Stability and disassembly properties of human naïve Hsp60 and bacterial GroEL chaperonins.

Human Hsp60 chaperonin and its bacterial homolog GroEL, in association with the corresponding co-chaperonins Hsp10 and GroES, constitute important chaperone systems promoting the proper folding of several mitochondrial proteins. Hsp60 is also currently described as a ubiquitous molecule with multiple roles both in health conditions and in several diseases. Naïve Hsp60 bearing the mitochondrial import signal has been recently demonstrated to present different oligomeric organizations with respect to GroEL, suggesting new possible physiological functions. Here we present a combined investigation with circular dichroism and small-angle X-ray scattering of structure, self-organization, and sta…

Gli impedimenti matrimoniali

Verità e prova nelle sentenze sugli impedimenti matrimoniali

Behavior-modifying and insecticidal effects of plant extracts on adults of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera Tephritidae)

The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata is a major pest of fruit orchards worldwide. In order to develop control methods based on natural products, particularly required in organic farming, a laboratory study was carried out to evaluate the response of adults to leaf extracts from four plant species: Ruta graveolens, Eriobotrya japonica, Rubus ulmifolius, and Ficus carica. Air-dried leaf powders were subjected to an ethanolic cold extraction. Chemical composition was assessed by GC/MS analysis. Extracts were tested in laboratory bioassays to assess the electroantennographic (EAG) response, attraction/repellence toward ovipositing females, and induced mortality toward adults. Among th…

Optimized Kernel Entropy Components

This work addresses two main issues of the standard Kernel Entropy Component Analysis (KECA) algorithm: the optimization of the kernel decomposition and the optimization of the Gaussian kernel parameter. KECA roughly reduces to a sorting of the importance of kernel eigenvectors by entropy instead of by variance as in Kernel Principal Components Analysis. In this work, we propose an extension of the KECA method, named Optimized KECA (OKECA), that directly extracts the optimal features retaining most of the data entropy by means of compacting the information in very few features (often in just one or two). The proposed method produces features which have higher expressive power. In particular…

IEEE Std. 1459 power quantities ratio approaches for simplified harmonic emissions assessment

The paper investigates the suitability of using power ratio parameters for harmonic emissions assessment at the point of common coupling (PCC). The study is carried out starting from the IEEE Std. 1459-2010 apparent power decomposition, where power factors are defined for evaluating line utilization and harmonic pollution levels. In addition, the study investigates the behavior of new parameters, which are expressed in terms of ratio between IEEE Std. 1459-2010 power quantities. The study is carried out for both single-phase and three-phase case, also considering the presence of capacitors. ? 2018 IEEE.

Graph-theoretical derivation of brain structural connectivity

Brain connectivity at the single neuron level can provide fundamental insights into how information is integrated and propagated within and between brain regions. However, it is almost impossible to adequately study this problem experimentally and, despite intense efforts in the field, no mathematical description has been obtained so far. Here, we present a mathematical framework based on a graph-theoretical approach that, starting from experimental data obtained from a few small subsets of neurons, can quantitatively explain and predict the corresponding full network properties. This model also changes the paradigm with which large-scale model networks can be built, from using probabilisti…

Synergetic effect of gold in Au/Pd catalysts during hydrodesulfurization reactions of model compounds

Abstract The simultaneous formation of colloidal dispersions of Pd and Au metal particles protected by the organic polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in reducing alcohol solution was used for the synthesis of new silica-supported monometallic and bimetallic Au x Pd y catalysts with different x / y ratios. The samples, with a 2 wt% total metal loading, after air calcinations at 673 K to remove the PVP, were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and FTIR spectra of chemisorbed CO. Formation of alloyed Au x Pd y particles of different metal composition with consequent modification of their electronic and geometric properties was ascertained. The catalytic activi…

EVpedia: a community web portal for extracellular vesicles research

Abstract Motivation: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are spherical bilayered proteolipids, harboring various bioactive molecules. Due to the complexity of the vesicular nomenclatures and components, online searches for EV-related publications and vesicular components are currently challenging. Results: We present an improved version of EVpedia, a public database for EVs research. This community web portal contains a database of publications and vesicular components, identification of orthologous vesicular components, bioinformatic tools and a personalized function. EVpedia includes 6879 publications, 172 080 vesicular components from 263 high-throughput datasets, and has been accessed more tha…

Interactions of fungi with other organisms.

