Coupled NASTRAN/boundary element formulation for acoustic scattering

A coupled finite element/boundary element capability is described for calculating the sound pressure field scattered by an arbitrary submerged 3-D elastic structure. Structural and fluid impedances are calculated with no approximation other than discretization. The surface fluid pressures and normal velocities are first calculated by coupling a NASTRAN finite element model of the structure with a discretized form of the Helmholtz surface integral equation for the exterior field. Far field pressures are then evaluated from the surface solution using the Helmholtz exterior integral equation. The overall approach is illustrated and validated using a known analytic solution for scattering from submerged spherical shells

Comparison of view-based and reconstruction-based models of human navigational strategy

There is good evidence that simple animals such as bees use view-based strategies to return to a familiar location but humans could use a 3D reconstruction to achieve the same goal. Assuming some noise in the storage and retrieval process, these two types of strategy give rise to different patterns of predicted errors in homing. We describe an experiment that can help distinguish between these models. Participants wore a head mounted display to carry out a homing task in immersive virtual reality. They viewed three long thin vertical poles and had to remember where they were in relation to the poles before being transported (virtually) to a new location in the scene from where they had to walk back to the original location. The experiment was conducted in both a rich-cue scene (a furnished room) and a sparse scene (no background and no floor or ceiling). As one would expect, in a rich-cue environment the overall error was smaller and in this case the ability to separate the models was reduced. However, for the sparse-cue environment the view-based model outperforms the reconstruction-based model. Specifically, the likelihood of the experimental data is similar to the likelihood of samples drawn from the view-based model (but assessed under both models) while this is not true for samples drawn from the reconstruction-based model

Property loss potentials for European midlatitude storms in a changing climate

Winter storms of the midlatitudes are an important factor for property losses caused by natural hazards over Europe. The storm series in early 1990 and late 1999 led to enormous economic damages and insured claims. Although significant trends in North Atlantic/European storm activity have not been identified for the last few decades, recent studies provide evidence that under anthropogenic climate change the number of extreme storms could increase, whereas the total number of cyclones may be slightly reduced. In this study, loss potentials derived from an ensemble of climate models using a simple storm damage model under climate change conditions are shown. For the United Kingdom and Germany ensemble-mean storm-related losses are found to increase by up to 37%. Furthermore, the interannual variability of extreme events will increase leading to a higher risk of extreme storm activity and related losses

Evaluation of carcass quality, body and pulmonary lesions detected at the abattoir in heavy pigs subjected or not to tail docking

BackgroundNowadays, body and tail lesions and respiratory disease are some of the greatest problems affecting the health and welfare of pigs. The aim of the study was to measure the prevalence of pleurisy, bronchopneumonia (enzootic pneumonia like lesions) and lesions on tail and body of heavy pigs subjected or not to tail docking through the inspection in Italian abattoirs. Additionally, the effect of tail docking and season was investigated on carcass quality (weight, % of lean meat, and Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) classification). For this purpose, a total 17.256 carcasses belonging to 171 batches from 103 farms were inspected in an Italian abattoir between 2019 and 2022. Enzootic pneumonia (EP) like lesions were scored according to the Madec and Derrien method, while pleurisy was scored using the Italian Slaughterhouse pleuritic evaluation system (SPES). For the tail and body, the lesions were scored according to Welfare Quality. The lesion score index (LSI) was calculated for each area. Data were analysed using a general linear model (GLM) including tail caudectomy, season and distance of the farm from the abattoir.ResultsThe warm season increased the percentage of lesions in carcasses in all parts of the body observed (P < 0.0001). The presence of undocked tail increased the LSI of the tail (P < 0.0001). The percentage of limbs lesions with score 2 and limbs LSI increase with increasing duration of transport (coef. = 0.003, P < 0.001; coef. = 0.008, P < 0.001; respectively). The hot carcass weight and the percentage of carcasses included in the PDO were higher in batches with docked tails (P = 0.027; P < 0.001, respectively), while the percentage of lean meat was higher in batches with undocked tails (P < 0.001). There was a negative correlation between the percentage of carcasses included in PDO and the LSI of tail (r = - 0.422; P < 0.001).ConclusionsIn conclusion, the presence of the undocked tail and the warm season can be considered risk factors for the prevalence of tail lesions, while long transport can increase limb lesions. Furthermore, the carcass weight and meat quality were negatively influenced by tail lesions

Effects of inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system on hypertension-induced target organ damage: Clinical and experimental evidence

The dysregulation of renin-angiotensin-system (RAS) plays a pivotal role in hypertension and in the development of the related target organ damage (TOD). The main goal of treating hypertension is represented by the long-term reduction of cardiovascular (CV) risk. RAS inhibition either by angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitors or by type 1 Angiotensin II receptors blockers (ARBs), reduce the incidence of CV events in hypertensive patients. Actually, ACE-inhibitors and ARBs have been demonstrated to be effective to prevent, or delay TOD like left ventricular hypertrophy, chronic kidney disease, and atherosclerosis. The beneficial effects of RAS blockers on clinical outcome of hypertensive patients are due to the key role of angiotensin II in the pathogenesis of TOD. In particular, Angiotensin II through an inflammatory-mediated mechanism plays a role in the initiation, progression and vulnerability of atherosclerotic plaque. In addition, Angiotensin II can be considered the hormonal transductor of the pressure overload in cardiac myocytes, and through an autocrine-paracrine mechanism plays a role in the development of left ventricular hypertrophy. Angiotensin II by modulating the redox status and the immune system participates to the development of chronic kidney disease. The RAS blocker should be considered the first therapeutic option in patients with hypertension, even if ACE-inhibitors and ARBs have different impact on CV prevention. ARBs seem to have greater neuro-protective effects, while ACE-inhibitors have greater cardio-protective action

Attività di laboratorio collegate a casi di corrosione in ambito nautico: ricerca delle cause di danneggiamento

A seguito dei controlli effettuati su componenti di imbarcazioni (scafi, assi portaelica, impianti diraffreddamento), sono stati riscontrati vari tipi di corrosione, schematicamente rappresentati.Tali casi coinvolgono i diversi materiali usati nelle imbarcazioni o negli apparati loro propri e sono statiillustrati i relativi controlli più significativi, quali l’osservazione visiva, gli esami macrografici, l’analisichimica del materiale, la sua caratterizzazione micro-strutturale e le misure di differenza di potenziale (ddp)