Strategic energy flows in input-output relations: a temporal multilayer approach

The energy consumption, the transfer of resources through the international trade, the transition towards renewable energies and the environmental sustainability appear as key drivers in order to evaluate the resilience of the energy systems. Concerning the consumptions, in the literature a great attention has been paid to direct energy, but the production of goods and services also involves indirect energy. Hence, in this work we consider different types of embodied energy sources and the time evolution of the sectors' and countries' interactions. Flows are indeed used to construct a directed and weighted temporal multilayer network based respectively on renewable and non-renewable sources, where sectors are nodes and layers are countries. We provide a methodological approach for analysing the network reliability and resilience and for identifying critical sectors and economies in the system by applying the Multi-Dimensional HITS algorithm. Then, we evaluate central arcs in the network at each time period by proposing a novel topological indicator based on the maximum flow problem. In this way, we provide a full view of economies, sectors and connections that play a relevant role over time in the network and whose removal could heavily affect the stability of the system. We provide a numerical analysis based on the embodied energy flows among countries and sectors in the period from 1990 to 2016. Results prove that the methods are effective in catching the different patterns between renewable and non-renewable energy sources

Inflammatory myofibroblastic lung tumor: its birth, its bleeding growth, its difficult diagnosis and its surgical end in a child

The diagnosis of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is based on radiology and histology. The treatment is surgical, and the prognosis is good. For this reason, although this lung disease is rare, when a child show up at hospital with an unknown hemoptysis, this medical condition should not be underestimated

Massive thymic hyperplasia in a 15-month-old boy: Case report and literature review

Key Clinical Message A surgical approach is the choice in young infants with MTH, who are furthest from the time of physiological involution of the thymus, and when the thymus achieves the largest relative size, a surgical approach is the choice. Steroid therapy has been shown to be ineffective (4, 9, 16, 18-20). No surgical complications have been reported, and the outcome is excellent. Recurrence has been seen in only one case

Holographic interferometry (HI), infrared Vision and X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy for the assessment of painted wooden statues : a new integrated approach

Wood has been routinely employed in decorative arts, as well as in sculptures and paintings (support) during the Middle Ages, because of its unique aesthetic virtues. It may safely be assumed that wood, as a material for monumental sculpture, was much more commonly employed in the mediaeval period than existing examples would seem to indicate (Bulletin of the metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013). Wood is easily obtainable; it could be carved and put in place with less difficulty than stone, it is chemically stable when dry, and its surface offers a compatible substrate for paint application. However, the use of wood is not without pitfalls, and requires an understanding of its anisotropic and hygroscopic nature. It is also dimensionally unstable and subject to deterioration by fungi and insects. Moisture-related dimensional changes are certainly among the most challenging problems in painting conservation. With the purpose of preventing important damages, the use of non-or microdestructive testing (NDT) techniques is undoubtedly of paramount interest for painted wooden statues of great value. This work has a threefold purpose: (1) to validate the effectiveness of an integrated approach using near-infrared (NIR) reflectography, square pulse thermography (SPT), and holographic interferometry (HI) techniques for discovering old repairs and/or inclusions of foreign materials in a wooden structure, (2) to confirm and approximately date the restoration carried out by x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) (that is assembled with a scanning electron microscopy—SEM) techniques, and (3) to combine into a multidisciplinary approach two quantitative NDT results coming from optical and thermographic methods. The subject of the present study was a statue named “Virgin with her Child” (XIV century), whose origins are mysterious and not properly documented

Number of Nodes Removed With Inguinofemoral Lymphadenectomy and Risk of Isolated Groin Recurrence in Women With FIGO Stage IB-II Squamous Cell Vulvar Cancer

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate if the lymph node count from inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy impacted the risk of isolated groin recurrence in patients with nodenegative squamous cell vulvar cancer.Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of women with squamous cell vulvar cancer (stage IBYII according to the 2009 Revised International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging system) who underwent primary radical vulvar surgery and groin lymphadenectomy between January 2005 and December 2014. Patients' sociodemographic characteristics, the disease characteristics, the number of nodes removed from each groin, and the oncologic outcomewere evaluated. A cutoff value of at least 6 nodes removed from each groin was used to define the adequacy of inguinofemoral dissection.Results: Seventy-six patients, fulfilling the study inclusion criteria, were considered. The mean number of nodes removed (bilaterally) was 14.5 (T5.3, SD), with a range of 2 to 29 nodes. Thirty-three women (43.4%) had less than 6 nodes removed from each groin. In the whole study cohort, 4 cases of isolated groin recurrence (5.3%) were detected, and all these recurrences developed in patients with less than 6 nodes removed. Considering the demographic, clinical, and histopathological characteristics potentially related to the risk of groin recurrence, only the number of nodes removed showed a significant correlation.Conclusions: Women treated for vulvar cancer in which less than 6 nodes are removed from each groin are at higher risk of groin recurrence

Short-term abstinence from cocaine self-administration, but not passive cocaine infusion, elevates αCaMKII autophosphorylation in the rat nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortex

