An Updated Review: Opuntia ficus indica (OFI) Chemistry and Its Diverse Applications

The beneficial nutrients and biologically active ingredients extracted from plants have received great attention in the prevention and treatment of several diseases, including hypercholesterolemic, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, edema, joint pain, weight control, eye vision problems, neuroprotective effects, and asthma. Highly active ingredients predominantly exist in fruit and cladodes, known as phytochemicals (rich contents of minerals, betalains, carbohydrates, vitamins, antioxidants, polyphenols, and taurine), which are renowned for their beneficial properties in relation to human health. Polyphenols are widely present in plants and have demonstrated pharmacological ability through their antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and antioxidant capacity, and the multi-role act of Opuntia ficus indica makes it suitable for current and future usage in cosmetics for moisturizing, skin improvement, and wound care, as healthful food for essential amino acids, as macro and micro elements for body growth, in building materials as an eco-friendly and sustainable material, as a bio-composite, and as an insulator. However, a more comprehensive understanding and extensive research on the diverse array of phytochemical properties of cactus pear are needed. This review therefore aims to gather and discuss the existing literature on the chemical composition and potential applications of cactus pear extracts, as well as highlight promising directions for future research on this valuable plant

Coating's influence on wind erosion of porous stones used in the Cultural Heritage of Southern Italy: Surface characterisation and resistance

Wind erosion (or aeolian corrosion) is one of the most relevant causes of weathering and degradation which has affected building surfaces in Cultural Heritage. The effect depends on the wind strength, the impact of particles transported and their size and the characteristics of surfaces affected. This aspect is very important for historical buildings constructed by using limestone as Lecce stone (LS). LS has an extraordinary ability to be shaped, but is very sensitive to decay. Exfoliation, wind erosion, absorption of water by capillary from the soil, are its main degradation causes. For such a reason, the application of effective products able to act as “sacrifice film” became necessary in order to minimise the degradation rate by preserving the limestone substrate against serious weathering agents. In this work, the effects of aeolian corrosion, simulated by means the accelerated test with sandblasting method, were studied. In particular, the effectiveness of two specific commercial coatings, such as an innovative free-solvent hybrid organic-inorganic coating (HYBRID) and a solvent-based coating (AS), was assessed relating to their capability to preserve Lecce stone from the aeolian corrosion phenomenon. The protective efficacy was guaranteed by both the commercial coatings even after accelerated wind erosion test, by confirming a high hydrophobicity, low capillary water absorption and an adequate depth of penetration inside the stone able to assure durability

Evaluation of antibody response to BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in patients affected by immune-mediated inflammatory diseases up to 5 months after vaccination

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination with mRNA product BNT162b2 elicited high immunogenicity in healthy subjects in trials. This study aims to better understand the factors that influence the humoral immune response to vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs). We enrolled patients and healthy healthcare workers control group (HCW) that underwent mRNA BNT162b2 vaccination and measured the serum IgG anti-S-RBD response at booster dose (T1), one month after booster dose (T2) and up to 5 months (T3). Demographic, disease-specific and vaccination data were recorded. Vaccination response of 551 participants naïve to SARS-CoV-2 infection were included in HCW and 102 in the IMID group, analyzing separately those on anti-CD20. At T2 all naïve HCW developed anti-S-RBD-IgG, while 94% of IMID responded (p < 0.001). IMID patients had a significantly different level of IgG than HCW at both T1 (p = 0.031), T2 (p < 0.001), while there was no significant difference at T3. There were no statistically significant differences according to the IMID type or to ongoing treatment with immunosuppressants, corticosteroids or biological drugs other than anti-CD20. The proportion and magnitude of response was significantly lower in IMID treated with anti-CD20 drugs. There was a correlation with age at T1 and at T2 but not at T3, stronger in patients than in HCW. Immune response close after BNT162b2 vaccination is reduced in patients with IMID, but there is no significant difference at 5 months. The measured reduction is related to age and the disease itself rather than treatments, with the exception of anti-CD20 drugs

