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The system design process needs to cope with the increasing complexity and size of systems,motivating the replacement of labor intensivemanual techniques with automated and semi-automated approaches.Recently, formal methods techniques, such as model-based verification and safety assessment, have been increasingly used to model systems under fault and to analyze them, generating artifacts such as fault trees and FMEA tables. In this paper, we show how to apply model-based techniques to a realistic case study from the avionics domain: a high integrity power distribution system, the Triple Modular Generator (TMG). The TMG is composed of a redundant and reconfigurable plant and a controller that must guarantee a high level of reliability. The case study is a significant challenge, from the modeling perspective, since it implements a complex reconfiguration policy, specified via a number of requirements in natural language, including a set of mutually dependent and potentially conflicting priority constraints. Moreover, from the verification standpoint, the controller must be able to handle an exponential number of possible faulty configurations. Our contribution is twofold. First, we formalize and validate the requirements and, using a constraint-based modeling style, we synthesize a correct by construction controller, avoiding the enumeration of all possible fault configurations, as is currently done by manual approaches. Second, we describe a comprehensive methodology and process, supported by the xSAP safety analysis platform that targets the modeling and safety assessment of faulty systems. Using xSAP, we are able to automatically extract minimal cut sets for the TMG. We demonstrate the scalability of our approach by analyzing a parametric version of the TMG case study that contains more than 700 variables and 90 faults.

Through the Horizon 2020 project ’GenRes Bridge’ the new journal Genetic Resources was conceived to serve as a new cross-cutting platform for stakeholders and practitioners in genetic resources. Its ambition is to provide access to relevant information and tools for the monitoring, conservation, management, characterization and use of genetic resources, and thus to contribute to the FAO global plans of action on genetic resources. Conceived to fill the gaps left by the discontinuation of the journals Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter and Animal Genetic Resources, it aims at serving the genetic resources community worldwide and across sectors.

BackgroundThe scientific evidence regarding the risk of delayed intracranial bleeding (DB) after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) in patients administered an antiplatelet agent (APA) is scant and incomplete. In addition, no consensus exists on the utility of a routine repeated head computed tomography (CT) scan in these patients.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of DB after MTBI in patients administered an APA.MethodsA systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective and retrospective observational studies enrolling adult patients with MTBI administered an APA and who had a second CT scan performed or a clinical follow-up to detect any DB after a first negative head CT scan were conducted. The primary outcome was the risk of DB in MTBI patients administered an APA. The secondary outcome was the risk of clinically relevant DB (defined as any DB leading to neurosurgical intervention or death).ResultsSixteen studies comprising 2930 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled absolute risk for DB was 0.77% (95% CI 0.23–1.52%), ranging from 0 to 4%, with substantial heterogeneity (I2 = 61%). The pooled incidence of clinically relevant DB was 0.18%. The subgroup of patients on dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) had an increased DB risk, compared to the acetylsalicylic acid (ASA)-only patients (2.64% vs. 0.22%; p = 0.04).ConclusionOur systematic review showed a very low risk of DB in MTBI patients on antiplatelet therapy. We believe that such a low rate of DB could not justify routine repeated CT scans in MTBI patients administered a single APA. We speculate that in the case of clinically stable patients, a repeated head CT scan could be useful for select high-risk patients and for patients on DAPT before discharge.

Este artículo contiene 30 páginas, 14 figuras., The Mediterranean community represented in this paper is the result of more than 30 years of EU and nationally funded coordination, which has led to key contributions in science concepts and operational initiatives. Together with the establishment of operational services, the community has coordinated with universities, research centers, research infrastructures and private companies to implement advanced multi-platform and integrated observing and forecasting systems that facilitate the advancement of operational services, scientific achievements and mission-oriented innovation. Thus, the community can respond to societal challenges and stakeholders needs, developing a variety of fit-for-purpose services such as the Copernicus Marine Service. The combination of state-of-the-art observations and forecasting provides new opportunities for downstreamservices in response to the needs of the heavily populatedMediterranean coastal areas and to climate change. The challenge over the next decade is to sustain ocean observations within the research community, to monitor the variability at small scales, e.g., the mesoscale/submesoscale, to resolve the sub-basin/seasonal and inter-annual variability in the circulation, and thus establish the decadal variability, understand and correct the model-associated biases and to enhance model-data integration and ensemble forecasting for uncertainty estimation. Better knowledge and understanding of the level ofMediterranean variability will enable a subsequent evaluation of the impacts and mitigation of the effect of human activities and climate change on the biodiversity and the ecosystem, which will support environmental assessments and decisions. Further challenges include extending the science-based added-value products into societal relevant downstream services and engaging with communities to build initiatives that will contribute to the 2030 Agenda and more specifically to SDG14 and the UN’s Decade of Ocean Science for sustainable development, by this contributing to bridge the science-policy gap. The Mediterranean observing and forecasting capacity was built on the basis of community best practices in monitoring and modeling, and can serve as a basis for the development of an integrated global ocean observing system.

In this observational study, 13 patients with severe COVID‐19 and 10 healthy controls were enrolled. The data concerning the analysis of circulating T cells show that, in severe COVID‐19 patients, the expansion of these cell compartments is prone to induce antibody response, inflammation (CCR4+ and CCR6+ TFH) and regulation (CD8+ Treg). This pathogenic mechanism could lead us to envision a possible new form of biological target therapy., Highlights In patients with severe COVID‐19 we found a relative expansion of T‐cell subsets (Th2‐ and Th17‐ oriented TFH and CD8+ Treg) with a relative reduction of Th1 cells, which are those associated with eradication of a viral infection. This pathogenic mechanism could lead us to envision a possible new form of biological target therapy.

