National Research Council Research Articles

Avogadro Colloquia in Rome on “Vision and Opportunities of a Sustainable Hydrogen Society”

Abstract The fifth edition of Avogadro Colloquia entitled “From Water to Chemicals: Vision and Opportunities of a Sustainable Hydrogen Society”, jointly organized by the Department of Chemical Sciences and Materials Technologies of the National Research Council (DSCTM CNR) and the Italian Chemical Society (SCI), was held at the CNR headquarters in Rome on December 15th–16th, 2022. This relevant periodic conference of SCI also was the first event for the celebrations of the Centenary of the Italian CNR. This edition of the Colloquia was focused on the technologies for hydrogen production and use in the so-called green transition towards a society with reduced CO2 emissions. Such technologies well fit the objectives recommended by the United Nations and by Mission EU2030 for the mitigation of the climate change. Greeting addresses to this event were given by the CNR president Maria Chiara Carrozza, the president of SCI Gaetano Guerra, the elected president of the European Chemical Society (EuChemS) Angela Agostiano, the IUPAC president Javier García Martínez and the director of DSCTM CNR Lidia Armelao. All the representatives of the national and international chemical societies underlined the key role of chemical sciences and innovative materials in the green transition.

Seismic Performance Assessment of Conventional Construction and Ductile Concrete Moment Frames Using Performance-Based Unified Procedure

A Performance-Based Unified (PBU) procedure has recently been proposed by the National Research Council Canada (NRC) to systematically evaluate seismic design requirements available in the National Building Codes (NBC) of Canada. Conventional Construction reinforced Concrete Moment-resisting Frame (CC-CMF) and Ductile reinforced Concrete Moment-Resisting Frame (D-CMF) systems were used in this paper to first assess the proposed PBU procedure and second determine the adequacy of the basis for seismic design requirements in NBC and see its performance margin against different structural performance levels. Results indicate that the detailed screening in the PBU procedure efficiently reduces the number of Incremental Dynamic Analyses (IDA) by more than 60% for CC-CMF while providing remarkable accuracy. It was also found that the CC-CMF system designed for the Normal importance category can provide an adequate margin against Life Safety (LS) performance level objectives, while the D-CMF system designed for the same importance category passes the Collapse Prevention (CP) performance level criteria.

Experiment of Sea Breeze Convection, Aerosols, Precipitation and Environment (ESCAPE)

Abstract Convective clouds play an important role in the Earth’s climate system and are a known source of extreme weather. Gaps in our understanding of convective vertical motions, microphysics, and precipitation across a full range of aerosol and meteorological regimes continue to limit our ability to predict the occurrence and intensity of these cloud systems. Towards improving predictability, the National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored a large field experiment entitled “Experiment of Sea Breeze Convection, Aerosols, Precipitation, and Environment (ESCAPE).” ESCAPE took place between 30 May - 30 Sept. 2022 in the vicinity of Houston, TX because this area frequently experiences isolated deep convection that interacts with the region's mesoscale circulations and its range of aerosol conditions. ESCAPE focused on collecting observations of isolated deep convection through innovative sampling, and on developing novel analysis techniques. This included the deployment of two research aircraft, the National Research Council of Canada Convair-580 and the Stratton Park Engineering Company Learjet, which combined conducted 24 research flights from 30 May to 17 June. On the ground, three mobile X-band radars, and one mobile Doppler lidar truck equipped with soundings, were deployed from 30 May to 28 June. From 1 August to 30 Sept. 2022, a dual-polarization C-band radar was deployed and operated using a novel, multi-sensor agile adaptive sampling strategy to track the entire lifecycle of isolated convective clouds. Analysis of the ESCAPE observations has already yielded preliminary findings on how aerosols and environmental conditions impact the convective life cycle.

