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The circadian rhythms originate within the organism and synchronize with cyclic fluctuations in the external environment. It has been demonstrated that part of the human genome is under control of the circadian clock and that a synchronizer that helps to maintain daily rhythms is Melatonin, a neuro-hormone primarily synthesized by the pineal gland during the night. The chronic disruption of circadian rhythm has been linked to many conditions such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Studies in the mice showed that the disruption of the retinal circadian rhythm increases the decline during the aging of photoreceptors, accelerating age-related disruption of cone cell structure, function, and viability and that the melatonin receptor deletion seems to influence the health of retinal cells, speeding up their aging. In conclusion, preserving the circadian rhythms could be to add to the prevention and treatment of age-related degenerative retinal diseases, and although additional studies are needed, melatonin could be a valid support to favor this “chronoprotection action”.

After more than two years from the first COVID-19 detected case in Brescia, Northern Italy, monoclonal antibodies and antiviral therapy aimed at early treatment of mild COVID-19 in patients at risk of progression and of hospitalization has been approved in Italy. Here we report the characteristics of the population eligible for the COVID-19 early treatments at our COVID-19 Early Therapy Unit of the Infectious Diseases Department of the ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, with the aim to evaluate the characteristics of the foreign and native groups. Up to March the 31st, 2022, a total of 559 patients were referred to our Unit for COVID-19 early treatment, where 7.6% were foreigners, a group significantly younger than natives (p 0.05). Particular differences are noticed between the native and the foreign population, where people aged 65 years old were significantly more frequent among italians (39.7% vs 16.3%, p 0.01), while primary or acquired immunodeficiencies were more frequent in foreigners (55.8% vs 38.9%, p = 0.03). Substantial differences are noted between native and foreign populations, where 14% and 26% (p 0.05) respectively have never been vaccinated for COVID-19. Overall, 71% of the referred patients received an early treatment for mild COVID-19, with no differences between the two groups. Overall, on day 28 after treatment, 23 (4%) patients had been hospitalized due to COVID-19 related complications and four died (0,7%), no one was foreigner. In conclusion, while the treatment offered for mild COVID-19 appears to be rather uniform between the native and the foreign populations, some differences, especially in preventive vaccination COVID-19, must be taken into account.

The acute phase response (APR) is a core component of the innate immune response and represents the first line of immune defense used in response to infections. Although several studies with vertebrates reported fever, a decrease in food intake and body mass, and an increase in neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and total white blood cell count after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) inoculation, there was great variability in the magnitude of these responses. Some of these differences might reflect, to some extent, differences in the time of endotoxin inoculation (during active or rest periods) and dose. Therefore, our study tested the interplay between LPS dose and time of injection on selected physiological (fever and increase in total white blood cell count and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio) and behavioral (food intake) components of the APR using a Neotropical fruit-eating bat (Carollia perspicillata) as a model organism. We predicted that LPS would trigger a dose- and time-dependent response in APR components. APR components were assessed in rest and active periods after injection of three doses of LPS (5, 10 and 15 mg kg−1 LPS). The results indicate a more robust decrease in food intake at higher doses during the active period, while increased neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio was more robust during the active period regardless of dose. Furthermore, the skin temperature increase lasted longer at higher doses regardless of the timing of injections. Our study offers important insights into the dependence of time as well as the LPS dosage effect in the APR of bats, and how they deal with the magnitude of infections at different times of day.

The acute phase response (APR) is a core component of the innate immune response and represents the first line of immune defense used in response to infections. Although several studies with vertebrates reported fever, decrease in food intake and body mass, as well as increase in neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and total white blood cell count after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) inoculation there was great variability in the magnitude of these responses. Some of these differences might reflect, to some extent, differences in time of endotoxin inoculation (during activity or resting periods) and dose; however, no study in the literature has evaluated the synergistic effect of these two factors in vertebrates. Therefore, our study tested the interplay between LPS dose and time of injection on selected physiological (fever and increase in total white blood cell count and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio), and behavioral (food intake) components of APR using a Neotropical fruit-eating bat (Carollia perspicillata) as a model organism. We predicted that LPS would trigger a dose- and time-dependent response on APR components. APR components were assessed in resting and activity periods after injection of three doses of LPS (5, 10 and 15 mg/kg LPS). The results showed that LPS-evoked changes in skin temperature, food intake, neutrophil lymphocyte ratio depend markedly on the LPS dose and/or time that LPS is administered.

