Modelling the propagation of social response during a disease outbreak

Epidemic trajectories and associated social responses vary widely between populations, with severe reactions sometimes observed. When confronted with fatal or novel pathogens, people exhibit a variety of behaviours from anxiety to hoarding of medical supplies, overwhelming medical infrastructure and rioting. We developed a coupled network approach to understanding and predicting social response. We couple the disease spread and panic spread processes and model them through local interactions between agents. The social contagion process depends on the prevalence of the disease, its perceived risk and a global media signal. We verify the model by analysing the spread of disease and social response during the 2009 H1N1 outbreak in Mexico City and 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome and 2009 H1N1 outbreaks in Hong Kong, accurately predicting population-level behaviour. This kind of empirically validated model is critical to exploring strategies for public health intervention, increasing our ability to anticipate the response to infectious disease outbreaks.     

Interleukins 6 and 15 Levels Are Higher in Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue,but Obesity Is Associated with Their Increased Content in Visceral Fat Depots

Excess adiposity is associated with chronic inflammation, which takes part in the development of obesity-related complications. The aim of this study was to establish whether subcutaneous (SAT) or visceral (VAT) adipose tissue plays a major role in synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Concentrations of interleukins (IL): 1β, 6, 8 and 15 were measured at the protein level by an ELISA-based method and on the mRNA level by real-time PCR in VAT and SAT samples obtained from 49 obese (BMI > 40 kg/m²) and 16 normal-weight (BMI 20–24.9 kg/m²) controls. IL-6 and IL-15 protein concentrations were higher in SAT than in VAT for both obese (p = 0.003 and p < 0.0001, respectively) and control individuals (p = 0.004 and p = 0.001, respectively), while for IL-1β this was observed only in obese subjects (p = 0.047). What characterized obese individuals was the higher expression of IL-6 and IL-15 at the protein level in VAT compared to normal-weight controls (p = 0.047 and p = 0.016, respectively). Additionally, obese individuals with metabolic syndrome had higher IL-1β levels in VAT than did obese individuals without this syndrome (p = 0.003). In conclusion, concentrations of some pro-inflammatory cytokines were higher in SAT than in VAT, but it was the increased pro-inflammatory activity of VAT that was associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome.     

Phase plane analysis applied to non-explicit multibody vehicle models

Multibody System Dynamics - A new methodology for constructing stability maps (phase-plane analysis) is presented and validated for application to complex multibody vehicle models implemented in...     

Influence of Alkaline Additives and Buffers on Mineral Trapping of CO2 under Mild Conditions

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas is the main contributor to climate change. CO₂ storage in underground brines and oil‐field brines by mineral trapping has been considered as a promising alternative in order to reduce CO₂ emissions. However, permanent storage of CO₂ in stable carbonate minerals is greatly dependent on brine pH, being favored over an alkaline pH. The effect of alkaline additives (NaOH, KOH, CaO) and buffer solutions (NaHCO₃/NaOH, Na₂HPO₄/NaOH, NH₄Cl/NH₄OH) on the mineral trapping of CO₂ under mild conditions using a synthetic brine is investigated. The results indicate that both NaOH+NH₄Cl/NH₄OH and KOH+NH₄Cl/NH₄OH mixtures promote precipitation mainly of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃).     

Passive adaptation or active engagement? The challenges of Housing First internationally and in the Italian case

In recent years, a peculiar homelessness policy that goes under the name of ‘Housing First’ has become increasingly popular all over the world. Epitomising a quintessential case of policy-mobility, Housing First can today be considered an heterogeneous assemblage of experiences and approaches that sometimes have little in common with each other. Introducing and commenting upon this heterogeneity, the paper critically analyses why and how Housing First has become a planetary success and what are the issues at stake with its widespread implementation. If recent scholarship published in this journal has granted us a fine understanding of Housing First’s functioning in the US, this paper offers something currently absent from the debate: a nuanced and critical understanding of the ambiguities related to the international success of this policy, with specific references to the challenges associated to its translation in the Italian case.     

Progress in the design of zeolite catalysts for biomass conversion into biofuels and bio-based chemicals

This article reviews the recent advances in the development of zeolite catalysts for biomass valorization processes to produce both biofuels and/or bio-based chemicals, which is an emerging and fast expanding field. The work deals with different types of feedstocks, including vegetable oils, lignocellulose and sugars, as well as with a number of relevant intermediates and platform molecules. Transformation of biomass into valuable products is hindered by a number of factors, mainly related to its complex composition, as biomass typically consists of bulky molecules with high oxygen content. Accordingly, biomass processing usually requires the combination of multiple steps and severe conditions, hence concepts like atom efficiency, product selectivity, and catalyst deactivation become of special relevance. A great progress has been achieved in the past years engineering the properties of zeolites for being adapted to the challenges associated to biomass valorization. The possibility of tailoring the main physicochemical properties of zeolites has become now a reality, being the major reason that explains the success achieved by this class of materials in a growing variety of biomass conversion pathways, as those described in this work: catalytic cracking and pyrolysis, hydrotreatments, with special relevance for hydrodeoxygenation processes, as well as in a high number of condensation, isomerization, and dehydration reactions. Thus, the development of hierarchical zeolites, exhibiting enhanced accessibility, and the possibility of introducing and combining in a controlled way different types of active sites (Brønsted and Lewis acid centers, basic sites, and metal phases) are the main basis of the excellent performance of zeolites in numerous biomass conversion routes.