DYNAMIC RESOURCE PROFILE-BASED CONTAINER AND SERVERLESS CONSTRUCT FOR COMPOSABLE OBSERVABILITY TRACING

As a result of recent industry attention towards full-stack observability, there are various application performance monitoring (AMP) tools, runtime application self-protection (RASP) tools, and distributed tracing modules (such as OpenTelemetry (OTel), the Distributed Application Runtime (Dapr), etc.) available for different programming languages which may be injected as instrumentation code into an actual application to support a very detailed trace or log collection for subsequent analysis. Using a no- or low-code construct, the observability instrumentation code and the application code may be dynamically bundled together to create the function that is required to execute the relevant transactions. Techniques are presented herein that support a new dynamic, traffic-aware Composable Function that leverages an inbound traffic request (comprising metadata and various attributes with, for example, the relevant tracing context header, custom Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) header, or OTel header with baggage) to identify and determine whether a function bundle should be composed with observability, APM, or RASP tools for the efficient utilization of the resource. Such a dynamically composed function may, in turn, be hosted as one or more containers within a pod or as a serverless function to provide more flexibility across different application and cluster environments

The hypoxia sensitive metal transcription factor MTF-1 activates NCX1 brain promoter and participates in remote postconditioning neuroprotection in stroke

Remote limb ischemic postconditioning (RLIP) is an experimental strategy in which short femoral artery ischemia reduces brain damage induced by a previous harmful ischemic insult. Ionic homeostasis maintenance in the CNS seems to play a relevant role in mediating RLIP neuroprotection and among the effectors, the sodium-calcium exchanger 1 (NCX1) may give an important contribution, being expressed in all CNS cells involved in brain ischemic pathophysiology. The aim of this work was to investigate whether the metal responsive transcription factor 1 (MTF-1), an important hypoxia sensitive transcription factor, may (i) interact and regulate NCX1, and (ii) play a role in the neuroprotective effect mediated by RLIP through NCX1 activation. Here we demonstrated that in brain ischemia induced by transient middle cerebral occlusion (tMCAO), MTF-1 is triggered by a subsequent temporary femoral artery occlusion (FAO) and represents a mediator of endogenous neuroprotection. More importantly, we showed that MTF-1 translocates to the nucleus where it binds the metal responsive element (MRE) located at −23/−17 bp of Ncx1 brain promoter thus activating its transcription and inducing an upregulation of NCX1 that has been demonstrated to be neuroprotective. Furthermore, RLIP restored MTF-1 and NCX1 protein levels in the ischemic rat brain cortex and the silencing of MTF-1 prevented the increase of NCX1 observed in RLIP protected rats, thus demonstrating a direct regulation of NCX1 by MTF-1 in the ischemic cortex of rat exposed to tMCAO followed by FAO. Moreover, silencing of MTF-1 significantly reduced the neuroprotective effect elicited by RLIP as demonstrated by the enlargement of brain infarct volume observed in rats subjected to RLIP and treated with MTF-1 silencing. Overall, MTF-dependent activation of NCX1 and their upregulation elicited by RLIP, besides unraveling a new molecular pathway of neuroprotection during brain ischemia, might represent an additional mechanism to intervene in stroke pathophysiology

Identification of microplastics using 4-dimethylamino-4′-nitrostilbene solvatochromic fluorescence

In this work, we introduce the use of 4-dimethylamino-4′-nitrostilbene (DANS) fluorescent dye for applications in the detection and analysis of microplastics, an impendent source of pollution made of synthetic organic polymers with a size varying from less than 5 mm to nanometer scale. The use of this dye revealed itself as a versatile, fast and sensitive tool for readily discriminate microplastics in water environment. The experimental evidences herein presented demonstrate that DANS efficiently absorbs into a variety of polymers constituting microplastics, and its solvatochromic properties lead to a positive shift of the fluorescence emission spectrum according to the polarity of the polymers. Therefore, under UV illumination, microplastics glow a specific emission spectrum from blue to red that allows for a straightforward polymer identification. In addition, we show that DANS staining gives access to different detection and analysis strategies based on fluorescence microscopy, from simple epifluorescence fragments visualization, to confocal microscopy and phasor approach for plastic components quantification