Cascaded H-Bridges Multilevel Inverter (CHBMI) is a fascinating solution for optimization purposes in several application fields. The CHBMI performance optimization can be reached both with hardware and software solutions. In detail, the CHBMI performances are a function of the modulation strategy adopted and its parameters such as modulation index, switching frequency, and dead time. This paper presents performance experimental analysis on dead time effects on CHBMI performance in terms of harmonic distortion and conversion efficiency. In this analysis, two different modulation strategies have been considered and implemented. The paper focuses on modulation strategies implemented, the test bench set-up, experimental investigations, and the results comparative analysis.

KM3NeT is a research infrastructure being installed in the deep Mediterranean Sea. It will house a neutrino telescope comprising hundreds of networked moorings — detection units or strings — equipped with optical instrumentation to detect the Cherenkov radiation generated by charged particles from neutrino-induced collisions in its vicinity. In comparison to moorings typically used for oceanography, several key features of the KM3NeT string are different: the instrumentation is contained in transparent and thus unprotected glass spheres; two thin Dyneema® ropes are used as strength members; and a thin delicate backbone tube with fibre-optics and copper wires for data and power transmission, respectively, runs along the full length of the mooring. Also, compared to other neutrino telescopes such as ANTARES in the Mediterranean Sea and GVD in Lake Baikal, the KM3NeT strings are more slender to minimise the amount of material used for support of the optical sensors. Moreover, the rate of deploying a large number of strings in a period of a few years is unprecedented. For all these reasons, for the installation of the KM3NeT strings, a custom-made, fast deployment method was designed. Despite the length of several hundreds of metres, the slim design of the string allows it to be compacted into a small, re-usable spherical launching vehicle instead of deploying the mooring weight down from a surface vessel. After being lowered to the seafloor, the string unfurls to its full length with the buoyant launching vehicle rolling along the two ropes. The design of the vehicle, the loading with a string, and its underwater self-unrolling are detailed in this paper. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd on behalf of Sissa Medialab. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.

KM3NeT will be a network of deep-sea neutrino telescopes in the Mediterranean Sea. The KM3NeT/ARCA detector, to be installed at the Capo Passero site (Italy), is optimised for the detection of high-energy neutrinos of cosmic origin. Thanks to its geographical location on the Northern hemisphere, KM3NeT/ARCA can observe upgoing neutrinos from most of the Galactic Plane, including the Galactic Centre. Given its effective area and excellent pointing resolution, KM3NeT/ARCA will measure or significantly constrain the neutrino flux from potential astrophysical neutrino sources. At the same time, it will test flux predictions based on gamma-ray measurements and the assumption that the gamma-ray flux is of hadronic origin. Assuming this scenario, discovery potentials and sensitivities for a selected list of Galactic sources and to generic point sources with an E −2 spectrum are presented. These spectra are assumed to be time independent. The results indicate that an observation with 3σ significance is possible in about six years of operation for the most intense sources, such as Supernovae Remnants RX J1713.7-3946 and Vela Jr. If no signal will be found during this time, the fraction of the gamma-ray flux coming from hadronic processes can be constrained to be below 50% for these two objects. © 2019 The Authors

I beni naturali come l’aria, il sole e il verde, sono diventati nella città moderna sempre più rari, riservati a coloro che nel recinto della propria casa hanno le possibilità economiche per ritagliarsi una porzione di natura “protetta”. Godere dei beni naturali è diventato un nuovo status symbol, nello momento stesso in cui, agli inizi del Novecento, andava in crisi il modello della ricchezza borghese rappresentato dall’abitazione sovraccarica di decorazioni, marmi ed ingombranti mobili in stile. Bisognava “inventare” un nuovo modello di opulenza e la natura “domestica” era perfetta allo scopo. Terrazze, giardini pensili, logge e patii in cui prendere il sole, godere del verde, fare sport senza allontanarsi da casa, hanno rivoluzionato il modo di abitare in città, inaugurando un modello di vita fondamentalmente anti urbano che ha cercato di surrogare i tradizionali luoghi di socializzazione con gli spazi domestici.

