Design of a 6-DoF Robotic Platform for Wind Tunnel Tests of Floating Wind Turbines

AbstractSophisticated computational aero-hydro-elastic tools are being developed for simulating the dynamics of Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWTs). The reliabilty of such prediction tools for designers requires experimental validation. To this end, due to the lack of a large amount of full scale data available, scale tests represent a remarkable tool. Moreover, due to the combined aerodynamic and hydrodynamic contributions to the dynamics of FOWTs, experimental tests should take into account both. This paper presents the design process of a 6-Degrees-of-Freedom robot for simulating the dynamics of FOWTs in wind tunnel scale experiments, as a complementary approach with respect to ocean wind-wave basin scale tests. Extreme events were considered for the definition of the robot requirements and performance. A general overview on the possible design solutions is reported, then the machine architecture as well as the kinematic and dynamic analysis is discussed. Also a motion task related to a 5-MW Floating Offshore Wind Turbine nominal operating condition was considered and then the ability of the robot to reproduce such motions verified in terms of maximum displacements, forces and power, to be within the design boundaries

Minimal inhibitory and Mutant prevention concentrations of enrofloxacin for Pasteurella multocida from rabbits affected by pasteurellosis

Pasteurella multocida is the agent of one of the most significant diseases in rabbits and it is associated with a heterogeneous clinical picture. Drugs belonging to the fluoroquinolones class are useful to control pasteurellosis. Among them, enrofloxacin is one of the most used molecules in rabbit industry and it is the only one fluoroquinolone registered for this species in Italy. Enrofloxacin adopted dosages are currently based on Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC). Nevertheless, MIC is not effective against possible pathogen sub-populations with lower susceptibility that may be selectively amplified, leading to possible problems of antibiotic resistance. Mutant Prevention Concentration (MPC) could represent an approach to minimize the risk of resistance selection in pathogens. The aim of this work was to test the sensitivity to enrofloxacin of P. multocida strains isolated from rabbits affected by pasteurellosis to evaluate if MPC-based dosages can represent a valid option. The study was performed on ten strains of P. multocida isolated from rabbits from two industrial farms of Puglia, South Italy. The sensitivity to enrofloxacin has been evaluated by MIC tests by microdilution method and MPC tests performed according to Marcusson et al. (2005) with minor modifications. The results of MIC and MPC tests have revealed that MPC dosages are on average 8,4 times higher than MIC dosages. This data highlight that, although MPC-based dosages are useful to prevent the selection of potential mutant, they could be higher than MIC-based ones, leading to possible issues related to their application in field, for example the potential risk of possible toxicity for animals and residues in meat

Retrospective analysis of iatrogenic diseases in cattle requiring admission to a veterinary hospital

Iatrogenic diseases in veterinary medicine are often related to malpractice or lack of skill. For this retrospective study, 4262 clinical records of cattle admitted to the veterinary teaching hospital of the University of Milan between 2005 and 2017 were analysed, and 121 cases (2.8 per cent), referred for an iatrogenic-related disease, were selected. The findings showed that iatrogenic diseases were more often caused by farmers (92.6per cent) than by bovine practitioners (7.4 per cent). Iatrogenic diseases were caused mainly by the improper administration of drugs (43.0 per cent), forced extraction during calving (19.8 per cent), forced milk or colostrum feeding, which was often performed by awkward administration using a nipple bottle (14.9 per cent) or by oral oesophageal tubing (15.7 per cent). Moreover, farmers often performed medical, nursing and zootechnical procedures without adequate training. The role of the practitioner is fundamental in farmer education. Clinicians, especially in some professional branches such as neonatology, should not delegate medical procedures to untrained farmers. Effective tutoring and good communication with farmers play a key role in dairy herd health and consequently in public health. This then can lead to a decrease in improper drug administration, the prevention of antibiotic resistance and the reduction of treatment costs

super long bridges with floating towers the role of multi box decks and hardware in the loop technology for wind tunnel tests

The super long fjord crossings in E39 Norwegian project pose new challenges to long span bridge design and construction technology. Proposed solutions should consider the adoption of bridge deck with super long spans or floating solutions for at least one of the towers, due to the relevant fjord depth. At the same time, the exposed fjord environment, possibly facing the open ocean, calls for higher aerodynamic stability performances. In relation to this scenario, the present paper addresses two topics: 1) the aerodynamic advantages of multi-box deck sections in terms of aeroelastic stability, and 2) an experimental setup in a wind tunnel able to simulate the aeroelastic bridge response including the wave forcing on the floating

