Hyperspectral imaging applied to end-of-life (EOL) concrete recycling

The recovery of materials from DW is an important target of the recycling industry and it is important to know which materials are presents in order to set up efficient sorting and/or quality control actions. The implementation of an automatic recognition system of recovered products from End-Of-Life (EOL) concrete materials can be an useful way to maximize DW conversion into secondary raw materials. In this paper a new approach, based on HyperSpectral Imaging (HSI) sensors, is investigated in order to develop suitable and low cost strategies finalized to the preliminary detection and characterization of materials constituting Demolition Waste (DW) flow stream. The described HSI quality control approach is based on the utilization of a device working in the near infrared range (1000-1700 nm). Acquired hyperspectral images were analyzed. Different chemometric methods were applied. Results showed that it is possible to recognize DW materials and to distinguish the recycled aggregates from the investigated contaminants (brick, gypsum, plastic, wood and foam)

HyperSpectral Imaging based approach for monitoring of micro-plastics from marine environment

The possibility to develop a sensor based procedure in order to monitor plastic presence in the marine environment was explored in this work. More in detail, this study was addressed to detect and to recognize different types of microplastics coming from sampling in different sea areas adopting a new approach, based on HyperSpectral Imaging (HSI) sensors. Moreover, a morphological and morphometrical particle characterization was carried by digital image processing. Morphological and morphometrical parameters, combined with hyperspectral imaging information, give a full characterization of each investigated particle, concurring to explain all the transportation, alteration and degradation phenomena suffered by each different polymer particle. Obtained results can represent an important starting point to develop, implement and set up monitor strategies to characterize marine microplastics. Moreover, the procedure developed in this work is fast, not expensive and reliable, making its utilization very profitable

Peliosis hepatis. Personal experience and literature review

Peliosis hepatis (PH) is a disease characterized by multiple and small, blood-filled cysts within the parenchymatous organs. PH is a very rare disease, more common in adults, and when it affects the liver, it comes to the surgeon’s attention only in an extremely urgent situation after the lesion’s rupture with the resulting hemoperitoneum. This report describes the case of a 29-year-old woman affected by recurring abdominal pain. CT scans showed a hepatic lesion formed by multiple hypodense areas, which showed an early acquisition of the contrast during the arterial phase. Furthermore, it remained isodense with the remaining parenchyma during the late venous phase. We decided on performing a liver resection of segment Ⅶ while avoiding a biopsy for safety reasons. The histopathologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of focal PH. PH should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of hepatic lesions. Clinicians should discuss the possible causes and issues related to the differential diagnosis in addition to the appropriate therapeutic approach. The fortuitous finding of a lesion, potentially compatible with PH, requires elective surgery with diagnostic and therapeutic intents. The main aim is to prevent the risk of a sudden bleeding that, in absence of properly equipped structures, may have a fatal outcome

hyperspectral imaging applied to demolition waste recycling innovative approach for product quality control

Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) based sensing devices were utilized to develop nondestructive, rapid, and low cost analytical strategies finalized to detect and characterize materials constituting demolition waste. In detail, HSI was applied for quality control of high-grade recycled aggregates obtained from end-of-life concrete. The described HSI quality control approach is based on the utilization of a platform working in the near-infrared range (1000–1700 nm). The acquired hyperspectral images were analyzed by applying different chemometric methods: principal component analysis for data exploration and partial least-square-discriminant analysis to build classification models. Results showed that it is possible to recognize the recycled aggregates from different contaminants (e.g., brick, gypsum, plastic, wood, foam, and so on), allowing the quality control of the recycled flow stream

Expression in Escherichia coli, Functional Characterization, and Tissue Distribution of Isoforms A and B of the Phosphate Carrier from Bovine Mitochondria

The two isoforms of the mammalian mitochondrial phosphate carrier (PiC), A and B, differing in the sequence near the N terminus, arise from alternative splicing of a primary transcript of the PiC gene (Dolce, V., Iacobazzi, V., Palmieri, F., and Walker, J. E. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 10451-10460). To date, the PiC isoforms A and B have not been studied at the protein level. To explore the tissue-distribution and the potential functional differences between the two isoforms, polyclonal site-directed antibodies specific for PiC-A and PiC-B were raised, and the two bovine isoforms were obtained by expression in Escherichia coli and reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles. Western blot analysis demonstrated that isoform A is present in high amounts in heart, skeletal muscle, and diaphragm mitochondria, whereas isoform B is present in the mitochondria of all tissues examined. Heart and liver bovine mitochondria contained 69 and 0 pmol of PiC-A/mg of protein, and 10 and 8 pmol of PiC-B/mg of protein, respectively. In the reconstituted system the pure recombinant isoforms A and B both catalyzed the two known modes of transport (Pi/Pi antiport and Pi/H+ symport) and exhibited similar properties of substrate specificity and inhibitor sensitivity. However, they strongly differed in their kinetic parameters. The transport affinities of isoform B for phosphate and arsenate were found to be 3-fold lower than those of isoform A. Furthermore, the maximum transport rate of isoform B is about 3-fold higher than that of isoform A. These results support the hypothesis that the sequence divergence between PiC-A and PiC-B may have functional significance in determining the affinity and the translocation rate of the substrate through the PiC molecule

Molecular analysis of appendiceal mucinous cystadenoma and rectal adenocarcinoma in a patient with urothelial carcinoma: a case report

