A high power CH3OH FIR laser system with long-term stability

A CH₃OH FIR system has been developed for plasma diagnostics. A CO₂ laser devoted to pump the CH₃OH molecule has been studied. Different internal diameters of FIR cavity, input coupling holes and focusing lenses have been experimented. It has been found that the system formed by three subsystems-pump laser, guiding channel and FIR cavity-behaves like an unique system. A long term stability has been reached with a proper system design.     

A boundary element method for the aerodynamic analysis of aircraft in arbitrary motions

A new boundary integral formulation for the aerodynamic analysis of an aircraft (in particular, a tiltrotor) in arbitrary motion is presented. The formulation is based on the velocity potential for compressible flows, and as such is an extension of past work of the authors. The distinguishing feature is that the boundary integral representation is written for a surface in arbitrary motion with respect to a frame of reference which in turn moves in arbitrary motion with respect to the undisturbed air. Thus, the integrals are evaluated on the emission surface, which is the locus of the emitting points at the locations (in the moving frame) that they had when the signal influencing a given point at a given time was emitted. The differences with respect to related formulations (e.g., Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings) are outlined. Also, the advantages of the present formulation with respect to the preceding ones by the authors are discussed. Numerical validation results are presented for the limited case of helicopter rotors in hover.     

A new multidimensional fast convolution algorithm

The article introduces a new fast convolution-type technique for computing the multidimensional periodic convolutions of signals defined on generic lattices. The method presented does not evaluate multidimensional periodic convolutions via multidimensional FFTs but with an original algorithm. The major advantages of this technique are that it is more efficient than the well-known FFT-based fast convolution method and that its efficiency increases with the signal's dimensionality. One striking indication of its computational efficiency is that the number of operations per output point required by this method with nonseparable kernels of assigned dimensions is always smaller than the number of operations required by classical fast convolution algorithms with separable kernels of identical dimensions     

Directional Discretized Occluders for Accelerated Occlusion Culling

We present a technique for accelerating the rendering of high depth-complexity scenes. In a preprocessing stage, we approximate the input model with a hierarchical data structure and compute simple view-dependent polygonal occluders to replace the complex input geometry in subsequent visibility queries. When the user is inspecting and visualizing the input model, the computed occluders are used to avoid rendering geometry which cannot be seen. Our method has several advantages which allow it to perform conservative visibility queries efficiently and it does not require any special graphics hardware. The preprocessing step of our approach can also be used within the framework of other visibility culling methods which need to pre-select or pre-render occluders. In this paper, we describe our technique and its implementation in detail, and provide experimental evidence of its performance. In addition, we briefly discuss possible extensions of our algorithm.     

Clinical Considerations for a Family with Dilated Cardiomyopathy,Sudden Cardiac Death,and a Novel TTN Frameshift Mutation

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the leading indication for heart transplantation. TTN gene truncating mutations account for about 25% of familial DCM cases and for 18% of sporadic DCM cases. The clinical relevance of specific variants in TTN has been difficult to determine because of the sheer size of the protein for which TTN encodes, as well as existing extensive genetic variation. Clinicians should communicate novel clinically-relevant variants and genotype–phenotype associations, so that animal studies evaluating the molecular mechanisms are always conducted with a focus on clinical significance. In the present study, we report for the first time the novel truncating heterozygous variant {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"NM_001256850.1","term_id":"378925624","term_text":"NM_001256850.1"}}NM_001256850.1:c.72777_72783del (p.Phe24259Leufs*51) in the TTN gene and its association with DCM in a family with sudden death. This variant occurs in the A-band region of the sarcomere, in a known mutational hotspot of the gene. Truncating titin variants that occur in this region are the most common cause of DCM and have been rarely reported in asymptomatic individuals, differently from other pathogenic TTN gene variants. Further studies are warranted to better understand this particular clinically-relevant variant.     

Batch and continuous solvent extraction

Two physical processes are used for the removal of oil from oilseeds, one called “solution extraction” and the other “diffusion extraction.” In batch type solvent extraction plants, a diffusion process takes place. Due to their high steam and labor requirements, such plants are being steadily replaced with continuous solvent extraction plants, whose main component is the extractor which can be either of the immersion or percolation type. The combined use of these two types of extractor makes it possible to extract oil directly from oilseeds, even if they have a high oil content, with no need for continuous screw presses or expellers. Comparative data on the processes in most common use are given.     

Quality of housing in relation with human health. I: Building characteristics of the houses in the Marchesian region

In view of the fact that a considerable proportion of the population particularly at risk (the aged, children, the sick, etc.) spend many hours of the day indoors, the authors report the results of an investigation carried out on the building characteristics of 1833 houses sampled in four towns in the Marches region. The questionnaire of Fusillo et al. was used. The results show an excellent situation with regard both to the quality of outdoor air and acoustic pollution (only 27% of the sample complained of the vicinity of their house to zones of intense traffic). The low index of overcrowding (0.7 inhabitants per room) as well as the overall surface area of the houses (in 60% more than 100 m2), the large number of bathrooms (almost 50% of the houses with two, and another 15% with three or more), and the prevalence of detached houses are factors that show how the Marchean population pay particular attention to building criteria. However, even though from the structural standpoint the housing situation might seem a very good one, specific problems can be found, also common to other Italian regions, regarding building techniques and the materials adopted (e.g. the use of reinforced concrete, which together with the undoubted advantages it offers also has a number of disadvantages). The authors therefore stress the need for incentivating a bioecologically based building tradition, even if this is economically more costly, and give guidelines on how to conciliate the bioecological and economic aspects with regard to choice and use of materials. Finally, they express the hope that the "EC" symbol foreseen for building materials by Law No. 246 of 21 April 1993 will be adequately used in the ways laid down in appendix A to that law.     

Inhibition of para‐Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase by Analogues of the Herbicide Nitisinone As a Strategy to Decrease Homogentisic Acid Levels,the Causative Agent of Alkaptonuria

Alkaptonuria (AKU) is a rare multisystem metabolic disease caused by deficient activity of homogentisate 1,2‐dioxygenase (HGD), which leads to the accumulation of homogentisic acid (HGA). Currently, there is no treatment for AKU. The sole drug with some beneficial effects is the herbicide nitisinone ( 1 ), an inhibitor of p‐hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (4‐HPPD). 1 has been used as a life‐saving drug in infants with type I tyrosinemia despite severe side effects due to the buildup of tyrosine. Four clinical trials of nitisinone to treat AKU have shown that 1 consistently decreases HGA levels, but also caused the accumulation of tyrosine in blood serum. Moreover, the human preclinical toxicological data for 1 are incomplete. In this work, we performed pharmacodynamics and toxicological evaluations of 1 , providing the first report of LD₅₀ values in human cells. Intracellular tyrosinemia was also evaluated. Three additional 4‐HPPD inhibitors with a more favorable profile than that of 1 in terms of IC₅₀, LD₅₀, and tyrosine accumulation were also identified among commercially available compounds. These may be promising starting points for the development of new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of AKU.