The Hamamatsu R12199-02 3-inch photomultiplier tube is the photodetector chosen for the first phase of the KM3NeT neutrino telescope. About 7000 photomultipliers have been characterised for dark count rate, timing spread and spurious pulses. The quantum efficiency, the gain and the peak-to-valley ratio have also been measured for a sub-sample in order to determine parameter values needed as input to numerical simulations of the detector. © 2018 The Author(s).

The enteric microbiota is characterised by a balance and composition that is unique to the host. It is important to understand the mechanisms through which the host can maintain the composition of the gut microbiota. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are implicated in intercellular communication and have been isolated from bodily fluids including stool. Recent findings suggest that miRNA produced by the host’s intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) participate in shaping the microbiota. To investigate whether miRNA expression was influenced by the gut microbiota we measured the expression of miRNAs expressed by intestinal epithelial cells in faeces. Specifically, we measured miRNA expression in faeces from germ-free (GF) and conventional mice and similarly in a rat model of antibiotic-mediated depletion of the gut microbiota control rats. In adult male GF and conventional mice and adult Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were treated with a combination of antibiotics for 8 weeks; total RNA was extracted from faecal pellets taken at week 0, 2, 4, 6 week 8 and the expression of let-7b-3p, miR-141-3p, miR-200a-3p and miR-1224-5p (miRNAs known to be expressed in IECs) were measured relative to U6 at each time point using qRT-PCR. In GF animals the expression of let-7b, miR-141 and miR-200a in faeces was lower compared to conventional mice. Following antibiotic-mediated depletion of gut microbiota, rats showed two divergent profiles of miRNA expression. Following two weeks of antibiotic treatment, the expression of let-7b and miR-1224 dropped significantly and remained low for the remainder of the study. The expression of miR-200a and miR-141 was significantly higher at week 2 than before antibiotic treatment commenced. Subsequently, the expression of miR-200a and miR-141 decreased at week 4 and continued to decrease at week 6. This data demonstrates that miRNAs can be used as an independent, non-invasive marker of microbial fluctuations along with gut pathology in the intestine.

The perception of visceral pain is a complex process involving the spinal cord and higher order brain structures. Increasing evidence implicates the gut microbiota as a key regulator of brain and behavior, yet it remains to be determined if gut bacteria play a role in visceral sensitivity. We used germ-free mice (GF) to assess visceral sensitivity, spinal cord gene expression and pain-related brain structures. GF mice displayed visceral hypersensitivity accompanied by increases in Toll-like receptor and cytokine gene expression in the spinal cord, which were normalized by postnatal colonization with microbiota from conventionally colonized (CC). In GF mice, the volumes of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and periaqueductal grey, areas involved in pain processing, were decreased and enlarged, respectively, and dendritic changes in the ACC were evident. These findings indicate that the gut microbiota is required for the normal visceral pain sensation. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.25887.001, eLife digest The human gut is home to over 100 trillion microbes collectively known as the gut microbiota. These microbes help us to digest food and absorb the nutrients effectively. A diverse and stable community of gut microbes is believed to be important for good health. Recently, it has also become clear that the microbiota can also influence the brain and how we behave. For example, many studies suggest that gut microbiota can alter how an individual perceives pain, but it is not clear how this works. Rodents are often used in experiments as models of human biology. One of the most frequently used rodent models in studies of gut microbes is the “germ-free” mouse. These mice grow up in laboratory environments that are completely free of microbes, making it possible to study how having no gut microbes affects the health and behaviour of the mice. Luczynski, Tramullas et al. used germ-free mice to study how the gut microbiota influences an animal’s sensitivity to pain. The experiments show that, compared to mice with normal gut microbiota, the germ-free mice were more sensitive to pain from internal organs especially the gut. These mice also produced larger amounts of specific proteins involved in immune responses, which contributed to the animal’s increased sensitivity to pain. Allowing the germ-free mice to be colonised with gut microbes could reverse these changes. The experiments also show that the germ-free mice had changes in the size of two areas of the brain involved in sensing pain: an area called the anterior cingulate cortex was smaller, while the periaqueductal grey region was enlarged. There were also differences in individual nerve cells within the anterior cingulate cortex compared to normal mice. The findings of Luczynski, Tramullas et al. reinforce the idea that the gut microbiota is involved in the sensation of pain from internal organs, and show that hypersensitivity to this form of pain can be reversed later in life by colonising the gut with microbes. Continuing to study the impact of microbes on this type of pain could aid the development of new therapies for the treatment of pain disorders in humans. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.25887.002

