Glioma through the looking GLASS: molecular evolution of diffuse gliomas and the Glioma Longitudinal Analysis Consortium.

Adult diffuse gliomas are a diverse group of brain neoplasms that inflict a high emotional toll on patients and their families. The Cancer Genome Atlas and similar projects have provided a comprehensive understanding of the somatic alterations and molecular subtypes of glioma at diagnosis. However, gliomas undergo significant cellular and molecular evolution during disease progression. We review the current knowledge on the genomic and epigenetic abnormalities in primary tumors and after disease recurrence, highlight the gaps in the literature, and elaborate on the need for a new multi-institutional effort to bridge these knowledge gaps and how the Glioma Longitudinal Analysis Consortium (GLASS) aims to systemically catalog the longitudinal changes in gliomas. The GLASS initiative will provide essential insights into the evolution of glioma toward a lethal phenotype, with the potential to reveal targetable vulnerabilities and, ultimately, improved outcomes for a patient population in need

Integrated Analysis and Synthesis of the Dynamic Behaviour of a Carbonate Field

Imperial Users onl

Contribution for an urban geomorphoheritage assessment method. Proposal from three geomorphosites in Rome (Italy)

Urban geomorphology has important implications in spatial planning of human activities, and it also has a geotouristic potential due to the relationship between cultural and geomorphological heritage. Despite the introduction of the term Anthropocene to describe the deep influence that human activities have had in recent times on Earth evolution, urban geomorphological heritage studies are relatively rare and limited and urban geotourism development is recent. The analysis of the complex urban landscape often need the integration of multidisciplinary data. This study aims to propose the first urban geomorphoheritage assessment method, which originates after long-lasting previous geomorphological and geotouristic studies on Rome city centre, it depict rare examples of the geomorphological mapping of a metropolis and, at the same time, of an inventory of urban geomorphosites. The proposal is applied to geomorphosites in the Esquilino neighbourhood of Rome, whose analysis confirm the need for an ad hoc method for assessing urban geomorphosites, as already highlighted in the most recent literature on the topic. The urban geomorphoheritage assessment method is based on: (i) the urban geomorphological analysis by means of multitemporal and multidisciplinary data; (ii) the geomorphosite inventory; and (iii) the geomorphoheritage assessment and enhancement. One challenge is to assess invisible geomorphosites that are widespread in urban context. To this aim, we reworked the attributes describing the Value of a site for Geotourism in order to build up a specific methodology for the analysis of the urban geomorphological heritage

Assessing the joint impact of DNAPL source-zone behavior and degradation products on the probabilistic characterization of human health risk

The release of industrial contaminants into the subsurface has led to a rapid degradation of groundwater resources. Contamination caused by Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPLs) is particularly severe owing to their limited solubility, slow dissolution and in many cases high toxicity. A greater insight into how the DNAPL source zone behavior and the contaminant release towards the aquifer impact human health risk is crucial for an appropriate risk management. Risk analysis is further complicated by the uncertainty in aquifer properties and contaminant conditions. This study focuses on the impact of the DNAPL release mode on the human health risk propagation along the aquifer under uncertain conditions. Contaminant concentrations released from the source zone are described using a screening approach with a set of parameters representing several scenarios of DNAPL architecture. The uncertainty in the hydraulic properties is systematically accounted for by high-resolution Monte Carlo simulations. We simulate the release and the transport of the chlorinated solvent perchloroethylene and its carcinogenic degradation products in randomly heterogeneous porous media. The human health risk posed by the chemical mixture of these contaminants is characterized by the low-order statistics and the probability density function of common risk metrics. We show that the zone of high risk (hot spot) is independent of the DNAPL mass release mode, and that the risk amplitude is mostly controlled by heterogeneities and by the source zone architecture. The risk is lower and less uncertain when the source zone is formed mostly by ganglia than by pools. We also illustrate how the source zone efficiency (intensity of the water flux crossing the source zone) affects the risk posed by an exposure to the chemical mixture. Results display that high source zone efficiencies are counter-intuitively beneficial, decreasing the risk because of a reduction in the time available for the production of the highly toxic subspecies.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Predicting the Impact of Climate Change on Thermal Comfort in A Building Category: The Case of Linear-type Social Housing Stock in Southern Spain

