Measurement of adsorption of a single component from the liquid phase : modelling investigation and sensitivity analysis

In this work, we consider an alternative approach for the measurement of adsorption from the liquid phase. Consider a mixture consisting of a non-adsorbed component (B) and an adsorbed component (A) present at some low concentration. Initially, a feed of component B only flows through a column packed with an adsorbent. Then, the feed is switched to the mixture of A and B. As soon as the mixture enters the column, there will be a reduction in the outlet flow rate as component A leaves the liquid phase and passes into the adsorbed phase. There are three stages to this work. The first is to develop overall and component balances to show how the amount adsorbed of component A can be determined from the variation in the column outlet flow rate. The second is to determine the actual variation in the column outlet flow rate for both plug flow and axial-dispersed plug flow. The final stage is to consider the suitability of a gravity-fed system to deliver the feed to the column. An analysis of the results shows that the experimental arrangement should be able to accurately monitor adsorption from the liquid phase where the mass fraction of the solute is of the order of 1%: the limiting experimental factor is how constant the volumetric flow rate of the liquid feed can be maintained

CoSMed: a confidentiality-verified social media platform

This paper describes progress with our agenda of formal verification of information-flow security for realistic systems. We present CoSMed, a social media platform with verified document confidentiality. The system’s kernel is implemented and verified in the proof assistant Isabelle/HOL. For verification, we employ the framework of Bounded-Deducibility (BD) Security, previously introduced for the conference system CoCon. CoSMed is a second major case study in this framework. For CoSMed, the static topology of declassification bounds and triggers that characterized previous instances of BD security has to give way to a dynamic integration of the triggers as part of the bound

CoSMed: a confidentiality-verified social media platform

This paper describes progress with our agenda of formal verification of information flow security for realistic systems. We present CoSMed, a social media platform with verified document confidentiality. The system’s kernel is implemented and verified in the proof assistant Isabelle/HOL. For verification, we employ the framework of Bounded-De- ducibility (BD) Security, previously introduced for the conference system CoCon. CoSMed is a second major case study in this framework. For CoSMed, the static topology of declas- sification bounds and triggers that characterized previous instances of BD Security has to give way to a dynamic integration of the triggers as part of the bounds. We also show that, from a theoretical viewpoint, the removal of triggers from the notion of BD Security does not restrict its expressiveness

CoSMeDis: a distributed social media platform with formally verified confidentiality guarantees

We present the design, implementation and information flow verification of CoSMeDis, a distributed social media platform. The system consists of an arbitrary number of communicating nodes, deployable at different locations over the Internet. Its registered users can post content and establish intra-node and inter-node friendships, used to regulate access control over the posts. The system’s kernel has been verified in the proof assistant Isabelle/HOL and automatically extracted as Scala code. We formalized a framework for composing a class of information flow security guarantees in a distributed system, applicable to input/output automata. We instantiated this framework to confidentiality properties for CoSMeDis’s sources of information: posts, friendship requests, and friendship status

STUDIO SULLA REGOLAZIONE NEURO-UMORALE DEL RITMO CIRCADIANO DELLA PRESSIONE ARTERIOSA IN PAZIENTI CON SINDROME DELLE APNEE OSTRUTTIVE DEL SONNO

CIRCADIAN RHYTHM OF BLOOD PRESSURE AND ITS NEUROHUMORAL REGULATION IN OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA SYNDROME Background. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a treatable cause of secondary and resistant hypertension, that must be taken in serious consideration to better estimate the cardiovascular (CV) risk in hypertensive (HT) patients. Untreated OSAS can worsen the CV function through several mechanisms, including sympathetic activation, oxidative stress, inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. Although the blood pressure control is significantly improved by continous positive airway pressure (CPAP), the activation of the renin angiotensin system (RAAS) in OSAS patients and its modification after CPAP are still an object of debate. Objective. To evaluate 1) the prevalence of OSAS, detected by polysomnography, in a cohort of resistant HT or moderate-severe HT patients, 2) the association between OSAS and the circadian rhytm of blood pressure assessed by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), 3) the association between OSAS and plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma aldosterone and urinary catecholamines, 4) the effect of CPAP on circadian rhytm of blood pressure and previous neurohumoral parameters. Methods. 17 consecutive hypertensive patients admitted at the Hypertension Clinic of S. Giuseppe Hospital, Milan, were screened for OSAS and circadian rhythm of blood pressure between July 2007 and August 2010. RAAS and catecholamins were assessed at the study entry. Among OSAS patients RAAS and catecholamines were further assesed one day after the initiation of CPAP. Results. Among the 17 enrolled patients, 13 (76.5%) resulted affected by OSAS. A dipper profile was observed in only 30% of the 10 OSAS patients evaluated by ABPM. PRA (ng/ml/min) was lower in non-OSAS compared to OSAS patients (0.5 + 0.2 vs 1.6 + 0.7 in mild OSAS and 1.5 + 2.3 in severe OSAS, p < 0.05). Catecholamines (mcg/8h) were lower in non-OSAS compared to severe OSAS (11 + 1 vs 17 + 7, p < 0.05). 24-hours systolic blood pressure (24h SBP), sleep systolic blood pressure (sleep SBP) and sleep heart rate (sleep HR) were lowered after the first day of CPAP (24h SBP 135 + 18 vs 140 + 17 mmHg, p < 0.05; sleep SBP 132 + 20 vs 138 + 19 mmHg; sleep HR 62 + 5 vs 65 + 6). CPAP was not associated with significant modifications of neurohumoral parameters. Conclusions. OSAS is highly prevalent in hypertensive population and it is associated with a non-dipper profile, a greater activation of the RAAS and the sympathetic system. CPAP improves the blood pressure control, probably via multiple pathways more complex then simple RAAS and sympathetic system