Luigi Cosenza, il principale architetto napoletano della modernità, non si è proposto di costruire con le sue opere una realtà che valesse di per sé, degli oggetti autonomi rispetto all’intorno, ma architetture che acquistassero valore in virtù delle relazioni con il contesto e la sua storia. I suoi edifici nascono sempre dentro il paesaggio e la città, si rapportano alla cultura del luogo, sono immaginati per gli uomini che dovranno abitarli, senza distinzione tra individuo e collettività. La storia è per Cosenza un vasto campo di studio dei mezzi e degli effetti che l’architettura può creare e, viceversa, la dimostrazione di come le forme sociali modellino nel tempo gli spazi abitati trasformandoli in espressioni culturali e civili. Tra i più orgogliosi difensori della tradizione architettonica campana sia nelle forme spontanee sia in quelle colte della storiografia ufficiale, egli amava con la stessa intensità le case contadine vesuviane e le rovine imponenti della Magna Grecia, le ricche chiese del Barocco napoletano e le semplici architetture delle isole flegree. E ha amato finanche le immagini più popolari delle cartoline o quelle della musica dialettale. Questa autentica passione per la cultura napoletana nelle sue varie espressioni è condivisa con un gruppo straordinario di amici, artisti ed architetti che frequenteranno, a partire dagli anni Trenta, le sponde del Golfo di Napoli: Bernard Rudofsky, Gio Ponti, Gabriele Mucchi, Genny Wiegmann, Paolo Ricci, Marcello Nizzoli. Insieme riscopriranno la straordinaria cultura locale dell’abitare fatta di razionale ed organica relazione con il paesaggio ma anche di raffinati elementi costruttivi, soluzioni tecniche e decorative al tempo stesso (le logge, le corti, le scale aperte, le ceramiche colorate, le stuoie decorate, le pergole). Riproponendole in chiave contemporanea essi sono riusciti a riscattarle dall’appartenere a quella declinazione spontanea e dialettale della mediterraneità che in maniera snobistica e superficiale è stata a lungo relegata dalla critica in una categoria estetica di valore “inferiore”. In tal senso, esiste un filo rosso che lega, pur in contesti geografici e culturali distanti tra loro, l’esperienza napoletana a quella di Lina Bo Bardi in Brasile o di Carlos Raúl Villanueva in Venezuela, tentativi di ritrovare il carattere autentico della modernità nei legami con la cultura e con l’identità dei luoghi.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the neuropsychological profile of mild cognitive impairment subtypes (amnestic, non-amnestic and multiple-domain) of a clinical sample. We further address the diagnostic properties of the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Cambridge Cognitive Examination for the identification of the different mild cognitive impairment subtypes in clinical practice. METHOD: Cross-sectional clinical and neuropsychological evaluation of 249 elderly patients attending a memory clinic at a university hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil. RESULTS: The performance of patients with mild cognitive impairment was heterogeneous across the different subtests of the neuropsychological battery, with a trend towards an overall worse performance for amnestic (particularly multiple domain) mild cognitive impairment as compared to non-amnestic subtypes. Screening tests for dementia (Mini-Mental State Examination and Cambridge Cognitive Examination) adequately discriminated cases of mild Alzheimer's disease from controls, but they were not accurate to discriminate patients with mild cognitive impairment (all subtypes) from control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The discrimination of mild cognitive impairment subtypes was possible only with the aid of a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. It is necessary to develop new strategies for mild cognitive impairment screening in clinical practice.OBJETIVO: Descrever o perfil neuropsicológico dos subtipos de comprometimento cognitivo leve, amnéstico, não-amnéstico e múltiplos domínios, de uma amostra clínica. Além disto, avaliou-se as propriedades diagnósticas do Mini-exame do Estado Mental e do Cambridge Cognitive Examination na identificação dos diferentes subtipos de comprometimento cognitivo leve na prática clínica. MÉTODO: Avaliação clínica e neuropsicológica transversal de 249 idosos em uma clínica de memória de um hospital universitário em São Paulo, Brasil. RESULTADOS: Testes de rastreio para demência (Mini-exame do Estado Mental e Cambridge Cognitive Examination) identificam corretamente casos de doença de Alzheimer leve, mas não apresentam boa acurácia para diferenciar os diversos subtipos de comprometimento cognitivo leve. A performance dos sujeitos portadores de comprometimento cognitivo leve foi heterogênea nos diferentes testes da bateria neuropsicológica, com uma tendência a uma pior performance global nos pacientes com o subtipo amnéstico (especialmente os com envolvimento de múltiplos domínios cognitivos) em relação ao comprometimento cognitivo leve não-amnéstico. CONCLUSÕES: A discriminação dos diferentes subtipos de comprometimento cognitivo leve foi possível somente a partir de uma avaliação neuropsicológica detalhada. Desta maneira, é necessário o desenvolvimento de novas estratégias de rastreio para esta condição na prática clínica.

