1D atmosphere models from inversion of Fe I 630 nm observations with an application to solar irradiance studies

Present-day semi-empirical models of solar irradiance (SI) variations employ spectra computed on one-dimensional atmosphere models (1D models) representative of various solar surface features to reconstruct SI changes measured on timescales greater than a day. Various recent studies have, however, pointed out that the spectra synthesized on 1D models do not reflect the radiative emission of the inhomogenous atmosphere revealed by high-resolution solar observations. We aimed to derive observational-based atmospheres from such observations and test their accuracy for SI estimates. We analysed spectro-polarimetric data of the Fe I 630 nm line pair on photospheric regions representative of the granular, quiet Sun pattern (QS) and of small- and large-scale magnetic features, both bright and dark with respect to the QS. The data were taken on 2011 August 6, with the CRISP at the Swedish Solar Telescope, under excellent seeing conditions. We derived atmosphere models of the observed regions from data inversion with the SIR code. We studied the sensitivity of results to spatial resolution and temporal evolution, and discussed the obtained atmospheres with respect to several 1D models. The atmospheres derived from our study agree well with most of the compared 1D models, both qualitatively and quantitatively (differences are within 10%), but for pore regions. Spectral synthesis computations on the atmosphere obtained from the QS observations return SI between 400 nm and 2400 nm that agrees, on average, within 2.2% with standard reference measurements, and within -0.14% with the SI computed on the quiet Sun atmosphere employed by the most advanced semi-empirical model of SI variations.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

In vitro and in vivo investigations of osteogenic differentiation ability of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and gingival mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs) by use of nanostructured scaffolds

Thanks to the use of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), smart biomaterials and active biomolecules, Regenerative Medicine (RM) and Bone Tissue Engineering (BTE) can restore structure and function of injured tissues. Among the different sources of hMSCs, the oro-facial hMSCs have promising in vitro and in vivo regeneration potential; in particular, dental pulp and gingiva are valuable sources of autologous hMSCs. The aim of this PhD thesis is testing the in vitro and in vivo bone regeneration ability of hMSCs isolated from dental pulp and inflamed gingiva of periodontally-compromised teeth, up to now considered biological waste tissues and discarded during surgical procedures, on two commercial scaffolds, FISIOGRAFT Bone Granular® and Matriderm®, in order to develop a low-cost and painless strategy of autologous bone tissue regeneration in patients affected by bone resorption. This project is in line with the National Operational Program (PON) “Research and Innovation” (R&I) 2014-2020 and the National Strategy of Intelligent Specialization (SNSI), aiming to promote the research and the innovation of the country, with a particular interest on the Health Specialization Area

Anche gli immigrati muoiono. Una prima analisi geografica dei luoghi di sepoltura attraverso il caso del cimitero Flaminio di Roma

Despite the phenomenon of immigration is now a thriving field of study within the geographic sciences, the theme of the death of the migrant and the fate of his body after his death has almost unexplored. The aim of this contribution, through the analysis of the case of the Flaminio cemetery of Rome, is to highlight the links between immigration, religious faith and space starting from the assumption that the social practices implemented by different ethnic and religious groups created different territorial forms. From the emergency burial of migrants who died at sea to the planning of burial spaces for resident citizens of foreign origin and of non-Catholic faith, the public administrations are gradually involved in new spatial processes that need attention and study in order to elaborate solutions of civil coexistence also post mortem for a plural city

Anche gli immigrati muoiono. Una prima analisi geografica dei luoghi di sepoltura attraverso il caso del cimitero Flaminio di Roma

Despite the phenomenon of immigration is now a thriving field of study within the geographic sciences, the theme of the death of the migrant and the fate of his body after his death has almost unexplored. The aim of this contribution, through the analysis of the case of the Flaminio cemetery of Rome, is to highlight the links between immigration, religious faith and space starting from the assumption that the social practices implemented by different ethnic and religious groups created different territorial forms. From the emergency burial of migrants who died at sea to the planning of burial spaces for resident citizens of foreign origin and of non-Catholic faith, the public administrations are gradually involved in new spatial processes that need attention and study in order to elaborate solutions of civil coexistence also post mortem for a plural city

Multiethnic Rome: toward residential segregation?

