Development of high grade seamless pipes for deepwater application by metallurgical design

New solutions for the metallurgical design of high performance quenched and tempered (Q&T) seamless pipes of high grades from X65 up to X80 were found throughout a systematic work involving metallurgical modelling, laboratory tests, pilot and industrial trials. Both linepipes and risers for deepwater offshore fields such as Gulf of Mexico were considered. The target microstructure in the asquenched condition has been identified as refined low-C bainite/martensite matrix (> 70%). This is promoted through the control of austenite grain growth during the heating stage (austenitization before quenching), proper alloy additions and through a very effective quenching. Promising low-alloy steels and suitable quenching and tempering conditions identified by metallurgical modelling were verified by laboratory heats (80 kg ingots) that were processed at a pilot scale and submitted to microstructural examination and mechanical testing. The best solutions were used in preliminary industrial trials, also utilised for a fine tuning. The Ni-Cr-Mo-Nb-V alloy system showed very interesting combinations of strength-toughness and field weldability, suitable for the production of heavy wall X65 grade linepipes for sour service and X80 top tension risers

Genome Analysis of the Anaerobic Thermohalophilic Bacterium Halothermothrix orenii

Halothermothirx orenii is a strictly anaerobic thermohalophilic bacterium isolated from sediment of a Tunisian salt lake. It belongs to the order Halanaerobiales in the phylum Firmicutes. The complete sequence revealed that the genome consists of one circular chromosome of 2578146 bps encoding 2451 predicted genes. This is the first genome sequence of an organism belonging to the Haloanaerobiales. Features of both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria were identified with the presence of both a sporulating mechanism typical of Firmicutes and a characteristic Gram negative lipopolysaccharide being the most prominent. Protein sequence analyses and metabolic reconstruction reveal a unique combination of strategies for thermophilic and halophilic adaptation. H. orenii can serve as a model organism for the study of the evolution of the Gram negative phenotype as well as the adaptation under thermohalophilic conditions and the development of biotechnological applications under conditions that require high temperatures and high salt concentrations

Insight from an Italian Delphi Consensus on EVAR feasibility outside the instruction for use: the SAFE EVAR Study

BACKGROUND: The SAfety and FEasibility of standard EVAR outside the instruction for use (SAFE-EVAR) Study was designed to define the attitude of Italian vascular surgeons towards the use of standard endovascular repair (EVAR) for infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) outside the instruction for use (IFU) through a Delphi consensus endorsed by the Italian Society of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery (Societa Italiana di Chirurgia Vascolare ed Endovascolare - SICVE). METHODS: A questionnaire consisting of 26 statements was developed, validated by an 18 -member Advisory Board, and then sent to 600 Italian vascular surgeons. The Delphi process was structured in three subsequent rounds which took place between April and June 2023. In the first two rounds, respondents could indicate one of the following five degrees of agreement: 1) strongly agree; 2) partially agree; 3) neither agree nor disagree; 4) partially disagree; 5) strongly disagree; while in the third round only three different choices were proposed: 1) agree; 2) neither agree nor disagree; 3) disagree. We considered the consensus reached when >70% of respondents agreed on one of the options. After the conclusion of each round, a report describing the percentage distribution of the answers was sent to all the participants. RESULTS: Two -hundred -forty-four (40.6%) Italian Vascular Surgeons agreed to participate the first round of the Delphi Consensus; the second and the third rounds of the Delphi collected 230 responders (94.3% of the first -round responders). Four statements (15.4%) reached a consensus in the first rounds. Among the 22 remaining statements, one more consensus (3.8%) was achieved in the second round. Finally, seven more statements (26.9%) reached a consensus in the simplified last round. Globally, a consensus was reached for almost half of the proposed statements (46.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The relatively low consensus rate obtained in this Delphi seems to confirm the discrepancy between Guideline recommendations and daily clinical practice. The data collected could represent the source for a possible guidelines' revision and the proposal of specific Good Practice Points in all those aspects with only little evidence available

