showing 36 of ~574560 from 574555 documents
Molecular Apomorphies in the Secondary and Tertiary Structures of Length-Variable Regions (LVRs) of 18S rRNA Shed Light on the Systematic Position of…
2023
The SSU nrDNA, a small subunit of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (coding 18S rRNA), is one of the most frequently sequenced genes in molecular studies in Hexapoda. In insects, including true bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), only its primary structures (i.e., aligned sequences) are predominantly used in phylogenetic reconstructions. It is known that including RNA secondary structures in the alignment procedure is essential for improving accuracy and robustness in phylogenetic tree reconstruction. Moreover, local plasticity in rRNAs might impact their tertiary structures and corresponding functions. To determine the systematic position of Thaumastellidae within the superfamily Pentatomoidea, the sec…
Capturing cognitive load management during authentic virtual reality flight training with behavioural and physiological indicators
2023
Background Cognitive load (CL) management is essential in safety-critical fields so that professionals can monitor and control their cognitive resources efficiently to perform and solve scenarios in a timely and safe manner, even in complex and unexpected circumstances. Thus, cognitive load theory (CLT) can be used to design virtual reality (VR) training programmes for professional learning in these fields. Objectives We studied CL management performance through behavioural indicators in authentic VR flight training and explored if and to what extent physiological data was associated with CL management performance. Methods The expert (n = 8) and novice pilots (n = 6) performed three approac…
Nitrogen-Vacancy Magnetometry of Individual Fe-Triazole Spin Crossover Nanorods
2023
[Fe(Htrz)2(trz)](BF4) (Fe-triazole) spin crossover molecules show thermal, electrical, and optical switching between high spin (HS) and low spin (LS) states, making them promising candidates for molecular spintronics. The LS and HS transitions originate from the electronic configurations of Fe(II), and are considered to be diamagnetic and paramagnetic respectively. The Fe(II) LS state has six paired electrons in the ground states with no interaction with the magnetic field and a diamagnetic behavior is usually observed. While the bulk magnetic properties of Fe-triazole compounds are widely studied by standard magnetometry techniques their properties at the individual level are missing. Here…
Histopathology of Skeletal Muscle in a Distal Motor Neuropathy Associated with a Mutant CCT5 Subunit: Clues for Future Developments to Improve Differ…
2023
Genetic chaperonopathies are rare but, because of misdiagnosis, there are probably more cases than those that are recorded in the literature and databases. This occurs because practitioners are generally unaware of the existence and/or the symptoms and signs of chaperonopathies. It is necessary to educate the medical community about these diseases and, with research, to unveil their mechanisms. The structure and functions of various chaperones in vitro have been studied, but information on the impact of mutant chaperones in humans, in vivo, is scarce. Here, we present a succinct review of the most salient abnormalities of skeletal muscle, based on our earlier report of a patient who carried…
New Data on Native and Alien Vascular Flora of Sicily (Italy): New Findings and Updates
2023
In this paper, based on fieldwork and herbaria surveys, new data concerning the presence of 32 native and alien vascular species for Sicily (Italy) are provided. Among the native species, the occurrence of the following taxa is reported for the first time or confirmed after many decades of non-observation: Aira multiculmis, Arum maculatum, Carex flacca subsp. flacca, Mentha longifolia, Oxybasis chenopodioides, Najas minor and Xiphion junceum. Furthermore, we document the presence of three native species (Cornus mas, Juncus foliosus and Limonium avei) that, despite being repeatedly observed in Sicily and reported in the literature, are inexplicably omitted by the most recent authoritative ch…
Modelling rainfall interarrival times and rainfall depths at daily scale
2023
Analysis of daily rainfall data, and subsequent modelling of some derived variables concerning rainfall, is fundamental in different areas such as agricultural, ecological, and engineering disciplines. A way of studying the alternance of consecutive rainy days (wet spells) and no-rainy days (dry spells) is through the interarrival time (IT), which is the time elapsed between two consecutives rainy days. If we suppose that IT observations are independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.), ITs are usually modelled through a renewal processes. The simplest renewal process is the Bernoulli process with ITs geometrically distributed. The need to suppose a non-constant probability of rain brin…
Placental Chorangiocarcinoma a Specific Histological Pattern of Uncertain Incidence and Clinical Impact: Systematic Review of the Literature
2023
Chorangiocarcinoma is a very rare and misdiagnosed placental neoplasm. The unique morphologic features of the lesion distinguish it from other trophoblastic tumors and vascular abnormalities. We present a systematic review of the literature to provide clarity on chorangiocarcinoma entity and biology. A literature search was carried out in December 2022 using the keywords “Placental chorangiocarcinoma”, “Chorangioma”, “Placenta”, and “Throphoblast proliferation”. Articles published from 1988 to 2022 were obtained from Scopus, Google Scholar, and PUBMED. In our review, we examined maternal age, gestational age at the time of delivery, parity, type of pregnancy, placental weight, ultrasound fe…
Programmed cell death 1 genetic variant and liver damage in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
2023
