Helicopter gust response characteristics including unsteady aerodynamic stall effects

The results of an analytical study to evaluate the general response characteristics of a helicopter subjected to various types of discrete gust encounters are presented. The analysis employed was a nonlinear coupled, multi-blade rotorfuselage analysis including the effects of blade flexibility and unsteady aerodynamic stall. Only the controls-fixed response of the basic aircraft without any aircraft stability augmentation was considered. A discussion of the basic differences between gust sensitivity of fixed and rotary wing aircraft is presented. The effects of several rotor configuration and aircraft operating parameters on initial gust-induced load factor and blade vibratory stress and pushrod loads are discussed

Impact of Sodium Layer variations on the performance of the E-ELT MCAO module

Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics systems based on sodium Laser Guide Stars may exploit Natural Guide Stars to solve intrinsic limitations of artificial beacons (tip-tilt indetermination and anisoplanatism) and to mitigate the impact of the sodium layer structure and variability. The sodium layer may also have transverse structures leading to differential effects among Laser Guide Stars. Starting from the analysis of the input perturbations related to the Sodium Layer variability, modeled directly on measured sodium layer profiles, we analyze, through a simplified end-to-end simulation code, the impact of the low/medium orders induced on global performance of the European Extremely Large Telescope Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics module MAORY.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, SPIE conference Proceedin

Disaster Resilience Assessment of Building and Transportation System

The paper presents a new methodology to assist decision-makers in the management of critical events such as earthquakes evaluating the recovery time, and the resilience index of a building system that is a component of the physical infrastructure dimension of the PEOPLES Resilience framework. The interdependencies between building system and transportation network in term of accessibility are modeled. Finally, the methodology has been implemented in a software and has been applied in two case studies: (a) the old medieval center of L’Aquila town and (b) the Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay area

EUS-guided rendezvous technique for difficult cannulation of an intradiverticular papilla

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p63 is a key regulator of iRHOM2 signalling in the keratinocyte stress response.

Hyperproliferative keratinocytes induced by trauma, hyperkeratosis and/or inflammation display molecular signatures similar to those of palmoplantar epidermis. Inherited gain-of-function mutations in RHBDF2 (encoding iRHOM2) are associated with a hyperproliferative palmoplantar keratoderma and squamous oesophageal cancer syndrome (termed TOC). In contrast, genetic ablation of rhbdf2 in mice leads to a thinning of the mammalian footpad, and reduces keratinocyte hyperproliferation and migration. Here, we report that iRHOM2 is a novel target gene of p63 and that both p63 and iRHOM2 differentially regulate cellular stress-associated signalling pathways in normal and hyperproliferative keratinocytes. We demonstrate that p63-iRHOM2 regulates cell survival and response to oxidative stress via modulation of SURVIVIN and Cytoglobin, respectively. Furthermore, the antioxidant compound Sulforaphane downregulates p63-iRHOM2 expression, leading to reduced proliferation, inflammation, survival and ROS production. These findings elucidate a novel p63-associated pathway that identifies iRHOM2 modulation as a potential therapeutic target to treat hyperproliferative skin disease and neoplasia

Assessing influence factors on daily ammonia and greenhouse gas concentrations from an open-sided cubicle barn in hot mediterranean climate

Measurement of gas concentrations constitutes basic knowledge for the computation of emissions from livestock buildings. Although it is well known that hot climate conditions increase gas emissions, in the literature the relation between gas concentrations from open barns and animalrelated parameters has not been investigated yet. This study aimed at filling this gap by evaluating daily gas concentrations within an open-sided barn in hot Mediterranean climate. The influence of microclimatic parameters (MC) and cow behavior and barn management (CBBM) were evaluated for ammonia (NH3 ), methane (CH4 ), and carbon dioxide (CO2 ) concentrations. Results showed that both MC and CBBM affected concentrations of NH3 (p < 0.02), CH4 (p < 0.001), and CO2 (p < 0.001). Higher values of NH3 concentration were detected during the cleaning of the floor by a tractor with scraper, whereas the lowest NH3 concentrations were recorded during animal lying behavior. Measured values of CO2 and CH4 were highly correlated (C = 0.87–0.89) due to the same sources of production (i.e., digestion and respiration). The different management of the cooling systems during the two observation periods reduced significantly CH4 concentrations in the barn when the cooling system in the feeding area was switched off. Based on methodological choices due to the specific barn typology, parameters related to animals can provide information on the variation of gas concentrations in the barn environment in hot climate conditions

