Search

Abstract Background We aimed at evaluating frequency and factors associated with late presentation and advanced HIV disease and excess risk of death due to these conditions from 1985 to 2013 among naïve HIV infected patients enrolled in the Italian MASTER Cohort. Methods All antiretroviral naive adults with available CD4+ T cell count after diagnosis of HIV infection were included. Multivariable logistic regression analysis investigated factors associated either with late presentation or advanced HIV disease. Probabilities of survival were estimated both at year-1 and at year-5 according to the Kaplan-Meier method. Flexible parametric models were used to evaluate changes in risk of death overtime according to late presentation and advanced HIV disease. The analyses were stratified for calendar periods. Results 19,391 patients were included (54 % were late presenters and 37.6 % were advanced presenters). At multivariable analysis, the following factors were positively associated with late presentation: male gender (OR = 1.29), older age (≥55 years vs.

The overall pollution in the planet is reaching unbearable limits for humanity. Never before mankind had come to adopt measures agreed between countries in the magnitude of current ones. Among the measures taken to alleviate the problem are increasing green alternatives. This paper aims reporting how green alternative using Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) which have proven over last decade to be by far the best overall tool for combating pollution, operate in more detail. A kinetic study of heavy metals (Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Hg) and B accumulation by plants grown in sludge collected from a treatment plant of industrial sewage is carried out. Summarizing: the results investigated in this work confirm again the capacity and usefulness of this tool as a solution to global pollution problems, studying another specific case which is particularly interesting since provides a real solution for a common problem: industrial water sludge. In this manner, substantiating the strategy designed in a scientific project (triggered by Doñana's disaster) granted by UE funds in 2000, and presented in Hanover’s Universal Exposition. Glossing and discussing its positive implementation during years to check out the so called superplants against pollution.

Ammonia is a common factor linking air in bat caves and air pollution in the proximity of agricultural fields treated with livestock farming sewage and slaughterhouses, where important clusters of COVID-19 have recently been reported all over the world. Such a commonality has a further connection with the known behavior of some viruses of the coronavirus family, such as the murine hepatitis virus, whose spike glycoprotein (S) can be triggered to a membrane-binding conformation at pH 8.0. Within the airborne route of virus transmission, with particular relevance for crowded and enclosed environments, these observations have prompted a hypothesis that may represent a contributing cause to interpret the geographical variability of the virus diffusion and the surging rise of COVID-19 cases in slaughterhouses all over the world. The hypothesis is that, in these environments, the SARS-CoV-2 S protein may find on a fraction of the airborne particles an alkaline pH, favorable to trigger the conformational changes, needed to induce the fusion of the viral envelope with the plasma membrane of the target cells.

The use of nanomaterials, thanks to their peculiar properties and versatility, is becoming central in an increasing number of scientific and engineering applications. At the same time, the growing concern towards environmental issues drives the seeking of alternative strategies for a safer and more sustainable production of nanoparticles. Here we focus on a low-energy, magnetically-driven wet milling technique for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles starting from a bulky solid. The proposed approach is simple, economical, sustainable, and provides numerous advantages, including the minimization of the nanoparticles air dispersion and a greater control over the final product. This process is investigated by experiments and discrete element method simulations to reproduce the movement of the grinding beads and study the collision dynamics. The effect of several parameters is analyzed, including the stirring bar velocity, its inclination, and the grinding bead size, to quantify the actual frequency, energy, and angle of collisions. Experiments reveal a non-monotonous effect of the stirring velocity on the abrasion efficiency, whereas numerical simulations highlight the prevalent tangential nature of collisions, which is only weakly affected by the stirring velocity. On the other hand, the stirring velocity affects the collision frequency and relative kinetic energy, suggesting the existence of an optimal parameters combination. Although a small variation of the stirring bar length does not significantly affect the collision dynamics, the use of grinding beads of different dimensions offers several tuning opportunities.

