Ropeginterferon-alfa2b (ropegIFNα2b) is a long-acting IFN formulation with broad FDA/EMA approval as a therapy of polycythemia vera (PV) with no symptomatic splenomegaly. There is currently lack of ...information on the real-world patient selection, including the impact of local reimbursement policies, and drug management, particularly: type/timing of screening and follow-up tests; absolute/relative contraindications to therapy; ropegIFNα2b dose and combinations with hydroxyurea. As a sub-analysis of the PV-ARC retrospective study (NCT06134102), we here report our monocenter experience with ropegIFNα2b in the period from January 2021, corresponding to drug availability outside clinical trial, and December 2023. Among the 149 patients with EMA/FDA indication, only 55 (36.9%) met the local reimbursement criteria and 18 (12.1%) received ropegIFNα2b. Thanks to appropriate screening, relative/absolute contraindications to ropegIFNα2b were detected and managed in a multidisciplinary manner. Efficacy and safety of ropegIFNα2b was confirmed, with 3 cases of early molecular response. General use of low ropegIFNα2b dose, with frequent need for hydroxyurea combinations, was noted. This real-world experience suggests a significant impact of local regulations on drug prescription and the need for greater real-world data collection on ropegIFNα2b in PV patients. Also, it describes appropriate multidisciplinary screening and monitoring procedures during ropegIFNα2b therapy.
This paper presents and compares a set of calibration strategies useful to calibrate vision-based robotised work-cells for micromanipulation and microassembly. To grasp and release microparts ...precisely, robot calibration, camera calibration and robot-camera registration are needed. Conventional calibration methods are very onerous at the microscale, therefore, two alternative unconventional procedures, called virtual grid calibration and hybrid calibration, are developed for work-cells with high-performance robots, minimising necessary instrumentation. Moreover, an effective calibration of the robot end-effector is designed to compensate for misalignment and orientation errors with respect to the vertical rotational axis. This paper describes the calibration methods and their implementation, the results and the improvements achieved. A detailed comparison between the hybrid and the virtual grid calibrations is provided, demonstrating the higher performance of the latter strategy.
Over the last two decades, several methods have been developed to reduce subjectivity of geomorphosite selection through use of transparent assessment criteria. Most of these methods propose criteria ...such as integrity, rarity, representativeness and palaeogeographical importance for the evaluation of the «scientific value» of sites. For the assessment of their global quality, «additional values» of ecological, cultural, aesthetic and economic nature have, at times, been taken into consideration. This paper proposes a new assessment method that integrates both sets of values into the evaluation of geomorphosites. The method is described and its implementation in two different cases presented: compilation of an inventory of geomorphosites in the National Park of Adula (Ticino, Switzerland) and evaluation of the geocultural heritage of the Trient area (Valais, Switzerland).
► Thermodynamic and dynamic properties of metallic melts compared with those of other glass formers. ► Relationships between ΔSg/ΔCp,g and relevant temperatures for the glass demonstrated. ► ...Correspondence with either hyperbolic or Gaussian distribution of the states in the PEL shown. ► Correlations allow estimate of unknown quantities and pinpoint peculiar behavior of liquid.
The existing correlation between the extensive properties, ΔH and ΔS, the enthalpy and entropy difference between liquid and crystal phases has been checked to relate metallic glasses to other classes of amorphous materials.
Expressing the specific heat difference, ΔCp, of molten and crystalline metallic glass-formers as a function of temperature with different functional trends, parametric expressions of fragility are derived using relevant temperatures for alloys. It is shown that relationships between the ΔSg/ΔCp,g ratio and such temperatures are useful to estimate unknown quantities when the experimental determination of the specific heat is possible.
Thermodynamic indicators of fragility are compared to the kinetic fragility obtained from viscosity data accounting for the estimated errors on parameters which are derived from extrapolations. The outcome of the analysis indicates that a relationship between thermodynamic and kinetic parameters exists. Moreover a systematic scatter for some alloys indicates a diverse behavior which can be ascribed to structure modification either in the liquid or in the solid reference state.
We sought to optimize a method for quantification of the calcium in the aortic-valvar complex for the prediction of significant paravalvular leak (PVL) after transcatheter aortic valve implantation ...(TAVI).
