Car cabin micro-environment represents a potential hotspot for transmission of respiratory infections related to possible high concentration levels of viruses and bacteria and to reduced social ...distance between occupants. Since Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system in a vehicle influences velocity and temperature fields, the position of inlet air vents, the air flow rate entering the car cabin, the air recirculation, the passenger number and location etc. highly influence the thermal comfort and potential health risks for occupants.
In this paper, a Eulerian-Lagrangian model is adopted to numerically analyse transient non-isothermal aerosol airborne dispersion in a passenger car cabin. Numerical results are validated against PIV measurements and the performances of different turbulence models are analysed. The validated numerical model is applied to the simulation of aerosol droplets emitted by a contagious subject in a car cabin during a 15-min journey. Two occupants are present in the car cabin and different scenarios for the ventilation system and the occupant position are investigated.
The aim of the present paper is to provide a properly validated numerical tool that can be applied on one side to the assessment of thermal comfort of occupants and, on the other side, to the analysis of potential infection risk with aerosol transmissible pathogens (e.g. SARS-CoV-2 virus) during short journeys.
•HVAC system operation strongly affects particle distribution within the passenger compartment.•Front seat ventilation mode prevents the spread of droplets and no particles are inhaled by the susceptible within 15 min.•Windshield defrost vent promotes the spread of particles within the car cabin and then their inhalation.•For travels of 5 min or less, potential risk of virus transmission could be negligible.
Sudden cardiac death accounted for 42% of all firefighter duty-related fatalities over the last decade. This retrospective study analyzed available medical examiner records for duty-related ...firefighter fatalities among male firefighters 18 to 65 years of age that occurred between 1999 and 2014 and reported the pathoanatomic substrate for cardiac-related fatalities. Odds of duty-related cardiac death during specific duties compared with fire station duties were calculated by pathoanatomic substrate. There were 285 cardiac fatalities. Of fatalities, 80% had evidence at autopsy of coronary heart disease (CHD) and increased heart size (cardiomegaly and/or left ventricular hypertrophy). CHD alone, cardiomegaly or left ventricular hypertrophy, and causes other than CHD or increased heart size were identified in 7.7%, 6.0%, and 6.7% of fatalities, respectively. The largest proportion of deaths occurred during fire suppression (33%), although only 1% of annual occupational time was estimated to be spent performing this duty. For deaths attributed to CHD and increased heart size, fire suppression, alarm response, and physical training were associated with approximately a 112-fold, eightfold, and sevenfold increased risk of cardiac death, respectively, compared with station duties. In conclusion, the majority of firefighters who suffered a duty-related cardiac death had CHD and increased heart size, which was associated with a markedly increased risk of death during fire suppression compared with station duties. Targeted occupational medical screening for CHD and increased heart size may reduce duty-related cardiac deaths among firefighters.
The vaginal temperature (
VT
) of lactating Holstein cows was monitored in not heat wave (
NHW
) and in heat wave (
HW
) summer days. Temperature humidity index (
THI
) was monitored and assigned to ...four classes of heat load (
HL
):
THI
< 68 null; 68 <
THI
< 74 low; 74 <
THI
< 80 moderate; and
THI
> 80 high.
Five daily treatments consisting of continuous forced ventilation and sprayed water (1′ on follow by 5′ off) were assumed as control cooling protocol (CC) and compared with two experimental cooling protocols (EC) applied in the feed bunk and based on the CC plus two additional cooling treatments which lasted a total of 90′ (EC90) or 150′ (EC150) in the day.
Sixty lactating cows were enrolled in two summer trials carried out in
NHW
or
HW
. In each trial, 10 cows were cooled by CC, 10 by EC90 and 10 by EC150. Twenty additional cows were monitored in a fall trail to have reference value of
THI
and
VT
under thermoneutral conditions (
TN
). Each trial lasted 72 h, and measurements of
VT
were carried out by intra-vaginal data loggers.
The 33% of observed
THI
was within the high class of
HL
during
HW
, whereas
THI
never exceeded the upper threshold of moderate or low class of
HL
in
NHW
and
TN
, respectively.
Multiparous and high yielding cows were more sensitive to
HL
, and the increased daily cooling treatments reduced heat load during hot conditions. However, during heat waves a certain degree of hyperthermia occurred even with intensive cooling management based on seven daily treatments.
