RTM process monitoring and strain acquisition by fibre optics

Abstract The development of Resin Transfer Moulding technology for advanced applications requires a detailed analysis and control of the process. Fibres optics and Fibres Bragg Gratings are useful tools to investigate composite structures during their lifetime service. They are here employed for the monitoring of manufacturing phase and the acquisition of strains during product usage in service. The adopted monitoring procedure allows to follow all the stages of the production process, evidencing their possible influences over final laminate characteristics. Resin injection, curing and cooling, mould extraction, sensor position, deformation control during mechanical testing are analysed on the basis of the signal output from fibre optic sensors embedded in a model component

Estatus oxidativo, antioxidante, del selenio, y aceptabilidad del consumidor de la carne de ave enriquecida con selenio dietari

The effect of selenium supplementation with an organic form (SeMet) and an inorganic form (SeNa) in the poultry finishing diet, on the oxidative and antioxidative status of Pectoralis and Gastrocnemius muscles, refrigerated at 2 °C during 0, 3 and 7 days, was studied. Also, selenium enrichment and sensory evaluation of each muscle was studied in fresh (0 days) meat. At 35 days old, chicks were distributed into three groups (30 birds each), and were fed with a corn-soybean basal diet without Se supplementation (Control) or with 0.30 ppm of selenium as selenomethionine (SeMet) or as sodium selenite (SeNa) until day 56 d-old. In Pectoralis muscle, significantly lower TBARS values were found at day 0 in meat from birds supplemented with both sources of Se (P<0.05). A higher GPx activity and selenium content was observed in meat from birds supplemented with SeMet compared with the Control (P<0.05). In SeMet raw meat from both muscles, selenium is increased and conserved after cooking in Gastrocnemius. The organic source enhanced the antioxidant enzyme activity in fresh Gastrocnemius muscle, and the inorganic source enhanced it in the fresh and in the refrigerated stored Pectoralis muscle (P<0.05). Inorganic selenium in poultry diet increase textural attributes as cohesiveness and chewed need to form a bolus. Perception of an aromatic aftertaste in Gastrocnemius (P<0.05) and Pectoralis (P<0.06) muscle felt as a metallic taste was perceived with SeMet diet. Swallowing ability was increased by SeNa and SeMet sources only in Gastrocnemius. In conclusion, selenium in the poultry diet improved antioxidant status, nutritional value by Se-enriching and textural and taste sensory perception in meat but differences are found depending on the muscle type.Se estudió el efecto de la suplementación con selenio con una forma orgánica (SeMet) y una forma inorgánica (SeNa) en la dieta de acabado de aves de corral, sobre el estado oxidativo y antioxidante de los músculos Pectoralis y Gastrocnemius, refrigerados a 2 ° C durante 0, 3 y 7 días. Además, se estudió el enriquecimiento de selenio y la evaluación sensorial de cada músculo en carne fresca (0 días). A los 35 días de edad, los polluelos se distribuyeron en tres grupos (30 aves cada uno), y fueron alimentados con una dieta basal de maíz y soja sin suplementos de Se (Control) o con 0,30 ppm de selenio como selenometionina (SeMet) o como selenito de sodio (SeNa) hasta el día 56 d-edad. En el músculo pectoral, se encontraron valores significativamente más bajos de TBARS en el día 0 en la carne de aves suplementadas con ambas fuentes de Se (P<0,05). Se observó una mayor actividad de GPx y contenido de selenio en la carne de aves suplementadas con SeMet en comparación con el Control (P<0,05). En la carne cruda SeMet de ambos músculos, el selenio se aumenta y se conserva después de la cocción en Gastrocnemius. La fuente orgánica mejoró la actividad de la enzima antioxidante en el músculo Gastrocnemius fresco, y la fuente inorgánica la mejoró en el músculo Pectoralis fresco y refrigerado almacenado (P<0.05). El selenio inorgánico en la dieta de las aves de corral aumenta los atributos texturales como la cohesión y la necesidad masticada de formar un bolo. La percepción de un regusto aromático en el músculo Gastrocnemius (P<0,05) y Pectoralis (P<0,06) se percibió como un sabor metálico con la dieta SeMet. La capacidad de deglución fue aumentada por las fuentes de SeNa y SeMet solo en Gastrocnemius. En conclusión, el selenio en la dieta avícola mejoró el estado antioxidante, el valor nutricional por el enriquecimiento de Se y la percepción sensorial textural y gustal en la carne, pero se encuentran diferencias según el tipo de músculo

Agreement on classification of clinical photographs of pigmentary lesions: exercise after a training course with young dermatologists.

Smartphone apps may help promoting the early diagnosis of melanoma. The reliability of specialist judgment on lesions should be assessed. Hereby, we evaluated the agreement of 6 young dermatologists, after a specific training. Clinical judgment was evaluated during 2 online sessions, 1 month apart, on a series of 45 pigmentary lesions. Lesions were classified as highly suspicious, suspicious, non-suspicious or not assessable. Cohen's and Fleiss' kappa were used to calculate intra- and inter-rater agreement. The overall intra-rater agreement was 0.42 (95% confidence interval - CI: 0.33-0.50), varying between 0.12-0.59 on single raters. The inter-rater agreement during the first phase was 0.29 (95% CI: 0.24-0.34). When considering the agreement for each category of judgment, kappa varied from 0.19 for not assessable to 0.48 for highly suspicious lesions. Similar results were obtained in the second exercise. The study showed a less than satisfactory agreement among young dermatologists. Our data point to the need for improving the reliability of the clinical diagnoses of melanoma especially when assessing small lesions and when dealing with thin melanomas at a population level

Medical Malpractice as a Tort in the U.S., as a Crime in Italy: Factors, Causes, Paths and Outcomes

The aim of the paper is, firstly, to try to understand the reasons for the different approaches to medical malpractice in two legal systems taken as models: the U.S., where professional negligence is almost exclusively subject of tort law; Italy, where criminal law instruments are instead widely used. The different extent of criminal responsibility for negligence and omission seems connectable to different political and cultural models: individualistic liberalism, on the one hand, solidarist statism and communitarianism, on the other hand; in juridical terms, to the ideal contrast between the reactive State and the active State; to the different approach to the relationship between subject and body, dominical-individual versus collectivist-social; with a tendential "privatization" of the health-good, in the US model, and a "socialization" of the good-health itself, in the Italian model. Secondly, the paper tries, in a comparative perspective, to evaluate these different approaches, in terms of access to justice, paths and outcomes of the two models. The article attempts to highlight the strengths and the weaknesses of the contingent-fee system in the U.S. tort arena, and of the criminal justice system as "free legal aid" in Italy: a balanced solution should also allow victims hindered by the costs and the length of civil actions the possibility of using these latter form of protection, avoiding that criminal justice is exploited for compensatory purposes. Indeed, tort law more easily can meet compensatory claims, due to the lower probative standard required, the preponderance of evidence, rather than the beyond any reasonable doubt standard, required in criminal law. Also in terms of outcomes, the main problems arising in the two systems need to be tackled: the problem of few persons compensated, allowing a greater number of injured parties to access to justice and obtain fair compensation; the problem of symbolic criminal convictions (observed in the Italian experience), avoiding the automatic use of suspended penalties and monetary penalties as substitute of penalties weighing on professional practice and freedom, since these automatic mechanisms limit the preventive effectiveness of the criminal sanction and run the risk of creating discrimination on a census basis