Prevalence and direct costs of patients with neuromyelitis optica: data from Campania region in southern Italy

The study aimed to estimate the prevalence and direct costs of neuromyelitis optica (NMO) patients in Campania, Italy. Materials & methods: We retrospectively evaluated 53 NMO patients (mean age: 50.9 ± 16.5 years; 34% men) from the Campania Region administrative databases identified through disease exemption codes in 2018 and analyzed the incidence of NMO among the Campania region population and the disease-related cost. Results: The prevalence of NMO was 0.91 per 100,000 individuals. The average regional cost per NMO patient was 10,836.2 euros. The highest cost was related to drugs (60.6%), followed by hospitalizations (32.7%), diagnostics (4.8%) and laboratory tests (1.0%). Conclusion: NMO is an extremely rare disease with an annual disease-related cost of 0.005% of public health expenditur

Tracking Cats: Problems with Placing Feline Carnivores on δ18O, δD Isoscapes

Several felids are endangered and threatened by the illegal wildlife trade. Establishing geographic origin of tissues of endangered species is thus crucial for wildlife crime investigations and effective conservation strategies. As shown in other species, stable isotope analysis of hydrogen and oxygen in hair (δD(h), δ(18)O(h)) can be used as a tool for provenance determination. However, reliably predicting the spatial distribution of δD(h) and δ(18)O(h) requires confirmation from animal tissues of known origin and a detailed understanding of the isotopic routing of dietary nutrients into felid hair.We used coupled δD(h) and δ(18)O(h) measurements from the North American bobcat (Lynx rufus) and puma (Puma concolor) with precipitation-based assignment isoscapes to test the feasibility of isotopic geo-location of felidae. Hairs of felid and rabbit museum specimens from 75 sites across the United States and Canada were analyzed. Bobcat and puma lacked a significant correlation between H/O isotopes in hair and local waters, and also exhibited an isotopic decoupling of δ(18)O(h) and δD(h). Conversely, strong δD and δ(18)O coupling was found for key prey, eastern cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus; hair) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; collagen, bone phosphate).Puma and bobcat hairs do not adhere to expected pattern of H and O isotopic variation predicted by precipitation isoscapes for North America. Thus, using bulk hair, felids cannot be placed on δ(18)O and δD isoscapes for use in forensic investigations. The effective application of isotopes to trace the provenance of feline carnivores is likely compromised by major controls of their diet, physiology and metabolism on hair δ(18)O and δD related to body water budgets. Controlled feeding experiments, combined with single amino acid isotope analysis of diets and hair, are needed to reveal mechanisms and physiological traits explaining why felid hair does not follow isotopic patterns demonstrated in many other taxa

Dynamic response of rocking components under building floor motions

under earthquake events. Most of seismic risk related to whole building systems is due to the vulnerability of such components; this is particularly significant for existing buildings and public facilities such as hospitals. A large part of contents and equipment of public and strategic buildings is often unanchored, and this is likely to exhibit rocking response under low-to-moderate intensity excitations. Several experimental studies proved that reduced base rotations of such components are likely to cause interaction with the surroundings, even leading to instable conditions. Therefore, moderate motion of rocking components can be more associated with significant damage and human losses rather than with serviceability conditions. Indeed, operational performance is even a matter of primary importance for all components of critical facilities, and for critical components of all buildings. The dynamic behavior of unanchored components is often modelled by using the rigid block approach. A large number of studies addressed the seismic response of rocking components through both experimental and numerical methods. However, ground accelerograms were often considered as base excitations, implicitly assuming the location of the components at the ground floor. In fact, the influence of both building features and component (height) location can be significant on the performance of rocking elements, which are extremely sensitive on the frequency contents of the base excitation. The present study investigates the dynamic response of a variety of unanchored components under real building floor motions. A wide spectrum of (a) structural features and (b) component (height) locations is considered. The Housner rigid block motion equations are numerically solved according to previously validated studies, and incremental analyses are performed up to the block overturning. The latest findings related to the response of rocking components are taken into account for the definition of the performance criteria as well as for the selection of efficient and reliable intensity measures for the damage analysis. The responses of the blocks subjected to the floor motions are compared to the numerical results of a past study that considered real strong ground motions as loading histories. The influence of the building system on the capacity of the blocks is finally assessed

INCREMENTAL DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF RIGID BLOCKS SUBJECTED TO GROUND AND FLOOR MOTIONS AND SHAKE TABLE PROTOCOL INPUTS

This paper reports the results of an extensive campaign of incremental dynamic analyses (IDA) of rigid rocking blocks under various loading histories, including real ground/floor motions and shake table testing protocol loading histories. Several block geometries are investigated considering various size and slenderness combinations representative of building contents, monumental elements, art objects, components of critical facilities, and other unanchored elements. The spectral response of the block to different loading histories is firstly assessed by highlighting the characteristics of the different seismic input sets. Dimensionless acceleration- and velocity-based parameters are considered as intensity measures, and the block rotation normalized considering the critical angle (i.e., dimensionless rocking amplitude) is assumed as an engineering demand parameter. The IDA curves are evaluated, and the dynamic response of the blocks is characterized in terms of: (a) type of loading history, (b) intensity measure, and (c) block geometry. New information and technical insights are presented regarding the assessment of seismic response of structural and nonstructural rocking systems. The dynamic response of the blocks subjected to the investigated protocols is found to be not always compatible with the capacities related to real ground/floor motions, often producing non-conservative estimations. The discrepancy identified between the block responses associated with the protocol inputs and real motions is found to be significantly affected by both block geometry and intensity measure

Experimental assessment of the seismic performance of hospital cabinets using shake table testing

An experimental investigation of hospital building equipment is presented. Dynamic properties and seismic performance of typical ambulatory freestanding cabinets are assessed by unidirectional and bidirectional shake table tests, also considering the presence of internal partitions and cabinet contents. Vulnerability analysis is performed according to the most recent and reliable assessment methods, evaluating the influence of different parameters of the sample cabinets. The performance criteria referred within this research are the limit states reached by the specimens (ie, rocking and overturning) and by their contents (ie, overturning and breaking). Fragility curves are evaluated for the components and the contents, considering both acceleration and velocity intensity measures, and also using dimensionless intensity measures developed in recent studies. The outcomes of the present study confirm the findings of previous laboratory tests and numerical simulations carried out by the same authors and provide a further insight for the reliable seismic performance assessment of hospital cabinets and their contents