This work proposes a technique to enhance fingerprint images through the Gabor filter with adaptive parameters. Firstly, the average ridge and valley of each region as well as their direction are evaluated by a specific directional field algorithm. Secondly, since the filter orientation and the frequency parameters vary according to the fingerprint area, the fingerprint topological structure is enhanced by the Gabor filter with adaptive parameters. Finally, experimental tests show accurate final results for the matching step of an on-line recognition process.

The classification of the main humus forms is generally based on the morpho-genetic characters of the A and OH diagnostic horizons. This is the case in the new European key of classification presented in Freiburg on September 2004 (Eurosoil Congress). Among the morpho-genetic characters, the soil structure covers a very important role. In this work, the structure of the diagnostic A and OH horizons has been analysed in terms of aggregation force, diameter and composition of the soil lumps (peds). In order to study the aggregation force, two disaggregating tools have been conceived and used. The diameter of the lumps has been measured by sieving the soil samples with standardised webs. Observing the samples thanks to a binocular magnifying 10X and 50X, the organic or/and mineral composition of the soil aggregates has been determined, data being investigated with ANOVA and Factorial Analysis. The article examines the argument from two points of view: crashing tools for estimating the soil structure (part 1) and the dimensions of the peds given in European key of humus forms classification (part 2). The categories of soil peds diameter and composition seem to be linked to the main humus forms. For instance, aggregates having a diamater larger than 1 mm and well amalgamate organo-mineral composition are more present in the A horizons of the Mull forms than in which of the other forms; contrary to the OH horizon of the Moder or Mor, the OH horizon of the Amphi forms shows an important percent of small organic lumps. Some propositions have been given in order to improve the European key of humus forms classification.

