Efikasna metoda analize reflektorskih nizova

In this paper, we present an efficient technique based on the extension of the Adaptive Integral Method (AIM) that allows the full-wave analysis of microstrip reflectarrays. The reflectarray patches can have arbitrary shape and orientation and are modelled with subdomain triangular basis functions. The method makes use of a 2D-FTT/CG scheme, reducing the CPU time per iteration to O(N logN) and the memory requirement to O(N).U radu je opisana efikasna metoda analize zasnovana na proširenju adaptivne integralne metode (AIM) koja omogućuje punovalnu analizu mikrotrakastih reflektorskih nizova. Pločice, elementi reflektorskih nizova, mogu imati proizvoljni oblik i orijentaciju pa su modelirane trokutasnim baznim funkcijama s domenom na dijelu pločice. Metoda rabi 2D-FTT/CG shemu, i pri tome smanjuje potrebno vrijeme rada računala na O(N logN) i memorijske zahtjeve na O(N)

Fast analysis of large finite arrays with a combined multiresolution-SM/AIM approach

We present a synthesis of the sparse matrix/adaptive integral method (SM/AIM) and the multiresolution (MR) approach for the analysis of electrically large finite arrays, with planar or 3-D radiating elements; the two methods were separately introduced previously. The use of the MR has the effect of a preconditioner and speeds up the convergence rate of the SM/AIM of almost two orders of magnitude, with a total reduction of the numerical complexity with respect to the standard MoM of almost three orders of magnitude

Evaluation of Legionella pneumophila Decrease in Hot Water Network of Four Hospital Buildings after Installation of Electron Time Flow Taps

Legionella spp. control is a critical issue in hospital with old water networks. Chemical disinfection methods are applied as a control measure over prolonged time periods, but Legionella may be resistant to chemical agents in pipeworks with low flow and frequent water stagnation. We evaluated Legionella spp. colonization in the hot water network of Italian hospitals after the installation of time flow taps (TFTs). In the period between 2017 and 2019, TFTs were installed in four hospital water networks. They were programmed in order to obtain a hot water flow of 192 L/day from each TFTs. A continuous chlorination system (chlorine dioxide) and a cold water pre-filtration device were applied in all the buildings. Before and after TFT installation, Legionella spp. was investigated at scheduled times. Before TFT installation, Legionella pneumophila was detected in all the hospitals with counts ranging from 2 × 102 to 1.4 × 105 CFU/L. After TFT installation, a loss in Legionella pneumophila culturability was always achieved in the period between 24 h and 15 days. Total chlorine concentration (Cl2) was detected in the range between 0.23 and 0.36 mg/L while temperature values were from 44.8 to 53.2 °C. TFTs together with chemical disinfection represent a method which improve water quality and disinfectant efficacy, reducing Legionella colonization in dead-end sections

Neuroendocrine tumor of the anal canal

AbstractWe report a rare case of neuroendocrine tumor of the anal canal and its poor prognosis, plus discuss the need of immunohistochemical for an acurate diagnosis and to guide treatment

Myocardial infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries: from pathophysiology to therapeutic strategies

: Myocardial infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) is a heterogeneous group of clinical entities characterized by clinical evidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with normal or near-normal coronary arteries on coronary angiography (stenosis < 50%) and without an over the alternative diagnosis for the acute presentation. Its prevalence ranges from 6% to 11% among all patients with AMI, with a predominance of young, nonwhite females with fewer traditional risks than those with an obstructive coronary artery disease (MI-CAD). MINOCA can be due to either epicardial causes such as rupture or fissuring of unstable nonobstructive atherosclerotic plaque, coronary artery spasm, spontaneous coronary dissection and cardioembolism in-situ or microvascular causes. Besides, also type-2 AMI due to supply-demand mismatch and Takotsubo syndrome must be considered as a possible MINOCA cause. Because of the complex etiology and a limited amount of evidence, there is still some confusion around the management and treatment of these patients. Therefore, the key focus of this condition is to identify the underlying individual mechanisms to achieve patient-specific treatments. Clinical history, electrocardiogram, echocardiography, and coronary angiography represent the first-level diagnostic investigations, but coronary imaging with intravascular ultrasound and optical coherent tomography, coronary physiology testing, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging offer additional information to understand the underlying cause of MINOCA. Although the prognosis is slightly better compared with MI-CAD patients, MINOCA is not always benign and depends on the etiopathology. This review analyzes all possible pathophysiological mechanisms that could lead to MINOCA and provides the most specific and appropriate therapeutic approach in each scenario

Hyperledger Fabric: A Distributed Operating System for Permissioned Blockchains

Fabric is a modular and extensible open-source system for deploying and operating permissioned blockchains and one of the Hyperledger projects hosted by the Linux Foundation (www.hyperledger.org). Fabric is the first truly extensible blockchain system for running distributed applications. It supports modular consensus protocols, which allows the system to be tailored to particular use cases and trust models. Fabric is also the first blockchain system that runs distributed applications written in standard, general-purpose programming languages, without systemic dependency on a native cryptocurrency. This stands in sharp contrast to existing blockchain platforms that require "smart-contracts" to be written in domain-specific languages or rely on a cryptocurrency. Fabric realizes the permissioned model using a portable notion of membership, which may be integrated with industry-standard identity management. To support such flexibility, Fabric introduces an entirely novel blockchain design and revamps the way blockchains cope with non-determinism, resource exhaustion, and performance attacks. This paper describes Fabric, its architecture, the rationale behind various design decisions, its most prominent implementation aspects, as well as its distributed application programming model. We further evaluate Fabric by implementing and benchmarking a Bitcoin-inspired digital currency. We show that Fabric achieves end-to-end throughput of more than 3500 transactions per second in certain popular deployment configurations, with sub-second latency, scaling well to over 100 peers.Comment: Appears in proceedings of EuroSys 2018 conferenc

Increased Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Properties of Silver Nanoparticles Using Silver Fluoride as Precursor.

