showing 36 of ~574560 from 574555 documents
Dissipative scaling of step-pool features
2021
Abstract This paper focuses on the dissipative similarity of step-pool units at rill, flume and stream scale. This investigation is carried out using recent advances in open channel flow resistance, applications of close-range photogrammetry to rill erosion, available published data on step-pool features in flumes and streams and a new dataset of measurements in fixed bed step-pool rills. A theoretically-based equation for calculating the Darcy-Weisbach friction factor obtained by integration of a power velocity profile is presented. The scale factor Γ of this power velocity profile, which is included in the flow resistance equation, was previously calibrated (Eq. 10) for mobile bed rills w…
Antimicrobial Resistance and the Spectrum of Pathogens in Dental and Oral-Maxillofacial Infections in Hospitals and Dental Practices in Germany
2021
Data on microbiological profiles in odontogenic infections are scarce. This study aimed to analyze the spectrum of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in clinical isolates from dental and oral-maxillofacial clinical settings in Germany. We analyzed 20,645 clinical isolates (dental practices: n = 5,733; hospitals: n = 14,912) from patients with odontogenic infections using data (2012–2019) from the German Antimicrobial-Resistance-Surveillance (ARS) system. A total of 224 different species from 73 genera were found in clinical isolates from dental practices, and 329 different species from 97 genera were identified in isolates from hospital patients. In both hospitals and dental practices S…
Characterization and Evaluation of Hydrothermal Liquefaction Char from Alkali Lignin in Subcritical Temperatures.
2021
An evaluation of hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) char is investigated in this work. Morphological studies, N2 adsorption behavior, FTIR analysis, thermal behavior, and elemental composition are studied. The HTL char yield showed an increase with higher operating temperatures. It increased from 11.02% to 33% when the temperature increased from 573 K to 623 K. At lower temperatures, the residence time showed an impact on the yield, while close to the critical point, residence time became less impactful. Elemental analysis showed that both higher operating temperatures and longer residence times increased the nitrogen content of the chars from 0.32% to 0.51%. FTIR analysis suggested the char b…
Effect of Design Features and Operating Conditions on the Performance of a Bipolar Membrane-Based Acid/Base Flow Battery
2021
In the context of renewable energy sources, storage systems have been proposed as a solution to the issues related to fluctuations in the production and consumption of electric power. The EU funded BAoBaB project is aimed at developing the Acid/Base Flow battery (AB-FB), an environment-friendly, cost-competitive, grid-scale battery storage system based on the cyclic coupling of Bipolar Membrane ElectroDialysis (BMED) and its reverse, the Bipolar Membrane Reverse ElectroDialysis (BMRED) (Pärnamäe et al., 2020). Bipolar membranes promote catalytically water dissociation, thus allowing the storage of electric power in the form of acidic and alkaline solutions (pH gradient), obtained from their…
The influence of Coulomb interaction screening on the excitons in disordered two-dimensional insulators.
2021
AbstractWe study the joint effect of disorder and Coulomb interaction screening on the exciton spectra in two-dimensional (2D) structures. These can be van der Waals structures or heterostructures of organic (polymeric) semiconductors as well as inorganic substances like transition metal dichalcogenides. We consider 2D screened hydrogenic problem with Rytova–Keldysh interaction by means of so-called fractional Scrödinger equation. Our main finding is that above synergy between screening and disorder either destroys the exciton (strong screening) or promote the creation of a bound state, leading to its collapse in the extreme case. Our second finding is energy levels crossing, i.e. the degen…
Mass Transport in Nanoporous Gold and Correlation with Surface Pores for EC 1 Mechanism: Case of Ascorbic Acid
2021
International audience; Entry for the Table of Contents Playing with the pores: Surface pores size in nanoporous gold modulates the electrode reactions pathways of ascorbic acid. The reaction is largely driven by diffusion when pores are smaller (nanometer). On the contrary, adsorption holds the key role when pores are bigger (micrometer), allowing permeation of molecules in the film volume.
