Life cycle performance assessment tool development and application with a focus on maintenance aspects

Ships are among the most complex systems in the world. The always increasing interest in environmental aspects, the evolution of technologies and the introduction of new rule constraints in the maritime field have compelled the innovation of the ship design approach. At an early design stage, there is the need to compare different design solutions, also in terms of environmental performance, building and operative costs over the whole ship life cycle. In this context, the Life Cycle Performance Assessment (LCPA) tool allows an integrated design approach merging the evaluation of both costs and environmental performances on a comparative basis, among different design solutions. Starting from the first tool release, this work aims to focus on the maintenance of the propulsion system, developing a flexible calculation method for maintenance costs prediction, based on the ship operational profiles and the selected technical solution. After the improvement, the whole LCPA tool has been applied on a research vessel to evaluate, among different propulsion layout solutions, the one with the more advantageous performance in terms of costs during the whole vessel operating life. The identification of the best design solution is strictly dependent on the selection criterion and the point of view of the interested parties using the LCPA tool, e.g., the shipbuilder or the ship-owner

Influence of shoot number and crop load on potted Chambourcin grapevines. 2. Whole-vine vs. single-leaf photosynthesis

Two-year-old potted Chambourcin grapevines were trained to one shoot with 0 or 1 cluster (1/0 and 1/1 respectively) or four shoots with 0 or 4 clusters (4/0 and 4/4 respectively) to determine the effects of canopy development rate, canopy morphology, and crop load on whole-vine photosynthesis. Significant differences in canopy development rate, canopy morphology and dry matter partitioning occurred among treatments but whole-vine net photosynthesis (Pn) and dry matter production were not affected. Photosynthetic compensation by leaves of severely pruned vines enabled them to produce quantities of dry matter similar to vines with greater leaf area. Vines bearing crop supported the development of berries by partitioning carbohydrate to fruit at the expense of vegetative tissues so overall vine dry weight was not different among cropped and non-cropped treatments. Whole-vine Pn determinations were linearly related to vine dry mass. By contrast, single leaf measurements used to estimate whole-vine Pn were not related to dry mass. If a similar relationship can be demonstrated in field vines, it may be possible to quantify the influence of biotic and abiotic stresses on vine biomass production and subsequent yields

Influence of Different Evolutive Forces on GDF5 Gene Variability

The GDF5 gene is involved in the development of skeletal elements, synovial joint formation, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. Several polymorphisms are present within the gene, and two of them, rs143384 and 143383, were reported to be correlated with osteoarticular disease or muscle flexibility. The aim of this research is to verify if the worldwide distribution of the rs143384 polymorphism among human populations was shaped by selective pressure, or if it was the result of random genetic drift events. Ninety-four individuals of both the male and female sexes, 18–28 years old, from Sardinia were analyzed. We observed the following genotype frequencies: 28.72% of AA homozygotes, 13.83% of GG homozygotes, and 57.45% of AG heterozygotes. The allele frequencies were 0.574 for allele A and 0.426 for allele G. The relationships between the populations were verified via Multidimensional Scaling (MDS). Our data show (i) a clear heterogeneity within the African populations; (ii) a strong differentiation between the African populations and the other populations; and that (iii) the Sardinian population is placed within the European cluster. To reveal possible traces of selective pressure, the Population Branch Statistic (PBS) was calculated; both the rs143384 and 143383 SNPs have low PBS values, suggesting that there are no signals of selective pressure in those areas of the gene

B016 Impact of a 14-night intermittent hypoxia (IH) exposure on metabolic and cardiopulmonary adaptations to exercise in healthy subjects

