A Scan-To-bim process for the monitoring and conservation of the architectural heritage: Integration of thematic information in a HBIM model

Conservation actions often challenge traditional planned conservation tools, especially when referring to the management of data relating to the existing building heritage due to the huge amount of information to be acquired and archived. In response to this requirement, the Building Information Modelling (BIM) process, applied to historical buildings as Historical-BIM (HBIM), could be an effective solution for integrating different types of data concerning not only the geometric features but also useful qualitative information in conservation and preservation works (i.e. the type of materials, construction techniques, the presence of degradation and instability, intervention techniques, etc.). Although the BIM process has reached a considerable level of maturity, several aspects related to the application of the method to existing structures through the Scan-to-BIM process require further research; particularly the need to find suitable approaches to integrate, manage and store thematic information. The article describes the work carried out in the case study of Villa Castelnuovo, an eighteenth-century architectural building located in Palermo (Italy), in which, starting from an integrated survey, it was possible to generate an HBIM model to support all the phases concerning preventive maintenance, long-term redevelopment and management of the architectural asset. The research focused mainly on the modelling and information integration phases, developing a procedure applicable to different contexts for storing, managing and analysing the external façade decay necessary for documenting and monitoring the architectural heritage

The Derivation and Reconstruction of the Gamma Variate Function for Tracer Dilution Curves

Cerebral blood flow and perfusion can be estimated using tracer dilution experiments. Accurate estimation of blood flow parameters is a crucial part of medical imaging for effective diagnosis and treatment. This study explores two themes: (i) the derivation of the gamma variate function as a response tracer infusion and (ii) the estimation of impulse and residue functions from tracer dilution curves parameters via the least squares method

An integrated technological approach to the selection of lactic acid bacteria of flour origin for sourdough production

Several lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were evaluated in situ for their potential in sourdough fermentation. The strains belonged to Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus sakei, Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis, Leuconostoc citreum, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides and Weissella cibaria. LAB were used, in individual inocula, to carry out the fermentation of \u3b3-ray treated (sterile) flour and untreated commercial flour, in order to evaluate their performances both in the absence and presence of the native microbiota of flour. The pH and total titratable acidity (TTA) showed a strong and fast acidification of the experimental sourdough determined by W. cibaria and Ln. citreum strains. All strains were followed during fermentation by plate count. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR analysis applied on the colonies isolated from the highest dilution of samples confirmed the dominance of the added strains in all sourdoughs prepared with sterile and non-sterile flour. The analysis of organic acids, performed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), confirmed that some W. cibaria and Ln. citreum strains showed an optimal fermentation quotient. The volatile organic compound (VOC) composition resulting from the gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis of sourdough headspace recognised 51 chemical compounds including acids, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ketones, lactones, acetate, alkane, and phenol, most of which are of LAB origin and are relevant for the final bread. After baking, the breads were evaluated for the height of the central slices, colour of crust and crumb, hardness and number and distribution of alveolus. The combination of these results indicated that strains Ln. citreum PON10079 and PON10080 and W. cibaria PON10030 and PON10032 are suitable cultures to use in industrial production

The dark halo of the Hydra I galaxy cluster: core, cusp, cosmological? Dynamics of NGC 3311 and its globular cluster system

NGC 3311 is the central cD galaxy of the Hydra I cluster. We use globular clusters around NGC 3311, combined with kinematical data of the galaxy itself, to investigate the dark matter distribution in the central region of Hydra I. Radial velocities of 118 bright globular clusters, based on VLT/VIMOS mask spectroscopy, are used to calculate velocity dispersions which are well defined out to 100 kpc. NGC 3311 is the most distant galaxy for which this kind of study has been performed. We also determine velocity dispersions of the stellar component from long slit spectroscopy out to 20 kpc. Moreover, we present a new photometric model for NGC 3311 in the V-band. We search for a dark halo which in the context of a spherical Jeans model. We also compare the radial velocity distributions of globular clusters and planetary nebulae. The projected stellar velocity dispersion rises from 185 km/s to 350 km/s at a radius of 20 kpc. The globular cluster dispersion rises as well from 500 km/s at 10 kpc to about 800 km/s at 100 kpc, comparable to the velocity dispersion of the cluster galaxies. A dark matter halo with a core reproduces well the velocity dispersions of stars and globular clusters simultaneously under isotropy. The central stellar velocity dispersions predicted by cosmological NFW halos are less good representations, while the globular clusters allow a wide range of halo parameters. A suspected radial anisotropy of the stellar population aggravates the deviations. However, we find discrepancies with previous kinematical data, which we cannot resolve and may indicate a more complicated velocity pattern. Although one cannot conclusively demonstrate that the dark matter halo of NGC 3311 has a core rather than a cusp, a core seems to be preferred by the present data. A more complete velocity field and an analysis of the anisotropy is required to reach firm conclusions.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, abstract abridged, accepted for publication in A&

