Free-Space Antenna Field/Pattern Retrieval in Reverberation Environments

Simple algorithms for retrieving free-space antenna field or directivity patterns from complex (field) or real (intensity) measurements taken in ideal reverberation environments are introduced and discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, submitted to IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letter

A Network of X-Band Meteorological Radars to Support the Motorway System (Campania Region Meteorological Radar Network Project)

he transport sector and road infrastructures are very sensitive to the issues connected to the atmospheric conditions. The latter constitute a source of relevant risk, especially for roads running in mountainous areas, where a wide spectrum of meteorological phenomena, such as rain showers, snow, hail, wind gusts and ice, threatens drivers’ safety. In such contexts, to face out critical situations it is essential to develop a monitoring system that is able to capillary surveil specific sectors or very small basins, providing real time information that may be crucial to preserve lives and assets. In this work, we present the results of the “Campania Region Meteorological Radar Network”, which is focused on the development of X-band radar-based meteorological products that can support highway traffic management and maintenance. The X-band measurements provided by two single-polarization systems, properly integrated with the observations supplied by disdrometers and conventional automatic weather stations, were involved in the following main tasks: (i) the development of a radar composite product; (ii) the devise of a probability of hail index; (iii) the real time discrimination of precipitation type (rain, mixed and snow); (iv) the development of a snowfall rate estimator. The performance of these products was assessed for two case studies, related to a relevant summer hailstorm (which occurred on 1 August 2020) and to a winter precipitation event (which occurred on 13 February 2021). In both cases, the X-band radar-based tools proved to be useful for the stakeholders involved in the management of highway traffic, providing a reliable characterization of precipitation events and of the fast-changing vertical structure of convective cells

MULTI-SCALE ASSESSMENT OF GROUNDWATER VULNERABILITY TO POLLUTION: STUDY CASES FROM CAMPANIA REGION (SOUTHERN ITALY)

In the Campania region (southern Italy), assessment of groundwater vulnerability is an important factor to be tackled for a proper management of risk to aquifer pollution, which is fostered by both high dependence of aqueduct systems on groundwater resources and the widespread agricultural and urbanized land uses of the territory. The different physiographic, geological and hydrogeological conditions of the region, coupled with high anthropic pressure, make such assessment complex to be dealt with, but at the same time mandatory to be accomplished. The proposed study has been developed into the framework of the “Campania Trasparente” project, which has been funded by the regional government to assess environmental factors controlling the quality of agricultural and livestock food productions. Specifically, it belongs to the research topic regarding the assessment of groundwater quality, with a special focus on the assessment of groundwater vulnerability. In this research a multi-scale approach for the assessment of groundwater vulnerability is carried out in order to propose suitable methods depending on extension of territory to be studied and related types and spatial density of available data. Scales considered were a) regional, including the whole Campania region; b) intermediate, identified with that of a single representative aquifer; c) site-specific, or local, related to a portion of aquifer for which a high spatial density of data is available.The applied methods were chosen among the many known in literature and adapted to the specific study cases. At the regional scale, the parametric SINTACS method (CIVITA & DE MAIO, 2000) has been applied to the whole region and adapted to types and spatial density of available data. At the intermediate scale, or aquifer scale, the Mt. Terminio karst aquifer was chosen as representative for the application of different parametric methods, also specifically designed for karst aquifers. At the site-specific scale, a representative sector of a shallow alluvial aquifer, located in the adjoining Casalnuovo di Napoli-Volla municipalities, in the Campania plain, at the eastern border of the city of Naples, has been studied by numerical modeling for the estimation of travel time of nitrate pollutant through the vadose zone. The obtained results can be conceived as useful for supporting a proper territorial planning aimed at the management of risk to pollution of groundwater resources

Real-time PCR detection of Toxoplasma gondii in tissue samples of wild boars (Sus scrofa) from southern Italy reveals high prevalence and parasite load.

Background: Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii, a widespread protozoan in the phylum Apicomplexa. In Europe, several studies have demonstrated the presence of the parasite in tissues of wild boars (Sus scrofa), but no data exists on the T. gondii load in tissues which in turn may be an useful way to assess the infection risk for the consumer of wild boar meat. Methods: We sampled and tested a total of 472 tissue samples of brain, heart and masseter muscle from 177 wild boars from the Campania region of southern Italy by real-time PCR analyses for detection and quantification of T. gondii. The sensitivity and specificity of the method were calculated by ROC analysis curves. Results: PCR analysis revealed the presence of T. gondii in tissue samples of 78 out of 177 (44%) wild boars. In general, the brain presented the highest PCR prevalence (31%), followed by the heart (28.3%) and the masseter muscle (24.2%), with the highest estimated parasite numbers observed in the brain followed by the heart and masseter muscle. The PCR method showed an excellent discriminating ability for each of the examined tissues. According to the ROC analysis curves, the respective sensitivity and specificity were 99 and 100% for masseter muscle, 98 and 98% for brain and 96 and 98% for heart samples. Conclusions: The high prevalence of infection here detected suggests a widespread distribution of the parasite in the wildlife of the Campania region of southern Italy. The T. gondii burdens detected may potentially represent a source of infection for humans

Diagnostic issues and capabilities in 48 isolation facilities in 16 European countries: data from EuroNHID surveys

