Carbonation of Activated Serpentine for Direct Flue Gas Mineralization

AbstractResearch in mineral carbonation has moved towards process concepts that combine the capture of CO2 from flue gas with its conversion into stable carbonates. This requires highly reactive source materials that dissolve under lean CO2 pressures and temperatures. Activated serpentine has been used in this study, and its carbonation potential under flue gas conditions has been investigated. Single-step carbonation experiments were performed in stirred reactors with gas-dip tubes, at partial pressures of CO2 up to 1bar, temperatures between 30°C and 90°C, with and without concurrent grinding using a ball mill. The pH and solids were monitored in-situ, and the degree of carbonation of the products was quantified using thermogravimetric analysis. Given the low CO2 pressure, carbonation was successful, as confirmed by the formation of the two magnesium carbonates nesquehonite and hydromagnesite. However, under all conditions investigated, including grinding, the extent of carbonation did not exceed 20%. It was concluded that after the onset of precipitation, the reactor solution in single-step carbonation experiments reaches equilibrium conditions with respect to both serpentine dissolution and carbonate precipitation

The Impact of COVID-19 on Plastic Surgery Residency Training

Abstract: Nowadays didactic and surgical activities for residents in the surgery field are less and less due to an increasing burden of documentation and \u201cnon-educational work.\u201d Considering the current lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has never been so important to find different ways to allow residents to improve their knowledge. We asked all plastic and esthetic surgery residents in our country to fill out a questionnaire to investigate changes in their didactical activity and analyze problems about their professional growth in the last few months. From the results of such questionnaires, we found that most of the residents feel the decrease in surgical activities during this time is a detrimental factor for their training and that even if all the schools have changed their didactical activities no school has introduced the use of virtual simulators to compensate for the decrease in surgical practice. Actually, the majority of residents use webinars to keep updated, stating that such technologies are useful but not sufficient to analyze plastic surgery topics in depth during COVID-19 lockdown. Virtual interactive tools are well known in different clinical and surgical specialties, and they are considered as a valid support, but it seems that in plastic surgery they are not so used. According to the most recent studies about residents\u2019 didactical program, we have investigated the potential of Anatomage Table in combination with Touch Surgery application as physical and mental aids to bypass the decreased number and kind of surgical interventions performed in this particular time. Anatomage is an academic user-friendly touch screen table; it is used by both medical students and residents to learn human anatomy and to master surgical anatomy. Touch Surgery is an application available on smartphones and tablets that gives the possibility to watch real and virtually designed surgical videos, accompanied by explanatory comments on the surgical phases; they are interactive and give the possibility to check what you have learned through tests administered after virtual classes. In our opinion, these tools represent reliable solutions to improve plastic residents\u2019 training, mostly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Level of Evidence V: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266

Autologous micrografts and methotrexate in plantar erosive lichen planus: healing and pain control. A case report

Erosive lichen planus is an uncommon variant of lichen planus. We report a case of long-standing and refractory plantar ELPs causing disabling and opiate-resistant pain treated with 'classic' meshed skin graft combined with RigeneraVR micrografts. After approximately 9 months follow-up, no clinical recurrence or pain were observed. Erosive lichen planus (ELP) is an uncommon variant of lichen planus, involving oral cavity and genitalia and, less often plantar areas, where it usually presents with chronic erosions of the soles, along with intense, disabling pain and progressive loss of toenails. An abnormal immune cellular response (CD8+ lymphocytes and macrophages) and the consequent altered production of multiple mediators (interleukin-12, interferon-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, RANTES and MMP-9), seem to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis, although the etiology remains uncertain. From a histological point of view, ELP shows keratinocyte apoptosis, intense inflammatory response and basal epithelial keratinocytes TNF-alpha overexpression. Several therapies have been proposed, with variable and controversial results. While topical corticosteroids and topical calcineurin inhibitors are the treatments of choice for localized forms, short pulses of systemic glucocorticoids, phototherapy, and systemic immunosuppressants are recommended for generalized cases. Surgery has been reported as a possible therapeutic option in refractory and stable cases with localized lesions, either alone or with cyclosporine. Herein, we report a case of longstanding and refractory plantar ELPS causing disabling and opiate-resistant pain treated with 'classic' meshed skin graft combined with RigeneraVR micrografts

Sharing health data among general practitioners: The Nu.Sa. project

Today, e-health has entered the everyday work flow in the form of a variety of healthcare providers. General practitioners (GPs) are the largest category in the public sanitary service, with about 60,000 GPs throughout Italy. Here, we present the Nu.Sa. project, operating in Italy, which has established one of the first GP healthcare information systems based on heterogeneous data sources. This system connects all providers and provides full access to clinical and health-related data. This goal is achieved through a novel technological infrastructure for data sharing based on interoperability specifications recognised at the national level for messages transmitted from GP providers to the central domain. All data standards are publicly available and subjected to continuous improvement. Currently, the system manages more than 5,000 GPs with about 5,500,000 patients in total, with 4,700,000 pharmacological e-prescriptions and 1,700,000 e-prescriptions for laboratory exams per month. Hence, the Nu.Sa. healthcare system that has the capacity to gather standardised data from 16 different form of GP software, connecting patients, GPs, healthcare organisations, and healthcare professionals across a large and heterogeneous territory through the implementation of data standards with a strong focus on cybersecurity. Results show that the application of this scenario at a national level, with novel metrics on the architecture's scalability and the software's usability, affect the sanitary system and on GPs’ professional activities

