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Background: Relationships between reflectivity, hardness and chemical composition of the dispersed phase, included in orthodontic composites Transbond XTTM (Trans), Light-Cure Orthodontic Paste (Leone) and Bisco Ortho Bracket Paste LC (Bisco), were investigated in vitro to evaluate whether reflectivity results can be useful in internal material composition interpretation, thus obtaining information on mechanical behaviours. Methods: Light transmission through 36 resin discs was measured with a UV/Vis spectrophotometer, evaluating the spectral range from 190–1100 nm. To have a benchmark of material hardness and internal composition, Vickers measurements and Cross-Sectional Focus Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB/SEM) analysis were provided. Results: Bisco has the highest reflectivity, Leone shows an absorption pattern in the UV region similar to Bisco and Transbond has the lowest reflectivity compared to the others. This trend is confirmed by FIB/SEM imaging, showing a more similar induced roughness and internal composition for Bisco and Leone, with respect to Transbond. Higher filler presence in the composition of Bisco and Leone justifies a higher hardness of these two materials, with respect to Transbond, as confirmed by Vickers measurements. Conclusions: Bisco and Leone show similar optical responses and similarities in mechanical performance. This statement is explained by the lower and similar filler content as confirmed also by FIB/SEM analysis. The inner composition of Bisco and Leone provides a higher value of microhardness, as demonstrated by Vickers measurements. Therefore, this study confirms that the UV-Vis analysis can also offer a significant overview on the internal material composition, thus indirectly providing information on the mechanical properties of orthodontic composites.

We discuss the case of a 74-year old male patient with mantle cell lymphoma, who faced severe CMV infection after the fifth cycle of first-line chemo-immunotherapy with a dose-reduced bendamustine and rituximab regimen.

The interfacial electrical properties of deposited oxide (SiO2) onto cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) were investigated after different post-oxide deposition annealing (PDA) by means of metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) capacitors and nanoscale capacitance mapping. The deposited oxides subjected to PDA at 450 °C in either nitrogen or forming gas showed a reduction of the interface and oxide traps, as well as an improved oxide field strength compared to the thermally grown insulating layer. Spatially resolved nanoscale capacitance mapping performed onto the oxide surface revealed that the density of the electrically active stacking faults (SFs) in 3C-SiC is diminished by appropriate PDA. The results pave the way to obtain an ideal SiO2/3C-SiC system suitable for power device applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interaction between thyroid hormones and the immune system is reported in the literature. Thyroid hormones, thyroxine, T4, but also T3, act non-genomically through mechanisms that involve a plasma membrane receptor αvβ3 integrin, a co-receptor for insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Previous data from our laboratory show a crosstalk between thyroid hormones and IGF-1 because thyroid hormones inhibit the IGF-1-stimulated glucose uptake and cell proliferation in L-6 myoblasts, and the effects are mediated by integrin αvβ3. IGF-1 also behaves as a chemokine, being an important factor for tissue regeneration after damage. In the present study, using THP-1 human leukemic monocytes, expressing αvβ3 integrin in their cell membrane, we focused on the crosstalk between thyroid hormones and either IGF-1 or monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), studying cell migration and proliferation stimulated by the two chemokines, and the role of αvβ3 integrin, using inhibitors of αvβ3 integrin and downstream pathways. Our results show that IGF-1 is a potent chemoattractant in THP-1 monocytes, stimulating cell migration, and thyroid hormone inhibits the effect through αvβ3 integrin. Thyroid hormone also inhibits IGF-1-stimulated cell proliferation through αvβ3 integrin, an example of a crosstalk between genomic and non-genomic effects. We also studied the effects of thyroid hormone on cell migration and proliferation induced by MCP-1, together with the pathways involved, by a pharmacological approach and docking simulation. Our findings show a different downstream signaling for IGF-1 and MCP-1 in THP-1 monocytes mediated by the plasma membrane receptor of thyroid hormones, integrin αvβ3.

