Public awareness and knowledge of herpes labialis

Between 20% and 40% of the population is estimated to suffer from episodes of recurrent herpes labialis, although few reports in the literature have addressed the public awareness of this infection in the general population. The aims of this study were to determine the existing level of awareness and knowledge of this disease and to assess the source of this knowledge, the ability of the public to recognize the characteristics of the disease and the behavior of patients with clinical cases of disease manifestation. To this end, 2,000 individuals (961 male and 1,039 female) of 14 years of age and older were surveyed using the ECOcapi system [Eurisko Consumer Omnibus-CAPI (computer-assisted personal interviewing) version]. Eighty-nine percent of those surveyed had some knowledge of herpes labialis; 92% were able to refer to at least one symptom of herpes labialis, 91% were able to identify correctly his infection from pictures, and 45% had experienced personally at least one episode of herpes labialis infection. The majority of the individuals suffering from herpes labialis self-medicated using a topical therapy. Women were found to be affected more commonly by herpes labialis than men [OR 1.42 (1.18-1.70)], and women were also more likely to recognize the disease [OR 1.65 (1.30-2.08)] and to seek medical advice for the condition [OR 1.38 (1.12-1.70)]. In conclusion, herpes labialis is a common and well-known condition, and it is often self-diagnosed correctly, as the prodromal phase and the use of self-medication are very common. J. Med. Virol. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

A Comparison and Strategy of Semantic Segmentation on Remote Sensing Images

In recent years, with the development of aerospace technology, we use more and more images captured by satellites to obtain information. But a large number of useless raw images, limited data storage resource and poor transmission capability on satellites hinder our use of valuable images. Therefore, it is necessary to deploy an on-orbit semantic segmentation model to filter out useless images before data transmission. In this paper, we present a detailed comparison on the recent deep learning models. Considering the computing environment of satellites, we compare methods from accuracy, parameters and resource consumption on the same public dataset. And we also analyze the relation between them. Based on experimental results, we further propose a viable on-orbit semantic segmentation strategy. It will be deployed on the TianZhi-2 satellite which supports deep learning methods and will be lunched soon.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, ICNC-FSKD 201

The pgip family in soybean and three other legume species: evidence for a birth-and-death model of evolution

Polygalacturonase-inhibiting proteins (PGIPs) are leucine-rich repeat (LRR) plant cell wall glycoproteins involved in plant immunity. They are typically encoded by gene families with a small number of gene copies whose evolutionary origin has been poorly investigated. Here we report the complete characterization of the full complement of the pgip family in soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) and the characterization of the genomic region surrounding the pgip family in four legume species. Results: BAC clone and genome sequence analyses showed that the soybean genome contains two pgip loci. Each locus is composed of three clustered genes that are induced following infection with the fungal pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary, and remnant sequences of pgip genes. The analyzed homeologous soybean genomic regions (about 126 Kb) that include the pgip loci are strongly conserved and this conservation extends also to the genomes of the legume species Phaseolus vulgaris L., Medicago truncatula Gaertn. and Cicer arietinum L., each containing a single pgip locus. Maximum likelihood-based gene trees suggest that the genes within the pgip clusters have independently undergone tandem duplication in each species. Conclusions: The paleopolyploid soybean genome contains two pgip loci comprised in large and highly conserved duplicated regions, which are also conserved in bean, M. truncatula and C. arietinum. The genomic features of these legume pgip families suggest that the forces driving the evolution of pgip genes follow the birth-and-death model, similar to that proposed for the evolution of resistance (R) genes of NBS-LRR-type

The development of Integrated Real Time Control to optimise storm water management for the combined sewer system of Rome

