75 research outputs found
Linking biogeochemistry to hydro-geometrical variability in tidal estuaries:a generic modeling approach
This study applies the Carbon-Generic Estuary Model (C-GEM) modeling
platform to simulate the estuarine biogeochemical dynamics – in
particular the air-water CO<sub>2</sub> exchange – in three idealized
end-member systems covering the main features of tidal alluvial
estuaries. C-GEM uses a generic biogeochemical reaction network and
a unique set of model parameters extracted from a comprehensive
literature survey to perform steady-state simulations representing
average conditions for temperate estuaries worldwide. Climate and
boundary conditions are extracted from published global databases
(e.g. World Ocean Atlas, GLORICH) and catchment model outputs
(GlobalNEWS2). The whole-system biogeochemical indicators Net
Ecosystem Metabolism (NEM), C and N filtering capacities
(FC<sub>TC</sub> and FC<sub>TN</sub>, respectively) and
CO<sub>2</sub> gas exchanges (FCO<sub>2</sub>) are calculated across the
three end-member systems and are related to their main hydrodynamic
and transport characteristics. A sensitivity analysis, which
propagates the parameter uncertainties, is also carried out,
followed by projections of changes in the biogeochemical indicators
for the year 2050.
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Results show that the average C filtering capacities for baseline
conditions are 40, 30 and 22% for the marine, mixed and
riverine estuary, respectively. This translates into a first-order,
global CO<sub>2</sub> outgassing flux for tidal estuaries between 0.04
and 0.07 Pg C yr<sup>−1</sup>. N filtering capacities, calculated
in similar fashion, range from 22% for the marine estuary to 18
and 15% for the mixed and the riverine estuary,
respectively. Sensitivity analysis performed by varying the rate
constants for aerobic degradation, denitrification and nitrification
over the range of values reported in the literature significantly
widens these ranges for both C and N. Simulations for the year 2050
indicate that all end-member estuaries will remain net heterotrophic
and while the riverine and mixed systems will only marginally be
affected by river load changes and increase in atmospheric
<i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>, the marine estuary is likely to become a significant
CO<sub>2</sub> sink in its downstream section. In the decades to come,
such change of behavior might strengthen the overall CO<sub>2</sub>
sink of the estuary-coastal ocean continuum
Immunotherapy failure in adrenocortical cancer: where next?
Excerpt: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare endocrine neoplasia, characterized by an overall dismal prognosis and its clinical manifestations are the consequence of either steroid excess or tumor mass progression. Surgery is the mainstay of therapy. For patients with locally advanced or metastatic ACC, not amenable to surgery, Mitotane and cytotoxic chemotherapy (with etoposide, doxorubicin and cisplatin - EDP scheme) are the systemic treatments currently in use
Responses of peripheral blood mononucleated cells from non-celiac gluten sensitive patients to various cereal sources
Non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) is still an undefined syndrome whose triggering mechanisms remain unsettled. This study aimed to clarify how cultured peripheral blood mononucleated cells (PBMC) obtained from NCGS patients responded to contact with wheat proteins. Results demonstrated that wheat protein induced an overactivation of the proinflammatory chemokine CXCL10 in PBMC from NCGS patients, and that the overactivation level depends on the cereal source from which proteins are obtained. CXCL10 is able to decrease the transepithelial resistance of monolayers of normal colonocytes (NCM 460) by diminishing the mRNA expression of cadherin-1 (CDH1) and tight junction protein 2 (TJP2), two primary components of the tight junction strands. Thus, CXCL10 overactivation is one of the mechanisms triggered by wheat proteins in PBMC obtained from NCGS patients. This mechanism is activated to a greater extent by proteins from modern with respect to those extracted from ancient wheat genotypes
Material radiopurity control in the XENONnT experiment
The selection of low-radioactive construction materials is of the utmost importance for rare-event searches and thus critical to the XENONnT experiment. Results of an extensive radioassay program are reported, in which material samples have been screened with gamma-ray spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and emanation measurements. Furthermore, the cleanliness procedures applied to remove or mitigate surface contamination of detector materials are described. Screening results, used as inputs for a XENONnT Monte Carlo simulation, predict a reduction of materials background (∼17%) with respect to its predecessor XENON1T. Through radon emanation measurements, the expected activity concentration in XENONnT is determined to be 4.2 , a factor three lower with respect to XENON1T. This radon concentration will be further suppressed by means of the novel radon distillation system
Expiratory flow limitation in intensive care: prevalence and risk factors
