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The availability of child-care services has often been advocated as one of the instruments to counter the fertility decline observed in many high-income countries. In the recent past, large inflows of low-skilled migrants have substantially increased the supply of child-care services. In this paper, we examine if immigration has actually affected fertility exploiting the natural experiment occurred in Italy in 2007, when a large inflow of migrants—many of them specialized in the supply of child care—arrived unexpectedly. With a difference-in-differences method, we show that immigrant female workers have increased native births by a number that ranges roughly from 2% to 4%. We validate our result by the implementation of an instrumental variable approach and several robustness tests, all concluding that the increase in the supply of child-care services by immigrant women has positively affected native fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forensic entomology is a criminalistic tool that provides relevant information about circumstances of death and time elapsed until a corpse is discovered. However, it is rarely applied in aquatic environments because knowledge is scarce and fragmented. This paper summarizes the information available and contributes to the knowledge on Chironomidae in forensic cases by reporting on two human forensic cases from contrasting freshwater environments in which Cricotopus sp. and Goeldichironomus holoprasinus larvae were found. It discusses the advantages and limitations of using Chironomidae in forensic investigations to establish the postmortem submersion interval (PMSI) and other relevant information that they may provide about possible shifts in the location of the corpses. Because of the lack of basic biological data on these species, conclusions cannot be drawn about time of death. We highlight the need for further studies, mainly on basic biological information, to support Chironomidae as useful tool for aquatic forensic cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Discriminating bipolar disorder (BD) from unipolar disorder (UD) is crucial in diagnosing mood disorders. Neurophysiological studies have identified different correlates of emotional regulation in BD and UD. According to the Multiple Code Theory, bodily modifications relate to linguistic styles, as highlighted by studies on the language of depression. Our purpose is to verify the existence in the Italian language of linguistic features of depression differentiating BD from UD to provide tools for clinicians to use beyond self-report measures.Methods: The sample included 20 BD, 20 UD (all diagnosed using DSM-5), and 20 Control Group (CG) participants. Participants completed the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and an audio-recorded Relationship Anecdotes Paradigm Interview, transcribed and analyzed by the Discourse Attributes Analysis Program for Referential Process Linguistic Measures.Results: One-way ANOVAs confirmed that specific linguistic features characterized BD, UD and CG. The use of Sensory-Somatic words was significantly different in the groups: higher in BD, intermediate in UD, and lower in CG. Individuals with BD produced higher scores on the Referential Activity Intensity Index and the use of singular pronoun "I". Negative Affect, as well as several POMS subscales, distinguished UD and BD from CG.Limitations: Narrow sample size, use of a single self-report instrument and treatment effects on measures in the clinical groups are limitations of the study.Conclusion: Individuals with UD and BD appear to use sensory-somatic language in predictably different patterns from each other and from the non-clinical population. Observation and assessment of linguistic features could improve diagnostic accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quantitative rainbow schlieren study was conducted on an over-expanded jet at nozzle pressure ratio of 2.8, based on two different schlieren set-ups: the standard z-type and a single-mirror schlieren set-up. The technique used a single, weak focal-length lens placed in the field of view of the system to provide the calibration information required for the extraction of the quantitative data. In the case of the single-mirror set-up, the calibration image required further post-processing procedures to take into account the double refraction experienced by the light. Density gradients were calculated using Abel transform and compared to validated reference data. Results indicate that the single-mirror set-up is able to improve prediction of the density gradient field as compared to the standard z-type schlieren, due to its inherent property of higher sensitivity. The study has shown that the single-mirror set-up performs on average better than the standard z-type system, yielding an overall averaged error of ± 20%, with localized values as low as ± 5% where the shock cell structure is clearly defined, with respect to the validated reference data. At the same time, both systems perform poorly in regions where the flow structure displays poor image contrast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Detailed experimental comparisons had been conducted between calibrated and rainbow schlieren on perfectly- and under-expanded axisymmetric supersonic jets through a modified Z-type schlieren system. The techniques were implemented by using a weak lens in the field-of-view to provide calibration information for the extraction of quantitative density gradients from the experimental schlieren images. Sixth-order polynomial curve fits were obtained for both calibrated and rainbow schlieren respectively. The