COVID-19 among healthcare workers in a specialist infectious diseases setting in Naples, Southern Italy: results of a cross-sectional surveillance study.

A coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) surveillance study was performed in March-April 2020 among asymptomatic healthcare workers (HCWs) at a specialist infectious diseases hospital in Naples, Italy. All HCWs underwent two rounds of molecular and serological testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). One hundred and fifteen HCWs were tested; of these, two cases of infection were identified by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and two HCWs were SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G seropositive. The overall prevalence of current or probable previous infection was 3.4%. The infection rate among HCWs was reasonably low. Most of the infected HCWs had been asymptomatic for the preceding 30 days, which supports the need for periodic screening of HCWs for COVID-19.

Passive BCI beyond the lab: current trends and future directions.

Over the last decade, passive brain-computer interface (BCI) algorithms and biosignal acquisition technologies have experienced a significant growth that has allowed the real-time analysis of biosignals, with the aim to quantify relevant insights, such as mental and emotional states, of the users. Several passive BCI-based applications have been tested in laboratory settings, and just a few of them in real or, at least, simulated but highly realistic settings. Nevertheless, works performed in laboratory settings are not able to take into account all those factors (artefacts, non-brain influences, other mental states) that could impair the usability of passive BCIs during real applications, naturally characterized by higher complexity. The present review takes into account the most recent trends in using advanced passive BCI technologies in real settings, especially for real-time mental state evaluations in operational environments, evaluation of team resources, training and expertise assessment, gaming and neuromarketing applications. The objective of the work is to draw a mark on where we are to date and the future challenges, in order to make passive BCIs closer to being integrated into daily life applications.

Comparison of cholecystectomy and percutaneous cholecystostomy in acute cholecystitis: results of a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively compare the clinical outcomes of percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) and cholecystectomy in patients with acute cholecystitis admitted to an urban University Hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 646 patients with acute cholecystitis. Ninety patients had placement of a PC at their index hospitalization, and 556 underwent cholecystectomy. Of the 90 patients with PC, 13 underwent subsequent elective cholecystectomy. RESULTS: Overall, in-hospital mortality and postoperative complications were significantly higher in patients who received PC than in those who underwent cholecystectomy. In the ASA score 1-2 group, patients with PC were significantly older and had a longer postoperative stay while their mortality and morbidity were similar to patients who underwent cholecystectomy. In patients with ASA score of 3, PC and cholecystectomy did not differ significantly for demographic variables and clinical outcomes such as hospital stay, in-hospital mortality, postoperative complications and distribution of complications according to the classification of Clavien-Dildo. In mild, moderate, and severe cholecystitis, patients who underwent PC were significantly older than those who received cholecystectomy. In general, in mild, moderate and severe cholecystitis, the clinical outcomes did not differ significantly between patients who received PC and cholecystectomy. Morbidity was higher in patients with mild cholecystitis who underwent PC. Of the 77 patients dismissed from the hospital with drainage, 12 (15.6%) developed biliary complications and 5 needed substitutions of the drainage itself. CONCLUSIONS: PC does not offer advantages compared to cholecystectomy in the treatment of acute cholecystitis. Its routine use is therefore questioned. There is need of an adequate, randomized study that compares PC and cholecystectomy in high-risk patients with moderate-severe cholecystitis.

A passive brain-computer interface application for the mental workload assessment on professional air traffic controllers during realistic air traffic control tasks.

In the last decades, it has been a fast-growing concept in the neuroscience field. The passive brain-computer interface (p-BCI) systems allow to improve the human-machine interaction (HMI) in operational environments, by using the covert brain activity (eg, mental workload) of the operator. However, p-BCI technology could suffer from some practical issues when used outside the laboratories. In particular, one of the most important limitations is the necessity to recalibrate the p-BCI system each time before its use, to avoid a significant reduction of its reliability in the detection of the considered mental states. The objective of the proposed study was to provide an example of p-BCIs used to evaluate the users' mental workload in a real operational environment. For this purpose, through the facilities provided by the École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile of Toulouse (France), the cerebral activity of 12 professional air traffic control officers (ATCOs) has been recorded while performing high realistic air traffic management scenarios. By the analysis of the ATCOs' brain activity (electroencephalographic signal-EEG) and the subjective workload perception (instantaneous self-assessment) provided by both the examined ATCOs and external air traffic control experts, it has been possible to estimate and evaluate the variation of the mental workload under which the controllers were operating. The results showed (i) a high significant correlation between the neurophysiological and the subjective workload assessment, and (ii) a high reliability over time (up to a month) of the proposed algorithm that was also able to maintain high discrimination accuracies by using a low number of EEG electrodes (~3 EEG channels). In conclusion, the proposed methodology demonstrated the suitability of p-BCI systems in operational environments and the advantages of the neurophysiological measures with respect to the subjective ones.

An electroencephalographic Peak Density Function to detect memorization during the observation of TV commercials.

