The mechanical reliability of Water Distribution Networks (WDNs) is a relevant technical and scientific issue. During planned maintenance or unplanned interruptions, the affected area must be ...isolated by valves shutdown. This operation involves the alteration of the network structure, i.e., the domain of the hydraulic system, and for this reason the isolation valve system plays a central role. Some studies started to consider the presence of the isolation valve system in WDNs reliability analysis.
Accordingly, this work uses the Complex Network Theory to analyse the isolation valve system performance and to assess the importance of the segments generated by valves shutdown. Differently from the classic complex network theory approach, in this work the recently proposed WDN-relevance-based betweenness centrality is applied to the segment graph to introduce information about the relevance of the different elements into the network, considering geometric and hydraulic parameters, such as length, demand, risk of disconnection, etc. The proposed strategy also suggests an improvement in the representation of the segment graph with respect to the presence of parallel edges.
The strategy is presented using a small network, while it is demonstrated and discussed using a real WDN. The results indicate that the WDN-relevance-based betweenness centrality allows to effectively assess the importance of the segments generated by valves shutdowns, also providing indications to improve the isolation valve system design.
Urban drainage networks (UDNs) represent important infrastructures to protect and maintain community health and safety. For these reasons, technicians and researcher are focusing more and more on ...topics related to vulnerability, resilience and monitoring for controlling illicit intrusions, contaminant and pathogenic spread. In the last years the complex network theory (CNT) is attracting attention as a new, useful and structured approach to analyze urban systems. The aim of this work is to evaluate potentialities of CNT approaches for UDNs vulnerability assessment and monitoring system planning. Limits and potentialities of applicability of CNT tools to UDNs are first provided evaluating the performances of standard centrality metrics. Then, it is proposed the use of tailored metrics embedding prior information, as intrinsic relevance of each node and pipe flow direction, which derive from the Horton's hierarchy and geometric data (pipe slope), respectively, without performing hydraulic simulations. The analysis is applied on two schematic literature networks of different complexity and to a real case‐study. The results suggest that vulnerability/resilience, monitoring design, contaminant and pathogenic spreads can be effectively analyzed using tailored metrics. Therefore, the proposed approach represents a complementary tool respect the more complex and computationally expensive methodologies and it is particular useful for large complex networks.
Plain Language Summary
Urban drainage systems are networked infrastructure strongly conditioned by their topology. Tailored complex network theory approach represents a complementary tool to characterize the urban drainage network (UDN) behavior with respect to vulnerability, monitoring design, contaminant and pathogenic spreads.
Key Points
Potentialities of complex network theory (CNT) for urban drainage network analysis
Tailored CNT tools embedding prior information for urban drainage network analysis
Vulnerability, monitoring design, contaminant and pathogenic spreads analysis of urban drainage networks
Appropriate imaging is essential in the treatment of children and adolescents with rhabdomyosarcoma. For adequate stratification and optimal individualised local treatment utilising surgery and ...radiotherapy, high-quality imaging is crucial. The paediatric radiologist, therefore, is an essential member of the multi-disciplinary team providing clinical care and research. This manuscript presents the European rhabdomyosarcoma imaging guideline, based on the recently developed guideline of the European Paediatric Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group (EpSSG) Imaging Committee. This guideline was developed in collaboration between the EpSSG Imaging Committee, the Cooperative Weichteilsarkom Studiengruppe (CWS) Imaging Group, and the Oncology Task Force of the European Society of Paediatric Radiology (ESPR). MRI is recommended, at diagnosis and follow-up, for the evaluation of the primary tumour and its relationship to surrounding tissues, including assessment of neurovascular structures and loco-regional lymphadenopathy. Chest CT along with F-182-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/CT or PET/MRI are recommended for the detection and evaluation of loco-regional and distant metastatic disease. Guidance on the estimation of treatment response, optimal long-term follow-up, technical imaging settings and standardised reporting are described. This European imaging guideline outlines the recommendations for imaging in children and adolescents with rhabdomyosarcoma, with the aim to harmonise imaging and to advance patient care.