Background: Obesity is an important risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and periodontal disease. Adipocytes appear to secrete proinflammatory cytokines which may be the molecules ...linking the pathogenesis of these diseases. We evaluated the relationship between obesity, periodontal disease, and diabetes mellitus insulin resistance as well as the plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and its soluble receptors (sTNFα) to assess the relationship of inflammation to obesity, diabetes, and periodontal infections.
Methods: The relationship between periodontal disease, obesity, and insulin resistance was examined in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). In a population of 12,367 non‐diabetic subjects, the variable body mass index (BMI) was used as an assessment of obesity and periodontal disease was assessed by mean clinical attachment loss. The plasma levels of TNFα and sTNFα were assessed in subsets of 1,221 adults from Erie County, New York, who represented the highest and lowest quartile of BMI. These subjects had extensive periodontal and medical evaluations.
Results: In the NHANES III portion of the study, BMI was positively related to severity of periodontal attachment loss (P <0.001). Weighted multiple logistic regressions showed that this relationship is likely mediated by insulin resistance, since overweight individuals (with BMI ≥27 kg/m2) with high levels of insulin resistance (IR) exhibited an odds ratio of 1.48 (95% confidence interval 1.13 ‐ 1.93) for severe periodontal disease as compared to overweight subjects with low IR. In the Erie County adult population, the highest levels of TNFα and sTNFα receptors were found in those individuals in the highest quartile of BMI. A positive correlation of TNFα levels with periodontal disease was found only in those in the lowest quartile of BMI.
Conclusions: Obesity is a significant predictor of periodontal disease and insulin resistance appears to mediate this relationship. Furthermore, obesity is associated with high plasma levels of TNFα and its soluble receptors, which in turn may lead to a hyperinflammatory state increasing the risk for periodontal disease and also accounting in part for insulin resistance. Further studies of the molecular basis of insulin resistance and its relationship to diabetes, periodontal disease, and obesity are necessary to fully test the hypothesis that adipocyte production of proinflammatory cytokines is a pathogenic factor linking obesity to diabetes and periodontal infections.
Abstract Objectives The aim of the present long-term study was to retrospectively evaluate the survival rate of implants placed in regenerated maxillary sinuses and to assess the influence of ...hypothetical predictors of implant failure. Methods A database including 218 patients who received dental implants after sinus lift procedures was analyzed. The following variables were systematically included and evaluated: type of graft material used, number of surgeries performed, and use of membranes to cover the lateral antrostomy and/or to repair accidental Schneiderian membrane perforations. The Kaplan–Meier estimator was used for comparisons among the groups. Results A total of 589 dental implants were positioned in 246 grafted sinuses and were in function for 3–186 months. The Kaplan–Meier cumulative survival rate was 98.3% after 15.5 years of follow-up. All implant losses occurred within 52 months (4.3 years) after augmentation. According to the log-rank test, no statistically significant difference was shown between each patient/implant variable ( p > 0.05). Conclusions Despite the limitations inherent in this type of study, no statistically significant differences between the groups could be found. Intraoperative Schneiderian membrane perforations did not affect the outcome of the implants positioned. Clinical significance The present long-term study is intended as a reference for clinicians approaching sinus floor elevation surgery in order to provide them with relevant operative findings. Since all the drawbacks occurred within the first 5 years, medium-term follow-up studies could be suitable for further retrospective evaluations.
Summary
Background
A short‐term course of pegylated‐interferon (Peg‐IFN), or a long‐term treatment with a third generation nucleot(s)ide analogue (NUC), of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection ...achieves viral suppression and may prevent disease progression. Owing to different mechanisms of action of the two regimens, a Peg‐IFN and NUC combination treatment may be an attractive approach to enhance the off‐treatment rates of virological and serological response.
Aim
To review the literature on combinations of Peg‐IFN plus NUC, including the simultaneous initiation of Peg‐IFN and NUC in naïve patients; an ‘add‐on’ combination, where Peg‐IFN is started at variable times after the beginning of NUC; or a ‘switch‐to’ strategy usually from NUC to Peg‐IFN.
Methods
We performed a PubMed literature search using the following terms individually or in combination: NUC, hepatitis B virus, chronic hepatitis, interferon, pegylated‐interferon, nucleos(t)ide analogues, entecavir, tenofovir. English‐language articles published up to December 2015, as well as conference proceedings from international meetings were reviewed. References from selected papers were reviewed and used if relevant.
Results
While combination and NUC pre‐treatment failed to increase HBsAg clearance rates, more promising results were achieved in patients under long‐term effective NUC therapy.
