Influence of Local Bedrock on the Clay Mineralogy of Pre-Woodfordian Tills of the Grand River Lobe in Columbiana County, Ohio

Author Institution: Department of Geology, University of AkronThe clay mineralogy of three pre-Woodfordian tills of the Grand River lobe in Columbiana County, Ohio, shows the influence of the underlying Pennsylvanian strata of the Allegheny Plateau. The mean diffraction intensity ratios (DI) of these sandy tills range from 0.5 to 0.7. These ratios are comparable to those of the underlying bedrock; 60% of the variance of the clay mineralogy may be attributed to the bedrock. Weathered bedrock and weathered older drift are possible sources of kaolinite. Locally entrained Pennsylvanian sandstone clasts at the base of the glacier may have acted as tools for extensive abrasion of softer argillaceous shales. This abrasion may have produced tills having a higher kaolinite content than those near the edge of the Allegheny Escarpment in north-central Ohio

A criterion for optimal management of water distribution networks

The management of water supply systems is based on fundamental principles, set by international and national legislations; the general target for water utilities is to offer a reliable and effective service following efficiency criteria. In this context, losses in distribution networks are one of the main problems to tackle: their reduction implies a general decrease in operational costs and in the need for a limited resource such as water. Numerous solutions have been proposed to reduce non revenue water, from simple leak detection to structural interventions on distribution systems, based on new design criteria which favour district-based networks over redundant ones. The present work proposes a new procedure to restructure a water supply network starting from its hydraulic model, comparing different types of intervention and evaluating their feasibility, limits and effectiveness in terms of the global system efficiency, as measured by the infrastructure leakage index (ILI). The possibility to use excessive pressure in specific parts of a network for the production of electricity is also examined, as it offers an additional resource to improve the system performance. The procedure has been tested for the water network in the municipalities of Tarcento and Magnano in Riviera, near Udine in Italy. Thanks to a specific hydraulic model, simulations were performed to identify the optimal interventions on the system aimed at reducing water losses and improving performances and efficiency

Modelo de rehabilitación ambiental para edificios terciarios: el caso del palacio de congresos Europa de Vitoria-Gasteiz

Este artículo presenta el desarrollo y resultados de la primera fase del asesoramiento ambiental que forma parte del proceso de rehabilitación y ampliación del Palacio de Congresos Europa (PEV-G) del Ayuntamiento de Vitoria-Gasteiz, en el marco de las actuaciones que esta ciudad ha decidido emprender como European Green Capital, a partir de haber obtenido este reconocimiento en 2012. Es un desarrollo de Green Building Council España (GBCe) en colaboración con Societat Orgànica (SO) que propone una metodología y unas acciones para abordar un proceso continuo de mejora ambiental para que el edificio, sus actividades y los actores directamente relacionados puedan alcanzar los máximos niveles posibles de sostenibilidad ambiental, atendiendo también a las dimensiones económica y social. A través de diferentes modelos se ha estudiado el edificio existente, así como las hipótesis de ampliación y rehabilitación determinadas por el ayuntamiento en su anteproyecto, empleando la metodología del análisis de ciclo de vida simplificado centrada en los vectores ambientales de energía, agua, materiales y residuos. Se han determinado diferentes opciones de mejora basadas en aspectos pasivos, activos y de gestión del edificio que han permitido establecer los objetivos ambientales a los cuales debe responder el proyecto, rehabilitación, ampliación y uso del PEV-G. Por último, se han redactado los requerimientos que forman parte de los pliegos de licitación del proceso que va del proyecto al edificio acabado, así como el protocolo ambiental a aplicar en las fases aun no ejecutadas. Los trabajos realizados incluyen el desarrollo inicial de una nueva herramienta de certificación de la calidad ambiental de los edificios Verde RH EQ Rehabilitación de Equipamientos, que se suma a las existentes. De la visión, objetivos, metodología y acciones de reducción de impactos ambientales aplicables al PEV-G se ha obtenido un protocolo de actuación válido para ser aplicado en otros equipamientos de Vitoria-Gasteiz, el País Vasco y el resto de España, a ser rehabilitados en el futuro próximo

Type I interferonopathies in pediatric rheumatology.