effects of light inhomogeneity caused by the mirrors and system diaphragm aperture had been evaluated for the colour images and results indicate that averaging the background hue is an acceptable approach for minimizing light variations with less than 2% experimental error. Density gradients as calculated via Abel transform have also been evaluated to validate the two different set-ups. Additionally, experimental results have been compared to validated numerical results and they show that calibrated schlieren is able to predict density gradients within 2% of the numerical results. This is significantly more superior to rainbow schlieren, where errors in the estimated density gradients are closer to 20%. It is shown here that rainbow schlieren results are more adversely impacted by the system diaphragm aperture, especially for vertical light cut-off configuration. This is partly due to the loss of sensitivity of the schlieren system, as well as potential light diffusion caused by the filter. Highlights • Supersonic jet density gradients determined by calibrated and rainbow schlieren. • Calibrated schlieren performs better than rainbow Schlieren in the present study. • Calibrated and rainbow schlieren lead to about 2% and 20% discrepancy respectively. • Calibrated schlieren is more sensitive, robust and captures more flow features. • Rainbow schlieren sensitivity is dependent on filter quality and light inhomogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on insects and other arthropods sampled on the exhumation of an infant skeleton belonging to 'Prof. Dr. Rómulo Lambre'skeletal collection. The body was buried in soil inside a wooden coffin in a grave 40 cm deep, in autumn, and stored in the cemetery deposit after exhumation. Death records were obtained from the cemetery archive. Samples of faunal remains were recovered from wrappings, clothes, bones and soil samples, and were identified at different taxonomic levels depending on the stage of conservation. The dominant taxon was the muscid fly Ophyra aenescens (Wiedemann). The relationships among the identified taxa and the moving of the corpse, from the burial context to the cemetery deposit, are discussed and used to create a hypothetical colonization sequence after death. The application of entomological data to anthropological research can provide valuable information for the interpretation of taphonomic processes and burial contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental study has been conducted on the effects of distance variation on the impingement process of compressible vortex rings on a stationary solid wall. An experimental incident Mach number of 1.61 was used. Qualitative and quantitative studies compared the impingement and interaction flow characteristics of a compressible vortex ring with a stationary, solid, smooth surface at three distances: 1.66, 3.33, and 5.00 inner diameters. The three distances corresponded to an under-developed vortex ring (1.66 inner diameters), a vortex ring at its development threshold (3.33 inner diameters), and a fully developed one (5.00 inner diameters). Qualitative schlieren results showed that the surface distance affected the shock/vortex interaction process along with the impingement process of the vortex ring and the flow structure of its trailing jet. Quantitative data were extrapolated to evaluate the propagation velocity of the vortex ring prior to impingement. The boundary layer thickness was also estimated. Particle image velocimetry studies showed the main and secondary vortices to have opposite vorticity, with the magnitude of the vorticity of the secondary vortices being approximately half of that of the main vortex. Surface pressure results reveal the symmetrical properties of the impinging flow, along with a direct correlation between the maximum pressure measured at the instant the vortex ring impingement and an increase in surface distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An experimental study has been conducted on the impingement of compressible vortex rings on stationary, inclined, smooth surfaces. Four surface angle inclinations were evaluated: 90° (perpendicular to the flow longitudinal axis), 75°, 60°, and 45°. The flow was assumed axisymmetric for the 90° benchmark case. A single pressure ratio of ∼4 was used, corresponding to an experimental incident shock wave Mach number of ∼1.31, generating a shock-free compressible vortex ring. Results showed two main flow processes: the interaction of the reflected shock wave with the approaching vortical structure, and the impingement of the vortex ring on the surface. At surface inclination angles other than 90°, these processes are asymmetrical and the shape of the reflected shock is modified by the approaching vortex ring. The lower outer section of the reflected shock wave is initially diffracted by the lower core of the vortex ring, its central section is then captured by the central section of the torus, and ultimately the upper outer section is diffracted by the upper core. The vortex ring subsequently impinges on the surface with the lower core impacting first, undergoing an asymmetrical stretching and deformation. Flow field studies showed an initial decrease in velocity magnitude and vorticity field as the flow transitioned from a symmetrical to an asymmetrical impingement, possibly due to the uneven formation of the boundary layer. The velocity magnitude and vorticity field of the upper core subsequently increase again, as a result of the upwards deflection of the flow. Oppositely, the lower core is seen to dissipate. Surface pressure measurements confirmed the asymmetry in the flow development. As the surface angle is varied, the pressure at the central measurement location is seen to decrease as the position of the stagnation point is altered. An interesting feature within the surface measurements is a strong lateral acceleration due to the formation of vortex lines which roll around the main vortex core. