Aerodynamic Analysis of the Aerospaceplane HYPLANE in Supersonic Rarefied Flow

HyPlane is the Italian aerospaceplane proposal targeting, at the same time, both the space tourism and point-to-point intercontinental hypersonic flights. Unlike other aerospaceplane projects, relying on boosters or mother airplanes that bring the vehicle to high altitude, HyPlane will take off and land horizontally from common runways. According to the current project, HyPlane will fly sub-orbital trajectories under high-supersonic/low-hypersonic continuum flow regimes. It can go beyond the von Karman line at 100 km altitude for a short time, then starting the descending leg of the trajectory. Its aerodynamic behavior up to 70 km have already been studied and the results published in previous works. In the present paper some aspects of the aerodynamic behavior of HyPlane have been analyzed at 80, 90 and 100 km. Computer tests, calculating the aerodynamic parameters, have been carried out by a Direct Simulation Monte Carlo code. The effects of the Knudsen, Mach and Reynolds numbers have been evaluated in clean configuration. The effects of the aerodynamic surfaces on the rolling, pitching and yawing moments, and therefore on the capability to control attitude, have been analyzed at h=100 km. The aerodynamic behavior has been compared also with that of another aerospaceplane at 100 km both in clean and flapped configuration

Signal transduction through tyrosine-phosphorylated C-terminal fragments of amyloid precursor protein via an enhanced interaction with Shc/Grb2 adaptor proteins in reactive astrocytes of Alzheimer's disease brain.

The proteolytic processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) through the formation of membrane-bound C-terminal fragments (CTFs) and of soluble beta-amyloid peptides likely influences the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We show that in human brain a subset of CTFs are tyrosine-phosphorylated and form stable complexes with the adaptor protein ShcA. Grb2 is also part of these complexes, which are present in higher amounts in AD than in control brains. ShcA immunoreactivity is also greatly enhanced in patients with AD and occurs at reactive astrocytes surrounding cerebral vessels and amyloid plaques. A higher amount of phospho-ERK1,2, likely as result of the ShcA activation, is present in AD brains. In vitro experiments show that the ShcA-CTFs interaction is strictly confined to glial cells when treated with thrombin, which is a well known ShcA and ERK1,2 activator and a regulator of APP cleavage. In untreated cells ShcA does not interact with either APP or CTFs, although they are normally generated. Altogether these data suggest that CTFs are implicated in cell signaling via Shc transduction machinery, likely influencing MAPK activity and glial reaction in AD patients

Review Pages: Methods, Tools and Best practices to Increase the Capacity of Urban Systems to Adapt to Natural and Man-made Changes

Starting from the relationship between urban planning and mobility management, TeMA has gradually expanded the view of the covered topics, always remaining in the groove of rigorous scientific in-depth analysis. During the last two years a particular attention has been paid on the Smart Cities theme and on the different meanings that come with it. The last section of the journal is formed by the Review Pages. They have different aims: to inform on the problems, trends and evolutionary processes; to investigate on the paths by highlighting the advanced relationships among apparently distant disciplinary fields; to explore the interaction’s areas, experiences and potential applications; to underline interactions, disciplinary developments but also, if present, defeats and setbacks. Inside the journal the Review Pages have the task of stimulating as much as possible the circulation of ideas and the discovery of new points of view. For this reason the section is founded on a series of basic’s references, required for the identification of new and more advanced interactions. These references are the research, the planning acts, the actions and the applications, analysed and investigated both for their ability to give a systematic response to questions concerning the urban and territorial planning, and for their attention to aspects such as the environmental sustainability and the innovation in the practices. For this purpose the Review Pages are formed by five sections (Web Resources; Books; Laws; Urban Practices; News and Events), each of which examines a specific aspect of the broader information storage of interest for TeMA

TPLATE recruitment reveals endocytic dynamics at sites of symbiotic interface assembly in arbuscular mycorrhizal interactions

Introduction: Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis between soil fungi and the majority of plants is based on a mutualistic exchange of organic and inorganic nutrients. This takes place inside root cortical cells that harbor an arbuscule: a highly branched intracellular fungal hypha enveloped by an extension of the host cell membrane—the perifungal membrane—which outlines a specialized symbiotic interface compartment. The perifungal membrane develops around each intracellular hypha as the symbiotic fungus proceeds across the root tissues; its biogenesis is the result of an extensive exocytic process and shows a few similarities with cell plate insertion which occurs at the end of somatic cytokinesis. Materials and Methods: We here analyzed the subcellular localization of a GFP fusion with TPLATE, a subunit of the endocytic TPLATE complex (TPC), a central actor in plant clathrin-mediated endocytosis with a role in cell plate anchoring with the parental plasma membrane. Results: Our observations demonstrate that Daucus carota and Medicago truncatula root organ cultures expressing a 35S::AtTPLATE-GFP construct accumulate strong fluorescent green signal at sites of symbiotic interface construction, along recently formed perifungal membranes and at sites of cell-to-cell hyphal passage between adjacent cortical cells, where the perifungal membrane fuses with the plasmalemma. Discussion: Our results strongly suggest that TPC-mediated endocytic processes are active during perifungal membrane interface biogenesis—alongside exocytic transport. This novel conclusion, which might be correlated to the accumulation of late endosomes in the vicinity of the developing interface, hints at the involvement of TPC-dependent membrane remodeling during the intracellular accommodation of AM fungi

