L’impianto di termovalorizzazione di Sesto San Giovanni: efficienza energetica ed economia circolare

Lo scopo primario di questa tesi è la valutazione dell’efficienza energetica tramite il calcolo dell’indice R1 discriminante la termovalorizzazione e lo smaltimento. Per il calcolo del R1 sono state seguite le indicazioni europee , che si basano sul metodo indiretto per il calcolo del rendimento termico della caldaia. Inoltre, questa tesi, si pone anche l’obbiettivo di introdurre il concetto dell’economia circolare per giustificare uno dei motivi principali per il revamping previsto dell’impianto attuale. . A tale scopo, sarà fornita la descrizione preliminare del nuovo impianto dedicato al trattamento dei fanghi, con particolare attenzione all’analisi delle sezioni interessate al processo nonché della metodologia del recupero del fosforo che concludono lo schema previsto per l’applicazione dell’economia circolare

Cross-cultural comparison of the patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum between a Saudi Arabian and 9 US medical schools

BACKGROUND: The implicit hidden curriculum strongly influences medical students\u27 perceptions of the importance of patient-centeredness. A new instrument, the Communication, Curriculum, and Culture Survey (C3), already used to assess this hard-to- access part of the curriculum in the US, has potential for use in cross-cultural comparisons. OBJECTIVE: To use the C3 to perform a pilot cross-cultural comparison of the patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum between a Saudi medical school and 9 U.S. medical schools. DESIGN: Senior Saudi medical students completed the C3 and a second instrument, the Patient-Provider Orientation Scale (PPOS), which measured their attitudes toward patient-centered behavior. PARTICIPANTS: Senior Saudi medical students. RESULTS: 139/256 (54%) Saudis completed the C3; 122/256(48%) completed the PPOS. Means for 2 out of 3 of the C3\u27s domains (0-100 scale) were lower for the Saudis than those for the Americans (95% confidence intervals in parentheses): 47 (45, 50) vs. 55 (53, 58); 54 (50, 58) vs. 68 (67, 70); they overlapped in the third: 60 (57, 63) vs. 62 (60, 63). The mean Saudi PPOS score was 4.0 (3.9, 4.1); for the American medical schools, 4.8 (4.8-4.8) (1-6, least to most patient-centered). CONCLUSIONS: In this preliminary study the data suggest that the patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum differs in Saudi and US medical schools in 2 out of 3 domains. Cross-cultural use of instruments such as the C3 can highlight such important differences and help educators evaluate their curriculum from an international, as well as a local perspective. Use of instruments across borders is a growing trend and an indicator of the increasing globalization of medical education

The large scale structure formation in an expanding universe

In this paper, we will analyze the effects of expansion on the large scale structure formation in our universe. This will be done by incorporating a cosmological constant term in the gravitational partition function. This gravitational partition function with a cosmological constant would be used for analyzing the thermodynamics for this system. We will analyze the viral expansion for this system, and obtain its equation of state. It is observed that the equation of state is the Van der Waals equation. We also analyze a gravitational phase transition in this system. This will be done using the mean field theory for this system. We construct the cosmic energy equation for this system of galaxies, and compare it with observational data. We also analyze the distribution function for this system, and compare it with the observational data.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figure

Cytokine changes in patients with heatstroke during pilgrimage to Makkah

Circulating levels and role of IL-6, IL-1ra, TNFsr-II and CRP in patients with heatstroke is not fully known. This study correlated levels of these mediators with outcome in 26 patients. In survivors (n=20), IL-6 concentration declined on cooling, whereas in non-survivors levels continued to increase at 6 h following admission before declining. Admission TNFsr-II concentrations in survivors were significantly lower than non-survivors and levels continued to rise in both groups. IL-1ra levels were markedly elevated in both groups. Changes in cytokine levels were not influenced by renal function. Elevated C-reactive protein levels were observed for both groups and remained so despite cooling, furthermore, there was no correlation with alanine aminotransferase levels. The study demonstrated the elevation of the above mediators and suggested a role in the pathogenesis of heatstroke. Markedly elevated levels or those that remained elevated despite cooling were associated with mortality

Downregulation of hepatic stem cell factor by Vivo-Morpholino treatment inhibits mast cell migration and decreases biliary damage/senescence and liver fibrosis in Mdr2−/− mice