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A study of the targeted energy transfer (TET) phenomenon between an acoustic resonator and a thin viscoelastic membrane has recently been presented in the paper [R. Bellet et al., Experimental study of targeted energy transfer from an acoustic system to a nonlinear membrane absorber, Journal of Sound and Vibration 329 (2010) 2768–2791], providing a new path to passive sound control in the low frequency domain where no efficient dissipative device exists. This paper presents experimental results showing that a loudspeaker used as a suspended piston working outside its range of linearity can also be used as a nonlinear acoustic absorber. The main advantage of this technology of absorber is the perspective to adjust independently the device parameters (mass, nonlinear stiffness and damping) according to the operational conditions. To achieve this purpose, quasi-static and dynamic tests have been performed on three types of commercial devices (one with structural modifications), in order to define the constructive characteristics that it should present. An experimental setup has been developed using a one-dimensional acoustic linear system coupled through a box (acting as a weak spring) to a loudspeaker used as a suspended piston acting as an essentially nonlinear oscillator. The tests carried out on the whole vibro-acoustic system have showed the occurrence of the acoustic TET from the acoustic media to the suspended piston and demonstrated the efficiency of this new kind of absorber at low frequencies over a wide frequency range. Moreover, the experimental analyses conducted with different NES masses have confirmed that it is possible to optimize the noise absorption with respect to the excitation level of the acoustic resonator. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Indoor air quality has an important role as health determinant; it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. The present paper investigates the wind-forced natural ventilation rates of an office as observed with tracer decay, according to ISO 16000-8:2007 Standard, both with an experimental and numerical procedure; experimental data were used to validate the numerical method. Moreover the only infiltration rate case was analyzed. Natural ventilation was created by opening the window and the door of the office. A simulation model of the room was carried out by using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code Fluent. The experimental set up of the procedure was developed by a portable gas chromatograph. In both the numerical and experimental approach the mean age of air linking to ventilation efficiency was calculated. The defined experimental procedure can be applied to different situations, in order to evaluate the efficiency of both natural and forced ventilation existing systems. When the ventilation is due to the opening of the window and the door, the simulation results are in a good agreement with the experimental ones, therefore the model could be applied to different situations, in order to reduce costs and time in the evaluation of indoor air quality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An experimental study has been conducted on the formation and propagation of coaxial vortex loops using a shock tube facility. The study aimed at evaluating the flow characteristics of pairs of corotating vortex rings that generate the leapfrogging phenomenon. The driver and driven gas of the shock tube were air. Three driver pressures were used (4, 8, and 12 bars) with the driven gas being at ambient conditions. The Mach numbers of the shock wave generated inside the shock tube were 1.34, 1.54, and 1.66, respectively. The sudden expansion present at the diaphragm location effectively decreased the Mach number value of the traveling shock wave. Results showed that a pair of vortex rings staggered with respect to time and with the same direction rotation lead to leapfrogging. Results also indicated that the number of leapfrogging occurrences is related to the Reynolds number of the vortex ring pairs with a decrease in leapfrogs at higher Reynolds numbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Safety is one of the key issues of future automobile development. Car maker as well as suppliers need to prove that, despite increasing complexity, their electronic systems will deliver the required functionality safely and reliably. Future development and integration of these functionalities will even strengthen the need of safe system development processes and the possibility to provide evidence that all reasonable safety objectives are satisfied. Obviously with the trend of increasing complexity, there are increasing risks from systematic failures and random hardware faults that could impact negatively on vehicle safety. Safety relevant systems (such as advanced driving assistance and vehicle dynamic control units) require microcontrollers able to guarantee safety and availability with an acceptable cost. Safety must be achieved with respect to both systematic and hardware random faults, including soft-errors and common-cause failures. To provide availability, efficient and fast fault detection mechanisms shall be combined with infrastructures able to collect error events with enough details to allow reactions by the remaining hardware and the operating system. Costs shall be minimized by introducing as much