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Higher levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) associate with disease activity in pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS). Further, measures of retinal integrity associate with lower brain atrophy, yet the relationship of retinal integrity with MVPA has not been investigated.To determine the relationship between MVPA and retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) and ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness in patients with MS, myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-associated disorders (MOGAD), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), and monophasic acquired demyelinating syndromes (monoADS).150 consecutive children ≤18 y.o with neuroinflammatory disorders were included. Outcomes included the Godin Leisure Time Activity Questionnaire (GLTEQ) modeled as both a continuous and categorical variable (any vs no MVPA/Strenuous activity), and RNFL and GCIPL using linear mixed models (JASP 0.14.1).An association was identified between MVPA with RNFL thickness (F (1,133) = 8.40, p = .004) and GCIPL thickness (F(1, 131) = 7.68, p = .006). In the MS cohort, any strenuous physical activity was associated with greater RNFL (F(1,35) = 7.30, p = .011) and GCIPL thickness (F(1,35) = 8.73, p =.006).Any MVPA participation is associated with higher RNFL and GCIPL thickness across neuroinflammatory disorders.

Modern diagnostic meteorological models such as CALMET parameterise slope flows, kinematic terrain effects, terrain blocking effects, and include a divergence minimisation procedure. They also contain a micrometeorological model for the calculation of the planetary boundary-layer parameters both over-land and over-water. In CALMET, in particular, the energy balance equation gives the total contribution of direct and diffuse solar radiation reaching the ground, and topography shading is not accounted for. However, especially in the case of very complex terrain, topography shading generally has important effects on the energy balance, and as a consequence, on the flow field. Also, air temperature at the ground depends on the altitude above sea level, and interpolation of sparse measurements on a regular domain grid should account for this. We present algorithms that should improve the description of the physical effects mentioned above, through the independent calculation of direct, diffuse and reflected components of shortwave radiation, the consideration of the air temperature vertical gradient and vegetation cover for the interpolation of surface temperature observations, and the evaluation of the position of the Sun and topography slope and aspect. These algorithms, of general application, were implemented into CALMET to evaluate, qualitatively and against measurements, their performance on a very complex Alpine domain in northern Italy. CALMET was chosen since it is the diagnostic meteorological model of the CALPUFF modelling system. CALPUFF is recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) as the preferred model for long-range transport in general, and for shorter distances on a case-by-case basis.

This paper presents a low cost solution for Digital Operating Rooms called MIR (Multimedia Integrated Room). This solution offers a wider variety of useful features compared to other available digital rooms. MIR is capable of all-IP real time transmission and recording of endoscopic procedures using multiple HD cameras, integration with the hospital information system and also can be easily controlled by a wireless mobile device. The developed system main application areas are: a) medical students and/or specialist preceptor to follow the surgical procedure remotely with high quality images; b) the surgical team to better visualize the surgery through the multiple camera views.

This paper presents a low cost solution for Digital Operating Rooms called MIR (Multimedia Integrated Room). MIR is capable of real time transmission and recording of endoscopic procedures using multiple HD cameras, integration with the hospital systems and also can be easily controlled by a wireless mobile device. The developed system main application areas are: a) medical students and specialist preceptor to follow the surgical procedure remotely; b) the surgical team to better visualize the surgery.

Measurements of fluctuations have been performed in the steady-state magnetoplasma BLAAMANN characterized by a turbulent regime. In such a plasma electron temperature fluctuations can be of the same order of the floating potential ones, when the plasma is produced at high neutral pressure P>5×10−4 mbar. Measurements of electron temperature fluctuations are performed through triple probe diagnostic.

Vacuum wafer bonding technology provides a number of very effective techniques to produce low-cost, hermetic sealed packages for micromachined sensors and actuators. Beside the protection of the device from outside environmental stresses, the package must also provide a cavity ambient compatible with the device performance and reliability. The paper reviews the shortcomings of existing fine leak tests to assess the stability of the cavity atmosphere over long time. A new ultra-fine leak test based on Q-factor monitoring was developed that has the potential to be used for in-line critical leak rate testing on wafer level before device singulation. With the example of a poly-silicon resonating microsensor, it is shown that the test is sensitive enough to predict the cavity pressure for a demanded device lifetime of 15 years. The role of an integrated thin film getter in stabilizing the cavity vacuum and extending device lifetime is discussed

The nu(CO) vibrational spectra of planar transition cluster carbonyls containing M(CO)(4) groups are studied. It is possible to anticipate qualitatively, both for the infrared and Raman, the band intensity changes associated with increasing metallic nature of the cluster. These enable a unification of the band patterns shown by the species reported. As for (idealized) spherical clusters, the spherical harmonic model (SHM), suitably modified, becomes of more general applicability as cluster size increases, although for smaller species the tensor harmonic model (THM) makes a contribution.

