Genetic and Epigenomic Modifiers of Diabetic Neuropathy

Diabetic neuropathy (DN), the most common chronic and progressive complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), strongly affects patients’ quality of life. DN could be present as peripheral, autonomous or, clinically also relevant, uremic neuropathy. The etiopathogenesis of DN is multifactorial, and genetic components play a role both in its occurrence and clinical course. A number of gene polymorphisms in candidate genes have been assessed as susceptibility factors for DN, and most of them are linked to mechanisms such as reactive oxygen species production, neurovascular impairments and modified protein glycosylation, as well as immunomodulation and inflammation. Different epigenomic mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNA action have been studied in DN, which also underline the importance of “metabolic memory” in DN appearance and progression. In this review, we summarize most of the relevant data in the field of genetics and epigenomics of DN, hoping they will become significant for diagnosis, therapy and prevention of DN.     

Quaternäre Metall/Metalloxid‐Katalysatoren als Wandkatalysatoren in Mikroreaktoren für Power‐to‐Gas‐Applikationen mittels kombinatorischer Hochdurchsatzmethoden

Catalysts of quaternary composition have been prepared and tested for the Sabatier process. For catalyst syntheses the following techniques have been used: sol‐gel methods, wet impregnation and incipient wetness impregnation. The Sabatier reaction was carried out at temperatures between 520 K and 670 K, pressures of 15 bar and 30 bar using a mixture H₂:CO₂ of 4:1. Activity screening of the microscale wall catalysts was performed by a custom‐built 10‐fold parallel gas‐flow microreactor setup in sequential operating mode. To analyze the gas phase compositions GC‐FID was used.     

Erosion behavior of EB-PVD 7YSZ coatings under corrosion/erosion regime: Effect of TBC microstructure and the CMAS chemistry

Aero-engines operating in dust-laden environments often encounter a lot of dust/sand that causes a severe problem to the TBCs by means of erosion. As the turbine entry temperatures are rising, molten sand is also a big concern to the life-time of TBCs.This paper deals with the TBC behavior under the combined influence of erosion and corrosion attack. Variations in TBC morphology, CMAS infiltration time and CMAS composition and their influence on the erosion resistance at room temperature were investigated. Two different EB-PVD 7YSZ morphologies consisting of a different porosity arrangement were tested in the erosion/corrosion regime. The more ‘Feathery’ structure has a better resistance to erosion compared to a more columnar ‘Normal’ structure, which leads to less degradation of the TBC. However, under the influence of CMAS infiltration the effect was found to be reversed. In general, CMAS-infiltrated EB-PVD TBCs exhibit a higher erosion resistance than the non-infiltrated ones.     

Interplay between upsampling and regularization for provider fairness in recommender systems

User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction - Considering the impact of recommendations on item providers is one of the duties of multi-sided recommender systems. Item providers are key stakeholders...     

Optical Detection of Phase Transformations in Steels: An Innovative Method for Time-Efficient Material Characterization During Tailored Thermo-mechanical Processing of a Press Hardening Steel

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - With an innovative optical characterization method, using high-temperature digital image correlation in combination with thermal imaging, the local...     

Purification of brines by chemical precipitation and ion‐exchange processes for obtaining battery‐grade lithium compounds

Lithium salts are very important in the production of lithium batteries since they are used as precursors for the fabrication of cathode materials that require very low level of impurities (battery grade). Usually, the lithium extraction process from brine first yields lithium carbonate, which is then used as raw material for the production of other lithium compounds. However, it implies an increase in investment costs, considering more equipment and process stages. To remove the impurities and produce battery‐grade lithium compounds directly from brines, a laboratory‐scale process was developed using the methods of ion exchange and chemical precipitation. Thus, impurity‐free brine ready to be used in an industrial membrane electrolysis process is obtained. Different sequences and operating conditions were investigated for the purification of lithium‐concentrated brines, removing the main impurities of the natural brines: calcium, magnesium, and sulfate. For the characterization of solutions, crystals, and ion‐exchange resins, atomic absorption spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy, and X‐ray scattering spectroscopy were used. The results indicate that during the chemical precipitation process, lithium‐concentrated brine reacted with some additives (precipitating agents) at different stages in the batch reactors. Subsequently, the pulp obtained was sedimented and filtered, eliminating or reducing the impurities of the lithium brine. Thus, the most efficient precipitation sequence was evaluated as a function of the removal percentage of the species. The removal efficiencies obtained for Ca⁺², Mg⁺², and SO₄^?2 were of 98.93%, 99.93%, and 97.14%, respectively. Thereafter, the use of the ion‐exchange resins reduced the concentration of Ca⁺² and Mg⁺² to the values below 1 ppm. The combined use of both processes provided promising results that could be applied in the industry.     

Designing a personal informatics system for users without experience in self-tracking: a case study

Thanks to the advancements in ubiquitous and wearable technologies, Personal Informatics (PI) systems can now reach a larger audience of users. However, it is not still clear whether this kind of tool can fit the needs of their daily lives. Our research aims at identifying specific barriers that may prevent the widespread adoption of PI and finding solutions to overcome them. We requested users without competence in self-tracking to use different PI instruments during their daily practices, identifying five user requirements by which to design novel PI tools. On such requirements, we developed a new system that can stimulate the use of these technologies, by enhancing the perceived benefits of collecting personal data. Then, we explored how naïve and experienced users differently explore their personal data in our system through a user trial. Results showed that the system was successful at helping individuals manage and interpret their own data, validated the usefulness of the requirements found and inspired three further design opportunities that could orient the design of future PI systems.