Search

To date, the introduction of biodegradable plastics such as PLA in anaerobic digestion systems has been limited by a very low rate of biodegradation. To overcome these limitations, pretreatment technologies can be applied. In this study, the impact of pretreatments (mechanical, thermal, thermo-acid, and thermo-alkaline) was investigated. Mechanical pretreatment of PLA improved its biodegradation rate but did not affect the ultimate methane potential (430-461 NL CH

This article aims to report the experience of Biological Sciences students of the University Federal de Santa Maria during the extension project "Transforming education in non - formal spaces: sensorial and environmental track as a strategy for resensitization of the elderly”, held at the Institution Home of the Elderly Sao Vicente de Paulo, during the Curricular Internship of the Biological Sciences in Educational Spaces, in the first half of 2018. The project worked on the elderly’s sensory system through touch, vision, hearing and smell, in a dynamic way and concerned to restore the elderly's individuality in order to work their perception and memory, and motivate them through environmental elements. After the implementation of the project, the interviews carried out revealed that the experience was significant among the elderly, achieving the objectives, as well as providing the students with new insights about teaching and learning in non-formal educational settings.

Background: Previous studies on oxaliplatin and fluoropyrimidines as adjuvant therapy in older patients with stage III colon cancer (CC) produced conflicting results. Patients and methods: We assessed the impact of age on time to tumour recurrence (TTR), disease-free survival (DFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS) in 2360 patients with stage III CC (1667 aged

Currently, there is a great interest in the search for new natural bioactive compounds against bacterial biofilms, ubiquitous in natural, clinical and industrial environments, and responsible for the high resistance of bacteria to antimicrobial agents. Several species of Capsicum red peppers are used worldwide in a number of preparations to treat a variety of illnesses, including infections. The aim of this study was to investigate the antiadhesive and antibiofilm activity of Capsicum baccatum, after sequential extraction, against important bacteria. Antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were performed by the OD600 absorbance and crystal violet method, respectively, and using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The most active extract of C. baccatum was incorporated in Permanox™ slides by spin-coated technique in order to produce an anti-infective surface. In addition, an in vivo toxicological evaluation was performed using the alternative host model of Galleria mellonella larvae. The residual aqueous extract from C. baccatum seeds (RAqS) was the most active extract, able to inhibit up to 80% and 60% of the S. epidermidis and P. aeruginosa biofilm, respectively, without inhibiting the planktonic bacterial growth, neither promoting acute toxicity in G. mellonella. The surface coating with the RAqS modified the highly hydrophobic feature of Permanox™ slides and prevented the bacterial adhesion and biofilm development. SEM analysis showed the presence of only small clusters or individual cells without the presence of matrix on the RAqS treated samples, even when RAqS was in solution or as coating. The phytochemical evaluation of RAqS indicated the main presence of tannins and amino acids/proteins. The study presented herein demonstrated, for the first time, the ability of C. baccatum to prevent bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation of two significant pathogens. This property of C. baccatum evidences its potential as a promising source of natural compounds for the development of novel strategies, targeting anti-virulence factors, for combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and controlling clinical and industrial problems related to biofilms.

Todo país com as dimensões continentais do Brasil precisa de uma sólida base cartográfica atualizada que podem ser utilizadas para auxiliar a tomada de decisões importantes sobre o planejamento urbano para todo o território nacional. Processos convencionais para minimizar a desatualização, possuem um custo financeiro muito elevado. Nesse sentido, o uso de imagens de sensoriamento remoto é indicado com relativo baixo custo financeiro para realizar contribuir no processo de atualização de bases cartográficas. Entre as muitas ferramentas de imagens de processamento digital - DPI, as equações diferenciais parciais (PDEs) foram usadas na fase de suavização das imagens, uma vez que o modelo proposto por Barcelos e Chen suaviza uma imagem sem comprometer os contornos dos recursos contidos na cena. Posteriormente, os operadores morfológicos foram utilizados com o objetivo de eliminar características indesejáveis e extrair as feições de interesse. Estes contemplam a teoria da Morfologia Matemática. A teoria da morfologia matemática foi utilizada com o objetivo de melhorar visualmente a qualidade original da imagem e extrair a informação relevante. Considerando que os operadores morfológicos atuam também em imagens em níveis de cinzas, a proposta deste trabalho foi aplicar operadores nas fases de pré-processamento e de processamento da feição de interesse. As ferramentas utilizadas estão contidas na toolbox da SDC Information Systems e rodam no software Matlab. Os resultados obtidos foram interessantes e podem ser usados em processos convencionais de atualização de produtos cartográficos.

