Effects of aircraft noise on annoyance, sleep disorders, and blood pressure among adult residents near the Orio al Serio International Airport (BGY), Italy

Introduzione: Il rumore aeroportuale pu\uf2 causare effetti extra-uditivi quali annoyance, disturbi del sonno, ipertensione, patologie cardiovascolari e alterazioni delle abilit\ue0 cognitive nei bambini. Obiettivi: Condurre un\u2019indagine trasversale tra gli adulti residenti in prossimit\ue0 dell\u2019Aeroporto Internazionale di Orio al Serio (BGY), per studiare l\u2019associazione tra rumore aeroportuale, annoyance, disturbi del sonno, pressione arteriosa e ipertensione. Metodi: Soggetti di et\ue0 45-70 anni sono stati suddivisi, sulla base della residenza, in tre zone acustiche di rumore aeroportuale: <60 (Riferimento), 60-65 (Zona A) e 65-75 dBA (Zona B). Un campione di soggetti \ue8 stato invitato a sottoporsi a intervista e misurazioni della pressione arteriosa. Per analizzare variabili quantitative e categoriche, sono stati utilizzati modelli di regressione lineare multipla e di Poisson robusta, rispettivamente. Risultati: Tra giugno e settembre 2013 sono stati reclutati 400 soggetti (166 nella Zona di Riferimento, 164 nella Zona A e 70 nella Zona B). Rispetto al riferimento, sono stati rilevati elevati punteggi di annoyance (diurni e notturni) nelle Zone A (+2,7) e B (+4,0) (p<0,001) e circa il doppio di soggetti fortemente infastiditi in entrambe le zone (p<0,001). Anche i disturbi del sonno riferiti nel mese precedente erano pi\uf9 frequenti nelle Zone A e B. I disturbi del sonno considerati complessivamente corrispondevano a 19,9% nella Zona di Riferimento, 29,9% nella Zona A e 35,7% nella Zona B (p<0,001). Conclusioni: \uc8 stata evidenziata una forte associazione tra rumore aeroportuale, annoyance e disturbi del sonno. Non \ue8 stata riscontrata alcuna relazione con i livelli di pressione arteriosa e la prevalenza di ipertensione.Background: Aircraft noise may cause several non-auditory health effects, including annoyance, sleep disorders, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and impaired cognitive skills in children. Objectives: To perform a cross-sectional study among adult residents near the Orio al Serio International Airport (BGY), Italy to investigate the association between aircraft noise, annoyance, sleep disorders, blood pressure levels, and prevalence of hypertension. Methods: Residential addresses of subjects aged 45-70 years were geocoded and classified in three groups according to noise levels: <60 (Reference), 60-65 (Zone A), and 65-75 dBA (Zone B). A sample of subjects was invited to undergo a personal interview and blood pressure measurements. Multiple linear and robust Poisson regression models were used to analyze quantitative and categorical variables, respectively. Results: Between June and September 2013, we enrolled 400 subjects (166 in the Reference Zone, 164 in Zone A, and 70 in Zone B). Compared to the Reference Zone, we found elevated adjusted annoyance scores (day and night) in Zone A (+2.7) and Zone B (+4.0) (p<0.001) and about doubled proportions of severely annoyed subjects (p<0.001). Reported sleep disorders in the previous month were also more frequent in Zones A and B. Sleep disorders in general were 19.9% in the Reference Zone, 29.9% in Zone A, and 35.7% in Zone B (p<0.001). Conclusions: We found a strong association between aircraft noise levels, annoyance, and sleep disorders among adult residents near the Orio al Serio International Airport. We found no relationship with blood pressure levels and prevalence of hypertension

Mechanical properties of the compass depressors of the sea-urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Echinodermata, Echinoidea) and the effects of enzymes, neurotransmitters and synthetic tensilin-like protein

The compass depressors (CDs) of the sea-urchin lantern are ligaments consisting mainly of discontinuous collagen fibrils associated with a small population of myocytes. They are mutable collagenous structures, which can change their mechanical properties rapidly and reversibly under nervous control. The aims of this investigation were to characterise the baseline (i.e. unmanipulated) static mechanical properties of the CDs of Paracentrotus lividus by means of creep tests and incremental force-extension tests, and to determine the effects on their mechanical behaviour of a range of agents. Under constant load the CDs exhibited a three-phase creep curve, the mean coefficient of viscosity being 561±365 MPa.s. The stress-strain curve showed toe, linear and yield regions; the mean strain at the toe-linear inflection was 0.86±0.61; the mean Young's modulus was 18.62±10.30 MPa; and the mean tensile strength was 8.14±5.73 MPa. Hyaluronidase from Streptomyces hyalurolyticus had no effect on creep behaviour, whilst chondroitinase ABC prolonged primary creep but had no effect on secondary creep or on any force-extension parameters; it thus appears that neither hyaluronic acid nor sulphated glycosaminoglycans have an interfibrillar load transfer function in the CD. Acetylcholine, the muscarinic agonists arecoline and methacholine, and the nicotinic agonists nicotine and 1-[1-(3,4-dimethyl-phenyl)-ethyl]-piperazine produced an abrupt increase in CD viscosity; the CDs were not differentially sensitive to muscarinic or nicotinic agonists. CDs showed either no, or no consistent, response to adrenaline, L-glutamic acid, 5-hydroxytryptamine and γ-aminobutyric acid. Synthetic echinoid tensilin-like protein had a weak and inconsistent stiffening effect, indicating that, in contrast to holothurian tensilins, the echinoid molecule may not be involved in the regulation of collagenous tissue tensility. We compare in detail the mechanical behaviour of the CD with that of mammalian tendon and highlight its potential as a model system for investigating poorly understood aspects of the ontogeny and phylogeny of vertebrate collagenous tissues.(undefined)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