Increases in alpha calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II ( α CaMKII) activity in the nucleus accumbens shell has been proposed as a core component in the motivation to self-administer cocaine and in priming-induced drug-seeking. Since cocaine withdrawal promotes drug-seeking, we hypothesized that abstinence from cocaine self-administration should enhance α CaMKII as well. We found that short-term abstinence from contingent, but not non-contingent, cocaine i.v. self-administration (2 h/d for 14 d; 0.25 mg/0.1 ml, 6s infusion) elevates α CaMKII autophosphorylation, but not the kinase expression, in a dynamic, time- and brain region-dependent manner. Increased α CaMKII autophosphorylation in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), but not dorsolateral striatum (dlS), was found 24 h, but not immediately, after the last cocaine self-administration session. Notably, in the mPFC, but not NAc and dlS, α CaMKII autophosphorylation was still enhanced 7 d later. The persistent enhancement in the mPFC of abstinent rats may represent a previously unappreciated contribution to initial incubation of cocaine-seeking

Tissue transglutaminase is involved in the inflammatory processes of active chronic gastritis

Since tissue transglutaminase-2 (TG2) can represent a marker of inflammation for some gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, we aimed to evaluate TG2 and inflammatory markers? mucosal content in gastric antrum biopsies to shed light on the histological and biochemical background of chronic gastritis inflammation. Fifty-one of 78 patients who underwent upper GI endoscopy (UGIE) for dyspeptic symptoms, had a gastric biopsy. The symptom profile was assessed by a GI symptom rating scale (GSRS) score. Thirty-five patients (69%) showed chronic gastritis. TG2, interleukin-6 (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-?, lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 were evaluated in serum and the culture medium of gastric biopsies. TG2, IL-8, IL-10, TLR-4 and TNF-? were significantly higher in active chronic gastritis than in the inactive one and were linked to macrophage concentration. IL-6 was significantly lower in the active form of chronic gastritis than in the inactive one and negatively correlated with TG2. Lastly, IL-10 significantly correlated with the macrophage score. TG2 can exert an active role in chronic gastritis pathogenesis by cooperating with different markers of inflammation. It seems that TG2 can represent a possible therapeutic target for modulating inflammation and disease progression

Vaginal Intraepithelial Neoplasia: Histopathological Upgrading of Lesions and Evidence of Occult Vaginal Cancer

Objective The aim of this study was to analyze women treated with excisional procedures for vaginal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs). The histopathological upgrading of the lesions previously detected on vaginal biopsy and the presence of occult invasive vaginal cancer in the specimens excised were investigated, to identify a higher risk subset of women.Materials and Methods A retrospective analysis of the medical records of 86 women with a biopsy histopathologic diagnosis of vaginal HSIL (vaginal intraepithelial neoplasias [VaINs]: VaIN2 and VaIN3) and subsequent excisional therapy, consecutively referred to the Aviano National Cancer Institute (Aviano, Italy) from January 1991 to April 2014, was performed.Results Of the 86 patients, 4 cases (4.6%) of occult vaginal cancer were detected, all of them in women previously diagnosed with VaIN3 on biopsy (4/39 cases, 10.3%). Women with diagnosis of VaIN2 on biopsy showed an upgrading of lesions, with diagnosis of VaIN3 on the final specimen in 5 (10.6%) of 47 cases, with no cases of VAIN2 upgraded to invasive cancer. In 33.3% of the women initially diagnosed with VaIN2 and with previous hysterectomy for human papillomavirus-related disease, a final histopathological upgrading of lesions emerged. Furthermore, tobacco use was significantly related to the histopathological upgrading of lesions previously detected on vaginal biopsy.Conclusions Women diagnosed with VaIN3 should be treated with excisional procedures as first-line surgical approach, given the risk of occult invasive disease in 10% of the cases. Women diagnosed with VaIN2 and with previous hysterectomy for human papillomavirus-related cervical diseases should always be carefully evaluated and possibly excised, given the higher risk of histopathological upgrading of lesions and thus the potential risk of occult vaginal cancer. Tobacco users should be considered as high-risk group

Postnatal growth in a cohort of Sardinian intrauterine growth-restricted infants

Recent studies have shown that infants with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) undergo catch-up growth during infancy. The aim of our study was to evaluate the postnatal growth in a cohort of IUGR infants born in a tertiary-level Obstetric University Hospital of Northern Sardinia. An observational retrospective study was conducted on 12 IUGR (group A) and 12 control infants (group B) by measuring the anthropometric parameters of weight (W), length (L) and head circumference (HC) from birth to the 3rd postnatal year. At birth, significant differences were found between group A and group B with regard to all the auxological parameters (W, mean 1846.6 versus 3170.8 g, p < 0.0001; HC, 30.1 versus 34.4 cm, p < 0.0001; L, mean 43.4 versus 49.4 cm, p < 0.0001). During the 1st year, 8 of 12 (70%) IUGR infants exhibited a significant catch-up growth in the 3 anthropometric parameters and a regular growth until the 3rd year of follow-up. The majority but not all infants born with IUGR in our series showed significant postnatal catch-up growth essentially during the first 12 months of life. An improved knowledge of the causes of IUGR will help to develop measures for its prevention and individualized treatment

ART'00 - Azzurra Robot Team for the Year 2000

n/