In most countries, the risk assessment process uses basic scientific information to evaluate potential risks to human health and the environment. Typically, these scientific evaluations of potential risk to human health and the environment are used to determine if remedial action or cleanup is necessary and if so, how much is needed. In addition, the quantitative results of these risk assessments are often used to determine cleanup goals for restoration of a waste site. Given that the United States has developed extensive guidance and has established numerous policies for the use of risk assessment in environmental problem solving, it is not surprising for methodologies in other countries to be similar. In addition, many of the scientific databases created for risk assessments originate in the United States further producing similarities among countries. However, for many countries, including the United States, there are many issues surrounding the science that are as yet, unresolved. These issues include the following: 1) existence of uncertainties inherent in the risk assessment process; 2) relative importance of human health versus ecological risk; 3) what constitutes acceptable or unacceptable levels of risk for human and ecological receptors; and 4) the role of risk communication (i.e., consensus among all stakeholders). These are all issues that produce differences in risk assessment protocols and interpretation of risk assessment results. Thus, how the scientific risk assessment process can be used to make decisions about the cleanup of potential human health and ecological risks at waste sites may vary widely among countries. Similarities and differences between the risk assessment and risk management processes in various countries will be discussed in this paper.

Two techniques are applied and the results compared both in the plasma core and in the edge region of “Thorello,” to estimate electron temperature fluctuations. The first method is a fast-sweep Langmuir probe: it is a new apparatus based on a dual channel circuit that compensates for stray capacitance and permits sweep speeds up to 400 kHz, so that we can investigate the electrostatic turbulence with good temporal resolution. The second technique is the conventional triple probe: this method allows us to measure density, temperature, and floating potential as a function of time. The fast-sweep Langmuir probe provides a more reliable electron temperature fluctuations and these measurements are essential for a correct interpretation of density and potential fluctuations.

The discrete ordinates method (Sn) is the most widely used technique to obtain numerical solutions of the linear Boltzmann equation, and therefore to evaluate radiation fields and dose rates in nuclear devices. However, it is well known that this method suffers from slow convergence for problems characterized by optically thick media and scattering ratio close to unity. To address this issue we have developed a new preconditioning algorithm based on the even-parity simplified Sn (EP-SSN) equations. The new method is based on the flux acceleration simplified transport (FAST) algorithm which is implemented into the PENTRAN-SSN code system. The code system is designed for parallel computing architectures; PENTRAN-SSN features spatial, angular, and energy domain decomposition algorithms. The FAST preconditioner is parallelized with a spatial domain decomposition algorithm. In this paper, our objective is to test the performance of the new preconditioning system for a three-dimensional shielding calculation based on the VENUS-2 MOX-fueled benchmark problem, issued by OECD/NEA (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency.

Electron temperature fluctuations have been investigated in the plasma of “Thorello,” a small toroidal device (minor radius a=8 cm and major radius R=40 cm) which produces a magnetized plasma in steady-state condition without rotational transform (n≅1011 cm−3; Te≅2 eV; B=1000 G).1 In our experiment two techniques are applied to estimate Te: triple Langmuir probe technique and fast-sweep Langmuir probe method, in both cases, varying the density of the neutral source (in our plasma, H2). The so-called triple probe is the conventional method used to investigate Te, while fast-sweep Langmuir probe is a new diagnostic technique recently developed on Thorello.2 Our measurements have been performed in the frequency range between 0 and 500 kHz. The turbulent plasma exhibits a spectrum quite broad in frequency: power spectra of floating potential and density show the characteristic frequencies are in the range 0–100 kHz, while power spectra of electron temperature can extend up to 150–200 kHz. In the plasma core...

The structures of large molecular metal carbonyl clusters often may be described as fragments of metal lattices stabilized by carbonyl ligands; these structures do not support the common belief that growth of metal aggregates occurs via icosahedral packing. Only a few examples of clusters possessing fivefold symmetry are known. It may be argued that ligands play a role in determining the cluster geometries. A similarity in magnetic behaviour of metal carbonyl clusters and metal crystallites is emerging, which seems to substantiate theoretical predictions of a transition from Pauli- to Curie-type behaviour on going from bulk to particulate metals. Interstitial carbide clusters also show bulk structural behaviour; however, the higher degree of freedom of molecular entities is often reflected in their unusual geometries, which may probably be related to those of carbidized metal particles. The reactions of carbide clusters, either with CO + H2 or acids, give rise to stoichiometric formation of hydrocarbons; these reactions bear some formal resemblance to Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

