Mechanical behavior of carbon/flax hybrid composites for structural applications

In this work, the influence of an unidirectional carbon fabric layer on the mechanical performances of bidirectional flax fabric/epoxy composites used for structural applications was studied. Two different bidirectional flax fabrics were used to produce flax fabric reinforced plastic (FFRP) laminates by a vacuum bagging process: one is normally used to make curtains; the other, heavier and more expensive than the previous one, is usually used as reinforcement in composite structures. In order to realize hybrid structures starting from FFRP, an unidirectional UHM carbon fabric was used to replace a bidirectional flax fabric. Tensile and three-point bending tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical properties of the laminates investigated (both FFRP and hybrids). Furthermore, the mechanical behavior of the different bidirectional flax fabrics was analyzed by carrying out tensile tests. The experimental tests showed that the structures reinforced with flax fabrics, normally used to make curtains, present better flexural properties than that of others while, in tensile configuration, these last show higher modulus and strength. Moreover, both FFRP laminates show low mechanical properties, which do not allow their use in structural applications while the presence of one external layer of unidirectional carbon involves remarkable increase in their properties. According to this study, the hybrid composites realized could be used in several structural applications (i.e., nautical and automotive)

The circle of Gánovce. Natural history of an endocast

The natural endocranial cast of Gánovce was found in Slovakia in 1926, and then stored in the National Museum (Národní Muzeum) of Prague. The endocast was extensively studied by Emanuel Vlček (1925-2006), mostly during the 50s and 60s of the past century (e.g., Vlček, 1949, 1953, 1955, 1969), with a large set of analytical tools including radiographic and biochemical sur- veys, and outline shape analysis. He recognized the Neanderthal morphology of the cast, which was dated to 105 ka and which has an estimated volume of 1320cc. In particular, Vlček noticed a similarity with specimens such as Krapina 3, Gibraltar 1 and Saccopastore 1. In fact, these three specimens all display a similar overall cra- nial anatomy, being possibly representatives of an “early and small-brained” Neanderthal morpho- type (Bruner & Manzi, 2006, 2008)

New threats for pediatric respiratory health: beware of vaping

Electronic cigarette (EC) was proposed on the market about 15 years ago as a harmless alternative to traditional combustion cigarettes (CC). Since then, EC and other electronic devices that deliver nicotine by simulating traditional smoking without combustion have achieved unexpected success, with around 80 million users worldwide by 2023. Such devices are commonly felt to be safer than CC, especially among adolescents, who are also the main target for aggressive marketing from the tobacco industry. Increasing evidence shows that e-liquids and vape contain toxicants and irritants and that acute and chronic vaping causes airway inflammation and bronchoconstriction and reduces responses to infections. Moreover, some studies have shown that second- and third-hand smoke, as well as in utero exposure, may cause detrimental effects to the airways and to health in general. Notably, the recent E-cigarette or Vaping use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) epidemic in the USA has shown that EC has higher acute toxicity than CC, while long-term effects are still not known. Since adolescents and children are often completely unaware of the health risks associated with vaping or of the potential presence of nicotine in e-liquids, pediatricians play a crucial role in educating them, in order to prevent vaping, as well as smoking. Pediatricians should always consider the possibility of vaping as the cause of unusual respiratory diseases, especially in adolescents. This narrative review paper briefly outlines the most recent data on EC and their effects on the airways, focusing on childhood and adolescence

EGFR signalling is required for Paracentrotus lividus endomesoderm specification.

The EGFR pathway is critical for cell fate specification throughout the development of several organisms. Here we identified in sea urchin an EGFR-related antigen maternally expressed and showing a dynamic pattern of localization during development. To investigate the role played by the EGFR in Paracentrotus lividus development we blocked its activity by using the EGFR kinase inhibitor AG1478. This treatment produces decrease of EGFR phosphorylation, and embryos with various defects especially in the endomesoderm territory until to obtain an animalized phenotype. These effects are rescued by the addition of TGF-alpha, an EGFR ligand. The role played by EGFR-like along the animal/vegetal axis was also detected, after AG1478 treatment, by the extended distribution of HE and decreased nuclearization of beta-catenin in vegetal cells. Moreover, inhibition of EGFR-like reduced ERK phosphorylation, necessary for cell fate specification in the micromeres and their derivates. Taken together these results indicate that EGFR-like activity is required both for A/V axis formation and endomesoderm differentiation

Time-space focused intrusion of genetically unrelated arc magmas in the early Paleozoic Ross-Delamerian Orogen (Morozumi Range, Antarctica)

The growth of continental crust in accretionary orogenic belts takes place through repeated cycles of subduction– accretion of rock units fromcontinental and oceanic magmatic arcs, supra-subduction zone backarcs and forearcs loaded with continent-derived materials. An ancient example relevant to magmatic arc accretion models is represented by the remnants of the Cambrian–Ordovician Ross Orogen in the Morozumi Range, Victoria Land (Antarctica). There, late Neoproterozoic phyllites host an intrusive complex which preserves a remarkably uncommon record of genetically unrelated magma pulses emplaced under a variable stress regime in a short time span: (1) a dominant K-feldspar–phyric granite, (2) fine-grained dioritic stocks and dykes, (3) a peraluminous granite; and (4) a tonalitic–granodioritic dyke swarm. Laserprobe U–Pb zircon dates cluster at late Cambrian times for all these units, yet they carry differential cargoes of relict cores. Unique geochemical– isotopic signatures for both the less evolved magmas (diorite and dyke tonalite) and the most acidic ones (granite and peraluminous granite) indicate that each one of them originated from distinct sources at depth. Additionally, field relationships and chemical evolutionary trends testify for a variety of shallow level open-system processes, such as magma mingling/mixing between diorite and main granite magmas, as well as progressive incorporation of the host schists by the dyke tonalite magma. In summary, crustal growth in the Morozumi intrusive complex was contributed by fresh mantle magma issuing from the metasomatised mantle wedge, while the production of othermelts did recycle different crustal portions/layers: the main granite derived fromGrenville-age granulitic lower crust; the peraluminous granite from late Proterozoic upper crust, and the tonalite magmas derived from subduction erosion-enriched subarc mantle and evolved by ingestion of local metasedimentary rocks. Overall, the Morozumi intrusive complex yields evidence for emplacement in the same site at the same time of magmas issuing fromdifferent sources that are usually found at a different depth in the arc lithospheric section. A likely scenario to activate this specific mechanism of melt production is a subduction zone affected by subduction erosion

