MICROCOGENERAZIONE SOLARE AD ALTA EFFICIENZA E PICCOLA SCALA ENERGETICA

Stopping the consumption of natural resources or at least sensibly slowing it down is a compulsory necessity felt at global level and this work, focused on a small solar microcogenerator in the range of 1 kW of electric power and up to 3 kW of thermal power, gives a contribution developing a system useful for the decentralised and diffuse production of electricity and heat with high conversion efficiencies at low power scale.  The presented solar microcogenerator makes use of an industrial Stirling engine of small size, with an electrical efficiency up to 32%, originally designed for domestic combined heat power applications in gas boilers. The heat acceptor of the Stirling head has been completely re-engineered for the solar application, together with an original solar dish concentrator moved by a suitable tracking system. At the considered energy power scale, this is a world first with an experimentation fully carried out at University of Calabria in a public-private collaboration framework

Visceral leishmaniasis, hypertriglyceridemia and secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a protozoan disease, is 100 % fatal if left untreated. Anemia is common in VL which plays a role in expression of clinically overt VL disease. Laboratory clues are scarce for strengthening clinical suspicion for severity in VL. Hypertriglyceridemia has emerged as a new concept for the diagnosis and prognosis in VL. The present study is aimed at correlating the magnitude of hypertriglyceridemia with the severity in VL. Materials and methods: A retrospective case–control study was conducted between January 2012 to December 2013 among 124 patients coming for treatment from VL endemic areas, who had fever of more than 15 days and did not respond to antimalarials and antibiotics. The parasitologically confirmed VL cases (n = 87) were categorized as mild/moderate (n = 60) and severe (n = 27) groups according to WHO classification for anemia and parasite burden. Serum triglycerides were assayed in VL groups along with controls (n = 37). Results: Serum triglyceride level was significantly higher in VL than controls [mean values were 173.50 ± 47.67 versus 127.1 ± 53.79 mg/dl, respectively (p 161.7 mg/dl) was noted in all severe VL patients, compared to 31.66 % of mild or moderate group (p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference between mild/moderate VL and controls. Conclusions: It is hypothesized that hypertriglyceridemia could be of additional diagnostic benefit to assess the probability and severity of VL in endemic areas. © 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

LEGU-MED: Developing biodiversity-based agriculture with legume cropping systems in the mediterranean basin

Environmental degradation and the decrease of ecosystem service provision are currently of major concern, with current agricultural systems being a major driver. To meet our future environmental and sustainability targets a transformation of the agro-food systems and current agricultural value chain are crucial. One approach to redesign farming systems is the concept of biodiversity-based agriculture (BBA) which relies on sustainable diversification of biological components and their natural interactions in farming systems to maximize fertility, productivity, and resilience to external perturbations. Despite minimizing anthropogenic inputs, BBA is not yet able to meet all beneficial environmental objectives. BBA applied in the Mediterranean basin requires urgent innovation in approaches, methodologies, and models for small-holder traditional farming systems to ensure a stable provision of ecosystem services and better resilience to environmental stresses linked to climate change. Legumes are the backbone of the Mediterranean agro-ecosystems from ancient times, but their unique and wide biodiversity was not sufficiently valorized, especially by North-African countries. Here, we present LEGU-MED, a three-year international project funded by PRIMA initiative 2019. An international consortium was established involving five universities, 5 research institutes, and one private company from 8 countries: Italy, Germany, Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, Lebanon, and Croatia. The main objective of this project is to put forward an international and well-integrated plan to valorize the legume agrobiodiversity of the Mediterranean in biodiversity-based farming systems and consequently enhance agro-ecosystem functions and services in the Mediterranean basin. The successful completion of LEGU-MED will have the following impacts on Mediterranean legume-based farming systems: (1) improve water use efficiency, (2) reduce the use of anthropogenic inputs through the maintenance of soil fertility, (3) enhance pollination and improve ecological connectivity with flora and fauna, (4) protect close-by wildland ecosystems, (5) enhance other ecosystem services (e.g., pest, disease, and weed suppression), and (6) provide healthier and safer protein-rich food

Geophysical multidisciplinary investigation of the structure of an unstable flank: the NE sector of Mt. Etna.