A low solvent consumption method for the determination of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in animal urine samples is studied. The NSAIDs were extracted with CH2Cl2 by the ultrasound vortex assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (USVA-DLLME) method from urine samples, previously treated with β-glucuronidase/acrylsulfatase. After centrifugation, the bottom phase of the chlorinated solvent was separated from the liquid matrix, dried with Na2SO4, and derivatized with N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) + trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) (99 + 1). After cooling at room temperature, the solution was concentrated under nitrogen flow, and 1 µL of solution was analyzed in gas chromatography/ion trap-mass spectrometry (GC-IT-MS). The enrichment factor was about 300–450 times and recoveries ranged from 94.1 to 101.2% with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of ≤4.1%. The USVA-DLLME process efficiency was not influenced by the characteristics of the real urine matrix; therefore, the analytical method characteristics were evaluated in the range 1–100 ng mL−1 (R2 ≥ 0.9950). The limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) were between 0.1 and 0.2 ng mL−1 with RSD ≤4.5% and between 4.1 and 4.7 ng mL−1 with RSD ≤3.5%, respectively, whereas inter- and intra-day precision was 3.8% and 4.5%, respectively. The proposed analytical method is reproducible, sensitive, and simple.

Today, submicron particles are recognized as the new target in environmental sciences and human health issues as well. Their level in urban air is strongly affected by anthropogenic sources, i.e., domestic heating and autovehicular traffic, but the availability of large datasets represents a limit in the knowledge both of the behavior and of the relative levels. This paper would like to highlight the role of these two anthropogenic sources in a big city such as Rome in the particle formation/removal processes in the range 18–750 nm using a Scanning Mobility Particle Analyser (SMPS). The investigation starts from data collected in the previous decade (2010) and analyzes the role played by different Euro (0–6) engines on the particle levels as well as the responsibility of different biomass burning in this issue. Furthermore, a chemometric approach (Cluster Analysis, CA, and Principal Component Analysis, PCA) has allowed the identification of three different clusters, strongly dependent on the accumulation and nucleation modes of the Ultrafine Particles. On the other hand, the PCA demonstrated a scatter distribution in December larger than that in October, justified by the different sources present in these periods.

Background and Objectives: The Mayer–Rokitansky–Küster–Hauser syndrome is a congenital condition in which patients are born with vaginal and uterus agenesis, affecting the ability to have a normal sexual life and to bear children. Vaginal reconstruction is a challenging procedure for plastic surgeons. The aim of this study is to report our experience in the management of twelve patients with congenital absence of the vagina due to the MRKH syndrome. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective study on 12 patients admitted to the Plastic Surgery Department of the Clinical Emergency Hospital “Prof. Dr. Agrippa Ionescu”, Bucharest, Romania, for vaginal reconstruction within a period of eleven years (January 2009–December 2019). All patients were diagnosed by the gynaecologists with vaginal agenesis, as part of the Mayer–Rokitansky–Küster–Hauser syndrome. The Abbe‘–McIndoe technique with an autologous skin graft was performed in all cases. Results: The average age of our patients was 20.16 (16–28) years. All patients were 46 XX. The average surgical timing was 3.05 h (range 2.85–4h). Postoperative rectovaginal fistula was encountered in 1 patient. Postoperative average vaginal length was 10.4 cm (range 9.8–12.1 cm). Regular sexual life was achieved in 10 patients. Conclusion: Nowadays, there is no established standard method of vaginal reconstruction. In Romania, the McIndoe technique is the most applied. Unfortunately, even if the MRKH syndrome is not uncommon, less and less surgeons are willing to perform the procedure to create a neovagina.

The production of a biomass as a feedstock for biorefinery is gaining attention in many agricultural areas. The adoption of biorefinery crops (i.e., perennial cardoon) can represent an interesting option for farmers and can contribute to increase soil organic carbon stock (SOCS). The study aimed to assess the potential effect on long-term SOCS change by the introduction of cardoon in a Mediterranean marginal area (Sassari, Italy). To this end, three process-oriented models, namely the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories (Tier 2), a humus-balance model (SOMBIT) and Rothamsted carbon model (RothC), were used to compare two scenarios over 20 years. The traditional cropping system’s faba bean–durum wheat biennial rotation was compared with the same scenario alternating seven years of cardoon cultivation. The model’s calibration was performed using climate, soil and crop data measured in three cardoon trials between 2011 and 2019. SOMBIT and Roth C models showed the best values of model performance metrics. By the insertion of cardoon, IPCC tool, SOMBIT and RothC models predicted an average annual SOCS increase, whereas, in the baseline scenario, the models predicted a steady state or a slight SOCS decrease. This increase can be attributed to a higher input of above- and belowground plant residues and a lower number of bare soil days (41 vs. 146 days year−1).

