osteoarthritis will increase significantly and therefore the number of total hip arthroplasties will progressively increase. The success of an implant depends firstly by a flawless surgical technique, a correct and stable implant fixation and an optimal preoperative planning that should consider the bone quality of the patient, in order to choose a proper implant design. Different approaches could be followed to achieve adequate fixation: northern Europe surgeons prefer the cemented implant, instead American orthopedics generally use systems that allow a direct biological osteointegration. Elderly patients often present with multiple local and general problems that could affect significantly the normal course of a prosthetic surgery procedure and its results: they have bone tissue changes that lead to increased bone fragility and, consequently, difficulties to obtain primary stability. Osteoporotic bone is characterized by reduction of bone mass, decrease of cancellous bone trabeculae and by increased porosity of cortical bone. The bone fragility implies a greater risk of iatrogenic intraoperative fractures. Furthermore, difficulties linked to bone stock deficiencies become even more significant in revision surgery, where cortical bone thinning is associated with enlargement of the isthmus thus making more difficult to obtain distal fixation of prosthetic stems. At the moment, the role played by the drugs used for the treatment of osteoporosis during implant osteointegration is still not clearly understood and is still under investigation.

1 Introduction 2 QCD and its thermodynamics 3 Equation of state and phase boundaries of strongly interacting matter 4 Model descriptions of strongly interacting matter near deconfinement 5 Summary

We conclude our investigations on the QCD cross-over transition temperatures with 2+1 staggered flavours and one-link stout improvement. We extend our previous two studies [Phys. Lett. B643 (2006) 46, JHEP 0906:088 (2009)] by choosing even finer lattices (N_t=16) and we work again with physical quark masses. These new results [for details see JHEP 1009:073,2010] support our earlier findings. We compare them with the published results of the hotQCD collaboration. All these results are confronted with the predictions of the Hadron Resonance Gas model and Chiral Perturbation Theory for temperatures below the transition region. Our results can be reproduced by using the physical spectrum. The findings of the hotQCD collaboration can be recovered only by using a distorted spectrum. This analysis provides a simple explanation for the observed discrepancy in the transition T between our and the hotQCD collaborations., Comment: presented at the XXVIII. International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, June 14-19,2010, Villasimius, Sardinia Italy

We formulate the Polyakov-Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (PNJL) model in 0+1 dimensions. The thermodynamics captured by the partition function yields a bulk pressure, as well as quark susceptibilities versus temperature that are similar to the ones in 3+1 dimensions. Around the transition temperature the behavior in the pressure and quark susceptibilities follows from the interplay between the lowest Matsubara frequency and the Polyakov line. The reduction to the lowest Matsubara frequency yields a matrix Model. In the presence of the Polyakov line the UV part of the Dirac spectrum features oscillations when close to the transition temperature., Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures

The objective of this study was to investigate correlates of risk for having microalbuminuria in individuals with one or more cardiovascular risk factors.The study involved 1919 individuals who attended general practice settings, were aged 55 to 75 yr, and did not have a history of cardiovascular events or diabetes but had one or more cardiovascular risk factors. A tree-based regression technique and multivariate analysis were used to identify distinct, homogeneous subgroups of patients with different likelihood of having microalbuminuria; interaction between correlates of microalbuminuria and risk for microalbuminuria was also investigated.The prevalence of microalbuminuria was 5.9%. Patients who did not have hypertension and had postload glycemia140 mg/dl showed the lowest prevalence of microalbuminuria (1.9%) and represented the reference class. The likelihood of microalbuminuria was seven times higher in men with hypertension and homeostatic model assessment levels in the upper tertile and four times higher in women with the same characteristics. Individuals with hypertension and lower homeostatic model assessment levels and normotensive individuals with postload glycemiaor = 140 mg/dl had a more than three-fold increased likelihood of having microalbuminuria. Treatment with statins was associated with a 54% reduction in the likelihood of having microalbuminuria, whereas levels of triglycerides150 mg/dl and fibrinogen levels in the upper tertile were associated with a significantly higher risk for microalbuminuria.The likelihood of having microalbuminuria in a population-based study of elderly individuals is strongly related to the interaction between the components of the metabolic syndrome, particularly hypertension, insulin resistance, and impaired glucose tolerance.

