A simplified constitutive model for a SEBS gel muscle simulant - Development and experimental validation for finite elements simulations of handgun and rifle ballistic impacts

An original simplified constitutive model is proposed to simulate the effects of ballistic impacts on blocks of synthetic muscle simulant based on mineral oil and styrene ethylene-butylene styrene polymers (SEBS) as a convenient substitute for Fackler ballistic gelatin. The model is based on a quasi-static elastic-plastic model associated with hydrodynamic properties regulated by a polynomial equation of state. The paper illustrates the development and experimental validation of the model to simulate 9x21mm FMJ round-nose, 7.62x39 mm FMJ, and 5.56x45 mm NATO bullets penetrating 145x145x400 mm gel blocks. All material parameters are provided to be implemented in built-in LS-Dyna keywords. The validation confirms the effectiveness of the model and suggests possible further developments. The work also confirms the tested synthetic gel as a valid and convenient substitute for Fackler 10% ballistic gelatin at 4 °C

A SCC recursive meta-algorithm for computing preferred labellings in abstract argumentation

This paper presents a meta-algorithm for the computation of preferred labellings, based on the general recursive schema for argumentation semantics called SCC-Recursiveness. The idea is to recursively decompose a framework so as to compute semantics labellings on restricted sub-frameworks, in order to reduce the computational effort. The meta-algorithm can be instantiated with a specific “base algorithm”, applied to the base case of the recursion, which can be obtained by generalizing existing algorithms in order to compute labellings in restricted sub-frameworks. We devise for this purpose a generalization of a SAT-based algorithm, and provide an empirical investigation to show the significant improvement of performances obtained by exploiting the SCC-recursive schema

Tratamento de banhos de tingimento têxtil por processos foto-Fenton e avaliação da potencialidade de reuso

In this work the treatment of textile dyeing baths by a sequential reductive-oxidative process was evaluated, aiming its utilization in new dyeing process. The results demonstrated that reactive dyes can be easily degraded by reductive processes mediated by zero-valent iron, a fact that induces decolorizations of about 80%. Sequential photo-Fenton processes permit almost total removal of the residual color with elimination of 90% of the COD content. The reuse of treated residues permits the achievement of materials that attend practically all textile specifications, with exception of the color difference parameter (ΔE), which is unsatisfactory toward the importation standards, but adequate for the national market

Analysis of the performance of the animal health surveillance system in the outbreak of swine vesicular disease in the state of Santa Catarina - Brazil

Background: The occurrence of vesicular disease associated with Senecavirus A in a pig-producing region of Santa Catarina increased in 2015, reflected by the number of syndromic notifications to the official animal health service. In view of the recurrence of this event in 2018, the objectives of this study were to analyze the official data related to cases of suspected vesicular disease in pigs and to evaluate whether the experience in conducting the investigations of 2015 was incorporated into the years subsequent to 2015. We addressed this goal by analysis of the performance parameters of the state animal health surveillance system. Materials, Methods & Results: Descriptive analyses of data from official investigations of suspected vesicular disease in swine in different regions were carried out, and statistical models were used to: i) test the effect of the year on the age of the investigated injuries; ii) assess whether there was an association between the year and the type of outcome of the official investigation (discarded case or a probable case of vesicular disease, which resulted in the collection of samples for laboratory diagnosis and interdiction of the affected properties); iii) evaluate whether there was an association between the year and the detection of Senecavirus A RNA among the molecular analyses carried out after a case was classified as probable vesicular disease. From 05/22/2015 to 03/28/2019, there were 2093 notifications of suspected vesicular disease in pigs to the official service of Santa Catarina, with 1538 (73.5%) occurring in 2015 and 555 (26.5%) in subsequent years. After 2015, when compared to the base year, the chances of detecting late vesicular lesions (>3 days) were similar (increased 1.11 times, but there was no statistically significant association), in view of a panorama in which 55.29% of cases had the lesions classified as late throughout the analyzed period. The variation in the odds was relatively homogeneous among the regional units (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient [ICC] = 10.9%), but in the São Miguel do Oeste unit, it was significantly lower than the average. It was also lower than the average, in regional units with a high ratio of properties with pigs attended by the official veterinarian. The chances of cases being considered probable increased 32.3 times, but the descriptive analysis of the average interdiction period decreased. The estimated ICC was 34.9%, and in Campos Novos and Caçador, the chances of cases being probable were significantly higher than the average, while in the Canoinhas unit, the chances were significantly lower. The prevalence of cases with molecular detection of Senecavirus A was 78% lower after 2015. Discussion: Despite the increased sensitivity of the surveillance process for suspected vesicular events in the years after 2015, the specificity of the molecular diagnosis of Senecavirus A decreased. This is likely, because there was difficulty in sampling lesions with vesicular fluid and/or when the lesion epithelium had recently been disrupted, conditions most conducive to the identification of viral genetic material. In this context, the western region of the state, the main pig producer, continued to be the most accurate in confirming cases of Senecavirus A. Even with the improvements of laboratory diagnosis and the reduction of the interdiction period, it was important to standardize the differentiation of a late infectious lesion from a traumatic injury, as well as any association with other sample analyses, in order to minimize the disorders linked to the mischaracterization of a manifestation of Senecavirus A, without compromising the syndromic focus of its vesicular character