robustness as needed and not more: this shall be done by avoiding unnecessary redundancies and reducing at the minimum the impact on system performances, therefore maximizing the usage of the available resources. This paper will give a short introduction on main concept of functional safety and ISO/DIS 26262, underlining the impact of such requirements on microprocessors and microcontrollers design. Some examples will be given on current approaches used to answer ISO/DIS 26262 requirements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Heterozygosity for p.Cys282YTyr is not ordinarily associated with a hemochromatosis phenotype, unless associated in the compound heterozygous state with other HFE mutations. The aims of the study were to identify factors responsible for iron overload in patients who were only heterozygous for p.Cys282Tyr at first genetic testing. Since 2001, twelve p.Cys282Tyr heterozygous patients with iron overload, defined by increased transferrin saturation, serum ferritin and hepatic iron stores, were identified. Four patients showed rare nonsense or missense HFE mutations in the compound heterozygous state with p.Cys282Tyr. One mutation (p.Gln233X) was never described before. The other 8 patients did not carry any other causal mutations in iron-related genes, but showed a very high prevalence of hepatic steatosis and steato-hepatitis, and metabolic alterations. Serum ferritin levels did not differ between the two groups, but transferrin saturation, hepatic iron amount and distribution significantly did. These last indices should be then strongly considered to decide for additional genetic characterization in p.Cys282Tyr heterozygotes. Our results also highlights the influence of metabolic alterations on serum iron indices and pattern of hepatic iron accumulation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The aim of this study was to search for SLC40A1 mutations in iron overloaded patients, which tested negative for HFE mutations and other iron-related genes. After a careful differential diagnosis, we selected 56 patients with unexplained iron overload whose phenotype could suggest the ferroportin disease. Iron overload was assessed by liver biopsy or by superconducting quantum interference device. SLC40A1 exons and intron–exon boundaries were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and sequenced. We also evaluated the presence of the insulin-resistance hepatic iron overload and of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Iron status was assessed in 44 families. We identified two novel mutations (D157N and V72F) at the heterozygous state in two probands. Phenotype heterogeneity was observed in both families, suggesting variable penetrance and expression. Including the two affected ones, 25 of the 44 families (57%) available for the iron study had one or more relatives with increased serum iron indices. Our findings not only suggest that the presence of major alterations of serum iron parameters in probands’ relatives is a main criteria to improve the power of the genetic testing for ferroportin disease but also indicate that a number of patients exists in which the etiology of iron overload remains still undefined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental investigation into noise reduction of supersonic jets through nozzle trailing-edge modifications was conducted, whereby far-field acoustic measurements were captured for two different stepped nozzles under two distinct under-expanded conditions. When compared to a baseline nozzle, results show that stepped nozzles lead to significant noise reductions at certain polar and azimuthal angles. In particular, a maximum noise reduction of 6 dB is observed for the longest stepped nozzle at a nozzle-pressure-ratio of 4 and 0° azimuthal angle. Spectral analysis shows that the noise reduction is mainly due to reduction in broadband shock associated noise and elimination of jet screech phenomenon. Abrupt changes in nozzle lip lengths of the stepped nozzles appear to disrupt acoustic feedback loop, thus resulting in screech cessation. Qualitative schlieren imaging and quantitative schlieren measurements were subsequently performed to correlate the shock structures and density gradient fields with the resulting noise components. Unlike those produced by the baseline nozzle, shock structures generated by the stepped nozzles are highly irregular and the jet plumes undergo discernible deflections. Lastly, the reduction in broadband shock associated noise is related to the lower shock strengths, as demonstrated by the density gradient profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An inexpensive apparatus for measuring the density of a small quantity of powdered material at an accuracy of 1% or better is presented. Since the working medium is a gas, the density of air or solvent sensitive samples can easily be measured with this apparatus in the ambient atmosphere of a glove box. