REAL OPTION MODELS FOR SIMULATING DIGESTER SYSTEM ADOPTION ON LIVESTOCK FARMS IN EMILIA-ROMAGNA

Innovation and new technology adoption represent two central elements for the enterprise and industry development process in agriculture. The objective of this paper is to develop a farmhousehold model able to simulate the impacts of uncertainty in SFP, the selling price of energy and agricultural product prices parameters on the adoption of methane digester for biogas production. The model implemented is based on a real option approach that includes investment irreversibility and stochasticity in relevant parameters. The results show the relevance of uncertainty in determining the timing of adoption and emphasise the importance of predictability as a major component of policy design

EM Training of Hidden Markov Models for Shape Recognition Using Cyclic Strings

Shape descriptions and the corresponding matching techniques must be robust to noise and invariant to transformations for their use in recognition tasks. Most transformations are relatively easy to handle when contours are represented by strings. However, starting point invariance is difficult to achieve. One interesting possibility is the use of cyclic strings, which are strings with no starting and final points. Here we present the use of Hidden Markov Models for modelling cyclic strings and their training using Expectation Maximization. Experimental results show that our proposal outperforms other methods in the literature

A Framework for Recommending Multimedia Cultural Visiting Paths

In this work, we present a general framework for Cultural Heritage applications able to uniformly manage heterogeneous multimedia data coming from several web repositories and to provide context- Aware recommendation services in order to generate dynamic multimedia visiting paths useful for the users during the exploration of different kinds of cultural sites. A specific application of our system within the cultural heritage domain is proposed together with some experimental results

FAVOR (FAst Variability Optical Registration) -- A Two-telescope Complex for Detection and Investigation of Short Optical Transients

An astronomical complex intended to detect optical transients (OTs) in a wide field and follow them up with high time resolution investigation is described.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. To be published in "Il Nuovo Cimento", Proceedings of the 4th Rome Workshop on Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Afterglow Era, eds. L. Piro, L. Amati, S. Covino, B. Gendr

From the dual function lead AP2238 to AP2469, a multi-target-directed ligand for the treatment of Alzheimer\u2019s disease

The development of drugs with different pharmacological properties appears to be an innovative therapeutic approach for Alzheimer\u2019s disease. In this article, we describe a simple structural modification of AP2238, a first dual function lead, in particular the introduction of the catechol moiety performed in order to search for multi-target ligands. The new compound AP2469 retains antiacetylcholinesterase (AChE) and beta-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme (BACE)1 activities compared to the reference, and is also able to inhibit Ab42 self aggregation, Ab42 oligomer-binding to cell membrane and subsequently reactive oxygen species formation in both neuronal and microglial cells. The ability of AP2469 to interfere with Ab42 oligomer-binding to neuron and microglial cell membrane gives this molecule both neuroprotective and antiinflammatory properties. These findings, together with its strong chain-breaking antioxidant performance, make AP2469 a potential drug able to modify the course of the diseas

Study of the cyclotron feature in MXB 0656-072

We have monitored a type II outburst of the Be/X-ray binary MXB 0656−072 in a series of pointed RXTE observations during October through December 2003. The source spectrum shows a cyclotron resonance scattering feature at 32.8 +0.5 −0.4 keV, corresponding to a magnetic field strength of 3.67 +0.06 −0.04 × 10 12 G and is stable through the outburst and over the pulsar spin phase. The pulsar, with an average pulse period of 160.4 ± 0.4s,shows a spin-up of 0.45 s over the duration of the outburst. From optical data, the source distance is estimated to be 3.9 ± 0.1 kpc and this is used to estimate the X-ray luminosity and a theoretical prediction of the pulsar spin-up during the outburst

Role of neuronal and inducible nitric oxide synthases in the guinea pig ileum myenteric plexus during in vitro ischemia and reperfusion

Background Intestinal ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury leads to abnormalities in motility, namely delay of transit, caused by damage to myenteric neurons. Alterations of the nitrergic transmission may occur in these conditions. This study investigated whether an in vitro I/R injury may affect nitric oxide (NO) production from the myenteric plexus of the guinea pig ileum and which NO synthase (NOS) isoform is involved. Methods The distribution of the neuronal (n) and inducible (i) NOS was determined by immunohistochemistry during 60 min of glucose/oxygen deprivation (in vitro ischemia) followed by 60 min of reperfusion. The protein and mRNA levels of nNOS and iNOS were investigated by Westernimmunoblotting and real time RT-PCR, respectively. NO levels were quantified as nitrite/nitrate. Key Results After in vitro I/R the proportion of nNOSexpressing neurons and protein levels remained unchanged. nNOS mRNA levels increased 60 min after inducing ischemia and in the following 5 min of reperfusion. iNOS-immunoreactive neurons, protein and mRNA levels were up-regulated during the whole I/R period. A significant increase of nitrite/nitrate levels was observed in the first 5 min after inducing I/R and was significantly reduced by Nx-propyl-L-arginine and 1400 W, selective inhibitors of nNOS and iNOS, respectively. Conclusions & Inferences Our data demonstrate that both iNOS and nNOS represent sources for NO overproduction in ileal myenteric plexus during I/R, although iNOS undergoes more consistent changes suggesting a more relevant role for this isoform in the alterations occurring in myenteric neurons following I/R

TaqMan probe assays on different biological samples for the identification of three ambrosia beetle species, Xylosandrus compactus (Eichoff), X. crassiusculus (Motschulsky) and X. germanus (Blandford) (Coleoptera Curculionidae Scolytinae)

Molecular assays based on qPCR TaqMan Probes were developed to identify three species of the genus Xylosandrus, X. compactus, X. crassiusculus and X. germanus (Coleoptera Curculionidae Scolytinae). These ambrosia beetles are xylophagous species alien to Europe, causing damages to many ornamental and fruiting trees as well as shrubs. DNA extraction was carried out from adults, larvae and biological samples derived from insect damages on infested plants. For X. compactus, segments of galleries in thin infested twigs were cut and processed; in the case of X. crassiusculus, raw frass extruded from exit holes was used, while DNA of X. germanus was extracted from small wood chips removed around insect exit holes. The assays were inclusive for the target species and exclusive for all the non-target species tested. The LoD was 3.2 pg/μL for the frass of X. crassiusculus and 0.016 ng/μL for the woody matrices of the other two species. Both repeatability and reproducibility were estimated on adults and woody samples, showing very low values ranging between 0.00 and 4.11. Thus, the proposed diagnostic assays resulted to be very efficient also on the woody matrices used for DNA extraction, demonstrating the applicability of the protocol in the absence of dead specimens or living stages