His bundle pacing has shown to prevent detrimental effects from right ventricular apical pacing (RVA) and proved to resynchronize many conduction disturbances cases. However, the extent of His bundle ...pacing resynchronization is limited. An optimized stimulation waveform could expand this limit when implemented in His bundle pacing sets. In this work, we temporarily implemented RVA and Non-selective His bundle pacing with a biphasic anodal-first waveform (AF-nHB) and compared their effects against sinus rhythm (SR).
Fifteen patients referred for electrophysiologic study with conduction disturbances, cardiomyopathy and ejection fraction below 35% were enrolled for the study. The following acute parameters were measured: QRS duration, left ventricular activation (RLVT), time of isovolumic contraction (IVCT), ejection fraction (EF), and dP/dtmax. QRS duration and RLVT decreased markedly under AF-nHB (SR: 169 ± 34 ms vs. nHB: 116 ± 31 ms, P < 0.0005) while RVA significantly increased QRS duration (SR: 169 ms vs. RVA: 198 ms, P < 0.05) and did not change RLVT (P = NS). Consistently, IVCT moderately decreased under AF-nHB (SR: 238 ms vs. RVA: 184 ms, P < 0.05 vs. SR) and dP/dtmax showed a 93.35 mmHg average increase under AF-nHB against SR. Also, T-wave inversions were observed during AF-nHB immediately after SR and RVA pacing suggesting the occurrence of cardiac memory.
AF-nHB corrected bundle branch blocks in patients with severe conduction disturbances, even in those with dilated cardiomiopathy, outstanding from RVA. Also, the occurrence of cardiac memory during AF-nHB turned up as an observational finding of this study.
Solid waste, in dealing with the growing presence of organic compounds, especially plastics, can be considered an important source of energy since they are inexpensive and easily obtainable ...materials. However, the presence of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in the waste can result in a recycling problem when thermal treatment is involved.
This work shows the possibilities of recovering energy from waste containing PVC by a gasification process without additional dechlorination facilities.
Experimental data obtained in a bench scale two-stage reactor indicate that the addition of Na
2CO
3 in a blend containing refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and PVC is efficient in eliminating chlorine from the produced off-gas. On the contrary, the less expensive calcium compounds do not show a satisfactory chlorine removal. A thermodynamic simulation of the process substantially leads to the same results.
Starting from this study, the working conditions for gasifying waste blends containing PVC in a scaled-up two-stage reactor can be predicted. According to the simulation, the obtained syngas shows that the polluting compounds content is lower than the Italian law limit. As a consequence, it can be used directly to obtain electric power and/or local heating.
A bstract The production of prompt D + and $$ {D}_s^{+} $$ D s + mesons is studied in proton-lead collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $$ \sqrt{s_{NN}} $$ s NN = 5 . 02 TeV. The data sample ...corresponding to an integrated luminosity of (1 . 58 ± 0 . 02)nb − 1 is collected by the LHCb experiment at the LHC. The differential production cross-sections are measured using D + and $$ {D}_s^{+} $$ D s + candidates with transverse momentum in the range of 0 < p T < 14 GeV /c and rapidities in the ranges of 1 . 5 < y ∗ < 4 . 0 and –5 . 0 < y ∗ < –2 . 5 in the nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass system. For both particles, the nuclear modification factor and the forward-backward production ratio are determined. These results are compared with theoretical models that include initial-state nuclear effects. In addition, measurements of the cross-section ratios between D + , $$ {D}_s^{+} $$ D s + and D 0 mesons are presented, providing a baseline for studying the charm hadronization in lead-lead collisions at LHC energies.
Cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and digital simulation techniques were used to investigate quantitatively the mechanism of electron transfer (ET) through ...densely packed and well-ordered self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid on gold, either pristine or modified by physically adsorbed glucose oxidase (GOx). In the presence of ferrocenylmethanol (FcMeOH) as a redox mediator, ET kinetics involving either solution-phase hydrophilic redox probes such as Fe(CN)63-/4- or surface-immobilized GOx is greatly accelerated: Fe(CN)63-/4- undergoes diffusion-controlled ET, while the enzymatic electrochemical conversion of glucose to gluconolactone is efficiently sustained by FcMeOH. Analysis of the results, also including the digital simulation of CV and EIS data, showed the prevalence of an ET mechanism according to the so-called membrane model that comprises the permeation of the redox mediator within the SAM and the intermolecular ET to the redox probe located outside the monolayer. The analysis of the catalytic current generated at the GOx/SAM electrode in the presence of glucose and FcMeOH allowed the high surface protein coverage suggested by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements to be confirmed.
