Fabrication and transport critical currents of multifilamentary MgB2/Fe wires and tapes

Multifilamentary MgB2/Fe wires and tapes with high transport critical current densities have been fabricated using a straightforward powder-in-tube (PIT) process. After annealing, we measured transport jc values up to 1.1 * 105 A/cm2 at 4.2 K and in a field of 2 T in a MgB2/Fe square wire with 7 filaments fabricated by two-axial rolling, and up to 5 * 104 A/cm2 at 4.2 K in 1 T in a MgB2/Fe tape with 7 filaments. For higher currents these multifilamentary wires and tapes quenched due to insufficient thermal stability of filaments. Both the processing routes and deformation methods were found to be important factors for fabricating multifilamentary MgB2 wires and tapes with high transport jc values.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure

Composting of olive mill pomace, agro‐industrial sewage sludge and other residues: Process monitoring and agronomic use of the resulting composts

The viability of co‐composting of olive mill pomace added to sewage sludge with other organic residues was evaluated and the agronomic use of the final composts was investigated. Two composting piles at different carbon‐nitrogen ratios were performed, in which olive mill pomace (OMP), sewage sludge from vegetable processing (SS), fresh residues from artichoke processing residues (AR), and wheat straw (WS) were used. The two composting piles were placed inside a spe-cially built greenhouse and a turning machine pulled by a tractor was used for turning and shred-ding the organic matrix (every 6 days) during the process. The humidity and temperature of organic matrices have been monitored and controlled during the entire composting process, which lasted 90 days. The process was also monitored to evaluate the microbiological safety of the final compost. The humidity of both piles was always kept just above 50% until the end of the thermophilic phase and the maximum temperature was about 50 °C during the thermophilic phase. The carbon‐nitro-gen ratio decreased from 21.4 and 28.2, respectively (initial value at day 1 in Pile A and B), to values ranging from 12.9 to 15.1, both composts that originated from the two different piles were microbi-ologically safe. During a two‐year period, the effects of different types of compost on the main qualitative parameters of processing tomato and durum wheat was evaluated. Five fertilization treatments were evaluated for tomato and durum wheat crops: unfertilized control (TR1); compost A (TR2); compost B (TR3); ½ mineral and ½ compost A (TR4); and mineral fertilizer commonly used for the two crops (TR5). Concerning the processing tomato yield, TR5 and TR4 showed the best results (2.73 and 2.51 kg, respectively). The same trend was observed considering the marketable yield per plant. The only difference was related to the treatments that included the compost (2.32, 1.77, and 1.73 kg/plant for TR4, TR3, and TR2, respectively). As regards the qualitative parameters of to-mato, the highest average weight of the fruits was found in the TR5, TR4, and TR3 treatments (re-spectively, 73.67 g, 70.34 g, and 68.10 g). For durum wheat, only the protein component was differ-entiated between treatments. Furthermore, wheat grain yield parameters generally increased by combined application of mineral fertilizer and compost

Substitution induced pinning in MgB_2 superconductor doped with SiC nano-particles

By doping MgB_2 superconductor with SiC nano-particles, we have successfully introduced pinning sites directly into the crystal lattice of MgB_2 grains (intra-grain pinning). It became possible due to the combination of counter-balanced Si and C co-substitution for B, leading to a large number of intra-granular dislocations and the dispersed nano-size impurities induced by the substitution. The magnetic field dependence of the critical current density was significantly improved in a wide temperature range, whereas the transition temperature in the sample MgB_2(SiC)_x having x = 0.34, the highest doping level prepared, dropped only by 2.6 K.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure

Historical Scientific Racism and Psychiatric Publications: A Necessary International Anti-racist Code of Ethics

Ethical aspects of publishing in scientific journals are an important issue addressed since the late 1970s by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (1978). Today, medical journals also benefit from other international organizations’ recommendations such as the Committee on Publication Ethics, World Association of Medical Editors, and World Health Organization (WHO). These international best practices guidelines cover various ethical issues related to integrity in research, authorship, conflicts of interest, and so on

Evaluation of an ELISA method to detect Listeria monocytogenes in fresh-cut rocket

Leafy vegetables are consumed fresh after harvest with bland washes, not always efficient in removing pathogenic bacteria that may be attached to the external skin or surfaces. In this work, an optimized ELISA based method developed in our laboratory was used to detect the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in fresh-cut rocket leaves. From a certain quantity (5 g) of fresh rocket leaves contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, bacteria were isolated and the pathogen was detected using an ELISA protocol. The preliminary results are promising in the use of antibody-antigen interaction to verify the presence of L. monocytogenes in the minimally processed vegetable distribution chain