Introduction Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is characterized by increased mast cell (MC) infiltration, biliary damage and hepatic fibrosis. Cholangiocytes secrete stem cell factor (SCF), which is a chemoattractant for c-kit expressed on MCs. We aimed to determine if blocking SCF inhibits MC migration, biliary damage and hepatic fibrosis. Methods FVB/NJ and Mdr2−/− mice were treated with Mismatch or SCF Vivo-Morpholinos. We measured (i) SCF expression and secretion; (ii) hepatic damage; (iii) MC migration/activation and histamine signaling; (iv) ductular reaction and biliary senescence; and (v) hepatic fibrosis. In human PSC patients, SCF expression and secretion were measured. In vitro, cholangiocytes were evaluated for SCF expression and secretion. Biliary proliferation/senescence was measured in cholangiocytes pretreated with 0.1% BSA or the SCF inhibitor, ISK03. Cultured HSCs were stimulated with cholangiocyte supernatant and activation measured. MC migration was determined with cholangiocytes pretreated with BSA or ISK03 loaded into the bottom of Boyden chambers and MCs into top chamber. Results Biliary SCF expression and SCF serum levels increase in human PSC. Cholangiocytes, but not hepatocytes, from SCF Mismatch Mdr2−/− mice have increased SCF expression and secretion. Inhibition of SCF in Mdr2−/− mice reduced (i) hepatic damage; (ii) MC migration; (iii) histamine and SCF serum levels; and (iv) ductular reaction/biliary senescence/hepatic fibrosis. In vitro, cholangiocytes express and secrete SCF. Blocking biliary SCF decreased MC migration, biliary proliferation/senescence, and HSC activation. Conclusion Cholangiocytes secrete increased levels of SCF inducing MC migration, contributing to biliary damage/hepatic fibrosis. Targeting MC infiltration may be an option to ameliorate PSC progression

Biliary damage and liver fibrosis are ameliorated in a novel mouse model lacking l-histidine decarboxylase/histamine signaling

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is characterized by biliary damage and fibrosis. Multidrug resistance-2 gene knockout (Mdr2−/−) mice and PSC patients have increased histamine (HA) levels (synthesized by l-histidine decarboxylase, HDC) and HA receptor (HR) expression. Cholestatic HDC−/− mice display ameliorated biliary damage and hepatic fibrosis. The current study evaluated the effects of knockout of HDC−/− in Mdr2−/− mice (DKO) on biliary damage and hepatic fibrosis. WT, Mdr2−/− mice and homozygous DKO mice were used. Selected DKO mice were treated with HA. We evaluated liver damage along with HDC expression and HA serum levels. Changes in ductular reaction were evaluated along with liver fibrosis, inflammation and bile acid signaling pathways. The expression of H1HR/PKC-α/TGF-β1 and H2HR/pERK/VEGF-C was determined. In vitro, cholangiocyte lines were treated with HA with/without H1/H2 inhibitors before measuring: H1/H2HR, TGF-β1 and VEGF-C expression. Knockout of HDC ameliorates hepatic damage, ductular reaction, fibrosis, inflammation, bile acid signaling and H1HR/PKC-α/TGF-β1 and H2HR/pERK/VEGF-C signaling. Reactivation of the HDC/HA axis increased these parameters. In vitro, stimulation with HA increased HR expression and PKC-α, TGF-β1 and VEGF-C expression, which was reduced with HR inhibitors. Our data demonstrate the key role for the HDC/HA axis in the management of PSC progression

Tuberculous Peritonitis in Hemodialysis Patients with Chronic Liver Disease

Tuberculous peritonitis (TBP) remains a major medical problem in many developing countries, wherein the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is still high. Since the clinical presentation may be insidious and variable, diagnosis of TBP may be delayed or missed, resulting in undue patient morbidity and mortality. Tests frequently associated with TB such as chest radiograph and Mantoux test are not usually sensitive enough for the diagnosis of TBP. The diagnosis becomes all the more difficult in the presence of chronic liver disease and/or renal failure, since the ascitic fluid may not be of the exudative type and lymphocytosis may not be the predominant cell picture. We present here three cases of TBP in diabetic Saudi patients on maintenance hemodialysis who also had associated chronic liver disease. All three patients responded satisfactorily to standard anti-tuberculous therapy. We stress that high index of suspicion is required to establish early diagnosis of TBP particularly in patients with chronic renal and/or liver disease. Laparoscopy with tissue biopsy for histology and, microbiological examination including culture are the most sensitive and specific diagnostic procedures