BRDF characterization of Al-coated thermoplastic polymer surfaces

In this paper, we present a combined morphological and optical characterization of aluminum-coated thermoplastic polymer surfaces. Flat plastic substrates, obtained by means of an injection molding process starting from plastic granules, were coated with ultra-thin aluminum films evaporated in vacuo, on top of which a silicon-based protective layer was plasma deposited in order to prevent oxidation of the metal reflective surface. Different sample treatments were studied to unravel the influence of substrate chemistry, substrate thickness, aluminum and protective layer thickness, and surface roughness on the actual optical reflectance properties. Bidirectional reflectance distribution function measurements, corroborated by surface morphological information obtained by means of atomic force microscopy, correlate reflectance characteristics with the root-mean-square surface roughness, providing evidence for\ua0the role of the substrate and the thin films\u2019 morphology. The results unravel information of interest within many applicative fields involving metal coating processes of plastic substrates as an example in the case of automotive lighting

The BovMAS Consortium: investigation of bovine chromosome 14 for quantitative trait loci affecting milk production and quality traits in the Italian Holstein Friesian breed

Many studies have demonstrated that quantitative trait loci (QTL) can be identified and mapped in commercial dairy cattle populations using genetic markers in daughter and granddaughter designs.The final objective of these studies is to identify genes or markers that can be used in breeding schemes via marker assisted selection (MAS)

Severe pneumonia caused by Legionella pneumophila serogroup 11, Italy.

Legionella pneumophila serogroups (SGs) 1–16 cause pneumonia in humans. Although SG 1 is the serogroup most commonly associated with disease, we report a case of community-acquired legionellosis caused by SG 11

Is it cheating or learning the craft of writing? Using Turnitin to help students avoid plagiarism

Plagiarism is a growing problem for universities, many of which are turning to software detection for help in detecting and dealing with it. This paper explores issues around plagiarism and reports on a study of the use of Turnitin in a new university. The purpose of the study was to inform the senior management team about the plagiarism policy and the use of Turnitin. The study found that staff and students largely understood the university’s policy and Turnitin’s place within it, and were very supportive of the use of Turnitin in originality checking. Students who had not used Turnitin were generally keen to do so. The recommendation to the senior management team, which was implemented, was that the use of Turnitin for originality checking should be made compulsory where possible - at the time of the study the use of Turnitin was at the discretion of programme directors. A further aim of the study was to contribute to the sector’s body of knowledge. Prevention of plagiarism through education is a theme identified by Badge and Scott (2009) who conclude an area lacking in research is "investigation of the impact of these tools on staff teaching practices". Although a number of recent studies have considered educational use of Turnitin they focus on individual programmes or subject areas rather than institutions as a whole and the relationship with policy

Predicting 2-drug antiretroviral regimen efficacy by genotypic susceptibility score: results from a cohort study

Background: HIV drug resistance has a deleterious effect on the virological outcome of antiretroviral therapy (ART). The aim of the study was to evaluate the ability of genotypic susceptibility score (GSS) to predict virological outcome following an ART switch to a 2-drug regimen in virosuppressed HIV-1 infected patients. Material and methods: From the ARCA database we selected HIV-1 infected patients virologically suppressed switching to 2-drug ART (2006-2018, time of switch=baseline), with pre-baseline resistance genotype and at least one HIV-1 RNA determination during follow up. Primary endopoint was virological failure (VF: an HIV-RNA, VL, ≥ 200 cps/mL or 2 consecutive ≥ 50 cps/mL). Survival analysis was used to investigate predictors of VF. The GSS predicted by the latest and the cumulative genotype (CGSS) was calculated using the Stanford hivdb (v.8.5) with respect to the 2-drug regimen started. CD4 changes from baseline at weeks 24, 48 and 96 were assessed using Student’s t-test for paired samples. Results: We included 773 patients: 522 (68%) were males, 186 (24%) heterosexuals, with median age of 50 years (IQR, 43-56), 10 years of HIV (5-20), 7 years of ART (4-15) and 5 (3-8) previous antiretroviral (ARV) lines. At baseline patients had been virologically suppressed for 6.4 years (2.5-14), allowing isolated blips. The median zenith VL was 4.9 log10 (4.4-5.5), CD4 cells count at nadir 222 (108-324) and at baseline 640 (477-860). Median GSS was 2 (1.5-2), with GSS <2 in 213 (28%) pts, median CGSS was 2 (1-2), with CGSS <2 in 250 (33%). The previous ARV classes used were NRTI in 770 patients (99%), NNRTI in 416 (54%), boosted PI in 639 (83%) and INSTI in 218 (28%). Current ARV regimens included: PI+3TC in 455 pts (59%), of which 3TC+ ATV unboosted or ATV/r or ATV/c in 181 (23%) and DRV/r or DRV/c in 274 (36%), DTG+3TC in 260 (34%) and DTG+RPV in 58 (7%). During a median observation time of 75 wks (IQR 37-120) the estimated probability of VF at 48 weeks was 6% (95% CI 5-7) among patients with GSS=2, 4% (3-5) among patients with GSS 1-1.99 and 11% (4-18) among those with GSS <1 (Log Rank p=0.21). According to CGSS, the estimated probability of VF at 48 weeks was 5% (95% CI 1-6) among patients with CGSS =2, 6% (4-8) among patients with CGSS 1-1.99 and 8% (3-13) among those with CGSS <1 (Log Rank p=0.006) (Fig 1). Observed median changes of CD4+ counts from baseline were +24 cells/μL (IQR -67;+132) at 24 weeks, +49 cells/μL (IQR -31;+159) at 48 weeks and +74 cells/μL (IQR -30; +197) at 96 weeks (p<0.001 for all comparisons). At multivariate analysis, adjusting for years of ART, CD4 cell count at nadir and at baseline, CGSS strata, number of previous ARV lines, only longer time since last VL>50 cps/mL was associated with lower risk of VF (+ 1 year, aHR 0.89, 95% CI 0.82-0.98; p=0.01). Conclusions: Despite an effect of CGSS, the duration of virosuppression was the only independent predictor of virological efficacy of switching to 2-drug regimens

Usefulness of bronchoalveolar lavage in suspect COVID-19 repeatedly negative swab test and interstitial lung disease

The diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) relies on nasopharyngeal swab, which shows a 20–30% risk of false negativity [1]. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is reported to be useful in patients with pulmonary interstitial infiltrates on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). We investigated the usefulness of BAL in symptomatic patients with positive HRCT and a repeatedly negative swab test (‘grey zone’)