New Insight on Medieval Painting in Sicily: The Virgin Hodegetria Panel in Monreale Cathedral (Palermo, Italy)

: The Virgin Hodegetria, located in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Nuova in Monreale, near Palermo (Italy), probably dating the first half of the 13th century, is one of the earliest examples of medieval panel painting in Sicily. A diagnostic campaign was carried out on the panel aiming to identify the constituting materials and the executive technique, as well as to assess the state of conservation for supporting the methodological choice of the restoration intervention. Both non invasive (X-ray radiography, digital microscope, multispectral imaging, ED-X-ray fluorescence) and micro-invasive (polarised light microscopy, ESEM-EDX, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy) analyses were performed. According to the results, the executive technique followed the 13th–14th-century Italian painting tradition. A complex structure was applied on the wooden support, consisting of a double layer of canvas and several ground layers of gypsum and glue based binder. The underdrawing was made by a brush using carbonaceous black pigment. The original palette includes red ochre, red lead, azurite, carbon black and bone black. During the several restorations, mercury-based red, indigo, smalt blue, orpiment and synthetic mars were used. The original silver leaf of the frame was covered with red tin-based lake and subsequently regilded with gold leaf. Proteinaceous and oil binders were also detecte

Design, Synthesis and Catalytic Activity of (Cyclopentadienone)iron Complexes Containing a Stereogenic Plane and a Stereogenic Axis

Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of several chiral (cyclopentadienone)iron complexes (CICs) featuring either two (R)-BINOL-derived stereoaxes or a combination of one (R)-BINOL-derived stereoaxis and a stereogenic plane. The stereoplane-containing CICs were obtained as epimer mixtures, which were separated by flash column chromatography and assigned an absolute configuration based on XRD analysis, NMR and order of elution. The library was tested in the asymmetric hydrogenation of ketones showing good catalytic activity and a moderate stereoselectivity which, notably, is mostly imparted by the stereogenic plane. Indeed, the two epimers of each CIC possessing a stereoplane show opposite and equally strong stereochemical preference.Winning plane: chiral (cyclopentadienone)iron complexes (CICs) featuring a combination of an (R)-BINOL-derived stereoaxis and a stereogenic plane were synthesized in diastereoisomerically pure form, characterized and tested in the asymmetric hydrogenation of ketones. The new CICs showed good catalytic activity and, remarkably, the stereoplane epimers displayed similar and opposite stereochemical preference

Printing zno inks: From principles to devices

Solution-based printing approaches permit digital designs to be converted into physical objects by depositing materials in a layer-by-layer additive fashion from microscale to nanoscale resolution. The extraordinary adaptability of this technology to different inks and substrates has received substantial interest in the recent literature. In such a context, this review specifically focuses on the realization of inks for the deposition of ZnO, a well-known wide bandgap semiconductor inorganic material showing an impressive number of applications in electronic, optoelectronic, and piezoelectric devices. Herein, we present an updated review of the latest advancements on the ink formulations and printing techniques for ZnO-based nanocrystalline inks, as well as of the major applications which have been demonstrated. The most relevant ink-processing conditions so far explored will be correlated with the resulting film morphologies, showing the possibility to tune the ZnO ink composition to achieve facile, versatile, and scalable fabrication of devices of different natures

Transoral robotic surgery in the management of head and neck tumours.

