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The text is a report on clinical trials and trial design in the field of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD). It is authored by a large number of researchers and experts in the field. The report provides a comprehensive overview of ongoing clinical trials, trial design considerations, and potential future directions for research in ALS and FTD. It is a valuable resource for library patrons conducting research on these specific topics. [Extracted from the article]

Salmonella pathogenicity island (SPI)-1 is essential for invasion of non-phagocytic cells, whereas SPI-2 is required for intracellular survival and proliferation in phagocytes. Some SPI-1 effectors, however, are induced upon invasion of both phagocytic and non-phagocytic cells, suggesting that they may also be required post-invasion. In the present work, the presence was analysed of SipA, SopA, SopB, SopD and SopE2 effector proteins of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in vitro and in vivo during murine salmonellosis. Tagged (3 x FLAG) strains of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium were inoculated intraperitoneally or intragastrically to BALB/c mice and recovered from the spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes of moribund mice. Tagged proteins were detected by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting with anti-FLAG antibodies. In vitro experiments showed that SPI-1 effector proteins SipA, SopA, SopB, SopD and SopE2 were secreted under SPI-1 conditions. Interestingly, it was found that S. enterica serovar Typhimurium continued to synthesize SipA, SopB, SopD and SopE2 in colonized organs for several days, regardless of the route of inoculation. Together, these results indicate that SPI-1 effector proteins may participate in the late stages of Salmonella infection in mice.

Courtyards are an effective passive strategy for improving the energy performance of buildings. However, there is a lack of accurate simulation tools for their thermal performance due to their complex thermodynamics. This paper's contribution is the coupling of a CFD model with a system of differential equations at the walls, governing surface and inner wall temperatures, providing an accurate computation of courtyard thermal performance. On this basis, boundary conditions for the standard Boussinesq equations governing temperatures, wind velocity, and pressure within the courtyard are established. Modelling results are compared with monitored data in two days of different months in a courtyard in Seville (Spain). Simultaneously, simulations carried out by existing software were performed. Resulting data showed more accuracy than existing tools, with a Root Mean Square Error of 1.19 (August) and 1.59 (October), while the corresponding values with ENVI-met were 3.31-3.4, and with Ladybug Tools 2.59-4.49. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The similarity between x-ray absorption near edge structure and electron energy loss near edge structure is well known. However, “exporting” x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) to the transmission electron microscope (TEM) was considered impossible with present technology since electron probes possessing chirality (i.e., spin polarization) cannot be set up with sufficient intensity. But recently magnetically induced chiral electronic transitions were detected in the TEM. In analogy to XMCD we introduced the term EMCD (energy loss magnetic chiral dichroism). The mechanism builds upon the formal equivalence between the mixed dynamic form factor for inelastic electron scattering and the absorption cross section for x-rays. Experiments on the 3d ferromagnets show effects very similar to XMCD. Calculations based on the WIEN2K package are in good agreement with experiments. The recent improvement in signal strength and spatial resolution allows now to study atom specific spin and orbital moments on a scale of less than 10 nm, an important progress for spintronics and nanomagnetism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers issues of sustainability in the context of spare parts logistics. In particular, the single product replenishment problem is formulated and an optimal order quantity is derived by minimizing a cost function that includes both economic and environmental costs relating to repair and replacement, including the environmental cost of the production of new parts and the disposal of used parts. The optimal means of transport, the optimal repair policy, and the corresponding optimal value of the sustainable economic order quantity (SOQ) are calculated. A numerical example derived from industrial field data is presented to test the model. Results are discussed and compared with classical EOQ model solutions. SOQ values larger than EOQ, slow means of transportation and high repair rates minimize the cost function, while fast means of transportation are identified as the optimal choice only when transport distances are short and spare parts demand is highly variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Airless bodies are subjected to a series of surface alteration processes known as space weathering. This includes solar wind ion and cosmic ray irradiation as well as micro-meteorite impacts [1]. These surface changes can complicate the interpretation of remote-sensing data, hindering the identification of an airless body's surface mineralogy and composition. To investigate this issue, space-weathering processes can be replicated on Earth in a laboratory. In this study, we simulated the effects of the solar-wind