Effect of snow-covered ground albedo on the accuracy of air temperature measurements

open8Solar radiation is one of the main factors which introduce significant deviations between thermometers reading and true air temperature value. Techniques to protect the sensors from direct radiative influence have been adopted almost since the beginning of meteorological observations. Reflected radiation from a snow-covered surface can also cause extra warming to thermometers hosted in solar shields, which are not always optimised to protect the sensors from this further radiative heat transfer. This phenomenon can cause errors in near-surface temperature measurements results, with a relevant impact on the quality of data records and series. This study experimentally evaluates the effect of reflected radiation from a snow-covered surface on the accuracy of air temperature measurements. The investigation is based on the evaluation of temperature differences between pairs of identical instruments, positioned above ground covered by natural vegetation, with one instrument in snow-free conditions and the other above a snow-covered surface, at the same time and at the same site. The work involved a representative number of sensors and shields, in terms of different typologies, technologies and engineering solutions, from different manufacturers. A mountain site with acceptable field conditions, offering long-lasting snow presence to maximise data availability, was selected to perform the experiment. Quantities of influence, such as relative humidity, wind speed and direction and solar radiation (global and reflected), were constantly measured. The main findings of this work show that none of the involved instruments were immune to the extra heating due to the snow-reflected radiation. Excluding nighttimes and days of high wind or low incident radiation, the differences among sensors positioned above natural soil and identical ones exposed to snow albedo ranged up to more than 3 ∘C. Solar screens with forced ventilation showed a partially reduced effect compared to most of the naturally ventilated ones. A full data analysis is reported here, together with complete results and uncertainties.openhttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5126973Musacchio, Chiara; Coppa, Graziano; Begeš, Gaber; Hofstätter-Mohler, Christina; Massano, Laura; Nigrelli, Guido; Sanna, Francesca; Merlone, AndreaMusacchio, Chiara; Coppa, Graziano; Begeš, Gaber; Hofstätter-Mohler, Christina; Massano, Laura; Nigrelli, Guido; Sanna, Francesca; Merlone, Andre

High--order connected moments expansion for the Rabi Hamiltonian

We analyze the convergence properties of the connected moments expansion (CMX) for the Rabi Hamiltonian. To this end we calculate the moments and connected moments of the Hamiltonian operator to a sufficiently large order. Our large--order results suggest that the CMX is not reliable for most practical purposes because the expansion exhibits considerable oscillations.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl

Industria inteligente para el agregado de valor a la cadena de suministro regional

En la modernidad líquida no es la durabilidad sino el veloz y exagerado ciclo de circulación, reciclado y reemplazo en el que se inscriben los productos lo que caracteriza esta nueva era, en la cual se resaltan la portabilidad y flexibilidad como atributos principales, dejando atrás la realidad sólida de otros tiempos. En este contexto las empresas deben desarrollar estrategias diferenciales mediadas por la adopción de nuevas tecnologías del campo de la robótica, IoT, Inteligencia Artificial y Big Data entre otras, para generar mayor valor agregado y asumir una actitud proactiva en entornos complejos y de gran volatilidad. Estas estrategias requieren una visión más allá del campo de la técnica, centradas en la generación de nuevas prácticas en las organizaciones, basadas en el uso inteligente de datos y de las tecnologías para su gestión. Las crecientes exigencias de los mercados globales dirigen la atención hacia nuevos tipos de innovaciones, particularmente las organizacionales, asentadas en la generación de metodologías y capacidades para la absorción y transferencia de conocimientos y tecnologías. Comprender la dinámica de las interacciones entre los actores de la cadena de suministro para la generación de capacidades en la era analítica constituye el propósito del presente proyecto.Fil: Zanfrillo, Alicia Inés. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina.Fil: Morcela, A. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina.Fil: Mortara, Verónica. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina.Fil: Tabone, Luciana. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina.Fil: Carrizo, G. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina.Fil: Gadaleta, L. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina.Fil: Delmonte, P. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina.Fil: Massano, R. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina.Fil: Bounoure, J. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina

Plectin as a prognostic marker in non-metastatic oral squamous cell carcinoma

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is associated with a poor 5-year survival rate. In general, patients diagnosed with small tumors have a fairly good prognosis, but some small tumors have an aggressive behavior leading to early death. There are at present no reliable prognostic biomarkers for oral cancers. Thus, to optimize treatment for the individual patient, there is a need for biomarkers that can predict tumor behavior. Method: In the present study the potential prognostic value of plectin was evaluated by a tissue microarray (TMA) based immunohistochemical analysis of primary tumor tissue obtained from a North Norwegian cohort of 115 patients diagnosed with OSCC. The expression of plectin was compared with clinicopathological variables and 5 year survival. Results: The statistical analysis revealed that low expression of plectin in the tumor cells predicted a favorable outcome for patients with non-metastatic disease (p = 0.008). Furthermore, the expression of plectin was found to correlate (p = 0.01) with the expression of uPAR, which we have previously found to be a potential prognostic marker for T1N0 tumors. Conclusions: Our results indicate that low expression of plectin predicts a favorable outcome for patients with non-metastatic OSCC and the expression level of plectin may therefore be used in the treatment stratification for patients with early stage disease