The correlation between coronary calcifications and subclinical atherosclerotic disease has been well known for some years now. Today we are able to quantify coronary calcium deposits, the calcium score, by means of new imaging techniques such as electron beam computed tomography and multislice spiral computed tomography. A large number of studies performed using these methods has confirmed the association between coronary calcifications and atherosclerotic disease and has opened up the possibility of early diagnosis of any subclinical atherosclerotic disease in various subpopulations such as diabetics and nephropatics. The etiopathogenesis of coronary calcium has not yet been made clear; it appears to be an active process similar to bone formation that involves cells similar to those involved in the reabsorption of bone matrix. The calcium score, therefore, provides physicians with a further diagnostic tool able to better determine cardiovascular risk patients and supplements the Framingham risk score. International guidelines have not yet illustrated with any precision in which ambits to apply screening for the quantification of coronary calcium and consequently, for the time being, the use of such methods must be restricted to cases in which the possibility of any benefit can be scientifically shown. This review represents the state of the art on coronary calcification and its role in clinical practice.

The authors report a very unusual case of non-invasive diagnosis of acute ischemic bowel disease detected as hepatic portal venous gas during intra-aortic balloon percutaneous counterpulsation. A 64-year-old man with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock was treated with percutaneous angioplasty and intra-aortic balloon percutaneous counterpulsation. The post-procedural period was complicated by severe abdominal pain. Abdominal computed tomography revealed hepatic portal venous gas. Multiple kidney and splenic ischemic areas were also identified. Colonoscopy showed signs referring to acute ischemic colitis. Computed tomography detection of hepatic portal venous gas has permitted the non-invasive diagnosis of bowel necrosis.

Apple Stem Pitting Virus (ASPV) is one of the most common viruses of apple and pear trees. During 2012 to 2013, a total of 1053 symptomatic and asymptomatic leaf samples were collected from orchards in nine provinces of Iran. ASPV infection was detected by DAS-ELISA and PCR in 54 samples (5.12%) from seven provinces. Based on the geographical origin, 22 representative isolates were selected for phylogenetic analysis. Twenty-two amplicons with a size of about 370 base pair (bp) comprising partial sequence of the Coat Protein (CP) coding regions of the viral genome were sequenced. Sequence data analysis, showed that the identities of 3’-terminal region of CP gene at both nucleotide and amino acid levels among the Iranian isolates were 95–100% and these isolates were closer to the Asian ASPV isolates than to the other isolates. Constructed phylogenetic tree by Neighbor-joining on the basis of the 3’-terminal region of CP gene sequences showed that the Iranian isolates were categorized into two major groups. Furthermore, phylogenetic and population genetic analysis were carried out on the basis of 3’-terminal region of CP gene which revealed that ASPV isolates were not geographically resolved. Also, all values in the GABranch analysis showed a ratio of substitution rates at Non-synonymous and Synonymous sites (dN/dS) below one, suggesting strong negative selection forces during C-terminal region of the ASPV CP gene history. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of distribution and partial genome sequence analysis of the ASPV in Iran. © 2017, Tarbiat Modares University. All rights reserved.

The literature reports good functional results obtained with arthroscopic repair of the rotator cuff, but the incidence of anatomical healing has not been sufficiently studied. Ultrasound examination makes it possible to accurately document the healing process of the tendon at the bone, gathering information that may be useful in a comparison with clinical data. A total of 43 consecutive arthroscopic repairs of rotator cuff injuries were considered, that had made use of anchors and non-resorbable suturing. A total of 42 patients were willing to undergo clinical monitoring with an associated ultrasound examination after 3, 6 and 12 months. When ultrasound examination after 6 and 12 months was carried out, 36 patients presented with anatomical healing of the rotator cuff. The total percentage of repair failures was 14.3% and increased to 23% if we take into consideration the subscapular tendon alone. Constant score went from a preoperative mean of 51.25 to a mean of 78.21 after 12 months (p

