Simulation of CO2 Capture by MEA Scrubbing with a Rate-Based Model

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Innovative experiences in teaching conservation. Involving communities’ interests on preservationtopics by fast investigations and social media dissemination

Since 2019, the authors carried out a didactical experience trough the Preservation Studio workshop in the historical center of Vimercate, a town in the north east area of Milan, implementing a convention agreement between the Municipality and the Atheneum. The convention was arranged in order to set the relationship between the three academic courses of the Politecnico di Milano and the administration of Vimercate, supporting the teaching staff by providing ac- cessibility to various services and some public properties located in the city-cen- ter. Thanks to this kind of agreement, the courses could be supported in their activities by document centers, public associations and the members of the local community, while the teaching staff offered a constant sharing of the main activ- ities by social media and periodical disseminations through public lectures. After maturing several years of didactical workshops on the main buildings of the his- torical center of Vimercate, this paper shows the results collected with the stu- dios: the active class strategies, the on-site survey campaigns, the evolution of the results observed by year after year inspections, ND testing activities and local community involvement. The impact coming from the researches developed by the preservation classes and specific in depth studies realized by graduation thesis showed an increasing participation of the community to the topics connected to the city center: from conservation policies to future uses, historical buildings reached the attention of the people through the development of a new sensibility and perception of new values associated to the local architectural heritage

Selection signatures of fat tail in sheep

The investigation of the genes with a role in lipid metabolism enjoy considerable scientific and commercial interest because of the strong correlations between fat deposition and the risk of cardiovascular disease. The fat tail characteristic of sheep is the adaptive response to harsh environment, and beyond representing a valuable energy reserve for facing future climate changes provides clues for elucidating the physiology of fat deposition. Studies on various sheep populations detected fat-tail signatures on chromosomes 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 13. Fat-tailed sheep represent about 25% of the world\u2019s sheep population, and the genes with a role in this phenotype are likely not the same for every breed, since the wild ancestor of sheep had a thin tail, and the fat tail was selected by humans in longstanding husbandry practices in different regions. In the present work, a genome-wide scan using ~50,000 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms was performed to identify selection signatures for the f at tail in the Barbaresca sheep, an Italian breed originating from North Africa. Fst values of differentiation, and \u3c72 test of significance of allele frequency were calculated, for each marker, between the Barbaresca and each of 13 Italian thin-tailed breeds. Strong signals of selection were detected for all 13 breeds on chromosome 6, in a region encoding the SLIT homolog 2 gene, this gene acting as a molecular guidance cue in cellular migration. The signature on chromosome 7 was very strong only in some of the breeds used for comparison: the detected signal was located in proximity of the Vertnin gene, a candidate for variation in vertebral number, and was already revealed in Iranian and Mediterranean fat-tailed breeds, but not in the Chinese sheep, so confirming the complexity of the fat-tail phenotype, which is associated in some breeds to long and pendulous tail, while, in other breeds, to the short tail

Structure of cattle, sheep, goat and buffalo populations using single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes affecting lipid metabolism

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THE MENSIOCHRONOLOGY ANALYSIS SUPPORTED BY NEW ADVANCED SURVEY TECHNIQUES: FIELD TESTS IN MILANESE AREA

Mensiochronology of brickwork, even in areas where reference curves have been constructed and well tested, requires precise measurements and a representative amount of data due to the many factors affecting the reliability of the measurements, such as the defects caused by the time and the environment that changed the geometry of the bricks (deformation or lack of material along the edges), as well as the operators’ skills. Sometimes, the number of measurable bricks is limited in a wall, or in a stratigraphic unit. Furthermore, if a scaffolding is not available, the analysis is concentrated only on the lower courses of the bricks, being not possible to directly measure the bricks of the higher levels. In order to implement the number of bricks taken into account for this study, a comparison from direct measurements and indirect measurements is here proposed.The aim of this paper is to explore the applications of photogrammetry for undertaking brick measurements for chronological dating: its advantage and drawbacks. Using high-resolution digital rectified pictures, the masonry texture of some well-documented building prospects was scaled into vector graphic software for recording the measures of the bricks. The results presented here by the authors are an attempt for validating this method for future applications. In detail, three case studies are analysed in the historic centre of Vimercate (Italy) testing the effectiveness of the presented method on dated buildings that display diverse features, including the presence of reused bricks, possibly coming from dismantled pre-existing structures. The results proved that the proposed geomatics method entails an accuracy that does not affect the usability of data for the investigation of buildings and the material culture inbuilt.</p

