Hydrogen absorption and excess heat in a constantan wire with nanostructured surface

Constantan wires with a diameter of 200 microns and 25 to 60 cm length, previously treated to induce the formation of nanostructured layers on their surface, were used for excess heat tests in hydrogen atmosphere at different temperatures

Mothers living with contamination of perfluoroalkyl substances: an assessment of the perceived health risk and self-reported diseases

Widespread contamination of the superficial, drinking, and groundwater by perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) was discovered in the Veneto Region (northeast of Italy) in 2013. Mothers from the contaminated area were concerned about the effects of PFAS on their own and their children’s health. We determined the factors that influenced the perceived risk of PFAS and the presence of self-reported diseases by conducting a study with 384 mothers of children aged 1–13 years living in the contaminated area (Red Zone, Veneto, Italy). Information on demography, the sources of exposure, and the health condition of the mothers was collected through an online survey. The serum PFAS concentration was recorded for some of the participants. We determined the factors influencing the perceived risk, risk of health outcomes, and serum PFAS levels through regression analyses. The PFAS perceived risk of the mothers increased with an increase in the trust in scientific institutions and social media, and when many friends were present, trust in politics and full-time employment had a protective effect. The PFAS perceived risk increased the occurrences of self-reported and autoimmune diseases. Longer residence (> 20 years) in the most exposed area (Red Zone A) increased the frequency of some health outcomes. Serum PFAS concentrations decreased with breastfeeding, but increased with tap water consumption, residence in Red Zone A, and residence time. The PFAS perceived risk of the mothers was associated with many factors that influenced reporting of health issues. The association between PFAS exposure and health outcomes needs further investigation

On the criticality of inferred models

Advanced inference techniques allow one to reconstruct the pattern of interaction from high dimensional data sets. We focus here on the statistical properties of inferred models and argue that inference procedures are likely to yield models which are close to a phase transition. On one side, we show that the reparameterization invariant metrics in the space of probability distributions of these models (the Fisher Information) is directly related to the model's susceptibility. As a result, distinguishable models tend to accumulate close to critical points, where the susceptibility diverges in infinite systems. On the other, this region is the one where the estimate of inferred parameters is most stable. In order to illustrate these points, we discuss inference of interacting point processes with application to financial data and show that sensible choices of observation time-scales naturally yield models which are close to criticality.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, version to appear in JSTA

Assessing Spanish-Speaking University Students’ Info-Competencies with iSkills, SAILS, and an In-House Instrument: Challenges and Benefits

In its ongoing assessment of information literacy competencies (ILC), CETYS Universidad first developed an in-house instrument and then applied the standardized tests, SAILS and iSkills. This paper analyzes the design of these instruments as well as data gathered from their implementation. This comparison aids in finding similarities in the ILC they measure, describe how they measure them, and study their differences. The objectives of this analysis are to describe the evolution of the Institution’s ILC assessment over the past four years while providing the basis for making an evidence-based decision about improving the in-house instrument and pushing to develop a Spanish-language multi-institutional tool, and/or the continued use of international instruments

Assessing Spanish-Speaking University Students’ Info-Competencies with iSkills, SAILS, and an In-House Instrument: Challenges and Benefits

In its ongoing assessment of information literacy competencies (ILC), CETYS Universidad first developed an in-house instrument and then applied the standardized tests, SAILS and iSkills. This paper analyzes the design of these instruments as well as data gathered from their implementation. This comparison aids in finding similarities in the ILC they measure, describe how they measure them, and study their differences. The objectives of this analysis are to describe the evolution of the Institution’s ILC assessment over the past four years while providing the basis for making an evidence-based decision about improving the in-house instrument and pushing to develop a Spanish-language multi-institutional tool, and/or the continued use of international instruments

A novel mutation in calcium-sensing receptor gene associated to hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria.

