RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN SITE SPECIFIC RISK ASSESSMENT FOR POLLUTED SITES

The present note highlights the role of geotechnical expertise for Risk Assessment of contaminated sites and illustrates specific aspects related to migration modeling. Implications of neglecting the time variable and the advantages of the direct measurements of vapors, performed by application of different techniques, are described and discussed. The comparison between direct measurements of vapor emissions and modeling outcomes show how the use of measured data is able to overcome the limitations deriving by restrictive model assumptions and effectively helps in obtaining more realistic results

mCerulean3-Based Cameleon Sensor to Explore Mitochondrial Ca2+ Dynamics In Vivo

Genetically Encoded Ca2+ Indicators (GECIs) are extensively used to study organelle Ca2+ homeostasis, although some available probes are still plagued by a number of problems, e.g., low fluorescence intensity, partial mistargeting, and pH sensitivity. Furthermore, in the most commonly used mitochondrial F\uf6rster Resonance Energy Transfer based-GECIs, the donor protein ECFP is characterized by a double exponential lifetime that complicates the fluorescence lifetime analysis. We have modified the cytosolic and mitochondria-targeted Cameleon GECIs by (1) substituting the donor ECFP with mCerulean3, a brighter and more stable fluorescent protein with a single exponential lifetime; (2) extensively modifying the constructs to improve targeting efficiency and fluorescence changes caused by Ca2+ binding; and (3) inserting the cDNAs into adeno-associated viral vectors for in vivo expression. The probes have been thoroughly characterized in situ by fluorescence microscopy and Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy, and examples of their ex vivo and in vivo applications are described

Global disparities in surgeons’ workloads, academic engagement and rest periods: the on-calL shIft fOr geNEral SurgeonS (LIONESS) study

: The workload of general surgeons is multifaceted, encompassing not only surgical procedures but also a myriad of other responsibilities. From April to May 2023, we conducted a CHERRIES-compliant internet-based survey analyzing clinical practice, academic engagement, and post-on-call rest. The questionnaire featured six sections with 35 questions. Statistical analysis used Chi-square tests, ANOVA, and logistic regression (SPSS® v. 28). The survey received a total of 1.046 responses (65.4%). Over 78.0% of responders came from Europe, 65.1% came from a general surgery unit; 92.8% of European and 87.5% of North American respondents were involved in research, compared to 71.7% in Africa. Europe led in publishing research studies (6.6 ± 8.6 yearly). Teaching involvement was high in North America (100%) and Africa (91.7%). Surgeons reported an average of 6.7 ± 4.9 on-call shifts per month, with European and North American surgeons experiencing 6.5 ± 4.9 and 7.8 ± 4.1 on-calls monthly, respectively. African surgeons had the highest on-call frequency (8.7 ± 6.1). Post-on-call, only 35.1% of respondents received a day off. Europeans were most likely (40%) to have a day off, while African surgeons were least likely (6.7%). On the adjusted multivariable analysis HDI (Human Development Index) (aOR 1.993) hospital capacity > 400 beds (aOR 2.423), working in a specialty surgery unit (aOR 2.087), and making the on-call in-house (aOR 5.446), significantly predicted the likelihood of having a day off after an on-call shift. Our study revealed critical insights into the disparities in workload, access to research, and professional opportunities for surgeons across different continents, underscored by the HDI

The role of immune suppression in COVID-19 hospitalization: clinical and epidemiological trends over three years of SARS-CoV-2 epidemic

