Laser powder-bed fusion of Inconel 718 to manufacture turbine blades

In the frame of additive manufacturing of metals, laser powder-bed fusion is investigated in this paper as an advanced industrial prototyping tool to manufacture Inconel 718 turbine blades at a predesign stage before flow production. Expediting of the evaluation of any upgrade to the part is aimed. To this purpose, possible anisotropy of manufacturing is preliminarily investigated via tensile testing at room and elevated temperature as a function of the sloping angle with the building plate; the normalized strength is given and compared with similar studies in the literature. Positioning and proper supporting in manufacturing are discussed; the parts are further investigated to assess their compliance with the intended nominal geometry

Development and validation of a "crank-angle" model of an automotive turbocharged Engine for HiL Applications

Abstract Management and diagnostic functions are playing a key role in the improvement of engines performance and in the reduction of fuel consumption and pollutant emissions especially in automotive applications. As widely documented in the open literature, design, validation, and testing of control systems take actually advantage of theoretical models to a great extent, due to their capabilities to reduce development time and costs. However, the increasing complexity of present engines and related management systems give rise to challenging issues in the development and applications of mathematical models. The paper describes the improvements introduced in the original Library set up by the authors in Simulink® for "control-oriented" simulation of Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) and powertrains. The tool has been initially developed to build up Mean Value Models (MVMs) of automotive engines for "real-time" simulations, and in that version has been used in several HiL applications. Due to the enhancing requirements in engine control functions, the Library has been recently improved to allow for "crank-angle" simulation of the engine. To this extent models of intake and exhaust valves and of in-cylinder processes have been built up (where combustion process is described following a classic single-zone approach based on a proper Heat Release Rate, HRR). An original algorithm has been developed to run the model at a computational speed comparable with real time even with a resolution of 1 degree CA for in-cylinder calculation. Modeling tools have been applied to the simulation of a four-cylinder turbocharged Diesel engine with Exhaust Gas Recirculation. Through a specific calibration procedure, the model was fitted on a typical layout of an automotive Diesel engine and then validated comparing simulation results with experimental data measured by the OEM on a test bench. With a very low computational time, the model showed interesting capabilities in the simulation of the behavior of automotive engines with "crank-angle" resolution and therefore has been used in an original HiL application developed by the authors

Direct electrical control of IgG conformation and functional activity at surfaces

We have devised a supramolecular edifice involving His-tagged protein A and antibodies to yield surface immobilized, uniformly oriented, IgG-type, antibody layers with Fab fragments exposed off an electrode surface. We demonstrate here that we can affect the conformation of IgGs, likely pushing/pulling electrostatically Fab fragments towards/from the electrode surface. A potential difference between electrode and solution acts on IgGs’ charged aminoacids modulating the accessibility of the specific recognition regions of Fab fragments by antigens in solution. Consequently, antibody-antigen affinity is affected by the sign of the applied potential: a positive potential enables an effective capture of antigens; a negative one pulls the fragments towards the electrode, where steric hindrance caused by neighboring molecules largely hampers the capture of antigens. Different experimental techniques (electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, fluorescence confocal microscopy and electrochemical atomic force spectroscopy) were used to evaluate binding kinetics, surface coverage, effect of the applied electric field on IgGs, and role of charged residues on the phenomenon described. These findings expand the concept of electrical control of biological reactions and can be used to gate electrically specific recognition reactions with impact in biosensors, bioactuators, smart biodevices, nanomedicine, and fundamental studies related to chemical reaction kinetics