VSV-G-Enveloped Vesicles for Traceless Delivery of CRISPR-Cas9

The method of delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 into target cells is a strong determinant of efficacy and specificity in genome editing. Even though high efficiency of Cas9 delivery is necessary for optimal editing, its long-term and high levels of expression correlate with increased off-target activity. We developed vesicles (VEsiCas) carrying CRISPR-SpCas9 ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNPs) that are efficiently delivered into target cells through the fusogenic glycoprotein of the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV-G). A crucial step for VEsiCas production is the synthesis of the single guide RNA (sgRNA) mediated by the T7 RNA polymerase in the cytoplasm of producing cells as opposed to canonical U6-driven Pol III nuclear transcription. In VEsiCas, the absence of DNA encoding SpCas9 and sgRNA allows rapid clearance of the nuclease components in target cells, which correlates with reduced genome-wide off-target cleavages. Compared with SpCas9 RNPs electroporation, which is currently the method of choice to obtain transient SpCas9 activity, VEsiCas deliver the nuclease with higher efficiency and lower toxicity. We show that a wide variety of cells can be edited through VEsiCas, including a variety of transformed cells, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and cardiomyocytes, in vivo. VEsiCas is a traceless CRISPR-Cas9 delivery tool for efficient and safe genome editing that represents a further advancement toward the therapeutic use of the CRISPR-Cas9 technology

Metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia, hypertension and type 2 diabetes in youth: from diagnosis to treatment

Overweight and obesity in youth is a worldwide public health problem. Overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescents have a substantial effect upon many systems, resulting in clinical conditions such as metabolic syndrome, early atherosclerosis, dyslipidemia, hypertension and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Obesity and the type of body fat distribution are still the core aspects of insulin resistance and seem to be the physiopathologic links common to metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and T2D. The earlier the appearance of the clustering of risk factors and the higher the time of exposure, the greater will be the chance of developing coronary disease with a more severe endpoint. The age when the event may occur seems to be related to the presence and aggregation of risk factors throughout life

Cranial chordoma heterogeneity : Two case reports

Cordomas são neoplasias raras originadas da notocorda primitiva, que se localizam predominantemente em região sacroccígena e menos freqüentemente intracranianas, correspondendo de 3 a 5% dos tumores primários cerebrais. Os cordomas intracranianos são de manejo difícil, a ressecção cirúrgica geralmente é incompleta e os pacientes podem evoluir para óbito em decorrência do crescimento incontrolável do tumor e/ou compressão de estruturas nobres adjacentes. Neste trabalho os autores relatam dois pacientes com cordoma intracraniano cuja evolução clínica foi absolutamente distinta, dissertando sobre os diversos aspectos relacionados ao diagnóstico, tratamento e evolução dos dois casos.Chordomas are very rare primitive notochord-related tumors localized most frequently in sacrococcygeal and cranial regions. Intracranial lesions correspond to 3-5% of the primary tumors. Clinical management is very difficult; surgical ressection is usually incomplete, and can be associated with rapid tumor growth and multiple neurological involvement. In this study, the authors report on two cases of intracranial chordomas with diverse presentation and evolution, and discuss the diagnosis and the management of these patients

From EHR to EDC - The Experience at the Policlinico Hospital in Milan.

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Relationship between autoimmune phenomena and disease stage and therapy in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia

The aim of this multicenter GIMEMA study was to correlate autoimmune complications (AIC) in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) with stage and therapy. Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (129/194 cases) and autoimmune thrombocytopenia (35/194 cases) were typically present in advanced and multi-treated disease. Age over the median, stage C and first and second line therapy were identified as independent risk factors by multivariate analysis. In contrast, non-hematologic AIC (30/194 cases) and the presence of serological markers of autoimmunity were mostly observed in early B-CLL, suggesting different pathogenic mechanisms underlying hematologic and non-hematologic autoimmune phenomena in B-CLL