On July 15 th 2000 the first MITA (Italian Advanced Technology Minisatellite) was launched from Plesetsk (Russia) by a Cosmos rocket as a piggy-back of the CHAMP satellite. The main purpose of the first MITA mission is its in-flight validation. Furthermore the scientific payload NINA-2 of INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) and the technological payload MTS-AOMS (Micro Tech Sensor for Attitude and Orbit Measurement System) were embarked. The NINA-2 goal is the survey of galactic and solar cosmic rays at 450 km altitude. MTS is an ESA multi-tasking autonomous sensor based on Active Pixel Sensor (star and horizon sensor), Angular Rate Sensor and Magnetic Field Sensor. In this paper the main MITA bus characteristics are reported, together with the description of the launch and the first commissioning phase. The first mission nominal orbit is circular, with a 450 Km altitude and a 87° inclination. The satellite attitude is nadir pointing, 3 axes stabilised. Spacecraft mass is 169.9 Kg. Two fixed solar panels provide an average power of 85 W EOL. The configuration of the satellite main body is based on a cubic shape module, made of Aluminium beams and honeycomb panels. The Mission Control Center is placed in Rome, while the TTC Malindi TT&C station will then be replaced by Fucino (Italy). Since the contacts between spacecraft and the TT&C stations do not occur every orbit, the satellite on board S/W was designed in order to reach the nominal mode without telecommand from ground.

In this paper a black-box identification technique based on the radial basis functions (RBF) is used in developing global dynamic behavioural models of electronic devices from measured transient responses. RBF allow to reproduce a non-linear dynamic model of the device under modelling (DUM) automatically taking into account all the physical effects relating input and output data, from measured waveform only: no knowledge of the internal structure is needed. Suitable parameters have to be evaluated by using selected voltage/current identification signals that allow to build up the global model of the DUM. The development of such global model constitutes the first step for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) compliance in high performance electronic systems for information and communication technology and for industrial applications. In fact, due to the high complexity of such interconnected systems, EMC compliance can be obtained since the design stage only if the whole system is firstly scattered in low complexity sub-systems, opportunely modeled and then composed by the system physical interconnections to obtain the original apparatus. Global model is firstly obtained for logical I/O port and the validation is obtained by comparison with SPICE simulations. Original application related to single electronic component such as bipolar junction transistor is also reported and validated by comparing simulation results with measured data.

Aims: Tissue transglutaminase (tTG) was recently identified as the major autoantigen in coeliac disease. The aim of this multicentre study was to evaluate the impact of a new immunoenzymatic assay for the detection of IgA anti-tGT antibodies. Methods: Seventy four Italian and French clinical laboratories participated in this study; anti-tTG IgA with an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method using guinea pig liver extract as the coating antigen, anti-endomysium IgA autoantibodies (EMA), and total serum IgA were determined in 7948 patients, 1162 of whom had coeliac disease (737 untreated cases and 425 on a gluten free diet). A proportion of the sera were then sent to a reference laboratory for anti-tTG retesting with an ELISA method using recombinant human tTG antigen. Results: Seven thousand four hundred and fifty eight (93.8%) sera were EMA/antiguinea pig tTG concordant (positive or negative); 490 (6.2%) were non-concordant. The sensitivity of EMA and antiguinea pig tTG in the 737 untreated patients with coeliac disease was 92.1% and 94.8%, respectively, and the specificity was 99.8% and 99.2%, respectively. Retesting of the discordant sera showed that of the 162 sera classified as EMA negative/antiguinea pig tTG positive, only 49 were positive for human recombinant anti-tTG, and that 39 of these were also EMA positive. Furthermore, of the 36 sera classified as EMA positive/antiguinea pig tTG negative, only two were confirmed as EMA positive. Conclusions: The antiguinea pig tTG assay is more sensitive but less specific than EMA, whereas the antihuman recombinant tTG assay is far more specific and just as sensitive as antiguinea pig tTG. Testing for EMA presents considerable interpretative problems and is difficult to standardise.

