Inverse Ising problem for one-dimensional chains with arbitrary finite-range couplings

We study Ising chains with arbitrary multispin finite-range couplings, providing an explicit solution of the associated inverse Ising problem, i.e. the problem of inferring the values of the coupling constants from the correlation functions. As an application, we reconstruct the couplings of chain Ising Hamiltonians having exponential or power-law two-spin plus three- or four-spin couplings. The generalization of the method to ladders and to Ising systems where a mean-field interaction is added to general finite-range couplings is as well as discussed.Comment: Published version, typos correcte

Visual illusions: An interesting tool to investigate developmental dyslexia and autism spectrum disorder

A visual illusion refers to a percept that is different in some aspect from the physical stimulus. Illusions are a powerful non-invasive tool for understanding the neurobiology of vision, telling us, indirectly, how the brain processes visual stimuli. There are some neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by visual deficits. Surprisingly, just a few studies investigated illusory perception in clinical populations. Our aim is to review the literature supporting a possible role for visual illusions in helping us understand the visual deficits in developmental dyslexia and autism spectrum disorder. Future studies could develop new tools – based on visual illusions – to identify an early risk for neurodevelopmental disorders

Numerical solution of three-dimensional rectangular submerged jets with the evidence of the undisturbed region of flow

The evolution of turbulent rectangular submerged free jets has been investigated numerically with a two-dimensional (2D) approach by the present authors and, by using the large eddy simulations (LES) at several Reynolds numbers. The average numerical results confirmed the presence of the undisturbed region of flow (URF) located between the slot exit and the beginning of the potential core region (PCR) previously observed experimentally at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” by Gori and coworkers. The 2D study of the present authors carried out under the conditions previously investigated in the literature, showed that the URF has a self-similar behavior, and proposed a new law for the evolution of the momentum. The present paper extends the LES to three-dimensional (3D) rectangular submerged free jets, in the range from Re =5,000 to Re =40,000, showing that the self-similar behavior of URF is also present in the 3D numerical simulations, as well as in the PCR and in the fully developed region (FDR)

Genetic and Functional Characterisation of pTet-like Plasmids of Campylobacter jejuni

With more than 400 million cases a year, Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of gastroenteritis worldwide. Farm animals, such as cattle poultry and pigs, act as an environmental reservoir for the bacterium. Although many studies have been performed in order to gain a better understanding of the disease and of the environmental lifestyle of the bacterium, much remains to be uncovered. This work aim is to understand the role of the plasmid pTet in the bacterium lifestyle: firstly, analysing which genes are most represented in the plasmids pTet-like and if a difference in genetic set-up between pTet-like plasmids exists and what is its significance. Secondly, assessing whether the plasmids pTet-like are associated with bacterial characteristics, such as virulence, survival or adaptation to different ecological niches. Several plasmids have previously been described in C. jejuni: pTet is the most widely distributed plasmid amongst the known C. jejuni strains. This plasmid is about 45 kilobase pairs (kbp) long and 52 open reading frames (ORFs) can be identified in its sequence. Before this work, it was known to be found in about 20 % of C. jejuni strains, to encode for tetracycline resistance and a conjugative type four secretion system and to possess several genes involved in horizontal gene transfer. However, the function of this plasmid and the reason why it is so broadly distributed remain largely unknown. In the first part of this work I screened 4005 genome sequenced strains of C. jejuni for the presence of the plasmid. I investigated the genetic make-up of the pTet plasmids, sequencing 19 new plasmids and described a core and accessory sets of genes in this plasmid family using an innovative approach. I found that the core set of genes is predicted to be primarily involved with the maintenance and transfer of the plasmid pTet, while the accessory set of genes are predicted to be associated with metabolism, resistance and regulative functions. In the second part of this work I produced 11 C. jejuni deletion mutants. I tested these mutants for phenotypes associated with environmental survival and host invasion such as biofilm production, motility and infection of the model organism Galleria mellonella larvae. Two of the mutant strains showed an impaired phenotype, when compared to the wild type strain, in motility, production of biofilm and growth in MH broth. These findings indicate that the pTet plasmids have functions other than tetracycline resistance and horizontal transfer, and may help to explain the broad distribution of the plasmids in C. jejuni.BBSR