Mount Etna is characterized by a complex regional tectonics with a N-S compression related to the Africa – Europe convergence that interacts with a WNW-ESE extension associated to the Malta Escarpment. A general eastward motion is present in the eastern flank. Although the existence of these phenomena is overt, the geometry of the sliding sector is still debated. The non-uniqueness of the geophysical inverse models and the different limitations in resolution and sensitivity of each technique spurred us to undertake, in the frame of the MEDiterranean Supersites Volcanoes (MED-SUV) project, a joint interpretation of independent data in order to better constrain the results. Seismic data come from the network run by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) – Osservatorio Etneo, Sezione di Catania. The relocated seismicity defines two main seismogenic volumes in the NE sector of the volcano: the first cluster is related to the known Pernicana Fault system, while the second one is located southwards, beneath the northern wall of the Valle del Bove. The resistivity models come from a MT survey carried out on the eastern flank of the volcano and consisting of thirty broad-band soundings along N-S and NW-SE oriented profiles. The resistivity modeling of MT profiles reveal three major layers in a resistive-conductive-resistive sequence. A low resistivity volume is clearly identified on the NE flank of the volcano, between The Pernicana fault and the northern wall of the Valle del Bove. Ground deformation studies (GPS and InSAR) revealed the segmentation of the unstable flank and define the NE sector as the most mobile one; this sector is perfectly bounded by the two seismic clusters and corresponds to the low resistivity volume. The sliding surface modeled by ground deformation data inversions well matches in depth with a resistivity transition and with two seismogenic layers

Bifid T waves in leads V2 and V3 in children: a normal variant

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>The T wave is rarely bifid, apart from patients with long QT syndrome or subjects treated with antiarrhythmic drugs. At times, a U wave partially superimposed upon the T wave is responsible for an apparently bifid T wave. Bifid T waves, in contrast, have been described in normal children in the past, but the phenomenon has not received any attention in recent years, to the extent that it is not mentioned in current textbooks of paediatric cardiology. Aim of the present study was to determine the incidence and clinical counterpart of bifid T waves in a paediatric population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We selected 604 consecutive children free from clinically detectable heart disease; subjects whose electrocardiogram showed a bifid T wave underwent a complete clinical and echocardiographic examination. In addition, the electrocardiograms of 110 consecutive adults have also been analyzed. A T wave was considered as bifid whenever it was notched, being the 2 peaks separated from each other by a notch with duration ≥ 0.02 sec and voltage ≥ 0.05 mV. Moreover, in 7 children with bifid T wave in lead V2 further precordial recordings were obtained: a small electrode was gradually moved from V1 to V3, and 4 additional leads were recorded: 2 between V1 an V2, and 2 between V2 and V3.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A bifid T wave was observed in 110 children (18,3%), with a relatively age-related incidence; the highest rate of bifid T waves (53%) occurred in the group of 5-year-old children. The bifid T wave was detected only in lead V2 in 51 cases (46,4%), only in lead V3 in 5 cases (4,6%), in both leads V2 and V3 in 50 cases (45,4%), and in leads other than V2 and V3 in 4 cases (3,6%). In the adult group, none of the examined electrocardiograms showed bifid T waves in any lead.</p> <p>In the bifid T wave paediatric population, the echocardiogram did not reveal any abnormality, apart from 3 subjects which had an asymptomatic mitral valve prolapse; a trivial mitral and/or tricuspid regurgitation detected by color Doppler, as well as a patent foramen ovale in infants, were not considered as abnormal findings. The QTc interval was normal in all of the subjects; the average QTc interval was not different in the bifid T wave population (402 ± 46 msec) with respect to the control group (407 ± 39 msec).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The incidence of bifid T waves in leads V2 and V3 in normal children is high, and awareness of this phenomenon avoids possible misinterpretations leading to a diagnosis of ECG abnormalities.</p

A Novel Peptide with Antifungal Activity from Red Swamp Crayfish Procambarus clarkii

The defense system of freshwater crayfish Procambarus clarkii as a diversified source of bioactive molecules with antimicrobial properties was studied. Antimicrobial activity of two polypeptideenriched extracts obtained from hemocytes and hemolymph of P. clarkii were assessed against Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis) and Gram negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli) bacteria and toward the yeast Candida albicans. The two peptide fractions showed interesting MIC values (ranging from 11 to 700 g/mL) against all tested pathogens. Polypeptideenriched extracts were further investigated using a high-resolution mass spectrometry and database search and 14 novel peptides were identified. Some peptides and their derivatives were chemically synthesized and tested in vitro against the bacterial and yeast pathogens. The analysis identified a synthetic derivative peptide, which showed an interesting antifungal (MIC and MFC equal to 31.2 g/mL and 62.5 g/mL, respectively) and antibiofilm (BIC50 equal to 23.2 g/mL) activities against Candida albicans and a low toxicity in human cells

