Sulla tossicità di alcuni propellenti per missili

In missilistica trovano impiego propellenti ed ossidantidotati di notevole tossicità. Tra i primi si ricorda l'ammoniaca, l'anilina,gli alcooli (etilico, metilico, forfurilico), lo J p 4, i borani, i derivati metilatidell'idrazina. Tra i secondi il perossido di idrogeno, l'ossigeno liquido,l'acido nitroso nitrico fumante ecc.I principali aspetti tossicologici ed igienico-sanitari derivati dall'impiegodi molte di tali sostanze, alcune delle quali trovano estese applicazioni nelindustria,sono ormai sufficientemente chiariti dall'ampia letteratura in argomento.Par tale motivo l'A. circoscrive la propria esposizione ai boranied ai derivati metilati dell'idrazina-, dal cui impiego, praticamente confinatoal settore missilistico, possono derivare all'organismo danni meno largamenteconosciuti, e, sotto certi aspetti, t u t t o r a abbisognevoli di ulteriori chiarimenti.Per tali sostanze vengono riferite le principali caratteristiche fìsiche echimiche, le vie (li penetrazione nell'organismo, i dati relativi alla loro tossicitàacuta, sub-acuta e cronica, con particolare riguardo alle concerntrazionial limite di tossicità, la sintomatologia dell'intossicazione e, per concludere,le principali norme preventive

Aducanumab: a new phase in therapeutic development for Alzheimer’s disease?

On 7 June(,) the FDA approved aducanumab, the first new drug for Alzheimer’s disease in almost 20 years—and notably, the first drug with a putative disease‐modifying mechanism for the treatment of this devastating disorder, namely the removal of β‐amyloid (or Aβ) plaques from the brain

Cms gem detector material study for the hl-lhc

A study on the Gaseous Electron Multiplier (GEM) foil material is performed to determine the moisture diffusion rate, moisture saturation level and the effects on its mechanical properties. The study is focused on the foil contact with ambient air and moisture to determine the value of the diffusion coefficient of water in the foil material. The presence of water inside the detector foil can determine the changes in its mechanical and electrical properties. A simulated model is developed with COMSOL Multiphysics v. 4.3 [1] by taking into account the real GEM foil (hole dimensions, shapes and material), which describes the adsorption of water. This work describes the model, its experimental verification, the water diffusion within the entire sheet geometry of the GEM foil, thus gaining concentration profiles and the time required to saturate the system and the effects on the mechanical properties

Timing and modulation of activity in the lower limb muscles during indoor rowing: What are the key muscles to target in FES-rowing protocols?

The transcutaneous stimulation of lower limb muscles during indoor rowing (FES Rowing) has led to a new sport and recreation and significantly increased health benefits in paraplegia. Stimulation is often delivered to quadriceps and hamstrings; this muscle selection seems based on intuition and not biomechanics and is likely suboptimal. Here, we sample surface EMGs from 20 elite rowers to assess which, when, and how muscles are activated during indoor rowing. From EMG amplitude we specifically quantified the onset of activation and silencing, the duration of activity and how similarly soleus, gastrocnemius medialis, tibialis anterior, rectus femoris, vastus lateralis and medialis, semitendinosus, and biceps femoris muscles were activated between limbs. Current results revealed that the eight muscles tested were recruited during rowing, at different instants and for different durations. Rectus and biceps femoris were respectively active for the longest and briefest periods. Tibialis anterior was the only muscle recruited within the recovery phase. No side differences in the timing of muscle activity were observed. Regression analysis further revealed similar, bilateral modulation of activity. The relevance of these results in determining which muscles to target during FES Rowing is discussed. Here, we suggest a new strategy based on the stimulation of vasti and soleus during drive and of tibialis anterior during recovery

Serum lipids, retinoic acid and phenol red differentially regulate expression of keratins K1, K10 and K2 in cultured keratinocytes

Abnormal keratinocyte differentiation is fundamental to pathologies such as skin cancer and mucosal inflammatory diseases. The ability to grow keratinocytes in vitro allows the study of differentiation however any translational value is limited if keratinocytes get altered by the culture method. Although serum lipids (SLPs) and phenol red (PR) are ubiquitous components of culture media their effect on differentiation is largely unknown. We show for the first time that PR and SLP themselves suppress expression of differentiation-specific keratins K1, K10 and K2 in normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK) and two important cell lines, HaCaT and N/TERT-1. Removal of SLP increased expression of K1, K10 and K2 in 2D and 3D cultures, which was further enhanced in the absence of PR. The effect was reversed for K1 and K10 by adding all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) but increased for K2 in the absence of PR. Furthermore, retinoid regulation of differentiation-specific keratins involves post-transcriptional mechanisms as we show KRT2 mRNA is stabilised whilst KRT1 and KRT10 mRNAs are destabilised in the presence of ATRA. Taken together, our results indicate that the presence of PR and SLP in cell culture media may significantly impact in vitro studies of keratinocyte differentiation

Characterization of the water diffusion in GEM foil material

Systematic studies on the GEM foil material are performed to measure the moisture diffusion rate and saturation level.These studies are important because the presence of this compound inside the detector’s foil can possibly change its mechanical and electrical properties,and in such a way,the detector performance can be affected.To understand this phenomenon,a model is developed with COMSOL Multiphysicsv.4.3 which described the adsorption and diffusion within the geometry of GEM foil,the concentration profiles and the time required to saturate the foil.The COMSOL model is verified by experimental observations on a GEM foil sample.This note will describe the model and its experimental verification results