Dendroclimatic relevance of “Bosco Antico”, the most ancient living European larch wood in the southern Rhaetian Alps (Italy).

The ongoing increase in the global mean temperature at an unprecedented recorded rate is well documented. Nevertheless, knowledge of past climate variations is fundamental for a better understanding of ongoing climate change. This need is crucial in high mountain areas, where the effects of global warming are amplified and induce an accelerated glacial retreat. Thus, the use of climatic proxies such as tree-ring width offers tools to better understand the environmental dynamics in remote, sensitive sites. Here, we present the “Bosco Antico” site chronology, a six-century long dataset from the most ancient living stand in the Val di Sole area (southern Rhaetian Alps, Italy), and its relationship with summer mean temperatures. The analyses were performed on earlywood and latewood separately, as well as on tree-ring widths using static and moving correlations. The results showed that tree-rings and earlywood width are linked with June temperatures, whereas latewood width is mainly driven by July temperatures. All the analysed series were greatly influenced by June to July and June to August temperatures. Finally, a mean summer latewood-based temperature reconstruction since 1525 is proposed. It highlighted that during the last six hundred years, the summer temperatures span between -2.3 to +1.9 °C compared to the 1960–90 mean temperature (between 6.2 and 10.4 °C at the stand elevation). The coolest phase is recorded in the 1810s-20s underlining the strongest pulse of the Little Ice Age; other phases of negative anomalies are recorded in the first half of the 17th century, around 1700, and 1900 and during the 1970s. Our results add an important dataset for a specific climatic area, providing new information that will contribute to a better understanding of the climate dynamics for the study site as well as on a larger scale

An Efficient Data Exchange Algorithm for Chained Network Functions

In-network function chaining often involves the deployment of multiple applications into a single, possibly multi-tenant, middlebox. This approach has gained much interest since new network paradigms, such as Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV), have been proposed to virtualize resources as well as network functions. In this scenario, it is very common to move data (e.g., packets) from an application to another by means of a switching module that is in charge of chaining network functions in the correct order, also ensuring an adequate level of isolation between any two virtualized components. With this purpose in mind, this paper proposes an efficient algorithm to handle the communication between the internal soft-switch and the heterogeneous network functions that are executed on the same server. Our proposal is designed with the aim of dealing with high speed packet processing, hence an extensive performance evaluation is also provided to prove the goodness of our solution in this context

Etiological diagnosis, prognostic significance and role of electrophysiological study in patients with Brugada ECG and syncope.

BACKGROUND: Syncope is considered a risk factor for life-threatening arrhythmias in Brugada patients. Distinguishing a benign syncope from one due to ventricular arrhythmias is often difficult, unless an ECG is recorded during the episode. Aim of the study was to analyze the characteristics of syncopal episodes in a large population of Brugada patients and evaluate the role of electrophysiological study (EPS) and the prognosis in the different subgroups. METHODS AND RESULTS: One hundred ninety-five Brugada patients with history of syncope were considered. Syncope were classified as neurally mediated (group 1, 61%) or unexplained (group 2, 39%) on the basis of personal and family history, clinical features, triggers, situations, associated signs, concomitant therapy. Most patients underwent EPS; they received ICD or implantable loop-recorder on the basis of the result of investigations and physician's judgment. At 62±45months of mean follow-up, group 1 showed a significantly lower incidence of arrhythmic events (2%) as compared to group 2 (9%, p<0.001). Group 2 patients with positive EPS showed the highest risk of arrhythmic events (27%). No ventricular events occurred in subjects with negative EPS. CONCLUSION: Etiological definition of syncope in Brugada patients is important, as it allows identifying two groups with different outcome. Patients with unexplained syncope and ventricular fibrillation induced at EPS have the highest risk of arrhythmic events. Patients presenting with neurally mediated syncope showed a prognosis similar to that of the asymptomatic and the role of EPS in this group is unproven

Butterfly distribution along altitudinal gradients: temporal changes over a short time period

Mountain ecosystems are particularly sensitive to changes in climate and land cover, but at the same time, they can offer important refuges for species on the opposite of the more altered lowlands. To explore the potential role of mountain ecosystems in butterfly conservation and to assess the vulnerability of the alpine species, we analyzed the short-term changes (2006-2008 vs. 2012-2013) of butterflies\u27 distribution along altitudinal gradients in the NW Italian Alps. We sampled butterfly communities once a month (62 sampling stations, 3 seasonal replicates per year, from June to August) by semi-quantitative sampling techniques. The monitored gradient ranges from the montane to the alpine belt (600-2700 m a.s.l.) within three protected areas: Gran Paradiso National Park (LTER, Sitecode: LTER_EU_IT_109), Orsiera Rocciavr? Natural Park and Veglia Devero Natural Park. We investigated butterflies\u27 temporal changes in accordance with a hierarchical approach to assess potential relationships between species and community level. As a first step, we characterized each species in terms of habitat requirements, elevational range and temperature preferences and we compared plot occupancy and altitudinal range changes between time periods (2006-2008 vs. 2012-2013). Secondly, we focused on community level, analyzing species richness and community composition temporal changes. The species level analysis highlighted a general increase in mean occupancy level and significant changes at both altitudinal boundaries. Looking at the ecological groups, we observed an increase of generalist and highly mobile species at the expense of the specialist and less mobile ones. For the community level, we noticed a significant increase in species richness, in the community temperature index and a tendency towards homogenization within communities. Besides the short time period considered, butterflies species distribution and communities changed considerably. In light of these results, it is fundamental to continue monitoring activities to understand if we are facing transient changes or first signals of an imminent trend

Assessment of landscape change&#8217;s impact on Alpine species distribution using a multi-scale approach

There is a strong relation between biodiversity and traditional land use in Mediterrean areas. In these highly human dominated regions traditional acitvities profoundly shape the landscape with strong consequences on biodiversity pattern. However, in the last few decades the rapid socio-economic change lead to the abandonment of \u201cmarginal\u201d land modifying the landscape structures. Available remote sensing data can provide information about environmental changes, but the occurrence of temporal and spatial gaps (e.g., the limited temporal archive of historical aerial images and the coarser spatial resolution of satellite data) can reduce the applicability of gained information. Considering the importance of the scale-dependency of ecological processes, we propose a multi-temporal and scale approach, combining remote sensed and field data, to monitor changes in vegetation and landscape structures and to evaluate their role in shaping Alpine species distribution. The study area is the Gran Paradiso National Park (NW Italian Alps) and we focused both on 5 altitudinal transects, representative of three altitudinal belts, and on landscape level. At first, from the interpretation of historical aerial photos in sampled areas, we reconstructed the land cover changes occurred during the last decades and we extended this information to the entire Park landscape, through a supervised classification of satellite data. Further, we developed a low-cost procedure of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) survey adapted to Alpine environment, integrated with botanical sampling, in order to obtain highresolution land cover maps in test areas to replace the use of aerial photos in supervised classification of satellite data. This multi-scale analysis of landscape change allows us to detail how the environmental patterns affect the Alpine animal species distribution ranging from discrete areas to entire Park area

Spatiotemporal Overlap Of Spiny Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias) And Commercial Fisheries In The Northeast Us Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem

Commercial fishermen have argued that localized concentrations of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) in the northeast U.S. shelf large marine ecosystem (NES LME) have impeded their fishing operations when monitoring surveys estimated lower relative abundances. Fishery-dependent and -independent data were analyzed simultaneously to examine whether increased spatial overlap between spiny dogfish and commercial fisheries may explain high catches of this species on fishing grounds. Spatial overlap was quantified between spiny dogfish distribution and commercial fisheries from 1989 to 2009 during autumn and spring in the NES LME. Combined, the sink gillnet (SGN) and otter trawl (OT) fisheries accounted for the majority of spiny dogfish catch (autumn: 85%; spring: 92%), either retained (SGN) or discarded (OT). Centers of spiny dogfish abundance illustrated spatial differences in local density within the NES LME and revealed seasonal differences in spiny dogfish density. Recent increases in spatial overlap indicate that a growing portion of the spiny dogfish stock was available to each fishery over the time series. Availability, estimated as the percentage of spiny dogfish present on fishing grounds, also increased and was generally higher during autumn than spring. Abundance of mature (total length.80 cm) female spiny dogfish was significantly related to availability, but trends were variable between fisheries and seasons. Although recent increases in abundance indicate recovery, research regarding the mechanisms behind these changes may help explain why abundance in the NES LME appears highly variable

Peptidomic approach for the identification of peptides with potential antioxidant and anti-hyperthensive effects derived from Asparagus by-products

