Pulpal neuropeptidergic fibers

A study was carried out on Met- and Leu-enkephalin, Gastrin / CCK-, SP-, CGRP-, NPY- immunoreactive fibers using paraffin sections of dental pulp taken from 8 apparently normal teeth (wisdom teeth or teeth extracted for orthodontic reasons).Within the limitations of the samples studied, dental pulp is characterized by the presence of sensory (Enkephalin-, Gastrin/CCK- immunoreactive) and pain fibers (SP-immunoreactive) and of fibers with a potent vasodilatory action (CGRP-immunoreactive) and by the absence of fibers with a vasoconstrictor action (NPY-immunoreactive).Notre étude a porté sur la mise en évidence sur des coupes après inclusion à la paraffine des fibres Met- et Leu-enképhaline, Gastrine / CCK-, SP-, CGRP- et NPY-immunoréactives, dans la pulpe de huit dents normales (dents de sagesse ou dents extraites pour des raisons orthodontiques).Dans la limite des échantillons utilisés, la pulpe dentaire est caractérisée par la présence de fibres sensitives (Enképhalin-, Gastrin/CCK-immunoréactives), des fibres de la douleur (SP-immunoréactives) et de fibre à action vasodilatatrice (CGRP-immunoréactives) et par l’absence de fibres à action vasoconstrictive (NPY-immunoréactives)

The differences of Slovenian and Italian daily practices experienced in the first wave of covid-19 pandemic

Background The COVID-19 pandemic situation with the lockdown of public life caused serious changes in people's everyday practices. The study evaluates the differences between Slovenia and Italy in health-related everyday practices induced by the restrictive measures during first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods The cross-sectional cohort study examined changes through an online survey conducted in nine European countries from April 15-28, 2020. The survey included questions from a simple activity inventory questionnaire (SIMPAQ), the European Health Interview Survey, and some other questions. To compare difference in changes between European countries we examined Italy with severe and its neighbour country Slovenia with low incidence and victims of COVID-19 epidemic. 956 valid responses from Italy (N = 511; 50% males) and Slovenia (N = 445; 26% males) were investigated. Results During the survey, there was a 4.7-fold higher incidence and 12.1-fold more deaths (per 100,000) in Italy than in Slovenia. Barring periods and measures were similar, the latter more stringent in Italy. We found more changes in Italy than in Slovenia: physical inactivity increased (Italy: + 65% vs. Slovenia: + 21%; p < 0.001), walking time decreased (Italy: -68% vs. Slovenia: -4.4%; p < 0.001); physical work increased by 38% in Slovenia (p < 0.001), and recreation time decreased by 37% in Italy (p < 0.001). Italians reported a decrease in quality of general health, fitness level, psychological well-being, quality of life and care for own health (p < 0.001); Slovenians showed a decline in psychological well-being and quality of life (p < 0.001) but generally had a higher concern for their own health (p = 0.005). In pooled participants, changes in eating habits (meal size and consumption of unhealthy food), age and physical inactivity were positively correlated with increases in body mass, while changes in general well-being and concern for health were negatively correlated. Conclusion The study shows that the negative impact of COVID -19 measures is greater in Italy where the pandemic COVID -19 was more prevalent than in Slovenia with low prevalence. Additional consideration should be given to the negative impact of COVID-19 measures on some health-related lifestyle variables when implementing further measures to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic

Effects of partial rootzone drying and rootstock vigour on growth and fruit quality of 'Pink Lady' apple trees in Mediterranean environments

We investigated the effects of partial rootzone drying (PRD) and rootstock vigor on water relations, vegetative and productive performance of \u2018Pink Lady\u2019 apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) trees in central Sicily. In a first field trial, trees on MM.106 rootstock were subjected to: Conventional irrigation (CI), maintaining soil moisture above 80% of field capacity; PRD irrigation, where only one alternated side of the rootzone received 50% of the CI irrigation water; and continuous deficit irrigation (DI), where 50% of the CI water was equally applied to both sides of the rootzone. In a second trial, trees on M.9 or MM.106 were subjected to CI and PRD irrigation. PRD reduced stomatal conductance (gs) more consistently in trees on MM.106 than in trees on M.9, but maintained relative water content (RWC) to the levels of CI. DI induced greater gs reductions than PRD and lower RWC than CI and PRD. Rootstock vigor did not influence plant response to irrigation strategy. PRD induced some reduction in fruit number but no change in yields and fruit quality compared to CI, whereas DI reduced fruit size and marketable yields. Significant reductions in shoot and leaf growth were induced by DI, whereas only leaf growth was affected by PRD. Our observations indicate that responses induced by PRD are due to a combination of the amount and way of applying water, and not just to reductions in irrigation volumes, suggesting a possible use of PRD for increasing apple water use efficiency in Mediterranean environments

