Search results for "Roof"
showing 10 items of 303 documents
Association Between Serum Levels of Neurofilament Light Chains and Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis.
2021
INTRODUCTION: Serum biomarkers for the diagnosis of minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with liver cirrhosis would be desirable. In this proof-of-concept study, we investigated the association between MHE and serum levels of neurofilament light chains (sNfL) in patients with liver cirrhosis. METHODS: sNfL were studied in patients with liver cirrhosis (with or without MHE) and controls (patients with ischemic stroke, transitory ischemic attack, and healthy individuals). MHE was diagnosed using the Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score. RESULTS: Patients with MHE showed higher sNfL than patients without MHE and controls. In multivariable analyses, higher sNfL were independent…
Analysis of a Collapsed Long-Span Reinforced Concrete Roof in South Italy: Design Mistakes and Material Degradation
2020
In 2004, during ordinary maintenance work, consisting of waterproofing a building located in the south of Italy, the long-span (14.5 m) in situ RC roof partially collapsed. The building, constructed in 1950, was in service as a cinema until 1967 and then utilized as a school until 1985. Lastly, it was a hotel until 2000. In 2004, when the building was not in service and was undergoing maintenance work, it partially collapsed under dead load. After the collapse, which involved a large portion of the roof, several beams, and two columns, the Italian court nominated an official technical consultant to investigate the direct and related causes of the failure. After the main causes were identifi…
Empirical measures and Vlasov hierarchies
2013
The present note reviews some aspects of the mean field limit for Vlasov type equations with Lipschitz continuous interaction kernel. We discuss in particular the connection between the approach involving the N-particle empirical measure and the formulation based on the BBGKY hierarchy. This leads to a more direct proof of the quantitative estimates on the propagation of chaos obtained on a more general class of interacting systems in [S.Mischler, C. Mouhot, B. Wennberg, arXiv:1101.4727]. Our main result is a stability estimate on the BBGKY hierarchy uniform in the number of particles, which implies a stability estimate in the sense of the Monge-Kantorovich distance with exponent 1 on the i…
A phase 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, proof-of-concept study of oral seletalisib in primary Sjögren’s syndrome
2020
Abstract Objectives This phase 2 proof-of-concept study (NCT02610543) assessed efficacy, safety and effects on salivary gland inflammation of seletalisib, a potent and selective PI3Kδ inhibitor, in patients with moderate-to-severe primary Sjögren’s syndrome (PSS). Methods Adults with PSS were randomized 1:1 to seletalisib 45 mg/day or placebo, in addition to current PSS therapy. Primary end points were safety and tolerability and change from baseline in EULAR Sjögren’s Syndrome Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI) score at week 12. Secondary end points included change from baseline at week 12 in EULAR Sjögren’s Syndrome Patient Reported Index (ESSPRI) score and histological features in salivary …
A Nomogram to Characterize the Severity of Detrusor Overactivity during the Ice Water Test: Description of the Method and Proof of Concept
2017
<b><i>Aims:</i></b> To develop a nomogram with severity categories for detrusor overactivity (DO). <b><i>Methods:</i></b> By conducting ice water tests (IWT) in 55 patients with Parkinson’s disease, we identified criteria to describe characteristics of the detrusor pressure curves: (1) a gradient of Δ<i>pdet</i> over Δt at the maximum detrusor pressure and (2) the area under the curve. In a nomogram, 10 severity categories of DO were established: 1 and 2 were assigned to group A (mild), 3 and 4 to group B (moderate) and 5–10 to group C (severe). <b><i>Results:</i></b> In the nomogram, negative IWT (20) appea…
How does an In-containing underlayer prevent the propagation of defects in InGaN QW LEDs?: identification of SRH centers and modeling of trap profile
2021
Recent reports indicated that the use of an InAlN underlayer (UL) can significantly improve the efficiency of InGaN/GaN quantum well (QW) LEDs. Currently, this result is explained by considering that the UL reduces the density of nonradiative recombination centers in the QWs. However, an experimental proof of the reduction of defects in the QWs is not straightforward. In this paper, we use combined electrical (I-V), optical (L-I), capacitance (C-V), steady-state photocapacitance (SSPC) and light-assisted capacitance-voltage (LCV) measurements to explain why devices with UL have a much higher efficiency than identical LEDs without UL. Specifically, we demonstrated an improvement in both elec…
Smart optically active VO2 nanostructured layers applied in roof-type ceramic tiles for energy efficiency
2016
Abstract The capability to control in an smart way the infrared reflectance to environmental temperature variations can be achieved with thermochromic materials like VO2. In this paper, we report the application of VO2 on ceramic tiles aiming to control the reflected infrared radiation on smart roofs and thus improving the energy efficiency, which is associated to the reduction of the carbon dioxide emissions. The VO2 nanoparticles have been produced by hydrothermal synthesis assisted by microwave irradiation, providing a new, quicker and cleaner production route. Afterwards, the VO2 nanoparticles were transferred to the surface of ceramic glassy tiles, which were prepared through dispersin…
7.22 Health Monitoring of High Performance Composite Pressure Vessels
2018
The most important form of damage in carbon fiber reinforced composite pressure vessels is the failure of the fibers however the rate of fiber failure is controlled by the viscoelastic nature of the matrix, which determines overall in-service lifetimes. This type of damage is very different from that encountered with metal pressure vessels and requires a detailed understanding in order to ensure reliability. Innovative proof testing methods based on these processes are necessary. The damage processes and the means of quantifying them are discussed. Their reliability under pressure over periods of decades is analyzed. Intrinsic safety factors linked directly to the properties of the composit…
Transillumination imaging through biological tissue by single-pixel detection
2015
One challenge that has long held the attention of scientists is that of clearly seeing objects hidden by turbid media, as smoke, fog or biological tissue, which has major implications in fields such as remote sensing or early diagnosis of diseases. Here, we combine structured incoherent illumination and bucket detection for imaging an absorbing object completely embedded in a scattering medium. A sequence of low-intensity microstructured light patterns is launched onto the object, whose image is accurately reconstructed through the light fluctuations measured by a single-pixel detector. Our technique is noninvasive, does not require coherent sources, raster scanning nor time-gated detection…
Note: Simultaneous modulation transfer spectroscopy on transitions of multiple atomic species for compact laser frequency reference modules
2018
We present a technique for simultaneous laser frequency stabilization on transitions of multiple atomic species with a single optical setup. The method is based on modulation transfer spectroscopy, and the signals are separated by modulating at different frequencies and electronically filtered. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate simultaneous spectroscopy of the potassium D1, D2 and rubidium D2 transitions. The technique can be extended in principle to other atomic species given the availability of optics and cells and allows the development of versatile and compact frequency reference modules.