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Novel shock structure reconstruction technique based on schlieren and visual hull. • Prior knowledge of global velocity or density field not required for reconstruction. • Achieved high resolution and 2.5% average error in reconstructed shock structures. • Successful reconstruction of axisymmetric and asymmetric shock structures. • Relative to current methods, proposed technique is fast, robust and easy to apply. Abstract Three-dimensional shock structures produced by Mach 1.45 supersonic bevelled jets were digitally reconstructed based on schlieren photography and a voxel-based visual hull technique. By taking advantage of the strong edge features commonly found in schlieren images of shock waves, the proposed technique demonstrates the possibility of performing shock wave reconstruction in supersonic jet applications without prior knowledge of the global density or velocity field. Semi-synthetic camera parameters were introduced as a method to circumvent camera calibration issues faced in the reconstruction procedure. This is key to achieving accurate and high-resolution reconstructed shock waves for both axisymmetric and asymmetric test cases with an average of 2.5% error when validated against raw schlieren images. When applied to bevelled jets with non-uniform nozzle exit geometries, an additional assumption was made to address the problem of schlieren line-of-sight blockage by the non-conventional nozzle, and reconstruction errors were found to be larger near regions of poorer shock wave contrast. Current results indicate that the technique is robust and fast during image calibration and processing, with accuracy of reconstructed shock waves in both conventional and non-conventional nozzles strongly dependent on shock wave contrast. Compared to existing techniques that can be used to reconstruct 3D shock structures, the proposed technique has the advantage of being totally non-intrusive as compared to point or particle-based measurements, requires significantly less computation than tomographic methods, offers high resolution reconstruction even with limited camera resolution and projected schlieren views, and is easy and cost effective to implement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study presents the first results of a project on alexythymia and emotional connections in a sample of 8 patients with EDs. The project aims to evaluate changes in emotional expressions through the language used, by means of the Italian measure of the referential process. Changes in the alexithymic condition will be examined through the outcome and qualitative analysis of the psychotherapeutic process. Method: 25 verbatim transcribed psychotherapeutic sessions were analyzed and correlated with TAS20, EDI-2, PBI, BUT, SWAP200, and between these and the narrative indices of the IDAAP. Results: The relation between TAS20 and PBI supports a link between alexythymia and parenting styles: neglect and overprotection seem to contribute to difficulties in forming emotional connections. The positive correlation found between the TAS20 and some EDI2 subscales indicates a tendency to express misunderstood stimuli by means of the body. A positive correlation between MHIWRAD2 and TAS20 may suggest strong phases of emotional activation due to emotional dysregulation. The analysis of the significant correlations between the PBI and the RA measures indicate that parenting styles are related to language. A positive correlation between the IWRAD indices and maternal overprotectiveness was found: maternal overprotectiveness may be associated to strong emotional activation which is in turn characterized by emotional dysregulation. The associations between the narrative indices and the high functioning measure of the SWAP200 suggest that the reflexive components is related to high functioning; emotional dysregulation, as expressed by the variability in RA peaks, seems to be connected to low functioning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article presents a case study related to allergic contact conjunctivitis without eyelid involvement. Allergic contact conjunctivitis is common in ophthalmology, preservatives being the most frequent sensitzers. A 72-year-old woman, who had been using numerous ophthalmic preparations for chronic conjunctivitis, complained that it had worsened after instilling antibiotic eyedrops. Her eyelids were uninvolved. Although ophthalmic preparations that contain neomycin are widely prescribed, allergic contact conjunctivitis due to this antibiotic has only occasionally been reported in the literature.

An experimental study was conducted to investigate and compare the effects of beveled and double-beveled circular nozzles on supersonic jet screech at a nozzle pressure ratio of 5. In particular, near- and far-field microphone measurements and schlieren visualizations were utilized to look into selected acoustic and flow features associated with jet screech radiation. Results show that beveled nozzles eliminate jet screech by producing asymmetric shock structures and instability waves that are mismatched in phase and amplitude. In contrast, double-beveled nozzles produce symmetric shock structures and amplify screech intensity, even when jet mixing effects have been significantly enhanced. It is further observed that amplified jet screeches produced by double-beveled nozzles are highly unsteady and undergo nonperiodic and stochastic temporal variations. Last but not least, double-beveled nozzles also significantly impact screech peak noise locations and confer different changes along different measurement planes. The present study demonstrates that not all beveled-type nozzles are able to mitigate jet screech, with nonoptimal designs amplifying it instead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Megamelus Fieber (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), frequently associated with aquatic plants, includes four species in South America. One of these species, Megamelus scutellaris Berg, was the only species previously recorded in Argentina. In recent explorations in wetlands of South America (northeastern Argentina, eastern Peru, and southeastern Brazil), five species on Pontederiaceae were studied: Megamelus electrae Muir, Megamelus iphigeniae Muir, M. scutellaris, Megamelus timehri Muir, and Megamelus bellicus Remes Lenicov & Sosa sp. nov. Male holotypes of M. electrae, M. iphigeniae, and M. timehri