High-Density Lipoproteins in Kidney Disease

Decades of epidemiological studies have established the strong inverse relationship between high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol concentration and cardiovascular disease. Recent evidence suggests that HDL particle functions, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant functions, and cholesterol efflux capacity may be more strongly associated with cardiovascular disease protection than HDL cholesterol concentration. These HDL functions are also relevant in non-cardiovascular diseases, including acute and chronic kidney disease. This review examines our current understanding of the kidneys’ role in HDL metabolism and homeostasis, and the effect of kidney disease on HDL composition and functionality. Additionally, the roles of HDL particles, proteins, and small RNA cargo on kidney cell function and on the development and progression of both acute and chronic kidney disease are examined. The effect of HDL protein modification by reactive dicarbonyls, including malondialdehyde and isolevuglandin, which form adducts with apolipoprotein A-I and impair proper HDL function in kidney disease, is also explored. Finally, the potential to develop targeted therapies that increase HDL concentration or functionality to improve acute or chronic kidney disease outcomes is discussed.     

Dynamic Light: The Media Facades of realities:united

Valentina Croci reviews the recent work of realities:united, who first came into the spotlight in 2003 with their media facade for the Kunsthaus Graz. She highlights how recent projects, such as the Crystal Mesh for the Iluma Building in Singapore and the exterior of the C4 in Cordoba, Spain, transcend the notion of the digital facade as billboard. Lighting is dynamically applied, in order to enhance the three-dimensional experience of architecture rather than to flatten it. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Permeation and skin retention of quercetin from microemulsions containing Transcutol® P

A microemulsion for the cutaneous release of quercetin was prepared. An aqueous phase, containing 40% Transcutol(?) P as solubilizing agent and permeation enhancer, was emulsified with Labrafil(?) as oil phase and Labrasol(?)/Capryol(?) 90 as Solvent/Co-solvent. Quercetin was dissolved in the microemulsion at the concentration of 1%. Ternary phase diagrams were generated to determine the optimal concentration of each excipient composing the microemulsion. The physicochemical properties of the microemulsion, such as pH, viscosity, refractive index, and particle size distribution were determined. The microemulsion was stable for 12 months at the storing conditions of 25.0 ± 1.0°C. The in vitro quercetin permeability into and through the abdominal hairless pig skin was determined by vertical Franz's cells. Quercetin showed hardly any permeability through the skin when dissolved in water- and Transcutol(?) P-free media, whereas a remarkable increase in cutaneous permeability was observed when quercetin was formulated in the microemulsion or when simply dissolved in Transcutol(?) P. These two last formulations are those showing the lower skin retention.     

Long-term heart rate variability as a predictor of patient age

Patients age has been estimated in healthy population by means of the heart rate variability (HRV) parameters to assess the potentiality of HRV indexes as a biomarker of age. A long-term analysis of HRV has been performed, computing linear time and frequency domain parameters as well as non-linear metrics, in a dataset of 113 healthy subjects (age range 20-85 years old). The principal component analysis has been used to capture age-related influence on HRV and then three different models have been applied to predict subjects age: a robust linear regressor (RLR), a feedforward neural network (FFNN) and a radial basis function neural network (RBFNN). A good prediction of patient age has been obtained (using all principal components, the Pearson correlation coefficient between predicted and real age: RLR=0.793; FFNN=0.872; RBFNN=0.829), even if an overestimation in younger subjects and an underestimation in older ones may be observed. The important and complementary contribution of non-linear indexes to aging related HRV modifications has also been underlined.     

