Explore the vast range of titles available.

Asbestos, consisting of six natural mineral fibrous silicate phases, was widely utilized in industrial development during the 20th century and has left a global legacy of health, environmental, and regulatory challenges. Its remarkable properties (e.g., heat resistance, sound absorption, and tensile strength) made it a useful material in numerous applications. However, scientific research revealed its serious health risks in the early 1900s, with growing evidence during the 1960s, and nowadays its role in the development of different diseases (e.g., respiratory diseases, such as lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis) is well defined. Mapping this complex history requires integrating heterogeneous and often inconsistent information from nearly 200 countries. In this study, we tested the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools as exploratory and comparative instruments to support the collection of asbestos-related data worldwide. Using Google Gemini (version 2.5 flash) and OpenAI ChatGPT (GPT-4-turbo variant), we gathered historical, medical, and regulatory information and then systematically verified and contextualized it with expert analysis. This dual approach allowed us to assess both the global asbestos situation and the reliability, advantages, and limitations of AI-assisted research. Our results highlight how AI can accelerate data collection and provide useful first drafts while underscoring the necessity of human expertise for validation, interpretation, and critical integration. This study, therefore, contributes a dual perspective: a comprehensive overview of the asbestos legacy across countries and a methodological reflection on the opportunities and pitfalls of employing AI in geoscientific and environmental research.

Summary Recently, dynamic induction control is gaining the interest of the wind energy community as a promising strategy to increase the overall wind farm power production. Such a technique is based on a dynamic variation of the upstream rotor thrust, generated through a suitable blade pitch motion, to promote a faster wake recovery. Notwithstanding some promising results already published, the knowledge of the physical mechanism, connecting dynamic induction to the increased in‐wake velocity, was not yet exploited to enhance control effectiveness. This paper, through a computational fluid dynamics procedure based on large eddy simulations coupled with actuator line models, provides a description of the working principles of this control from a fluid dynamics standpoint. The analyses show that the faster recovery is strictly connected to the ability of the blade tip vortices to roll up and sucking energy from the outer flow. Exploiting such knowledge, a novel control strategy, which improves the vortex roll up mechanism, is proposed and analyzed. The new control proved more effective than standard techniques especially for very low turbine spacing.

In recent years, there has been a notable increase in commercial demand for natural fibers. Consequently, numerous studies have concentrated on formulating innovative industrial production methodologies for natural fibers, with a particular emphasis on the environmental sustainability of production processes. Among natural fiber sources, bamboo has emerged as a leading candidate, attracting considerable interest due to its exceptional renewability, rapid growth, and low cultivation requirements. The contemporary industrial methodologies employed in the extraction of cellulose from bamboo frequently entail the utilization of concentrated solutions of strong acids and bases, often at elevated temperatures and with extended treatment durations. These processes generate highly polluting waste from mineral acids and bases, posing significant environmental challenges and ecosystem damage. In response to the prevailing concerns, there has been a marked increase in the focus on environmentally friendly techniques that combine enzymatic treatments, selective chemical reagents, and optimized mechanical processes. These processes facilitate the extraction of high-quality bamboo fibers, which are suitable for utilization in the textile industry and have the potential to replace synthetic fibers. This work demonstrates the efficacy of methodologies employing more diluted solutions than conventional approaches. Specifically, this study utilizes a weak base, such as NH4OH, in conjunction with hydrothermal extraction. It is therefore possible for dilute weak base solutions to yield natural fibers after a relatively brief period of processing, typically just a few hours.