Nowadays, there is a growing interest in measuring the impact of advertisements through the estimation of cerebral reactions. Several techniques and methods are used and discussed in the consumer neuroscience. In such a context, the present paper provides a novel method to estimate the level of memorization occurred in subjects during the observation of TV commercials. In particular, the present work introduce the Peak Density Function (PDF) as an electroencephalographic (EEG) time-varying variable which is correlated with the cerebral events of memorization of TV commercials. The analysis has been performed on the EEG activity recorded on twenty healthy subjects during the exposition to several advertisements. After the EEG recordings, an interview has been performed to obtain the information about the memorized scenes for all the video clips watched by the subjects. Such information has been put in correlation with the occurrence of transient peaks of EEG synchronization in the theta band, by computing the PDF. The present results show that the increase of PDF is positively correlated, scene by scene, (R=0.46, p<;0.01) with the spontaneous recall of subjects. This technology could be of help for marketers to overcome the drawbacks of the standard marketing tools (e.g., interviews, focus groups) when analyzing the impact of advertisements.

Acute thrombosis of abdominal aorta and hypercoagulable disorders.

Acute abdominal aortic occlusion (AAAO) is a rare, life threatening condition, which usually occurs in elderly patients, causing challenging management issues. In patients who have no cardiac or vascular disease this catastrophic event is very rare and is due to hypercoagulable disorders. This study reviews the literature on AAAO in hypercoagulable states in the light of our experience on a case of an acute thrombosis of nonaneurysmal, nonatherosclerotic abdominal aorta in a female patient with protein S deficiency and Sjögren's syndrome and her younger brother, which was found to have atherosclerotic involvement of distal aorta and elevation in homocysteine levels. Because of a misleading clinical presentation, the diagnosis was delayed and conservative treatment failed. Both were successfully treated with emergency aorto-bifemoral grafting. Other cases of arterial thrombosis and hypercoagulable disorders were found in first-degree relatives. Our experience and the review of the literature suggest that the interaction between host and environment factors can lead to acute thrombosis of the non-pathologic abdominal aorta; not only classic hypercoagulability disorders, but also immunologic, metabolic, toxicological cofactors can be involved. Delay in diagnosis is frequent and may not influence the prognosis, but does not allow conservative therapy. Prognosis depends mainly on pathologic cofactors that require detection and appropriate treatment in order to prevent complications and recurrences.

D2 lymphectomy in the treatment of gastric cancer: a retrospective view on our experience (1990-1997).

From 1990 to 1997 we observed, in our department, 267 patients affected by gastric cancer. In the first four years of our experience (1990-93) we resected 87 patients out of 136 gastric cancers observed (63.9%): 56 pts. (64.4%) were classified as ASA I-II, 21 (24.1%) as ASA III, 10 (11.5%) as ASA IV. In 2 cases (2.3%), operated in emergency, a DO-1 lymphectomy was performed, with a mean of 4 nodes resected; 67 pts. (77.0%) had a D2, with a mean of 36.5 nodes resected; in 18 pts. (20.7%) we performed a D3, with a mean of 64.3 nodes resected. Post-operative technical complications were 13 (14.9%). We observed 5 post-operatory deaths (5.7%), 3 due to technical complications. Absolutely and relatively curative resections have been 62 (71.3%). In the second period (1994-97) we resected 89/131 patients (67.9%): in this group 50 pts. (56.2%) were classified as ASA I-II, 24 (26.9%) as ASA III, 15 (16.9%) as ASA IV. With the exception of 3 patients (3.4%) who were operated in emergency (D0-1 procedures, with a mean number of 2.3 nodes resected) we adopted D2 lymphadenectomy plus hepatic peduncle as the procedure of choice, performed in 86 pts. (96.6%), with a mean of 34.1 nodes resected. Post-operative technical complications were 5 (5.6%). We observed 5 post-operatory deaths (5.6%), 1 due to technical problems. Absolutely and relatively curative resections have been 76 (85.4%). Morbidity and mortality due to technical complications in the second period are lower than observed in the first period, without any difference in the curability rate. D2 lymphectomy seems to be an effective procedure, safe even in high anesthesiological risk patients. Increasing experience and standardization of the technique reduced risk of surgical complications and mortality.

[Ureteral calculi: comparison of echographic and radiologic scanning]. / Calcolosi ureterale: sistemi di puntamento ecografico e radiologico a confronto.

The ureteral calculi can be treated, today in situ with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. In our study we have used three different lithotriptors, two with fluoroscopic scanning, one with ultrasound scanning. The patients we have treated with ultrasound scanning lithotriptor Dornier MPL 9000 were 48 (22M-26F), while 210 patients were treated with fluoroscopic scanning lithotriptor, respectively 23 (15M-8F) with Direx Tripter XI and 187 with Dornier HM3. The ureteral calculi were so localized: among the patients treated with ultrasound scanning lithotriptor 16 presented calculi in the upper third ureter between GPU and L3, 9 in the middle third ureter between L3 and the superior border of sacroiliac articulation, 9 in pelvic tract above the spinoischiatic line, 6 between this line and juxtabladder ureter and 8 in juxtabladder ureter. Among the patients treated with fluoroscopic scanning lithotriptors all together 58 presented calculi in the upper third ureter between GPU and L3, 29 in the middle third ureter between L3 and the superior border of sacroiliac articulation, 13 in the iliac tract of the ureter, 41 in pelvic tract above the spino-ischiatic line, 27 between this line and juxtabladder ureter and 42 in juxtabladder ureter. For every treatment the number of shock waves was 2500 and the number of treatments for every patients was 1, 3. We report 82% of patients stone-free at a follow up of three months for the patients treated with the MPL 9000, 87% of patients stone-free for Direx Tripter XI and 85% of patients stone-free for Dornier HM3.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)