The Eddy Experiment: accurate GNSS-R ocean altimetry from low altitude aircraft

During the Eddy Experiment, two synchronous GPS receivers were flown at 1 km altitude to collect L1 signals and their reflections from the sea surface for assessment of altimetric precision and accuracy. Wind speed (U10) was around 10 m/s, and SWH up to 2 m. A geophysical parametric waveform model was used for retracking and estimation of the lapse between the direct and reflected signals with a 1-second precision of 3 m. The lapse was used to estimate the SSH along the track using a differential model. The RMS error of the 20 km averaged GNSS-R absolute altimetric solution with respect to Jason-1 SSH and a GPS buoy measurement was of 10 cm, with a 2 cm mean difference. Multipath and retracking parameter sensitivity due to the low altitude are suspected to have degraded accuracy. This result provides an important milestone on the road to a GNSS-R mesoscale altimetry space mission.Comment: All Starlab authors have contributed significantly; the Starlab Author list has been ordered randoml

Detection of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma liver disease in cirrhotic patients

Computer tomography (CT) scan and ultrasound scan (US) are the preferred methods for staging subdiaphragmatic non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL),1 but their sensitivity in detecting focal lesions in the liver may be reduced if fibrosis is present. We investigated 6 NHL patients who also had a viral liver disease (chronic active hepatitis or cirrhosis) by US and CT liver scans and liver biopsy. US was performed using a Spazio-Hitachi instrument with a 3.5 MHz probe. With the exception of two patients, who underwent laparotomy as a diagnostic procedure, liver biopsy was performed under US guidance using a Menghini fine needle with automatic aspiration (1.2 mm in diameter x 150 mm in length), or a Chiba fine needle (0.7 mm x 150 mm)

Liver nodular regenerative hyperplasia after bone marrow transplant.

We report an unusual liver disease which may occur after bone marrow transplantation, i.e. the collapse of hepatic lobuli followed by regenerative islets: the resulting clinical picture may mimic GvHD or a viral disease, but histology is diagnostic, showing nodular regeneration in the absence of inflammation or fibrosis

Feasibility study and design concept for an orbiting ice-penetrating radar sounder to characterize in three-dimensions the Europan ice mantle down to (and including) any ice/ocean interface

This report presents a radar sounding model based on the range of current working hypotheses for the nature of Europa's icy shell.Institute for Geophysic

Use of psychiatric inpatient services by heavy users: Findings from a national survey in Italy

Indagine epidemiologica nazionale sull'uso dei SPDC da parte dei pazienti più gravi sul versante dell'uso dei Serviz

Refusing to Endorse. A must Explanation for Pejoratives.

In her analysis of pejoratives, Eva Picardi rejects a too sharp separation between descriptive and expressive content. I reconstruct some of her arguments, endorsing Eva’s criticism of Williamson’s analysis of Dummett and developing a suggestion by Manuel Garcia Carpintero on a speech act analysis of pejoratives. Eva’s main concern is accounting for our instinctive refusal to endorse an assertion containing pejoratives because it suggests a picture of reality we do not share. Her stance might be further developed claiming that uses of pejoratives not only suggest, but also promote a wrong picture of reality. Our refusal to endorse implies rejecting not only a wrong picture of reality but also a call for participation to what that picture promotes

Post-transplant cerebral toxoplasmosis diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging.

Cerebral toxoplasmosis is a rare late complication in allogeneic bone marrow transplanted patients. Neuroradiological findings may suggest the correct diagnosis. We report a patient in whom cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a lesion characteristic of toxoplasmosis. Anti- toxoplasma treatment led to clinical and radiological improvement. MRI seems to be a valid tool for detection and follow-up of cerebral toxoplasmosis

Efficacy of lamivudine to prevent hepatitis reactivation in hepatitis B virus-infected patients treated for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The association of hepatitis viruses with non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) is not rare. Several authors have reported an exceeding prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV)1-3 or of hepatitis B virus (HBV)4,5 infection in patients affected by NHL. A sustained increase of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) associated with high levels of HBV viremia (HBV-DNA) 1 to 2 months after the suspension of chemotherapy has been described in patients suffering from NHL and infected by HBV.7,8 Recently, a nucleotide analogue (lamivudine) was shown to be beneficial in HBV-infected patients with signs of active replication.6 The aim of this study was to investigate the role of lamivudine to treat or to prevent hepatitis reactivation in HBV-infected subjects suffering from NHL and undergoing chemotherapy