Micro-Raman spectroscopy has been applied to fibrous minerals regulated as “asbestos”—anthophyllite, actinolite, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, and chrysotile—responsible of severe diseases affecting mainly, but not only, the respiratory system. The technique proved to be powerful in the identification of the mineral phase and in the recognition of particles of carbonaceous materials (CMs) lying on the “asbestos” fibers surface. Also, erionite, a zeolite mineral, from different outcrops has been analyzed. To erionite has been ascribed the peak of mesothelioma noticed in Cappadocia (Turkey) during the 1970s. On the fibers, micro-Raman spectroscopy allowed to recognize many grains, micrometric in size, of iron oxy-hydroxides or potassium iron sulphate, in erionite from Oregon, or particles of CMs, in erionite from North Dakota, lying on the crystal surface. Raman spectroscopy appears therefore to be the technique allowing, without preparation of the sample, a complete characterization of the minerals and of the associated phases.

Research into effective predictive markers and therapeutic interventions for COVID-19 remains of considerable interest. Vitamin D may be relevant, especially in frail populations in whom deficiency is more prevalent. In this prospective observational cohort study, 139 patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 who were hospitalized during the third wave of the pandemic in Italy were enrolled. Plasma vitamin D concentrations (both 25-hydroxyvitamin D-25(OH)D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D-1,25(OH)2D) together with parathyroid hormone levels were measured using a chemiluminescent assay validated for clinical use on automated laboratory platforms. Plasma vitamin D levels were below the sufficiency threshold. Notably, 25(OH)D concentrations were significantly lower in patients who experienced a negative outcome (11.10 [8.80–16.20] vs. 15.25 [9.90–24.80] ng/mL, p = 0.0450) and significantly higher in patients with rapid clinical recovery (15.25 [10.70–24.80] vs. 13.30 [7.47–19.60] ng/mL, p = 0.0446) compared with all other patients. Through multivariable logistic regression analysis, higher 25(OH)D levels at the time of hospitalization were confirmed as an independent predictor of favorable outcome. A plasma 25(OH)D concentration above 11.10 ng/mL predicted favorable disease resolution, with a positive likelihood ratio of 1.40 (IQR: 1.05–1.87). In conclusion, our findings support plasma vitamin D levels as an independent predictor of clinical outcomes in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia.

The flight mechanics of rigid wing Airborne Wind Energy Systems (AWESs) is fundamentally different from the one of conventional aircrafts. The presence of the tether largely impacts the system dynamics, making the flying craft to experience forces which can be an order of magnitude larger than those experienced by conventional aircrafts. Moreover, an AWES needs to deal with a sustained yet unpredictable wind, and the ensuing requirements for flight maneuvers in order to achieve prescribed control and power production goals. A way to maximize energy capture while facing disturbances without requiring an excessive contribution from active control is that of suitably designing the AWES craft to feature good flight dynamics characteristics. In this study, a baseline circular flight path is considered, and a steady state condition is defined by modeling all fluctuating dynamic terms over the flight loop as disturbances. In-flight stability is studied by linearizing the equations of motion on this baseline trajectory. In populating a linearized dynamic model, analytical derivatives of external forces are computed by applying well-known aerodynamic theories, allowing for a fast formulation of the linearized problem and for a quantitative understanding of how design parameters influence stability. A complete eigenanalysis of an example tethered system is carried out, showing that a stable-by-design AWES can be obtained and how. With the help of the example, it is shown how conventional aircraft eigenmodes are modified for an AWES and new eigenmodes, typical of AWESs, are introduced and explained. The modeling approach presented in the paper sets the basis for a holistic design of AWES that will follow this work.

