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Studies using deciduous tooth crown measurements have concluded that statistically significant differences between males and females are not as effective for discriminating between the sexes as are the results from permanent tooth measurements. The present study measured the mesiodistal and faciolingual crown diameters of the maxillary and mandibular deciduous teeth of 162 dental casts from children, age 3-4 years, and the permanent first molars of 84 casts from the same children, age 16 years, of the Burlington Growth Study. The data displayed significant differences between the sexes for all 40 deciduous diameters at the 5% level of significance, and for 37 diameters at the 1% level. Using 3 to 5 deciduous measurements, the discriminant analyses of several samplings of these children produced discriminant functions in which 76%-90% of holdout samples are correctly classified by sex. Using combinations of deciduous and permanent measurements, 83%-85% of the holdout samples are correctly classified. The results of the univariate and multivariate analyses of the Burlington sample were compared to several earlier studies of deciduous and permanent teeth of both modern and archaeological populations. The Burlington group proved to be the most dimorphic in the deciduous teeth and that dimorphism in the deciduous teeth was within the range published for the permanent teeth in several other studies. The expression of sexual dimorphism in the deciduous teeth varies both withm and among populations. The level of classification accuracy using discriminant analysis of the deciduous teeth approaches the accuracy levels for the pennanent teeth. Master of Arts (MA)

A method for monitoring the misalignment of the magnetic axis in solenoids is proposed. This method requires only a few measurements of the magnetic field at fixed positions inside the magnet aperture, and thus overcomes the main drawback of sturdy moving mechanics of other Hall sensor-based methods. Conversely to state-of-the-art axis determination, the proposed method can be applied also during magnet operations, when the axis region and almost the whole remaining magnet aperture are not accessible. Moreover, only a few measurements of the magnetic field at fixed positions inside the magnet aperture are required: thus a slow process such as the mapping of the whole aperture of a magnet by means of moving stages is not necessary. The mathematical formulation of the method is explained, and a case study on a model of a multi–layer solenoid is presented. For this case study, the uncertainty is assessed and the optimal placement of the Hall transducers is derived.

A method for a first-order approximation estimation of the longitudinal impedance of a synchrotron component, starting from power loss measurements on the device, is proposed. This method also estimates the resonance frequency and the quality factor of the impedance after the execution of several machine runs, without disconnecting the device. After a detailed description of the method, its suitability is demonstrated through a practical case study using power loss measurements of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

A fault detection method exploiting Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) is proposed for fluid machinery without adequate a priori information about faulty conditions. The method is trained only on data acquired during normal machine operation. For anomaly detection, typical quantities measured in monitoring fluid machines, namely 3-axis acceleration, electric power consumption, temperature, inlet and outlet pressure, are monitored. Principal Component Analysis is exploited for features extraction. Then, data is clustered and an HMM is trained. Finally, the trained model is employed together with a goodness-of-fit test to detect faulty states by processing online data. The method was tested and validated at CERN on screw compressors for cryogenic cooling.

In particle accelerator components, parasitic resonances must be reduced because they heat up the equipment and cause beam instabilities. In this paper, a method for designing and characterizing Higher Order Mode (HOM) couplers for reducing such resonances in a broad bandwidth is proposed. A case study is considered for a specific component, called QuattroTank, showing geometrical discontinuities and thus causing significant electro-magnetic resonances. Results of numerical simulation and experimental emulation prove the capability of the proposed method to reduce the peaks and the Q-factor of the resonances. In particle accelerator components, parasitic resonances must be reduced because they heat up the equipment and cause beam instabilities. In this paper, a method for designing and characterizing Higher Order Mode (HOM) couplers for reducing such resonances in a broad bandwidth is proposed. A case study is considered for a specific component, called QuattroTank, showing geometrical discontinuities and thus causing significant electro-magnetic resonances. Results of numerical simulation and experimental emulation prove the capability of the proposed method to reduce the peaks and the $Q-factor of the resonances.

