Flight test of a resident backup software system

A new fault-tolerant system software concept employing the primary digital computers as host for the backup software portion has been implemented and flight tested in the F-8 digital fly-by-wire airplane. The system was implemented in such a way that essentially no transients occurred in transferring from primary to backup software. This was accomplished without a significant increase in the complexity of the backup software. The primary digital system was frame synchronized, which provided several advantages in implementing the resident backup software system. Since the time of the flight tests, two other flight vehicle programs have made a commitment to incorporate resident backup software similar in nature to the system described in this paper

Rapid One-Step Fabrication of Graphene Oxide-Decorated Polycaprolactone Three-Dimensional Templates for Water Treatment

Coating of flexible substrates is crucial to prepare versatile, multifunctional materials. However, exploration of effective fabrication approaches is still a challenging issue, because the pathways generally proposed require time-consuming, multistep protocols. Here, we developed a one-pot process for decorating either pearl necklace-like or fibrous fluffy-like structures of polycaprolactone (PCL) with graphene oxide (GO) skin. PCL solutions were dry jet-wet electrosprayed or electrospun into a stirred liquid collector constituted by ethanol-containing GO nanoparticles. The stirred liquid collector enables the formation of 3D-structures, whose microarchitecture can be designed by controlling the rheological behavior of PCL solutions. Two molecular weights of PCL were used (45 or 80 kDa) with ensuing different viscosity, which determines the prevalent formation of beads or fibers. The presence of GO in the coagulation bath allows the polymeric structures to be rapidly wrapped by those nanoparticles. Graphenic coating endows these materials with the intriguing peculiarities of GO: PCL/GO nanocomposites displayed increments of elastic modulus ranging from 1250% (beads) to 3300% (fibers) with respect to the neat matrices and a change from hydrophobic to amphiphilic character. A potential application of such devices in water treatment was assessed in phenol removal. The results pointed out that PCL/GO scaffolds retain the same sorption capacity of GO nanoparticles, while bringing several advantages in terms of handling, robustness, and recyclability. The ease of control of the process, as well as its fastness and cost-effectiveness could open a wide range of scenarios, including sensors, energy, catalysis, biomedicine

ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF SWALLOWING SOUNDS: A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR ASSESSING DYSPHAGIA

Objective: To perform acoustic analysis of swallowing sounds, using a microphone and a notebook computer system, in healthy subjects and patients with dysphagia affected by neurological diseases, testing the positive/negative predictive value of a pathological pattern of swallowing sounds for penetration/aspiration. Design: Diagnostic test study, prospective, not blinded, with the penetration/aspiration evaluated by fibreoptic endo scopy of swallowing as criterion standard. Subjects: Data from a previously recorded database of normal swallowing sounds for 60 healthy subjects according to gender, age, and bolus consistency was compared with those of 15 patients with dysphagia from a university hospital referral centre who were affected by various neurological diseases. Methods: Mean duration of the swallowing sounds and postswallowing apnoea were recorded. Penetration/aspiration was verified by fibreoptic endoscopy of swallowing in all patients with dysphagia. Results: The mean duration of swallowing sounds for a liquid bolus of 10 ml water was significantly different between patients with dysphagia and healthy patients. We also described patterns of swallowing sounds and tested the negative/positive predictive values of post-swallowing apnoea for penetration/aspiration verified by fibreoptic endoscopy of swallowing (sensitivity 0.67 (95% confidence interval 0.24–0.94); specificity 1.00 (95% confidence interval 0.56–1.00)). Conclusion: The proposed technique for recording and measuring swallowing sounds could be incorporated into the bedside evaluation, but it should not replace the use of more diagnostic and valuable measures

Channeler Ant Model: 3D segmentation of medical images through ant colonies

In this paper the Channeler Ant Model (CAM) and some results of its applications to the analysis of medical images are described. The CAM is an algorithm able to segment 3D structures with different shapes, intensity and background. It makes use of virtual ant colonies and exploits their natural capabilities to modify the environment and communicate with each other by pheromone deposition. Its performance has been validated with the segmentation of 3D artificial objects and it has been already used successfully in lung nodules detection on Computer Tomography images. This work tries to evaluate the CAM as a candidate to solve the quantitative segmentation problem in Magnetic Resonance brain images: to evaluate the percentage of white matter, gray matter and cerebrospinal fluid in each voxel

The Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on outdoor physical activities for people with disabilities, including the risks for psychophysical well-being

The restrictions and social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have created many obstacles in the practice of outdoor physical activity (OPA) throughout the world, particularly for the most vulnerable people, such as those with disabilities. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of pandemic-related limitations on the OPA of an Italian cohort of people with disabilities practicing sports. A retrospective observational study was conducted using an online survey. The questionnaire was distributed to 121 disabled athletes who practiced different outdoor physical activities. A total of 96 completed the survey, which collected demographic data, information about daily outdoor physical activity and sports habits, and about physical and psychological health before and during the pandemic. The frequency of daily OPA per week, along with the hours of physical activity, significantly decreased during the pandemic compared to those of the year before (p < 0.0001). A statistically significant deterioration was also found in the physical and mental well-being of disabled athletes during the pandemic (p < 0.0001) when compared to those from the year before the advent of COVID-19. This research demonstrated the negative impact of COVID-19 restrictions on OPA levels and on the physical and mental well-being of athletes with disabilities. It also highlighted a new challenge regarding the sustainability and integration of the national health system, demonstrating the necessity of improving the consistent accessibility of people with disabilities to OPA, both under normal conditions and emergency situations, in order to guarantee their psychophysical well-being