A new approach to the synthesis in good yields of known cobalt and iron carbidecarbonyl clusters by CO cleavage in mild conditions is reported. Cleavage of CO results from attaching an acetyl or benzoyl carbocation to the oxygen atom, and by transfer of electrons from an external source. This synthetic approach to carbide molecular clusters may be of some significance with respect to the formation of carbide atoms on to metal crystallites. Attempts to synthesize nickel carbide clusters with the same approach have only been partly successful. The new [Ni9C(CO)17]2~ and [Ni8C(CO)13]2~ have been obtained more conveniently from the reaction of [Ni6(CO)12]2- with CC14. The related reaction of [Ni6(CO)12]2- with Co3(CO)9CCl results in the formation of the mixed-metal carbide cluster [Co3Ni9C(CO)20]3_. This compound is degraded under a carbon monoxide and hydrogen mixture (25 °C, 1 atm) to Ni(CO)4, [Co(CO)4]~ and ethane. Intermediate formation of [Co3Ni7(C-C) (CO)15]3-, in which the two carbide atoms show an interatomic separation of 1.43 A, or of a related species, would provide a possible pathway for C-C bond formation.

In the title compound two C‐atoms are located in the cavity of a cluster. The CċC distance in very short—only 1.49 Å (for comparison: CC single bond 1.54 Å)—but, as deduced from a consideration of the number of cluster valence electrons, a delocalized CC interaction is more probable than a localized one. (Figure Presented.) Copyright © 1984 by Verlag Chemie, GmbH, Germany

Lombardy is the most industrialized and populated region in Italy. As a matter of fact it has more than 9 millions inhabitants (16% of the Italian population) over a territory of about 24000 km2 (8% of Italy). Because of its complex orography the distribution of the population is not homogeneous, for example, there are 55 compared to 1440 inhabitants per km2 in the province of Sondrio (the most northern and mountainous) to the province of Milan. The area centered in Milan city and extending north and north-west for about 30 km, can be considered a single metropolitan area, with 3,700,000 inhabitants, with 1,550,000 workers (data taken from the National Statistical Institute) and 2,500,000 vehicles running. It has been estimated that the total emissions in this area in 1990 were about 94,000 tons/year of NOx, 186,000 tons/year VOC and 529,000 tons/year of CO (ENEA, 1995).

The salts [NMe 4 ] 2 [Ni 5 (CO) 12 ], [NMe 4 ] 2 [Ni 6 (CO) 12 ], [NMe 4 ] 2 [Ni 12 (CO) 21 H 2 ] and [NEt 4 ] 3 [Ni 12 (CO) 21 H] in acetone are efficient catalysts for the polymerisation of acetylene.

The reaction of [Ni 10 C 2 (CO) 15 ] 2- in thf with a large excess of CdCl 2 ·2.5H 2 O (8-15 equiv.) resulted in the formation of the new carbonyl octacarbide clusters [H 5-n Ni 36 C 8 (CO) 36 -(Cd 2 Cl 3 )] n- (n = 3-5), which undergo partial CO replacement to give [Ni 36-y C 8 (CO) 34-y (MeCN) 3 (Cd 2 Cl 3 )] 3- (y = 0-2) after a prolonged time in MeCN. Treatment of the former with an excess of NaOH afforded the larger [H 7-n Ni 42+y C 8 (CO) 44+y -(CdCl)] n- (n = 6, 7 ; y = 0, 1) octacarbides. Their structures (as well as those of the analogous Br-containing clusters) have been fully elucidated by single-crystal X-ray analysis of their [Me 4 N] 5 [Ni 36 C 8 (CO) 36 (Cd 2 Cl 3 )]·(7-2y)MeCN·yC 6 H 14 (y = 0.40), [Me 4 N] 3 [Ni 36-y C 8 (CO) 34-y (MeCN) 3 (Cd 2 Cl 3 )]·5MeCN (y = 0.61), [Me 4 N] 7 [Ni 42+y C 8 (CO) 44+y (CdCl)]·(5-y)MeCN (y = 0.19) and [Me 4 N] 6 [HNi 42+y C 8 (CO) 44+y (CdBr)]·(6-y)MeCN (y = 0.19) salts, which feature highly distorted metal cages (due to the inclusion of several carbide atoms), and the presence of partially vacant capping Ni(CO) fragments. This aspect, together with the fact that all these species undergo several protonation-deprotonation equilibria in solution as well as reversible redox processes under electrochemical control, indicates that a detailed description of molecular species containing a few dozen metal atoms might be sometimes rather troublesome and non-trivial. A complete elucidation of these systems can be achieved only by combining structural, chemical, spectroscopic, electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical studies.