(1) This study aimed to investigate whether baseline clinical and Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (bPET)-derived parameters could help predicting early response to the first two cycles of chemotherapy (Deauville Score at interim PET, DS at iPET) in patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) to identify poor responders (DS ≥ 4) who could benefit from first-line treatment intensification at an earlier time point. (2) cHL patients with a bPET and an iPET imaging study in our Centre’s records (2013–2019), no synchronous/metachronous tumors, no major surgical resection of disease prior to bPET, and treated with two cycles of ABVD chemotherapy before iPET were retrospectively included. Baseline International Prognostic Score for HL (IPS) parameters were collected. Each patient’s bPET total metabolic tumor volume (TMTV) and highest tumoral SUVmax were collected. ROC curves and Youden’s index were used to derive the optimal thresholds of TMTV and SUVmax with regard to the DS (≥4). Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test were used for the univariate analysis. A multivariate analysis was then performed using logistic regression. The type I error rate in the hypothesis testing was set to 5%. (3) A total of 146 patients were included. The optimal threshold to predict a DS ≥ 4 was >177 mL for TMTV and >14.7 for SUVmax (AUC of 0.65 and 0.58, respectively). The univariate analysis showed that only TMTV, SUVmax, advanced disease stage, and age were significantly associated with a DS ≥ 4. A multivariate model was finally derived from TMTV, SUVmax, and age, with an AUC of 0.77. (4) A multivariate model with bPET parameters and age at diagnosis was satisfactorily predictive of poor response at iPET after ABVD induction chemotherapy in cHL patients. More studies are needed to validate these results and further implement DS-predictive factors at baseline in order to prevent poor response and intensify therapeutic strategies a-priori when needed.

The latest progress in information and communication technology (ICT) and the Internet of Things (IoT) have opened up new opportunities for real-time monitoring and controlling of cities’ structures, infrastructures, and services. In this context, smart water management technology provides the data and tools to help users more effectively manage water usage. Data collected with smart water devices are being integrated with building management systems to show how much water is used by occupants as well as to identify the consumption areas to use water more efficiently. By this approach, smart buildings represent an innovative solution that enhances a city’s sustainability and contributes to overcoming environmental challenges due to increasing population and climate change. One of the main challenges is resource-saving and recovery. Water is an all-important need of all living beings, and the concerns of its scarcity impose a transition to innovative and sustainable management starting from the building scale. Thus, this manuscript aims to provide an updated and valuable overview for researchers, consumers, and stakeholders regarding implementing smart and sustainable technologies for water resource management, primarily for building-scale uses.

We report the dielectric characterization of three commercially available, high-permittivity Rogers laminates in the sub-terahertz range, by means of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy measurements in reflection mode. A transmission-line model is developed to obtain the reflectance spectra as a function of the frequency-dispersive complex relative permittivity of the substrates. The latter is fitted through optimization to a single Lorentzian term, which is shown to accurately reproduce the measured reflectance spectra. The substrates RO3010 and RT/duroid 6010.2LM exhibit significant frequency dispersion of both their relative permittivity and loss tangent. Conversely, the thermoset microwave laminate TMM10i is characterized by both a lower frequency dispersion and overall dielectric losses, thus making it a promising candidate for the design of low-profile and broadband components for novel terahertz applications. Owing to the simple Lorentzian dispersion model used for the description of the relative permittivity, the presented results can serve as a reference, and they can be directly introduced in design and optimization workflows for novel devices in emerging terahertz applications.

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There is a common perception that large projects are not only difficult to implement, but often unsuccessful, not generating the expected benefits, compared to the costs actually incurred. If from a side, large projects succeed, fail or the impact is reduced compared to expectations in terms of positive externalities on the territory and on the economy in general, on the other hand it becomes very interesting to investigate the ways in which these effects are generated. The introduction of this work analyzes the unrealized picture of the Italian legislation on planning and ex-ante evaluation of public investments, against a worrying decline of this component in order of 4% average year that is being registered in the last decade. The second part is dedicated, in the broad framework of territorial cohesion policies, to the not very positive experience in Italy of the European major projects of the past programming period 2007-2013. In the third part are compared the main studies that have highlighted the success factors and the risk factors of a large public investment project. In the penultimate section are proposed the activities necessary to achieve a link between the levels of design and the implementation of a work and / or an investment program. The conclusions contain the recommendations aimed at simplifying and speeding up the procedures of the interventions still in progress, as well as measures to strengthen the capacity building in order to strengthen the territory of the necessary technical and operational support for the implementation of public investments and cohesion policies.

