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Topic Review
COVID-19 Pneumonia/Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonias
COVID-19 pneumonia represents a challenging health emergency, due to the disproportion between the high transmissibility, morbidity, and mortality of the virus and healthcare systems possibilities. Literature has mainly focused on COVID-19 pneumonia clinical-radiological diagnosis and therapy, and on the most common differential diagnoses, while few papers investigated rare COVID-19 pneumonia differential diagnoses or the overlapping of COVID-19 pneumonia on pre-existing lung pathologies. This article presents the main radiological characteristics of COVID-19 pneumonia and Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonias (IIPs) to identify key radiological features for a differential diagnosis among IIPs, and between IIPs and COVID-19 pneumonia. COVID-19 pneumonia differential diagnosis with IIPs is challenging, since these entities may share common radiological findings as ground glass opacities, crazy paving patterns, and consolidations. Multidisciplinary discussion is crucial to reach a final and correct diagnosis. Radiologists have a pivotal role in identifying COVID-19 pneumonia patterns, reporting possible overlapping with long-lasting lung diseases, and suggesting potential differential diagnoses. An optimal evaluation of HRTC may help in containing the disease, in promoting better treatment for patients, and in providing an efficient allocation of human and economic resources. 
  • 1.4K
  • 24 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Mitral Paravalvular Leak
Paravalvular leak incidence after mitral surgical replacement ranges from 7% to 17%. Between 1% and 5% of these are clinically significant. Large PVLs can cause important clinical manifestations such as heart failure or haemolysis. Current guidelines consider that surgical reparation is the gold-standard therapy in symptomatic patients with paravalvular leak. However, these recommendations are based in non-randomized observational registries. On the other hand, transcatheter paravalvular leak closure has shown excellent results with a low rate of complications, and nowadays it is considered the first option in selected patients in some experienced centres.
  • 1.4K
  • 11 Apr 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Social Entrepreneurship Conceptual Approaches
Social entrepreneurship defines organizations or initiatives that, by producing and/or transacting goods or services, seek new solutions to persistent social problems, thus generating high social value. In other words, that deliberately subject their economic strategy to social priorities and place the social mission at the center of their concerns. Such social priorities include poverty, unemployment, education, health, local development, or the environment. Outside this common base, the aggregation of other characteristics or delimitations has given rise to conceptual fuzziness, namely, as to the organizational forms to be adopted (restricted to non-profit organizations or open to for-profit businesses with clear social purposes) and the weight of the social dimension in SE. Another manifestation of conceptual malleability emerges from the coexistence of different schools of thought. On the opposite side, one notes the narrowing of the concept, which mainly derives from a Westernized vision and still pays little attention to the contributions from developing countries. In addition to analyzing these topics, the current entry points out some recommendations regarding the deepening of scientific research in this field. 
  • 1.4K
  • 27 May 2022
Topic Review
Renewable Energy Sources into Low-Temperature District Heating Systems
Renewable energy is derived from non-exhaustible and naturally renewable natural resources. Solar, geothermal, wind, biomass, and hydropower are examples of renewable energy sources (RES). Solar, geothermal, and biomass resources are the most appropriate renewable energies for heating/cooling.
  • 1.4K
  • 08 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Impact of Cyanobacteria Blooms on Environment and Health
Cyanobacteria blooms are a global aquatic environment problem. Due to global warming and water eutrophication, the surface cyanobacteria accumulate in a certain area to form cyanobacteria blooms driven by wind. Cyanobacteria blooms change the physical and chemical properties of water and cause pollution. Moreover, cyanobacteria release organic matter, N (nitrogen) and P (phosphorus) into the water during their apoptosis, accelerating the eutrophication of the water, threatening aquatic flora and fauna, and affecting the community structure and abundance of microorganisms in the water. Simultaneously, toxins and carcinogens released from cyanobacteria can be enriched through the food chain/web, endangering human health. 
  • 1.4K
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Landmarks in Tirana
There are many landmarks in Tirana, Albania some of which are of considerable historical or artistic interest. Many monuments and landmarks situated in Tirana, date back to the Illyrian, Roman, Ancient Greece and Ottoman periods. Tirana is home to different architectural styles that represent influential periods in its history dating back to antiquity.
