ChAMBRe \u2013 the development of an atmosferic simulation chamber for bioaerosol studies and aerosol optical properties investigation

Environmental simulation chambers are small to largescale facilities where atmospheric conditions can be monitored in real-time under control to reproduce realistic environments and to study interactions among their constituents. Up to now, they have been used mainly to study chemical and photochemical processes that occur in the atmosphere, but the high versatility of these facilities allows for a wider application covering all fields of atmospheric aerosol science. ChAMBRe (Chamber for Aerosol Modelling and Bioaerosol Research) is the stainless steel atmospheric simulation chamber (volume approximately 3 m3, see Figure 1) recently installed at the National Institute of Nuclear Physics in Genoa (INFN-Genova) in collaboration with the Environmental Physics Laboratory at the Physics Department of Genoa University (www.labfisa.ge.infn.it). The scientific activities at ChAMBRe focus on the following topics: 1) Bioaerosol properties A strong improvement in the understanding of bioaerosol behaviour can be provided by atmospheric chamber experiments, that allow for a scientific intermediate approach between \u201cin vitro\u201d and \u201cin vivo\u201d analysis. Aerosol with realistic composition, including living micro-organisms, can be injected in artificial environments with controlled physical and chemical parameters and then accurately analyzed. In particular, a systematic approach can be used for a better description of micro-organisms viability, of colonies growing modulation and other issues relevant to their spread and their pathogenicity. Very promising results in this direction were obtained by the authors at the CESAM facility at CNRS-LISA (Brotto et al. 2015), while similar results were obtained nearly at the same time at AIDA chamber at KIT (Amato et al. 2015). ChAMBRe experiments are carrying on this path to contribute in getting a deeper understanding of the still unclear mechanisms that control the evolution of bioaerosols in atmosphere and in particular of their bacterial components. 2) Aerosol optical properties \u2013 methodologies and instruments testing The instrumental development efforts at the Environmental Physics Laboratory of the University of Genoa, recently resulted in a new Multi Wavelength Absorbance Analyser (Massab\uf2 et al. 2015) which measure the light absorption on aerosol loaded filters at five wavelengths from UV (absorption bands of organic compounds, mineral dust) to near infrared (carbon soot,\u2026). Furthermore, a new data reduction methodology has been introduced to disentangle the concentration of Black and Brown carbon in atmospheric aerosol, demonstrating the need to mitigate not only exhaust but also non-exhaust emissions, as a potentially important source of PM10. The atmospheric chamber is an effective tool to produce known aerosol mixtures and to test the performance of the optical technology. Actually, there is an on-going collaboration with the CNRS-LISA team working at CESAM following that procedure that will be soon replicated at ChAMBRe facility. ChAMBRe has recently joined the Eurochamp consortium, the European atmospheric chamber facilities network. The network activities have been included in an infrastructure-oriented research project proposal that is going to be submitted within March 2016 to the H2020-INFRAIA call within EU Horizon 2020 Programme. We would like to acknowledge prof. J.F. Doussin and LISA laboratories (http://www.lisa.univ-paris12.fr/en) for providing us part of the chamber structure and for the very useful and fruitful technical discussions

Aiding the conservation of two wooden Buddhist sculptures with 3D imaging and spectroscopic techniques

The conservation of Buddhist sculptures that were transferred to Europe at some point during their lifetime raises numerous questions: while these objects historically served a religious, devotional purpose, many of them currently belong to museums or private collections, where they are detached from their original context and often adapted to western taste. A scientific study was carried out to address questions from Museo d'Arte Orientale of Turin curators in terms of whether these artifacts might be forgeries or replicas, and how they may have transformed over time. Several analytical techniques were used for materials identification and to study the production technique, ultimately aiming to discriminate the original materials from those added within later interventions

Spectrum of mutations in Italian patients with familial hypercholesterolemia: New results from the LIPIGEN study

Background Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by elevated plasma levels of LDL-cholesterol that confers an increased risk of premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Early identification and treatment of FH patients can improve prognosis and reduce the burden of cardiovascular mortality. Aim of this study was to perform the mutational analysis of FH patients identified through a collaboration of 20 Lipid Clinics in Italy (LIPIGEN Study). Methods We recruited 1592 individuals with a clinical diagnosis of definite or probable FH according to the Dutch Lipid Clinic Network criteria. We performed a parallel sequencing of the major candidate genes for monogenic hypercholesterolemia (LDLR, APOB, PCSK9, APOE, LDLRAP1, STAP1). Results A total of 213 variants were detected in 1076 subjects. About 90% of them had a pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants. More than 94% of patients carried pathogenic variants in LDLR gene, 27 of which were novel. Pathogenic variants in APOB and PCSK9 were exceedingly rare. We found 4 true homozygotes and 5 putative compound heterozygotes for pathogenic variants in LDLR gene, as well as 5 double heterozygotes for LDLR/APOB pathogenic variants. Two patients were homozygous for pathogenic variants in LDLRAP1 gene resulting in autosomal recessive hypercholesterolemia. One patient was found to be heterozygous for the ApoE variant p.(Leu167del), known to confer an FH phenotype. Conclusions This study shows the molecular characteristics of the FH patients identified in Italy over the last two years. Full phenotypic characterization of these patients and cascade screening of family members is now in progress

