Absorption of Impact Forces by Three Types of Equestrian Protective Vests

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Orthorexia nervosa: A preliminary study with a proposal for diagnosis and an attempt to measure the dimension of the phenomenon

Aim: To propose a diagnostic proceeding and to try to verify the prevalence of orthorexia nervosa (ON), an eating disorder defined as "a maniacal obsession for healthy foods". Materials and Methods: 404 subjects were enrolled. Diagnosis of ON was based on both the presence of a disorder with obsessive-compulsive personality features and an exaggerated healthy eating behaviour pattern. Results: Of the 404 subjects examined, 28 were found to suffer from ON (prevalence of 6.9%). The analysis of the physiological characteristics, the social-cultural and the psychological behaviour that characterises subjects suffering from ON shows a higher prevalence in men and in those with a lower level of education. The orthorexic subjects attribute characteristics that show their specific "feelings" towards food ("dangerous" to describe a conserved product, "artificial" for industrially produced products, "healthy" for biological produce) and demonstrate a strong or uncontrollable desire to eat when feeling nervous, excited, happy or guilty

CT imaging findings of abdominopelvic vascular compression syndromes: what the radiologist needs to know

Abdominopelvic vascular compression syndromes include a variety of uncommon conditions characterized by either extrinsic compression of blood vessels by adjacent anatomical structures (i.e., median arcuate ligament syndrome, nutcracker syndrome, May-Thurner syndrome) or compression of hollow viscera by adjacent vessels (i.e., superior mesenteric artery syndrome, ureteropelvic junction obstruction, ureteral vascular compression syndromes, portal biliopathy). These syndromes can be unexpectedly diagnosed even in asymptomatic patients and the predisposing anatomic conditions can be incidentally discovered on imaging examinations performed for other indications, or they can manifest with atypical abdominal symptoms and acute complications, which may lead to significant morbidity if unrecognized. Although computed tomography (CT) is an accurate noninvasive technique for their detection, the diagnosis remains challenging due to the uncommon clinical presentation and often overlooked imaging features. Dynamic imaging may be performed in order to evaluate patients with inconstant symptoms manifesting in a specific position. The purposes of this paper are to review the CT imaging findings of abdominopelvic vascular compression syndromes, correlating with anatomical variants and to provide key features for the noninvasive imaging diagnosis

Hepatocellular carcinoma with macrovascular invasion: Multimodality imaging features for the diagnosis

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is frequently associated with macrovascular invasion of the portal vein or hepatic veins in advanced stages. The accurate diagnosis of macrovascular invasion and the differentiation from bland non-tumoral thrombus has significant clinical and management implications, since it narrows the therapeutic options and it represents a mandatory con-traindication for liver resection or transplantation. The imaging diagnosis remains particularly challenging since the imaging features of HCC with macrovascular invasion may be subtle, espe-cially in lesions showing infiltrative appearance. However, each radiologic imaging modality may provide findings suggesting the presence of tumor thrombus rather than bland thrombus. The purpose of this paper is to review the current guidelines and imaging appearance of HCC with macrovascular invasion. Knowledge of the most common imaging features of HCC with macro-vascular invasion may improve the diagnostic confidence of tumor thrombus in clinical practice and help to guide patients’ management

Design and Overview of the Solar Cruiser Mission

Solar Cruiser is a Small Satellite Technology Demonstration Mission (TDM) of Opportunity to mature solar sail propulsion technology to enable near-term, high-priority breakthrough science missions as defined in the Solar and Space Physics Decadal Survey. Solar Cruiser will demonstrate a “sailcraft” platform with pointing control and attitude stability comparable to traditional platforms, upon which a new class of Heliophysics missions may fly instruments. It will show sailcraft operation (acceleration, navigation, station keeping, inclination change) immediately applicable to near-term missions, and show scalability of sail technologies such as the boom, membrane, deployer, reflectivity control devices for roll momentum management to enable more demanding missions, such as high inclination solar imaging. A team led by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is developing the Solar Cruiser with partners Ball Aerospace and Roccor (a Redwire company). Ball is responsible for procuring a Venus class microsat commercial bus from Blue Canyon Technologies, defining all necessary mission-specific modifications, and performing the Integration and Test of the Bus with the Solar Sail System to form the completed sailcraft. Ball will also procure the IRIS radio from Space Dynamics Laboratories and develop the adapter and harnessing that interfaces to the Launch Vehicle. Roccor will integrate the Solar Sail System (SSS), including the sail membrane from their Subcontractor NeXolve, the Triangular, Rollable and Collapsible (TRACTM) Boom, the LISAs (Lightweight Integrated Solar Arrays) and momentum management Reflective Control Devices (RCDs), before providing it to Ball for Integration and Test. Roccor will also build the Active Mass Translator (AMT), which moves the Sail relative to the Bus to control momentum in the pitch/yaw directions, while the RCDs provide roll control. MSFC manages the overall mission and provide the specialized solar sail attitude determination and control system (SSADCS) algorithms and software necessary to fly the sailcraft. The SSADCS software created for this mission will autonomously operate the AMT and RCDs to provide complete momentum control of the sailcraft. Bus-mounted Electric Propulsion thrusters are included to provide auxiliary momentum management, if required. Solar Cruiser will launch as a secondary payload with NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP)in early 2025. The sailcraft will separate from the launch vehicle on a near-L1 trajectory (Sun-Earth Lagrangian Point 1; sunward of L1 along the Sun-Earth Line) and complete its primary mission in 11 months or less. During this time, Solar Cruiser will complete and fully characterize a large solar sail deployment (1,653 square meters/17,793 square feet), sail operation, station keeping in a sub-L1 halo orbit, inclination changes, and a roll demonstration. This paper provides a mission and sailcraft design overview, including objectives and planned operations of the technology demonstration mission. It presents the latest findings from technology maturation efforts, major program design reviews, and initial launch integration planning