This work presents a case study for the application of physical systems modelling techniques on cloud computing infrastructures. The described physical system is the mi-cronized silverskin lipids extraction using supercritical carbon dioxide on laboratory scale equipment. The experimental data of the extractions are modeled using a simplified dual phase kinetic model. The model parameters are further developed until their constituent and constant terms in order to transform the purely regressive kinetic model to a predictive one. The model parameters have been refitted through a non-linear regression using the cloud computing infrastructure purposely created for this case study. The core numerical library used to construct the cloud computing approach is the object-oriented BzzMath library for C++. Cloud computing is a very promising research field and its application to traditional solutions may provide a numerical revolution in the chemical industry as well as academic researches.

A variety of gravel- to cobble-sized rocks, recovered from the Mar del Plata (MdP) Canyon area (Western South Atlantic at 38°S) and interpreted as ice-rafted debris, represent the first evidence that large icebergs have floated in the Falkland (Malvinas) Current from the southern polar high latitudes far northward. Detailed petrographic analyses identified the Antarctic Peninsula, sub-Antarctic islands in the Scotia Sea, and Tierra del Fuego as plausible source areas. The drift process could have started as early as at the beginning of the last deglaciation, according to an age obtained from a cold-water coral fragment associated with one of the dropstones. At the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, large icebergs have been supplied to the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, captured by those ocean current branches that circumvent the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands and entered the Argentine Margin. When the iceberg fleets approached the Brazil-Falkland (Malvinas) Confluence Zone with its steep latitudinal temperature gradient, the icebergs got oceanographically trapped and melted off rapidly. The sediment load sinking down to the seafloor formed a dropstone blanket particularly where the MdP Canyon had incised into the continental slope. Here, mass-flow processes, induced by local slope instability, and along-slope sediment resorting, due to the erosional effects of strong and persistent contouritic bottom currents, favored local enrichment in dropstones in the form of a loose, coarse sediment drape inside morphological depressions. The bottom current velocity would be locally strong enough to rework this sediment, leaving coarse rafted debris as a lag deposit. Fil: Bozzano, Graziella. Ministerio de Defensa. Armada Argentina. Servicio de Hidrografía Naval; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Cerredo, Maria Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: Remesal, Marcela Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: Steinmann, L.. Universitat Bremen; Alemania Fil: Hanebuth, Till J.J.. Coastal Carolina University; Estados Unidos Fil: Schwenk, T.. Universitat Bremen; Alemania Fil: Baqués, Michele. Ministerio de Defensa. Armada Argentina. Servicio de Hidrografía Naval; Argentina. Ministerio de Defensa. Armada Argentina. Dirección Gral. de Investigación y Desarrollo de la Ara. Dirección de Investigación de la Armada; Argentina Fil: Hebbeln, Dierk. Universitat Bremen; Alemania Fil: Spoltore, Daniela Veronica. Ministerio de Defensa. Armada Argentina. Servicio de Hidrografía Naval; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: Silvestri, Ornella. Ministerio de Defensa. Armada Argentina. Servicio de Hidrografía Naval; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: Acevedo, Rogelio Daniel. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur. Instituto de Ciencias Polares, Ambientales y Recursos Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina Fil: Spiess, V.. Universitat Bremen; Alemania Fil: Violante, Roberto Antonio. Ministerio de Defensa. Armada Argentina. Servicio de Hidrografía Naval; Argentina Fil: Kasten, Sabine. Universitat Bremen; Alemania. Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research; Alemania

Background and objective Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV) represents a standard of care to treat some acute respiratory failure (ARF). Data on its use in pneumonia are lacking, especially in a setting outside the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The aims of this study were to evaluate the use of NIV in ARF due to pneumonia outside the ICU, and to identify risk factors for in-hospital mortality. Methods Prospective, observational study performed in 19 centers in Italy. Patients with ARF due to pneumonia treated outside the ICU with either continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) were enrolled over a period of at least 3 consecutive months in 2013. Independent factors related to in-hospital mortality were evaluated. Results Among the 347 patients enrolled, CPAP was applied as first treatment in 176 (50.7%) patients,NPPV in 171 (49.3%). The NPPV compared with CPAP group showed a significant higher PaCO2 (55 [47–78] vs 37 [32–43] mmHg, p Conclusions Outside ICU setting, CPAP was used mainly for hypoxemic non-hypercapnic ARF, NPPV for hypercapnic ARF. In-hospital mortality was mainly associated to patients' basal status (DNI status, CCI) rather than the baseline degree of ARF.

VM-ADCP (Vessel Mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) are regularly operating on board of several research vessels with the aim of providing 3-D ocean currents fields. Along with ocean currents, these instruments also measure acoustic backscatter profile on a known frequency, that can be of great advantages for other environmental investigations such as the zooplankton migrations. The presence of zooplankton can be detected by a variation of acoustic backscatter changing with the depth at a periodic (diurnal or semidiurnal) variability, related to the vertical migration of these organisms. GIS has proven to be a powerful tool to manage the huge amount of VM-ADCP backscatter data obtained during the oceanographic campaigns. Moreover, this allows to extract relevant information on zooplankton distribution and abundance, even when the monitoring strategy of the experiment does not completely meet the temporal and spatial resolution required for these studies. The application here described has been developed on QGIS and tested on the Ligurian Sea (Mediterranean Sea). In order to obtain the comparability of data from instruments operating at different frequencies and sampling set-up, echo intensity data are converted into volume backscatter strength and corrected for the slant-range. Using high-resolution bathymetry rasters acquired and processed by the Italian Hydrographic Institute, allows to discard the anomalous high backscatter values due to presence of the bottom. Another advantage of the GIS is the possibility to easily identify night-collected data from the daily ones and their spatial distribution, as well as those from the surface and the deeper layer. All the possible combinations can be then visualised and analysed.