Specific immune suppression types have been associated with a greater risk of severe COVID-19 disease and death. We analyzed data from patients >17 years that were hospitalized for COVID-19 at the “Fondazione IRCCS Ca′ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico” in Milan (Lombardy, Northern Italy). The study included 1727 SARS-CoV-2-positive patients (1,131 males, median age of 65 years) hospitalized between February 2020 and November 2022. Of these, 321 (18.6%, CI: 16.8–20.4%) had at least one condition defining immune suppression. Immune suppressed subjects were more likely to have other co-morbidities (80.4% vs. 69.8%, p < 0.001) and be vaccinated (37% vs. 12.7%, p < 0.001). We evaluated the contribution of immune suppression to hospitalization during the various stages of the epidemic and investigated whether immune suppression contributed to severe outcomes and death, also considering the vaccination status of the patients. The proportion of immune suppressed patients among all hospitalizations (initially stable at <20%) started to increase around December 2021, and remained high (30–50%). This change coincided with an increase in the proportions of older patients and patients with co-morbidities and with a decrease in the proportion of patients with severe outcomes. Vaccinated patients showed a lower proportion of severe outcomes; among non-vaccinated patients, severe outcomes were more common in immune suppressed individuals. Immune suppression was a significant predictor of severe outcomes, after adjusting for age, sex, co-morbidities, period of hospitalization, and vaccination status (OR: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.23–2.19), while vaccination was a protective factor (OR: 0.31; 95% IC: 0.20–0.47). However, after November 2021, differences in disease outcomes between vaccinated and non-vaccinated groups (for both immune suppressed and immune competent subjects) disappeared. Since December 2021, the spread of the less virulent Omicron variant and an overall higher level of induced and/or natural immunity likely contributed to the observed shift in hospitalized patient characteristics. Nonetheless, vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, likely in combination with naturally acquired immunity, effectively reduced severe outcomes in both immune competent (73.9% vs. 48.2%, p < 0.001) and immune suppressed (66.4% vs. 35.2%, p < 0.001) patients, confirming previous observations about the value of the vaccine in preventing serious disease

Lime Treatment of a Soft Sensitive Clay: A Sustainable Reuse Option

This paper presents the results of research aimed at studying the hydraulic and mechanical behavior of Finnish soft clays treated by quicklime. This research investigated the effect of water content and curing time on the characteristics of the compacted soil treated with 7% lime, with the aim of verifying the effectiveness of lime treatment and evaluating its possible re-use, thus avoiding landfill disposal. A laboratory-testing program was carried out both on treated and untreated soil, supported by microstructural investigation. Results have shown a general increase of the hydraulic conductivity due to the addition of lime, reduction of compressibility, and increase in the soil shear strength for a wide range of water contents (10%–40%), proving the effectiveness of the lime treatment. Lime addition to the compacted clay at high water contents (90%–130%) turned out to improve the mechanical characteristics to a lesser extent, while fractionated lime supply did not significantly improve the mechanical performance. The results of this research demonstrate that the re-use of sensitive clays, typically of high water contents, by lime addition require a drying process. Different drying procedures can be adopted (proposed in the paper) depending on the specific site conditions. However, the soil treatment is generally economically convenient in comparison to the disposal in waste landfills, which would represent the only alternative solution

Stabilized Soils As Construction Materials For Earthworks

Needs of sustainability in Civil Engineering design arose years ago and is constantly growing, fostered by the goals of the European Green Deal. In recent years, several environmental issues linked to the use of soils in civil engineering have raised. Nowadays the availability of natural high-quality soil to be used as construction materials is more and more limited; soils should be recycled as much as possible. Geotechnical engineering can significantly contribute to reach the recycling goal via selecting ways to reuse excavated soil. The properties of fine-grained soils that are unsuitable for earthworks after compaction only can be improved by adding lime as a stabilizing agent to get proper material characteristics

The contribution of microstructural investigation to the study of lime-treated soils

It is widely known that lime treatment of clayey soils enhances mechanical and hydraulic characteristics of soils. In soil-lime systems, this improvement is due to a sequence of chemical processes that results in reaction products detectable at meso- and micro-scale. Therefore the contribution of experimental techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy and Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry turns out to be essential to analyze the results of geotechnical tests and to understand the behaviour of soil-lime mixtures. After a brief review of literature on the microstructure of lime stabilized soil, the paper presents the results of research studies carried out on clayey soils treated with lime by means of the previous cited techniques

La geotecnica nelle analisi di rischio

La presente nota sottolinea l’importanza delle competenze geotecniche nella corretta applicazione dell’Analisi di Rischio; tali competenze vanno dalla fase iniziale di caratterizzazione alla fase di modellazione della migrazione degli inquinanti. In particolare, si evidenzia l’importanza della corretta definizione del modello di sottosuolo e la dipendenza dei parametri sito-specifici dalle caratteristiche granulometriche dei terreni. Con riferimento ai modelli di migrazione, si riporta un confronto sia tra condizioni stazionarie e transitorie del modello di lisciviazione che tra i risultati di misure dirette e applicazione dei modelli per quello che riguarda la volatilizzazione dei vapori dal suolo