Influence of Inter-Particle Friction and Damping on the Dynamics of Spherical Projectile Impacting Onto a Soil Bed

This study investigates the dynamics of a spherical projectile impact onto a granular bed via numerical simulations by discrete element method (DEM). The granular bed is modeled as an assembly of polydisperse spherical particles and the projectile is represented by a rigid sphere. The DEM model is used to investigate the cratering process, including the dynamics of the projectile and energy transformation and dissipation. The cratering process is illustrated by tracking the motion of the projectile and granular particles in the bed. The numerical results show that the dynamics of the projectile follows the generalized Poncelet law that the final penetration depth is a power-law function of the falling height. The numerical results can match well the experimental data reported in the literature, demonstrating the reliability of the DEM model in analyzing the impact of a spherical projectile on a granular bed. Further analyses illustrate that the impact process consists of three main stages, namely the impact, penetration and collapse, as characterized by the evolution of projective velocity, strong force chains and crater shape. The initial kinetic and potential energy of the projectile is dissipated mainly by inter-particle friction which governs the projectile dynamics. The stopping time of projectile decreases as the initial impact velocity increases. The final penetration depth scales as one-third the power of total falling height and is inversely proportional to the macroscopic granular friction coefficient.National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 42107155), the Royal Society, Sino-British Fellowship Trust International Exchanges Award (No. IES\R2\202023), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2682021CX061), the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2017YFC1502500

The optical links for the trigger upgrade of the Drift Tube in CMS

The first phase of the upgrade of the electronics of Drift Tubes (DT) in the CMS experiment is reported. It consists of the translation of the readout and trigger data from electrical into optical and their transmission from the CMS experimental cavern to the counting room. Collecting the full information of the DT chambers in the counting room allows the development of new trigger hardware and algorithms

Recurrent aphthous stomatitis: Treatment and management

Background: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis consists of the presence of abrasions or ulcerations located on mucosae (oral or genital). Objectives: The aim of this article is to review the current literature providing the main causes related to recurrent aphthous stomatitis and insights into treatment and management of this clinical condition Methods: Articles matching terms that correlated with "recurrent aphthous stomatitis"were searched on PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library and selected according to their pertinence. Results: Several forms of aphthous stomatitis have been described, based on the extent (minor, major), morphology (herpetiform) and associations to other signs (Beh\ue7et syndrome or more complex inflammatory syndromes). Topical as well as systemic treatments have been described to obtain a faster remission of the aphthosis or to reduce associated symptoms such as pain. Conclusions: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis can have a mild-to-severe clinical appearance, being mainly localized on the oral mucosa or at the level of the genital area. Different strategies have been described so far for its management and treatment

A Real-Life Study on the Use of Tildrakizumab in Psoriatic Patients

tildrakizumab is a humanized IgG1 kappa monoclonal antibody that selectively targets the p19 subunit of interleukin IL-23, thereby inhibiting the IL-23/IL-17 axis, which is primarily implicated in the immunopathogenesis of psoriasis. Tildrakizumab is approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque-type psoriasis in adults based on the evidence of two randomized and controlled phase-III clinical trials (reSURFACE 1 and reSURFACE 2). Here, we report our real-life experience treating 53 psoriatic patients (19 female and 34 male) who were administered tildrakizumab every 12 weeks and received follow-ups over 52 weeks. descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed, in particular the psoriasis area and severity Index (PASI), dermatology life quality Index (DLQI) and, if applicable, the Nail Psoriasis Severity Index (NAPSI) and Palmoplantar psoriasis physician global assessment (PPPGA). these were assessed at baseline and after different timepoints (weeks) during the follow-up period. we described and evaluated demographical and epidemiological characteristics in our cohort group, focusing on comorbidities. In this group, 35.9% of patients were female and 64.1% were male, with 47.1% being smokers and with a mean age of 51.2 years. a total of 37.7% of these patients was affected by scalp psoriasis; regarding comorbidities, hypertension was the most frequent (32.5%), followed by psoriatic arthritis (PsA) (18.60%) and diabetes (13.9%). at week 52, 93%, 90.2% and 77% of patients achieved a PASI reduction >= 75% (PASI 75), PASI 90 and PASI 100, respectively. In addition, NAPSI, PPPGA and DLQI scores were significantly reduced by week 52. In our cohort of complex psoriasis patients, disease remission began at the end of the fourth week of treatment and remained constant from week 16 to week 52

Spesolimab in patients with flare of generalized pustular psoriasis: A multicentre case-series