component of space-weathering on the surface of carbon-rich small asteroids, such as Ryugu and Bennu [2-3], by bombarding terrestrial hydrated silicates using He+ and Ar+. The ion-bombarded samples were first characterized using IR spectroscopy to probe the effects of space-weathering on spectroscopic surveys and remote-sensing data [4, 5]. The samples were then studied by electron microscopy and associated microanalysis to investigate morphological and physicochemical changes in the space weathered layer. Materials and Methods: Our study was conducted on pellets made from crushed phyllosilicates terrestrial rocks, since hydrated silicates are the main constituents of CM- and CI- type chondrites [6], often used as analogs for Ryugu and Bennu [7, 8]. We chose three phyllosilicates, two serpentines with different Fe/(Fe+Mg) ratio and crystal lattice and an Fe-rich saponite. The pellets were subjected to ion-bombardment at the INGMAR-SIDONIE platform (IASIJCLab), under vacuum (P ~ 10-7 mBar) using 40 keV He+ and Ar+ ions. The maximum reached fluences were 6.1016 ions/cm² for He+ and 2.1016 ions/cm² for Ar+. These corresponds to roughly 1000 to 10 000 years in the inner Solar System. Visible and IR spectroscopy measurements were acquired both under vacuum upon ion bombardment as the ion fluence increased, and ex-situ once the maximum fluence was reached. After spectral characterization, SEM images of the pellets surface were taken, followed by the extraction of FIB sections of the ion-bombarded layers. These FIB sections were then studied by STEM, acquiring HAADF images and EDS data, to probe both morphological and compositional changes in the ion-bombarded layers. Results and Discussion: Spectroscopic measurements showed a variety of behaviors upon ion bombardment. Visible spectroscopy showed darkening for all He+ bombarded samples, coupled with reddening for both serpentines and blueing for the saponite. Visible trends for the Ar+ bombarded samples are less clear. IR spectroscopic measurements showed changes in the position, band area and band asymmetry of the bands at 2.7 μm (hydration band (M)-OHs) and in the silicate spectral region (~10 μm), with one of the main changes being a position shift towards longer wavelength. STEM images and compositional data also showed a variety of behaviors, such as the presence of bubbles with varying shapes and sizes, localized in the ion-bombarded layers. EDS elemental quantification showed important chemical changes in the ion-bombarded layer, such as loss of oxygen - possibly linked to dihydroxylation affecting the silicate - as well as the emergence of a thin SiO2-rich layer located at the surface of some samples. Magnesium depletion is also seen is in multiple samples. Interestingly, no nanophase metallic iron (npFe0) has been detected in our samples. Our analytical pipeline has highlighted spectroscopic changes as well as morphological and compositional changes upon ion-bombardment. We will discuss how these effects are related among themselves, to link nanoscale variations probed by electron microscopy to larger scale spectroscopic behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In December 2020, the Hayabusa2 reentry capsule returned 5.4 g of material from the asteroid Ryugu. A fraction of the collected material was then examined by Initial Analysis Teams. As a part of the Mineralogy / Petrology STONE team, we received ~30 small fragments to study the 3D heterogeneity and the assembly of the different phases. Material and methods: In this study, we will present the results of a muti-analytical sequence applied to nine micrometric Ryugu fragments (ranging from 30 to 80 µm in size), coming from 3 bigger millimetric grains (A0064, C0046, and C0002). These fragments were welded with platinum on metallic needles using FIB (Focus Ion Beam) microscopes in Saclay and Lille [1]. Then, we analyzed these fragments using an IR micro-tomography setup available at the SMIS beamline of the SOLEIL synchrotron (France). Multiple configurations were used: analyses in transmission by Infrared Computed Tomography [2] (IR-CT) and analyses in reflectance by Infrared Surface Imaging [3] (IRSI). Regions of interest with peculiar spectral signatures were identified on the 3D volume and 3-µm thin-slices (~ 15 x 20 x 3 µm³) around these regions were extracted using FIB. They were finally analyzed in 2D with high-resolution IR imaging and SEM-EDX. Average composition: We will present the average IR spectra in the 2.5 - 12.5 µm range both in reflectance and transmission of the 9 small studied fragments. Several grains showed IR signatures at ~ 2.7 µm, 3.0-3.1 µm, 3.4 µm, and 3.9 µm, in a good agreement with the bands identified by NIRS3 or by MicrOmega in the JAXA curation facility [4,5], plus several mid-IR signatures of great interest, such as bands attributed to Si-O stretching in phyllosilicates, and C=O stretching in organics and carbonates. In general, the 2.7 µm feature observed in our data exhibits similar maximum position but is deeper to the one observed with NIRS3. However, we notice a variability of the composition between the 9 fragments, for instance in the intensity of the 2.7 and 3.4 µm features. Study of heterogeneity: The small fragment C0002-FO019, exhibits two regions with very different IR signatures. The difference in the position and the shape of the SiO feature could sign different lithologies affected by various degrees of aqueous alteration. In particular, some spectra show a shoulder at ~ 998 cm-1 which could be due to anhydrous silicate related to a less-altered lithology [6]. The origin of the variation of the 10 µm band (chemical