Increasing urbanisation and intensification of human activities are common trends all over the world. The higher portion of impermeable urban surfaces often leads to well known effects on storm water runoff and its polluting potential for receiving waters. Despite the variety of structural solutions and management practices proposed to mitigate the operational and environmental impact of urban runoff, their application on existing drainage systems can often be either ineffective at a metropolitan scale or unfeasible for a densely urbanised territory. Among all the proposed alternatives, the real time control (RTC) of drainage systems is proving more and more promising to dynamically regulate the system capacity in response to intense rainfall. The combined sewer network of Rome, historically built with high-capacity pipes to collect storm water from both urban and natural catchments, holds significant potential for RTC of online storage and combined sewer overflows, to optimise the global drainage capacity and reduce the impact of discharges on local river quality. To assess the real benefits, the potential limits and the feasibility of such a system for the city sewers, a pilot study has been conducted on a 3,000 hectare sub-catchment. It involved the development of a fast-response hydrodynamic simulation tool for the sewer network, the definition and evaluation of RTC strategies and the implementation of an environmental integrated telemetry system. As described here, the study has highlighted significant margins for the optimisation of the global network capacity without any major interventions on the physical assets, as well as some critical issues to solve for a fully operational RTC application

Full-field and anomaly initialization using a low-order climate model: a comparison and proposals for advanced formulations

Initialization techniques for seasonal-to-decadal climate predictions fall into two main categories; namely full-field initialization (FFI) and anomaly initialization (AI). In the FFI case the initial model state is replaced by the best possible available estimate of the real state. By doing so the initial error is efficiently reduced but, due to the unavoidable presence of model deficiencies, once the model is let free to run a prediction, its trajectory drifts away from the observations no matter how small the initial error is. This problem is partly overcome with AI where the aim is to forecast future anomalies by assimilating observed anomalies on an estimate of the model climate. The large variety of experimental setups, models and observational networks adopted worldwide make it difficult to draw firm conclusions on the respective advantages and drawbacks of FFI and AI, or to identify distinctive lines for improvement. The lack of a unified mathematical framework adds an additional difficulty toward the design of adequate initialization strategies that fit the desired forecast horizon, observational network and model at hand. Here we compare FFI and AI using a low-order climate model of nine ordinary differential equations and use the notation and concepts of data assimilation theory to highlight their error scaling properties. This analysis suggests better performances using FFI when a good observational network is available and reveals the direct relation of its skill with the observational accuracy. The skill of AI appears, however, mostly related to the model quality and clear increases of skill can only be expected in coincidence with model upgrades. We have compared FFI and AI in experiments in which either the full system or the atmosphere and ocean were independently initialized. In the former case FFI shows better and longer-lasting improvements, with skillful predictions until month 30. In the initialization of single compartments, the best performance is obtained when the stabler component of the model (the ocean) is initialized, but with FFI it is possible to have some predictive skill even when the most unstable compartment (the extratropical atmosphere) is observed. Two advanced formulations, least-square initialization (LSI) and exploring parameter uncertainty (EPU), are introduced. Using LSI the initialization makes use of model statistics to propagate information from observation locations to the entire model domain. Numerical results show that LSI improves the performance of FFI in all the situations when only a portion of the system's state is observed. EPU is an online drift correction method in which the drift caused by the parametric error is estimated using a short-time evolution law and is then removed during the forecast run. Its implementation in conjunction with FFI allows us to improve the prediction skill within the first forecast year. Finally, the application of these results in the context of realistic climate models is discussed

Sediment Transport in Sewers: The Cesarina Combined Sewer Network

The polluting effects of storm water runoff on the receiving waterbodies represent an increasingly relevant problem in developing urban areas. In combined sewer pipes, transiting flood waves cause the alternation of sediment erosion and deposition of the solid material transported by the flow. Combined sewer deposit, mainly generated as an effect of such phenomena during the dry weather period between two rain events, is generally a mix of sand and highly polluting materials. Accumulation of sediments along a combined sewer network is often the cause of dysfunctions in the drainage system itself and negative impacts on the quality of receiving waters, due to the resuspension and overflow of pollutants. Both aspects have been investigated for the combined sewer of Rome thanks to an experimental catchment of about 2800 ha in the Cesarina – S. Basilio area. Based on the simulations conducted, structural solutions were proposed and evaluated, aimed at reducing the operational and environmental problems related to sewer sediment. The results show noticeable margins for the optimisation of the whole sewer system and for the reduction of its environmental impact

Recent advances in analytical approaches for the standardization and quality of polyphenols of propolis