MicroRNAs as Innovative Biomarkers for Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Prediction of Colorectal Cancer

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) includes ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD). These are autoimmune diseases of the gastrointestinal tract with a chronic relapsing and remitting course. Due to complex interactions between multiple factors in the etiology of IBD, the discovery of new predictors of disease course and response to therapy, and the development of effective therapies is a significant challenge. The dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs), a class of conserved endogenous, small non-coding RNA molecules with a length of 18–25 nucleotides, that regulate gene expression by an RNA interference process, is implicated in the complex pathogenetic context of IBD. Both tissue-derived, circulating, and fecal microRNAs have been explored as promising biomarkers in the diagnosis and the prognosis of disease severity of IBD. In this review, we summarize the expressed miRNA profile in blood, mucosal tissue, and stool and highlight the role of miRNAs as biomarkers with potential diagnostic and therapeutic applications in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Moreover, we discuss the new perspectives in developing a new screening model for the detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) based on fecal miRNAs.     

A methodology for modelling energy-related human behaviour: Application to window opening behaviour in residential buildings

An energy simulation of a building is a mathematical representation of its physical behaviour considering all the thermal, lighting, acoustics aspects. However, a simulation cannot precisely replicate a real construction because all the simulations are based on a number of key assumptions that affect the results accuracy. Above all, the real energy performance can be affected by the actual behaviour of the building occupants. Thus, there are great benefits to be derived from improving models that simulate the behaviour of human beings within the context of engineered complex systems. The occupant behaviour related to the building control potentialities is a very complex process that has been studied only in the last years with some focuses related to natural ventilation (window opening behaviour), space heating energy demand (in particular the adjustments in the temperature set-point) and natural light (focusing on window blinds adjustments). In this paper, a methodology is presented to model the user behaviour in the context of real energy use and applied to a case study. The methodology, based on a medium/long-term monitoring, is aimed at shifting towards a probabilistic approach for modelling the human behaviour related to the control of indoor environment. The procedure is applied at models of occupants’ interactions with windows (opening and closing behaviour). Models of occupants’ window opening behaviour were inferred based on measurements and implemented in a simulation program. Simulation results were given as probability distributions of energy consumption and indoor environmental quality depending on user behaviour.     

Stabilization of emulsion polymerization by block and graft copolymers with polysiloxane and poly[(acetylimino)ethylene] sequences

Amphiphilic block and graft copolymers with polysiloxane and poly[(acetylimino)ethylene] sequences were used as nonionic surfactants in the emulsion polymerization of some vinyl monomers (styrene, methyl methacrylate, butyl methacrylate). The peculiarities of the systems (polymerization kinetics and emulsion characteristics) were related to the structural features of the studied emulsifiers and suggested their ability to participate in initiation and transfer reactions and respectively clouding phenomena in aqueous phase.     

Thermal performance of a mobile home with light envelope

The present work analyzes, through in situ measurements, the environmental parameters of a mobile home (camper type van) characterized by a light envelope, located in Southern Italy. Through dynamic simulation, using EnergyPlus software, a few strategies to improve the inside conditions are then proposed and verified. The solution that best improves the indoor microclimate is forced ventilation combined with shading providing by simple roofing. Three envelope solutions were also analyzed: a low thermal mass (polyurethane foam), a high thermal mass (phase change material, PCM), and a medium thermal mass (mixture of polyurethane foam and PCM) solution. The material that improves the inside conditions appears to be the high thermal mass solution (pure PCM), while the mixture of polyurethane and PCM has a performance similar to that of pure polyurethane.     

Experimental evaluation of a climate façade: Energy efficiency and thermal comfort performance

The results of an extensive experimental campaign on a climate façade with a mechanically ventilated air gap, carried out at the Department of Energetics at the Politecnico di Torino, are presented. Measurements were performed utilizing the TWINS (Testing Window Innovative Systems) test facility, which consists of two outdoor cells, one used for reference purposes, and the other which adopts different active façade configurations. The energy efficiency of the façade and the thermal comfort implications have been evaluated considering the ability to pre-heat the ventilation air in the winter season, and the ability to remove part of the solar load during the summer season; the normalized daily energy passing through the façade and the normalized surface temperature of the inner glass were analysed. The improvement in performance obtained by varying the configuration and operative conditions (changing the air flow rate, the shading device and the internal glazing) has been investigated.