Towards a genealogy of migrant struggles and rescue. The memory of solidarity at the Alpine border

This article advances a genealogy of migrant struggles and citizens solidarity practices, with a focus on the French-Italian migrant passage. It contends that scholarship has mainly mobilised a spatial approach to migrant struggles, while the temporality of solidarity and the collective memory of struggles have remained under-theorised. Then, the article moves on by focusing on the French-Italian Alpine border and it analyses the longstanding history of migrants’ passages there and, jointly, the mobilisations that took place in that area over the last decades exploring how these sedimented a citizen collective memory of solidarity practices. The final section deals with the history of mountain rescue at the French-Italian Alpine border and shows how migrants were saved by volunteers. The piece concludes by arguing that an insight into the memory of migrant struggles and solidarity practices enables foregrounding the transversal alliances which have been built between migrants and citizens and unsettling binary opposition between the former and the latter

Detection and enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes in fresh cut vegetables using MPN-Real-Time PCR

Listeria monocytogenes is a gram positive, rod shaped, pathogenic bacterium, causative agent of a severe infection generally known as listeriosis. Packaging and storage conditions of fresh cut vegetables may favour the growth of this psychrotrophic pathogen leading to potential health threat. Detection and enumeration of L. monocytogenes in concentrations up to 103 CFU/g, usually implies use of the most-probable-number technique (MPN) which may take up to seven days for verified identification of the pathogen. We developed a fast and reliable protocol combining MPN with a Real-Time quantitative PCR (qPCR) approach. Samples of fresh cut salads (25 g) purchased at local shops were spiked with 1 to 105 CFU/g of L. monocytogenes. Samples were homogenized, and triplicate series of tubes containing 10-5 to 10 g of food were incubated in Fraser broth at 30\ub0C for 48 h for standard MPN analysis. After incubation, broth samples were taken from each tube and DNA was extracted. DNA from enrichment tubes was used as template in a qPCR assay targeting a 64 bp hlyA gene sequence of L. monocytogenes. Results of this assay were than compared with those of standard MPN analysis and a complete accordance was observed. Furthermore, we tested an enrichment free approach using the same qPCR assay. Samples were prepared as described for MPN-qPCR while DNA extraction was performed prior to enrichment of inoculated salads. This approach allowed us to identify L. monocytogenes in samples spiked with 10-105 CFU/g. The whole process, including DNA extraction, required less than four hours, thus providing a fast and reliable tool for detection of L. monocytogenes in fresh cut vegetables

The pyruvate kinase activator mitapivat reduces hemolysis and improves anemia in a \u3b2-thalassemia mouse model

Anemia in \u3b2-thalassemia is related to ineffective erythropoiesis and reduced red cell survival. Excess free heme and accumulation of unpaired \u3b1-globin chains impose substantial oxidative stress on \u3b2-thalassemic erythroblasts and erythrocytes, impacting cell metabolism. We hypothesized that increased pyruvate kinase activity induced by mitapivat (AG-348) in the Hbbth3/+ mouse model for \u3b2-thalassemia would reduce chronic hemolysis and ineffective erythropoiesis through stimulation of red cell glycolytic metabolism. Oral mitapivat administration ameliorated ineffective erythropoiesis and anemia in Hbbth3/+ mice. Increased ATP, reduced reactive oxygen species production, and reduced markers of mitochondrial dysfunction associated with improved mitochondrial clearance suggested enhanced metabolism following mitapivat administration in \u3b2-thalassemia. The amelioration of responsiveness to erythropoietin resulted in reduced soluble erythroferrone, increased liver Hamp expression, and diminished liver iron overload. Mitapivat reduced duodenal Dmt1 expression potentially by activating the pyruvate kinase M2-HIF2\u3b1 axis, representing a mechanism additional to Hamp in controlling iron absorption and preventing \u3b2-thalassemia\u2013related liver iron overload. In ex vivo studies on erythroid precursors from patients with \u3b2-thalassemia, mitapivat enhanced erythropoiesis, promoted erythroid maturation, and decreased apoptosis. Overall, pyruvate kinase activation as a treatment modality for \u3b2-thalassemia in preclinical model systems had multiple beneficial effects in the erythropoietic compartment and beyond, providing a strong scientific basis for further clinical trials