Background: Familial Hyperparathyroidism (HPT) and Familial benign Hypocalciuric Hypercalcemia (FHH) are the most common causes of hereditary hypercalcemia. FHH has been demonstrated to be caused by inactivating mutations of calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) gene, involved in PTH regulation as well as in renal calcium excretion.Case presentation: In two individuals, father and son, we found a novel heterozygous mutation in CaSR gene. The hypercalcemia was present only in father, which, by contrast to the classic form of FHH showed hypercalciuria (from 300 to 600 mg/24 h in different evaluations) and a Calcium/Creatinine ratio of 0.031, instead of low or normal calciuria (<0.01 typical finding in FHH). His son showed the same mutation in CaSR gene, but no clinical signs or hypercalcemia although serum ionized calcium levels were close to the upper limit of normal values (1.30 mmol/L: normal range: 1.12-1.31 mmol/L). Sequence analysis revealed a point mutation at codon 972 of CaSR gene (chromosome 3q), located within cytoplasmic domain of the CaSR, that changes Threonine with Methionine. The father was treated with Cinacalcet 90 mg/day, with a decrease of total serum calcemia from an average value of 12.2 mg/dl to 10.9 mg/dl.Conclusion: This is a case of a novel inactivating point mutation of CaSR gene that determines an atypical clinical presentation of FHH, characterized by hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria and inadequate normal PTH levels. Functional assay demonstrated that the 972 M variant influenced the maturation of the protein, in terms of the post-translational glycosylation. The impairment of the receptor activity is in keeping with the specific localization of the 972 residue in the C-terminal tail, assigned to the intracellular signalling, that on the basis of the our findings appears to be differently modulated in parathyroid gland and in kidne

Cytokines and MMPs levels in gingival crevicular fluid from patients with chronic periodontitis before and after non-surgical periodontal therapy.

The study of host response in periodontal disease may provide a mechanism to monitor disease progression. The purpose of the present research was to determine the levels of IL-1α, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-6sR, IL-8, IL-10, MMP-3 and MMP-8 in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF), before and after non-surgical periodontal treatment (NSPT) in order to evaluate therapy response. Methodology: Eleven patients diagnosed with chronic periodontitis and eleven healthy subjects were selected for this study. Clinical measurements, including probing depth (PD) and clinical attachment loss (CAL) were carried out in patients diagnosed with chronic periodontitis and periodontal healthy controls. The clinical indexes evaluated were: gingival index (GI) and plaque index (PI). Samples of GCF were taken from one tooth per quadrant before and 45 days after NSPT. The levels of inflammatory mediators were measured by ELISA. Results: The values of all clinical parameters decreased significantly after treatment. The concentration levels of all cytokines and MMP-3 and MMP-8 in the GCF sample were higher in patients diagnosed with chronic periodontitis compared to the healthy group. All inflammatory mediators decreased after therapy, but did not reach control values; IL-6, Il-6sR, IL-10 and TNF-α, attained the highest reduction (70% -54%); the vales of MMP3, IL-1α, IL-1β and IL-8 were reduced between 50% - 34%; and MMP-8 showed the lowest decrease (28%). Conclusion: All clinical parameters and cytokines levels decreased after NSPT. The mediators TNF-α IL-6, IL-6sR, and IL-10 showed the largest variation between before and after NSPT and could thus be used to evaluate therapy response

Financial correlations at ultra-high frequency: theoretical models and empirical estimation

A detailed analysis of correlation between stock returns at high frequency is compared with simple models of random walks. We focus in particular on the dependence of correlations on time scales - the so-called Epps effect. This provides a characterization of stochastic models of stock price returns which is appropriate at very high frequency.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, version to appear in EPJ

Individual Rights, Economic Transactions, and Recognition: A Legal Approach to Social Economics

Modernity brought the idea of individual property rights as a com- plex phenomenon. However, economics adopted a simplistic view of property as a fundamental institution, understating the complex interaction of different rights and obligations that frame the legal environment of economic processes with an insufficiently elaborated tool. Here, a more elaborate view of legal elements will be propose

Recipe Optimization to Produce Functional Food Based on Meat and Fish

Functional foods were produced from the combination of minced meat or fish with extra virgin olive oil and vegetable flour. Proper concentrations of oil and vegetable flours were selected to improve the nutritional properties of processed meat and fish burgers. Sensory evaluations were also carried out in different sessions by trained panel and generic consumers to assess product acceptability. The results of the work demonstrated that the two ingredients, selected for their well-known healthy benefits, enhance not only the nutritional value but also the sensory properties of food. In particular, the best formulation for meat patties contained 10% oil and 10% red pepper flour, whereas, 15% oil and 5% yellow pepper flour and 17.5% oil and 7.5% zucchini flour were the optimized ingredients for fish burgers. These recipes did not score significantly different from other CCD options but were preferred by consumers, when asked to compare these new products to traditional burgers. Moreover, analytical investigations carried out before and after cooking assessed the preservation of the health-giving compounds deriving from the pepper flour