Productos médicos para uso único en hospitales de la provincia de córdoba: relevamiento y fichas técnicas informativas.

Introducción: Este artículo presenta resultados de un estudio retrospectivo y transversal sobre consumo de Productos Médicos para Uso Único (PMUU) en hospitales de Córdoba, Argentina, entre febrero-diciembre de 2011. Objetivos: i) Obtener información sobre consumo de PMUU; ii) Identificar los PMUU más solicitados; iii) Proponer Fichas Técnicas Informativas (FTI) de PMUU para farmacéuticos hospitalarios. Métodos: Los datos se tomaron de las solicitudes de cotización de PMUU en una muestra de 4 hospitales. Los criterios de inclusión y de exclusión fueron: PMUU utilizados al internar un paciente y jeringas/agujas, respectivamente. Resultados: Se solicitaron 175.246 PMUU, siendo los más solicitados los Equipos para Administrar Soluciones Parenterales (EPASP, 43,1 %), las Sondas para Intubación Gástrica y Nasogástrica (SPIGYNG, 14,7 %) y las Llaves de Tres Vías (14,6 %). Se diseñó una FTI modelo con 10 ítems: Definición, Utilización, Presentación Comercial, Descripción, Controles de Calidad, Recomendaciones para la Compra Segura, Condiciones de Almacenamiento, Instrucciones Sugeridas para su Uso, Precauciones y Advertencias, Bibliografía. A partir de la FTI modelo diseñada, se prepararon 10 FTI PMUU correspondientes a la familia de los Equipos para Administra Soluciones Parenterales (EPASP). Conclusión: Existe un alto consumo de PMUU en hospitales de Córdoba, y desinformación sobre características técnicas, modo de adquisición y almacenamiento de PMUU. Se aspira a que las FTI diseñadas puedan constituirse en un recurso valioso para la selección y adquisición de PMUU, no solo en hospitales de la Provincia de Córdoba sino también de nuestro país

Influence of Manufacturing Constraints on the Topology Optimization of an Automotive Dashboard

Topology Optimization (TO) methods optimize material layout to design light-weight and high-performance products. However, TO methods, applied for components or assembly with high complexity shape or for structures with copious number of parts respectively, do not usually take into account the manufacturability of the optimized geometries, then a heavy further work is required to engineer the product, risking to compromise the mass reduction achieved. Within an Industry 4.0 approach, we propose to evaluate manufacturing constraints since early stages of the conceptual design to perform a TO coherent with the manufacturing technology chosen. Several approaches of TO with different manufacturing constraints such as casting and extrusion are proposed and each solution is compared. The optimum conceptual design is determined in order to minimize the component weight while satisfying both the structural targets and the manufacturing constraints; a case study on a high-performance sport car dashboard is finally presented

EVALUATING DEGREE OF COMPACTION OF LEVEES USING CONE PENETRATION TESTING

Permeability and strength parameters of compacted soils (i.e. levees as well as other earthworks) may be correlated to the degree of compaction. Since the use of conventional and recent testing methods for the assessment of density and water content of earthworks, under construction, cannot be applied to existing levees, an expeditious and accurate method for the assessment of the degree of compaction of existing and new levees, after their completion, appears extremely useful. The purpose of this research is to develop a simple tool for the assessment of the degree of compaction of “compacted”, partially saturated, fine grained soils. This paper illustrates the proposed method which combines in situ testing like electric CPT or CPTu with laboratory penetration testing performed with a mini–cone in a calibration chamber (CC)

Rheological characterisation of cold bitumen emulsion slurries

The performance of cold bitumen emulsion (CBE) mixtures is strongly linked to an optimised design of the binder blends and mastics. Types and dosages of bitumen, mineral additions and the workability must be characterised and optimised. This study aims at providing an approach for the fundamental characterisation of CBE materials using rotational viscometry. Firstly, a procedure for measuring the viscosity of CBE slurries using the Brookfield viscometer was investigated by comparing results obtained by using a traditional spindle geometry and a novel impeller engineered to avoid phase separation: the dual helical ribbon (DHR). Afterwards, the effect of mineral additions and bitumen emulsions types was measured and modelled, also considering the influence of their concentration. The Krieger-Dougherty model proved to be a powerful tool to fit results and provide fundamental parameters for improved CBE materials engineering characterisation. Overall, the DHR was found a promising tool for CBE slurries rheological characterisation

