411 research outputs found
Energy performance of diaphragm walls used as heat exchangers
The possibility of equipping diaphragm walls as ground heat exchangers to meet the full or partial heating and cooling demands of overlying or adjacent buildings has been explored in recent years. In this paper, the factors affecting the energy performance of diaphragm walls equipped as heat exchangers are investigated through finite element modelling. The numerical approach employed is first validated using available experimental data and then applied to perform parametric analyses. Parameters considered in the analysis include panel width, the ratio between the wall and excavation depths, heat transfer pipe spacing, concrete cover, heat-carrier fluid velocity, concrete thermal properties and the temperature difference between the air within the excavation and the soil behind the wall. The results indicate that increasing the number of pipes by reducing their spacing is the primary route to increasing energy efficiency in the short term. However, the thermal properties of the wall concrete and the temperature excess within the excavation space are also important, with the latter becoming the most significant in the medium to long term. This confirms the benefits of exploiting the retaining walls installed for railway tunnels and metro stations where additional sources of heat are available
DETERMINAZIONE INNOVATIVA DEL ROTENONE NEGLI OLI DI OLIVA DA AGRICOLTURA BIOLOGICA MEDIANTE SPETTROMETRIA DI MASSA TANDEM
Il rotenone, pesticida naturale utilizzato in agricoltura biologica su una grande varietĂ di colture, Ăš stato determinato quantitativamente mediante Atmosheric Pressure Chemical Ionisation Spettrometria di Massa Tandem (APCI MS/MS) nelle olive e negli oli di oliva ottenuti dopo trattamento in una prova di campo che ha interessato la cv Carolea in Calabria. La tecnica analitica ha previsto la realizzazione di esperimenti âMultiple Reaction Monitoringâ (MRM) utilizzando uno standard interno ottenuto per sintesi. Le quantitĂ rilevate sono comprese tra 9 mg/Kg di olio dopo 1 giorno dal trattamento e 0.15 mg/Kg di olio dopo 1 mese circa dal trattamento. Questâultimo valore Ăš molto piĂč elevato dei 40 ”g/Kg permessi dalla legislazione italiana
Bergamot natural products eradicate cancer stem cells (CSCs) by targeting mevalonate, Rho-GDI-signalling and mitochondrial metabolism
Here, we show that a 2:1 mixture of Brutieridin and Melitidin, termed âBMFâ, has a statin-like properties, which
blocks the action of the rate-limiting enzyme for mevalonate biosynthesis, namely HMGR (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-
CoA-reductase). Moreover, our results indicate that BMF functionally inhibits several key characteristics
of CSCs. More specifically, BMF effectively i) reduced ALDH activity, ii) blocked mammosphere
formation and iii) inhibited the activation of CSC-associated signalling pathways (STAT1/3, Notch and Wnt/
beta-catenin) targeting Rho-GDI-signalling. In addition, BMF metabolically inhibited mitochondrial respiration
(OXPHOS) and fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Importantly, BMF did not show the same toxic side-effects in normal
fibroblasts that were observed with statins. Lastly, we show that high expression of the mRNA species encoding
HMGR is associated with poor clinical outcome in breast cancer patients, providing a potential companion
diagnostic for BMF-directed personalized therapy
Hydrolaseâlike catalysis and structural resolution of natural products by a metalâorganic framework
The exact chemical structure of nonâcrystallising natural products is still one of the main challenges in Natural Sciences. Despite tremendous advances in total synthesis, the absolute structural determination of a myriad of natural products with very sensitive chemical functionalities remains undone. Here, we show that a metalâorganic framework (MOF) with alcoholâcontaining arms and adsorbed water, enables selective hydrolysis of glycosyl bonds, supramolecular order with the soâformed chiral fragments and absolute determination of the organic structure by singleâcrystal Xâray crystallography in a single operation. This combined strategy based on a biomimetic, cheap, robust and multigram available solid catalyst opens the door to determine the absolute configuration of ketal compounds regardless degradation sensitiveness, and also to design extremelyâmild metalâfree solidâcatalysed processes without formal acid protons.This work was supported by the Ministero dellâIstruzione, dellâUniversitĂ e della Ricerca
(Italy) and the MINECO (Spain) (Projects CTQ2016-75671-P, CTQ 2017-86735-P,
RTC-2017-6331-5, Severo Ochoa program SEV-2016-0683 and Excellence Unit âMaria
de Maeztuâ MDM-2015-0538). R.B. thanks the MIUR (Project PON R&I FSE-FESR
2014â2020) for grant. L.B wishes to thank Italian MIUR for grant n. AIM1899391â1 in
the framework of the project âAzione I.2, MobilitĂ dei Ricercatori, PON R&I 2014â2020â.