Evaluation of botanical insecticides to control whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius) and tomato flee (Halticu ssp) in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.), in Nicaragua

El complejo mosca blanca (Bemisia tabaci)-Geminivirus y Halticus sp son las principales plagas causantes de pérdidas económicas en el cultivo de tomate (Solanum lycopersicum Mill) en el municipio de Tisma-Masaya. En base a esta situación se realizó un estudio para evaluar la efectividad que tiene para controlar estas y otras plagas secundarias los tratamientos botánicos: chile + ajo + jabón, madero negro, crisantemo, extracto alcohólico + chile, extracto alcohólico + chile + ajo y testigo en el período comprendido entre diciembre 2013 a febrero 2014. De los tratamientos evaluados, el menor número de moscas blancas por planta y el menor porcentaje de severidad a los cien después de trasplante lo obtuvo el tratamiento extracto alcohólico + chile + ajo. El tratamiento madero negro presentó la mayor efectividad en el manejo de poblaciones de Halticus sp. El mayor rendimiento se obtuvo con extracto alcohólico + chile + ajo con 34 685.18 kg ha-1 seguido del tratamiento chile + ajo + jabón con 30 614.28 kg ha-1. De acuerdo al análisis de tasa de retorno marginal, el tratamiento chile+ajo+jabón es el que obtuvo la mejor tasa de retorno marginal con 1 476%, es decir, USD 14.76 por cada dólar invertido. Además el análisis de biotipo de mosca blanca realizado en la Universidad de Tucson, Arizona muestra que un 66.66% corresponde a la mosca blanca autóctona (biotipo A), y el 33.33% corresponde al biotipo B, el cual es más agresivo que el A. Según el análisis de los begomovirus se determinó: enrollamiento severo de la hoja de tomate (ToSLCV) con al menos 96% de identidad en las muestras y el virus del mosaico dorado de la chiltoma (PepGMV) con un 98% de identidad.The whitefly-virus complex (Bemisia tabaci)-Geminivirus and Halticus sp. are the main cause of economic losses in tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum Mill) in the municipality of Tisma, Masaya. Due to this situation, a study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of botanical insecticides such as: Chile + Garlic + Soap, Madero Negro, Chrysanthemum, alcoholic extract + Chili and alcoholic extract + Chili + Garlic in the period from December 2013 to February 2014. Of the treatments evaluated, the lowest number of whiteflies per plant and lower percentage of severity at one hundred days after transplanting was obtained with the treatment Alcoholic extract+Chili+Garlic. The treatment Madero Negro had the highest effectiveness in managing populations of Halticus sp. The economic analysis showed that the highest yield was obtained by the Alcoholic extract+Chili+Garlic with 34 685.18 kg/ha-1 followed by the treatment Chili+Garlic+Soap with 30 614.28 kg/ha-1. According to the marginal return analysis, this proved that the treatment Chili+Garlic+Soap is the one who obtained the best marginal rate of return with 1 476 %, which means that USD 14.76 is obtained for every dollar invested. According to samples of tomato tissue and whiteflies insect samples sent for analysis to at the University of Arizona in Tucson, this determined that the 66.66% of white flies samples from Tisma are indigenous whitefly, biotype “A”, and the 33.33% corresponds to the “B” biotype, the one that is more aggressive than “A”. The Begomoviruses analysis found that severe curl leaf tomato (ToSLCV) with at least 96% and golden mosaic virus of pepper (PepGMV) with 98% identity were identified in this stud

Exploring deep learning for complex trait genomic prediction in polyploid outcrossing species

Genomic prediction (GP) is the procedure whereby the genetic merits of untested candidates are predicted using genome wide marker information. Although numerous examples of GP exist in plants and animals, applications to polyploid organisms are still scarce, partly due to limited genome resources and the complexity of this system. Deep learning (DL) techniques comprise a heterogeneous collection of machine learning algorithms that have excelled at many prediction tasks. A potential advantage of DL for GP over standard linear model methods is that DL can potentially take into account all genetic interactions, including dominance and epistasis, which are expected to be of special relevance in most polyploids. In this study, we evaluated the predictive accuracy of linear and DL techniques in two important small fruits or berries: strawberry and blueberry. The two datasets contained a total of 1,358 allopolyploid strawberry (2n=8x=112) and 1,802 autopolyploid blueberry (2n=4x=48) individuals, genotyped for 9,908 and 73,045 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, respectively, and phenotyped for five agronomic traits each. DL depends on numerous parameters that influence performance and optimizing hyperparameter values can be a critical step. Here we show that interactions between hyperparameter combinations should be expected and that the number of convolutional filters and regularization in the first layers can have an important effect on model performance. In terms of genomic prediction, we did not find an advantage of DL over linear model methods, except when the epistasis component was important. Linear Bayesian models were better than convolutional neural networks for the full additive architecture, whereas the opposite was observed under strong epistasis. However, by using a parameterization capable of taking into account these non-linear effects, Bayesian linear models can match or exceed the predictive accuracy of DL. A semiautomatic implementation of the DL pipeline is available at https://github.com/lauzingaretti/deepGP/