Congenital heart diseases represent one of the hallmarks of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. In particular, conotruncal heart defects are the most frequent cardiac malformations and are often associated with other specific additional cardiovascular anomalies. These findings, together with extracardiac manifestations, may affect perioperative management and influence clinical and surgical outcome. Over the past decades, advances in genetic and clinical diagnosis and surgical treatment have led to increased survival of these patients and to progressive improvements in postoperative outcome. Several studies have investigated long-term follow-up and results of cardiac surgery in this syndrome. The aim of our review is to examine the current literature data regarding cardiac outcome and surgical prognosis of patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. We thoroughly evaluate the most frequent conotruncal heart defects associated with this syndrome, such as tetralogy of Fallot, pulmonary atresia with major aortopulmonary collateral arteries, aortic arch interruption, and truncus arteriosus, highlighting the impact of genetic aspects, comorbidities, and anatomical features on cardiac surgical treatment.

Freshwater resources are very limited and because of the power plants, the water consumption in industry is even more than municipal. The cooling systems is a very important part of water consumption and in the past studies, it has been neglected. The analysis of cooling systems shows that, evaporative air conditioners will consume high rate of water directly and that for a house with area of 140 m2 is about 40 m3/month, that is about 10% of the total annual water use in typical households in an arid climate. The high power usage in compression air conditioner will also consume high water withdrawal indirectly and up to 102 m3/month in once-through cooling system. The results of the research show that the evaporated water in evaporative air conditioners is from the municipal network and since it is being evaporated, the impact is much higher than the urban water consumption that can be collected by wastewater systems. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the previous methods to achieve the goals of sustainable development.

The present paper describes a proposal of multiple reuse of wastewater for the town of Camigliatello Silano, in the province of Cosenza, Italy. Camigliatello Silano is a locality devoted to agriculture and to both winter and summer tourism. There are several issues related to the management of water resources of the locality, including the lack of regularization of the discharge of urban wastewater with Italian and European regulations, poor availability of the resource for the irrigation sector, and necessary improvements in winter tourism. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a possible solution for the management of the water resources of the locality, through the reuse of wastewater. The proposed solution provides the reuse for agricultural purposes during the irrigation period and an innovative reuse for the production of artificial snow in the winter season. The reuse for irrigation allows the increase of water resources in agriculture, while the reuse for the production of artificial snow allows a longer skiing period. The proposed solution also solves the problem of regularization of wastewater discharge with positive effects on the environment and water resources.

Lors de l’étude préalable d’un projet d’aménagement de cours d’eau et dans le cadre de la loi GEMAPI, les praticiens ont besoin d’outils pour évaluer le volet GEMA (Gestion des milieux aquatiques) qui soient complémentaires des analyses coût-bénéfices et multicritères développés pour le volet PI (Protection des inondations). Or ces outils centrés sur l’écologie du cours d’eau font aujourd’hui défaut. La méthodologie proposée dans cet article permet de recenser de manière objective les impacts sur le biotope pouvant être induits par un futur aménagement, et d’adopter en conséquence différentes mesures d’amélioration.

Abstract Background Sequence alignment is crucial in genomics studies. However, optimal multiple sequence alignment (MSA) is NP-hard. Thus, modern MSA methods employ progressive heuristics, breaking the problem into a series of pairwise alignments guided by a phylogeny. Changes between homologous characters are typically modelled by a Markov substitution model. In contrast, the dynamics of indels are not modelled explicitly, because the computation of the marginal likelihood under such models has exponential time complexity in the number of taxa. But the failure to model indel evolution may lead to artificially short alignments due to biased indel placement, inconsistent with phylogenetic relationship. Results Recently, the classical indel model TKF91 was modified to describe indel evolution on a phylogeny via a Poisson process, termed PIP. PIP allows to compute the joint marginal probability of an MSA and a tree in linear time. We present a new dynamic programming algorithm to align two MSAs –represented by the underlying homology paths– by full maximum likelihood under PIP in polynomial time, and apply it progressively along a guide tree. We have corroborated the correctness of our method by simulation, and compared it with competitive methods on an illustrative real dataset. Conclusions Our MSA method is the first polynomial time progressive aligner with a rigorous mathematical formulation of indel evolution. The new method infers phylogenetically meaningful gap patterns alternative to the popular PRANK, while producing alignments of similar length. Moreover, the inferred gap patterns agree with what was predicted qualitatively by previous studies. The algorithm is implemented in a standalone C++ program: https://github.com/acg-team/ProPIP. Supplementary data are available at BMC Bioinformatics online.