A new approach for the direct conversion of syngas into methanol has been proposed as alternative to the conventional process requiring WGS and/or PSA clean-up steps for syngas upgrading. A comparative thermodynamic equilibrium analysis of biogas reforming processes (dry reforming, steam reforming and oxy-steam reforming) has been performed using the Gibbs free energy minimization method. The calculations have been carried out under different biogas composition (CH4/CO2 = 1–2.3), reaction temperature (400–900 °C), S/CH4 (0.0–3.0) and O2/CH4 (0.0–0.2) molar ratios. The effects of process variables on the reforming performances as well as on the syngas quality, in term of CH4 and CO2 conversion, H2/CO and H2/CO2 ratios, coke deposition and energetic consumption, has been examined. Subsequently, methanol synthesis has been studied using the same mathematical approach, with the aim to identify the most adequate operating conditions for the direct conversion of the syngas obtained from reforming process into methanol. The simulations suggested that steam reforming of biogas, with high methane content, is the most appropriate route to produce a syngas quality suitable for the new proposed approach.

An upgraded digital twin of the Anaerobic Digestion Model 1 is proposed to enhance its industrial applicability and range of use. Through the optimization and generalization of kinetic coefficients toward co-digestion reactors simulation and insertion of new equations for the complete biokinetics modeling of H2S, the proposed model can predict more precisely the exiting biogas fractions comprehensive of H2S and O2 without any parametric adjustment. Moreover, it is proposed a new function representing the oxygen-methanogens. The model has been validated through the comparison with other literature models and with experimental data coming both from the literature and from an industrial plant. The comparisons show its flexibility and industrial applicability. Finally, an optimization of the methane content through oxygen rate adjustment is proposed, increasing CH4 content of 4%vol. The mathematical model has been built using Python™, which makes it easily spreadable and usable.

Syncope is the common clinical manifestation of different diseases, and this makes it difficult to define what outcomes should be considered in prognostic studies. The aim of this study is to critically analyze the outcomes considered in syncope studies through systematic review and expert consensus. We performed a systematic review of the literature to identify prospective studies enrolling consecutive patients presenting to the Emergency Department with syncope, with data on the characteristics and incidence of short-term outcomes. Then, the strengths and weaknesses of each outcome were discussed by international syncope experts to provide practical advice to improve future selection and assessment. 31 studies met our inclusion criteria. There is a high heterogeneity in both outcome choice and incidence between the included studies. The most commonly considered 7-day outcomes are mortality, dysrhythmias, myocardial infarction, stroke, and rehospitalisation. The most commonly considered 30-day outcomes are mortality, haemorrhage requiring blood transfusion, dysrhythmias, myocardial infarction, pacemaker or implantable defibrillator implantation, stroke, pulmonary embolism, and syncope relapse. We present a critical analysis of the pros and cons of the commonly considered outcomes, and provide possible solutions to improve their choice in ED syncope studies. We also support global initiatives to promote the standardization of patient management and data collection.

Manufacturers of automated systems and their components have been allocating an enormous amount of time and effort in R&D activities, which led to the availability of prototypes demonstrating new capabilities as well as the introduction of such systems to the market within different domains. Manufacturers need to make sure that the systems function in the intended way and according to specifications. This is not a trivial task as system complexity rises dramatically the more integrated and interconnected these systems become with the addition of automated functionality and features to them. This effort translates into an overhead on the V&V (verification and validation) process making it time-consuming and costly. In this paper, we present VALU3S, an ECSEL JU (joint undertaking) project that aims to evaluate the state-of-the-art V&V methods and tools, and design a multi-domain framework to create a clear structure around the components and elements needed to conduct the V&V process. The main expected benefit of the framework is to reduce time and cost needed to verify and validate automated systems with respect to safety, cyber-security, and privacy requirements. This is done through identification and classification of evaluation methods, tools, environments and concepts for V&V of automated systems with respect to the mentioned requirements. VALU3S will provide guidelines to the V&V community including engineers and researchers on how the V&V of automated systems could be improved considering the cost, time and effort of conducting V&V processes. To this end, VALU3S brings together a consortium with partners from 10 different countries, amounting to a mix of 25 industrial partners, 6 leading research institutes, and 10 universities to reach the project goal. VALU3S (verification and validation of automated systems' safety and security)

In this work an industrial Biomass-To-Liquid (BTL) plant simulation and optimization are presented. Biomass is first gasified with oxygen and steam, and the produced syngas is fed to a multi-tubular fixed bed reactor for Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis, obtaining a distribution of hydrocarbons with different molecular weight. A simplified model for the biomass gasification section is implemented in HYSYS® V8.4, while the Fischer-Tropsch reactor is simulated using MATLAB® R2013a. The kinetic parameters of the FT reaction have been determined by using a non-liner regression performed with the experimenta data obtained with a bench-scale FT-rig. The model developed for the Fischer-Tropsch reactor takes into account the catalytic pellet's effectiveness factor and the eventual formation of a liquid phase in each point along reactor’s axial coordinate. The whole BTL plant is simulated connecting MATLAB and HYSYS. Moreover, the staging of the Fischer-Tropsch reactor is studied performing a techno-economic analysis of three different plant configurations and evaluating the corresponding pay-back time.

The optimal target of blood pressure (BP) in the acute phase of intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) is still controversial. Our aim was to evaluate safety and efficacy of intensive BP lowering compared to standard BP treatment in ICH. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of all available randomized controlled trials recruiting patients with elevated BP in acute spontaneous ICH to intensive or standard BP-lowering treatment. Our primary outcomes were 3-month mortality, disability (modified Rankin Scale 3-5) and combined death or disability. Secondary outcomes were early neurological deterioration at 24 h, substantial haematoma enlargement within 24-72 h and 3-month non-fatal serious adverse events. We included six studies for a total of 4385 patients (mean age 62 years, 62.3% men). No differences were detected between the two treatment groups in 3-month mortality (RR = 0.99, 95% CI 0.83-1.17), disability (RR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.89-1.03) and combined death and disability (RR = 0.97, 95% CI 0.90-1.03). The rate of patients with early neurological deterioration, substantial haematoma enlargement and non-fatal serious adverse events was similar in the two treatment groups (RR = 1.03, 95% CI 0.88-1.19, RR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.70-1.03, RR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.90-1.28, respectively). An intensive BP control in the acute phase of ICH is not beneficial and should not be recommended. Therefore, the systolic BP target of less than 140 mmHg that is now suggested by guidelines needs to be reconsidered.

