Insights on surface analysis techniques to study glass primary packaging

During the forming process of a vial by tubing glass, temperatures of up to 1200◦C are applied to adjust the glass viscosity. This process causes the release of volatile components such as alkali borates. Consequently, the percentage of sodium and boron measured on the inner surface of the vial can be higher than that measured on the corresponding glass tube. This study aimed to characterize the inner surface of two different borosilicate glass tubes of type I before and after the vial forming process at the nanoscale level. Quantitative elemental analysis of the surface along the vertical axis of glass tubes and vials was performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, whereas the topographical investigation was carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In the near-bottom region of a vial, which is usually the area most prone to corrosion, the SEM micrographs showed the appearance of bulges on the surface. The latter were then analyzed by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry to characterize their molecular composition. The purpose of this work is to identify possible new strategies for faster identification of factors that eventually influence chemical resistance of pharmaceutical glasses and to provide useful information needed to improve industrial processes

Consolidation and coating treatments for glass in the cultural heritage field: A review

Consolidation and coating treatments are two types of interventions that form part of the active con- servation actions developed for historical and archaeological glass over the years. While thermoplastic and thermosetting resins are widely adopted by conservators worldwide, issues related to the toxicity and the material compatibility of these products remains unsolved. To address these issues, effort s have been made to develop new formulations that can functionally replace or exhibit performance advantages with respect to these canonical polymeric materials. In this review, we discuss the main classes of ma- terials applied thus far for protection and consolidation aims in the cultural heritage glass field, starting from the beginning of the 19th century and continuing until present days. We also assess the potential of hybrid organic-inorganic materials and full inorganic materials as alternative solutions to the limita- tions of organic materials in application. Finally, we provide our perspectives on future directions for the development of consolidation products that meet the specific requirements of the cultural heritage field

Are the school prevention programmes - aimed at de-normalizing smoking among youths - beneficial in the long term? An example from the Smoke Free Class Competition in Italy

Tobacco smoking by young people is of great concern because it usually leads to regular smoking, nicotine addiction and quitting difficulties. Young people "hooked" by tobacco maintain the profits of the tobacco industry by replacing smokers who quit or die. If new generations could be tobacco-free, as supported by tobacco endgame strategies, the tobacco epidemic could end within decades. Smoking prevention programmes for teens are offered by schools with the aim to prevent or delay smoking onset. Among these, the Smoke Free Class Competition (SFC) was widely implemented in Europe. Its effectiveness yielded conflicting results, but it was only evaluated at short/medium term (6 - 18 months). The aim of this study is to evaluate its effectiveness after a longer follow-up (3 to 5 years) in order to allow enough time for the maturing of the students and the internalization of the experience and its contents. Fifteen classes were randomly sampled from two Italian high schools of Bologna province that regularly offered the SFC to first year students; 382 students (174 participating in the SFC and 208 controls) were retrospectively followed-up and provided their "smoking histories". At the end of their last year of school (after 5 years from the SFC), the percentage of students who stated that they were regular smokers was lower among the SFC students than in controls: 13.5% vs 32.9% (p=0.03). From the students' "smoking histories", statistically significant protective ORs were observed for SFC students at the end of 1st and 5th year: 0.42 (95% CI 0.19-0.93) and 0.32 (95% CI 0.11-0.91) respectively. Absence of smokers in the family was also a strongly statistically significant factor associated with being a non-smoker student. These results suggest that SFC may have a positive impact on lowering the prevalence of smoking in the long term (5 years)

Comment on a recent sensitivity analysis of radial base function and multi-layer feed-forward neural network models - Response

Contains fulltext : 112420.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Out-of-hospital helmet CPAP in acute respiratory failure reduces mortality: a study led by nurses

