1,510 research outputs found
High voltage stability and cleaning of 2 m2 resistive strip micromegas detectors (SM2) for the upgrade of the forward muon spectrometer of the ATLAS experiment
No full textFor the upgrade of the innermost station of the forward muon spectrometer of the ATLAS experiment large Micromegas (MM) detectors of 2 and 3 m with 4 active layers each are foreseen. Four types of MM chambers are produced among four sites. Each sites has to deliver 32 quadruplets or 128 active planes. The tiny 120μm distance between the 600 V resistive strip anodes and the ground micro-meshes for these large areas require adequate and well adapted cleaning procedures to guarantee high voltage stability. This is particularly critical for strip shaped surfaces made from resistive material where remnants from the lithographic production processes must be completely removed. The procedure foreseen a visual inspections to be carried on during cleaning and assembly procedures; a wet cleaning procedure to remove dust and possible ionic components of salts from the anode surfaces; a dry cleaning procedure to remove dust; HV tests to be done to validate the cleaning. The cleaning procedure will be illustrated for a New Small Wheel (NSW) Outer Small Module (SM2) of 2 m
Acute psycosis in systemic lupus erythematosus
No full textPsychiatric manifestations are common in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and often represent a challenging diagnostic and therapeutic problem, mainly because the uncertainties of the pathogenic mechanisms. We report a case of acute psychosis occurring in a female with SLE due to the stress of having a severe disease, rather than to SLE per se
Successful treatment with etanercept of a patient with psoriatic arthritis after adalimumab-related hepatotoxicity
No full textInhibitors of Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) alpha (infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab) are nowadays widely used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS), not responding to conventional therapies. Anti-TNF alpha drugs have demonstrated great efficacy in slowing the disease, however, to date, concern still remains regarding acute and long-term toxicity related to TNF block. Increase in liver tests may be observed during treatment with anti-TNF agents, more often related to concomitant drugs (i.e. NSAIDS, methotrexate) or to reactivation of chronic HBV or HCV infections. However, liver damage directly induced by the drug has been described in patients treated with infliximab or adalimumab. To our knowledge, no cases of liver injury closely related to etanercept have been reported so far. We report the case of a patient with PsA who presented liver dysfunction during adalimumab, subsequently successfully treated with etanercept. Copyrigh
Le immunoglobuline nella terapia delle malattie reumatiche : descrizione di un caso di vasculite cutanea e revisione della letteratura
No full textIntravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) have become an important therapeutic tool not only for patients with idiopathic and acquired immunodeficiencies, but also in a number of immunorheumatic conditions. The mechanisms by which IVIG exert their immunoregulatory effects are not completely defined and probably differ in the various diseases. Although generally well tolerated, since severe side-effects can occur, patients at risk (IgA deficient patients, older patients, patients with kidney or heart disease) must be identified to minimize adverse events. At present, ANCA-associated vasculitis, dermatomyositis and probably fibrosing conditions may represent the rheumatic diseases for which IVIG efficacy seems to be well documented. Controlled trials are however needed to provide guidelines for IVIG use in rheumatic diseases
Modelling approaches to biomass gasification: A review with emphasis on the stoichiometric method
No full textWorldwide escalating energy consumption of recent years, due to the earth population growth and the spreading of industrialization, has resulted in an increased concern about the environmental impact of energy conversion systems. Heavy exploitation and extensive use of fossil fuels have indeed also led to envisage their foreseeable depletion, thus opening the way to the use of alternative fuels as biomass. Among thermo-chemical treatments of biomass, gasification is particularly attractive for its release of syngas (or producer gas), suitable of being used in various combustion systems, including internal combustion engines. In principle, biomass contaminants and heavy hydrocarbons can be removed during syngas cleaning, before the actual combustion process, thus leading to an overall cleaner conversion process. At present, demonstrating operational feasibility and effectiveness of gasification technologies and proving long term sustainability, also through the enhancement of fuel flexibility, are recognized as key elements for the development and market diffusion of biomass energy systems. In fact, although gasification has been known for a long time, its control has long requested serious efforts by researchers and manufacturers. Nowadays, new perspectives are imaginable thanks to the use of simulation tools that may reveal particularly useful to improve gasification efficiency and increase the quality of the producer gas. In recent years, several numerical models have been indeed proposed to characterise and predict such a complex process, where drying, pyrolysis, gasification and combustion take place simultaneously. This article presents a general overview of gasification models available, with emphasis on those based on the stoichiometric method. Although this last may seem too restrictive under some circumstances, equilibrium models are useful to predict the maximum yield attainable by a reagent system, since they reproduce an ideal gasification performance. Due to their simplicity and the reduced computational time, these models are suitable of being employed in a first stage of an analysis or within optimization procedures, where the influence of a number of parameters has to be investigated or a choice of the optimal biomass to be treated for a certain scope is to be made
Update on anti-TNF-alpha treatment in rheumatic diseases
No full textA review. The development of inhibitors of Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) a, a pro-inflammatory cytokine playing a pivotal role in chronic inflammatory diseases, represents a milestone in the therapy of several rheumatic diseases. Currently, three TNFa-blocking drugs are available for clin. use in rheumatic diseases: infliximab, etanercept and adalimumab. These drugs rapidly reduce disease activity and probably change the poor outcome of several chronic rheumatic diseases, by preventing the development of bone erosions, joint deformity and disability. Although these drugs have proved to be effective and well tolerated in the short period, some concerns exist about long-term safety and efficacy. In fact, the long-term use of inhibitors of TNFa, a pivotal cytokine in host defense, might result in the development of infections and neoplasms, therefore the long-term safety has to be defined. The most frightening infection to date is tuberculosis, and guidelines for the screening of patient candidates to biol. treatment has significantly reduced the risk. Parasitic and viral infections do not contraindicate biol. therapy. Lymphoma has been reported in assocn. with TNFa antagonists, but whether or not there is a causal relationship is still debated. The use of biol. agents in other rheumatic inflammatory conditions is rapidly increasing, but their cost poses a considerable financial burden on healthcare systems and a careful economic evaluation is needed
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