Water-in-oil (W/O) nanoemulsions stabilized by phospholipids (PLs) are increasingly exploited in a wide spectrum of applications, from pharmaceuticals to food and cosmetic formulations. In this work, we report the design and optimization of an innovative emulsion based on a mixture of phosphoethanolamine (PE) and phosphoglycerol (PG) PLs, inspired by the composition of the inner leaflet of a bacterial outer membrane. Using the natural oil squalene as the continuous organic phase, no additional emulsion stabilizer is needed. On the other hand, a small amount of Span 80 is required when dodecane is used. The obtained nanoemulsions are stable for at least two hours, thus allowing the droplet size and distribution to be characterized by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and the lipid layer structure and dynamics to be analyzed by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The results indicate that squalene shallowly intercalates among the lipid tail termini, being unable to deeply penetrate the adsorbed lipid monolayer. The altered lipid dynamics are proposed to be the reason for the enhanced emulsion stability, this paving the way to future implementations and possible applications.

Tropical forests are often located in difficult-to-access areas, which make high-quality forest structure information difficult and expensive to obtain by traditional field-based approaches. LiDAR (acronym for Light Detection And Ranging) data have been used throughout the world to produce time-efficient and wall-to-wall structural parameter estimates for monitoring in native and commercial forests. In this study, we compare products and aboveground biomass (AGB) estimations from LiDAR data acquired using an aircraft-borne system in 2015 and data collected by the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based GatorEye Unmanned Flying Laboratory in 2017 for ten forest inventory plots located in the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve in Acre state, southwestern Brazilian Amazon. The LiDAR products were similar and comparable among the two platforms and sensors. Principal differences between derived products resulted from the GatorEye system flying lower and slower and having increased returns per second than the aircraft, resulting in a much higher point density overall (11.3 ± 1.8 vs. 381.2 ± 58 pts/m2). Differences in ground point density, however, were much smaller among the systems, due to the larger pulse area and increased number of returns per pulse of the aircraft system, with the GatorEye showing an approximately 50% higher ground point density (0.27 ± 0.09 vs. 0.42 ± 0.09). The LiDAR models produced by both sensors presented similar results for digital elevation models and estimated AGB. Our results validate the ability for UAV-borne LiDAR sensors to accurately quantify AGB in dense high-leaf-area tropical forests in the Amazon. We also highlight new possibilities using the dense point clouds of UAV-borne systems for analyses of detailed crown structure and leaf area density distribution of the forest interior.

The control of glucose homeostasis is the main goal for both the prevention and management of diabetes and pre-diabetes. Numerous drugs are available, despite their side effects. This is constantly leading people to be inclined to natural alternative treatments. Evidence indicates antioxidant-based nutraceuticals as an optimal tool for the glycaemic control. Currently, a great interest has been focused on the valorisation of agro-food by-products as sources of bioactive compounds including polyphenols. In this sense, we tested the efficacy of novel nutraceutical products based on polyphenolic extract from nectarines (NecP), tomato peels (TP), and olive leaves (EOL) on glycaemic and insulinemic responses. The three formulations contained, respectively, 0.007 mg abscisic acid (ABA)/g, 0.5 mg carotenoids/g, and 150 mg oleuropein/g. Twenty healthy subjects consumed a regular glucose solution (RG) or a treatment beverage (TB) obtained by mixing RG with the individual formulations (TB NecP, TB EOL, and TB TP), separately, and on different days. All three formulations significantly lowered the 30 min glucose plasma peak (p < 0.05 for all); similarly, NecP and TP also significantly lowered the 30 min insulin plasma peak (p < 0.05 for all). These results may lead to the hypothesis of a formulation of a multi-component nutraceutical with a synergistic efficacy for the glycaemic control.

