Rapid crystallization of Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3 glass ceramics via ultra-fast high-temperature sintering (UHS)

Lithium aluminum germanium phosphate solid electrolyte is a promising candidate for all-solid-state batteries. The currently available processing techniques based on melting-quenching require a rather lengthy crystallization step lasting up to 8 hours. In this work, the newly emerged ultra-fast high-temperature sintering (UHS) was proposed to achieve in a single step reactive consolidation of powder mixture (GeO₂, Al(PO₃)₃, LiPO₃) and crystallization of the electrolyte within 16 minutes. Samples produced using UHS had a better phase purity, reduced Li loss, and improved ionic conductivity when compared to the counterparts prepared using conventional crystallization at 850°C for 6 h. In fact, specimens prepared by UHS achieved a crystallinity of 90% and ionic conductivity as high as 1.31 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹.     

Membrane distillation of and mixtures for the sulfur–iodine thermochemical process

The concentration of hydriodic and sulfuric acid aqueous solutions by membrane distillation (MD) was experimentally investigated. Two commercial hydrophobic membranes, with two different recirculation batch configurations, were tested: direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) with a polypropylene (PP) capillary membrane, and air-gap membrane distillation (AGMD) with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) flat-sheet membrane. Feed temperatures were 58 °C for DCMD and 80 °C for AGMD, with cooling water at 15 °C and 1 atm operating pressure in both cases. H₂SO₄ concentration in the feed solution increased from 1.1 up to 7.0 mol/L with the DCMD and from 0.9 up to 10.1 mol/L with the AGMD. HI concentration increased from 0.3 up to 7.0 mol/L with the DCMD and from 0.3 up to 8.0 mol/L with the AGMD. The latter value is higher than the azeotropic concentration of the HI/H₂O (7.57 mol/L) mixture and, hence, HI further separation from water can be easily achieved with conventional distillation units. Durability of PTFE membrane in acid solutions was assessed too.     

Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate Modulates Postoperative Pain by Regulating Biochemical and Molecular Pathways

Treating postoperative (PO) pain is a clinical challenge. Inadequate PO pain management can lead to worse outcomes, for example chronic post-surgical pain. Therefore, acquiring new information on the PO pain mechanism would increase the therapeutic options available. In this paper, we evaluated the role of a natural substance, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), on pain and neuroinflammation induced by a surgical procedure in an animal model of PO pain. We performed an incision of the hind paw and EGCG was administered for five days. Mechanical allodynia, thermal hyperalgesia, and motor dysfunction were assessed 24 h, and three and five days after surgery. At the same time points, animals were sacrificed, and sera and lumbar spinal cord tissues were harvested for molecular analysis. EGCG administration significantly alleviated hyperalgesia and allodynia, and reduced motor disfunction. From the molecular point of view, EGCG reduced the activation of the WNT pathway, reducing WNT3a, cysteine-rich domain frizzled (FZ)1 and FZ8 expressions, and both cytosolic and nuclear β-catenin expression, and the noncanonical β-catenin–independent signaling pathways, reducing the activation of the NMDA receptor subtype NR2B (pNR2B), pPKC and cAMP response element-binding protein (pCREB) expressions at all time points. Additionally, EGCG reduced spinal astrocytes and microglia activation, cytokines overexpression and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NFkB) pathway, downregulating inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activation, cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) expression, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels. Thus, EGCG administration managing the WNT/β-catenin signaling pathways modulates PO pain related neurochemical and inflammatory alterations.     

Dietary fibers and cardiometabolic diseases

The high prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is largely attributable to the contemporary lifestyle that is often sedentary and includes a diet high in saturated fats and sugars and low ingestion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), fruit, vegetables, and fiber. Experimental data from both animals and humans suggest an association between increased dietary fiber (DF) intakes and improved plasma lipid profiles, including reduced low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations. These observations underline that the intake of DF may protect against heart disease and stroke.     

The impact of the introduction of Italian property tax on urban development: a regional regression model

Abstract

Building on and empirically enlarging a previous study on aggregate Italian national data, this article tests whether the introduction of the property tax into the Italian system has dampened construction activity, as proxied by building permits. The latter are also good indicator of regulatory policy and local government behaviour. The heuristic hypothesis put forward in this article is that, because of concomitant favourable market conditions and the devolution process that began in the 1990s, the introduction of the property tax (ICI) induced municipalities to adopt less tight urban policies to offset budgetary needs and compensate for the reduction in central government transfers. To this end, it estimates an econometric model to verify the impact of the main economic variables on new housing supply. Unlike other studies, this article run an analysis at regional level and test for fixed effects and structural break. Our estimates support our hypothesis, evidencing a time effect. They also confirm that introduction of the ICI tax did not affect the construction sector. Careful attention, therefore, should be given to the issue of whether leaving urban planning and the power to levy property taxes under the same jurisdiction.     