Asparagus waste represents products of great interest since many compounds with high biological value are located in the lower portion of the spears. The extraction of bioactive compounds from asparagus by-products is therefore crucial for the purpose of adding value to these by-products. In this paper, bioactive peptides from asparagus waste were extracted, digested, purified and identified. In particular, Alcalase® was chosen as the enzyme to use to obtain protein hydrolysate due to its low cost and, consequently, the possibility of implementing the method on a large scale. In order to simplify the peptide extract to reach better identification, the hydrolysate was fractionated by reversed-phase chromatography in 10 fractions. Two tests were carried out for antioxidant activity (ABTS-DPPH) and one for antihypertensive activity (ACE). Fractions with a higher bioactivity score were identified by peptidomics technologies and screened for bioactivity with the use of bioinformatics. For ACE-inhibitor activity, two peptides were synthetized, PDWFLLL and ASQSIWLPGWL, which provided an EC50 value of 1.76 µmol L-1 and 4.02 µmol L-1, respectively. For the antioxidant activity, by DPPH assay, MLLFPM exhibited the lowest EC50 value at 4.14 µmol L-1, followed by FIARNFLLGW and FAPVPFDF with EC50 values of 6.76 µmol L-1 and 10.01 µmol L-1, respectively. A validation of the five identified peptides was also carried out. The obtained results showed that peptides obtained from asparagus by-products are of interest for their biological activity and are suitable for being used as functional ingredients

Temperament and attachment as predictive factors for the risk of addiction to substances in adolescents.

Abstract: This study aims to relate the dimensions of temperament and attachment with the risk of addiction to substances in a group of 642 adolescents between 13 and 19 years old, and to assess which dimensions of these constructs acted as risk or protective factors. It also relates the two constructs between them. There was a positive correlation between the risk of addiction and the temperament dimension "Novelty seeking" and with those of attachment, "Self-sufficiency and parental resentment" and "Child trauma". The correlation was negative with "Persistence" (temperament) and "Security" (attachment). "Novelty seeking", "Family concern" and age, acted as risk factors; whereas “Security” in attachment was a factor of protection. The temperament and attachment profiles with a higher risk of addiction correlated with each other; they also correlated those with a low risk. Resumen: Temperamento y apego como factores predictivos para el riesgo de adicción a sustancias en adolescentes.Este estudio busca relacionar las dimensiones de temperamento y apego con el riesgo de adicción a sustancias en un grupo de 642 adolescentes de entre 13 y 19 años, y valorar qué dimensiones de estos constructos actúan como factores de riesgo o de protección. También se relacionan los dos constructos entre ellos. Hubo una correlación positiva entre el riesgo de adicción y la dimensión de temperamento “Búsqueda de novedad”, y con las de apego “Autosuficiencia y rencor hacia los padres” y “Trauma infantil”. La correlación fue negativa con “Persistencia” (temperamento) y “Seguridad” (apego). “Búsqueda de la novedad”, “Preocupación familiar” y edad, actuaron como factores de riesgo; mientras que la “Seguridad “en el apego fue un factor de protección. Los perfiles de temperamento y apego con riesgo más elevado de adicción correlacionaron entre ellos; también correlacionaron aquellos con un riesgo bajo.        

Removal of Crystal Violet and Hexavalent Chromium using TiO2-Bentonite under Sunlight: Effect of TiO2 Content

The main objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between TiO2 content in photoactive bentonite (B-TiO2) and the pathway by which crystal violet (CV) and hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) are removed from water under sunlight. B-TiO2 samples were prepared by impregnation with TiCl4 with different weight ratios (g/g) (namely, 5, 10, 20 and 30%). Materials were characterized using different techniques, among which: SEM, FT-IR, XRD, HRTEM, EDX and Zeta potential measurements. Results show that, only the anatase TiO2 polymorph was formed in the bentonite and the porosity of materials decreases with the increase of TiO2 content. Furthermore, zeta potential measurements indicate that, when TiO2 content increases, the negative charge of materials decreases. On the other hand, experimental results show that these materials combine both adsorption and photocatalytic reactions to remove CV molecules from water. As the TiO2 content increases, the adsorption capacity decreases, while the photocatalytic activity is more important. In the case of Cr (VI) species, all samples show a few adsorption because of the repulsion effect between these species and the negative charge of the bentonite. Therefore, under sunlight, the Cr (VI) removal occurred mainly by the photoreduction reaction that is more efficient when the TiO2 content increases