76 research outputs found
LIFE Project: Implementing a modelling framework for emergency vehicles advanced priority strategies
Given the aging demographics and rapid urbanisation, cities need to be equipped to respond to emergency (eg. 999
calls) more quickly. By 2050, over 25% of the UKâs population will be over 65. This has implications on the
overall health services as well as the NHS Trust to cope with anticipated rise in ambulance call outs amidst
worsening urban congestion. Ambulance services are required to reach 75% of emergency calls within 8 minutes.
For this reason, there is a growing need to develop new and innovative applications for an even more intelligent
use of the existing transport system that will support in real-time emergency vehicles to reach life threatening
emergency cases quicker.
this paper will discuss the methodology and the preliminary results of the modelling framework implementation
of a âLife First Emergency Traffic Controlâ or âLiFEâ system, a ITS implementation seeking to identify the best
solution to reduce the time to respond to emergency calls, whilst operating a resilient service with a cost and fuelefficient
fleet. Results of the application of a microsimulation model to replicate the behaviour of ambulances in
urban area and how different reactions of general traffic can impact on the travel time of an ambulance are
presented. The proposed microsimulation modelling framework has been developed with the final aim to
understand and evaluate the impacts and the best scenarios to improve ambulance (or any Emergency vehicle)
response time and gains in cost-saving, whilst assessing mitigation strategies to reduce other impacts such as
residual congestion.
The work is part of an Innovate UK collaborative funded project, namely Life First Emergency Traffic Control
(LiFE) with the aim to develop an innovative application for an intelligent transport system that operates in realtime
to enable ambulances to reach life threatening emergency cases quicker by integrating ambulance route finder
applications with traffic management systems
Seismic strengthening and seismic improvement of timber structures
In European seismic areas timber structures are used as building frames, in frames with masonry infills, in bridges, but most often in structures supporting roofs and floor slabs of traditional buildings. Seismic strengthening of existing structures should supply a well-defined and simple path to seismic forces, keep timber elements within the elastic limit, and develop as much as possible a post-elastic behaviour in joints. Provisions must be adopted to avoid sudden loss of capacity and brittle failure, and to favor the development of ductility.
Different criteria for seismic strengthening of floor slabs and of carpentry joints are presented, on the basis of research projects conducted by the authors
Bindarit inhibits human coronary artery smooth muscle cell proliferation, migration and phenotypic switching
Bindarit, a selective inhibitor of monocyte chemotactic proteins (MCPs) synthesis, reduces neointimal formation in animal models of vascular injury and recently has been shown to inhibit in-stent late loss in a placebo-controlled
phase II clinical trial. However, the mechanisms underlying the efficacy of bindarit in controlling neointimal formation/restenosis have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, we investigated the effect of bindarit on human coronary smooth muscle cells activation, drawing attention to the phenotypic modulation process, focusing on contractile proteins expression as well as proliferation and
migration. The expression of contractile proteins was evaluated by western blot analysis on cultured human coronary smooth muscle cells stimulated with TNF-α (30
ng/mL) or fetal bovine serum (5%). Bindarit (100-300 ”M) reduced the embryonic form of smooth muscle myosin heavy chain while increased smooth muscle α-actin and calponin in both TNF-α- and fetal bovine serum-stimulated cells. These
effects were associated with the inhibition of human coronary smooth muscle cell proliferation/migration and both MCP-1 and MCP-3 production. The effect of
bindarit on smooth muscle cells phenotypic switching was confirmed in vivo in the rat balloon angioplasty model. Bindarit (200 mg/Kg/day) significantly reduced the
expression of the embryonic form of smooth muscle myosin heavy chain, and increased smooth muscle α-actin and calponin in the rat carodid arteries subjected to endothelial denudation. Our results demonstrate that bindarit induces the differentiated state of human coronary smooth muscle cells, suggesting a novel underlying mechanisms by which this drug inhibits neointimal
formation
Legal scenarios in the coronavirus time: Medico legal implications in the aspects of governance
Along with rising levels of the infection around the world, the state of emergency prompted by the COVID-19
pandemic has also been having a heavy legal impact. The situation is posing important criminal challenges, as
well as an ocean of social and public health issues around the world. It has not only directly affected
constitutionally-guaranteed rights and individual freedoms, but also brought to the fore certain types of criminal
offence that had previously been of little practical importance, such as the crime of âmaliciously or unintentionally causing an epidemicâ.
Different countries and states have introduced policies to manage the emergency at different times and in
different ways. The measures adopted have been the object of much criticism, also raising questions of constitutional legitimacy in countries like Italy.