Background Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common event and antiplatelet therapy might represent a risk factor for bleeding. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) after mild TBI in patients on antiplatelet therapy through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective and retrospective observational studies on patients with mild TBI on antiplatelet therapy vs. those not on any antithrombotic therapy. The primary outcome was the risk of ICH in patients with mild TBI based on the first computed tomography scan. Secondary outcome was the risk of mortality and neurosurgery. Results Nine studies and 14,545 patients were included. The incidence of ICH ranged from 3.6% to 29.4% in the antiplatelet group and from 1.6% to 21.1% in the control group. Patients on antiplatelet therapy had a higher risk of ICH after a mild TBI compared with patients that were not on antithrombotic therapy (risk ratio 1.51; 95% confidence interval 1.21–1.88). No difference was found in the composite outcome of mortality and neurosurgery. Conclusions Patients on antiplatelet therapy have an increased risk of ICH after mild TBI compared with patients not on antithrombotic therapy. However, the risk is just slightly increased, and the need to perform a computed tomography scan in patients on antiplatelet therapy after a mild TBI should be evaluated case by case, but always considered in patients with other risk factors.

The techno-economic feasibility of three biogas utilization processes was assessed through computer simulations on commercial process simulator Aspen HYSYS: HPC (biogas to methanol), BioCH4 (biogas to biomethane) and CHP (biogas to heat & electricity). The last two processes are already used commercially with the aid of subsidy policies. The economic analysis indicates that, without these policies, none of these attain economic self-sustainability due to high overall manufacturing costs. The estimated minimum support cost (MSCs) were 108, 62 and 109 €/MWh for the HPC, BioCH4 and CHP processes, respectively. The model could explain currently practised government subsidies in Italy and Germany. It was seen that the newly proposed HPC process is economically comparable to the traditional CHP process. Therefore, the HPC process is a possible alternative to biogas usage. A support policy was proposed: 50, 66, 158 and 148 €/MWh for available heat, methane, electricity and methanol (respectively); the proposed energy policy results in a 10% OpEx rate of return for any of the processes, thus avoiding a disparity in the production of different products.

This work is aimed to present a method for analyzing and optimizing food production processes from the primary production until the final residue. The aim is to have a global view on the entire production chain in order to put in light, through a deep analysis, the strength and the weaknesses of the process and to propose solutions for its improvement and optimization. The solutions, of course, depend on which is the main objective of the involved production realities and consider also the location of the production. Here is reported the first case study, the citrus industry, which products are citrus juices and essential oils. In this case the authors individuated some solutions and started to develop some of them. The results will be here presented.

Aim: To evaluate outcomes related to antiplatelet therapy in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) admitted to the San Gerardo Hospital in Monza, an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) reference center in the Monza-Brianza area. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled patients with STEMI hospitalized between 2013 and 2017. Results: This study included 653 patients (mean age: 67.5 years, 71% male). Across the study period, ticagrelor use showed consistent increases, from 22% of patients during 2013 to 85% in 2017. Cardiac arrest prehospitalization occurred in 100 patients (15.3%), either at home (n = 85, 13.0%) or during transfer (n = 15, 2.3%); 46 patients underwent ECMO for refractory cardiac arrest. Rates of 90-day survival (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.3-4.4, P = .004) and ST resolution (odds ratio [OR]: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.6-4.1, P = .000) were higher with ticagrelor than with other antiplatelet agents. When analyzed by each agent, patients on ticagrelor had longer survival (HR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.8, P = .008) than patients on clopidogrel and more frequent ST resolution than those on clopidogrel or prasugrel (OR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.7, P = .002 and OR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.7, P = .006). There was no difference in mortality between ticagrelor and prasugrel. Conclusions: Changes in the treatment of high-risk patients with STEMI over time are in line with changes in treatment guidelines. In these patients, ticagrelor is associated with significantly improved 90-day mortality compared with clopidogrel.

The aims of this study were (1) to identify research publications studying noninvasive electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring devices, (2) to define and categorize current technology in noninvasive ECG recording, and (3) to discuss desirable noninvasive recording features for personalized syncope evaluation to guide technological advancement and future studies. We performed a systematic review of the literature that assessed noninvasive ECG-monitoring devices, regardless of the reason for monitoring. We performed an Internet search and corresponded with syncope experts and companies to help identify further eligible products. We extracted information about included studies and device features. We found 173 relevant papers. The main reasons for ECG monitoring were atrial fibrillation (n = 45), coronary artery disease (n = 10), syncope (n = 8), palpitations (n = 8), other cardiac diseases (n = 67), and technological aspects of monitoring (n = 35). We identified 198 devices: 5 hospital telemetry devices, 12 patches, 46 event recorders, 70 Holter monitors, 23 external loop recorders, 20 mobile cardiac outpatient telemetries, and 22 multifunctional devices. The features of each device were very heterogeneous. There are a large number of ECG-monitoring devices with different features available in the market. Our findings may help clinicians select the appropriate device for their patients. Since there are only a few published articles analyzing their usefulness in syncope patients, further research might improve their use in this clinical setting.

In economy nowadays, methanol is already a key compound widely employed as building block for producing intermediates or synthetic hydrocarbons, solvent, energy storage medium, and fuel. This status is expected to last in the near future or even improve to the point of making this compound a central participant in the worldwide economic landscape. For these reasons, every improvement to its production process, in terms of energy savings, optimization, etc., has potential to promote relevant economic benefits. Methanol production comprises three main steps: preparation of syngas, methanol synthesis and downstream separation. This paper aims at reviewing technologies and procedures for modeling and optimizing the second aforementioned phase: the synthesis reactor. Specifically, we focus on packed-bed units, which represent the most widespread technology. In the manuscript, we are going to describe and compare both steady-state and dynamic reactor models as well as analyze typical assumptions and implementation schemes. The kinetics of methanol synthesis is also reported in detail due to a long debate, present in the literature, concerning the real carbon source for methanol, the nature of the active sites and the effect of their morphology and oxidation state.