Cefiderocol treatment for carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infection in the ICU during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multicentre cohort study

open16noFunding: This study was carried out as part of our routine work and supported by internal funding.Objectives: To analyse the impact of cefiderocol use on outcome in patients admitted to the ICU for severe COVID-19 and further diagnosed with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CR-Ab) infection.Methods: Retrospective multicentre observational study was performed at four Italian hospitals, from January 2020 to April 2021. Adult patients admitted to ICU for severe COVID-19 and further diagnosed with CR-Ab infections were enrolled. Patients treated with cefiderocol, as compassionate use, for at least 72 h were compared with those receiving alternative regimens. Primary endpoint was all-cause 28 day mortality. The impact of cefiderocol on mortality was evaluated by multivariable Cox regression model.Results: In total, 107 patients were enrolled (76% male, median age 65 years). The median time from ICU admission to CR-Ab infection diagnosis was 14 (IQR 8-20) days, and the main types of CR-Ab infections were bloodstream infection (58%) and lower respiratory tract infection (41%). Cefiderocol was administered to 42 patients within a median of 2 (IQR 1-4) days after CR-Ab infection diagnosis and as monotherapy in all cases. The remaining patients received colistin, mostly (82%) administered as combination therapy. All-cause 28 day mortality rate was 57%, without differences between groups (cefiderocol 55% versus colistin 58% P = 0.70). In multivariable analysis, the independent risk factor for mortality was SOFA score (HR 1.24, 95% CI 1.15-1.38, P < 0.001). Cefiderocol was associated with a non-significant lower mortality risk (HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.38-1.08, P = 0.10).Conclusions: Our study confirms the potential role of cefiderocol in the treatment of CR-Ab infection, but larger clinical studies are needed.openPascale, Renato; Pasquini, Zeno; Bartoletti, Michele; Caiazzo, Luca; Fornaro, Giacomo; Bussini, Linda; Volpato, Francesca; Marchionni, Elisa; Rinaldi, Matteo; Trapani, Filippo; Temperoni, Chiara; Gaibani, Paolo; Ambretti, Simone; Barchiesi, Francesco; Viale, Pierluigi; Giannella, MaddalenaPascale, Renato; Pasquini, Zeno; Bartoletti, Michele; Caiazzo, Luca; Fornaro, Giacomo; Bussini, Linda; Volpato, Francesca; Marchionni, Elisa; Rinaldi, Matteo; Trapani, Filippo; Temperoni, Chiara; Gaibani, Paolo; Ambretti, Simone; Barchiesi, Francesco; Viale, Pierluigi; Giannella, Maddalen

Characteristics of people living in Italy after a cancer diagnosis in 2010 and projections to 2020

BACKGROUND: Estimates of cancer prevalence are widely based on limited duration, often including patients living after a cancer diagnosis made in the previous 5 years and less frequently on complete prevalence (i.e., including all patients regardless of the time elapsed since diagnosis). This study aims to provide estimates of complete cancer prevalence in Italy by sex, age, and time since diagnosis for all cancers combined, and for selected cancer types. Projections were made up to 2020, overall and by time since diagnosis. METHODS: Data were from 27 Italian population-based cancer registries, covering 32% of the Italian population, able to provide at least 7 years of registration as of December 2009 and follow-up of vital status as of December 2013. The data were used to compute the limited-duration prevalence, in order to estimate the complete prevalence by means of the COMPREV software. RESULTS: In 2010, 2,637,975 persons were estimated to live in Italy after a cancer diagnosis, 1.2 million men and 1.4 million women, or 4.6% of the Italian population. A quarter of male prevalent cases had prostate cancer (n\u2009=\u2009305,044), while 42% of prevalent women had breast cancer (n\u2009=\u2009604,841). More than 1.5 million people (2.7% of Italians) were alive since 5 or more years after diagnosis and 20% since 6515 years. It is projected that, in 2020 in Italy, there will be 3.6 million prevalent cancer cases (+\u200937% vs 2010). The largest 10-year increases are foreseen for prostate (+\u200985%) and for thyroid cancers (+\u200979%), and for long-term survivors diagnosed since 20 or more years (+\u200945%). Among the population aged 6575 years, 22% will have had a previous cancer diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The number of persons living after a cancer diagnosis is estimated to rise of approximately 3% per year in Italy. The availability of detailed estimates and projections of the complete prevalence are intended to help the implementation of guidelines aimed to enhance the long-term follow-up of cancer survivors and to contribute their rehabilitation need

Rationale and Design of the PARTHENOPE Trial: A Two-by-Two Factorial Comparison of Polymer-Free vs. Biodegradable-Polymer Drug-Eluting Stents and Personalized vs. Standard Duration of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in All-Comers Undergoing PCI.