Riannodare passato e presente con le foto d’archivio. Ricostruzione della chiesa delle Stimmate di Palermo
2021
La restituzione prospettica è stata pressoché ignorata nelle ricerche incentrate sulla ricostruzione di architetture e contesti urbani da foto d’archivio, a causa dell’ampio margine di approssimazione che caratterizzava il processo di restituzione condotto con gli strumenti tradizionali del disegno. Gli strumenti digitali per la rappresentazione riducono sensibilmente il margine di approssimazione e permettono di ricostruire direttamente nello spazio tridimensionale le opere che compaiono in una singola immagine fotografica. Il caso studio prescelto è la chiesa delle Stimmate di Palermo, demolita alla fine del XIX secolo per la costruzione del teatro Massimo, principale teatro lirico della …
Optogenetically Controlled Activity Pattern Determines Survival Rate of Developing Neocortical Neurons
2021
A substantial proportion of neurons undergoes programmed cell death (apoptosis) during early development. This process is attenuated by increased levels of neuronal activity and enhanced by suppression of activity. To uncover whether the mere level of activity or also the temporal structure of electrical activity affects neuronal death rates, we optogenetically controlled spontaneous activity of synaptically-isolated neurons in developing cortical cultures. Our results demonstrate that action potential firing of primary cortical neurons promotes neuronal survival throughout development. Chronic patterned optogenetic stimulation allowed to effectively modulate the firing pattern of single ne…
Redox-related biomarkers in physical exercise
2021
Research in redox biology of exercise has made considerable advances in the last 70 years. Since the seminal study of George Pake's group calculating the content of free radicals in skeletal muscle in resting conditions in 1954, many discoveries have been made in the field. The first section of this review is devoted to highlight the main research findings and fundamental changes in the exercise redox biology discipline. It includes: i) the first steps in free radical research, ii) the relation between exercise and oxidative damage, iii) the redox regulation of muscle fatigue, iv) the sources of free radicals during muscle contractions, and v) the role of reactive oxygen species as regulato…
Incidence et caractéristiques des hémopathies malignes au cours de l’artérite à cellules géantes
2021
Introduction L’arterite a cellules geantes (ACG) est une vascularite du sujet âge au cours de laquelle les cellules mononucleees jouent un role physiopathologique majeur. L’hematopoiese clonale est un phenomene dont la frequence augmente egalement avec l’âge et qui conduit a l’apparition de mutations responsables de la survenue d’hemopathies malignes (HM) ou de mutations des cellules effectrices de l’immunite responsables de pathologies inflammatoires. Notre hypothese est qu’il existe une association specifique entre certaines HM et l’ACG. Nous avons pu etudier cette hypothese en croisant les donnees du registre des hemopathies de Cote d’Or (RHEMCO) et celles de tous les laboratoires d’anat…
The Eveningness Chronotype and Lower Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Are Associated With Depressive Symptoms in Older Subjects With Metabolic Syn…
2021
OBJECTIVES: Studies have shown the importance of depression as a risk factor for several diseases. Likewise, currently there is great interest on the role of chronotype in depressive disorders. Similarly, associations between diet and depression have been reported. However, very few studies have analyzed the combined effect of diet and chronotype on depression. Our aim was to investigated the joint influence of the morning/evening chronotype and adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) on depressive symptoms in older subjects with metabolic syndrome. METHODS: We analyzed 465 PREDIMED Plus-Valencia study participants (aged 55–75). We assessed depressive symptoms by the Beck Depression In…
Absence Seizure Detection Algorithm for Portable EEG Devices
2021
Absence seizures are generalized nonmotor epileptic seizures with abrupt onset and termination. Transient impairment of consciousness and spike-slow wave discharges (SWDs) in EEG are their characteristic manifestations. This type of seizure is severe in two common pediatric syndromes: childhood (CAE) and juvenile (JAE) absence epilepsy. The appearance of low-cost, portable EEG devices has paved the way for long-term, remote monitoring of CAE and JAE patients. The potential benefits of this kind of monitoring include facilitating diagnosis, personalized drug titration, and determining the duration of pharmacotherapy. Herein, we present a novel absence detection algorithm based on the propert…
Correspondence re Piombino-Mascali et al on Mummy Research, Ethics and Editorial Comments
2021
Dimensions of Community Assets for Health. A Systematised Review and Meta-Synthesis
2021