Delirium is a neuropsychiatric sindrome characterized by acute onset, a fluctuating course, an altered level of consciousness, disturbances in orientation, memory, attention, thinking, perception and behaviour. One third of patients aged 70 or older were admitted to the general medical service of an acute care hospital experience delirium. The development of delirium is associated with worse outcome increased a 10-fold risk for death and a 3- to 5-fold risk for nosocomial complications, prolonged length of stay, and greater need for nursing home placement after discharge. Therefore patients with delirium have higher morbidity and mortality rates, higher re-admission rates, and a greater risk of long term institutionalization care, thereby having a significant impact on both health and social care expenditure. The cost of delirium to the health-care system is then substantial. Despite its clinical importance and health-related costs, it often remains under-recognized and inadequately managed. Recent evidence suggests that a better understanding and knowledge of delirium among health care professionals can lead to early detection, the reduction of modifiable risk factors, and better management of the condition in the acute phase.

COMPASS (COrrectness, Modeling and Performance of AeroSpace Systems) is an international research effort aiming to ensure system-level correctness, safety, dependability and performability of on-board computer-based aerospace systems. In this paper we present COMPASS 3.0, which brings together the results of various development projects since the original inception of COMPASS. Improvements have been made both to the frontend, supporting an updated modeling language and user interface, as well as to the backend, by adding new functionalities and improving the existing ones. New features include Timed Failure Propagation Graphs, contract-based analysis, hierarchical fault tree generation, probabilistic analysis of non-deterministic models and statistical model checking.

Oceans cover three quarters of the Earth surface and represent a fundamental component of the global climate system. Life on Earth is closely tied to the climate system and thus to the oceans. Marine regions are subjected to numerous submarine natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides, in many cases producing tsunamis that threaten coastal areas and many onshore and offshore man-made facilities. On the other hand, as society and technological needs progressively increase, the impact of human activities on coastal and deep waters become more severe, with consequences that include global warming and sea-level rise, coastal erosion, pollution, ocean acidification, damage to marine resources and ecosystem degradation. Nevertheless, humankind seems not to be adequately conscious about the different kind of hazards threatening the marine environment. The challenge for marine geoscientists is to be conscious of the geoethical compromise in order to alert society, industries and policy makers about the needs to minimize the risks of natural and human impacts in the ocean system. Fil: Violante, Roberto Antonio. Ministerio de Defensa. Armada Argentina. Servicio de Hidrografía Naval. Departamento Oceanografía; Argentina Fil: Bozzano, Graziella. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Ministerio de Defensa. Armada Argentina. Servicio de Hidrografía Naval. Departamento Oceanografía; Argentina Fil: Rovere, Elizabeth Ivonne. Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino; Argentina

The aim of our study is to compare patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure versus medical treatment and antiplatelet versus anticoagulant therapy in patients with cryptogenic stroke (CS) and PFO. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis (TSA) of randomized trials. Primary outcomes are stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) and all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes are peripheral embolism, bleeding, serious adverse events, myocardial infarction and atrial dysrhythmias. We performed an intention to treat meta-analysis with a random-effects model. We include six trials (3677 patients, mean age 47.3 years, 55.8% men). PFO closure is associated with a lower recurrence of stroke or TIA at a mean follow-up of 3.88 years compared to medical therapy [risk ratio (RR) 0.55, 95% CI 0.38–0.81; I2 = 40%]. The TSA confirms this result. No difference is found in mortality (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.35–1.60; I2 = 0%), while PFO closure is associated with a higher incidence of atrial dysrhythmias (RR 4.55, 95% CI 2.16–9.60; I2 = 25%). The rate of the other outcomes is not different among the two groups. The comparison between anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy shows no difference in terms of stroke recurrence, mortality and bleeding. There is conclusive evidence that PFO closure reduces the recurrence of stroke or TIA in patients younger than 60 years of age with CS. More data are warranted to assess the consequences of the increase in atrial dysrhythmias and the advantage of PFO closure over anticoagulants.

This paper presents the "Ontologica" system, a forefront project born from a joint effort between the Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and System Engineering of Genoa university and Ansaldo STS from the same city in the design of advanced information systems. The aim of the project is twofold: the adoption of ontologies to manage the Centralized Traffic Control CTC logics of a railway system; the improvement of the user interface through the exploitation of natural language queries. Being Ansaldo STS a leader in the railway and metro scope, this project aims to develop a system to be tested on a real and large dataset before being adopted in the railway stations using the CTC system. The first results we obtained are very promising and the system is currently under testing and improvement. In this paper we present the "Ontologica" rationale and architecture with some usage examples.

Abdominal pain represents one of the most important diagnostic challenges for any physician and its correct interpretation and management require a proper systematic approach and sometimes an urgent action. Moreover the guidelines that can be referred to for indications about the most adequate management procedures are few and often focused only on radiologic management. Consequently, the approach to abdominal pain is often empirical. Therefore, we propose a review of the literature on the diagnosis of abdominal pain, which may contribute to improve the diagnosis and treatment of this complex condition through a systematic review of the evidences available in this field. As to our methodology, we conducted an extensive search in the main guideline databases (SIGN, ICSI, NICE, National Guideline Cleringhouse, CMA Infobase, NZ Guidelines Group, National System Guidelines, Clinical Practice Guidelines Portal, eGuidelines), using as key words abdominal pain and abdominalgia. The guidelines were assessed according to the 2010 Italian version of the AGREE (Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation II) methodology. Afterwards we formulated our main recommendations associated with the corresponding levels of evidence and focused our attention on some grey areas, which we investigated with further research using Medline and the main systematic review databases (Cochrane database). The four main grey areas investigated were: hospital admission criteria, prognostic stratification, need for analgesic treatment and possibility of attributing abdominalgia to an abdominal pain syndrome. We then formulated our consesus-based recommendations on the grey areas. Abdominal pain management remains a complex issue for internists. As with other diagnostic challenges, it would be advisable to develop additional guidelines based on a multidisciplinary approach and not only focused on radiological management.