were redescribed; females of both winged forms and brachypterous males of M. electrae and M. iphigeniae, and the female allotype of M. timehri, were described for the first time. M. bellicus is new for science, and it is described based on the following pattern combination: front coloration, anal segment with asymmetrical spine-like processes, shape of pygofer and aedeagus processes in the male, length of the ovipositor, and shape of the valvifer VIII. A key to distinguish the five South American species, based on male mad female genitalia and the external morphology, is presented. This work is an update of knowledge on this genus, incorporating new specific diagnostic characters such as the length of ovipositor, shape and position of valvifer VIII, shape and denticulation of the first and second valvulae, and coloration pattern. Further information on host plants, geographical distribution, and biological data are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The five immature stages of Megamelus scutellaris Berg (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) are described and illustrated. The main characters that distinguish the various stages are body size, number of tarsomeres and tibial spines, color, and number of teeth on the metatibial spur. New biological data based on laboratory rearing and field observations show that M. scutellaris can carry out its biological cycle successfully on water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (Martius) Solms Laubach (Pontederiaceae). Mating occurs close to the water level and one to four eggs per scar are laid in apical portion of petiole and pseudolaminae. Ovipositional scars are recognized by three parallel marks. In addition, the efficient rearing in captivity, the high survivorship registered, and overwintering on only water hyacinth suggest M. scutellaris as a potential biocontrol agent of this invasive aquatic weed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To detect biocontrol agents of the invasive aquatic weed Eichhornia crassipes (Martins) Solms-Laubach (Pontederiaceae), surveys were conducted in the basins of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers in Argentina and the basin of the Amazon river in Peru and Brazil. Among the captured delphacids, Megamelus scutellaris Berg was the most abundant. Berg originally described this species on the basis of a macropterous female. In this contribution, the macropterous and brachypterous male and the brachypterous female are described, and the holotype female is redescribed. Some biological aspects are recorded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For liquid-sodium-cooled fast nuclear reactor systems, it is crucial to understand the behavior of lanthanides and other potential fission products in liquid sodium or other liquid metal solutions such as liquid cesium-sodium. In this study, we focus on lanthanide behavior in liquid sodium. Using ab initio molecular dynamics, we found that the solubility of cerium in liquid sodium at 1000 K was less than 0.78 at. %, and the diffusion coefficient of cerium in liquid sodium was calculated to be 5.57×10-9 m2/s. Furthermore, it was found that cerium in small amounts may significantly alter the heat capacity of the liquid sodium system. Our results are consistent with the experimental results for similar materials under similar conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) comprises a heterogeneous group of skin fragility disorders, classified in four major types based on skin cleavage level, i.e. EB simplex (EBS), junctional EB (JEB), dystrophic EB (DEB), Kindler EB, and in more than 30 subtypes defined by the combination of laboratory and clinical data, including disease course. Objectives: Our aims were to address whether, in the age of genomics, electron microscopy (TEM) has still a role in diagnosing EB, and whether the genotype per se may be sufficient to sub‐classify EB. Methods: A thoroughly characterized single‐centre EB case series was retrospectively evaluated to compare the power of TEM with immunofluorescence mapping (IFM) in establishing the EB type, and the ability of TEM, IFM and genetics to predict selected EB subtypes, i.e. severe dominant EBS (DEBS), severe JEB, severe recessive DEB (RDEB) and DEB self‐improving, using genetic and final diagnosis, respectively, as gold standard. Results: The series consisted of 87 patients, including 44 newborns, with a median follow‐up of 54 months. Ninety‐five mutations were identified in EB‐associated genes, including 25 novel variants. Both IFM and TEM were diagnostic in about all cases of JEB (21/21 for both) and DEB (43/44 for IFM, 44/44 for TEM). TEM sensitivity was superior to IFM for EBS (19/20 vs. 16/19). As to EB subtyping, IFM performed better than genetics in identifying severe JEB cases due to laminin‐332 defect (14/14 vs. 10/14) and severe RDEB (eight/nine vs. seven/nine). Genetics had no role in self‐improving DEB diagnosis; it almost equalled TEM in predicting severe DEBS (eight/nine vs. nine/nine) and enabled to discriminate dominant from recessive non‐severe DEB phenotypes and to identify special subtypes, e.g. DEBS with KLHL24 mutations. Conclusions: Transmission electron microscopy remains relevant to the diagnosis of EBS. IFM and genetics are essential and complementary tools in the vast majority of EB cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pectus Excavatum (PE) is the most common malformation of the sternum (90% of all cases). The Nuss procedure is minimally invasive: a stainless steel bar is slipped under the sternum, under thoracoscopic guidance, through 2 small incisions made on the side of the chest. The bar is then reversed, and the