Since Aaron Antonovsky’s salutogenesis theory and Morgan and Ziglio’s health assets model were first proposed, there has been a growing concern to define the resources available to the individual and the community to maintain or improve health and well-being. The aim of the present study was to identify the dimensions that characterise community assets for health. To this end, we conducted a systematised review with a meta-synthesis and content analysis of research or projects involving asset mapping in the community. Articles that met our eligibility criteria were: (1) based on the salutogenic approach and (2) described an assets mapping process and among their results, explained what, how…
Diving below the spin-down limit: Constraints on gravitational waves from the energetic young pulsar PSR J0537-6910
2021
We present a search for continuous gravitational-wave signals from the young, energetic X-ray pulsar PSR J0537-6910 using data from the second and third observing runs of LIGO and Virgo. The search is enabled by a contemporaneous timing ephemeris obtained using NICER data. The NICER ephemeris has also been extended through 2020 October and includes three new glitches. PSR J0537-6910 has the largest spin-down luminosity of any pulsar and is highly active with regards to glitches. Analyses of its long-term and inter-glitch braking indices provided intriguing evidence that its spin-down energy budget may include gravitational-wave emission from a time-varying mass quadrupole moment. Its 62 Hz …
Multiple paths to cold tolerance: the role of environmental cues, morphological traits and the circadian clock gene vrille
2021
AbstractBackgroundTracing the association between insect cold tolerance and latitudinally and locally varying environmental conditions, as well as key morphological traits and molecular mechanisms, is essential for understanding the processes involved in adaptation. We explored these issues in two closely-related species, Drosophila montana and Drosophila flavomontana, originating from diverse climatic locations across several latitudes on the coastal and mountainous regions of North America. We also investigated the association between sequence variation in one of the key circadian clock genes, vrille, and cold tolerance in both species. Finally, we studied the impact of vrille on fly cold…
The Effectiveness of Glutathione Redox Status as a Possible Tumor Marker in Colorectal Cancer
2021
The role of oxidative stress (OS) in cancer is a matter of great interest due to the implication of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their oxidation products in the initiation of tumorigenesis, its progression, and metastatic dissemination. Great efforts have been made to identify the mechanisms of ROS-induced carcinogenesis
SPARC regulation of PMN clearance protects from pristane-induced lupus and rheumatoid arthritis
2021
Summary The secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) is a matricellular protein with unexpected immunosuppressive function in myeloid cells. We investigated the role of SPARC in autoimmunity using the pristane-induced model of lupus that, in mice, mimics human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Sparc−/− mice developed earlier and more severe renal disease, multi-organ parenchymal damage, and arthritis than the wild-type counterpart. Sparc+/- heterozygous mice showed an intermediate phenotype suggesting Sparc gene dosage in autoimmune-related events. Mechanistically, reduced Sparc expression in neutrophils blocks their clearance by macrophages, through defective delivery of don'…
Gli spazi e le attività maschili
2021
The essay explores and presents the activities and spaces reserved for men in the Greek mythical tradition.
Numerical modelling for the diameter increase of silicon crystals grown with the pedestal method
2021
Abstract The pedestal method is one of crucible-free crystal growth methods, that has been less researched than the well-known floating zone (FZ) method. However, the pedestal method may be a cost-effective alternative to FZ, if large diameter feed rods are available. The investigated system contains two electromagnetic inductors: high-frequency inductor for pedestal top surface melting and middle-frequency inductor for pedestal side heating. The present work describes recent advances in numerical modelling of heat transfer and phase boundaries in axially symmetrical approximation, neglecting the melt flow. The shape of high-frequency inductor was optimized with the algorithm of gradient de…
Composition and provenance analysis of beach sands in an almost isolated sedimentary system – A field study of the Galápagos Archipelago
2021
The Galapagos Archipelago is the surface expression of an active hotspot or long-lived mantle plume. The Archipelago consists of a group of 13 main islands which are located in the eastern central Pacific Ocean about 1,000 km west of the northern edge of the South American continent, east of the East Pacific Rise and south of the Galapagos spreading center. Because of the large distance to the nearest continental land mass, Galapagos can be seen as an almost isolated sedimentary system. A provenance study conducted on samples collected from seventeen beaches on eleven islands, demonstrates that mineral grains and particles were derived from weathering of predominantly basaltic rocks and wer…
Dynamic Usage-based Principles in the Development of L2 Finnish Evaluative Constructions
2021