Aims Patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACSs) who are managed without coronary revascularization represent a mixed and understudied population that seems to receive suboptimal pharmacological treatment. Methods and results We assessed patterns of antithrombotic therapies employed during the hospitalization and in-hospital clinical events of medically managed patients with ACS enrolled in the prospective, multicentre, nationwide EYESHOT (EmploYEd antithrombotic therapies in patients with acute coronary Syndromes HOspitalized in iTalian cardiac care units) registry. Among the 2585 consecutive ACS patients enrolled in EYESHOT, 783 (30.3%) did not receive any revascularization during hospital admission. Of these, 478 (61.0%) underwent coronary angiography (CA), whereas 305 (39.0%) did not. The median GRACE and CRUSADE risk scores were significantly higher among patients who did not undergo CA compared with those who did (180 vs. 145, P < 0.0001 and 50 vs. 33, P < 0.0001, respectively). Antithrombotic therapies employed during hospitalization significantly differ between patients who received CA and those who did not with unfractioned heparin and novel P2Y12 inhibitors more frequently used in the first group, and low-molecular-weight heparins and clopidogrel in the latter group. During the index hospitalization, patients who did not receive CA presented a higher incidence of ischaemic cerebrovascular events and of mortality compared with those who underwent CA (1.6 vs. 0.2%, P = 0.04 and 7.9 vs. 2.7%, P = 0.0009, respectively). Conclusion Almost one-third of ACS patients are managed without revascularization during the index hospitalization. In this population, a lower use of recommended antiplatelet therapy and worse clinical outcome were observed in those who did not undergo CA when compared with those who did. Clinical Trial Registration Unique identifier: [NCT02015624][1], . [10.1093/ehjcvp/pvv017][2] [1]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV&access_num=NCT02015624&atom=%2Fehjcardpharm%2F1%2F3%2F168.atom [2]: /lookup/doi/10.1093/ehjcvp/pvv017

AltaRica is a language used to describe safety critical systems that has become a de-facto European industrial standard for Model-Based Safety Assessment (MBSA). However, even the most mature tool for the support for MBSA of AltaRica models, i.e. Dassault's OCAS, has several limitations. The most important ones are its inability to perform many analyses exhaustively, severe scalability issues, and the lack of model checking techniques for temporal properties. In this paper we present a novel approach for the analysis of AltaRica models, based on a translation into an extended version of the model checker NuSMV. The translation relies on a novel formal characterization of the Dataflow dialect of AltaRica used in OCAS. The translation is formally defined, and its correctness is proved. Based on this formal characterization, a toolset has been developed and integrated within OCAS, thus enabling functional verification and safety assessment with the state of the art techniques of NuSMV. The whole approach is validated by an experimental evaluation on a set of industrial case studies, which demonstrates the advantages of the proposed technique over the currently available tools.

Acute abdominal pain represents a challenge for the physician because it can hide a serious intra-abdominal pathology necessitating emergency intervention. A 65-year-old man presented to Emergency Department with sudden-onset abdominal pain. He underwent liver transplantation four years before. He complained tenderness on abdominal palpation. Blood chemistry and abdominal x-ray were normal. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed acute renal artery thrombosis. The patient underwent renal arterial thrombectomy and stent placement in less than two hours. Organ transplantation is a condition that makes patients at greater risk of life-threatening conditions. Renal artery thrombosis is a rare, severe and misdiagnosed condition which can benefit from a prompt cooperation among emergency physician, surgeon, and interventional radiologist. Transplant patients with acute abdominal pain should be considered at high risk of medical emergency. Acute renal artery thrombosis is a time dependent medical emergency in those patients with chronic drug-induced nephrotoxicity.

Aims In the last decades, several new therapies have emerged for the treatment of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). We sought to describe real-world patterns of use of antithrombotic treatments in the catheterization laboratory for ACS patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). Methods EmploYEd antithrombotic therapies in patients with acute coronary Syndromes HOspitalized in iTalian cardiac care units was a nationwide, prospective registry aimed to evaluate antithrombotic strategies employed in ACS patients in Italy. Results Over a 3-week period, a total of 2585 consecutive ACS patients have been enrolled in 203 cardiac care units across Italy. Among these patients, 1755 underwent PCI (923 with ST-elevation myocardial infarction and 832 with non-ST-elevation ACS). In the catheterization laboratory, unfractioned heparin was the most used antithrombotic drug in both ST-elevation myocardial infarction (64.7%) and non-ST-elevation ACS (77.5%) undergoing PCI and, as aspirin, bivalirudin and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors (GPIs) more frequently employed before or during PCI compared with the postprocedural period. Any crossover of heparin therapy occurred in 36.0% of cases, whereas switching from one P2Y12 inhibitor to another occurred in 3.7% of patients. Multivariable analysis yielded several independent predictors of GPIs and of bivalirudin use in the catheterization laboratory, mainly related to clinical presentation, PCI complexity and presence of complications during the procedure. Conclusion In our contemporary, nationwide, all-comers cohort of ACS patients undergoing PCI, antithrombotic therapies were commonly initiated before the catheterization laboratory. In the periprocedural period, the most frequently employed drugs were unfractioned heparin, leading to a high rate of crossover, followed by GPIs and bivalirudin, mainly used during complex PCI. Clinical trial registration URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02015624.

