Design and Development of a License Plate Recognition System for Adventist University of the Philippines

Plate number recording is a practice that is done in vehicular terminals to ensure the security and order inside the premise that corresponds to the vehicular terminal. The Adventist University of the Philippines adopts the method by manual logging of plate numbers at the university main gate. The study designed an automation process of recording vehicle’s plate number using Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) algorithm, a barrier beam prototype-to-software interaction using Arduino microcontroller, and secured data storage using MySQL administrator. Findings showed that the ALPR library is tuned to have greater affinity with 2016 Philippine Plate Number format. The software interacts with the barrier beam through serial communication that which is facilitated by the microcontroller. The system is able to detect and recognize the plate number of interacting vehicles, and store it in the database with minimum supervision required. It also has the ability to distinguish local vehicles from the visiting ones. The system’s override capabilities compensate for the ever-varying environment and situation in the university. On the other hand, the barrier beam reacts accordingly for every prompt given by the system. The proposed system is warranted as useful for automating the license plate recording process in the university’s vehicular terminals

The rapid spread of SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant in Italy reflected early through wastewater surveillance

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged in South Africa in November 2021, and has later been identified worldwide, raising serious concerns. A real-time RT-PCR assay was designed for the rapid screening of the Omicron variant, targeting characteristic mutations of the spike gene. The assay was used to test 737 sewage samples collected throughout Italy (19/21 Regions) between 11 November and 25 December 2021, with the aim of assessing the spread of the Omicron variant in the country. Positive samples were also tested with a real-time RT-PCR developed by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), and through nested RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Overall, 115 samples tested positive for Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. The first occurrence was detected on 7 December, in Veneto, North Italy. Later on, the variant spread extremely fast in three weeks, with prevalence of positive wastewater samples rising from 1.0% (1/104 samples) in the week 5–11 December, to 17.5% (25/143 samples) in the week 12–18, to 65.9% (89/135 samples) in the week 19–25, in line with the increase in cases of infection with the Omicron variant observed during December in Italy. Similarly, the number of Regions/Autonomous Provinces in which the variant was detected increased from one in the first week, to 11 in the second, and to 17 in the last one. The presence of the Omicron variant was confirmed by the JRC real-time RT-PCR in 79.1% (91/115) of the positive samples, and by Sanger sequencing in 66% (64/97) of PCR amplicons. In conclusion, we designed an RT-qPCR assay capable to detect the Omicron variant, which can be successfully used for the purpose of wastewater-based epidemiology. We also described the history of the introduction and diffusion of the Omicron variant in the Italian population and territory, confirming the effectiveness of sewage monitoring as a powerful surveillance tool

Dermatite da contatto nei lavoratori edili: i risultati del data base triveneto dal 1997 al 2016.

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Hormone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 staus evaluation on Thinprep specimens from breast carcinoma: correlation with histologic section detremination

BACKGROUND: Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a well-accepted procedure for the diagnosis and biological characterization of breast carcinoma. Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status have a strong prognostic and predictive value in invasive breast carcinoma (IBC). ThinPrep (TP) cytology, which uses an alcohol-based fixative, is increasingly being used for immunocytochemistry. In this study, the authors compared the immunocytochemical evaluation of hormone receptors (HR) and HER2 on TP-processed FNAC with the immunohistochemical analysis performed on the corresponding formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) breast tumor specimens, which are considered the gold standard. METHODS: FNACs were performed on 116 primary IBCs at the time of diagnosis and subjected to immunocytochemical evaluation of HR and HER2 using the TP method. The same markers were immunohistochemical evaluated on the corresponding FFPE tissue specimens. HER2 fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis was performed only on the equivocal immunohistochemical results. RESULTS: The HR results of the TP cytology specimens showed a very good agreement with those of the corresponding FFPE tissue samples (Cohen kappa test = 0.92; concordance rate = 98%) for estrogen receptor, and a good agreement (kappa = 0.76; concordance rate = 90.9%) for progesterone receptor. A perfect agreement (kappa = 1) was observed between TP and FFPE tissue samples in evaluating HER2 status. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol-based fixation seems not to affect the immunocytochemical evaluation of HR and HER2. Considering the high levels of agreement between the evaluation of HR and HER2, on both cytology specimens and on the corresponding FFPE tissue samples, the authors concluded that the TP technique can be routinely used for the biological characterization of IBC. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2012;

Terapia ormonale sostitutiva nella menopausa chirurgica

[No abstract available

Care transition from child/adolescents to adult services

In countries with distinct child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), access to continued care in adult services can be problematic for those who reach the CAMHS service boundary. This transition boundary occurs at a time of significant change for young people, both in terms of biological and social maturation. Care transition is associated with increased anxiety and uncertainty for young people and their parents, often due to a suboptimal transition process. Adult mental health services (AMHS) have high eligibility thresholds, meaning continuity of care is most likely for those with more severe mental illness. Those who do not meet this threshold are further disadvantaged by the variability in service provision for adult well-being services. Increased uptake of recent policy initiatives and expansion of new service models is needed to ensure young people can continue to access appropriate care into adulthood