sternum restored to the normal anatomical position. Combined anesthesia could be an efficient technique for perioperative pain management and this article describes a successful analgesic management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moderately under-expanded jets issuing from a circular baseline and two bevelled circular nozzles impinging upon a perpendicular flat plate were experimentally studied. The effects of nozzle-pressure-ratio and separation distance variations on the standoff shock formations were investigated with schlieren visualizations and a visual hull based three-dimensional (3D) shock reconstruction technique to provide deeper insights into their 3D features. Across all flow configurations arising from the different combinations of these parameters, results indicated that the bevelled nozzles are effective in introducing asymmetry to the standoff shock geometries. Depending on the exact flow configuration, standoff shock locations may also undergo significant upstream displacements. In particular, the single-bevelled nozzle produces highly unsteady standoff shocks with asymmetric oscillation amplitudes along both side of the nozzle lip regions. Changes to the standoff shock key characteristics were observed to be sensitive towards the jet shock structures and reflection point modified by the bevelled nozzle exits. In particular, the strength and relative position of the reflection point are identified as the major contributing factors influencing the upstream static pressure distribution of the standoff shock, hence leading to the observed changes in the standoff shock behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-layer reliability is becoming the preferred solution when reliability is a concern in the design of a microprocessor-based system. Nevertheless, deciding how to distribute the error management across the different layers of the system is a very complex task that requires the support of dedicated frameworks for cross-layer reliability analysis. This paper proposes SyRA, a system-level cross-layer early reliability analysis framework for radiation induced soft errors in memory arrays of microprocessor-based systems. The framework exploits a multi-level hybrid Bayesian model to describe the target system and takes advantage of Bayesian inference to estimate different reliability metrics. SyRA implements several mechanisms and features to deal with the complexity of realistic models and implements a complete tool-chain that scales efficiently with the complexity of the system. The simulation time is significantly lower than micro-architecture level or RTL fault-injection experiments with an accuracy high enough to take effective design decisions. To demonstrate the capability of SyRA, we analyzed the reliability of a set of microprocessor-based systems characterized by different microprocessor architectures (i.e., Intel x86, ARM Cortex-A15, ARM Cortex-A9) running both the Linux operating system or bare metal in the presence of single bit upsets caused by radiation induced soft errors. Each system under analysis executes different software workloads both from benchmark suites and from real applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neuroimmunological disease that mainly affects young adults and leads to neurological disabilities. Depression, anxiety, cognitive dysfunction, and other psychiatric conditions have often been reported in patients with MS. Other, subtler aspects of psychosocial conditions in MS have been studied, but there is a paucity of papers on the subject. Remarkable degrees of aggression have been described in up to a quarter of patients with MS, but few studies have targeted this outcome in the psychopathological assessment on patients. The objective of the present study was to assess aggressiveness in patients with MS and compare with matched control subjects. Method: The present study included a group of 24 patients and 24 healthy controls matched for gender, age, and socioeconomic level. Patients with moderate or severe disability, anxiety, or depression were excluded. A validated tool was used for assessment of aggressive trait. Results: Aggressive traits were studied in patients and matched controls, and the results point to a very low level of aggressive tendency in patients with MS, in comparison with controls. Conclusion: The results from the present study do not confirm findings from other authors who had observed high levels of aggressive behavior in patients with MS. The authors are aware that exclusion of patients with moderate or severe disability, anxiety, or depression might have influenced the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The DeSyRe project builds on-demand adaptive and reliable Systems-on-Chips (SoCs). As fabrication technology scales down, chips are becoming less reliable, thereby incurring increased power and performance costs for fault tolerance. To make matters worse, power density is becoming a significant limiting factor in SoC design, in general. In the face of such changes in the technological landscape, current solutions for fault tolerance are expected to introduce excessive overheads in future systems. Moreover, attempting to design and manufacture a totally defect-/fault-free system, would impact heavily, even prohibitively, the design, manufacturing, and testing costs, as well as the system performance and power consumption. In this context, DeSyRe delivers a new generation of systems that are reliable by design at well-balanced power, performance, and design costs. In our attempt to reduce the overheads of fault-tolerance, only a small fraction of the chip is built to be fault-free. This fault-free part is then employed to manage the remaining fault-prone resources of the SoC. The DeSyRe framework is applied to two medical systems with high safety requirements (measured using the IEC 61508 functional safety standard) and tight power and performance constraints. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A complete four channel acquisition system for high-resolution spectroscopy has been designed and realized. The analog section is composed of four semi-Gaussian shaping amplifiers with two software-selectable shaping times. The shaping times (150 and 450 as) were chosen to perform either high rate or best resolution XRF measurements with state-of-the-art multielement silicon drift detector. The pulses' amplitudes are caught by four large- bandwidth peak-stretchers whose outputs are multiplexed into a single 10 MHz 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC). A field- programmable gate array (FPGA) operating at 24 MHz (or 48 Mhz) clock frequency controls the whole process and stores the four spectra in the on-chip RAM, thus guaranteeing a maximum counting rate per bin of 332 kcps and an overall counting rate in excess of 4 Mcps. The system interfaces the host PC by means of the enhanced parallel port with a custom made control software for data visuallzation and analysis as in a conventional MCA system. If more than four channels have to be managed, various boards can be operated in parallel on the same EPP bus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Dendritic cells (DCs) induce and regulate T-cell responses, and tolerogenic DCs can promote the development of regulatory T cells with suppressive activity. The possibility of manipulating DCs using different pharmacological or biological agents, enabling them to exert tolerogenic activities, could be exploited to better control a variety of chronic inflammatory conditions, from autoimmune diseases to allograft rejection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Phenylephrine hydrochloride is a sympathomimetic drug commonly used in opthalmology and otorhinolaryngology. A 50 year-old man with chronic otitis developed an acute vesicular dermatitis of the external auditory canal. Contact dermatitis of the ear canal is a common complication of the topical treatment of the otitis externa. Topical antibiotics and local anaesthetics are the most common sensitizers in otological preparations. Phenylephrine is an epinephrine analogue frequently used in opthalmic and otologic preparations for its mydriatic and vasoconstructive properties.

Short-time Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) is proposed as an image-based technique to study the transient jet screech characteristics of moderately under-expanded supersonic jets emanating from a circular baseline and two bevelled nozzles. Time-resolved schlieren imaging of turbulent flow structures were performed with an ultrahigh-speed schlieren setup. Short-time POD was performed by systematically sampling image-series with a short time delay, performing PODs and applying spectral analyses on the first POD mode coefficients, and plotting the peak frequencies from the resulting PSDs into a peak frequency-occurrence count histogram. The results are in good agreement with the near-field noise spectra and wavelet transform analysis of the microphone measurements, which revealed intermittent jet screech occurrences at St=0.25 for both baseline and 30° bevelled jets, while none was detected for the 60° bevelled jet. In particular, the occurrence counts of the frequency bins is proposed as a suitable parameter to characterize the intermittent nature of jet screech, with the frequency bin revealing the jet screech frequency if present. The present study demonstrates the advantage of short-time POD analysis on time-resolved schlieren images over traditional image-based POD methods, which includes computational gains from parallelization, the ability to handle much larger datasets and revealing insights into a transient flow and noise phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, by phylogenetic analysis, we identified an epidemiological cluster involving eight individuals diagnosed with acute hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection related to unprotected sexual intercourse in a restricted area of central Italy (time period: 2011–2014). Notably, these patients (six of eight Italians) were infected by subgenotype F1b, which is not commonly found in western countries. Ultra-deep pyrosequencing confirmed a superimposable composition of HBV quasi-species in these patients. Despite the availability of effective vaccination, this study highlights the importance of not underestimating the risk of HBV infection, of continuing to set up surveillance programmes for HBV infection, and of investigating the pathogenetic potential of these atypical genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the acute infectious lymphocytosis as a T cell lymphoproliferative syndrome. Symptoms of lymphoproliferative syndrome; Absence of lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly; Variations in the hemoglobin and platelet count in peripheral blood lymphocytosis.

The occurrence of aIIergic contact dermatitis due to povidone-iodine which is one of the most widely used iodophor. An iodophor is a complex of iodine and a carrier molecule which prolongs the effect of iodine solubility and its release when the latter is used as a germicide along with some ingredients. Povidone-iodine is also known as polyvinylpyrrolidone-iodine. The case was studied with two different patients who had chronic hand dermatitis and acute dermatitis respectively. In both cases patch tests were reported to be positive.