Endomyocardial biopsy in the clinical context: current indications and challenging scenarios

Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) is an invasive procedure originally developed for the monitoring of heart transplant rejection. Over the year, this procedure has gained a fundamental complementary role in the diagnostic work-up of several cardiac disorders, including cardiomyopathies, myocarditis, drug-related cardiotoxicity, amyloidosis, other infiltrative and storage disorders, and cardiac tumours. Major advances in EMB equipment and techniques for histological analysis have significantly improved diagnostic accuracy of EMB. In recent years, advanced imaging modalities such as echocardiography with three-dimensional and myocardial strain analysis, cardiac magnetic resonance and bone scintigraphy have transformed the non-invasive approach to diagnosis and prognostic stratification of several cardiac diseases. Therefore, it emerges the need to re-define the current role of EMB for diagnostic work-up and management of cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this review is to summarize current knowledge on EMB in light of the most recent evidences and to discuss current indications, including challenging scenarios encountered in clinical practice

Lithium niobate micromachining for the fabrication of microfluidic droplet generators

In this paper, we present the first microfluidic junctions for droplet generation directly engraved on lithium niobate crystals by micromachining techniques, preparatory to a fully integrated opto-microfluidics lab-on-chip system. In particular, laser ablation technique and the mechanical micromachining technique are exploited to realise microfluidic channels in T-and cross junction configurations. The quality of both lateral and bottom surfaces of the channels are therefore compared together with a detailed study of their roughness measured by means of atomic force microscopy in order to evaluate the final performance achievable in an optofluidic device. Finally, the microfluidics performances of these water-in-oil droplets generators are investigated depending on these micromachining techniques, with particular focus on a wide range of droplet generation rates

Brown rice and pulses for the development of shelf-stable and low glycemic index ready-to-eat meals

Shelf-stable low glycemic index ready-to-eat (RTE) risotto meals (in pouches) containing brown rice and pulses (recipe A = chickpeas; recipe B = lentils, and beans) were developed, stored for 12-months at room temperature, and characterized over time. RTE meals were heated in microwave (replicating home consumption procedure), and analyzed for in vitro starch digestibility, textural attributes, and consumer acceptability. Digestible starch fractions were similar in the formulations during storage, and in vivo testing demonstrated low glycemic indexes (recipe A = 43.5 ± 6.8; recipe B = 31.8 ± 6.5) for the two meals. Hardness of risotto components increased during storage and microwave heating did not fully recover textural attibutes characteristic of the fresh product. Consumers’ (50) acceptability remained high (>5.5 out of 9) until the end of storage. This study demonstrates brown rice with pulses can be used for developing stable and accepted ready-to-eat meals having low glycemic indexes

Damage patterns in the town of Amatrice after August 24th 2016 Central Italy earthquakes

The impact of the two seismic events of August 24th 2016 on the municipality of Amatrice was highly destructive. There were 298 victims, 386 injured, about 5000 homeless, and the historical center of the town suffered a great number of partial and total collapses. The 260 strong motion records obtained for the first event were analyzed and plotted in a shakemap, comparing them with the macroseismic damage surveys made in 305 localities. On the basis of an inspection survey made in September 2016, a map of the damage patterns of the buildings in the historical center was elaborated according to the EMS 98 classification. The damage level resulted very high with more than 60% of the inspected buildings showing partial or total collapse. The elevated level of destruction was mainly caused by the high vulnerability of the masonry buildings, mostly due to specific vulnerability factors such as the poor quality of masonry, the lack of connections between walls and the poor connection between external walls and floors

Ocorrência da Icnoespécie Nihilichnus nihilicus Mikulás, Kadlecová, Fejfar & Dvorák (2006) em Vértebra de Crocodylia da Formação Solimões (Mioceno Superior da Bacia do Acre)

Os aspectos icnológicos relacionados a substrato ósseo da Formação Solimões (Mioceno superior da Bacia do Acre) ainda são pouco conhecidos. Um estudo tafonômico recente dos fósseis desta unidade disponíveis no acervo do Museu de Ciências da Terra da Companhia de Pesquisa em Recursos Minerais (MCT/CPRM) revelou uma vértebra de Crocodylia com uma feição de origem biogênica. Este trabalho descreve tal feição e estabelece uma caracterização icnotaxonômica do traço fóssil, associando-o a um possível produtor. A icnoespécie Nihilichnus nihilicus é reportada pela primeira vez para a Formação Solimões, correspondendo a um traço fóssil observado em vértebra dorsal posterior de um Crocodylia de grande porte. Purussaurus é o provável produtor do traço observado, não sendo possível discernir se a gênese do icnofóssil está relacionada a predação ou necrofagia

A practical approach to big data in tourism: a low cost Raspberry Pi cluster

Big Data is the contemporary hype. However, not many companies or organisations have the resources or the capabilities to collect the huge amounts of data needed for a significant and reliable analysis. The recent introduction of the Raspberry Pi, a low-cost, low-power single-board computer gives an affordable alternative to traditional workstations for a task that requires little computing power but immobilises a machine for long elapsed times. Here we present a flexible solution, devised for small and medium sized organisations based on the Raspberry Pi hardware and open source software which can be employed with relatively little effort by companies and organisations for their specific objectives. A cluster of six machines has been put together and successfully used for accessing and downloading the data available on a number of social media platforms