303 research outputs found
Thermal analysis applied to estimation of solidification kinetics of AlâSi aluminium alloys
Evaluation of solidification kinetics by thermal analysis is a useful tool for quality control of AlâSi melts before pouring provided it is rapid and highly reproducible. Series of thermal analysis records made with standard cups are presented that show good reproducibility. They are evaluated using a Newtonâs like approach to get the instantaneous heat evolution and from it solidification kinetics. An alternative way of calculating the zero line is proposed which is validated by the fact that the latent heat of solidification thus evaluated is within 5% of the value calculated from thermodynamic data. Solidification kinetics was found highly reproducible provided appropriate experimental conditions were achieved: high enough casting temperature for the cup to heat up to the metal temperature well before solidification starts; and equal and homogeneous temperatures of the metal and of the cup at any time in the temperature range used for integration
Challenges and opportunities on lipid metabolism disorders diagnosis and therapy: Novel insights and future perspective
Dyslipidemia has been globally recognized, for almost seven decades, as one of the most important risk factors for the development and complications of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) [...]
Crispr gene editing in lipid disorders and atherosclerosis: Mechanisms and opportunities
Elevated circulating concentrations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) have been conclusively demonstrated in epidemiological and intervention studies to be causally associated with the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Enormous advances in LDL-C reduction have been achieved through the use of statins, and in recent years, through drugs targeting proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), a key regulator of the hepatic LDL-receptor. Existing approaches to PCSK9 targeting have used monoclonal antibodies or RNA interference. Although these approaches do not require daily dosing, as statins do, repeated subcutaneous injections are nevertheless necessary to maintain effectiveness over time. Recent experimental studies suggest that clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) gene-editing targeted at PCSK9 may represent a promising tool to achieve the elusive goal of a âfire and forgetâ lifelong approach to LDL-C reduction. This paper will provide an overview of CRISPR technology, with a particular focus on recent studies with relevance to its potential use in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
Static kinematics for an antagonistically actuated robot based on a beam-mechanics-based model
Soft robotic structures might play a major role in
the 4th industrial revolution. Researchers have successfully
demonstrated advantages of soft robotics over traditional
robots made of rigid links and joints in several application
areas including manufacturing, healthcare and surgical
interventions. However, soft robots have limited ability to exert
higher forces when it comes to interaction with the
environment, hence, change their stiffness on demand over a
wide range. One stiffness mechanism embodies tendon-driven
and pneumatic air actuation in an antagonistic way achieving
variable stiffness values. In this paper, we apply a beammechanics-based
model to this type of soft stiffness controllable
robot. This mathematical model takes into account the various
stiffness levels of the soft robotic manipulator as well as
interaction forces with the environment at the tip of the
manipulator. The analytical model is implemented into a
robotic actuation system made of motorised linear rails with
load cells (obtaining applied forces to the tendons) and a
pressure regulator. Here, we present and analyse the
performance and limitations of our model
Spin Textures of Polariton Condensates in a Tunable Microcavity with Strong Spin-Orbit Interaction
We report an extended family of spin textures in coexisting modes of zero-dimensional polariton condensates spatially confined in tunable open microcavity structures. The coupling between photon spin and angular momentum, which is enhanced in the open cavity structures, leads to new eigenstates of the polariton condensates carrying quantised spin vortices. Depending on the strength and anisotropy of the cavity confinement potential and the strength of the spin-orbit coupling, which can be tuned via the excitonic/photonic fractions, the condensate emissions exhibit either spin-vortex-like patterns or linear polarization, in good agreement with theoretical modelling
Personalized management of dyslipidemias in patients with diabetes-it is time for a new approach (2022)
Dyslipidemia in patients with type 2 diabetes (DMT2) is one of the worst controlled worldwide, with only about 1/4 of patients being on the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) target. There are many reasons of this, including physicians' inertia, including diabetologists and cardiologists, therapy nonadherence, but also underusage and underdosing of lipid lowering drugs due to unsuitable cardiovascular (CV) risk stratification. In the last several years there is a big debate on the risk stratification of DMT2 patients, with the strong indications that all patients with diabetes should be at least at high cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Moreover, we have finally lipid lowering drugs, that not only allow for the effective reduction of LDL-C and do not increase the risk of new onset diabetes (NOD), and/or glucose impairment; in the opposite, some of them might effectively improve glucose control. One of the most interesting is pitavastatin, which is now available in Europe, with the best metabolic profile within statins (no risk of NOD, improvement of fasting blood glucose, HOMA-IR, HbA1c), bempedoic acid (with the potential for the reduction of NOD risk), innovative therapies-PCSK9 inhibitors and inclisiran with no DMT2 risk increase, and new forthcoming therapies, including apabetalone and obicetrapib-for the latter one with the possibility of even decreasing the number of patients diagnosed with prediabetes and DMT2. Altogether, nowadays we have possibility to individualize lipid lowering therapy in DMT2 patients and increase the number of patients on LDL-C goal without any risk of new onset diabetes and/or diabetes control worsening, and in consequence to reduce the risk of CVD complications due to progression of atherosclerosis in this patients' group
CRISPR Gene Editing in Lipid Disorders and Atherosclerosis: Mechanisms and Opportunities
Elevated circulating concentrations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) have been conclusively demonstrated in epidemiological and intervention studies to be causally associated with the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Enormous advances in LDL-C reduction have been achieved through the use of statins, and in recent years, through drugs targeting proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), a key regulator of the hepatic LDL-receptor. Existing approaches to PCSK9 targeting have used monoclonal antibodies or RNA interference. Although these approaches do not require daily dosing, as statins do, repeated subcutaneous injections are nevertheless necessary to maintain effectiveness over time. Recent experimental studies suggest that clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) gene-editing targeted at PCSK9 may represent a promising tool to achieve the elusive goal of a âfire and forgetâ lifelong approach to LDL-C reduction. This paper will provide an overview of CRISPR technology, with a particular focus on recent studies with relevance to its potential use in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
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Spatial patterns of dissipative polariton solitons in semiconductor microcavities
We report propagating bound microcavity polariton soliton arrays consisting of multipeak structures
either along (x) or perpendicular (y) to the direction of propagation. Soliton arrays of up to five solitons are
observed, with the number of solitons controlled by the size and power of the triggering laser pulse. The
breakup along the x direction occurs when the effective area of the trigger pulse exceeds the characteristic
soliton size determined by polariton-polariton interactions. Narrowing of soliton emission in energymomentum
space indicates phase locking between adjacent solitons, consistent with numerical modeling
which predicts stable multihump soliton solutions. In the y direction, the breakup originates from
inhomogeneity across the wave front in the transverse direction which develops into a stable array only in
the solitonic regime via phase-dependent interactions of propagating fronts
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