Ambient temperature modelling with soft computing techniques

This paper proposes a hybrid approach based on soft computing techniques in order to estimate monthly and daily ambient temperature. Indeed, we combine the back-propagation (BP) algorithm and the simple Genetic Algorithm (GA) in order to effectively train artificial neural networks (ANN) in such a way that the BP algorithm initialises a few individuals of the GA’s population. Experiments concerned monthly temperature estimation of unknown places and daily temperature estimation for thermal load computation. Results have shown remarkable improvements in accuracy compared to traditional methods.     

Reduced Biliverdin Reductase-A Expression in Visceral Adipose Tissue is Associated with Adipocyte Dysfunction and NAFLD in Human Obesity

Biliverdin reductase A (BVR-A) is an enzyme involved in the regulation of insulin signalling. Knockout (KO) mice for hepatic BVR-A, on a high-fat diet, develop more severe glucose impairment and hepato-steatosis than the wild type, whereas loss of adipocyte BVR-A is associated with increased visceral adipose tissue (VAT) inflammation and adipocyte size. However, BVR-A expression in human VAT has not been investigated. We evaluated BVR-A mRNA expression levels by real-time PCR in the intra-operative omental biopsy of 38 obese subjects and investigated the association with metabolic impairment, VAT dysfunction, and biopsy-proven non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Individuals with lower VAT BVR-A mRNA levels had significantly greater VAT IL-8 and Caspase 3 expression than those with higher BVR-A. Lower VAT BVR-A mRNA levels were associated with an increased adipocytes’ size. An association between lower VAT BVR-A expression and higher plasma gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase was also observed. Reduced VAT BVR-A was associated with NAFLD with an odds ratio of 1.38 (95% confidence interval: 1.02–1.9; χ² test) and with AUROC = 0.89 (p = 0.002, 95% CI = 0.76–1.0). In conclusion, reduced BVR-A expression in omental adipose tissue is associated with VAT dysfunction and NAFLD, suggesting a possible involvement of BVR-A in the regulation of VAT homeostasis in presence of obesity.     

Proteomic Study Identifies Glycolytic and Inflammation Pathways Involved in Recurrent Otitis Media

Recurrent acute otitis media (RAOM) in children is clinically defined as the occurrence of at least three episodes of acute otitis media over a course of 6 months. A further common pathological condition of interest in the context of pediatric otolaryngology is adenotonsillar hypertrophy (ATH), a common cause of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Aimed at unraveling the differential modulation of proteins in the two pathologies and at understanding the possible pathways involved in their onset, we analyzed the proteomic profile of the adenoids from 14 RAOM and ATH patients by using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry (MS). The 2-DE coupled with MS allowed us to identify 23 spots with significant (p-value < 0.05) changes in protein amount, recognizing proteins involved in neutrophil degranulation and glycolysis pathways.     

A Data Processing Chain for Terahertz Imaging and Its Use in Artwork Diagnostics

The effectiveness of terahertz (THz) imaging is dependent not only on the performances of the adopted hardware technology but also on the data processing approaches adopted by the users to elaborate the measured waveforms and obtain from them clear images of the object under test. With respect to data processing, this paper proposes a strategy involving three different steps aimed at reducing noise, filtering out undesired signal introduced by measurement system, and performing surface topography correction. The usefulness of the proposed data processing chain is preliminarily assessed by using data collected on a sample ad hoc prepared in laboratory. Afterward, an ancient mortar specimen, which is decorated by colored stucco, is analyzed by means of the proposed strategy.     

Bivalent cationic ions doped bioactive glasses: the influence of magnesium,zinc, strontium and copper on the physical and biological properties