A Stage-Based Approach to Therapy in Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that features progressive, disabling motor symptoms, such as bradykinesia, rigidity, and resting tremor. Nevertheless, some non-motor symptoms, including depression, REM sleep behavior disorder, and olfactive impairment, are even earlier features of PD. At later stages, apathy, impulse control disorder, neuropsychiatric disturbances, and cognitive impairment can present, and they often become a heavy burden for both patients and caregivers. Indeed, PD increasingly compromises activities of daily life, even though a high variability in clinical presentation can be observed among people affected. Nowadays, symptomatic drugs and non-pharmaceutical treatments represent the best therapeutic options to improve quality of life in PD patients. The aim of the present review is to provide a practical, stage-based guide to pharmacological management of both motor and non-motor symptoms of PD. Furthermore, warning about drug side effects, contraindications, as well as dosage and methods of administration, are highlighted here, to help the physician in yielding the best therapeutic strategies for each symptom and condition in patients with PD

Late Pleistocene-Holocene volcanic activity in northern Victoria Land recorded in Ross Sea (Antarctica) marine sediments

Eight pyroclastic fall deposits have been identified in cores of Late Pleistocene-Holocene marine sediments from the Ross Sea (Antarctica), and their components, granulometry and clast morphologies were analysed. Sedimentological, petrographic and geochemical analysis of clasts, with 40Ar-39Ar dating of alkali feldspar grains, indicate that during this period at least five explosive eruptions of mid to high intensity (plinian to subplinian) occurred, and that three of these eruptions took place from Mount Melbourne volcanic complex, between 137.1 \ub1 3.4 and 12 ka. Geochemical comparison of the studied tephra with micro and crypto-tephra recovered from deep Antarctic ice cores and from nearby englacial tephra at Frontier Mountain indicates that eruptive activity in the Melbourne Volcanic Province of northern Victoria Land was intense during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene, but only a general area of provenance for the majority of the identified tephra can be identified

40Ar–39Ar dating of volcanogenic products from the AND-2A core (ANDRILL Southern McMurdo Sound Project, Antarctica): correlations with the Erebus Volcanic Province and implications for the age model of the core

The AND-2A drillcore (Antarctic Drilling Program—ANDRILL) was successfully completed in late 2007 on the Antarctic continental margin (Southern McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea) with the aim of tracking ice proximal to shallow marine environmental fluctuations and to document the 20-Ma evolution of the Erebus Volcanic Province. Lava clasts and tephra layers from the AND-2A drillcore were investigated from a petrographic and stratigraphic point of view and analyzed by the 40Ar–39Ar laser technique in order to constrain the age model of the core and to gain information on the style and nature of sediment deposition in the Victoria Land Basin since Early Miocene. Ten out of 17 samples yielded statistically robust 40Ar–39Ar ages, indicating that the AND-2A drillcore recovered ≤230 m of Middle Miocene (∼128–358 m below sea floor, ∼11.5–16.0 Ma) and >780 m of Early Miocene (∼358–1093 m below sea floor, ∼16.0–20.1 Ma). Results also highlight a nearly continuous stratigraphic record from at least 358 m below sea floor down hole, characterized by a mean sedimentation rate of ∼19 cm/ka, possible oscillations of no more than a few hundreds of ka and a break within ∼17.5–18.1 Ma. Comparison with available data from volcanic deposits on land, suggests that volcanic rocks within the AND-2A core were supplied from the south, possibly with source areas closer to the drill site for the upper core levels, and from 358 m below sea floor down hole, with the “proto-Mount Morning” as the main source

Histopathological aspects of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder: Analysis of 20 years experience

Background: In this study we used histopathological examinations performed over a 20-year period to describe the characteristics of newly diagnosed transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder in relation to patient age, and to verify changes in the TCC over different periods of observation or in relation to patient age. Methods: We reviewed all histopathological examinations performed from January 1979 to December 1998 in patients undergoing surgery who were newly diagnosed with TCC of the bladder. All examinations were performed by the same pathologist and reviewed by two pathologists. In each case analyzed, we evaluated T classification of the tumor, histological grade, size, localization, growth type, multiplicity and carcinoma in situ (CIS). Results: The study population included 3113 men and 620 women. The mean patient age was 66.31 +/- 10.84 years. A high percentage of Ta (52.2%) and T1 (27.7%) tumors were found. The number of cases observed and, in particular, the percentage of Ta tumors increased significantly and progressively from the first (1979-1983 = 376 cases; Ta = 37.8%) to the last (1994-1998 = 1732 cases; Ta = 56.3%) period of observation (P < 0.001). A significant difference in the distribution of histological grade and T classification in the different age decades was apparent (P < 0.001); in particular, for G1 and Ta tumors there was a trend to decrease, whereas for G3, T1 and T2 tumors there was a tendency to increase with age decades. Conclusion: In our analysis, age of patient and the period of examination significantly influenced different pathological characteristics of newly diagnosed TCC of the bladder