Using a GIS technology to plan an agroforestry sustainable system in Sardinia

This study was conducted with the aim to quantify the spread of livestock agroforestry in a Mediterranean ecosystem (island of Sardinia, Italy) and evaluate its sustainability in terms of grazing impact. By using GIS software ArcMap 10.2.2, the map of Sardinia vegetal landscape, obtained by information of Sardinia nature map based on the classification of habitat according to CORINE-Biotopes system, have been overplayed with the map of livestock grazing impact map CAIA developed by INTREGA (spin-off ENEA), to obtain for Meriagos (local agro-silvo-pastoral systems; classified “Dehesa 84.6” according to CORINE-Biotopes system), bushlands and woodlands, the surfaces under grazing and evaluate the extension of overgrazing for each of them

Design of bendable high-frequency circuits based on short-channel InGaZnO TFTs

A unique requirement of flexible electronic systems is the need to simultaneously optimize their electrical and mechanical performance. Amorphous InGaZnO thin-film transistors (TFTs) fabricated on free-standing large-area plastic substrates address this issue by providing a carrier mobility >10 cm 2 /Vs, and bendability down to radii as small as 25 μm. At the same time, limitations such as a constrained minimum lateral feature size, the lack of appropriate p-type materials, or the influence of strain have to be considered when designing circuits. Here, models describing the scaling and bending behavior of flexible InGaZnO TFTs, together with the design of strain insensitive circuits operating at megahertz frequencies are presented

Flexible InGaZnO TFTs with fmax above 300 MHz

n this letter, the AC performance and influence of bending on flexible IGZO thin-film transistors, exhibiting a maximum oscillation frequency (maximum power gain frequency) fmax beyond 300 MHz, are presented. Self-alignment was used to realize TFTs with channel length down to 0.5 μm. The layout of this TFTs was optimized for good AC performance. Besides the channel dimensions this includes ground-signal-ground contact pads. The AC performance of this short channel devices was evaluated by measuring their two port scattering parameters. These measurements were used to extract the unity gain power frequency from the maximum stable gain and the unilateral gain. The two complimentary definitions result in fmax values of (304 ± 12)MHz and (398 ± 53) MHz, respectively. Furthermore, the transistor performance is not significantly altered by mechanical strain. Here, fmax reduces by 3.6% when a TFT is bent to a tensile radius of 3.5 mm

Mari e monti: comunicare attraverso le immagini

Il lavoro presentato a questo convegno affronta l'analisi del messaggio turistico secondo due diversi approcci. Da una parte si intendono rintracciare quegli elementi espressivi che connotano un messaggio turistico, analizzando l'immagine di alcuni manifesti pubblicitari del turismo dal punto di vista semiologico. In un secondo momento si è voluto verificare come il messaggio viene organizzato a livello percettivo dal destinatario e a quali elementi significanti quest'ultimo attribuisce una priorità di decodifica in un contesto sperimentale

Reconstructing the recent West Nile virus lineage 2 epidemic in Europe and Italy using discrete and continuous phylogeography

West Nile virus lineage 2 (WNV-2) was mainly confined to sub-Saharan Africa until the early 2000s, when it was identified for the first time in Central Europe causing outbreaks of human and animal infection. The aim of this study was to reconstruct the origin and dispersion of WNV-2 in Central Europe and Italy on a phylodynamic and phylogeographical basis. To this aim, discrete and continuous space phylogeographical models were applied to a total of 33 newly characterised full-length viral genomes obtained from mosquitoes, birds and humans in Northern Italy in the years 2013-2015 aligned with 64 complete sequences isolated mainly in Europe. The European isolates segregated into two highly significant clades: a small one including three sequences and a large clade including the majority of isolates obtained in Central Europe since 2004. Discrete phylogeographical analysis showed that the most probable location of the root of the largest European clade was in Hungary a mean 12.78 years ago. The European clade bifurcated into two highly supported subclades: one including most of the Central/East European isolates and the other encompassing all of the isolates obtained in Greece. The continuous space phylogeographical analysis of the Italian clade showed that WNV-2 entered Italy in about 2008, probably by crossing the Adriatic sea and reaching a central area of the Po Valley. The epidemic then spread simultaneously eastward, to reach the region of the Po delta in 2013, and westward to the border area between Lombardy and Piedmont in 2014; later, the western strain changed direction southward, and reached the central area of the Po valley once again in 2015. Over a period of about seven years, the virus spread all over an area of northern Italy by following the Po river and its main tributaries