Data Assimilation of Satellite-Derived Rain Rates Estimated by Neural Network in Convective Environments: A Study over Italy

The accurate prediction of heavy precipitation in convective environments is crucial because such events, often occurring in Italy during the summer and fall seasons, can be a threat for people and properties. In this paper, we analyse the impact of satellite-derived surface-rainfall-rate data assimilation on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model’s precipitation prediction, considering 15 days in summer 2022 and 17 days in fall 2022, where moderate to intense precipitation was observed over Italy. A 3DVar realised at CNR-ISAC (National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate) is used to assimilate two different satellite-derived rain rate products, both exploiting geostationary (GEO), infrared (IR), and low-Earth-orbit (LEO) microwave (MW) measurements: One is based on an artificial neural network (NN), and the other one is the operational P-IN-SEVIRI-PMW product (H60), delivered in near-real time by the EUMETSAT HSAF (Satellite Application Facility in Support of Operational Hydrology and Water Management). The forecast is verified in two periods: the hours from 1 to 4 (1–4 h phase) and the hours from 3 to 6 (3–6 h phase) after the assimilation. The results show that the rain rate assimilation improves the precipitation forecast in both seasons and for both forecast phases, even if the improvement in the 3–6 h phase is found mainly in summer. The assimilation of H60 produces a high number of false alarms, which has a negative impact on the forecast, especially for intense events (30 mm/3 h). The assimilation of the NN rain rate gives more balanced predictions, improving the control forecast without significantly increasing false alarms.

LOW-CRESTED AND EMERGENT BREAKWATERS WITH ECO-FRIENDLY ARMOUR UNITS

Artificial coastal defense systems (such as concrete armour units) frequently host less diverse aquatic populations than natural environments and feature higher concentrations of invasive species (Dafforn et al., 2009). Therefore, coastal structures need to be designed or refitted to achieve sustainable goals through the application of ecological engineering solutions applied to coastal defence structures and for the ecosystem, marine habitat, and biodiversity improvement. Ecological engineering, which integrates ecosystems with engineering principles to construct coastal structures that benefit both humans and the ecosystem, is growing as a means of reducing the adverse ecological impacts of coastal infrastructure (Mitsch & Jorgensen, 2003). Thus, creating new eco-friendly breakwater design guidelines is critical and will benefit from the multidisciplinary involvement of marine biologists and ecologists. The purpose of this experimental modelling study was to provide data on the hydraulic performance and stability of low-crested and emergent rubble mound breakwaters (RMBW) constructed using ecologically friendly armour units under various wave conditions. The University of Ottawa, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), and ECOncrete collaborated to develop and conduct the physical testing program. Several breakwater models were tested to evaluate their performance, as the idea of an eco-friendly breakwater is still a new area of research. Thus, this experimental program is essential to promote environmentally-friendly armour units in the design of new coastal structures (such as Baker et al., 2018), as well as ecological retrofitting of existing coastal structures. The physical tests were conducted between June 2023 and August 2023 in the Large Wave Flume of NRC’s Ocean, Coastal, and River Engineering Research Center in Ottawa, Canada. ECOncrete's Coastalock armour units were tested in various configurations at a 1/15 scale using two-dimensional low-crested and emergent RMBW models. The hydraulic performance and failure mechanisms of these environmentally-friendly breakwater models were tested under severe wave conditions.

Large-Scale Experimental Model Of Edge Treatments For Constructed Salt Marshes

Large stretches of Canada’s coastlines are lined with legacy dykes (or levees) to provide protection against coastal flooding and erosion. However, future sea-level rise presents a risk to these structures, which may result in the dykes being under designed when exposed to future water levels and wave conditions. Under certain conditions, these dykes can be augmented with a coastal saltmarsh to create a living dyke, which allows for the existing dyke to be more resilient against sea level rise without the need to retrofit the dyke with a higher crest elevation or larger armour stone. The coastal saltmarsh is able to attenuate storm waves, resulting in lower wave energy at the dyke, while also attracting and retaining sediment to combat coastal erosion. The Living Dyke project in Boundary Bay, Canada is a pilot project being used to test the living dyke concept by placing sediment and planting salt marsh vegetation in the foreshore combined with upgrades to the existing dyke. Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd. prepared a preliminary design which incorporated four different edge treatment features that are to be installed at the offshore edge of a newly constructed salt marsh platform in order to attenuate wave energy and retain the placed sediment before the planted vegetation can be established. The proposed edge treatment features included a natural sand edge, a rounded gravel berm, an oyster-shell filled bag berm, and a brushwood dam. Large scale (full scale for all edge treatment feature tests except for the brushwood dam which was conducted at half-scale) physical model experiments were carried out by the National Research Council of Canada’s Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering Research Centre in their Large Wave-Current Flume to investigate the performance, including stability of the edge treatment features, wave attenuation ability, and stability of the salt marsh platform, of these edge treatment features under varying water level and wave conditions that are present at Boundary Bay.

