End-of-Life Impact on the Cradle-to-Grave LCA of Light-Duty Commercial Vehicles in Europe

A cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment focused on end-of-life (EoL) was conducted in this study for three configurations of a light-duty commercial vehicle (LDCV): diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG), and battery electric vehicle (BEV). The aim is to investigate the impact of recycling under two EoL scenarios with different allocation methods. The first is based on the traditional avoided burden method, while the second is based on the circular footprint formula (CFF) developed by the European Commission. For each configuration, a detailed multilevel waste management scheme was developed in compliance with the 2000/53/CE directive and ISO22628 standard. The results showed that the global warming potential (GWP) impact under the CFF method is significantly greater when compared to the avoided burden method because of the A-parameter, which allocates the burdens and benefits between the two connected product systems. Furthermore, in all configurations and scenarios, the benefits due to the avoided production of virgin materials compensate for the recycling burdens within GWP impact. The main drivers of GWP reduction are steel recycling for all of the considered LDCVs, platinum, palladium, and rhodium recycling for the diesel and CNG configurations, and Li-ion battery recycling for the BEV configuration. Finally, the EoL stage significantly reduces the environmental impact of those categories other than GWP

Influence of Mother Tongue on Dynamic Handwriting Features in Primary School

Handwriting is an essential fine motor skill in school-aged children and plays a crucial role for educational development and autonomy of everyday life. To analyze hand-writing movement an objective quantitative kinematic analysis can be performed by using digital tablets. Through this tech-nology it was possible to identify a lot of parameters useful to characterize the handwriting process. In order to study the influence of mother tongue on the dy-namic of handwriting in primary school, we examined the writing response of 42 non-native speakers and compared their characteristics with those of 131 Italian mother tongue chil-dren. All children undertook one repetitive sequence of le and an Italian sentence written in two different ways: as accurately as and as fast as possible. The results showed that the differences between native and non-native speakers were not significant in the repetitive se-quence while a clear influence of mother tongue was present only in the third grade for the sentence tasks

Development of a Male Turbo-Prop Unmanned Aerial Vehiche for Civil Application

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) increasingly are seen as the next step in aircraft evolution with the potential to replace manned aircraft over a broad range of civilian roles. Industry, who recognise the cost effectiveness of UAV, is keen to grasp this potential and the technology is rapidly developing with numerous projects currently in operation of development throughout Europe and worldwide. In response to this needs University of Naples has developed a MALE configuration TurboProp engined using innovative structural and aerodynamic solutions. Regarding the structural aspect the extensive use of composite materials led to the definition of a weight efficient vehicle capable to carry on up to 500 kg of payloads covering a wide range of medium altitude missions. With reference to aerodynamic solution, an Eppler modified profile, numerically optimized, has been adopted for its efficiency that has granted long endurance and, coupled with the power provided by the chosen engine (PT6A – 67 B), high performance. The aeroelastic assessment has revealed that no critical phenomena occur in the flight envelope. Once defined the aerodynamic and structural aspects, an analysis of reliability and safety has been performed aimed to evaluate MTBL (Mean Time Between Loss) and MTBCF (Mean Time Between Critical Failure) features

Case Report: Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis in a Young Child With SARS-CoV-2 Infection: The Italian Experience

IntroductionSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in pediatric patients is usually characterized by fever, dry cough, and fatigue, or is asymptomatic and rarely presents with pneumonia. On the other hand, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) could be a neurological sequela of the prothrombotic state triggered by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) both in adults and children. Case ReportWe present a case of a 15-year-old male child who was obese and had mild neurocognitive impairment. He was admitted to the pediatric emergency department and then diagnosed with CVST during SARS-CoV-2 infection. ConclusionDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, in patients presenting with neurological manifestations of CVST (headache, alteration of consciousness, focal deficit, or signs of endocranial hypertension), it is advisable to look for a current or recent infection of SARS-CoV-2, regardless of the presence of respiratory symptoms. In our patient, ongoing SARS-CoV-2 infection represents the only prothrombotic risk factor underlying the neurological disease

Fabrication of biocompatible free-standing nanopatterned films for primary neuronal cultures

