Recovery of Cork Manufacturing Waste within Mortar and Polyurethane: Feasibility of Use and Physical, Mechanical, Thermal Insulating Properties of the Final Green Composite Construction Materials

The valorization of industrial waste is a hot topic toward circular economy and sustainability. Several wastes have been proposed as resources for different production processes; however, others are still disposed to landfill or waste-to-energy plants. For the first time, this work suggests a sustainable alternative to managing cork waste from bottle caps manufacturing; this is generated by a local company at about 220,000 m3/year. The powder waste has a 0.063–1 mm particle size and is mainly composed of cork, polyurethane adhesive, and paraffin. Its valorization is proposed as filler in construction materials such as lime-based mortar (1–4 wt%) and polyurethane (5–15 wt%). Thermal, spectroscopic, and physical characterizations are performed on the cork waste, and mainly result in a low apparent density (340 kg/m3) and high-water absorption (177%). Cork properties allow consideration of extra water in the mortar mix and improve lightness without significantly affecting compressive, bending strength, and thermal insulation. Cork waste in polyurethanes promotes a color change, slightly increases the density (up to 12.5%), and still results in producing a thermally insulating material (<0.06 W/mK). Considering the promising results, this study demonstrates the feasibility of using the manufacturing waste from cork bottle caps to produce green construction materials, thus upgrading it from waste to secondary raw material

Training Attention in Physical Education: Effects on Typically Developing and DCD Children

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SARS-CoV-2 and the nervous system: review on pathogenesis of nervous system SARS-CoV-2 damage

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Role of PTH in Bone Marrow Niche and HSC Regulation

Purpose of Review. The bone marrow microenvironment hosts a multicellular complex that is extraordinary in its interdependence and function. The composite machinery within the axial and long bones is involved in the homing, maintenance, differentiation, and egress of hematopoietic/ progenitors stem cells (HSCS) as well as mesenchymal/ stromal stem cells (MSCs) that dwell in specific anatomical areas inside the marrow space, described as niches. The need for more efficient hematopoietic stem cell transplantation protocols and bonemarrow manipulation techniques has motivated scientists to identify effective niche regulators such as the parathyroid hormone (PTH). Recent Findings PTH treatment is increasingly used with promising outcomes in autologous and allogeneic transplantation of HSCs, because PTH operates as a significant mediator in HSC engraftment, expansion, and mobilization. In addition to the well-established anti-osteoporotic effect of PTH, there is evidence that it may also coordinate hematopoietic stem cell activities. Summary. This report provides up-to-date information about PTH action within marrow niches and highlights the importance of this hormone in the behavior of hematopoietic elements in the bone marrow

Waste Cork in Metakaolin–Geopolymer Matrix: Physico-Mechanical Characterization

Cork powdery waste (CW) from agglomerated cork caps manufacturing is commonly transported to waste-to-energy plants, although it could be locally exploited for lightweight building materials. The transformation of CW into a geopolymer formulation to obtain a novel composite formulation suitable for insulating panels is presented in this contribution. The geopolymer mix was based on metakaolin added to NaOH and Na silicate solutions, to which 2.4, 4.8 and 9.1 wt% (calculated upon dry metakaolin) of CW in the form of as-received powdery waste were added. No pre-treatments were performed on CW and no thermal curing was conducted for the alkaliactivated product that was consolidated at room temperature to improve product sustainability. The insulating panel presented an apparent density of about 1.521 to 0.990 ± 0.001 g/cm3 , combined with a total porosity in the range of 35.61 to 56.22 ± 0.003 % for 2.4 to 9.1 wt% of CW, respectively, and this was dependent upon ageing time. The values of its mechanical properties (compressive strength ranged from 2.5 to 1.5 MPa at 28 and 90 days of curing time, complying with UNI EN 998-2) and thermal insulating properties (thermal conductivity around 0.1146 W/mK) indicated that the highest percentage of CW in the formulations, i.e., 9.1 wt%, was suitable to obtain self-standing insulating panels

Does Patient Compliance Influence Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator Effectiveness? A Single-Center Experience

