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Over the years, transportable instrumentation for cultural heritage (CH) in situ measurements has noticeably widespread, due to logistic, economical and safety reasons. Ion beam analysis, a powerful set of analytical techniques, of great importance for CH, is instead carried out by using fixed instrumentation. To overcome this limit, the Italian national Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), CERN (European Centre for Nuclear Research) and the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (OPD), started MACHINA, the “Movable Accelerator for CH In-situ Non-destructive Analysis: the new generation of accelerators for art” to build a transportable accelerator, compact, with strongly reduced weight, absorbed power and cost. MACHINA will be installed at the OPD and dedicated to CH. It will be moved to major conservation centres and museums, when needed. The INFN-CERN proposal, approved in December 2017, became operative in February 2018. 2018 was dedicated to the acquisition of material/instrumentations, to set up both a dummy accelerator (to test the vacuum system) and a vacuum chamber (to test the source). Due to COVID, in 2020 and 2021 the experimental work was slowed down, but we kept developing the control electronics/software and built the second-generation supporting structure. The HF-RFQ power supplies were integrated in October 2021. At the rise of 2022, after conditioning the cavities, we tested the system and in March 2022 we got the first extracted 2-MeV proton beam. In this paper, we present the structure of the MACHINA system, the approach followed and the main solutions adopted, with a special focus on the control system, and finally the first experimental results.

Common complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) related ARDS and ventilation are barotrauma-induced pneumothorax, pneumatocele and/or empyema. We analysed indications and results of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in complicated COVID-19 patients. This is a retrospective single-institution study analysing a case series of patients treated by VATS for secondary spontaneous pneumothorax (SSP), pneumatocele and empyema complicating COVID-19, not responding to drainage in Lodi Maggiore Hospital between February 2020 and May 2021. Out of 2076 patients hospitalized in Lodi Maggiore Hospital with COVID-19, nine Males (0,43%; mean age 58,1–33–81) were treated by VATS for complications of pneumonia (6 SSP and 3 empyema; 1 case complicated by haemothorax). 7 patients (77%) had CPAP before surgery for 21.3 days mean (4–38). Mean Operative time was 80.9 min (38–154). Conversion rate was 0%. 3 (33%) patients were admitted to ICU before VATS. Treatments were: bullectomy in six patients (66%), drainage of the pleural space in all patients, pleural decortication and fluid aspiration in five cases (55%). two patients (22%) needed surgery interruption and bilateral ventilation to restore adequate oxygenation. Mortality was 1/9 (11%) due to respiratory failure for persistent pneumonia. In one patient (11%) redo surgery was performed for bleeding. Mean postop Length of Stay (LOS) was 37.9 days (10–77). Our report shows that VATS can be considered an extreme, but effective treatment for COVID-19 patients with SSP, pneumatocele or empyema, for patients who can tolerate general anaesthesia. Attention must be paid to the aerosol-generation of infected droplets.

To assess potential ethnic and gender-related differences in the expression of cytochrome CYP1A2-mediated activity, the pharmacokinetics of phenacetin (a CYP1A2 substrate) and its metabolite paracetamol were compared in 20 Caucasian and 20 Chinese subjects after administration of a single oral 900 mg phenacetin dose. Peak plasma concentrations and apparent oral clearance values for phenacetin did not differ between the two groups (geometric means: 3.4 μg/ml and 1.56 ml h-1kg-1, respectively, for Caucasians vs. 4.7 μg/ml and 1.25 ml h-1kg-1, respectively, for Chinese, after excluding one Caucasian with aberrantly low plasma phenacetin values). Pharmacokinetic parameters for metabolically derived paracetamol were also similar in the two groups. When subjects were divided into subgroups according to gender, phenacetin apparent oral clearance values were found to be lower in Chinese women compared with both Chinese men and Caucasian subjects of either sex. It is concluded that there are no major interethnic differences in the expression of CYP1A2-related activity between Caucasians and Chinese, although Chinese women as a subgroup may exhibit comparatively lower enzyme activity.

The behavior of an injection system with a rotative pump for reciprocating engines has been investigated. Experimental investigations were carried out using a specially designed apparatus to monitor several parameters, such as pressure inside the different chambers of the apparatus, moving part lift, and injected fuel quantity. In addition, a predictive mathematical model, based on mass momentum conservation laws, was developed to simulate such behavior and to predict all the most important parameters of the injection system. The comparison between numerical and experimental results has been satisfactory, allowing a generalization of the model and extensive theoretical predictions of the system behavior.

Omeprazole has been reported to increase cytochrome P450IA2 (CYP1A2) activity in vitro, but whether this effect also occurs in vivo is controversial. To clarify this issue, the effect of omeprazole (20 mg/day for 8 days) on the kinetics and metabolism of phenacetin, an in vivo marker of CYP1A2 activity, was examined in 10 healthy volunteers. The pharmacokinetic parameters of phenacetin and metabolically derived paracetamol on the 8th day of omeprazole administration were very similar to those observed in a control session in the absence of omeprazole administration, the only significant difference being a higher peak plasma phenacetin concentration during omeprazole treatment. It is concluded that at the dosage used omeprazole does not increase the rate of oxidative and conjugative reactions involved in the metabolism of phenacetin and paracetamol respectively. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that omeprazole is generally devoid of inducing effects on CYP1A2 activity in vivo, at least in a Caucasian population with a low prevalence of the omeprazole-mephenytoin poor metabolizer phenotype.

The CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST), a 10 meter long LHC, 9 Tesla, test magnet is mounted on a moving platform that tracks the sun about 1.5 hours during sunrise, again during sunset. It moves ±80 vertically and ±400 horizontally. It has been taking data continuously since July 10, 2003. Data analyzed thus far yield an upper bound on the photon-axion coupling constant, g aγγ ⩽ 3 × 10−10 GeV−1 for axion masses less than 5 × 10−2 eV. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]