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INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE:European and American urological guidelines of 2020 recommend to perform multiparametric (mp) MRI in men with suspicion of prostate cancer (PCa), before the execution of ...

This article investigates the electrical performances of the high direct current (dc) interruption system in use in the reverse field experiment (RFX)-mod experiment. This system, called the energy transfer system (ETS), provides the loop voltage required for plasma breakdown inside the toroidal vacuum vessel, utilizing the interruption of dc currents up to 50 kA, with a recovery voltage of up to 35 kV. The ETS is composed of four identical units, each including the vacuum circuit breaker (VCB, each composed of two Vacuum Interrupters (VIs), in series), a transfer resistor, and an artificial zero current network. The system was designed in the 1980s and upgraded in 2008 to permit reliable operations at the full current of 50 kA. A new auxiliary branch was connected in parallel to each dc-current interruption system and all the VIs have been replaced with units with a larger contact surface. Since this upgrade, the ETS has been working routinely, and so far has performed almost 9000 current interruptions. By taking advantage of the large database of ETS electrical measurements, this article investigates the key waveforms and parameters of each VI (arc U–I characteristic, close-contact resistance, and recovery voltage) and correlates their variation with the fault occurrence and with the aging of the VCB components.

The Radio-Frequency generators of the SPIDER experiment are devoted to the ignition and heating up of the ion source plasma. Such generators are 4 free-excited oscillators based on vacuum tubes technology (tetrodes), which work at a frequency of 1 MHz ± 0.1 MHz. In this paper the behaviour of such system is deeply investigated also thanks to the developed models, which have been able to reproduce instabilities observed in other similar RF ion sources and in SPIDER first operation.

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of time and different real-life storage conditions on the composition of different varieties of cannabis products (hashish and marijuana). Six high-potency cannabis products constituted by herbal and resin materials containing different initial concentrations of delta 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) were employed for this study. Four representative samples were collected from each study material and were maintained for a prolonged time (four years) under different controlled storage conditions: (A) light (24 h) and room temperature (22 °C); (B) darkness (24 h) and room temperature; (C) darkness and refrigeration (4 °C); (D) darkness and freezing (−20 °C). The concentration of the three main cannabinoids, i.e. THC, Cannabinol (CBN, produced from the degradation of THC), and Cannabidiol (CBD), were measured by GC-FID around every 100 days along the four-year study. Significant changes in the THC (degradation) and CBN (formation) content were detected under storage conditions A and B, and almost 100% of THC was degraded after four years. A mono-exponential function was able to well fit both THC degradation and CBN formation, suggesting that these processes occur with a first order kinetics. Data treatment indicated that the storage temperature and light exposure had two different effects on the conversion of THC to CBN: temperature changed only the speed, light changed both the speed and the stoichiometry of this conversion. Models were proposed which allow to predict the storage time, if unknown, and the initial content of THC (i.e. the concentration of THC at the starting storage time), from the measurement of THC and CBN content at any time under storage condition A. Values predicted are more uncertain at larger storage times and have an accuracy of around 5-10%. These models were also tested on data reported in the literature, and can represent a starting point for further improvements. Prediction models may be helpful for forensic purposes, if the initial concentration of THC or the approximate age of a degraded material need to be estimated, or to plan the storage of delicate samples which need to be re-examined over time.

Inter-laboratory proficiency schemes are widely used to control the performance of clinical and forensic toxicology laboratories. In 2016 the Laboratory of Environmental Hygiene and Forensic Toxicology - Venice (Italy) initiated an inter-laboratory proficiency test of blood-alcohol analysis. The number of participating laboratories gradually increased from 26 to 36. Furthermore, a few clinical laboratories were included if gas chromatographic (GC) methods were used for blood alcohol analysis.Whole blood was obtained from the Blood Transfusion Centre of the Venice Hospital and a mixture of sodium fluoride and potassium oxalate was added as a preservative and anticoagulant, respectively. Aliquots of the blood were spiked with certified pure ethanol to obtain target blood-alcohol concentrations (BACs) ranging from 0 to 5.0g/L. Two blood samples (4mL each) were included in each shipment to the participating laboratories. The laboratories were asked to provide information about number of replicate BAC determinations they made, the types of ethanol reference standards used, and inherent measurement uncertainty. The aim of the testing was to obtain a mean consensus value for the target BAC and to assess inter-laboratory imprecision. All procedures for registration and submission of results were done on-line. A confidential report and statistical evaluations were returned to the participants one week later.All participants used head-space GC (HS-GC) for the analysis of ethanol in blood. More than 85% of participants used HS-GC with flame-ionization detection, whereas the others used mass spectrometry (MS) as a detector. More than 40% of the participating laboratories kept the blood samples frozen (-20°C) prior to analysis, whereas the others used refrigeration (+4°C). The preliminary validation tests showed that there were no statistically significant differences between BAC in frozen or refrigerated samples for a period of 20 days.The statistical evaluation of results was done using an iterative procedure known as Algorithm A (ISO 13528:2015, C.3.1). This provides robust estimates for mean and standard deviation between laboratories and these were used as consensus values. More than 85% of participants provided satisfactory results (z-score1) and 94% of laboratories were within z-score2, based on five control samples. When a blood sample without any alcohol (blank) was sent for analysis, laboratories reported this as zero, 0.00g/L, below limit of detection (LOD) or not detected. Some type of consensus should be reached for reporting blank samples.

