Sidereal frequency generator Patent

System generating sidereal frequency signals from signals of standard solar frequency without use of mixing operations or feedback loop

the overall pulse model for water demand of aggregated residential users

Abstract The models for the end-user demand give a detailed description of the water request, which takes into account the consumes of each dwelling. Therefore, these approaches can model the water demand at WDS nodes by aggregating the single request of each user. The effectiveness of a novel approach the Overall Pulse model (OP)- to describe the aggregated water demand has been tested. In fact, the OP model, unlike the commonly used rectangular pulse models (e.g. PRP, NSRP), does not aim to reconstruct single demand pulses as they occur when home faucets and hydro-sanitary appliances are operated, but allows the generation of the water demand as it is observed at the house water meter. This feature makes the model very versatile, allowing the direct modeling of either a single user or of a group of n users. The possibility of 'pre-aggregation' of the water demand makes it easier to take into account the spatial variability of the model parameters. In the paper, the performance of the OP model is investigated, and to this aim the generated time series are compared with the observed ones of real users. In addition, the comparison of series obtained by means of the classical PRP approach and of the OP model show the effectiveness of the latter

Spontaneous Meckel\u2032s cave hematoma: A rare cause of trigeminal neuralgia

Background: The most common etiology of classic trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is vascular compression. However, other causes must be considered. Among these, spontaneous hematoma of the Meckel\u2032s cave (MC) causing symptomatic TN is very rare. Case Description: We present the case of a 60-year-old woman with a 2-month history of left TN and diplopia. Neuroradiological examinations revealed a well-defined hematoma in the left MC. The patient underwent surgical decompression with a progressive neurological improvement. Conclusion: Despite the number of lesions potentially affecting the MC, spontaneous hemorrhage is rare but should be taken into account in the differential diagnosis

The BeppoSAX WFC X-ray source catalogue

We present the catalogue of X-ray sources detected by the two Wide Field Cameras (WFCs) in complete observations on board BeppoSAX during its 6 years of operational lifetime, between April 1996 and April 2002. The BeppoSAX WFCs were coded mask instruments sensitive in the 2-28 keV energy band with a 40x40 square degree fields of view, pointing in opposite directions and perpendicularly to the BeppoSAX Narrow Field Instruments (NFI). The WFCs were usually operated simultaneously to NFI observations, each lasting up to several days. WFCs observed thus the entire sky several times with a typical sensitivity of 2 to 10 mCrab. A systematic analysis of all WFC observations in the BeppoSAX archive has been carried out using the latest post-mission release of the WFC analysis software and calibrations. The catalogue includes 253 distinct sources, obtained from a total sample of 8253 WFC detections. We describe the basic statistical properties of the sample and present a six-year history of two celestial calibration X-ray sources.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, Catalogue, Accepted for publication on A&

Hylan G-F 20: Review of its Safety and Efficacy in the Management of Joint Pain in Osteoarthritis

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease that is a clinically and economically important disease. The increased prevalence of OA with aging, coupled to the demographics of aging populations, make OA a high priority health care problem. Viscosupplementation (VS) is a well-established treatment option in knee OA that is included in the professional guidelines for treatment of this joint disease, and could potentially provide a useful alternative in treating such patients with painful OA. Theoretically VS is an approach that should apply to all synovial joints. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this review is to assess the efficacy and safety of viscosupplementation with Hylan GF-20 (Synvisc(®)) in the management of joint pain in osteoarthritis. METHODS: THE FOLLOWING DATABASES WERE SEARCHED: Medline, Database of Abstract on Reviews and Effectiveness, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Furthermore, the lists of references of retrieved publications were manually checked for additional references. The search terms Review, Viscosupplementation, Osteoarthritis, Hyaluronic acid, Hyaluronan, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hylan GF-20, Synvisc, intra-articular injection were used to identify all studies relating to the use of Synvisc(®) viscosupplementation therapy in OA. RESULTS: Hylan GF-20 is a safe and effective treatment for decreasing pain and improving function in patients suffering from knee and hip OA but new evidences are emerging for its use in other joints

Cavernous malformation of the optic chiasm: An uncommon location

Cavernous malformations (CMs) of the optic chiasm are rare lesions often presenting with acute chiasmal syndrome or a progressive visual loss. The case of a 48-year-old female with an intrachiasmatic CM is presented

Radiation dose from multidetector CT studies in children: results from the first Italian nationwide survey

Background Multidetector CT (MDCT) scanners have con- tributed to the widespread use of CT in paediatric imaging. However, concerns are raised for the associated radiation exposure. Very few surveys on radiation exposure from MDCT studies in children are available. Objective The aim of this study was to outline the status of radiation exposure in children from MDCT practice in Italy. Materials and methods In this retrospective multicentre study we asked Italian radiology units with an MDCT scanner with at least 16 slices to provide dosimetric and acquisition param- eters of CT examinations in three age groups (1–5, 6–10, 11– 15 years) for studies of head, chest and abdomen. The dosi- metric results were reported in terms of third-quartile volu- metric CT dose index (CTDIvol) (mGy), size-specific dose estimate (SSDE) (mGy), dose length product (DLP) (mGy cm), and total DLP for multiphase studies. These results were compared with paediatric European and adult Italian published data. A multivariate analysis assessed the association of CTDIvol with patient characteristics and scanning modalities. Results We collected data from 993 MDCT examinations performed at 25 centres. For age groups 1–5 years, 6–10 years and 11–15 years, the CTDIvol, DLP and total DLP values were statistically significantly below the values observed in our analogous national survey in adults, although the difference decreased with increasing age. CTDIvol variability among centres was statistically significant (variance = 0.07; 95% confidence interval = 0.03–0.16; P < 0.001). Conclusions This study reviewed practice in Italian centres performing paediatric imaging with MDCT scanners. The variability of doses among centres suggests that the use of standardised CT protocols should be encourage