Improvement of manufacturing technologies through a modelling approach: an air-steam sterilization case-study

Abstract A milestone of Industry 4.0 is the improvement of the design procedures requiring models of complex processes. Models can be used to simulate the process, being accurate even if complex, and to predict process behaviour for control action, requiring simplicity and stability. In the last years, machine learning approaches came up alongside of the standard identification techniques for prediction purposes. In this work we propose two models of an industrial autoclave to describe the evolution of temperature and pressure. The first model (PhM) involves a physical structure with data-driven adaptation of the parameters, the second one is a Long Short-Term Memory network (LSTM), trained ensuring Input-to-State stability. Both models obtained good performance: FIT of 94.26% (91.55%) for the temperature (pressure) with PhM; 84.59% (78.31 %) for the temperature (pressure) with the LSTM. Future developments involve the synthesis of an MPC based on the LSTM to be tested in simulation via PhM

Double-Framed Thin Elastomer Devices

Elastomers and, in particular, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) are widely adopted as biocompatible mechanically compliant substrates for soft and flexible micro-nanosystems in medicine, biology, and engineering. However, several applications require such low thicknesses (e.g., <100 μm) that make peeling-off critical because very thin elastomers become delicate and tend to exhibit strong adhesion with carriers. Moreover, microfabrication techniques such as photolithography use solvents which swell PDMS, introducing complexity and possible contamination, thus limiting industrial scalability and preventing many biomedical applications. Here, we combine low-adhesion and rectangular carrier substrates, adhesive Kapton frames, micromilling-defined shadow masks, and adhesive-neutralizing paper frames for enabling fast, easy, green, contaminant-free, and scalable manufacturing of thin elastomer devices, with both simplified peeling and handling. The accurate alignment between the frame and shadow masks can be further facilitated by micromilled marking lines on the back side of the low-adhesion carrier. As a proof of concept, we show epidermal sensors on a 50 μm-thick PDMS substrate for measuring strain, the skin bioimpedance and the heart rate. The proposed approach paves the way to a straightforward, green, and scalable fabrication of contaminant-free thin devices on elastomers for a wide variety of applications.Elastomers and, in particular, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) are widely adopted as biocompatible mechanically compliant substrates for soft and flexible micro-nanosystems in medicine, biology, and engineering. However, several applications require such low thicknesses (e.g., <100 μm) that make peeling-off critical because very thin elastomers become delicate and tend to exhibit strong adhesion with carriers. Moreover, microfabrication techniques such as photolithography use solvents which swell PDMS, introducing complexity and possible contamination, thus limiting industrial scalability and preventing many biomedical applications. Here, we combine low-adhesion and rectangular carrier substrates, adhesive Kapton frames, micromilling-defined shadow masks, and adhesive-neutralizing paper frames for enabling fast, easy, green, contaminant-free, and scalable manufacturing of thin elastomer devices, with both simplified peeling and handling. The accurate alignment between the frame and shadow masks can be further facilitated by micromilled marking lines on the back side of the low-adhesion carrier. As a proof of concept, we show epidermal sensors on a 50 μm-thick PDMS substrate for measuring strain, the skin bioimpedance and the heart rate. The proposed approach paves the way to a straightforward, green, and scalable fabrication of contaminant-free thin devices on elastomers for a wide variety of applications

IGF-I induces upregulation of DDR1 collagen receptor in breast cancer cells by suppressing MIR-199a-5p through the PI3K/AKT pathway.