Background and aims: Programmed cell death 1/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PDL-1) axis has been reported to modulate liver inflammation and progression to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Here, we examined whether the PDCD1 variation is associated with NAFLD severity in individuals with liver biopsy. Methods: We examined the impact of PDCD1 gene variants on HCC, as robust severe liver disease phenotype in UK Biobank participants. The strongest genetic association with the rs13023138 G>C variation was subsequently tested for association with liver damage in 2889 individuals who underwent liver biopsy for suspected nonalcoholi…
Can Dried Fruits Replace Unhealthy Snacking among Millennials? An Empirical Study on Dried Fruit Consumption in Italy
2023
The consumption of dried fruits in place of unhealthy snacks, which are rich in sugars, salt, and fats, could represent a valid option for reaching the daily intake recommended by the WHO for fruits and for encouraging the adoption of a sustainable diet. However, the consumption of dried fruits is lower than that of unhealthy snacks, especially among young people. Therefore, to foster young people’s intentions to consume dried fruits instead of unhealthy snacks, it is important to identify the factors underlying millennials’ consumption intentions. Using a convenience sample of 174 Italian millennials, this paper aimed to understand the factors influencing young people’s i…
A multicenter evaluation of a deep learning software (LungQuant) for lung parenchyma characterization in COVID-19 pneumonia
2023
Abstract Background The role of computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis and characterization of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia has been widely recognized. We evaluated the performance of a software for quantitative analysis of chest CT, the LungQuant system, by comparing its results with independent visual evaluations by a group of 14 clinical experts. The aim of this work is to evaluate the ability of the automated tool to extract quantitative information from lung CT, relevant for the design of a diagnosis support model. Methods LungQuant segments both the lungs and lesions associated with COVID-19 pneumonia (ground-glass opacities and consolidations) and computes derived…
A tool to observe the phenomenology and aesthetics of primary relationships: the “dance steps” of reciprocity between caregivers and infant/child – P…
2023
This study addresses the complexity of caregiver-infant/child interactions from the theoretical frame of Gestalt psychotherapy and the field of application of Pediatric Psychology. Based on a previous empirical study on the process of reciprocity in caregiver-infant/child interactions (Spagnuolo Lobb, 2016), the authors have worked on the construction of an observational tool to look at the co-creation of meaningful experiences, switching the focus from the child to the “dance” of reciprocity between caregiver and infant/child. Considering the contextualization in the field of Pediatric Psychology, this pilot study aimed to test the tool’s application with caregiverpreterm infant dyads, but…
FDA-Approved Fluorinated Heterocyclic Drugs from 2016 to 2022
2023
The inclusion of fluorine atoms or heterocyclic moiety into drug structures represents a recurrent motif in medicinal chemistry. The combination of these two features is constantly appearing in new molecular entities with various biological activities. This is demonstrated by the increasing number of newly synthesized fluorinated heterocyclic compounds among the Food and Drug Administration FDA-approved drugs. In this review, the biological activity, as well as the synthetic aspects, of 33 recently FDA-approved fluorinated heterocyclic drugs from 2016 to 2022 are highlighted.
Flooding in the Digital Twin Earth: The Case Study of the Enza River Levee Breach in December 2017
2023
The accurate delineation of flood hazard maps is a key element of flood risk management policy. Flood inundation models are fundamental for reproducing the boundaries of flood-prone areas, but their calibration is limited to the information available on the areas affected by inundation during observed flood events (typically fragmentary photo, video or partial surveys). In recent years, Earth Observation data have supported flood monitoring and emergency response (e.g., the Copernicus Emergency Service) thanks to the proliferation of available satellite sensors, also at high spatial resolution. Under this umbrella, the study investigates a levee breach that occurred in December 2017 along t…
Tapered drip laterals and manifolds in flat and rectangular irrigation units
2023
Multiple-diameter laterals and manifolds reduce the total cost in microirrigation systems, however, the length of each sublateral should be determined carefully to assure appropriate performance and uniformity of emitter flow rates. The most accurate method is numerical trial and error, which is time-consuming. Many research efforts have been made to propose simple analytical design procedures. By using the power-law form of the Darcy-Weisbach formula, and equal emitters spacing for the sublaterals, Sadeghi et al. (2016) extended a previously introduced design solution for one-diameter laterals to tapered laterals. Recently, a simplified procedure to design dual-diameter drip laterals has b…
Philippe Vilain, des essais aux fictions pensives : transactions et complémentarité
2023
This article explores how in Vilain essayist "fictions pensives" produce fictional and reflexive enlargements of his thought, by demonstrating the writer's ability to seize his ordinary experience to transform it into a literary object as well as a structured thought. Cet article explore comment chez Vilain essayiste les fictions pensives produisent des élargissements fictionnels et réflexifs de sa pensée, en démontrant la capacité de l’écrivain à s’emparer de son expérience ordinaire pour la transformer aussi bien en objet littéraire qu’en pensée structurée.
