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Reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures infilled with clay masonry walls represent a common construction practice worldwide. However, the significant interaction between in-plane (IP) and out-of-plane (OOP) response of the infill walls, and their brittle behaviour, can increase the seismic vulnerability of the building to both local and global mechanisms. Therefore, it is necessary to develop adequate tools to assess the seismic performance of infill panels. To this end, this paper presents a new macro-model for evaluating the IP/OOP behaviour of infill walls. The model consists of four strut elements, two for each diagonal of the wall, and two equal OOP masses placed in the centre of the panel; each strut is made of two beam-column elements that allow for the creation of a plastic hinge at the mid-span, where the non-linearity due to the IP/OOP interaction is concentrated and modelled through a nonlinear fibre section. The model is experimentally calibrated for four types of thin clay masonry panels, one unreinforced and three strengthened. To show the potential of the new infill model, a non-linear static analysis procedure is proposed for evaluating the lateral response of RC infilled frames. This simplified procedure is finally used in a parametric study that analyses various types of infilled frames. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model, as well as of the strengthening solutions adopted to mitigate the IP/OOP interaction effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Evaluation of second-order effects for URM walls mainly subjected to compression. • Assessment of URM walls subjected to combined vertical and relevant lateral loading. • Refinement of strength verification based on axial load capacity reduction factor, ϕ m. • Refinement of strength verification based on moment capacity reduction factor, ϕ M. • Demonstration of one-to-one correspondence between the two reduction factors, ϕ. Although the load-bearing capacity of masonry walls has been receiving researchers' attention since the 1950s both analytically and experimentally, in the scientific and technical community there is still heated debate on the actual methodology to adopt for the verification of URM walls subjected to eccentrically loaded walls, considering second-order effects. Moreover, it is still not well recognised that safety checks on structural walls subjected to significant lateral (e.g. seismic) actions require to be verified in terms of lateral flexural capacity and that buckling effects also need to be properly considered in these cases. To date, possible design procedures for evaluating second-order effects in strength verification of walls are based on axial load and moment capacity reduction factors, here respectively called ϕ m and ϕ M. This paper offers a refinement of the numerical calculations of ϕ m and ϕ M , leading to polynomial-type models and analytical formulations that improve accuracy in evaluating both factors. Moreover, it has analytically and numerically been demonstrated that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the two reduction factors ϕ , since they represent two ways of characterising the same effect. The results on the reduction factors are finally compared with those from past experimental campaigns and from some standards and can serve as reference for codified procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • In CML patients, switch from branded to generic imatinib appears to be safe. • New or worsening side effects, mostly grade 1–2, were reported by 17% of patients. • Molecular responses remained stable or continued to improve on generic imatinib. • Few patients needed to switch back to branded imatinib or move to other TKIs. Abstract The use of generic drugs after patent expiration of their originators is a relative novelty in the treatment of chronic cancer patients in Western countries. In this observational study we analyzed a cohort of 294 Italian chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia patients treated frontline with branded imatinib (Glivec®) for at least 6 months and then uniformly switched to generic imatinib upon requirement of health authorities in early 2017. Median age at diagnosis was 57 years (range 19–87). Sokal risk was low/intermediate/high in 55%, 32% and 8% of cases, respectively. Median duration of branded imatinib treatment was 7.4 years (range 0.5–16.7). At a median follow-up of 7.5 months after switch to generic imatinib, 17% of patients reported new or worsening side effects, but grade 3–4 non-hematological adverse events were rare. Six patients switched back to branded imatinib, with improvement in the side effect profile, and 4 pts moved to bosutinib or nilotinib for resistance/intolerance. The majority of patients were in major (26%) or deep molecular response (66%) at the time of switch. Molecular responses remained stable, improved or worsened in 61%, 25% and 14% of patients, respectively. We conclude that switch to generic imatinib for patients who have been receiving branded imatinib appears to be effective and safe. Molecular responses may continue to improve over time. Some patients experienced new or worsened side effects but less than 5% of the whole cohort needed to switch back to branded imatinib or move to other treatments. Savings were around 3 million Euros. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein a series of 4-aminoquinolines were synthesized in an attempt to optimize and study the structural features related to LABIO-17 biological activity, a Mycobacterium tuberculosis NADH-dependent enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase (Mt InhA) inhibitor previously identified by a virtual-ligand-screening approach. Structure-activity relationships led to novel submicromolar inhibitors of Mt InhA and potent antitubercular agents. The lead compound is 87-fold more potent as enzymatic inhibitors and 32-fold more potent against M. tuberculosis H37Rv strain in comparison with LABIO-17. These molecules were also active against multidrug-resistant strains, devoid of apparent toxicity to mammalian cells and showed favorable in vitro ADME profiles. Additionally, these compounds were active in an intracellular model of tuberculosis (TB) infection, showed no genotoxicity signals, satisfactory absorption parameters and absence of in vivo acute toxicity. Finally, treatment with selected 4-aminoquinoline for two weeks produced bacteriostatic effect in a murine model of TB. Taken together, these findings indicate that this chemical class may furnish candidates for the future development of drug-sensitive and drug-resistant tuberculosis treatments. [Display omitted] • InhA enzyme inhibition and thermodynamics of ligand binding of best candidates. • 4-aminoquinolines that inhibit in vitro Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth. • 4-aminoquinolines against drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. • High selectivity index of 4-aminoquinolines. • Bacteriostatic effect of 4-aminoquinoline in M. tuberculosis mouse infection model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kinect™ has been developed to recognize gestures and voice commands, through a set of cameras and microphones, respectively. This paper proposes and evaluates low-cost Sound Source Localization (SSL) solution based this off-the-shelf equipment. It consists of employing a pair of Kinect devices as an alternative for microphone array, and executing the Steered Response Power using the PHAse Transform (SRP-PHAT) localization algorithm over acquired sound data. A fully functional prototype has been implemented and put to test under a realistic scenario. Experimental results indicate that although our approach is capable of achieving limited position estimation, and it can accurately point towards the source's direction. Two different high performance versions of the algorithm have been implemented to improve overall system performance under 3D Sound Source Localization setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimens for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) allowed the existence of an allogeneic cell-mediated antitumor effect in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) to be explored. We report on 39 patients with progressing mCRC treated with different RIC regimens in a multicenter clinical trial of the European Bone Marrow Transplantation Group. Disease status at transplant was progressive disease (PD) in 31 patients (80%), stable disease (SD) in 6 (15%), and partial response (PR) in 2 (5%). All patients engrafted (median donor T cell chimerism of 90% at day +60). Transplant-related morbidities were limited. Grades II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) occurred in 14 patients (35%) and chronic GVHD (cGVHD) in 9 patients (23%). Transplant-related mortality occurred in 4 patients (10%). The best tumor responses were: 1 complete response (CR) (2%), 7 PR (18 %), and 10 SD (26%), giving an overall disease control in 18 of 39 patients (46%). Allogeneic HCT after RIC is feasible; the collected results compared favorably in terms of tumor response with those observed using conventional approaches beyond second-line therapies. The study of an allogeneic cell based therapy in less advanced patients is warranted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• A covalent composite of diketopyrrolopyrrole and few layers graphene is synthesized. • The material shows excellent film-forming ability and is conductive. • The system undergoes total energy transfer after photo-excitation and is photo-stable. • The composite is proposed as a perspective material for photo-protective anti-static coating. A dianiline derivative of a symmetric donor-acceptor-donor diketopyrrolopyrrole-based dye is employed for the two-sided covalent functionalization of liquid exfoliated few layers graphene flakes, through a direct arylation reaction. The resulting nanohybrid features the properties of a polymeric species, being solution-processed into homogeneous thin films, featuring a pronounced red-shift of the main absorption band with respect to the model dye unit and energy levels comparable to those of common diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymers. A good electrical conductivity and the absence of radical signals generated after intense white light illumination, as probed through electron paramagnetic resonance, suggest a possible future application of this composite material in the field of photoprotective, antistatic layers with tunable colors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]