ALTA (Italy)

BackgroundThe public health emergency was one of the most severe consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, which occurred in successive waves since March 2020. In this scenario, the Hospital of Spoleto “San Matteo degli Infermi” (located in the Umbria region, Italy) became a COVID-19 referral center and therefore had to make organizational changes. This study aims to evaluate the quality of care provided during the pandemic and to explore what the hospital management should focus on.MethodsAn online survey related to ten topics across the five pandemic waves that took place in Italy from March 2020 to February 2022, was administered to the hospital unit referents. The qualitative responses collected were analyzed quantitatively using a recognized tool, called “Streetlight PRIority Swot” (SPRIS) system and based on a new and multilevel “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats” (SWOT) matrix.ResultsIt was highlighted that the demand for continuity of care for patients and an increase in personal protective equipment were the issues that should have been the focus of the intervention after the first wave. Taking this into account, an improvement in performance was observed in the subsequent waves. Therefore, the results described a more than good quality of care provided among the hospital units, although with the need to improve the orthopedic services, emerged as the most critical area.Limitations, reasons for cautionDue to practical limitations, the study population was limited to the hospital unit referents. Future broader surveys may enrich the information from the hospital experience. The SPRIS system uses a general-to-specific approach which can lead to a complex outcome assessment. However, careful and continuous application supports the analytical validity and utility of this method.ConclusionThe analysis based on the SPRIS system showed the effective response of Spoleto Hospital after the first sudden wave for the following four pandemic waves, driven by the implementation of safety measures. The perspective adopted and the scenario tested can be seen as a starting point for an educational tool to monitor and evaluate health management strategies during emergency periods.

Currently, groin hernia repair is mostly performed with application of mesh prostheses fixed with or without suture. However, views on safety and efficacy of different surgical approaches are still partly discordant. In this multicentre retrospective study, three sutureless procedures, i.e., mesh fixation with glue, application of self-gripping mesh, and Trabucco's technique, were compared in 1034 patients with primary unilateral non-complicated inguinal hernia subjected to open anterior surgery. Patient-related features, comorbidities, and drugs potentially affecting the intervention outcomes were also examined. The incidence of postoperative complications, acute and chronic pain, and time until discharge were assessed. A multivariate logistic regression was used to compare the odds ratio of the surgical techniques adjusting for other risk factors. The application of standard/heavy mesh, performed in the Trabucco's technique, was found to significantly increase the odds ratio of hematomas (p = 0.014) and, most notably, of acute postoperative pain (p < 0.001). Among the clinical parameters, antithrombotic therapy and large hernia size were independent risk factors for hematomas and longer hospital stay, whilst small hernias were an independent predictor of pain. Overall, our findings suggest that the Trabucco's technique should not be preferred in patients with a large hernia and on antithrombotic therapy.

Detecting and monitoring changes in open-pit mines is crucial for efficient mining operations. Indeed, these changes comprise a broad spectrum of activities that can often lead to significant environmental impacts such as surface damage, air pollution, soil erosion, and ecosystem degradation. Conventional optical sensors face limitations due to cloud cover, hindering accurate observation of the mining area. To overcome this challenge, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images have emerged as a powerful solution, due to their unique ability to penetrate clouds and provide a clear view of the ground. The open-pit mine change detection task presents significant challenges, justifying the need for a model trained for this specific task. First, different mining areas frequently include various features, resulting in a diverse range of land cover types within a single scene. This heterogeneity complicates the detection and distinction of changes within open-pit mines. Second, pseudo changes, e.g., equipment movements or humidity fluctuations, which show statistically reliable reflectivity changes, lead to false positives, as they do not directly correspond to the actual changes of interest, i.e., blasting, collapsing, or waste pile operations. In this paper, to the best of our knowledge, we present the first deep learning model in the literature that can accurately detect changes within open-pit mines using SAR images (TerraSAR-X). We showcase the fundamental role of data augmentations and a coherence layer as a critical component in enhancing the model’s performance, which initially relied solely on amplitude information. In addition, we demonstrate how, in the presence of a few labels, a pseudo-labeling pipeline can improve the model robustness, without degrading the performance by introducing misclassification points related to pseudo changes. The F1-Score results show that our deep learning approach is a reliable and effective method for SAR change detection in the open-pit mining sector.

Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of dilated cardiomyopathy. Among the genes involved, TTN mutations, including truncated variants, explain 25% of DCM cases. We performed genetic counseling and analysis on a 57-year-old woman diagnosed with severe DCM and presenting relevant acquired risk factors for DCM (hypertension, diabetes, smoking habit, and/or previous alcohol and cocaine abuse) and with a family history of both DCM and sudden cardiac death. The left ventricular systolic function, as assessed by standard echocardiography, was 20%. The genetic analysis performed using TruSight Cardio panel, including 174 genes related to cardiac genetic diseases, revealed a novel nonsense TTN variant (TTN:c.103591A > T, p.Lys34531*), falling within the M-band region of the titin protein. This region is known for its important role in maintaining the structure of the sarcomere and in promoting sarcomerogenesis. The identified variant was classified as likely pathogenic based on ACMG criteria. The current results support the need of genetic analysis in the presence of a family history, even when relevant acquired risk factors for DCM may have contributed to the severity of the disease.

Volcán de Colima is a highly active stratovolcano in western Mexico, which presents a significant hazard to over 300 000 people who live within c. 40 km of the volcano. Because of its persistent activity, the volcano is actively monitored and researched, and understanding the patterns of behaviour is vital to accurate hazard assessment. Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images from ascending and descending orbits allow 1D and 2D ground motions to be retrieved using multi-interferogram techniques. SqueeSAR ® 's unique processing allows a better characterization of subtle ground movements in remote, rural mountainous areas compared with many other multi-interferogram techniques. A dataset of 147 SAR scenes (2017–19) has been processed to show patterns of lava subsidence (&lt;150 mm of downward vertical deformation over 2 years), as well as volcano deflation and apparent westward lateral movement. These data indicate that viscous andesitic lava flows may remain mobile for years following eruption and emplacement, and that the entire volcanic edifice is subsiding. Despite the apparent quiescence, volcanic edifices can remain highly dynamic after the termination of explosive or effusive activity. We interpret that the western flank of Volcán de Colima may become steeper with time and may be of long-term concern for hazard assessment activities. Thematic collection: This article is part of the Remote sensing for site investigations on Earth and other planets collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/topic/collections/remote-sensing-for-site-investigations-on-earth-and-other-planets

Abstract The development experience observed in Korea has been a symbol of successful catch-up for several decades. This process allowed its upward transition from middle income to high-income status and has drawn the attention of many streams of scholars. More recently, emergent research has improved our understanding of this experience and its policy implications for developing countries (Lee, 2013; 2016; 2019). This paper proposes a review of what this literature has to say about the mechanisms behind the successful path followed by Korea and a discussion of lessons to overcome the middle-income trap. It is argued that latecomers do not limit themselves to follow the path of technological development of the advanced countries and that alternative paths are possible. The main policy implication for latecomers is that a successful catch-up is possible yet difficult to achieve because it requires taking detours and leapfroging into new technologies.

The combined steam/dry reforming (S/DR) technology was used to produce syngas from clean biogas. In the reaction conditions proposed, the catalytic bed can produce, without deactivation, a syngas with a H2/CO ratio of ≈2 directly processable for methanol or Fischer–Tropsch syntheses. Starting from the laboratory data obtained in the industrial conditions, mass and energy balances for the overall process were obtained from Aspen HYSYS simulations. The environmental evaluation was performed by applying the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, comparing different scenarios to the current industrial route to produce syngas (autothermal reforming or ATR of natural gas). The analysis showed that clean biogas-to-syngas technology using reforming processes has the potential to reduce the anthropogenic impact on the environment. The ReCiPe method showed that when the combined S/DR process is conducted using clean biogas also as a heat source, the CO2 balance turns negative, ensuring that the whole process has excellent potential as carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology providing the lowest damage in all categories. Its improvement would make it possible to further reduce the environmental burden of the overall process, which is essential for achieving sustainable development.