Reviews Pages: Methods, tools and best practices to increase the capacity of urban system to adapt to natural and man-made changes 3 (2017)

Starting from the relationship between urban planning and mobility management, TeMA has gradually expanded the view of the covered topics, always remaining in the groove of rigorous scientific in-depth analysis. During the last two years a particular attention has been paid on the Smart Cities theme and on the different meanings that come with it. The last section of the journal is formed by the Review Pages. They have different aims: to inform on the problems, trends and evolutionary processes; to investigate on the paths by highlighting the advanced relationships among apparently distant disciplinary fields; to explore the interaction’s areas, experiences and potential applications; to underline interactions, disciplinary developments but also, if present, defeats and setbacks. Inside the journal the Review Pages have the task of stimulating as much as possible the circulation of ideas and the discovery of new points of view. For this reason the section is founded on a series of basic’s references, required for the identification of new and more advanced interactions. These references are the research, the planning acts, the actions and the applications, analysed and investigated both for their ability to give a systematic response to questions concerning the urban and territorial planning, and for their attention to aspects such as the environmental sustainability and the innovation in the practices. For this purpose the Review Pages are formed by five sections (Web Resources; Books; Laws; Urban Practices; News and Events), each of which examines a specific aspect of the broader information storage of interest for TeMA

Plantar pressure distribution analysis in normal weight young women and men with normal and claw feet: a cross-sectional study

We analyzed the plantar support in 72 normal-weight young voluntaries (46 women, 26 men), by a baropodometric platform. We considered subjects with claw foot (CFS) and subjects with normal foot (NFS). We found a significant reduction of total plantar support surface in the CFS (P < 0.0001 for women, P < 0.001 for men), due to the reduction of the forefoot and rear foot areas of both plantar imprints. Indeed, CFS of both sexes exhibited higher values of both plantar pressure and peak pressure, compared to the NFS. Moreover, the load per units of plantar surface increased in CFS compared to the NFS. In conclusion, the reduction of plantar support surfaces in CFS of both sexes was associated to a major load per units of plantar surface in the forefoot and rear foot areas, and this may be a risk factor to lower extremity overuse injuries

BioEnterics Intragastric Balloon (BIB) versus Spatz Adjustable BalloonSystem (ABS): Our experience in the elderly

The BioEnterics Intragastric Balloon (BIB) and the Spatz Adjustable Balloon System (ABS) are in fact recommended for weight reduction as a bridge to bariatric surgery. We retrospected studied patients with body mass index (BMI) and age ranges of 37e46 and 70e80 years, respectively, who had undergone BIB from January 2010 to July 2012 and prospected studied patients who had undergone Spatz balloon from July 2012 to August 2014. The aim of this study is to compare BIB and Spatz in terms of weight loss, complications, and maintenance of weight after removal. For both procedures, the median weight loss was 20 ± 3 kg, median BMI at the end of the therapy was 32 ± 2, and no severe complication occurred

Bimodal strategy for excellent audiological rehabilitation in a subject with a novel nonsense mutation of the SLC26A4 gene: A case report

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On the Formation and Accumulation of Solid Carbon Particles in High-Enthalpy Flows Mimicking Re-Entry in the Titan Atmosphere

The problem relating to the formation of solid particles enabled by hypersonic re-entry in methane-containing atmospheres (such as that of Titan) has been tackled in the framework of a combined experimental-numerical approach implemented via a three-level analysis hierarchy. First experimental tests have been conducted using a wind tunnel driven by an industrial arc-heated facility operating with nitrogen as working gas (the SPES, i.e., the Small Planetary Entry Simulator). The formation of solid phases as a result of the complex chemical reactions established in such conditions has been detected and quantitatively measured with high accuracy. In a second stage of the study, insights into the related formation process have been obtained by using multispecies models relying on the NASA CEA code and the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. Through this approach the range of flow enthalpies in which carbonaceous deposits can be formed has been identified, obtaining good agreement with the experimental findings. Finally, the deposited substance has been analyzed by means of a set of complementary diagnostic techniques, i.e., SEM, spectroscopy (Raman, FTIR, UV-visible absorption and fluorescence), GC-MS and TGA. It has been found that carbon produced by the interaction of the simulated Titan atmosphere with a solid probe at very high temperatures can be separated into two chemically different fractions, which also include "tholins"