Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. Genetic and iatrogenic forms have been recognised but most are sporadic and of unknown cause. We have studied risk ...factors for CJD as part of the 1993-95 European Union collaborative studies of CJD in Europe.
The 405 patients with definite or probable CJD who took part in our study had taken part in population-based studies done between 1993 and 1995 in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK. Data on putative risk factors from these patients were compared with data from 405 controls.
We found evidence for familial aggregation of CJD with dementia due to causes other than CJD (relative risk RR 2.26, 95% CI 1.31-3.90). No significant increased risk of CJD in relation to a history of surgery and blood transfusion was shown. There was no evidence for an association between the risk of CJD and the consumption of beef, veal, lamb, cheese, or milk. No association was found with occupational exposure to animals or leather. The few positive findings of the study include increased risk in relation to consumption of raw meat (RR 1.63 95% CI 1.18-2.23) and brain (1.68 1.18-2.39), frequent exposure to leather products (1.94 1.13-3.33), and exposure to fertiliser consisting of hoofs and horns (2.32 1.38-2.91). Additional analyses, for example stratification by country and of exposures pre-1985 and post-1985, suggest that these results should be interpreted with great caution.
Within the limits of the retrospective design of the study, our findings suggest that genetic factors other than the known CJD mutations may play an important part in CJD. Iatrogenic transmission of disease seems rare in this large population-based sample of patients with CJD. There is little evidence for an association between the risk of CJD and either animal exposure, or consumption of processed bovine meat or milk products for the period studied.
In suspected pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), tracheobronchial examination is required for patients with clinical and radiographic features consistent with tuberculosis disease but with negative sputum ...for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We report the endoscopic findings of 84 patients who underwent fibreoptic bronchoscopy in recent years, and whose cultures of biological specimens grew M tuberculosis. Cough (86%) and fever (69%) were the most common symptoms, followed by sputum (67%), dyspnoea (30%) and haemoptysis (27%). Chest radiographic abnormalities were mostly localized (60%) with prevalence in the upper lobes; in two cases chest radiography was normal. Sixty two patients (74%) showed endoscopic abnormalities: 1) mucosal inflammation; 2) submucosal granulomas and polyps; and 3) stenoses. They were localized in 58% of patients and diffuse in 42%. Five patients were checked several times during the year following the diagnosis because of a high degree of tracheobronchial involvement. Only one subject recovered, whilst in the other four stenotic sequelae were found. Fibreoptic bronchoscopy confirmed its usefulness in the diagnosis of tuberculosis and in monitoring the course and the outcome of the bronchial tuberculosis involvement.
A MHD superconducting magnet for a linear experimental facility Dormicchi, O.; Masullo, G.; Penco, R. ...
IEEE Transactions on Magnetics (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers); (United States),
1992-Jan., 1992-01-00, 19920101, 1992-01-01, Letnik:
28, Številka:
1
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Ansaldo Componenti is carrying out the design of a superconducting dipole magnet to be employed in an experimental MHD (magnetohydrodynamic) generator. The magnet is a rectangular saddle-shaped ...dipole with an on-axis field of 5 T, an active length of 2 m, a 0.7*0.5 m warm bore, and a stored energy of 62 MJ. It will be the first MHD magnet wound by a cable-in-conduit superconductor; this choice was made in order to employ a conductor concept and a technology scalable to larger-size MHD magnets. The main aspects of the superconductive and mechanical design are reported.< >
A single-pole, 6-T, superconducting wiggler with two racetrack NbTi superconducting coils separated by a central plate and kept together by two iron yokes has been designed and built. The ...superconducting magnet and two low-field compensating warm poles will be installed in the straight section no.10 of the e/sup +/,e/sup -/ storage ring Adone, to be used as a wavelength shifter to produce a hard X-ray flux of 2.4*10/sup 12/ photons/s/mrad in 0.1% bandwidth at a critical energy of 9 keV, six times higher than the one produced by the accelerator bending magnets. An analysis is presented of a typical quench.
Many authors indicate the importance of economic saving obtained with the use of the inhalation rebreathing anaesthesia instead of non rebreathing anaesthesia, always referring to parameters which ...are the duration of anesthesia (1 hour) and the use of the operating theatre each year. It is presumed that the utilization of rebreathing system is at least a 1.000 hours/year. However it is not necessary that all the operating theatres employ 1.000 hours/year in rebreathing anesthesia. This method requires annual depreciation costs of the capital invested for the purchase of new adequate ventilators, to modificative those already existing and guarantee adequate monitoring and the maintenance of these equipment. The importance is stressed of individuating a method of economical evaluation comparing the effective savings obtained with the real utilization of rebreathing anesthesia for each operating theatre and the costs of purchasing and maintaining the equipment. From our point of view the break-even point analysis has demonstrated to be a consistent instrument for the evaluation of the real economic advantage of rebreathing system in each hospital.
It is suggested to utilize a conventional formula for the determination of the break even point, which means the minimal number of hours for year that justifies economically the adoption of rebreathing anaesthesia.
