Optical coherence tomography angiography in Tuberous sclerosis complicated with macular choroidal neovascularization

This study describe the optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) features of a young patient with Tuberous sclerosis complicated with CNV unilateral macular choroidal neovascularization during the ranibizumab therapy. OCTA scans of macular region of right eye, revealed a dense microvascular network confirming the diagnosis of CNV. After four monthly intravitreal injections, OCTA revealed a decrease of size and activity of CNV. OCTA is a valid, non-invasive, dyeless, and reliable method that could improve the diagnosis and management of CNV in child with Tuberous sclerosis

A new paradigm of effective communication based on voice shapes

A new relational paradigm is proposed that is based on voice shapes, which represent the speech style used to establish an effective communication. The functional voice shapes are: "rounded", which means that a colloquial and empath communication is established; "triangular", which means transmitting energy, joy and interest; "squared", which highlights competence and solidity. The dysfunctional shapes are: "flat", a monotone style that does not capture the listener attention; "spiky", which is an aggressive style that transmits anger or blame towards the listener. An attempt has been made to match the voice shapes to acoustic features of the vocal signal, starting from parameters extracted from the recordings of 12 actors that have reproduced the voice shapes. Preliminary results allowed a subset of the estimated parameters to be identified that have shown good capabilities in discriminating the voice shapes. These parameters are related to distributions of voicing and silence periods, pitch and Cepstral Peak Prominence Smoothed. A web campaign has been also launched asking untrained subjects to "give their voice to the research". Even though only two voice shapes have been identified in this data set, a comparison with the parameters extracted from the trained subjects has shown a good agreement

Equilibrium of masonry vaults and open stairs

In this paper the unilateral model for masonry is applied to explain the equilibrium of vaults. In particular, the present study is concerned with the application of the safe theorem of limit analysis to spiral vaults, that is, curved constructions modeled as continuous unilateral bodies. On allowing for singular stresses in the form of line or surface Dirac deltas, statically admissible stress fields concentrated on surfaces (and on their folds) lying inside the masonry, are considered. The unilateral restrictions require that the membrane surface lies in between the extrados and intrados surfaces of the vault and that the stress function, representing the stress, be concave. Such a constraint is, in general, not satisfied on a given shape for given loads: in such a case, the shape has to be modified to fit the constraint. A particular application, namely the double spiral stair of Sanfelice’ palace in Naples, is considered

Comparison between a new thyroglobulin assay with the well-established Beckman Access immunoassay: A preliminary report

Objectives: Measurement of serum thyroglobulin (Tg) plays a key role in the post-thyroidectomy management of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). In this context, the performance of new-generation thyroglobulin assay has clinical implications in the follow-up of DTC patients. Aim of this study was to compare the new highly sensitive Liaison Tg II (Tg-L) with the well-established Tg Access assay (Tg-A). Materials and methods: A total of 91 residual serum samples (23 positive and 68 negatives for Tg auto-antibodies) were tested by the Beckman Access and Diasorin Liaison assays. Study samples were from 21 patients with pathologically proven DTC and control samples from 70 (16 patients with benign thyroid disease and 54 apparently healthy subjects). Results: Our results showed that Tg-L was highly correlated with Tg-A for both values ranging between 0.2 and 50 ng/mL (Pearson's r = 0.933 [95%CI 0.894-0.958], P <.001) and higher than 50 ng/mL (Pearson's r = 0.849 [95%CI 0.609-0.946], P <.001). For Tg values lower than 0.2 ng/mL, the overall concordance rate was 92%. Moreover, we tested 7 fine-needle aspiration washout fluids (FNA), showing an overall concordance rate in discriminating negative and positive of 100%. Finally, we found no interference by Tg auto-antibodies (TgAbs) for both Tg-L and Tg-A. Conversely, rheumatoid factor (RF) interferes with Tg-A, but not with Tg-L in one patient with no relapsing thyroid carcinoma. Conclusions: Liaison Tg II demonstrated a good correlation with Access Tg assay both for sera and FNAs. Further studies on larger population are needed to evaluate Tg-L clinical impact on DTC patient's follow-up

