Serological Diagnosis of Infection in Cetaceans by Rapid Serum Agglutination Test and Competitive ELISA with and as Antigens.

Rose Bengal antigen and smooth lipopolysaccharide (s-LPS) were produced from a field strain of ("homologous" antigens) and from the reference strain S99 ("heterologous" antigens); they are currently used for the diagnosis of brucellosis in cattle, water buffaloes, sheep, goats, and pigs, as recommended in the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). "Homologous" and "heterologous" antigens were used in a rapid serum agglutination test (Rose Bengal test, RBT) and a competitive ELISA assay (c-ELISA) to test a panel of sera, blood, and other body fluids (cerebrospinal fluid, pericardial fluid, tracheal fluid, and aqueous humor) collected from 71 individuals belonging to five cetacean species (; ; ; ; and ), which were found stranded on the Italian coastline. Six animals were positive for spp.

The Prevalence of Enteric Viruses in Bivalve Molluscs in a Farming Area in Liguria, Northwest Italy.

Bivalve molluscs are filter-feeding organisms, capable of concentrating pathogenic microorganisms from the surrounding environment, thus contributing to the spread of viral pathogens, which they can transmit to humans, especially if eaten raw or undercooked. Although norovirus (NoV) and the hepatitis A virus (HAV) are considered the most common causes of foodborne infections, in recent years, other viruses with a zoonotic potential have been identified in shellfish, such as the hepatitis E virus (HEV), astrovirus (AsV), and aichi virus (AiV). The aim of the study was to investigate the presence of classical and emerging pathogenic enteric viruses in oysters () and mussels () from a mollusc farming area in the northwest of Italy, between April 2022 and March 2023.

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring-Guided Linezolid Therapy for the Treatment of Multiple Staphylococcal Brain Abscesses in a 3-Month-Old Infant.

Brain abscesses are invasive infections of the central nervous system with a high level of treatment complexity especially in pediatric patients. Here, we describe a 3-month-old infant with multiple brain abscesses caused by methicillin-susceptible (MSSA). The patient was initially treated with empirical antibiotics (ceftriaxone, metronidazole, vancomycin).

Intratumoral in Pancreatic Cancer: Current and Future Perspectives.

The intratumoral microbiome plays a significant role in many cancers, such as lung, pancreatic, and colorectal cancer. Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most lethal malignancies and is often diagnosed at advanced stages. , an anaerobic Gram-negative bacterium primarily residing in the oral cavity, has garnered significant attention for its emerging role in several extra-oral human diseases and, lately, in pancreatic cancer progression and prognosis.

Tiny Machine Learning Implementation for Guided Wave-Based Damage Localization.

This work leverages ultrasonic guided waves (UGWs) to detect and localize damage in structures using lightweight Artificial Intelligence (AI) models. It investigates the use of machine learning (ML) to train the effects of the damage on UGWs to the model. To reduce the number of trainable parameters, a physical signal processing approach is applied to the raw data before passing the data to the model.

Innovative Driver Monitoring Systems and On-Board-Vehicle Devices in a Smart-Road Scenario Based on the Internet of Vehicle Paradigm: A Literature and Commercial Solutions Overview.

In recent years, the growing number of vehicles on the road have exacerbated issues related to safety and traffic congestion. However, the advent of the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) holds the potential to transform mobility, enhance traffic management and safety, and create smarter, more interconnected road networks. This paper addresses key road safety concerns, focusing on driver condition detection, vehicle monitoring, and traffic and road management.

Key Fundamentals and Examples of Sensors for Human Health: Wearable, Non-Continuous, and Non-Contact Monitoring Devices.

The increasing demand for personalized healthcare, particularly among individuals requiring continuous health monitoring, has driven significant advancements in sensor technology. Wearable, non-continuous monitoring, and non-contact sensors are leading this innovation, providing novel methods for monitoring vital signs and physiological data in both clinical and home settings. However, there is a lack of comprehensive comparative studies assessing the overall functionality of these technologies.

Integrating Machine Learning for Predictive Maintenance on Resource-Constrained PLCs: A Feasibility Study.

This study investigates the potential of deploying a neural network model on an advanced programmable logic controller (PLC), specifically the Finder Opta™, for real-time inference within the predictive maintenance framework. In the context of Industry 4.0, edge computing aims to process data directly on local devices rather than relying on a cloud infrastructure.