This research examines the presence of foreign national residents in Rome, through an examination of their distribution and localisation in different administrative districts. Since there is a close relationship between localisation and access to services, job opportunities, linguistic integration, and education, the residential patterns of migrant communities need to be explored in order to foster the process of ethnic integration. The 1998 census is used to analyze the presence of foreign nationals both in the districts and in the different urban zones of the Capital. For this reason it is possible to apply the index of segregation to 7 foreign national groups and then produce maps which detail where these groups are concentrated. The study also discusses public policy issues in order to improve the process of integration of different ethnic groups in Rome

Iterative design of dynamic experiments in modeling for optimization of innovative bioprocesses

Finding optimal operating conditions fast with a scarce budget of experimental runs is a key problem to speed up the development and scaling up of innovative bioprocesses. In this paper, a novel iterative methodology for the model-based design of dynamic experiments in modeling for optimization is developed and successfully applied to the optimization of a fed-batch bioreactor related to the production of r-interleukin-11 (rIL-11) whose DNA sequence has been cloned in an Escherichia coli strain. At each iteration, the proposed methodology resorts to a library of tendency models to increasingly bias bioreactor operating conditions towards an optimum. By selecting the ‘most informative’ tendency model in the sequel, the next dynamic experiment is defined by re-optimizing the input policy and calculating optimal sampling times. Model selection is based on minimizing an error measure which distinguishes between parametric and structural uncertainty to selectively bias data gathering towards improved operating conditions. The parametric uncertainty of tendency models is iteratively reduced using Global Sensitivity Analysis (GSA) to pinpoint which parameters are keys for estimating the objective function. Results obtained after just a few iterations are very promising.Fil: Cristaldi, Mariano Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo y Diseño. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo y Diseño; ArgentinaFil: Grau, Ricardo José Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; ArgentinaFil: Martínez, Ernesto Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo y Diseño. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo y Diseño; Argentin

Il flusso inverso. Un primo inquadramento geografico degli italiani di ritorno

The Reverse Flow: A First Geographical Overview of Returning Italians. By historical tradition, the emigration of compatriots is a structural phenomenon. However, as the number of expatriates increases over the last fifteen years, an objectively new fact becomes increasingly evident: a progressive growth of repatriations. Starting from an examination of the geographical literature on the subject, this contribution presents an initial geographical reflection on the areas of origin and the places of new residence of Italians who have returned in recent years, disaggregating the available statistical data (registry entries from abroad of Italian citizens made available by ISTAT and AIRE data provided by the Ministry of the Interior) at a provincial level

THE ROLE OF PROBABILISTIC INFORMATION ON AFFECTIVE PREDICTIONS: NEURAL AND SUBJECTIVE CORRELATES AS MODULATED BY INTOLERANCE OF UNCERTAINTY