This is a cross-sectional, case-control study analyzing the effect of antiretroviral therapy (ART) including or not maraviroc, on circulating monocytes and natural killer cells. Sixty-eight HIV-positive patients virologically suppressed receiving ART at least 6 months were subdivided as receiving (group 1) or not (group 2) maraviroc in their ART. Frequency of monocytes and natural killer cells, as well as their activation markers, were studied. Modulation of innate immune cells may be differently affected by combined ART.

The modeling of thermal reaction furnaces of Sulfur Recovery Units (SRUs) is a rather complex problem since it involves different modeling scales such as the kinetic/molecular scale, the reactor scale, and the chemical process scale. This work introduces the multi-scale modeling approach to characterize the kinetic and reaction engineering scales for the thermal section of SRUs, involving the reactor furnace and the waste heat boiler. Specifically, also the waste heat boiler is modeled using detailed kinetics to characterize the recombination effects, which cannot be neglected any longer since they significantly influence the outlet compositions. The proposed models are validated on experimental and literature data for the kinetic scale. The reactor scale is validated on the industrial data coming from SRUs operating in Nanjing and Mumbai plants.

Introduction: To evaluate the use of multidimensional assessment based on the Fluegelman Index (FI) to identify internal medicine patients who are likely to be difficult to discharge from the hospital. Materials and methods: Have been evaluated all patients admitted to the medical wards of the District General Hospital of Arezzo from September 1 to October 31, 2007. We collected data on age, sex, socioeconomic condition, cause of admission, comorbidity score preadmission functional status (Barthel Index), incontinence, feeding problems, length of hospitalization, condition at discharge, and type of discharge. The FI cut off for difficult discharge was > 17. Results: Of the 413 patients (mean age 80 + 11.37 years; percentage of women, 56.1%) included in the study, 109 (26.39%) had Flugelman Index > 17. These patients were significantly older than the patients with lower FIs (85 + 9.35 vs 78 + 11.58 years, p < 0.001), more likely to be admitted for pneumonia (22% vs. 4.9% of those with lower FIs; p < 0,001). They also had more comorbidity, loss of autonomy, cognitive impairment, social frailty, and nursing care needs. The subgroup with FIs>17 had significantly higher in-hospital mortality (30.28% vs 6.25%, p < 0.001), longer hospital stay (13 vs. 10 days, p < 0.05), and higher rates of discharge to nursing homes. Conclusions: Evaluation of internal medicine patients with the Flugelman Index may be helpful for identifying more critical patients likely to require longer hospitalization and to detect factors affecting the hospital stay. This information can be useful for more effective discharge planning.

Timed Failure Propagation Graphs (TFPGs) are used in the design of safety-critical systems as a way of modeling failure propagation, and to support the evaluation and implementation of functions for Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery (FDIR). TFPGs are a very rich formalism: they enable modeling Boolean combinations of faults and events, and quantitative delays between them. Several formal techniques have been recently developed to analyze them as stand-alone models or to compare them to models that describe the more detailed dynamics of the system of reference, specifically under faulty conditions.

Biogas is one of the energy sources that are gaining more and more importance in Europe and, in particular, in Italy and Germany. Nowadays, it is used for the combined production of heat and power. Here we propose to use all of its major components (CO2and CH4) to produce methanol. A feasibility study of this process is reported, where we optimize the interactions between reforming and methanol synthesis, depending also on the variations in biogas composition due to the nature of the raw material, i.e. biomass. Finally, we identify the optimal region in which syngas composition should be included.

In this work (part of a series in which different biomass conversion routes are studied) a novel coupling between gasification and pyrolysis is described: by means of a design parameter (α) biomass is distributed between these two operations. In order to characterize the quality of the syngas produced, simulations are performed with a gasification / pyrolysis simulator, GASDS. Profiles were obtained for oxygen consumption, together with bio-char, syngas and steam production as a function of α. In a further work, an economic analysis shall define optimal design conditions.

This paper addresses seismic vulnerability assessment at an urban scale and more specifically the capacity curves involved for building damage prediction. Standard capacity curves are a function of predefined building typology and are proposed in the Risk-UE LM2 method for computation of the corresponding damage grades. However, these capacity curves have been mainly developed for building stock of southern European cities and the accuracy of their application with different building features, such as the ones of cities of northern Europe should be assessed. A recent research project of seismic scenarios for the cities of Sion and Martigny in Switzerland provided the opportunity to check the capacity curves of Risk-UE LM2 method. Within the framework of this project, a detailed analysis was achieved for more than 500 buildings. These buildings were typical Swiss buildings and were composed of both unreinforced masonry buildings with stiff floors and reinforced concrete buildings. The construction drawings of each building were collected in order to have the most accurate information about their main structural characteristics. The typological classification that has been adopted was developed in a recent research project. Based on the individual features of the buildings, individual capacity curves were defined. Results of the seismic assessment applied to the 500 buildings compare very well with those obtained by using Risk-UE LM2 method for unreinforced masonry buildings with stiff floors. A slight improvement may be proposed for buildings with three stories through their introduction to the category of low-rise instead of mid-rise buildings. By contrast, accuracy for reinforced concrete buildings with shear walls is very poor. Damage prediction using related capacity curves of Risk-UE LM2 method does not correspond to reality. Prediction is too pessimistic and moreover damage grades increase with the height category (low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise) of these buildings which is in contradiction with the observed damages for this type of buildings. Improvements are proposed to increase the accuracy of the seismic vulnerability assessment for northern European building stock. For unreinforced masonry buildings, a slight modification of the limits of the height category of buildings using the ones defined for RC buildings improves the damage prediction. For reinforced concrete buildings with shear walls improved capacity curves derived from the typological curves of the specific typology C are proposed.