Mg(OH)2 Recovery from Real Bitterns: a Proof of Concept at Pilot Scale

Water, energy, and minerals are fundamental pillars for the future of humankind. Sustainable and renewable productive processes and resources are the only possibility to face the continuously growing global population and high living standards requirements. The present work introduces a proof of concept for the pilot scale production of magnesium hydroxide, Mg(OH)2, from waste saltworks bitterns located in the district of Trapani, Italy. Mg(OH)2 was produced by adopting a proprietary “Magnesium Crystals Granulometry Controlled Reactor”, Mg-CGCR. The influence of several parameters was investigated on Mg(OH)2 suspensions and powders characteristics: (i) the bittern flow rate, (ii) alkaline sodium hydroxide, NaOH, concentrations solutions (adopted as the precipitant agent) and (iii) the final suspension pH value (stoichiometric or OH- excess amounts). A Mg2+ recovery >99 % can be achieved thanks to the adoption of a product recycling strategy in the reactor. Furthermore, highly pure Mg(OH)2 powders, addressed by cationic purity, were synthesized. Results demonstrate the possibility of producing highly pure Mg(OH)2 products from waste-concentrated saline solutions, thus turning waste into valuable compounds

Industrial application of selected lactic acid bacteria isolated from local semolinas for typical sourdough bread production

Four obligate heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains (Weissella cibaria PON10030 and PON10032 and Leuconostoc citreum PON 10079 and PON10080) were tested as single strain starters, mono-species dual strain starters, and multiple strain starter for the preparation and propagation of sourdoughs for the production of a typical bread at industrial level. The kinetics of pH and TTA during the daily sourdough refreshments indicated a correct acidification process for all trials. The concentration of lactic and acetic acid increased consistently during fermentation. The resulting molar ratios between these two organic acids in the experimental trials were lower than those observed in the control trial. The microbiological investigation showed levels of approximately 109 CFU/mL in almost all sourdoughs and the comparison of the genetic polymorphisms of the dominating LAB with those of the pure cultures evidenced the persistence of the added strains over time. The resulting breads were evaluated for several quality parameters. The breads with the greatest height were obtained with the quadruple combination of leuconostocs and weissellas. The highest softness was registered for the breads obtained from fermentations performed by W. cibaria PON10032 alone and in combination. The different inocula influenced also the color, the void fraction, the cell density and the mean cell area of the breads. Different levels of acids, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, hydrocarbons, ketones, terpenes, furans and phenol were emitted by the breads. The sensory tests indicated the breads from the sourdoughs fermented with the seven LAB inocula as sweeter and less acidic than control breads and the breads from the trials with the highest complexity of LAB inoculums were those more appreciated by tasters. A multivariate approach found strong differences among the trials. In particular, control breads and the breads obtained with different starter LAB were quite distant and a more strict relation was found among the productions carried out by W. cibaria strains. This study proved the suitability of the selected strains of L. citreum and W. cibaria for industrial-scale level applications in sourdough bread production

Cutting edge: Regulation of exosome secretion by the integral MAL protein in T cells

Exosomes secreted by T cells play an important role in coordinating the immune response. HIV-1 Nef hijacks the route of exosome secretion of T cells to modulate the functioning of uninfected cells. Despite the importance of the process, the protein machinery involved in exosome biogenesis is yet to be identified. In this study, we show that MAL, a tetraspanning membrane protein expressed in human T cells, is present in endosomes that travel toward the plasma membrane for exosome secretion. In the absence of MAL, the release of exosome particles and markers was greatly impaired. This effect was accompanied by protein sorting defects at multivesicular endosomes that divert the exosomal marker CD63 to autophagic vacuoles. Exosome release induced by HIV-1 Nef was also dependent on MAL expression. Therefore,MAL is a critical element of the machinery for exosome secretion andmay constitute a target for modulating exosome secretion by human T cells. The Journal of Immunology, 2015, 195: 810–814.Peer Reviewe