Experimentation of a PVA-Borax hydrogel for the removal of Paraloid B72® from artifacts of archaeological interest from the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, Italy

This paper shows the results of an experimentation aimed at the removal of a polymeric film of aged Paraloid B72® originally placed to protect some wooden artifacts belonging to the Egyptian collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN). The study was conducted on two shabtis dated to the 19th Dynasty and a sculpture of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris dating to the late period. Thanks to the collaboration between the National Archaeological Museum of Naples and the Laboratory of Restoration of Wooden Artifacts of the University of Naples Suor Orsola Benincasa, it was possible to conduct an in-depth study of the artifacts, from both an archaeological-historical point of view and from a conservation point of view. This led to the development of the above-mentioned experimentation and to the planning of a proper restoration intervention. The study and experimentation were supported by several diagnostic techniques. In a first stage, non-invasive investigations were carried out to study the execution technique and the state of conservation of the artifacts. This allowed the recognition of the wood species that constituted the three sculptures through optical microscopy, whereas IR reflectography, UV induced fluorescence and X-ray radiation (XRF) were conducted to identify the type and the chemical nature of the pigments. Based on the above analysis, different restoration strategies, based on the removal of Paraloid B72® through a methodology that would act in full respect of the wooden support of the artifacts, were considered. Pros and cons of the different methodologies applied in the recent past for the removal of aged Paraloid from artifact surfaces were analysed. A removal technique based on the use PVA-Borax hydrogel loaded with a solvent mixture was selected. Experiments were conducted to validate the effectiveness of the selected method

Microbial biofilm community structure and composition on the lithic substrates of Herculaneum Suburban Baths

In this work, we want to investigate the impact of different substrates and different environmental condition on the biofilm communities growing on plaster, marble, and mortar substrates inside the Herculaneum Suburban Baths. To do so, we measured environmental conditions and sampled biofilm communities along the walls of the baths and used culture-dependent and -independent molecular techniques (DGGE) to identify the species at each sampling sites. We used the species pool to infer structure and richness of communities within each site in each substrate, and confocal light scanning microscopy to assess the three-dimensional structure of the sampled biofilms. To gather further insights, we built a meta-community network and used its local realizations to analyze co-occurrence patterns of species. We found that light is a limiting factor in the baths environment, that moving along sites equals moving along an irradiation gradient, and that such gradient shapes the community structure, de facto separating a dark community, rich in Bacteria, Fungi and cyanobacteria, from two dim communities, rich in Chlorophyta. Almost all sites are dominated by photoautotrophs, with Fungi and Bacteria relegated to the role of rare species., and structural properties of biofilms are not consistent within the same substrate. We conclude that the Herculaneum suburban baths are an environment-shaped community, where one dark community (plaster) and one dim community (mortar) provides species to a “midway” community (marble)

Geopolymer composites for potential applications in cultural heritage

A new class of geopolymer composites, as materials alternative to traditional binders, was synthesized and its potentialities as restoration material in Cultural Heritage has been explored. This material has been prepared through a co-reticulation reaction in mild conditions of a metakaolin-based geopolymer inorganic matrix and a commercial epoxy resin. The freshly prepared slurry displays a consistency, workability and thixotropic behavior that make it suitable to be spread on different substrates in restoration, repair and reinforcement actions, even on walls and ceilings. Applicability and compatibility tests on tuff and concrete substrates were carried out and the microstructure of the samples in correspondence of the transition zone was analyzed by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) mapping. Our studies pointed out the formation of a continuous phase between the geopolymer composite and tuff and concrete substrates, highlighting a high compatibility of the geopolymer binder with different kinds of materials. These features indicate a large potential for applications of these materials in Cultural Heritage