Asymptomatic unilateral ovarian leiomioma in a German shepherd bitch

This report shows for the first time clinical imaging (ultrasound and computed tomography), histological and immunohistochemical findings of an ovarian leiomyoma, coincidentally diagnosed in an asymptomatic unmated nulliparous ten year-old German shepherd bitch concurrently suffering from multiple mammary tumors. A thorough examination allowed the differentiation of ovarian leiomyoma from other spindle cell tumors. An accurate description of the diagnostic procedures useful in the managing of ovarian leiomyoma could provide valuable information to veterinary practitioners. Indeed, despite its rarity and nonspecific symptoms, ovarian leiomyoma may also affect the dog with an unknown potential risk

Casein SNP in Norwegian goats: additive and dominance effects on milk composition and quality

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The four casein proteins in goat milk are encoded by four closely linked casein loci (<it>CSN1S1</it>, <it>CSN2</it>, <it>CSN1S2 </it>and <it>CSN3</it>) within 250 kb on caprine chromosome 6. A deletion in exon 12 of <it>CSN1S1</it>, so far reported only in Norwegian goats, has been found at high frequency (0.73). Such a high frequency is difficult to explain because the national breeding goal selects against the variant's effect.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study, 575 goats were genotyped for 38 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP) located within the four casein genes. Milk production records of these goats were obtained from the Norwegian Dairy Goat Control. Test-day mixed models with additive and dominance fixed effects of single SNP were fitted in a model including polygenic effects.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Significant additive effects of single SNP within <it>CSN1S1 </it>and <it>CSN3 </it>were found for fat % and protein %, milk yield and milk taste. The allele with the deletion showed additive and dominance effects on protein % and fat %, and overdominance effects on milk quantity (kg) and lactose %. At its current frequency, the observed dominance (overdominance) effects of the deletion allele reduced its substitution effect (and additive genetic variance available for selection) in the population substantially.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The selection pressure of conventional breeding on the allele with the deletion is limited due to the observed dominance (overdominance) effects. Inclusion of molecular information in the national breeding scheme will reduce the frequency of this deletion in the population.</p

Impact of social determinants on antiretroviral therapy access and outcomes entering the era of universal treatment for people living with HIV in Italy

Background: Social determinants are known to be a driving force of health inequalities, even in high income countries. Aim of our study was to determine if these factors can limit antiretroviral therapy (ART) access, outcome and retention in care of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Italy. Methods: All ART naïve HIV+ patients (pts) of Italian nationality enrolled in the ICONA Cohort from 2002 to 2016 were included. The association of socio-demographic characteristics (age, sex, risk factor for HIV infection, educational level, occupational status and residency area) with time to: ART initiation (from the first positive anti-HIV test), ART regimen discontinuation, and first HIV-RNA &lt; 50 cp/mL, were evaluated by Cox regression analysis, Kaplan Meier method and log-rank test. Results: A total of 8023 HIV+ pts (82% males, median age at first pos anti-HIV test 36 years, IQR: 29-44) were included: 6214 (77.5%) started ART during the study period. Women, people who inject drugs (PWID) and residents in Southern Italy presented the lowest levels of education and the highest rate of unemployment compared to other groups. Females, pts aged &gt; 50 yrs., unemployed vs employed, and people with lower educational levels presented the lowest CD4 count at ART initiation compared to other groups. The overall median time to ART initiation was 0.6 years (yrs) (IQR 0.1-3.7), with a significant decrease over time [2002-2006 = 3.3 yrs. (0.2-9.4); 2007-2011 = 1.0 yrs. (0.1-3.9); 2012-2016 = 0.2 yrs. (0.1-2.1), p &lt; 0.001]. By multivariate analysis, females (p &lt; 0.01) and PWID (p &lt; 0.001), presented a longer time to ART initiation, while older people (p &lt; 0.001), people with higher educational levels (p &lt; 0.001), unemployed (p = 0.02) and students (p &lt; 0.001) were more likely to initiate ART. Moreover, PWID, unemployed vs stable employed, and pts. with lower educational levels showed a lower 1-year probability of achieving HIV-RNA suppression, while females, older patients, men who have sex with men (MSM), unemployed had higher 1-year risk of first-line ART discontinuation. Conclusions: Despite median time to ART start decreased from 2002 to 2016, socio-demographic factors still contribute to disparities in ART initiation, outcome and durability