Investigation of differential diffusion in lean, premixed, hydrogen-enriched swirl flames

Hydrogen combustion is a promising alternative to fossil fuel combustion in an effort to reduce our carbon footprint. However, hydrogen combustion is prone to thermodiffusive instabilities largely dependent on differential diffusion, a phenomenon that can lead to higher probabilities of flashback in industrial burners, given hydrogen’s high reactivity and diffusivity. This paper evaluates low-swirl flames of methane and air enriched with hydrogen to highlight the onset of differential diffusion. Testing was conducted in a fully controllable swirl burner, where bulk velocity Uav = 13 m/s and swirl number S = 0.6 were kept constant for each hydrogen-methane blend to isolate increases in flame surface area from increases in turbulence intensity. Furthermore, each fuel blend of hydrogen and methane is evaluated at the same laminar flame speed of SLo = 0.267 m/s to isolate flame stretch effects on the turbulent burning rate. Combined hydroxyl (OH) PLIF and stereoscopic PIV at the National Research Council of Canada were used to analyze the OH fluorescence in a 2D-3C velocity field for each flame condition. High-speed PIV at McGill University was used to resolve local flame phenomena, such as local flame displacement velocity and flame stretch rate. Using these techniques, it can be observed that the flame displaces axially in response to turbulent flame speed while exhibiting increases in flamefront wrinkling. This increased corrugation due to flame stretch is highlighted in the PDFs of local curvature and κSf and is further evidenced by a shift towards positive curvatures (κ> 0) for increasing H2 volume fraction. This trend suggests that there is a strong correlation with increases in turbulent burning rate and positive curvature as a result of differential diffusion, but it is not necessarily a control mechanism of the most forward propagating points proposed by the theory of leading points.

MUN-FRL: A Visual-Inertial-LiDAR Dataset for Aerial Autonomous Navigation and Mapping

This paper presents a unique outdoor aerial visual-inertial-LiDAR dataset captured using a multi-sensor payload to promote the global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-denied navigation research. The dataset features flight distances ranging from 300 m to 5 km, collected using a DJI-M600 hexacopter drone and the National Research Council (NRC) Bell412 Advanced Systems Research Aircraft (ASRA). The dataset consists of hardware-synchronized monocular images, inertial measurement unit (IMU) measurements, 3D light detection and ranging (LiDAR) point-clouds, and high-precision real-time kinematic (RTK)-GNSS based ground truth. Nine data sequences were collected as robot operating system (ROS) bags over 100 mins of outdoor environment footage ranging from urban areas, highways, airports, hillsides, prairies, and waterfronts. The dataset was collected to facilitate the development of visual-inertial-LiDAR odometry and mapping algorithms, visual-inertial navigation algorithms, object detection, segmentation, and landing zone detection algorithms based on real-world drone and full-scale helicopter data. All the data sequences contain raw sensor measurements, hardware timestamps, and spatio-temporally aligned ground truth. The intrinsic and extrinsic calibrations of the sensors are also provided, along with raw calibration datasets. A performance summary of state-of-the-art methods applied on the data sequences is also provided.

Numerical Icing Simulations of Cylindrical Geometry and Comparisons to Flight Test Results

There is growing interest in government and industry to use numerical simulations for the Certification by Analysis of aircraft ice protection systems as a cheaper and more sustainable alternative to wind-tunnel and flight testing. The ice accretion on a cylindrical test article mounted under the wing of the National Research Council of Canada’s Convair-580 research aircraft during a flight test in Appendix O icing conditions was simulated using Ansys FENSAP-ICE™. A multishot simulation with input parameters averaged over the full icing period led to an increased level of liquid catch and ice accretion (by mass), and a broader ice profile when compared to a simulation with shot-averaged input parameters. An additional simulation using Ansys’ proprietary “extended icing data with vapor solution” method for calculating heat fluxes at the icing surface resulted in a broader ice profile in comparison to the classical technique, which produced a similar amount of accretion by mass. No combination of simulation settings, input parameters, and multishot methods tested in this study generated the same level of surface detail observed during flight testing, however, the amount of ice accretion, general location of ice features, and formation processes were in good agreement with the experimental results.