CoSMeDis : a distributed social media platform with formally verified confidentiality guarantees

We present the design, implementation and information flow verification of CoSMeDis, a distributed social media platform. The system consists of an arbitrary number of communicating nodes, deployable at different locations over the Internet. Its registered users can post content and establish intra-node and inter-node friendships, used to regulate access control over the posts. The system's kernel has been verified in the proof assistant Isabelle/HOL and automatically extracted as Scala code. We formalized a framework for composing a class of information flow security guarantees in a distributed system, applicable to input/output automata. We instantiated this framework to confidentiality properties for CoSMeDis's sources of information: posts, friendship requests, and friendship status

Unusual compulsive motor activity during treatment with clothiapine in a mentally retarded adolescent

Atypical antipsychotic agents, specifically those with a high hyposerotonergic activity such as clozapine and clothiapine, have been associated with de novo obsessive–compulsive symptoms. We report the case of a 16-year-old adolescent male with severe mental impairment and disruptive behaviour who developed a compulsive head and body turning disorder on clothiapine. Such a symptom had to be distinguished from epileptic partial seizures; it promptly disappeared with the drug discontinuation

Multinational evaluation of the measurement invariance of the level of personality functioning scale–brief form 2.0: comparison of student and community samples across seven countries

DSM-5’s Level of Personality Functioning Scale (LPFS) was introduced as a dimensional rating of impairments in self- and interpersonal functioning, and the LPFS – Brief Form (LPFS-BF) was the first published corresponding self-report. The updated LPFS-BF 2.0 has been translated into several languages and international research supports many of the instrument’s psychometric properties; however, its measurement invariance has only been evaluated across a few countries. This study expands previous studies as an introductory step in a global evaluation of the LPFS-BF 2.0’s measurement invariance. Archival data (N = 5,618, 57% female) from seven countries (Canada, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Italy, United Arab Emirates, United States of America) were used for this study. Participants were recruited from both community (n = 4,677) and student (n = 941) populations. After confirming adequate model fit separately in the community and student samples, we evaluated a series of increasingly stringent model comparisons to test three aspects of measurement invariance (configural, metric, scalar) and then examined latent mean differences across countries. Full scalar invariance was supported in the community sample and partial scalar invariance was supported in the student sample. Evaluation of latent mean differences revealed multiple significant differences. Overall, the LPFS-BF 2.0 appears to assess self- and interpersonal functioning impairment similarly across the included countries. Findings are discussed through the lenses of the cultures from which participants were recruited, as well as in the context of alternative explanations. Limitations, plans for future research, and implications for both research and clinical practice are offered

Novel bicistronic lentiviral vectors correct beta-Hexosaminidase deficiency in neural and hematopoietic stem cells and progeny: implications for in vivo and ex vivo gene therapy of GM2 gangliosidosis

The favorable outcome of in vivo and ex vivo gene therapy approaches in several Lysosomal Storage Diseases suggests that these treatment strategies might equally benefit GM2 gangliosidosis. Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff disease (the main forms of GM2 gangliosidosis) result from mutations in either the HEXA or HERB genes encoding, respectively, the alpha- or beta-subunits of the lysosomal beta-Hexosaminidase enzyme. In physiological conditions, alpha- and beta-subunits combine to generate beta-Hexosaminidase A (HexA, alpha beta) and beta-Hexosaminidase B (HexB, 1313). A major impairment to establishing in vivo or ex vivo gene therapy for GM2 gangliosidosis is the need to synthesize the alpha- and beta-subunits at high levels and with the correct stoichiometric ratio, and to safely deliver the therapeutic products to all affected tissues/organs. Here, we report the generation and in vitro validation of novel bicistronic lentiviral vectors (LVs) encoding for both the murine and human codon optimized Hexa and Hex!) genes. We show that these LVs drive the safe and coordinate expression of the alpha- and beta-subunits, leading to supranormal levels of beta-Hexosaminidase activity with prevalent formation of a functional HexA in SD murine neurons and glia, murine bone marrow-derived hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs), and human SD fibroblasts. The restoration/overexpression of beta-Hexosaminidase leads to the reduction of intracellular GM2 ganglioside storage in transduced and in cross-corrected SD murine neural progeny, indicating that the transgenic enzyme is secreted and functional. Importantly, bicistronic LVs safely and efficiently transduce human neurons/glia and CD34 + HSPCs, which are target and effector cells, respectively, in prospective in vivo and ex vivo GT approaches. We anticipate that these bicistronic LVs may overcome the current requirement of two vectors co-delivering the alpha- or beta-subunits genes. Careful assessment of the safety and therapeutic potential of these bicistronic LVs in the SD murine model will pave the way to the clinical development of LV-based gene therapy for GM2 gangliosidosis