Search results for "spy"
showing 10 items of 45 documents
Preclinical dementia: an Italian multicentre study on amnestic mild cognitive impairment
2006
<i>Background:</i> Different rates and cognitive predictors of conversion to dementia have been reported in subjects with different kinds of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). <i>Methods:</i> A prospective, 24-month follow-up study, involving 269 subjects who strictly fulfilled criteria for the amnestic MCI. <i>Results:</i> Conversion rate to dementia was 21.4% per year. Seventy-nine out of the 83 individuals who developed dementia were affected by probable Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Among others, at the 24-month follow-up 24.1% were still affected by amnestic MCI, 13.3% had changed their neuropsychological profile of impairment and 17.2% were cognitively no…
Soil erosion processes in subtropical plantations ( Diospyros kaki ) managed under flood irrigation in Eastern Spain
2019
Persimmons (Diospyros kaki) are trees cultivated under subtropical environmental conditions but are also found in other regions such as the Mediterranean. However, no research has been conducted to investigate soil erosion processes under Mediterranean soil management systems characterized by flood irrigation and/or tillage. The Improved Stock Unearthing Method (ISUM) for assessing long-term soil mobilization was applied to two fields, one under tillage and the other under no-till with herbicide within a 25-year old Mediterranean persimmon plantation. Replicating methods used in vineyard studies, graft unions on persimmon plants were used as passive bio-indicators of soil surface changes in…
Mineral profile of kaki fruits (Diospyros kaki L.)
2015
The main objective of this study was the determination of the mineral profile of 167 kaki fruit (Diospyros kaki L.) samples produced from different regions of Spain, including samples with the protected designation of origin (PDO) 'Kaki Ribera del Xúquer' Valencia (Spain). Samples were analysed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Consumption of one piece of kaki fruit (200-400 g) would give a mineral intake providing 1-10% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for calcium, 1-30% for copper and potassium, 1-15% from iron and magnesium, up to 1% of sodium, and up to 4% of zinc. ANOVA analysis indic…
Plasmid-encoded anthranilate synthase (TrpEG) in Buchnera aphidicola from aphids of the family pemphigidae
1999
Aphids are dependent on an intracellular symbiont (Buchnera aphidicola, Proteobacteria) for normal growth and reproduction (7, 19, 45). The bacteria reside in specialized cells in the aphid hemocele and are transmitted maternally through infection of eggs or embryos (11, 26). Phylogenetic studies have revealed two major characteristics of the evolutionary history of the association (37, 39); (i) the symbiosis had a single origin, dated about 150 million to 250 million years ago; and (ii) host and symbiont lineages have since diverged strictly in parallel. The association, like other symbioses in insects feeding on restricted and unbalanced diets, is thought to have a nutritional basis (5–7,…
Systematic uncertainties from halo asphericity in dark matter searches
2015
Although commonly assumed to be spherical, dark matter halos are predicted to be non-spherical by N-body simulations and their asphericity has a potential impact on the systematic uncertainties in dark matter searches. The evaluation of these uncertainties is the main aim of this work, where we study the impact of aspherical dark matter density distributions in Milky-Way-like halos on direct and indirect searches. Using data from the large N-body cosmological simulation Bolshoi, we perform a statistical analysis and quantify the systematic uncertainties on the determination of local dark matter density and the so-called $J$ factors for dark matter annihilations and decays from the galactic …
Nikolai Shpanov and the Evolution of the Soviet Spy Thriller
2017
It is a common opinion that Stalinist literature knew no explicitly popular genres, and that, consequently, its whole body can be regarded as popular culture. The case of Nikolai Shpanov is one of the most evident arguments against such an interpretation. From the late Thirties to the early Fifties, Shpanov's works, centered around the fight with fiendish spies, had huge print runs and conspicuous success among the readers; yet, Soviet critics nearly ignored them. The publishing channels were not those of the officially endorsed "classics" of Socialist Realism, but rather what can be regarded as a Soviet equivalent of a separated mass publishing. Shpanov's books are, thus, the living proof …
L’identità della spia: classe e nazione nello spy-thriller sovietico
2019
I territori di confine annessi dall'Unione Sovietica negli anni di guerra costituivano un doppio problema per le autorità: l'eredità del sistema capitalista era ancora viva, e l'identità nazionale dei loro abitanti poco chiara. Questi territori, d'altro canto, erano l'ambientazione ideale per i romanzi di spionaggio, ed alcuni tra questi, come ad esempio Sul Tibisco (1954) di Aleksandr Avdeenko, che si svolge nell'Ucraina transcarpatica, una terra dall'appartenenza a lungo contestata, o L'apprendista stregone (1956) di Nikolaj Španov, ambientato in Lettonia, ottennero un buon successo. L'identità è la questione chiave nella narrativa di spionaggio; l'ossessione per l'identità, e per i doppi…
Insight on pyrimido[5,4-g]indolizine and pyrimido[4,5-c]pyrrolo[1,2-a]azepine systems as promising photosensitizers on malignant cells
2022
Searching for new small molecules as photosensitizing agents, we have developed a class of twenty-five pyrimido[5,4-g]indolizine and pyrimido[4,5-c]pyrrolo[1,2-a]azepines with a good substitution pattern defining a versatile synthetic pathway to approach the title ring system. All compounds were evaluated for their photocytotoxicity on a triple negative human breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231) in the dark and under UVA light (2.0 J/cm2). The most effective compounds exhibited a photoantiproliferative activity with IC50 values up to nanomolar ranges. Interestingly, these new developed compounds showed high selectivity towards cancerous cells with respect to non-cancerous ones. Moreover, fo…
Screening of tropical medicinal plants for antiinflammatory activity
1995
The antiinflammatory activity of different extracts from 16 tropical plant species belonging to 15 different families has been determined. They were administered topically on TPA-induced mouse ear oedema and orally on carrageenan-induced mouse paw oedema. In the latter, extracts from Diospyros leucomelas, Erythrospermum monticolumn, Ficus polita, Heteromorpha trifoliata, Hypericum lalandii, Kirkia acuminata, Pterocarpus angolensis and Zanha africana significantly reduced the oedema 3 h after carrageenan injection. All the extracts were considerably active when assayed topically with only three exceptions.
Phytochemical profile and antioxidant properties of the edible and non-edible portions of black sapote (Diospyros digyna Jacq.)
2022
This study evaluated the phytochemical profile and antioxidative properties of the edible and non-edible portions of black sapote. The phytochemical analysis highlighted the presence of several bioactive compounds, differently distributed among peel, pulp and seeds. In particular, the peel resulted rich of flavan-3-ols and proanthocyanidins, whereas seeds contained high amount of organic acids, including ferulic, citric and sinapic acids. Concerning functional properties, both edible and non-edible portions showed a significant prevention of lipid peroxidation in a cell-based model. Moreover, the results suggested that the antioxidant protection involved both redox active properties and gen…