A Novel Approach for an Integrated Straw tube-Microstrip Detector

We report on a novel concept of silicon microstrips and straw tubes detector, where integration is accomplished by a straw module with straws not subjected to mechanical tension in a Rohacell $^{\circledR}$ lattice and carbon fiber reinforced plastic shell. Results on mechanical and test beam performances are reported on as well.Comment: Accepted by Transactions on Nuclear Science (2005). 11 pages, 9 figures, uses lnfprep.st

Epilepsy and suicide: a narrative review

The epilepsy represents a challenge for life expectancy and quality of life either for social and relational consequences due to stigma and for the consequences of the disorder itself. Suicidal behaviors are more frequent in the persons with epilepsy than in the general population. In addition to those shared with other chronic diseases, the condition of a person with epilepsy recognizes particular risk factors related to the clinical characteristics, demographic, socioeconomic and relational conditions. The frequent comorbidity with psychiatric disorders, first of all depression, complicates the clinical picture both because of neurobiological underpinnings underlying the two disorders and the negative interaction on the quality of life. The hopelessness is strongly correlated to suicidal ideation and its evaluation can be considered a relevant and reliable tool for measuring suicidal ideation. A careful evaluation of suicidal ideation, taking into account demographic and psychological conditions of patients, as well as clinical, social, economic situations, is warranted. The diagnosis and treatment of the disease has to take into account a bio-psycho-social approach that allows the integration of medical, psychological and social aspects

Time-elapsed synchrotron-light microstructural imaging of femoral neck fracture

Time-elapsed micro-computed-tomography (μCT) imaging allows studying bone micromechanics. However, no study has yet performed time-elapsed μCT imaging of human femoral neck fractures. We developed a protocol for time-elapsed synchrotron μCT imaging of the microstructure in the entire proximal femur, while inducing clinically-relevant femoral neck fractures. Three human cadaver femora (females, age: 75-80 years) were used. The specimen-specific force to be applied at each load step was based on the specimens' strength estimated a priori using finite-element analysis of clinical CT images. A radio-transparent compressive stage was designed for loading the specimens while recording the applied load during synchrotron μCT scanning. The total μCT scanning field of view was 146 mm wide and 131 mm high, at 29.81 µm isotropic pixel size. Specimens were first scanned unloaded, then under incremental load steps, each equal to 25% of the estimated specimens' strength, and ultimately after fracture. Fracture occurred after 4-5 time-elapsed load steps, displaying sub-capital fracturing of the femoral neck, in agreement with finite-element predictions. Time-elapsed μCT images, co-registered to those of the intact specimen, displayed the proximal femur microstructure under progressive deformation up to fracture. The images showed (1) a spatially heterogeneous deformation localized in the proximal femoral head; (2) a predominantly elastic recovery, after load removal, of the diaphyseal and trochanteric regions and; (3) post-fracture residual displacements, mainly localized in the fractured region. The time-elapsed μCT imaging protocol developed and the high resolution images generated, made publicly available, may spur further research into human femur micromechanics and fracture.Saulo Martelli, Egon Perill

PV Cell Characteristic Extraction to Verify Power Transfer Efficiency in Indoor Harvesting System

A method is proposed to verify the efficiency of low-power harvesting systems based on Photovoltaic (PV) cells for indoor applications and a Fractional Open-Circuit Voltage (FOCV) technique to track the Maximum Power Point (MPP). It relies on an algorithm to reconstruct the PV cell Power versus Voltage (P-V) characteristic measuring the open circuit voltage and the voltage/current operating point but not the short-circuit current as required by state-of-the-art algorithms. This way the characteristic is reconstructed starting from the two values corresponding to standard operation modes of dc-dc converters implementing the FOCV Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) technique. The method is applied to a prototype system: an external board is connected between the transducer and the dc-dc converter to measure the open circuit voltage and the voltage/current operating values. Experimental comparisons between the reconstructed and the measured P-V characteristics validate the reconstruction algorithm. Experimental results show the method is able to clearly identify the error between the transducer operating point and the one corresponding to the maximum power transfer, whilst also suggesting corrective action on the programmable factor of the FOCV technique. The proposed technique therefore provides a possible way of estimating MPPT efficiency without sampling the full P-V characteristic

Body anthropometry and bone strength conjointly determine the risk of hip fracture in a sideways fall

