Investigation of workers’ exposures to vibrations produced by portable shakers

Herein note focussed the attention on the vibration levels issued by two portable shakers models build in different and subsequent times by the same building company, which presents different design and constructive solutions for both the handles. The two tools were used, during tests, by a single operator, expert in the use of this typology of tools due to his job activity during the olives harvesting campaigns; the measurements were carried out respecting the indications contained in the provisions UNI EN ISO 5349. A different dynamic behaviour of the two tools emerged from the tests. Has been highlighted, also, the importance of the evaluation of the vibrations produced by portable shakers with the purposes to carry out studies that aim to the research of technical solutions which allow the reduction of vibrations transmission through the handles and through the shoulder support device of the tool

COVID-19 in rheumatic diseases in Italy: first results from the Italian registry of the Italian Society for Rheumatology (CONTROL-19)

OBJECTIVES: Italy was one of the first countries significantly affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. The Italian Society for Rheumatology promptly launched a retrospective and anonymised data collection to monitor COVID-19 in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs), the CONTROL-19 surveillance database, which is part of the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance. METHODS: CONTROL-19 includes patients with RMDs and proven severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) updated until May 3rd 2020. In this analysis, only molecular diagnoses were included. The data collection covered demographic data, medical history (general and RMD-related), treatments and COVID-19 related features, treatments, and outcome. In this paper, we report the first descriptive data from the CONTROL-19 registry. RESULTS: The population of the first 232 patients (36% males) consisted mainly of elderly patients (mean age 62.2 years), who used corticosteroids (51.7%), and suffered from multi-morbidity (median comorbidities 2). Rheumatoid arthritis was the most frequent disease (34.1%), followed by spondyloarthritis (26.3%), connective tissue disease (21.1%) and vasculitis (11.2%). Most cases had an active disease (69.4%). Clinical presentation of COVID-19 was typical, with systemic symptoms (fever and asthenia) and respiratory symptoms. The overall outcome was severe, with high frequencies of hospitalisation (69.8%), respiratory support oxygen (55.7%), non-invasive ventilation (20.9%) or mechanical ventilation (7.5%), and 19% of deaths. Male patients typically manifested a worse prognosis. Immunomodulatory treatments were not significantly associated with an increased risk of intensive care unit admission/mechanical ventilation/death. CONCLUSIONS: Although the report mainly includes the most severe cases, its temporal and spatial trend supports the validity of the national surveillance system. More complete data are being acquired in order to both test the hypothesis that RMD patients may have a different outcome from that of the general population and determine the safety of immunomodulatory treatments

EVALUATION OF THE MICROCLIMATE DURING OLIVE OIL EXTRACTION OPERATIONS INSIDE OLIVE MILLS

Some oil mills, among the most representative in the Puglia Region in terms of quality and productivity have been considered, and the temperature and humidity of the environment and the sensations of temperature felt by the workers were registered inside them during the process of oil extraction. Subsequently, a numerical code in MATLAB language was created, able to calculate the PMV and PPD and a study was carried out of the conditions of global comfort in the environment during the oil extraction process. The results of the surveys carried out in the mills show the importance of microclimate risk analysis in these workplaces, since the instrumental surveys and the calculations have shown that climatic conditions are not comfortable in the olive storage bays. On the other hand, the data from the oil extraction areas shows an acceptable condition of thermal well-being

Analisi delle esposizioni al rumore nella filiera olivicola: rilievi nelle fasi di raccolta meccanica e spremitura delle olive

Noise levels produced by the machineries more often used during the harvesting phase of the olives in Apulia region have been detected; in a second phase measurements of the noise emissions within the olive mills during the phase of oil extraction have been carried out. A number of olive mills, representative both for quality and for quantity of the production, have been taken into account. Different noise levels have been detected during the open field tests caried out with the self-moved shaking machine (LEP,d = 77,2 dB(A)) and the hand-held shaking machine (LEP,d = 91,7 dB(A)). Also for the tests carried out within the olive mills during the olive extraction phase different noise levels have been obtained; in this case, higher noise levels have been detected in continuous olive mills (LEP,d = 86,2 dB(A)) rather than in traditional ones (LEP,d = 79,0 dB(A)). A wider experimentation on the noise levels and on the microclimate in the olive mills would be hoped for, so as to put identify designs guide lines for the structures and the for the production machinery layout in order to realize more comfortable working conditions for the operators

Loading the Antenna Gap with Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Transistors: A Versatile Approach for the Rectification of Free-Space Radiation

Light conversion into dc current is of paramount interest for a wide range of upcoming energy applications. Here we integrated dipole antennas with field-effect transistors based on a two-dimensional electron gas, with the specific aim of rectifying free-space radiation exploiting both artificial and natural nonlinearities. In the present work, resonant conditions of antenna-coupled field-effect rectifiers have been identified in a terahertz experiment based on the well-established GaAs transistor technology. Rectification of free-space radiation has been observed in a broad 0.15–0.40 THz range by implementing quasi-optical coupling with a substrate lens to an AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure transistor into the gap of a cross-dipole antenna. The short- and the open-circuit resonances have been clearly identified through a comparison between experimental photocurrent spectra, electromagnetic simulations, and antenna models. The former depends only on the dipole antenna geometry, while the latter is determined by the impedance matching between the antenna and the integrated device and, as such, can be even tuned to the desired frequency by applying a dc gate bias. In addition, the high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas supports plasma wave cavity resonances featuring natural hydrodynamic nonlinearity. The resonant peaks corresponding to the different rectification mechanisms have been identified and discussed in terms of simple lumped-element models. The demonstrated concepts are extrapolated toward infrared frequencies, where novel application demands and novel two-dimensional electron gas materials for antenna-coupled rectifiers are emerging