Defective regulation of type I interferon response is associated with severe inflammatory phenotypes and autoimmunity. Type I interferonopathies are a clinically heterogenic group of Mendelian diseases with a constitutive activation of this pathway that might present as atypical, severe, early onset rheumatic diseases. Skin vasculopathy with chilblains and livedo reticularis, interstitial lung disease, and panniculitis are common. Recent studies have implicated abnormal responses to nucleic acid stimuli or defective regulation of downstream effector molecules in disease pathogenesis. As observed for IL1-β and autoinflammatory diseases, knowledge of the defects responsible for type I interferonopathies will likely promote the development of targeted therapy

International Olympic Committee Consensus Statement: Molecular Basis of Connective Tissue and Muscle Injuries in Sport

Tendon and ligament injures cause significant loss of performance in sport and decreased functional capacity in the workplace. Many of these injures remain difficult to treat, and many individuals have long-term pain and discomfort. Animal studies of growth factor and cell-based therapies have shown promising results, but these treatments also can be misused to enhance athletic performance. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) now has high-level scientific advisors who can advise the IOC as to the use and abuse of these technologies

RFID technology for blood tracking: An experimental approach for benchmarking different devices

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the paper is to design a testing protocol to measure performances of RFID devices applied to blood supply chain, and to implement an experimental campaign in order to collect performance data. The protocol matches operational conditions in blood supply chain and is particularly tailored to some critical processes, which can benefit from RFID adoption. The paper thus strives at benchmarking performances of inlays, fixed and handheld RFID readers, when deployed in the blood supply chain processes. DESIGN, METHODOLOGY, APPROACH: The adopted testing protocol enables the assessment of performances of RFID devices in processes of the blood supply chain, since it has been developed peculiarly to emulate critical logistics processes. The testing protocol has been designed jointly with hospital personnel involved in every day operations on blood bags and tubes in order to improve processes, in terms of safety and reliability. The testing protocol has been applied to 3 inlays, 2 fixed readers, 1 mobile handheld in 3 logistics processes, all operating according to UHF EPC class 1 gen 2 protocols and ETSI regulations. We measured and compared read rates, accuracies and read times. FINDINGS: The results of the test give a direct insight of performances to be expected from different RFID devices when deployed in a real-world environment. Therefore, it is possible to give answers to how a specific piece of hardware - such as an inlay or a reader - performs, and how it can be effectively used to improve security of patients in healthcare. At the same time, researchers focusing on the business process reengineering of blood supply chain can assess the technical feasibility of the RFID-reengineered logistics processes in order to improve the safety of end users

Variation in the diet of the red fox in a Mediterranean area

Le régime alimentaire du Renard Vulpes vulpes a été étudié dans la province de Pise, en Italie centrale, par l'analyse de fèces (N = 1261; recueillies chaque mois pendant un an dans neuf zones) et de contenus du tube digestif (N = 330; collectés de janvier à mai dans toute la province). Ce régime est très varié, dominé par les vertébrés (notamment les mammifères) et les végétaux (en particulier les fruits), les invertébrés n'étant que peu abondants. Les aliments d'origine anthropique comptent pour à peu près la moitié du régime. En fin d'hiver et au printemps, les femelles consomment plus de petits mammifères et d'invertébrés que les mâles, les jeunes ayant un régime semblable à celui des adultes. Aucune relation n'a été trouvée entre l'adiposité et la taille corporelle des individus et le volume d'un quelconque item alimentaire. La variation saisonnière est importante pour la plupart des catégories d'aliments, les vertébrés tendant à être principalement consommés en hiver et au printemps, les fruits en été et en automne et les invertébrés surtout en été. Plusieurs de ces tendances s'expliquent par les disponibilités alimentaires mais les petits mammifères apparaissent moins consommés quand ils sont apparemment le plus abondants. Globalement, le régime est homogène dans les zones rurales et s'avère fort différent de celui observé dans les zones soumises à faible emprise humaine. Sur l'ensemble de la province, les différences se limitent à trois items d'origine humaine. Les herbes et autres végétaux contenus dans les estomacs et les intestins sont de manière significative associés à la consommation d'invertébrés mais pas à la présence de vers parasites dans les intestins. La forte consommation de fruits et d'aliments d'origine anthropique est un trait caractéristique du régime du renard dans cette région, et dans d'autres, de l'Italie. Les fruits pourraient être des aliments de complément alors que les petits mammifères seraient des aliments-clés. Les renards mangent plus de fruits quand et où leur densité de population est la plus forte. Les raisons de ces tendances sont discutées

The role of CD180 in hematological malignancies and inflammatory disorders.

Toll-like receptors play a significant role in the innate immune system and are also involved in the pathophysiology of many different diseases. Over the past 35 years, there have been a growing number of publications exploring the role of the orphan toll-like receptor, CD180. We therefore set out to provide a narrative review of the current evidence surrounding CD180 in both health and disease. We first explore the evidence surrounding the role of CD180 in physiology including its expression, function and signaling in antigen presenting cells (APCs) (dendritic cells, monocytes, and B cells). We particularly focus on the role of CD180 as a modulator of other TLRs including TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9. We then discuss the role of CD180 in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, as well as in hematological malignancies of B cell origin, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Based on this evidence we produce a current model for CD180 in disease and explore the potential role for CD180 as both a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target. Throughout, we highlight specific areas of research which should be addressed to further the understanding of CD180 biology and the translational potential of research into CD180 in various diseases