Abstract This study investigates the formal verbalizations of evaluation used by four beginning L2 learners of Finnish from a dynamic usage-based perspective. Longitudinal data collected weekly were used to investigate what kind of constructions learners use to express evaluation and how these interact and develop over time. The results show that when a new construction is acquired in the L2, another related construction might regress. The results also point to increased variability in the construction during a phase of rapid development and reduced variability in the phases of regression or slower progress. These findings add to our understanding of a developing L2 as a system in which cha…
UAV-Aided Multi-Antenna Covert Communication Against Multiple Wardens
2021
In this paper, we propose a UAV-aided covert communication scheme assisted by a multi-antenna jammer to maximize the transmission rate between a ground transmitter and a UAV receiver against several randomly distributed wardens. The transmitter adopts the maximum ratio transmission, while the jammer zero-forces its transmitted signal at the UAV to disturb the monitoring at wardens without interfering the legitimate transmission. First, we analyze the detection performance and derive the optimal threshold for each warden to minimize its detection outage probability (DOP). Then, with the worst situation in which all wardens set their respective optimal thresholds to achieve the minimum global…
A Library-Based Screening Strategy for the Identification of DARPins as Ligands for Receptor-Targeted AAV and Lentiviral Vectors
2021
Delivering genes selectively to the therapeutically relevant cell type is among the prime goals of vector development. Here, we present a high-throughput selection and screening process that identifies designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) optimally suited for receptor-targeted gene delivery using adeno-associated viral (AAV) and lentiviral (LV) vectors. In particular, the process includes expression, purification, and in situ biotinylation of the extracellular domains of target receptors as Fc fusion proteins in mammalian cells and the selection of high-affinity binders by ribosome display from DARPin libraries each covering more than 1012 variants. This way, DARPins specific for the …
Umani ed esistenti: somiglianze e distinzioni di carattere ontologico
2021
Review of Ph. Descola, Oltre natura e cultura, Raffaello Cortina, Milano, 2021
GrailQuest: hunting for atoms of space and time hidden in the wrinkle of Space-Time: A swarm of nano/micro/small-satellites to probe the ultimate str…
2021
AbstractGrailQuest(Gamma Ray Astronomy International Laboratory for QUantum Exploration of Space-Time) is a mission concept based on a constellation (hundreds/thousands) of nano/micro/small-satellites in low (or near) Earth orbits. Each satellite hosts a non-collimated array of scintillator crystals coupled with Silicon Drift Detectors with broad energy band coverage (keV-MeV range) and excellent temporal resolution (≤ 100 nanoseconds) each with effective area$\sim 100 \text {cm}^{2}$∼100cm2. This simple and robust design allows for mass-production of the satellites of the fleet. This revolutionary approach implies a huge reduction of costs, flexibility in the segmented launching strategy, …
Phenotype/Genotype Relationship in Left Ventricular Noncompaction: Ion Channel Gene Mutations Are Associated With Preserved Left Ventricular Systolic…
2021
International audience; Background: Few data exist concerning genotype-phenotype relationships in left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC).Methods and results: From a multicenter French Registry, we report the genetic and clinical spectrum of 95 patients with LVNC, and their genotype-phenotype relationship. Among the 95 LVNC, 45 had at least 1 mutation, including 14 cases of mutation in ion channel genes. In a complementary analysis including 16 additional patients with ion channel gene mutations, for a total of 30 patients with ion channel gene mutation, we found that those patients had higher median LV ejection fraction (60% vs 40%; P < .001) and more biventricular noncompaction (53.1% vs 18…
Impact of Midregional N‐Terminal Pro–Atrial Natriuretic Peptide and Soluble Suppression of Tumorigenicity 2 Levels on Heart Rhythm in Patients Treate…
2021
Background We assessed the impact of preprocedural plasma levels of MRproANP (midregional N‐terminal pro–atrial natriuretic peptide) and sST2 (soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2) on recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) at 1 year after catheter ablation of AF. Methods and Results This was a prospective, multicenter, observational study including patients undergoing catheter ablation of AF. MRproANP and sST2 were measured in a peripheral venous blood preprocedure, and MRproANP was assessed in the right and left atrial blood during ablation. The primary end point was recurrent AF between 3 and 12 months postablation, defined as a documented (>30 seconds) episode of AF, flutter, or a…
Masculine (Low) Digit Ratios Predict Masculine Food Choices in Hungry Consumers
2021
