$EVWUDFW A prospective study allowed, with the collaboration of Italian centres providing services on natural family planning, to collect data on 2755 menstrual cycles of 193 women. With the information available on daily characteristics of the cervical mucus and intercourse episodes, was constructed a data base. Taking the day of the peak mucus as a conventional marker of ovulation, the base allowed to identify length (12 days) and location of a window of potential fertility, with the highest level of conception probabilities confined to the central 5-6 days. Univariate analysis provided evidence of the impact on fecundability of woman's age and basic infertile pattern of a cycle. Several approaches of analysis allowed to underline the relationship between daily mucus characteristics and fecundability levels..H\ZRUGV cervical mucus, daily fecundability, fertile period, logit model, Billings ovulation method, fertility awareness, natural family planning Department of Applied Statistics and Economics University of Pavia Italy$EVWUDFW A prospective study allowed, with the collaboration of Italian centres providing services on natural family planning, to collect data on 2755 menstrual cycles of 193 women. With the information available on daily characteristics of the cervical mucus and intercourse episodes, was constructed a data base. Taking the day of the peak mucus as a conventional marker of ovulation, the base allowed to identify length (12 days) and location of a window of potential fertility, with the highest level of conception probabilities confined to the central 5-6 days. Univariate analysis provided evidence of the impact on fecundability of woman's age and basic infertile pattern of a cycle. Several approaches of analysis allowed to underline the relationship between daily mucus characteristics and fecundability levels .H\ZRUGV cervical mucus, daily fecundability, fertile period, logit model, Billings ovulation method, fertility awareness, natural family planning

Abnormal cortical oscillations are markers of Parkinson's Disease (PD). Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can modulate brain oscillations and possibly impact on behaviour. Mapping of cortical activity (prevalent oscillatory frequency and topographic scalp distribution) may provide a personalized neurotherapeutic target and guide non-invasive brain stimulation. This is a cross-over, double blinded, randomized trial. Electroencephalogram (EEG) from participants with PD referred to Specialist Clinic, University Hospital, were recorded. TACS frequency and electrode position were individually defined based on statistical comparison of EEG power spectra maps with normative data from our laboratory. Stimulation frequency was set according to the EEG band displaying higher power spectra (with beta excess on EEG map, tACS was set at 4 Hz; with theta excess, tACS was set at 30 Hz). Participants were randomized to tACS or random noise stimulation (RNS), 5 days/week for 2-weeks followed by ad hoc physical therapy. EEG, motor (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale-motor: UPDRS III), neuropsychological (frontal, executive and memory tests) performance and mood were measured before (T 0 ), after (T 1 ) and 4-weeks after treatment (T 2 ). A linear model with random effects and Wilcoxon test were used to detect differences. Main results include a reduction of beta rhythm in theta-tACS vs. RNS group at T 1 over right sensorimotor area ( p = .014) and left parietal area ( p = .010) and at T 2 over right sensorimotor area ( p = .004) and left frontal area ( p = .039). Bradykinesia items improved at T 1 ( p = .002) and T 2 ( p = .047) compared to T 0 in the tACS group. In the tACS group the Montréal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) improved at T 2 compared with T 1 ( p = .049). Individualized tACS in PD improves motor and cognitive performance. These changes are associated with a reduction of excessive fast EEG oscillations.

Object Massive intraventricular hemorrhages (IVHs) require aggressive and rapid management to decrease intracranial hypertension, because the amount of intraventricular blood is a strong negative prognostic predictor on outcome. Neuroendoscopy may offer some advantages over more traditional surgical approaches on outcome and may decrease the number of shunt procedures that need to be performed. Methods The authors retrospectively reviewed the clinical and radiological data in 96 patients treated for massive IVH who were admitted between January 1996 and June 2008 to the neurosurgery unit after undergoing emergency CT scanning. Forty-eight patients (Group A) were treated with endoscopic aspiration surgery using a flexible endoscope with a “freehand” technique. A historical group of 48 patients (Group B) treated using external ventricular drain (EVD) placement alone was used as a comparison. The authors compared the radiological results with the clinical outcomes at 1 year according to the modified Rankin Scale and the need for internal CSF shunt treatment in the 2 groups. Results Endoscopic aspiration did not significantly affect the outcome at 1 year as determined using the modified Rankin Scale. Patients who underwent endoscopy had an EVD in place for 0.18 days fewer than patients treated with an EVD alone. Patients undergoing external ventricular drainage alone had a 5 times greater chance of requiring a shunting procedure than those treated using neuroendoscopy and external ventricular drainage. Neuroendoscopy plus external drainage reduces shunting rates by 34% when compared with external drainage alone. Conclusions The reduction in internal shunt surgery encourages the adoption of neuroendoscopic aspiration of severe IVH as a therapeutic tool to decrease shunt dependency.

Forecasting the length of the menstrual cycle and of its phases is an important problem in infertility management and natural family planning. Using repeated measurements of the length of the entire cycle and of the preovular phase provided by a large English database, we describe a Bayesian hierarchical dynamic approach to the problem. A state-space process is used to model the temporal behavior of the series of lengths for each woman. The individual processes are then embedded into a multivariate system through a Bayesian hierarchy in which model parameters are allowed to vary across subjects according to a specified probability distribution. The most interesting features of the suggested method are (a) it takes into account explicitly the temporal nature of the available data and (b) if combined with a fecundability model, it can be used to forecast the probability of conception in future cycles as a function of any intercourse behavior.

Objectives To determine the prevalence of olfactory and taste dysfunction (OD; TD) among COVID‐19 positive health care workers (HCWs), their associated risk factors and prognosis. Methods Between May and June 2020, a longitudinal multicenter study was conducted on symptomatic COVID‐19 PCR confirmed HCWs (COVID‐19 positive) in London and Padua. Results Hundred and fourteen COVID‐19 positive HCWs were surveyed with a response rate of 70.6% over a median follow‐up period of 52 days. UK prevalence of OD and TD was 73.1% and 69.2%, respectively. There was a male to female ratio of 1:3 with 81.6% being white, 43.7% being nurses/health care assistants (HCAs), and 39.3% being doctors. In addition, 53.2% of them worked on COVID‐19 wards. Complete recovery was reported in 31.8% for OD and 47.1% for TD with a 52 days follow‐up. The job role of doctors and nurses negatively influenced smell ( P = .04 and P = .02) and taste recovery ( P = .02 and P = .01). Ethnicity (being white) showed to positively influence only taste recovery ( P = .04). Sex (being female) negatively influenced OD and TD recovery only in Paduan HCWs ( P = .02 and P = .011, respectively). Working on a COVID‐19 ward did not influence prognosis. Conclusions The prevalence of OD and TD was considerably higher in HCWs. The prognosis for OD and TD recovery was worse for nurses/HCAs and doctors but working on a COVID‐19 ward did not influence prognosis. Sixty‐eight percent of surveyed HCWs at 52 days continued to experience OD or TD requiring additional future medical management capacity. Level of Evidence 4.