Background and Aim. Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is a condition that must be treated as quickly as possible. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is a common method used to treat ARF in hospital. The main objective of our study was to investigate the effect of CPAP prior to admission to the emergency room, on the reduction of endotracheal intubation, in-hospital mortality and on the length of stay in hospital (HLOS). Methods. A prospective, observational (non-randomised) study with a historical control group. Data from 3 groups of patients with ARF, irrespective of cause, was collected: pre-hospital CPAP (PHCPAP) group, i.e. 35 patients treated with a helmet CPAP in the ambulance, by trained nurses (mean age, years 80.1±7.9 SD; 14 males); hospital CPAP (HCPAP) group, i.e. 46 patients treated with helmet CPAP in the hospital emergency room (mean age 78.6±6.9 SD; 27 males), and a historical control group of 125 patients treated with medical therapy only (mean age 76.7±5.5 SD; 52 males). CPAP was delivered via a helmet interface. Results. Compared with standard medical therapy, helmet CPAP (pre and in-hospital) reduced mortality by 77 % (p=0.005), while pre-hospital helmet CPAP reduced it by 94% (p=0.011), after adjustment for age, sex, severity of clinical conditions at entry and diagnosis upon admission. HLOS was reduced, compared with standard medical therapy, by 63.5% and by 66% (adjusting for age, sex, severity of clinical conditions at entry and diagnosis at admission) with helmet CPAP (pre and in-hospital) and with helmet CPAP in the ambulance, respectively (p<0.0001). Conclusions. Treating patients with ARF of any cause, with CPAP by trained nurses, before hospital admission, is safe, reduces mortality and the length of stay needed in hospital

Sustainable organic dyes from winemaking lees for photoelectrochemical dye-sensitized solar cells

During the last two decades, Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) have received a great deal of attention as a promising, low-cost alternative to conventional silicon photovoltaic devices. Natural dye molecules can be used as a sensitizer for their low cost, good light absorbance, easy preparation process, and biodegradability. In this study, dyes were obtained from wine lees, the last by-product of winemaking process, supplied by a venetian winery (Italy). Polyphenols, like tannins and anthocyanins, which were extracted from winemaking lees, were adsorbed on a nanostructured ordered mesoporous titanium dioxide, previously treated at different temperatures (400-600 ffiC). Both dyes and titania semiconductor samples were studied with different techniques. The tests were carried out on prototypes to evaluate the cell power and the photocurrent generated under simulated solar light irradiation. The obtained solar energy conversion efficiencies are comparable to those that were reported in literature by using organic dyes extracted from vegetables, fruits, and plants. It is significant that these dyes are largely available and cost effective, since recovered from a waste otherwise to be disposed of, opening up a perspective of feasibility for inexpensive and environmentally friendly dye solar cells to generate green electricity and transforming agri-food waste into a resource

When Muslims read Milton : an investigation of the problems encountered by teachers and students in a sample of British and Pakistani universities

The mam aim of the thesis is to explore issues raised by teaching Paradise Lost in Muslim/multi-faith scenarios. Milton's poem was chosen because it is an overtly Christian text that is taught across the globe in Higher Education Institutions to students of different cultural and religious backgrounds. In particular, this study analyses the character of Eve and the narrative of creation as presented in Paradise Lost, and explores them both through feminism and Quranic feminism, as well as by a detailed analysis of present-day teaching methodologies as experienced by academics and students in the UK and Pakistan. The first half of the thesis examines relevant critical approaches to Paradise Lost and deals with my own close readings, while the second half of the thesis investigates the cross- cultural teaching perceptions of academics through interviews and explores Muslim students' experience by the use of questionnaires. No previous research has explored the ways in which Muslim students read and experience Paradise Lost from a religious and cultural perspective, therefore this research as a first full-length study, breaks new ground and examines Pakistani- Muslim and British-Muslim students' attitudes towards this Christian epic. The research focuses on the key issues of Paradise Lost, such as the scenarios pre- and post -fall, the sensuous nudity of Eve, rape, and the concept of redemption, in order to undertake a comparative analysis of Christianity and Islam from the Muslim perspective. As the current political situation between the Muslim and Western worlds has become increasingly fraught, it is critical to look further at the influence of English literature on Muslims in order to deepen trans-cultural and trans-religious understanding and build bridges. The study intends to contribute to that overall aim by suggesting the way in which academics in both the UK and Pakistan could modify the culturally-specific pedagogical approaches when teaching a Christian text to Muslim/multi-faith students. If utilised, this might serve to create a better understanding of the difference between Christian and Islamic literary texts which might, in turn, promote increased reciprocity - not only in academic circles but for the wider political scenario.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Are nutrition and physical activity associated with gut microbiota? A pilot study on a sample of healthy young adults