Feasibility Study on Additive Manufacturing of Feed Horn Operating in D-Band.

This paper presents the outcomes of a feasibility study on the manufacturing of D-band horn antennas through the Low Power Bed Fusion process. Different prototypes have been realized and tested, showing nice results in terms of the co-polarization component. On the other hand, a spurious cross-polarization component is present in the radiation pattern even in the principal planes, limiting the device to single-polarization applications.

SQM Ageing and Atmospheric Conditions: How Do They Affect the Long-Term Trend of Night Sky Brightness Measurements?

The most widely used radiance sensor for monitoring Night Sky Brightness (NSB) is the Sky Quality Meter (SQM), making its measurement stability fundamental. A method using the Sun as a calibrator was applied to analyse the quality of the measures recorded in the Veneto Region (Italy) and at La Silla (Chile). The analysis mainly revealed a tendency toward reductions in measured NSB due to both instrument ageing and atmospheric variations.

All-Metal Metamaterial-Based Sensor with Novel Geometry and Enhanced Sensing Capability at Terahertz Frequency.

This research proposes an all-metal metamaterial-based absorber with a novel geometry capable of refractive index sensing in the terahertz (THz) range. The structure consists of four concentric diamond-shaped gold resonators on the top of a gold metal plate; the resonators increase in height by 2 µm moving from the outer to the inner resonators, making the design distinctive. This novel configuration has played a very significant role in achieving multiple ultra-narrow resonant absorption peaks that produce very high sensitivity when employed as a refractive index sensor.

L-Shaped Coplanar Strip Dipole Antenna Sensor for Adulteration Detection.

The present study proposes an L-shaped coplanar strip dipole antenna for sensing the presence of adulterants in liquid food samples. The proposed antenna dimensions are optimized using ANSYS HFSS, and a prototype is fabricated and validated. The sensing region is optimized based on the current distribution and measured reflection coefficients.

Implementation and Testing of V2I Communication Strategies for Emergency Vehicle Priority and Pedestrian Safety in Urban Environments.

This paper explores the development and testing of two Internet of Things (IoT) applications designed to leverage Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communication for managing intelligent intersections. The first scenario focuses on enabling the rapid and safe passage of emergency vehicles through intersections by notifying approaching drivers via a mobile application. The second scenario enhances pedestrian safety by alerting drivers, through the same application, about the presence of pedestrians detected at crosswalks by a traffic sensor equipped with neural network capabilities.

A Measurement Approach for Characterizing Temperature-Related Emissivity Variability in High-Emissivity Materials.

The effective knowledge of emissivity is pivotal to obtain reliable temperature measurements through non-contact techniques like pyrometry and thermal imaging. This is fundamental in high-temperature applications since material emissivity strongly depends on temperature conditions. Given the recent attention in high-temperature applications, especially for replacing fossil-fuel-dependent heating with greener solutions in energy-intensive processes, renewed interest in characterizing materials radiant properties rose.

Sleep Posture Detection via Embedded Machine Learning on a Reduced Set of Pressure Sensors.

Sleep posture is a key factor in assessing sleep quality, especially for individuals with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), where the sleeping position directly affects breathing patterns: the side position alleviates symptoms, while the supine position exacerbates them. Accurate detection of sleep posture is essential in assessing and improving sleep quality. Automatic sleep posture detection systems, both wearable and non-wearable, have been developed to assess sleep quality.

Virtualized Microphone Array for Moving Sources Mapping.

The acoustic analysis of a moving object, such as in pass-by or fly-over tests, is a very important and demanding issue. These types of analyses make it possible to characterize the machine in quite realistic conditions, but the typical difficulties related to source localization and characterization are usually exacerbated by the need to take into consideration and to compensate for the object movement. In this paper, a technique based on acoustic beamforming is proposed, which is applicable to all those cases where the object under investigation is moving.

An Investigation of the Domain Gap in CLIP-Based Person Re-Identification.

Person re-identification (re-id) is a critical computer vision task aimed at identifying individuals across multiple non-overlapping cameras, with wide-ranging applications in intelligent surveillance systems. Despite recent advances, the domain gap-performance degradation when models encounter unseen datasets-remains a critical challenge. CLIP-based models, leveraging multimodal pre-training, offer potential for mitigating this issue by aligning visual and textual representations.

