The use of near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) in the prediction of chemical composition and in vitro neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility of Italian alfalfa hay.

The objective of the present work was to develop calibration equations for the prediction of chemical composition and forage digestibility from different populations of alfalfa hay harvested in Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese production area of Northern Italy. Due to annual climatic variations that affect soil and growing conditions and consequently cause high variability in chemical and physical composition, 319 hay samples from four years were used to build robust calibration. NIRS calibration equations were developed for the prediction of in vitro NDF digestibility (IVNDFd) and 20 chemical parameters (dry matter, starch, fat, sugar, fiber fractions, crude protein, nitrogen fractions and some minerals) of Italian hay. The results obtained show that NIRS equations greatly explain the variation in the composition existing in alfalfa hays grown in Northern Italy, except for a few parameters characterized by low variability range value. The equations obtained for the prediction of biological and chemical parameters explain the major part of the variation existing in the reference data, which open great prospects for the use of NIRS in planning feeding strategies of livestock, based on alfalfa forage

Multistress characterization of fault mechanisms in aerospace electric actuators

The concept behind the More Electric Aircraft (MEA) is the progressive electrification of on-board actuators and services. It is a way to reduce or eliminate the dependence on hydraulic, mechanical and the bleed air/pneumatic systems and pursue efficiency, reliability and maintainability. This paper presents a specialised test rig whose main objective is to assess insulation lifespan modelling under various stress conditions, especially investigating the interaction between ageing factors. The test set-up is able to reproduce a multitude of environmental and operational conditions at which electric drives and motors, used in aerospace applications, are subjected. It is thus possible to tailor the test cycle in order to mimic the working cycle of an electrical motor during real operation in aircraft application. The developed test-rig is aimed at projecting the technology readiness to higher levels of maturity, in the context of electrical motors and drives for aerospace applications. Its other objective is to validate and support the development of a comprehensive insulation degradation model

csi and csi7 current source inverters for modular transformerless pv inverters

n/

Common Architectures and Devices for Current Source Inverter in Motor-Drive Applications: A Comprehensive Review

When compared to the much more common voltage-source inverter (VSI), the current-source inverter (CSI) is rarely used for variable speed drive applications, due to its disadvantages: the need of a constant DC-link current, typically realized with a front-end converter, and the need for reverse-voltage blocking (RVB) devices, typically implemented with in-series diodes. This limits the overall efficiency of the architecture. This paper investigates latest progress of the CSI research, with the aim of demonstrating why CSI could come back in the near future. Different architectures based on modern wide-bandgap (WBG) switches are analyzed, with an emphasis on why CSI can be advantageous compared to VSI

Multistress characterization of fault mechanisms in aerospace electric actuators

The concept behind the More Electric Aircraft (MEA) is the progressive electrification of on-board actuators and services. It is a way to reduce or eliminate the dependence on hydraulic, mechanical and the bleed air/pneumatic systems and pursue efficiency, reliability and maintainability. This paper presents a specialised test rig whose main objective is to assess insulation lifespan modelling under various stress conditions, especially investigating the interaction between ageing factors. The test set-up is able to reproduce a multitude of environmental and operational conditions at which electric drives and motors, used in aerospace applications, are subjected. It is thus possible to tailor the test cycle in order to mimic the working cycle of an electrical motor during real operation in aircraft application. The developed test-rig is aimed at projecting the technology readiness to higher levels of maturity, in the context of electrical motors and drives for aerospace applications. Its other objective is to validate and support the development of a comprehensive insulation degradation model

A novel fault diagnosis method for rotating machinery based on S transform and morphological pattern spectrum

With the continuing expansion of the applications of rotating machinery, an earlier and more accurate fault diagnosis method is required. In this paper, a novel characterization method based on S transform and morphological pattern spectrum (ST-MPS) was put forward. In order to verify the application of the method, ST-MPS was applied to a set of experimental signals obtained in a bearing test bench, and the results verified that the proposed feature extraction method is an effective approach to accurately classify the types of bearing fault

Disease-Modifying Therapies and Coronavirus Disease 2019 Severity in Multiple Sclerosis

Objective: This study was undertaken to assess the impact of immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory therapies on the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). Methods: We retrospectively collected data of PwMS with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. All the patients had complete follow-up to death or recovery. Severe COVID-19 was defined by a 3-level variable: mild disease not requiring hospitalization versus pneumonia or hospitalization versus intensive care unit (ICU) admission or death. We evaluated baseline characteristics and MS therapies associated with severe COVID-19 by multivariate and propensity score (PS)-weighted ordinal logistic models. Sensitivity analyses were run to confirm the results. Results: Of 844 PwMS with suspected (n = 565) or confirmed (n = 279) COVID-19, 13 (1.54%) died; 11 of them were in a progressive MS phase, and 8 were without any therapy. Thirty-eight (4.5%) were admitted to an ICU; 99 (11.7%) had radiologically documented pneumonia; 96 (11.4%) were hospitalized. After adjusting for region, age, sex, progressive MS course, Expanded Disability Status Scale, disease duration, body mass index, comorbidities, and recent methylprednisolone use, therapy with an anti-CD20 agent (ocrelizumab or rituximab) was significantly associated (odds ratio [OR] = 2.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.18–4.74, p = 0.015) with increased risk of severe COVID-19. Recent use (<1 month) of methylprednisolone was also associated with a worse outcome (OR = 5.24, 95% CI = 2.20–12.53, p = 0.001). Results were confirmed by the PS-weighted analysis and by all the sensitivity analyses. Interpretation: This study showed an acceptable level of safety of therapies with a broad array of mechanisms of action. However, some specific elements of risk emerged. These will need to be considered while the COVID-19 pandemic persists. ANN NEUROL 2021

Breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections in MS patients on disease-modifying therapies

Background: Patients with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) treated with anti-CD20 or fingolimod showed a reduced humoral response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Objective: In this study we aimed to monitor the risk of breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection in pwMS on different disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). Methods: Data on the number of vaccinated patients and the number of patients with a breakthrough infection were retrospectively collected in 27 Italian MS centers. We estimated the rate of breakthrough infections and of infection requiring hospitalization per DMT. Results: 19,641 vaccinated pwMS were included in the database. After a median follow-up of 8 months, we observed 137 breakthrough infections. Compared with other DMTs, the rate of breakthrough infections was significantly higher on ocrelizumab (0.57% vs 2.00%, risk ratio (RR) = 3.55, 95% CI = 2.74-4.58, p < 0.001) and fingolimod (0.58% vs 1.62%, RR = 2.65, 95% CI = 1.75-4.00, p < 0.001), while there were no significant differences in any other DMT group. In the ocrelizumab group the hospitalization rate was 16.7% versus 19.4% in the pre-vaccination era (RR = 0.86, p = 0.74) and it was 3.9% in all the other DMT groups versus 11.9% in the pre-vaccination period (RR = 0.33, p = 0.02). Conclusions: The risk of breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections is higher in patients treated with ocrelizumab and fingolimod, and the rate of severe infections was significantly reduced in all the DMTs excluding ocrelizumab

COVID-19 Severity in Multiple Sclerosis: Putting Data Into Context

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It is unclear how multiple sclerosis (MS) affects the severity of COVID-19. The aim of this study is to compare COVID-19-related outcomes collected in an Italian cohort of patients with MS with the outcomes expected in the age- and sex-matched Italian population. METHODS: Hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and death after COVID-19 diagnosis of 1,362 patients with MS were compared with the age- and sex-matched Italian population in a retrospective observational case-cohort study with population-based control. The observed vs the expected events were compared in the whole MS cohort and in different subgroups (higher risk: Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] score > 3 or at least 1 comorbidity, lower risk: EDSS score 64 3 and no comorbidities) by the \u3c72 test, and the risk excess was quantified by risk ratios (RRs). RESULTS: The risk of severe events was about twice the risk in the age- and sex-matched Italian population: RR = 2.12 for hospitalization (p < 0.001), RR = 2.19 for ICU admission (p < 0.001), and RR = 2.43 for death (p < 0.001). The excess of risk was confined to the higher-risk group (n = 553). In lower-risk patients (n = 809), the rate of events was close to that of the Italian age- and sex-matched population (RR = 1.12 for hospitalization, RR = 1.52 for ICU admission, and RR = 1.19 for death). In the lower-risk group, an increased hospitalization risk was detected in patients on anti-CD20 (RR = 3.03, p = 0.005), whereas a decrease was detected in patients on interferon (0 observed vs 4 expected events, p = 0.04). DISCUSSION: Overall, the MS cohort had a risk of severe events that is twice the risk than the age- and sex-matched Italian population. This excess of risk is mainly explained by the EDSS score and comorbidities, whereas a residual increase of hospitalization risk was observed in patients on anti-CD20 therapies and a decrease in people on interferon

Serum IgG against Simian Virus 40 antigens are hampered by high levels of sHLA-G in patients affected by inflammatory neurological diseases, as multiple sclerosis

Background: Many investigators detected the simian polyomavirus SV40 footprints in human brain tumors and neurologic diseases and recently it has been indicated that SV40 seems to be associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) disease. Interestingly, SV40 interacts with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules for cell entry. HLA class I antigens, in particular non-classical HLA-G molecules, characterized by an immune-regulatory function, are involved in MS disease, and the levels of these molecules are modified according with the disease status. Objective: We investigated in serum samples, from Italian patients affected by MS, other inflammatory diseases (OIND), non-inflammatory neurological diseases (NIND) and healthy subjects (HS), SV40-antibody and soluble sHLA-G and the association between SV40-prevalence and sHLA-G levels. Methods: ELISA tests were used for SV40-antibodies detection and sHLA-G quantitation in serum samples. Results: The presence of SV40 antibodies was observed in 6 % of patients affected by MS (N = 4/63), 10 % of OIND (N = 8/77) and 15 % of NIND (N = 9/59), which is suggestive of a lower prevalence in respect to HS (22 %, N = 18/83). MS patients are characterized by higher sHLA-G serum levels (13.9 \ub1 0.9 ng/ml; mean \ub1 St. Error) in comparison with OIND (6.7 \ub1 0.8 ng/ml), NIND (2.9 \ub1 0.4 ng/ml) and HS (2.6 \ub1 0.7 ng/ml) subjects. Interestingly, we observed an inverse correlation between SV40 antibody prevalence and sHLA-G serum levels in MS patients. Conclusion: The data obtained showed a low prevalence of SV40 antibodies in MS patients. These results seems to be due to a generalized status of inability to counteract SV40 infection via antibody production. In particular, we hypothesize that SV40 immune-inhibitory direct effect and the presence of high levels of the immune-inhibitory HLA-G molecules could co-operate in impairing B lymphocyte activation towards SV40 specific peptides