LOW COST OPEN SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE TO ACQUIRE DATA ON AIRWAY SMOOTH MUSCLE CONTRACTILITY

The contractile properties of airway smooth muscle are clearly a fundamental determinant of airway caliber and responsiveness to both contractile and relaxant stimuli in normal or pathological conditions. To perform contractile measures on airway smooth muscle tissue it is necessary to continuosly acquire data from force trasducers with adeguate temporal precision and accuracy. We realized a simple low-cost device, based on arduino due and processing, two open products, to continously record airway smooth muscle tone. In this work we introduce this device and its use. Low-cost open software and hardware to acquire data on airway smooth muscle contractility.. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266850612_Low-cost_open_software_and_hardware_to_acquire_data_on_airway_smooth_muscle_contractilit

3,5-Diiodo-L-Thyronine Modifies the Lipid Droplet Composition in a Model of Hepatosteatosis

Background/Aims: Fatty acids are the main energy stores and the major membrane components of the cells. In the hepatocyte, fatty acids are esterified to triacylglycerols (TAGs) and stored in lipid droplets (LDs). The lipid lowering action of 3,5-diiodo-L-thyronine (T 2 ) on an in vitro model of hepatosteatosis was investigated in terms of fatty acid and protein content of LDs, lipid oxidation and secretion. Methods: FaO cells were exposed to oleate/ palmitate, then treated with T 2 . Results: T 2 reduced number and size of LDs, and modified their acyl composition by decreasing the content of saturated (SFA) vs monounsaturated (MUFA) fatty acids thus reversing the SFA/MUFA ratio. The expression of the LD-associated proteins adipose differentiation-related protein (ADRP), oxidative tissue-enriched PAT protein (OXPAT), and adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) was increased in 'steatotic' cells and further up-regulated by T 2 . Moreover, T 2 stimulated the mitochondrial oxidation by up-regulating carnitine-palmitoyl-transferase (CPT1), uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) and very long-chain acylcoenzyme A dehydrogenase (VLCAD). Conclusions: T 2 leads to mobilization of TAGs from LDs and stimulates mitochondrial oxidative metabolism of fatty acids, in particular of SFAs, and thus enriches of MUFAs the LDs. This action may protect the hepatocyte from excess of SFAs that are more toxic than MUFAs

Healthcare Professional Communication on Sexual Health: A Report from the Italian Working Group on Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer

Background: Sexual function is an important concern for adolescent and young adult (AYA) with cancer. The aim of this study was to explore the attitude of Italian health care professionals who deal with AYA patients with cancer toward sexual health communication. Materials and methods: A 11-question survey was developed by the AIOM (Associazione Italiana di Oncologia Medica) and AIEOP (Associazione Italiana Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica) AYA workgroup and sent to AIOM and AIEOP members. Results: The sample comprised 360 respondents, 54.2% AIEOP and 45.8% AIOM members. Eighty percent were physicians, 14.5% nurses, 4.7% psychologists, and 0.8% other professionals. Medical oncologists are more used to investigate about AYA sexual health than pediatric oncologists (58.2% vs. 46.2%), even if pediatrics more frequently refer patients to specific and shared protocol (40% vs. 26.1%). Both AIOM and AIEOP participants mostly talk about sexual health only on request or occasionally (78.8% and 79%, respectively). Clinician-reported barriers to communication identified in this study are lack of preparation and embarrassment for both the categories, plus the presence/interference of parents for pediatrics and lack of time for medical oncologists. Overall, less than 5% of clinicians in our survey received specific training on potential sexual health issues in AYA patients with cancer and only 2% felt adequately prepared to speak about it. Conclusion: Sexual health is a key component of comprehensive care for AYA with cancer during treatments. This study highlighted the need of Italian providers for specific training and guidelines on sex-related health issues encountered by AYA patients

First Evidence of Immunomodulation in Bivalves under Seawater Acidification and Increased Temperature

Water acidification, temperature increases and changes in seawater salinity are predicted to occur in the near future. In such a global climate change (GCC) scenario, there is growing concern for the health status of both wild and farmed organisms. Bivalve molluscs, an important component of coastal marine ecosystems, are at risk. At the immunological level, the ability of an organism to maintain its immunosurveillance unaltered under adverse environmental conditions may enhance its survival capability. To our knowledge, only a few studies have investigated the effects of changing environmental parameters (as predicted in a GCC scenario) on the immune responses of bivalves. In the present study, the effects of both decreased pH values and increased temperature on the important immune parameters of two bivalve species were evaluated for the first time. The clam Chamelea gallina and the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, widespread along the coast of the Northwestern Adriatic Sea, were chosen as model organisms. Bivalves were exposed for 7 days to three pH values (8.1, 7.7 and 7.4) at two temperatures (22 and 28°C). Three independent experiments were carried out at salinities of 28, 34 and 40 PSU. The total haemocyte count, Neutral Red uptake, haemolymph lysozyme activity and total protein levels were measured. The results obtained demonstrated that tested experimental conditions affected significantly most of the immune parameters measured in bivalves, even if the variation pattern of haemocyte responses was not always linear. Between the two species, C. gallina appeared more vulnerable to changing pH and temperature than M. galloprovincialis. Overall, this study demonstrated that climate changes can strongly affect haemocyte functionality in bivalves. However, further studies are needed to clarify better the mechanisms of action of changing environmental parameters, both individually and in combination, on bivalve haemocytes

Hyperbranched Quasi-1D TiO2 Nanostructure for Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Solar Cells