Oxygen enriched air with a composition of oxygen till 35% can be produced by water desorption by simple water degassing. This work reports the simulation of a small bench-scale plant for the continuous production of oxygen-enriched air by simple water degassing. The basic thermodynamic principle involved is the higher water solubility of oxygen compared to the one of nitrogen. Different experiments were performed in a continuous small bench-scale plant changing the main operating parameters, i.e. water temperature, degasser pressure and the water flowrate in order to develop rigorous and reliable simulations with suitable software (PRO/II 9.3 by SIMSCI-Schneider Electric). The results obtained showed a good fitting between the experiments and the simulations and demonstrated the possibility for the production of enriched air using this new technology. Moreover, the calculation of the economic potentials of this new process were carried out, and the results compared to the already existing technologies.

Due to their massive production, H 2 S and CO 2 are two critical pollutants. H 2 S is toxic and CO 2 is responsible for impacts on ecological and environmental system. The aim of this work is to propose and demonstrate the revamping industrial feasibility of an innovative and sustainable process that improves the production of syngas compared to the traditional Claus process and, at the same time, reduces the hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. This is the new and established technology called AG2S™ (Acid Gas to Syngas). H 2 S and CO 2 are converted into a regenerative thermal reactor according to the following overall reaction: 2H 2 S + CO 2 → H 2 + CO + S 2 + H 2 O. Coupling two different software, i.e. Aspen HYSYS and MATLAB®, a complete plant model, able to manage the recycle of unconverted acid gases has been developed. Simulations of the standard Claus plant, as it currently works, and of revamped Claus process are compared, choosing some critical parameters (e.g. furnace temperature or Sulfur Recovery efficiency). The importance of introduced innovations is highlighted, both at technical and environmental level. An important result is that the nominal flow rate of two plants it is almost the same allowing an easier revamping. The main conclusion is that modified Claus plant definitely leads to improvements from environmental and technical point of view.

The present translational study aimed to verify whether serial 18F-fluoro-deoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (FDG-PET/CT), predicts doxorubicin cardiotoxicity. Methods: Fifteen athymic mice were treated with intravenous administration of saline (n = 5), doxorubicin 5 mg/Kg (n = 5) or doxorubicin 7.5 mg/Kg (n = 5) and submitted to dynamic microPET scan to estimate left ventricular glucose consumption (LV-MRGlu) before and after chemotherapy. Thereafter, we retrospectively identified 69 patients successfully treated with Adriamycin, Bleomycin, Vinblastine, and Dacarbazine (ABVD) regimen for Hodgkin's Disease (HD) and submitted to four consecutive FDG-PET/CT scans. Volumes of interest were drawn on LV myocardium to quantify mean standardized uptake value (LV-SUV). All patients were subsequently interviewed by telephone (median follow-up: 30 months); 36 of them accepted to undergo electrocardiogram and transthoracic echocardiography. Results: In mice LV-MRGlu was 17.9±4.4 nMol x min-1 x g-1 at baseline. doxorubicin selectively and dose-dependently increased this value in the standard-dose (27.9±9 nMol x min-1 x g-1, p

In economy nowadays, methanol is already a key compound widely employed as building block for producing intermediates or synthetic hydrocarbons, solvent, energy storage medium, and fuel. In recent times, methanol has been employed in a number of innovative applications. It is a clean and sustainable energy resource that can be produced starting from different sources traditional or renewable: natural gas, coal, biomass, landfill gas and power plant/industrial emissions. In this work is proposed an innovative low impact process for methanol production starting from coal gasification. The most important features, instead the traditional ones, are the lower emissions of CO2 (about 2.5%) and the surplus production of methanol (about 1.7%) without any addiction of primary sources. Moreover, it is demonstrated that a coal charges with a high sulfur content means a higher reduction of CO2 emissions. The key idea is the application of AG2STM technology that is a completely new effective route of processing acid gases: H2S and CO2 are converted into syngas (CO and H2) by means of a regenerative thermal reactor.

International audience; This paper provides a review of theoretical and practical aspects related to genetic management of forest trees. The implementation of international commitments on forest genetic diversity has been slow and partly neglected. Conservation of forest genetic diversity is still riddled with problems, and complexities of national legal and administrative structures. Europe is an example of a complex region where the dis- tribution ranges of tree species extend across large geographical areas with profound environmental dif- ferences, and include many countries. Conservation of forest genetic diversity in Europe has been hampered by a lack of common understanding on the management requirements for genetic conserva- tion units of forest trees. The challenge resides in integrating scientific knowledge on conservation genet- ics into management of tree populations so that recommendations are feasible to implement across different countries. Here, we present pan-European minimum requirements for dynamic conservation units of forest genetic diversity. The units are natural or man-made tree populations which are managed for maintaining evolutionary processes and adaptive potential across generations. Each unit should have a designated status and a management plan, and one or more tree species recognized as target species for genetic conservation. The minimum sizes of the units are set at 500, 50 or 15 reproducing individuals depending on tree species and conservation objectives. Furthermore, silvicultural interventions should be allowed to enhance genetic processes, as needed, and field inventories carried out to monitor regen- eration and the population size. These minimum requirements are now used by 36 countries to improve management of forest genetic diversity.

In European seas, ocean monitoring strategies in terms of key parameters, space and time scale vary widely for a range of technical and economic reasons. Nonetheless, the growing interest in the ocean interior promotes the investigation of processes such as oxygen consumption, primary productivity and ocean acidity requiring that close attention is paid to the instruments in terms of measurement setup, configuration, calibration, maintenance procedures and quality assessment. To this aim, two separate hardware and software tools were developed in order to test and simultaneously intercompare several oxygen probes and fluorometers/turbidimeters, respectively in the same environmental conditions, with a configuration as close as possible to real in-situ deployment. The chamber designed to perform chlorophyll-a and turbidity tests allowed for the simultaneous acquisition of analogue and digital signals of several sensors at the same time, so it was sufficiently compact to be used in both laboratory and onboard vessels. Methodologies and best practice committed to the intercomparison of dissolved oxygen sensors and fluorometers/turbidimeters have been used, which aid in the promotion of interoperability to access key infrastructures, such as ocean observatories and calibration facilities. Results from laboratory tests as well as field tests in the Mediterranean Sea are presented.