Silent surfaces : an experience in Portugal

It is acknowledged that traffic noise affects human behaviour and health. Measures aiming at mitigating the impact of traffic noise are not always viable in urban areas. In Portugal, road designers have recently started to consider silent surfaces as alternative within their road pavement projects. In this paper the tire-surface noise of three surface layers integrated in a rehabilitation project carried out in an urban road that carries more than 40000 vehicles per day is assessed: i) one dense asphalt layer with limited maximum aggregate size, following the SILVIA recommendations for low noise surfaces; ii) two very-thin surfaces with different grading, which are an adaptation of the very-thin layers widely used in France to Portuguese conditions. The surface layers were constructed consecutively, involving segment lengths with more than 500 m. The surface texture was measured using a high speed profilometer. Skid resistance was also measured. The noise level was measured both by pass-by tests with selected traffic (trucks and light vehicles) at several speeds and by close proximity tests. The thin layers tested provided very good noise reduction values, especially at high speeds, and had a better performance than gap graded asphalt rubber surfaces frequently used in Portugal

A unique population of effector memory lymphocytes identified by CD146 having a distinct immunophenotypic and genomic profile

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>CD146 is a well described homotypic adhesion molecule found on endothelial cells and a limited number of other cell types. In cells from the peripheral circulation, CD146 has also been reported to be on activated lymphocytes <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo</it>. The function associated with CD146 expression on lymphoid cells is unknown and very little information is available concerning the nature of CD146+ lymphocytes. In the current study, lymphocytes from healthy donors were characterized based upon the presence or absence of CD146 expression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CD146 was expressed on a low percentage of circulating T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and NK cells in healthy individuals. CD146 expression can be induced and upregulated <it>in vitro </it>on both B cells and T cells, but does not correlate with the expression of other markers of T cell activation. CD146 positive T cells do not represent clonal expansions as determined with the use of anti Vβ reagents. Data suggest that CD146 positive cells have enhanced adherence to endothelial monolayers in vitro. Gene profiling and immunophenotyping studies between CD146+ and CD146- T cells revealed several striking genotypic distinctions such as the upregulation of IL-8 and phenotypic differences including the paucity of CCR7 and CD45RA among CD146 positive T cells, consistent with effector memory function. A number of genes involved in cell adhesion, signal transduction, and cell communication are dramatically upregulated in CD146+ T cells compared to CD146- T cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>CD146 appears to identify small, unique populations of T as well as B lymphocytes in the circulation. The T cells have immunophenotypic characteristics of effector memory lymphocytes. The characteristics of these CD146+ lymphocytes in the circulation, together with the known functions in cell adhesion of CD146 on endothelial cells, suggests that these lymphocytes may represent a small subpopulation of cells primed to adhere to the endothelium and possibly extravasate to sites of inflammation.</p

Perivascular-like cells contribute to the stability of the vascular network of osteogenic tissue formed from cell sheet-based constructs

In recent years several studies have been supporting the existence of a close relationship in terms of function and progeny between Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) and Pericytes. This concept has opened new perspectives for the application of MSCs in Tissue Engineering (TE), with special interest for the pre-vascularization of cell dense constructs. In this work, cell sheet technology was used to create a scaffold-free construct composed of osteogenic, endothelial and perivascular-like (CD146+) cells for improved in vivo vessel formation, maturation and stability. The CD146 pericyte-associated phenotype was induced from human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) by the supplementation of standard culture medium with TGF-b1. Co-cultured cell sheets were obtained by culturing perivascular-like (CD146+) cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) on an hBMSCs monolayer maintained in osteogenic medium for 7 days. The perivascular-like (CD146+) cells and the HUVECs migrated and organized over the collagen-rich osteogenic cell sheet, suggesting the existence of cross-talk involving the co-cultured cell types. Furthermore the presence of that particular ECM produced by the osteoblastic cells was shown to be the key regulator for the singular observed organization. The osteogenic and angiogenic character of the proposed constructs was assessed in vivo. Immunohistochemistry analysis of the explants revealed the integration of HUVECs with the host vasculature as well as the osteogenic potential of the created construct, by the expression of osteocalcin. Additionally, the analysis of the diameter of human CD146 positive blood vessels showed a higher mean vessel diameter for the co-cultured cell sheet condition, reinforcing the advantage of the proposed model regarding blood vessels maturation and stability and for the in vitro pre-vascularization of TE constructs.Funding provided by Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia project Skingineering (PTDC/SAU-OSM/099422/2008). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

"Dangerous to Themselves and Others, and of Public Scandal": The Internment Procedure

Abstract Through G.'s admission and medical files, this chapter illustrates internment laws and procedures, highlighting how Fascism pushed pre-existing legislation to its extreme consequences. In reconstructing internment's bureaucratic and legal practices, the chapter emphasises how the law could be bent to accommodate the regime's need to isolate those perceived as "different" and how psychiatry acquiesced in offering to "correct" individuals considered "non-conforming", "amoral", "immoral", "deviant", rebellious and, among them, homosexuals, in exchange for an increase of power and status

Butane-based heat pump for advanced GTCC applications: Static and dynamic model validation

The Thermochemical Power Group (TPG) of the University of Genoa is investigating innovative solutions to increase the flexibility of gas turbine combined cycles (GTCC) and extend their operative range by integrating large size high performance heat pumps. Achieving this goal would make GTCCs more competitive in the future energy market, which will be characterized by a heavy presence of non-dispatchable renewable energy sources. Within this framework, the authors designed and built a new experimental facility to emulate advanced GTCCs at laboratory scale, integrating a 100 kWel micro gas turbine (MGT), a 10 kWel heat pump (HP) and a 180 kWh cold thermal energy storage (TES), with scale-up equations and dynamic models, capable of hardware-in-the-loop tests. The focus of this article is on the HP, which uses n-butane (R600) as working fluid and can be used both to heat and cool down the MGT compressor intake. The HP features one superheater and a 6-cylinder reciprocating compressor, which rotational speed can be continuously varied from 900rpm to 1800rpm. A dynamic model of the HP was developed in TRANSEO, with dedicated Matlab-Simulink® models. This model includes all the components of the HP closed loop, making it possible to simulate its performance and monitor all the main process parameters, such as compressor operation and condensing pressure. This model can be used to simulate the HP in various conditions, including part-load and transient operations, and to aid the design of the advanced GTCC control system. The evaporator and condenser models solve a system of non-linear equations to compute pressure, temperature, and distribution of the different phases of the working fluid along the heat exchangers. Such phase distribution is computed following a moving boundary approach. An experimental campaign was carried out to collect data regarding the stationary performance of the HP. Values of COP and thermal power were analysed as a function of compressor speed and pressure at the condenser, keeping the conditions at the evaporator constant. Then, its transient behaviour was characterized, observing its response to step changes of both evaporator and condenser thermal loads. The model was then successfully calibrated and validated on both stationary and transient data, showing good accuracy. Based on these results, it will be possible to integrate the HP model within larger system simulation tools. Having an accurate digital twin of the whole GTCC integrating HPs and TES will make possible to develop and verify complex control logics on many different scenarios, relying on a safe model-in-the-loop setup, before actual implementation in the field