The article reviews the use of robotic technology for head and neck tumours. The authors discuss the development of transoral robotic surgery (TORS), the current status of the technology, and the set-up in the operating room. The article provides a review of the literature, highlighting the applications, advantages, functional outcomes, and disadvantages of TORS for each anatomic subsite (oropharynx, hypopharynx, larynx, parapharyngeal space, and skull base). New challenges related to reconstruction are also presented. Overall early functional and oncologic outcome data are promising; further long-term prospective trials are still needed to confirm the oncological safety of TORS. Copyright

sodium calcium exchanger as main effector of endogenous neuroprotection elicited by ischemic tolerance

Abstract The ischemic tolerance (IT) paradigm represents a fundamental cell response to certain types or injury able to render an organ more "tolerant" to a subsequent, stronger, insult. During the 16th century, the toxicologist Paracelsus described for the first time the possibility that a noxious event might determine a state of tolerance. This finding was summarized in one of his most important mentions: "The dose makes the poison". In more recent years, ischemic tolerance in the brain was first described in 1991, when it was demonstrated by Kirino and collaborators that two minutes of subthreshold brain ischemia in gerbils produced tolerance against global brain ischemia. Based on the time in which the conditioning stimulus is applied, it is possible to define preconditioning, perconditioning and postconditioning, when the subthreshold insult is applied before, during or after the ischemic event, respectively. Furthermore, depending on the temporal delay from the ischemic event, two different modalities are distinguished: rapid or delayed preconditioning and postconditioning. Finally, the circumstance in which the conditioning stimulus is applied on an organ distant from the brain is referred as remote conditioning. Over the years the "conditioning" paradigm has been applied to several brain disorders and a number of molecular mechanisms taking part to these protective processes have been described. The mechanisms are usually classified in three distinct categories identified as triggers, mediators and effectors. As concerns the putative effectors, it has been hypothesized that brain cells appear to have the ability to adapt to hypoxia by reducing their energy demand through modulation of ion channels and transporters, which delays anoxic depolarization. The purpose of the present review is to summarize the role played by plasmamembrane proteins able to control ionic homeostasis in mediating protection elicited by brain conditioning, particular attention will be deserved to the role played by Na+/Ca2+ exchanger

Sialendoscope-assisted transoral removal of hilo-parenchymal sub-mandibular stones: surgical results and subjective scores=L’asportazione transorale scialoendoscopico-assistita dei calcoli ilo-parenchimali sottomandibolari: Risultati chirurgici e soggettivi

It has been suggested that a conservative trans-oral approach to proximal and hilo-parenchymal submandibular stones (HPSMS) is a valid alternative to the more frequently used sialadenectomy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the surgical, ultrasonographic and patients' subjective outcomes of results of the trans-oral removal of HPSMS. Between January 2003 and September 2015, sialendoscope-assisted trans-oral surgery was used to remove symptomatic, large (> 7 mm), fixed and palpable HPSMS from 479 patients under general anaesthesia. All patients were followed clinically and ultrasonographically to investigate symptom relief and recurrence of stones, and were telephonically interviewed to assess saliva-related subjective outcomes with a questionnaire. Stones were successfully removed from 472 patients (98.5%); the seven failures (1.5%) concerned pure parenchymal stones. One year after the procedure, 408 patients (85.1%) were symptom free, 59 (12.3%) had recurrent obstructive symptoms and 12 (2.6%) had recurrent infections. Of the 54 patients who developed a recurrent stone (11.2%), 52 underwent a second procedure: 29 interventional sialendoscopies, two sialendoscope-assisted intra-corporeal pneumatic lithotripsy, eight secondary trans-oral surgery to remove residual stones, six a cycle of extra-corporeal lithotripsy and seven submandibular sialadenectomy. Most patients (75.2%) reported mild surgery-related pain. The symptoms of 454 patients (94.8%) improved after adjunctive treatment and, at the end of follow-up, the affected gland was preserved in 98.5% of patients. A sialendoscope-assisted trans-oral removal of large HPSMS is a safe, effective, conservative surgical procedure, and functional preservation of the main duct and parenchyma of the obstructed gland allows sialendoscopic access through the natural ostium in case of recurrence. Combining a trans-oral approach with other minimally invasive, conservative procedures ensures symptomatic relief and salivary duct system clearance in the majority of patients