Surveillance of Summer Mortality and Preparedness to Reduce the Health Impact of Heat Waves in Italy

Since 2004, the Italian Department for Civil Protection and the Ministry of Health have implemented a national program for the prevention of heat-health effects during summer, which to-date includes 34 major cities and 93% of the residents aged 65 years and over. The Italian program represents an important example of an integrated approach to prevent the impact of heat on health, comprising Heat Health Watch Warning Systems, a mortality surveillance system and prevention activities targeted to susceptible subgroups. City-specific warning systems are based on the relationship between temperature and mortality and serve as basis for the modulation of prevention measures. Local prevention activities, based on the guidelines defined by the Ministry of Health, are constructed around the infrastructures and services available. A key component of the prevention program is the identification of susceptible individuals and the active surveillance by General Practitioners, medical personnel and social workers. The mortality surveillance system enables the timely estimation of the impact of heat, and heat waves, on mortality during summer as well as to the evaluation of warning systems and prevention programs. Considering future predictions of climate change, the implementation of effective prevention programs, targeted to high risk subjects, become a priority in the public health agenda

ECMO for COVID-19 patients in Europe and Israel

Since March 15th, 2020, 177 centres from Europe and Israel have joined the study, routinely reporting on the ECMO support they provide to COVID-19 patients. The mean annual number of cases treated with ECMO in the participating centres before the pandemic (2019) was 55. The number of COVID-19 patients has increased rapidly each week reaching 1531 treated patients as of September 14th. The greatest number of cases has been reported from France (n = 385), UK (n = 193), Germany (n = 176), Spain (n = 166), and Italy (n = 136) .The mean age of treated patients was 52.6 years (range 16–80), 79% were male. The ECMO configuration used was VV in 91% of cases, VA in 5% and other in 4%. The mean PaO2 before ECMO implantation was 65 mmHg. The mean duration of ECMO support thus far has been 18 days and the mean ICU length of stay of these patients was 33 days. As of the 14th September, overall 841 patients have been weaned from ECMO support, 601 died during ECMO support, 71 died after withdrawal of ECMO, 79 are still receiving ECMO support and for 10 patients status n.a. . Our preliminary data suggest that patients placed on ECMO with severe refractory respiratory or cardiac failure secondary to COVID-19 have a reasonable (55%) chance of survival. Further extensive data analysis is expected to provide invaluable information on the demographics, severity of illness, indications and different ECMO management strategies in these patients

Thermal conductivity of porous building materials: An exploration of new challenges in fractal modelling solutions

The improvement in the insulation material performance is one of the recent crucial problems. The energy consumption in the construction and buildings field has a significant impact on the society and the environment. For these reasons, researchers have focused on studying their thermal behaviour in order to improve fabrication methods and material design structures. In this sense, a great contribution has been offered by the modeling procedures. A remarkable attention has been dedicated to the application of fractal geometry which seems to be a promising method to replicate the porous structures as well as to predict the effective thermal conductivity. In this paper, a review of different modeling procedures is presented, comparing both traditional and fractal theory-based approaches. Fractal models demonstrate high reliability in reproducing experimental data under various conditions, including dry and moist systems. This is further enhanced by the application of recursive formulas, which streamline calculations even for complex porous microstructures. The choice between one model and another depends on the specific characteristics of the materials under study. In all cases, the versatility of the analytical procedures enables one to achieve a remarkable agreement with experimental data