SPIDER is the full-size prototype of ITER Neutral Beam Injector ion source, in operation since June 2018 as part of the ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility located in Padova, Italy. The ion source of SPIDER is composed of eight Radio Frequency drivers operated in low hydrogen gas pressure, 0.3 Pa, driven at 1 MHz with a total nominal power of 800 kW, an extraction and acceleration system is used to produce a negative ion beam with an energy up to 100 keV. RF breakdowns outside the ion source beset the SPIDER experimentation since the beginning of the operations. Such breakdowns could be sustained by the power supplies but in many cases cause the plasma pulses to stop and might cause source damages. The scope of this work is to summarize the experimental pieces of evidence, classify the type of breakdowns and describe the electrical model for these events. Three classes of diagnostics have been used to investigate the RF breakdowns: electrical measure-ments from the Ion Source and Extraction Power Supply, visible cameras (both fast and slow) and optical fibers which collect lights from the rear of the SPIDER experiment. Each of these signals is somehow affected by the RF breakdowns; their comparative analysis allows improving the un-derstanding of this issue and helped the identifications of different types of breakdowns that can occur outside the SPIDER Ion Source. A discussion of the reasons behind the occurrence of the discharges, induced by the Radio Frequency, concludes the work.

Corrosion-erosion phenomena occurred in the cooling circuits of primary heat transfer systems of the prototype of the ITER-like ion source named SPIDER, in particular during the first phase of the experiment activity which began in May 2018. Demineralised water circulating in cooling channels of components subjected to high heat loads reacts with inner channel surfaces made of copper alloys, aluminium, and stainless steel thus producing thinning of cooling channel walls. Then, resistivity degradation phenomenon of the demineralised water occurred and resistivity was measured before and after a working cycle to plan water treatment operations in order to maintain maximum availability of the SPIDER plants. This degradation was observed to be particularly fast during experimental campaigns: despite predictions, this effect is more significant in the less complex cooling circuit linked to Ion Source and Extraction Power Supply (ISEPS), feeding the Ion Source polarized to ground at -100 kV dc. Corrosion-erosion phenomena were investigated considering dissolved O2 and CO2, pH, flow velocity and turbulence, galvanic corrosion at dissimilar metal junctions, leakage current through high voltage cooling breaks, temperature, and water conductivity. This paper presents the first data of water parameters, monitored during experimental sessions by using the Cooling Plant and ISEPS Local Control Systems. Basing on collected data, some hypotheses were put forward on the behaviour of circuits and components, in order to propose possible mitigation actions and to reduce the frequency at which the cooling water should be renewed to keep the resistivity value in the required operative range.

In the road-map for a fully operational ITER Neutral Beam Injector (NBI), SPIDER represents a necessary step to test its negative ion source design since the required performances have never been achieved simultaneously by any previous experiment. The smaller scale of SPIDER to the full ITER NBI prototype (named MITICA, which will operate in the same test facility in Padova) allows more flexibility in the experiments and, taking advantage of its larger set of diagnostic, will provide insightful results for the entire project development. This paper is the result of the experience gained within the first two years of SPIDER operation, with the focus on the Ion Source and Extraction Power Supply (ISEPS) system. A review of the system development, of the main outcomes of the first experimental phase and the description of the still open issues, is provided.

Purpose: to assess the use of telemedicine with phone-call visits as practical tool to follow-up with patients affected by urological benign diseases, whose clinic visits had been cancelled during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: patients were contacted via phone-call and a specific questionnaire was administered to evaluate the health status of these patients, and to identify those who needed an “in-person” ambulatory visit due to the worsening of their condition. Secondarily, the patients’ perception of a potential shift towards a "telehealth" approach to the management of their condition and to indirectly evaluate their desire to return to “in-person” clinic visits. Results: 607 were contacted by phone-call. 87.5% (531/607) of the cases showed stability of the symptoms so no clinic in-person or emergency visits were needed. 81.5% (495/607) of patients were more concerned about the risk of contagion than their urological condition. The median score for phone visit comprehensibility and ease of communication of exams was 5/5; whilst patients’ perception of phone visits’ usefulness was scored 4/5. 53% (322/607) of the interviewees didn’t own the basic supports required to be able to perform a real telemedicine consult according to the required standards. Conclusion: Telemedicine approach limits the number of unnecessary accesses to medical facilities and represent an important tool for the limitation of the risk of transmission of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19. However, infrastructures, health workers and patients should reach out to a computerization process in order to allow a wider diffusion of more advanced forms of telemedicine, such as televisit.

This paper presents data about potency of herbal and resin cannabis products seized during 2010-2019 in north-east Italy. More than 12,000 cannabis samples were analyzed and concentrations of THC, CBD and CBN were collected. The results of our study provided clear evidence for an increase in the potency of cannabis products across the study period, which is consistent with other studies. Globally, the median THC concentrations increased from about 6%-11%, but differences were found between herbal and resin materials. THC potency in resin materials increased more consistently across the study period with a dramatic raise during 2018-2019, with median THC contents around 17%. CBD concentrations were found to decrease constantly over the study period, especially in herbal materials, which had a mean CBD concentration of 0.3%. In particular, about 75% of the analyzed herbal samples had a CBD concentration which was less than 3% of the corresponding THC concentration. In contrast, more than 50% of the analyzed resin materials had a CBD concentration which was about 30% of the corresponding THC concentration. This is consistent with the increase in prevalence of high-potency seedless female herbal products observed in the same period and indicates that herbal and resin materials were produced from different varieties of cannabis plants. However, resin materials derived from high THC/low CBD cannabis plants were recently found. Different routes (e.g. northern Europe) or different modalities of distribution were assumed for these products. CBN concentrations were also considered and found to be very low and consistent across the study period indicating reliability of THC values used in statistical analysis. In conclusion, this study provided an accurate picture of cannabis products seized over a decade over a definite geographical area which can be extremely helpful for comparative purposes and for national and international statistical analyses on cannabis products.

This report describes the calorimetry system installed in SPIDER and the software used for the interpretation and post-processing of the thermal signals and proposes an online implementation to process and display calorimetry data in quasi real-time.