An example of this analysis has been applied for an operating theatre in the hospital of Morbegno, where the major utilization of regional anaesthesia leads to a reduced number hours/year of rebreathing anesthesia which remains anyhow economically advantageous.
The objectives of the project (as outlined in the Work Programme) are: Establishment of the European Neuropathological Data Base on Prion Diseases (ENDAPRID); Establishment of the European ...Neuropathological Tissue Bank on Prion Diseases (ENTIPRID); Definition of neuropathological diagnostic criteria for prion diseases, including standardized immunocytochemistry for the prion protein (PrP); Definition of a safe and practicable standardized tissue handling protocol for prion diseases; Establishment of the Neuropathological Clearing House for Prion Diseases (ENCLEAPRID); Co-ordination of clinico-neuropathological investigations, molecular biological investigations, infectivity and in vitro studies, and support of local research subprojects in the field by sharing of materials and special techniques; and Exchange of scientific and laboratory personnel on a Europe-wide scale.
The compensating magnet for the Zeus detector Dormicchi, O.; Penco, R.; Parodi, S. ...
IEEE Transactions on Magnetics (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers); (United States),
03/1991, Letnik:
27, Številka:
2
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
A bath-cooled superconducting solenoid with a 280-nm-diameter warm bore, a coil length of 1200 mm, and a central field of 5 T at the rated current of 950 A has been built. It will operate as the ...compensating coil inside the Zeus detector at HERA (the Hadron Electron Ring Accelerator) at Desy. The coil is shielded by a 3.5-ton low carbon steel cold yoke, and the cold helium chamber was designed to withstand a maximum pressure of 20 bar. The main results obtained during the cool down and energization are reported.
In a series of 646 heroin addicts anti-HIV was detected in 248 (66.2%) and HBsAg in 53 (8.2%). Forty-eight (90.5%) of the latter had concomitant chronic HDV infection. Markers of past HBV infection ...were found in 481 (74.4%). The prevalence of anti-HIV was significantly higher in the 534 subjects with HBV markers than in the other 112 without markers (69.8% versus 49.1%, p < 0.001). Of the 266 anti-HIV positive subjects followed for 3-48 months (median 12), nine progressed from no disease to persistent generalized lymphadenopathy (PGL), 52 from PGL to AIDS-related complex (ARC) or AIDS (30 and 22 cases respectively), and six from ARC to AIDS. Baseline T4 + cell count was significantly lower and reduction during follow-up significantly greater in heroin addicts with disease progression than in those without.
The aim of this study was to evaluate exercise performance in patients affected by anorexia nervosa.
We studied 19 patients (all females, mean age 23.1 +/- 5.2 years) affected by anorexia nervosa ...(mean weight 37.3 kg, body mass index 14.04 +/- 1.4 kg/m2) and 20 constitutionally thin women, matched for age, height and physical activity, with a body mass index < 19 kg/m2. All these women underwent clinical examination, standard ECG and a cardiopulmonary stress test.
Patients affected by anorexia nervosa showed a lower heart rate and systolic blood pressure at peak exercise (148.8 +/- 13.8 vs 171 +/- 9.2 b/min, p < 0.001, and 130 +/- 9.5 vs 152 +/- 11.2 mmHg, p < 0.001), work load (85.5 +/- 15.1 vs 117.2 +/- 20.3 W, p < 0.001), rate-pressure product (19 371 +/- 2391 vs 25,986 +/- 2218 b/min/mmHg, p < 0.001), oxygen uptake (VO2) at rest and maximum VO2 (5.4 +/- 1.7 vs 7.1 +/- 1.1 ml/kg/min, p < 0.001, and 28.08 +/- 6.3 vs 40.2 +/- 7.1 ml/kg/min, p < 0.001), anaerobic threshold (15.7 +/- 1.9 vs 20.4 +/- 2.1 ml/kg/min, p < 0.001), VO2 during exercise (9.5 +/- 1.2 vs 12.8 +/- 1.3 ml/min/W, p < 0.001), maximum minute ventilation (34.5 +/- 9.9 vs 48.4 +/- 10.3 /min, p < 0.001), and oxygen pulse (7.2 +/- 2 vs 10.9 +/- 2.4 ml/b, p < 0.001).
These data show an abnormal working capacity and cardiovascular responses to exercise in patients affected by anorexia nervosa. The low VO2, both at rest and during exercise, allows them to maintain a relatively high level of physical activity, which contributes to increase the energy expenditure needed for weight loss.
FEM Modeling of Quench Phenomena in NbTi Coils Cavaliere, V.; Cioffi, M.; Formisano, A. ...
2006 12th Biennial IEEE Conference on Electromagnetic Field Computation,
2006
Conference Proceeding
The design process of superconductor coils must include the optimization of the quench protection system. A reliable model for quench analysis of superconductor coils would consequently be highly ...beneficial. A numerical tool able to cope with the simulation of the quench phenomena, involving electromagnetic, thermal and circuital dynamics coupled each to the others, has been recently proposed. In this paper the mathematical model is briefly revised and extended to take into account the presence of metallic support structures, needed for the coil assembly and cryogenic purposes
