Estudo do comportamento da dilatação térmica do compósito Mg-B(20%)

O compósito de Mg-B(20%) apresenta aplicações relacionadas à área aeronáutica/aeroespacial, conforme seus históricos de utilização relatados e avaliados por alguns autores, devido a suas propriedades, em especial a relação resistência /peso. O foco do estudo realizado foi levantar pormenorizadamente seu comportamento de expansão térmica para taxas controladas de adição de calor e ciclos térmicos de trabalho. Os resultados mostraram-se dentro do esperado para esta espécie de material, ou seja, as fibras são mais solicitadas numa faixa de temperatura e orientações e a matriz passa a ter maior predomínio global em outras faixas e orienta- ções, o que é comprovado no decorrer deste estudo experimental

A Feasible Methodological Approach to Estimate the Burden of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Results from the EPI-ASD Study in the Province of Lecce (Southern Italy)

Diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have rapidly increased globally. However, the lack of comprehensive epidemiological surveys and surveillance systems, able to provide official data at a national or European level is one of the main issues in the monitoring of this condition. The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of ASD in children and adolescents aged 3-18 years old living in the province of Lecce (Southern Italy) through official data provided by the Local Health Authority of Lecce (ASL/LE) up to 31 October 2020, and compare it with school-based data concerning the number of students needing support for ASD. Based on data provided by the ASL/LE, in 2020 there were 509 cases of ASD among children and adolescents aged 3-18 years old, corresponding to a prevalence of 0.46%. A total of 408 (80.2%) were boys and 101 (19.8%) were girls. In relation to their age, 155 ASD cases (0.90%) were diagnosed in the 3-5 age group, while 222 (0.55%) in the 6-11 age group and 132 (0.25%) in the 12-18 age group. Prevalence of ASD assessed by school-based dataset was underestimated in the 3-5 age group, while the 6-11 and 12-18 age groups were consistent with the official data provided by the ASL/LE

[pt] SÍNTESE DE PÓS NANOMETRICOS DO AL2MO3O12 PARA OTIMIZAÇÃO DE SEU COEFICIENTE DE EXPANSÃO TÉRMICA NA FORMA MACIÇA

A síntese de pós nanométricos do Al2Mo3O12 para otimização de seu coeficiente de expansão térmica na forma maciça tem como objetivo principal aproximar o comportamento térmico intrínseco e extrínseco do material. A expansão térmica intrinseca de escala atomica é medida por difração de raios-X a partir do aumento dos parametros de rede, por outro lado, a tecnica de dilatometria mede ambos os efeitos tanto intrinsecos quanto extrinsecos provenientes da microestrutura. Materiais anisotropicos apresentam coeficientes de expansão termica diferentes ao longo dos eixos cristalograficos, e com isso são encontradas maiores diferenças entre as propriedades intrinseca e maciça da expansão termica. Dessa forma a aplicação desses materias anisotropicos na forma maciça é comprometida devido a formação de microtrincas. O Al2Mo3O12 foi obtido na forma nanometrica pela síntese por coprecipitação e na forma micrométrica pela síntese de sol-gel assistido com álcool polivinilico e por reação em estado solido. Dessa forma o resultado de CET maciço obtidos pelos três métodos foram comparados entre si e também comparados aos existentes na literatura para comportamento intrínseco e maciço. Os resultados mostraram que o Al2Mo3O12 na forma nanometrica possui resultado de CET maciço muito próximo ao intrínseco, diferente do obtido para o micrométrico e também do já reportado na literatura,o que confirma que a partir de um tamanho de cristal critico não seria mais possível obter um mesmo CET intrínseco e maciço para um mesmo material.Optimization of the bulk thermal expansion coefficient of the Al2Mo3O12 using nanometric powder in order to approximate the intrinc and the extrinsic thermal properties.When a solid body is exposed to temperature variation, a change of dimensions will occur due to emergence of different effects originating at atomic (intrinsic) or microstructural (extrinsic) scales. The intrinsic thermal expansion is measured by X-ray diffraction from lattice parameters increase, on the other hand, the technique of dilatometric measures both the intrinsic as both extrinsic effects may then be defined as their CTE solid (bulk). Cubic materials exhibit isotropic behavior during thermal expansion, and thus may be insignificant variations between intrinsic and CTE s massive. Anisotropic materials have different coefficients of thermal expansion along the crystallographic axes, and presents major differences between the intrinsic properties and thermal expansion of the bulk, being mostly a bulk CTE smaller than the intrinsic one. The application of these anisotropic materials is difficult because bulk CTE massive changes expected due to formation of microcracks. The Al2Mo3O12 was obtained by three routes :coprecipitation (nanometric way) , sol-gel assisted with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and by solid state reaction (micrometric ways). Thus the result of bulk CET obtained by the three methods were compared and also compared with those found in the literature for intrinsic behavior and bulk. The nanometric Al2Mo3O12 showed a bulk linear CTE close to the intrinsic value, whereas micrometric one showed a negative bulk CTE ,which confirms that from a critical cristal size it is no possible to obtain bulk CTE close to the intrinsic one

