Sonoelastography in the diagnosis of tendinopathies: An added value

BACKGROUND: sonoelastography helps in the detection of abnormalities not yet evident on B-mode exam. METHODS: in this observational study, we report a collection of cases of symptomatic patients without alterations at ultrasound imaging but with evidence of pathological findings at sonoelastography. Patients, with clinical history suggestive for tendinopathies or surgically treated, and negative at the ultrasound exam, were submitted to sonoelastography. Out of 846, 632 patients with positive ultrasound exam were excluded. Sonoelastography was therefore performed in the remaining 214. RESULTS: the examination was positive in 168 cases: 78 patients were affected with shoulder diseases, while elbow pathology was observed in 31 subjects; patellar, Achilles and plantar fascia disorders were reported in 19, 27, and 13 patients, respectively. CONCLUSION: sonoelastography can reveal tendon abnormalities of clinical relevance in a high percentage of cases, where the ultrasound exam was negative, making the method a complementary tool to ultrasound evaluation

Digital Twin of a Tubular Flow Reactor Oriented to the Development of the Control System

This work is aimed at developing the first version of a digital twin of a plant prototype for the flexible production of different chemical formulates, to be used in various industrial fields, from the medical health to the tanning sector. The analyzed system is a tubular flow reactor characterized by multiple additions of components and by a series of static mixing elements. Firstly, the 1D dynamic modeling of the reactor is addressed, by defining the geometry, parameters, and operating conditions to reasonably describe the process evolution over time. Then, the corresponding feedback control system is designed to obtain the desired final products, by respecting the required specifications, in terms of mean concentration, degree of mixing, and flow rates. Different types of control architectures are derived and compared. The results show that not only SISO control schemes, but also multivariable solutions are possible, which effectively guarantee set-point tracking and disturbance rejection

Simultaneous observation of ultrafast electron and proton beams in TNSA

The interaction of ultra-intense high-power lasers with solid-state targets has been largely studied for the past 20 years as a future compact proton and ion source. Indeed, the huge potential established on the target surface by the escaping electrons provides accelerating gradients of TV/m. This process, called target normal sheath acceleration, involves a large number of phenomena and is very difficult to study because of the picosecond scale dynamics. At the SPARC_LAB Test Facility, the high-power laser FLAME is employed in experiments with solid targets, aiming to study possible correlations between ballistic fast electrons and accelerated protons. In detail, we have installed in the interaction chamber two different diagnostics, each one devoted to characterizing one beam. The first relies on electro-optic sampling, and it has been adopted to completely characterize the ultrafast electron components. On the other hand, a time-of-flight detector, based on chemical-vapour-deposited diamond, has allowed us to retrieve the proton energy spectrum. In this work, we report preliminary studies about simultaneous temporal resolved measurements of both the first forerunner escaping electrons and the accelerated protons for different laser parameters

Advanced stabilization methods of plasma devices for plasma-based acceleration

Towards the next generation of compact plasma-based accelerators, useful in several fields, such as basic research, medicine and industrial applications, a great effort is required to control the plasma creation, the necessity of producing a time-jitter free channel, and its stability namely uniformity and reproducibility. In this Letter, we describe an experimental campaign adopting a gas-filled discharge-capillary where the plasma and its generation are stabilized by triggering its ignition with an external laser pulse or an innovative technique based on the primary dark current (DC) in the accelerating structure of a linear accelerator (LINAC). The results show an efficient stabilization of the discharge pulse and plasma density with both pre-ionizing methods turning the plasma device into a symmetrical stable accelerating environment, especially when the external voltage is lowered near the breakdown value of the gas. The development of tens of centimeter long capillaries is enabled and, in turn, longer acceleration lengths can be adopted in a wide range of plasma-based acceleration experiments

Expression of the IRTA1 receptor identifies intraepithelial and subepithelial marginal zone B cells of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT)

AbstractIRTA1 (immunoglobulin superfamily receptor translocation-associated 1) is a novel surface B-cell receptor related to Fc receptors, inhibitory receptor superfamily (IRS), and cell adhesion molecule (CAM) family members and we mapped for the first time its distribution in human lymphoid tissues, using newly generated specific antibodies. IRTA1 was selectively and consistently expressed by a B-cell population located underneath and within the tonsil epithelium and dome epithelium of Peyer patches (regarded as the anatomic equivalents of marginal zone). Similarly, in mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas IRTA1 was mainly expressed by tumor cells involved in lympho-epithelial lesions. In contrast, no or a low number of IRTA1+ cells was usually observed in the marginal zone of mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen. Interestingly, monocytoid B cells in reactive lymph nodes were strongly IRTA1+. Tonsil IRTA1+ cells expressed the memory B-cell marker CD27 but not mantle cell-, germinal center-, and plasma cell-associated molecules. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of single tonsil IRTA1+ cells showed they represent a mixed B-cell population carrying mostly mutated, but also unmutated, IgV genes. The immunohistochemical finding in the tonsil epithelial areas of aggregates of IRTA1+ B cells closely adjacent to plasma cells surrounding small vessels suggests antigen-triggered in situ proliferation/differentiation of memory IRTA1+ cells into plasma cells. Collectively, these results suggest a role of IRTA1 in the immune function of B cells within epithelia. (Blood. 2003;102: 3684-3692

