152 research outputs found
Turbocharger speed monitoring based on vibration measurements for diesel engine management
No full textNeedle displacement visualization with simultaneous measurement of injection rate for CR diesel injector: A novel experimental technique
No full textEcological factors associated with Emergency Department use by older people in Italy
No full textBackground: Many studies investigated factors associated with overuse of Emergency Department (ED) by older people. However, there is little evidence of how a better access to long-term care services can affect ED visit rates. Therefore, we estimated the association between ED use and contextual (distance to closest ED), need (priority level at admission and care deprivation), predisposing (socio-economic conditions) and enabling factors (availability of health services) at the municipal level. Methods: We investigated ED visit rates by comparing the older population (aged 75 and more) to those aged less than 75 years among 233 municipalities and 13 health districts in the Marche Region, Central Italy. Administrative data were enriched by spatial dimensions. The outcomes were analysed using t-tests and ANOVA, while OLS and multilevel regressions have been used to identify independent correlates of ED visit rates. Results: Mean ED visit rate was 56.3% and 25.3% among older people and the rest of the population (< 75 years), respectively. The multivariate analysis for older people showed that the presence of an ED within the municipality and living alone were positively associated with ED use, whereas greater availability of nursing homes was negatively associated. For general population (< 75 years), distance to closest ED, economic deprivation and bigger hospitals were negatively associated with ED visits. Conclusions: Our study shows that interventions to reduce frequent ED use by older people should include the availability of long-term care facilities in the area. As population ageing is progressing, our results suggest that investing in alternative care options for older people with long-term care needs might have the beneficial impact of reducing the overall ED rates and improving quality and appropriateness of care
Casein haplotype variability in Apulian goat breeds
No full textDue to the tight linkage among the casein genes, the study of the haplotype variability is a necessary approach in order to identify important effects which could be exploited for the genetic improvement of goat species, showing considerable casein genetic variation. The aim of this paper was to analyse the casein haplotype distribution, with particular attention to the linkage phase between as1-casein (CSN1S1) and b-casein (CSN2). The two first loci of the casein cluster, which are only 12 kb apart and are convergently transcribed. Apulian goats from Garganica, Jonica, and Maltese breeds were considered. DNA typing showed that the CSN2*C allele is mainly associated to CSN1S1*A and CSN1S1*F allele. Most probably, the differentiation between CSN2*C and CSN2*A occurred before the numerous mutations affecting CSN1S1 locus
Impact on combustion and emissions of jet fuel as additive in diesel engine fueled with blends of petrol diesel, renewable diesel and waste cooking oil biodiesel
No full textThis study is devoted to investigating the potential use of Jet A in blend along with biodiesel from waste cooking oil, petrol diesel, and renewable diesel. Biodiesel use allows for reducing carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbons (HC), and soot due to the oxygen contained in the fuel. The drawbacks in its use are related to the low volatility and high viscosity of vegetable oil that cause difficulties in fuel atomization and in its mixing with air. Moreover, an increased amount of NOx emission was observed. The aim of the experimentation is to evaluate the ability of Jet A of enhancing the combustion process and pollutant emissions of a diesel engine, thus overcoming the difficulties in biodiesel usage (high viscosity, poor cold weather performance, compatibility with diesel engine equipment) and then increasing the renewable fuel percentage in the fuel. Testing was carried out on a small displacement common rail diesel engine. Hardware and ECU setting were not modified in order to let the engine be ready to operate with different and exchangeable fuels. The effect on pollutant emissions of a variation of the amount of Jet A and biodiesel in the fuel is investigated, while accounting for the engine speed value
In-silico study of Hydroxyapatite and Bioglass® : how computational science sheds light on biomaterials
No full textIn the present Chapter it has been explained how crucial the computational techniques arewhen applied together with experimentalist measurements in the understanding ofbiological complex systems and mechanisms dealing with biomaterials for a large numberof reasons. Indeed, computational methods are extremely powerfully applied to predictstructure formation and crystal growth as well as to describe at a molecular level the realinteractions responsible of the attachment of the inorganic biomaterial to the organic tissue.In the investigation of phenomena related to a complex system such as the human body,many approximations are required, so a reductionist approach is employed also in thecomputational analysi
Technical note: simultaneous identification of CSN1S2 A, B, C, and E alleles in goats by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism.
No full textMost variability in goat caseins originates from the high number of genetic polymorphisms often affecting the specific protein expression, with strong effects on milk composition traits and technological properties. At least 7 alleles have been found in the goat alpha(S2)-CN gene (CSN1S2). Five of them (CSN1S2*A, CSN1S2*B, CSN1S2*C, CSN1S2*E, and CSN1S2*F) are widespread in most breeds, whereas the other 2 (CSN1S2*D and CSN1S2*0) are rarer alleles. Four different PCR-RFLP tests are needed to detect all of these variants at the DNA level. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a rapid method for typing 4 of the 5 most-common goat CSN1S2 alleles by means of PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP). The method was validated by analyzing 37 goat samples at the protein and DNA level, respectively, by milk isoelectrofocusing and PCR-RFLP methods already described. The genotypes obtained using the PCR-SSCP approach were in full agreement with those obtained by the validation analyses. The newly developed PCR-SSCP approach provides an accurate and inexpensive assay highly suitable for genotyping goat CSN1S2
"A clinical and elettromiographic review of lateral and postero-lateral approach to the hipafter prosthesis replacement"
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De Sitter projective relativity
No full textThis book presents the Projective approach to de Sitter Relativity. It traces the development of renewed interest in models of the universe at constant positive curvature such as "vacuum" geometry. The De Sitter Theory of Relativity, formulated in 1917 with Willem De Sitter's solution of the Einstein equations, was used in different fields during the 1950s and 1960s, in the work of H. Bacry, J.M. LevyLeblond and F.Gursey, to name some important contributors. From the 1960s to 1980s, L. Fantappié and G. Arcidiacono provided an elegant group approach to the De Sitter universe putting the basis for special and general projective relativity. Today such suggestions flow into a unitary scenario, and this way the De Sitter Relativity is no more a "missing opportunity" (F. Dyson, 1972), but has a central role in theoretical physics. In this volume a systematic presentation is given of the De Sitter Projective relativity, with the recent developments in projective general relativity and quantum cosmology
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