KINETIC ANALYSIS OF SEVERAL VARIATIONS OF PUSH-UPS

Push-ups are a common and practical exercise though the kinetic characteristics of this exercise and its variations have yet to be quantified. This study assessed the peak ground reaction forces (GRF) of push-up variations including the regular push-up and those performed with bent knee, feet elevated on a 30.48 cm box and a 60.96 cm box, hands elevated on a 30.48 cm box and a 60.96 cm box. Peak GRF and peak GRF expressed as a coefficient of subject body mass were obtained with a force platform. Push-ups with the feet elevated produced higher GRF than all other push-up variations (p ≤ 0.05). Push-ups with hands elevated and from the bent knee position produced lower GRF than all other push-up variations (p ≤ 0.05). These data can be used to progress the intensity of push-ups in a program with loads that are quantified as a percentage of body mass

Cardiovascular changes after administration of aerosolized salbutamol in horses: five cases

Prevention and treatment of intraoperative hypoxemia in horses is difficult and both efficacy and safety of therapeutic maneuvers have to be taken into account. Inhaled salbutamol has been suggested as treatment of hypoxia in horses during general anesthesia, due to safety and ease of the technique. The present report describes the occurrence of clinically relevant unwanted cardiovascular effects (i.e. tachycardia and blood pressure modifications) in 5 horses undergoing general anesthesia in dorsal recumbency after salbutamol inhalation. Balanced anesthesia based on inhalation of isoflurane in oxygen or oxygen and air and continuous rate infusion (CRI) of lidocaine, romifidine, or combination of lidocaine and guaifenesine and ketamine was provided. Supportive measures were necessary to restore normal cardiovascular function in all horses but no long-term adverse effects were noticed in any of the cases

Hazardous o-toluidine mineralization by photocatalytic bismuth doped ZnO slurries

Photocatalytic mineralization of o-toluidine in aqueous media under UV/solar irradiation was achieved by bare and bismuth doped zinc oxide nanoparticles. By adopting different analytical approaches a reaction mechanism is proposed, explaining the differences in photodetoxification performances

A geo-chemo-mechanical study of a highly polluted marine system (Taranto, Italy) for the enhancement of the conceptual site model

The paper presents the results of the analysis of the geo-chemo-mechanical data gathered through an innovative multidisciplinary investigation campaign in the Mar Piccolo basin, a heavily polluted marine bay aside the town of Taranto (Southern Italy). The basin is part of an area declared at high environmental risk by the Italian government. The cutting-edge approach to the environmental characterization of the site was promoted by the Special Commissioner for urgent measures of reclamation, environmental improvements and redevelopment of Taranto and involved experts from several research fields, who cooperated to gather a new insight into the origin, distribution, mobility and fate of the contaminants within the basin. The investigation campaign was designed to implement advanced research methodologies and testing strategies. Differently from traditional investigation campaigns, aimed solely at the assessment of the contamination state within sediments lying in the top layers, the new campaign provided an interpretation of the geo-chemo-mechanical properties and state of the sediments forming the deposit at the seafloor. The integrated, multidisciplinary and holistic approach, that considered geotechnical engineering, electrical and electronical engineering, geological, sedimentological, mineralogical, hydraulic engineering, hydrological, chemical, geochemical, biological fields, supported a comprehensive understanding of the influence of the contamination on the hydro-mechanical properties of the sediments, which need to be accounted for in the selection and design of the risk mitigation measures. The findings of the research represent the input ingredients of the conceptual model of the site, premise to model the evolutionary contamination scenarios within the basin, of guidance for the environmental risk management. The study testifies the importance of the cooperative approach among researchers of different fields to fulfil the interpretation of complex polluted eco-systems

The banking-industry relationship in Italy: large national banks and small local banks compared (1913-1936)

Using a large dataset of Italian joint-stock companies, this article analyses the networks of corporate interlocks of the major universal banks and twenty most ‘central’ local banks in a critical period of Italian industrialisation. The networks of the two types of banks were largely independent, with universal banks being affiliated principally to larger concerns in electricity, transport and storage, and financials; and local banks to riskier, younger and smaller firms in light manufacturing. The article then explores whether the bank-industry relationship in Italy reflected the hegemony of banks and followed a bank-control model. Our analysis does not support that view. It rather indicates that interlocking directorates were driven principally by a convergence of interests between banks (monitoring customers) and industrial firms (interested in tapping capital and credit flows), with the latter exerting a slightly higher influence over the former. This significantly differentiates Italy from Germany and the USA, where banks had a more dominant position in the corporate system

Coupled transcriptome and proteome analysis of human lymphotropic tumor viruses: insights on the detection and discovery of viral genes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are related human tumor viruses that cause primary effusion lymphomas (PEL) and Burkitt's lymphomas (BL), respectively. Viral genes expressed in naturally-infected cancer cells contribute to disease pathogenesis; knowing which viral genes are expressed is critical in understanding how these viruses cause cancer. To evaluate the expression of viral genes, we used high-resolution separation and mass spectrometry coupled with custom tiling arrays to align the viral proteomes and transcriptomes of three PEL and two BL cell lines under latent and lytic culture conditions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The majority of viral genes were efficiently detected at the transcript and/or protein level on manipulating the viral life cycle. Overall the correlation of expressed viral proteins and transcripts was highly complementary in both validating and providing orthogonal data with latent/lytic viral gene expression. Our approach also identified novel viral genes in both KSHV and EBV, and extends viral genome annotation. Several previously uncharacterized genes were validated at both transcript and protein levels.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This systems biology approach coupling proteome and transcriptome measurements provides a comprehensive view of viral gene expression that could not have been attained using each methodology independently. Detection of viral proteins in combination with viral transcripts is a potentially powerful method for establishing virus-disease relationships.</p

Plasmonic DNA: Towards Genetic Diagnosis Chips

"Plasmonics and DNA" special issueInternational audienc