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  1. Article ; Online: The impact of mean body mass index on reported mortality from COVID-19 across 181 countries

    Ruggero Gabbrielli / Nicola Maria Pugno

    Frontiers in Public Health, Vol

    2023  Volume 11

    Abstract: Accountability for global health issues such as a pandemic and its devastating consequences are usually ascribed to a virus, but a comprehensive view should also take into account the state of the host. Data suggests that excessive nutrition is to blame ... ...

    Abstract Accountability for global health issues such as a pandemic and its devastating consequences are usually ascribed to a virus, but a comprehensive view should also take into account the state of the host. Data suggests that excessive nutrition is to blame for a yet unknown but not negligible portion of deaths attributed to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. We analyzed the correlation between mean body mass index (BMI) and 2-year coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality rates reported by 181 countries worldwide. Almost two thirds of the countries included had a mean BMI greater or equal to 25, with death rates ranging from 3 to 6,280 per million. Death rates in countries with a mean BMI below 25 ranged from 3 to 1,533. When the analysis was restricted to countries where the extent of testing was deemed more representative of actual mortality, only 20.1% had a mean BMI <25 but the mortality difference persisted. A second analysis looking at pre-vaccination mortality obtained from a different source led to similar conclusions. Due to the nature of the variables, reverse causation can be excluded while common causation can not. A mean BMI <25 for a country seems to spare its citizens from the highest COVID-19 mortality rates. The impact of excess weight on global COVID-19 mortality is suspected to have been much higher than what currently perceived, here estimated at no less than a fourfold increase in mortality. Countries with normal mean BMI constitute precious test beds for the quantification of the effects of overeating on COVID-19 mortality.
    Keywords body mass index ; COVID-19 ; mortality ; public health ; overeating ; Public aspects of medicine ; RA1-1270
    Subject code 310
    Language English
    Publishing date 2023-03-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  2. Article ; Online: Frontiers in Materials Has the Ambition of Taking Up the “Grand Challenge” of Following Leonardo da Vinci's Legacy

    Nicola Maria Pugno

    Frontiers in Materials, Vol

    2019  Volume 6

    Keywords da Vinci ; Leonardo ; materials ; materials science ; grand challenge ; Technology ; T
    Language English
    Publishing date 2019-12-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  3. Article ; Online: Mechanical Properties of Twisted Carbon Nanotube Bundles with Carbon Linkers from Molecular Dynamics Simulations

    Andrea Pedrielli / Maurizio Dapor / Konstantinos Gkagkas / Simone Taioli / Nicola Maria Pugno

    International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol 24, Iss 2473, p

    2023  Volume 2473

    Abstract: The manufacturing of high-modulus, high-strength fibers is of paramount importance for real-world, high-end applications. In this respect, carbon nanotubes represent the ideal candidates for realizing such fibers. However, their remarkable mechanical ... ...

    Abstract The manufacturing of high-modulus, high-strength fibers is of paramount importance for real-world, high-end applications. In this respect, carbon nanotubes represent the ideal candidates for realizing such fibers. However, their remarkable mechanical performance is difficult to bring up to the macroscale, due to the low load transfer within the fiber. A strategy to increase such load transfer is the introduction of chemical linkers connecting the units, which can be obtained, for example, using carbon ion-beam irradiation. In this work, we investigate, via molecular dynamics simulations, the mechanical properties of twisted nanotube bundles in which the linkers are composed of interstitial single carbon atoms. We find a significant interplay between the twist and the percentage of linkers. Finally, we evaluate the suitability of two different force fields for the description of these systems: the dihedral-angle-corrected registry-dependent potential, which we couple for non-bonded interaction with either the AIREBO potential or the screened potential ReboScr2. We show that both of these potentials show some shortcomings in the investigation of the mechanical properties of bundles with carbon linkers.
    Keywords nanotube bundles ; mechanical properties ; carbon linkers ; force fields ; molecular dynamics ; Biology (General) ; QH301-705.5 ; Chemistry ; QD1-999
    Subject code 541
    Language English
    Publishing date 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher MDPI AG
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  4. Article ; Online: Evidence of friction reduction in laterally graded materials

    Roberto Guarino / Gianluca Costagliola / Federico Bosia / Nicola Maria Pugno

    Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, Vol 9, Iss 1, Pp 2443-

    2018  Volume 2456

    Abstract: In many biological structures, optimized mechanical properties are obtained through complex structural organization involving multiple constituents, functional grading and hierarchical organization. In the case of biological surfaces, the possibility to ... ...