Conclusion
While Peg‐IFN and nucleos(t)ide analogue combination therapy should not be recommended currently, the addition of or the switch to Peg‐IFN in nucleos(t)ide analogue‐treated patients with chronic hepatitis B infection may be useful option.
Abstract
Monitoring the flue gas temperature is a crucial issue for Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants companies, since it is essential to preserve the materials in the post-combustion chamber, the energy ...efficiency of the plants as well as to control the emissions of pollutants. As of today, the temperature of flue gases in such plants is commonly monitored by means of thermocouples, infrared pyrometers or aspirated thermocouples. However, all these instruments show limitations in terms of accuracy and reliability inside post-combustion chambers. In this paper, the authors present the thermo-fluid dynamics design of a novel device aimed at mitigating the issues of existing technologies, realised by using the modern CFD techniques. Numerical analyses, performed with the open-source OpenFOAM code, allowed to find a suitable shape for the device and to give a first estimate of the measuring errors, which are of the order of 2% (∼26 K at the typical working temperature of WtE plants’ post-combustion chambers).
Abstract In the present paper, the metrological performance of a single-hole, sharped edge, and the orifice flow meter is numerically investigated employing different liquid fuels. Numerical ...investigations have been performed for a three-dimensional transient flow. Turbulence has been modeled employing the Realizable K- ε turbulence model, based on the Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS). The present work is conducted in the context of the European SAFEST 20IND13 project, aimed at investigating the performance of the orifice flow meter numerical model in a wide range of temperatures, density, viscosity, and different liquid fuels. The numerical model, validated according to the ISO standard 5167-2 is employed to analyze the metrological performance of a test rig available at project partners’ laboratories and was aimed at reproducing the fuel consumption curve of a light and heavy transport vehicle.
The article offers an overview of the modernization of the European Commission (EC) accounting system. It represents an integral part of an overall rationalization of the EC organizational, ...administrative and financial dimensions which has been carried out over the last decade. The reformed accounting system is a dual one: it is based both on cash accounting, to manage budget appropriations, and on accrual accounting, to draw up the financial statements.
Seventeen accounting rules, which draw upon International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and are based on accrual accounting, were issued by the EC and are the foundation of this reformed system. Drawing on semi‐structured interviews with Commission officials, this article tracks the key turning points, trajectories and outcomes of events within the implementation stage of this part of the EC accounting reform with a focus on the consolidation of annual accounts. The compilation of the consolidated financial statement (CFS) has become more complex. The original European Union (EU) organizational structure (Parliament, Council, Commission, Court of Justice and Court of Auditors) has broadened with the addition of agencies that were created during the early 1990s. Since 2005, these agencies have been included in the CFS of the EU, compiled according to IPSASs 6, 7 and 8.
This article examines how the EU consolidation process has evolved over time and the drivers behind the reformed accounting systems and in particular the new consolidation approach, which is a result of the combination of the Continental and Anglo‐Saxon governmental accounting approaches.
Down syndrome (DS) is a genetic pathology characterized by intellectual disability and brain hypotrophy. Widespread neurogenesis impairment characterizes the fetal and neonatal DS brain, strongly ...suggesting that this defect may be a major determinant of mental retardation. Our goal was to establish, in a mouse model for DS, whether early pharmacotherapy improves neurogenesis and cognitive behavior. Neonate Ts65Dn mice were treated from postnatal day (P) 3 to P15 with fluoxetine, an antidepressant that inhibits serotonin (5-HT) reuptake and increases proliferation in the adult Ts65Dn mouse (Clark et al., 2006). On P15, they received a BrdU injection and were killed after either 2 h or 1 month. Results showed that P15 Ts65Dn mice had notably defective proliferation in the hippocampal dentate gyrus, subventricular zone, striatum, and neocortex and that proliferation was completely rescued by fluoxetine. In the hippocampus of untreated P15 Ts65Dn mice, we found normal 5-HT levels but a lower expression of 5-HT1A receptors and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In Ts65Dn mice, fluoxetine treatment restored the expression of 5-HT1A receptors and BDNF. One month after cessation of treatment, there were more surviving cells in the dentate gyrus of Ts65Dn mice, more cells with a neuronal phenotype, more proliferating precursors, and more granule cells. These animals were tested for contextual fear conditioning, a hippocampus-dependent memory task, and exhibited a complete recovery of memory performance. Results show that early pharmacotherapy with a drug usable by humans can correct neurogenesis and behavioral impairment in a model for DS.
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