A new classification of varicose veins to compare various surgical strategies

Considering the presupposition that chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) and varicose veins classifications are extremely difficult, and that none of those presently in use are sufficiently complete, the authors propose the classification of the haemodynamic venous disease (HVD) and of the varicose veins from the clinical, anatomotopographical, etiopathogenetical and haemodynamical point-of-view. This type of classification allows us to closely follow the disease's evolution, to distinguish the benign forms from the more aggressive ones, and to evaluate the results of the medical, surgical and schlerotherapical treatments, from the efficiently, functional, instrumental and aesthetically point-of-view.     

Nano Ca(OH)2 synthesis using a cost‐effective and innovative method: Reactivity study

Ca(OH)₂ nanoparticles in hydro‐alcoholic dispersion (nanolime) are currently used for eco‐compatible treatments of carbonate‐based substrates in the field of Cultural Heritage conservation. Unfortunately, at present nanolime is synthesized by processes which present some drawbacks (considerable cost, multiple steps, low specific production yield), thus limiting the potential of its applications. We have developed a single‐step procedure, based on an ion exchange process, making it possible to produce pure and crystalline Ca(OH)₂ nanoparticles easily in water, at room temperature and ambient pressure, starting from cheap or renewable reactants. The simplicity of the process and its time‐ and energy‐saving aspects are very promising factors for extending the production from laboratory to industrial scale. The aim of this paper is to investigate the structural and morphological features of the nanoparticles produced and to analyze the influence of crucial parameters of the synthesis process (i.e., time, water usage, reagent concentration and reaction volume) on the nanoparticles’ characteristics. The nanolime produced is investigated by XRD, FTIR, TEM, and AFM techniques. The nanoparticle reactivity in the carbonation process is also investigated, by varying the suspension concentration, the solvent and relative humidity conditions. Pure, crystalline, and very reactive Ca(OH)₂ nanoparticles are obtained. The nanoparticles are constituted of thin lamellas, composed of primary hexagonal nanoparticles <10 nm, irrespective of time, water employed, reagents concentration, and reaction volume.     

Sintering Behavior and Properties of Iron-Rich Glass-Ceramics

Iron-rich glass-ceramics were obtained by the sintering of two glass powders, labeled G1 and G2, at heating rates of 5° and 20°C/min followed by an isothermal step in the 850°–1050°C temperature interval. The sintering process was evaluated by the linear shrinkage; the closed porosity was estimated by density measurements; the structure and the morphology of the glass ceramics were observed by scanning electron microscopy. The bending strength, the Young modulus, and Vickers hardness of the glass-ceramics materials were evaluated. The results showed that the sintering process and morphology of the glass-ceramics depends on the amount of magnetite and pyroxene formed. With a low percentage of crystal phase formed (25%–30% typical of G1) the structure is characterized by closed porosity; at higher crystallization (45%–50% typical of G2) open porosity is mainly formed. The properties of the glass-ceramics were not influenced by the heating rate but improved with an increase in the degree of crystallization.     

Sintering in Nitrogen Atmosphere of Iron-Rich Glass-Ceramics

The sintering and the crystallization of two iron-rich glass compositions (45–75-μm powder fractions) were studied in air and nitrogen atmospheres. The phase formation was evaluated by differential thermal analysis, while the densification, by dilatometry; the crystalline phases were identified by X-ray diffraction and the structure observed by scanning electron microscopy. It was highlighted that, due to the absence of Fe²⁺ oxidation and lower viscosity of the parent and residual glasses, the sintering in nitrogen atmospheres occurs at 100°–200°C lower temperature. In the same time the higher amount of crystal phase, formed during sinter–crystallization in inert atmosphere, improves the mechanical properties. A value of 120 MPa for the bending strength was obtained after 1-h sintering at 960°C in N₂.     

Dream interpretation and false beliefs.

