Effects of soil properties and fertilization on quality and biological activity of Swiss chard

Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L. var. cicla) is a leafy vegetable highly consumed in many parts of the world as a very popular ingredient of different diets. The purpose of this study was to evaluate effects of soil properties and fertilization on yield, mineral composition, total phenolics, antioxidant and biological activity of Swiss chard. The mineral composition of Swiss chard was generally affected by soil properties. The fertilization at 50% of recommended level (110 kg ha -1 N, 90 kg ha -1 P 2 O 5 and 100 kg ha -1 K 2 O per season) affected negatively yield and on the other hand affected positively antioxidant activity, while fertilization at 150% of recommended level had a contrary effect. The available K in soil affected the yield positively. Total phenolics were in negative correlation with the yield. The positive relationship of total phenolics and content of Mn in chard was noticed. The greatest efficacy in human colorectal carcinoma cell lines was obtained by Swiss chard extract from plants fertilized at 150% of recommended level

Status report of the VINCY Cyclotron

The VINCY Cyclotron is the main part of the TESLA Accelerator Installation. The diameter of the pole of this machine is 2000 mm. Its bending constant is 145 MeV while its focusing constant is 75 MeV. The radiofrequency system of the machine consists of two l/4-resonators with the eigenfrequency in the range from 17 to 31 MHz. Ions coming from a heavy ion source or a light ion source will be injected into the machine axially. They will be introduced into its median plane by a spiral inflector. Heavy ions accelerated in the machine will be extracted from it by a foil stripping system or by an electrostatic deflection system. Light ions will be extracted from it by the foil stripping system. The first programs of use of the VINCY Cyclotron are related to routine and experimental production of radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals, and to biomedical research with ion beams. The first beam extracted from the machine will be the proton beam of the energy of 22 MeV obtained from the H2+ beam extracted from the light ion source. This beam will be used first for production of radioisotope 18F and radio-pharmaceutical 18FDG, to be employed for positron emission tomograph

The effects of a meldonium pre-treatment on the course of the faecal-induced sepsis in rats

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by the dysregulated and overwhelming response to infection, accompanied by an exaggerated pro-inflammatory state and lipid metabolism disturbance leading to sequential organ failure. Meldonium is an anti-ischemic and anti-inflammatory agent which negatively interferes with lipid metabolism by shifting energy production from fatty acid oxidation to glycolysis, as a less oxygen-demanding pathway. Thus, we investigated the effects of a four-week meldonium pre-treatment on faecal-induced sepsis in Sprague-Dawley male rats. Surprisingly, under septic conditions, meldonium increased animal mortality rate compared with the meldonium non-treated group. However, analysis of the tissue oxidative status did not provide support for the detrimental effects of meldonium, nor did the analysis of the tissue inflammatory status showing anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and anti-necrotic effects of meldonium. After performing tissue lipidomic analysis, we concluded that the potential cause of the meldonium harmful effect is to be found in the overall decreased lipid metabolism. The present study underlines the importance of uninterrupted energy production in sepsis, closely drawing attention to the possible harmful effects of lipid-mobilization impairment caused by certain therapeutics. This could lead to the much-needed revision of the existing guidelines in the clinical treatment of sepsis while paving the way for discovering new therapeutic approaches

Comparison between Routing Protocols for Wide Archeological Site

The paper shows a comparison between three routing protocols for WSN. The protocols are conceived for particular scenario easily findable in archeological site and take into account energy consumptions and robustness of the transmission. This study will show which of the three protocols better meets the needs of this particular scenario

A Simple Takagi-Sugeno Fuzzy Modelling Case Study for an Underwater Glider Control System

this paper is a section of several preliminaryvstudies versus the realization of Underwater Drones of the Università degli Studi “Roma Tre” Science Department: we describe an application of Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy logic modelling to the longitudinal control for the underwater glider in order to simplify the calculation effort