BACKGROUND Over the past few decades, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has undergone significant advancements as a result of the combination of device-based and drug-based therapies. These iterations have led to the development of polymer-free drug-eluting stents. However, there is a scarcity of data regarding their clinical performance. Furthermore, while various risk scores have been proposed to determine the optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT), none of them have undergone prospective validation within the context of randomized trials. DESIGN The PARTHENOPE trial is a phase IV, prospective, randomized, multicenter, investigator-initiated, assessor-blind study being conducted at 13 centers in Italy (NCT04135989). It includes 2,107 all-comers patients with minimal exclusion criteria, randomly assigned in a 2-by-2 design to receive either the Cre8 amphilimus-eluting stent or the SYNERGY everolimus-eluting stent, along with either a personalized or standard duration of DAPT. Personalized DAPT duration is determined by the DAPT score, which accounts for both bleeding and ischemic risks. Patients with a DAPT score <2 (indicating higher bleeding than ischemic risk) receive DAPT for 3 or 6 months for chronic or acute coronary syndrome, respectively, while patients with a DAPT score ≥2 (indicating higher ischemic than bleeding risk) receive DAPT for 24 months. Patients in the standard DAPT group receive DAPT for 12 months. The trial aims to establish the non-inferiority between stents with respect to a device-oriented composite endpoint of cardiovascular death, target-vessel myocardial infarction, or clinically-driven target-lesion revascularization at 12 months after PCI. Additionally, the trial aims to demonstrate the superiority of personalized DAPT compared to a standard approach with respect to a net clinical composite of all-cause death, any myocardial infarction, stroke, urgent target-vessel revascularization, or type 2 to 5 bleeding according to the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium criteria at 24-months after PCI. SUMMARY The PARTHENOPE trial is the largest randomized trial investigating the efficacy and safety of a polymer-free DES with a reservoir technology for drug-release and the first trial evaluating a personalized duration of DAPT based on the DAPT score. The study results will provide novel insights into the optimizing the use of drug-eluting stents and DAPT in patients undergoing PCI

The role of myocardial scintigraphy in the assessment of coronary artery disease

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for the assessment of myocardial perfusion was introduced in the early 1970s, following pioneer studies of Gould et al. It has rapidly become one of the most used noninvasive technique for the assessment of myocardial ischemia. Thanks to the current technetium based tracers that allow electrocardiogram gated synchronization, it is possible to assess the regional ventricular systolic function and the evaluation of myocardial perfusion as well. In the last twenty years, beyond its diagnostic role, myocardial SPECT has become also a prognostic technique. Indeed, it has acquired a role for the short-term prediction of major coronary events in a large cohort with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). The aim of this review is to give an update of the correct use and interpretation of myocardial SPECT in patients with known or suspected CAD and without left ventricular dysfunction

The X-ray Polarization Probe mission concept

The X-ray Polarization Probe (XPP) is a second generation X-ray polarimeter following up on the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). The XPP will offer true broadband polarimetery over the wide 0.2-60 keV bandpass in addition to imaging polarimetry from 2-8 keV. The extended energy bandpass and improvements in sensitivity will enable the simultaneous measurement of the polarization of several emission components. These measurements will give qualitatively new information about how compact objects work, and will probe fundamental physics, i.e. strong-field quantum electrodynamics and strong gravity.Comment: submitted to Astrophysics Decadal Survey as a State of the Profession white pape