A proposal of classification for machine-learning vibration-based damage identification methods

Recent advances in computing power and sensing technology led to a significant evolution of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) techniques, transforming SHM into a “Big Data” problem. The use of data-driven approaches for damage identification purposes, specifically Machine Learning (ML) methods, has gained popularity. ML can help at various levels of the SHM process: to pre-and post-process input data, extract damage sensitive features, and operate pattern recognition in measured data and output valuable information for damage identification. In this paper, the role of ML in SHM applications is discussed together with a new scheme for classifying ML applications in SHM, especially focusing on vibration-based monitoring, given its consolidated theoretical base. Finally, the implications of the application of these methods to historic structures are discussed, with a brief account of existing case studies. The proposed classification is exemplified using the most recent studies available in the literature on cultural heritage structures.- (undefined

Análise do aproveitamento de água da chuva para fins não potáveis em praça municipal de concórdia, Santa Catarina

O aumento de áreas pavimentadas nas cidades está diretamente relacionado com alagamentos, concentrando volumes escoados em áreas com baixas taxas de infiltração. Em busca de ações que possibilitem o amortecimento do volume escoado e com possibilidade de uso dessa água são empregadas as técnicas compensatórias de drenagem, alternativas cuja as funções poderão ser de armazenamento, e ou infiltração. Neste contexto, esse trabalho teve como objetivo dimensionar um sistema de captação de águas pluviais para fins não potáveis para a Praça Dogello Goss, pertencente ao município de Concórdia, Santa Catarina. Para isso em um primeiro momento, foi realizado o levantamento do volume de escoamento superficial produzido na praça, considerando a precipitação do 2018. Posteriormente, baseado na literatura estimou-se o volume de água necessário para rega de jardins e gramados, bem como para lavagem de calçadas. E por fim, dimensionou-se um sistema de armazenamento e pré-tratamento de água pluvial, constituído por uma cisterna seguido de um filtro de pedra. De acordo com resultados obtidos, identificou-se que com a área impermeabilizada disponível na praça, precipitações superiores a 5 mm h-1 geram escoamento no qual possibilita o armazenado de água pluvial. Esse volume precipitado é frequente na região. Considerando os usos de água da praça para fins não potáveis (regas de jardins e lavagem de calçadas) a demanda semanal da praça foi de 14,6 m³. Diante dessa demanda a cisterna dimensionada apresentou um volume útil de 30 m³, sendo que esse volume está vinculado com um tempo de armazenamento de água de no mínimo 15 dias. Por fim destaca-se, que a utilização de um sistema de armazenamento e pré-tratamento associado da reutilização de água para fins não potáveis na praça estuada, diminuiu em média 8% do volume de escoamento gerado na área impermeável da praça, indicando ser uma boa alternativa para contribuir na drenagem urbana das cidades urbanizadas.     &nbsp

Identification of Prototheca from the Cerebrospinal Fluid of a Cat with Neurological Signs

Prototheca infections are rare in cats, and they are usually associated with cutaneous or subcutaneous infections by P. wickerhamii, with no evidence of neurological signs or systemic disease. In this study, we report the identification of prototheca in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of a cat with neurological symptoms. Fourteen CSF samples were gathered from cats presented with neurological disease between 2012 and 2014. The inclusion criteria for the samples were an increase in CSF protein and cell number (pleocytosis), suggestive of an infectious inflammatory status of the central nervous system (CNS). Nine samples fulfilled the inclusion criteria (inflammatory samples), while five samples, used as control, did not (non-inflammatory samples). All the samples were screened molecularly for different pathogens associated with CNS disease in cats, including prototheca. Out of 14 CSF samples, only one inflammatory sample tested positive for prototheca. Upon sequence and phylogenetic analysis of the amplicon, the strain was characterized as P. bovis. This report is the first documented evidence of prototheca in the cerebrospinal fluid of a cat with neurological signs. Prototheca should be considered in the diagnostics procedures on the CNS of cats presented with infectious diseases

Evaluation of the Impact of Near-Infrared Multiwavelength Locked System Laser Therapy on Skin Microbiome in Atopic Dogs