IntroductionModifications in exercise tolerance have been reported in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. Also specific mechanisms have been speculated related to intermittent hypoxia (IH), hypertension, obesity or metabolic disturbance associated to OSA may play a significant role in exercise limitation. In order to eliminate these confounding factors we aimed to evaluate the effects of IH exposure during 14 nights in healthy subjects on exercise capacity, cardio-respiratory response and substrate oxidation during exercise.Methods12 healthy subjects (BMI: 21.8 0.5kg.m-2) were exposed to repetitive sequences of hypoxia — re-oxygenation during sleep in a hypoxic tent with appropriate cyclic re-oxygenation (rate: 30 desaturations.h-1). Maximal and sub-maximal exercise tests were performed before and after exposure in order to investigate cardiorespiratory variables and substrate oxidation parameters.ResultsIH did not modify maximal exercise parameters (VO2, heart rate, power output) nor ventilatory threshold (VTh). But this was achieved with a significant PETCO2 reduction and a VE/VCO2 increase during both maximal (Pre IH vs Post IH at VTh and Max, p<0.05) and sub-maximal (Pre vs Post at 30 % and 60 % Pmax, p<0.05) exercise tests, indicating hyperventilation. At the 1st min recovery after submaximal exercise test, diastolic arterial blood pressure (DBP) was higher after IH exposure (Pre: 60±3 vs Post: 78±2mmHg) in favour of a delayed DBP recovery following acute exercise. During sub-maximal exercise, subjects reached maximal lipid oxidation at higher power output and presented a decreased blood lactate at the same percentage of relative power after IH exposure.ConclusionExposure to 14 days of nocturnal IH is associated with an increased ventilatory response to subsequent exercise at sea level. Furthermore, delayed DBP recovery after exercise is in favor of early IH-induced cardiovascular modifications. This observation related to muscular exercise adaptations confirms the efficacy of the model in reproducing early cardiovascular alterations occurring in OSAS. Moreover, this model induces metabolic adaptations as soon as 14 nights of exposure

A Catalog of Coding Sequence Variations in Salivary Proteins’ Genes Occurring during Recent Human Evolution

Saliva houses over 2000 proteins and peptides with poorly clarified functions, including proline-rich proteins, statherin, P-B peptides, histatins, cystatins, and amylases. Their genes are poorly conserved across related species, reflecting an evolutionary adaptation. We searched the nucleotide substitutions fixed in these salivary proteins’ gene loci in modern humans compared with ancient hominins. We mapped 3472 sequence variants/nucleotide substitutions in coding, noncoding, and 5′-3′ untranslated regions. Despite most of the detected variations being within noncoding regions, the frequency of coding variations was far higher than the general rate found throughout the genome. Among the various missense substitutions, specific substitutions detected in PRB1 and PRB2 genes were responsible for the introduction/abrogation of consensus sequences recognized by convertase enzymes that cleave the protein precursors. Overall, these changes that occurred during the recent human evolution might have generated novel functional features and/or different expression ratios among the various components of the salivary proteome. This may have influenced the homeostasis of the oral cavity environment, possibly conditioning the eating habits of modern humans. However, fixed nucleotide changes in modern humans represented only 7.3% of all the substitutions reported in this study, and no signs of evolutionary pressure or adaptative introgression from archaic hominins were found on the tested genes

Different Aspects of Classical Pathway Overactivation in Patients With C3 Glomerulopathy and Immune Complex-Mediated Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis

The rare and heterogeneous kidney disorder C3 glomerulopathy (C3G) is characterized by dysregulation of the alternative pathway (AP) of the complement system. C3G is often associated with autoantibodies stabilizing the AP C3 convertase named C3 nephritic factors (C3NeF). The role of classical pathway (CP) convertase stabilization in C3G and related diseases such as immune complex-mediated membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (IC-MPGN) remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated the CP convertase activity in patients with C3G and IC-MPGN. Using a refined two-step hemolytic assay, we measured the stability of CP convertases directly in the serum of 52 patients and 17 healthy controls. In four patients, CP convertase activity was prolonged compared to healthy controls, i.e. the enzymatic complex was stabilized. In three patients (2 C3G, 1 IC-MPGN) the convertase stabilization was caused by immunoglobulins, indicating the presence of autoantibodies named C4 nephritic factors (C4NeFs). Importantly, the assay also enabled detection of non-immunoglobulin-mediated stabilization of the CP convertase in one patient with C3G. Prolonged CP convertase activity coincided with C3NeF activity in all patients and for up to 70 months of observation. Crucially, experiments with C3-depleted serum showed that C4NeFs stabilized the CP C3 convertase (C4bC2a), that does not contain C3NeF epitopes. All patients with prolonged CP convertase activity showed clear signs of complement activation, i.e. lowered C3 and C5 levels and elevated levels of C3d, C3bc, C3bBbP, and C5b-9. In conclusion, this work provides new insights into the diverse aspects and (non-)immunoglobulin nature of factors causing CP convertase overactivity in C3G/IC-MPGN.</p