Environmental effects of ozone depletion, UV radiation and interactions with climate change : UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, update 2017

Peer reviewe

From nearly zero energy buildings (NZEB) to positive energy buildings (PEB): The next challenge - The most recent European trends with some notes on the energy analysis of a forerunner PEB example

The European energy policies introduced the Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) objective (Directive, 2010/31/EU and 2018/844/UE) to stimulate the energy transition of the construction sector. EU programs, specifically “Horizon 2020”, promote the NZEB design and also its evolution, namely the Positive Energy Building (PEB) model. Based on the most recent developments, a critical review of the main actions of the European Union towards the development of the NZEB and PEB design models has been conducted. Some considerations on advanced materials and technologies (PCM, VIP, smart glass, integrated photovoltaic systems) have also been added. Finally, a case study is presented (single-family residential NZEB) to show how a careful and integrated design of the building envelope and systems not only allows to obtain an almost total coverage of the energy consumption by renewable sources, but also to generate an energy surplus that could be shared with urban grids (PEB potential)

Abscisic acid is an endogenous stimulator of insulin release from human pancreatic islets with cyclic ADP-ribose as second messenger.

Abscisic acid (ABA) is a plant stress hormone recently identified as an endogenous pro-inflammatory cytokine in human granulocytes. Because paracrine signaling between pancreatic cells and inflammatory cells is increasingly recognized as a pathogenetic mechanism in the metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes, we investigated the effect of ABA on insulin secretion. Nanomolar ABA increases glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from RIN-m and INS-1 cells and from murine and human pancreatic islets. The signaling cascade triggered by ABA in insulin releasing cells sequentially involves a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein, cAMP overproduction, protein kinase A-mediated activation of the ADP-ribosyl cyclase CD38, and cyclic ADP-ribose overproduction. ABA is rapidly produced and released from human islets, RIN-m, and INS-1 cells stimulated with high glucose concentrations. In conclusion, ABA is an endogenous stimulator of insulin secretion in human and murine pancreatic cells. Autocrine release of ABA by glucose-stimulated pancreatic cells, and the paracrine production of the hormone by activated granulocytes and monocytes suggest that ABA may be involved in the physiology of insulin release as well as in its dysregulation under conditions of inflammation

Continuous leakage monitoring with Sn-medronate - 99mTc - labelled RBC and hand-held gamma-probe during hypertermic isolated limb and lung perfusion

The aim of this study was to analyze the value of continuous leakage monitoring with red blood cells (RBC) labelled with 99mTcmedronate and an external scintillation detector (surgical probe) in patients treated with hyperthermic isolated limb perfusion (ILP) with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha) and melphalan. Systemic hematological and metabolic profiles and tumor response were determined. The mean isotopically measured leakage was 5.8% per hour. The correlation between the monitored systemic activity in the blood by surgical probe and by blood samplings were calculated. A good correlation was observed between the two techniques. Patients with a low leakage rate showed reduced adverse effect. Real time monitoring of the leakage during ILP obtained with this method seems to be in our experience easy, safe and accurate, and serves as a good guide for the effectiveness of isolation during perfusion