Determination of the hydrodynamic performance of marine propellers using fibre Bragg gratings

Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only. A critical aspect in the design of marine propellers is their hydrodynamic performance which, when evaluated experimentally, requires a number of parameters to be monitored at the same time, i.e.The thrust and torque a propeller generates as well as the propeller shaft and vessel speed. In this investigation, three of those parameters are measured using Fibre Bragg Grating-based sensors, thus allowing for computationally derived performance values to be verified. For that purpose, open water tests were carried out where an instrumented propeller shaft was installed into a research vessel and measurements taken, evaluated and the results compared favorably with advanced computer-based simulations

Contribution of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among patients <15 years hospitalized with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) in Milan, 2014-2017

Aim: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections may range from cold to severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and are responsible for substantial pediatric morbidity. We describe the results of RSV molecular detection in respiratory samples collected from children <15 years hospitalized with SARI in Milan (Italy) during four consecutive years. Method: From January 1st, 2014, to December 31st, 2017, 3013 respiratory samples (2826 upper-respiratory-tract [UTR] and 187 lower-respiratory-tract [LTR] specimens) collected from as many children <15 years hospitalized with SARI at an University hospital in Milan were analysed. After DNA/RNA extraction, samples were tested by a multiplex real-time PCR to detect RSV and other respiratory viruses. Results: 571 (19%) respiratory samples tested RSV-positive. RSV-positivity rate by sample type was similar (URT vs LRT: 19.2% vs 14.4%; p=0.09). The median age of RSV-positive cases was 6.6 months (inter-quartile range: 17.2 months); 52.2% were males. 62.2% (355/571) of RSV-positive samples were identified in children <1 year and 12.4% (71/571) in those <1 month. RSV was detected throughout the study period; 59.2% (338/571) cases were identified during seasonal peaks (December-February). In 49.9% (285/571) of RSV-positive samples at least another virus (mainly Rhinovirus: 45.9%) was detected, particularly (60%; 171/285) in samples collected from children >1 year. Conclusions: Accordingly to other studies, RSV was detected in 19% of hospitalized-SARI cases <15 years, mainly in children <1 year and in December-February. Sampling of upper or lower airways resulted in similar RSV-positivity rate. Routine molecular testing to detect RSV is warranted to improve clinical management of pediatric patients

Epidemiological and molecular characteristics of HPEV infection in children<6 months hospitalized with symptoms of sepsie-like illness, northen Italy, 2015-2018

BACKGROUND. Human parechoviruses (HPeVs) are widespread pathogens belonging to the Picornaviridae family and currently divided into 19 genotypes. HPeV infections can be associated with severe clinical manifestations, such as sepsis-like illness, particularly in youngest children. The epidemiological and molecular characteristics of HPeV infections observed in children <6 months hospitalized with symptoms of sepsis-like illness were investigated. METHODS. From January 1st, 2015, to December 31st, 2018, clinical samples (cerebrospinal fluid samples and/or blood samples) were collected for diagnosis of HPeV infection from 193 patients (median age: 21 days, range: 1 day - 6 months) hospitalized with symptoms of sepsis-like illness, in two hospitals of Northern Italy. HPeV-RNA was detected by real-time RT-PCR (target 5\u2019UTR) and a portion of HPeV VP3/VP1 junction (nt. 2159\u20132458) was sequenced for typing and molecular characterization. RESULTS. 14% (27/193) of patients with symptoms of sepsis-like illness tested HPeV-positive. 26/27 (96.3%) HPeV-cases were <3 months and 20/27 (74.1%) <1 month. HPeV-positive cases were detected throughout the study period, mainly (12/27; 44.4%) during the summertime (June-August). 17/27 (63%) HPeV-positive samples were molecularly characterized: 16 resulted HPeV-3 and 1 HPeV-5. CONCLUSIONS. HPeV infection was identified in 14% of children <6 months with symptoms of sepsis-like illness. Almost all HPeV infections were detected in children <3 months and mainly during the summertime; almost all molecularly characterized HPeV belonged to type 3. Including HPeV molecular detection in routine diagnostic tests would allow estimating the burden of HPeV infection and improving clinical management of pediatric patients

Matching conducted EMI to international standards

In this paper, the authors present a methodology that allows them to accommodate the conducted electromagnetic interference (EMI) generated by power factor correctors to international standards in the design step. EMI filter design considerations and EMI predictive procedures are presented. The predictive procedures are based in a family of curves that allows to determine the conducted EMI, generated for the basic PFC converters (boost, buck-boost, Zeta, Sepic, Cuk, and buck converters). Using these curves, one can determine the amplitude of the first harmonic in dB/μV in accordance with the CISPR 16 standard. Therefore, with this information, it is possible to design EMI filter

A comparison of numerical simulations and analytical theory of the dynamics of interacting magnetic vortices

Magnetostatic interactions between vortices in closely spaced planar structures are important for applications including vortex-based magnonic crystals and spin torque oscillator networks. Analytical theories that include magnetostatic interaction effects have been proposed but have not yet been rigorously tested. Here, we compare micromagnetic simulations of the dynamics of magnetic vortices confined in three disks in an equilateral triangle configuration to analytical theories that include coupling. Micromagnetic simulations show that the magnetostatic coupling between the disks leads to splitting of the gyrotropic resonance into three modes and that the frequency splitting increases with decreasing separation. The temporal profiles of the magnetization depend on the vortex polarities and chiralities; however, the frequencies depend only on the polarity combinations and will fall into one of two categories: all polarities equal or one polarity opposite to the others, where the latter leads to a larger frequency splitting. Although the magnitude of the splitting observed in the simulations is larger than what is expected based on purely dipolar interactions, a simple analytical model that assumes dipole-dipole coupling captures the functional form of the frequency splitting and the motion patterns just as well as more complex models

Emergence of divergent enterovirus (EV) D68 sub-clade D1 strains, northern Italy, September to October 2018

An enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) outbreak was recognised at a major tertiary centre and research hospital in Milan and Pavia in the Lombardy region, northern Italy, respectively, between September and October 2018. Here, we present the molecular and clinical characteristics of the confirmed EV-D68 cases detected during the outbreak sustained by EV-D68 sub-clade D1 strains

Learning to live together: a challenge for schools located in contexts of social vulnerability

Currently, there are many educational centres that demonstrate the need to promote initiatives to improve coexistence at school at the international level, especially in those located in contexts of social vulnerability. A socio-educational programme has been developed, applied and evaluated at a Singular Education Action Centre (Centro de Acción Educativa Singular - C.A.E.S) in the city of Valencia (Spain). To ascertain the programme's impact and possible generalization to other contexts, a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a control group was used. Information was collected from 297 students and 54 teachers based on questionnaires assessing coexistence at school. The results obtained demonstrate the satisfactory functioning of the programme. The faculty and students from the experimental group affirm the importance of continuing to work in this direction to invest in creating a democratic school that firmly believes in coexistence and participation. Areas for improvement include the need to incorporate actions to increase family participation and develop strategies to facilitate the implementation of a more comprehensive programme