    Abstract In many biological structures, optimized mechanical properties are obtained through complex structural organization involving multiple constituents, functional grading and hierarchical organization. In the case of biological surfaces, the possibility to modify the frictional and adhesive behaviour can also be achieved by exploiting a grading of the material properties. In this paper, we investigate this possibility by considering the frictional sliding of elastic surfaces in the presence of a spatial variation of the Young’s modulus and the local friction coefficients. Using finite-element simulations and a two-dimensional spring-block model, we investigate how graded material properties affect the macroscopic frictional behaviour, in particular, static friction values and the transition from static to dynamic friction. The results suggest that the graded material properties can be exploited to reduce static friction with respect to the corresponding non-graded material and to tune it to desired values, opening possibilities for the design of bio-inspired surfaces with tailor-made tribological properties.
    Keywords bio-inspired materials ; friction ; functionally graded materials ; numerical simulations ; Technology ; T ; Chemical technology ; TP1-1185 ; Science ; Q ; Physics ; QC1-999
    Subject code 612
    Language English
    Publishing date 2018-09-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Beilstein-Institut
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  5. Article ; Online: A study on plant root apex morphology as a model for soft robots moving in soil.

    Anand Kumar Mishra / Francesca Tramacere / Roberto Guarino / Nicola Maria Pugno / Barbara Mazzolai

    PLoS ONE, Vol 13, Iss 6, p e

    2018  Volume 0197411

    Abstract: Plants use many strategies to move efficiently in soil, such as growth from the tip, tropic movements, and morphological changes. In this paper, we propose a method to translate morphological features of Zea mays roots into a new design of soft robots ... ...

    Abstract Plants use many strategies to move efficiently in soil, such as growth from the tip, tropic movements, and morphological changes. In this paper, we propose a method to translate morphological features of Zea mays roots into a new design of soft robots that will be able to move in soil. The method relies on image processing and curve fitting techniques to extract the profile of Z. mays primary root. We implemented an analytic translation of the root profile in a 3D model (CAD) to fabricate root-like probes by means of 3D printing technology. Then, we carried out a comparative analysis among the artificial root-like probe and probes with different tip shapes (cylindrical, conical, elliptical, and parabolic) and diameters (11, 9, 7, 5, and 3 mm). The results showed that the energy consumption and the penetration force of the bioinspired probe are better with respect to the other shapes for all the diameters of the developed probes. For 100 mm of penetration depth and 7 mm of probe diameter, the energy consumption of the bioinspired probe is 89% lesser with respect to the cylindrical probe and 26% lesser with respect to the conical probe. The penetration performance of the considered tip shapes was evaluated also by means of numerical simulations, obtaining a good agreement with the experimental results. Additional investigations on plant root morphology, movement strategies, and material properties can allow the development of innovative bioinspired solutions exploitable in challenging environments. This research can bring to breakthrough scenarios in different fields, such as exploration tasks, environmental monitoring, geotechnical studies, and medical applications.
    Keywords Medicine ; R ; Science ; Q
    Language English
    Publishing date 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  6. Article: Mechanical and thermal properties of graphene random nanofoams via Molecular Dynamics simulations

    Pedrielli, Andrea / Simone Taioli / Giovanni Garberoglio / Nicola Maria Pugno

    Elsevier Ltd Carbon. 2018 June, v. 132

    2018  

    Abstract: Graphene foams have recently attracted a great deal of interest for their possible use in technological applications, such as electrochemical storage devices, wearable electronics, and chemical sensing. In this work, we present computational ... ...

