Estimating the probability of piping-induced breaching of flood embankments

Flood Defenc

Serotonin and Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors Improve Micturition Control in Mice

Poor micturition control may cause profound distress, because proper voiding is mandatory for an active social life. Micturition results from the subtle interplay of central and peripheral components. It involves the coordination of autonomic and neuromuscular activity at the brainstem level, under the executive control of the prefrontal cortex. We tested the hypothe- sis that administration of molecules acting as reuptake inhibitors of serotonin, noradrenaline or both may exert a strong effect on the control of urine release, in a mouse model of overac- tive bladder. Mice were injected with cyclophosphamide (40 mg/kg), to increase micturition acts. Mice were then given one of four molecules: the serotonin reuptake inhibitor imipra- mine, its metabolite desipramine that acts on noradrenaline reuptake, the serotonin and nor- adrenaline reuptake inhibitor duloxetine or its active metabolite 4-hydroxy-duloxetine. Cyclophosphamide increased urine release without inducing overt toxicity or inflammation, except for increase in urothelium thickness. All the antidepressants were able to decrease the cyclophosphamide effects, as apparent from longer latency to the first micturition act, decreased number of urine spots and volume of released urine. These results suggest that serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors exert a strong and effective modulatory ef- fect on the control of urine release and prompt to additional studies on their central effects on brain areas involved in the social and behavioral control of micturition

Comparison principles for nonlinear potential theories and PDEs with fiberegularity and sufficient monotonicity

We present some recent advances in the productive and symbiotic interplay between general potential theories (subharmonic functions associated to closed subsets $\mathcal{F} \subset \mathcal{J}^2(X)$ of the 2-jets on $X \subset \mathbb{R}^n$ open) and subsolutions of degenerate elliptic and parabolic PDEs of the form $F(x,u,Du,D^2u) = 0$. We will implement the monotonicity-duality method begun by Harvey and Lawson in 2009 (in the pure second order constant coefficient case) for proving comparison principles for potential theories where $\mathcal{F}$ has sufficient monotonicity and fiberegularity (in variable coefficient settings) and which carry over to all differential operators $F$ which are compatible with $\mathcal{F}$ in a precise sense for which the correspondence principle holds. We will consider both elliptic and parabolic versions of the comparison principle in which the effect of boundary data is seen on the entire boundary or merely on a proper subset of the boundary. Particular attention will be given to gradient dependent examples with the requisite sufficient monotonicity of proper ellipticity and directionality in the gradient. Example operators we will discuss include the degenerate elliptic operators of optimal transport in which the target density is strictly increasing in some directions as well as operators which are weakly parabolic in the sense of Krylov. Further examples, modeled on hyperbolic polynomials in the sense of G\r{a}rding give a rich class of examples with directionality in the gradient. Moreover we present a model example in which the comparison principle holds, but standard viscosity structural conditions fail to hold.Comment: 52 page

DiFac: Digital Factory for Human Oriented Production System

Non

rigorous procedure for mapping thermal infrared images on three dimensional models of building facades

A rigorous methodology for mapping thermal and RGB images on three-dimensional (3-D) models of building facades is presented. The developed method differs from most existing approaches because it relies on the use of thermal images coupled with 3-D models derived from terrestrial laser scanning surveying. The primary issue for an accurate texturing is the coregistration of the geometric model of the facade and the thermal images in the same reference system. This task is done by using a procedure standing out from other approaches adopted in current practice, which are mainly based on the independent registration of each image on the basis of homography or space resection techniques. A rigorous photogrammetric orientation of both thermal and RGB images is computed together in a combined bundle adjustment. This solution allows one to have a better control of the quality of the results, especially to reduce errors and artifacts in areas where more images are mosaicked onto the 3-D model. Several products can be obtained: 3-D triangulated textured models or raster products like orthophotos, having the temperature as radiometric value. The proposed approach is tested on different buildings of Politecnico di Milano University. Applications demonstrated the performance of the procedure and its technical applicability in routine thermal surveys

