58 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Mechanisms producing different precipitation patterns over northâeastern Italy: insights from HyMeXâSOP1 and previous events
During the first HyMeX Special Observation Period (SOP1) field campaign, the target site of northâeastern Italy (NEI) experienced a large amount of precipitation, locally exceeding the climatological values and distributed among several heavyârainfall episodes. In particular, two events that occurred during the last period of the campaign drew our attention. These events had common largeâscale patterns and a similar mesoscale setting, characterised by southerly lowâlevel flow interacting with the Alpine orography, but the precipitation distribution was very different. During Intensive Observing Period IOP18 (31 Octoberâ1 November 2012), convective systems were responsible for intense rainfall mainly located over a flat area of the eastern Po Valley, well upstream of the orography. Conversely, during IOP19 (4/5 November 2012), heavy precipitation affected only the Alpine area. In addition to IOP18 and IOP19, the present study analyses other heavyâprecipitation episodes that display similar characteristics and which occurred over NEI during the autumn of recent years. A highâresolution (2 km grid spacing) nonâhydrostatic NWP model and available observations are used for this purpose.
The two different observed precipitation patterns are explained in terms of interaction between the impinging flow and the Alps. Depending on the thermodynamic profile, convection can be triggered when the impinging flow is forced to rise over a preâexisting coldâair layer at the base of the orography. In this situation a persistent blockedâflow condition and upstream convergence are responsible for heavy rain localized over the plain. Conversely, if convection does not develop, flowâover conditions are established and heavy rain affects the Alps. Numerical parameters proposed in the literature are used to support the analysis.
Finally, the role of evaporative cooling beneath the convective systems is evaluated. It turns out that the stationarity of the systems upstream of the Alps is mainly attributable to persistent blockedâflow conditions, while convective outflow slightly modifies the location of precipitation
No evidence of association between prothrombotic gene polymorphisms and the development of acute myocardial infarction at a young age
Background : we investigated the association between 9 polymorphisms of genes encoding hemostasis factors and
myocardial infarction in a large sample of young patients chosen because they have less coronary atherosclerosis than
older patients, and thus their disease is more likely to be related to a genetic predisposition to a prothrombotic state Methods and Results : this nationwide case-control study involved 1210 patients who had survived a first myocardial infarction at an age of 45 years who underwent coronary arteriography in 125 coronary care units and 1210 healthy subjects matched for age, sex, and geographical origin. None of the 9 polymorphisms of genes encoding proteins involved in coagulation (G-455A -fibrinogen: OR, 1.0; CI, 0.8 to 1.2; G1691A factor V: OR, 1.1; CI, 0.6 to 2.1; G20210A factor II: OR, 1.0; CI, 0.5 to 1.9; and G10976A factor VII: OR, 1.0; CI, 0.8 to 1.3), platelet function (C807T
glycoprotein Ia: OR, 1.1; CI, 0.9 to 1.3; and C1565T glycoprotein IIIa: OR, 0.9; CI, 0.8 to 1.2), fibrinolysis (G185T factor XIII: OR, 1.2; CI, 0.9 to 1.6; and 4G/5G plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1: OR, 0.9; CI, 0.7 to 1.2), or homocysteine metabolism (C677T methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase: OR, 0.9; CI, 0.8 to 1.1) were associated with an increased or decreased risk of myocardial infarction Conclusions : this study provides no evidence supporting an association between 9 polymorphisms of genes encoding proteins involved in hemostasis and the occurrence of premature myocardial infarction or protection against it
Conceptual Design of a Soft Xâray SASEâFEL Source
FELs based on SASE are believed to be powerful tools to explore the frontiers of basic sciences, from physics to chemistry to biology. Intense R&D programs have started in the USA and Europe in order to understand the SASE physics and to prove the feasibility of these sources. The allocation of considerable resources in the Italian National Research Plan (PNR) brought about the formation of a CNRâENEAâINFNâUniversity of Roma "Tor Vergata" study group. A conceptual design study has been developed and possible schemes for linac sources have been investigated, bringing to the SPARX proposal. We report in this paper the results of a preliminary start to end simulation concerning one option we are considering based on an Sâband normal conducting linac with high brightness photoinjector integrated in a RF compressor
Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries
Background
Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres.
Methods
This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and lowâmiddle-income countries.
Results
In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of âsingle-useâ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for lowâmiddle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia.
Conclusion
This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both highâ and lowâmiddleâincome countries
gaMS-1: a gametophytic male sterile mutant in maize
Several pollen-specific genes from different species have been isolated and characterized at the molecular level, but the precise role of most of them is unknown. Mutant analysis represents a direct approach to uncovering gene function, but the paucity of available mutants affecting pollen development and/or function and the poor characterization of the known mutants have so far limited the exploitation of this approach. Here we present the cytological characterization of gametophytic male sterile-1 (gaMS-1), a maize mutant that we identified in a program of transposon insertion mutagenesis for the production of mutations in gametophytically acting genes involved in microsporogenesis. gaMS-1 is expressed during or immediately after the first microspore division and leads to the production of immature, nonfunctional pollen grains. The mutation appears to affect the events leading to the developmental switch that follows the first microspore mitosis
- âŠ