The age‐related changes in 40 Hz Auditory Steady‐State Response and sustained Event‐Related Fields to the same amplitude‐modulated tones in typically developing children: A magnetoencephalography study

Recent studies have revealed that gamma‐band oscillatory and transient evoked potentials may change with age during childhood. It is hypothesized that these changes can be associated with a maturation of GABAergic neurotransmission and, subsequently, the age‐related changes of excitation–inhibition balance in the neural circuits. One of the reliable paradigms for investigating these effects in the auditory cortex is 40 Hz Auditory Steady‐State Response (ASSR), where participants are presented with the periodic auditory stimuli. It is known that such stimuli evoke two types of responses in magnetoencephalography (MEG)—40 Hz steady‐state gamma response (or 40 Hz ASSR) and auditory evoked response called sustained Event‐Related Field (ERF). Although several studies have been conducted in children, focusing on the changes of 40 Hz ASSR with age, almost nothing is known about the age‐related changes of the sustained ERF to the same periodic stimuli and their relationships with changes in the gamma strength. Using MEG, we investigated the association between 40 Hz steady‐state gamma response and sustained ERF response to the same stimuli and also their age‐related changes in the group of 30 typically developing 7‐to‐12‐year‐old children. The results revealed a tight relationship between 40 Hz ASSR and ERF, indicating that the age‐related increase in strength of 40 Hz ASSR was associated with the age‐related decrease of the amplitude of ERF. These effects were discussed in the light of the maturation of the GABAergic system and excitation–inhibition balance development, which may contribute to the changes in ASSR and ERF.     

Gesichtspunkte über eine umfassende Krebsstatistik für die Provinz Siena in Italien für die Zeit von 1914–1930

Ohne ZusammenfassungDie Statistik ist weder pessimistisch noch optimistisch und kann nicht vorgefaßten Thesen dienen. Ihr wesentlichstes Merkmal muß größte Wahrhaftigkeit sein, gleich, ob diese unangenehm oder angenehm ist. Nur unter dieser Bedingung kann sie den hohen Lehrwert für den einzelnen wie für die Völker haben.Mussolini     

Characterization of Carbon Nanostructures by Photoelectron Spectroscopies

Recently, the scientific community experienced two revolutionary events. The first was the synthesis of single-layer graphene, which boosted research in many different areas. The second was the advent of quantum technologies with the promise to become pervasive in several aspects of everyday life. In this respect, diamonds and nanodiamonds are among the most promising materials to develop quantum devices. Graphene and nanodiamonds can be coupled with other carbon nanostructures to enhance specific properties or be properly functionalized to tune their quantum response. This contribution briefly explores photoelectron spectroscopies and, in particular, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and then turns to the present applications of this technique for characterizing carbon nanomaterials. XPS is a qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis technique. It is surface-sensitive due to its limited sampling depth, which confines the analysis only to the outer few top-layers of the material surface. This enables researchers to understand the surface composition of the sample and how the chemistry influences its interaction with the environment. Although the chemical analysis remains the main information provided by XPS, modern instruments couple this information with spatial resolution and mapping or with the possibility to analyze the material in operando conditions at nearly atmospheric pressures. Examples of the application of photoelectron spectroscopies to the characterization of carbon nanostructures will be reviewed to present the potentialities of these techniques.     

Clinical heterogeneity and diagnostic delay of autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy syndrome

Autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy (APECED) is a rare autosomal recessive organ-specific autoimmune disorder that is characterized by a variable combination of (i) chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis, (ii) polyendocrinopathy and/or hepatitis and (iii) dystrophy of the dental enamel and nails. We analyzed the AIRE (autoimmune regulator) gene in subjects who presented any symptom that has been associated with APECED, including candidiasis and autoimmune endocrinopathy. We observed that 83.3% of patients presented at least two of the three typical manifestations of APECED, while the remaining 16.7% of patients showed other signs of the disease. Analysis of the genetic diagnosis of these subjects revealed that a considerable delay occurs in the majority of patients between the appearance of symptoms and the diagnosis. Overall, the mean diagnostic delay in our patients was 10.2 years. These results suggest that molecular analysis of AIRE should be performed in patients with relapsing mucocutaneous candidiasis for early identification of APECED.     