    Abstract Graphene foams have recently attracted a great deal of interest for their possible use in technological applications, such as electrochemical storage devices, wearable electronics, and chemical sensing. In this work, we present computational investigations, performed by using molecular dynamics with reactive potentials, of the mechanical and thermal properties of graphene random nanofoams. In particular, we assess the mechanical and thermal performances of four families of random foams characterized by increasing mass density and decreasing average pore size. We find that the foams' mechanical performances under tension cannot be rationalized in terms of mass density, while they are principally related to their topology. Under compression, higher-density foams show the typical slope change in the stress–strain curve at 5−10% strain, moving from linear elasticity to a buckling region. At variance, lower density foams display a quasi-linear behavior up to 35% strain. Furthermore, we assess the thermal conductivity of these random foams using the Green–Kubo approach. While foam thermal conductivity is affected by both connectivity and defects, nevertheless we obtain similar values for all the investigated families, which means that topology is the critical factor affecting thermal transport in these structures.
    Keywords electrochemistry ; electronics ; foams ; graphene ; molecular dynamics ; porosity ; thermal conductivity ; topology ; variance
    Language English
    Dates of publication 2018-06
    Size p. 766-775.
    Publishing place Elsevier Ltd
    Document type Article
    ISSN 0008-6223
    DOI 10.1016/j.carbon.2018.02.081
    Database NAL-Catalogue (AGRICOLA)

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  7. Article ; Online: Laser-Based Texturing of Graphene to Locally Tune Electrical Potential and Surface Chemistry

    Manoj Tripathi / Alice King / Giuseppe Fratta / Manuela Meloni / Matthew Large / Jonathan P. Salvage / Nicola Maria Pugno / Alan B. Dalton

    ACS Omega, Vol 3, Iss 12, Pp 17000-

    2018  Volume 17009

    Keywords Chemistry ; QD1-999
    Language English
    Publishing date 2018-12-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher American Chemical Society
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  8. Article: Friction and Adhesion of Different Structural Defects of Graphene

    Tripathi, Manoj / Firas Awaja / Rafael A. Bizao / Stefano Signetti / Erica Iacob / Guido Paolicelli / Sergio Valeri / Alan Dalton / Nicola Maria Pugno

    ACS applied materials & interfaces. 2018 Nov. 15, v. 10, no. 51

    2018  

    Abstract: Graphene structural defects, namely edges, step-edges, and wrinkles, are susceptible to severe mechanical deformation and stresses under tribo-mechanical operations. Applied forces may cause deformation by folding, buckling, bending, and tearing of these ...

    Abstract Graphene structural defects, namely edges, step-edges, and wrinkles, are susceptible to severe mechanical deformation and stresses under tribo-mechanical operations. Applied forces may cause deformation by folding, buckling, bending, and tearing of these defective sites of graphene, which lead to a remarkable decline in normal and friction load bearing capacity. In this work, we experimentally quantified the maximum sustainable normal and friction forces, corresponding to the damage thresholds of the different investigated defects as well as their pull-out (adhesion) forces. Horizontal wrinkles (with respect to the basal plane, i.e., folded) sustained the highest normal load, up to 317 nN, during sliding, whereas for vertical (i.e., standing) wrinkles, step-edges, and edges, the load bearing capacities are up to 113, 74, and 63 nN, respectively. The related deformation mechanisms were also experimentally investigated by varying the normal load up to the initiation of the damage from the defects and extended with the numerical results from molecular dynamics and finite element method simulations.
    Keywords adhesion ; deformation ; finite element analysis ; friction ; graphene ; materials science ; molecular dynamics
    Language English
    Dates of publication 2018-1115
    Size p. 44614-44623.
    Publishing place American Chemical Society
    Document type Article
    ISSN 1944-8252
    DOI 10.1021/acsami.8b10294
    Database NAL-Catalogue (AGRICOLA)

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  9. Article ; Online: YAP regulates cell mechanics by controlling focal adhesion assembly

    Giorgia Nardone / Jorge Oliver-De La Cruz / Jan Vrbsky / Cecilia Martini / Jan Pribyl / Petr Skládal / Martin Pešl / Guido Caluori / Stefania Pagliari / Fabiana Martino / Zuzana Maceckova / Marian Hajduch / Andres Sanz-Garcia / Nicola Maria Pugno / Gorazd Bernard Stokin / Giancarlo Forte

    Nature Communications, Vol 8, Iss 1, Pp 1-

    2017  Volume 13

    Abstract: The transcriptional co-activator YAP is known to operate downstream of mechanical signals arising from the cell niche. Here the authors demonstrate that YAP controls cell mechanics, force development and adhesion strength by promoting the transcription ... ...

    Abstract The transcriptional co-activator YAP is known to operate downstream of mechanical signals arising from the cell niche. Here the authors demonstrate that YAP controls cell mechanics, force development and adhesion strength by promoting the transcription of genes related to focal adhesions.
    Keywords Science ; Q
    Language English
    Publishing date 2017-05-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Nature Portfolio
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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