Background and aim of the work: Hemiarthroplasty (HA) for femoral neck fractures in relatively young patients has been reported to have poor results. Moreover, cotyloiditis has been described for HA as a possible cause of revision. Nontheless, in the literature there is lack of studies specifically evaluating this topic, particularly in relatively young patients. Aim of the study was to evaluate bipolar HA clinical and radiographic results at long term follow up in patients treated under the age of 70. Methods: Study population counted 137 patients treated between 1990 and 2000. In 2015 alive patients who did not undergo implant revision were clinically evaluated. Harris Hip Score and EQ-5D questionnaire were administrated. Acetabular erosion was identified and classified on follow-up radiographs. Results: At follow-up there were 39 living patients, mean age 64, 80.5% women. 3 patients were not traceable. Revision rate was 32% (12/37), because of cotyloiditis in 2 cases. In the 22 non-revised patients at mean 20 years follow up 3 cases presented moderate to severe acetabular erosion. Mean HHS and EQ values were 73.23 and 0.527 respectively. Conclusions: Bipolar HA provided satisfying results in relatively young patients at long term follow-up. In the present study age turned out to be the most relevant variable to influence results. Data suggest that acetabular erosion might have a secondary role in determining both the implant’s survival and the long term clinical results.

This White Paper presents the community inputs and scientific conclusions from the Hot and Cold QCD Town Meeting that took place September 23-25, 2022 at MIT, as part of the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee (NSAC) 2023 Long Range Planning process. A total of 424 physicists registered for the meeting. The meeting highlighted progress in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) nuclear physics since the 2015 LRP (LRP15) and identified key questions and plausible paths to obtaining answers to those questions, defining priorities for our research over the coming decade. In defining the priority of outstanding physics opportunities for the future, both prospects for the short (~ 5 years) and longer term (5-10 years and beyond) are identified together with the facilities, personnel and other resources needed to maximize the discovery potential and maintain United States leadership in QCD physics worldwide. This White Paper is organized as follows: In the Executive Summary, we detail the Recommendations and Initiatives that were presented and discussed at the Town Meeting, and their supporting rationales. Section 2 highlights major progress and accomplishments of the past seven years. It is followed, in Section 3, by an overview of the physics opportunities for the immediate future, and in relation with the next QCD frontier: the EIC. Section 4 provides an overview of the physics motivations and goals associated with the EIC. Section 5 is devoted to the workforce development and support of diversity, equity and inclusion. This is followed by a dedicated section on computing in Section 6. Section 7 describes the national need for nuclear data science and the relevance to QCD research., Comment: QCD Town Meeting White Paper, as submitted to 2023 NSAC LRP committee on Feb. 28, 2023

The focus is the analysis Of urban Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) with image processing techniques. A brief review of existing methods to derive sky view factors, building energy consumption and space syntax shows how well established parameters that relate to airflow and dispersion (Such as the height-to-width of urban canyons and the aerodynamic roughness length) can be calculated. Other measures of urban directionality and periodicity, inspired by traditional image processing, are also introduced, such as the Radon, Hough and Fourier transforms and the variance plot. Analyses of three case Study sites in London, Toulouse and Berlin are compared, showing considerable variation in the chosen parameters, Results Suggest that the DEM format is an extremely versatile tool to investigate the urban intermediate scale, allowing analyses that Would be very difficult Or impossible to carry Out using traditional vectorial models.

The essential oils (EOs) of Origanum compactum and Satureja montana chemotyped (CT) at carvacrol, two Thymus vulgaris CT at thujanol and thymol, and Hydrolates (Hys) of S. montana and Citrus aurantium var. amara were chosen for studying their bactericidal efficacy against few phytobacterial pathogens. The Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) were found by microdilution assay. The essential oils of O. compactum (MBC 0.06% v/v), T. vulgaris CT thymol (MBC 0.06% v/v), and Hy of C. aurantium (MBC 6.25% v/v) resulted in being the most effective against Erwinia amylovora; thus, they were used as starting concentrations for ex vivo assays. Despite the great in vitro effectiveness, the disease incidence and the population dynamic ex vivo assays showed no significant results. On the other hand, EO of O. compactum and Hy of C. aurantium (at 0.03% and 4.5% v/v, respectively) showed resistance induction in tomato plants against Xanthomonas vesicatoria infections; both treatments resulted in approximately 50% protection. In conclusion, EOs and Hys could be promising tools for agricultural defense, but further studies will be necessary to stabilize the EOs emulsions, while Hys application could be an effective method to prevent bacterial diseases when used as resistance inducer by pre-transplantation treatment at roots.