The role of iatrogenic disease of cattle in admission to veterinary hospital

Iatrogenic diseases are due to negligence or malpractice (Pezza et al.,2008). In human medicine, these conditions are widely described (Weingart et al., 2000), mostly for insurance issues related to hospitalization, while in veterinary medicine are reported only occasional case reports. 4155 clinical records related to cattle admitted to the Clinic for Ruminants and Swine of the University of Milan between 2005 and 2017 were analyzed. Clinical cases that required admission because of an iatrogenic related disease were selected for this study. For case selection, 3 experienced veterinarians examined the clinical records, cross-compared the selection and pick 114 cases (2,7%). The iatrogenic diseases were primarily caused by farmers (93%) than veterinary practitioner (7%). Iatrogenic diseases were caused mostly by erroneous administration of drugs (47,4%), excessive traction at birth (17,5%), improper milk or colostrum administration, frequently performed by oroesophageal tubing (16,7%) or by forced administration using a nipple bottle (12,3%). As verified by our study, farmers often performs medical, nursing and zootechnical procedures without adequate competences and sometimes choose medical treatment for sick animals without professional consultation of veterinarians.The veterinarian rule is fundamental in farmer education. Clinicians, especially in some professional branches as neonatology, should be more responsible of their assignments, avoiding delegation of specific procedures to unskilled staff. The importance of communication in improving management and health in dairy farms has been recently demonstrated (Jansen and Lam, 2012; Jansen et al., 2010). Effective communication has a key role in dairy herd health and communication strategies are required to support diseases control programs (Lievaart et al., 2008). More attention to iatrogenic issue may have a positive impact on animal and public health. Moreover, a decrease of unnecessary and injurious drug administration may result in a reduction of treatment costs and in prevention of antibiotic resistance

Comparison of VIDAS and radioimmunoassay methods for measurement of cortisol concentration in bovine serum

Radioimmunoassay (RIA) is the "gold standard" method for evaluation of serum cortisol concentration. The VIDAS cortisol test is an enzyme-linked fluorescent assay designed for the MiniVidas system. The aim of this study was to compare the VIDAS method with RIA for measurement of bovine serum cortisol concentration. Cortisol concentrations were evaluated in 40 cows using both VIDAS and RIA methods, the latter as the reference method. A paired Student's t-test, Pearson's correlation analysis, Bland-Altman plot, and Deming regression analysis were used to compare the two methods. There was no statistically significant difference between mean serum cortisol concentrations measured by VIDAS or RIA methods (P = 0.6570). Both methods were able to detect significant differences in mean low and high cortisol concentrations (P < 0.00014 RIA and P < 0.0016 VIDAS). The correlation coefficient was low, but a Bland-Altman plot and Deming regression analysis show neither constant nor proportional error. The VIDAS method produced slightly higher values than RIA, but the difference was small and in no case did the mean value move the normal range. Results suggest that VIDAS method is suitable for the determination of bovine serum cortisol concentration in studies of large numbers of animals

Focused lung ultrasonography of calves (FLUC): valutazione di un protocollo rapido per la diagnosi ultrasonografica della broncopolmonite enzootica

