New ventilation design criteria for energy sustainability and indoor air quality in a post Covid-19 scenario.

The Covid-19 outbreak raised great attention to the importance of indoor air quality in buildings. Even if the Covid-19 epidemic is nearing an end, all stakeholders agree that increasing outside air flow rates is beneficial for decreasing the likelihood of contagion, lowering the risk of future pandemics, and enhancing the general safety of the interior environment. Indeed, diverse concerns raised about whether the ventilation standards in place are still adequate.

Energy, economic, and environmental impacts of enhanced ventilation strategies on railway coaches to reduce Covid-19 contagion risks.

In the last years, the Covid-19 outbreak raised great awareness about ventilation system performance in confined spaces. Specifically, the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system design and operating parameters, such as air change per hour, air recirculation ratio, filtration device performance, and vents location, play a crucial role in reducing the spread of viruses, moulds, bacteria, and general pollutants. Concerning the transport sector, due to the impracticability of social distancing, and the relatively loose requirements of ventilation standards, the SARS-COV-19 outbreak brought a reduction of payload (up to 50%) for different carriers.

Early generalist placements are associated with family medicine career choice: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Many developed countries have reported shortages of Primary Care (PC) physicians. The lack of a regular primary physician is associated with inferior health outcomes. One strategy to address this shortage is to increase the proportion of medical students selecting a Family Medicine (FM) or PC career.

Application of thermography in the diagnostic investigation of thyroid nodules.

Thyroid nodules (TN) are common in the general population, and the clinical importance of diagnosing thyroid nodules is based on excluding the possibility of thyroid cancer, which occurs in 7-15% of cases. The thyroid gland, owing to its superficial location, is easily accessible via thermography, a noninvasive method of recording body temperature that measures infrared radiation emitted by the body surface. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the temperature differences between benign and malignant TN by using thermography.

The nurse in the mirror: Image of the female nurse during the Italian fascist period.

Aims: To describe the image of the female Licensed Nurse in Italy as promoted by the Fascist party from 1939-1943 and to understand how gender stereotypes influenced the construction of this image.

Design: Mixed methods design.

Method: The study started in 2016 and ended in 2019.

[From corpsman to rescuer, the missed nurse's ideal towards the end of italian Risorgimento].

Introduction: Military corps have always been supported by healthcare providers who took care of the injured and sick soldiers. Traditionally the military nurse's figure has never been fully appreciated to the point that, even nowadays, it is still searching for its own identity.

Aim: The aim of the study is to describe the military nurse's role from the Second War for Italian Independence (1859) to the conquest of Rome (1870).

Dynamics of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence and reflectance to detect stress-induced variations in canopy photosynthesis.

Passive measurement of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (F) represents the most promising tool to quantify changes in photosynthetic functioning on a large scale. However, the complex relationship between this signal and other photosynthesis-related processes restricts its interpretation under stress conditions. To address this issue, we conducted a field campaign by combining daily airborne and ground-based measurements of F (normalized to photosynthetically active radiation), reflectance and surface temperature and related the observed changes to stress-induced variations in photosynthesis.

Soil Moisture Retrieval by Integrating TASI-600 Airborne Thermal Data, WorldView 2 Satellite Data and Field Measurements: Petacciato Case Study.

Soil moisture (SM) plays a fundamental role in the terrestrial water cycle and in agriculture, with key applications such as the monitoring of crop growing and hydrogeological management. In this study, a calibration procedure was applied to estimate SM based on the integration of in situ and airborne thermal remote sensing data. To this aim, on April 2018, two airborne campaigns were carried out with the TASI-600 multispectral thermal sensor on the Petacciato (Molise, Italy) area.

Microcalcification morphological descriptors and parenchyma fractal dimension hierarchically interact in breast cancer: A diagnostic perspective.

Introduction: Herein, we propose a Systems Biology approach aimed at identifying quantitative morphological parameters useful in discriminating benign from malignant breast microcalcifications at digital mammography.

Materials And Methods: The study includes 31 patients in which microcalcifications had been detected during XR mammography and were further confirmed by stereotactic (XR-guided) biopsies. Patients were classified according to the BIRADS (Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System), along with their parenchyma fractal dimension and biopsy size.

Systems Biology-Driven Hypotheses Tested In Vivo: The Need to Advancing Molecular Imaging Tools.

Processing and interpretation of biological images may provide invaluable insights on complex, living systems because images capture the overall dynamics as a "whole." Therefore, "extraction" of key, quantitative morphological parameters could be, at least in principle, helpful in building a reliable systems biology approach in understanding living objects. Molecular imaging tools for system biology models have attained widespread usage in modern experimental laboratories.

Inositol induces mesenchymal-epithelial reversion in breast cancer cells through cytoskeleton rearrangement.

Inositol displays multi-targeted effects on many biochemical pathways involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). As Akt activation is inhibited by inositol, we investigated if such effect could hamper EMT in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. In cancer cells treated with pharmacological doses of inositol E-cadherin was increased, β-catenin was redistributed behind cell membrane, and metalloproteinase-9 was significantly reduced, while motility and invading capacity were severely inhibited.

Paradoxical E-cadherin increase in 5FU-resistant colon cancer is unaffected during mesenchymal-epithelial reversion induced by γ-secretase inhibition.

Aim: Presenilin-1 (PS1), the main component of γ-secretase activity support a key role during Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) and chemoresistance acquisition by triggering a complex sequence of molecular events, including E-cadherin down-regulation. However, we hypothesize that EMT and chemoresistance should be deemed separate processes in HCT-8 colon cancer cells.