HyperIO: A Hypervisor-Based Framework for Secure IO
2023
Malware often attempts to steal input and output through human interface devices to obtain confidential information. We propose to use a thin hypervisor, called “HyperIO”, to realize a secure path between input and output devices using a partial implementation of device drivers. We apply our approach using two security systems built on HyperIO: FireSafe and ClipCrypt. FireSafe is a web browser extension which allows a remote web server to display and receive sensitive user information securely. ClipCrypt enables the user to securely enter and view their confidential information in commodity Windows applications.
Effects of Genotype and Climate on Productive Performance of High Oleic Carthamus tinctorius L. under Rainfed Conditions in a Semi-Arid Environment o…
2023
Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a promising oilseed crop for cultivation in central Southern Italy due to its high tolerance to drought and salinity stress and appreciable seed and oil yields. The genetic diversity of cultivars and climate factors can affect fatty acid composition and yield traits. This study aimed to assess the effects of genotype and climate conditions on the productive performance of eight high oleic safflower genotypes under rainfed conditions in Sicily (Italy). These genotypes were compared to the Montola 2000 cultivar, which was used as a reference. Tests were carried out during the growing seasons of 2014–2015 and 2015–2016. The experimental design…
Logos e Physis. Il libro A della Physica di Aristotele
2023
Perché rileggere la Physica di Aristotele oggi? E perché rileggere, in particolare, il suo libro iniziale? Attraverso una full immersion nel testo e nella lettura critica degli ultimi settant’anni, l’autore cerca di dar risposta a questa domanda. Il punto di partenza è Omero e la cultura greca delle origini. Una tappa intermedia obbligata è la riflessione sulla testualità aristotelica. I testi di Aristotele pervenutici sono opere acroamatiche: ossia appunti per una performance didattica orale. Se questo è vero, Aristotele non è l’inventore del moderno trattato specialistico. Ma neppure inaugura in Grecia un modello ‘dipartimentale’ dei saperi. La Physica di Aristotele non è una scienza spec…
Outcomes of a Teaching Learning Sequence on Modelling Surface Phenomena in Liquids
2023
In this paper we discuss the effects of modelling and computer simulation activities in promoting student use of lines of reasoning useful to explain proposed or observed situations. The activities are part of a structured Teaching/Learning Sequence on surface phenomena in liquids. We outline a model of liquid based on a mesoscopic approach, examples of computer simulations students can use during the activities, and we describe the Teaching/Learning Sequence. During the pedagogical activities, students can simulate the liquid behaviour by controlling many simulation parameters, such as the interaction intensity among liquid and solid particles. The results of the analysis of student answer…
On the Landis conjecture for the fractional Schrödinger equation
2023
In this paper, we study a Landis-type conjecture for the general fractional Schrödinger equation ((−P)s+q)u=0. As a byproduct, we also prove the additivity and boundedness of the linear operator (−P)s for non-smooth coefficents. For differentiable potentials q, if a solution decays at a rate exp (−∣x∣1+), then the solution vanishes identically. For non-differentiable potentials q, if a solution decays at a rate exp (−∣x∣4s−14s+), then the solution must again be trivial. The proof relies on delicate Carleman estimates. This study is an extension of the work by Rüland and Wang (2019). peerReviewed
Desafíos para el mantenimiento de una esfera pública democrática en la sociedad digital
2023
El presente trabajo se propone analizar cómo el creciente protagonismo de las redes sociales en el debate público puede implicar –de forma contraintiutiva- serios riesgos para la construcción y el mantenimiento de una esfera pública democrática. Para ello, en primer lugar, se identificarán las que hasta ahora han sido consideradas como características esenciales de una esfera pública democrática, exponiendo cómo dichas características han sido reconocidas y protegidas en los ordenamientos jurídicos –tomando como referencia el ordenamiento jurídico español. Enumeradas estas características, el trabajo analiza cómo la dinámica de las redes sociales puede poner en jaque cada una de ellas. Pres…
Predicting Earthquake-Induced Landslides by Using a Stochastic Modeling Approach: A Case Study of the 2001 El Salvador Coseismic Landslides
2023
In January and February 2001, El Salvador was hit by two strong earthquakes that triggered thousands of landslides, causing 1259 fatalities and extensive damage. The analysis of aerial and SPOT-4 satellite images allowed us to map 6491 coseismic landslides, mainly debris slides and flows that occurred in volcanic epiclastites and pyroclastites. Four different multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) models were produced using different predictors and landslide inventories which contain slope failures triggered by an extreme rainfall event in 2009 and those induced by the earthquakes of 2001. In a predictive analysis, three validation scenarios were employed: the first and the second …