Solid–liquid separation is a key unit operation in the wastewater treatment, generally consisting of coagulation and flocculation steps to promote aggregation and increase the particle size, followed by sedimentation, where the particles settle due to the effect of gravity. The sedimentation efficiency is related to the hydrodynamic behavior of the suspended particles that, in turn, depends on the aggregate morphology. In addition, the non-Newtonian rheology of sludges strongly affects the drag coefficient of the suspended particles, leading to deviations from the known settling behavior in Newtonian fluids. In this work, we use direct numerical simulations to study the hydrodynamic drag of fractal-shaped particles suspended in a shear-thinning fluid modeled by the power-law constitutive equation. The fluid dynamics governing equations are solved for an applied force with different orientations uniformly distributed over the unit sphere. The resulting particle velocities are interpolated to compute the aggregate dynamics and the drag correction coefficient. A remarkable effect of the detailed microstructure of the aggregate on the sedimentation process is observed. The orientational dynamics shows a rich behavior characterized by steady-state, bistable, and periodic regimes. In qualitative agreement with spherical particles, shear-thinning increases the drag correction coefficient. Elongated aggregates sediment more slowly than sphere-like particles, with a lower terminal velocity as the aspect ratio increases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has always stressed the importance of indoor air quality (IAQ) and the potential danger of pollutants emitted from indoor sources; thus, it has become one of the main determinants for health. In recent years, reference documents and guidelines have been produced on many pollutants in order to: i) decrease their impact on human health (as well as the number of pollutants present in indoor environments), and ii) regulate the relevant levels of chemicals that can be emitted from the various materials. The aim of this paper is to discuss and compare the different legislations present in the European Union (EU). Furthermore, a focus of this paper will be dedicated at Italian legislation, where there is currently no specific reference to IAQ. Although initiatives in the pre-regulatory sector have multiplied, a comprehensive and integrated policy on the issue is lacking. Pending framework law for indoor air quality, which takes into account WHO indications, the National Study Group (GdS) on Indoor Air Pollution by the Italian Institute of Health (IIS) is committed to providing shared technical-scientific documents in order to allow actions harmonized at a national level. An outlook of the main Italian papers published during these last five years will be reported and discussed.

Atmospheric pollution is an important task in life sciences and, in particular, inorganic fraction characterization is considered as an important issue in this field. For many years, researchers have focused their attention on the particulate matter fraction below 10 μm: in this case, our attention was also focused on PM2.5 (i.e., particles with a size fraction smaller than 2.5 μm) and PM1 (below 1 μm). This paper would like to investigate whether the element accumulation in different granulometric fractions is similar, or whether there are behavior dissimilarities. Among the different analytical techniques, the instrumental neutron activation analysis, an instrumental nuclear method, was used for its peculiarity of investigating the sample without performing any chemical-physical treatment. Forty-two daily samples using the reference method were collected, 15 filters for PM10, 18 for PM2.5, and 12 for PM1; the filters, along with primary standards and appropriate standard reference materials, were irradiated at the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) R.C.-Casaccia’s Triga MARK II reactor. The irradiations carried out in the Rabbit and Lazy Susan channels allowed for the investigation of 36 elements and the relative Pearson’s correlations between elements and PM-fractions (PM10 vs. PM2.5 was good, whereas PM10 vs. PM1 was the worst). The Enrichment Factors were studied for the three fractions to show how anthropogenic sources have affected the element content. A comparison between these data and element levels determined worldwide showed that our concentrations were lower than those determined in similar scenarios. Furthermore, a statistical approach (source discrimination, hierarchical cluster analysis, principal component analysis) has allowed us to identify similarities between the samples: the airborne filters can be divided in two main groups (i.e., one made of PM10 and PM2.5 filters and one only of PM1 filters), meaning a different element contribution to this fraction coming from other sources present at the site.