Augmenting gearing systems efficiency is a key issue in developing innovative aero-engines with low specific fuel consumption. The transmission system directly affects the engine overall efficiency, therefore it is essential maximizing its performance. In high speed applications fluid-dynamic losses become predominant and are directly connected to the lubrication method. Oil jet systems are generally used in order to achieve a proper cooling and lubrication of tooth surface. A novel rotating test rig was exploited for investigating oil jet lubrication by means of high speed visualizations. An oil jet impinging radially on a single spur gear was generated by a spray-bar, assessing which parameters affect the oil jet behavior.

Scope Standardized animal models represent one of the most valuable tools available to understand the mechanism underlying the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and to seek for new therapeutic strategies. However, there is considerable variability in the studies conducted with this essential purpose. This review presents an updated discussion of the most recent studies using diverse experimental conditions to induce MetS in rodents with unbalanced diets, discusses the key findings in metabolic outcomes, and critically evaluates what we have learned from them and how to advance in the field. Methods and results The study included scientific reports sourced from the Web of Science and PubMed databases, published between January 2013 and June 2020, which used hypercaloric diets to induce metabolic disorders, and address the impact of the diet on metabolic parameters. The collected data were used as support to discuss variables such as sex, species, and age of the animals, the most favorable type of diet, and the ideal diet length to generate metabolic changes. Conclusions The experimental characteristics propose herein improve the performance of a preclinical model of that resemble the human MetS and will serve as a guide for researchers to investigate new therapeutic alternatives with confidence and higher translational validity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The reduction of fluid-dynamic losses in high speed gearing systems is nowadays increasing importance in the design of innovative aircraft propulsion systems, which are particularly focused on improving the propulsive efficiency. Main sources of fluid-dynamic losses in high speed gearing systems are windage losses, inertial losses resulting by impinging oil jets used for jet lubrication and the losses related to the compression and the subsequent expansion of the fluid trapped between gears teeth. The numerical study of the latter is particularly challenging since it faces high speed multiphase flows interacting with moving surfaces, but it paramount for improving knowledge of the fluid behavior in such regions. The current work aims to analyze trapping losses in a gear pair by means of three-dimensional CFD simulations. In order to reduce the numerical effort, an approach for restricting computational domain was defined, thus only a portion of the gear pair geometry was discretized. Transient calculations of a gear pair rotating in an oil-free environment were performed, in the context of conventional eddy viscosity models. Results were compared with experimental data from the open literature in terms of transient pressure within a tooth space, achieving a good agreement. Finally, a strategy for meshing losses calculation was developed and results as a function of rotational speed were discussed.

In recent years the aero-engine community is looking towards the reduction of specific fuel consumption by increasing the efficiency of gearing systems. Considering their weight contribution, internal power losses and lubrication requirements, they have indeed a direct impact on the engine overall efficiency. Even though nowadays gears have reached very high efficiencies, over 99%, all the power dissipated through losses is converted into heat that must be removed by the lubrication system. Heat reduction is hence beneficial for minimizing lubrication system dimensions that is crucial in aero engine applications where it is mandatory to limit the weight of every component. Among the sources of loss, two main categories may be distinguished: load dependent and load independent losses. The first ones are due to the transmission of torque and have been deeply studied in the last years, the latter are related to fluid-dynamic interaction between gears and the surrounding environment, they are negligible at low pitch line velocities, but become very important in high speed applications, typical of turbomachinery. This work deals with an experimental investigation of the load independent losses due to a couple of spur meshing gears working at different conditions in presence of an oil-jet lubrication system. The test rig allows the gears to rotate, at different velocities up to 15000 rpm, in a controlled environment contained in a sealed box. Test rig pressure can be imposed (0.3–1.0 bar) and monitored as well as the oil jet conditions, in terms of mass flow rate (jet volume flow rate up to 1.65 litres per minute), temperature (80–140 °C) and inclination angle. A high precision bearing-less torque meter, equipped with a speedometer, was exploited to measure at the same time the torque losses and rotating speed. Results of the experimental survey allowed a better understanding of load independent losses at pitch line speed up to 100 m/s and in different environmental conditions.