The Climate Change scenario projected by the IPCC for the year 2050 predicts noticeable increases in temperature. In severe summer climates, such as the Mediterranean area, this would have very negative e ects on thermal comfort in the existing housing stock, given the current high percentage of dwellings which are obsolete in energy terms and house a population at serious risk of energy poverty. The main aim of this paper is to generate a predictive model in order to assess the impact of this future climate scenario on thermal comfort conditions in an entire building category. To do so, calibrated models representing linear-type social multi-family buildings, dating from the post-war period and located in southern Spain, will be simulated extensively using transient energy analyses performed by EnergyPlus. In addition, a sensitivity analysis will be performed to identify the most influential parameters on thermal discomfort. The main results predict a generalized deterioration in indoor thermal comfort conditions due to global warming, increasing the average percentage of discomfort hours during the summer by more than 35%. This characterization of the future thermal behaviour of the residential stock in southern Spain could be a trustworthy tool for decision-making in energy retrofitting projects which are so badly needed. To do so, further work is required on some limitations of this model so that di erent user profiles and typologies can be represented in detail and an economic assessment can be included

Landfill aeration for emission control before and during landfill mining

The landfill of Modena, in northern Italy, is now crossed by the new high velocity railway line connecting Milan and Bologna. Waste was completely removed from a part of the landfill and a trench for the train line was built. With the aim of facilitating excavation and further disposal of the material extracted, suitable measures were defined. In order to prevent undesired emissions into the excavation area, the aerobic in situ stabilisation by means of the Airflow technology took place before and during the Landfill Mining. Specific project features involved the pneumatic leachate extraction from the aeration wells (to keep the leachate table low inside the landfill and increase the volume of waste available for air migration) and the controlled moisture addition into a limited zone, for a preliminary evaluation of the effects on process enhancement. Waste and leachate were periodically sampled in the landfill during the aeration before the excavation, for quality assessment over time; the evolution of biogas composition in the landfill body and in the extraction system for different plant set-ups during the project was monitored, with specific focus on uncontrolled migration into the excavation area. Waste biological stability significantly increased during the aeration (waste respiration index dropped to 33% of the initial value after six months). Leachate head decreased from 4 to 1.5m; leachate recirculation tests proved the beneficial effects of moisture addition on temperature control, without hampering waste aerobization. Proper management of the aeration plant enabled the minimization of uncontrolled biogas emissions into the excavation area

Assessment of mortar evolution in pig slurry by mechanical and ultrasonic measurements

This work presents the results obtained in a long-term experiment focused on the study of the evolution of cementitious materials immersed in pig slurry at real conditions. Cement mortars were made with four different cement types and immersed in pig slurry for 48 months. Furthermore, to separate pure hydration process from pig slurry effect, mortar samples were immersed in water for 12 months at laboratory conditions. Compressive strength, X-ray diffraction and ultrasonic measurements were made in all samples. Ultrasonic measurements were made from ultrasonic images obtained from automatic ultrasonic inspections. Use of ultrasonic images has allowed the extraction of information about the state of the studied materials. An empirical relationship between ultrasonic velocity and compressive strength has been obtained and the long-term effect of pig slurry on cementitious materials has been determined

The Ah receptor: adaptive metabolism, ligand diversity, and the xenokine model

Author Posting. © American Chemical Society, 2020. This is an open access article published under an ACS AuthorChoice License. The definitive version was published in Chemical Research in Toxicology, 33(4), (2020): 860-879, doi:10.1021/acs.chemrestox.9b00476.The Ah receptor (AHR) has been studied for almost five decades. Yet, we still have many important questions about its role in normal physiology and development. Moreover, we still do not fully understand how this protein mediates the adverse effects of a variety of environmental pollutants, such as the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (“dioxins”), and many polyhalogenated biphenyls. To provide a platform for future research, we provide the historical underpinnings of our current state of knowledge about AHR signal transduction, identify a few areas of needed research, and then develop concepts such as adaptive metabolism, ligand structural diversity, and the importance of proligands in receptor activation. We finish with a discussion of the cognate physiological role of the AHR, our perspective on why this receptor is so highly conserved, and how we might think about its cognate ligands in the future.This review is dedicated in memory of the career of Alan Poland, one of the truly great minds in pharmacology and toxicology. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health Grants R35-ES028377, T32-ES007015, P30-CA014520, P42-ES007381, and U01-ES1026127, The UW SciMed GRS Program, and The Morgridge Foundation. The authors would like to thank Catherine Stanley of UW Media Solutions for her artwork