EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF THE TRANSIENT BEHAVIOR OF AN ENGINE COOLING RADIATOR

The aim of this work is to study the behavior of an engine cooling radiator in a transient state, with circulation of heated water. An experimental apparatus was constructed with the radiator inside a wind tunnel. The water is pumped from a small water tank to a heater, passes through the heat exchanger, and returns to the tank. The tests were carried out with constant flowrates of water and air, and the heater was turned on and then off according to a pulse function. The temperatures of the radiator, the air and the water were measured on several points with thermocouples and a thermal camera. The flow of water and air were measured as well. A fast dynamics because of the radiator was observed, whereas a slow one was noticed due to water heating in the tank. The steady state was reached after 15 min. These results might be useful in the project of a vehicle cooling system under transient conditions

Detection of Torquetenovirus and Redondovirus DNA in Saliva Samples from SARS-CoV-2-Positive and -Negative Subjects

Torquetenovirus (TTV) and Redondovirus (ReDoV) are the most prevalent viruses found in the human respiratory virome in viral metagenomics studies. A large-scale epidemiological study was performed to investigate their prevalence and loads in saliva samples according to SARS-CoV-2 status

SARS-CoV-2 positivity in rectal swabs: implication for possible transmission

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Rise of the BQ.1.1.37 SARS-CoV-2 Sublineage, Italy

: BQ.1.1 has dominated the Europe and Americas COVID-19 wave across the 2022-2023 winter, and further viral evolution is expected to escape the consolidating immune responses. We report here the emergence of the BQ.1.1.37 variant in Italy, peaking in January 2022 before suffering competition by XBB.1.*. We attempted to correlate the potential fitness of BQ.1.1.37 with a unique two-amino acid insertion within the Spike protein

Performance of VivaDiag COVID-19 IgM/IgG Rapid Test is inadequate for diagnosis of COVID-19 in acute patients referring to emergency room department

9NAnonenoneCassaniti I.; Novazzi F.; Giardina F.; Salinaro F.; Sachs M.; Perlini S.; Bruno R.; Mojoli F.; Baldanti F.Cassaniti, I.; Novazzi, F.; Giardina, F.; Salinaro, F.; Sachs, M.; Perlini, S.; Bruno, R.; Mojoli, F.; Baldanti, F

Sars-cov-2 virologic and immunologic correlates in patients with olfactory and taste disorders

9The main object of the study was to investigate the SARS-CoV-2 molecular and serological pattern in patients with mild symptoms including anosmia and ageusia. A cohort of 69 patients with olfactory and taste disorders (OTDs) were enrolled and prospectively monitored. Serological and molecular assays for the characterization of SARS-CoV-2 IgG and SARS-CoV-2 RNA, respectively, were performed at the time of enrolment and after 7 and 14 days. Patients were stratified according to the symptoms’ onset. A total of 52 patients (75.4%) were diagnosed as COVID-19 positive being SARS-CoV-2 RNA and/or SARS-CoV-2 IgG positive. The remaining 17 (24.6%) were negative for COVID-19 and excluded from the analysis. We reported that only 34 out of 52 patients (65.4%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Moreover, the median time from onset of symptoms and enrolment was significantly higher in those patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 RNA in nasal swabs, suggesting that symptoms might last longer than SARS-CoV-2 replication. The great majority of patients (80%) developed SARS-CoV-2 IgG at three weeks after symptoms’ onset while the detectability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA dramatically decreased over time, suggesting the crucial role of combination of molecular and serological assays for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in those patients reporting mild symptoms.nonenoneBenazzo M.; Cassaniti I.; Maiorano E.; Calastri A.; Novazzi F.; Bonetti A.; Sarasini A.; Bruno R.; Baldanti F.Benazzo, M.; Cassaniti, I.; Maiorano, E.; Calastri, A.; Novazzi, F.; Bonetti, A.; Sarasini, A.; Bruno, R.; Baldanti, F

Human Herpes Virus 7-related encephalopathy in children

Background: Primary HHV7 infection is almost ubiquitous, and it can present as exanthema subitem. Little is known on the clinical relevance of HHV7 neuroinvasion in immunocompetent children. Methods: We describe 12 patients (median age 9.45 years, 50% males) with acute encephalopathy and active HHV7 infection. In all patients, HHV7-DNA was detected on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by RT-PCR. Results: 7/12 patients had meningoencephalitis (two with ADEM and one with MOG antibody-associated CIS); 5/12 showed acute neu-ropsychiatric symptoms. EEG showed anomalies exclusively in patients with meningoencephalitis. Six patients had RMN anomalies. CSF HHV7 copies ranged between 20 and 3,500 copies/mL (median 66 copies/mL) and mean HHV7 CSF/blood ratio was 0.75. Outcome was favorable in all children, although 3/12 had minor neu-robehavioral sequelae. Mean follow-up period of 5.2 months. Conclusions: HHV7 can determine neuroinvasion in immunocompetent children, leading to acute encephalopathy. Blood-brain barrier damage and high CSF/ blood viral copies ratio correlated with a more severe presentation. We speculate on the importance of immune-mediated mechanisms in provoking clinical features. (www.actabiomedica.it)

Emergence of Letermovir-resistant HCMV UL56 mutant during rescue treatment in a liver transplant recipient with ganciclovir-resistant infection HCMV: a case report

Background: Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) still represents a crucial concern in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) and the use of antiviral therapy are limited by side effects and the selection of viral mutations conferring antiviral drug resistance. Case presentation: Here we reported the case of an HCMV seronegative patient with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), multiple hepatic adenomatosis, hepatopulmonary syndrome and portal hypertension who received a liver transplant from an HCMV seropositive donor. The patient was treated with Valganciclovir (vGCV) and then IV Ganciclovir (GCV) at 5 week post-transplant for uncontrolled HCMV DNAemia. However, since mutation A594V in UL97 gene conferring resistance to ganciclovir was reported, GCV therapy was interrupted. Due to the high toxicity of Foscarnet (FOS) and Cidofovir (CDV), Letermovir (LMV) monotherapy at the dosage of 480 mg per day was administered, with a gradual viral load reduction. However, a relapse of HCMV DNAemia revealed the presence of mutation C325Y in HCMV UL56 gene conferring resistance to LMV. Conclusions: In conclusion, even if LMV is an effective and favorable safety molecule it might have a lower genetic barrier to resistance. A warning on the use of LMV monotherapy as rescue treatments for HCMV GCV-resistant infections in transplant recipients is warranted