Background: Highly infectious diseases (HIDs) are defined as being transmissible from person to person, causing life-threatening illnesses and presenting a serious public health hazard. The sampling, handling and transport of specimens from patients with HIDs present specific bio-safety concerns. Findings The European Network for HID project aimed to record, in a cross-sectional study, the infection control capabilities of referral centers for HIDs across Europe and assesses the level of achievement to previously published guidelines. In this paper, we report the current diagnostic capabilities and bio-safety measures applied to diagnostic procedures in these referral centers. Overall, 48 isolation facilities in 16 European countries were evaluated. Although 81% of these referral centers are located near a biosafety level 3 laboratory, 11% and 31% of them still performed their microbiological and routine diagnostic analyses, respectively, without bio-safety measures. Conclusions: The discrepancies among the referral centers surveyed between the level of practices and the European Network of Infectious Diseases (EUNID) recommendations have multiple reasons of which the interest of the individuals in charge and the investment they put in preparedness to emerging outbreaks. Despite the fact that the less prepared centers can improve by just updating their practice and policies any support to help them to achieve an acceptable level of biosecurity is welcome

Romantic attachment, infertility-related stress, and positive body image of women dealing with infertility

IntroductionInfertility is a condition that can affect the physical, emotional, social, and relational well-being of women. Women’s bodies seem to assume a crucial relevance as part of the experience of infertility and its treatments. An extended body of literature supports the role of romantic attachment orientations in facing infertility-related stress. However, the association between romantic attachment orientations, infertility-related stress, and women’s body image has not been explored.MethodsThis cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the role of romantic attachment and infertility-related stress concerning positive body image in 113 women dealing with infertility. Data were analyzed with correlation and mediation path analyses.ResultsResults showed that high levels of attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and infertility-related stress were negatively associated with positive body image. Path analyses indicated that positive body image may be directly associated with romantic attachment anxiety. The negative association of attachment avoidance with body image appeared to be mediated by infertility-related stress.Discussion:Findings suggest that romantic attachment insecurities and infertility-related stress are significantly associated with a worsened body image in infertile women. Implications for future research are discussed

a survey on the experience of 136 italian urologists in the treatment of erectile dysfunction with pde5 inhibitors and recommendations for the use of avanafil in the clinical practice

Introduction: PDE5 inhibitors are the firstline treatment for erectile dysfunction. Although all these drugs share the same mechanism of action, each agent could have different characteristics in terms of selectivity, pharmacokinetics and tolerability profile. Materials and Methods: This manuscript illustrates a project, undertaken by the Italian Society of Urology in order to obtain a "snapshot" of the experience of Italian urologists with the use of PDE5 inhibitors in the clinical practice. This project included a survey, targeting a sample of 136 Italian urologists experienced in the treatment of ED, and the organization of a conference of experts who, based on the findings of the survey, the scientific literature and the clinical experience, would define some recommendations for the use of PDE5 inhibitors in clinical practice with a particular focus on Avanafil, the most recent drug in this class. Results: The following recommendations on the use of Avanafil were issued: 1) In patients who are candidates for the use of Avanafil, it is advisable to use the 200-mg dose from the first administration; 2) When used at the highest dose (200 mg), Avanafil shows a favourable tolerability profile with an efficacy similar to that of other agents; 3) The patient should be instructed to take Avanafil on an empty stomach, i.e., 30-45 minutes before or 2 hours after a meal; 4) The efficacy window of Avanafil is between 30 minutes and 6 hours after dosing, which qualifies this molecule as a new drug with an intermediate duration of action; 5) Avanafil at a dose of 50-100 mg/day may be a therapeutic option in chronic rehabilitation. Conclusions: Among PDE5 inhibitors, Avanafil is a new agent with an intermediate duration of action, characterized by high efficacy and good tolerability even at the highest dose (200 mg)

Volumetric and Dosimetric Assessment by Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Scans in Head and Neck Radiation Therapy: A Monitoring in Four Phases of Treatment

Due to the anatomical changes frequently occurring during the course of head and neck (H&N) cancer radiotherapy, the dose distribution, which was actually delivered to the patient, might significantly differ from that planned. The aim of this paper is to investigate these volumetric changes and the resulting dosimetric implications on organs at risk (OARs) and clinical target volumes (CTVs) by cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans throughout the treatment. Ten H&N patients, treated by Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy, were analyzed. CTVs and OARs were delineated on four CBCT, acquired at the 10th, 15th, 20th and 25th treatment session, and then compared with the ones at planning CT. The planned beams were applied to each CBCT to recalculate the dose distribution and the corresponding dose volume histograms were compared with those generated on planning CT. To evaluate the HU discrepancies between the conventional CT and CBCT images we used a Catphan® 504, observing a maximum discrepancy of about 30 HU. We evaluated the impact of this HU difference in dose calculation and a not clinically relevant error, within 2.8%, was estimated. No inhomogeneity correction was used. The results showed an increased CTV mean dose (Dmean) of about 3% was found, without significant reduction in volume. Due to the parotids' shrinkage (up to 42%), significant dosimetric increases were observed: ipsilateral gland at 15th CBCT (Dmean by 18%; V30 by 31%); controlateral gland at the 10th CBCT (Dmean by 12.2%; V30 by 18.7%). For the larynx, a significant increase of volume was found at the 20th (15.7%) and 25th CBCT (13.3%) but it complied with dose constraint. The differences observed for the spinal cord and mandible maximum doses were not clinically relevant. In conclusion, the dosimetric analysis on CBCT can help clinicians to monitor treatment progress and to evaluate whether and when a new plan is necessary. The main benefit of replanning could be to preserve the parotids and our data support the hypothesis that the 3rd week of radiotherapy should be a check point for parotids