Magnetic and solar effects on ionospheric absorption at high latitude

Some periods of intense solar events and of strong magnetic storms have been selected and their effects on the ionospheric D region have been investigated on the basis of ionospheric absorption data derived from riometer measurements made at the Italian Antarctic Base of Terra Nova Bay (geographic coordinates: 74.69 S, 164.12 E; geomagnetic coordinates: 77.34 S, 279.41 E). It was found that sharp increases in ionospheric absorption are mainly due to solar protons emission with an energy greater than 10 MeV. Moreover, the day to night ratios of the ionospheric absorption are greater than 2 in the case of strong events of energetic protons emitted by the Sun, while during magnetic storms, these ratios range between 1 and 2

Riometry at the Italian Antarctic station of Terra Nova Bay

A solid-state riometer has been installed at Terra Nova Bay (74-420S and 164-060E) during the IX Italian Antarctic expedition (1993/1994) to provide, in the frame of the geophysical observatories, studies on the ionospheric absorption in the lower part of the ionosphere. This kind of measurements will integrate the already existing active vertical ionospheric sounding and the magnetic absolute vector observations, with the objective of investigating the state of the ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling. In order to evaluate the base disturbance to the riometer, a remote campaign has been performed at McCarthy Ridge, rather far from the base station, where no anthropic noise is expected. Preliminary data analysis confirms the good quality of the Antarctic riometer observations

Carotid plaque imaging profiling in subjects with risk factors (diabetes and hypertension)

Carotid artery stenosis (CAS) due to the presence of atherosclerotic plaque (AP) is a frequent medical condition and a known risk factor for stroke, and it is also known from literature that several risk factors promote the AP development, in particular aging, smoke, male sex, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoke, diabetes type 1 and 2, and genetic factors. The study of carotid atherosclerosis is continuously evolving: even if the strategies of treatment still depends mainly on the degree of stenosis (DoS) determined by the plaque, in the last years the attention has moved to the study of the plaque components in order to identify the so called “vulnerable” plaque: features like the fibrous cap status and thickness, the volume of the lipid-rich necrotic core and the presence of intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) are risk factors for plaque rupture, that can be studied with modern imaging techniques. The aim of this review is to give a general overview of the principle histological and imaging features of the subcomponent of carotid AP (CAP), focalizing in particular on the features of CAP of patients affected by hypertension and diabetes (in particular type 2 diabetes mellitus)

Helminth communities of herons (Aves: Ardeidae) in southern Italy

The helminth communities of nine species of herons from southern Italy were studied and compared. Of 24 taxa found including seven digeneans, seven nematodes, six cestodes and four acanthocephalans, only five taxa were found in more than one heron species, and five of the 21 taxa that could be identified to species level were classified as 'heron specialists'. The total number of helminth species per heron species ranged from 1 in Botaurus stellaris to 9 in Ixobrychus minutus with infection levels generally low. A statistical comparison was carried out for herons with a sample size >. 5. At the infracommunity level, only I. minutus clearly differed from other heron species. Diversity parameters of heminth infracommunities did not significantly differ among heron species. Species richness ranged from just 0.3 to 2.3 helminth taxa per individual host, and the Brillouin index, from 0 to 0.3. Total helminth abundance did not exceed 40 worms per host except in a single case of Ardeola ralloides. Infracommunities clearly were dominated by single helminth species. The present study confirms a depauperate helminth community in herons from southern Italy. Comparison with data from Spain and the Czech Republic showed strong quantitative similarities with values obtained in the present study. Results also suggest that the composition of local helminth communities are strongly variable depending on geographical location as is demonstrated by comparison with data from other European areas. However, whether herons in Europe naturally host depauperate helminth communities or these communities are depauperate because of other factors is unknow

Plasma cells in the carotid plaque: occurrence and significance

OBJECTIVE: Atherosclerosis is one of the leading causes of disability and mortality worldwide. Inflammation, including monocytes, T and B cells, plays a key role in its pathogenesis. Our purpose was to evaluate plasma cells’ presence in a large series of carotid artery plaques and the clinical association. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-eight consecutive patients treated with carotid endarterectomy were retrospectively analyzed to assess plasma cells’ presence inside the plaque. A semiquantitative grading score was applied, ranging from absence, scattered, clusters of 5-10, and sheets of >10 plasma cells. Plasma cell’s location, as intraplaque, subendothelial or peri-adventitial, was also defined. RESULTS: In 75% of plaques analyzed, plasma cells were detected: scattered in 63.9%, in clusters in 22.2%, and in sheets in 13.9% of cases. In all cases, plasma cells were observed only inside the plaque. In 13.9% and in 11.1% of cases, plasma cells showed, respectively, a concomitant subendothelial or peri-adventitial distribution. In 5.6% of plaques, there was a simultaneous distribution in subendothelial, peri-adventitial layer, and intraplaque. Association between the presence of symptoms and plasma cells infiltrate was found. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that plasma cells could be a key parameter linked to plaque instability. Some types of configurations are significantly associated with the occurrence of cerebrovascular symptoms