Lo scalo artistico del disagio adolescenziale. L’esperienza bolognese della STAV

Nata nel 2010 dall’incontro tra psicoanalisi e arte, la Scuola di Teatro e Arti Video-grafiche (STAV) si occupa della realizzazione di laboratori musicali e artistici. È un luogo in cui l’arte e gli artisti intendono incontrare giovani adolescenti abitati da dolori e sofferenze psicosociali. Arte come “linguaggio” del trattamento. "The 'scalo artistico' of teenage distress. The experience of STAV in Bologna". Born in 2010 from the encounter between psychoanalysis and art, the Theatre and Videographic Arts School provides musical and artistic workshops. It is a place where teenagers with psychosocial distress can seek treatment through the lan- guage/expression of art

Old anatomical models as makeshifts of measurements in medicine

In 18th century obstetrics became a special branch of medicine, with a corpus of physiological and practical knowledge sufficient to improve the outcome of childbearing. The same period also saw the emergence of new techniques and the development of instruments that would later come into widespread use, such as the forceps, as well as the first production of teaching models to provide surgery students and midwives with three-dimensional illustrations of the anatomy of the pregnant woman, the physiology of childbearing, and potential complications. Some obstetrical wax models, that can be considered makeshifts of measurements in medicine, are illustrated. They are exposed, in number of twenty-one, in the Galileo Museum of Florence and were commissioned, around 1770, by Felice Fontana, who was working on the installation of the Museum of Physics and Natural History of Florence, from the sculptor Giuseppe Ferrini and his assistant Clemente Susini. The anatomical models contributed, in a context in which the measurement was not easy to be taken in situ, to formalize medical knowledge, strictly tied, in the past, to the various communities, that had different ideas about the causes of and cures for suffering, illness and disease. As a matter of facts, instead of being based on objective parameters, medical knowledge was based often on spiritual beliefs as well as practical therapies and techniques

Numerical simulation of magnetic nano drug targeting in a patient-specific coeliac trunk

Magnetic nano drug targeting, through the use of an external magnetic field, is a new technique for the treatment of several diseases, which can potentially avoid the dispersion of drugs in undesired locations of the body. Nevertheless, due to the limitations on the intensity of the magnetic field applied, the hydrodynamic forces can reduce the effectiveness of the procedure. This technique is studied in this paper with the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), focusing on the influence of the magnetic probe position, and the direction of the circulating electric current. A single rectangular coil is used to generate the external magnetic field. A patient-specific geometry of the coeliac trunk is reconstructed from DICOM images, with the use of VMTK. A new solver, coupling the Lagrangian dynamics of the nanoparticles with the Eulerian dynamics of the blood, is implemented in OpenFOAM to perform the simulations. The resistive pressure, the Womersley’s profile for the inlet velocity and the magnetic field of a rectangular coil are implemented in the software as boundary conditions. The results show the influence of the position of the probe, as well as the limitations associated with the rectangular coil configuration

Light Resonances and the Low-q2q^2 Bin of RK∗R_{K^*}

LHCb has reported hints of lepton-flavor universality violation in the rare decays $B \to K^{(*)} \ell^+\ell^-$, both in high- and low-$q^2$ bins. Although the high-$q^2$ hint may be explained by new short-ranged interactions, the low-$q^2$ one cannot. We thus explore the possibility that the latter is explained by a new light resonance. We find that LHCb's central value of $R_{K^*}$ in the low-$q^2$ bin is achievable in a restricted parameter space of new-physics scenarios in which the new, light resonance decays preferentially to electrons and has a mass within approximately $10$ MeV of the di-muon threshold. Interestingly, such an explanation can have a kinematic origin and does not require a source of lepton-flavor universality violation. A model-independent prediction is a narrow peak in the differential $B \to K^* e^+e^-$ rate close to the di-muon threshold. If such a peak is observed, other observables, such as the differential $B \to K e^+e^-$ rate and $R_K$, may be employed to distinguish between models. However, if a low-mass resonance is not observed and the low-$q^2$ anomaly increases in significance, then the case for an experimental origin of the lepton-flavor universality violating anomalies would be strengthened. To further explore this, we also point out that, in analogy to $J/\psi$ decays, $e^+e^-$ and $\mu^+\mu^-$ decays of $\phi$ mesons can be used as a cross check of lepton-flavor universality by LHCb with $5$ fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figure

Struttura di eta' e tasso di crescita della popolazione di Corallium rubrum dell'Area Marina Protetta di Cap de Creus (Spagna)

Corallium rubrum (Cnidaria, Antozoa, Ottocorallia, Gorgonacea Linnaeus, 1758) è una specie endemica del Mediterraneo, modulare e dalla forma arborescente con scheletro composto da carbonato di calcio. Per le sue caratteristiche estetiche e mineralogiche questa specie è pescata da oltre 2000 anni e notizie del suo commercio risalgono all’incirca al 15-20000 a.C.. La consistenza carbonatica del suo scheletro ha permesso al corallo di essere considerato uno degli animali più pregiati presente nei fondali marini. Per quanto il Corallium rubrum non possa essere considerato una specie a rischio di estinzione, grazie alla sua ampia distribuzione, le sue popolazioni superficiali mostrano una regressione causata dalla pesca intensa avvenuta principalmente negli ultimi decenni. Si sono resi intanto necessari studi di carattere demografico per migliorare la gestione di questa risorsa. Nel caso specifico del corallo rosso è difficile ottenere dati relativi all'età e quindi alla struttura demografica a causa del suo lungo ciclo vitale associato ad un lento tasso di crescita. L’obiettivo di questo lavoro di tesi è stato lo sviluppo di un metodo di analisi, già validato per la determinazione dell'età di Corallium rubrum, con lo scopo di ottenere la struttura di età di una popolazione soggetta a prelievo. A tal fine sono state prelevate 143 colonie dalla popolazione di Cap de Creus (Costa Brava, Spagna). In questa zona il prelievo del Corallo è regolato da leggi nazionali e regionali dal 2001. Per ciascuna colonia sono stati misurati diametro, peso, altezza, è stato contato il numero totale di polipi, il numero ramificazioni ed è stato determinato il sesso, la fertilità e la fecondità per le colonie femminili. Questi ultimi parametri sono stati indispensabili per la costruzione di “life-history table”, che sono delle tabelle demografiche in cui sono riportate alcune caratteristiche della popolazione oggetto di studio. Attraverso l’utilizzo di un metodo descritto in bibliografia ed ampliato durante il presente lavoro di tesi è stato possibile stabilire l’età di un subcampione delle colonie prelevate. La tecnica utilizzata consente di visualizzare gli anelli circolari di matrice organica, deposti ogni anno lungo lo scheletro assiale, attraverso il sezionamento dello scheletro di carbonato di calcio a 0.5 cm dalla base, per poi ottenere una singola sezione sottile spessa 50 μm. Dopo decalcificazione della matrice carbonatica la componente organica associata viene evidenziata mediante colorazione e gli anelli di accrescimento sono così fotografabili al microscopio ottico. Attraverso le foto è stato possibile contare il numero dei cerchi di accrescimento annuali e quindi ottenere l'età, la superficie della corona circolare annuale, il perimetro e il tasso di crescita annuale in diametro. Ogni anello di accrescimento corrisponde ad un anno di vita della colonia, ad eccezione dei primi 4 anni quando il carbonato di calcio deposto al centro è in formazione e risulta irregolare. Quindi l’età di ogni colonia corrisponde al numero di anelli di accrescimento più 4 anni. L'età delle colonie è stata messa in relazione con il rispettivo diametro medio basale. La funzione ottenuta è stata poi applicata a tutte le 143 colonie campionate così da ottenere la struttura di età della popolazione investigata. Il presente studio ha dimostrato inoltre, che il diametro può non essere il miglior descrittore dell’età della colonia, specialmente per le colonie più vecchie. Questo perchè la relazione fra diametro ed età è ben rappresentata da una curva di potenza che descrive un accrescimento maggiore nei primi anni ed una diminuzione con l’aumentare dell’età della colonia. Fino ad oggi le leggi che regolano la pesca del Corallo, si sono basate proprio sul diametro come descrittore della taglia minima consentita (MPA di Cap de Creus, diametro >7mm)