Chapter Securing the Home Energy Management Platform

Recently, many efforts have been done to chemically functionalize sensors surface to achieve selectivity towards diagnostics targets, such as DNA, RNA fragments and protein tumoural biomarkers, through the surface immobilization of the related specific receptor. Especially, some kind of sensors such as microcantilevers (gravimetric sensors) and one-dimensional photonics crystals (optical sensors) able to couple Bloch surface waves are very sensitive. Thus, any kind of surface modifications devoted to functionalize them has to be finely controlled in terms of mass and optical characteristics, such as refractive index, to minimize the perturbation, on the transduced signal, that can affect the response sensitivity towards the detected target species

Grek and Greek style pottery in the Sibaritide during the 8th cantury B.C.

The current article analyzes two aspects of cultural and material interaction between Greek and indigenous populations in Northern Calabria during the 8th c. B.C. The analysis outlines a local production of Oinotrian-Euboean pottery and the appearance of the earliest Corinthian imported ceramics from the Middle Geometric II and Late Geometric periods at the indigenous site of Timpone della Motta, close to present day Francavilla Marittima in Northern Calabria and other indigenous sites in the nearby Sibaritide. Traditionally, the Timpone della Motta has been regarded as a central and important indigenous settlement from the end of the 9th c. B.C and its size and importance increased during the course of the first half of the 8th c. B.C. The importance of the site is reflected in the construction on the summit of large monumental hut structures that seem to have had a ritual function, and in a rapidly expanding necropolis in the nearby Macchiabate area. Until recently, the material culture of the site pointed to an almost exclusively indigenous presence with only a few occasional importedobjects, mainly Corinthian Late Geometric ceramics, which have rightly been taken as evidence for direct or indirect sporadic contact between the indigenous population and the Greeks. The foundation of the Greek colony of Sybaris, circa 12 km to the southeast of Francavilla Marittima, became a turning point for the indigenous settlements of the Sibaritide

Randomized double blind clinical trial of ABM/P-15 versus allograft in non-instrumented lumbar fusion surgery

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Due to poor bone stock in the elderly, a noninstrumented fusion is commonly performed in Scandinavia when instability is present. Allograft bone is often used as graft extender with consequent low fusion rates. The use of 15 amino acid residue (ABM/P-15) has shown superior fusion rates in dental and cervical spinal surgery but no clinical studies have been conducted in noninstrumented lumbar fusion surgery.PURPOSE: To evaluate patient reported outcomes (PROs) and the intertransverse fusion rate in noninstrumented posterolateral fusion with either ABM/P-15 or allograft.STUDY DESIGN: Double-blind randomized clinical trial.PATIENT SAMPLE: Patients 60 years or older with degenerative spondylolisthesis undergoing decompression and noninstrumented posterolateral fusion.OUTCOME MEASURES: Visual analog scales for back and leg pain, Oswestry Disability Index and EuroQoL-5D.METHODS: One hundred one patients were enrolled in the study and randomized 1:1 to either ABM/P-15 (mixed 50/50, 5cc/level) or allograft bone (30 g/level), both mixed with local bone graft. PROs were collected at baseline and at 12 and 24 months after surgery. The patients underwent 1-year postoperative fine cut computed tomography-scans (0.9 mm) with reconstructions, independently evaluated by three reviewers. Fusion status was concluded by consensus of two of the three as "fusion" or "no fusion."RESULTS: There were 49 patients available for analysis in both cohorts. The two groups were similar in terms of sex distribution, age, and number of levels fused. The fusion rate was significantly higher in the ABM/P-15 group with 50% fused compared with 20% in the allograft group. PROs at baseline and at all follow-up time points were similar between the two groups.CONCLUSIONS: Patients undergoing noninstrumented posterolateral fusion augmented with ABM/P-15 had a statistically significantly higher fusion rate compared with allograft when evaluated with postoperative fine cut computed tomography-scans (0.9 mm) with reconstructions. However, this did not translate to better clinical outcomes.</p

Cancer risk factors in systemic lupus erythematosus: multivariate regression analysis in 16,409 patients

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