Il presente testo è rivolto agli allievi ingegneri 'elettrici' e 'non elettrici' che devono affrontare lo studio della disciplina nota come Elettrotecnica. Sono presentati gli aspetti canonici della disciplina seguendo una curva di apprendimento, che per mezzo di differenti livelli di comprensione, consente il passaggio da conoscenza quantitativa, nella quale i principali attori sono tecnica e memoria, a un livello di conoscenza qualitativa in cui ad essere impegnati sono la capacità di sintesi e l'ingegno. Argomenti trattati Valutazione di resistenza equivalente - Convenzioni di segno e composizione di caratteristiche - Applicazioni delle leggi di Kirchhoff - Metodi di analisi circuitale - Doppi bipoli - Circuiti dinamici del primo ordine - Circuiti dinamici del secondo ordine - Circuiti in regime sinusoidale - Risposta in frequenza - Sistemi trifase - Analisi delle forme d'onda - Principi di elettromagnetismo - Elementi di macchine elettriche e impianti elettrici

AGILE, an Italian Space Agency (ASI) mission dedicated to the exploration of the gamma-ray Universe, was successfully launched on April 23, 2007 from the Indian base of Sriharikota in an low-particle background equatorial orbit at 550 km height. AGILE gamma ray range cover the 30 MeV – 50 GeV band with its detectors combined together in the Gamma-Ray Imaging Detector (GRID). An X-ray imager (SuperAGILE) operates in the 18 – 60 keV band. Some of the payload instruments are also operated to detect transient X and gamma events with the main target being the Gamma Ray Burst in the SuperAGILE band and above 300 keV. The GRID instrument consists of a Silicon-Tungsten Tracker, a Caesium Iodide Mini-Calorimeter (MCAL), and a plastic-scintillator Anticoincidence system (ACS). The GRID achieves an angular resolution of about 15’ for bright sources with an unprecedented large field-of-view about 2.5 sr with a time resolution of few microsec and a very reduced dead-time (less than 200 microsec for a gamma detection). The hard X-ray imager (SuperAGILE) combines a tungsten coded mask with Si detector with a technology identical to the Si-Tracker. It is on top of the gamma-ray detector and has an optimal angular resolution (about 6 arcmin) with good sensitivity over about 1 sr field of view (10–15 mCrab on axis for a 1-day integration). The burst monitoring combines the data from SuperAGILE and from MCAL which operates independently with a specific operative mode from 300 keV up to several tens of MeV. All the detector operations are mastered by the Payload Data Handling Unit (PDHU) that includes several operation for data selection and background rejection. AGILE has very innovative scientific payload for what concern both its detectors and its operative mode. After more than one year of in orbit operation the in-flight performances of the instruments as well as the operation of the background reducing algorithm are presented and the main scientific results achieved are discussed.

A patient with coeliac disease presenting alopecia areas as the only symptom is described. Alopecia disappeared completely after a few months of strict gluten free diet and reappeared after an unintentional prolonged introduction of gluten. After a severe gluten free diet, a new and persistent hair growth in the alopecia areas was observed. The possibility a direct relationship in some cases, between coeliac disease and alopecia areata is confirmed.

The association between diabetes mellitus and coeliac disease has been known for many years. In a random group of 175 insulin dependent diabetes mellitus patients of varying ages the following tests have been carried out: serum antigliadin antibodies (AGA) of IgA and IgG class, antireticulin antibodies (ARA) and antiendomisyum antibodies (AEA), both of IgA class.The patients, 85 males and 90 females, had ages ranging from 1 yr to 30 yrs (102 in paediatric age--mainly between 6 and 14 years--and 73 adults). Patients with pathological values for AEA and/or ARA underwent an intestinal biopsy.Out of 175 patients studied, 21 had pathological values for AEA with or without pathological values for ARA and AGA, and 2 patients had only pathological values for ARA. 23 patients (21 with pathological values for AEA with or without ARA and AGA, 2 only for ARA ) underwent intestinal biopsy, all patients with pathological values for AEA had villous atrophy. The prevalence of coeliac disease among IDDM patients was 8.8% (95% CI 3.3 to 14.3) for the children and 16.4% (95% CI 7.9 to 24.9) for the adults. In patients with mucous atrophy, ARA, AGA IgA and IgG were pathological in 85%, 71% and 61% respectively. Symptoms and insulin requirements in all patients affected by coeliac disease before and after one year on a gluten free diet were also evaluated. The patients had clinical features with prevalently one or only few atypical symptoms which disappeared on a gluten free diet. Insulin requirements after one year on a gluten free diet appeared unchanged in coeliac patients.The need to screen all diabetic patients for coeliac disease is underlined.