Background In the last years ANMAR Italia and the federated Regiional Association worked hardly to educate people with Rheumatic diseases (RMDs) to an appropriate adherence to the therapy prescribed, as the Mosaico project confirmed that even patients in bio-technological therapies reveal unwillingness to assume their drugs within the schedule prescribed by the rheumatologist (timing and doses). “ANMAR we care”, study by the Italian Association of patients with Rheumatic diseases (ANMAR) in 2017 thnaks to an unrestricted grant from ABBVIE and the precious collaboration of the Engage Minds Hub Research Center of Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano directed by prof. Guendalina Graffigna, intended to analize the problem again after the campains acted in the last two years and to link adherence to theapies with the degree of patient engagement. Objectives to verify the percentage of adherent patients and their degree of adhesion to the therapy. To appraise the relationship among adherence and engagement of people with rheumatic diseases. Methods in the study we administered to patients a specifically pursued questionnaire containing a fair number of questions on adherence to therapies. This sub-analysis was made using the answers to those questions and data have been interpolated with those related to the level of engagement of the patients. Results overall data confirm that in Italy also in 2017 the percentage of people with RMDs adherent to therapies settles in dissatisfying degrees (54%) and that such includes patients partially adherent. Looking at the relationship within adherence and engagement, if divided in the four groups anticipated by the PHE Model the percentage are: Blackout (cognitive blindness, deny, freezing) 47%, Arousal (superficial knowledge, alert, behavioral disorganization) 46%, Adhesion (cognitive adhesion, accep-tance, formal adherence) 61%, Eudaimonic Project (sense making, elaboration, situated practices) 78%. Notice that patients with Psoriatic Arthritis are the most adherent, followed by those with Fibromialgy, Spondylitis and finally with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Conclusions this analysis highlights that the information and awareness campaigns made in the last years were useful, but results are still far away from the optimum. As we expected, the engagement degree hardly affects the adherence process, but totally unexpected is that patients in “Arousal” are more confused and less adherent than those in “Blackout”. Disclosure of Interest None declared

Enhancing the efficiency of gearing systems is an important topic for the development of future aero-engines with low specific fuel consumption. The transmission system in fact has a direct impact on the engine overall efficiency by means of its weight contribution, internal power losses and lubrication requirements. Thus, an evaluation of its structure and performance is mandatory in order to optimize the design as well as maximize its efficiency. Gears are among the most efficient power transmission systems, whose efficiencies can exceed 99 %, nevertheless in high speed applications power losses are anything but negligible. All power dissipated through losses is converted into heat that must be dissipated by the lubrication system. More heat leads to a larger cooling capacity, which results in more oil, larger heat exchangers which finally means more weight. Mechanical power losses are usually distinguished in two main categories: load-dependent and load-independent losses. The former are all those associated with the transmission of torque, while the latter are tied to the fluid-dynamics of the environment which surrounds the gears, namely windage, fluid trapping and squeezing between meshing gear teeth and inertial losses resulting by the impinging oil jets, usually adopted in high speed transmission for cooling and lubrication purposes. The relative magnitude of these phenomena is strongly dependent on the operative conditions of the transmission. While load-dependent losses are predominant at slow speeds and high torque conditions, load-independent mechanisms become prevailing in high speed applications, like in turbomachinery. Among fluid-dynamic losses, windage is extremely important and can dominate the other mechanisms. In this context, a new test rig was designed for investigating windage power losses resulting by a single spur gear rotating in a free oil environment. The test rig allows the gear to rotate at high speed within a box where pressure and temperature conditions can be set and monitored. An electric spindle, which drives the system, is connected to the gear through a high accuracy torque meter, equipped with a speedometer providing the rotating velocity. The test box is fitted with optical accesses in order to perform particle image velocimetry measurements for investigating the flow-field surrounding the rotating gear. The experiment has been computationally replicated, performing RANS simulations in the context of conventional eddy viscosity models. The numerical results were compared with experimental data in terms of resistant torque as well as PIV measurements, achieving a good agreement for all of the speed of rotations.

