1,422 research outputs found
Application of pactiter V3.3 code to the ACPS assessment of ITER neutral beam injectors primary heat transfer system
Activated Corrosion Products (ACPs) will be present in the various coolant loops of ITER: in-vessel and vacuum vessel, test blanket modules, auxiliary heating or diagnostic equipments. ACPs impact occupational exposure, routine effluents to the environment, and potential releases during accidents. Hence, the ACP inventory evaluation is an important task for ITER public and occupational safety. PACTITER v3.3 code is a computational tool derived from PACTOLE series of codes, modified in some modeling and computing capabilities. ITER Organization has included it as reference computer code for the ACP assessment. In the framework of its verification and validation activity, PACTITER v3.3 was used to assess the ACP inventory of the ITER Neutral Beam Injectors (NBIs) Primary Heat Transfer System (PHTS). This paper will document the preliminary results of this assessment, focusing on the impact of operation scenarios parameters (i.e. water chemistry, materials corrosion properties, etc.) and piping architecture
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Cataract and optic disk drusen in a patient with glycogenosis and di George syndrome: clinical and molecular report
Background
We report the ophthalmic findings of a patient with type Ia glycogen storage disease (GSD Ia), DiGeorge syndrome (DGS), cataract and optic nerve head drusen (ONHD).
Case presentation
A 26-year-old white woman, born at term by natural delivery presented with a post-natal diagnosis of GSD Ia. Genetic testing by array-comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) for DGS was required because of her low levels of serum calcium. The patient has been followed from birth, attending the day-hospital every six months at the San Paolo Hospital, Milan, outpatient clinic for metabolic diseases and previously at another eye center. During the last day-hospital visit, a complete eye examination showed ONHD and cataract in both eyes. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) was subsequently done to check for any association between the eye problems and metabolic aspects.
Conclusions
This is the first description of ocular changes in a patient with GSD Ia and DGS. Mutations explaining GSD Ia and DGS were found but no specific causative mutation for cataract and ONHD. The metabolic etiology of her lens changes is known, whereas the pathogenesis of ONHD is not clear. Although the presence of cataract and ONHD could be a coincidence; the case reported could suggest that hypocalcemia due to DGS could be the common biochemical pathway
Effects of garlic powder and salt on meat quality and microbial loads of rabbit burgers
The aim of the research study was to evaluate the effects of a common culinary spice such as garlic powder and salt addition on the quality and microbial shelf life of rabbit meat burgers. Rabbit burgers were evaluated for pH, the colour parameters, the water holding capacity and microbial loads during storage time of seven days at 4 â—¦C. Four different formulations of burgers (n = 180 in total) were tested as control samples (only meat, C), burgers with garlic powder (at 0.25%, G), burgers with salt (at 1.00%, S) and burgers with both garlic powder and salt (0.25% and 1.00%, respectively, GS). As results, it was highlighted that garlic powder and salt addition significant affected pH, water holding capacity and some colour parameters of burgers. In particular, salt affected the pH of the raw burgers, leading to lower values that partially influenced all the colour parameters with higher a* values of S burgers. The mix of garlic powder and salt (GS burgers) showed mixed effects even if more closed to the G burgers than S ones. Salt expressed its properties of binding water molecules reducing drip and cooking losses in S and GS burgers. No variations in microbial loads were highlighted in relation to the formulations. Storage time affected all the parameters, highlighting a deterioration of the burgers' quality and an increase of the microbial loads
Lithium-Lead/water interaction: LIFUS5/Mod3 series E tests analysed by SIMMER-III coupled with RELAP5
The Breeding Blanket is a necessary component to close the nuclear fusion reactor fuel cycle. amongst the most promising conceptual design, there is the Water Cooled Lithium Lead Breeding Blanket, with water as coolant and eutectic Lithium-Lead as neutron multiplier and breeder. The possible interaction between water and Lithium-Lead poses a main safety concern and prompted the scientific community to develop a numerical analysis tool able to simulate such a complex interaction. The SIMMER-III code was modified by UNIPI to simulate the chemical interaction between water and Lithium-Lead, furthermore also a coupling methodology between SIMMER-III and RELAP5/Mod3.3 was developed. The coupling tool employs SIMMER-III code to simulate the zone of Lithium-Lead interacting with water, whilst the RELAP5 code is used to simulate the water pipelines. The LIFUS5/Mod3 facility at the ENEA Brasimone Research Centre was designed to perform reliable experimental activities on the interaction between water and Lithium-Lead. In this facility water at high pressure is injected inside a reaction vessel, where the thermodynamic and chemical interaction between water and Lithium-Lead occurs. The experimental activities are divided in different tests matrix, the Series D and Series E tests. The two series differ in the amount of water injected during the transient. In series D the mass of water is predetermined whilst in series E water was injected continuously for a pre-fixed interval of time and the total injected mass was estimated a posteriori. This work shows the results of the coupling tool applied to Series E. The comparison between the experimental and numerical results is performed by identifying and characterizing the phenomena involved in the interaction. Furthermore, the overall performance of the coupled codes in the simulation of the phenomena is presented here
Quantification of the effect of mammographic screening on fatal breast cancers: The Florence Programme 1990–96