A method for monitoring the misalignment of the magnetic axis in axially-symmetric magnets is proposed. Conversely to the other methods for magnet axis determination, the proposed method is suitable also when the magnet has been deployed and the surrounding equipment has been installed, often making the axis region and almost the whole remaining magnet aperture not accessible. Requiring only a few measurements of the magnetic field at fixed positions inside the magnet aperture, it overcomes the main drawback of the other Hall sensor-based methods which is having to deal with sturdy mechanics of the moving stages. In this paper the analytical description of the method is presented, and the sensitivity concerning the measurement is studied. Then, the validation of the measurement method, based on analytical simulations of the magnetic field inside an ideal solenoid magnetic aperture, is presented.

Mainstreams in research on measurement systems for cryogenic process monitoring are reviewed with the aim of defining key current trends and possible future evolutions. At this aim, research mainstreams are classified according to the measurand: liquid level, flow rate, and pressure. In these fields, research on innovative measurement systems is surveyed, by highlighting main basic ideas, original design solutions, main results, and positioning in the innovation landscape. Then, current and future research trends are outlined in order to draw evolution scenarios of measurement systems for cryogenics monitoring.

International audience

Pain is the primary reason for admission to the Emergency Department (ED). However, the management of pain in this setting is often inadequate because of opiophagia, fear of excessive sedation, and fear of compromising an adequate clinical assessment.An intersociety consensus conference was held in 2010 on the assessment and treatment of pain in the emergency setting. This report is the Italian Intersociety recommendations on pain management in the emergency department setting.The list of level A recommendations includes: 1) use of IV acetaminophen for opioid sparing properties and reduction of opioid related adverse events; 2) ketamine-midazolam combination preferred over fentanyl-midazolam fentanyl-propofol in pediatric patients; 3) boluses of ketamine IV (particularly in the population under the age of 2 years and over the age of 13) can lead to impairment of the upper airways, including the onset of laryngospasm, requiring specific expertise and skills for administration; 4) the use of ketamine increases the potential risk of psychomotor agitation, which can happen in up to 30% of adult patients (this peculiar side effect can be significantly reduced by concomitant systemic use of benzodiazepines); 5) for shoulder dislocations and fractures of the upper limbs, the performance of brachial plexus block reduces the time spent in ED compared to sedation; 6) pain relief and the use of opioids in patients with acute abdominal pain do not increase the risk of error in the diagnostic and therapeutic pathway in adults; 7) in newborns, the administration of sucrose reduces behavioural responses to blood sampling from a heel puncture; 8) in newborns, breastfeeding or formula feeding during the procedure reduces the measures of distress; 9) in pediatric patients, non-pharmacological techniques such as distraction, hypnosis and cognitive-behavioural interventions reduce procedural pain caused by the use of needles; 10) in pediatric patients, preventive application of eutectic mixtures of prilocaine and lidocaine allows arterial and venous samples to be taken in optimum conditions; 11) in pediatric patients, the combination of hypnotics (midazolam) and N2O is effective for procedural pain, but may be accompanied by loss of consciousness.The diagnostic-therapeutic pathway of pain management in emergency should be implemented, through further interdisciplinary trials, in order to improve the EBM level of specific guidelines.

This study provides evidence that, within the caudal neurosecretory system of the teleost Oreochromis niloticus, neurons express nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-like molecules. The presence of NOS-like molecules was demonstrated by means of NADPH-diaphorase (NADPHd) staining and NOS immunohistochemistry. In the caudal spinal cord, NOS-positive neurosecretory cell bodies and neurosecretory fibers were observed. In addition, NOS-positive structures were found in the urophysis which correspond to neurosecretory axon terminals. Cellular co-localization of NOS and ovine corticotropin-releasing factor (oCRF) immunoreactivities confirmed that the NOS-positive structures belong to the caudal neurosecretory system. The present results suggest that NO may participate in the caudal neuroendocrine function.