Main Methods: HCT-8 and HCT-8FUres invasion was evaluated by trans-well assay.

Multiwalled carbon nanotube buckypaper induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human leukemia cell lines through modulation of AKT and MAPK signaling pathways.

MWCNT buckypaper (BP) shows physico-chemical and mechanical properties that make it potentially useful as a substrate in nano-bio interface research including in tissue engineering. When used as a scaffold material, BP comes into contact with host cells and surrounding tissues; therefore it is critical to determine its biocompatibility and interaction with living systems. The aim of this study was to investigate BP effects on cell growth, apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in three human leukemia cell lines HL-60, U-937 and K-562.

An overview of the identification and management of the metabolic syndrome in chiropractic practice.

Objective: This article presents an overview of metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is a collection of risk factors that can lead to diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. The purposes of this article are to describe the current literature on the etiology and pathophysiology of insulin resistance as it relates to MetS and to suggest strategies for dietary and supplemental management in chiropractic practice.

Methods: The literature was searched in PubMed, Google Scholar, and the Web site of the American Heart Association, from the earliest date possible to May 2014.

Phenotypic switch induced by simulated microgravity on MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells.

Microgravity exerts dramatic effects on cell morphology and functions, by disrupting cytoskeleton and adhesion structures, as well as by interfering with biochemical pathways and gene expression. Impairment of cells behavior has both practical and theoretical significance, given that investigations of mechanisms involved in microgravity-mediated effects may shed light on how biophysical constraints cooperate in shaping complex living systems. By exposing breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells to simulated microgravity (~0.

Melatonin down-regulates MDM2 gene expression and enhances p53 acetylation in MCF-7 cells.

Compelling evidence demonstrated that melatonin increases p53 activity in cancer cells. p53 undergoes acetylation to be stabilized and activated for driving cells destined for apoptosis/growth inhibition. Over-expression of p300 induces p53 acetylation, leading to cell growth arrest by increasing p21 expression.

Microenvironment promotes tumor cell reprogramming in human breast cancer cell lines.

The microenvironment drives mammary gland development and function, and may influence significantly both malignant behavior and cell growth of mammary cancer cells. By restoring context, and forcing cells to properly interpret native signals from the microenvironment, the cancer cell aberrant behavior can be quelled, and organization re-established. In order to restore functional and morphological differentiation, human mammary MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells were allowed to grow in a culture medium filled with a 10% of the albumen (EW, Egg White) from unfertilized chicken egg.

Shape in migration: quantitative image analysis of migrating chemoresistant HCT-8 colon cancer cells.

Unsuccessful cytotoxic anticancer treatments may contribute to tumor morphologic instability and consequent tissue invasion, promoting the selection of a more malignant phenotype. Indeed, morphological changes have been demonstrated to be more pronounced in strongly vs. weakly metastatic cells.

TCam-2 seminoma cells exposed to egg-derived microenvironment modify their shape, adhesive pattern and migratory behaviour: a molecular and morphometric analysis.

Seminoma is one of the most common Testicular Germ Cell Tumours that originates during embryonic development due to an alteration of the local niche that in turn results in a delayed or blocked differentiation of Primordial Germ Cells. The block of differentiation is actually a common way to develop cancer disease as postulated by the "embryonic rest theory of cancer". In agreement with this theory different studies have demonstrated that embryonic cues display the capacity of reprogramming aggressive cancer cells towards a less aggressive phenotype.

Nicotine increases survival in human colon cancer cells treated with chemotherapeutic drugs.

Cigarette smoking is implicated in the development of colon cancer. Furthermore, nicotine increases cell proliferation and inhibits apoptosis through α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7-nAChR) activation in human colon carcinoma cells. An open issue is whether nicotine interfere with colorectal cancer pharmacological treatment, by inhibiting drug-mediated apoptosis.

Grape seed extract suppresses MDA-MB231 breast cancer cell migration and invasion.

Background And Aim: Breast cancer remains a leading cause of mortality among women. In metastasis, cascade migration of cancer cells and invasion of extracellular matrix (ECM) represent critical steps. Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), as well as metalloproteinases MMP-2 and MMP-9, strongly contribute to ECM remodelling, thus becoming associated with tumour migration and invasion.

Theoretical aspects of Systems Biology.

The natural world consists of hierarchical levels of complexity that range from subatomic particles and molecules to ecosystems and beyond. This implies that, in order to explain the features and behavior of a whole system, a theory might be required that would operate at the corresponding hierarchical level, i.e.

Hearing loss in peripheral facial palsy after decompression surgery.

Unlabelled: Facial paralysis can result from a variety of etiologies; the most common is the idiopathic type. Evaluation and treatment are particularly complex. The treatment of acute facial paralysis may require facial nerve decompression surgery.

Quantitative shape analysis of chemoresistant colon cancer cells: correlation between morphotype and phenotype.

Morphological, qualitative observations allow pathologists to correlate the shape the cells acquire with the progressive, underlying neoplastic transformation they are experienced. Cell morphology, indeed, roughly scales with malignancy. A quantitative parameter for characterizing complex irregular structures is the Normalized Bending Energy (NBE).

Parents may know best! A pilot study suggests that children of parents who do not have contact with health care professionals before attending the emergency department are triaged as more urgent.

Objective: To assess the influence of prehospital health care contact on triage acuity.

Methods: One hundred fifteen families were assigned Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale scores by a paediatric emergency department (ED) physician. Scores of children who had or had not seen a health care professional before attending the ED were compared.