Studio dell'attrezzatura per l'esecuzione di prove sperimentali su elementi soggetti a fatica e a carichi dinamici

Progettazione di una struttura di contrasto che con l'ausilio di un attuatore oleodinamico servirà a compiere prove a fatica su elementi strutturali. Studio di vari Metodi di Analisi (Tensioni Nominali, Tensioni di Picco e Hot-Spot) per il dimensionamento a fatica del portale di contrasto. Progettazione preliminare di un portale per prove dinamich

Fault isolation in overhead distribution networks: new developments in outdoor fault detectors

In recent years, the importance of power quality is rapidly growing. As a consequence, distributors are called to guarantee a reduced number and duration of supply interruptions by adopting new strategies in order to identify and isolate faults along distribution feeders. In the paper some recent results obtained in the development of outdoor fault detectors for overhead lines are reported. Furthermore many possible applications of the innovative current and voltage sensors to future active distribution networks with distributed generation have been identified

[DRG and urinary tract infections in Paediatrics]

The aim of this study was the evaluation of admissions in 1995 in the two public hospitals of Verona (Azienda Ospedaliera di Verona) ascribed to the DRG 322 (urinary tract infections from birth to 17 years). Seventy-six patients with actual diagnosis of urinary tract infection were evaluated. The coefficient of variation of hospitalization for the DRG 322 was 52%, attesting a good grade of internal homogeneity. A more detailed subdivision of the DRG 322 on the basis of age is required in pediatric patients

Single-Cell Protein Profiling of Wastewater Enterobacterial Communities Predicts Disinfection Efficiency

The efficiency of enterobacterial disinfection is dependent largely on enterobacterial community physiology. However, the relationship between enterobacterial community physiology and wastewater processing is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate this relationship. The influence of wastewater treatment processes on enterobacterial community physiology was examined at the single-cell level by using culture-independent methods. Intracellular concentrations of two conserved proteins, the growth-related protein Fis and the stationary-phase protein Dps, were analyzed by epifluoresence microscopy of uncultivated cells by using enterobacterial group-specific polyclonal fluorochrome-coupled antibodies. Enterobacterial single-cell community protein profiles were distinct for different types of biological treatment. The differences were not apparent when bulk methods of protein analysis were used. Trickling filter wastewater yielded Fis-enriched communities compared to the communities in submerged aeration basin wastewater. Community differences in Fis and Dps contents were used to predict disinfection efficiency. Disinfection of community samples by heat exposure combined with cultivation in selective media confirmed that enterobacterial communities exhibited significant differences in sensitivity to disinfection. These findings provide strategies that can be used to increase treatment plant performance, reduce the enterobacterial content in municipal wastewater, and minimize the release of disinfection by-products into receiving water

Multicentric retrospective study of children affected by Wilson disease with hepatic presentation

J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nut

Persistence of elevated aminotransferases in Wilson's despite adeguate therapy.

Wilson's disease (WD) is characterized by a dramatic build-up of intracellular hepatic copper with subsequent hepatic and neurological abnormalities.1, 2 Prompt recognition of WD is crucial, because if not treated, the disease is fatal.2, 3 Most childhood cases of WD present with liver disease that mimics various liver disorders, while the typical neurological signs are usually absent. Hypertransaminasemia may be the only altered laboratory sign in early WD. Histological evidence of severe liver disease may occur in children with isolated hypertransaminasemia.4, 5 The response of serum transaminase levels to penicillamine and zinc treatment in WD is poorly understood, because the children with WD in earlier studies had a relatively advanced disease, and treatment efficacy was evaluated from parameters (i.e., jaundice, ascites, and neurological symptoms) other than serum transaminases.6–