A Fuzzy model for studying degradation kinetics of Genna Maria nuragic building

The Nuragic Sardinian civilization (ca. 1600–1020 BC) represents one of the most important Bronze Age cultures of the Western Mediterranean area. Today, the built heritage of this period can be found in the megalithic tombs, temples, villages and Nuraghi. These, with an estimated number ranging between 7.000 and 10.000, represent the distinctive prehistorical buildings and constitute a prominent feature of Sardinia's landscape. At present, a large number of Nuraghi are exposed to a series of pathogenic factors which substantially influence degradation kinetics (DGRK). Currently, only effective conservation and protection strategies could slow down the degradation process. The behaviour of structures and materials over time, the incompleteness of materials characterisation, the complexity of relationships and the randomness of future environmental and cultural conditions are all remarkable obstacles to the preservation of these structures. However, according to holistic approaches, some conceptual tools are now available to develop predictive models on the complex 'life' of an ancient building. In the present work, a new fuzzy model has been formalised in order to estimate DGRK of the Genna Maria site. It considers environmental parameters, properties of materials, weathering phenomena, anthropic action such as numerical and linguistic variables derived from instrumental measurements as well as direct observations. The modelling procedure has been carried out by considering the variables month per month. The results highlight that DGRK accelerates and slows down in different parts of the year. For April, May and December, model calculated a relevant degradation risk, while a lower possibility to have a significant decay has been recorded for August, September and October. Overall, the proposed model represents a tool that can usefully and explicitly encode uncertain knowledge and empirical experience and thus provide support for future decisions on site conservation

Greening earthen plasters: a study on bio-sourced polymers as stabilizers

Earthen material is a common construction material that has been used for centuries. Today, it is estimated that around 50% of the world's population lives in buildings made from earthen material. The widespread availability of this material combined with its low embodied energy makes it an attractive option for sustainable construction. However, the use of stabilizers (such as cement or acrylic resins) to improve its durability and mechanical performance can have a high environmental impact, reduce its recyclability and compromise its hygrothermal properties. In the past, earthen material was stabilized using fibers, agricultural waste and biopolymers, but little research has been conducted on their properties and suitability for other techniques due to the challenges of standardizing such systems. At this moment, an alternative, as compromise, is represented by bio-sourced polymers which allow to reduce carbon footprint and CO2 emissions. In this work, earthen materials for plasters have been prepared in the lab and stabilised by using two different types of bio-sourced polymers (alkyd emulsion and urethane alkyd dispersion). Experimental tests for measuring mechanical, heat and mass transfer properties have been carried out on six different mix-designs. A comparison between results obtained for earthen materials as received and stabilised by using bio-sourced polymers have been reported. No particular improvements have been noted in system treated with alkyd emulsion, while those fabricated by using urethane alkyd dispersion show similar thermal conductivity values but relevant enhancements in mechanical properties (about three times the value measured for as received samples) and water resistance (lower capillary rise and lower capillary coefficient)

Porosity effects on water vapour permeability in earthen materials: experimental evidence and modelling description

This work focuses on the relationship between water vapour permeability and porosity in earthen materials. Earth blocks have been suitably fabricated and their pore size distribution evaluated along with water vapour permeability. Experimental results are compared with theoretical predictions obtained from a fractal model relating porosity to transport processes. Experimental and modelling outcomes compare remarkably well, thus making the fractal model show promise for addressing the design of earth materials with tailored properties

Thermal Properties of Eco-Friendly Earthen Materials Stabilized with Bio-Based Polymers: Experimental Data and Modeling Procedure for Improving Mix-Design

The fight against climate change has delineated new objectives, among which one of the most crucial is the replacement of high-energy-intensity materials in the construction sector with more sustainable and thermally efficient alternatives to reduce indirect emissions. Consequently, the thermal properties of materials assume fundamental importance. In this regard, the large-scale use of earth represents a promising option, not only due to its widespread availability but especially for its minimal embodied energy. However, to enhance its durability, it is necessary to stabilize the mixtures of raw materials. This study analyzes experimental systems based on earth stabilized with bio-based polymers to evaluate their thermal properties and how these vary depending on the selected mix-design. The experimental measurements showed thermal properties comparable to conventional materials. As expected, thermal conductivity increases when porosity decreases. The minimum value is equal to 0.216 W/m·K vs. a porosity of 43.5%, while the maximum is 0.507 W/m·K vs. a porosity of 33.2%. However, the data obtained for individual systems may vary depending on the topological characteristics, which were analyzed through a model for granular materials. The modeling suggests correlations between microstructures and thermal behaviour, which can be useful to develop tools for the mix-design procedure