  • 1.4K
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Core-Mantle Differentiation
Core-mantle differentiation is the set of processes that took place during the accretion stage of Earth's evolution (or more generally, of rocky planets) that results in the separation of iron-rich materials that eventually would conform a metal core, surrounded by a rocky mantle. According to the Safronov's model, protoplanets formed as the result of collisions of smaller bodies (planetesimals), which previously condensed from solid debris present in the original nebula. Planetesimals contained iron and silicates either already differentiated or mixed together. Either way, after impacting the Proto-Earth their materials very likely became homogenized. At this stage, the Proto-Earth was probably the size of Mars. Next followed the separation and stratification of the Proto-Earth's constituents, chiefly driven by their density contrasts. Factors such as pressure, temperature, and impact bodies in the primordial magma ocean have been involved in the differentiation process. The differentiation process is driven by the higher density of iron compared to silicate rocks, but the lower melting point of the former constitutes an important factor. In fact, once iron has melted, differentiation can take place whether silicate rocks are completely melted or not. On the premises of these plausible scenarios, several models have been proposed to account for the core-mantle differentiation following the stage of nebular formation of the solar system. They can be summarized into three mechanisms: 1) Percolation of iron alloy through silicate crystals; 2) Separation of metal from rock in a primordial magma ocean; 3) Migration of iron diapirs or dikes through the mantle.
  • 1.4K
  • 08 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Information Card
Information cards are personal digital identities that people can use online, and the key component of an identity metasystem. Visually, each i-card has a card-shaped picture and a card name associated with it that enable people to organize their digital identities and to easily select one they want to use for any given interaction. The information card metaphor is implemented by identity selectors like Windows CardSpace, DigitalMe or Higgins Identity Selector. An identity metasystem is an interoperable architecture for digital identity that enables people to have and employ a collection of digital identities based on multiple underlying technologies, implementations, and providers. Using this approach, customers can continue to use their existing identity infrastructure investments, choose the identity technology that works best for them, and more easily migrate from old technologies to new technologies without sacrificing interoperability with others. The identity metasystem is based upon the principles in "The Laws of Identity".
  • 1.4K
  • 10 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Progressive Web Apps
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are web applications that load like regular web pages or websites but can offer the user functionality such as working offline, push notifications, and device hardware access traditionally available only to native mobile applications. PWAs are an emerging technology that combine the open standards of the web offered by modern browsers to provide benefits of a rich mobile experience.
  • 1.4K
  • 15 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Sustainable Polymeric Food Packaging Films
Food packaging is fundamental to ensuring food distribution and protection around the world, especially when considering the solid growth of the population. Without packaging, food would easily spoil and the distribution of enormous quantities of food, raw and processed, to different areas around the globe would hardly be possible.
  • 1.4K
  • 16 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Semiconductor Metal Oxide Sensors in Reducing Gases Detection
The sensitivity of semiconductor metal oxide sensors can be significantly increased by using nanostructured sensitive layers based on two-component materials, consisting of metal oxides with different electronic characteristics and chemical properties.
  • 1.4K
  • 31 May 2023
Topic Review
Composite Materials for Structure Strengthening and Resilience Improvement
Advanced composite materials have excellent performance and broad engineering application prospects, and have received widespread attention. Advanced composite materials can mainly be divided into fiber-reinforced composite materials, laminated composite materials, matrix composite materials, and other composite materials. 
  • 1.4K
  • 23 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Microwave for Soil Sterilization and Pest Control
For the agricultural sector to develop sustainably in the future, progress toward more environmentally friendly technologies and methods is crucial. It is necessary to increase output while reducing the demand for energy, agrochemicals, and water resources. Although greenhouses can be utilized successfully for this purpose, significant technical advancements are required, especially when it comes to heating, to lower the use of fossil fuels and boost energy efficiency. Microwaves can warm plants without heating the entire greenhouse volume, which takes a significant amount of energy to compensate for heat loss in the outdoor environment.
  • 1.4K
  • 18 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Fungal Endophytes and Agricultural Plant Protection
Virtually all examined plant species harbour fungal endophytes which asymptomatically infect or colonize living plant tissues, including leaves, branches, stems and roots. Endophyte-host interactions are complex and span the mutualist–pathogen continuum. Notably, mutualist endophytes can confer increased fitness to their host plants compared with uncolonized plants, which has attracted interest in their potential application in integrated plant health management strategies.
