Neural network monitoring of resistance welding processes

Control of weld quality is one of the most important and complex processes to be carried out on production lines. Neural networks have shown good results in fields such as modelling and control of physical processes. It is suggested in this article that a neural classifier should be used to carry out non‐destructive on‐line analysis. This system has been developed and installed at resistance welding stations. Results confirm the validity of neural networks used for this type of application

LCA of alternative biochar production technologies

This paper investigates the environmental performance of biochar produced using different technologies including: traditional earth kiln; metal ring kiln, Missouri kiln and Missouri with gas recycling. The analysis has been produced using Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and includes extensive inventory of direct gas emissions during the carbonization stage. The normalized analysis evidence that the impact categories most severely affected are photochemical oxidant formation, human toxicity and climate change. In the case of climate change, impact values ranged between 2773 and 4714 kg CO2/ton, with lower emissions produced by advanced carbonization technologies due to higher product yields, improved thermal efficiency (which results in reduced combustion of primary products) and elimination of volatile pollutants in the gas condenser and post-combustor. Single point indicator analysis evidences a 33-40 % reduction in environmental impact when using advanced processing methods compared to traditional charcoal production

miR-210 as a marker of chronic hypoxia, but not a therapeutic target in prostate cancer

AbstractIntroductionRadiotherapy in combination with medical castration is the standard treatment for high-risk prostate cancer. Some relapses may be explained by the presence of radioresistant clones arising from hypoxic microenvironment. Since microRNAs (miR) are increased upon hypoxia, the aim of this study was to see whether miR-210 is a potential marker for hypoxia and/or a therapeutic target in prostate cancer.MethodsHuman LNCaP, DU145 or PC3 prostate cancer cells were exposed to normoxia or hypoxia for several hours. Gene expression of miR-210, miR-373 and several hypoxia markers were analyzed by Taqman and SYBR green qRT-PCR, respectively. Clonogenic survival after LNA miR-210 inhibitor (78nM) and concomitant irradiation were evaluated.ResultsDuring anoxia, CAIX and VEGF expressions were dramatically increased. miR-210 expression increased during anoxia exposure, while basal miR-373 expression was low and remained stable upon anoxia. LNA miR-210 inhibitor decreased anoxic miR-210 expression by 90% and clonogenic survival under anoxia (p=0.01). However, no enhanced effect was observed when miR-210 inhibitor was combined with irradiation.ConclusionmiR-210 could be an interesting marker of chronic hypoxia irrespective of the androgen dependency and should, therefore, be tested as a prognostic marker in high risk prostate cancer patients

Seasonal rather than spatial variability drives planktonic and benthic bacterial diversity in a microtidal lagoon and the adjacent open sea

Coastal lagoons are highly productive ecosystems, which are experiencing a variety of human disturbances at increasing frequency. Bacteria are key ecological players within lagoons, yet little is known about the magnitude, patterns and drivers of diversity in these transitional environments. We carried out a seasonal study in the Venice Lagoon (Italy) and the adjacent sea, to simultaneously explore diversity patterns in different domains (pelagic, benthic) and their spatio-temporal variability, and test the role of environmental gradients in structuring assemblages. Community composition differed between lagoon and open sea, and between domains. The dominant phyla varied temporally, with varying trends for the two domains, suggesting different environmental constraints on the assemblages. The percentage of freshwater taxa within the lagoon increased during higher river run-off, pointing at the lagoon as a dynamic mosaic of microbial taxa that generate the metacommunity across the whole hydrological continuum. Seasonality was more important than spatial variability in shaping assemblages. Network analyses indicated more interactions between several genera and environmental variables in the open sea than the lagoon. Our study provides evidences for a temporally dynamic nature of bacterial assemblages in lagoons and suggests that an interplay of seasonally influenced environmental drivers shape assemblages in these vulnerable ecosystems

The development of social preferences

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordThis paper examines how social preferences develop with age. This is done using a range of mini-dictator games from which we classify 665 subjects into a variety of behavioural types. We expand on previous developmental studies of pro-sociality and parochialism by analysing individuals aged 9–67, and by employing a cross country study where participants from Spain interact with participants from different ethnic groups (Arab, East Asian, Black and White) belonging to different countries (Morocco, China, Senegal and Spain). We identify a ‘U-shaped’ relationship between age and egalitarianism that had previously gone unnoticed, and appeared linear. An inverse “U-shaped” relationship is found to be true for altruism. A gender differential is found to emerge in teenage years, with females becoming less altruistic but more egalitarian than males. In contrast to the majority of previous economic studies of the development of social preferences, we report evidence of increased altruism, and decreased egalitarianism and spite expressed towards black individuals from Senegal

Plasmonic optical fiber meta-tip for cancer biomarkers detection

Sensors based on Lab-On-Tip (LOT) technology, where suitably designed nanostructures are integrated onto the end face of an optical fiber, are of strategic importance especially in medicine and clinical diagnostics, where minia- turization and portability are key characteristics. To improve the performance of LOT biosensors, we proposed the integration of the optical fiber with plasmonic Metasurfaces (Optical fiber meta-tip, OFMT), sensibly enhancing the light-matter interaction. Here we report on the remarkable capabilities of plasmonic OFMTs to perform label-free detection of cancer biomarkers with improved performances with respect to state-of-the-art optical fiber senso

Pancreaticoduodenectomy model demonstrates a fundamental role of dysfunctional β cells in predicting diabetes

BACKGROUND. The appearance of hyperglycemia is due to insulin resistance, functional deficits in the secretion of insulin, and a reduction of β cell mass. There is a long-standing debate as to the relative contribution of these factors to clinically manifesting β cell dysfunction. The aim of this study was to verify the acute effect of one of these factors, the reduction of β cell mass, on the subsequent development of hyperglycemia. METHODS. To pursue this aim, nondiabetic patients, scheduled for identical pancreaticoduodenectomy surgery, underwent oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) and hyperglycemic clamp (HC) procedures, followed by arginine stimulation before and after surgery. Based on postsurgery OGTT, subjects were divided into 3 groups depending on glucose tolerance: normal glucose tolerance (post-NGT), impaired glucose tolerance (post-IGT), or having diabetes mellitus (post-DM). RESULTS. At baseline, the 3 groups showed similar fasting glucose and insulin levels; however, examining the various parameters, we found that reduced first-phase insulin secretion, reduced glucose sensitivity, and rate sensitivity were predictors of eventual postsurgery development of IGT and diabetes. CONCLUSION. Despite comparable functional mass and fasting glucose and insulin levels at baseline and the very same 50% mass reduction, only reduced first-phase insulin secretion and glucose sensitivity predicted the appearance of hyperglycemia. These functional alterations could be pivotal to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2DM)

Increased Beta Cell Workload Modulates Proinsulin/Insulin Ratio in Humans

Increased proinsulin secretion, which characterizes type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance, may be due to an intrinsic, primitive defect in proinsulin processing, or be secondary to increased demand on \u3b2-cells (hyperinsulinemia secondary to insulin resistance). An alternative way to investigate the relation between relative hyperproinsulinemia and increased secretory demand is to study the dynamic changes in proinsulin to insulin ratio after partial pancreatectomy, a model of acute increased beta cell workload on the remaining pancreas. To pursue this aim, non-diabetic patients, scheduled for partial pancreatectomy, underwent 4-hour mixed meal tests and hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamps before and after surgery. Following acute beta cell mass reduction, no changes were observed in fasting proinsulin to insulin ratio, while fold change in proinsulin to insulin ratio significantly increased over time after the meal. Further, our data demonstrate that whole-body insulin resistance is associated with underlying defects in proinsulin secretion, which become detectable only in the presence of increased insulin secretion demand

Lossy mode resonance enabling ultra-low detection limit for fibre-optic biosensors (INVITED)

The combination of optical fibre-based biosensors with nanotechnologies is providing the opportunity for the development of in situ, portable, lightweight, versatile and high-sensitivity optical sensing platforms. We report on the generation of lossy mode resonances (LMRs) by means of the deposition of nm-thick SnO2 film on optical fibres. This allows measuring precisely and accurately the changes in refractive index of the fibre-surrounding medium with very high sensitivity compared to other optical technology platforms, such as long period grating or surface plasmon resonance. This approach, mixed with the use of specialty fiber structures such as Dshaped fibres, allows improving the light-matter interaction in strong way. Different imaging systems, i.e. SEM and TEM along with X-EDS tool, have been used to study the optical features of the fiber coating. The shift of the LMR has been monitored in real-time thanks to conventional wavelength interrogation system and ad hoc developed microfluidics. A big leap in performance has been attained by detecting femtomolar concentrations in human serum. The biosensor reusability has been also tested by using a solution of sodium dodecyl sulphate.This work was supported by the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) for the Short Term Mobility program 2017, by the Government of Navarra (project no. 72/2015) and by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigacion (AEI) and European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) (TEC2016-78047-R,TEC2016-79367-C2-2-R)

Label-free fiber optic optrode for the detection of class C beta-lactamases expressed by drug resistant bacteria

This paper reports the experimental assessment of an automated optical assay based on label free optical fiber optrodes for the fast detection of class C beta-lactamases (AmpC BLs), actually considered as one of the most important sources of resistance to beta-lactams antibiotics expressed by resistant bacteria. Reflection-type long period fiber gratings (RT-LPG) have been used as highly sensitive label free optrodes, while a higher affine boronic acid based ligand was here selected to enhance the overall assay performances compared to those obtained in our first demonstration. In order to prove the feasibility analysis towards a fully automated optical assay, an engineered system was developed to simultaneously manipulate and interrogate multiple fiber optic optrodes in the different phases of the assay. The automated system tested in AmpC solutions at increasing concentrations demonstrated a limit of detection (LOD) of 6 nM, three times better when compared with the results obtained in our previous work. Moreover, the real effectiveness of the proposed optical assay has been also confirmed in complex matrices as the case of lysates of Escherichia coli overexpressing AmpC. (C) 2017 Optical Society of Americ