Inauguration of the Centro 3R for the promotion of 3Rs principles in teaching and research

The first European interuniversity center dedicated to promoting 3Rs principles in teaching and research was inaugurated in Pisa, Italy on March 14, 2018. The Centro 3R1 was spearheaded by the Universities of Pisa and Genova. Membership is open to all Italian universities and agreements for twinning across Europe and other countries are being pursued

Integrating IoT technologies for an "intelligent" safety management in the process industry

Abstract IoT (Internet of Things) technologies are wide spreading in several industrial sector due to a combination of increasing technical performance together with decreasing purchase prices: thus, new tools are been evaluated for adoption in new fields of application, like safety at work. In recent years, several projects and prototypes as well as industrial solutions have been developed using IOT technologies especially to dynamically managing safety levels at complex workplaces. The aim of this study is to describe a prototype system where the so called Smart Objects (SOs) - integrating different IoT technologies- interact in a working environment through a digital platform for managing different type of hazards – e.g. involving safety of plants as well as workers - usually influencing safety levels especially in process industry. The fields of application of the proposed system vary from tracking periodic mandatory maintenance and analyzing aging of equipment, processing or containing hazardous materials, to remote tracking of hazardous conditions of workers

Monitoring Equipment Corrosion due to Sour Crude Oils: a Bayesian Approach

Sour crude oils, featuring high sulphur content and high acidity, have low costs and high availability. Although processing is more difficult, these oils represent a good opportunity for many refineries, but their treatment causes accelerated equipment deterioration due to corrosion. This work focuses on the control of corrosion due to sulphur, which is one of the most important damage mechanisms triggering random ruptures. A Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) has been developed to control the risk of release due to random ruptures. The rules used in developing the BBN are the relationships amongst parameters described in the API guidelines for the calculation of the corrosion rate. The temperature, sulphur content and acidity for a set of online hangers have been measured for a month. The BBN provides a stress indicator for the equipment, which is updated by the last-minute changes, according to the characteristics of the feed and the operating parameters. The indicator allows updating the residual useful lifetime (RUL) and can be used for immediate choices to mitigate the effects of the aggressive feeds and is also essential to address decisions about inspections and maintenance in order to manage corrosion and prevent ruptures. The indicator could be, furthermore, used in the evaluation of the additional costs deriving from the choice of processing sour crude oils to adequately support the decision-making of the typologies of crude to be treated

Key role of MEK/ERK pathway in sustaining tumorigenicity and in vitro radioresistance of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma stem-like cell population

The identification of signaling pathways that affect the cancer stem-like phenotype may provide insights into therapeutic targets for combating embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the MEK/ERK pathway in controlling the cancer stem-like phenotype using a model of rhabdospheres derived from the embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma cell line (RD)

Definition of an Experimental Set-up for Studying the Safety of Hydrogen Transport Systems

The required energy transition, unavoidable for the decarbonisation of industrial processes and economic sectors, is increasing the attention in Europe and around the world towards hydrogen. Hydrogen is an energy carrier, globally trusted to meet climate challenges, as it can store and deliver large amounts of energy per unit mass, reducing CO2 emissions. Hydrogen can be used as a feedstock, a fuel or an energy carrier and storage and it has many possible applications in the industrial, transport, energy and construction sectors. These properties make hydrogen essential to support the EU's commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and for the global effort to implement the Paris Agreement while working towards zero pollution. For the purpose of facilitate this process, it is necessary to have a network capable of making this resource usable in a capillary, efficient and safe way. Gas pipelines, used to transport natural gas, can be exploited for the transport of pure or mixed hydrogen. It is therefore necessary to understand how hydrogen can affect the integrity and safety of gas pipelines, in order to establish whether the hydrogen/natural gas mixture is a viable and safe solution and within what ratios. Hydrogen embrittlement manifests in a loss of mechanical properties such as decreased ductility and toughness, increasing failure likelihood and gas releases, which are very dangerous, due to hydrogen ability to catch fire very easily and to the explosion hazard. The purpose of this work is the design and demonstration of a test setup for pipeline steel in a high-pressure gaseous hydrogen environment, by means of miniature hollow pipe-like specimen working at high-pressure hydrogen, in a safe and easily accessible manner with the basic laboratory equipment