  • 1.4K
  • 09 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Bacteria and Boar Semen Storage
Artificial insemination (AI) is a widely used technique in swine production. Advances in the technique have made it possible to store spermatozoa at temperatures of 15–20 °C for short periods, up to ten days. Unfortunately, it is currently associated with bacterial contamination of semen during collection and dilution. Although the temperature is reduced to induce sperm inactivity during storage, bacterial growth can still occur. Bacterial growth has been associated with deleterious effects on semen quality and shelf life, such as sperm agglutination, decreased sperm motility and viability. In addition, reproductive output after AI can also be affected by bacteriospermia.
  • 1.4K
  • 19 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Methods of Nanocellulose Phosphorylation's Effects on FR Properties
The enormous potential of renewable bioresources is expected to play a key role in the development of the EU’s sustainable circular economy. In this context, inexhaustible, biodegradable, non-toxic, and carbon-neutral forest-origin resources are very attractive for the development of novel sustainable products. The main structural component of wood is cellulose, which, in turn, is the feedstock of nanocellulose, one of the most explored nanomaterials. 
  • 1.4K
  • 08 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Liver Metabolism Regulation by Transcriptional Factors and Coactivators
The liver is one of the main organs that contributes to the regulation of blood glucose levels by releasing the glucose into circulation when blood glucose levels are low and stores along skeletal muscles excess of glucose as glycogen in postprandial states. In mammals, the liver is the central organ for fatty acid metabolism and a key player in glucose metabolism. The liver acts as a crossroad, which metabolically connects various organs, especially skeletal muscle, and adipose tissues, in the endeavor to maintain the long-term energy supply to the body. The regulation of liver glucose metabolism and lipid metabolism is tightly controlled by dietary, hormonal, and neural signals through the activation of various transcriptional factors and coactivators.
  • 1.4K
  • 01 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Quantification of 5f Delocalization
By using M4,5 X-ray Emission Spectroscopy (XES) in the tender X-ray regime, it is possible to quantify 5f delocalization in the actinides. Previous analyses, utilizing the Branching Ratio (BR) in the N4,5 X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS), could not discriminate between the cases of localized n = 2 and delocalized n = 3, in uranium materials, where n is the number of 5f electrons on the U entity. Here, it is shown that, by employing the ubiquitous 6p→3d XES as a point of normalization, the localized n = 2 and delocalized n = 3 cases can be easily distinguished and quantified.
  • 1.4K
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Herpes Simplex Type 1
Herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) is a neurotropic virus that infects the peripheral and central nervous systems. Primary infection takes place in epithelial cells and the virus is transmitted to new hosts via saliva. In this stage, HSV-1 typically causes labial and oral lesions. After primary infection in epithelial cells, HSV-1 spreads retrogradely to the peripheral nervous system (PNS), where it establishes a latent infection in the trigeminal ganglia (TG). The virus can reactivate from latency, traveling anterogradely along the axon and replicating in the local surrounding tissue. Occasionally, HSV-1 may spread trans-synaptically from the TG to the brainstem, from where it may disseminate to higher areas of the central nervous system (CNS). HSV-1 can cause severe pathologies such as encephalitis or keratoconjunctivitis. Herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) mostly affects the frontal and temporal lobes and the limbic system. It is not completely understood how HSV-1 reaches the CNS, although the most accepted idea is retrograde transport through the trigeminal or olfactory tracts. Once in the CNS, HSV-1 may induce demyelination, either as a direct trigger or as a risk factor, modulating processes such as remyelination, regulation of endogenous retroviruses, or molecular mimicry.
  • 1.4K
  • 26 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Aging Stress Response
Aging induces several stress response pathways to counterbalance detrimental changes associated with this process. These pathways include nutrient signaling, proteostasis, mitochondrial quality control and DNA damage response. At the cellular level, these pathways are controlled by evolutionarily conserved signaling molecules, such as 5'AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and sirtuins, including SIRT1. Peroxisome proliferation-activated receptor coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1α), encoded by the PPARGC1A gene, playing an important role in antioxidant defense and mitochondrial biogenesis, may interact with these molecules influencing lifespan and general fitness. Perturbation in the aging stress response may lead to aging-related disorders, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the main reason for vision loss in the elderly. This is supported by studies showing an important role of disturbances in mitochondrial metabolism, DDR and autophagy in AMD pathogenesis. In addition, disturbed expression of PGC-1α was shown to associate with AMD. Therefore, the aging stress response may be critical for AMD pathogenesis, and further studies are needed to precisely determine mechanisms underlying its role in AMD.
  • 1.4K
  • 28 Sep 2021
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