We hypothesize that variations of body anthropometry, conjointly with the bone strength, determine the risk of hip fracture. To test the hypothesis, we compared, in a simulated sideways fall, the hip impact energy to the energy needed to fracture the femur. Ten femurs from elderly donors were tested using a novel drop-tower protocol for replicating the hip fracture dynamics during a fall on the side. The impact energy was varied for each femur according to the donor’s body weight, height and soft-tissue thickness, by adjusting the drop height and mass. The fracture pattern, force, energy, strain in the superior femoral neck, bone morphology and microarchitecture were evaluated. Fracture patterns were consistent with clinically relevant hip fractures, and the superior neck strains and timings were comparable with the literature. The hip impact energy (11 – 95 J) and the fracture energy (11 – 39 J) ranges overlapped and showed comparable variance (CV = 69 and 61%, respectively). The aBMD-based definition of osteoporosis correctly classified 7 (70%) fracture/non-fracture cases. The incorrectly classified cases presented large impact energy variations, morphology variations and large subcortical voids as seen in microcomputed tomography. In conclusion, the risk of osteoporotic hip fracture in a sideways fall depends on both body anthropometry and bone strength

The role of measurement and simulation in additive manufacturing within the frame of Industry 4.0

In recent years, manufacturing industry has been facing a new and powerful technology, able to produce complex and cost efficient parts, the additive manufacturing (AM). The rapid development and expansion of the use of this method was accompanied by a vast development of equipment and software in mainly two directions, namely the optimization of a designed part with respect to its weight and mechanical performance and the simulation of the fabrication of this part via AM. Nevertheless, several drawbacks on the fabrication of components of a variety of materials have been observed, especially with reference to the final product dimensions and the corresponding distortions caused by a number of factors that influence the final result. In the present work, the correlation between the measurements of specific characteristics of components fabricated via AM and the data provided by the simulation models are presented. Also, the role of these measurements on the development of a component consistent with the initial design is underlined. To this end, a test case is presented, in which a part of high geometrical complexity is realized using the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) method. The comparison between the measurements of the final product reveals the need of constant and consistent measurements for assuring the part's accurate fabrication

Prolonged COVID 19 Outbreak and Psychological Response of Nurses in Italian Healthcare System: Cross-Sectional Study

Aim of the study was to analyze the posttraumatic stress disorder risk nurses, detecting the relationship between distress experience and personality dimensions in Italian COVID-19 outbreak. A cross-sectional study was conducted based on 2 data detection (March 2020 and September 2020). Mental evaluation was carried out in Laboratory of Clinical Psychology on n.69 nurses in range age 22–64 years old (mean age 37.3; sd ± 10.3; 55% working in nursing care with confirmed COVID-19 patients (named frontline; secondline nurses have been identified by nursing care working with infectious patients but no confirmed COVID-19). Measurement was focused on symptoms anxiety, personality traits, peritraumatic dissociation and post-traumatic stress for all participants. No online screening was applied. Comparisons (ANOVA test) within the various demographic characteristics demonstrated few significant differences between groups on DASS-21, PDEQ, and ISE-R scores. Correlation analysis (Spearman test) was performed among PDEQ, DASS-21, BFI-10 and IES-R and confirmed between anxiety (DASS-21) and peritraumatic dissociation and post-traumatic stress; then anxiety is positively correlated to agreeableness variable of BFI-10 test. The emotional distress was protracted overtime (after 6 months) but in long-term personality traits resulted mediator facing subjective stress. Our finding drew details for protective and predictive risk factors as well as mental health issues of nurses dealing with pandemic: healthcare workers faced the protracted challenge caring COVID-19 patients over and over again: in short time the impact was relevant, and the prolonged exposition to the stressor was tackled by personal resources such as personality traits

A gated oscillator clock and data recovery circuit for nanowatt wake-up and data receivers

This article presents a data-startable baseband logic featuring a gated oscillator clock and data recovery (GO-CDR) circuit for nanowatt wake-up and data receivers (WuRxs). At each data transition, the phase misalignment between the data coming from the analog front-end (AFE) and the clock is cleared by the GO-CDR circuit, thus allowing the reception of long data streams. Any free-running frequency mismatch between the GO and the bitrate does not limit the number of receivable bits, but only the maximum number of equal consecutive bits (Nm). To overcome this limitation, the proposed system includes a frequency calibration circuit, which reduces the frequency mismatch to ±0.5%, thus enabling the WuRx to be used with different encoding techniques up to Nm = 100. A full WuRx prototype, including an always-on clockless AFE operating in subthreshold, was fabricated with STMicroelectronics 90 nm BCD technology. The WuRx is supplied with 0.6 V, and the power consumption, excluding the calibration circuit, is 12.8 nW during the rest state and 17 nW at a 1 kbps data rate. With a 1 kbps On-Off Keying (OOK) modulated input and −35 dBm of input RF power after the input matching network (IMN), a 10^(−3) missed detection rate with a 0 bit error tolerance is measured, transmitting 63 bit packets with the Nm ranging from 1 to 63. The total sensitivity, including the estimated IMN gain at 100 MHz and 433 MHz, is −59.8 dBm and −52.3 dBm, respectively. In comparison with an ideal CDR, the degradation of the sensitivity due to the GO-CDR is 1.25 dBm. False alarm rate measurements lasting 24 h revealed zero overall false wake-ups