Uncertainty analysis of life cycle assessment of asphalt surfacings
2023
The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of asphalt pavements are associated with significant uncertainty resulting from variability in the quantity and impact of individual components, the quality of data for each component, and variability of asphalt durability. This study presents a framework to quantify and incorporate the uncertainty of LCA and asphalt durability data into LCA of asphalt surfacings. The suggested framework includes: estimating the uncertainty of asphalt production processes by the pedigree matrix method, conducting a deterministic LCA, applying Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) to estimate the probability density functions (PDFs) of the considered impacts using the uncertainty data,…
40 lat minęło. Rubinowy jubileusz Sekcji Dipterologicznej Polskiego Towarzystwa Entomologicznego
2023
40 years have passed. Ruby jubilee of the Dipterological Section of the Polish Entomological Society. The illustrated notes on the Dipterological Section of the Polish Entomological Society are presented. The idea of establishing the Section emerged in 1980 in Cracow, formally implemented a year later. Each year members meet at a scientific symposium in various places of Poland. The group releases international journal Dipteron, and in 2013 proclaimed World Dipteran Day.
A taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic genus Roeseliana (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Tettigoniinae: Platycleidini): a case of ongoing Mediterranean s…
2023
The genus Roeseliana presently includes 10 specific or subspecific taxa, but following different authors some of them are considered synonyms. However, the authors who have treated these taxa often did not agree with the synonymies, in particular, concerning some taxa, such as R. fedtschenkoi (Saussure, 1874) and R. roeselii (Hagenbach, 1822). The present authors examined hundreds of specimens of different taxa, for the first time were able to obtain the translation from the Russian of the description of R. fedtschenkoi, compared the main morphological characters used to discriminate different taxa, biometrics, bioacoustics and genetics of some taxa. This allowed them to conclude that it is…
La speciale disciplina urbanistica ed edilizia delle opere pubbliche
2023
Public works constitute one of the main objects of ordinary urban planning and building regulations. However, since the 1970s, laws have been gradually introduced with the effect of derogating either from the provisions of the general land use plan or from the general discipline on authorization procedures to build. The decree-laws n. 77/2021 and n. 36/2022 have continued this trend with reference to projects necessary to achieve the strategic objectives of the European Union for the country's ecological and energy transition included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and the Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate (PNIEC). This paper explains the causes of this su…
Biodegradable Membrane with High Porosity and Hollow Structure Obtained via Electrospinning for Oil Spill Clean-up Application
2023
The use of biodegradable polymers for the production of membranes to be used in wastewater treatment has attracted increasing interest considering the possibility of reducing the risk of second pollution. In this work, porous fibrous membranes based on polylactic acid and polyethylene oxide (PEO) blends were prepared. The solutions were electrospun using two approaches: (i) conventional coaxial electrospinning followed by leaching treatment (double-step, DS); (ii) coaxial wet electrospinning with in situ leaching (single-step, SS). By varying PEO type and processing method it was possible to control membranes structure and porosity. DS leaching treatment lead to surface porosity (i.e. shell…
The Different Roles of Structural and Cognitive Social Capital on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life among Adolescents
2023
This study evaluated the relationship of structural and cognitive dimensions of social capital with oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among adolescents. This was a cross-sectional study nested in a cohort of adolescents from southern Brazil. OHRQoL was evaluated using the short version of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire 11-14 (CPQ11-14). Structural social capital was measured by attendance of religious meetings and social networks from friends and neighbours. Cognitive social capital was evaluated through trust in friends and neighbours, perception of relationships in the neighbourhood, and social support during hard times. Multilevel Poisson regression analysis was performed…
Immunomorphological Patterns of Chaperone System Components in Rare Thyroid Tumors with Promise as Biomarkers for Differential Diagnosis and Providin…
2023