Substructure and Scatter in the Mass-Temperature Relations of Simulated Clusters

Galaxy clusters exhibit regular scaling relations among their bulk properties. These relations establish vital links between halo mass and cluster observables. Precision cosmology studies that depend on these links benefit from a better understanding of scatter in the mass-observable scaling relations. Here we study the role of merger processes in introducing scatter into the $M$-$T_{\rm X}$ relation, using a sample of 121 galaxy clusters simulated with radiative cooling and supernova feedback, along with three statistics previously proposed to measure X-ray surface brightness substructure. These are the centroid variation ($w$), the axial ratio ($\eta$), and the power ratios ($P_{20}$ and $P_{30}$). We find that in this set of simulated clusters, each substructure measure is correlated with a cluster's departures $\delta \ln T_{\rm X}$ and $\delta \ln M$ from the mean $M$-$T_{\rm X}$ relation, both for emission-weighted temperatures $T_{\rm EW}$ and for spectroscopic-like temperatures $T_{\rm SL}$, in the sense that clusters with more substructure tend to be cooler at a given halo mass. In all cases, a three-parameter fit to the $M$-$T_{\rm X}$ relation that includes substructure information has less scatter than a two-parameter fit to the basic $M$-$T_{\rm X}$ relation.Comment: Accepted by ApJ, 10 pages, 10 figure

Influence of stabilisers on the catalytic activity of supported Au colloidal nanoparticles for the liquid phase oxidation of glucose to glucaric acid: understanding the catalyst performance from NMR relaxation and computational studies

Supported Au colloidal nanoparticles have been prepared in the presence of stabilising polymers, such as, PVA, PVP and PEG (polyvinylalcohol, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyethylene glycol). The effect of the polymer to Au weight ratio was investigated, for the synthesis of Au nanoparticles with varying particle size and particle size distribution. By varying the polymer/Au wt/wt ratio, Au nanoparticles with mean diameters from 3 to 8 nm were synthesised. The synthesised Au catalysts were studied in the liquid phase oxidation of glucose to glucaric acid under alkaline conditions. We demonstrated that the choice of polymer and polymer to Au weight ratio, have an important influence in terms of catalytic activity and yield to glucaric acid. The highest yield to glucaric acid (22%) was obtained using Au–PVA catalysts. A strong deactivation was observed using Au catalysts. Further evaluation of the possible reasons for deactivation were investigated using experimental, computational and NMR relaxation studies

Redox regulation of cellular stress response in multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune-mediated neurodegenerative disease with characteristic foci of inflammatory demyelination in the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Recent studies have demonstrated not only that axonal damage and neuronal loss are significant pathologic components of MS, but that this neuronal damage is thought to cause the permanent neurologic disability often seen in MS patients. Emerging finding suggests that altered redox homeostasis and increased oxidative stress, primarily implicated in the pathogenesis of MS, are a trigger for activation of a brain stress response. Relevant to maintenance of redox homeostasis, integrated mechanisms controlled by vitagenes operate in brain in preserving neuronal survival during stressful conditions. Vitagenes encode for heat shock proteins (Hsp) Hsp32, Hsp70, the thioredoxin and the sirtuin protein systems. In the present study we assess stress response mechanisms in the CSF, plasma and lymphocytes of control patients compared to MS patients. We found that the levels of vitagenes Hsp72, Hsc70, HO-1, as well as oxidative stress markers carbonyls and hydroxynonenals were significantly higher in the blood and CSF of MS patients than in control patients. In addition, an increased expression of Trx and sirtuin 1, together with a decrease in the expression of TrxR were observed. Our data strongly support a pivotal role for redox homeostasis disruption in the pathogenesis of MS and, consistently with the notion that new therapies that prevent neurodegeneration through nonimmunomodulatory mechanisms can have a tremendous potential to work synergistically with current MS therapies, unravel important targets for new cytoprotective strategies