This study evaluated the effect of dentin pretreatment with the polyphenols quercetin and resveratrol on the resin‐dentin microtensile bonding strength (μTBS) and collagen fibrils stability of the ...adhesive interface. Different concentrations (100, 250, 500, or 1,000 μg ml−1) of quercetin or resveratrol, or a mixture of quercetin and resveratrol (3:1, 1:1, 1:3; vol:vol), as well as distilled water or 2% chlorhexidine digluconate, were applied to etched dentin. Then, a two‐step etch‐and‐rinse adhesive was applied followed by composite restoration. Measurements of resin–dentin μTBS were made after 1 and 120 d. The stability of collagen fibrils in the hybrid layer was evaluated using transmission electron microscopy. The Student's t‐test and two‐way factorial anova with Tukey's test were used to analyze the effects of dentin pretreatment and storage time on μTBS values. Comparisons between μTBS measurements made on 1 and 120 d showed that resveratrol had the best performance, with significantly higher μTBS values after 120 d for all concentrations of resveratrol tested. Quercetin pretreatment resulted in a significant rise of μTBS when used at concentrations of 100 and 500 μg ml−1. Quercetin + resveratrol at the ratio of 1:1 performed better than when used at ratios of either 3:1 or 1:3. Resveratrol might represent a potential approach to achieve desirable bonding stability and reduce the frequent replacement of composite restorations.
Animal welfare is becoming an increasingly important requirement in the livestock sector to improve, and therefore raise, the quality and healthiness of food production. By monitoring the behaviour ...of the animals, such as feeding, rumination, walking, and lying, it is possible to understand their physical and psychological status. Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) tools offer a good solution to assist the farmer in managing the herd, overcoming the limits of human control, and to react early in the case of animal health issues. The purpose of this review is to highlight a key concern that occurs in the design and validation of IoT-based systems created for monitoring grazing cows in extensive agricultural systems, since they have many more, and more complicated, problems than indoor farms. In this context, the most common concerns are related to the battery life of the devices, the sampling frequency to be used for data collection, the need for adequate service connection coverage and transmission range, the computational site, and the performance of the algorithm embedded in IoT-systems in terms of computational cost.
•Cigarette smoking causes biochemical changes in the sperm DNA methylation patterns at many CpG regions related to MAPK8IP and TKR gene amplicon.•The results showed a strong correlation between the ...variation in sperm DNA methylation at different CpGs and sperm count and sperm normal form.•A strong correlation has been showed between the variation in sperm DNA methylation at different CpGs and the percentage of sperm motility.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of current cigarette smoking on sperm DNA methylation patterns. A total of 108 males (51 current smokers and 57 never smoked males) were included in the study. Using 450 BeadChip Arrays, the differentially methylated CpGs between current smokers (n=15) and never smoked males (n=15) were identified. Out of significantly 11 CpGs identified, 2 CpGs namely cg07869343 and cg19169023, which are located in the MAPK8IP3 and TKR genes were selected for further analysis. Using deep bisulfite sequencing in an independent cohort of current smokers (n=36) and never smoked males (n=42), 6 and 1 CpGs showed a significant difference in the MAPK8IP (CpG3, CpG5, CpG6, CpG7, CpG8, and CpG21) and in the TKR (CpG4) were identified, respectively (P≤0.05). Our results indicate that cigarette smoking causes biochemical changes in the sperm DNA methylation in many regions and could adversely affect semen parameters.
The necessity to investigate suitable alternatives to conventional fossil fuels has increased interest in several renewable energy resources, especially in biomasses that are widely available and ...make it possible to reach environmental and socio-economic improvements. Among solutions for bioenergy production, anaerobic digestion technology allows biogas production by reusing agricultural residues and agro-industrial by-products. By considering the basic concepts of the Biogasdoneright® method, the objective of this study was to estimate the theoretical potential net electricity and heat production from anaerobic digestion of citrus pulp and olive pomace highly available worldwide. A model was developed and applied in a study area of the Mediterranean basin, where the biogas sector is still very limited despite the importance of both agricultural and agro-industrial activities, especially with regard to citrus and olive cultivation processing. Firstly, the application of a geographical information system (GIS) software tool allowed the estimation of the biogas potentially produced from citrus pulp and olive pomace re-use. Then, the development of a technical assessment demonstrated that 15.9 GWh electricity and 88,000 GJ heat per year could be generated from these by-products, satisfying approximate 17% of the electricity demand of the agricultural sector of the study area (90.2 GWh y−1). The achieved results could be relevant with regard to the intervention priorities established by the European Union related to the planning activities supported by the European Structural and Investment Funds within the Smart Specialisation Strategy.