Outcomes of self-control plans on acrylamide levels in processed food

In 2002, researchers from Stockholm University discovered the presence of acrylamide (AA) in processed foods. This substance has been classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. In response to the alarming finding, the European Commission issued recommendations (2004/394/EC, 2010/307/EU, and 2013/647/EU), guiding food business operators, raising awareness, and promoting good manufacturing practices to minimize AA formation. These efforts laid the foundation for the comprehensive measures in Regulation (EU) 2017/2158. The Regulation implemented specific measures during production to reduce the amount of AA in food. This study monitored the AA levels in 15,674 samples from 12 processed food commodities. Potato-based products and coffee were found to be the main sources of AA exposure. The “baby foods” and “soft bread” food categories had the lowest contamination levels. The data were then compared to the information previously published by the European Food Safety Authority to assess the trend over time and the effectiveness of the mitigation measures. The results showed a decrease in AA contamination levels for most food categories, particularly for baby foods

Fabrication of 3D cell-laden hydrogel microstructures through photo-mold patterning

Native tissues are characterized by spatially organized three-dimensional (3D) microscaled units which functionally define cells–cells and cells–extracellular matrix interactions. The ability to engineer biomimetic constructs mimicking these 3D microarchitectures is subject to the control over cell distribution and organization. In the present study we introduce a novel protocol to generate 3D cell laden hydrogel micropatterns with defined size and shape. The method, named photo-mold patterning (PMP), combines hydrogel micromolding within polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamps and photopolymerization through a recently introduced biocompatible ultraviolet (UVA) activated photoinitiator (VA-086). Exploiting PDMS micromolds as geometrical constraints for two methacrylated prepolymers (polyethylene glycol diacrylate and gelatin methacrylate), micrometrically resolved structures were obtained within a 3 min exposure to a low cost and commercially available UVA LED. The PMP was validated both on a continuous cell line (human umbilical vein endothelial cells expressing green fluorescent protein, HUVEC GFP) and on primary human bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs). HUVEC GFP and BMSCs were exposed to 1.5% w/v VA-086 and UVA light (1 W, 385 nm, distance from sample = 5 cm). Photocrosslinking conditions applied during the PMP did not negatively affect cells viability or specific metabolic activity. Quantitative analyses demonstrated the potentiality of PMP to uniformly embed viable cells within 3D microgels, creating biocompatible and favorable environments for cell proliferation and spreading during a seven days' culture. PMP can thus be considered as a promising and cost effective tool for designing spatially accurate in vitro models and, in perspective, functional constructs

Evolution of the methodological quality of controlled clinical trials for myofascial trigger point treatments for the period 1978–2015: A systematic review

Abstract Background The methodological quality of controlled clinical trials (CCTs) of physiotherapeutic treatment modalities for myofascial trigger points (MTrP) has not been investigated yet. Objectives To detect the methodological quality of CCTs for physiotherapy treatments of MTrPs and demonstrating the possible increase over time. Design Systematic review. Methods A systematic search was conducted in two databases, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) and Medicine Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System online (MEDLINE), using the same keywords and selection procedure corresponding to pre-defined inclusion criteria. The methodological quality, assessed by the 11-item PEDro scale, served as outcome measure. The CCTs had to compare at least two interventions, where one intervention had to lay within the scope of physiotherapy. Participants had to be diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome or trigger points (active or latent). Results A total of n = 230 studies was analysed. The cervico-thoracic region was the most frequently treated body part (n = 143). Electrophysical agent applications was the most frequent intervention. The average methodological quality reached 5.5 on the PEDro scale. A total of n = 6 studies scored the value of 9. The average PEDro score increased by 0.7 points per decade between 1978 and 2015. Conclusions The average PEDro score of CCTs for MTrP treatments does not reach the cut-off of 6 proposed for moderate to high methodological quality. Nevertheless, a promising trend towards an increase of the average methodological quality of CCTs for MTrPs was recorded. More high-quality CCT studies with thorough research procedures are recommended to enhance methodological quality