composition, or structural diversity of the mineral) will be discussed. A correlation with the 2.7 µm band will also be presented. Complementary measurements performed with SEM-EDX to better constrain the mineralogy of the surface of the extracted thin-slices will be presented and we will discuss the structural diversity at the scale of ~100 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we investigate the finite-time and asymptotic behaviour of algebraic turbulent mixing-layer models by numerical simulation. We compare the performances given by three different settings of the eddy viscosity. We consider Richardson number-based vertical eddy viscosity models. Two of these are classical algebraic turbulence models usually used in numerical simulations of global oceanic circulation, i.e. the Pacanowski--Philander and the Gent models, while the other one is a more recent model (Bennis et al., 2010) proposed to prevent numerical instabilities generated by physically unstable configurations. The numerical schemes are based on the standard finite element method. We perform some numerical tests for relatively large deviations of realistic initial conditions provided by the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) array. These initial conditions correspond to states close tomixing-layer profiles, measured on the Equatorial Pacific region called the West-Pacific Warm Pool. We conclude that mixing-layer profiles could be considered as kinds of "absorbing configurations" in finite time that asymptotically evolve to steady states under the application of negative surface energy fluxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents research on free-living Hermann's tortoise or Testudo hernmanni, marginated tortoise or Testudo marginata and spur-thighed tortoise or Testudo graeca. It references a study by Roberta Lecis and colleagues published in the same issue of the journal. It examines pathogenic strains of Mycoplasma agassizii and Salmonella species in Meditteranean tortoises in a wildlife center in Sardinia, Italy.

An unusual case of bacteraemia with bilateral pleural effusion caused by Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi in a 10-year-old previously healthy girl is reported. The organism was isolated from pleural fluid aspirate and from blood, and exhibited high-level ciprofloxacin resistance (MIC 16 μg/ml) associated with triple mutations in the QRDRs of the gyrA and parC genes leading to the amino-acid changes Ser83→Phe and Asp87→Asn in gyrA and Ser80→Ile in parC. The patient was successfully treated with parenteral ceftriaxone and intercostal chest tube drainage. The case is notable because of the important issue of antimicrobial resistance in S. Typhi and the therapeutic dilemma faced by clinicians regarding the empirical use of ciprofloxacin and newer fluoroquinolones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To date, there are no studies that have investigated the role of alexithymia in respiratory rehabilitation. We aimed to observe the prevalence of alexithymia in patients attending respiratory rehabilitation and to verify the presence of a difference between alexithymics and non-alexithymics responsiveness to the respiratory rehabilitation standard protocol. Methods. A prospective cohort study evaluating the influence of alexithymia on functional recovery of in-patients afferent to the Respiratory Rehabilitation Unit of IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana. Sixty patients were consecutively enrolled into the study and evaluated for alexithymia, anxiety and depression. Functional recovery was assessed with the six-minute walking test (6MWT). Prior and post-completion of this test dyspnoea, oxygen saturation and cardiac frequency were recorded. Results. Alexithymia was not found to be significantly affecting the functional recovery of participants in respiratory rehabilitation. The distance walked at the 6MWT (6MWD) increased in both alexithymics and non-alexithymics (p(alexithymics) = 0.014; p(non-alexithymics) < 0.0001). Dyspnoea strongly improved among non-alexithymics, although a signal for improvement was also found in alexithymics (p(alexithymics) = 0.046; p(non-alexithymics) = 0.0001). Conclusions. These findings suggest that alexithymia did not have a significant impact on functional recovery of patients in respiratory rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several methods have been tested in order to prepare the perovskite type compound MgxCyNi3 applying the mechanical alloying (MA), the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) and the isothermal heating techniques in the different steps of preparation. These methods may be summarized as follows: method MCN-1) synthesis of the MgxCyNi3 phase through MA of Mg2Ni (previously synthesised by isothermal heating) and selected amounts of graphite and Ni, followed by isothermal treatment; method MCN-2) synthesis of the MgxCyNi3 phase applying the SHS technique using powder compacts; method MCN-3) synthesis of an eutectic sample composed of Ni and MgNi2 by means of isothermal heating, subsequent MA with graphite and final synthesis of MgxCyNi3 by means of SHS. The methods MCN-2 and MCN-3 proved their validity to the synthesis of the desired compound with two main important results: complete conversion of the reactants into MgxCyNi3 and control of the stoichiometry in the final product. For instance method MCN-1 shows instead a very low degree of conversion of the reactants. All the phases obtained after each preparation step (MA, SHS, isothermal heating) have been characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]