Wearable sensors for gait analysis

Systems based on inertial sensors are increasingly used in motion analysis due to their low cost, portability and wearability. However, since accuracy is crucial in clinical gait analysis, it is important to assess it in new systems. The aim of this study is to compare the performances of a magnetic and inertial sensors system (MIMUs) to a gold standard, the electromechanical system STEP32. Results shows that spatio-temporal parameters are accurately estimated by the MIMUs system. Joint kinematics does not reach the accuracy of the STEP32 system. In fact, although MIMUs measurements on the knee and hip joints are clinically acceptable, they are not yet reliable for the ankle joint

Wearable sensors for gait analysis: Comparison between a MIMUs system and a gold standard electromechanical system

Systems based on inertial sensors are increasingly used in motion analysis due to their low cost, portability and wearability. However, since accuracy is crucial in clinical gait analysis, it is important to assess it in new systems. The aim of this study is to compare the performances of a magnetic and inertial sensors system (MIMUs) to a gold standard, the electromechanical system STEP32. Results shows that spatio-temporal parameters are accurately estimated by the MIMUs system. Joint kinematics does not reach the accuracy of the STEP32 system. In fact, although MIMUs measurements on the knee and hip joints are clinically acceptable, they are not yet reliable for the ankle joint

A potential beach monitoring based on integrated methods

This study focuses on the analysis of sandy beaches by integrating sedimentological, geomorphological, and geophysical investigations. The beach represents an extremely variable environment where different natural processes act simultaneously with human activities, leading to the gathering of different methodologies of the Earth Sciences to study its evolution in space and time. The aim of this research is to propose a potential procedure for monitoring the morpho-sedimentary processes of sandy beaches by analyzing the textural and compositional characteristics of the sands and quantifying the volumes involved in the coastal dynamics. The study area includes two Apulian sandy beaches (Torre Guaceto and Le Dune beach) that are representative of the coastal dynamics of a large sector of the central/northern Mediterranean Sea involving the southern Adriatic Sea and the northern Ionian Sea. Sedimentological and ecological investigations allowed to describe the textural and compositional characteristics of the beach sands by interpreting their sand provenance and the physical/biological interactions within the beach. The topographic surveys carried out with a Terrestrial Laser Scanner and an Optical Total Station, aimed to quantify the variations of sediment volume over time, whereas the Delft3d software was applied to analyze the effects of the dominant wave motion on the sedimentary dynamics. Lastly, the geophysical techniques which included Sub Bottom Profiler procedures, Ground Penetrating Radar investigation, and resistivity models enabled us to calculate the sand sediment thickness above the bedrock

Trends in coffee and tea consumption during the covid-19 pandemic

Over the last two years, many countries have enforced confinement to limit both the spread of COVID-19 and the demand for medical care. Confinement has resulted in a disruption of work routines, boredom, depression, and changes in eating habits, among them consumption of coffee and tea. Following six databases, we examined articles tracking consumption of these beverages. Out of 472 articles, including 23 beverage entries, 13 matched our criteria. While no clear trend in coffee consumption during the coronavirus pandemic emerged (7 of 13 studies indicated an increase, accounting for 53.8%), tea consumption clearly increased (70% versus 30%). Considering the global health emergency continuum, more research is needed to better understand the paths underlying food choices and the ways those changes may influence health outcomes, including those related to COVID-19 disease

Durable high-performance water-based anti-reflective coating for PV module glass

Without an antireflective coating, more than 4% of incident light is reflected from the standard front cover glass of photovoltaic (PV) modules. Module efficiency is one of the most important levers to impact the cost-per-watt of solar and recovering some of this reflected light with a simple anti-reflective coating (ARC) has become widespread. The types of ARC can vary in deposition method (roll coating, spray coating, sputtering, etc.) as well as composition and performance. The most widely adopted coatings today are based on a porous silica film with a thickness optimized for the solar spectrum. Current coatings, however, have room for improvement in both the performance and cost, giving manufacturers reason to seek new solutions that drive down the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). In this work, we report the test results for a new AR coating from WattGlass showing significantly improved optical performance compared to the traditional AR coatings. The WattGlass AR coating takes advantage of water-based chemistry that is more environmentally friendly than the sol-gel process used in standard production coatings. This chemistry allows a high performance and durable coating to be deposited and cured at room temperature and is compatible with an industry standard glass tempering process. The samples under test in this work were subjected to extensive environmental and accelerated lifetime testing performed by CREST (Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology) at Loughborough University

COVID19 outbreak in Lombardy, Italy: An analysis on the short-term relationship between air pollution, climatic factors and the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Short-term exposure to air pollution, as well as to climate variables have been linked to a higher incidence of respiratory viral diseases. The study aims to assess the short-term influence of air pollution and climate on COVID19 incidence in Lombardy (Italy), during the early stage of the outbreak, before the implementation of the lockdown measures. The daily number of COVID19 cases in Lombardy from February 25th to March 10th, 2020, and the daily average concentrations up to 15 days before the study period of particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5), O3, SO2, and NO2 together with climate variables (temperature, relative humidity – RH%, wind speed, precipitation), were analyzed. A univariable mixed model with a logarithm transformation as link function was applied for each day, from 15 days (lag15) to one day (lag1) before the day of detected cases, to evaluate the effect of each variable. Additionally, change points (Break Points-BP) in the relationship between incident cases and air pollution or climatic factors were estimated. The results did not show a univocal relationship between air quality or climate factors and COVID19 incidence. PM10, PM2.5 and O3 concentrations in the last lags seem to be related to an increased COVID19 incidence, probably due to an increased susceptibility of the host. In addition, low temperature and low wind speed in some lags resulted associated with increased daily COVID19 incidence. The findings observed suggest that these factors, in particular conditions and lags, may increase individual susceptibility to the development of viral infections such as SARS-CoV-2

