This paper presents stereovision techniques for measurement of the geometrical properties (position, rate of spread, fire height, fire inclination angle, fire base width, view factor) of fires ...obtained by experimental burnings at field scale. The system consists of two synchronized and pre-calibrated multi-baseline stereo cameras operating in the visible spectrum. The cameras are positioned in the back and the lateral positions relatively to the direction of fire propagation. Algorithms have been developed in order to (i) register these cameras, (ii) model in three dimensions the fire front from the back stereoscopic images and (iii) estimate some geometrical properties of fire such as the inclination angle and the fire base width from the lateral stereoscopic images. A user graphical interface was developed as a practical tool to estimate fire propagation features and to display the obtained results. Fire spread experiments were conducted at field scale (about 20 m wide and 3 m high). The fuel consists of Mediterranean shrub vegetation. The obtained results are promising and show interesting performance achieved by the proposed system in operational and complex fire scenarios.
The advantages of the Friction Stir Welding process compared to conventional fusion welding technologies have been clearly demonstrated in recent years. In this study, the metal matrix composite ...under investigation was a 7005 aluminium alloy reinforced with 10% of alumina particles Friction Stir Welded by employing a tool rotating speed of 600rpm and a welding speed of 250mm/min. The optical and scanning electron microscopy observations performed on the different zones of FSW joints cross-section revealed the different structures of the nugget, the thermo-mechanical affected zone and the heat affected zones thanks to the difference due to the strong grain refinement produced by the dynamic recrystallization acting during the severe plastic deformation to which the material is subjected during welding. Only a few data are available in the literature on the fatigue behavior of these materials. Thermoelastic stress analysis (TSA) was applied to the study of the damage behavior in Friction Stir Welded MMC sheets, during fatigue tests. Fatigue tests were carried out under pulsating (R=sigmamin/sigmamax=0-0.1), tension loading using a resonant electro-mechanical testing machine (TESTRONICTM 50+/-25 KN by RUMUL (SUI)). All the mechanical tests were performed up to failure which occurred at the interface with the welded area. The TSA measurement system allowed crack evolution to be observed in real-time during fatigue cycles and stress fields to be derived on the specimens from the temperature variation measured.
The upgrade of the LHC collimation system includes additional collimators in the LHC lattice. The longitudinal space for the collimators can be obtained by replacing some LHC main dipoles with ...shorter but stronger dipoles compatible with the LHC lattice and the existing powering circuits, cryogenics, and beam vacuum. A joint development programme aiming at building a 5.5 m long two-in-one aperture Nb 3 Sn dipole prototype suitable for installation in the LHC is being conducted by FNAL and CERN. As part of the first phase of the programme, 1 m and 2 m long single aperture models are being built and tested. Later on, the collared coils from these models will be assembled and tested in a two-in-one aperture configuration in both laboratories. A 2 m long practice model made of a single coil wound with Nb 3 Sn cable, MBHSM101, was developed and constructed at CERN. It has been completed, and tested at both 4.3 K and 1.9 K. This practice model features collared coils based on removable pole concept, S2-glass cable insulation braided over a mica layer, and coil end spacers made of sintered stainless steel with springy legs. The paper describes the main features of this practice model, the main manufacturing steps and the results of the cold tests.
Age and Sex in the Zika Pandemic Era Rossi, Shannan L; Estofolete, Cassia F; Nogueira, Mauricio Lacerda ...
The Journal of infectious diseases,
05/2018, Letnik:
217, Številka:
11
Journal Article
Sacituzumab govitecan (SG) is an antibody-drug conjugate composed of a humanized anti-Trop-2 IgG antibody conjugated
via
a hydrolysable linker to SN-38, the topoisomerase I-inhibitory active ...component of irinotecan. We investigated whether Trop-2-expression and homologous recombination repair (HRR) of SN-38-mediated double-strand DNA (dsDNA) breaks play a role in the sensitivity of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) to SG. Activation of HRR pathways, as evidenced by Rad51 expression, was assessed in SG-sensitive cell lines with low and moderate Trop-2-expression (SK-MES-1 squamous cell lung carcinoma and HCC1806 TNBC, respectively), compared to a low Trop-2-expressing, less SG-sensitive TNBC cell line (MDA-MB-231). Further, two Trop-2-transfectants of MDA-MB-231, C13 and C39 (4- and 25-fold higher Trop-2, respectively), were treated in mice with SG to determine whether increasing Trop-2 expression improves SG efficacy. SG mediated >2-fold increase in Rad51 in MDA-MB-231 but had no effect in SK-MES-1 or HCC1806, resulting in lower levels of dsDNA breaks in MDA-MB-231. SG and saline produced similar effects in parental MDA-MB-231 tumor-bearing mice (median survival time (MST) = 21d and 19.5d, respectively). However, in mice bearing higher Trop-2-expressing C13 and C39 tumors after Trop-2 transfection, SG provided a significant survival benefit, even compared to irinotecan (MST = 97d
vs.