Silver nanoparticles were produced with AgF as the starting Ag(I) salt, with pectin as the reductant and protecting agent. While the obtained nanoparticles (pAgNP-F) have the same dimensional and physicochemical properties as those already described by us and obtained from AgNO3 and pectin (pAgNP-N), the silver nanoparticles from AgF display an increased antibacterial activity against E. coli PHL628 and Staphylococcus epidermidis RP62A (S. epidermidis RP62A), both as planktonic strains and as their biofilms with respect to pAgNP-N. In particular, a comparison of the antimicrobial and antibiofilm action of pAgNP-F has been carried out with pAgNP-N, pAgNP-N and added NaF, pure AgNO3, pure AgF, AgNO3 and added NaF and pure NaNO3 and NaF salts. By also measuring the concentration of the Ag+ cation released by pAgNP-F and pAgNP-N, we were able to unravel the separate contributions of each potential antibacterial agent, observing an evident synergy between p-AgNP and the F- anion: the F- anion increases the antibacterial power of the p-AgNP solutions even when F- is just 10 µM, a concentration at which F- alone (i.e., as its Na+ salt) is completely ineffective

Sense of smell in chronic rhinosinusitis: A multicentric study on 811 patients

Introduction: The impairment of the sense of smell is often related to chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with or without nasal polyps (CRSwNP, CRSsNP). CRSwNP is a frequent condition that drastically worsens the quality of life of those affected; it has a higher prevalence than CRSsNP. CRSwNP patients experience severe loss of smell with earlier presentation and are more likely to experience recurrence of their symptoms, often requiring revision surgery. Methods: The present study performed a multicentric data collection, enrolling 811 patients with CRS divided according to the inflammatory endotype (Type 2 and non-Type 2). All patients were referred for nasal endoscopy for the assessment of nasal polyposis using nasal polyp score (NPS); Sniffin' Sticks olfactory test were performed to measure olfactory function, and SNOT-22 (22-item sinonasal outcome test) questionnaire was used to assess patients' quality of life; allergic status was evaluated with skin prick test and nasal cytology completed the evaluation when available. Results: Data showed that Type 2 inflammation is more common than non-type 2 (656 patients versus 155) and patients suffer from worse quality of life and nasal polyp score. Moreover, 86.1% of patients with Type 2 CRSwNP were affected by a dysfunction of the sense of smell while it involved a lesser percentage of non-Type 2 patients. Indeed, these data give us new information about type-2 inflammation patients' characteristics. Discussion: The present study confirms that olfactory function weights on patients' QoL and it represents an important therapeutic goal that can also improve patients' compliance when achieved. In a future - and present - perspective of rhinological precision medicine, an impairment of the sense of smell could help the clinician to characterize patients better and to choose the best treatment available

High-grade transformation of a polymorphous adenocarcinoma of the salivary gland: a case report and review of the literature

BackgroundPolymorphous adenocarcinoma (PAC) represents the second most widespread neoplasm of the minor salivary glands. These tumors rarely develop a histological progression from low-grade to high-grade malignancy, named “high-grade transformation” (HGT). Only nine cases are described in literature.Case descriptionHere, we describe the case of a 76-year-old male patient with a PAC recurrence of the oral floor displaying HGT, and we explore the tumor cytomorphological features, genomic profiling, and the patient’s clinical management. The tumor mass was characterized by poorly atypical cellular elements with vesicular nuclei and comedonecrosis foci. The growth pattern was predominantly solid, tubular, and cribriform. The lesion did not show microsatellite instability or targeted molecular alterations. The case was successfully treated with radical surgery followed by radiotherapy.ConclusionWe report for the first time the recurrence of a PAC with HGT arising in the oral floor after 20 years from the primary lesion. These preliminary data and the literature analysis enhance the knowledge of this extremely rare disease

Prune-1 drives polarization of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) within the lung metastatic niche in triple-negative breast cancer

M2-tumor-associated macrophages (M2-TAMs) in the tumor microenvironment represent a prognostic indicator for poor outcome in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Here we show that Prune-1 overexpression in human TNBC patients has positive correlation to lung metastasis and infiltrating M2-TAMs. Thus, we demonstrate that Prune-1 promotes lung metastasis in a genetically engineered mouse model of metastatic TNBC augmenting M2-polarization of TAMs within the tumor microenvironment. Thus, this occurs through TGF-β enhancement, IL-17F secretion, and extracellular vesicle protein content modulation. We also find murine inactivating gene variants in human TNBC patient cohorts that are involved in activation of the innate immune response, cell adhesion, apoptotic pathways, and DNA repair. Altogether, we indicate that the overexpression of Prune-1, IL-10, COL4A1, ILR1, and PDGFB, together with inactivating mutations of PDE9A, CD244, Sirpb1b, SV140, Iqca1, and PIP5K1B genes, might represent a route of metastatic lung dissemination that need future prognostic validations