1,159 research outputs found

    Iron Losses and Parameters Investigation of Multi-Three-Phase Induction Motors in Normal and Open-Phase Fault Conditions

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    Among multi-phase solutions, multi-three-phase induction machines (IMs) are gaining an increasing interest in the industry due to their advantages to be configured as multiple three-phase units simultaneously on the same magnetic circuit. According to this scenario, the identification of the equivalent circuit parameters and conventional iron losses covers a key role in evaluating performance and efficiency, especially when the machine is operated in a wide torque-speed range. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to investigate the core losses and the saturation phenomena of multi-three-phase IMs operated in normal and open-three-phase fault conditions under different harmonic contents of the air-gap magnetomotive force. A procedure to identify the parameters of the equivalent circuit of the machine in faulty conditions is reported. Experimental results are presented on a 12-phase asymmetrical IM featuring a quadruple three-phase stator winding. Finally, a comparison between normal and faulty conditions in terms of efficiency and losses for several machine working points is reported

    Mucinous breast cancer: A narrative review of the literature and a retrospective tertiary single-centre analysis

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    We reviewed literature and our data to find out mucinous breast cancer's overall survival (OS), disease free survival (DFS) and if there are differences between pure mucinous breast cancer and mixed mucinous breast cancer in terms of OS and DFS

    Molecular Basis of Inflammation in the Pathogenesis of Cardiomyopathies

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    Cardiomyopathies (CMPs) represent a diverse group of heart muscle diseases, grouped into specific morphological and functional phenotypes. CMPs are associated with mutations in sarcomeric and non-sarcomeric genes, with several suspected epigenetic and environmental mechanisms involved in determining penetrance and expressivity. The understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of myocardial diseases is fundamental to achieving a proper management and treatment of these disorders. Among these, inflammation seems to play an important role in the pathogenesis of CMPs. The aim of the present study is to review the current knowledge on the role of inflammation and the immune system activation in the pathogenesis of CMPs and to identify potential molecular targets for a tailored anti-inflammatory treatment

    Identification of a novel zinc metalloprotease through a global analysis of clostridium difficile extracellular proteins

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    Clostridium difficile is a major cause of infectious diarrhea worldwide. Although the cell surface proteins are recognized to be important in clostridial pathogenesis, biological functions of only a few are known. Also, apart from the toxins, proteins exported by C. difficile into the extracellular milieu have been poorly studied. In order to identify novel extracellular factors of C. difficile, we analyzed bacterial culture supernatants prepared from clinical isolates, 630 and R20291, using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The majority of the proteins identified were non-canonical extracellular proteins. These could be largely classified into proteins associated to the cell wall (including CWPs and extracellular hydrolases), transporters and flagellar proteins. Seven unknown hypothetical proteins were also identified. One of these proteins, CD630_28300, shared sequence similarity with the anthrax lethal factor, a known zinc metallopeptidase. We demonstrated that CD630_28300 (named Zmp1) binds zinc and is able to cleave fibronectin and fibrinogen in vitro in a zinc-dependent manner. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we identified residues important in zinc binding and enzymatic activity. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Zmp1 destabilizes the fibronectin network produced by human fibroblasts. Thus, by analyzing the exoproteome of C. difficile, we identified a novel extracellular metalloprotease that may be important in key steps of clostridial pathogenesis

    Management of toxicities associated with targeted therapies for HR-positive metastatic breast cancer: a multidisciplinary approach is the key to success

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    Purpose: Agents targeting HR-positive, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer have improved patient outcomes compared with conventional single-agent endocrine therapy. Currently, approved targeted agents include everolimus and three CDK4/6 inhibitors, palbociclib, ribociclib, and abemaciclib. Unlike the well-characterized and easily manageable safety profile of endocrine therapies, adverse events associated with targeted therapies are complex and potentially severe. Their prompt recognition and treatment, crucial for prolonged endocrine sensitivity and survival, may be challenging and requires a multidisciplinary effort and a good knowledge of drug interactions. Methods: We reviewed the current evidence on the drug safety of targeted agents for metastatic breast cancer currently used in clinical practice in Italy, supported by the clinical experience of Italian oncologists with expertise in the field. Results: All oncologists had used CDK4/6 inhibitors in clinical practice and/or within a clinical trial. The clinical management of toxicities, including dose adjustments, treatment interruptions, and concerns regarding special populations is discussed, and the management of relevant adverse events, related to individual agents and class-specific, toxicities is reviewed. Hematologic toxicities have the greatest impact on clinical management of the disease and on patients. Although toxicities associated with the new treatments result in more visits to the physician and more time and attention with patients, they are manageable, with no need for the oncologist to consult with specialist physicians. Conclusions: Based on the available evidence and current guidelines, we propose a series of practical recommendations for multidisciplinary clinical management of the various toxicities associated with the addition of targeted agents to endocrine therapy

    Planck intermediate results. XLI. A map of lensing-induced B-modes

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    The secondary cosmic microwave background (CMB) BB-modes stem from the post-decoupling distortion of the polarization EE-modes due to the gravitational lensing effect of large-scale structures. These lensing-induced BB-modes constitute both a valuable probe of the dark matter distribution and an important contaminant for the extraction of the primary CMB BB-modes from inflation. Planck provides accurate nearly all-sky measurements of both the polarization EE-modes and the integrated mass distribution via the reconstruction of the CMB lensing potential. By combining these two data products, we have produced an all-sky template map of the lensing-induced BB-modes using a real-space algorithm that minimizes the impact of sky masks. The cross-correlation of this template with an observed (primordial and secondary) BB-mode map can be used to measure the lensing BB-mode power spectrum at multipoles up to 20002000. In particular, when cross-correlating with the BB-mode contribution directly derived from the Planck polarization maps, we obtain lensing-induced BB-mode power spectrum measurement at a significance level of 12σ12\,\sigma, which agrees with the theoretical expectation derived from the Planck best-fit Λ\LambdaCDM model. This unique nearly all-sky secondary BB-mode template, which includes the lensing-induced information from intermediate to small (10100010\lesssim \ell\lesssim 1000) angular scales, is delivered as part of the Planck 2015 public data release. It will be particularly useful for experiments searching for primordial BB-modes, such as BICEP2/Keck Array or LiteBIRD, since it will enable an estimate to be made of the lensing-induced contribution to the measured total CMB BB-modes.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures; Accepted for publication in A&A; The B-mode map is part of the PR2-2015 Cosmology Products; available as Lensing Products in the Planck Legacy Archive http://pla.esac.esa.int/pla/#cosmology; and described in the 'Explanatory Supplement' https://wiki.cosmos.esa.int/planckpla2015/index.php/Specially_processed_maps#2015_Lensing-induced_B-mode_ma
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