35d for C13, and 81d
vs.
28d for C39, respectively;
P
< 0.0007). These results suggest that SG could provide better clinical benefit than irinotecan in patients with HRR-proficient tumors expressing high levels of Trop-2, as well as to patients with HRR-deficient tumors expressing low/moderate levels of Trop-2.
Abstract
Cognitive aging varies tremendously across individuals and is often accompanied by regionally specific reductions in gray matter (GM) volume, even in the absence of disease. Rhesus monkeys ...provide a primate model unconfounded by advanced neurodegenerative disease, and the current study used a recognition memory test (delayed non-matching to sample; DNMS) in conjunction with structural imaging and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to characterize age-related differences in GM volume and brain-behavior relationships. Consistent with expectations from a long history of neuropsychological research, DNMS performance in young animals prominently correlated with the volume of multiple structures in the medial temporal lobe memory system. Less anticipated correlations were also observed in the cingulate and cerebellum. In aged monkeys, significant volumetric correlations with DNMS performance were largely restricted to the prefrontal cortex and striatum. Importantly, interaction effects in an omnibus analysis directly confirmed that the associations between volume and task performance in the MTL and prefrontal cortex are age-dependent. These results demonstrate that the regional distribution of GM volumes coupled with DNMS performance changes across the lifespan, consistent with the perspective that the aged primate brain retains a substantial capacity for structural reorganization.
We are concerned with fully nonlinear uniformly elliptic operators with a superlinear gradient term. We look for local estimates, such as weak Harnack inequality and local maximum principle, and ...their extension up to the boundary. As applications, we deduce ABP-type estimates and weak maximum principles in general unbounded domains, a strong maximum principle, and a Liouville-type theorem.
Autologous erythrocytes can be used as carriers of drugs, owing to the ability of their membrane to be opened and resealed under appropriate conditions. In this pilot uncontrolled study, we ...investigated efficacy and safety of dexamethasone-encapsulated erythrocytes in steroid-dependent IBD patients.
Ten patients (5 with ulcerative colitis and 5 with Crohn's disease) with steroid dependency ranging from 8 to 60 months were studied. Seven of them were in clinical remission, and the remaining three had mild activity. Eight patients were also under azathioprine or 6-MP for at least 6 months (range 6-24 months), while another two patients were intolerant to both drugs. Fifty milliliters of blood were drawn from each subject; dexamethasone 21-Phosphate (Dex 21-P) was encapsulated into erythrocytes by means of specially designed equipment, and drug-loaded erythrocytes were infused into original donors. The procedure was repeated after 4 and 8 wk, and patients were instructed to withdraw corticosteroids.
A mean dose of 5.5+/-2.4 mg Dex 21-P was loaded in the erythrocytes at each treatment. Following re-infusion of loaded erythrocytes, plasma Dexamethasone (Dex) concentrations were detected after as long as 28 days. Steroids were completely withdrawn by the second month. After the third infusion, all patients, including the three with mild active disease, were in clinical remission. ESR levels dropped from 47+/-27 at baseline to 27+/-16 mm/h (p<0.02), and CRP levels from 1.6+/-1.3 to 0.6+/-0.5 mg/dl (p<0.02). After a mean follow-up of 12+/-3 months, six patients relapsed, and the remaining four patients remained in remission. Pre-existing steroid-related adverse effects disappeared during the follow-up.
Loading of Dex 21-P in autologous erythrocytes is feasible and safe. The very low dose of Dex released in blood stream was able to maintain patients in clinical remission and allowed steroids withdrawal.
People who inject drugs (PWID) living with HIV may be disproportionately impacted by pandemic restrictions. This study qualitatively explored the impacts of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on PWID with HIV ...in St. Petersburg, Russia.
In March and April 2021, we conducted remote, semi-structured interviews with PWID with HIV, health care providers, and harm reductionists.
We interviewed 25 PWID with HIV (aged 28–56 years, 46% female) and 11 providers. The pandemic exacerbated economic and psychological challenges experienced by PWID with HIV. Simultaneously, barriers to HIV care access, ART prescription refill and dispensing and police violence, which hindered the health and safety of PWID with HIV, were themselves hindered from normal operations by the pandemic, significantly reducing these burdens.
Pandemic responses should account for the unique vulnerabilities of PWID with HIV to avoid worsening the structural violence they already experience. Wherever the pandemic decreased structural barriers, such as institutional, administrative, and bureaucratic challenges and state violence enacted by police and other elements of the criminal justice system, such changes should be protected.
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