Yeast dynamics during spontaneous wine fermentation of the Catalanesca grape

Although the use of starter cultures in winemaking has improved the reproducibility and predictability of wine quality, the main drawback to this practice is the lack of the typical traits of wines produced by spontaneous fermentation. In this study, we identified for the first time the yeast population occurring during spontaneous fermentation of the Catalanesca white grape, a variety from Campania (Italy). Yeasts were identified using molecular tools: PCR-DGGE and partial sequence analysis of the 26S rRNA gene from isolates. Eighteen different species belonging to 11 different genera were identified. Hanseniaspora spp., Issatchenkia spp. and Candida spp. were the dominant yeasts during the early stages of fermentation, while the middle and end phases were dominated by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Four species of Issatchenkia spp., rarely isolated from wine fermentation, were found in this study accounting for the 33.5% of the total isolates. The RAPD-PCR screening of the isolates followed by partial rRNA gene sequencing proved to be a very effective approach to first differentiate the isolates and then identify yeast species involved in a wine making procedure. The results show very high yeast diversity in this natural wine fermentation and also highlight the possibility of considering interesting autochthonous strains for starter selection.     

Chondrogenic differentiation of human adipose mesenchimal stem cells: Influence of a biomimetic gelatin genipin crosslinked porous scaffold

Human adipose derived stem cells have shown chondrogenic differentiation potential in cartilage tissue engineering in combination with biomimetic materials. In this study, the chondrogenic potential of a porous gelatin based scaffold genipin (GNP) crosslinked was investigated in human mesenchymal stem cells obtained from adipose tissue. Cells were cultured up to 4 weeks on the scaffold and on monolayer, MTT assay was performed to evaluate cell viability, light, and transmission electron microscopy were carried out to demonstrate cell proliferation, scaffold adhesion, and cell colonization inside the porous architecture of the biomaterial. The expression of chondrogenic markers such as SOX9, collagen type II, aggregan, and versican was investigated by Real Time PCR. Results showed an high cell viability, adhesion, and colonization of the scaffold. Real Time PCR data demonstrated an upregulation of all the chondrogenic markers analyzed. In conclusion, 3D gelatin GNP crosslinked porous scaffold provides an improved environment for chondrogenic differentiation of stem cells compared with cell monolayer culture system. Microsc. Res. Tech. 77:928–934, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Standard output versus standard gross margin,a new paradigm in the EU farm economic typology: what are the implications for wine-grape growers?

A new farm economic typology has recently been introduced in the EU. This study compares the economic performance of wine-grape growers in four important quality wine areas of Sicily taking into account the different EU economic typology standards of standard gross margin (the old method) and standard output (the new method). The objective of this study is to identify the differences between the two methods and to ascertain the potential implications for small wine-grape growers’ profitability and their access to public support. We seek to determine whether restrictions can be identified that limit the potential benefits from rural development policies.

For this purpose, we applied the economic criteria of the EU to a representative sample of Sicilian wine-grape growers in order to compare the economic profitability of wine-grape farms in protected designation of origin areas. This comparative approach has allowed us to categorize the economic size of the sample in accordance with recent EU modifications and discuss the possible impacts that the adoption of the new economic criteria would have on access to the Rural Development Programme measures for wine-grape growers.     

Mechanical Stability of Liquid-Infused Surfaces Based on Mussel-Inspired Polydopamine Chemistry

Liquid-infused surfaces exhibit remarkable repellency properties toward water, oils, and complex fluids and are widely applied to maintain clean, operational, and high-performing surfaces in various fields, from the biomedical sector to marine infrastructure. Polydopamine (PDA) forms an ideal base layer for the development of such coatings as it adheres to virtually any substrate and can be chemically modified via amino-containing molecules to adjust the surface properties. Here, strategies are explored to increase the mechanical stability of such coatings by i) incorporating imidazole during film formation to increase crosslinking, and ii) formation of a composite consisting of the organic PDA and an inorganic siliceous porous coating by infiltration of a preformed porous silica layer with PDA. Both strategies exhibit improved resistance to tangential shear assessed by a sandpaper abrasion test and to dynamic impact assessed by a sand trickle test. These improved mechanical properties are successfully transferred to liquid-infused surfaces created from such modified PDA base layers. The most durable coatings retain efficient liquid repellency after 25 abrasion cycles, indicating improved resilience in real-world applications.