Towards an optimized heat transfer process in vaporizing liquid microthrusters using pulsed heating control

The Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems of the Italian National Research Council (Italy) has designed and fabricated a water-fed MEMS vaporizing liquid microthruster (VLM) in collaboration with the University of Salento (Italy) and KU Leuven (Belgium). Previous studies have demonstrated the device’s functioning and highlighted the presence of a strong thermoelectric-hydraulic coupling that severely affects the heating and propulsive efficiencies and reliability of the device. In this regard, the current work provides a preliminary experimental investigation of a pulsed heating system actively controlled by temperature using PI-D logic (proportional and integrative actions applied to the error; derivative action applied to the output). The overall performance assessment focuses on evaluating power consumption during steady-state operation and analyzing the dynamic response of the VLM undergoing such an actively controlled pulsed heating, which has been built using both manual and data-driven offline adaptive tuning of the PID parameters. Concerning the steady-state operation, results highlight a promising enhancement of the heating efficiency to values above 0.9. The dynamic response analysis shows that operating with a single set of fixed PID parameters is not feasible and that the manual tuning is a trial-and-error approach highly dependent on the operator’s experience, operating conditions, and reference temperature profile. Furthermore, shorter rise and response times require a higher proportional gain, and the overshoot experienced when crossing the saturation temperature cannot be avoided. In this paper, we show that the response of the data-driven adaptive controller solves these issues, exhibiting a reduced maximum settling time from around 59 s to less than 10 s, while the overshoot is avoided thanks to the temporal adjustment of the PID parameters.

Arsenic (As) accumulation in different genotypes of indica rice (Oryza sativa L.) and health risk assessment based on inorganic As.

To reveal differences in arsenic (As) accumulation among indica rice cultivars and assess the human health risks arising from inorganic arsenic (iAs) intake via rice consumption, a total of 320 field indica rice samples and corresponding soil samples were collected from Fujian Province in China. The results showed that available soil As (0.03 to 3.83mg/kg) showed a statistically significant positive correlation with total soil As (0.10 to 19.45mg/kg). The inorganic As content in brown rice was between 0.001 and 0.316mg/kg. Among the cultivars, ten brown rice samples (3.13%) exceeded the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of iAs in food of 0.2mg/kg in China. The estimated daily intake (EDI) and calculated individual incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) ranged from 0.337µg/day to 106.60µg/day and from 8.18 × 10-6 to 2.59 × 10-3, respectively. Surprisingly, the average EDI and the EDIs of 258 (80.63%) brown rice samples were higher than the maximum daily intake (MDI) of 10µg/day in drinking water as set by the National Research Council. The mean ILCR associated with iAs was 54.3 per 100,000, which exceeds the acceptable upper limit (AUL) of 10 per 100,000 set by the USEPA. Notably, the cultivars Y-Liang-You 1 and Shi-Ji 137 exhibited significantly higher mean ILCRs compared to the AUL and other cultivars, indicating that they pose more serious cancer risks to the local population. Finally, this study demonstrated that the cultivars Yi-Xiang 2292 and Quan-Zhen 10 were the optimal cultivars to mitigate risks associated with iAs to human health from rice consumption.

3D reconstruction of horizontal and vertical quasi-geostrophic currents in the North Atlantic Ocean

Abstract. In this paper we introduce a new high-resolution (1/10°) data-driven dataset of 3D ocean currents developed by the National Research Council of Italy in the framework of the European Space Agency World Ocean Circulation project: the WOC-NATL3D dataset. The product domain extends over a wide portion of the North Atlantic Ocean from the surface down to 1500 m depth, and the dataset covers the period between 2010 and 2019. To generate this product, a diabatic quasi-geostrophic diagnostic model is applied to data-driven 3D temperature and salinity fields obtained through a deep learning technique, along with ERA5 fluxes and empirical estimates of the horizontal Ekman currents based on input provided by the European Copernicus Marine Service. The assessment of WOC-NATL3D currents is performed by direct validation of the total horizontal velocities with independent drifter estimates at various depths (0, 15 and 1000 m) and by comparing them with existing reanalyses that are obtained through the assimilation of observations into ocean general circulation numerical models. Our estimates of the ageostrophic components of the flow improve the total horizontal velocity reconstruction, being more accurate and closer to observations than model reanalyses in the upper layers, also providing an indirect proof of the reliability of the resulting vertical velocities. The reconstructed WOC-NATL3D currents are freely available at https://doi.org/10.12770/0aa7daac-43e6-42f3-9f95-ef7da46bc702 (Buongiorno Nardelli, 2022).

