Structure–property relationships in bionanocomposites for pipe extrusion applications

In this work, bionanocomposites based on different biodegradable polymers and two types of nanofillers, namely a nanosized calcium carbonate and an organomodified nanoclay, were produced through melt extrusion, with the aim to evaluate the possible applications of these materials as a potential alternative to traditional fossil fuel-derived polyolefins, for the production of irrigation pipes. The rheological behavior of the formulated systems was thoroughly evaluated by exploiting different flow regimes, and the obtained results indicated a remarkable effect of the introduced nanofillers on the low-frequency rheological response, especially in nanoclay-based bionanocomposites. Conversely, the shear viscosity at a high shear rate was almost unaffected by the presence of both types of nanofillers, as well as the rheological response under nonisothermal elongational flow. In addition, the analysis of the mechanical properties of the formulated materials indicated that the embedded nanofillers increased the elastic modulus when compared to the unfilled counterparts, notwithstanding a slight decrease of the material ductility. Finally, the processing behavior of unfilled biopolymers and bionanocomposites was evaluated, allowing for selecting the most suitable material and thus fulfilling the processability requirements for pipe extrusion applications

Convergent Sets of Data from In Vivo and In Vitro Methods Point to an Active Role of Hsp60 in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Pathogenesis

BACKGROUND: It is increasingly clear that some heat shock proteins (Hsps) play a role in inflammation. Here, we report results showing participation of Hsp60 in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), as indicated by data from both in vivo and in vitro analyses. METHODS AND RESULTS: Bronchial biopsies from patients with stable COPD, smoker controls with normal lung function, and non-smoker controls were studied. We quantified by immunohistochemistry levels of Hsp10, Hsp27, Hsp40, Hsp60, Hsp70, Hsp90, and HSF-1, along with levels of inflammatory markers. Hsp10, Hsp40, and Hsp60 were increased during progression of disease. We found also a positive correlation between the number of neutrophils and Hsp60 levels. Double-immunostaining showed that Hsp60-positive neutrophils were significantly increased in COPD patients. We then investigated in vitro the effect on Hsp60 expression in bronchial epithelial cells (16HBE) caused by oxidative stress, a hallmark of COPD mucosa, which we induced with H\u2082O\u2082. This stressor determined increased levels of Hsp60 through a gene up-regulation mechanism involving NFkB-p65. Release of Hsp60 in the extracellular medium by the bronchial epithelial cells was also increased after H\u2082O\u2082 treatment in the absence of cell death. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report clearly pointing to participation of Hsps, particularly Hsp60, in COPD pathogenesis. Hsp60 induction by NFkB-p65 and its release by epithelial cells after oxidative stress can have a role in maintaining inflammation, e.g., by stimulating neutrophils activity. The data open new scenarios that might help in designing efficacious anti-inflammatory therapies centered on Hsp60 and applicable to COP

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Decay of stimulus spatial code in horizontal and vertical Simon tasks

Evidence on the processes underlying the horizontal and vertical Simon effect is still controversial. The present study uses experimental manipulations to selectively delay the stages of response execution, response selection, and stimulus identification in three experiments. A reduction is observed for both horizontal and vertical Simon effects when response execution is delayed by a go-signal presented 400-600 ms post-stimulus onset or when a spatial precue is presented 200-400 ms before the stimulus. When the overlap between stimulus spatial code formation and response selection is prevented by decreasing stimulus discriminability, the horizontal Simon effect decays, but the vertical Simon effect does not change. Activation theories, which propose a decay of the automatically activated response ipsilateral to the stimulus, mainly apply to the horizontal Simon effect. In contrast, translation theories, which propose that the effect occurs when stimulus features are translated into a response code, are more suitable to account for the vertical Simon effect