Analytical approaches utilized for the characterization of polyphenols from propolis useful for the determination of its quality is investigated in this study. A qualitative and quantitative evaluation of propolis bioactive molecules is of interest in medicine and nutraceuticals. Recent powerful analytical techniques are of great utility to separate and quantify polyphenols in extracts and finished products due to their capacity to produce typical fingerprints and a reliable identification of many components. According to this, an HPLC-UV-MS procedure was validated and applied for the characterization and quantification of bioactive substances in propolis and for an accurate assessment of their content in extract samples. By using this analytical approach, we obtained specific compositions related to brown propolis acquired from different geographic areas (and preparations and treatment). This is more important by considering the scientific opinion of European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) which provided a negative response related to health claims of propolis and its polyphenols. These results prove that HPLC-MS is an attractive tool for the standardization and quality control of propolis and may be realistically applied to screen raw material and to evaluate finished commercial preparations and nutraceutical benefits

Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Propolis Prepared in Different Forms and in Different Solvents Useful for Finished Products

Different products from a unique propolis extract obtained by using various solvents such as hydroalcoholic, glycolic (98% propylene glycol), and glyceric solutions, and oil, as well as in powder form, named ESIT12, were prepared. The molecular composition of the different preparations was evaluated and their antioxidant activity determined. All the preparations showed a quite similar polyphenol composition and comparable percentage even if ESIT12 was found to be richer in phenolic acids (caffeic, coumaric, ferulic, and isoferulic). Overall, flavones and flavonols ranged from ~20% up to ~36% in the glyceric extract, while flavanones and diidroflavonols were between ~28% and ~41%. Besides their quite similar composition, glycolic and hydroalcoholic extracts were found to be richer in the total polyphenols content. When the antioxidant properties were determined for the four preparations, the activity was similar among them, thus revealing that it is strictly related to the polyphenols content for propolis products whose composition is quite comparable. To date, very few data are available on propolis composition in glyceric and glycolic extracts and information has never been published on propolis in oil. This study could be of interest to the food and nutraceutical industries to choose suitable solvents and conditions to produce propolis preparations useful for active finished products

A criterion for optimal management of water distribution networks

The management of water supply systems is based on fundamental principles, set by international and national legislations; the general target for water utilities is to offer a reliable and effective service following efficiency criteria. In this context, losses in distribution networks are one of the main problems to tackle: their reduction implies a general decrease in operational costs and in the need for a limited resource such as water. Numerous solutions have been proposed to reduce non revenue water, from simple leak detection to structural interventions on distribution systems, based on new design criteria which favour district-based networks over redundant ones. The present work proposes a new procedure to restructure a water supply network starting from its hydraulic model, comparing different types of intervention and evaluating their feasibility, limits and effectiveness in terms of the global system efficiency, as measured by the infrastructure leakage index (ILI). The possibility to use excessive pressure in specific parts of a network for the production of electricity is also examined, as it offers an additional resource to improve the system performance. The procedure has been tested for the water network in the municipalities of Tarcento and Magnano in Riviera, near Udine in Italy. Thanks to a specific hydraulic model, simulations were performed to identify the optimal interventions on the system aimed at reducing water losses and improving performances and efficiency

Influence of the salinity adjustment methods, salts and brine, on the toxicity of wastewater samples to mussels embryos

One of the main problems of the Whole Effluent Toxicity is related to the use of bioindicator species representative of the target environment. Most wastewater discharges are of fresh water, so their salinity has to be adjusted when they are discharged to transitional and marine coastal waters, in order to perform toxicity bioassays with reliable organisms. At the moment, there is no optimum technique to allow sample salinity to be adjusted and no specific information regarding salinity adjustment when bivalves are being considered for toxicity test performance. This paper provides information on the potential use of different methods to adjust the salinity of hotel/domestic wastewater samples with different brands of natural and synthetic Dry Salts (DS) and HyperSaline Brine (HSB) for use in the embryo larval development bioassay with the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. HyperSaline Brine derived from reconstructed artificial seawater proved to be more viable for wastewater salinity adjustment than DS