Monitoring data on the effect of domestic livestock and rabbits on Androcymbiumeuropaeum (Lange) K. Richt. and its xerophytiques pastures for thirteen years.

Dataset of annual monitoring of herbivory effects on the conservation status of the endangered species Androcymbiumeuropaeum (Lange) K. Richt and its associated plant communities is presented in this manuscript. This dataset encompasses the annual monitoring of herbivory effects on the conservation status of the endangered species Androcymbiumeuropaeum. Since 2010, the SERPAM Department (Service of Evaluation, Restoration and Protection of Mediterranean Agrosystems) at the Zaidin Experimental Station, belonging to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC-EEZ), has conducted annual sampling to assess the impact of both domestic and wild livestock, specifically rabbits, on the pastures where A.europaeum lives. The study consisted of a randomised block design, implementing three distinct treatments to evaluate different management strategies: (1) rabbit and domestic herbivory, (2) exclusion of domestic livestock and (3) exclusion of rabbits and domestic livestock. Within each treatment, two types of monitoring were conducted. Firstly, the abundance of A.europaeum was estimated by counting individuals within 50 cm x 50 cm quadrats. Secondly, plant species diversity was assessed along 2-m long transects using the modified Point-Quadrat method. The research was conducted within the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park in southern Spain, specifically in the Amoladeras Nature Reserve in Almería. The dataset contains information spanning from 2010 to 2023, providing valuable insights into the annual monitoring of herbivory effects on the conservation status of A.europaeum, contributing to our understanding of the species' interaction with domestic and wild animal in the studied area.

Estimate of the revenue and economic contribution of the professional pest management industry in Georgia, United States.

The Professional Pest Management Industry (PPMI) dates back over a century in the United States. Stakeholder calls for economic studies of the PPMI include, in the 1980s, the National Research Council, although there has been little to no progress on that topic. US Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicate that revenue and employment for the PPMI in Georgia increased 117% from 1997 to 2021. We determined the revenue, employment, and economic contributions for the PPMI in Georgia, United States, using 2 methodologies applied to IMPLAN: primary survey data in combination with an open records request and publicly available Federal Economic data. Estimates of average revenue for the Georgia PPMI in 2021 were $833-$988 million, using the survey/open records and publicly available data, respectively. We utilized an economic modeling program, IMPLAN, to estimate the economic contributions by the Georgia PPMI in 2021 to be between $1.7 and $2.0 billion, with 13,000-14,000 jobs for the 2 respective data sets. We describe the methods and provide tutorials for other states or national organizations to follow to generate justifiable, comparable economic information on the PPMI. In addition, we discuss the unique position of the PPMI as heavily regulated by State Departments of Agriculture to advocate for including the PPMI economic values when reporting agricultural economic contributions.

Wind Effect on External Fire Spread through Openings under the Protection of Horizontal Projections or Vertical Spandrels—A Numerical Study

A numerical investigation has been conducted to analyse the effect of wind on the vertical spread of fire through a front opening in a building’s external walls. The study utilises a building geometry established from previous experimental work conducted by the National Research Council of Canada (NRCC). A horizontal projection or a vertical spandrel is introduced above the opening of the compartment of fire origin. The purpose of the projection or spandrel is to inhibit the vertical spread of the fire, following the relevant requirements in the Australian National Construction Code (NCC). A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package for fire-driven fluid flow, namely the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), is employed to simulate the fire behaviour. The FDS model is validated against the NRCC’s experimental results, and a good agreement is achieved. Winds from three horizontal directions (front wind is normal to the opening, side wind is parallel to the opening, and back wind is from behind the building) have been investigated, with speeds ranging up to 10 m/s for each wind direction. Front wind speeds below 1 m/s are found to slightly enhance the vertical spread of the fire, while speeds exceeding 1 m/s are inclined to promote horizontal spread. The impact of side wind on the vertical fire spread was also found to vary with wind speed. The increase in the speed of back wind influences flame buoyancy, resulting in an augmented vertical fire spread. Furthermore, the numerical results reveal that a vertical spandrel of 1100 mm height is less effective in preventing vertical fire spread through openings, compared to a 1100 mm deep horizontal projection. The study suggests that the fire safety design in reducing the hazard of vertical fire spread through openings in buildings’ external walls could be further improved if the effect of wind is considered.

