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The presence of moisture in masonry is crucial because it causes and exacerbates various deterioration mechanisms, such as crystallization of salts, mechanical stresses due to freeze–thaw cycles, biological degradation, etc. The assessment of the water content is critical for cultural heritage buildings; thus, on-site non-invasive techniques have been proposed over time. An innovative active thermographic procedure is proposed and tested in a laboratory to assess the amount of moisture via a non-destructive approach. The methodology is based on heating a brick specimen together with a reference sample which has known thermophysical properties. Evaporation is inhibited by an impermeable film applied to the samples. The trends in the surface temperatures of both materials are recorded using infrared thermography and compared with each other: the calculation of the thermal inertia of the wetted material is retrieved from the comparison of the temperature trends in both samples. The water content value is thus determined from the thermal inertia of the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imbalance between production and scavenging of superoxide anion results in hypertension by the inactivation of nitric oxide, and the increased oxidative stress from the resultant peroxynitrite that is produced promotes inflammatory processes such as atherosclerosis. Induction of phase 2 proteins promotes oxidant scavenging. We hypothesized that intake of dietary phase 2 protein inducers would ameliorate both hypertension and atherosclerotic changes in the spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rat. For 5 days/week for 14 weeks, we fed rats 200 mg/day of dried broccoli sprout that contained glucoraphanin, which is metabolized into the phase 2 protein-inducer sulforaphane (Group A), sprouts in which most of the glucoraphanin was destroyed (Group B), or no sprouts (Group C). After 14 weeks of treatment no significant differences were seen between rats in Groups B and C. Rats in Group A had significantly decreased oxidative stress in cardiovascular and kidney tissues, as shown by increased glutathione (GSH) content and decreased oxidized GSH, decreased protein nitrosylation, as well as increased GSH reductase and GSH peroxidase activities. Decreased oxidative stress correlated with better endothelial-dependent relaxation of the aorta and significantly lower (20 mm Hg) blood pressure. Tissues from Groups B and C had considerable numbers of infiltrating activated macrophages, indicative of inflammation, whereas animals in Group A had few detectable infiltrating macrophages. There is interest in dietary phase 2 protein inducers as means of reducing cancer incidence. We conclude that a diet containing phase 2 protein inducers also reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular problems of hypertension and atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]