Sea-Level Change along the Emilia-Romagna Coast from Tide Gauge and Satellite Altimetry

Coastal flooding and retreat are markedly enhanced by sea-level rise. Thus, it is crucial to determine the sea-level variation at the local scale in order to support coastal hazard assessment and related management policies. In this work we focus on sea-level change along the Emilia-Romagna coast, a highly urbanized, 130 km-long belt facing the Northern Adriatic Sea, by analysing data from three tide gauges (with data records in the last 25-10 years) and related closest grid points from ESA_CCI monthly gridded satellite altimetry. The results reveal that the rate of sea-level rise observed by altimetry is coherent along the coast (2.8 \ub1 0.5 mm/yr) for the period 1993-2019 and that a negative acceleration of -0.3 \ub1 0.1 mm/yr is present, in contrast with the global scale. Rates resulting from tide gauge time series analysis diverge from these values mainly in consequence of a large and heterogeneous rate of subsidence in the region. Over the common time span, altimetry and tide gauge data show very high correlation, although their comparison suffers from the short overlapping period between the two data sets. Nevertheless, their combined use allows to assess the recent (last 25 years) sea-level change along the Emilia-Romagna coast and to discuss the role of different interacting processes in the determination of the local sea level

Mecanismo de producción de radicales libres en la diabetes: Importancia de la xantina oxidasa e implicación del factor nuclear-KB

RESUMEN Un previo trabajo de nuestro grupo demostró que la expresión y la actividad de la xantina oxidasa (XO), generan súper oxido en hígado y plasma de animales diabéticos y que esto aumenta el stress oxidativo en esta enfermedad. El objetivo de esta tesis doctoral fue el estudio del role de los radicales libres (ERON) generados por la XO en la activación de la cascada de señalización del factor nuclear- κB (NF-κB) a corto plazo y de la inflamación a largo plazo asociado al daño de la diabetes. En el citoplasma p-IKKΒ y p-IκBα están incrementadas en los animales diabéticos. Estos acompañan en el estrato nuclear de hígado de los animales diabéticos de un incremento de NF-κB (la proteina p65). Medimos la expresión hepática de iNOS y COX-2 que están reguladas por el incremento por el factor de trascripción -κB La diabetes induce la activación de NF-kB, la cascada de señalización y por consecuencia la sobra expresión de enzimas inflamatorios. Estos incrementos fueron eliminados con la administración de alopurinol. Hemos visto también un aumento de infiltración de neutrofilos en hígado de animales diabéticos y de presencia en el órgano de muerte celular. En plasma también hemos comprobado un aumento de ALT en los animales diabeticos. A la luz de los resultados obtenidos, podemos extraer las conclusiones que se enumeran a continuación: - El mecanismo de formación de radicales libres en un modelo de diabetes experimental a corto plazoimplica la activación de la xantina oxidasa. La inhibición de la enzima con alopurinol tiene un efecto protector frente al incremento en la oxidación del glutatión sanguíneo y hepático, frente a los niveles de lipoperóxidos y frente al incremento en los oxisteroles en el hígado de los animales diabéticos. - El mecanismo de formación de radicales libres en un modelo de diabetes experimental a largo plazo (28 días) no sólo implica la activación de la enzima xantina oxidasa. Otros mecanismos deben estar implicados. - La diabetes inducida con estreptozotocina provoca un aumento en el marcador de daño hepático alanina aminotransferasa en plasma, y en las áreas de necrosis determinadas mediante tinción con hematoxilina-eosina. La administración de alopurinol previene ambas alteraciones. - La administración de alopurinol no modifica los criterios diagnósticos de la enfermedad: glucosuria o hemoglobina glicosilada, en ninguno de los modelos utilizados (corto y largo plazo). - La vía de señalización de NF-κB se activa en la diabetes experimental. La administración de alopurinol previene la activación de la cascada de señalización de NF-κB. - La administración de alopurinol previene la expresión génica asociada a la activación del factor de transcripción NF-κB. Los niveles citosólicos de iNOS y COX-2 aumentan de forma significativa en el hígado de los animales diabéticos. La administración de alopurinol previene dicho incremento de forma significativa. - La diabetes inducida con estreptozotocina provoca un aumento significativo de la infiltración de neutrófilos y en los niveles de las citocinas pro-inflamatorias IL-6 y IL- 1β en el tejido hepático. Estas modificaciones se previenen de forma significativa con la administración de alopurinol únicamente en el modelo a corto plazo. - La administración de alopurinol puede tener un efecto positivo en la prevención de las complicaciones relacionadas con el estrés oxidativo en la diabetes experimental inducida con estreptozotocina, especialmente en las fases iniciales de la enfermedad. Esta tisis abre la posibilidad de tratar la inflamación a largo plazo y las complicaciones diabéticas con alopurinol __________________________________________________________________________________________________Previous work from our laboratory showed that the expression and activity of xanthine oxidase, a superoxide generating enzyme, increases in the liver and plasma of diabetic animals and that this is a significant cause of the oxidative stress which occurs in the disease. The aim of this work was to study the role of ROS generated by XO in the activation of cell signalling pathways leading to inflammation and to long term damage associated to diabetes. Cytosolic phospho-IKKβ and phospho-IκBα contents were increased in the diabetic animals. This was accompanied with increased levels of NF-κB (p65 protein content) in liver nuclear extracts. Subsequently the hepatic expression of two inflammatory enzymes, iNOS and COX 2, that are regulated by NF-κB was increased. The diabetes-induced activation of NF-κB signaling cascade and subsequent overexpression of inflammatory enzymes was abolished by administration of allopurinol. Moreover we found an increase in neutrophil infiltration in the liver of diabetic animals and even some level of hepatic necrosis (evidenced by histological examination as well as by an increase in the plasma activity of alanine amino transferase). This was also prevented by administration of allopurinol. These studies open up the possibility of treating inflammatory long term complications of diabetes with allopurinol

