Experimental Validation of Optical Simulation for Complex Building Integrated Photovoltaic System.

Simulation of BIPV system performance is usually based on a Plane-Of-Array method, adopted from classical PV plant systems, to estimate power generation. This methods is very limited for simulating facades in complex urban environments, such as dense urban areas, as it uses simplified near-field shading to estimate system losses. Furthermore, this approach accounts only for PV electricity yield generation, while neglecting other architectural criteria like daylighting, especially important in case of semi transparent PV facade. For the purposes of complex BIPV facades, other methods, such as ray tracing, are more preferable. Therefore, this research aims to estimate capabilities and accuracy of RADIANCE ray tracing engine to calculate daylighting and irradiance on PV surface. Validation procedure has been carried out for complex BIPV façade module, composed of complex profiled glass tile and semi-transparent Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. Results showed reasonably good agreement between simulation and experimental measurements, which proves that method is capable for being used for the general purposes of complex BIPV systems

Pautas para la investigación de los orígenes históricos de la Policía en Argentina

En los puntos que siguen se describen una serie de parámetros -susceptibles, claro está, de ser ampliados y corregidos- que se considera son insoslayables a la hora de encarar el estudio histórico de “la policía”. El entrecomillado que se utiliza para el término “la policía” se debe a que nada permite dar por sentado que cuando se hace referencia a ella, todos los interlocutores entiendan el concepto de la misma manera. Por ello, en primer lugar, se propone fijar una postura ideológica frente a la temática, lo que implica, a la vez, descartar fundadamente ciertas posturas que impiden, como se verá, afrontar la tarea de investigar los orígenes históricos de “la policía”. En segundo lugar, a través del ejemplo de dos obras teóricas clásicas, se repasa y explica la vinculación de lo policial con el derecho administrativo y la posterior vinculación, ya definitiva, con el derecho penal. En tercer lugar, y teniendo como objetivo la historia de “la policía” en Argentina, se torna necesario, como paso previo, la investigación de los modelos policiales surgidos en Francia e Inglaterra -con sus respectivos antecedentes- en tanto pioneros en la materia, ya que influyeron de manera determinante en la conformación de la estructura policial de no pocos países.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

In Vitro Study of the Proliferation of MG63 Cells Cultured on Five Different Titanium Surfaces

The use of dental implants for prosthetic rehabilitation in dentistry is based on the concept of osteointegration. This concept enables the clinical stability of the implants and a total absence of inflammatory tissue between the implant surface and the bone tissue. For this reason, it is essential to understand the role of the titanium surface in promoting and maintaining or not maintaining contact between the bone matrix and the surface of the titanium implant. Materials and Methods: Five types of titanium discs placed in contact with osteoblast cultures of osteosarcomas were studied. The materials had different roughness. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) photos were taken before the in vitro culture to analyze the surfaces, and at the end of the culturing time, the different gene expressions of a broad pattern of proteins were evaluated to analyze the osteoblast response, as indicated in the scientific literature. Results: It was demonstrated that the responses of the osteoblasts were different in the five cultures in contact with the five titanium discs with different surfaces; in particular, the response in the production of some proteins was statistically significant. Discussion: The key role of titanium surfaces underlines how it is still possible to carry out increasingly accurate and targeted studies in the search for new surfaces capable of stimulating a better osteoblastic response and the long-term maintenance of osteointegration

Fracture toughness of injection moulded organoclay reinforced polypropylene composites

The fracture behavior of polypropylene reinforced with different amounts of PP/50% organoclay masterbatch was studied. Test pieces were prepared using a two-gated hot runner injection mould. Morphology of final pieces was analyzed by polarized optical microscopy, Xray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Fracture toughness was evaluated under quasi-static conditions at different positions in the molded pieces. The brittle mode of failure of PP became more ductile with increasing the amount of clay. However, the midthickness region (core) of “ductile” samples underwent brittle fracture while the surface layers (skin) behave in a ductile way, exhibiting elongation, necking and ductile tearing, probably due to differences in thickness and crystalline structure found in skin layers of composite pieces. Different Fracture Mechanics approaches were applied to characterize the fracture behavior: fracture toughness initiation value was assessed by means of the stress intensity factor at 5% non-linearity, KIq, and fracture toughness propagation value was obtained by means of the propagation strain energy release rate, Gcp. It was found that fracture initiation neither depends on clay content nor on test piece location. On the other hand, clay reinforcement increased fracture propagation values away from weld line region. This toughening effect was found to be dependent on the clay content and reinforcement orientation induced by the processing technique

The cockayne syndrome B protein is essential for neuronal differentiation and neuritogenesis