Tensor variational inequalities: Theoretical results, numerical methods and applications to an economic equilibrium model

The paper deals with the study of tensor variational inequalities. and some projection methods to solve them. In particular, some properties on the solutions to such an inequality are established and a fixed point theorem is proved. Moreover, some numerical methods are introduced and the convergence analysis of them is investigated. All the theoretical results are applied to analyze a general oligopolistic market equilibrium problem in which each firm produces several commodities and has some production excesses since the equilibrium condition is characterized by means of a tensor variational inequality. A numerical example is also discussed

A two-phase problem with Robin conditions on the free boundary

We study for the first time a two-phase free boundary problem in which the solution satisfies a Robin boundary condition. We consider the case in which the solution is continuous across the free boundary and we prove an existence and a regularity result for minimizers of the associated variational problem. Finally, in the appendix, we give an example of a class of Steiner symmetric minimizers

Serum Anti-Thyroglobulin Autoantibodies Are Specific in Predicting the Presence of Papillary-like Nuclear Features and Lymphocytic Infiltrate in the Thyroid Gland

(1) Background: Previous studies have reported a correlation between serum anti-Thyroglobulin-antibodies (TgAb) and papillary thyroid carcinoma. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether serum TgAb and anti-thyroid-peroxidase antibody (TPO) positivity was also related to pre-neoplastic histological changes such as papillary-like nuclear features (PLNF) and with the presence of lymphocytic infiltrate (LI) in thyroid surgical specimens. (2) Methods: The study was retrospectively carried out on 70 consecutively recruited patients who underwent thyroidectomy for benign process and whose TgAb and TPOAb values were retrieved from clinical records. Histological sections of thyroid surgical samples were revised, looking for PLNF and lymphocytic infiltrate. HBME1 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. (3) Results: Our results showed a significant association between TgAb, PLNF, and lymphocytic infiltrate. The presence of TgAb was highly specific, but less sensitive, in predicting the presence of PLNF (sensitivity = 0.6, specificity = 0.9; positive predictive value (PPV) = 0.88; negative predictive value (NPV) = 0.63). TgAb positivity showed a good association with the presence of lymphocytic infiltrate (sensitivity = 0.62, specificity = 0.9; PPV = 0.88 and NPV = 0.68). HBME1 immunoreactivity was observed in the colloid of follicles showing PLNF and/or closely associated with LI. (4) Conclusions: The presence of PLNF and LI is associated with serum TgAb positivity. The presence of TgAb and of LI could be triggered by an altered thyroglobulin contained in the HBME1-positive colloid, and could be a first defense mechanism against PLNF that probably represent early dysplastic changes in thyrocytes

Stabilization of a p-u sensor mounted on a vehicle for measuring the acoustic impedance of road surfaces

The knowledge of the acoustic impedance of a material allows for the calculation of its acoustic absorption. Impedance can also be linked to structural and physical proprieties of materials. However, while the impedance of pavement samples in laboratory conditions can usually be measured with high accuracy using devices such as the impedance tube, complete in-situ evaluation results are less accurate than the laboratory results and is so time consuming that a full scale implementation of in-situ evaluations is practically impossible. Such a system could provide information on the homogeneity and the correct laying of an installation, which is proven to be directly linked to its acoustic emission properties. The present work studies the development of a measurement instrument which can be fastened through holding elements to a moving laboratory (i.e., a vehicle). This device overcomes the issues that afflict traditional in-situ measurements, such as the impossibility to perform a continuous spatial characterization of a given pavement in order to yield a direct evaluation of the surface’s quality. The instrumentation has been uncoupled from the vehicle’s frame with a system including a Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller, studied to maintain the system at a fixed distance from the ground and to reduce damping. The stabilization of this device and the measurement system itself are evaluated and compared to the traditional one

Environmental Assessment of Solar Photo-Fenton Processes at Mild Condition in the Presence of Waste-Derived Bio-Based Substances

[EN] The assessment of environmental sustainability has assumed great importance during the study and implementation of a new process, including those aimed to waste valorization and reuse. In this research, the environmental performance of the photo-Fenton processes was evaluated using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. In particular, photo-Fenton conducted in mild conditions (almost neutral pH), using soluble bio-organic substances as auxiliary agents were compared with the "classic" photo-Fenton run at pH 2.8. The evaluation was carried out both, at the laboratory level and at pilot plant scale. LCA analysis shows that working in mild conditions reduces the environmental burden associated with the use of chemicals. On the other hand, the occurring drop in effectiveness significantly increases the overall impact, thus evidencing the need of considering the process as a whole.Costamagna, M.; Arqués Sanz, A.; Lo-Iacono-Ferreira, VG.; Bianco Prevot, A. (2022). Environmental Assessment of Solar Photo-Fenton Processes at Mild Condition in the Presence of Waste-Derived Bio-Based Substances. Nanomaterials. 12(16):1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12162781113121