Reactive vaccination as control strategy for an outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis C:P1.5-1,10-8:F3-6:ST-11(cc11), Bergamo province,Italy, December 2019 to January 2020

In Italy, serogroup C meningococci of the clonal complex cc11 (MenC/cc11) have caused several outbreaks of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) during the past 20 years. Between December 2019 and January 2020, an outbreak of six cases of IMD infected with MenC/cc11 was identified in a limited area in the northern part of Italy. All cases presented a severe clinical picture, and two of them were fatal. This report is focused on the microbiological and molecular analysis of meningococcal isolates with the aim to reconstruct the chain of transmission. It further presents the vaccination strategy adopted to control the outbreak. The phylogenetic evaluation demonstrated the close genetic proximity between the strain involved in this outbreak and a strain responsible for a larger epidemic that had occurred in 2015 and 2016 in the Tuscany Region. The rapid identification and characterisation of IMD cases and an extensive vaccination campaign contributed to the successful control of this outbreak caused by a hyperinvasive meningococcal strain.     

A comparison between stereophotogrammetry and smartphone structured light technology for three-dimensional face scanning

ObjectivesTo compare three-dimensional facial scans obtained by stereophotogrammetry with two different applications for smartphone supporting the TrueDepth system, a structured light technology.Materials and MethodsFacial scans of 40 different subjects were acquired with three different systems. The 3dMDtrio Stereophotogrammetry System (3dMD, Atlanta, Ga) was compared with a smartphone (iPhone Xs; Apple, Cupertino, Calif) equipped with the Bellus3D Face Application (version 1.6.11; Bellus3D Inc, Campbell, Calif) or Capture (version 1.2.5; Standard Cyborg Inc, San Francisco, Calif). Times of image acquisition and elaboration were recorded. The surface-to-surface deviation and the distance between 18 landmarks from 3dMD reference images to those acquired with Bellus3D or Capture were measured.ResultsCapturing and processing times with the smartphone applications were considerably longer than with the 3dMD system. The surface-to-surface deviation analysis between the Bellus3D and 3dMD showed an overlap percentage of 80.01% ± 5.92% and 56.62% ± 7.65% within the ranges of 1 mm and 0.5 mm discrepancy, respectively. Images from Capture showed an overlap percentage of 81.40% ± 9.59% and 56.45% ± 11.62% within the ranges of 1 mm and 0.5 mm, respectively.ConclusionsThe face image acquisition with the 3dMD device is fast and accurate, but bulky and expensive. The new smartphone applications combined with the TrueDepth sensors show promising results. They need more accuracy from the operator and more compliance from the patient because of the increased acquisition time. Their greatest advantages are related to cost and portability.     

The Neuroscience Information Framework: A Data and Knowledge Environment for Neuroscience

With support from the Institutes and Centers forming the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, we have designed and implemented a new initiative for integrating access to and use of Web-based neuroscience resources: the Neuroscience Information Framework. The Framework arises from the expressed need of the neuroscience community for neuroinformatic tools and resources to aid scientific inquiry, builds upon prior development of neuroinformatics by the Human Brain Project and others, and directly derives from the Society for Neuroscience’s Neuroscience Database Gateway. Partnered with the Society, its Neuroinformatics Committee, and volunteer consultant-collaborators, our multi-site consortium has developed: (1) a comprehensive, dynamic, inventory of Web-accessible neuroscience resources, (2) an extended and integrated terminology describing resources and contents, and (3) a framework accepting and aiding concept-based queries. Evolving instantiations of the Framework may be viewed at , , and other sites as they come on line.     

Numerical activities of daily living: a short version

Neurological Sciences - Specific impairments in numerical functions may cause severe problems in everyday life that cannot be inferred from the available scales evaluating instrumental activities...