All patients had severe symptomatic aortic stenosis and were treated with balloon-expandable TAVI (Sapien/Sapien-XT, Edwards Lifesciences LLC, Irvine, CA, USA). In order to correct for precise annular sizing, only patients with available contrast computed tomography (CT) data for measurements were included (n = 198). Paravalvular leak was quantified using peri-procedural transoesophageal echocardiography by Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 (VARC-2) criteria (grade ≥ moderate was considered significant). A detailed region-of-interest methodology separated quantification of calcium in each of the aortic leaflets to that in the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) and was used to predict PVL in receiver operator characteristic curve analyses. For non-contrast scans, the greatest discriminatory value for PVL was seen at the 450 Hounsfield Unit (HU) threshold for detection (volume ≥626 mm(3)), whereas for contrast scans it was at 850 HU (≥235 mm(3)). Left ventricular outflow tract calcium predicted PVL but only as a binary variable with no incremental value of quantification. In a multivariable binary logistic regression model, annulus area ≥ prosthesis area (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.5-8.2, P = 0.005), contrast leaflet calcium volume (850-HU threshold) ≥235 mm(3) (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.2-6.7, P = 0.023), and presence of LVOT calcium (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.2-7.0, P = 0.022) were independent predictors for PVL ≥ moderate.
Both leaflet and LVOT calcium are significant predictors of PVL and exert an important synergistic influence on this complication, even in appropriately sized valves. With careful attention to thresholds for detection, clinically relevant leaflet calcium volumes can be identified with either non-contrast or contrast CT scans.
In this paper, the potential of alcohol-gasoline blends as fuels for spark-ignition engines has been evaluated. The general purpose of the work is to verify the possibility of incrementing the ...bio-fuels penetration in the market of transportation fuels. As it is well known, bio-mass derived fuels, in fact, could significantly reduce the CO2 emissions of energy thermal systems.
The behavior of a small, turbocharged spark-ignition engine, firing with gasoline-butanol blends, has been analyzed. Analyses have been carried out by means of both experimental tests and numerical simulations. In previous works, engine main performances have been illustrated and discussed. Here, experimental tests have been carried out in order to compare the engine knock resistance and the obtainable fuel conversion efficiency when the engine is fueled by pure gasoline or gasoline-butanol blends at high load operation. Furthermore, one dimensional numerical analyses have been utilized in order to compare the engine behavior, at different operating points, when it is firing with pure gasoline or pure butanol.
In general, the obtained results seem to indicate that butanol (produced by bio-masses) is a viable alternative to fossil fuels in the way of CO2 emission reduction.
A model for the prediction of both topographic and climatic control on shallow landslide initiation processes in hilly mountainous terrain is proposed. The model develops upon a theory for coupled ...shallow subsurface flow and landsliding of the soil mantle previously proposed by Montgomery and Dietrich Water Resour. Res. 30 (1994) 1153. The model uses a ‘quasi-dynamic’ wetness index to predict the spatial distribution of soil saturation in response to a rainfall of specified duration. The rainfall predicted to cause instability in each topographic element is characterised by duration and frequency of occurrence. The incorporation of a rainfall frequency–duration relationship into assessment of landslide hazard provides a practical way to include climate information into estimation of the relative potential for shallow landsliding. The model is applied to a mountain experimental basin where high-resolution digital elevation data are available: the Cordon catchment (5
km
2), in north-eastern Italy. An inventory of landslide scars is used to document sites of instability and to provide a test of model performance by comparing observed landslide locations with model predictions. The model reasonably reproduces the observed distribution of landslides, although spatial variability of soil properties and hydrologic complexities not accounted for by the model complicate prediction of where landslides occur within areas of similar topographic-climatic control. Model predictions from the quasi-dynamic model are compared with those provided by the steady-state model Water Resour. Res. 30 (1994) 1153. These results suggest that the quasi-dynamic model offers significant improvement over the steady-state model in predicting existing landslides as represented in the considered landslide inventory.
Consumers’ demand for portable audio/video/ICT products has driven the development of advanced power technologies in recent years. Fuel cells are a clean technology with low emissions levels, ...suitable for operation with renewable fuels and capable, in a next future, of replacing conventional power systems meeting the targets of the Kyoto Protocol for a society based on sustainable energy systems. Within such a perspective, the objective of the European project MOREPOWER (compact direct methanol fuel cells for portable applications) is the development of a low-cost, low temperature, portable direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC; nominal power 250
W) with compact construction and modular design for the potential market area of weather stations, medical devices, signal units, gas sensors and security cameras. This investigation is focused on a conceptual study of the DMFC system carried out in the Matlab/Simulink
® platform: the proposed scheme arrangements lead to a simple equipment architecture and a efficient process.
The pathogenesis and clinical features of gastro-oesophageal reflux related cough are complex and the diagnostic tests available are of limited reliability. Treatment needs to be tailored to the ...specific needs of individual patients and other possible causes of chronic cough should be investigated. Treatment should only be considered to have failed when cough persists after administration of proton pump inhibitors at an adequate dosage for a sufficient length of time.
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