Common features between neoplastic and preneoplastic lesions of the biliary tract and the pancreas

The bile duct system and pancreas show many similarities due to their anatomical proximity and common embryological origin. Consequently, preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of the bile duct and pancreas share analogies in terms of molecular, histological and pathophysiological features. Intraepithelial neoplasms are reported in biliary tract, as biliary intraepithelial neoplasm (BilIN), and in pancreas, as pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasm (PanIN). Both can evolve to invasive carcinomas, respectively cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Intraductal papillary neoplasms arise in biliary tract and pancreas. Intraductal papillary neoplasm of the biliary tract (IPNB) share common histologic and phenotypic features such as pancreatobiliary, gastric, intestinal and oncocytic types, and biological behavior with the pancreatic counterpart, the intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the pancreas (IPMN). All these neoplastic lesions exhibit similar immunohistochemical phenotypes, suggesting a common carcinogenic process. Indeed, CCA and PDAC display similar clinic-pathological features as growth pattern, poor response to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy and, as a consequence, an unfavorable prognosis. The objective of this review is to discuss similarities and differences between the neoplastic lesions of the pancreas and biliary tract with potential implications on a common origin from similar stem/progenitor cells

Is the adjustable lumbo-peritoneal shunt a valid option for managing symptomatic idiopathic intracranial hypertension? A case report of a multidisciplinary management

Background: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is a rare disorder, characterized by raised intracranial pressure with no recognizable cause. Headache, decreased visual acuity and papilledema are the main clinical manifestations. Case description: A case of a 27-year-old obese woman affected by idiopathic intracranial hypertension is reported. She was initially treated conservatively, but, due to severe headache refractory to medical therapy, an adjustable lumbo-peritoneal shunt was implanted. Conclusion: Gold standard treatment of idiopathic intracranial hypertension is not defined yet, but the lumbo-peritoneal shunt could represent a valid option for managing the disease in properly selected patients. Keywords: Lumbo-peritoneal shunt, Idiopathic intracranial hypertension, Pseudotumor cerebr

Observations of Isolated Neutron Stars with the ESO Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics Demonstrator

High-energy observations have unveiled peculiar classes of isolated neutron stars which, at variance with radio pulsars, are mostly radio silent and not powered by the star rotation. Among these objects are the magnetars, hyper-magnetized neutron stars characterized by transient X-ray/gamma-ray emission, and neutron stars with purely thermal, and in most cases stationary, X-ray emission (a.k.a., X-ray dim isolated neutron stars or XDINSs). While apparently dissimilar in their high-energy behavior and age, both magnetars and XDINSs have similar periods and unusually high magnetic fields. This suggests a tantalizing scenario where the former evolve into the latter.Discovering so far uninvestigated similarities between the multi-wavelength properties of these two classes would be a further step forward to establish an evolutionary scenario. A most promising channels is the near infrared (NIR) one, where magnetars are characterized by a distinctive spectral flattening with respect to the extrapolation of the soft X-ray spectrum.We observed the two XDINSs RX J0420.0-5022 and RX J1856.5-3754 with the Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics Demonstrator (MAD) at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) as part of the instrument guaranteed time observations program, to search for their NIR counterparts. Both RX J1856.5-3754 and RX J0420.0-5022 were not detected down to K_s ~20 and Ks ~21.5, respectively. In order to constrain the relation between XDINSs and magnetars it would be of importance to perform deeper NIR observations. A good candidate is 1RXS J214303.7+065419 which is the XDINS with the highest inferred magnetic field.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic