Development and Longevity: Cellular and Molecular Determinants - A Mini-Review

Across species, development and longevity are tightly linked. We discuss the relevant literature and suggest that the root for this stringent relationship is the rate of development. The basis for the relationship between rate of development and longevity lies in adaptations that have occurred through evolution at multiple levels of biological complexity: organism, organ, cellular, and molecular. Thus, the analysis of the relationship is of interest for multiple fields of biology

Skeletal, dental and profilometric effects of Sabbagh Universal Spring 2 (SUS2) in a patient at the end of growth: a case report

Introduction: Malocclusions, which present a severe skeletal component, are difficult to solve through orthodontic treatment inpatients at the end of growth and often require a combined orthodontic-surgical treatment. The mandibular propulsion appliances "no compliance" now offer new possibilities for functional orthopedic treatment in borderline cases. Case presentation: A patient at the end of growth with a severe malocclusion (Class II Division 1), open bite with arches\u27 transversaldiscrepancy, refused the hypothesis of an orthodontic-surgical treatment, which represents the gold standard in such occlusal andskeletal problems, especially in subjects at the end of growth; consequently, a complex orthopedic-orthodontic treatment was chosen as the second choice. The patient has been successfully treated also through the use of SUS2 (Sabbagh Universal Spring 2; Dentaurum, Ispringen, Germany), a "no compliance" fixed functional appliance, which carried out a significant sagittal correction. Conclusion: The case report especially highlights the important sagittal correction obtained through the use of SUS2. The SUS2 had a functional outcome, which resulted in the maxillary growth stop and an effective sagittal mandibular growth increase. The SUS2effects, enhanced by elastics biomechanics, led to the bite closure and at the achievement of Class I occlusion

Feasibility of high-voltage systems for a very long drift in liquid argon TPCs

Designs of high-voltage (HV) systems for creating a drift electric field in liquid argon TPCs are reviewed. In ongoing experiments systems capable of approx. 100 kV are realised for a drift field of 0.5-1 kV/cm over a length of up to 1.5 m. Two of them having different approaches are presented: (1) the ICARUS-T600 detector having a system consisting of an external power supply, HV feedthroughs and resistive voltage degraders and (2) the ArDM-1t detector having a cryogenic Greinacher HV multiplier inside the liquid argon volume. For a giant scale liquid argon TPC, a system providing 2 MV may be required to attain a drift length of approx. 20 m. Feasibility of such a system is evaluated by extrapolating the existing designs.Comment: 8 pages, 13 figures, to appear in Proc. of 1st International Workshop towards the Giant Liquid Argon Charge Imaging Experiment (GLA2010), Tsukuba (Japan), March 201

VALUTAZIONE DELLE PROPRIETA’ MECCANICHE NEI MATERIALI IN ESERCIZIO CON PROVE DI LABORATORIO: LA FATICA TERMOMECCANICA

Le turbine a gas lavorano in condizioni operative estreme di temperatura e pressione per ottenere le massime prestazioni dell’impianto energetico. Tali requisiti possono risultare al limite delle condizioni di progettazione delle pale, dei cuscinetti e dei numerosi componenti presenti nella camera di combustione. Di conseguenza la loro vita in esercizio può risultare limitata, come verosimilmente risulta dalla frequenza delle fratture che tali componenti presentano rispetto alla minore incidenza verificabile in altre parti dell’impianto. I difetti, che insorgono in corrispondenza dello stadio delle pale della turbina esposto alla maggiore temperatura e pressione di lavoro, risultano attribuibili ai fenomeni di creep, di ossidazione e di danneggiamento per fatica. Inoltre non è ancora del tutto chiaro se queste azioni di danneggiamento agiscono in modo simultaneo o se alcune di esse risultano predominanti (come, quando e perché) rispetto ad altre che divengono meno influenti nel corso del danneggiamento per fatica termomeccanica (TMF). I materiali svolgono il ruolo fondamentale per l’incremento della vita in esercizio degli impianti. A tale proposito la via dell’innovazione è stata intrapresa con lo sviluppo di superleghe a base nickel ottenute per solidificazione direzionale (DS) o monocristalline (SX) e con l’impiego di rivestimenti ceramici che fanno da scudo termico al materiale sottoposto alle temperature preservando le superfici esposte dei componenti dall’ossidazione a caldo. Essi consentono di aumentare la temperatura di funzionamento degli impianti e, conseguentemente, di aumentarne il rendimento. Il vantaggio ottenuto dallo sviluppo dei nuovi materiali e dei rivestimenti va attentamente valutato mediante la messa a punto di nuove tecniche diagnostiche simulanti le condizioni di lavoro dei componenti e, in tale ambito, la fatica termomeccanica (TMF) ha dimostrato di essere un ottimo strumento diagnostico complementare di quello della fatica LCF, sinora più diffuso. Nella memoria sono descritte le procedure per l’esecuzione di prove TMF ed alcuni esempi di confronto tra TMF ed LCF per alcuni materiali innovativi impiegati in componenti turbogas

Cell cultures of the Manila clam and their possible use in biomonitoring and species preservation

A huge progress has been achieved in mammalian in vitro technique. Instead, of the many trials to develop marine invertebrate cell cultures, only a few have obtained them and only from few tissues. Since in vitro cell culture of invertebrates could be very useful for many aspects of basic and applied science, in this work we investigate and describe the development of a technique for the establishment of cell cultures from gill, mantle and gonadic tissue of the Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum). We maintained viable cultures for up to 25 days. Culture viability and proliferation were tested with 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) and with trypan blue, while an antibody against the ATP-dependent RNA helicase VASA, a protein expressed in the germline, and in multipotent stem cells of some animals, was used to verify the presence of these cell types. Following the described protocol: 1) explant resulted the better source to obtain cell cultures, when compared to enzymatic dissociation; 2) cultures of suspended cells were viable for longer period than adherent cells; 3) cell cultures obtained from tissues sampled in September-October performed better compared to other periods of the year, regarding maintenance and growth; 4) the tissue from which we obtained longer-lived cell cultures was gonadic tissue, especially form samples that show more undifferentiated germ cells and more VASA-stained cells. This study describes the challenges concerning the development of in vitro culture techniques for aquatic invertebrates