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Impact of combined seismic and energy renovation works on the dynamics and damageability of infilled RC frame buildings
Get PDFThis study aims to explore how combined seismic and energy related renovations of external infills affect the overall dynamic response and seismic damageability of framed buildings. It involves an experimental phase to collect data on real buildings before and after renovation, followed by numerical modelling of selected case studies. A modelling strategy is proposed for simply but accurately modelling infilled reinforced concrete frame buildings, and sensitivity-based model updating is then performed to ensure fidelity to experimental observations. The calibrated models are used to analyse a wider range of cases, aiming to draw general conclusions about the effects of renovation works of infills on the overall building dynamics. They are also used for assessing the damageability of buildings in the presence of low and moderate seismic actions. Results of the experimental phase demonstrate that combined seismic and energy related renovations generally lead to an increase of the building frequencies. Simplified closed-form formulae providing an estimation of the frequency increase are provided as a function of the building geometrical features
Fibromyalgia: one year in review 2025
No full textFibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic syndrome characterised by widespread pain, high prevalence, and a significant impact on quality of life. Despite extensive research, its pathogenesis and treatment remain only partially understood, driving continued investigation throughout 2024. Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system has been linked to chronic stress responses and neuroinflammation, with neuroimaging and preclinical studies confirming altered pain and stress processing. Low-grade inflammation and metabolic disturbances, including cytokine imbalance and increased adipose tissue infiltration, further exacerbate symptoms. Alterations in the gut microbiota contribute to immune and emotional dysregulation. MRI studies continue to reveal brain changes that differentiate FM from other chronic pain disorders. Multi-omics approaches, including transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses, show promise as diagnostic biomarkers. Mitochondrial dysfunction also emerges as a key factor, since impaired energy metabolism seems to correlate with symptom severity. From a clinical perspective, recent studies have explored under-recognised aspects of FM, such as sexual and cognitive dysfunction, the role of gender, environmental exposures, and the disease's impact on relationships and family life. The differential diagnosis of FM and long COVID has ignited discussion about potential shared mechanisms. Conversely, residual pain in inflammatory diseases remains insufficiently addressed. Therapeutically, non-pharmacological strategies, particularly physical activity and psychosocial interventions, remain fundamental. Emerging areas such as non-invasive neuromodulation, psychedelic therapies, and the integration of technologies like virtual reality and artificial intelligence are opening new frontiers in treatment, patient care, and research. These advances underscore the multifactorial nature of FM and the need for personalised, interdisciplinary approaches
Bioremediation and Soil Fertility Study: Effects of Vermiremediation on Soil Contaminated by Chlorpyrifos
Get PDFfirst_page settings Order Article Reprints Open AccessArticle A Bioremediation and Soil Fertility Study: Effects of Vermiremediation on Soil Contaminated by Chlorpyrifos by Francesca Tagliabue 1,†, Enrica Marini 1,†, Arianna De Bernardi 1,* [ORCID] , Costantino Vischetti 1,* [ORCID] , Gianluca Brunetti 1,2 [ORCID] and Cristiano Casucci 1 [ORCID] 1 Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy 2 Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Boulevard, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia * Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed. † These authors contributed equally to this work. Environments 2025, 12(5), 136; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12050136 Submission received: 27 February 2025 / Revised: 28 March 2025 / Accepted: 20 April 2025 / Published: 24 April 2025 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: Soil Contamination and Remediation) Download keyboard_arrow_down Browse Figures Versions Notes Abstract Although the broad-spectrum pesticide chlorpyrifos (CP) was banned in many developed countries, it is still widely used in developing countries. Its residues persist in the environment for unpredictable times. CP is toxic to various non-target organisms and humans and inhibits soil enzyme activity and bacterial and fungal abundance. This paper aimed to evaluate the effect of vermiremediation on soil chlorpyrifos content and soil fertility. The application of Eisenia fetida or vermicompost was studied in terms of soil chlorpyrifos concentration, microbial biomass content, and enzymatic activities in a 120-day trial. Pesticide application rates were 0, 25, and 50 ppm. The CP did not affect the earthworm survival rate at the tested doses. The earthworms markedly increased microbial biomass carbon and the activity of β-glucosamminidase, while the vermicompost had a noticeably positive effect mainly on alkaline phosphatase activity. Finally, although the vermiremediation techniques studied did not perform a bioremediation activity, they proved effective in improving the biological fertility of the soil in the presence of high concentrations of chlorpyrifos
miR-132–3p is down-regulated in plasma and CD171+ extracellular vesicles isolated from patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease
Get PDFAlzheimer’s disease (AD), the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder in aging populations, demands minimally invasive biomarkers for early diagnosis and monitoring. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) show promise as such biomarkers. In this study, we examined the levels of five selected miRNAs, implicated in neurodegenerative processes, in plasma and neuron-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) from cognitively healthy controls (n = 5), and patients with mild (n = 10) and moderate AD (n = 10), stratified by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). miR-23a-3p, miR-223a-3p, and miR-132–3p were significantly downregulated in both plasma and EVs of AD patients, with miR-132–3p emerging as the strongest biomarker candidate for mild AD. Plasma miRNA levels strongly correlated with EV cargo, supporting plasma-based assessments. To validate these findings, miR-132–3p levels were analyzed in expanded cohorts, including cognitively healthy subjects (n = 36), mild AD (n = 37), and moderate AD (n = 40), as well as a cohort of subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 31) and an additional external cohort of cognitively healthy subjects (CTR external, n = 37). Results confirmed miR-132–3p downregulation in AD patients and revealed a significant elevation in MCI individuals, suggesting a potential neuroprotective role in AD early stages. These findings highlight miR-132–3p as a promising, minimally invasive biomarker for early AD diagnosis and disease progression monitoring