Identification by GC-MS Analysis of Organics in Manufactured Articles through a D-Optimal Design

Many manufactured articles are made of composite materials often bonded by a phenolic resin. Through a D-optimal design, we optimized a method to characterize phenolic resins after the extraction process by GC-MS analysis. The study was conducted on three different phenolic resins and four manufactured articles with the same inorganic composition and different analyzed binders. Moreover, three cardanol resins that differ in their production systems were analyzed to see if there were differences between them. Through Soxhlet extraction with dichloromethane or acetone, it is possible to differentiate the raw materials through characteristic compounds and to identify them in the manufactured articles

Simulation of Energy Savings in Automotive Coatings Processes

Recently, the automakers have become more and more aware of the environmental and economic impact of their manufacturing processes. The paint shop is the largest energy user in a vehicle manufacturing plant, and one way to reduce costs and energy usage is the optimization of this area. This project aims at providing a tool to model and simulate a paint shop, in order to run and analyze some scenarios and case studies, helping to take strategic decisions. Analytical computations and real data were merged to build a tool that can be used by FCA for their Sterling Heights plant. Convection and conduction heat losses were modeled for the dip processes and the ovens. Thermal balances were used to compute the consumptions of booths, decks and ovens, while pump and fan energy consumptions were modeled for each sub-process. The user acts on a calendar, scheduling a year of production, and the model predicts the energy consumption of the paint shop. Five scenarios were run to test different conditions and the influence of scheduling on the energy consumption. Two different sets of production schedules have been evaluated, the first one fulfilling the production requirement in one shift of 10 hours, at high rate, the second one using two 7-hour-long shifts at medium production rate. It was found that the unit cost was minimized in the warmest months of spring and fall, and system shutdown was a crucial factor to reduce energy consumption. A fifth hypothetical scenario was run, with a 4 month continuous production and an 8 month total shutdown, which reduced the energy consumption to a half of the best realistic scenario. When the plant was run in a two-shifts configuration, the cost to coat a vehicle was found to be $29 with weekend shutdown, and$39 without. In the one-shift configuration, the cost was slightly higher, but the difference was less than 5%. While the fifth scenario showed a consistent reduction of the unit cost, inventory and logistic expenses deriving from the production strategy make this scenario almost impossible to realize. A sensitivity analysis was run on several parameters influencing the energy consumption of the paint shop, and the booths set point temperature was found to be the most significant factor

Effect of dynamic range of motion and static stretching techniques on flexibility, strength and jump performance in female gymnasts