Simple Summary: Diffuse large B cell lymphoma is the most common type of B cell neoplasm, and can be cured by traditional chemoimmunotherapy in 60–70% of cases. Relapsed/refractory patients usually have a dismal prognosis and most of them finally succumb to lymphoma. In the last decade, several new innovative therapies have been approved against DLBCL, targeting both surface antigens and the intracellular pathways of neoplastic B cells. Compared to standard chemotherapy, new monoclonal antibodies and engineered T cells have shown an increased response rate, progression-free survival and overall survival, but, on the other side of the coin, patients have been experiencing new kinds of toxicities, previously unknown, that clinicians have been learning to manage. Here, we review new drugs that are already approved or under investigation for DLBCL and the corresponding molecular target on lymphoma cells. Since the introduction of rituximab in the late 1990s, significant progress has been made in advancing targeted therapies for B cell lymphomas, improving patients' chance of being cured and clinicians' therapeutic armamentarium. A better understanding of disease biology and pathogenic pathways, coupled with refinements in immunophenotypic and molecular diagnostics, have been instrumental in these achievements. While traditional chemotherapy remains fundamental in most cases, concerns surrounding chemorefractoriness and cumulative toxicities, particularly the depletion of the hemopoietic reserve, underscore the imperative for personalized treatment approaches. Integrating targeted agents, notably monoclonal antibodies, alongside chemotherapy has yielded heightened response rates and prolonged survival. A notable paradigm shift is underway with innovative-targeted therapies replacing cytotoxic drugs, challenging conventional salvage strategies like stem cell transplantation. This review examines the landscape of emerging targets for lymphoma cells and explores innovative therapies for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). From Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T cells to more potent monoclonal antibodies, antibody–drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies, checkpoint inhibitors, and small molecules targeting intracellular pathways, each modality offers promising avenues for therapeutic advancement. This review aims to furnish insights into their potential implications for the future of DLBCL treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to provide a key to understanding how engineering has assumed not only the features of a new scientia scientiarum, but also of "the new way of the world". Computer science, genetic engineering and biotechnology jointly act as the custodian of the last great historical--universalistic mission to be accomplished, that is, the improvement of humankind and life on the planet. The dream of Bacon, Saint--Simon, Comte and Spencer is becoming true. In an increasingly pervasive way, the logic of engineering provides parameters and contents to political and economic decision--making. It mobilizes tools that are apt to remodel the theory and practice of the rule of law, of the constitution, of democratic citizenship, as well as of the common good. Computer science, genetic engineering and biotechnology can reconfigure ad libitum what is and what we are. The article points at the inability on the side of the existing diverse ethical perspectives to engage in a fruitful and intimate exchange as one of the main causes of engineering's undisputed governmental ambition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims The extracardiac conduit-Fontan (ECC) has become the preferred technique for univentricular heart palliation, but there are currently no data on the incidence of long-term arrhythmias. This study investigated the incidence of arrhythmias and relation to single ventricle morphology in the long-term follow-up (FU) in ECC. Methods and results All patients with ECC performed in our Centre between 1987 and 2017 were included (minimum FU 5 years). Of 353 consecutive patients, 303 [57.8% males, aging 8–50 (median 20) years at last FU] were considered and divided into two groups depending on left (194 in Group 1) or right (109 in Group 2) ventricular morphology. Eighty-five (28%) experienced ≥1 arrhythmic complications, with early and late arrhythmias in 17 (5.6%) and 73 (24.1%) patients, respectively. Notably, late bradyarrhythmias occurred after 6 years in 21 (11%) patients in Group 1, and in 15 (13.8%) in Group 2 [ P = 0.48]. Late tachyarrhythmias occurred in 55 (18.2%) patients after 12 years: 33 (17%) in Group 1 and 22 (20.2%) patients in Group 2 [ P   = 0.5]. Ventricular tachycardias (VT) were documented after 12.5 years in 14 (7.2%) patients of Group 1 and 15 (13.8%) of Group 2 [ P = 0.06] with a higher incidence in Group 2 during the FU [ P = 0.005]. Conclusion Extracardiac conduit is related to a significant arrhythmic risk in the long-term FU, higher than previously reported. Bradyarrhythmias occur earlier but are less frequent than tachyarrhythmias. Interestingly, patients with systemic right ventricle have a significantly higher incidence of VT, especially in a very long FU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]