A numerical estimation of a RFID reader field and SAR inside a blood bag at UHF

In this paper, the effects of UHF electromagnetic fields produced by a RFID reader on a blood bag are evaluated numerically in several configurations. The results of the simulation, field level and distribution, specific absorption rate (SAR), and heating time show that an exposure to a typical reader field leads to a temperature increase smaller than 0.1 C and to a SAR smaller than 1 W/kg. As a consequence, no adverse biological effects occur during a typical UHF RFID reading cycle on a blood bag. Therefore, the blood contained in a bag traced using UHF-RFID is as safe as those traced using barcodes. The proposed analysis supports the use of UHF RFID in the blood transfusion supply chain

A case study for NoC based homogeneous MPSoC architectures

The many-core design paradigm requires flexible and modular hardware and software components to provide the required scalability to next-generation on-chip multiprocessor architectures. A multidisciplinary approach is necessary to consider all the interactions between the different components of the design. In this paper, a complete design methodology that tackles at once the aspects of system level modeling, hardware architecture, and programming model has been successfully used for the implementation of a multiprocessor network-on-chip (NoC)-based system, the NoCRay graphic accelerator. The design, based on 16 processors, after prototyping with field-programmable gate array (FPGA), has been laid out in 90-nm technology. Post-layout results show very low power, area, as well as 500 MHz of clock frequency. Results show that an array of small and simple processors outperform a single high-end general purpose processo

The New Youth of the In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy

The idea of in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and its possible ramifications were proposed at the very dawn of electron microscopy, but the translation from theory to practice encountered many technological setbacks, which hindered the feasibility of the most elaborated approaches until recent times. However, the several technological improvements achieved in the last 10–15 years filled this gap, allowing the direct observation of the dynamic response of materials to external stimuli under a vast range of conditions going from vacuum to gaseous or liquid environment. This resulted in a blossoming of the in situ TEM and scanning TEM (STEM) techniques to a new youth for a vast, growing range of applications, which cannot be rightfully detailed in a short span; therefore, this chapter should be intended as a guide highlighting a selection of the most inspiring, recently achieved results

Analysis of a Flexible Dual-Channel Octagonal Coil System for UHF MRI

Nowadays, MRI is focused on using ultra-high static magnetic fields (> 7 T) to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. The use of high fields, on the other hand, requires novel technical solutions as well as more stringent design criteria for specific absorption rate levels, reducing radiative effect and coil resistance. In this paper, two flexible RF coils for 7 T human magnetic resonance, and 298 MHz ultra-high frequency operations were analyzed and characterized. Imaging of lower human limbs is regarded as a case study. The lumped element theory and subsequent numerical simulations were used to fine-tune the single-coil element and the dual-coil array design, respectively. Here, we demonstrate how the shape, size, configuration, and presence of the sample influence the coil performance. The penetration depth of the B 1 -field and the specific absorption rate values have been determined numerically using two numerical surface phantoms: saline and a multilayer human tissue. A preliminary study in the presence of a saline solution phantom has been carried out to develop and validate the dual-coil system. The frequency response of the dual-coil array was measured to assess its robustness when coupled to twelve human volunteers. We found that our design is robust to variations in the anatomical properties of the human thighs, and hence to coil bending. The presented approach can be useful for the implementation of flexible devices with high sensitivity levels and low specific absorption rat

Misure di temperatura di rumore con diversi materiali, sulla copertura del Gregoriano di SRT

Lo scopo di questo lavoro è quello di valutare l’incremento della temperatura di rumore nei ricevitori banda K (18 - 26 GHz) e banda C (5.5 – 7.7 GHz), posizionati, rispettivamente, nel fuoco gregoriano e nella Beam waveguide del Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT), in seguito all’inserimento di una nuova protezione come copertura della Vertex room. La necessità di tale studio è dovuta alle criticità presentate dall’attuale materiale usato come protezione della stanza del fuoco gregoriano del radio telescopio. Il materiale di base attualmente in uso è lo Styrodur 3035CS, un polistirene espanso estruso che ha un bassissima attenuazione, come dimostrato dal suo notevole utilizzo nelle finestre dei diversi ricevitori sviluppati in questi anni all’INAF, ma con l’inconveniente di peggiorare le sue prestazioni col tempo a causa dei danni procurati dagli agenti atmosferici (quali raggi UV, pioggia, ghiaccio). Al fine di ridurre l’usura dello Styrodur, abbiamo testato l’utilizzo di diversi elementi protettivi superficiali come vernici, prodotti idrorepellenti e teli di Goretex e polietilene, stimando l’effetto di queste protezioni sulla temperatura di rumore del sistema. Per tale verifica è stata misurata la variazione della temperatura di sistema Tsys del radiotelescopio al variare del tipo di protezione utilizzato

Band structure engineering via piezoelectric fields in strained anisotropic CdSe/CdS nanocrystals