The aim of this study was to determine the long term effect of dynamic range of motion (DROM) stretching technique and static stretching (SS) on hip range of motion (ROM), hip isometric strength and vertical jump performance in female gymnasts. In a randomized controlled trial eighteen gymnasts (age 13 ± 2 years) were assigned to a DROM group (n= 9) or SS group (n=9 ). Participants were assessed at baseline and again at completion of the intervention on: hip extensión (HE), hip flexion (HF), 1RM isometric HF strength, squat jump (SJ) and split leap (SL). Results: DROM group improved statistically from pre- to post-test in right leg HE ROM (13.67 4.7 vs. 21.22 5.2), right leg HF ROM (129.9 9.9 vs. 139.0 10.4), hip isometric strength for the right leg (2.0 1.1 vs. 4.7 1.6) and the left leg (1.7 0.7 vs. 4.1 1.6). Jump performance was not affected by type of stretching. Significance was set at 0.05 (2-tailed) for all analyses. DROM was more effective in improving gymnastic performance variables than SS. Such information may assist in determining the applications of various stretching techniques in flexibility-trained female athletes

Sofosbuvir-based therapy cures hepatitis C virus infection after prior treatment failures in a patient with concurrent lymphoma

We report on the first well-tolerated and successful use of sofosbuvir-based therapy in a patient in whom chronic infection with hepatitis C had preceded the development of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The patient had previously failed numerous attempts to clear the hepatitis C virus with traditional antiviral schedules. We demonstrate that sofosbuvir-based therapy resulted in cure of hepatitis C in a patient who had relapsed during combination therapy with an NS5A inhibitor, an NS3 protease inhibitor and ribavirin, as well as treatment failures to multiple courses of interferon-based therapy. This report also suggests that eradication of hepatitis C virus may result in the short-term prevention of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma relapse. The findings from our case require further validation in future cohorts of patients

The Application of Recovery Strategies in Basketball: A Worldwide Survey

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceived usefulness, actual use and barriers to the implementation of recovery strategies among basketball practitioners. 107 participants (strength and conditioning coaches, sport scientists, performance specialists) from different countries and competitive levels completed an online survey. Most participants rated recovery strategies as either extremely (46%) or very important (49%). Active recovery, massage, foam rolling, and stretching were perceived as most useful (80, 73, 72 and 59% of participants, respectively) and were most frequently adopted (68, 61, 72 and 67%, respectively). Participants mentioned lack of devices and facilities (51%), excessive cost (51%), lack of time (27%), players' negative perception (25%) and lack of sufficient evidence (16%) as barriers to the implementation of recovery strategies. The present findings reveal that some dissociation between scientific evidence and perceived effectiveness was present among the study participants. A possible solution would be to ensure that scientific evidence-based guidelines are followed when considering the application of recovery strategies. Regarding actual use, participants favored easily implementable strategies (e.g. active recovery, stretching), rather than evidence-supported, but expensive and/or impractical strategies (e.g. whole-body cryotherapy). Possible solutions may include the use of practical tools that don't need specific facilities, the development and validation of new low-cost recovery devices, the promotion of players education regarding recovery strategies, and conducting further research to increase the scientific knowledge in the area.The authors would like to thank APFIP (Associazione Preparatori Fisici Italiani Pallacanestro) for the support in the study development and all the practitioners involved in the stud

Phototransformation of the fungicide tebuconazole, and its relevance to sunlit surface freshwaters

The fungicide tebuconazole (TBCZ) is expected to undergo negligible direct photolysis in surface freshwaters, but it can be degraded by indirect photochemistry. TBCZ mainly reacts with hydroxyl radicals and, to a lesser extent, with the triplet states of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (3CDOM*). Indirect photochemistry is strongly affected by environmental conditions, and TBCZ lifetimes of about one week are expected in sunlit surface waters under favourable circumstances (shallow waters with low concentrations of dissolved organic carbon, DOC, during summer). In these cases, the time trend would follow pseudo-first order kinetics (mono-exponential decay). Under less favourable conditions, photoinduced degradation would span over a few or several months, and TBCZ phototransformation would depart from an exponential trend because of seasonally changing sunlight irradiance. The TBCZ phototransformation products should be less toxic than their parent compound,thus photodegradation has potential to decrease the environmental impact of TBCZ. Hydroxylation is a major TBCZ transformation route, due to either radical dotOH attack, or one-electron oxidation sensitised by 3CDOM*, followed by reaction of the oxidised transient with oxygen and water