Background: Salmeterol and formoterol, two long-acting β₂-adrenergic agonists, have been shown to be effective against exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) several hours after inhalation, but no study has yet compared their protective effect immediately after administration. Objectives: To compare the protective effect of inhaled formoterol and salmeterol against EIB immediately and 4 h after administration. Methods: Double-blind, two-period cross-over study of 11 EIB-positive asthmatic subjects (mean age 21.2 years) administered formoterol 24 µg and salmeterol 50 µg by means of metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) on 2 days separated by an interval of 72 h; the subjects performed two cycloergometric exercise tests immediately and 4 h after dosing. Forced expiratory volume (FEV₁) measurements were made before and at the end of exercise, and then after 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 min. The maximum percentage decrease in FEV₁ in the 30 min following exercise was considered. Results: Immediately after drug administration, but not 4 h later, formoterol provided significantly better protection against EIB than salmeterol (p = 0.02). The number of formoterol-treated subjects protected against EIB (i.e. with a <15% decrease in FEV₁ after treatment) was 10/11 after the first exercise test and 7/8 after the second; the corresponding figures after salmeterol treatment were 5/11 and 7/8. Conclusions: Our results show that formoterol inhaled via an MDI is effective in preventing EIB as early as within a few minutes of administration, whereas salmeterol does not offer any appreciable protection. On the contrary, the protective effect of the two drugs is clinically equivalent 4 h after administration.

The objective of this work is the realization of an algorithm to provide a query suggestion feature in order to support the search engine of a commercial web site. Starting from web server logs, our solution creates a model analyzing the queries submitted by the users. Given a submitted query, the system searches the most adequate queries to suggest. Our method implements an already known session based proposal enriching it by exploiting specific information available in the current context: the category the user is browsing on the web site and a solution to overcome the limits of a pure session based approach considering also similarity between queries. Quantitative and qualitative experiments show that the proposed model is suitable in terms of resources employed and user's satisfaction degree.

No abstract

<p>In the framework of the Veneto Regional Metropolitan Railway System, “Angel’s Hospital” railway station has been designed from scratch in Mestre (Venice, Italy). It is constituted of six distinguished independent areas. The main frame of each of them is made of curved I-section polycentric steel beams placed every 4m to support the secondary frame (purlines) and the cover mantle, which is made of aluminium ribbed double sheet sandwiches with a soundproof infill.</p><p>A fire analysis (train fire) of the structure is carried out in an advanced calculation model, where the structure is modelled in a FEM program by beam elements. Localised fire model analysis with Eurocodes 1, 3 and 9 is performed taking into account time-and-space temperatures trends.</p><p>Buckling stability analysis in fire condition is performed by varying Young modulus of structural elements in relation with the local induced temperature.</p>

<p>The municipality of Bari, in the SE of Italy, had long been waiting for the completion of an important existing road axis, connecting the North and South ends of the city through its densely populated precinct. Hence the necessity to overpass both the large railway area and the urban district nearby with a bridge. Its function will not only be that of providing an important facility for transport, but it will also be an outstanding landmark, in the effort to improve the outlook of the urban territory.</p><p>Hence the new cable stayed bridge was conceived to be the right answer not only to the requirements of vehicular circulation but also a fine architectural implant for the requalification of the urban tissue beneath. The structural, logistic and aesthetical choices always took into account the links between each other.</p>