The study was designed to assess patient adherence to wearable cardioverter defibrillator as an indicator of device effectiveness. The patient training is not widely properly standardized. We enrolled 25 patients with a wearable cardioverter defibrillator to prevent sudden cardiac death between June 2020 and August 2022. Among them, 84% were male with a median age of 63.6 years. The indication was an ischemic (44%) and a non-ischemic (56%) disease. The patients were followed-up until the decision to upgrade to an implantable device was taken. We trained the patients according to our suggested protocol. The median wear time was 90 days, and the median daily wear time was 23.5 h, similar throughout sex, age, and indication groups. In total, 24% of the participants underwent cardioverter defibrillator implantation. Between the device-implanted and non-implanted groups, left ventricular ejection fraction and left ventricular indexed end-diastolic volume were significantly different (EF 35.8 & PLUSMN; 12 vs. 46.4 & PLUSMN; 8.5%, p = 0.028, iEDV 108 & PLUSMN; 52 vs. 70.7 & PLUSMN; 21.1 mL/m(2), p = 0.024). We did not find any differences in cardiac magnetic resonance data, even though all patients who underwent device implantation had late gadolinium enhancement spots. Our results support standardized patient training to obtain great patient adherence to the instructions to the wearable device and therefore its effectiveness

Shot-Earth as Sustainable Construction Material: Chemical Aspects and Physical Performance

Soil has long been one of the most widely used building materials globally. The evolution of soil-based construction materials has seen steady improvement over the centuries, even as traditional materials have given way to newer options like reinforced concrete. Nonetheless, soil-based construction has maintained its relevance and, in recent decades, has garnered increased attention due to sustainability concerns and renewed research interest. Among the innovative earth-based materials, shot-earth (SE) stands out as one of the most advanced. Research on SE has facilitated efficient handling of soil variability in mix design and provided structural engineers with relevant models for dimensioning and detailing reinforced SE constructions. This paper focuses on studying the durability characteristics of various types of SE to ascertain their ability to withstand environmental degradation over their intended lifespan. The tests conducted indicate that SE can serve as a viable construction material in numerous real-life scenarios, offering a sustainable alternative to existing materials

Alexithymia for cardiologists: a clinical approach to the patient

Alexithymia literally meaning ‘no words for emotions’ is a term used in mental health settings to describe people who have difficulties in identifying and verbalizing their emotional states. There is evidence in the literature that this personality trait may influence negatively the illness behavior when an acute coronary event occurs. In fact, people with high alexithymia are more likely to experience wrong appraisal and interpretation of symptoms, and because of their difficulty in describing feelings to others, they can be poor in reporting symptoms at the first consultation with a physician. This behavioral pattern (alexithymic) may put patients with acute myocardial infarction at higher risk for delayed medical care. Here, we aim to present an overview of alexithymia from the perspective of the clinical cardiologist, with a focus on the definition, clinical recognition, and potential impact on cardiovascular health

Syncope and Cannabis: hypervagotonia from chronic abuse? A case report and literature review

Background: Cannabis is the most consumed drug worldwide and number of users is increasing, particularly among youth. Moreover, cannabis potential therapeutic properties have renewed interest to make it available as a treatment for a variety of conditions. Albeit rarely, cannabis consumption has been associated with cardiovascular diseases such as arrhythmias, myocardial infarction (MI) and potentially sudden death. Case presentation: A 24-year-old woman presented to the emergency department sent by her cardiologist because of a recent finding of a 16 seconds asystole on the implantable loop recorder (ILR) she implanted 7 months before for recurrent syncopes. She declared that she is a heavy cannabis user (at least 5 cannabis-cigarette per day, not mixed up with tobacco, for no less than 12 years) and all syncopes occurred shortly after cannabis consumption. After a collective discussion with the heart team, syncope unit, electrophysiologists and toxicologist, we decided to implant a dual chamber pacemaker with a rate response algorithm due to the high risk of trauma of the syncopal episodes. 24 months follow-up period was uneventful. Conclusions: Cannabis cardiovascular effects are not well known and, although rare, among these we find ischemic episodes, tachyarrhythmias, symptomatic sinus bradycardia, sinus arrest, ventricular asystole and possibly death. Because of cannabis growing consumption both for medical and recreational purpose, cardiovascular diseases associated with cannabis use may become more and more frequent. In the light of the poor literature, we believe that cannabis may produce opposite adverse effects depending on the duration of the habit. Acute administration increases sympathetic tone and reduces parasympathetic tone; conversely, with chronic intake an opposite effect is observed: repetitive dosing decreases sympathetic activity and increases parasympathetic activity. Clinicians should be aware of the increased risk of cardiovascular complications associated with cannabis use and should investigate its consumption especially in young patients presenting with cardiac dysrhythmias