In order to reduce environmental and climate impact from air traffic, the main effort of aero-engine industry and research community is looking at a continuous increase in gearbox efficiency. With this kind of components every source of loss can be responsible for high heat loads; for this reason oil jet systems are used to provide proper cooling and lubrication of gears tooth surfaces. In the design phase it is important to predict the losses increase due to the lubricating oil jet impact on the spur gear, varying the different geometrical and working parameters such as the jet inclination, distance and the oil mass flow rate and temperature. An experimental investigation was carried out on a novel rotating test rig able to reproduce real engine working conditions in terms of speed, pressure and lubrication system, for a single spur gear. The rig consists of an electric spindle driving a shaft with a spur gear clamped on top. The gear is enclosed in a box where different air pressure conditions can be set and monitored. Pressure transducers and T-type thermocouples placed within the test box were used to measure the gear working conditions. The test box is also equipped with several optical accesses allowing flow field measurements or oil jet visualizations. The driving shaft is composed by two parts connected by a bearingless torquemeter equipped with a speedometer in order to perform torque losses and rotating velocity measurements. Tests were performed without the gear first, in order to separate the final value from the friction losses due to the driving shaft. Windage losses were characterized experimentally for every working condition and the results collected in a simple correlation that was used to separate the losses due to air windage from the ones due to the oil injection. An oil control unit allowed to impose the proper oil pressure and temperature conditions and to measure the mass flow rate. The oil jet was delivered by a spraybar placed within the gearbox, the jet to gear distance and relative angle were varied during the experiments. High speed visualizations were also performed for every test condition in order to deepen the physical understanding of the phenomena and to obtain more information on the lubrication capability of every jet condition. A high speed camera was placed in front of the gear exploiting an optical access while a halogen lamp was used to provide the proper lightening necessary due to the very low exposure time of the acquisitions. The wide experimental database provided, allowed the development of a simple numerical model able to well predict every losses contribution at the various working conditions.

A series of hydrophilic alkanethiols, HS(CH2)(n)OH with n = 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 11, have been self-assembled on gold electrodes of pentacene-based thin-film transistors. The multiparametric and ultra-sensitive response of these devices allows us to characterize both charge-injection and electrical stability moving from vacuum to air. The decay exponent beta of charge injection is found to be 0.7-1.1 angstrom(-1) in agreement with earlier measurements of charge tunneling done by electrochemistry and large-area molecular junctions. We find that the intermediate chain lengths (n = 4 and 6) yield an optimum response as they represent the best compromise in terms of decrease of the contact-resistance and bias stress.

Capsicum baccatum is the most consumed red pepper species in Brazil. Our previous studies demonstrated the anti-inflammatory properties of its crude extract, whose activity is yet to be fully characterized. Herein, we examined the anti-inflammatory in vivo effects of enriched extracts obtained through bioguided fractionation as dichloromethane (DCM), butanol (BUT), and residual aqueous (RAq) extracts and its influence on inflammatory mediators produced by macrophages in vitro. We demonstrated that all C. baccatum extracts presented anti-inflammatory activity in vivo. In addition, we showed that BUT and RAq were more effective in inhibiting the neutrophil migration induced by carrageenan (Cg) to peritoneal cavity and both extracts inhibited paw edema induced by Cg, prostaglandin E2, and histamine in mice. Furthermore, the pretreatment with C. baccatum extracts significantly reduced the levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO) in the paw tissues of mice compared with the carrageenan group. Once again, RAq and BUT caused the greatest reduction in MPO levels. Moreover, it was demonstrated for the first time that C. baccatum inhibited the nitric oxide and tumor necrosis factor-alpha production by lipopolysaccharide/interferon gamma (IFN-γ)-stimulated macrophages. These anti-inflammatory effects seem to be at least, in part, independent of capsaicin. Hence, red pepper has bioactive compounds and might be used to develop food-derived extracts to treat related inflammatory diseases.