The present contribution begins with a brief outline of the different international scenarios. Then we examine
some of the medicolegal aspects of criminal offences previously envisaged and newly introduced since the arrival
of the pandemic. We suggest the need for a sort of âcode of public health laws for the time of coronavirusâ, that
could also be applied to other public health emergencies, pandemic or otherwise. The idea is to give operators in
the sector and the general population the opportunity to identify clear and simple rules to follow in the current
complex global situation. We need a new, appropriate interpretation of the âboundariesâ of our individual rights
in relation to the need to safeguard the wider community and its more vulnerable members
The Effect of Autologous Platelet Lysate Eye Drops: An In Vivo Confocal Microscopy Study
Purpose. To determine the effectiveness of autologous platelet lysate (APL) eye drops in patients with primary Sjögren syndrome (SS) dry eye, refractory to standard therapy, in comparison with patients treated with artificial tears. We focused on the effect of APL on cornea morphology with the in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM). Methods. Patients were assigned to two groups: group A used autologous platelet lysate QID, and group B used preservative-free artificial tears QID, for 90 days. Ophthalmological assessments included ocular surface disease index (OSDI), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), Schirmer test, fluorescein score, and breakup time (BUT). A subgroup of patients in group A underwent IVCM: corneal basal epithelium, subbasal nerves, Langerhans cells, anterior stroma activated keratocytes, and reflectivity were evaluated. Results. 60 eyes of 30 patients were enrolled; in group A (n=20 patients) mean OSDI, fluorescein score, and BUT showed significant improvement compared with group B (n=10 patients). The IVCM showed a significant increase in basal epithelium cells density and subbasal nerve plexus density and number and a decrease in Langerhans cells density (p<0.05). Conclusion. APL was found effective in the treatment of SS dry eye. IVCM seems to be a useful tool to visualize cornea morphologic modifications
Exploring the vaccine conversation on TikTok in Italy: beyond classic vaccine stances
TikTok, a social media platform for creating and sharing short videos, has seen a surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. To analyse the Italian vaccine conversation on TikTok, we downloaded a sample of videos with a high play count (Top Videos), identified through an unofficial Application Programming Interface (consistent with TikTokâs Terms of Service), and collected public videos from vaccine sceptic users through snowball sampling (Vaccine Scepticsâ videos). The videos were analysed using qualitative and quantitative methods, in terms of vaccine stance, tone of voice, topic, conformity with TikTok style, and other characteristics. The final datasets consisted of 754 Top Videos (by 510 single users) plus 180 Vaccine Scepticsâ videos (by 29 single users), posted between January 2020 and March 2021. In 40.5% of the Top Videos the stance was promotional, 33.9% were indefinite-ironic, 11.3% were neutral, 9.7% were discouraging, and 3.1% were ambiguous (i.e. expressing an ambivalent stance towards vaccines); 43% of promotional videos were from healthcare professionals. More than 95% of the Vaccine Sceptic videos were discouraging. Multiple correspondence analysis showed that, compared to other stances, promotional videos were more frequently created by healthcare professionals and by females, and their most frequent topic was herd immunity. Discouraging videos were associated with a polemical tone of voice and their topics were conspiracy and freedom of choice. Our analysis shows that Italian vaccine-sceptic users on TikTok are limited in number and vocality, and the large proportion of videos with an indefinite-ironic stance might imply that the incidence of affective polarisation could be lower on TikTok, compared to other social media, in the Italian context. Safety is the most frequent concern of users, and we recorded an interesting presence of healthcare professionals among the creators. TikTok should be considered as a medium for vaccine communication and for vaccine promotion campaigns
Epicardial adipose tissue has an increased thickness and is a source of inflammatory mediators in patients with calcific aortic stenosis
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On the definition of temperature in dense granular media
In this Letter we report the measurement of a pseudo-temperature for
compacting granular media on the basis of the Fluctuation-Dissipation relations
in the aging dynamics of a model system. From the violation of the
Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem an effective temperature emerges (a dynamical
temperature T_{dyn}) whose ratio with the equilibrium temperature T_d^{eq}
depends on the particle density. We compare the results for the
Fluctuation-Dissipation Ratio (FDR) T_{dyn}/T_d^{eq} at several densities with
the outcomes of Edwards' approach at the corresponding densities. It turns out
that the FDR and the so-called Edwards' ratio coincide at several densities
(very different ages of the system), opening in this way the door to
experimental checks as well as theoretical constructions.Comment: RevTex4 4 pages, 4 eps figure
A Phenylacetamide Resveratrol Derivative Exerts Inhibitory Effects on Breast Cancer Cell Growth
Resveratrol (RSV) is a natural compound that displays several pharmacological properties,
including anti-cancer actions. However, its clinical application is limited because of its low solubility
and bioavailability. Here, the antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory activity of a series of phenylacetamide
RSV derivatives has been evaluated in several cancer cell lines. These derivatives contain
a monosubstituted aromatic ring that could mimic the RSV phenolic nucleus and a longer flexible
chain that could confer a better stability and bioavailability than RSV. Using MTT assay, we demonstrated
that most derivatives exerted antiproliferative effects in almost all of the cancer cell lines
tested. Among them, derivative 2, that showed greater bioavailability than RSV, was the most active,
particularly against estrogen receptor positive (ER+) MCF7 and estrogen receptor negative (ER-)
MDA-MB231 breast cancer cell lines. Moreover, we demonstrated that these derivatives, particularly
derivative 2, were able to inhibit NO and ROS synthesis and PGE2 secretion in lipopolysaccharide
(LPS)-activated U937 human monocytic cells (derived from a histiocytoma). In order to define the
molecular mechanisms underlying the antiproliferative effects of derivative 2, we found that it
determined cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase, modified the expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins,
and ultimately triggered apoptotic cell death in both breast cancer cell lines. Taken together, these
results highlight the studied RSV derivatives, particularly derivative 2, as promising tools for the
development of new and more bioavailable derivatives useful in the treatment of breast cancer
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