Photobiomodulation (PBM) is a newly adopted consensus term to replace the therapeutic application of low-level laser therapy. It has been suggested that PMB influences the microbiome which, in turn, has increasingly been shown to be linked with health and disease. Even though the use of PBM has also grown dramatically in veterinary medicine, there is still a lack of evidence supporting its effect in vivo. Our objective was to investigate the impact of a dual-wavelength near-infrared laser source (Multiwavelength Locked Laser System, MLS®) on the skin microbiome in atopic dogs. Twenty adult-client-owned atopic dogs were enrolled in the study. The dogs were treated with MLS® laser therapy on one half of the abdominal region, whereas the contralateral side was left untreated and served as a control. Skin microbiome samples were collected before and after MLS® treatments, and then subjected to NGS-based ITS and 16S rRNA analysis. The results showed that while microbiome composition and diversity were not significantly affected, PBM could play a role in modulating the abundance of specific bacterial species, in particular Staphylococcus, that represent a major skin pathogenic strain. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the potential impact of MLS® laser therapy on the skin microbiome in atopic dogs

Small Extracellular Vesicles from Inflamed Adipose Derived Stromal Cells Enhance the NF-κB-Dependent Inflammatory/Catabolic Environment of Osteoarthritis

The last decade has seen exponentially growing efforts to exploit the effects of adipose derived stromal cells (ADSC) in the treatment of a wide range of chronic degenerative diseases, including osteoarthritis (OA), the most prevalent joint disorder. In the perspective of developing a cell-free advanced therapy medicinal product, a focus has been recently addressed to the ADSC secretome that lends itself to an allogeneic use and can be further dissected for the selective purification of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs). sEVs can act as "biological drug carriers" to transfer information that mirror the pathophysiology of the providing cells. This is important in the clinical perspective where many OA patients are also affected by the metabolic syndrome (MetS). ADSC from MetS OA patients are dysfunctional and "inflammatory" primed within the adipose tissue. To mimic this condition, we exposed ADSC to IL-1 beta, and then we investigated the effects of the isolated sEVs on chondrocytes and synoviocytes, either cultured separately or in co-culture, to tease out the effects of these "IL-1 beta primed sEVs" on gene and protein expression of major inflammatory and catabolic OA markers. In comparison with sEVs isolated from unstimulated ADSC, the IL-1 beta primed sEVs were able to propagate NF-kappa B activation in bystander joint cells. The effects were more prominent on synoviocytes, possibly because of a higher expression of binding molecules such as CD44. These findings call upon a careful characterization of the "inflammatory fingerprint" of ADSC to avoid the transfer of an unwanted message as well as the development of in vitro "preconditioning" strategies able to rescue the antiinflammatory/anticatabolic potential of ADSC-derived sEVs

La conducibilit\ue0 elettrica come strumento per stimare lo sviluppo del reticolo ipogeo