The performance of hybrid solar cells is strongly affected by the device morphology. In this work we demonstrate a Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl)/TiO2 hybrid solar cell where the TiO2 photoanode comprises an array of tree-like hyperbranched quasi-1D nanostructures self-assembled from the gas phase. This advanced architecture enables us to increase the power conversion efficiency to over 1%, doubling the efficiency with respect to state of the art devices employing standard mesoporous titania photoanodes. This improvement is attributed to several peculiar features of this array of nanostructures: high interfacial area; increased optical density thanks to the enhanced light scattering; and enhanced crystallization of Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) inside the quasi-1D nanostructure

Supportive Care During Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation : Prevention of Infections. A Report From Workshops on Supportive Care of the Paediatric Diseases Working Party (PDWP) of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)

Specific protocols define eligibility, conditioning, donor selection, graft composition and prophylaxis of graft vs. host disease for children and young adults undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). However, international protocols rarely, if ever, detail supportive care, including pharmaceutical infection prophylaxis, physical protection with face masks and cohort isolation or food restrictions. Supportive care suffers from a lack of scientific evidence and implementation of practices in the transplant centers brings extensive restrictions to the child's and family's daily life after HSCT. Therefore, the Board of the Pediatric Diseases Working Party (PDWP) of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) held a series of dedicated workshops since 2017 with the aim of initiating the production of a set of minimal recommendations. The present paper describes the consensus reached within the field of infection prophylaxis.Peer reviewe

Toxic effects multi-walled carbon nanotubes on bivalves: comparison between of functionalized and non-functionalized nanoparticles

Despite of the large array of available carbon nanotube (CNT) configurations that allow different industrial and scientific applications of these nanoparticles, their impacts on aquatic organisms, especially on invertebrate species, are still limited. To our knowledge, no information is available on how surface chemistry alteration (functionalization) of CNTs may impact the toxicity of these NPs to bivalve species after a chronic exposure. For this reason, the impacts induced by chronic exposure (28 days) to unfunctionalized MWCNTs (Nf-MWCNTs) in comparison with functionalized MWCNTs (f-MWCNTs), were evaluated in R. philippinarum, by measuring alterations induced in clams' oxidative status, neurotoxicity and metabolic capacity. The results obtained revealed that exposure to both MWCNT materials altered energy-related responses, with higher metabolic capacity and lower glycogen, protein and lipid concentrations in clams exposed to these CNTs. Moreover, R. philippinarum exposed to Nf-MWCNTs and f-MWCNTs showed oxidative stress expressed in higher lipid peroxidation and lower ratio between reduced and oxidized glutathione, despite the activation of defense mechanisms (superoxide-dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferases) in exposed clams. Additionally, neurotoxicity was observed by inhibition of Cholinesterases activity in organisms exposed to both MWCNTs.publishe

Esperienze di spettrofotometria per la scuola, basate su arduino.

La diffusione di strumenti open come arduino consente di realizzare dispositivi di misura portatili a basso costo utilizzabili in laboratorio oppure in aula. In questo lavoro viene illustrata la realizzazione di uno strumento per la spettrofotometria trasmissiva attraverso un percorso didattico che offre al docente l'opportunit\ue0 di introdurre concetti e metodologie, trattati dal punto di vista teorico, che potrebbero risultare di difficile comprensione, tra i quali quali: frequenza e lunghezza d'onda di radiazioni EM, assorbimento ed emissione, riproducibilit\ue0, errori di misura

Renewable Energy Community: Opportunities and Threats towards Green Transition

The European Union faces a complex economic conjunction where different factors affect and reduce the number of feasible and sustainable projects according to the legislation and the available resources. In this context, one of the available solutions to the current energy crisis could be the implementation of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) to support the European dual transition targets. The idea of an energy community is still being defined in the literature and from a legislative perspective. The increasing REC dimension and numerosity demand in-depth studies on opportunities and threats in a still unexplored market. To clarify the Italian and European state of the art of these communities, this study in the first section addresses the socioeconomic and policy conditions needed for the foundation and development of energy communities by analyzing the in-force legislation. The analysis of the current regulation has been conducted to verify how RECs affect local communities and their degrees of freedom and action in regions. The second part of the study aimed to define threats and opportunities in creating new professional profiles and local job opportunities in this new thriving market. In this study, we collected interviews and surveys with market operators, both on the service providers’ side (ESCo) and the communities’ side (promoters), to identify conflicts and advantages associated with establishing communities. The participants were initially selected through publicly available lists, and after verifying the contact correctness, they were contacted by email or phone. The results of the interviews have been processed into a SWOT analysis, showing how national policies currently need to catch up in implementing this efficiency tool and how the restricted number and the variety of the existing communities increase the difficulty in creating cohesive and universal guidelines. Finally, local markets can still not correctly manage this innovative tool’s uncertainty despite being interested in it

Utilizzo di MOMO, un robot realizzato con il support PLS e AIF, come supporto per la didattica della Fisica. Progettare e realizzare esperimenti. Acquisire, elaborare, analizzare dati

Negli ultimi anni, durante la Scuola Invernale e la Scuola Estiva di Fisica tenuta dalla sezione AIF di Genova con il supporto del PLS sono stati sviluppati due robot, MOMO e LEMU ed una serie di strumenti basati su Arduino, con l\u2019obbiettivo di stimolare l\u2019interesse dei ragazzi verso le materie scientifiche, attraverso la realizzazione di progetti concreti, basati su strumenti low cost e tecnologie che stimolino curiosit`a ed interesse nei ragazzi. Sulla scia dei risultati promettenti ottenuti con il progetto LEMU saranno illustrate alcune proposte per l\u2019impiego di MOMO in aula o in laboratorio, per la didattica della Fisica