In the present study, a novel in situ forming thermosensitive hydrogel system was investigated as a versatile drug delivery system for ocular therapy. For this purpose, two thermosensitive ABA ...triblock copolymers bearing either furan or maleimide moieties were synthesized, named respectively poly(NIPAM-co-HEA/Furan)-PEG6K-P(NIPAM-co-HEA/Furan) (PNF) and poly(NIPAM-co-HEA/Maleimide)-PEG6K-P(NIPAM-co-HEA/−Maleimide) (PNM). Hydrogels were obtained upon mixing aqueous PNF and PNM solutions followed by incubation at 37 °C. The hydrogel undergoes an immediate (<1 min) sol-gel transition at 37 °C. In situ hydrogel formation at 37 °C was also observed after intravitreal injection of the formulation into an ex vivo rabbit eye. The hydrogel network formation was due to physical self-assembly of the PNIPAM blocks and a catalyst-free furan-maleimide Diels−Alder (DA) chemical crosslinking in the hydrophobic domains of the polymer network. Rheological studies demonstrated sol-gel transition at 23 °C, and DA crosslinks were formed in time within 60 min by increasing the temperature from 4 to 37 °C. When incubated at 37 °C, these hydrogels were stable for at least one year in phosphate buffer of pH 7.4. However, the gels degraded at basic pH 10 and 11 after 13 and 3 days, respectively, due to hydrolysis of ester bonds in the crosslinks of the hydrogel network. The hydrogel was loaded with an anti-VEGF antibody fragment (FAB; 48.4 kDa) or with corticosteroid dexamethasone (dex) by dissolving (FAB) or dispersing (DEX) in the hydrogel precursor solution. The FAB fragment in unmodified form was quantitatively released over 13 days after an initial burst release of 46, 45 and 28 % of the loading for the 5, 10 and 20 wt% hydrogel, respectively, due to gel dehydration during formation. The low molecular weight drug dexamethasone was almost quantitively released in 35 days. The slower release of dexamethasone compared to the FAB fragment can likely be explained by the solubilization of this hydrophobic drug in the hydrophobic domains of the gel. The thermosensitive gels showed good cytocompatibility when brought in contact with macrophage-like mural cells (RAW 264.7) and human retinal pigment epithelium-derived (ARPE-19) cells. This study demonstrates that PNF-PNM thermogel may be a suitable formulation for sustained release of bioactive agents into the eye for treating posterior segment eye diseases.
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The ATLAS Simulation infrastructure has been used to produce upwards of 50 billion proton-proton collision events for analyses ranging from detailed Standard Model measurements to searches for exotic ...new phenomena. In the last several years, the infrastructure has been heavily revised to allow intuitive multithreading and significantly improved maintainability. Such a massive update of a legacy code base requires careful choices about what pieces of code to completely rewrite and what to wrap or revise. The initialization of the complex geometry was generalized to allow new tools and geometry description languages, popular in some detector groups. The addition of multithreading requires Geant4-MT and GaudiHive, two frameworks with fundamentally different approaches to multithreading, to work together. It also required enforcing thread safety throughout a large code base, which required the redesign of several aspects of the simulation, including truth, the record of particle interactions with the detector during the simulation. These advances were possible thanks to close interactions with the Geant4 developers.
This paper furnishes a convenient theoretical framework for the analytical evaluation of the bistatic scattering coefficients, under the Kirchhoff approximation (KA) in electromagnetics. Starting ...from the KA, specific results under the geometrical optics and physical optics approximations are furnished, along with the backscattering geometry. The main aim is to provide closed‐form expressions of the scattering matrix that are suited to scenarios where multiple‐bounce scattering comes into play and/or surfaces with arbitrary unit normal are present. This is accomplished by addressing the following objectives: (1) to provide an explicit formulation of the scattering matrix under KA in terms of the incident and scattered unit wave vectors, (2) to provide a more generic derivation of the scattering matrix under the physical optics approximation by relaxing typical hypotheses regarding the geometry of the scattering problem, and (3) to highlight some important symmetries of the scattering matrix under KA. It is shown that the scattering matrix under KA can conveniently be expressed in terms of few variables, thus greatly reducing the complexity of the theoretical derivation of the scattering matrix. Some benefits of the proposed formalism are illustrated in two application examples, where the problem is the analysis of the electromagnetic scattering from canonical composite targets. The canonical study cases demonstrate the evaluation of the scattering matrix in complex scenarios, such as maritime and urban environments, where multiple‐bounce contributions and/or contributions from tilted surfaces come into play. Finally, comparisons with literature results allow for validating the proposed derivation and assessing its validity limits in practical applications.
Key Points
Explicit formulation of the scattering matrix under Kirchhoff Approximation in arbitrary geometry
Analytical expressions of the scattering matrix under geometrical optics and physical optics approximations
Application to canonical composite targets of practical interest
Th1 CD4⁺ T cells and their derived cytokines are crucial for protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Using multiparametric flow cytometry, we have evaluated the distribution of seven distinct ...functional states (IFN-γ/IL-2/TNF-α triple expressors, IFN-γ/IL-2, IFN-γ/TNF-α or TNF-α/IL-2 double expressors or IFN-γ, IL-2 or TNF-α single expressors) of CD4⁺ T cells in individuals with latent M. tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and active tuberculosis (TB). We found that triple expressors, while detectable in 85-90%TB patients, were only present in 10-15% of LTBI subjects. On the contrary, LTBI subjects had significantly higher (12- to 15-fold) proportions of IL-2/IFN-γ double and IFN-γ single expressors as compared with the other CD4⁺ T-cell subsets. Proportions of the other double or single CD4⁺ T-cell expressors did not differ between TB and LTBI subjects. These distinct IFN-γ, IL-2 and TNF-α profiles of M. tuberculosis-specific CD4⁺ T cells seem to be associated with live bacterial loads, as indicated by the decrease in frequency of multifunctional T cells in TB-infected patients after completion of anti-mycobacterial therapy. Our results suggest that phenotypic and functional signatures of CD4⁺ T cells may serve as immunological correlates of protection and curative host responses, and be a useful tool to monitor the efficacy of anti-mycobacterial therapy.