Cockayne syndrome (CS) is a progressive developmental and neurodegenerative disorder resulting in premature death at childhood and cells derived from CS patients display DNA repair and transcriptional defects. CS is caused by mutations in csa and csb genes, and patients with csb mutation are more prevalent. A hallmark feature of CSB patients is neurodegeneration but the precise molecular cause for this defect remains enigmatic. Further, it is not clear whether the neurodegenerative condition is due to loss of CSB-mediated functions in adult neurogenesis. In this study, we examined the role of CSB in neurogenesis by using the human neural progenitor cells that have self-renewal and differentiation capabilities. In this model system, stable CSB knockdown dramatically reduced the differentiation potential of human neural progenitor cells revealing a key role for CSB in neurogenesis. Neurite outgrowth, a characteristic feature of differentiated neurons, was also greatly abolished in CSB-suppressed cells. In corroboration with this, expression of MAP2 (microtubule-associated protein 2), a crucial player in neuritogenesis, was also impaired in CSB-suppressed cells. Consistent with reduced MAP2 expression in CSB-depleted neural cells, tandem affinity purification and chromatin immunoprecipitation studies revealed a potential role for CSB in the assembly of transcription complex on MAP2 promoter. Altogether, our data led us to conclude that CSB has a crucial role in coordinated regulation of transcription and chromatin remodeling activities that are required during neurogenesis

Immunoglobulin A Nephropathy. Recurrence After Renal Transplantation

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common primary glomerular disease worldwide. The disease generally runs an indolent course but may lead to ESRD in 20-30% of patients in 20 years or more after diagnosis. Patients with IgA nephropathy are ideal candidates for renal transplant because they are generally relatively young and with few comorbidities. Their graft survival is better or comparable to that of controls at 10 years, though few data are available after 10 years of follow-up. Recurrence of the original disease in the graft is a well-known complication of transplant in IgAN and is a significant cause of deterioration of graft function. Recurrent IgAN rarely manifests clinically before 3 years post transplantation. Recurrence rate is estimated to be around 30% with considerable differences among different series. Despite these factors there is no certain recurrence predictor, young age at renal transplant, rapid progression of the original disease and higher levels of circulating galactose-deficient IgA1 and IgA-IgG immune complexes are all associated with a higher rate of recurrence. Which pathogenetic mechanisms are responsible for the progression of the recurrence to graft function deterioration, and what therapy can prevent or slow down the progression of the disease in the graft, are open questions. The aim of this review is to describe the clinical outcome of renal transplantation in IgA patients with attention to the rate and the predictors of recurrence and to discuss the available therapeutic options for the management of recurrence

A phase II study of sequential chemotherapy with docetaxel after the weekly PELF regimen in advanced gastric cancer. A report from the Italian group for the study of digestive tract cancer

In advanced gastric cancer, we investigated feasibility and activity of sequential chemotherapy with docetaxel after an intensive weekly regimen consisting of cisplatin, epidoxorubicin, fluorouracil, leucovorin (PELF) plus filgrastim. Chemotherapy-naive patients with relapsed or metastatic gastric cancer received 8 weekly administrations of chemotherapy with cisplatin 40 mg/m2, fluorouracil 500 mg/m2,epi-doxorubicin 35 mg/m2, 6S-steroisomer of leucovorin 250 mg/m2and glutathione 1.5 g/m2. On the other days filgrastim 5 μg kg–1was administered by subcutanous injection. Subsequently, patients with partial response or stable disease received 3 cycles of docetaxel 100 mg/m2every 3 weeks. 40 patients have been enrolled and they are evaluable for response and toxicity. After the PELF regimen, 3 patients achieved complete response, 13 patients showed partial response, 21 patients had stable disease and 3 patients progressed (40% response rate; 95% CI 25% to 55%). After docetaxel, 9 out 34 patients improved the outcome (26.5%); 7 patients with stable disease achieved partial response and 2 patients with partial response achieved complete response. The overall response rate in the 40 patients was 57.5% (95% CI, 42.5% to 72.5%). The PELF regimen did not cause any grade IV toxicity, the most frequent grade III acute side-effects were thrombocytopenia and vomiting which occurred in the 10% of 320 PELF cycles. Docetaxel caused grade III–IV neutropenia and thrombocytopenia in the 10% and the 19% of cycles respectively. Fatigue was a frequent side-effect during both PELF and docetaxel chemotherapy. The sequential application of docetaxel after PELF chemotherapy gained major objective responses with manageable toxicity. This strategy is worth of further investigation in the setting of palliative or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

Complexing the Marine Sesquiterpene Euplotin C by Means of Cyclodextrin-Based Nanosponges: A Preliminary Investigation

Euplotin C is a sesquiterpene of marine origin endowed with significant anti-microbial and anti-tumor properties. Despite the promising functional profile, its progress as a novel drug candidate has failed so far, due to its scarce solubility and poor stability in aqueous media, such as biological fluids. Therefore, overcoming these limits is an intriguing challenge for the scientific community. In this work, we synthesized β-cyclodextrin-based nanosponges and investigated their use as colloidal carriers for stably complex euplotin C. Results obtained proved the ability of the carrier to include the natural compound, showing remarkable values of both loading efficiency and capacity. Moreover, it also allowed us to preserve the chemical structure of the loaded compound, which was recovered unaltered once extracted from the complex. Therefore, the use of β-cyclodextrin-based nanosponges represents a viable option to vehiculate euplotin C, thus opening up its possible use as pharmacologically active compound