Status of three-neutrino oscillation parameters, circa 2013

The standard three-neutrino (3nu) oscillation framework is being increasingly refined by results coming from different sets of experiments, using neutrinos from solar, atmospheric, accelerator and reactor sources. At present, each of the known oscillation parameters [the two squared mass gaps (delta m^2, Delta m^2) and the three mixing angles (theta_12}, theta_13, theta_23)] is dominantly determined by a single class of experiments. Conversely, the unknown parameters [the mass hierarchy, the theta_23 octant and the CP-violating phase delta] can be currently constrained only through a combined analysis of various (eventually all) classes of experiments. In the light of recent new results coming from reactor and accelerator experiments, and of their interplay with solar and atmospheric data, we update the estimated N-sigma ranges of the known 3nu parameters, and revisit the status of the unknown ones. Concerning the hierarchy, no significant difference emerges between normal and inverted mass ordering. A slight overall preference is found for theta_23 in the first octant and for nonzero CP violation with sin delta < 0; however, for both parameters, such preference exceeds 1 sigma only for normal hierarchy. We also discuss the correlations and stability of the oscillation parameters within different combinations of data sets.Comment: Updated and revised version, accepted for publication in PRD. The analysis includes the latest (March 2014) T2K disappearance data: all the figures and the numerical results have been updated, and parts of the text have been revised accordingl

A Comparison of PCA-LDA and PLS-DA Techniques for Classification of Vibrational Spectra

Vibrational spectroscopies provide information about the biochemical and structural environment of molecular functional groups inside samples. Over the past few decades, Raman and infrared-absorption-based techniques have been extensively used to investigate biological materials under different pathological conditions. Interesting results have been obtained, so these techniques have been proposed for use in a clinical setting for diagnostic purposes, as complementary tools to conventional cytological and histological techniques. In most cases, the differences between vibrational spectra measured for healthy and diseased samples are small, even if these small differences could contain useful information to be used in the diagnostic field. Therefore, the interpretation of the results requires the use of analysis techniques able to highlight the minimal spectral variations that characterize a dataset of measurements acquired on healthy samples from a dataset of measurements relating to samples in which a pathology occurs. Multivariate analysis techniques, which can handle large datasets and explore spectral information simultaneously, are suitable for this purpose. In the present study, two multivariate statistical techniques, principal component analysis-linear discriminate analysis (PCA-LDA) and partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were used to analyse three different datasets of vibrational spectra, each one including spectra of two different classes: (i) a simulated dataset comprising control-like and exposed-like spectra, (ii) a dataset of Raman spectra measured for control and proton beam-exposed MCF10A breast cells and (iii) a dataset of FTIR spectra measured for malignant non-metastatic MCF7 and metastatic MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Both PCA-LDA and PLS-DA techniques were first used to build a discrimination model by using calibration sets of spectra extracted from the three datasets. Then, the classification performance was established by using test sets of unknown spectra. The achieved results point out that the built classification models were able to distinguish the different spectra types with accuracy between 93% and 100%, sensitivity between 86% and 100% and specificity between 90% and 100%. The present study confirms that vibrational spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis techniques has considerable potential for establishing reliable diagnostic models

Studies on the Biosynthesis of Psoralen and Bergapten in the Leaves of Ficus carica

With the aim of studying the biosynthesis of psoralen and bergapten, two furocoumarins present in the leaves of "Ficus carica" (Moraceae), the Authors, continuing preceding researchs on this topic, have fed the leaves with the following labelled precursors: 4′,5′-dihydropsoralen, 4′,5′-dihydrobergapten, 7-hydroxycoumarin, 5,7-dihydroxycoumarin and 5-methoxy-7-hydroxycoumarin. The results obtained indicate that all these substances are certain biogenetic precursors for psoralen and bergapten. On the basis of the results obtained the biosynthetic pathway of furocoumarins seems to involve first of all the formation of a coumarinic derivative 7-hydroxylated, then an isoprenylation reaction which leads to the formation of the hydrogenated furan ring, finally dehydrogenation of the 4′,5′-dihydrofurocoumarins to psoralen and bergapten

From Microbial Ecology to Innovative Applications in Food Quality Improvements: the Case of Sourdough as a Model Matrix.

Since millennia, humankind has exploited microbial diversity associated to give foodmatrices in order to obtain fermented foods and beverages, resulting in products with improvedquality and extended shelf life. This topic has received deserved and continuous interest in thescientific community, for the reason of its significance as a driver of innovation in the food and beveragesector. In this review paper, using sourdough as a model matrix, we provide some insights into thefield, testifying the relevance as a transdisciplinary subject. Firstly, we encompassed the prokaryoticand eukaryotic microbial diversity associated with the sourdough ecosystems. The importance ofthis micro-biodiversity in the light of flour-related chemical diversity was examined. Finally, wehighlighted the increasing interest in microbial-based applications oriented toward biocontrol solutionin the field of sourdough-based products (i.e., bread)

Influence of wind-induced effects on laser disdrometer measurements: Analysis and compensation strategies