The prediction of the viscosity of suspensions is of fundamental importance in several fields. Most of the available studies have been focused on particles with simple shapes, for example, spheres or spheroids. In this work, we study the viscosity of a dilute suspension of fractal-shape aggregates suspended in a shear-thinning fluid by direct numerical simulations. The suspending fluid is modeled by the power-law constitutive equation. For each morphology, a map of particle angular velocities is obtained by solving the governing equations for several particle orientations. The map is used to integrate the kinematic equation for the orientation vectors and reconstruct the aggregate orientational dynamics. The intrinsic viscosity is computed by a homogenization procedure along the particle orbits. In agreement with previous results on Newtonian suspensions, the intrinsic viscosity, averaged over different initial orientations and aggregate morphologies characterized by the same fractal parameters, decreases by increasing the fractal dimension, that is, from rod-like to spherical-like aggregates. Shear-thinning further reduces the intrinsic viscosity showing a linear dependence with the flow index in the investigated range. The intrinsic viscosity can be properly scaled with respect to the number of primary particles and the flow index to obtain a single curve as a function of the fractal dimension.

In this paper, an analytical protocol was developed for the simultaneous determination of phthalates (di-methyl phthalate DMP, di-ethyl phthalate DEP, di-isobutyl phthalate DiBP, di-n-butyl phthalate DBP, bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate DEHP, di-n-octyl phthalate DNOP) and bisphenol A (BPA). The extraction technique used was the ultrasound vortex assisted dispersive liquid−liquid microextraction (UVA-DLLME). The method involves analyte extraction using 75 µL of benzene and subsequent analysis by gas chromatography combined with ion trap mass spectrometry (GC-IT/MS). The method is sensitive, reliable, and reproducible with a limit of detection (LOD) below 13 ng g−1 and limit of quantification (LOQ) below 22 ng g−1 and the intra- and inter-day errors below 7.2 and 9.3, respectively. The method developed and validated was applied to six honey samples (i.e., four single-use commercial ones and two home-made ones. Some phthalates were found in the samples at concentrations below the specific migration limits (SMLs). Furthermore, the commercial samples were subjected to two different thermal stresses (24 h and 48 h at 40 °C) for evidence of the release of plastic from the containers. An increase in the phthalate concentrations was observed, especially during the first phase of the shock, but the levels were still within the limits of the regulations.

Background and Objectives: Skin cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed malignancies. The main goal of the therapeutic management is total excision with the prevention of recurrence and metastasis. The quality of life of the patients with skin cancer is affected by the morbidity risk, surgery, and cosmetic or functional aspects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of life of patients with skin cancer prior to and post surgical intervention. Material and methods: We performed a prospective study on 247 patients with skin tumors. Quality of life was evaluated through an initial questionnaire that was given to all consenting patients. This was used to determine patients’ mobility, selfcare, normal activities, pain, and despair, using a five-point Likert scale. The general autoperceived health state was also recorded using a 100-point scale. The study included the responses of all patients at hospital admission, after one month of surgery, and after one year of surgery. Results: In patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the general health state indicator statistically significantly decreased one month after surgery and increased at one-year follow-up. In malignant melanoma (MM) patients, mobility, selfcare, normal activities, and discomfort presented a decrease in values one year after surgery, compared to the values registered at hospital admission. In patients with basal cell carcinoma (BCC), all indicators of quality of life presented an impaired value one year after surgery, after a decreasing trend. The general health state indicator statistically significantly increased one month after surgery and after one year. Conclusions: Surgery is one of the main steps in treating skin cancer. It has a great impact on patients’ quality of life because of pain andthe effect on mobility and normal activities. Skin cancers influence the quality of life of patients both psychologicallyand physically.

Background and objectives: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. The immunohistochemical profile, but also the stage of the tumor determines the therapeutic management, which varies from conservative surgery to mastectomy associated with chemotherapy, hormonal and biological therapy and/or radiotherapy. Mastectomy remains one of the most radical surgical intervention for women, having great consequences on quality of life, which can be improved by realizing immediate or delayed breast reconstruction. The objective of the study was to evaluate the period of time between the mastectomy and the breast reconstruction. Material and methods: We performed a retrospective study on 57 female patients admitted to the Plastic Surgery Department of the Clinical Emergency Hospital “Prof. Dr. Agrippa Ionescu”, Bucharest, Romania. All the patients underwent immediate or delayed breast reconstruction after mastectomy for confirmed breast cancer. Descriptive data analysis was realized with evaluation of type of breast reconstruction considering the staging of the tumor, the invaded lymph nodes, and the necessity of adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Moreover, the median period between mastectomy and reconstruction was evaluated. Results: The immediate breast reconstruction was performed in patients with stage I, in patients with stage II, delayed reconstruction was performed after minimum six months, and the patients with stage III had the breast reconstructed with free flap (50%), 8−43 months post-mastectomy. Radiotherapy determines the type of breast reconstruction, in most of the cases the latissimus dorsi flap was used with implant (22.6%). Conclusions: Breast reconstruction is an important step in increasing the quality of life for women who underwent mastectomy after breast cancer. The proper timing for breast reconstruction must be settled by a team formed by the patient, the plastic surgeon, and the oncologist.