Strain in colloidal heteronanocrystals with non-centrosymmetric lattices presents a unique opportunity for controlling optoelectronic properties and adds a new degree of freedom to existing wavefunction engineering and doping paradigms. We synthesized wurtzite CdSe nanorods embedded in a thick CdS shell, hereby exploiting the large lattice mismatch between the two domains to generate a compressive strain of the CdSe core and a strong piezoelectric potential along its c-axis. Efficient charge separation results in an indirect ground-state transition with a lifetime of several microseconds, almost one order of magnitude longer than any other CdSe/CdS nanocrystal. Higher excited states recombine radiatively in the nanosecond time range, due to increasingly overlapping excited-state orbitals. k˙p calculations confirm the importance of the anisotropic shape and crystal structure in the buildup of the piezoelectric potential. Strain engineering thus presents an efficient approach to highly tunable single- and multiexciton interactions, driven by a dedicated core/shell nanocrystal design.F.R., J.I.C. and J.P. acknowledge financial support from MINECO project CTQ2011-27324 and UJI-Bancaixa P1-1B2011-01. S.B. and F.M. acknowledge support from the Cariplo Foundation (2012-0844). S.B. thanks the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 324603 for financial support (EDONHIST). The present publication is further realized with the support of the Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (IONX-NC4SOL, I.M.). K. Miszta (IIT, Italy) is acknowledged for initial discussions on the RIR samples, and W. Langbein (Cardiff University, UK) for enlightening conversations on strain and the Stark effect in CdSe/CdS superlattices

Multipathogen infections and multifactorial pathogenesis involved in noble pen shell (Pinna nobilis) mass mortality events: Background and current pathologic approaches

Disease outbreaks in several ecologically or commercially important invertebrate marine species have been reported in recent years all over the world. Mass mortality events (MMEs) have affected the noble pen shell (Pinna nobilis), causing its near extinction. Our knowledge of the dynamics of diseases affecting this species is still unclear. Early studies investigating the causative etiological agent focused on a novel protozoan parasite, Haplosporidium pinnae, although further investigations suggested that concurrent polymicrobial infections could have been pivotal in some MMEs, even in the absence of H. pinnae. Indeed, moribund specimens collected during MMEs in Italy, Greece, and Spain demonstrated the presence of a bacteria from within the Mycobacterium simiae complex and, in some cases, species similar to Vibrio mediterranei. The diagnostic processes used for investigation of MMEs are still not standardized and require the expertise of veterinary and para-veterinary pathologists, who could simultaneously evaluate a variety of factors, from clinical signs to environmental conditions. Here, we review the available literature on mortality events in P. nobilis and discuss approaches to define MMEs in P. nobilis. The proposed consensus approach should form the basis for establishing a foundation for future studies aimed at preserving populations in the wild.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Periprocedural outcome in patients undergoing left atrial appendage occlusion with the Watchman FLX device: The ITALIAN-FLX registry

IntroductionThe Watchman FLX is a novel device for transcatheter left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) specifically designed to improve procedural performance in more complex anatomies with a better safety profile. Recently, small prospective non-randomized studies have shown good procedural success and safety compared with previous experiences. Results from large multicenter registries are needed to confirm the safety and efficacy of the Watchman FLX device in a real-world setting.MethodsItalian FLX registry is a retrospective, non-randomized, multicentric study across 25 investigational centers in Italy including consecutive patients undergoing LAAO with the Watchman FLX between March 2019 and September 2021 (N = 772). The primary efficacy outcome was the technical success of the LAAO procedure (peri-device flow ≤ 5 mm) as assessed by intra-procedural imaging. The peri-procedural safety outcome was defined as the occurrence of one of the following events within 7 days after the procedure or by hospital discharge: death, stroke, transient ischemic attack, major extracranial bleeding (BARC type 3 or 5), pericardial effusion with tamponade or device embolization.ResultsA total of 772 patients were enrolled. The mean age was 76 ± 8 with a mean CHA2DS2-VASc score of 4.1 ± 1.4 and a mean HAS-BLED score of 3.7 ± 1.1. Technical success was achieved in 772 (100%) patients with the first device implanted in 760 (98.4%) patients. A peri-procedural safety outcome event occurred in 21 patients (2.7%) with major extracranial bleeding being the most common (1.7%). No device embolization occurred. At discharge 459 patients (59.4%) were treated with dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT).ConclusionsThe Italian FLX registry represents the largest multicenter retrospective real-world study reporting periprocedural outcome of LAAO with the Watchman FLX device, resulting in a procedural success rate of 100% and a low incidence of peri-procedural major adverse events (2.7%)

Exploitation of bi-static radar architectures for LEO Space Debris surveying and tracking: The BIRALES/BlRALET project

The space debris population is continuously growing and it represents a potential issue for spacecraft. New collisions could exponentially rise the amount of debris and so the level of risk represented by these objects. The monitoring of space environment is necessary to prevent new collisions. For this reason, radar measurements are relevant, in particular to observe objects in Low Earth Orbit. Regarding the Italian contribution, there are two radars based on two different radio telescopes as receivers: the BIRALES and the BIRALET systems. We propose a detailed description of these systems, focusing on hardware and software components that permit to perform range and range rate measurement of resident space objects