BACKGROUND: Dasineura oleae (Angelini 1831) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) was considered a minor pest in olive orchards, but in recent years severe outbreaks have been registered in several Mediterranean countries. Damage is caused by the feeding activity of larvae that induce gall formations and alters the physiological activity of the leaves. In Italy, this pest may be controlled by four Hymenoptera parasitoid species belonging to Platygaster and Mesopolobus genera such as Platygaster demades Walker 1835, Platygaster oleae Szelenyi 1940 (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), Mesopolobus aspilus (Walker 1835) and Mesopolobus mediterraneus (Mayr 1903) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), but parasitization becomes evident only after gall dissection. RESULTS: In this study, we aim to: (i) design a primer for the detection of specimens belonging to Platygaster and Mesopolobus genera; (ii) develop a multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) protocol combined to a fast samples DNA extraction method; (iii) apply the developed protocol to field-collected specimens and compare this method with traditional techniques based on visual estimation of parasitism rate on larvae. Primers were designed to anneal with cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences of Platygaster and Mesopolobus genera while protocols were developed to be fast and capable to process several samples at the same time. Molecular analyses demonstrated to provide almost double of the parasitism rate assessed by visual inspection. Furthermore, on second instar larvae the PCR-based method was able to detect ten-fold times the parasitization rate estimated by visual inspection. CONCLUSION: The application on a greater scale of this newly developed method could be fundamental in the determination of the biological control potential in olive orchards.

Objective Germline BRCA1-2 pathogenic variants (gBRCApv) increase the risk of pancreatic cancer and predict for response to platinating agents and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors. Data on worldwide gBRCApv incidence among pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients are sparse and describe a remarkable geographic heterogeneity. The aim of this study is to analyze the epidemiology of gBRCApv in Italian patients. Materials and methods Patients of any age with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, screened within 3 months from diagnosis for gBRCApv in Italian oncologic centers systematically performing tests without any selection. For the purposes of our analysis, breast, ovarian, pancreas, and prostate cancer in a patient's family history was considered as potentially BRCA-associated. Patients or disease characteristics were examined using the χ2 test or Fisher's exact test for qualitative variables and the Student's t-test or Mann–Whitney test for continuous variables, as appropriate. Results Between June 2015 and May 2020, 939 patients were tested by 14 Italian centers; 492 (52%) males, median age 62 years (range 28-87), 569 (61%) metastatic, 273 (29%) with a family history of potentially BRCA-associated cancers. gBRCA1-2pv were found in 76 patients (8.1%; 9.1% in metastatic; 6.4% in non-metastatic). The gBRCA2/gBRCA1 ratio was 5.4 : 1. Patients with gBRCApv were younger compared with wild-type (59 versus 62 years, P = 0.01). The gBRCApv rate was 17.1% among patients 70 years old (none out of 94 patients >73 years old). gBRCApv frequency in 845 patients, Highlights • This is the largest case series of incident PDAC patients screened for germline BRCA1-2 pathologic variants (gBRCApv). • The incidence of gBRCA1-2pv was 8.1% in the whole population; 9.1% in metastatic patients; 6.4% in non-metastatic patients. • No gBRCA1-2pv was observed over the age of 73. • These data suggest screening all PDAC patients

Shoulder replacement is indicated for the surgical treatment of proximal humeral fractures in elderly patients, when severe comminution and osteoporosis jeopardize the chances of success of any fixation technique. Two different implants are available for this purpose: anatomical hemiarthroplasty (HA) and reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA). HA for fractures was popularized by Charles Neer in the ‘50s and for several decades remained the only reliable implant for these injuries. However, many authors reported inconsistent results with HA as a consequence of the high rate of tuberosity and rotator cuff failure. In 1987, Paul Grammont designed the first successful RTSA, which was the end result of a long thought process on functional surgery of the shoulder. This implant was initially used to treat cuff tear arthropathy and shoulder pseudoparalysis, but indications have gradually expanded with time. Since RTSA does not rely on a functional cuff for shoulder elevation, it was felt that results in fractures could be improved by this prosthesis. In this study, the salient features of these implants are described to understand the rationale behind both approaches and highlight their pros and cons. Several clinical studies comparing HA vs RTSA for proximal humeral fractures have been published during the last two decades. A literature review is carried out to analyze and compare outcomes of both implants, analyzing clinical results, radiographic findings and complications. The final goal is to provide an overview of the different factors to consider for making a choice between these two prostheses.