Objective
To investigate the feasibility of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) as a predictive imaging marker after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with rhabdomyosarcoma.
...Material and methods
We performed a multicenter retrospective study including pediatric, adolescent and young adult patients with rhabdomyosarcoma, Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study group III/IV, treated according to the European
paediatric
Soft tissue sarcoma Study Group (E
p
SSG) RMS2005 or MTS2008 studies. DW-MRI was performed according to institutional protocols. We performed two-dimensional single-slice tumor delineation. Areas of necrosis or hemorrhage were delineated to be excluded in the primary analysis. Mean, median and 5th and 95th apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were extracted.
Results
Of 134 included patients, 82 had measurable tumor at diagnosis and response and DW-MRI scans of adequate quality and were included in the analysis. Technical heterogeneity in scan acquisition protocols and scanners was observed. Mean ADC at diagnosis was 1.1 (95% confidence interval CI: 1.1–1.2) (all ADC expressed in * 10
−3
mm
2
/s), versus 1.6 (1.5–1.6) at response assessment. The 5th percentile ADC was 0.8 (0.7–0.9) at diagnosis and 1.1 (1.0–1.2) at response. Absolute change in mean ADC after neoadjuvant chemotherapy was 0.4 (0.3–0.5). Exploratory analyses for association between ADC and clinical parameters showed a significant difference in mean ADC at diagnosis for alveolar versus embryonal histology. Landmark analysis at nine weeks after the date of diagnosis showed no significant association (hazard ratio 1.3 0.6–3.2) between the mean ADC change and event-free survival.
Conclusion
A significant change in the 5th percentile and the mean ADC after chemotherapy was observed. Strong heterogeneity was identified in DW-MRI acquisition protocols between centers and in individual patients.
Graphical Abstract
In a recent paper, we have presented an efficient and simple approach to model electromagnetic propagation in urban street canyons, when both the transmitter and the receiver are below the rooftop ...level. The model is based on the modal expansion approach, and we have shown that it is computationally efficient and that it allows for deriving a straightforward expression of the average received signal strength. In that paper, the Line‐of‐Sight (LoS) propagation case was described and discussed in detail, and the complete derivation of results was provided. Conversely, for the Non‐Line‐of‐Sight (NLoS) around‐the‐corner case, only the final results were presented and briefly discussed. In the present paper, first of all we provide full details on the derivation of formulas for the NLoS case. In addition, we extend the discussion of results and properly analyze the obtained NLoS propagation loss expression. Last but not least, in contrast with our previous propagation model, we here propose a new formulation of the NLoS case that satisfies a key property in electromagnetics, that is, reciprocity, which was previously fulfilled only in the LoS case. The presented models are validated using empirical models, ray‐tracing algorithms, and experimental campaigns.
Key Points
We propose an analytical derivation of the modal expansion solution for Non‐Line‐of‐Sight (NLoS) around‐the‐corner radio propagation in street canyons
A reciprocal formulation of the modal expansion model in NLoS is introduced
A physical interpretation of the obtained radio propagation model is given
CD8 T cells contribute to protective immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In humans, M. tuberculosis reactive CD8 T cells typically recognize peptides associated to classical MHC class Ia ...molecules, but little information is available on CD8 T cells recognizing M. tuberculosis Ags presented by nonclassical MHC class Ib molecules. We show here that CD8 T cells from tuberculosis (TB) patients recognize HLA‐E‐binding M. tuberculosis peptides in a CD3/TCR αβ mediated and CD8‐dependent manner, and represent an additional type of effector cells playing a role in immune response to M. tuberculosis during active infection. HLA‐E‐restricted recognition of M. tuberculosis peptides is detectable by a significant enhanced ex vivo frequency of tetramer‐specific circulating CD8 T cells during active TB. These CD8 T cells produce type 2 cytokines upon antigenic in vitro stimulation, help B cells for Ab production, and mediate limited TRAIL‐dependent cytolytic and microbicidal activity toward M. tuberculosis infected target cells. Our results, together with the finding that HLA‐E/M. tuberculosis peptide specific CD8 T cells are detected in TB patients with or without HIV coinfection, suggest that this is a new human T‐cell population that participates in immune response in TB.
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