Effects of the Interface Properties on the Performance of UV-C Photoresistors: Gallium Oxide as Case Study.

Electrical contacts are of the greatest importance as they decisively contribute to the overall performance of photoresistors. Undoped κ-GaO is an ideal material for photoresistors with high performance in the UV-C spectral region thanks to its intrinsic solar blindness and extremely low dark current. The quality assessment of the contact/κ-GaO interface is therefore of paramount importance.

Calibration of Low-Cost Capacitive Soil Moisture Sensors for Irrigation Management Applications.

The calibration of capacitive soil moisture sensors is an essential step towards their integration into smart solutions. This study investigates the calibration of a widely used low-cost capacitive soil moisture sensor (SKU:SEN0193, DFRobot, Shanghai, China) in a loamy silt soil typically found in the Puglia region of Italy. The calibration function was derived from a random sample of 12 sensors, with three soil sample replicas per sensor, each of which had one of five gravimetric soil moisture contents, from relatively dry (5%) to full saturation (40%).

Biomechanics Parameters of Gait Analysis to Characterize Parkinson's Disease: A Scoping Review.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by a slow, short-stepping, shuffling gait pattern caused by a combination of motor control limitations due to a reduction in dopaminergic neurons. Gait disorders are indicators of global health, cognitive status, and risk of falls and increase with disease progression. Therefore, the use of quantitative information on the gait mechanisms of PD patients is a promising approach, particularly for monitoring gait disorders and potentially informing therapeutic interventions, though it is not yet a well-established tool for early diagnosis or direct assessment of disease progression.

Joint Analysis of Cardiovascular Control and Shear Wave Elastography to Determine Carotid Plaque Vulnerability.

: Carotid artery stenosis (CAS) is one of the main causes of stroke, and the vulnerability of plaque has been proved to be a determinant. A joint analysis of shear wave elastography, a radiofrequency echo-based wall tracking technique for arterial stiffness evaluation, and of autonomic and baroreflex function is proposed to noninvasively, preoperatively assess plaque vulnerability in asymptomatic CAS patients scheduled for carotid endarterectomy. : Elastographic markers of arterial stiffness were derived preoperatively in 78 CAS patients (age: 74.

Prediction Model for POstoperative atriaL fibrillAtion in caRdIac Surgery: The POLARIS Score.

: New-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is the most common complication after cardiac surgery, occurring approximately in one-third of the patients. This study considered all-comer patients who underwent cardiac surgery to build a predictive model for POAF. : A total of 3467 (Center 1) consecutive patients were used as a derivation cohort to build the model.

Are We Ready for Pseudotumors in Total Ankle Arthroplasty? A Case Report.

Pseudotumors are defined as exuberant non-neoplastic inflammatory masses. This condition can be associated with hip and knee arthroplasty but has not been reported in Total Ankle Arthroplasty (TAA). This paper reports a pseudotumor that formed following TAA, highlighting its clinical presentation, management, and histopathology.

Retrospective Analysis of R-COMP Therapy in Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL): Assessing the Impact of Sample Selection Bias.

: Retrospective studies are often criticized for their susceptibility to case selection bias compared to prospective studies, which include all patients consecutively and are thus less prone to such limitations. However, the larger sample sizes typical of retrospective studies can sometimes offset this drawback. On behalf of the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi (FIL), a substantial retrospective study involving 946 patients was conducted to examine the use of non-pegylated liposomal anthracycline (Myocet).

Predictive Value of the DETECT Algorithm for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Systemic Sclerosis: Findings from an Italian Observational Study.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc), and several screening algorithms have been proposed for the early detection of PAH in SSc. This study aimed to evaluate the predicting values of the DETECT algorithm for SSc-PAH screening in patients with SSc undergoing right heart catheterization (RHC) based on 2015 ESC/ERS echocardiographic criteria in a real-life setting. Patients fulfilling the 2013 ACR/EULAR classification criteria for SSc and with available data for PAH screening with the DETECT algorithm and the 2015 ESC/ERS echocardiographic criteria were retrospectively enrolled from January to June 2017 and then followed for 5 years.