Nella pratica buiatrica vengono comunemente usati gli score clinici che rappresentano un mezzo diagnostico pratico ed immediato per la diagnosi di broncopolmonite enzootica (BRD), nonostante la sensibilit\ue0 e la specificit\ue0 di questi score sia bassa (Calf respiratory score \u2013 CRS: sensibilit\ue0 55%, specificit\ue0 58%; auscultazione toracica: sensibilit\ue0 3-17%). L\u2019ecografia del torace, invece, \ue8 un esame molto accurato che permette di avere un quadro dei danni anatomici al polmone, difficilmente riscontrabili con altri mezzo diagnostici. Bench\ue9 il \u201clung ultrasonographic score system\u201d (LUS), rappresenti il \u201cgold standard\u201d per la valutazione delle alterazioni patologiche del polmone, questa tecnica si dimostra spesso indaginosa soprattutto per i veterinari che hanno poca dimestichezza con l\u2019ecografia toracica. Lo scopo di questo studio \ue8 stabilire la validit\ue0 di un protocollo ecografico rapido utilizzabile anche da veterinari senza esperienza in ecografia del torace, limitando la scansione a specifiche regioni dell\u2019area polmonare (lobi craniali) che vengono comunemente colpite in corso di BRD. Vitelli di razza frisona italiana con un\u2019et\ue0 compresa tra 30 giorni e 6 mesi, un punteggio di Calf respiratory score (CRS) maggiore a 5 e l\u2019assenza di patologie concomitanti sono stati selezionati come casi. Come controlli sono stati selezionati vitelli con le medesime caratteristiche ma con un punteggio del CRS inferiore a 5. Ogni vitello \ue8 stato sottoposto a visita clinica, a compilazione del CRS e a LUS. Immediatamente dopo la scansione ecografica, un operatore con scarsa esperienza ha effettuato la sola ecografia del V spazio intercostale di entrambi gli emitoraci (focused lung ultrasonography of calves; FLUC) utilizzando come marker ventrale la giunzione costo-condrale e la deviazione pleurica. Sono state calcolate sensibilit\ue0, specificit\ue0 e valori predittivi negativo e positivo per la presenza del consolidamento polmonare riscontrato tramite FLUC. Nello studio sono stati inclusi 26 vitelli (19 \u201cmalati\u201d e 7 \u201csani\u201d). Tramite esecuzione della FLUC nel gruppo \u201cmalati\u201d \ue8 stato possibile rinvenire consolidamento polmonare a livello del quinto spazio intercostale destro e/o sinistro in 17 animali su 19. I due animali che non presentavano consolidamento avevano numerosi artefatti a coda di cometa a livello del V spazio intercostale. Nel gruppo \u201csani\u201d la FLUC non ha riscontrato la presenza di consolidamento polmonare in nessun animale. Valutando gli animali tramite LUS, tutti gli animali inclusi nel gruppo \u201cmalati\u201d hanno mostrato uno score 65 2, mentre gli animali nel gruppo \u201csani\u201d hanno ottenuto uno score < 2. L\u2019accuratezza della FLUC, confrontata all\u2019ecografia totale dell\u2019area polmonare, \ue8 risultata essere pari all\u201985%. La sensibilit\ue0 \ue8 risultata essere 81% e la specificit\ue0 100%. Il valore predittivo positivo del test \ue8 stato pari al 100%, mentre il valore predittivo negativo 56%. La metodica FLUC si \ue8 rivelata essere una metodica pratica, rapida e facilmente eseguibile da un solo operatore, in grado di dare una buona rappresentazione della situazione polmonare. Pu\uf2 essere quindi considerato un ulteriore strumento per i veterinari di campo per raggiungere una precoce, accurata e corretta diagnosi della broncopolmonite enzootica con riferimenti riguardanti il tipo di lesioni, fondamentale per applicare un protocollo terapeutico efficace e risolutivo

Validation of an Engineered Cell Model for In Vitro and In Vivo HIF-1 alpha Evaluation by Different Imaging Modalities

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Incidence and cost of perioperative red blood cell transfusion for elective spine fusion in a high-volume center for spine surgery

Background: Spine fusion is a surgical procedure characterized by a significant perioperative bleeding, which often requires red blood cell (RBC) transfusion. Methods: The incidence and the cost of RBC transfusion were evaluated in all patients undergoing elective surgery for spine fusion in our Institution, a high-volume center for spine surgery, over a period of 3 years. The analysis specifically addressed the RBC transfusion need in all the different spine fusion procedures (atlanto-axial, cervical, dorsal, lumbar, revisions) with the different surgical approaches (anterior, posterior). Results: During the 3 years of observation, a total of 1.882 elective spine fusions were performed. More than half of the procedures (n = 964) were posterior lumbar fusions. Overall, 5% of the patients (n = 103) required RBC transfusion. The cervical fusions were the procedures with the lowest percentage of RBC need (0-5%), while the dorsal and the lumbar ones, with the anterior approach, represented the procedures with the highest rate of transfusion (29% and 25% respectively). More than 60 % of the RBC units were employed in the instance of posterior lumbar fusion, while a variable 1-10% of the units was used in each of the other procedures. The overall transfusion cost was of 46.000 euros, with a distribution of costs that paralleled the amount of units transfused for each procedure. Conclusions: Several surgical and patient factors may contribute to the perioperative blood loss. An accurate patient blood management, may efficiently decrease transfusion requirements and ultimately healthcare costs

Closed-loop Control of a Vibrant Duct Gravimetric Feeder

Abstract -In this work the control system for a gravimetric feeder with vibrant duct for polymer extrusion process has been designed. The plant considered in this paper is a blending machine that mixes up to six components: each component is measured by a dedicated vibrant duct. All components are mixed directly in the chambers of the extruder screw. The mass delivered by each meter is measured by a load cell. The control objectives are: accurate mass flow estimate on the basis of the weight; accurate mass flow regulation; minimum settling time; robustness of the controller parameters against the variation of material and structure of meter