Variable Number of Tandem Repeats of the Insulin Gene Determines Susceptibility to Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults

Background: The different clinical presentations of latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) and type 1 diabetes mellitus may be the result of susceptibility genes in determining the mode of onset. We analyzed the 5′ polymorphisms of the insulin mini-satellite region (INS), a variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) [repeat units; RU]. We evaluated the association of the different INS-VNTR alleles in patient susceptibility to LADA autoimmune diabetes. To our knowledge, this constitutes the first study of this kind performed in a Caucasian population. Methods: From an group of 160 Argentinean patients previously characterized as having LADA, we selected 44 patients who presented with humoral autoimmunity for genotyping and compared them to 88 patients with type 1 diabetes and 138 healthy individuals. The INS-VNTR allele classes were determined by Southern blotting (class I: 21–44RU; class III: 138–159RU). Subjects with class I alleles were further studied using PCR amplification to determine the exact length of the alleles (short 1S: 22–37RU; medium 1M: 38–41RU; large 1L: 42–43RU). Allelic and genotype frequencies were estimated by χ2 tests for independence with 2 × 2 contingency tables and the relative risks (RR) were determined using GraphPad InStat software. Results: We observed differential associations among the class I alleles when comparing patients with LADA (80.6%) and type 1 diabetes (81.3%) with the controls (70%; p < 0.005). This increase was largely due to the high frequency of the 1S/S genotype (63.6% LADA vs 37% controls, with a p-value of 0.0019 [p1]; 53.4% type 1 diabetes vs 37% controls, with a p-value of 0.0149 [p2]). Remarkably, all LADA patients genotyped as class I homozygous had the shorter (S) class I allele (100%). Differences in the overall 1S distribution were observed: in LADA the 94.4% of the alleles were equal to or smaller than 35RU, while in patients with type 1 diabetes it was 78.3% and in controls 74.1%. Moreover, the relative risks associated with the 1S/S genotype for patients with LADA showed a substantial increase with respect to those with type 1 diabetes (52%) when we compare them to the controls (1S/S LADA/control, 2.282 [RR1] vs type 1 diabetes/control, 1.497 [RR2]). Conclusion: The presence of the 1S allele could be considered a risk factor in LADA patients, as previously reported for type 1 diabetes. The class I INS-VNTR allele in LADA increases genetic susceptibility to disease development.Centro de Endocrinología Experimental y Aplicad

PARASITOLOGICAL ZOONOSIS IN RABBIT MEAT: RESULTS OF SEROEPIDEMIOLOGICAL SURVEY FOR THE INVESTIGATION OF ENCEPHALITOZOON CUNICULI, TOXOPLASMA GONDII AND CHLAMYDIA PSITTACI IN ITALIAN RABBITRIES

ABSTRACT During June 2002 and February 2003 1,800 blood samples were collected from 5 slaughtering plants located in Campania region (Italy) which were supplied by 21 rabbitries situated in central and southern Italian regions, such as Campania, Lazio, Basilicata, Molise, Calabria. The aims of this study were to use the Carbon Immunoassay (India ink) test (CIA) and FC test to determine respectively the prevalence of specific zoonotic agents such as E. cuniculi, T. gondii and Chlamydia psittaci in fattening rabbits. For E. cuniculi of the total number of 1,800 sera examined, 490 were positive and they represented 27.2%. All supplying breeding farms were positive with a percentage from 10% (4/40) to 57.5% (23/40) of total sera collected from each slaughtered batch. Sera resulted less positive for T. gondii: of 1,800 sera only 50 (2.7%) were positive; these date were relative to 6/21 breeding farms. Serological Chlamydia screening resulted totally negative

On key technologies for realising digital twins for structural dynamics applications

The term digital twin has gained increasing popularity over the last few years. The concept, loosely based on a virtual model framework that can replicate a particular system for contexts of interest over time, will require the development and integration of several key technologies in order to be fully realised. This paper, focusing on vibration-related problems in mechanical systems, discusses these key technologies as the building blocks of a digital twin. The example of a simulation digital twin that can be used for asset management is then considered. After briefly discussing the building blocks required, the process of data-augmented modelling is selected for detailed investigation. This concept is one of the defining characteristics of the digital twin idea, and using a simple numerical example, it is shown how augmenting a model with data can be used to compensate for the inherent model discrepancy. Finally the implications of this type of data augmentation for future digital twin technology is discussed