The possibility to discriminate between different emission sources and between natural and anthropogenic contributions is a key issue for planning efficient air pollution reduction and mitigation strategies. Moreover, the knowledge of the particulate matter (PM) chemical composition for the different size fractions is recognized as increasingly important, in particular with respect to health effects of exposed population. This study is focused on the characterization of PM10 and PM2.5 main sources located in the Civitavecchia harbor-industrial area (Central Italy), namely a large coal-fired power plant, a natural gas power plant, the harbor area, the vehicular traffic (due to both the local traffic and the highway crossing the area) and small industrial activities. The approach was based on PM10/PM2.5 samples monthly collected for one year and a further relative chemical characterization of organic and inorganic fractions. Wind-select sensors, allowing a selective PM10 and PM2.5 sampling downwind to specific emission sources, were used for the overall sampling. This methodology manages to explain specific emission patterns and to assess the concentration levels of the micro pollutants emitted by local sources and particularly toxic for health. A descriptive statistical analysis of data was performed, also verifying the occurrence of legislative threshold exceedances. Moreover, in order to highlight the contribution of specific sources, the differences in the measured micro pollutants concentrations between wind directions, PM size fractions and sampling sites have been investigated, as well as the seasonal trends of pollutants concentrations. These results allow to highlight that the applied methodology represents a valid support in source apportionment studies.

The ErbB2 blocker trastuzumab improves survival in oncologic patients, but can cause cardiotoxicity. The late Na+ current inhibitor ranolazine has been shown to counter experimental HF, including doxorubicin cardiotoxicity (a condition characterized by derangements in redox balance), by lowering the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Since ErbB2 can modulate ROS signaling, we tested whether trastuzumab cardiotoxicity could be blunted by ranolazine via redox-mediated mechanisms. Trastuzumab decreased fractional shortening and ejection fraction in mice, but ranolazine prevented heart dysfunction when co-administered with trastuzumab. Trastuzumab cardiotoxicity was accompanied by elevations in natriuretic peptides and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) mRNAs, which were not elevated with co-treatment with ranolazine. Trastuzumab also increased cleavage of caspase-3, indicating activation of the proapoptotic machinery. Again, ranolazine prevented this activation. Interestingly, Neonatal Rat Ventricular Myocytes (NRVMs), labeled with MitoTracker Red and treated with trastuzumab, showed only a small increase in ROS compared to baseline conditions. We then stressed trastuzumab-treated cells with the beta-agonist isoproterenol to increase workload, and we observed a significant increase of probe fluorescence, compared with cells treated with isoproterenol alone, reflecting induction of oxidative stress. These effects were blunted by ranolazine, supporting a role for INa inhibition in the regulation of redox balance also in trastuzumab cardiotoxicity.

For many disease-causing virus species, global diversity is clustered into a taxonomy of subtypes with clinical significance. In particular, the classification of infections among the subtypes of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is a routine component of clinical management, and there are now many classification algorithms available for this purpose. Although several of these algorithms are similar in accuracy and speed, the majority are proprietary and require laboratories to transmit HIV-1 sequence data over the network to remote servers. This potentially exposes sensitive patient data to unauthorized access, and makes it impossible to determine how classifications are made and to maintain the data provenance of clinical bioinformatic workflows. We propose an open-source supervised and alignment-free subtyping method (Kameris) that operates on k-mer frequencies in HIV-1 sequences. We performed a detailed study of the accuracy and performance of subtype classification in comparison to four state-of-the-art programs. Based on our testing data set of manually curated real-world HIV-1 sequences (n = 2, 784), Kameris obtained an overall accuracy of 97%, which matches or exceeds all other tested software, with a processing rate of over 1,500 sequences per second. Furthermore, our fully standalone general-purpose software provides key advantages in terms of data security and privacy, transparency and reproducibility. Finally, we show that our method is readily adaptable to subtype classification of other viruses including dengue, influenza A, and hepatitis B and C virus.