Operational Oceanography in Ports and Coastal Areas, Applications for the Management of Pollution Events

Maritime safety and the protection of the marine environment were the primary objectives of two European projects that the National Research Council of Italy had participated in, with numerical applications in two areas located in the northern part of Sardinia, Italy. Specifically, two operational Numerical Prediction Systems (NPS) for pollution risk management were developed; the first was applied to the area of the Bonifacio Strait and the Gulf of Asinara and the second to the port of Olbia. These systems are composed of many oceans and particle tracking numerical models. They are forced with meteorological and ocean data provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and Copernicus Marine Service and their outputs have been compared with in situ measurements for preliminary calibration. A web graphical interface was ad hoc designed, specifically responding to projects’ needs, providing online access to a 3-day oceanographic forecast and advanced diagnostic variables like Oil Stranding Time, Risk Score and Water Age. These products, along with the interactive web platform, prove invaluable for marine spatial planning, prevention and emergency management at sea, for the use of competent governmental and local bodies.

Estimating milk production and energy-use efficiency of pasture-grazed Holstein and Jersey cows using mathematical models

The efficiency of feed use for milk production is critical for sustainable and profitable pasture-based dairy systems. The aim of this study was to estimate milk production and energy-use efficiencies of pasture-grazed Holstein and Jersey cows. Lactation records of 122 Holstein and 99 Jersey cows varying from parities 1 to 6 that were managed under similar feeding and environmental conditions were collected from 2005 to 2014. Feed intake and nutrient requirements of the cows were calculated using the National Research Council and the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System equations. Holsteins had a higher milk yield/kg dry matter intake (1.36±0.01 vs. 1.27±0.01 kg), whereas Jerseys had higher efficiencies in milk fat (52.4±0.3 vs. 58.4±0.4 g), milk protein (42.7±0.3 vs. 45.1±0.3 g), and energy-corrected milk (1.30±0.01 vs. 1.36±0.01 kg) per kg dry matter intake. Jersey cows also had a higher dry matter intake/kg body weight (3.13±0.02 vs. 3.51±0.02%). During transition and early lactation stages, Holstein and Jersey cows were in negative energy balance for 102.4±2.3 vs. 74.2±2.3 days, with the lowest energy reserves (-53.9 MJ vs. -39.7 MJ) reached at 22.3±0.9 vs. 24.6±0.9 days post-calving, respectively. Compared to Holsteins, Jersey cows used proportionally less net energy intake to produce 100 g milk fat (13.7±0.10 vs. 12.5±0.10), 100 g milk protein (16.7±0.14 vs.16.2±0.15) and a 1-kg energy-corrected milk (5.52±0.04 vs. 5.35±0.04), making them a better breed for pasture-based dairy systems as they possess more production and feed-use efficiency traits, which are desirable in pasture-based production systems.

Dysregulation of Glucocorticoid Receptor Homeostasis and Glucocorticoid-Associated Genes in Umbilical Cord Endothelial Cells of Diet-Induced Obese Pregnant Sheep.

Maternal obesity (MO) is associated with offspring cardiometabolic diseases that are hypothesized to be partly mediated by glucocorticoids. Therefore, we aimed to study fetal endothelial glucocorticoid sensitivity in an ovine model of MO. Rambouillet/Columbia ewes were fed either 100% (control) or 150% (MO) National Research Council recommendations from 60 d before mating until near-term (135 days gestation). Sheep umbilical vein and artery endothelial cells (ShUVECs and ShUAECs) were used to study glucocorticoid receptor (GR) expression and function in vitro. Dexamethasone dose-response studies of gene expression, activation of a glucocorticoid response element (GRE)-dependent luciferase reporter vector, and cytosolic/nuclear GR translocation were used to assess GR homeostasis. MO significantly increased basal GR protein levels in both ShUVECs and ShUAECs. Increased GR protein levels did not result in increased dexamethasone sensitivity in the regulation of key endothelial gene expression such as endothelial nitric oxide synthase, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, vascular endothelial growth factor, or intercellular adhesion molecule 1. In ShUVECs, MO increased GRE-dependent transactivation and FKBP prolyl isomerase 5 (FKBP5) expression. ShUAECs showed generalized glucocorticoid resistance in both dietary groups. Finally, we found that ShUVECs were less sensitive to dexamethasone-induced activation of GR than human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). These findings suggest that MO-mediated effects in the offspring endothelium could be further mediated by dysregulation of GR homeostasis in humans as compared with sheep.