Benefits of Exercise with Mini Tennis in Intellectual Disabilities: Effects on Body Image and Psychopathology

The present study is aimed at evaluating the efficacy of an introductory mini tennis programme as a therapeutic aid in the psychosocial rehabilitation of participants affected by mild/moderate intellectual disability in semi-residential care

The Oral History of Vic Salerno

<p>AEA, anandamide; PEA, palmitoylethanolamide; OEA, oleoylethanolamide; 2-AG, 2-arachidonoylglycerol. Values are means ± SD, n = 10.</p><p>* P< 0.05.</p><p>Visceral adipose tissue N-Acylethanolamides (NAEs), 2-AG and fatty acid concentrations in phospholipids (PL), triacylglycerols (TAG) and non esterified fatty acids (NEFA), in rats fed Lsn-2 PA or Hsn-2 PA for 5 weeks.</p

A Multi-Center Study Investigating Long COVID-19 in Healthcare Workers from North-Eastern Italy: Prevalence, Risk Factors and the Impact of Pre-Existing Humoral Immunity—ORCHESTRA Project

Abstract: Introduction: The impact of long-COVID-19 syndrome is rather variable, since it is influenced by several residual confounders. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of long COVID-19 in healthcare workers (HCWs) from four university hospitals in north-eastern Italy: Trieste, Padua, Verona, and Modena-Reggio Emilia. Methods: During the period June 2022–August 2022, HCWs were surveyed for past COVID-19 infections, medical history, and any acute as well as post-COVID-19 symptoms. The prevalence of long COVID-19 was estimated at 30–60 days or 61+ days following first and second COVID-19 episode. Furthermore, the risk of long COVID-19 since the first negative swab test was investigated by multivariable logistic regression. Results were expressed as the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with a 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Results: 5432 HCWs returned a usable questionnaire: 2401 were infected with SARS-CoV-2 at least once, and 230 were infected at least twice, and 8 were infected at least three times. The prevalence of long COVID-19 after first COVID-19 infection was 24.0% at 30–60 days versus 16.3% at 61+ days, and 10.5% against 5.5% after the second SARS-CoV-2 event. The most frequent symptoms after a first COVID-19 event were asthenia (30.3%), followed by myalgia (13.7%), cough (12.4%), dyspnea (10.2%), concentration deficit (8.1%), headache (7.3%), and anosmia (6.5%), in decreasing order of prevalence. The risk of long COVID-19 at 30–60 days was significantly higher in HCWs hospitalized for COVID-19 (aOR = 3.34; 95%CI: 1.62; 6.89), those infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the early pandemic waves—namely the Wuhan (aOR = 2.16; 95%CI: 1.14; 4.09) or Alpha (aOR= 2.05; 95%CI: 1.25; 3.38) transmission periods—and progressively increasing with the viral shedding time (VST), especially 15+ days (aOR = 3.20; 95%CI: 2.07; 4.94). The further determinants of long COVID-19 at 30–60 days since first the COVID-19 event were female sex (aOR = 1.91; 95%CI: 1.30; 2.80), age >40 years, abnormal BMI, or administrative services (reference category). In contrast, HCWs vaccinated with two doses before their primary infection (aOR = 0.57; 95%CI: 0.34; 0.94), undergraduate students, or postgraduate medical trainees were less likely to experience long COVID-19 at 30–60 days. Apart from pandemic waves, the main determinants of long COVID-19 at 30–60 days were confirmed at 61+ days. Conclusions: The risk of long COVID-19 following first infection increased with the severity of acute disease and VST, especially during the initial pandemic waves, when more virulent viral strains were circulating, and susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 was higher since most HCWs had not been infected yet, COVID-19 vaccines were still not available, and/or vaccination coverage was still building up. The risk of long COVID-19 therefore decreased inversely with humoral immunity at the individual level. Nevertheless, the prevalence of long COVID-19 was remarkably lower after SARS-CoV-2 reinfections regardless of vaccination status, suggesting that hybrid humoral immunity did not increase protection against the syndrome compared to immunity mounted by either natural infection or vaccination separately. Since the risk of long COVID-19 is currently low with Omicron and patients who developed the syndrome following SARS-CoV-2 infection in the early pandemic waves tend to return to a state of full health with time, a cost-effective approach to screen post-COVID-19 symptoms during the Omicron time could be restricted to vulnerable individuals developing severe disease and/or with prolonged VST