New Insights into Mutable Collagenous Tissue: Correlations between the Microstructure and Mechanical State of a Sea-Urchin Ligament

The mutable collagenous tissue (MCT) of echinoderms has the ability to undergo rapid and reversible changes in passive mechanical properties that are initiated and modulated by the nervous system. Since the mechanism of MCT mutability is poorly understood, the aim of this work was to provide a detailed morphological analysis of a typical mutable collagenous structure in its different mechanical states. The model studied was the compass depressor ligament (CDL) of a sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus), which was characterized in different functional states mimicking MCT mutability. Transmission electron microscopy, histochemistry, cryo-scanning electron microscopy, focused ion beam/scanning electron microscopy, and field emission gun-environmental scanning electron microscopy were used to visualize CDLs at the micro- and nano-scales. This investigation has revealed previously unreported differences in both extracellular and cellular constituents, expanding the current knowledge of the relationship between the organization of the CDL and its mechanical state. Scanning electron microscopies in particular provided a three-dimensional overview of CDL architecture at the micro- and nano-scales, and clarified the micro-organization of the ECM components that are involved in mutability. Further evidence that the juxtaligamental cells are the effectors of these changes in mechanical properties was provided by a correlation between their cytology and the tensile state of the CDLs

Matrix metalloproteinases in a sea urchin ligament with adaptable mechanical properties

Mutable collagenous tissues (MCTs) of echinoderms show reversible changes in tensile properties (mutability) that are initiated and modulated by the nervous system via the activities of cells known as juxtaligamental cells. The molecular mechanism underpinning this mechanical adaptability has still to be elucidated. Adaptable connective tissues are also present in mammals, most notably in the uterine cervix, in which changes in stiffness result partly from changes in the balance between matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). There have been no attempts to assess the potential involvement of MMPs in the echinoderm mutability phenomenon, apart from studies dealing with a process whose relationship to the latter is uncertain. In this investigation we used the compass depressor ligaments (CDLs) of the sea-urchin Paracentrotus lividus. The effect of a synthetic MMP inhibitor - galardin - on the biomechanical properties of CDLs in different mechanical states ("standard", "compliant" and "stiff") was evaluated by dynamic mechanical analysis, and the presence of MMPs in normal and galardin-treated CDLs was determined semi-quantitatively by gelatin zymography. Galardin reversibly increased the stiffness and storage modulus of CDLs in all three states, although its effect was significantly lower in stiff than in standard or compliant CDLs. Gelatin zymography revealed a progressive increase in total gelatinolytic activity between the compliant, standard and stiff states, which was possibly due primarily to higher molecular weight components resulting from the inhibition and degradation of MMPs. Galardin caused no change in the gelatinolytic activity of stiff CDLs, a pronounced and statistically significant reduction in that of standard CDLs, and a pronounced, but not statistically significant, reduction in that of compliant CDLs. Our results provide evidence that MMPs may contribute to the variable tensility of the CDLs, in the light of which we provide an updated hypothesis for the regulatory mechanism controlling MCT mutability

Biodegradable polymeric materials based on hydrolyzed proteins for agricultural applications

Aim of the research is the development of biodegradable polymeric materials based on hydrolyzed proteins, derived from waste products of the leather industry. Soil mulching coatings, made with the biodegradable materials, were applied to the soil by means of spray techniques; the coatings were tested in an ornamental cultivation carried out inside a greenhouse. Containers for seedlings transplant were realized using the biodegradable materials; seedling production and post-plant performance were analyzed. The containers were tested in a pepper cultivation carried out inside the greenhouse. The innovative biodegradable spray coatings lasted in the field up to 9 months. The biodegradable containers for seedlings transplanting showed a good resistance during the first stage of use, when the seedlings were grown from the seeds before the transplanting; the biodegradable materials showed a soil fertilizing effect, due to the slow release of proteinaceous material, as a result of the biodegradation process

Nuovi materiali polimerici biodegradabili da risorse rinnovabili

The aim of this paper is to describe the development and the application of novel biodegradable polymeric materials based on hydrolyzed proteins, derived from waste products of the leather industry, to be used in the agricultural application, in particular as biodegradable mulch spray coatings in horticulture and to create biodegradable containers for seedlings. Through the appropriate dosage of additives such as natural fibres, fillers, pigments and plasticizers, it is possible to modulate the physico-chemical and mechanical properties, and the mulching effect of films. Tests were carried out in order to prove the feasibility of the novel spray mulching coatings by investigating their functionality and the mechanical behavior in a standard and controlled experimental condition during the field test. The biodegradable containers for seedlings transplanting were tested in a field test; the seedlings, starting from the seeds, grew inside the innovative containers

Nuovi materiali polimerici biodegradabili da risorse rinnovabili

The aim of this paper is to describe the development and the application of novel biodegradable polymeric materials based on hydrolyzed proteins, derived from waste products of the leather industry, to be used in the agricultural application, in particular as biodegradable mulch spray coatings in horticulture and to create biodegradable containers for seedlings. Through the appropriate dosage of additives such as natural fibres, fillers, pigments and plasticizers, it is possible to modulate the physico-chemical and mechanical properties, and the mulching effect of films. Tests were carried out in order to prove the feasibility of the novel spray mulching coatings by investigating their functionality and the mechanical behavior in a standard and controlled experimental condition during the field test. The biodegradable containers for seedlings transplanting were tested in a field test; the seedlings, starting from the seeds, grew inside the innovative containers