Bioactive glass and glass ceramic materials are widely used as substitutes for bone augmentation and restoration, in orthopaedic, dental and maxillofacial surgery and in the tissue engineering field. Indeed, these materials are bioactive, biocompatible, mechanically stable, biodegradable and favour osteointegration, being able to promote bone tissue formation at their surface and to bond to surrounding living tissues when implanted in the human body. It has been demonstrated that bioglass (BG) ionic dissolution products (e.g. Si, Ca, P and Na) are able to induce and stimulate the expressions of genes related to the osteoblastic differentiation and bone formation, to stimulate angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo, as well as to play possible antibacterial and anti-inflammatory actions. Thus, it is possible to tailor BGs properties properly formulating their chemical composition and adding selected ions with specific functional and biological role. In this perspective, Hench proposed a new generation of genetically designed glasses, on the basis of their ability to activate specific genes involved in in situ tissue regeneration, by doping silicate and phosphate glasses with several active ions, particularly metallic ions with therapeutic effects. In this framework, the present review is aimed to provide an overview about the effect of selected cationic substitutions (i.e. magnesium, zinc, strontium and copper), incorporated within the bioglasses structure, on the physical and biological properties of these materials, since the comprehension of the influence of the most employed metallic ions has to be considered pivotal to address the formulation of more promising and performing glasses.     

Autoencoders for unsupervised real-time bridge health assessment

Over the last decades, the rising number of aging infrastructures has progressively fueled much interest toward the field of structural health monitoring. Following the increasing popularity of artificial intelligence algorithms, an autoencoder-based damage detection technique within the context of unsupervised learning is proposed in this paper to provide support for practical engineering applications. The developed methodology uses the autoencoder to reconstruct raw acceleration sequences of user-defined length collected from a healthy structure. To quantify the errors between the original input and the reconstructed output, which may be representative of damage occurrence, two indexes of reconstruction loss are selected as damage-sensitive features. To support damage detection, a selected number of short-time sequences are finally grouped into a unique macrosequence. The novel procedure can effectively both work at the single sensor level, as well as combine the predictive models using an ensemble learning strategy. Avoiding system identification, results obtained in the Z24 bridge demonstrate that the proposed method is quite effective for local damage detection with limited computational effort and using a limited number of sensors, thereby suitable to be easily applicable in the context of real-time bridge assessment.     

Tools for monitoring toxicological and genotoxicological changes in a drinking water treatment plant in Northeast Italy

Drinking water quality can be compromised at different stages, from raw water to treated one. This research aimed to evaluate the toxicity and genotoxicity of groundwater contaminated by fluorinated compounds treated in a drinking water treatment plant, through several bioassays. Water samples underwent chemical analyses and were assayed on Daphnia magna, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, Allium cepa, human leukocytes and Salmonella typhimurium. Physical–chemical parameters were always within the Italian legislation limits. Water after filtration and disinfection caused slight toxicity in D. magna; the sample after filtration inhibited the proliferation of P. subcapitata. None of the water samples exerted toxicity in A. cepa. All the analysed samples had genotoxic effects on A. cepa and human leucocytes, while only disinfected water caused mutations in S. typhimurium. A battery composed of tests on D. magna, P. subcapitata, S. typhimurium and A. cepa could represent a useful tool to verify the toxicity/genotoxicity through the water treatment stages and to improve drinking water quality management.     

Recombinant Chromosome 7 Driven by Maternal Chromosome 7 Pericentric Inversion in a Girl with Features of Silver-Russell Syndrome

Maternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 7 is present in 5–10% of patients with Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS), and duplication of 7p including GRB10 (Growth Factor Receptor-Bound Protein 10), an imprinted gene that affects pre-and postnatal growth retardation, has been associated with the SRS phenotype. Here, we report on a 17 year old girl referred to array-CGH analysis for short stature, psychomotor delay, and relative macrocephaly. Array-CGH analysis showed two copy number variants (CNVs): a ~12.7 Mb gain in 7p13-p11.2, involving GRB10 and an ~9 Mb loss in 7q11.21-q11.23. FISH experiments performed on the proband’s mother showed a chromosome 7 pericentric inversion that might have mediated the complex rearrangement harbored by the daughter. Indeed, we found that segmental duplications, of which chromosome 7 is highly enriched, mapped at the breakpoints of both the mother’s inversion and the daughter’s CNVs. We postulate that pairing of highly homologous sequences might have perturbed the correct meiotic chromosome segregation, leading to unbalanced outcomes and acting as the putative meiotic mechanism that was causative of the proband’s rearrangement. Comparison of the girl’s phenotype to those of patients with similar CNVs supports the presence of 7p in a locus associated with features of SRS syndrome.