Effectiveness of distributed temperature measurements for early detection of piping in river embankments

Abstract. Internal erosion is the cause of a significant percentage of failure and incidents involving both dams and river embankments in many countries. In the past 20 years the use of fibre-optic Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) in dams has proved to be an effective tool for the detection of leakages and internal erosion. This work investigates the effectiveness of DTS for dike monitoring, focusing on the early detection of backward erosion piping, a mechanism that affects the foundation layer of structures resting on permeable, sandy soils. The paper presents data from a piping test performed on a large-scale experimental dike equipped with a DTS system together with a large number of accompanying sensors. The effect of seepage and piping on the temperature field is analysed, eventually identifying the processes that cause the onset of thermal anomalies around piping channels and thus enable their early detection. Making use of dimensional analysis, the factors that influence this thermal response of a dike foundation are identified. Finally some tools are provided that can be helpful for the design of monitoring systems and for the interpretation of temperature data

Non-Isothermal sloshing for space applications: from a ground-based experimental characterisation to microgravity conditions

Liquid cryogenic propellants are at the forefront of space propulsion due to their optimal trade-off between performance and weight (Sutton et al. 2017). As a result, investigations on the sloshing dynamics of such fuels have been carried out since the early 1960s. Sloshing, defined as the movement of the free liquid surface within a reservoir (Abramson, 1966), induces two types of undesirable effects: (a) displacement of fuel tank’s centre of mass, which disturbs the stability and manoeuvrability of the spacecraft; (b) thermal mixing between the pressurised ullage and subcooled liquid, which can generate large fluctuations in the tank pressure, leading to structural instabilities and thrust oscillations in the propulsive system. [...]This work is supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) in the framework of the project number 4000129315/19/NL/MG. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the “Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (F.R.S.-FNRS)” for the FRIA grant supporting the PhD of Mr Marques.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The common NOD2/CARD15 variant P268S in patients with non-infectious uveitis: A cohort study

Background: The etiology of Autoimmune chronic uveitis (ACU) is still unknown; NOD2/CARD15 gene mutations are responsible for the Blau Syndrome and can induce uveitis in animal models. Presentation of the hypothesis: Aim of our study was to assess if NOD2/CARD15 variants have a role in the etiology or in the clinical course of patients with ACU, either idiopathic or associated with other inflammatory diseases. Testing the hypothesis: We consecutively enrolled 25 patients (19 pediatric and 6 adults) affected with ACU. For each patient medical history was reviewed and clinical data were recorded. Allelic and genotypic frequencies of NOD2/CARD15 variations were calculated in patients and matched with those of 25 healthy controls. The statistical analysis was performed. Fifteen patients showed the polymorphism P268S/SNP5 (SNP rs2066842) as heterozygous carriers while two patients were homozygous for the same polymorphism; one patient carried also the variant c647 18-16 TCT on intron 3, not previously reported in the literature. Statistical analysis for NOD2/CARD15 genotyping showed significant differences between patients and controls for allelic frequencies (p=0.04, OR: 4.03, 95 %; CI=1.2-13.5) but not for genotypic frequencies. We could not identify a significant phenotype-genotype correlation. Implications of the hypothesis: In our cohort of Italian patients, the NOD2/CARD15 common variant P268S/SNP5 could potentially be significantly associated with ACU

NEW SECONDARY METABOLITES IN THE AMPHINOMID FIREWORM HERMODICE CARUNCULATA

Eight betaine-derived novel compounds were found in extracts of the Mediterranean stinging fireworm Hermodice carunculata. The identification of their structures relies on 1D and 2D NMR (Fig. 1-3) and HPLC-ESI/HRMS spectra. Two types of terminal ammonium portions A and B and a series of different alkyl chains were identified (Fig. 4a,b). Their matching provides the structures of uncharacterized secondary metabolites, named carunculines, and their related isomers. These molecules differ from already known trimethylammonium inflammatory compounds (i.e. complanines) isolated from another amphinomid species, for the structures of the terminal ammonium groups (Fig. 4c) [1]. Carunculine anatomical distribution within H. carunculata was assessed by screening through HPLC-ESI/HRMS (Fig. 5, Table 1): their occurrence was revealed in all the body parts analyzed, both involved in predator-prey interactions [2], and mainly in the digestive apparatus. The results achieved reveal an array of different novel compounds from a chemically unknown species, improving knowledge on Marine Animal Products with chemical and biological potential for bioprospection [3]. Overall, these data reinforce the necessity of studying poorly-investigated taxa to expand knowledge on animal venom biology, their mechanisms of action and exploitation as promising source of drug molecule