Relationship between Early Inflammatory Response and Clinical Evolution of the Severe Multiorgan Failure in Mechanical Circulatory Support-Treated Patients

Background. The mechanical circulatory support (MCS) is an effective treatment in critically ill patients with end-stage heart failure (ESHF) that, however, may cause a severe multiorgan failure syndrome (MOFS) in these subjects. The impact of altered inflammatory response, associated to MOFS, on clinical evolution of MCS postimplantation patients has not been yet clarified. Methods. Circulating cytokines, adhesion molecules, and a marker of monocyte activation (neopterin) were determined in 53MCStreated patients, at preimplant and until 2 weeks. MOFS was evaluated by total sequential organ failure assessment score (tSOFA). Results. During MCS treatment, 32 patients experienced moderate MOFS (tSOFA< 11; A group), while 21 patients experienced severe MOFS (tSOFA? 11) with favorable (B group) or adverse (&#55349;&#56411; = 13, C group) outcomes. At preimplant, higher values of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were the only parameter independently associated with A group. In C group, during the first postoperative week, high levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-&#55349;&#57084;, and an increase of neopterin and adhesionmolecules, precede tSOFA worsening and exitus. Conclusions.TheMCS patients of C group show an excessive release to IL-8 and TNF-&#55349;&#57084;, and monocyte-endothelial activation after surgery, that might contribute to the unfavourable evolution of severe MOFS

Age-related DNA methylation changes are sex-specific: a comprehensive assessment

The existence of a sex gap in human health and longevity has been widely documented. Autosomal DNA methylation differences between males and females have been reported, but so far few studies have investigated if DNA methylation is differently affected by aging in males and females. We performed a meta-analysis of 4 large whole blood datasets, comparing 4 aspects of epigenetic age-dependent remodeling between the two sexes: differential methylation, variability, epimutations and entropy. We reported that a large fraction (43%) of sex-associated probes undergoes age-associated DNA methylation changes, and that a limited number of probes show age-by-sex interaction. We experimentally validated 2 regions mapping in FIGN and PRR4 genes and showed sex-specific deviations of their methylation patterns in models of decelerated (centenarians) and accelerated (Down syndrome) aging. While we did not find sex differences in the age-associated increase in epimutations and entropy, we showed that the number of probes having an age-related increase in methylation variability is 15 times higher in males compared to females. Our results can offer new epigenetic tools to study the interaction between aging and sex and can pave the way to the identification of molecular triggers of sex differences in longevity and age-related diseases prevalence

The impact of pictorial health warnings (PHW) on tobacco packages: the first quasi-experimental field trial after the implementation of the law in Italy

Background. The aim of the study was to evaluate in the Italian smokers, the effects of implementation of the law about Pictorial Health Warnings (PHWs) on tobacco products. Methods. A quasi-experimental longitudinal design was conducted between 2016 and 2017. The data were collected before (pre-PHW/Wave 1) and after (post-PHW/Wave 2) the implementation of the law. The adopted questionnaire included impact of advertisement (Label Impact Index, LII), quitting behavior and knowledge of tobacco related diseases.Results. 455 respondents completed both the Waves. 7.7% of smokers declared to have stopped smoking in Wave 2 and 29% of these declared the PHWs as one of the reasons to quit. The knowledge of tobacco related diseases was significantly (p <0.001) increased from Wave 1 to Wave 2 (58% versus 72%), similarly the LII (mean = 26.9, SD = 16.7 and mean = 40.4, SD = 16.2).Conclusion. Tobacco addiction is a problem that needs to be addressed from different angles. PHWs confirm their complementary role as a support for smokers along with other strategies such as text warnings and the tobacco quit line of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Italian National Institute of Health) reported on the packages. Nonetheless, over the years these measures have been not enough and policy makers should consider more strategies synergistically acting in the fight against tabagism.

Sistema per l’identificazione di difetti su una superficie di almeno una porzione di una scocca e relativo metodo

La presente invenzione riguarda un sistema e un metodo per l’identificazione, la classificazione e la successiva rimozione di difetti di fabbricazione presenti sui componenti di veicoli