87 research outputs found
Gas Turbine Health Indices Determination by Using Neural Networks
No full textRecently, diagnostic approaches based on Artificial Intelligence have become very attractive. In particular Neural Networks (NNs) seem to have suitable characteristics for gas turbine diagnostics. This paper deals with the activities carried out for: - selecting the most appropriate NN structure for gas turbine diagnostics; - developing a NN for the detection, isolation and assessment of single and combined causes of performance degradation in a two shaft industrial gas turbine; - testing both the NN performance in recognizing causes of performance degradation and robustness in presence of scarce and/or wrong input data. The data used in all these phases in order to train and test the NN have been generated using a non-linear Cycle Program. So, the Cycle Program becomes a data generator, which may be integrated with data derived from field experience, while the diagnostic function is performed by the NN
Design and experimentation of educational activities in geosciences for secondary school
No full textAcute effects of β-endorphin on cardiovascular function in patients with mild to moderate chronic heart failure
No full textBackground Cardiomyocytes produce opioid peptides and receptors. β-Endorphin is increased in the plasma of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). We evaluated whether an intravenous infusion of β-endorphin exerted any effect on cardiovascular function and on the neurohormonal milieu in patients with mild to moderate CHF. Methods According to a double-blind, placebo-controlled design, 10 patients (5 men, age 46.9 ± 8.2 years [mean ± SD]) with CHF and New York Heart Association functional class II to III received, in random order, 1-hour intravenous infusion of β-endorphin (500 μg/h) and, on a separate occasion, received placebo and underwent echocardiographic and laboratory measurements at baseline and during infusions. Results β-Endorphin significantly increased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (P = .0001) and stroke volume (P = .0001), and reduced systemic vascular resistance (P = .031) in patients with CHF. These changes were paralleled by a significant increase in plasma levels of glucagon (P = .0001), GH (P = .0001), and IGF-1 (P = .0001), and a significant decrease in plasma levels of endothelin (P = .0001) and catecholamines (P = .01). No hemodynamic and neurohormonal changes were observed during the placebo study in any patient. Conclusions We conclude that a short-term, high dose infusion of β-endorphin improves LVEF, reduces systemic vascular resistance, blunts the neurohormonal activation, and stimulates the GH/IGF-1 axis in patients with mild to moderate CHF
Cardiovascular risk factors and disease management in type 2 diabetic patients with diabetic nephropathy
No full textOBJECTIVE— The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of cardiorenal risk factors, their management in a routine clinical setting, and the actual achievement of international guideline targets in a large cohort of type 2 diabetic patients with diabetic nephropathy.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— A multicentric cross-sectional study was
performed in the Campania region in Italy to evaluate cardiorenal risk factors and their management in light of international guidelines. Overall, 28,550 diabetic patients were screened in
the 21 participating centers; 847 (348 male and 449 female) patients with type 2 diabetes and a clinical diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy were recruited.
RESULTS— Of these subjects, 749 had microalbuminuria and 98 had macroalbuminuria. Targets for blood pressure, HbA1c, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides were reached in, respectively, 17.5, 32.3, 30.7, 47, and 55.2% of the patients. Chronic renal failure
(glomerular filtration rate *60 ml/min) was revealed in 41% and anemia in 23.8% of the patients.
CONCLUSIONS— This is the first study to investigate a large cohort of type 2 diabetic patients with early and moderate diabetic nephropathy strictu sensu. Notably, impaired renal function can be often diagnosed in these patients even in the presence of microalbuminuria.
Thus, clinical diagnosis of diabetic nephopathy allows us to identify a group of patients at very high cardiorenal risk, for whom care is really difficult. We suggest that a correct diagnosis of
diabetic nephropathy should always be made and that sodium intake and anemia should be routinely evaluated in these patients
Letteratura Greca Sommersa: la prospettiva comparativa
No full textCiclo di seminari nazionali e internazionali così organizzati:
20 gennaio 2014 (Sapienza - Università di Roma): relazioni di J. Ben Dov; G.G. Stroumsa
21 gennaio 2014 (Sapienza - Università di Roma): relazione di J. Ben Dov;
17 febbraio 2014 (Università L'Orientale, Napoli): relazioni di: S. Graziani; R. Denaro; P. Laurentis
10 marzo 2014 (CNR - Roma): relazioni di: R. Torella; S. Monda
7 aprile 2014 (Università dell'Aquila): relazioni di: R. Fowler; M. Giordano; L. Pucci
9 maggio 2014 (Sapienza, Università di Roma): relazioni di M. Finkelberg; M. Carastro; A. Tadde
Cluster systems and simulation: From benchmarking to off-line performance prediction
No full textThis paper describes a simulation-based technique for the performance prediction of
message-passing applications on cluster systems by means of benchmark data. Given
data measuring the performance of a target cluster in the form of standard benchmark
results, along with the details of the chosen computing configuration, it is possible to
build and to validate automatically a detailed simulation model. This makes it possible
to predict off-line, i.e., without resorting to the real hardware, the performance of fully-
developed or even of skeletal code. An XML-based language (MetaPL) is adopted to
describe the application behavior in the development stage. After a description of the
approach and the illustration of the construction and validation of the simulation model,
the paper presents a case study
Update in native tissue vaginal vault prolapse repair
No full textThe lifetime risk of women for undergoing surgery for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is estimated to be 11-19%, and 30% of these women will require subsequent reoperation over time. Following hysterectomy, 3.6 per 1,000 person-years need surgical correction of prolapse, and in two-thirds of these cases multi-compartment prolapse is present. In the last decades, vaginally synthetic meshes were widely used in pelvic reconstructive surgery. However, after the decision of the Food and Drug Administration in 2019 to stop selling all surgical mesh devices for transvaginal prolapse repair, native tissue (NT) vaginal repair seems to regain an important role in pelvic reconstructive surgery. In the literature, various surgical techniques have been described for apical repair, but the best surgical approach is still to be proven. This paper analyzes the current evidence from recent literature on NT vaginal vault prolapse (VVP) repair, with special focus on the safety and efficacy of the various vaginal techniques
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