Una delle principali sfide nella ricerca speleologica \ue8 quella di stimare in modo il pi\uf9 possibile accurato l\u2019entit\ue0 (dimensione, estensione e sviluppo) e la localizzazione del reticolo ipogeo presente in un\u2019area carsica. Quando l\u2019attivit\ue0 esplorativa classica non risolve tutte le problematiche si utilizzano tecniche indirette quali per esempio la geofisica o le analisi idrogeologiche. In quest\u2019ottica nel 2015 \ue8 partita una proficua collaborazione tra gli speleologi del Gruppo Speleologico Monfalconese \u201cAmici del Fante\u201d, speleologi del Gruppo Speleologico \u201cTalpe del Carso\u201d - Jamarski Klub \u201cKraski Krti\u201d, studiosi indipendenti e ricercatori del dipartimento di Matematica e Geoscienze volta alla comprensione dei deflussi sotterranei e delle modalit\ue0 di ricarica/esaurimento del settore occidentale del Carso Classico. In questi ultimi 3 anni \ue8 stata sviluppata una metodologia che attraverso l\u2019analisi della conducibilit\ue0 elettrica delle acque superficiali e sotterranee presenti nell\u2019area di studio permette di individuare l\u2019origine e la provenienza delle diverse tipologie di acque presenti. La scelta del parametro conducibilit\ue0 elettrica non deriva solo dalla sua significativit\ue0, ma anche dal fatto che essa rappresenta un parametro di facile acquisizione e che non necessita di complesse e costose metodologie di analisi. Dato che la ricarica dell\u2019acquifero \ue8 dovuta principalmente a tre componenti quali le perdite dell\u2019Isonzo, l\u2019infiltrazione efficace e il contributo del sistema Reka-Timavo, da giugno 2015 ai primi mesi del 2018 sono state effettuate quasi 100 uscite sul terreno che hanno permesso di acquisire dati di conducibilit\ue0 elettrica e temperatura presso l\u2019Isonzo, il Reka, i laghi di Doberd\uf2 e Pietrarossa, le sorgenti di Sablici di Moschenizze, di Sardos e del Timavo. Nel contempo sono state installate due sonde multiparametriche sul fondo dell\u2019Abisso Samar di Riky (cat. FVG n.4709) e della Grotta del Proteo (cat. FVG n.1191) presso Sagrado (GO), che ogni 30 minuti acquisiscono informazioni sulla conducibilit\ue0 elettrica, la temperatura e il livello delle acque. L\u2019analisi dei dati ha permesso di individuare i valori caratteristici delle tre componenti principali di ricarica dell\u2019acquifero: l\u2019Isonzo con un valore di 240 uS/cm, le acque carsiche dovute al contributo delle precipitazioni con 470 uS/cm e il Reka con 310 uS/cm. Utilizzando questi valori \ue8 stato possibile quantificare il contributo delle diverse componenti sia in corrispondenza delle sorgenti che dei laghi carsici nei diversi regimi idrogeologici. Nel contempo l\u2019analisi dei dati in continuo ha permesso di stimare le modalit\ue0 di ricarica ed esaurimento del sistema ipogeo. Il lavoro che si presenta \ue8 stato realizzato grazie anche al contributo della Federazione Speleologica Isontina, dell\u2019Universit\ue0 degli Studi di Trieste e della Fondazione Carigo di Gorizia

Acute ischemic stroke with cervical internal carotid artery steno-occlusive lesion: multicenter analysis of endovascular approaches

open14noBackground Occlusions of internal carotid artery (ICA), whether isolated or in tandem lesions (TL) have a poor response to treatment with intravenous thrombolysis. Previous studies ​​have demonstrated the superiority of mechanical thrombectomy in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) following large vessel occlusion, compared to standard intravenous fibrinolysis. The aim of our study was to describe endovascular treatment (EVT) in AIS due to ICA occlusion, whether isolated or in TL. Methods we assessed the association between 90-day outcome and clinical, demographic, imaging and procedure data in 51 consecutive patients with acute isolated ICA or TL occlusion who underwent endovascular treatment (EVT). We evaluated baseline NIHSS and mRS, ASPECTS, type of occlusion, stent placement, use of stent retrievers and/or thromboaspiration, duration of the procedure, mTICI, procedural therapy and complications. Results A favorable 90-day outcome (mRS 0–2) was achieved in 34 patients (67%) and was significantly associated with the use of dual antiplatelet therapy after the procedure (p = 0.008), shorter procedure duration (p = 0.031), TICI 2b-3 (p < 0.001) and lack of post-procedural hemorrhagic transformation (p = 0.001). Four patients did not survive, resulting in a mortality rate of 8% Conclusions EVT in the treatment of AIS due to ICA occlusion is safe and effective; mortality rates are in agreement with the current literature. The use of the stent is safe and promotes good angiographic results, as well as therapy with a GpIIb / IIIa inhibitor immediately after stent release which is also associated with better 3-month outcome and good revascularization.openLuigi Cirillo, Daniele Giuseppe Romano, Gianfranco Vornetti, Giulia Frauenfelder, Chiara Tamburrano, Francesco Taglialatela, Salvatore Isceri, Renato Saponiero, Rosa Napoletano, Mauro Gentile, Michele Romoli, Ciro Princiotta, Luigi Simonetti, Andrea ZiniLuigi Cirillo, Daniele Giuseppe Romano, Gianfranco Vornetti, Giulia Frauenfelder, Chiara Tamburrano, Francesco Taglialatela, Salvatore Isceri, Renato Saponiero, Rosa Napoletano, Mauro Gentile, Michele Romoli, Ciro Princiotta, Luigi Simonetti, Andrea Zin