Designing and implementing a multi-scalar approach to Maritime Spatial Planning: The case study of Italy

The Italian coastal and marine space includes areas with remarkable differences in terms of oceanographic characteristics, maritime uses, natural habitats, species distribution, landscape and cultural heritage. In Italy, coastal and marine management competencies are shared among national, regional, and for some aspects even local authorities. This geographic heterogeneity and governance complexity required the adoption of a multiscalar approach to Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP). Such an approach aims at implementing decision-making and spatial planning at multiple and nested scales. In the case of Italy, the multi-scalar approach included the definition of national guidelines and the development of three maritime spatial (MS) plans, one for each maritime area (Adriatic, Ionian and Central Mediterranean, and Tyrrhenian and Western Mediterranean), including subareas and nested planning units. The development of the MS plans involved competent Ministries, the coastal Regions and several researchers. Based on the description of the adopted six-phase methodology and the exemplification of results of the Italian MSP process, this paper discusses the most relevant features and common challenges of multi-scalar MSP (i.e. co-planning, vertical and horizontal integration, multi-level governance, scalability, flexibility, integration of data and knowledge with different resolution, multi-scalar stakeholder engagement). Finally, the paper reflects on some novel aspects of the adopted multi-scalar approach and identifies actions to grant efficacy to this approach during the next phases of the Italian MSP proces

Flexible Physical Unclonable Functions based on non-deterministically distributed Dye-Doped Fibers and Droplets

The development of new anti-counterfeiting solutions is a constant challenge and involves several research fields. Much interest is devoted to systems that are impossible to clone, based on the Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) paradigm. In this work, new strategies based on electrospinning and electrospraying of dye-doped polymeric materials are presented for the manufacturing of flexible free-standing films that embed different PUF keys. Films can be used to fabricate anticounterfeiting labels having three encryption levels: i) a map of fluorescent polymer droplets, with non deterministic positions on a dense yarn of polymer nanofibers; ii) a characteristic fluorescence spectrum for each label; iii) a challenge-response pairs (CRPs) identification protocol based on the strong nature of the physical unclonable function. The intrinsic uniqueness introduced by the deposition techniques encodes enough complexity into the optical anti-counterfeiting tag to generate thousands of cryptographic keys. The simple and cheap fabrication process as well as the multilevel authentication makes such colored polymeric unclonable tags a practical solution in the secure protection of merchandise in our daily life

The EARTHCRUISERS project (EARTH CRUst Imagery for investigating SEismicity, volcanism and marine natural Resources in the Sicilian offshore)

The EARTHCRUISERS project was developed for the MIUR’s call “Progetti Premiali 2015” by the “Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale” (Trieste, Italy) in collaboration with the “Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Osservatorio Etneo” (Catania, Italy) and “Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn” (Naples, Italy). The main goals of the project are: (i) to identify and characterize the main crustal tectonic structures offshore Sicily and the Aeolian Islands, (ii) to better understand the geodynamic processes controlling seismicity and volcanism affecting this region, and (iii) to furnish a useful tool to estimate seismic, tsunamigenic and volcanic hazard in the highly populated coastal sectors. Furthermore, in order to contribute at the Blue Growth objectives, the project aims to analyze some relevant issues related to mineral prospecting offshore, such as the characterization of the hydrothermal systems in the Tyrrhenian Sea and the impact of the exploitation of oil and gas fields on the marine environment in the Sicily Channel. To achieve these objectives the acquisition of multibeam and sidescan sonar, multichannel seismic reflection, magnetic and gravimetric data is planned. Nearly 2500 km of multichannel seismic reflection lines will be acquired during the project in the Marsili Basin (Tyrrhenian Sea) and Mt. Etna offshore. This large amount of data will allow to: better understand the relationship between tectonics and evolution of volcanism; identify active faults and volcanic bodies; better constrain the seismostratigraphic and structural setting of the study areas, and investigate the eventual occurrence of unstable volcanic slopes which could lead to landslide and tsunami. Finally, the deployment offshore southeastern Sicily of a temporary Ocean Bottom Seismometer (OBS) network will carry out for monitoring the natural seismicity in the area of VEGA platform, the largest oil extraction site in Italian seas. Data collected will be used to study the eventual correlation between local seismicity and oil extractive activities.PublishedRome2T. Deformazione crostale attiv