Potential impact of the 4CMenB vaccine on oropharyngeal carriage of Neisseria meningitidis.

The analysis of the potential impact of the meningococcal vaccines in asymptomatic carriers has become one of the key aspects in the evaluation of new vaccines and of their impact on disease control. An important step in this direction is provided by the analysis of the sequence variability and surface-exposure of the 4CMenB (Bexsero®) vaccine antigens, as well as the cross-reactivity of vaccine induced antibodies, in isolates from healthy carriers. The Spanish Reference Laboratory, in collaboration with the University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla in Santander (Spain), carried out a meningococcal carrier survey between May 2010 and April 2012 (population aged 4 to 19 years). The present study was done on 60 meningococcal carrier strains representative of the overall strain panel obtained and compared to invasive strains isolated in Spain in the same time. We found quantifiable levels of fHbp and NHBA expression and immunologic cross-reactivity in 10% and 75% of analyzed carrier strains, respectively, so the potential impact of the 4CMenB vaccine on Spanish asymptomatic carrier strains is expected to be mediated by the NHBA antigen.

In-vacuum Faraday isolation remote tuning.

In-vacuum Faraday isolators (FIs) are used in gravitational wave interferometers to prevent the disturbance caused by light reflected back to the input port from the interferometer itself. The efficiency of the optical isolation is becoming more critical with the increase of laser input power. An in-vacuum FI, used in a gravitational wave experiment (Virgo), has a 20 mm clear aperture and is illuminated by an almost 20 W incoming beam, having a diameter of about 5 mm. When going in vacuum at 10(-6) mbar, a degradation of the isolation exceeding 10 dB was observed. A remotely controlled system using a motorized lambda=2 waveplate inserted between the first polarizer and the Faraday rotator has proven its capability to restore the optical isolation to a value close to the one set up in air.

Relating road salt to exceedances of the water quality standard for chloride in New Hampshire streams.

Six watersheds in New Hampshire were studied to determine the effects of road salt on stream water quality. Specific conductance in streams was monitored every 15 min for one year using dataloggers. Chloride concentrations were calculated from specific conductance using empirical relationships. Stream chloride concentrations were directly correlated with development in the watersheds and were inversely related to streamflow. Exceedances of the EPA water quality standard for chloride were detected in the four watersheds with the most development. The number of exceedances during a year was linearly related to the annual average concentration of chloride. Exceedances of the water quality standard were not predicted for streams with annual average concentrations less than 102 mg L(-1). Chloride was imported into three of the watersheds at rates ranging from 45 to 98 Mg Cl km(-2) yr(-1). Ninety-one percent of the chloride imported was road salt for deicing roadways and parking lots. A simple, mass balance equation was shown to predict annual average chloride concentrations from streamflow and chloride import rates to the watershed. This equation, combined with the apparent threshold for exceedances of the water quality standard, can be used for screening-level TMDLs for road salt in impaired watersheds.

Nonlinear sensors: an approach to the residence time detection strategy.

The monitoring of the residence time difference in bistable sensors has been recently proposed as a valid scheme for improving the detection capabilities of sensors as diverse as fluxgate magnetometers, ferroelectric sensors and mechanical sensors. In this paper we propose an approach to the residence time based detection strategy based on the measurement of the slope m of the sensor output integral. We demonstrate that such a method, far from degrading the detection performances can provide an easier way to realize fast and reliable sensors without the computationally demanding task related with the computation of the residence time difference. We introduce the receiver operating characteristic curve as a quantitative estimator for the comparison of the two methods and show that the detector performances increase with increasing the periodic bias amplitude A up to a maximum value. This condition has potentially relevant consequences in the future detectors design.

In-vacuum optical isolation changes by heating in a Faraday isolator.

We describe a model evaluating changes in the optical isolation of a Faraday isolator when passing from air to vacuum in terms of different thermal effects in the crystal. The changes are particularly significant in the crystal thermal lensing (refraction index and thermal expansion) and in its Verdet constant and can be ascribed to the less efficient convection cooling of the magneto-optic crystal of the Faraday isolator. An isolation decrease by a factor of 10 is experimentally observed in a Faraday isolator that is used in a gravitational wave experiment (Virgo) with a 10 W input laser when going from air to vacuum. A finite element model simulation reproduces with a great accuracy the experimental data measured on Virgo and on a test bench. A first set of measurements of the thermal lensing has been used to characterize the losses of the crystal, which depend on the sample. The isolation factor measured on Virgo confirms the simulation model and the absorption losses of 0.0016 +/- 0.0002/cm for the TGG magneto-optic crystal used in the Faraday isolator.

[Psychological dynamics in adolescence regarding death and suicide]. / Le dinamiche psicologiche dell'adolescenza relative all'idea di morte e al suicidio. Un caso clinco.

The authors try to analyse the idea of death and suicide in the adolescent and in order to face the psychological dynamics underlying these experiences. Therefore the differences between adolescential vitality and the separation-loss feelings emerge, between the need for autonomy and the search for identification patterns that are peculiar to this part of vital cycle. The autonomy and freedom search seems to pass delusively through the manipulation of the idea of death, to face a theme reserved to adults gives adolescent omnipotence feelings, assuring him at the same time against anguish. In the second part the authors report the clinical case of a boy who attempted suicide turce and who is under observation in the Department of Mental Health.

[Dream and initial phases of analysis: history, diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic remarks]. / Il sogno e le fasi iniziali dell'analisi: anamnesi, diagnosi, prognosi e indicazioni terapeutiche.

The authors underline the importance of dreams in the initial phases of psychoanalysis as an instrument of diagnosis and prognosis. In these first phases of explorative analysis or of consultation the dreams will show the structures and the deep mental dynamics of the patient, they will also show the expectations that the patient has with regard to the therapeutic prospects, and also the effectiveness of the encounter between patient and therapist. The authors underline the significance of the moment in which the dreams are told to the analyst: it is possible, therefore, to speak about anamnestic dreams, about dreams that are a consequence of the decision to start an analysis, about dreams that referred to the first contact between the patient and the analyst, about dreams that concern the consultation phase broadly. The authors, moreover, describe several examples of patients' dreams in the first phases of explorative analysis and they supply them with an interpretation and with a diagnostic and prognostic use, and they also propose indications on how and in what way and if it is the case to continue the therapy.