Risk of death following chikungunya virus disease in the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort, 2015–18: a matched cohort study and self-controlled case series

Chikungunya virus outbreaks have been associated with excess deaths at the ecological level. Previous studies have assessed the risk factors for severe versus mild chikungunya virus disease. However, the risk of death following chikungunya virus disease compared with the risk of death in individuals without the disease remains unexplored. We aimed to investigate the risk of death in the 2 years following chikungunya virus disease. We used a population-based cohort study and a self-controlled case series to estimate mortality risks associated with chikungunya virus disease between Jan 1, 2015, and Dec 31, 2018, in Brazil. The dataset was created by linking national databases for social programmes, notifiable diseases, and mortality. For the matched cohort design, individuals with chikungunya virus disease recorded between Jan 1, 2015, and Dec 31, 2018, were considered as exposed and those who were arbovirus disease-free and alive during the study period were considered as unexposed. For the self-controlled case series, we included all deaths from individuals with a chikungunya virus disease record, and each individual acted as their own control according to different study periods relative to the date of disease. The primary outcome was all-cause natural mortality up to 728 days after onset of chikungunya virus disease symptoms, and secondary outcomes were cause-specific deaths, including ischaemic heart diseases, diabetes, and cerebrovascular diseases. In the matched cohort study, we included 143 787 individuals with chikungunya virus disease who were matched, at the day of symptom onset, to unexposed individuals using sociodemographic factors. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) of death within 7 days of chikungunya symptom onset was 8·40 (95% CI 4·83-20·09) as compared with the unexposed group and decreased to 2·26 (1·50-3·77) at 57-84 days and 1·05 (0·82-1·35) at 85-168 days, with IRR close to 1 and wide CI in the subsequent periods. For the secondary outcomes, the IRR of deaths within 28 days after disease onset were: 1·80 (0·58-7·00) for cerebrovascular diseases, 3·75 (1·33-17·00) for diabetes, and 3·67 (1·25-14·00) for ischaemic heart disease, and there was no evidence of increased risk in the subsequent periods. For the self-controlled case series study, 1933 individuals died after having had chikungunya virus disease and were included in the analysis. The IRR of all-cause natural death within 7 days of symptom onset of chikungunya virus disease was 8·75 (7·18-10·66) and decreased to 1·59 (1·26-2·00) at 57-84 days and 1·09 (0·92-1·29) at 85-168 days. For the secondary outcomes, the IRRs of deaths within 28 days after disease onset were: 2·73 (1·50-4·96) for cerebrovascular diseases, 8·43 (5·00-14·21) for diabetes, and 2·38 (1·33-4·26) for ischaemic heart disease, and there was no evidence of increased risk at 85-168 days. Chikungunya virus disease is associated with an increased risk of death for up to 84 days after symptom onset, including deaths from cerebrovascular diseases, ischaemic heart diseases, and diabetes. This study highlights the need for equitable access to approved vaccines and effective anti-chikungunya virus therapeutics and reinforces the importance of robust vector-control efforts to reduce viral transmission. Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia, Wellcome Trust, and UK Medical Research Council. For the Portuguese translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Cultural Itineraries Generated by Smart Data on the Web

The development of storage standards for databases of different natures and origins makes it possible to aggregate and interact with different data sources in order to obtain and show complex and thematic information to the end user. This article aims to analyze some possibilities opened up by new applications and hypothesize their possible developments. With this work, using the currently available Web technologies, we would like to verify the potential for the use of Linked Open Data in the world of WebGIS and illustrate an application that allows the user to interact with Linked Open Data through their representation on a map. Italy has an artistic and cultural heritage unique in the world and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism has created and made freely available a dataset in Linked Open Data format that represents it. With the aim of enhancing and making this heritage more usable, the National Research Council (CNR) has created an application that presents this heritage via WebGIS on a map. Following criteria definable by the user, such as the duration, the subject of interest and the style of the trip, tourist itineraries are created through the places that host this heritage. New possibilities open up where the tools made available by the Web can be used together, according to pre-established sequences, to create completely new applications. This can be compared to the use of words, all known in themselves, which, according to pre-established sequences, allow us to create ever new texts.