A rational use of laboratory tests in the diagnosis and management of hepatitis C virus infection

The prevalence of HCV infection is very diversified according to geographical areas and ranges from 1% in the Northern regions of the world to more than 20% as we move South. Due to the presence of HCVassociated liver diseases and the development of effective treatments, the diagnosis of HCV infection is a growing medical need. Several tests are available, from simple screening to identify the presence of antiHCV antibodies to the more sophisticated quantification of viral load and genotyping. However, these tests are to be used in a logical, consequential and cost-effective manner. This review article will report on the protocol in use in the North-Eastern part of Italy for the screening and diagnosis of HCV infection. The protocol is based on a consensus among several experts and may be the basis for a more rational approach in this rapidly growing field

Interpretation of the Metamorphic Processes in Various Rock Types Using the Chemistry of Garnets (Selecka Mountain, Macedonia)

The garnets from the complex of Selecka Mountain could be divided in two groups on the basis of their chemical composition and zoning. The garnets from muscovite-schist and amphibole-schist show characteristics typical for a growth in prograde metamorphic conditions up to the medium metamorphic grade. Characteristics of the other garnets (from aplite granite, aplite veins and metabasite) suggest their formation in anatectic or highly metasomatic conditions. The inversion in chemical zoning, observed in some of them, is discussed and related to possible processes of growth

Zaoyang chondrite cooling history from pyroxene Fe(2+)-Mg intracrystalline ordering and exolutions

The Zaoyang ordinary chondrite fell as a single 14.15-kg mass in Hubey province (China) in October 1984 and was classified as a non-brecciated H5 chondrite, shock facies b. Cooling rate in pyroxenes can be calculated down to about 1000 C by using fine textures and at still lower temperatures (700 to 200 C) by intracrystalline ordering processes. The crystal chemistry of clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene from the matrix of the H5 Zaoyang chondrite has been investigated by X-ray structure refinement and detailed microprobe analysis. By comparison with terrestrial pyroxenes cell and polyhedral volumes in clino- and orthopyroxenes show a low crystallization pressure. Fe(2+) and Mg are rather disordered in M1 and M2 sites of clino- and orthopyroxenes; the closure temperatures of the exchange reaction are 600 and 512 C respectively, which is consistent with a quite fast cooling rate, estimated of the order of one degree per day. The closure temperature for the intercrystalline Ca-Mg exchange reaction for clino- and orthopyroxene showing clinopyroxene lamellae about 10 microns thick. Kinetic evaluations based on the thickness of exolved lamellae give a cooling rate of not more than a few degrees per 10(exp 4) years. The different cooling rates obtained from Fe(2+)-Mg intracrystalline partitioning and exolution lamellae suggest an initial episode of slow cooling at 900 C, followed by faster cooling at temperatures of 600-500 C at low pressure conditions. The most probable scenario of the meteorite history seems that the exolved orthopyroxene entered the parental chondrite body after exolution had taken place at high temperature. Subsequent fast cooling occurred at low temperature after the formation of the body

Travel information as an instrument to change cardrivers’ travel choices: a literature review

This paper aims to provide insights that help transport academics and policy makers appreciate the potentials and limitations of information provision as a means to changing car-drivers’ travel choices. The focus is on a modal shift from private car to public transport and changes in car-drivers’ choices for departure times and routes towards a more even distribution of traffic within the available road network. These insights are gained through a review of more than 15 years of literature concerning the use and effects of travel information among car-drivers. Based on the performed review, a number of generic, integrative insights are derived, including the following: it appears that our expectations with respect to the effects of information provision on travel choices in general may be mildly optimistic, particularly for behavioural changes not involving changes in mode-choice. In the longer term, the effects of information provision, when presented to travelers in suitable formats, are likely to be somewhat stronger than the short term effects, due to learning dynamics

Study of b- and c-jets identification for Higgs coupling measurements at the Muon Collider

The Muon Collider is a possible option for the next generation of high-energy collider machines. It would permit to achieve very high center-ofmass energy using leptons without occurring in significative synchrotron radiation losses as in positron-electron rings. Due to the muon decay, the detector has to sustain a high level of background: beam decay products and subsequent particles from secondary interactions with the machine elements can reach the interaction point, thus jeopardizing the physical performance of the detector. Nevertheless, this machine offers the possibility of producing huge Higgs boson samples with respect to the backgrounds, allowing the precise determination of the b- and cquark couplings. In this contribution, a study of the identification of b- and c-jets in the Muon Collider environment is presented, and an estimation of the statistical precision on the H → b¯b cross-section is evaluated, accounting for the presence of the beam and the physical backgrounds. A preliminary study on the use of machine learning techniques to improve the result and to study the H → cc¯ will also be reported

5D5D Solutions to Λ\LambdaCDM Universe Derived from Global Brane Model

An exact solution of brane universe is studied and the result indicates that Friedmann equations on the brane are modified with an extra term. This term can play the role of dark energy and make the universe accelerate. In order to derive the $\Lambda$CDM Universe from this global brane model, the new solutions are obtained to describe the $5D$ manifold.Comment: 7 pages, no figure, accepted by MPL

The Real Scalar Field Equation for Nariai Black Hole in the 5D Schwarzschild-de Sitter Black String Space

The Nariai black hole, whose two horizons are lying close to each other, is an extreme and important case in the research of black hole. In this paper we study the evolution of a massless scalar field scattered around in 5D Schwarzschild-de Sitter black string space. Using the method shown by Brevik and Simonsen (2001) we solve the scalar field equation as a boundary value problem, where real boundary condition is employed. Then with convenient replacement of the 5D continuous potential by square barrier, the reflection and transmission coefficients ($R, T$) are obtained. At last, we also compare the coefficients with usual 4D counterpart.Comment: 10 pages,6 figures.To appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Recent advances on spinel-based protective coatings for solid oxide cell metallic interconnects produced by electrophoretic deposition

The application of ceramic protective coatings to the metallic interconnects in solid oxide cells (SOCs) is a viable and effective method to limit interconnect degradation issues. This featured letter provides a critical overview of the main outcomes of current research on the use of the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique to produce protective coatings for SOC metallic interconnects, specifically focusing on different approaches to stabilise spinel-based suspensions, as well as the possible sintering procedures. The protective properties of EPD coatings are reviewed and discussed in terms of oxidation kinetics and area specific resistance evaluation