Breast cancer cases diagnosed in women aged 50–69 since 1990 to 1996 in the City of Florence were partitioned into those who had been invited to screening prior to diagnosis and those who had not. All cases were followed up for vital status until 31 December 1999. The cumulative number of breast cancer deaths among the cases were divided by screening and invitation status, to give the rates of cancers proving fatal within a period of 8 years of observation (incidence-based mortality). We used the incidence-based mortality rates for two periods (1985–86, 1990–96), pre and during screening. The incidence-based mortality ratio comparing 1990–96 and 1985–86 was 0.50 (95% CI : 0.38–0.66), a significant 50% reduction. For noninvited women, compared to 1985-86, there was a 41% significant mortality reduction (RR=0.59, 95% CI : 0.42–0.82). The comparable reduction in those invited was a significant 55% (RR=0.45, 95% CI : 0.32–0.61). The incidence ratio of rates of cancers stage II or worse was close to one when the noninvited in 1990–96 were compared with 1985–86 (RR=0.97, 95% CI : 0.78–1.21). Excluding prevalent cases, the rate of stage II+ breast cancer cases was 42% lower in Screened women compared with the noninvited (RR=0.58, 95% CI : 0.45–0.74). This study confirmed that new treatments and the first rounds of the screening programme contributed to reducing mortality from breast cancer
Gating of TonB-dependent transporters by substrate-specific forced remodelling
Membrane proteins play vital roles in inside-out and outside-in signal transduction by responding to inputs that include mechanical stimuli. Mechanical gating may be mediated by the membrane or by protein(s) but evidence for the latter is scarce. Here we use force spectroscopy, protein engineering and bacterial growth assays to investigate the effects of force on complexes formed between TonB and TonB-dependent transporters (TBDT) from Gram-negative bacteria. We confirm the feasibility of protein-only mediated mechanical gating by demonstrating that the interaction between TonB and BtuB (a TBDT) is sufficiently strong under force to create a channel through the TBDT. In addition, by comparing the dimensions of the force-induced channel in BtuB and a second TBDT (FhuA), we show that the mechanical properties of the interaction are perfectly tuned to their function by inducing formation of a channel whose dimensions are tailored to the ligand
Mechanical response of random heteropolymers
We present an analytical theory for heteropolymer deformation, as exemplified
experimentally by stretching of single protein molecules. Using a mean-field
replica theory, we determine phase diagrams for stress-induced unfolding of
typical random sequences. This transition is sharp in the limit of infinitely
long chain molecules. But for chain lengths relevant to biological
macromolecules, partially unfolded conformations prevail over an intermediate
range of stress. These necklace-like structures, comprised of alternating
compact and extended subunits, are stabilized by quenched variations in the
composition of finite chain segments. The most stable arrangements of these
subunits are largely determined by preferential extension of segments rich in
solvophilic monomers. This predicted significance of necklace structures
explains recent observations in protein stretching experiments. We examine the
statistical features of select sequences that give rise to mechanical strength
and may thus have guided the evolution of proteins that carry out mechanical
functions in living cells.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Extracting Structural Information of a Heteropolymer from Force-Extension Curves
We present a theory for the reverse analysis on the sequence information of a
single H/P two-letter random hetero-polymer (RHP) from its force-extension(f-z)
curves during quasi static stretching. Upon stretching of a self-assembled RHP,
it undergoes several structural transitions. The typical elastic response of a
hetero-polymeric globule is a set of overlapping saw-tooth patterns. With
consideration of the height and the position of the overlapping saw-tooth
shape, we analyze the possibility of extracting the binding energies of the
internal domains and the corresponding block sizes of the contributing
conformations.Comment: 5 figures 7 page
Equivalent Circuit for RF Flexural Free-Free MEMS Resonators
A method to extract a lumped-parameter equivalent circuit for a free-free flexural MEMS resonator, based on the Euler-Bernoulli beam equation and exploiting a modal analysis approach, is presented. The dynamic behaviour predicted by the equivalent circuit is compared with FEM simulations, and the effect of a geometrical mismatch is investigated as well. The resonance frequency and the quality factor are correctly predicted. The method could be used for more complex systems of interconnected beams. The circuit can be used as a quick and intuitive analysis tool for the system-level designer and to allow the simulation of the device in a system-level design environment
Unraveling the molecular basis of subunit specificity in P pilus assembly by mass spectrometry
P pili are multisubunit fibers essential for the attachment of uropathogenic Escherichia coli to the kidney. These fibers are formed by the noncovalent assembly of six different homologous subunit types in an array that is strictly defined in terms of both the number and order of each subunit type. Assembly occurs through a mechanism termed “donor-strand exchange (DSE)” in which an N-terminal extension (Nte) of one subunit donates a β-strand to an adjacent subunit, completing its Ig fold. Despite structural determination of the different subunits, the mechanism determining specificity of subunit ordering in pilus assembly remained unclear. Here, we have used noncovalent mass spectrometry to monitor DSE between all 30 possible pairs of P pilus subunits and their Ntes. We demonstrate a striking correlation between the natural order of subunits in pili and their ability to undergo DSE in vitro. The results reveal insights into the molecular mechanism by which subunit ordering during the assembly of this complex is achieved
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