To investigate resistance-associated substitutions (RASs) as well as retreatment efficacies in a large cohort of European patients with failure of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir.
Patients were identified ...from three European Resistance Reference centres in Spain, Italy and Germany. Sequencing of NS3, NS5A and NS5B was conducted and substitutions associated with resistance to direct antiviral agents were analysed. Clinical and virological parameters were documented retrospectively and retreatment efficacies were evaluated.
We evaluated 90 glecaprevir/pibrentasvir failures 3a (n = 36), 1a (n = 23), 2a/2c (n = 20), 1b (n = 10) and 4d (n = 1). Ten patients were cirrhotic, two had previous exposure to PEG-interferon and seven were coinfected with HIV; 80 had been treated for 8 weeks. Overall, 31 patients (34.4%) failed glecaprevir/pibrentasvir without any NS3 or NS5A RASs, 62.4% (53/85) showed RASs in NS5A, 15.6% (13/83) in NS3 and 10% (9/90) in both NS5A and NS3. Infection with HCV genotypes 1a and 3a was associated with a higher prevalence of NS5A RASs. Patients harbouring two (n = 34) or more (n = 8) RASs in NS5A were frequent. Retreatment was initiated in 56 patients, almost all (n = 52) with sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir. The overall sustained virological response rate was 97.8% in patients with end-of-follow-up data available.
One-third of patients failed glecaprevir/pibrentasvir without resistance. RASs in NS5A were more prevalent than in NS3 and were frequently observed as dual and triple combination patterns, with a high impact on NS5A inhibitor activity, particularly in genotypes 1a and 3a. Retreatment of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir failures with sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir achieved viral suppression across all genotypes.
ITER envisages the use of two heating neutral beam injectors plus an optional one as part of the auxiliary heating and current drive system, to reach the desired performances during its various ...phases of operation. The 16.5 MW expected neutral beam power per injector is several notches higher than worldwide existing facilities.
In order to enable such development, a Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) was established at Consorzio RFX, exploiting the synergy of two test beds, called SPIDER and MITICA. SPIDER is dedicated developing and characterizing large efficient negative ion sources at relevant parameters in ITER-like conditions: source and accelerator located in the same vacuum where the beam propagates, immunity to electromagnetic interferences of multiple radio-frequency (RF) antennas, avoidance of RF-induced discharges on the outside of the source. Three years of experiments on SPIDER have addressed to the necessary design modifications to enable full performances. The source is presently under a long shut-down phase to incorporate learnings from the experimental campaign, in particular events/issues occurred during operation, which led to the identification of improvement opportunities/necessities (e.g. RF discharges, local burns, water leaks, other damages, configuration/design upgrades to maximize chances/margin to quest target parameters).
Parallelly, developments on MITICA, the full-scale prototype of the ITER Neutral Beam Injector (NBI) featuring a 1 MV accelerator and ion neutralization, are underway including manufacturing of the beam source, accelerator and the beam line components, while power supplies and auxiliary plants, already installed, are under final testing and commissioning.
Integration, commissioning and tests of the 1 MV power supplies are essential for this first-of-kind system, unparalleled both in research and industry field. 1.2 MV dc insulating tests of high voltage components were successfully completed. The integrated test to confirm 1 MV output by combining invertor systems, DC generators and transmission lines extracted errors/accidents in some components. To realize a concrete system for ITER, said events have been addressed and solutions for the repair and the improvement of the system were developed.
Hence, NBTF is emerging as a necessary facility, due to the large gap with existing injectors, effectively dedicated to identify issues and find solutions to enable successful ITER NBI operations in a time bound fashion. The lessons learned during the implementation on NBTF and future perspectives are here discussed.