Dear Editor,Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is a rare, potentially life-threatening, chronic inf lammatory disease character-ized by acute f lares of pustular eruptions that can be accom-panied by systemic inf lammation. GPP can be associated with chronic plaque psoriasi

Effectiveness and safety of bimekizumab for the treatment of plaque psoriasis. a real-life multicenter study—IL PSO (Italian landscape psoriasis)

Introduction: Bimekizumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets Interleukin-17 A and F, approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. While bimekizumab has been evaluated in several phase-III clinical trials, real-world evidence is still very limited. Method: This multicenter retrospective study included patients affected by plaque psoriasis treated with bimekizumab from May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023, at 19 Italian referral hospitals. Patients affected by moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis eligible for systemic treatments were included. The effectiveness of bimekizumab was evaluated in terms of reduction in psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) compared with baseline at weeks 4 and 16. The main outcomes were the percentages of patients achieving an improvement of at least 75% (PASI75), 90% (PASI90) and 100% (PASI100) in PASI score. Results: The study included 237 patients who received at least one injection of bimekizumab. One hundred and seventy-one patients and 114 reached four and 16 weeks of follow-up, respectively. Complete skin clearance was achieved by 43.3% and 75.4% of patients at weeks 4 and 16, respectively. At week 16, 86.8% of patients reported no impact on their quality of life. At week 16, there were no significant differences between bio-naïve and bio-experienced patients in terms of PASI75, PASI90 and PASI100. The most commonly reported adverse events (AEs) were oral candidiasis (10.1%). No severe AEs or AEs leading to discontinuation were observed throughout the study. Conclusion: Our experience supports the effectiveness and tolerability of bimekizumab in a real-world setting with similar results compared with phase-III clinical trials

Patient satisfaction with calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate cutaneous foam for the treatment of plaque psoriasis: The LION real-life multicenter prospective observational cohort study

Topical treatment is the mainstay for mild or moderate psoriasis, but patients are generally little satisfied. Calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate (Cal/BD) cutaneous foam has shown to improve signs and symptoms in plaque psoriasis patients. This study assessed patient's satisfaction with Cal/BD foam in a real-life Italian dermatological clinical practice. A multicenter, 4-week observational prospective cohort study enrolled, in 17 Italian dermatology clinics, adult patients with plaque psoriasis on the body and/or scalp. Treatment satisfaction was assessed by 9-item Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM-9), preference over previous treatments by Patient Preference Questionnaire (PPQ), and change in disease state by Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI). Overall 256 patients were eligible, with a mean (SD) age of 55.6 (15.4) years, 59.4% were males. Psoriasis severity was mild in 52.0% of patients, moderate in 43.3%, and severe in 4.7%. Scalp involvement was present in 36.7% of patients. Previous antipsoriatic treatments had been received by 80.5% of patients. TSQM-9 median (25th–75th percentile) scores were 83.3 (66.7–88.9) for effectiveness, 77.8 (66.7–88.9) for convenience, and 78.6 (64.3–92.9) for global satisfaction. Mean (SD) PASI value decreased from 7.3 (4.8) to 2.1 (2.7) after 4 weeks. More than 90% of patients previously treated for psoriasis evaluated the Cal/BD foam more effective, easier to use and better tolerated compared to previous topical treatments at PPQ. This observational study provides real-life evidence of a high level of satisfaction with effectiveness and convenience of the Cal/BD foam in a cohort of plaque psoriasis patients, with an objective improvement in PASI

Cerebral atrophy as outcome measure in short-term phase 2 clinical trials in multiple sclerosis

Cerebral atrophy is a compound measure of the neurodegenerative component of multiple sclerosis (MS) and a conceivable outcome measure for clinical trials monitoring the effect of neuroprotective agents. In this study, we evaluate the rate of cerebral atrophy in a 6-month period, investigate the predictive and explanatory value of other magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures in relation to cerebral atrophy, and determine sample sizes for future short-term clinical trials using cerebral atrophy as primary outcome measure

Measurement of the t t-bar production cross section in the dilepton channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The t t-bar production cross section (sigma[t t-bar]) is measured in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV in data collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 inverse femtobarns. The measurement is performed in events with two leptons (electrons or muons) in the final state, at least two jets identified as jets originating from b quarks, and the presence of an imbalance in transverse momentum. The measured value of sigma[t t-bar] for a top-quark mass of 172.5 GeV is 161.9 +/- 2.5 (stat.) +5.1/-5.0 (syst.) +/- 3.6(lumi.) pb, consistent with the prediction of the standard model.Comment: Replaced with published version. Included journal reference and DO