Discoidin Domain Receptor 1 (DDR1) is a collagen receptor tyrosine-kinase that contributes to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and enhances cancer progression. Our previous data indicate that, in breast cancer cells, DDR1 interacts with IGF-1R and positively modulates IGF-1R expression and biological responses, suggesting that the DDR1-IGF-IR cross-talk may play an important role in cancer.In this study, we set out to evaluate whether IGF-I stimulation may affect DDR1 expression. Indeed, in breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) IGF-I induced significant increase of DDR1 protein expression, in a time and dose dependent manner. However, we did not observe parallel changes in DDR1 mRNA. DDR1 upregulation required the activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway while the ERK1/2, the p70/mTOR and the PKC pathways were not involved. Moreover, we observed that DDR1 protein upregulation was induced by translational mechanisms involving miR-199a-5p suppression through PI3K/AKT activation. This effect was confirmed by both IGF-II produced by cancer-associated fibroblasts from human breast cancer and by stable transfection of breast cancer cells with a human IGF-II expression construct. Transfection with a constitutively active form of AKT was sufficient to decrease miR-199a-5p and upregulate DDR1. Accordingly, IGF-I-induced DDR1 upregulation was inhibited by transfection with pre-miR-199a-5p, which also impaired AKT activation and cell migration and proliferation in response to IGF-I.These results demonstrate that, in breast cancer cells, a novel pathway involving AKT/miR-199a-5p/DDR1 plays a role in modulating IGFs biological responses. Therefore, this signaling pathway may represent an important target for breast cancers with over-activation of the IGF-IR axis

A meta-learning algorithm for respiratory flow prediction from FBG-based wearables in unrestrained conditions

The continuous monitoring of an individual's breathing can be an instrument for the assessment and enhancement of human wellness. Specific respiratory features are unique markers of the deterioration of a health condition, the onset of a disease, fatigue and stressful circumstances. The early and reliable prediction of high-risk situations can result in the implementation of appropriate intervention strategies that might be lifesaving. Hence, smart wearables for the monitoring of continuous breathing have recently been attracting the interest of many researchers and companies. However, most of the existing approaches do not provide comprehensive respiratory information. For this reason, a meta-learning algorithm based on LSTM neural networks for inferring the respiratory flow from a wearable system embedding FBG sensors and inertial units is herein proposed. Different conventional machine learning approaches were implemented as well to ultimately compare the results. The meta-learning algorithm turned out to be the most accurate in predicting respiratory flow when new subjects are considered. Furthermore, the LSTM model memory capability has been proven to be advantageous for capturing relevant aspects of the breathing pattern. The algorithms were tested under different conditions, both static and dynamic, and with more unobtrusive device configurations. The meta-learning results demonstrated that a short one-time calibration may provide subject-specific models which predict the respiratory flow with high accuracy, even when the number of sensors is reduced. Flow RMS errors on the test set ranged from 22.03 L/min, when the minimum number of sensors was considered, to 9.97 L/min for the complete setting (target flow range: 69.231 ± 21.477 L/min). The correlation coefficient r between the target and the predicted flow changed accordingly, being higher (r = 0.9) for the most comprehensive and heterogeneous wearable device configuration. Similar results were achieved even with simpler settings which included the thoracic sensors (r ranging from 0.84 to 0.88; test flow RMSE = 10.99 L/min, when exclusively using the thoracic FBGs). The further estimation of respiratory parameters, i.e., rate and volume, with low errors across different breathing behaviors and postures proved the potential of such approach. These findings lay the foundation for the implementation of reliable custom solutions and more sophisticated artificial intelligence-based algorithms for daily life health-related applications

Geohazard features of the north-western Sicily and Pantelleria

9 pages, 3 figures, supplemental material https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2024.2342931.-- Data availability statement: Department of Earth and Marine Science of the University of Palermo for institutional purposes, so their access will be available by contacting the reference people (attilio.sulliunipa.it) upon reasonable requestWe present maps of geohazard features identified across north-western Sicily and Pantelleria in the framework of the Magic project (MArine Geohazard along Italian Coasts), which involved Italian marine geological researchers in 2007-2013. These seafloor features were recognized using high-resolution bathymetry data and rely on the morphological expression of the seafloor and shallow sub-surface processes. The north-western Sicily is a complex continental margin, affected by morphodynamic, depositional, and tectonic processes. The Egadi offshore is controlled by fault escarpments and alternating retreating and progradational processes. Ustica and Pantelleria submerged edifices show the effect of volcanic activity. The Ustica seafloor is interested in volcanic, tectonic, and gravitational instability processes, while the Pantelleria offshore underwent erosive-depositional processes and the effect of bottom currents. Two levels of interpretation are represented: the physiographic domain at a scale of 1:250.000 and the morphological units and morpho-bathymetric elements at a 1:100.000 scaleThe Magic Project has been funded by the Italian Civil Protection Department. [...] With the institutional support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S)Peer reviewe