Planck intermediate results. XLIX. Parity-violation constraints from polarization data

Parity-violating extensions of the standard electromagnetic theory cause in vacuo rotation of the plane of polarization of propagating photons. This effect, also known as cosmic birefringence, has an impact on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy angular power spectra, producing non-vanishing T–B and E–B correlations that are otherwise null when parity is a symmetry. Here we present new constraints on an isotropic rotation, parametrized by the angle α, derived from Planck 2015 CMB polarization data. To increase the robustness of our analyses, we employ two complementary approaches, in harmonic space and in map space, the latter based on a peak stacking technique. The two approaches provide estimates for α that are in agreement within statistical uncertainties and are very stable against several consistency tests.Considering the T–B and E–B information jointly, we find from the harmonic analysis and from the stacking approach. These constraints are compatible with no parity violation and are dominated by the systematic uncertainty in the orientation of Planck’s polarization-sensitive bolometers

Planck 2018 results. VIII. Gravitational lensing

We present measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing potential using the final Planck 2018 temperature and polarization data. We increase the significance of the detection of lensing in the polarization maps from 5σ to 9σ. Combined with temperature, lensing is detected at 40σ4. We present an extensive set of tests of the robustness of the lensing-potential power spectrum, and construct a minimum-variance estimator likelihood over lensing multipoles 8≤L≤400. We find good consistency between lensing constraints and the results from the Planck CMB power spectra within the ΛCDMΛCDM model. Combined with baryon density and other weak priors, the lensing analysis alone constrains σ8Ω0.25m=0.589±0.020 (1σ errors). Also combining with baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) data, we find tight individual parameter constraints, σ8=0.811±0.019, H0=67.9+1.2−1.3kms−1Mpc−1, and Ωm=0.303+0.016−0.018. Combining with Planck CMB power spectrum data, we measure σ8 to better than 1% precision, finding σ8=0.811±0.006. We find consistency with the lensing results from the Dark Energy Survey, and give combined lensing-only parameter constraints that are tighter than joint results using galaxy clustering. Using Planck cosmic infrared background (CIB) maps we make a combined estimate of the lensing potential over 60% of the sky with considerably more small-scale signal. We demonstrate delensing of the Planck power spectra, detecting a maximum removal of 40% of the lensing-induced power in all spectra. The improvement in the sharpening of the acoustic peaks by including both CIB and the quadratic lensing reconstruction is detected at high significance (abridged)

Planck intermediate results. XLVIII. Disentangling Galactic dust emission and cosmic infrared background anisotropies

Using the Planck 2015 data release (PR2) temperature maps, we separate Galactic thermal dust emission from cosmic infrared background (CIB) anisotropies. For this purpose, we implement a specifically tailored component-separation method, the so-called generalized needlet internal linear combination (GNILC) method, which uses spatial information (the angular powerspectra) to disentangle the Galactic dust emission and CIB anisotropies. We produce significantly improved all-sky maps of Planck thermal dust emission, with reduced CIB contamination, at 353, 545, and 857 GHz. By reducing the CIB contamination of the thermal dust maps, we provide more accurate estimates of the local dust temperature and dust spectral index over the sky with reduced dispersion, especially at high Galactic latitudes above b = ±20°. We find that the dust temperature is T = (19.4 ± 1.3) K and the dust spectral index is β = 1.6 ± 0.1 averaged over the whole sky, while T = (19.4 ± 1.5) K and β = 1.6 ± 0.2 on 21% of the sky at high latitudes. Moreover, subtracting the new CIB-removed thermal dust maps from the CMB-removed Planck maps gives access to the CIB anisotropies over 60% of the sky at Galactic latitudes |b| > 20°. Because they are a significant improvement over previous Planck products, the GNILC maps are recommended for thermal dust science. The new CIB maps can be regarded as indirect tracers of the dark matter and they are recommended for exploring cross-correlations with lensing and large-scale structure optical surveys. The reconstructed GNILC thermal dust and CIB maps are delivered as Planck products

Ageing vision and falls: a review

Background: Falls are the leading cause of accidental injury and death among older adults. One of three adults over the age of 65 years falls annually. As the size of elderly population increases, falls become a major concern for public health and there is a pressing need to understand the causes of falls thoroughly. Main body of the abstract: While it is well documented that visual functions such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and stereo acuity are correlated with fall risks, little attention has been paid to the relationship between falls and the ability of the visual system to perceive motion in the environment. The omission of visual motion perception in the literature is a critical gap because it is an essential function in maintaining balance. In the present article, we first review existing studies regarding visual risk factors for falls and the effect of ageing vision on falls. We then present a group of phenomena such as vection and sensory reweighting that provide information on how visual motion signals are used to maintain balance. Conclusion: We suggest that the current list of visual risk factors for falls should be elaborated by taking into account the relationship between visual motion perception and balance control

The use of the Borg Rating of perceived exertion scale in cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Cardiorespiratory arrest is a critical event whose survival rate is related to the quality of resuscitation manoeuvres, combined with technology. It is important to understand the perception of tiredness during this procedure, aiming at the effectiveness of compressions and increasing the chances of survival. Goal Apply the Borg Scale to analyze the effort perceived by nurses during cardiopulmonary resuscitation manoeuvres with a feedback device. Method Experimental study with randomized distribution of nurses in a teaching hospital, simulating cardiac arrest, to assess perceived exertion using the Borg scale during cardiopulmonary resuscitation with/without a feedback device. A statistical significance level of 5% was adopted. Results Sixty-nine nurses working in critical and non-critical adult care units were included. Perceived exertion and heart rate were lower in the intervention group (p<0.001), influenced by the feedback device, with no significant difference regarding the actuation units. Conclusion The Borg scale proved to be adequate for the proposed objectives. The feedback device contributed to less effort and reduced heart rate during resuscitation manoeuvres. The low cost and ease of application favour its use in training and real-time consultations to assess performance during resuscitation, using a feedback device to reduce efforts and the perception of tiredness. It also allows reflection on the intervening factors and resources that can influence the quality of care and the chances of survival