Spin Glasses: Model systems for non-equilibrium dynamics

Spin glasses are frustrated magnetic systems due to a random distribution of ferro- and antiferromagnetic interactions. An experimental three dimensional (3d) spin glass exhibits a second order phase transition to a low temperature spin glass phase regardless of the spin dimensionality. In addition, the low temperature phase of Ising and Heisenberg spin glasses exhibits similar non-equilibrium dynamics and an infinitely slow approach towards a thermodynamic equilibrium state. There are however significant differences in the detailed character of the dynamics as to memory and rejuvenation phenomena and the influence of critical dynamics on the behaviour. In this article, some aspects of the non-equilibrium dynamics of an Ising and a Heisenberg spin glass are briefly reviewed and some comparisons are made to other glassy systems that exhibit magnetic non-equilibrium dynamics.Comment: To appear in J. Phys.: Condens. Matter, Proceedings from HFM2003, Grenobl

β-hexachlorocyclohexane: a small molecule with a big impact on human cellular biochemistry

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) belong to a heterogeneous class of organic compounds blacklisted by the Stockholm Convention in 2009 due to their harmful impact on human health. Among OCPs, β-hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH) is one of the most widespread and, at the same time, poorly studied environmental contaminant. Due to its physicochemical properties, β-HCH is the most hazardous of all HCH isomers; therefore, clarifying the mechanisms underlying its molecular action could provide further elements to draw the biochemical profile of this OCP. For this purpose, LNCaP and HepG2 cell lines were used as models and were subjected to immunoblot, immunofluorescence, and RT-qPCR analysis to follow the expression and mRNA levels, together with the distribution, of key biomolecules involved in the intracellular responses to β-HCH. In parallel, variations in redox homeostasis and cellular bioenergetic profile were monitored to have a complete overview of β-HCH effects. Obtained results strongly support the hypothesis that β-HCH could be an endocrine disrupting chemical as well as an activator of AhR signaling, promoting the establishment of an oxidative stress condition and a cellular metabolic shift toward aerobic glycolysis. In this altered context, β-HCH can also induce DNA damage through H2AX phosphorylation, demonstrating its multifaceted mechanisms of action

Light-driven oxidation of polysaccharides by photosynthetic pigments and a metalloenzyme

Oxidative processes are essential for the degradation of plant biomass. A class of powerful and widely distributed oxidative enzymes, the lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs), oxidize the most recalcitrant polysaccharides and require extracellular electron donors. Here we investigated the effect of using excited photosynthetic pigments as electron donors. LPMOs combined with pigments and reducing agents were exposed to light, which resulted in a never before seen 100-fold increase in catalytic activity. In addition, LPMO substrate specificity was broadened to include both cellulose and hemicellulose. LPMO enzymes and pigment derivatives common in the environment of plant-degrading organisms thus form a highly reactive and stable light-driven system increasing the turnover rate and versatility of LPMOs. This light-driven system may find applications in biotechnology and chemical processing

Multiorgan Involvement in SARS-CoV-2 Infection: The Role of the Radiologist from Head to Toe

Radiology plays a crucial role for the diagnosis and management of COVID-19 patients during the different stages of the disease, allowing for early detection of manifestations and complications of COVID-19 in the different organs. Lungs are the most common organs involved by SARS-CoV-2 and chest computed tomography (CT) represents a reliable imaging-based tool in acute, subacute, and chronic settings for diagnosis, prognosis, and management of lung disease and the evaluation of acute and chronic complications. Cardiac involvement can be evaluated by using cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA), considered as the best choice to solve the differential diagnosis between the most common cardiac conditions: acute coronary syndrome, myocarditis, and cardiac dysrhythmia. By using compressive ultrasound it's possible to study the peripheral arteries and veins and to exclude the deep vein thrombosis, directly linked to the onset of pulmonary embolism. Moreover, CT and especially MRI can help to evaluate the gastrointestinal involvement and assess hepatic function, pancreas involvement, and exclude causes of lymphocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, and leukopenia, typical of COVID-19 patients. Finally, radiology plays a crucial role in the early identification of renal damage in COVID-19 patients, by using both CT and US. This narrative review aims to provide a comprehensive radiological analysis of commonly involved organs in patients with COVID-19 disease