Quantitative analysis and processing of surfaces and profiles from profilometry images

Surface metrology is concerned with inspecting morphological parameters of a surfaces or profiles, by using contact or non-contact profilometers. The following abstract describes the development of a software in Python environment that implements various processing methods on images from optical and stylus profilometers. In particular, the program focusses on image pre-processing and determination of dimensional parameters for 2D areas and 1D profiles. It is worth mentioning that many open and closed source programs are already distributed, but they do not provide a sufficient automatization in the image processing, often requiring the user to repeat the same steps for each image to obtain the expected results. The program has been initially developed within the framework of the EMPIR 20IND07 TracOptic project for the processing of a batch of topographies on RS-M and RS-N linear step samples, in order to compensate for the lack of automation for the calculation of height parameters. The developed program is designed to be modular and scalable for expanding the processing capabilities

Marine dual-fuel engines power smart management by hybrid turbocharging systems

The performance of a marine dual-fuel engine, equipped with an innovative hybrid turbocharger producing electric power to satisfy part of the ship’s electric load, is presented by a simulation comparison with the traditional turbocharging technology. The two distinct fuel types, combined with the hybrid turbocharger, involve a substantial change in the engine control modes, resulting in more flexible and efficient power management. Therefore, the investigation requires a numerical analysis depending on the engine load variation, in both fuelling modes, to highlight different behaviours. In detail, a dual-fuel engine simulation model is validated for a particular application in order to perform a complete comparison, reported in tabular and graphical form, between the two examined turbocharging solutions. The simulation analysis is presented in terms of the engine working data and overall energy conversion efficiency

New Data on Reproductive System and Spermatozoa Confirm Macrodasys as a Model in Comparative Reproductive Analysis in Macrodasyida (Gastrotricha)

Gastrotricha Macrodasyida, aquatic worms, are primarily hermaphrodites with internal cross-fertilization and indirect sperm transfer. Insightful information on this matter dates to 1978 and derives from an illuminating work focused on two Macrodasys species. The role as a “model” of this taxon clashes, however, with the relative paucity of data concerning the ultrastructure of the accessory organs involved in the sperm transfer. Therefore, we have undertaken a new study on three additional species of Macrodasys focusing on the frontal and caudal organs and also on the spermatozoa. Our observations confirmed the structural plan of the reproductive system reported for the genus, but found some differences concerning the accessory reproductive organs. Most importantly, we found spermatozoa inside the caudal organ of several single specimens, suggestive of a more plausible hypothesis about sperm transfer modality in Macrodasys. In the spermatozoa, the position of the mitochondrion outside rather than inside the nucleus has been confirmed as a major difference between the spermatozoa of Macrodasys species and those of the other Macrodasyida. We suggest that the peculiar structure of the mature spermatozoon of Macrodasys could derive from an incomplete process of spermatogenesis and hence it would be useful to infer phylogenetic alliances

Further insights into the beck hopelessness scale (BHS). Unidimensionality among psychiatric inpatients

Short versions of the Beck Hopelessness Scale have all been created according the Classical Test Theory, but the use and the application of this theory has been repeatedly criticized. In the current study, the Item Response Theory approach was employed to refine and shorten the BHS in order to build a reasonably coherent unidimensional scale whose items/symptoms can be treated as ordinal indicators of the theoretical concept of hopelessness, scaled along a single continuum. In a sample of 492 psychiatrically hospitalized, adult patients (51.2% females), predominantly with a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder type II, the BHS was submitted to Mokken Scale Analysis. A final set of the nine best-fitting items satisfied the assumptions of local independency, monotonicity, and invariance of the item ordering. Using the ROC curve method, the IRT-based 9-item BHS showed good discriminant validity in categorizing psychiatric inpatients with high/medium suicidal risk and patients with and without suicide attempts. With high sensitivity (>.90), this newly developed scale could be used as a valid screening tool for suicidal risk assessment in psychiatric inpatients

Reproductive system of the genus Crasiella (Gastrotricha, Macrodasyida)

Crasiella diplura from Sweden and Crasiella sp. from Italy were studied alive and with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The two species are simultaneous hermaphrodites and share the same reproductive system lay-out: paired ovaries extend along the posterior part of the intestine and join mid-dorsally, while bilateral,club-shaped testes lie at the sides of the anterior gut, extending as deferentia that fuse on the mid-ventral plane and open into a single pore; gametes mature in a caudocephalicand centripetal direction. The bulky, sac-like, frontal organ is lined by a simple epithelium and lies dorsolaterally to the intestine, on the left side of the body.The spindle-shaped caudal organ is musculo-glandular and is located ventrolaterally to the gut on the right side. It is characterized by the presence of a roughly Y-shapedinternal channel that opens into two pores close to each other, which function for the intake and outlet of the (auto)sperm, respectively. The spermatozoa, which arepeculiar and similar in the two species, are characterized by a long and complex acrosome consisting of four ultrastructurally distinct regions, three of which findequivalence in other gastrotrich species. The flagellum lacks a striated cylinder. Anatomy and ultrastructure enable us to hypothesize a modality of sperm transfer in Crasiellathat is similar to that observed in Macrodasys

Faunistics and zoogeographical overview of the Mediterranean and Black Sea marine Gastrotricha.

