ExoMars Mission Analysis and Design - Launch, Cruise and Arrival Analyses

ExoMars is ESA s next mission to planet Mars. The probe is aimed for launch either in 2013 or in 2016. The project is currently undergoing Phase B1 studies under ESA management and Thales Alenia Space Italia project leadership. In that context, DEIMOS Space is responsible for the Mission Analysis and Design for the interplanetary and the entry, descent and landing (EDL) activities. The present mission baseline is based on an Ariane 5 or Proton M launch in 2013 of a spacecraft Composite bearing a Carrier Module (CM) and a Descent Module (DM). A back-up option is proposed in 2016. This paper presents the current status of the interplanetary mission design from launch up to the start of the EDL phase

Treatment and posttreatment effects induced by the Forsus appliance: A controlled clinical study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate treatment and posttreatment dentoskeletal effects induced by the Forsus device (FRD) in growing patients with Class II malocclusion in a retrospective controlled clinical study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-six Class II patients (mean [SD] age 12.3 [1.2] years) were treated consecutively with the FRD protocol and compared with a sample of 20 subjects with untreated Class II malocclusion (mean [SD] age 12.2 [0.9] years). Lateral cephalograms were taken at the beginning of treatment, at the end of comprehensive treatment (after 2.3 ± 0.4 years), and at a postretention period (after 2.3 ± 1.1 years from the end of comprehensive treatment). Statistical comparisons were carried out with the unpaired t-test and Benjamini-Hochberg correction (P < .05). RESULTS: After comprehensive treatment, the FRD sample showed a significant restriction of the sagittal maxillary growth together with a significant correction in overjet, overbite, and molar relationship. During the overall observation interval, the FRD group exhibited no significant sagittal or vertical skeletal changes, while significant improvements were recorded in overjet (−3.8 mm), overbite (−1.5 mm), and molar relationship (+3.7 mm). CONCLUSION: The FRD protocol was effective in correcting Class II malocclusion mainly at the dentoalveolar level when evaluated 2 years after the end of comprehensive treatment

KODAMA: an R package for knowledge discovery and data mining

Summary: KODAMA, a novel learning algorithm for unsuper-vised feature extraction, is specifically designed for analysing noisy and high-dimensional data sets. Here we present an R package of the algorithm with additional functions that allow improved interpretation of high-dimensional data. The pack-age requires no additional software and runs on all major plat-forms. Availability and Implementation: KODAMA is freely available from the R archive CRAN (http://cran.r-project.org). The soft-ware is distributed under the GNU General Public License (ver-sion 3 or later)

Chagas disease at the crossroad of international migration and public health policies: why a national screening might not be enough

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Switch to restoration therapy in a testosterone treated central hypogonadism with erythrocytosis

We describe a case of severe erythrocytosis caused by testosterone replacement therapy in a 66-year-old man affected with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) determining osteoporosis, resolved by switching to restoration therapy with clomiphene citrate. The patient complained fatigue, loss of libido and defective erections and a spontaneous vertebral fracture despite bisphosphonate therapy and vitamin D supplementation. The examinations proved isolated HH and he was therefore treated with testosterone gel with regression of specific manifestations but elevated hemoglobin and hematocrit values. Therefore, it was decided to switch to a restoration therapy with clomiphene citrate 25\u2009mg/die, which resulted in the resolution of symptoms without evident side effects. In a couple of months, the patient showed normalization of testosterone levels and increment of testicular volume. Since secondary hypogonadism is the consequence of an insufficient stimulation of the gonads by hypothalamic-pituitary axis, therapeutic approaches aimed to restore endogenous testosterone production should be considered in alternative to testosterone replacement, particularly if side effects intervene. Among these strategies, clomiphene citrate seems to have a high efficacy and safety profile also in the elderly with isolated HH and no evident pituitary lesion

Active-treatment effects of the Forsus fatigue resistant device during comprehensive Class II correction in growing patients

Objective: To evaluate the active-treatment effects of the Forsus fatigue resistant device (Forsus) during comprehensive correction of Class II malocclusion in growing patients. Methods: Fifty-four patients (mean age, 12.5 \ub1 1.2 years) with Class II division 1 malocclusion were consecutively treated with fixed app-liances in combination with Forsus. Lateral cephalograms were analyzed at the beginning of the fixed treatment (T1), Forsus insertion (T2), its removal (T3), and end of the comprehensive therapy (T4). Statistical comparisons were carried out by repeated-measures ANOVA with Tukey's post-hoc test (p < 0.05). Results: The overall therapeutic effects were mainly dentoalveolar and occurred mostly during the active treatment with Forsus (T2-T3, mean duration = 0.5 \ub1 0.1 years). The overjet and overbite decreased significantly (-3.5 and -1.5 mm, respectively) and the molar relationship improved by 4.3 mm. These changes were associated with significant retroclination of the maxillary incisors (-3.1\ub0), proclination and intrusion of the mandibular incisors (+5.0\ub0 and -1.5 mm, respectively), and mesialization of the mandibular molars (+2.0 mm). Conclusions: Forsus had mainly dentoalveolar effects and contributed largely to the overall therapeutic outcome