Human herpes virus 8 replication during disseminated tuberculosis in a man with human immunodeficiency virus: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8) is mainly responsible for the development of Kaposi's sarcoma and multicentric Castleman's disease in immunocompromised patients with untreated human immunodeficiency virus. Positive viral loads have been described in cases of Kaposi's sarcoma and multicentric Castleman's disease, with higher values found in the latter. We describe the case of a patient with HIV in whom a high level of HHV-8 replication was detected and who contracted an opportunistic disease other than multicentric Castleman's disease or Kaposi's sarcoma. CASE PRESENTATION: A 25-year-old man of West African origin with HIV complained of asthenia, weight loss, fever, and abdominal pain. Physical examination revealed that the patient had adenopathies and hepatosplenomegaly, but no skin or mucosal lesions were seen. Our first presumptive diagnosis was disseminated tuberculosis. However, since the cultures (sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage, blood, urine and lymph node biopsies) for mycobacteria were negative, the diagnosis was expanded to include multicentric Castleman's disease which was supported by high HHV-8 viral loads in the patient's blood: 196,000 copies/ml in whole blood, 39,400 copies/ml in plasma and 260 copies/10E5 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. However, the histology and positive polymerase chain reaction assay for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex of a second lymph node biopsy enabled us to conclude that the patient had disseminated tuberculosis and we started the patient on antituberculosis treatment. We analyzed the HHV-8 deoxyribonucleic acid in two other plasma samples (one from six months earlier and the other was 10 days after the positive test) and both yielded negative results. A search for latent and lytic HHV-8 antibodies confirmed that the patient was seropositive for HHV-8 before this episode. CONCLUSION: We describe the case of a patient with HIV who tested positive for asymptomatic HHV-8 replication during an opportunistic disease suggestive of multicentric Castleman's disease. The initial analysis was nullified by the diagnosis of a disease that was unrelated to HHV-8. This case report underlines the need to clarify the full clinical meaning and implication of a positive HHV-8 viral load in patients with AIDS. The diagnosis of multicentric Castleman's disease needs to be studied further to determine its sensitivity and specificity. Finally, when faced with the dilemma of urgently starting chemotherapy on a patient whose condition is deteriorating and whose clinical presentation suggests multicentric Castleman's disease, high HHV-8 viral loads should be interpreted with caution and histological analysis of lymph nodes or liver biopsies should be obtained first

Replication of Epstein-Barr Virus Primary Infection in Human Tonsil Tissue Explants

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may cause a variety of virus-associated diseases, but no antiviral agents have yet been developed against this virus. Animal models are thus indispensable for the pathological analysis of EBV-related infections and the elucidation of therapeutic methods. To establish a model system for the study of EBV infection, we tested the ability of B95–8 virus and recombinant EBV expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) to replicate in human lymphoid tissue. Human tonsil tissues that had been surgically removed during routine tonsillectomy were sectioned into small blocks and placed on top of collagen sponge gels in culture medium at the air-interface, then a cell-free viral suspension was directly applied to the top of each tissue block. Increasing levels of EBV DNA in culture medium were observed after 12–15 days through 24 days post-infection in tissue models infected with B95–8 and EGFP-EBV. Expression levels of eight EBV-associated genes in cells collected from culture medium were increased during culture. EBV-encoded small RNA-positive cells were detected in the interfollicular areas in paraffin-embedded sections. Flow cytometric analyses revealed that most EGFP+ cells were CD3− CD56− CD19+ HLA-DR+, and represented both naïve (immunoglobulin D+) and memory (CD27+) B cells. Moreover, EBV replication in this model was suppressed by acyclovir treatment in a dose-dependent manner. These data suggest that this model has potential for use in the pathological analysis of local tissues at the time of primary infection, as well as for screening novel antiviral agents

Contrasting Roles for TLR Ligands in HIV-1 Pathogenesis

The first line of a host's response to various pathogens is triggered by their engagement of cellular pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). Binding of microbial ligands to these receptors leads to the induction of a variety of cellular factors that alter intracellular and extracellular environment and interfere directly or indirectly with the life cycle of the triggering pathogen. Such changes may also affect any coinfecting microbe. Using ligands to Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 5 and 9, we examined their effect on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 replication in lymphoid tissue ex vivo. We found marked differences in the outcomes of such treatment. While flagellin (TLR5 agonist) treatment enhanced replication of CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR 5)-tropic and CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4)-tropic HIV-1, treatment with oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) M362 (TLR9 agonist) suppressed both viral variants. The differential effects of these TLR ligands on HIV-1 replication correlated with changes in production of CC chemokines CCL3, CCL4, CCL5, and of CXC chemokines CXCL10, and CXCL12 in the ligand-treated HIV-1-infected tissues. The nature and/or magnitude of these changes were dependent on the ligand as well as on the HIV-1 viral strain. Moreover, the tested ligands differed in their ability to induce cellular activation as evaluated by the expression of the cluster of differentiation markers (CD) 25, CD38, CD39, CD69, CD154, and human leukocyte antigen D related (HLA)-DR as well as of a cell proliferation marker, Ki67, and of CCR5. No significant effect of the ligand treatment was observed on apoptosis and cell death/loss in the treated lymphoid tissue ex vivo. Our results suggest that binding of microbial ligands to TLRs is one of the mechanisms that mediate interactions between coinfected microbes and HIV-1 in human tissues. Thus, the engagement of appropriate TLRs by microbial molecules or their mimetic might become a new strategy for HIV therapy or prevention