Background The risk of life-threatening complications, such as visceral disseminated varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection, is greater in immunosuppressed individuals, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Case presentation Here, a case is reported of a Caucasian woman diagnosed with lupus nephritis and anti-phospholipid syndrome, who was subjected to mycophenolate mofetil and high-dose steroid remission-induction therapy. Two months later she developed abdominal pain followed by a fatal rapid multi-organ failure. As no typical skin rashes were evident, death was initially attributed to catastrophic anti-phospholipid syndrome. However, autopsy and virological examinations on archival material revealed a disseminated VZV infection. Conclusions Overall, this case highlights the importance of having a high clinical suspicion of fatal VZV infections in heavily immunosuppressed SLE patients even when typical signs and symptoms are lacking.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is characterized by two subsets: cranial GCA and large-vessel GCA (LV-GCA); positron emission tomography (PET) is an essential tool in the diagnosis of LV-GCA. In this study, we aimed to investigate its potential prognostic value in the stratification of relapse risk. We retrospectively revised all the clinical records of patients who received a diagnosis of GCA at an immuno-rheumatology clinic of a University Hospital along 6 years and who underwent to a PET-CT examination at diagnosis. Clinical, laboratory, and imaging data were collected. Relapses were recorded. The study population included 19 patients (10 females, 52.6%; median age 74.0 [65.5–76.0] years), 12 with typical cranial GCA (63%) and 7 (37%) with LV-GCA. Based on PET findings, a diagnosis of aortitis was made in 15/19 patients, including 8/12 patients with a classical cranial GCA (58%). Along a median follow-up of 15 months [4.5-26.5], 4 relapses were observed. All relapsers were male; indeed, the difference in gender distribution was the only variable reaching statistical difference between relapsers and non-relapsers. Specifically, aortitis was not more frequent among relapsers. Our study confirms PET as a valid tool in the identification of LV-GCA with no cranial involvement. We failed to demonstrate a role for PET in the prognostic stratification of GCA, while male gender is suggested as a potential risk factor for GCA relapse.Key Points• A significant proportion of patients with GCA presents with non-cranial disease, the identification of which requires imaging studies, among which PET is particularly useful.• Aortitis might be detected also in patients with the classical, cranial GCA type but does not seem to have prognostic implications, at least in terms of relapse risk.• Male gender is suggested as a risk factor for relapse in GCA.

SARS-CoV-2 is the etiological agent of COVID-19, an extremely heterogenous disease that can cause severe respiratory failure and critical illness. To date, reliable biomarkers allowing for early patient stratification according to disease severity are still lacking. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a vasoactive neuropeptide involved in lung pathophysiology and immune modulation and is poorly investigated in the COVID-19 context. In this observational, prospective cohort study, we investigated the correlation between CGRP and clinical disease evolution in hospitalized moderate to severe COVID-19 patients. Between January and May 2021 (Italian third pandemic wave), 135 consecutive SARS-CoV-2 patients were diagnosed as being eligible for the study. Plasma CGRP level evaluation and routine laboratory tests were performed on blood samples collected at baseline and after 7 days of hospitalization. At baseline, the majority our patients had a moderate to severe clinical presentation, and higher plasma CGRP levels predicted a higher risk of in-hospital negative evolution (odds-ratio OR 2.84 [IQR 1.07–7.51]) and were correlated with pulmonary intravascular coagulopathy (OR 2.92 [IQR 1.19–7.17]). Finally, plasma CGRP levels were also correlated with plasma IP10 levels. Our data support a possible crosstalk between the lung and the neuroimmune axis, highlighting a crucial role for plasma CGRP in sustaining COVID-19-related hyperinflammation.

In recent decades, fabric-dyeing processes involved greener processes because, since ancient times, dyers used mordants based on metals to make the color better adhere to the textile fibers, but this is the reason for their increased pollution. To develop new strategies, attention was focused on finding the best condition for a dyeing method for natural fibers of vegetable and animal origin (cotton and wool) using an ancient natural dye known as folium. Folium was used mostly in miniature painting in an attempt to avoid the use of classical mordants and solvents. To this purpose, plasma treatment and chitosan coating were employed. Firstly, the textile fibers were analyzed through infrared spectroscopies to verify surface modifications; subsequently, the post-treatment morphological variations were observed via scanning electron microscopy. Both techniques highlighted a significant variation of the surface functional groups due to plasma treatments with He-O2 mixtures, which allowed a greater adhesion of chitosan on the fiber’s surface. Finally, the color strength of samples dyed with folium was tested through fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy, and the folium absorbance peaks were still detected after fabric washing. It is thus shown how an ancient, traditional raw matter has become relevant for developing new modern technologies.