BACKGROUND: The literature shows that gut microbiota composition is related with health, and a lot of individual and outer factors may determine its variability. In particular, nutrition and exercise seem to influence the presence in the gut of the two major bacterial phyla of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. STUDY DESIGN: An ongoing cross-sectional investigation is aimed to explore these associations in humans. METHODS: Healthy Caucasian young adults were asked to provide a fecal sample in order to analyze their gut microbiome considering their Body Mass Index (BMI), adherence to Mediterranean diet and Physical Activity (PA) level. RESULTS: A total of 59 participants (49.1% males, mean age 23.1 ± 3.14 years) were enrolled so far. Firmicutes (61.6±14.6) and Bacteroidetes (30.7 ± 13.3) showed the highest relative abundance in fecal samples. The Pearson's analysis showed a significant negative correlation between PA and Firmicutes (r =-0.270, p = 0.03). Linear regression confirmed a significant decrease of this phylum with the increase of PA (R2 = 0.07, p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary results suggest the association between physical activity and gut microbiota composition in healthy humans

How do combustion and non-combustion products used outdoors affect outdoor and indoor particulate matter levels? A field evaluation near the entrance of an italian university library

Particulate Matter (PM) is a well-known health risk factor and pollutes both outdoor and indoor air. Using PM as an air pollution indicator, the aims were to assess outdoor and indoor air pollution due to combustion and/or non-combustion products used outdoors and to compare the PM levels emitted by different products. PM with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10, 4, 2.5 and 1 µm (PM10, PM4, PM2.5, PM1) was simultaneously measured in two areas, respectively, indoors (with smoking ban) and outdoors (where people commonly smoke) of a university library during the morning and the afternoon of two weekdays. Both combustion and non-combustion products determined a relevant worsening of outdoor air quality, with the highest PM1 levels achieved when a single traditional cigarette (9920 µg m−3), a single e-cigarette (9810 µg m−3) and three simultaneous traditional cigarettes (8700 µg m−3) were smoked. An increase of indoor PM1 levels was found during outdoor smoking/vaping sessions, persisting also after the end of sessions. The results highlighted the need for a revision of smoke-free laws, especially for outdoor areas, to include non-combustion products. In addition, it is essential to make society aware of the dangers of smoking outdoors by implementing health promotion interventions

Mediterranean diet, physical activity and gut microbiome composition: A cross-sectional study among healthy young italian adults

Background. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the microbial composition of the gut and its possible association with the Mediterranean diet (MD) after adjusting for demographic and anthropometric characteristics in a sample of healthy young Italian adults. Methods. Gut microbiota, demographic information, and data on adherence to MD and physical activity (PA) habits were collected in a sample of 140 university students (48.6% males, mean age 22.5 ± 2.9) with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 22.4 ± 2.8 kg/m2 (15.2–33.8) and a mean PA level of 3006.2 ± 2973.6 metabolic equivalent (MET)-minutes/week (148–21,090). Results. A high prevalence of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes was found in all the fecal samples. Significant dissimilarities in the microbiota composition were found on the basis of MD adherence and PA levels (p = 0.001). At the genus level, Streptococcus and Dorea were highly abundant in overweight/obese individuals, Ruminococcus and Oscillospira in participants with lower adherence to MD, and Lachnobacterium in subjects with low levels of PA (p = 0.001). A significantly higher abundance of Paraprevotella was shown by individuals with lower BMI, lower MD adherence, and lower PA levels (p = 0.001). Conclusions. This study contributes to the characterization of the gut microbiome of healthy humans. The findings suggest the role of diet and PA in determining gut microbiota variability