Results report for the project MoMeWEC

publishedVersio

Il CSIF nel XXI secolo: la divulgazione quale mezzo per la salvaguardia del territorio

L’attività del Circolo Speleologico Idrologico Friulano è stata incentrata, sin dalla sua nascita nel 1897, tanto nell’esplorazione quanto nella diffusione delle conseguenti informazioni acquisite. Mentre nei primi decenni quest’opera si svolgeva attraverso la stampa (Mondo Sotterraneo, giornali e riviste varie) e la propaganda diretta (conferenze, escursioni) oggi si avvale anche della pubblicazione di monografie specifiche e quaderni didattici nonché dell’uso dei mezzi messi a disposizione dall’informatica. Questa opera, volta al futuro, è integrata dalla messa a disposizione del pubblico dei consistenti archivi formatisi in oltre un secolo di lavoro: biblioteca di duemila volumi e 400 riviste, Catasto storico con documenti su oltre 3500 grotte del Friuli, archivio documentale.Since its foundation in 1897, the activity of the Circolo Speleologico Idrologico Friulano has been focused both on exploration and on consequent acquired information diffusion. While in the first years this work was carried out through the press (Mondo Sotterraneo and other newspapers and magazines) and the direct propaganda (conferences, excursions), today it also makes use of specific monographs and educational notebooks publication and, in addition, of informatics devices. This work, that it’s looking into the future, includes the thick records created in a over one century work and available for the public: a library with over 2000 volumes and 400 magazines, historical “Catasto” with documents about more than 3500 caves in Friuli, document archive

Comparison of 2 Methods for the Calculation of Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate

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The use of recombinant activated factor VII in platelet-associated bleeding

Recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) was originally developed for the treatment of spontaneous and surgical bleeding of hemophiliacs with inhibitors. Along with the elucidation of its molecular mechanism of action, rFVIIa has been successfully used over the last few years in a wide range of non-hemophilic bleeding conditions. The aim of this review is to summarize the current clinical experience on the use of rFVIIa in the management of bleeding associated with congenital or acquired platelet disorders

Blood doping by cobalt. Should we measure cobalt in athletes?

BACKGROUND: Blood doping is commonplace in competitive athletes who seek to enhance their aerobic performances through illicit techniques. PRESENTATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS: Cobalt, a naturally-occurring element with properties similar to those of iron and nickel, induces a marked and stable polycythemic response through a more efficient transcription of the erythropoietin gene. TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS: Although little information is available so far on cobalt metabolism, reference value ranges or supplementation in athletes, there is emerging evidence that cobalt is used as a supplement and increased serum concentrations are occasionally observed in athletes. Therefore, given the athlete's connatural inclination to experiment with innovative, unfair and potentially unhealthy doping techniques, cobalt administration might soon become the most suited complement or surrogate for erythropoiesis-stimulating substances. Nevertheless, cobalt administration is not free from unsafe consequences, which involve toxic effects on heart, liver, kidney, thyroid and cancer promotion. IMPLICATIONS OF THE HYPOTHESIS: Cobalt is easily purchasable, inexpensive and not currently comprehended within the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list. Moreover, available techniques for measuring whole blood, serum, plasma or urinary cobalt involve analytic approaches which are currently not practical for antidoping laboratories. Thus more research on cobalt metabolism in athletes is compelling, along with implementation of effective strategies to unmask this potentially deleterious doping practic

Evaluation and Suppression of Oscillations in Inductive Power Transfer Systems with Constant Voltage Load and Pulse Skipping Modulation

This paper identifies how Constant Voltage Load (CVL) characteristics cause Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) systems to exhibit a poorly damped oscillation mode. When operated with pulse skipping strategies such as Pulse Density Modulation (PDM), the skipped voltage pulses can excite this mode and cause severe oscillations that do not appear in systems with a constant resistance load (CRL). The critical mode is identified from a linearized state-space model of the system and two control approaches are proposed for attenuating the oscillations in current amplitude and power flow. Firstly, the influence of the operating frequency on the critical eigenvalue is analyzed and it is shown how slightly off-resonant operation can increase the damping of the oscillation mode. Secondly, an active damping method based on sending current feedback control is studied. The active damping is based on Phase Shift Modulation (PSM) with limited phase shift angles applied to the PDM signal when oscillations are detected. The effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed methods are validated by simulations and experimental results from a small-scale laboratory prototype.Evaluation and Suppression of Oscillations in Inductive Power Transfer Systems with Constant Voltage Load and Pulse Skipping ModulationacceptedVersio

Comparison of platelet function between sedentary individuals and competitive athletes at rest

BACKGROUND: There are controversial evidences on the effect of different types and workloads of physical exercise on primary hemostasis. In particular, little is known on the chronic influence of a strenuous and regular aerobic training regimen on platelet function. METHODS: The aim of this investigation was to compare platelet function between sedentary controls and trained athletes at rest and to evaluate whether a greater amount of exercise performed in professional cyclists may contribute to increased platelet chronic responsiveness compared to both elite cyclists and sedentary individuals. Platelet's ability to adhere and aggregate was assayed following a 12–24 h resting period in 49 active professional male road cyclists, 40 elite male cyclists and 43 matched sedentary healthy male volunteers, by the platelet function analyzer 100 (PFA-100). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Mean values of the collagen-epinephrine test did not differ between controls and athletes (sedentary controls: 111 ± 33 s; elite athletes: 113 ± 26 s, p = 0.93; professional athletes: 120 ± 33 s; p = 0.33), whereas mean values of the collagen-ADP test displayed a slightly but significant trend towards decreased values when comparing sedentary controls (83 ± 21 s) with either elite (77 ± 11 s, p < 0.01) or professional (75 ± 16 s, p < 0.01) athletes. CONCLUSION: The trend towards slightly lower collagen-ADP values are suggestive for a modest but significant chronic activation of primary hemostasis, highlighting the need to set appropriate reference ranges for the PFA-100 when evaluating primary hemostasis in physically active subjects