Arming Filamentous Bacteriophage, a Nature-Made Nanoparticle, for New Vaccine and Immunotherapeutic Strategies

The pharmaceutical use of bacteriophages as safe and inexpensive therapeutic tools is collecting renewed interest. The use of lytic phages to fight antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains is pursued in academic and industrial projects and is the object of several clinical trials. On the other hand, filamentous bacteriophages used for the phage display technology can also have diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Filamentous bacteriophages are nature-made nanoparticles useful for their size, the capability to enter blood vessels, and the capacity of high-density antigen expression. In the last decades, our laboratory focused its efforts in the study of antigen delivery strategies based on the filamentous bacteriophage ‘fd’, able to trigger all arms of the immune response, with particular emphasis on the ability of the MHC class I restricted antigenic determinants displayed on phages to induce strong and protective cytotoxic responses. We showed that fd bacteriophages, engineered to target mouse dendritic cells (DCs), activate innate and adaptive responses without the need of exogenous adjuvants, and more recently, we described the display of immunologically active lipids. In this review, we will provide an overview of the reported applications of the bacteriophage carriers and describe the advantages of exploiting this technology for delivery strategies

HIV Vaccination: A Roadmap among Advancements and Concerns

Since the identification of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) as the etiologic agent of AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), many efforts have been made to stop the AIDS pandemic. A major success of medical research has been the development of the highly active antiretroviral therapy and its availability to an increasing number of people worldwide, with a considerable effect on survival. However, a safe and effective vaccine able to prevent and eradicate the HIV pandemic is still lacking. Clinical trials and preclinical proof-of-concept studies in nonhuman primate (NHP) models have provided insights into potential correlates of protection against the HIV-1 infection, which include broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs), non-neutralizing antibodies targeting the variable loops 1 and 2 (V1V2) regions of the HIV-1 envelope (Env), polyfunctional antibody, and Env-specific T-cell responses. In this review, we provide a brief overview of different HIV-1 vaccine approaches and discuss the current understanding of the cellular and humoral correlates of HIV-1 immunity

Compliance to antifracture treatments in Tuscany: a regional survey based on institutional pharmaceutical dataset

Objective: compliance to any antifracture therapy is the most important parameter affecting the effectiveness of the treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate patients compliance to antifracture therapies in the whole Tuscany population who benefit from treatments reimbursed by the Regional Healthcare System. Methods: we have analyzed all antifracture drug prescriptions recorded in Tuscany regional pharmaceutical database concerning year 2009, from both in-hospital distribution database (direct drug delivery, FED), and private pharmacies across the whole region (SPF). Patients who started the treatment in 2008 and those continuing it in 2010 were also considered in the analysis. The sample size consisted in 92,250 people (1:9 male to female ratio). Compliance to antifracture treatments at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months was analyzed by single drug (using the defined daily dose, DDD), and by age group (40-50, 50-60, 60-70, 70-80, 90-100 years). Results: patients compliance decreased under 80% after the first 3 months of treatment, reaching no more than 50% at 1 year. Our results show that compliance to antifracture treatments reflects the age of the patients. People aged 70-80 years old represent the age group most frequently treated with antifracture therapies (36.57% of total prescriptions), with alendronic acid being the most prescribed drug (29.73% of total drug prescribed). Monthly dosing did not increase compliance if compared to oral weekly regimens, while daily oral or s.c. dosing were associated to lower compliance rates. Conclusion: serious efforts need to be implemented to foster patients motivation in assuming their antifracture treatments for at least one yea