Living organisms establish complex networks of mutualistic and antagonistic interactions in nature, which impact strongly on their own survival and on the stability of the whole population. Fungi, in particular, can shape natural as well as man-managed ecosystems due to their ubiquitous occurrence and the range of interactions they establish with plants, animals and other microbes. This review describes some examples of mutualistic and antagonistic fungal interactions that are of particular interest for their ecological role, or because they can be exploited by man to improve plant health and/or productivity in sustainable agriculture and forestry.

Structure ofD-ribonic acid-dimethyltin(IV) in coordinating solvents: an experimental and DFT119Sn NMR study

We have investigated a newly synthesized complex of D-ribonic acid with dimethyltin(IV). The structure of the complex in solution has been characterized by means of 1 H, 13 C, and 119 Sn NMR and by DFT calculations. The comparison of experimental and computational results allowed the determination of the stable conformation in solution as well as the detection of a dimerization process. Moreover, evidence is given of active coordination of the metal by the solvent.

Misure di velocità e livelli nello Stagnone di Marsala

EDGE: explorer of diffuse emission and gamma-ray burst explosions

How structures on various scales formed and evolved from the early Universe up to present time is a fundamental question of astrophysical cosmology. EDGE will trace the cosmic history of the baryons from the early generations of massive star by Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) explosions, through the period of cluster formation, down to very low redshifts, when between a third and one half of the baryons are expected to reside in cosmic filaments undergoing gravitational collapse by dark matter (Warm Hot Intragalactic Medium: WHIM). In addition EDGE, with its unprecedented observational capabilities, will provide key results on several other topics. The science is feasible with a medium class mission …

POSS-tetraalkylammonium salts: A new class of ionic liquids

A series of new polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane ionic liquids (POSS-ILs) based on the trimethylpropylammonium dielectric constants, which, conversely, display slight differences originating from the nature of the anions. The long alkyl-chain substituents on the POSS core infer on this series of ILs an overall hydrophobic character and solution properties comparable to those of classic cationic surfactants, resulting in an effective extractant capability of polyanions from aqueous solutions. Their solution diffusion properties, as investigated by room-temperature dynamic light scattering, solution conductivity, density, and osmometric measurements, do not provide evidence for the occurr…

Measurement uncertainty impact on simplified load flow analysis in MV smart grids

This work is focused on the measurement uncertainty impact on load flow analysis in medium voltage (MV) distribution networks. In more detail, the paper presents the uncertainty evaluation of a simplified load flow algorithm, which is based on the load power measurements at each secondary substation and one voltage measurement at the slack bus (i.e. the voltage at the MV bus bars of the primary substation). To reduce the costs of the monitoring system, the load flow algorithm makes use of LV load power measurements for all the substations except those of MV users, where MV transducers are usually already installed. The uncertainties on the algorithm input quantities (load powers and slack b…

Uncertainty in urban stormwater quality modelling: The effect of acceptability threshold in the GLUE methodology

Uncertainty analysis in integrated urban drainage modelling is of growing importance in the field of water quality. However, only few studies deal with uncertainty quantification in urban drainage modelling; furthermore, the few existing studies mainly focus on quantitative sewer flow modelling rather than uncertainty in water quality aspects. In this context, the generalised likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) methodology was applied for the evaluation of the uncertainty of an integrated urban drainage model and some of its subjective hypotheses have been explored. More specifically, the influence of the subjective choice of the acceptability threshold has been detected in order to ga…

Dispersion polymerization of vinyl monomers in supercritical carbon dioxide in the presence of drug molecules: A one-pot route for the preparation of controlled delivery systems

Electroweak measurements in electron-positron collisions at W-boson-pair energies at LEP

The ALEPH, DELPHI, L3, OPAL collaborations and LEP Electroweak Working Group.-- arXiv:1302.3415

uvby{beta} photometry of h and chi Per

We present CCD uvby{beta} photometry for stars in the nuclei of the young double cluster {h} and {chi} Persei. We find that the reddening is highly variable through the {h} Per nucleus, increasing from west to east, with values ranging from E(b-y)=0.328+/-0.022 in the western part to E(b-y)=0.465+/-0.025 in the south-east. Towards {chi} Persei the reddening is fairly constant, with E(b-y)=0.398+/-0.025. Both clusters share a common distance modulus of 11.7+/-0.1mag, and an age of logt=7.10+/-0.05 years. Cone search capability for table J/A+A/394/479/table6 (Coordinates and photometry for stars in h Per) Cone search capability for table J/A+A/394/479/table7 (Coordinates and photometry for st…