Familial hypercholesterolemia: The Italian Atherosclerosis Society Network (LIPIGEN)

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Primary dyslipidemias are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by abnormal levels of circulating lipoproteins. Among them, familial hypercholesterolemia is the most common lipid disorder that predisposes for premature cardiovascular disease. We set up an Italian nationwide network aimed at facilitating the clinical and genetic diagnosis of genetic dyslipidemias named LIPIGEN (LIpid TransPort Disorders Italian GEnetic Network). METHODS: Observational, multicenter, retrospective and prospective study involving about 40 Italian clinical centers. Genetic testing of the appropriate candidate genes at one of six molecular diagnostic laboratories serving as nationwide DNA diagnostic centers. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: From 2012 to October 2016, available biochemical and clinical information of 3480 subjects with familial hypercholesterolemia identified according to the Dutch Lipid Clinic Network (DLCN) score were included in the database and genetic analysis was performed in 97.8% of subjects, with a mutation detection rate of 92.0% in patients with DLCN score 656. The establishment of the LIPIGEN network will have important effects on clinical management and it will improve the overall identification and treatment of primary dyslipidemias in Italy

Familial hypercholesterolemia: The Italian Atherosclerosis Society Network (LIPIGEN)

Background and aims Primary dyslipidemias are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by abnormal levels of circulating lipoproteins. Among them, familial hypercholesterolemia is the most common lipid disorder that predisposes for premature cardiovascular disease. We set up an Italian nationwide network aimed at facilitating the clinical and genetic diagnosis of genetic dyslipidemias named LIPIGEN (LIpid TransPort Disorders Italian GEnetic Network). Methods Observational, multicenter, retrospective and prospective study involving about 40 Italian clinical centers. Genetic testing of the appropriate candidate genes at one of six molecular diagnostic laboratories serving as nationwide DNA diagnostic centers. Results and conclusions From 2012 to October 2016, available biochemical and clinical information of 3480 subjects with familial hypercholesterolemia identified according to the Dutch Lipid Clinic Network (DLCN) score were included in the database and genetic analysis was performed in 97.8% of subjects, with a mutation detection rate of 92.0% in patients with DLCN score \ue2\u89\ua56. The establishment of the LIPIGEN network will have important effects on clinical management and it will improve the overall identification and treatment of primary dyslipidemias in Italy

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues

An optimization approach for district heating strategic network design

District heating systems provide the heat generated in a centralized location to a set of users for their residential and commercial heating requirements. Heat distribution is generally obtained by using hot water or steam flowing through a closed network of insulated pipes and heat exchange stations at the users' locations. The use of optimization techniques for the strategic design of such networks is strongly motivated by the high cost of the required infrastructures but is particularly challenging because of the technical characteristics and the size of the real world applications. We present a mathematical model developed to support district heating system planning. The objective is the selection of an optimal set of new users to be connected to an existing thermal network, maximizing revenues and minimizing infrastructure and operational costs. The model considers steady state conditions of the hydraulic system and takes into account the main technical requirements of the real world application. Results on real and randomly generated benchmark networks are discussed

Comparison between European acoustic classification schemes for dwellings based on experimental evaluations and social surveys

In order to evaluate harmonized descriptors for airborne and impact sound insulation, a comparison between different European acoustic classification schemes for dwellings has been carried out. An experiment was conducted with the aim of examining how the acoustic performance of a building could be assessed using different descriptors and classification schemes. For this purpose, acoustics measurements performed on two residential buildings were used. All building elements have been measured, both for airborne and impact sound insulation, according to ISO Standards for field measurements. Measures have been carried before and after the refurbishing. Then, a comparison of the currently existing classification schemes in Europe has been done, studying how the elements of the analyzed buildings are classified by different national schemes. Finally, a social survey has been conducted in the same buildings and correlations between measured performances and subjective judgment are presented. This kind of analysis is useful to underline differences between acoustic classification schemes and the results can support the harmonization work in building acoustics, taking also into account sound insulation quality perceived by occupants

From a Real Deployment to a Downscaled Testbed: A Methodological Approach

This paper proposes a novel methodology for the spatial downscaling of real-world deployments of wireless networks, running protocols, and/or applications for the Internet of Things (IoT). These networks are often deployed in environments not easily accessible and highly unpredictable, where doing experiments is very expensive and time consuming. The latter calls for the need to develop downscaled testbeds, deployed in controlled environments, where tests can be conducted under predictable conditions. This paper presents a methodology to realize the downscaling of a real deployment on an experimental platform, called controllable testbed that has a much larger number of nodes with respect to the real one. The downscaling procedure proposed is based on the identification of the most appropriate subset of nodes of the controllable testbed, to be used to reproduce the channel gains between each node pair in the real world. The latter, in fact, results in obtaining the same network topologies, bringing to the same performance on average, when the same protocol stack and software are run. After the description of the procedure, an example of its implementation is provided. Comparison of results, in terms of packet loss rate (PLR), network throughput, and topologies achieved on the downscaled testbed and on the real-world deployment, is given; results show a very good fit and demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed methodology