Indoor aerosol sources may significantly contribute to the daily dose of particles deposited into the human respiratory system. Therefore, it is important to characterize the aerosols deriving from the operations currently performed in an indoor environment and also to estimate the relevant particle respiratory doses. For this aim, aerosols from indoor combustive and non-combustive sources were characterized in terms of aerosol size distributions, and the relevant deposition doses were estimated as a function of time, particle diameter and deposition site in the respiratory system. Ultrafine particles almost entirely made up the doses estimated. The maximum contribution was due to particles deposited in the alveolar region between the 18th and the 21st airway generation. When cooking operations were performed, respiratory doses per unit time were about ten-fold higher than the relevant indoor background dose. Such doses were even higher than those associated with outdoor traffic aerosol.

Enzymatic phosphorylation of glucose with inorganic phosphate, mediated by permeabilized yeast cells, is one of the methods commonly used to manufacture fructose 1,6-diphosphate, a compound of pharmaceutical interest. This process requires high concentrations of yeast active biomass, that is the catalyst of bioconversion of glucose and inorganic phosphate into fructose 1,6-diphosphate. In this study we firstly describe the high cell density production of a brewer's Saccharomyces strain (Saccharomyces pastorianus DSM 6581), focusing on the optimization of medium composition and exploiting fed-batch strategies and novel technologies based on membrane bioreactors. In fed-batch fermentation an appropriate exponential feed profile was set up to maintain the glucose concentration in the bioreactor below 0.9 g·L-1, thus yielding reproducibly 58 g dry weight biomass per liter in 80 h fermentation, improving eight-fold batch processes output. In addition a higher final biomass density was reached when implementing a microfiltration strategy (70 g dry weight biomass), that led to a productivity of 2.1 gcdw·L-1·h-1, 2.4-fold the fed-batch one. Successively, this biomass was opportunely permeabilized and proved capable of catalyzing the bioconversion of glucose into fructose 1,6-diphosphate. Acting on critical parameters of the bioconversion (substrates molar ratio, catalyst concentration and permeabilization agent), fructose 1,6-diphosphate was produced, after 3 h of process, at 56.3 ± 1 g·L-1 with a yield of 80% of the theoretical value.

The complex chain of photochemical reactions is one of the most important tasks in the air quality evaluation, expecially in urban areas. In fact, in this case there are high emission levels of NOx and no-methane hydrocarbons by combustion processes such as autovehicular traffic, domestic heating and industrial plants. Ozone is not emitted directly into the atmosphere but it is formed from a complex series of reactions between emitted nitrogen oxides (NOx) and reactive organic compounds (ROC). The high ozone concentrations, which occur during photochemical episodes, are usually accompanied by elevated concentrations of other photochemical oxidants such as nitric acid (HNO3), peroxyacylnitrates (PANs), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), etc. The complex series of these reactions constitutes the most important issue to the degradation of air quality. Further, the NMHCs play a key role in the formation of photochemical air pollution: they are considered as precursors for ozone production at the ground level when the sunlight and nitrogen oxides are present. From a practically point of view defining a quality standard or a limit is substantially correct but it is no sufficient to solve the problem. So it should become necessary to acquire knowledge on the different formation mechanisms of the photochemical pollution phenomena. In this paper there will be shown the results of a long-term study performed in Rome for evaluating the ozone formation in relationship with the autovehicular traffic density.