Job insecurity e lavoro atipico

This research aims to focus on atypical work and its respective psychological consequences. The introduction in Italy of new job reforms, has induced the today so called orientation to flexibility, with various psychological, social and organizational consequences in the workers’ lives. The main purpose of this research is to establish whether there is a relation between the following psychological variables: job insecurity, life’s precariousness, coping strategies and the level of satisfaction in workers who have a time- determined contract. For this reason a questionnaire has been administered to 210 participants, all workers with an atypical-contract. The questionnaire included these 3 scales: Job Insecurity, Life’s Precariousness, Coping Inventory for Stressful Situation and a single item about job satisfaction. The results show that there is a negative correlation between satisfaction, job insecurity and distrust in atypical workers and that this sense of precariousness produces stress and particular coping-strategies. Furthermore, woman are more exposed than men. The hypothesis have been verified using the following statistic test: correlation, Student’s t and multiple regression.La ricerca intende focalizzarsi sul lavoro atipico e le rispettive conseguenze psicologiche. L’introduzione delle nuove riforme del lavoro in Italia ha indotto ciò che oggi chiamiamo orientamento alla flessibilizzazione, con varie conseguenze di carattere psicologico, sociale e organizzativo nella vita dei lavoratori. L’obiettivo principale di questa ricerca è quello di indagare se vi sia una relazione tra le seguenti variabili psicologiche: job insecurity, precarietà di vita, strategie di coping e il grado di soddisfazione nei lavoratori aventi un contratto a tempo determinato. A questo fine è stato somministrato un questionario a 210 partecipanti, lavoratori con un contratto atipico. Il questionario includeva le tre scale: Job insecurity, Precarietà di vita, Coping Inventory for Stressful Situation e un singolo item sulla soddisfazione lavorativa. I risultati mostrano che vi è una correlazione negativa tra la soddisfazione, la job insecurity e la sfiducia nei lavoratori atipici e che questo senso di precarietà genera stress e particolari strategie di coping. Le donne, inoltre risultano essere più esposte rispetto agli uomini. Per la verifica delle ipotesi si sono utilizzati i seguenti test statistici: correlazione, t di Student e regressione multipla

Precariedad laboral y trabajo atípico

La investigación pretende centrarse en el trabajo atípico y las respectivas consecuencias psicológicas. La introducción de las nuevas reformas laborales en Italia ha inducido lo que ahora llamamos orientación a la flexibilidad, con diversas consecuencias de carácter psicológico, social y organizativo en la vida de los trabajadores. El objetivo principal de esta investigación es investigar si existe una relación entre las siguientes variables psicológicas: inseguridad laboral, precariedad vital, estrategias de afrontamiento y la grado de satisfacción de los trabajadores con contrato de duración determinada. Con este fin fue administró un cuestionario a 210 participantes, trabajadores con contrato atípico. El cuestionario incluyó las tres escalas: Precariedad laboral, Precariedad de vida, Inventario de afrontamiento ante situaciones estresantes y un único ítem sobre satisfacción laboral. Los resultados muestran que existe una correlación negativa entre la satisfacción, la precariedad laboral y la desconfianza en los trabajadores atípicos y que esta sensación de precariedad genera estrés y estrategias particulares de afrontamiento. Además, las mujeres están más expuestas en comparación con los hombres. Para la prueba de hipótesis se utilizaron las siguientes pruebas estadísticas: correlación, T de Student y regresión múltiple.The research intends to focus on atypical work and the respective psychological consequences. The introduction of the new labor reforms in Italy has induced what we now call orientation to flexibility, with various consequences of a psychological, social and organizational nature in the life of the workers. The main goal of this research is to investigate whether there is a relationship among the following psychological variables: job insecurity, life precariousness, coping strategies and the degree of satisfaction in workers with a fixed-term contract. To this end it was administered a questionnaire to 210 participants, workers with an atypical contract. The questionnaire included the three scales: Job insecurity, Precariousness of life, Coping Inventory for Stressful Situation and a single item on job satisfaction. The results show that there is a negative correlation between satisfaction, job insecurity and distrust in atypical workers and that this sense of precariousness generates stress and particular coping strategies. Furthermore, women are more exposed compared to men. For hypothesis testing, the following statistical tests were used: correlation, Student's t and multiple regression.La ricerca intende focalizzarsi sul lavoro atipico e le rispettive conseguenze psicologiche. L’introduzione delle nuove riforme del lavoro in Italia ha indotto ciò che oggi chiamiamo orientamento alla flessibilizzazione, con varie conseguenze di carattere psicologico, sociale e organizzativo nella vita dei lavoratori. L’obiettivo principale di questa ricerca è quello di indagare se vi sia una relazione tra le seguenti variabili psicologiche: job insecurity, precarietà di vita, strategie di coping e il grado di soddisfazione nei lavoratori aventi un contratto a tempo determinato. A questo fine è stato somministrato un questionario a 210 partecipanti, lavoratori con un contratto atipico. Il questionario includeva le tre scale: Job insecurity, Precarietà di vita, Coping Inventory for Stressful Situation e un singolo item sulla soddisfazione lavorativa. I risultati mostrano che vi è una correlazione negativa tra la soddisfazione, la job insecurity e la sfiducia nei lavoratori atipici e che questo senso di precarietà genera stress e particolari strategie di coping. Le donne, inoltre risultano essere più esposte rispetto agli uomini. Per la verifica delle ipotesi si sono utilizzati i seguenti test statistici: correlazione, t di Student e regressione multipla.peerReviewe