Medial or Lateral, That Is the Question: A Retrospective Study to Compare Two Injection Techniques in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis Pain with Hyaluronic Acid

Background: Mild-to-moderate knee osteoarthritis (KOA) can be successfully treated using intra-articular hyaluronic acid (IA-HA). The medial infrapatellar (MIP) approach and lateral infrapatellar (LIP) approach are two of the most used techniques for performing IA-HA, but it is still not clear which one is preferable. Objectives: The study aims to find the best knee injection technique between MIP and LIP approaches. Methods: In total, 161 patients were enrolled, divided into two groups (MIP or LIP). Each technique was performed once a week for three weeks. Patients were evaluated using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and Roles and Maudsley Score (RMS) at T0 (before the first injection), T1 (one week after the third injection) and T2 (six months after). Results: NRS, KOOS and RMS showed a statistically significant improvement in both groups at all the detection times, without significant differences. No differences were detected between the groups in terms of systemic effect effusions, while the MIP group presented a mildly higher number of bruises in comparison with the LIP group (p = 0.034). Conclusions: Both the IA-HA techniques are equally effective in measured outcomes. The MIP approach seems to produce some local and transient side effects. So, the choice of the LIP or MIP approach depends on the operator’s skill and experience

Anisakiasis and gastroallergic reactions associated with Anisakis pegreffii infection, Italy.

Human cases of gastric anisakiasis caused by the zoonotic parasite Anisakis pegreffii are increasing in Italy. The disease is caused by ingestion of larval nematodes in lightly cooked or raw seafood. Because symptoms are vague and serodiagnosis is difficult, the disease is often misdiagnosed and cases are understimated

Acoustic analysis of swallowing sounds: A new technique for assessing dysphagia

Objective: To perform acoustic analysis of swallowing sounds, using a microphone and a notebook computer system, in healthy subjects and patients with dysphagia affected by neurological diseases, testing the positive/negative predictive value of a pathological pattern of swallowing sounds for penetration/aspiration. Design: Diagnostic test study, prospective, not blinded, with the penetration/aspiration evaluated by fibreoptic endo scopy of swallowing as criterion standard. Subjects: Data from a previously recorded database of normal swallowing sounds for 60 healthy subjects according to gender, age, and bolus consistency was compared with those of 15 patients with dysphagia from a university hospital referral centre who were affected by various neurological diseases. Methods: Mean duration of the swallowing sounds and postswallowing apnoea were recorded. Penetration/aspiration was verified by fibreoptic endoscopy of swallowing in all patients with dysphagia. Results: The mean duration of swallowing sounds for a liquid bolus of 10 ml water was significantly different between patients with dysphagia and healthy patients. We also described patterns of swallowing sounds and tested the negative/positive predictive values of post-swallowing apnoea for penetration/aspiration verified by fibreoptic endoscopy of swallowing (sensitivity 0.67 (95% confidence interval 0.24–0.94); specificity 1.00 (95% confidence interval 0.56–1.00)). Conclusion: The proposed technique for recording and measuring swallowing sounds could be incorporated into the bedside evaluation, but it should not replace the use of more diagnostic and valuable measures

Muon `Depth -- Intensity' Relation Measured by LVD Underground Experiment and Cosmic-Ray Muon Spectrum at Sea Level

We present the analysis of the muon events with all muon multiplicities collected during 21804 hours of operation of the first LVD tower. The measured angular distribution of muon intensity has been converted to the `depth -- vertical intensity' relation in the depth range from 3 to 12 km w.e.. The analysis of this relation allowed to derive the power index, $\gamma$, of the primary all-nucleon spectrum: $\gamma=2.78 \pm 0.05$. The `depth -- vertical intensity' relation has been converted to standard rock and the comparison with the data of other experiments has been done. We present also the derived vertical muon spectrum at sea level.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, to be published on Phys. Rev.

Cytotoxic activity of a plant extract on cancer cells

Chemoprevention by natural products may be considered a promising approach to cancer control and management [1]. Many studies have demonstrated antiproliferative, cytostatic and cytotoxic activities of phytochemicals against cancer cells [2]. In this study, a plant extract from Arctium lappa, Berberis vulgaris and Eschscholtia californica was tested as potential anticancer agent. The antitumoral activity of this plant extract was tested on four human cancer cell lines: MCF-7 (breast carcinoma cells), Huh-7 (hepatic carcinoma cells), HTB-43 (oropharyngeal carcinoma cells) and ECV- 304 (urinary bladder carcinoma cells). The efficacy of the extract was compared to the common chemotherapeutic agent cyclophosphamide. Three plant extract concentrations were tested: 800, 650 and 450 ng/ml; for cyclophosphamide, three concentrations were assayed, according to literature data: 1300, 1000 and 850 ng/ml [3]. In addition, plant extract and cyclophosphamide were tested on two primary cell lines as controls, human gingival fibroblasts and human mammary fibroblasts. Cell viability was evaluated by the MTT [(3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, Sigma] colorimetric assay and the new xCELLigence system (Roche) for real-time monitoring of cell viability. All concentrations of plant extract exhibited a high level of cytotoxicity on MCF-7, Huh-7, HTB-43 and ECV-304 cancer cells, similar to cyclophosphamide, though they slightly reduced viability of human gingival and mammary fibroblasts. Conversely, the conventional chemotherapeutic drug showed a marked cytotoxicity on control cells. The potential of the plant extract has been demonstrated in vitro on various types of cancers, suggesting a possible use of this natural product as a promising anticancer agent. Further studies are needed to ascertain its efficacy in vivo and to elucidate its mechanism(s) of action at molecular and biochemical levels