Existing literature has identified domestic restrictive monetary policy and deteriorating funding conditions as the predominant factors explaining the increase in net interoffice accounts of global banks, that is, the net liabilities of parent offices due to their related foreign offices. The purpose of this research is twofold. Firstly, it quantifies the responsiveness of net interoffice accounts to variations in different types of domestic funding. Secondly, the paper assesses whether the relationship between net interoffice accounts and domestic policy-steered rates depends on cross-sectional differences in the funding structure of global banks. Using US banks’ balance sheets data collected by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, the results highlight the importance of domestic repo borrowings in explaining net interoffice accounts, especially for larger banks during the crisis. On the other hand, a negative relationship between policy rates and net interoffice accounts is observed only for those global banks with a relatively higher share of repo borrowings.

One of the emerging risks in the engineering and electronic industries is the exposure of workers to ultrafine particles during (micro-)welding operations, i.e., processes used for joining two metal parts heated locally, which constitute the base metal, with or without addition of another metal which is the filler metal, melted between the edges to be joined. The process is accompanied by formation of metallic fumes arising from the molten metal as well as by the emission of metal fumes of variable composition depending on the alloys welded and fused. The aim of this paper is to investigate the number, concentration and size distribution of submicron particles produced by (micro-)welding processes. Particle number size distribution is continuously measured during (micro-)welding operations by means of two instruments, i.e., Fast Mobility Particle Sizer and Nanoparticle Surface Area Monitor. The temporal variation of the particle number size distribution across the peaks evidences the strong and fast-evolving contribution of nucleation mode particles: peak values are maintained for less than 10 s. The implication of such contribution on human health is linked to the high deposition efficiency of submicronic particles in the alveolar interstitial region of the human respiratory system, where gas exchange occurs.

We report the case of a child with tetraplegia after cervical trauma, who subsequently underwent diaphragmatic pacemaker implantation. We reviewed the major indications for diaphragmatic pacing and the types of devices employed. We highlight the unequivocal benefit of diaphragmatic pacing in the social and educational reintegration of individuals with tetraplegia.

As empresas de comércio de alimentos em sua maioria são de pequeno e médio porte e já são identificadas suas dificuldades de gestão financeira, tanto pelas taxas de mortalidade quanto pelos motivos dessa mortalidade precoce. A pesquisa teve o objetivo de identificar como é feita a gestão financeira dessas empresas, quais suas dificuldades, falhas e quais fatores influenciam os gestores no processo decisório. Para alcançar tal objetivo, foram explorados quatro assuntos da saúde financeira das empresas do ramo de comércio de alimentos: gestão do fluxo de caixa, gestão do capital de giro, relação com fornecedores e investimentos. Foram aplicados questionários estruturados a gestores das PME – Pequenas e Médias Empresas, nas quadras 201, 202, 402 e 403 da Asa Sul, Brasília, Distrito Federal. Os resultados mostraram algumas prioridades dos gestores, como eles obtêm o controle financeiro, e que as áreas de gestão de estoques e marketing estão diretamente ligadas com a saúde financeira. Com relação ao fluxo de caixa e capital de giro, as empresas apresentaram esses controles, porém observou-se a existência de dificuldades na análise dessas contas, talvez pela falta de especialização dos gestores na área. Verificaram-se controles pouco atualizados, o que os torna imprecisos, ocasionando vieses equivocados no auxílio à tomada de decisão.

Introduction. The Campania population is characterized by a high incidence and prevalence of heart failure (HF). The aim of this study is to describe the clinical epidemiology, comorbidities, and treatments in HF patients admitted to Internal Medicine Wards (IMW) in Campania. Materials and Methods. It is a retrospective, regional, multicentric, observational study including patients admitted to 15 IMW in Campania, with an HF diagnosis, over a period of three consecutive months. Results. We identified 427 patients, stratified by ejection fraction (EF) category (127 EF≤40%; 216 EF 41-49%; 84 EF≥50%). In comparison with HFpEF subjects, patients with HFrEF were younger (74 years vs. 9 years), more commonly male (67% vs. 32%), and more likely to have an ischaemic aetiology (45% vs. 25%). The most used drugs at the time of hospitalization and after were Diuretics (80.3/93.5%), BBs (69.6/92.6%), and Statins (52.1/63.7%), with statistically significant pre-/post- differences (P≤0.05). Conclusions. EF is more likely to be non-preserved in younger males and in patients with CAD etiology. Hospitalization influences in a statistically significant way the change or adjustment of therapy for almost all drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]