Expiratory flow limitation (EFL) is characterised by a markedly reduced expiratory flow insensitive to the expiratory driving pressure. The presence of EFL can influence the respiratory and cardiovascular function and damage the small airways; its occurrence has been demonstrated in different diseases, such as COPD, asthma, obesity, cardiac failure, ARDS, and cystic fibrosis. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of EFL in patients requiring mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory failure and to determine the main clinical characteristics, the risk factors and clinical outcome associated with the presence of EFL
Autoimmune Hepatitis and Celiac Disease: Case Report Showing an Entero-Hepatic Link
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder primarily targeting the small bowel, although extraintestinal extensions have been reported. The autoimmune processes can affect the liver with manifestations such as primary biliary cirrhosis and autoimmune hepatitis. We describe a 61-year-old woman with celiac disease and an increased levels of aminotransferases. The persistence of increased levels of aminotransferases after 1 year of gluten-free diet and the positivity for an anti-nuclear and anti-double-strand DNA antibodies led to a misdiagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus-related hepatitis. Based on these findings the patient was placed on steroids, which after a few months were stopped because of the onset of diabetes mellitus. Soon after steroid withdrawal, the patient had a marked increase in aminotransferases and γ-globulins, and a liver biopsy revealed chronic active hepatitis. A course of three months of steroids and azathioprine normalized both biochemical and clinical parameters. Currently the patient is symptom-free and doing well. In conclusion, a hypertransaminasemia persisting after a gluten-free diet should be interpreted as a sign of coexisting autoimmune liver disease. Any autoantibody positivity (in this case to ANA and anti-dsDNA) should be carefully considered in order to avoid misdiagnosis delaying appropriate clinical management
Ancient pathogen-driven adaptation triggers increased susceptibility to non-celiac wheat sensitivity in present-day European populations
Details of sequence profiles for each NCWS subject. (XLSX 47 kb
Anti-CD117 CAR TÂ cells incorporating a safety switch eradicate human acute myeloid leukemia and hematopoietic stem cells
Discrimination between hematopoietic stem cells and leukemic stem cells remains a major challenge for acute myeloid leukemia immunotherapy. CAR T cells specific for the CD117 antigen can deplete malignant and healthy hematopoietic stem cells before consolidation with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in absence of cytotoxic conditioning. Here we exploit non-viral technology to achieve early termination of CAR T cell activity to prevent incoming graft rejection. Transient expression of an anti-CD117 CAR by mRNA conferred T cells the ability to eliminate CD117+ targets in vitro and in vivo. As an alternative approach, we used a Sleeping Beauty transposon vector for the generation of CAR T cells incorporating an inducible Caspase 9 safety switch. Stable CAR expression was associated with high proportion of T memory stem cells, low levels of exhaustion markers, and potent cellular cytotoxicity. Anti-CD117 CAR T cells mediated depletion of leukemic cells and healthy hematopoietic stem cells in NSG mice reconstituted with human leukemia or CD34+ cord blood cells, respectively, and could be terminated in vivo. The use of a non-viral technology to control CAR T cell pharmacokinetic properties is attractive for a first-in-human study in patients with acute myeloid leukemia prior to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Efficacy of the EDP-M Scheme Plus Adjunctive Surgery in the Management of Patients with Advanced Adrenocortical Carcinoma: The Brescia Experience.
The Matter of Future Heritage
In 2018, for the first time, the University of Bologna’s Board of PhD in Architecture and Design Culture assigned second-year PhD students the task of developing and managing an international conference and publishing its works. The organisers of the first edition of this initiative – Giacomo Corda, Pamela Lama, Viviana Lorenzo, Sara Maldina, Lia Marchi, Martina Massari and Giulia Custodi – have chosen to leverage the solid relationship between the Department of Architecture and the Municipality of Bologna to publish a call having to do with the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, in which the Municipality was involved.
The theme chosen for the call, The Matter of Future Heritage, set itself the ambitious goal of questioning the future of a field of research – Cultural Heritage (CH) – that is constantly being redefined. A work that was made particularly complex in Europe by the development of the H2020 programme, where the topic entered, surprisingly, not as a protagonist but rather as an articulation of other subjects that in the vision of the programme seemed evidently more urgent and, one might say, dominant. The resulting tensions have been considerable and with both negative and positive implications, all the more evident if we refer to the issues that are closest to us namely the city and the landscape
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