The application of Borg scale in cardiopulmonary resuscitation: An integrative review

The study of human performance and perception of exertion constitutes a fundamental aspect for monitoring health implications and enhancing training outcomes such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). It involves gaining insights into the varied responses and tolerance levels exhibited by individuals engaging in physical activities. To measure perception of exertion, many tools are available, including the Borg scale. In order to evaluate how the Borg scale is being used during CPR attempts, this integrative review was carried out between October/2020 and December/2023, with searches from PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO and VHL. Full publications relevant to the PICO strategy were included and letters, editorials, abstracts, and unpublished studies were excluded. In total, 34 articles were selected and categorised into three themes: a) CPR performed in different contexts; b) CPR performed in different cycles, positions, and techniques; c) CPR performed with additional technological resources. Because CPR performance is considered a strenuous physical activity, the Borg scale was used in each study to evaluate perception of exertion. The results identified that the Borg scale has been used during CPR in different contexts. It is a quick, low-cost, and easy-to-apply tool that provides important indicators that may affect CPR quality, such as perception of exertion, likely improving performance and potentially increasing the chances of survival

Proinflammatory Cytokines Activate the Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway in β-Cells

OBJECTIVE:Proinflammatory cytokines are cytotoxic to beta-cells and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes and islet graft failure. The importance of the intrinsic mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in cytokine-induced beta-cell death is unclear. Here, cytokine activation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway and the role of the two proapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins, Bad and Bax, were examined in beta-cells.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS:Human and rat islets and INS-1 cells were exposed to a combination of proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1beta, interferon-gamma, and/or tumor necrosis factor-alpha). Activation of Bad was determined by Ser136 dephosphorylation, mitochondrial stress by changes in mitochondrial metabolic activity and cytochrome c release, downstream apoptotic signaling by activation of caspase-9 and -3, and DNA fragmentation. The inhibitors FK506 and V5 were used to investigate the role of Bad and Bax activation, respectively. [...

Stage 4 neuroblastoma: sequential hemi-body irradiation or high-dose chemotherapy plus autologous haemopoietic stem cell transplantation to consolidate primary treatment

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two consecutive nonrandomised treatment programs applied between 1989 and 1999 at the Istituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan in an unselected cohort of 59 children over the age of one with stage 4 neuroblastoma. Both treatment programs consisted of two phases, the induction of the remission phase and the consolidation phase. The induction of the remission phase consisted of intensive chemotherapy, and remained the same throughout the study period. The consolidation phase consisted of sequential hemi-body irradiation (HBI) (10 Gy per session, 6 weeks apart) in the first period (1988–June 1994) and sequential high-dose cyclophosphamide, etoposide, mitoxantrone+L-PAM and autologous haemopoietic stem cell transplantation in the second (July 1994–1999). Intention-to-treat analysis revealed a significantly better outcome for patients treated with the second program, the 5-year event-free survival probability being 0.12 for program 1 and 0.31 for program 2 (P=0.03). This finding led us to conclude that sequential HBI is useless as consolidation treatment. The high-dose chemotherapy adopted in the second program enabled a proportion of patients to obtain long-term survival but, since the clinical results remain unsatisfactory, new treatment strategies are warranted

Exploring cosmic origins with CORE : Effects of observer peculiar motion

We discuss the effects on the cosmic microwave background (CMB), cosmic infrared background (CIB), and thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect due to the peculiar motion of an observer with respect to the CMB rest frame, which induces boosting effects. After a brief review of the current observational and theoretical status, we investigate the scientific perspectives opened by future CMB space missions, focussing on the Cosmic Origins Explorer (CORE) proposal. The improvements in sensitivity offered by a mission like CORE, together with its high resolution over a wide frequency range, will provide a more accurate estimate of the CMB dipole. The extension of boosting effects to polarization and cross-correlations will enable a more robust determination of purely velocity-driven effects that are not degenerate with the intrinsic CMB dipole, allowing us to achieve an overall signal-to-noise ratio of 13; this improves on the Planck detection and essentially equals that of an ideal cosmic variance-limited experiment up to a multipole l similar or equal to 2000. Precise inter-frequency calibration will offer the opportunity to constrain or even detect CMB spectral distortions, particularly from the cosmological reionization epoch, because of the frequency dependence of the dipole spectrum, without resorting to precise absolute calibration. The expected improvement with respect to COBE-FIRAS in the recovery of distortion parameters (which could in principle be a factor of several hundred for an ideal experiment with the CORE configuration) ranges from a factor of several up to about 50, depending on the quality of foreground removal and relative calibration. Even in the case of similar or equal to 1% accuracy in both foreground removal and relative calibration at an angular scale of 1 degrees, we find that dipole analyses for a mission like CORE will be able to improve the recovery of the CIB spectrum amplitude by a factor similar or equal to 17 in comparison with current results based on COBE-FIRAS. In addition to the scientific potential of a mission like CORE for these analyses, synergies with other planned and ongoing projects are also discussed.Peer reviewe