Introduction: In this report, we present the case of a patient affected by appendiceal cystadenoma, a colorectal adenocarcinoma, and a concomitant bladder carcinoma, as well as the results of the molecular study of the most relevant mutational pathways involved in these tumors. Case presentation: A 68-year-old Italian man was admitted to our unit complaining of macrohematuria, rectorrhagia, and rectal tenesmus for about 2 months. A colonoscopy showed the presence of a rectal lesion at 11cm from the anal margin; multiple biopsies were performed and a diagnosis of moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma was made. Abdominal ultrasonography and total body computed tomography performed subsequently to stage the rectal cancer showed the presence of two round nodules, interpreted as swollen lymph nodes of neoplastic origin, at the anterior aspect of the iliopsoas muscle and a budding lesion affecting the bladder. The patient underwent transurethral biopsy of the lesion in the right retrotrigonal region; the diagnosis was grade II urothelial carcinoma. The patient underwent an open anterior rectal resection with loco-regional lymphadenectomy. An enlarged appendix and a voluminous whitish soft-tissue lesion requiring an appendicectomy were detected perioperatively. Transurethral resection of the bladder lesion was also performed. The histological examination revealed that the nodular lesions in the appendix were due to a cystadenoma. For mutation analysis, genomic deoxyribonucleic acid was isolated from tumor tissue samples; for PIK3CA mutations, screening revealed that all three samples analyzed carried mutations in exon 9. Conclusions: Appendiceal mucoceles are rare but require adequate surgical treatment, given their malignant potential and the possibility of causing peritoneal pseudomyxoma. It is essential to make a correct preoperative evaluation based on a colonoscopy rather than ultrasound and computed tomography to exclude synchronous neoplasias often associated with mucoceles and to plan the optimum surgical strategy. The association between appendiceal mucoceles and other neoplasias is relatively frequent, especially with colorectal cancer. Oncogenic activation in the PIK3CA-depending pathway may contribute substantially to the pathogenesis of the different solid tumors in the same patient

Alcune fra le recentissime novità del d.l. "giustizia per la crescita" decreto n. 83/2015, convertito dalla legge n. 132 del 6.8.2015: l'avvertimento ex art. 480 c.p.c. e le modifiche in tema di pignoramento di autoveicoli

Failure warning of the possibility to remedy the overindebtedness of concluding a settlement of the crisis with the creditors, expected in the second sentence of the paragraph n. 2 of art. 480, civil procedure code, as introduced by art. 13, paragraph n. 1, letter a) of legislative decree n. 83/2015, converted into law n. 132 of 06.08.2015, has no effect until the procedure does not acquire the potentialto produce effects that execution could be avoided. – The transcript of the seizure order on motor vehicles is not necessary because the judicial police, if there is no spontaneous delivery of the good of the institute judicial sales by the debtor, if it verifies the circulation, I.E., they find otherwise even if not working, documents to the judicial police shall remove the well and then delivering documents to the I.V.G. In these cases, the lender will be nterested party giving notice of the seizure to the judicial police

Lung cancer epidemiology in North Sardinia, Italy

Background The aim of this study was to analyze and describe the epidemiological characteristics and trends of lung cancer in North Sardinia, Italy, in the period 1992–2010. Methods Data were obtained from the tumor registry of Sassari province which is a part of a wider registry web, coordinated today by the Italian Association for Tumor Registries. Results The overall number of lung cancer cases registered was 4,325. The male-to-female ratio was 4.6:1 and the mean age 68.1 years for males and 67 years for females. The standardized incidence rates were 73.1/100,000 and 13.5/100,000 and the standardized mortality rates 55.7/100,000 and 9.9/100,000 for males and females, respectively. An increasing trend in incidence of lung cancer in women was evidenced. Conversely, incidence was found to decrease in males. Relative survival at 5 years from diagnosis was low (8.8% for males and 14.9% for females). Furthermore, an increase in mortality rates was observed in both sexes in the period under investigation. Conclusions Our data show an increasing trend of lung cancer incidence in women in North Sardinia in the last decades. Conversely, a reduction of incidence rates was observed in males. Furthermore, a slightly increasing trend in mortality rates was observed in both sexes, suggesting the need to enhance smoking control strategies, consider adoption of effective surveillance policies, and improve diagnosis and treatment methods

Inhibition of HIV-1 replication in primary human monocytes by the IκB-αS32/36A repressor of NF-κB

BACKGROUND: The identification of the molecular mechanisms of human immunodeficiency virus type 1, HIV-1, transcriptional regulation is required to develop novel inhibitors of viral replication. NF-κB transacting factors strongly enhance the HIV/SIV expression in both epithelial and lymphoid cells. Controversial results have been reported on the requirement of NF-κB factors in distinct cell reservoirs, such as CD4-positive T lymphocytes and monocytes. We have previously shown that IκB-αS32/36A, a proteolysis-resistant inhibitor of NF-κB, potently inhibits the growth of HIV-1 and SIVmac239 in cell cultures and in the SIV macaque model of AIDS. To further extend these observations, we have generated NL(AD8)IκB-αS32/36A, a macrophage-tropic HIV-1 recombinant strain endowed to express IκB-αS32/36A. RESULTS: In this work, we show that infection with NL(AD8)IκB-αS32/36A down-regulated the NF-κB DNA binding activity in cells. NL(AD8)IκB-αS32/36A was also highly attenuated for replication in cultures of human primary monocytes. CONCLUSIONS: These results point to a major requirement of NF-κB activation for the optimal replication of HIV-1 in monocytes and suggest that agents which interfere with NF-κB activity could counteract HIV-1 infection of monocytes-macrophages in vivo