Envejecimiento de asfaltos durante el mezclado

En este trabajo se estudia, mediante ensayos de laboratorio, la alteración que sufren los asfaltos durante la operación de mezclado en usina. Empleando un mezclador de laboratorio, se prepararon mezclas asfálticas bajo condiciones controladas de tiempo y temperatura. El asfalto componente de la mezcla asfáltica fue recuperado mediante el método de Abson. Sobre este se estudió el grado de alteración mediante medidas de viscosidad, utilizando el microviscosímetro de placas deslizantes, y por espectrofoto- metría infrarroja. Además se estudió la acción inhibidora de ciertos aditivos recomendados como inhibidores de oxidación, tratando de poner de manifiesto su eficacia y forma de actuar.In this paper the alteration of asphalt cements that occur during the manufacture of paving mixtures in the plant mixing operation was studied, by laboratory testing. The bituminous mixtures were prepared in a laboratory mixer under controlled conditions (time and temperature). The asphalts under test were recovered by means of the Abson method. The alteration was studied measuring the viscosity with the sliding plate microviscometer and by infrarred spectra. Furthermore a study of the action of inhibitors of oxidation was made. This test was conducted to determine the effectiveness and the mechanism by which the antioxidants perform

Improved cardiac performance with human calcitonin gene related peptide in patients with congestive heart failure

Study objective - The aim of the study was to assess the cardiovascular effects of human calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) in patients with congestive heart failure. Design - The effects of CGRP II (or β), 12.5 μg·h−1, given by intravenous infusion for 24 h to digitalised patients with congestive heart failure, were assessed by measurement of cardiac functional indices. Patients - Five patients (four female) were studied. Age was 73-82 years. Three were in New York Heart Association phase III and two in phase IV. Measurements and main results - The pre-ejection period to left ventricular ejection time ratio and the QT distance adjusted for heart rate were lowered by 21% and 4% respectively. The left ventricular shortening index was raised by 43%. The arterial pressure and heart rate did not change consistently. Conclusion - Calcitonin gene related peptide improves myocardial contractility in patients with congestive heart failure. This is the first time this has been show

Sustainable vehicle routing based on firefly algorithm and TOPSIS methodology

In a sustainable management of logistics, transportation plays a crucial role. Traditionally, the main purpose was to solve the Vehicle Routing Problem minimizing the cost associated with the travelled distances. Nowadays, the economic profit cannot be the only driver for achieving sustainability and environmental issues have to be also considered. In this paper, to satisfy the intricate limits involved in real vehicle routing problem, the study has been structured considering different types of vehicles in terms of maximum capacity, velocity and emissions, asymmetric paths, vehicle-client constraints and delivery time windows. The firefly algorithm has been implemented to solve the vehicle routing problem and the TOPSIS technique has been applied to integrate economic and environmental factors. Finally, to prove the effectiveness of the proposed approach, a numerical example has been proposed using data provided by a logistic company located in Sicily

Producción de forraje de agropiro alargado en función de la disponibilidad de nitrógeno y la posición topográfica

El objetivo fue evaluar, en diferentes posiciones topográficas, el crecimiento de agropiro alargado (Thinopyrum ponticum [Podp.] Barkworth & D. R. Dewey Phil) bajo diferente disponibilidad de nitrógeno (N). Se seleccionaron siete sitios en función de la elevación, y en cada sitio se evaluaron dos tratamientos: N- (sin aplicación de N) y N+ (300 kg ha-1 de N). En la biomasa aérea acumulada (BA) final se detectó interacción entre el nivel de N y el sitio. En N+ se hallaron diferencias significativas entre sitios, mientras que en el tratamiento N- no se encontraron diferencias. La variabilidad de la BA se debió principalmente a diferencias en la eficiencia de uso de la radiación. La altimetría de los sitios se relacionó negativamente con la BA. Esto indicaría que el factor que limitó la producción varió con la elevación. El contenido de agua del suelo podría ser este factor porque se relacionó inversamente con la elevación. En conclusión, pequeñas variaciones de altimetría podrían provocar cambios en la disponibilidad de agua y en consecuencia en la producción de forraje, que es capaz de ser detectada cuando no hay limitantes de N.The goal of this work was to evaluate forage production of tall wheatgrass (Thinopyrum ponticum [Podp.] Barkworth & D.R. Dewey Phil) as a function of nitrogen (N) availability and elevation positions. Seven sites were selected on the basis of their elevation and in each, two treatments were evaluated: N- (0 kg N ha-1 ha) and N+ (300 kg N ha-1)]. An interaction between the position of sites and N rate was found for final accumulated above-ground biomass (AB). At N+ sites there was significant variation, whereas at N- sites no variation was observed. Variability in AB was mainly due to differences in radiation use efficiency. The data showed a negative correlation between elevation of experimental sites and AB. This would indicate that the factor that limited the forage production varies with elevation. Soil moisture content (SMC) could be this restrictive factor because of its negative correlation with elevation. In conclusion, small variations in the elevation of sites could affect water availability and therefore affect forage productivity when there is not limiting N.Fil: Cicore, Pablo Leandro. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Berone, German Dario. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez Prado, A. Actividad Privada; ArgentinaFil: Agnusdei, Monica Graciela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentin

Soy protein supplementation does not cause lymphocytopenia in postmenopausal women

BACKGROUND: The health benefits of soy isoflavones have been widely investigated; however, there are some concerns as to whether soy isoflavones, similar to ipriflavone, a synthetic isoflavone, cause lymphocytopenia in postmenopausal women. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which 12-month supplementation of 25 g soy protein containing 60 mg isoflavones alters lymphocyte counts or other hematological parameters in postmenopausal women who were not on hormone replacement therapy. METHODS: Eighty-seven postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to receive either soy protein or an equivalent amount of control protein devoid of isoflavones. Fasting venous blood was collected at baseline and at the end of twelve month study period for complete blood count analyses. RESULTS: Between the two treatment groups, the percent changes in hematological parameters, including lymphocytes, were not different. While women consuming the soy supplement had an increase in mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and red cell distribution width index (RDW; a marker of reticulocytes), women consuming the control diet had higher percentage of only MCHC. CONCLUSION: Overall, the results of the present study indicate that consumption of 25 g soy protein containing 60 mg isoflavones daily for one year does not cause lymphocytopenia

International Osteoporosis Foundation and European Calcified Tissue Society Working Group. Recommendations for the screening of adherence to oral bisphosphonates

Background Low adherence to oral bisphosphonates is a common problem that jeopardizes the efficacy of treatment of osteoporosis. No clear screening strategy for the assessment of compliance is widely accepted in these patients. Methods The International Osteoporosis Foundation and the European Calcified Tissue Society have convened a working group to propose a screening strategy to detect a lack of adherence to these drugs. The question to answer was whether the bone turnover markers (BTMs) PINP and CTX can be used to identify low adherence in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis initiating oral bisphosphonates for osteoporosis. The findings of the TRIO study specifically address this question and were used as the basis for testing the hypothesis. Results Based on the findings of the TRIO study, specifically addressing this question, the working group recommends measuring PINP and CTX at baseline and three months after starting therapy to check for a decrease above the least significant change (decrease of more than 38% for PINP and 56% for CTX). Detection rate for the measurement of PINP is 84%, for CTX 87% and, if variation in at least one is considered when measuring both, the level of detection is 94.5%. Conclusions If a significant decrease is observed the treatment can continue but if no decrease occurs the clinician should reassess to identify problems with the treatment, mainly low adherence</p

AKR1C enzymes sustain therapy resistance in paediatric T-ALL

BACKGROUND: Despite chemotherapy intensification, a subgroup of high-risk paediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (TALL) patients still experience treatment failure. In this context, we hypothesised that therapy resistance in T-ALL might involve aldo-keto reductase 1C (AKR1C) enzymes as previously reported for solid tumors.METHODS: Expression of NRF2-AKR1C signaling components has been analysed in paediatric T-ALL samples endowed with different treatment outcomes as well as in patient-derived xenografts of T-ALL. The effects of AKR1C enzyme modulation has been investigated in T-ALL cell lines and primary cultures by combining AKR1C inhibition, overexpression, and gene silencing approaches.RESULTS: We show that T-ALL cells overexpress AKR1C1-3 enzymes in therapy-resistant patients. We report that AKR1C1-3 enzymes play a role in the response to vincristine (VCR) treatment, also ex vivo in patient-derived xenografts. Moreover, we demonstrate that the modulation of AKR1C1-3 levels is sufficient to sensitise T-ALL cells to VCR. Finally, we show that T-ALL chemotherapeutics induce overactivation of AKR1C enzymes independent of therapy resistance, thus establishing a potential resistance loop during T-ALL combination treatment.CONCLUSIONS: Here, we demonstrate that expression and activity of AKR1C enzymes correlate with response to chemotherapeutics in T-ALL, posing AKR1C1-3 as potential targets for combination treatments during T-ALL therapy