Abstract This study investigated the link between individuals’ 2D:4D digit ratio (a biomarker associated with prenatal testosterone exposure) and their inclination to make masculine food choices. Furthermore, the study investigated whether this potential association would be moderated by consumers’ levels of hunger (vs. satiation). Participants (N = 216; 50% female) made a set of binary food choices between items pretested to be perceived as masculine (vs. feminine) and indicated the lengths of their second (2D) and fourth (4D) digits (i.e., index and ring fingers), which were used to calculate their 2D:4D digit ratios. Additionally, they self-reported their self-perceived gender identity a…
Predicting Lung Deposition of Extrafine Inhaled Corticosteroid-Containing Fixed Combinations in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease U…
2021
Background: Functional respiratory imaging (FRI) is a computational fluid dynamics-based technique using three-dimensional models of human lungs and formulation profiles to simulate aerosol deposition. Methods: FRI was used to evaluate lung deposition of extrafine beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP)/formoterol fumarate (FF)/glycopyrronium bromide (GB) and extrafine BDP/FF delivered through pressurized metered dose inhalers and to compare results with reference gamma scintigraphy data. FRI combined high-resolution computed tomography scans of 20 patients with moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second 42% predicted) with in silico comput…
Genome-wide homozygosity and risk of four non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtypes
2021
Aim: Recessive genetic variation is thought to play a role in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) etiology. Runs of homozygosity (ROH), defined based on long, continuous segments of homozygous SNPs, can be used to estimate both measured and unmeasured recessive genetic variation. We sought to examine genome-wide homozygosity and NHL risk.Methods: We used data from eight genome-wide association studies of four common NHL subtypes: 3061 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), 3814 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), 2784 follicular lymphoma (FL), and 808 marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) cases, as well as 9374 controls. We examined the effect of homozygous variation on risk by: (1) estimating the fraction o…
Nikiforos Vrettakos. Nota bio-bibliografica
2021
About Nikiforos Vrettakos' life and work
Comparative transcriptomics of albino and warningly‐coloured caterpillars
2021
Abstract Coloration is perhaps one of the most prominent adaptations for survival and reproduction of many taxa. Coloration is of particular importance for aposematic species, which rely on their coloring and patterning acting as a warning signal to deter predators. Most research has focused on the evolution of warning coloration by natural selection. However, little information is available for color mutants of aposematic species, particularly at the genomic level. Here, I compare the transcriptomes of albino mutant caterpillars of the aposematic wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis) to those of their full sibs having their distinctive orange‐black warning coloration. The results showed >29…
Data mining, dashboards and statistics: a powerful framework for the chemical design of molecular nanomagnets
2021
Abstract Three decades of intensive research in molecular nanomagnets have brought the magnetic memory in molecules from liquid helium to liquid nitrogen temperature. The enhancement of this operational temperature relies on a wise choice of the magnetic ion and the coordination environment. However, serendipity, oversimplified theories and chemical intuition have played the main role. In order to establish a powerful framework for statistically driven chemical design, we collected chemical and physical data for lanthanide-based nanomagnets to create a catalogue of over 1400 published experiments, developed an interactive dashboard (SIMDAVIS) to visualise the dataset, and applied inferentia…
Elastic Geobarometry for Anisotropic Inclusions in Anisotropic Host Minerals: Quartz-in-Zircon
2021
Current models for elastic geobarometry have been developed with the assumption that the host and/or inclusion minerals are elastically isotropic. This assumption has limited applications of elastic thermobarometry to mineral inclusions contained in cubic quasi-isotropic host minerals (e.g., garnet). Here, we report a new elastic model that takes into account the anisotropic elastic properties and relative crystallographic orientation (RCO) of a host-inclusion system where both minerals are noncubic. This anisotropic elastic model can be used for host-inclusion elastic thermobarometric calculations provided that the RCO and elastic properties of both the host and inclusion are known. We the…
Daily use of high-potency cannabis is associated with more positive symptoms in first-episode psychosis patients: The EU-GEI case-control study
2021
The work was supported by: Clinician Scientist Medical Research Council fellowship (project reference MR/M008436/1) to MDF; the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care South London at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to DQ; DFG Heisenberg professorship (no. 389624707) to UR. National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. The EU-GEI Project is funded by t…