Chapter Securing the Home Energy Management Platform

Recently, many efforts have been done to chemically functionalize sensors surface to achieve selectivity towards diagnostics targets, such as DNA, RNA fragments and protein tumoural biomarkers, through the surface immobilization of the related specific receptor. Especially, some kind of sensors such as microcantilevers (gravimetric sensors) and one-dimensional photonics crystals (optical sensors) able to couple Bloch surface waves are very sensitive. Thus, any kind of surface modifications devoted to functionalize them has to be finely controlled in terms of mass and optical characteristics, such as refractive index, to minimize the perturbation, on the transduced signal, that can affect the response sensitivity towards the detected target species

Lipid Metabolism in Female Ascaris Lumbricoides During Starvation

Physiolog

Grek and Greek style pottery in the Sibaritide during the 8th cantury B.C.

The current article analyzes two aspects of cultural and material interaction between Greek and indigenous populations in Northern Calabria during the 8th c. B.C. The analysis outlines a local production of Oinotrian-Euboean pottery and the appearance of the earliest Corinthian imported ceramics from the Middle Geometric II and Late Geometric periods at the indigenous site of Timpone della Motta, close to present day Francavilla Marittima in Northern Calabria and other indigenous sites in the nearby Sibaritide. Traditionally, the Timpone della Motta has been regarded as a central and important indigenous settlement from the end of the 9th c. B.C and its size and importance increased during the course of the first half of the 8th c. B.C. The importance of the site is reflected in the construction on the summit of large monumental hut structures that seem to have had a ritual function, and in a rapidly expanding necropolis in the nearby Macchiabate area. Until recently, the material culture of the site pointed to an almost exclusively indigenous presence with only a few occasional importedobjects, mainly Corinthian Late Geometric ceramics, which have rightly been taken as evidence for direct or indirect sporadic contact between the indigenous population and the Greeks. The foundation of the Greek colony of Sybaris, circa 12 km to the southeast of Francavilla Marittima, became a turning point for the indigenous settlements of the Sibaritide

Off-label use of rituximab for systemic lupus erythematosus in Europe

Objectives: Rituximab (RTX) is a biological treatment used off-label in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This survey aimed to investigate the off-label use of RTX in Europe and compare the characteristics of patients receiving RTX with those receiving conventional therapy. Methods: Data on patients with SLE receiving RTX were taken from the International Registry for Biologics in SLE retrospective registry and complemented with data on patients with SLE treated with conventional therapy. For nationwide estimates of RTX use in patients with SLE, investigators were asked to provide data through case report forms (CRFs). Countries for which no data were submitted through CRFs, published literature and/or personal communication were used, and for European countries where no data were available, estimates were made on the assumption of similarities with neighbouring countries. Results: The estimated off-label use of RTX in Europe was 0.5%-1.5% of all patients with SLE. In comparison with patients with SLE on conventional therapy, patients treated with RTX had longer disease duration, higher disease activity and were more often treated with immunosuppressives. The most frequent organ manifestations for which either RTX or conventional therapy was initiated were lupus nephritis followed by musculoskeletal and haematological. The reason for treatment was, besides disease control, corticosteroid-sparing for patients treated with conventional therapy. Conclusions: RTX use for SLE in Europe is restrictive and appears to be used as a last resort in patients for whom other reasonable options have been exhausted