Dream interpretation is a common practice in psychotherapy. In the research presented in this article, each participant saw a clinician who interpreted a recent dream report to be a sign that the participant had had a mildly traumatic experience before age 3 years, such as being lost for an extended time or feeling abandoned by his or her parents. This dream intervention caused a majority of participants to become more confident that they had had such an experience, even though they had previously denied it. These findings have implications for the use of dream material in clinical settings. In particular, the findings point to the possibility that dream interpretation may have unexpected side effects if it leads to beliefs about the past that may, in fact, be false. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multilayer perceptron neural network-based approach for the identification of responsiveness to interferon therapy in multiple sclerosis patients

Multiple sclerosis is an idiopathic inflammatory disease characterized by multiple focal lesions in the white matter of the central nervous system. Multiple sclerosis patients are usually treated with interferon-β, but disease activity decrease in only 30-40% of patients. In the attempt to differentiate between responders and non-responders, we screened the main genes involved in the interferon signaling pathway for 38 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a multiple sclerosis Caucasian population from South Italy. We then analyzed the data using a multilayer perceptron neural network-based approach, in which we evaluated the global weight of a set of SNPs localized in different genes and their association with response to interferon therapy through a feature selection procedure (a combination of automatic relevance determination and backward elimination). The neural approach appears to be a useful tool in identifying gene polymorphisms involved in the response of patients to interferon therapy: 2 out of 5 genes were identified as containing 4 out of 38 significant single nucleotide polymorphisms, with a global accuracy of 70% in predicting responder and non-responder patients.     

Tomographic inversion of ocean bottom seismograph (OBS) data: Problems and solutions applied to the NW Svalbard Hydratech data set

The paper is aimed at discussing some problems that may arise in the tomographic inversion of data acquired with particular geometries, as vertical seismic profiles (VSP) or implying the use of Ocean Bottom Seismographs (OBS), and presenting the solutions used to solve them. One problem is due to the limited number of sensors (that may be even a single one) and of their sparseness. This affects the information distribution that is concentrated in the vicinity of each sensor. This fact, together with the second problem, i.e. the strong asymmetry of the ray path, may decrease the reliability of the inversion.Two procedures for irregular adaptive gridding of the reflecting interfaces and single ray datuming are proposed as possible solutions to overcome these obstacles, while obtaining a reliable and highly resolved velocity model in depth: the relative procedures are tested through synthetic models and on real data.     

Entropy analysis of muscular near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) signals during exercise programme of type 2 diabetic patients: Quantitative assessment of muscle metabolic pattern

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder that is widely rampant throughout the world population these days. The uncontrolled DM may lead to complications of eye, heart, kidney and nerves. The most common type of diabetes is the type 2 diabetes or insulin-resistant DM.     

Toxicity assessment of nano‐TiO2 in Apis mellifera L., 1758: histological and immunohistochemical assays

The aim of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂NPs) by short‐term toxicity tests in Apis mellifera, considered an excellent bioindicator organism mainly due to its sensitivity. Bees have been exposed to several concentrations of TiO₂NPs (1 × 10^?3, 1 × 10^?4, 1 × 10^?5, 1 × 10^?6 mg/10 ml) for 10 days. Morphostructural and histological assays were done on gut and honey sac. The research of exposure biomarkers like metallothioneins 1 (MT1) and Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70) was performed to verify if a detoxification mechanism has been activated in the exposed animals. No histological alteration on the epithelium of the gut and honey sac were observed in exposed samples. A significant positivity for anti‐MT1 antibody was observed only in the honey sac cells. A weak positivity for HSP70 was observed in both structures analyzed. In several studies have shown the non‐toxicity of TiO₂NPs on other model organisms, in our study, titanium dioxide nanoparticles was proven to be highly toxic at the highest concentration tested (100% of lethality to 1 × 10^?3 mg/10 ml) and moderately toxic at lower concentrations. Honey bees proved to be excellent models for study of NPs toxicity and for monitoring environment.     

Development of a control algorithm for air‐scour reduction in membrane bioreactors for wastewater treatment

BACKGROUND: Membrane bioreactors are used in an increasing number of wastewater treatment facilities because of their compactness and efficiency in solid‐liquid separation, but energy requirements are still higher than other competitive technologies such as conventional activated sludge. RESULTS: In this paper the development of an air‐scour control algorithm based on short‐term and long‐term membrane permeability evolution is presented. An open loop calibration and partial validation was carried out in a semi‐industrial scale pilot plant where manual changes in air‐scour flow had been previously carried out. The control system was successfully tested in closed loop in an industrial scale pilot plant, defining a maximum daily air‐scour decrease or increase of 6% of the air‐scour recommended by membranes suppliers. An average air‐scour saving of 13% and a maximum of 20%, calculated in terms of air flow saved, were achieved during the validation test without any apparent long‐term effect on membrane permeability. CONCLUSION: It was proven that the air‐scour control system is an important tool capable of reducing operational costs in MBR systems. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry