1,721,055 research outputs found
Mechanical Characterization of Layer-by-Layer Interface in Concrete Elements Obtained by Additive Manufacturing
No full textThe anisotropic behavior of the 3D concrete printing elements represents a crucial key feature to be closely investigated. It is mainly due to the layered extrusion process, the most widespread digital concrete technology, which creates weak planes at the interface, known as “Cold Joints”, by placing material layer upon layer. To investigate the interface bond failure mechanism, the bond strength at the interface between layers was measured in this study, especially with respect to printing time gap between layers. In particular, this work provides a characterization of the mechanical properties of 3D printed concrete elements’ interfaces through the design and the implementation of an experimental setup supported by DIC technique, in order to study the shear behavior of layer interfaces. The study investigates different 3d concrete elements produced with 100 s, 200 s, 1800 s as time gap between layer deposition, showing a significant decrease in terms of maximum load up to about 50% for the elements realized with the higher value of resting time compared to bulk elements
Analisi del meccanismo molecolare e del ruolo fisiologico dell'espressione differenziale del gene per il tRNA - Val (GAC) nella embriogenesi somatica di Daucus carota.
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The Orbi Tradition: Blind Street Singers in Sicily
No full textIn Sicily, the street music was primarily entrusted to a class of professional singers and players called orbi (“blind”). In 1661 orbi gathered in Palermo at the brotherhood of the Immaculate Conception under the protection of the Jesuits, marking their first official appearance in the historical record. The testimonies of the activity of orbi between the 18th and 19th centuries offers a detailed account of both their repertoire – composed mainly of sacred songs, but also of storii (“narrative songs”), canzuni (“songs”), ditties and dance music – and their performative contecxts. For instance, they were called to perform at religious celebrations, weddings and convivial events, serenades, and performances of the Sicilian puppet theatre (Opera dei pupi). The blind players usually performed as a duo: a violinist and a player of citarruni (small three-stringed bass or adapted cello, in the twentieth century gradually replaced by the guitar). These street musicians – not all necessarily blind – were particularly active in the widespread dissemination of devotional poems of ecclesiastical origin in the Sicilian dialect.
This important musical tradition is widely documented for Palermo but was not as well studied in Messina and Catania, the main cities of Eastern Sicily. This article takes into account historic and contemporary evidence of orbi activities, with a special attention for devotional celebrations and puppet theatre performances
Availability of Open Dynamic Glycemic Data in the Field of Diabetes Research: A Scoping Review
No full textBackground: Poor data availability and accessibility characterizing some research areas in biomedicine are still limiting potentialities for increasing knowledge and boosting technological advancement. This phenomenon also characterizes the field of diabetes research, in which glycemic data may serve as a basis for different applications. To overcome this limitation, this review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the publicly available data sets related to dynamic glycemic data. Methods: Search was performed in four different sources, namely scientific journals, Google, a comprehensive registry of clinical trials and two electronic databases. Retrieved data sets were analyzed in terms of their main characteristics and on the typology of data provided. Results: Twenty-five data sets were identified including data from challenge tests (5 of 25) or data from Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM, 20 of 25). As for the data sets including challenge tests, all of them were freely downloadable; most of them (80%) related only to oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) with standard duration (2 h), but varying for timing and number of collected blood samples, and variables collected in addition to glucose levels (with insulin levels being the most common); the remaining 20% of them also included intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) data. As for the data sets related to CGM, 7 of 20 were freely downloadable, whereas the remaining 13 were downloadable upon completion of a request form. Conclusions: This review provided an overview of the readily usable data sets, thus representing a step forward in fostering data access in diabetes field
Mu1 transposable element of Maize containing two promoter signals recognized by the E. coli RNA polymerase.
No full textYeast as a model system for Friedreich's ataxia: SANS and HRTEM study of both iron and tellurite nanoparticles in mitochondria.
No full textQuantification of the Individual Effect of an Exercise Bout on Insulin Sensitivity: In-Silico Modeling and Linear Regression Combined to Reduce Sampling Protocol Requirements
No full textExercise modulates metabolism by also acting on insulin sensitivity, being the biological response to insulin stimulation of target tissues. Among the available methods for insulin sensitivity quantification, an option is represented by mathematical-model interpretation of data from dynamic tests (i.e. administration of a glucose challenge). When using such methods, the requirements in terms of data samples in relation to the model characteristics are critical. Thus, starting from a modeling approach previously proposed in the literature to interpret data from oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), the aim of this study was to provide a simplified procedure for a reliable (model-based) quantification of the effect of an exercise bout on insulin sensitivity without the need to repeat the full test, as the modelling approach otherwise would require. A mathematical model comprising five differential equations was exploited to estimate 13 unknown parameters, with a particular focus on the parameter kxgi, representing insulin sensitivity. The parameter kxgi and other indexes of insulin sensitivity (Matsuda, Cederholm, Stumvoll, OGIS120 and PREDIM) were assessed in a group of ten men who underwent a 75-gram OGTT before and after an exercise bout. Then, Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated between kxgi percentage changes before and after exercise and change in each of the other indexes, revealing Stumvoll as the most strongly correlated (ρ=0.83). Consequently, a linear regression model was set up to estimate kxgi after exercise from changes in the Stumvoll index (β0=-7.1062, β1=14.6745 for coefficients of the linear regression), thus eliminating the need of two full-protocol OGTT tests
Early detection of chronic kidney disease: epidemiological data on renal dysfunction
No full textEstimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urinary albumin (U-Alb) have been suggested as indicators for the early identification of persons with kidney dysfunction. The Gubbio Study collected data on serum creatinine, UAlb, other laboratory indices, blood pressure, and medical history in a population sample of 4574 adults (2083 men and 2491 women, age range 18- 95 years). The study included analyses on six disorders which are commonly associated with kidney disease (hypertension, cardiovascular disease, anemia, high serum uric acid, high serum phosphorus/low serum calcium, and high serum potassium). Low eGFR ( 30% at > or =75 years in both sexes, p or =20 microg/min) in the presence of non-low eGFR. Low eGFR was associated with at least two disorders potentially due to kidney disease in the majority of persons but was rarely associated with a previous diagnosis of kidney disease (<5% of cases). These data support the use of eGFR for the screening of people with or at risk of developing kidney disease. Awareness of kidney disease is very low in the Italian population
Comparative sequence analysis of incomplete DJH and TCR gene rearrangements in children with relapses of T-ALL
No full textThe detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) during the first
phase of treatment can predict outcome in childhood acute
lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).1 Currently MRD detection in ALL
patients provides important information in order to assign a
tailored-treatment and the risk of an impending relapse. Nevertheless,
the major treatment failure in ALL occurs predominantly
in patients with T-cell ALL. This reflects especially a more
therapy-resistance and a slower clearance of blasts of T-ALL in
comparison with precursor-B-ALL.2 Therefore, the quantification
of early response to therapy and the monitoring of MRD
during and after treatment can greatly improve the outcome and
long-term quality of life of these patients. In childhood ALL,
detection of MRD with high sensitivity (ie 104, 105) can be
achieved by quantitative PCR methods (RQ-PCR) of rearranged
immunoglobulin (Ig) and T-cell receptor (TCR) genes.1,3 The
usefulness of these specific PCR targets should give attention to
the possible modification of Ig and TCR gene rearrangements that
could occur during the course of disease, due to continue activity
of the V(D)J recombinase enzymes in leukemic blast
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