Nell’epoca delle classificazioni e delle linee guida, diffuse nel tentativo di uniformare i trattamenti per migliorare la qualita della cura del malato, una decisione terapeutica basata sull’esperienza personale appare anacronistica. e infatti provato che una presentazione insolita di un problema o una diagnosi inaspettata in un paziente curato in passato influiscono sulla condotta diagnostica e sulle decisioni terapeutiche future del medico che ha trattato il caso. Per comprendere quanto l’esperienza sia importante nella decisione terapeutica, abbiamo sottoposto a 58 chirurghi ortopedici esperti un questionario costituito dalla descrizione e dall’immagine radiografica di 4 casi clinici di fratture periprotesiche dell’anca. I casi presentati erano rispettivamente fratture di tipo A, tipo B1, tipo B2 e tipo C, in accordo con la classificazione di Vancouver. Per ciascun caso i chirurghi presentati avevano la possibilita di scelta tra 5 differenti trattamenti. L’analisi delle risposte evidenzia solo un parziale rispetto delle indicazioni suggerite dalla classificazione di Vancouver. In particolare, la frattura di tipo C, vicina all’apice della stelo, rappresenta l’evenienza con la maggior distribuzione percentuale delle risposte possibili. Il nostro studio conferma che la classificazione di Vancouver puo essere un valido aiuto al chirurgo ortopedico, ma che l’esperienza personale, le caratteristiche del paziente (eta, attivita, comorbilita ecc.), le esigenze e le aspettative del paziente giocano un ruolo determinante nella decisione terapeutica finale.

This paper analyzes the performance of an indirect time-of-flight (ITOF) complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) range image sensor. A number of experiments were performed to measure the actual performance of the system under test and to highlight its strength and weak points, with a focus on which limits are related to the design and which are intrinsic in the operating principle. The evaluated system allows fast and accurate measurements, but pixel-level calibration is needed to achieve high accuracy over the whole image. Simple temporal or spatial filtering allows a significant reduction in the measurement uncertainty.

Hip revision has several objectives: filling the bone defect, restoring the rotational center of the hip, and restoring limb length and hip function. Recently, through tissue engineering, it became possible to consider a fourth objective: to give a graft improved capability to osteointegrate and to restore bone stock as for amount of bone and bone quality (tissue engineering or bioenhancement). Concerning biomechanical and clinical objectives, rings are the most commonly used prosthesis. We used the Partial Pelvic Replacement (PPR) ring and retrospectively analyzed our patients at a mean follow-up of 27.2 months. We found no signs of radiological failure, no radiolucency or osteolysis, nor implant component ruptures. The mean Harris hip score improved significantly from 35.9 preoperatively to 78.1. As for the anatomical objective of hip revision surgery, homologous bone grafts are the most used means to fill a bone defect. We developed a new method to produce platelet gel as a simple and inexpensive way to obtain autologous growth factors, without any discomfort for the patient. We used platelet gel with PPR rings and homologous bone graft; we report our method and describe the first cases treated, with good results.

Irreparable rotator cuff tears are a common cause of pain in adult population, requiring in many cases a surgical treatment. Possible alternatives are debridement, partial repair, muscle transfers and joint replacement. We evaluated two groups of patients with irreparable rotator cuff tear treated surgically: one group received an arthroscopic-assisted latissimus dorsi tendon transfer (LDTT), and the other an arthroscopic rotator cuff partial repair. Aim of our study was to compare clinical results and quality of life in two groups of patients with massive irreparable rotator cuff tear: one receiving an arthroscopic LDTT and the other receiving an arthroscopic rotator cuff partial repair. Forty patients were assigned to two groups: 20 patients to group TT treated with LDTT and 20 patients to group PR treated with a partial repair. The average follow-up duration was 2.8 years (1–5, SD 3). Pre- and postoperative modified UCLA shoulder score, ROM, measurement of the strength and the rotator cuff quality of life (RC-QOL) were used to asses the outcome. LDTT showed significative improvements when compared to partial repair in UCLA score results, strength and RC-QOL questionnaire. No differences were found between the groups in pain relief. Both techniques are effective in reducing patients’ symptoms. We believe that in younger, high-demanding patients with no or mild osteoarthritis, the LDTT represents a valid treatment option with better modified UCLA score improvement and strength at our follow-up.