In this paper a black-box identification technique based on the radial basis functions is used in developing global dynamic behavioural models of electronic devices from measured transient responses. This approach allows to reproduce a non-linear dynamic model of the device under modelling automatically taking into account all the physical effects relating input and output data, from measured waveform only: no knowledge of the internal structure is needed. Original application related to a bipolar junction transistor is reported and validated by comparing simulation results with measured data.

In this paper the method of moments (MoM) is used to predict the electromagnetic radiated emissions from typical vehicle electrical loads used in dual voltage automotive distributed architectures. In particular the studied load is a fuel pump drive supplied at 42V power net, composed of a 14 V DC electrical motor and a DC/DC step-down converter. The evaluation of electromagnetic emissions is based on current measurements and on the numerical solution of a modified version of the electric field integral equation (EFIE) in frequency domain. Time profiles of electromagnetic interesting quantities are computed by using a discrete Fourier transform algorithm. The proposed approach allows to consider the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) since the design stage, together with performance and cost aspects, in order to obtain reliable systems. The developed radiation model permits the prediction of radiated disturbance and also the identification of EMC oriented design and optimisation criteria. Moreover, the presented model can be used to define, for the new vehicle electrical architectures, low cost EMC test methods and appropriate technical standard requirements.

This paper describes the solar array design, manufacturing and testing of ARSENE, a French radioamateur minisatellite planned for launch into an elliptic equatorial orbit (20000-36000 km) in May 1993 with the ARIANE 4 vehicle. The six solar panels composing the solar array embody 29 strings of 34 GaAs solar cells, series connected, necessary to meet the end-of-life power requirement of 42 W at 25.5 V. Different considerations that have led to the electrical design optimization and layout definition are discussed in the paper. Testing activity, successfully carried out both at panel level and satellite level, has completed the activity on the ARSENE satellite. >

trans-Vinyldioxidosqualene and beta-hydroxysulfide derivatives were synthesized stereospecifically and evaluated as inhibitors of animal and yeast oxidosqualene cyclases. Only trans-vinyldioxidosqualene and 2,3-epoxy-vinyl-beta-hydroxysulfides, having the reactive function at crucial positions 14,15 and 18,19, were active as inhibitors of animal and yeast cyclases. (14-trans)-28-Methylidene-2,3: 14,15-dioxidoundecanorsqualene 27 was the most potent inhibitor of the series of pig liver cyclase, with an IC50 of 0.4 microM, and it behaved also as the most active time-dependent inhibitor of the animal enzyme.

There are no solid data on the real advantage of an early start of dialysis, as suggested by the DOQI guidelines. Uremic patients frequently have a poor nutritional status. However, we cannot distinguish between the detrimental effect on nutrition of too low a residual renal function or too long a period of low protein-diet, per se. However, it appears that a very-low-protein diet (VLPD) supplemented with essential amino acids and keto-analogs of amino acids, and with an adequate quantity of calories, can prevent hypoalbuminemia at the start of dialysis and can slow the progression of chronic renal failure. EDTA and USRDS data suggest that most patients starting dialysis nowadays are elderly, who also have the highest incidence of morbidity and mortality. Moreover, hospitalization rate becomes higher after the start of dialysis compared to the pre-dialysis period. Can an aminoacid-supplemented VLPD, prolonged beyond the GFR limits suggested by DOQI, offer elderly patients better survival and better quality of life than dialysis? The answer can only come from a prospective, randomized trial, in elderly patients, starting at the GFR values suggested by the NKF-DOQI for starting dialysis, comparing outcomes with a vegetarian VLPD supplemented with a mixture of keto-analogs of amino acids and essential amino acids, and with dialysis.