Hurthle cell (HC), anaplastic (AC), and medullary (MC) carcinomas are low frequency thyroid tumors that pose several challenges for physicians and pathologists due to the scarcity of cases, information, and histopathological images, especially in the many areas around the world in which sophisticated molecular and genetic diagnostic facilities are unavailable. It is, therefore, cogent to provide tools for microscopists to achieve accurate diagnosis, such as histopathological images with reliable biomarkers, which can help them to reach a differential diagnosis. We are investigating whether components of the chaperone system (CS), such as the molecular chaperones, can be considered dependabl…
DFT insights into competing mechanisms of guaiacol hydrodeoxygenation on a platinum cluster
2023
In a scenario of declining fossil resources and increasing demand for renewable and sustainable alternatives, biomass is the only source able to offer an easy and gradual transition in the use of current energy technologies based on the exploitation of carbon derivatives. Its conversion to liquid fuels has oriented our study towards the computational mechanistic analysis of the guaiacol catalytic hydrodeoxygenation, which is currently considered one of the most challenging routes for upgrading biomass-derived bio-oils. For this purpose, a subnanometric Pt10 platinum cluster was chosen as the catalyst model, with Pt as a computational reference element for catalytic hydrogenation, and guaiac…
Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries
2023
Background: Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods: This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, r…
Utilization of mechanical power and associations with clinical outcomes in brain injured patients: a secondary analysis of the extubation strategies …
2023
Background: There is insufficient evidence to guide ventilatory targets in acute brain injury (ABI). Recent studies have shown associations between mechanical power (MP) and mortality in critical care populations. We aimed to describe MP in ventilated patients with ABI, and evaluate associations between MP and clinical outcomes. Methods: In this preplanned, secondary analysis of a prospective, multi-center, observational cohort study (ENIO, NCT03400904), we included adult patients with ABI (Glasgow Coma Scale ≤ 12 before intubation) who required mechanical ventilation (MV) ≥ 24 h. Using multivariable log binomial regressions, we separately assessed associations between MP on hospital day (H…
Combining multi-typologies landslide susceptibility maps: a case study for the Visso area (central Italy)
2023
The research proposes a simple but geomorphologically adequate method to produce a combined landslide susceptibility map. In fact, in a logic of real use, offering type-specific landslide susceptibility maps to land use planners and administration could be not a successful solution. On the other hand, the simple grouping of more types of landslides could be misleading for model calibration considering that the relationships between slope failures and geo-environmental predictors should be conveyed by the abundance of each type of landslide resulting not specific and diagnostic for each typology. In this test, after having produced independent models for flow, slide and complex landslide by …
SELENIUM AND AUTOIMMUNE THYROIDITIS
2023
Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element of pivotal importance to human health. Se is incorporated into selenoproteins (SePs) which have pleiotropic effects, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and in the production of active thyroid hormone. These findings may explain the relationship between Se deficiency and pathogenesis of various human diseases including thyroid disorder. In line with these observations, the therapeutic effectiveness of Se supplementation has already been reported in patients with various thyroid diseases. However, there are still controversial data about the optimal dose of Se to be administered, as well as the duration and efficacy of treatment an…
Specifications and validation of the ACMG/AMP criteria for clinical interpretation of sequence variants in collagen genes associated with joint hyper…
2023
Deleterious variants in collagen genes are the most common cause of hereditary connective tissue disorders (HCTD). Adaptations of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics/Association for Molecular Pathology (ACMG/AMP) criteria are still lacking. A multidisciplinary team was set up for developing specifications of the ACMG/AMP criteria for COL1A1, COL1A2, COL2A1, COL3A1, COL5A1, COL5A2, COL11A1, COL11A2 and COL12A1, associated with various forms of HCTD featuring joint hypermobility, which is becoming one of the most common reasons of referral for molecular testing in this field. Such specifications were validated against 209 variants, and resulted effective for classifying as p…
The Modifying Mirror
2023
Abstract This chapter compares music listening with the infant’s experience of care. Several scholars have argued that music can be used for scaffolding one’s self-experience. Developmental psychologists, in turn, maintain a wide consensus over the claim that, in early interaction, the attuned caregiver supports and modifies the infant’s self-experience in various ways. The chapter brings these phenomena together, illustrating how the examination of the early self/other relation can teach us something important concerning the listener/music relation. The first section elaborates on the scaffolding function of music and clarifies two ambiguities haunting the debate. The second section reloca…