Plasma-generated X-ray pulses: betatron radiation opportunities at EuPRAXIA@SPARC_LAB

EuPRAXIA is a leading European project aimed at the development of a dedicated, groundbreaking, ultra-compact accelerator research infrastructure based on novel plasma acceleration concepts and laser technology and on the development of their users’ communities. Within this framework, the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati (LNF, INFN) will be equipped with a unique combination of an X-band RF LINAC generating high-brightness GeV-range electron beams, a 0.5 PW class laser system and the first fifth-generation free electron laser (FEL) source driven by a plasma-based accelerator, the EuPRAXIA@SPARC_LAB facility. Wiggler-like radiation emitted by electrons accelerated in plasma wakefields gives rise to brilliant, ultra-short X-ray pulses, called betatron radiation. Extensive studies have been performed at the FLAME laser facility at LNF, INFN, where betatron radiation was measured and characterized. The purpose of this paper is to describe the betatron spectrum emitted by particle wakefield acceleration at EuPRAXIA@SPARC_LAB and provide an overview of the foreseen applications of this specific source, thus helping to establish a future user community interested in (possibly coupled) FEL and betatron radiation experiments. In order to provide a quantitative estimate of the expected betatron spectrum and therefore to present suitable applications, we performed simple simulations to determine the spectrum of the betatron radiation emitted at EuPRAXIA@SPARC_LAB. With reference to experiments performed exploiting similar betatron sources, we highlight the opportunities offered by its brilliant femtosecond pulses for ultra-fast X-ray spectroscopy and imaging measurements, but also as an ancillary tool for designing and testing FEL instrumentation and experiments

Serum Uric Acid Predicts All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality Independently of Hypertriglyceridemia in Cardiometabolic Patients without Established CV Disease: A Sub-Analysis of the URic acid Right for heArt Health (URRAH) Study

High serum uric acid (SUA) and triglyceride (TG) levels might promote high-cardiovascular risk phenotypes across the cardiometabolic spectrum. However, SUA predictive power in the presence of normal and high TG levels has never been investigated. We included 8124 patients from the URic acid Right for heArt Health (URRAH) study cohort who were followed for over 20 years and had no established cardiovascular disease or uncontrolled metabolic disease. All-cause mortality (ACM) and cardiovascular mortality (CVM) were explored by the Kaplan-Meier estimator and Cox multivariable regression, adopting recently defined SUA cut-offs for ACM (>= 4.7 mg/dL) and CVM (>= 5.6 mg/dL). Exploratory analysis across cardiometabolic subgroups and a sensitivity analysis using SUA/serum creatinine were performed as validation. SUA predicted ACM (HR 1.25 [1.12-1.40], p < 0.001) and CVM (1.31 [1.11-1.74], p < 0.001) in the whole study population, and according to TG strata: ACM in normotriglyceridemia (HR 1.26 [1.12-1.43], p < 0.001) and hypertriglyceridemia (1.31 [1.02-1.68], p = 0.033), and CVM in normotriglyceridemia (HR 1.46 [1.23-1.73], p < 0.001) and hypertriglyceridemia (HR 1.31 [0.99-1.64], p = 0.060). Exploratory and sensitivity analyses confirmed our findings, suggesting a substantial role of SUA in normotriglyceridemia and hypertriglyceridemia. In conclusion, we report that SUA can predict ACM and CVM in cardiometabolic patients without established cardiovascular disease, independent of TG levels

TESS discovery of a super-Earth and two sub-Neptunes orbiting the bright, nearby, Sun-like star HD 22946

We report the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) discovery of a three-planet system around the bright Sun-like star HD~22946(V=8.3 mag),also known as TIC~100990000, located 63 parsecs away.The system was observed by TESS in Sectors 3, 4, 30 and 31 and two planet candidates, labelled TESS Objects of Interest (TOIs) 411.01 (planet $c$) and 411.02 (planet $b$), were identified on orbits of 9.57 and 4.04 days, respectively. In this work, we validate the two planets and recover an additional single transit-like signal in the light curve, which suggests the presence of a third transiting planet with a longer period of about 46 days.We assess the veracity of the TESS transit signals and use follow-up imaging and time series photometry to rule out false positive scenarios, including unresolved binary systems, nearby eclipsing binaries or background/foreground stars contaminating the light curves. Parallax measurements from Gaia EDR3, together with broad-band photometry and spectroscopic follow-up by TFOP allowed us to constrain the stellar parameters of TOI-411, including its radius of$1.157\pm0.025R_\odot$. Adopting this value, we determined the radii for the three exoplanet candidates and found that planet $b$ is a super-Earth, with a radius of $1.72\pm0.10R_\oplus$, while planet $c$ and $d$ are sub-Neptunian planets, with radii of$2.74\pm0.14R_\oplus$ and $3.23\pm0.19R_\oplus$ respectively. By using dynamical simulations, we assessed the stability of the system and evaluated the possibility of the presence of other undetected, non-transiting planets by investigating its dynamical packing. We find that the system is dynamically stable and potentially unpacked, with enough space to host at least one more planet between $c$ and $d$.(Abridged)Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication on A&