Devising and constructing biocompatible devices for nervous system regeneration is an extremely challenging task. Besides tackling the issue of biocompatibility, biomaterials for neuroscience applications should mimic the complex environment of the extracellular matrix, which in vivo provides neurons with a series of cues and signals to guide cells towards their appropriate targets. In this work, a novel nanopatterned biocompatible poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) film is realized to assist the attachment and growth of primary hippocampal neurons. Costly and time-consuming processes can be avoided using plasma-surface nanotexturing obtained by a mixed gas SF6/Ar at -5 °C. The intrinsic composition and line topography of nanopatterned PCL ensure healthy development of the neuronal network, as shown by confocal microscopy, by analysing the expression of a range of neuronal markers typical of mature cultures, as well as by scanning electron microscopy. In addition, we show that surface nanopatterning improves differentiation of neurons compared to flat PCL films, while no neural growth was observed on either flat or nanopatterned substrates in the absence of a poly-d-lysine coating. Thus, we successfully optimized a nanofabrication protocol to obtain nanostructured PCL layers endowed with several mechanical and structural characteristics that make them a promising, versatile tool for future tissue engineering studies aimed at neural tissue regeneration

A computational search for box C/D snoRNA genes in the Drosophila melanogaster genome

Abstract Motivation: In eukaryotes, the family of non-coding RNA genes includes a number of genes encoding small nucleolar RNAs (mainly C/D and H/ACA snoRNAs), which act as guides in the maturation or post-transcriptional modifications of target RNA molecules. Since in Drosophila melanogaster (Dm) only few examples of snoRNAs have been identified so far by cDNA libraries screening, integration of the molecular data with in silico identification of these types of genes could throw light on their organization in the Dm genome. Results: We have performed a computational screening of the Dm genome for C/D snoRNA genes, followed by experimental validation of the putative candidates. Few of the 26 confirmed snoRNAs had been recognized by cDNA library analysis. Organization of the Dm genome was also found to be more variegated than previously suspected, with snoRNA genes nested in both the introns and exons of protein-coding genes. This finding suggests that the presence of additional mechanisms of snoRNA biogenesis based on the alternative production of overlapping mRNA/snoRNA molecules. Availability: Additional information is available at http://www.bioinformatica.unito.it/bioinformatics/snoRNA

Pre-clinical evaluation of eight DOTA coupled gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRP-R) ligands for in vivo targeting of receptor-expressing tumors

Background: Overexpression of the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRP-R) has been documented in several human neoplasms such as breast, prostate, and ovarian cancer. There is growing interest in developing radiolabeled peptide-based ligands toward these receptors for the purpose of in vivo imaging and radionuclide therapy of GRP-R-overexpressing tumors. A number of different peptide sequences, isotopes, and labeling methods have been proposed for this purpose. The aim of this work is to perform a direct side-by-side comparison of different GRP-R binding peptides utilizing a single labeling strategy to identify the most suitable peptide sequence. Methods: Solid-phase synthesis of eight derivatives (BN1-8) designed based on literature analysis was carried out. Peptides were coupled to the DOTA chelator through a PEG4 spacer at the N-terminus. Derivatives were characterized for serum stability, binding affinity on PC-3 human prostate cancer cells, biodistribution in tumor-bearing mice, and gamma camera imaging at 1, 6, and 24 h after injection. Results: Serum stability was quite variable among the different compounds with half-lives ranging from 16 to 400 min at 37 °C. All compounds tested showed Kd values in the nanomolar range with the exception of BN3 that showed no binding. Biodistribution and imaging studies carried out for compounds BN1, BN4, BN7, and BN8 showed targeting of the GRP-R-positive tumors and the pancreas. The BN8 compound (DOTA-PEG-DPhe-Gln-Trp-Ala-Val-NMeGly-His-Sta-Leu-NH2) showed high affinity, the longest serum stability, and the highest target-to-background ratios in biodistribution and imaging experiments among the compounds tested. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the NMeGly for Gly substitution and the Sta-Leu substitution at the C-terminus confer high serum stability while maintaining high receptor affinity, resulting in biodistribution properties that outperform those of the other peptides

Interleukin-22 and interleukin-22-producing NKp44+ natural killer cells in subclinical gut inflammation in ankylosing spondylitis.