Exploring deep learning for complex trait genomic prediction in polyploid outcrossing species

Genomic prediction (GP) is the procedure whereby the genetic merits of untested candidates are predicted using genome wide marker information. Although numerous examples of GP exist in plants and animals, applications to polyploid organisms are still scarce, partly due to limited genome resources and the complexity of this system. Deep learning (DL) techniques comprise a heterogeneous collection of machine learning algorithms that have excelled at many prediction tasks. A potential advantage of DL for GP over standard linear model methods is that DL can potentially take into account all genetic interactions, including dominance and epistasis, which are expected to be of special relevance in most polyploids. In this study, we evaluated the predictive accuracy of linear and DL techniques in two important small fruits or berries: strawberry and blueberry. The two datasets contained a total of 1,358 allopolyploid strawberry (2n=8x=112) and 1,802 autopolyploid blueberry (2n=4x=48) individuals, genotyped for 9,908 and 73,045 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, respectively, and phenotyped for five agronomic traits each. DL depends on numerous parameters that influence performance and optimizing hyperparameter values can be a critical step. Here we show that interactions between hyperparameter combinations should be expected and that the number of convolutional filters and regularization in the first layers can have an important effect on model performance. In terms of genomic prediction, we did not find an advantage of DL over linear model methods, except when the epistasis component was important. Linear Bayesian models were better than convolutional neural networks for the full additive architecture, whereas the opposite was observed under strong epistasis. However, by using a parameterization capable of taking into account these non-linear effects, Bayesian linear models can match or exceed the predictive accuracy of DL. A semiautomatic implementation of the DL pipeline is available at https://github.com/lauzingaretti/deepGP/.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Expression of Human α2-Adrenergic Receptors in Adipose Tissue of β3-Adrenergic Receptor-deficient Mice Promotes Diet-induced Obesity

Catecholamines play an important role in controlling white adipose tissue function and development. β- and α2-adrenergic receptors (ARs) couple positively and negatively, respectively, to adenylyl cyclase and are co-expressed in human adipocytes. Previous studies have demonstrated increased adipocyte α2/β-AR balance in obesity, and it has been proposed that increased α2-ARs in adipose tissue with or without decreased β-ARs may contribute mechanistically to the development of increased fat mass. To critically test this hypothesis, adipocyte α2/β-AR balance was genetically manipulated in mice. Human α2A-ARs were transgenically expressed in the adipose tissue of mice that were either homozygous (−/−) or heterozygous (+/−) for a disrupted β3-AR allele. Mice expressing α2-ARs in fat, in the absence of β3-ARs (β3-AR −/− background), developed high fat diet-induced obesity. Strikingly, this effect was due entirely to adipocyte hyperplasia and required the presence of α2-ARs, the absence of β3-ARs, and a high fat diet. Of note, obese α2-transgenic, β3 −/− mice failed to develop insulin resistance, which may reflect the fact that expanded fat mass was due to adipocyte hyperplasia and not adipocyte hypertrophy. In summary, we have demonstrated that increased α2/β-AR balance in adipocytes promotes obesity by stimulating adipocyte hyperplasia. This study also demonstrates one way in which two genes (α2 and β3-AR) and diet interact to influence fat mass

Artificial dermal substitutes for tissue regeneration: comparison of the clinical outcomes and histological findings of two templates

Objective: Artificial dermal substitutes (DSs) are fundamental in physiological wound healing to ensure consistent and enduring wound closure and provide a suitable scaffold to repair tissue. We compared the clinical and histological features of two DSs, Pelnac and Integra, in the treatment of traumatic and iatrogenic skin defects. Methods: This prospective observational study involved 71 randomly selected patients from our hospital. Wound healing was analyzed using the Wound Surface Area Assessment, the Vancouver Scar Scale, and a visual analog scale. Histological and immunohistochemical evaluations were also performed. Results: At 2 weeks, greater regeneration with respect to proliferation of the epidermis and renewal of the dermis was observed with Pelnac than with Integra. At 4 weeks, the dermis had regenerated with both DSs. Both templates induced renewed collagen and revascularization. Differences in the Vancouver Scar Scale score were statistically significant at 4 weeks and 1 year. Pelnac produced a significant increase in contraction at 2 weeks with increasing effectiveness at 4 weeks. Integra produced a higher percentage reduction in the wound surface area and a shorter healing time than Pelnac for wounds >1.5 cm deep. Conclusion: Our observational data indicate that both DSs are effective and applicable in different clinical contexts