231 research outputs found

    Reference crop evapotranspiration estimate using high-resolution meteorological network's data

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    Water management authorities need detailed information about each component of the hydrological balance. This document presents a method to estimate the evapotranspiration rate, initialized in order to obtain the reference crop evapotranspiration rate (<i>ET</i><sub>0</sub>). By using an Optimal Interpolation (OI) scheme, the hourly observations of several meteorological variables, measured by a high-resolution local meteorological network, are interpolated over a regular grid. The analysed meteorological fields, containing detailed meteorological information, enter a model for turbulent heat fluxes estimation based on Monin-Obukhov surface layer similarity theory. The obtained <i>ET</i><sub>0</sub> fields are then post-processed and disseminated to the users

    EFFECT OF PRASUGREL IN PATIENTS WITH ASTHMA: RESULTS OF PRINA, A RANDOMIZED, DOUBLE-BLIND, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED,CROSS-OVER STUDY

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    Introduction: Although experimental studies demonstrated that platelets are pro-inflammatory cells, no randomized studies tested the anti-inflammatory effect of antiplatelet agents in humans. The platelet P2Y12 receptors mediated bronchial inflammation in a mouse model of asthma, suggesting that P2Y12 represents a pharmacological target for asthma. Objectives: In this proof-of concept, placebo-controlled, randomized, cross-over study we tested the effects of the P2Y12 antagonist prasugrel on bronchial hyper-reactivity of asthmatic patients. Patients/Methods: Twenty-six asthmatic patients were randomly and blindly allocated to prasugrel (10mg o.d.) or placebo for 15 days. After 6515-day wash-out, patients were crossed-over to the alternative treatment. Before and after each treatment, patients underwent bronchial provocation test with mannitol and measurement of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO). Inhibition of P2Y12-dependent platelet reactivity (PRI) was measured by the VASP phosphorylation assay. Results: The provocative dose of mannitol causing a 15%-drop in FEV1 tended to increase from 142 mg (95%CI 82-202) to 187 mg (113-262) after prasugrel (p=0.09) and did not change after placebo (136 mg; 76-196 and 144 mg; 84-204 , p=0.65). FeNO did not change after either treatment. PRI decreased from 80%(77-83) to 23%(7-29) after prasugrel (p<0.001) and remained unchanged after placebo. Conclusions: Our proof-of-concept, randomized, controlled study is the first one to test in vivo the anti-inflammatory effects of platelet inhibition in human patients. Its results suggest that pharmacological inhibition of P2Y12 receptors may slightly reduce the bronchial inflammatory burden and lays the groundwork for further studies, with clinical end-points. \u200

    Experiment Investigating the Connection between Weak Values and Contextuality

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    Weak value measurements have recently given rise to a large interest for both the possibility of measurement amplification and the chance of further quantum mechanics foundations investigation. In particular, a question emerged about weak values being proof of the incompatibility between Quantum Mechanics and Non-Contextual Hidden Variables Theories (NCHVT). A test to provide a conclusive answer to this question was given in [M. Pusey, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 200401 (2014)], where a theorem was derived showing the NCHVT incompatibility with the observation of anomalous weak values under specific conditions. In this paper we realize this proposal, clearly pointing out the strict connection between weak values and the contextual nature of Quantum Mechanics.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

    Efficient high-resolution 3-D interpolation of meteorological variables for operational use

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    Abstract. In recent years, the use of mesoscale meteorological network data has been growing. An Optimal Interpolation (OI) method is used to interpolate on a regular grid the hourly averaged values of temperature, relative humidity, wind vector, atmospheric pressure, and hourly cumulated precipitation. For all variables, except precipitation, the background (i.e. first guess) information is obtained by detrending the observations using the geographical parameters. For precipitation, the M. Lema radar-derived best estimate of precipitation rate at the ground is used. The characteristics of the OI schemes are shown in several test cases using data from ARPA Lombardia's mesoscale meteorological network. Finally, a quantitative diagnostics for temperature and relative humidity is carried out by using Cross Validation (CV) scores computed with large sets of data

    Venous thrombosis at unusual sites and the role of thrombophilia

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    Thrombophilia includes multiple inherited and acquired risk factors that determine a shift in the balance of procoagulant and anticoagulant factors promoting hypercoagulability, which is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). VTE is characterized by more common clinical manifestations, such as deep vein thrombosis of the lower limbs or pulmonary embolism, and less common clinical manifestations affecting cerebral, splanchnic, upper limbs, and retinal veins. The role of inherited thrombophilia in the pathogenesis of VTE at unusual sites is better established in cerebral vein thrombosis, but its role is less clear in splanchnic, upper limbs, and retinal vein thrombosis, in which acquired risk factors such as malignancy, central venous catheters, or systemic diseases also are frequently involved. The complex interactions between different inherited and acquired thrombophilic risk factors and their relationship with endothelium may be considered the pathophysiologic key of underlying phenotypic manifestations of thrombosis. The understanding of these mechanisms might facilitate diagnosis with appropriate investigations and improve therapeutic decision making

    Novel time-resolved camera based on compressed sensing

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    Time-resolved cameras with high temporal resolution (down to ps) enable a huge set of novel applications ranging from biomedicine and environmental science to material and device characterization. In this work, we propose, and experimentally validate, a novel detection scheme for time-resolved imaging based on a compressed sampling approach. The proposed scheme unifies into a single element all the required operations, i.e. space modulation, space integration and time-resolved detection, paving the way to dramatic cost reduction, performance improvement and ease of use

    Driver mutations (JAK2V617F, MPLW515L/K or CALR), pentraxin-3 and C-reactive protein in essential thrombocythemia and polycythemia vera

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    BACKGROUND: The driver mutations JAK2V617F, MPLW515L/K and CALR influence disease phenotype of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and might sustain a condition of chronic inflammation. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) are inflammatory biomarkers potentially useful for refining prognostic classification of MPNs. METHODS: We evaluated 305 with essential thrombocythemia (ET) and 172 polycythemia vera (PV) patients diagnosed according to the 2016 WHO criteria and with full molecular characterization for driver mutations. RESULTS: PTX3 levels were significantly increased in carriers of homozygous JAK2V617F mutation compared to all the other genotypes and triple negative ET patients, while hs-CRP levels were independent of the mutational profile. The risk of haematological evolution and death from any cause was about 2- and 1.5-fold increased in individuals with high PTX-3 levels, while the thrombosis rate tended to be lower. High hs-CRP levels were associated with risk of haematological evolution, death and also major thrombosis. After sequential adjustment for potential confounders (age, gender, diagnosis and treatments) and the presence of JAK2V617F homozygous status, high hs-CRP levels remained significant for all outcomes, while JAK2V617F homozygous status as well as treatments were the factors independently accounting for adverse outcomes among patients with high PTX3 levels. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide evidence that JAK2V617F mutation influences MPN-associated inflammation with a strong correlation between allele burden and PTX3 levels. Plasma levels of hs-CRP and PTX3 might be of prognostic value for patients with ET and PV, but their validation in future prospective studies is needed

    Protective Measurement-A New Quantum Measurement Paradigm: Detailed Description of the First Realization

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    We present a detailed description of the experiment realizing for the first time a protective measurement, a novel measurement protocol which combines weak interactions with a "protection mechanism" preserving the measured state coherence during the whole measurement process. Furthermore, protective measurement allows finding the expectation value of an observable, i.e., an inherently statistical quantity, by measuring a single particle, without the need for any statistics. This peculiar property, in sharp contrast to the framework of traditional (projective) quantum measurement, might constitute a groundbreaking advance for several quantum technology related fields
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