This paper investigates the effect of preconditioning on the variability of the results when measuring the Repetitive Partial Discharges Inception Voltage (RPDIV) of electrical insulation systems subjected to impulsive voltage stresses. The reference International Standard considered in the following (IEC 60034-18-41 [1]) defines the RPDIV as the minimum voltage at which at least five Partial Discharges (PD) occurs in ten voltage impulses applied. Many testing devices have been designed according to such definition: they inject ten voltage impulses and, if five of them trigger PD events, the voltage is recorded as the RPDIV. Otherwise, the voltage is increased until the RPDIV condition is met. On the other hand, other systems focus their analysis on the time behavior of the PD probability in the course of the tests. They do not simply record the RPDIV at the ratio where the number of PDs is greater than 0.5 times the voltage surges, but when it is persistently larger than such threshold. It has been noted that the PD probability (i.e. the number of PD per number of voltage pulses) shows a non-monotone behavior during the RPDIV measurements and consistent variations above and below the 50% threshold occur. Therefore, results coming from the types of equipment having the two different approaches are often noticeably different and, as a consequence, the RPDIV results using different measurement systems might vary depending on how this parameter is calculated. This paper proposes the electrical conditioning as a possible procedure to reduce this variation, and thus to have results independent from the measuring apparatus.

&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;In many landslide studies, the possibility to predict future behaviour is still a major concern. To date, early-warning systems have mostly relied on the availability of detailed, high-frequency data from sensors installed in situ. Methods deducing reliable failure predictions have been largely applied at local scale, where in situ monitoring systems can be installed.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The same purpose could not be chased through spaceborne monitoring applications, as these could not yield information acquired in sufficiently systematic fashion: the low data sampling frequency of most of the satellite systems hampered the possibility to retrieve the necessary details of tertiary creep characterized by accelerating deformation. So far, the lack of systematic information on ground displacement acquired at regional scale was another serious limit hampering the application of failure prediction methods at wide scale. Such limitations can be partially solved through the exploitation of new generation spaceborne platforms.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The launch of Sentinel-1 mission opened a new opportunity for InSAR monitoring applications thanks to the increased acquisition frequency, the regularity of acquisitions and the policy on data access. We demonstrate the potential of satellite Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) to identify precursors to catastrophic slope failures.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Here we present three sets of Sentinel-1 constellation images processed by means of multi-interferometric analysis. We detect clear trends of accelerating displacement prior to the catastrophic failure of three large slopes of very different nature: an open-pit mine slope, a natural rock slope in alpine terrain, and a tailings dam embankment. We determine that these events could have been located several days or weeks in advance. The results highlight that satellite InSAR may now be used to support decision making and enhance predictive ability for this type of hazard.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

The need for timely establishment of diagnostic assays of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is demanded in laboratories worldwide. We evaluated the performance of a flow immunoassay which can detect IgM an IgG antibodies simultaneously against SARS-CoV-2 virus in human blood within 15 min. Among the 132 positive novel Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) cases, 126 tests were consistent with previous quantitative Real Time PCR (qRT-PCR) assays. Among the 62 negative cases, 60 were consistent with qRT-PCR assays except for 2 cases. In this study, 2019-nCOV/COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test Device showed 95.5% sensitivity and 96.8% specificity. In conclusion, Rapid IgM-IgG Combined Antibody Test showed high detection consistency among all analysed samples. Suggesting that could be used for the rapid screening of SARS-CoV-2 carriers, either symptomatic or asymptomatic.