Observation of Rayleigh-Lamb waves generated by the 2022 Hunga-Tonga volcanic eruption with the POLA detectors at Ny-Ålesund.

The eruption of the Hunga-Tonga volcano in the South Pacific Ocean on January 15, 2022, at about 4:15 UTC, generated a violent explosion, which created atmospheric pressure disturbances in the form of Rayleigh-Lamb waves detected all over the globe. Here we discuss the observation of the Hunga-Tonga shock-wave performed at the Ny-Ålesund Research Station on the Spitsbergen island, by the detectors of the PolarquEEEst experiment and their ancillary sensors. Online pressure data as well as the results of dedicated offline analysis are presented and discussed in details. Results include wave arrival times, wave amplitude measurements and wave velocity calculation. We observed five passages of the shock wave with a significance larger than 3 [Formula: see text] and an amplitude up to 1 hPa. The average propagation velocity resulted to be (308 ± 0.6) m/s. Possible effects of the atmospheric pressure variation associated with the shock-wave multiple passages on the cosmic-ray rate at ground level are also investigated. We did not find any significant evidence of this effect.

Utility of Pre-Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Sinus CT Screening in Children and Adolescents.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The clinical benefit of pre-hematopoietic cell transplantation sinus CT screening remains uncertain, while the risks of CT radiation and anesthesia are increasingly evident. We sought to re-assess the impact of screening sinus CT on pretransplantation patient management and prediction of posttransplantation invasive fungal rhinosinusitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pretransplantation noncontrast screening sinus CTs for 100 consecutive patients (mean age, 11.9 ± 5.5 years) were graded for mucosal thickening (Lund-Mackay score) and for signs of noninvasive or invasive fungal rhinosinusitis (sinus calcification, hyperattenuation, bone destruction, extrasinus inflammation, and nasal mucosal ulceration). Posttransplantation sinus CTs performed for sinus-related symptoms were similarly graded. Associations of Lund-Mackay scores, clinical assessments, changes in pretransplantation clinical management (additional antibiotic or fungal therapy, sinonasal surgery, delayed transplantation), and subsequent development of sinus-related symptoms or invasive fungal rhinosinusitis were tested (exact Wilcoxon rank sums, Fisher exact test, significance P < .05). RESULTS: Mean pretransplantation screening Lund-Mackay scores (n = 100) were greater in patients with clinical symptoms (8.07 ± 6.00 versus 2.48 ± 3.51, P < .001) but were not associated with pretransplantation management changes and did not predict posttransplantation sinus symptoms (n = 21, P = .47) or invasive fungal rhinosinusitis symptoms (n = 2, P = .59). CONCLUSIONS: Pre-hematopoietic cell transplantation sinus CT does not meaningfully contribute to pretransplantation patient management or prediction of posttransplantation sinus disease, including invasive fungal rhinosinusitis, in children. The risks associated with CT radiation and possible anesthesia are not warranted in this setting.

Effective hand hygiene education with the use of flipcharts in a hospital in El Salvador.

In developing countries, continuing education for healthcare staff may be limited by staff shortages and lack of sophisticated means of delivery. These limitations have implications for compliance with an important infection control practice, namely good hand hygiene. A comparison was made between the efficacy of two educational tools commonly used in healthcare and practical sanitation settings in developing countries, i.e. videotapes and flipcharts, in delivering hand hygiene education to 67 nurses in a paediatric hospital in El Salvador. Efficacy was measured on the basis of scores obtained in pre- and post-training tests consisting of 10 multiple-choice questions. Half of the nurses received video-based instruction and half received instruction via flipcharts. Both methods of instruction increased participants' knowledge of good hand hygiene, and the extent of knowledge acquisition by the two methods was similar. Feedback obtained from flipchart users six months after training indicated that most of the respondents used the flipchart to teach hand hygiene to patients' families (62.5%), patients (50%) and healthcare workers (43.8%). Flipchart users ranked flipcharts as their favourite educational tool. Flipcharts offer an economical, easy-to-use, non-technological yet effective alternative to videotapes for delivering education in developing countries. Although the use of flipcharts requires a skilled and well-trained instructor, flipcharts could be used more widely to deliver education in resource-poor settings.

[Measurement of industrial noise]. / Rilevazione del rumore industriale.

n this paper a comprehensive method for description and measurement of industrial noise is presented keeping the following aspects into account: 1) evaluation by data collection questionnaire of work environment, working variables, noise sources, noise exposure, etc.; 2) noise measurement with particular regards to noise characteristics (steady noise, intermittent, fluctuating, irregular, impulsive), to sampling methods (position, duration, etc.) also in wiew to drawing up "noise maps"; 3) noise data processing ( LAEQ , LEX); on this aspect many applying examples are specified; 4) noise data representation and recording, also using computer aids. The AA draw the attention to adopt, also in anticipation of the European noise standards, a standardized method for industrial noise evaluation.