The synthesis of a series of coumarin-based chemosensor assemblies for zinc is detailed, using established and novel synthetic pathways. Variations of the nature of the chelating unit (DPA or ...cyclen), position of the attachment point of the chelating unit (3- or 4-position), and nature of the 7-substituent (−OH, −OAc, or −NR2) on the coumarin play a crucial role in whether, and to what extent, a CHEF-type or ratiometric response of the chemosensor is observed. Solvent effects are also discussed. The chemosensors were shown to be competent for detecting zinc pools in cultured rat pituitary (GH3) and hepatoma (H4IIE) cell lines. The work further defines the design algorithms for zinc-selective CHEF-type and ratiometric chemosensors.
Worldwide, 1.3 to 2.1 billion tons of agricultural waste are generated yearly, including livestock wastes (i.e., sheep wool), which create several critical environmental issues if not properly ...treated. In order to reduce the environmental issues related to the management and disposal, their use as natural fibers for green building components has notably developed over the last years. Indeed, sheep wool, which is a natural animal fiber that comes from shearing sheep fleece, is considered to be a problem of increasing concern due to its complex and difficult disposal management. Recently, several researchers have demonstrated that “low-quality wool” (i.e., not appropriate for textile uses) is suitable for the thermal and acoustic insulation of buildings. Indeed, thanks to its thermo-hygrometric and acoustic characteristics, it can be used as a reinforcing fiber for composite materials. In this study, a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based model to locate and quantify both the yearly amount of livestock waste, i.e., sheep wool, and the territorial distribution of sheep farms through their Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, was developed and applied within the selected study area (i.e., the Sicily region). The aim was to identify the territorial areas highly characterized by this kind of waste and therefore most suitable for localizing new shared sheep wool collection centers to sustainably manage the reuse of this waste as a potential green building component.
Worldwide, around 998 million tons of agricultural waste are generated yearly, including livestock wastes, which create several critical environmental issues if not properly treated. In this study, a ...Geographical Information System (GIS)-based model to locate and quantify both the yearly amount of livestock waste, i.e., sheep wool, and the territorial distribution of sheep farms, was carried out and applied within the selected study area. The aim was to identify those territorial areas most suitable for localizing new shared wool collection centers to sustainably manage the reuse of this waste as potential green building material. Data related to both sheep farms and sheep number and the related sheep shared wool (SSW) yearly production were acquired and applied in GIS. By GIS-based model results, two collection centers have been identified within the provinces of Agrigento and Enna. Then, to develop a sustainable reuse in terms of reducing environmental impact due to the SSW logistics and supply phase, a possible third collection center was localized within the territorial area belonging to the province of Ragusa (south area of the Sicily). In this research, for the first time the issue above reported was addressed, by achieving results that contribute at developing an efficient collection chain for recovering and properly reusing SSW to respond adequately to a further industrial scale production.
Premise
We investigated sex‐specific differences in the life‐history traits of a metapopulation of the dioicous moss Weissia jamaicensis. Field observations revealed high rates of fertilization, ...which is uncommon for most dioicous bryophytes. We raised four hypotheses associated with the way the reproductive traits are related to the fertilization rate in this metapopulation.
Methods
We sampled 10 patches of the metapopulation and quantified sexual expression, sex ratio, reproductive success, and reproductive allocation. The ramets were classified as male, non‐sporophytic female, sporophytic female, or non‐sex‐expressing. Thirty ramets from each of the categories expressing sex were placed for regeneration to test the effect of reproductive allocation on this trait.
Results
We found greater expression of the female function in all patches, implying a female bias in the metapopulation. The number of male ramets was variable in each patch and did not affect reproductive success. At the prezygotic level, the allocation of resources to the male function was higher. However, the large allocation of resources to sporophyte development in sporophytic females, which exceeded allocations at prezygotic levels, was related to the higher mortality rate of these ramets, suggesting reproductive cost.
Conclusions
The prezygotic ramets that allocated the greatest amount of resources to reproduction expressed sex less frequently, biasing the sex ratio toward the sex that allocated the least amount of resources to reproduction. Overall, the ramets that allocated the greatest amount of resources to reproduction had the lowest regeneration rate, suggesting reproductive cost.
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