Abstract The $$\Xi _b^0 \rightarrow \Xi _c^+ D_s^-$$ Ξ b 0 → Ξ c + D s - and $$\Xi _b^- \rightarrow \Xi _c^0 D_s^-$$ Ξ b - → Ξ c 0 D s - decays are observed for the first time using proton-proton ...collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of $$\sqrt{s}=13\,\,\textrm{TeV}$$ s = 13 TeV , corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $$5.1\,\,\textrm{fb}^{-1}$$ 5.1 fb - 1 . The branching fractions times the production cross-sections of $$\Xi _b$$ Ξ b baryons relative to that of $$\Lambda _b^0$$ Λ b 0 baryon are measured to be $$\begin{aligned} \mathcal {R}\left( \frac{\Xi _b^0}{\Lambda _b^0}\right)&\equiv \frac{\sigma \left( \Xi _b^0\right) }{\sigma \left( \Lambda _b^0\right) } \times \frac{\mathcal {B}\left( \Xi _b^0 \rightarrow \Xi _c^+ D_s^-\right) }{\mathcal {B}\left( \Lambda _b^0 \rightarrow \Lambda _c^0 D_s^-\right) }\\&=(15.8\pm 1.1\pm 0.6\pm 7.7)\%,\\ \mathcal {R}\left( \frac{\Xi _b^-}{\Lambda _b^0}\right)&\equiv \frac{\sigma \left( \Xi _b^-\right) }{\sigma \left( \Lambda _b^0\right) } \times \frac{\mathcal {B}\left( \Xi _b^- \rightarrow \Xi _c^0 D_s^-\right) }{\mathcal {B}\left( \Lambda _b^0 \rightarrow \Lambda _c^0 D_s^-\right) } \\&=(16.9\pm 1.3\pm 0.9\pm 4.3)\%, \end{aligned}$$ R Ξ b 0 Λ b 0 ≡ σ Ξ b 0 σ Λ b 0 × B Ξ b 0 → Ξ c + D s - B Λ b 0 → Λ c 0 D s - = ( 15.8 ± 1.1 ± 0.6 ± 7.7 ) % , R Ξ b - Λ b 0 ≡ σ Ξ b - σ Λ b 0 × B Ξ b - → Ξ c 0 D s - B Λ b 0 → Λ c 0 D s - = ( 16.9 ± 1.3 ± 0.9 ± 4.3 ) % , where the first uncertainties are statistical, the second systematic, and the third due to the uncertainties on the decay branching fractions of relevant charmed baryons. The masses of $$\Xi _b^0$$ Ξ b 0 and $$\Xi _b^-$$ Ξ b - baryons are measured to be $$m_{\Xi _b^0}=5791.12\pm 0.60\pm 0.45\pm 0.24\,\,\textrm{MeV}/c^2$$ m Ξ b 0 = 5791.12 ± 0.60 ± 0.45 ± 0.24 MeV / c 2 and $$m_{\Xi _b^-}=5797.02\pm 0.63\pm 0.49\pm 0.29\,\,\textrm{MeV}/c^2$$ m Ξ b - = 5797.02 ± 0.63 ± 0.49 ± 0.29 MeV / c 2 , where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic, and those due to charmed-hadron masses, respectively.
Abstract A model-independent study of $$C\!P$$ C P violation in $${{B} ^0} \rightarrow {D} {{K} ^{*0}} $$ B 0 → D K ∗ 0 decays is presented using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 ...$$\text {\,fb} ^{-1}$$ \,fb - 1 collected by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of $$\sqrt{s}=7, \, 8$$ s = 7 , 8 and 13 $$\text {\,Te\hspace{-1.00006pt}V}$$ \,Te V . The CKM angle $$\gamma $$ γ is determined by examining the distributions of signal decays in phase-space bins of the self-conjugate $${D} \rightarrow {{K} ^0_{\textrm{S}}} h^+ h^-$$ D → K S 0 h + h - decays, where $$h = \pi , K$$ h = π , K . Observables related to $$C\!P$$ C P violation are measured and the angle $$\gamma $$ γ is determined to be $$\gamma =(49^{+ 22}_{-19})^\circ $$ γ = ( 49 - 19 + 22 ) ∘ . Measurements of the amplitude ratio and strong-phase difference between the favoured and suppressed $${B} ^0$$ B 0 decays are also presented.
Interventional radiologists and staff members, during all their professional activities, are frequently exposed to protracted and fractionated low doses of ionizing radiation. Due to skin tissues and ...peripheral blood irradiation, these exposures can result in deterministic effects (radiodermatitis, aged skin, and hand depilation) or stochastic ones (skin and non-solid cancer incidence). The authors present a novel approach to perform online monitoring of the staff during their interventions by using a device based on an Active Pixel Sensor. The performance of the sensor as an X-ray radiation detector has been evaluated with a proper experimental setup: the number of photons and the generated charge have been assessed as dosimetric observables from the frames acquired by the sensor using a two-threshold clustering algorithm, the efficiency of which has been evaluated as well. The correlation of these observables with passive dosimeter dose measurements has been analyzed: a good linearity has been demonstrated, and the response difference between pulsed and continuous operational modes is reduced to less than 10%, marking a distinct improvement with respect to commercial Active Personal Dosimeters.
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