Low-frequency passive integrated transponders (PIT tags) have been increasingly used for tracking bedload transport in gravel-bed rivers. Prior studies have reported high recovery rates in small ...streams, while recovery rates remained much lower in large systems, in large part because of the limited reading distance of the tags (<1m). Some laboratory tests have identified controlling factors for detection ranges (tag and antenna size, tag orientation, burial, submergence, etc.). Beyond these tests, improving our understanding of PIT tag functioning, using different equipment within different environments, is still needed in order to select the most suitable device for each geomorphic context. We address this knowledge gap with technical specifications for a low-frequency radio identification (RFID) device by working for the first time with real fluvial constraints, i.e., the gravel deposits and the aquatic channel. The three-dimensional detection envelopes of two types of tags and three types of antennas are quantified as well as the effect of practices (interoperator bias, battery power) on the detection. The interoperator variability and the intertag variability can be considered as negligible. The influence of burial in dry and water-saturated sediment and the influence of water immersion are shown to be minor. Finally, we summarize practical implications for RFID bedload tracking through these experiments.
•Technical characterization of a low-frequency RFID device for bedload tracking•3D detection envelopes of two types of tags and three types of antennas in open air•Limited influence of burial, saturation and submergence on the detection•Practical recommendations for field surveys involving RFID equipment
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Objective : To test the cultural invariance of the Impact-on-Family Scale in order to make cross-cultural comparisons. Methods : The Italian version of the scale was administered to mothers of ...children with chronic illnesses. Factorial invariance was examined to investigate whether the four factors found with the original United States (U.S.) scale could be replicated. Results : The results clearly demonstrate the replicability of the first three factors, Financial Burden, Familial/Social Impact, and Personal Strain. In addition, internal consistency and the homogeneity of the items of the corresponding scales are satisfactory. However, the fourth factor, Mastery, could not be replicated, and the reliability of the corresponding scale is poor. Italian mothers scored significantly lower on the Financial Burden and on the Familial/Social Impact dimension, compared to the American sample. Conclusions : Three of the four factors of the Impact-on-Family Scale are useful for cross-cultural comparisons between U.S. and Italian samples.
A multimodality approach including operation and isolated lung perfusion with platinum was used in six patients with lung metastases from soft tissue sarcomas. Staged thoracotomies were used in two ...patients with bilateral lesions. The inclusion criteria generally applied for surgical excision were adopted in this study. The pulmonary artery and a portion of the left atrium were isolated from systemic circulation and cannulated. The cannulas were then connected to a perfusion circuit and normothermic isolated lung perfusion was done for 60 minutes. The lung was then flushed and metastasectomy was done. Serial blood (systemic and pulmonary), tissue (normal lung and tumor), and urine samples were obtained for platinum content measurement by flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy. Lung damage was assessed by light and electron microscopy examination and by serial respiratory tests. Isolated lung perfusion was accomplished in all patients without any death, operative complication, or systemic toxicity. After operation, interstitial and alveolar edema developed in two patients (48 hours after treatment), necessitating respiratory support in one case. Total platinum concentrations in pulmonary plasma were about 43 times greater than those in systemic plasma. No differences in platinum concentrations between normal lung and metastatic tissue were found. Thus the proposed isolated lung perfusion technique is feasible and safe enough to be offered as a valid model to study combined chemosurgical approaches in the treatment of lung metastases. (J T
HORAC C
ARDIOVASC S
URG 1996;112:614-22)
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Cognitive abilities and achievement status of 178 children with myelomeningocele (MMC) were examined with neuropsychological techniques. These children as a whole scored below the population average. ...Children with MMC and shunted hydrocephalus performed worse than the arrested (unshunted) and non-hydrocephalic children. The greater deficit occurred on the Performance IQ. 80.7% of the subjects attended normal school while, 19.3% received remedial instruction. The results of our study are consistent with a large body of literature indicating that children with shunted hydrocephalus demonstrate poorer development of non-verbal relative to verbal cognitive abilities.
Giant mucocele of appendix. Case report Pittaluga, M; Lombezzi, R; Fantino, G ...
Il Giornale di chirurgia,
2005 Aug-Sep, 20050801, Volume:
26, Issue:
8-9
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Appendiceal mucocele is an uncommon disorder caused by accumulation of mucus within the appendiceal lumen. Mucoceles represent a heterogeneous group comprising various histopathologic lesions ...including mucosal hyperplasia, cystoadenomas, and cystoadenocarcinomas and prognosis is related to these subtypes. The most common symptom is pain or a palpable mass in the right lower quadrant on physical examination. The preoperative diagnosis is performed with abdominal U.S. and confirmed with CT scan; typical CT scan image is a capsulated cystic mass with calcification of the wall while U.S. pattern shows cystic lesion with the onion skin sign considered a specific sonographic marker for appendiceal mucocele. In conclusion a cystic mass sonographically detected with onion skin sign, in the presence of normal female reproductive organs, suggest the diagnosis of appendiceal mucocele.
A previous pilot study from our group suggested that: (1) adoptive immunotherapy (A1) with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) and recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) may be applied with safety to ...more than 80% of the patients who had surgery for Stage III nonsmall cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC); and (2) AI could be useful in patients with locally advanced disease. The present randomized study was planned to assess the efficacy of AI in the postoperative treatment of Stage II, IIIa, or IIIb NSCLC:
TIL were expanded in vitro from tissue samples obtained from the surgically removed specimens of 131 patients. Eighteen cultures yielded no growth of TIL. The remaining 113 patients were stratified according to disease stage and randomized to receive AI or standard chemoradiotherapy. TIL were infused intravenously 6 to 8 weeks after surgery, rIL-2 was administered subcutaneously at escalating doses for 2 weeks, and then at reduced doses for 2 weeks and then for 2 to 3 months.
Three-year survival was significantly better (P < 0.05) for patients who underwent AI than for controls. AI was of no benefit to patients with Stage II NSCLC, potentially useful to patients with Stage IIIa NSCLC (P = 0.06), and significantly advantageous to patients with Stage IIIb (T4) NSCLC (P < 0.01). For patients with Stage III NSCLC, local relapse (but not distant relapse) was significantly reduced following AI (P < 0.05).
AI should be considered when designing future adjuvant therapy protocols for the treatment of NSCLC:
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Atomic clocks employed onboard satellites are one of the basic elements of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The positioning accuracy is highly dependent on these space clocks, whose ...stability is essential to ensure adequate performances. Monitoring and analyzing the behavior of space clocks is hence a fundamental task. Any nonstationarity, namely, any deviation of the clock behavior from the specifications, must be detected and communicated to the system users within a few seconds. In this paper we analyze more than five years of public satellite clock data for GPS, GLONASS and Galileo, obtained from the Information Analytical Centre and the International GNSS Service, including the Multi-GNSS Experiment. We evaluate and compare the stability of the system clocks under stationary behavior, namely, when the clocks behave according to the specifications. Then we classify the most evident clock apparent anomalies and we analyze them with tools specifically designed for clock nonstationarities, such as the dynamic Allan variance. Our goal is to understand the nature of every type of nonstationarity, and, eventually, to build a statistics of the most frequent ones.
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