The paper provides an updated overview of the knowledge regarding the marine gastrotrich fauna of 10 Mediterranean and 2 Black Sea countries. Taxonomic account and species distribution come from published records, including electronically disseminated information, as well as original data from 18 localities (16 western and 2 levantine), investigated by the authors between 1990 and 2002. Since the description of the first marine Mediterranean gastrotrich, Emydasys agaso Claparede, 1867, discovered in the Gulf of Naples (Italy), 273 additional species, from 417 locations have been recorded in the basin so far. Of the gastrotrichs found, 143 species, in 24 genera and 6 families, belong to the order Macrodasyida and 131 species, in 11 genera and 3 families, belong to the order Chaetonotida; these statistics include several species as of yet not described. The number of species per location is variable, ranging from 1-37, with a global mean of 8.04 \uf0b1 6.69 spp/location. Egypt and Israel show mean values well above the average, with 12.8 and 10.8 spp/loc. respectively, whereas mean values for Algeria, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Croatia, and France are below average (1- 5.43 spp /location); data for Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Italy are within the average value. Acanthodasys aculeatus, recorded in 28% of the investigated location is the most frequently found macrodasyidan; Halichaetonotus aculifer, also recorded in 28% of the investigated localities, is the most common chaetonotidan whereas. Data analysis indicated substantial differences among countries, regarding sampling effort and, consequently, faunistic knowledge. In comparison with the generally good information concerning the Italian fauna (177 species from 246 localities), gastrotrichs from other Mediterranean nations are much less known; along with Italy, only few other Nations have been investigated to a sufficient extent (i.e., Greece: 44 sampled localities, 77 recorded species; France: 37 L, 70 spp; Egypt: 28 L, 81 spp; Israel: 15 L, 55 spp; Cyprus: 9 L, 41 spp), whereas investigation carried out in several other countries can be considered, to a variable degree, incomplete (i.e., Algeria: 16 investigated localities and 11 species found; Romania: 7 L, 30 spp; Tunisia: 5 L, 2 spp; Bulgaria: 3 L, 11 spp; Croatia: 1 L, 12 spp, Spain: 1 L, 3 sp, Malta; 2L, 2 spp.), or nil (e.g., Morocco, Libya, Turkey, Albania). All marine gastrotrich families and most marine genera have representatives in the Mediterranean fauna, notable absences regard the genera Desmodasys, Dinodasys, Planodasys, Prostobuccantia and perhaps Pseudoturbanella; on the other hand representatives of two genera, Emydasys and Dendropodola, are unknown elsewhere in the world except the western Mediterranean. At species level, about 140 taxa have so far been found only in the Mediterranean area, whereas the remainder have some north-Atlantic connections, including several considered as regional cosmopolitans (i.e., reported from at least two Oceans). Within the Mediterranean, the species geographic distribution does not appear to be homogeneous, with several taxa restricted to either the western or to the levantine basin; yet, Italy, Egypt and Israel show the highest numbers of endemic species, 70, 24 and 14 respectively, whereas only one species seems restricted to the Black Sea. A cluster analysis using the Bray-Curtis presence-absence similarity value to examine the relationship between 11 geographic areas, shows a clear separation between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean regions and within this, the Algerian-Tunisian region is separated from and the remaining 9 areas. The latter appear arranged in two main clusters, one including the southern Levantine regions (i.e., Egypt, Israel and Cyprus), the other containing regions of the north-western basin, the Adriatic sea and the two Greek sub-regions. In this cluster, the region comprising coastal France and Formentera (Spain) appears separated from the one containing, arranged into two distinct subsets, the Italian and the Greek areas. However, due to the paucity of information, data from key-areas is urged to confirm or disprove our current perception about numbers and distribution of gastrotrich taxa within the Mediterranean and the Black Sea

Zinc ions alter morphology and chitin deposition in an ericoid fungus

A sterile mycelium PS IV, an ascomycete capable of establishing ericoid mycorrhizas, was used to investigate how zinc ions affect the cellular mechanisms of fungal growth. Asignificant reduction of the fungal biomass was observed in the presence of millimolar zinc concentrations; this mirrored conspicuous changes in hyphal morphology which led to apical swellings and increased branching in the subapical parts. Specific probes for fluorescence and electron microscopy localised chitin, the main cell wall polysaccharide, on the inner part of the fungal wall and on septa in control specimens. In Zn-treated mycelium, hyphal walls were thicker and a more intense chitin labelling was detected on the transverse walls. Aquantitative assay showed a significant increase in the amount of chitin in metal- treated hyphae

Correlations Between Personality, Affective and Filial Self-Efficacy Beliefs, and Psychological Well-Being in a Sample of Italian Adolescents.

Adolescence is a critical period for the emergence of a balanced personality in adults. Extraversion, neuroticism, and affective self-efficacy beliefs in emotion regulation showed to be good predictors of psychological well-being in adolescents. We analyzed the association between affective self-efficacy beliefs, personality traits, and psychological well-being of 179 Italian adolescents. We also analyzed the connection between adolescents' filial self-efficacy beliefs and psychological well-being and possible moderating effects of self-efficacy beliefs on personality traits. Results show that extraversion, neuroticism, and self-efficacy beliefs in emotion regulation are correlated with psychological well-being, while filial self-efficacy does not. Self-efficacy beliefs do not show significant moderating effects on personality traits, even if self-efficacy beliefs in expressing positive emotions reduce negative characteristics of individuals with high level of psychoticism