Living-Floors and Structures From the Lower Paleolithic to the Bronze Age in Italy

New researches have been performed on the analysis of some Italian dwelling structures dating from the Lower Paleolithic to Bronze Age. Different methods have been applied to each study according to the extensions of the areas explored. The following sites have been analyzed: Isernia La Pineta (Molise), Visogliano (Trieste) – Lower Paleolithic; Grotta del Cavallo (Lecce), Grotta Grande and Riparo del Molare (Salerno) – Middle Paleolithic; Grotta di Fumane (Verona), Riparo Tagliente (Verona), Grotta Continenza (Fucino L’Aquila), San Bartolomeo (Maiella Mountain, Abruzzo) – Upper Paleolithic; Mondeval de Sora (Belluno), Alpe Veglia (Verbania) and Grotta Edera (Aurisina, Trieste) Mesolithic; Cala Giovanna Piano (Pianosa Island, Livorno), Contraguda (Perfugas, Sassari), Colle Santo Stefano (Fucino, L’Aquila), Catignano (Pescara), Settefonti (L’Aquila) – Neolithic; Castellaro Lagusello (Monzambano, Mantua) – Bronze Age

Electrocardiographic findings in patients with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy and right bundle branch block ventricular tachycardia

AIMS: Little is known about patients with right bundle branch block (RBBB)-ventricular tachycardia (VT) and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM). Our aims were: (i) to describe electrocardiogram (ECG) characteristics of sinus rhythm (SR) and VT; (ii) to correlate SR with RBBB-VT ECGs; and (iii) to compare VT ECGs with electro-anatomic mapping (EAM) data. METHODS AND RESULTS: From the European Survey on ACM, 70 patients with spontaneous RBBB-VT were included. Putative left ventricular (LV) sites of origin (SOOs) were estimated with a VT-axis-derived methodology and confirmed by EAM data when available.  Overall, 49 (70%) patients met definite Task Force Criteria. Low QRS voltage predominated in lateral leads (n = 37, 55%), but QRS fragmentation was more frequent in inferior leads (n = 15, 23%). T-wave inversion (TWI) was equally frequent in inferior (n = 28, 42%) and lateral (n = 27, 40%) leads. TWI in inferior leads was associated with reduced LV ejection fraction (LVEF; 46 ± 10 vs. 53 ± 8, P = 0.02). Regarding SOOs, the inferior wall harboured 31 (46%) SOOs, followed by the lateral wall (n = 17, 25%), the anterior wall (n = 15, 22%), and the septum (n = 4, 6%). EAM data were available for 16 patients and showed good concordance with the putative SOOs. In all patients with superior-axis RBBB-VT who underwent endo-epicardial VT activation mapping, VT originated from the LV. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with ACM and RBBB-VT, RBBB-VTs originated mainly from the inferior and lateral LV walls. SR depolarization and repolarization abnormalities were frequent and associated with underlying variants

Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy: One, None and a Hundred Thousand Diseases

According to the most recent expert consensus statement, arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (AC) is defined as an arrhythmogenic heart muscle disorder, not explained by ischemic, hypertensive, or valvular heart disease, presenting clinically as symptoms or documentation of atrial fibrillation, conduction disease, and/or right ventricular (RV) and/or left ventricular (LV) arrhythmia [...

Postoperative Arrhythmias after Cardiac Surgery: Incidence, Risk Factors, and Therapeutic Management

Arrhythmias are a known complication after cardiac surgery and represent a major cause of morbidity, increased length of hospital stay, and economic costs. However, little is known about incidence, risk factors, and treatment of early postoperative arrhythmias. Both tachyarrhythmias and bradyarrhythmias can present in the postoperative period. In this setting, atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder. Postoperative atrial fibrillation is often self-limiting, but it may require anticoagulation therapy and either a rate or rhythm control strategy. However, ventricular arrhythmias and conduction disturbances can also occur. Sustained ventricular arrhythmias in the recovery period after cardiac surgery may warrant acute treatment and long-term preventive strategy in the absence of reversible causes. Transient bradyarrhythmias may be managed with temporary pacing wires placed at surgery, but significant and persistent atrioventricular block or sinus node dysfunction can occur with the need for permanent pacing. We provide a complete and updated review about mechanisms, risk factors, and treatment strategies for the main postoperative arrhythmias

The Aging Heart: A Molecular and Clinical Challenge

Aging is associated with an increasing burden of morbidity, especially for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). General cardiovascular risk factors, ischemic heart diseases, heart failure, arrhythmias, and cardiomyopathies present a significant prevalence in older people, and are characterized by peculiar clinical manifestations that have distinct features compared with the same conditions in a younger population. Remarkably, the aging heart phenotype in both healthy individuals and patients with CVD reflects modifications at the cellular level. An improvement in the knowledge of the physiological and pathological molecular mechanisms underlying cardiac aging could improve clinical management of older patients and offer new therapeutic targets

Experimental Analysis of LEDs’Reliability Under Combined Stress Conditions

none5There are many practical situations in which the reliability of a device cannot be correctly predicted by considering only a single stress. In these cases, the use of a more complicated life model working with multi-stress is needed: in practice, taking into account two stresses provides good results in several real applications. In this paper, the problem of deriving a life model for LEDs that can be usefully employed in actual operating conditions is faced. The combination of thermal stress and forward current is considered and a test system used to carry out an exhaustive measurement campaign is presented. The results of some experiments are also presented and discussed.noneA. Albertini; M.G. Masi; G. Mazzanti; L. Peretto; R. TinarelliA. Albertini; M.G. Masi; G. Mazzanti; L. Peretto; R. Tinarell

Monitoring Cable current and Laying Environment Parameters for Assessing the Aging Rate of MV Cable Joint Insulation

Joints are critical components of MV cable distribution networks and the aging rate of their insulation is particularly sensitive to temperature due to loading current and laying environment parameters. This makes it very useful to monitor the load current and laying environment parameters (humidity, pressure and temperature) of joints, so as to single out conditions that might accelerate joint insulation aging rate critically. This paper illustrates the installation of humidity, pressure, current and temperature sensors - in a partnership between e-distribuzione (the main DSO in Italy) and the University of Bologna - to assess the aging rate of cable joint insulation in underground distribution network