Thanks are also extended to the â2019 Post-doctoral Junior Leader-Retaining Fellowship,
la Caixa Foundation (ID100010434 and fellowship code LCF/BQ/PR19/11700011â (J. F.-
S.). S. S.-N. thanks ITQ for the concession of a contract. D.A. acknowledges the financial
support of the Fondazione CARIPLO/âEconomia Circolare: ricerca per un futuro sostenibileâ
2019, Project code: 2019â2090, MOCA. E.P. acknowledges the financial support
of the European Research Council under the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 research
and innovation program/ERC Grant Agreement No. 814804, MOF-reactors
Postmortem CT pulmonary findings in SARS-CoV-2-positive cases: correlation with lung histopathological findings and autopsy results
Introduction/purpose Postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) is a valuable tool for analyzing the death of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between PMCT lung findings in autopsy cadavers positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection and the severity of COVID-19 lung disease by histopathological analysis.Materials and methods We reviewed chest PMCT findings, paying particular attention to the lung parenchyma, in 8 autopsy cases positive for SARS-CoV-2. Correlations between chest PMCT and histopathological findings were assessed. Clinical conditions and comorbidities were also recorded and discussed. The primary cause of death was finally considered.Results In 6/8 cases, pulmonary PMCT findings were massive consolidation (4/8) and bilateral diffuse mixed densities with a crazy-paving pattern (2/8). These cases showed severe pulmonary signs of COVID-19 at histopathological analysis. In the remaining 2/8 cases, pulmonary PMCT findings were scant antideclive ground-glass opacities in prevalent gradient densities attributed to hypostasis. In 4/8 cases with massive consolidations, important comorbidities were noted. In 6/8 cases with severe pulmonary histopathological signs of lung COVID-19, autopsy found that the cause of death was cardiorespiratory failure. In the remaining 2/8 cases, histopathological analysis revealed lung alterations due to edema and some signs of SARS-CoV-2 infection; the cause of death was not attributed to SARS-CoV-2 infection (Table 1).Discussion and conclusion Chest PMCT findings correlate with the severity of COVID-19 lung disease at histopathology examination. According to our results, there may also be a relationship between cause of death and PMCT findings in COVID-19, which must be critically analyzed considering clinical antemortem data
Postmortem CT pulmonary findings in SARS-CoV-2-positive cases: correlation with lung histopathological findings and autopsy results
Introduction/purpose: Postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) is a valuable tool for analyzing the death of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between PMCT lung findings in autopsy cadavers positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection and the severity of COVID-19 lung disease by histopathological analysis. Materials and methods: We reviewed chest PMCT findings, paying particular attention to the lung parenchyma, in 8 autopsy cases positive for SARS-CoV-2. Correlations between chest PMCT and histopathological findings were assessed. Clinical conditions and comorbidities were also recorded and discussed. The primary cause of death was finally considered. Results: In 6/8 cases, pulmonary PMCT findings were massive consolidation (4/8) and bilateral diffuse mixed densities with a crazy-paving pattern (2/8). These cases showed severe pulmonary signs of COVID-19 at histopathological analysis. In the remaining 2/8 cases, pulmonary PMCT findings were scant antideclive ground-glass opacities in prevalent gradient densities attributed to hypostasis. In 4/8 cases with massive consolidations, important comorbidities were noted. In 6/8 cases with severe pulmonary histopathological signs of lung COVID-19, autopsy found that the cause of death was cardiorespiratory failure. In the remaining 2/8 cases, histopathological analysis revealed lung alterations due to edema and some signs of SARS-CoV-2 infection; the cause of death was not attributed to SARS-CoV-2 infection (Table 1). Discussion and conclusion: Chest PMCT findings correlate with the severity of COVID-19 lung disease at histopathology examination. According to our results, there may also be a relationship between cause of death and PMCT findings in COVID-19, which must be critically analyzed considering clinical antemortem data
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A high-resolution map of human evolutionary constraint using 29 mammals.
The comparison of related genomes has emerged as a powerful lens for genome interpretation. Here we report the sequencing and comparative analysis of 29 eutherian genomes. We confirm that at least 5.5% of the human genome has undergone purifying selection, and locate constrained elements covering âŒ4.2% of the genome. We use evolutionary signatures and comparisons with experimental data sets to suggest candidate functions for âŒ60% of constrained bases. These elements reveal a small number of new coding exons, candidate stop codon readthrough events and over 10,000 regions of overlapping synonymous constraint within protein-coding exons. We find 220 candidate RNA structural families, and nearly a million elements overlapping potential promoter, enhancer and insulator regions. We report specific amino acid residues that have undergone positive selection, 280,000 non-coding elements exapted from mobile elements and more than 1,000 primate- and human-accelerated elements. Overlap with disease-associated variants indicates that our findings will be relevant for studies of human biology, health and disease
A comprehensive evaluation of the kinetic method applied in the determination of the proton affinity of the nucleic acid molecules
Feasibility and acceptability of expressive writing with postpartum women: a randomised controlled trial
Abstract
Background: Pregnancy, birth and adjusting to a new baby is a potentially stressful time that can negatively affect womenâs mental and physical health. Expressive writing, where people write about a stressful event for at least 15 minutes on three consecutive days, has been associated with improved health in some groups but it is not clear whether it is feasible and acceptable for use with postpartum women. This study therefore examined the feasibility and acceptability of expressive writing for postpartum women as part of a randomised controlled trial (RCT).
Methods: The Health After Birth Trial (HABiT) was an RCT evaluating expressive writing for postpartum women which included measures of feasibility and acceptability. At 6 to 12 weeks after birth 854 women were randomised to expressive writing, a control writing task or normal care, and outcome measures of health were measured at baseline, one month later and six months later. Feasibility was measured by recruitment, attrition, and adherence to the intervention. Quantitative and qualitative measures of acceptability of the materials and the task were completed six months after the intervention.
Results: Recruitment was low (10.7% of those invited to participate) and the recruited sample was from a restricted sociodemographic range. Attrition was high, increased as the study progressed (35.8% at baseline, 57.5% at one month, and 68.1% at six months) and was higher in the writing groups than in the normal care group. Women complied with instructions to write expressively or not, but adherence to the instruction to write for 15 minutes per day for three days was low (Expressive writing: 29.3%; Control writing: 23.5%). Acceptability measures showed that women who wrote expressively rated the materials/task both more positively and more negatively than those in the control writing group, and qualitative comments revealed that women enjoyed the writing and/or found it helpful even when it was upsetting.
Conclusions: The feasibility of offering expressive writing as a universal self-help intervention to all postpartum women 6 to 12 weeks after birth in the HABiT trial was low, but the expressive writing intervention was acceptable to the majority of women who completed it
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