OBJECTIVE: The intestinal inflammation observed in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is characterized by an overexpression of interleukin-23 (IL-23). IL-23 is known to regulate IL-22 production through lamina propria NKp44+ natural killer (NK) cells, which are thought to be involved in protective mucosal mechanisms. This study was undertaken to evaluate the frequency of NKp44+ NK cells and the expression of IL-22 in the ileum of AS patients. METHODS: Tissue NKp44+ NK cells, NKp46+ NK cells, and IL-22-producing cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Quantitative gene expression analysis of IL-22, IL-23, IL-17, STAT-3, and mucin 1 (MUC-1) was performed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction on ileal samples from 15 patients with AS, 15 patients with Crohn's disease (CD), and 15 healthy controls. NKp44, pSTAT-3, and IL-22 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The frequency of NKp44+ but not NKp46+ NK cells was increased in the inflamed ileum of AS patients compared to CD patients and controls. The frequency of NKp46+ NK cells was significantly increased only in CD patients. Among CD4+ lymphocytes and NKp44+ NK cell subsets, the latter were the major source of IL-22 on lamina propria mononuclear cells from AS patients. Significant up-regulation of IL-22, IL-23p19, MUC-1, and STAT-3 transcripts in the terminal ileum of patients with AS was observed. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed the increased IL-22 and pSTAT-3 expression in inflamed mucosa from AS and CD patients. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that overexpression of IL-22, together with an increased number of IL-22-producing NKp44+ NK cells, occurs in the gut of AS patients, where it appears to play a tissue-protective role

Macrophage phenotype in the subclinical gut inflammation of patients with ankylosing spondylitis

OBJECTIVE: Long-term evolution of subclinical gut inflammation to overt Crohn's disease (CD) has been described in AS patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate macrophage polarization occurring in the inflamed gut of patients with AS. METHODS: Twenty-seven HLA-B27(+) AS patients, 20 CD patients and 17 normal controls were consecutively enrolled. Classic M1 (iNOS(+)IL-10(-)), resolution phase (iNOS(+)IL-10(+)), M2 and CD14(+) macrophages were characterized by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. Quantitative gene expression analysis of IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-5, IL-33 and STAT6 was performed by real time PCR. RESULTS: Classic M1 macrophages were expanded in CD and AS, where resolution phase macrophages predominate. A large increase in CD163(+) (M2) macrophages was observed in AS strictly correlated with the expression of IL-33, a Th2 cytokine involved in M2 polarization. Unlike in CD, CD14(+) macrophages were virtually absent in the gut of AS patients and controls. CONCLUSION: The absence of CD14(+) macrophages together with the expansion of resolution phase and M2 macrophages is the immunological signature of subclinical ileal inflammation in AS

Interleukin-36α axis is modulated in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of the interleukin (IL)-36 axis in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). Blood and minor labial salivary glands (MSG) biopsies were obtained from 35 pSS and 20 non-Sjögren's syndrome patients (nSS) patients. Serum IL-36α was assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). IL-36α, IL-36R, IL-36RA, IL-38, IL-22, IL-17, IL-23p19 and expression in MSGs was assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and tissue IL-36α and IL-38 expression was also investigated by immunohistochemistry (IHC). αβ and γδ T cells and CD68(+) cells isolated from MSGs were also studied by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy analysis. IL-36α was over-expressed significantly in the serum and in the salivary glands of pSS. Salivary gland IL-36α expression was correlated with the expression levels of IL-17, IL-22 and IL-23p19. IL-38, that acts as inhibitor of IL-36α, was also up-regulated in pSS. αβ(+) CD3(+) T cells and CD68(+) cells were the major source of IL-36α in minor salivary glands of pSS. γδ T cells were not significantly expanded in the salivary glands of pSS but produced more IL-17, as their percentage correlated with the focus score. Higher expression of IL-36α and IL-36R was also demonstrated in γδ T cells isolated from pSS compared to controls. In this study we demonstrate that a significant increase in circulating and tissue levels of IL-36α occurs in pSS patients