Transform Autism Education - Final Report

The Transform Autism Education (TAE) project focused on the domain of ‘good autism practice’ in the education of pupils with autism in the UK, Greece and Italy with the overall objectives to: • Research good autism practice in education. • Create professional development programmes in Greece and Italy. • Enhance the knowledge and practice of school staff. • Facilitate the inclusion of autistic children in primary schools in those countries. Funded by the European Commission through Erasmus Plus Key Action 2, Strategic Partnerships scheme, and led by Principal Investigator Dr. Karen Guldberg, the project involved a range of Greek, Italian and UK partners. It employed the Autism Education Trust (AET) collaborative training schemes in the UK as a founding model. While the requirements of each country were distinct, and so necessitated careful adaptations of the materials to their specific needs, what united all aspects of the project was a desire to improve the educational inclusion of autistic children, as well as their general experiences in school and their outcomes

In Vitro Anti-Echinococcal and Metabolic Effects of Metformin Involve Activation of AMP-Activated Protein Kinase in Larval Stages of Echinococcus granulosus.

Metformin (Met) is a biguanide anti-hyperglycemic agent, which also exerts antiproliferative effects on cancer cells. This drug inhibits the complex I of the mitochondrial electron transport chain inducing a fall in the cell energy charge and leading 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation. AMPK is a highly conserved heterotrimeric complex that coordinates metabolic and growth pathways in order to maintain energy homeostasis and cell survival, mainly under nutritional stress conditions, in a Liver Kinase B1 (LKB1)-dependent manner. This work describes for the first time, the in vitro anti-echinococcal effect of Met on Echinococcus granulosus larval stages, as well as the molecular characterization of AMPK (Eg-AMPK) in this parasite of clinical importance. The drug exerted a dose-dependent effect on the viability of both larval stages. Based on this, we proceeded with the identification of the genes encoding for the different subunits of Eg-AMPK. We cloned one gene coding for the catalytic subunit (Eg-ampkɑ) and two genes coding for the regulatory subunits (Eg-ampkβ and Eg-ampkγ), all of them constitutively transcribed in E. granulosus protoscoleces and metacestodes. Their deduced amino acid sequences show all the conserved functional domains, including key amino acids involved in catalytic activity and protein-protein interactions. In protoscoleces, the drug induced the activation of AMPK (Eg-AMPKɑ-P176), possibly as a consequence of cellular energy charge depletion evidenced by assays with the fluorescent indicator JC-1. Met also led to carbohydrate starvation, it increased glucogenolysis and homolactic fermentation, and decreased transcription of intermediary metabolism genes. By in toto immunolocalization assays, we detected Eg-AMPKɑ-P176 expression, both in the nucleus and the cytoplasm of cells as in the larval tegument, the posterior bladder and the calcareous corpuscles of control and Met-treated protoscoleces. Interestingly, expression of Eg-AMPKɑ was observed in the developmental structures during the de-differentiation process from protoscoleces to microcysts. Therefore, the Eg-AMPK expression during the asexual development of E. granulosus, as well as the in vitro synergic therapeutic effects observed in presence of Met plus albendazole sulfoxide (ABZSO), suggest the importance of carrying out chemoprophylactic and clinical efficacy studies combining Met with conventional anti-echinococcal agents to test the potential use of this drug in hydatidosis therapy

Effect of metformin and its combination with albendazole sulfoxide on viability and ultrastructural characteristics of protoscoleces and metacestodes of <i>E</i>. <i>granulosus</i>.

<p>Viability of protoscoleces (A, PTS) and metacestodes (B, MTC) incubated for 10 and 4 days, respectively with 1, 5 and 10 mM of metformin alone (Met, gray bars), 15 μM albendazole sulfoxide (ABZSO, black bars) alone and 1, 5 and 10 mM Met plus 15 μM ABZSO in combination (open bars). Data are the mean ± S.D. of three independent experiments. ***Statistically significant difference (<i>P</i> < 0.05) compared with control. (C) Macroscopical damage of metacestodes treated with 10 mM Met for 4 days. Control metacestodes (Co) without morphological changes and treated metacestodes showing increased permeability (culture medium inside cysts) and collapsed germinal layer (circles). (D) Scanning electron microscopy of protoscoleces (a-d) and metacestodes (e-h) incubated with 10 mM of Met for 4 days. Control protoscolex with normal sucker and microtriches (a,b); treated protoscolex with soma region contracted and scolex region showing loss of hooks and shedding of microtriches (c,d); control murine cyst with an intact germinal layer (e,f); treated cyst with altered germinal layer (g,h). Bars indicate: 10 μm in (b, d and g-h), 20 μm in (a, c and f) and 50 μm (e).</p