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Background: Recent studies showed that plasma SARS-CoV-2 RNA seems to be associated with worse COVID-19 outcome. However, whether specific population can be at higher risk of viremia are to date unexplored.Methods: This cross-sectional proof-of-concept study included 41 SARS-CoV-2-positive adult individuals (six affected by haematological malignancies) hospitalized at two major hospital in Milan, for those demographic, clinical and laboratory data were available. SARS-CoV-2 load was quantified by ddPCR in paired plasma and respiratory samples. To assess significant differences between patients with and patients without viremia, Fisher exact test and Wilcoxon test were used for categorical and continuous variables, respectively.Results: Plasma SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found in 8 patients (19.5%), with a median (IQR) value of 694 (209-1023) copies/mL. Viremic patients were characterized by an higher mortality rate (50.0% vs 9.1%; p = 0.018) respect to patients without viremia. Viremic patients were more frequently affected by haematological malignancies (62.5% vs. 3.0%; p < 0.001), and had higher viral load in respiratory samples (9,404,000 [586,060-10,000,000] vs 1560 [312-25,160] copies/mL; p = 0.002).Conclusions: Even if based on a small sample population, this proof-of-concept study poses the basis for an early identification of patients at higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 viremia, and therefore likely to develop severe COVID-19, and supports the need of a quantitative viral load determination in blood and respiratory samples of haematologic patients with COVID-19 in order to predict prognosis and consequently to help their further management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamap (DYNamic Acoustic MAPping) is an European Life project whose main scope is to implement "real-time" acoustic maps in a district of the city of Milan. Dynamap is based on the idea of finding a suitable sets of roads displaying similar traffic noise behavior so that one can group them together into single noise maps. Twenty-four monitoring sensors have been installed permanently in appropriate locations within the pilot zone (District 9) to obtain six dynamic noise maps. The project has come to its "Test and Fault Analysis" phase. A set of new traffic noise and traffic flow measurements have been recorded to shed light on the reliability of Dynamap prediction. Besides the expected error due to statistical fluctuations of traffic noise, our preliminary analysis show a systematic error inherent to the adopted traffic flow model, which is an essential ingredient of the whole approach. By correlating the traffic noise prediction error to the one due to the traffic flow model, we succeed in improving the Dynamap prediction thus limiting the overall error to within about 3 dB. We suggest that Dynamap scheme can be applied to large urban conglomerates in general, thus becoming a useful tool for monitoring traffic noise accurately and efficiently in large cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The University education is a very important step in the process of growth of each person. During this period we acquire a specific professional preparation and also have many opportunities to develop skills that are essential for adult life. In recent years the access opportunities for disabled persons to academic education in Italy have greatly increased, thanks to some legislative initiatives that supported the implementation of important measures to protect the right to study. The article sets out some reflections on the services and opportunities offered by the Italian University system. The Centre for Inclusion of Students with Disability and Dyslexia of Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan is presented as an example case. Further areas for research and policy development are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]