Nowadays, laser disdrometers constitute a very appealing tool for measuring surface precipitation properties, by virtue of their capability to estimate not only the rainfall amount and intensity, but also the number, the size and the velocity of falling drops. However, disdrometric measures are affected by various sources of error being some of them related to environmental conditions. This work presents an assessment of Thies Clima laser disdrometer performance with a focus on the relationship between wind and the accuracy of the disdrometer output products. The 10-min average rainfall rate and total rainfall accumulation obtained by the disdrometer are systematically compared with the collocated measures of a standard tipping bucket rain gauge, the FAK010AA sensor, in terms of familiar statistical scores. A total of 42 rainy events, collected in a mountainous site of Southern Italy (Montevergine observatory), are used to support our analysis. The results show that the introduction of a new adaptive filtering in the disdrometric data processing can reduce the impact of sampling errors due to strong winds and heavy rain conditions. From a quantitative perspective, the novel filtering procedure improves by 8% the precipitation estimates with respect to the standard approach widely used in the literature. A deeper examination revealed that the signature of wind speed on raw velocity-diameter spectrographs gradually emerges with the rise of wind strength, thus causing a progressive increase of the wrongly allocated hydrometeors (which reaches 70% for wind speed greater than 8 m s−1). With the aid of reference rain-gauge rainfall data, we designed a second simple methodology that makes use of a correction factor to mitigate the wind-induced bias in disdrometric rainfall estimates. The resulting correction factor could be applied as an alternative to the adaptive filtering suggested by this study and may be of practical use when dealing with disdrometric data processing

Photoluminescence properties of C60 films deposited on silicon substrate

Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of C-60 films deposited on Si substrates have been measured from 10 to 300 K and as a function of laser excitation intensity. Recombination of self-trapped excitons and their phonon replicas, as well as X-trap-related emissions, are the main features of the PL spectra. The influence of the deposition parameters, namely deposition rate and substrate temperature, on the luminescence efficiency of the C-60 films have been investigated. Low substrate temperature produces a lowering of the PL efficiency, whereas an increase of the deposition rate causes an increase of the X-trap emission

Studies on the Biosynthesis of Some Furocoumarins Present in Ruta graveolens

The biosynthesis of some furocoumarins present in Ruta graveolens has been studied administering labeled psoralen, xanthotoxin, rutaretin, marmesin and 7-hydroxycoumarin-derivatives. The results obtained indicate that the biosynthetic pathway involves not only psoralen, but also xanthotoxin and bergapten, by means of methoxylation or demethoxylation reactions. Moreover results achieved from administering rutaretin demonstrate that this substance is a new very effective natural precursor for xanthotoxin; in a parallel way marmesin is incorporated into psoralen. The reported results indicate that also at the stage of natural 4′,5′-dihydrofurocoumarins intermediates an interconversion can occur. Finally the essential role of umbelliferone in the biosynthesis of furocoumarins has been confirmed

Microbial Resources and Innovation in the Wine Production Sector

Microbial starter cultures represent a fundamental level of innovation in the wine sector. Selected yeast strains are routinely used to achieve the needed biomass preparation to accelerate and steer alcoholic fermentation in grape must. The use of starter cultures to induce malolactic fermentation in wine relies on the characterisation and propagation of suitable strains of lactic acid bacteria. Furthermore, the selection of new strains, the renewal of management of microbial resources and new technologies allow continuous improvements in oenology, which may increase the beneficial aspects of wine. In this review, with the aim to stimulate microbial-driven, consumer-oriented advances in the oenological sector, we propose an overview of recent trends in this field that are reported by following the classical separation into 'product innovation' and 'process innovation'. Hence, we shall highlight i) the possible positive innovative impacts of microbial resources on the safety and the sensorial and functional properties of wine (product innovation) and ii) the potential microbial-based improvements allowing the reduction of time/costs and the environmental impacts associated with winemaking (process innovation)

Insight on Glucose and Fructose Absorption and Relevance in the Enterocyte Milieu

Although epidemiological studies indicate a strong correlation between high sugar intake and metabolic diseases, the biological mechanisms underlying this link are still controversial. To further examine the modification and crosstalk occurring in enterocyte metabolism during sugar absorption, in this study we evaluate the diffusion and intestinal metabolism of glucose, fructose and sucrose, which were supplemented in equimolar concentration to Caco-2 cells grown on polyester membrane inserts. At different time points after supplementation, changes in metabolite concentration were evaluated in the apical and basolateral chambers by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas-chromatography (GC). Sucrose was only minimally hydrolyzed by Caco-2 cells. Upon supplementation, we observed a faster uptake of fructose than glucose, the pentose sugar being also faster catabolized. Monosaccharide absorption was concomitant to the synthesis/transport of other metabolites, which occurred differently in glucose and fructose supplemented cells. Our results confirm the prominent role of intestinal cells in fructose metabolism and clearance after absorption, representing a further step forward in the understanding of the role of dietary sugars. Future research, including targeted analysis on specific transporters/enzymes and the use of labeled substrates, will be helpful to confirm the present results and their interpretation

Architettura e Realismo. Programma

Il convegno "«Uno spazio reale adeguato»: architettura e realismo", la giornata di studi e mostra "«Il sempre teorizzar nulla rileva...»: nuovo realismo e architettura della città", il convegno "Per una nozione operativa di realismo: espressione critica e impegno civile e la mostra Il realismo nella didattica del progetto: Torino Napoli Milano", uniti sotto il titolo comune di Architettura e realismo sono promossi da un gruppo di lavoro costituito da giovani ricercatori e docenti delle facoltà di Architettura di Torino, Milano e Napoli, a partire dalla avvertita esigenza di aggiornare la riflessione sulla architettura come pratica costruttiva e sulla città come luogo per eccellenza della vita dell'uomo a partire da una analisi critica di quanto si è prodotto negli ultimi decenni. Da un lato grandi architetture spettacolari che rispondono alle logiche del mercato e della comunicazione e, dall'altro - in una sorta di inspiegabile paradosso - la de- regolazione della città diffusa priva di struttura, elementi riconoscibili e spazio pubblico. In entrambi i casi, pur nella loro diversità, si è prodotto un pericoloso distacco della architettura dal suo obiettivo ultimo: conformare lo spazio fisico dei manufatti e della città, del territorio e del paesaggio, per determinare in maniera consistente lo scenario della vita dell'uomo, nella sua dimensione, innanzitutto, collettiv