IoE-GraphFormer: A Graph Transformer-Based Framework for Anomaly Detection in Internet of Everything
No full textThe Internet of Everything (IoE) integrates people, processes, data, and things into highly interconnected, heterogeneous, and dynamic networks, significantly increasing exposure to cybersecurity threats. Traditional cybersecurity mechanisms designed for the Internet of Things (IoT) often fall short when faced with IoE's inherent complexity and scale. This paper presents IoE-GraphFormer, a novel cybersecurity framework leveraging advanced graph transformer architectures to effectively detect anomalies and cyber threats in complex IoE networks. IoEGraphFormer models intricate relationships among diverse entities within IoE environments, capturing long-range dependencies and dynamic interactions critical to accurate anomaly detection. Experiments performed on simulated IoE datasets demonstrate superior detection accuracy, robustness, and scalability compared to existing graph-based cybersecurity solutions, underscoring the potential of graph transformers to safeguard next-generation IoE system
La gestione conservativa degli interfilari
No full textEffetti di leguminose seminate e prato permanente spontaneo sul miglioramento della sostanza organica e della biomassa microbica di suoli vitat
Root distribution in fruit orchards with conservative soil management
No full textSoil conservation through an agro-ecological approach is fundamental in modern and sustainable fruit production. A vegetal cover of the soil has multiple advantages, it limits soil erosion and nutrient leakage, ameliorates the soil structure and microporosity, reduces soil temperature, increases soil water retention and soil organic matter content. Moreover, it enhances the whole orchard biodiversity maintaining a higher number of herbaceous species and macro and micro flora and fauna and providing additional agro-ecological services. However, management needs to be carefully studied because the vegetal cover can be a competitor to the fruit tree for water and nutrients. In particular, the presence of herbaceous species will influence root development, growth, distribution and function. This is particularly important in modern fruit orchards, where tree densities are increasing, and roots systems have a smaller soil volume to be explored. The alternate use of different soil management techniques has been tested in a biodynamic farm in central Italy and, in the present study, the distribution of tree root system was evaluated. A yearly rotation of spontaneous cover, shallow tillage, cover crop and green manure lead to different root distribution and depth in the inter-row, with a more homogeneous root distribution where aerating grassing was applied
Epigenetic Properties of Compounds Contained in Functional Foods Against Cancer
Get PDFEpigenetics encompasses reversible and heritable genomic changes in histones, DNA expression, and non-coding RNAs that occur without modifying the nucleotide DNA sequence. These changes play a critical role in modulating cell function in both healthy and pathological conditions. Dysregulated epigenetic mechanisms are implicated in various diseases, including cardiovascular disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, obesity, and mainly cancer. Therefore, to develop innovative therapeutic strategies, research for compounds able to modulate the complex epigenetic landscape of cancer is rapidly surging. Dietary phytochemicals, mostly flavonoids but also tetraterpenoids, organosulfur compounds, and isothiocyanates, represent biologically active molecules found in vegetables, fruits, medicinal plants, and beverages. These natural organic compounds exhibit epigenetic modulatory properties by influencing the activity of epigenetics key enzymes, such as DNA methyltransferases, histone acetyltransferases and deacetylases, and histone methyltransferases and demethylases. Due to the reversibility of the modifications that they induce, their minimal adverse effects, and their potent epigenetic regulatory activity, dietary phytochemicals hold significant promise as antitumor agents and warrant further investigation. This review aims to consolidate current data on the diverse epigenetic effects of the six major flavonoid subclasses, as well as other natural compounds, in the context of cancer. The goal is to identify new therapeutic epigenetic targets for drug development, whether as stand-alone treatments or in combination with conventional antitumor approaches
Prognostic Role of Electrocardiographic Alternans in Ischemic Heart Disease
Get PDFBackground/Objectives: Noninvasive arrhythmic risk stratification in patients with ischemic heart disease is poor nowadays, and further investigations are needed. The most correct approach is based on the use of electrocardiogram (ECG) with the extraction of indices such as ECG alternans (ECGA). The aim of this study is to monitor the ECG evidence of ischemic coronary artery occlusion by the ECGA and to verify its ability to monitor the time course of balloon inflation, with the final goal of contributing to the exploration of the prognostic role of ECGA in ischemic heart disease. Methods: The ECGA amplitude and magnitude were computed by the correlation method (CM) on the STAFF III database, where ischemic coronary artery occlusion was induced in a controlled manner through coronary artery blockage by balloon inflation. ECGA computed during balloon inflation was also compared with periods before and after the inflation. Results: ECGA values became statistically higher during inflation than in the pre-inflation period and increased as inflation time increased, although not always in a statistically significant manner. ECGA went from values in the range 4–7 μV and 169–396 μV·beat before inflation to values in the range 5–9 μV and 208–573 μV·beat during 5 min of inflation (resulting statistically higher than before inflation), returning towards values in the range 4–8 μV and 182–360 μV·beat after inflation for amplitude and magnitude, respectively. Conclusions: CM-based ECGA detection was able to track the balloon inflation period. Our ECGA investigation represents a contribution in the field of research exploring its prognostic role as a noninvasive electrical risk index in ischemic heart disease