MicroRNA profiling of cisplatinresistant oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines enriched withcancer-stem-cell-like and epithelial-mesenchymal transition-type features

Oral cancer is of major public health problem in India. Current investigation was aimed to identify the specific deregulated miRNAs which are responsible for development of resistance phenotype through regulating their resistance related target gene expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Cisplatin-resistant OSCC cell lines were developed from their parental human OSCC cell lines and subsequently characterised. The resistant cells exhibited enhanced proliferative, clonogenic capacity with significant up-regulation of P-glycoprotein (ABCB1), c-Myc, survivin, β-catenin and a putative cancer-stem-like signature with increased expression of CD44, whereas the loss of E-cadherin signifies induced EMT phenotype. A comparative analysis of miRNA expression profiling in parental and cisplatin-resistant OSCC cell lines for a selected sets (deregulated miRNAs in head and neck cancer) revealed resistance specific signature. Moreover, we observed similar expression pattern for these resistance specific signature miRNAs in neoadjuvant chemotherapy treated and recurrent tumours compared to those with newly diagnosed primary tumours in patients with OSCC. All these results revealed that these miRNAs play an important role in the development of cisplatin-resistance mainly through modulating cancer stem-cell-like and EMT-type properties in OSCC

Fascin overexpression promotes neoplastic progression in oral squamous cell carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fascin is a globular actin cross-linking protein, which plays a major role in forming parallel actin bundles in cell protrusions and is found to be associated with tumor cell invasion and metastasis in various type of cancers including oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Previously, we have demonstrated that fascin regulates actin polymerization and thereby promotes cell motility in K8-depleted OSCC cells. In the present study we have investigated the role of fascin in tumor progression of OSCC.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To understand the role of fascin in OSCC development and/or progression, fascin was overexpressed along with vector control in OSCC derived cells AW13516. The phenotype was studied using wound healing, Boyden chamber, cell adhesion, Hanging drop, soft agar and tumorigenicity assays. Further, fascin expression was examined in human OSCC samples (N = 131) using immunohistochemistry and level of its expression was correlated with clinico-pathological parameters of the patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fascin overexpression in OSCC derived cells led to significant increase in cell migration, cell invasion and MMP-2 activity. In addition these cells demonstrated increased levels of phosphorylated AKT, ERK1/2 and JNK1/2. Our in vitro results were consistent with correlative studies of fascin expression with the clinico-pathological parameters of the OSCC patients. Fascin expression in OSCC showed statistically significant correlation with increased tumor stage (<it>P </it>= 0.041), increased lymph node metastasis (<it>P </it>= 0.001), less differentiation (<it>P </it>= 0.005), increased recurrence (<it>P </it>= 0.038) and shorter survival (<it>P </it>= 0.004) of the patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In conclusion, our results indicate that fascin promotes tumor progression and activates AKT and MAPK pathways in OSCC-derived cells. Further, our correlative studies of fascin expression in OSCC with clinico-pathological parameters of the patients indicate that fascin may prove to be useful in prognostication and treatment of OSCC.</p

Progress toward standardized diagnosis of vascular cognitive impairment: Guidelines from the Vascular Impairment of Cognition Classification Consensus Study

INTRODUCTION: Progress in understanding and management of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) has been hampered by lack of consensus on diagnosis, reflecting the use of multiple different assessment protocols. A large multinational group of clinicians and researchers participated in a two-phase Vascular Impairment of Cognition Classification Consensus Study (VICCCS) to agree on principles (VICCCS-1) and protocols (VICCCS-2) for diagnosis of VCI. We present VICCCS-2. METHODS: We used VICCCS-1 principles and published diagnostic guidelines as points of reference for an online Delphi survey aimed at achieving consensus on clinical diagnosis of VCI. RESULTS: Six survey rounds comprising 65-79 participants agreed guidelines for diagnosis of VICCCS-revised mild and major forms of VCI and endorsed the National Institute of Neurological Disorders-Canadian Stroke Network neuropsychological assessment protocols and recommendations for imaging. DISCUSSION: The VICCCS-2 suggests standardized use of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders-Canadian Stroke Network recommendations on neuropsychological and imaging assessment for diagnosis of VCI so as to promote research collaboration