Emotions have been recently reconsidered as interoceptive predictive models, “constructed” by the brain on the basis of contextual information and prior experience, with the aim to predict relevant stimuli or events, and to provide the organism with optimal resources for survival. Nevertheless, the specific mechanisms underlying the construction of affective predictions both at the neural and subjective experience level remain unclear. More specifically, both the role played by contextual information and prior experience on the one hand, and the potential interactions with dispositional characteristics such as Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU), which is considered a trans-diagnostic risk factor for affective disorders, on the other hand, have yet to be unraveled. The present thesis aimed to answer these open questions. As a first aim, we investigated how contextual information of different predictive value modulates the neural correlates of affective predictions construction. Second, we explored how prior probabilistic experience affects the construction of affective predictions at the subjective experience level. Third and last, we studied how individual differences in IU impact on the construction of affective predictions as a function of contextual information and prior experience. Taken together, this thesis contributes to untangling the dynamics of affective prediction construction at the neural and subjective experience level. Contextual information and prior experience were found to differently influence (depending on their predictive value), and to interact with IU, in shaping the neural correlates and the subjective experience of emotion along the construction of affective predictions. Thus, this work offers both a theoretical contribution to predictive models of emotion, by better clarifying the mechanisms subtending prediction construction at the neural and subjective experience levels, and potential clinical implications for the prevention and treatment of anxiety disorders, given the trans-diagnostic nature of IU as a risk factor for the development of affective psychopathology.Emotions have been recently reconsidered as interoceptive predictive models, “constructed” by the brain on the basis of contextual information and prior experience, with the aim to predict relevant stimuli or events, and to provide the organism with optimal resources for survival. Nevertheless, the specific mechanisms underlying the construction of affective predictions both at the neural and subjective experience level remain unclear. More specifically, both the role played by contextual information and prior experience on the one hand, and the potential interactions with dispositional characteristics such as Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU), which is considered a trans-diagnostic risk factor for affective disorders, on the other hand, have yet to be unraveled. The present thesis aimed to answer these open questions. As a first aim, we investigated how contextual information of different predictive value modulates the neural correlates of affective predictions construction. Second, we explored how prior probabilistic experience affects the construction of affective predictions at the subjective experience level. Third and last, we studied how individual differences in IU impact on the construction of affective predictions as a function of contextual information and prior experience. Taken together, this thesis contributes to untangling the dynamics of affective prediction construction at the neural and subjective experience level. Contextual information and prior experience were found to differently influence (depending on their predictive value), and to interact with IU, in shaping the neural correlates and the subjective experience of emotion along the construction of affective predictions. Thus, this work offers both a theoretical contribution to predictive models of emotion, by better clarifying the mechanisms subtending prediction construction at the neural and subjective experience levels, and potential clinical implications for the prevention and treatment of anxiety disorders, given the trans-diagnostic nature of IU as a risk factor for the development of affective psychopathology

Salivary Biomarkers for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Diagnosis and Follow-Up: Current Status and Perspectives

Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer type in the world, and 90% of it is represented by oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Despite progress in preventive and therapeutic strategies, delay in OSCC diagnosis remains one of the major causes of high morbidity and mortality; indeed the majority of OSCC has been lately identified in the advanced clinical stage (i.e., III or IV). Moreover, after primary treatment, recurrences and/or metastases are found in more than half of the patients (80% of cases within the first 2 years) and the 5-year survival rate is still lower than 50%, resulting in a serious issue for public health. Currently, histological investigation represents the “gold standard” of OSCC diagnosis; however, recent studies have evaluated the potential use of non-invasive methods, such as “liquid biopsy,” for the detection of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in body fluids of oral cancer patients. Saliva is a biofluid containing factors such as cytokines, DNA and RNA molecules, circulating and tissue- derived cells, and extracellular vesicles (EVs) that may be used as biomarkers; their analysis may give us useful information to do early diagnosis of OSCC and improve the prognosis. Therefore, the aim of this review is reporting the most recent data on saliva biomarker detection in saliva liquid biopsy from oral cancer patients, with particular attention to circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), EVs, and microRNAs (miRNAs). Our results highlight that saliva liquid biopsy has several promising clinical uses in OSCC management; it is painless, accessible, and low cost and represents a very helpful source of diagnostic and prognostic biomarker detection. Even if standardized protocols for isolation, characterization, and evaluation are needed, recent data suggest that saliva may be successfully included in future clinical diagnostic processes, with a considerable impact on early treatment strategies and a favorable outcome

Plasma flows and magnetic field interplay during the formation of a pore

We studied the formation of a pore in AR NOAA 11462. We analysed data obtained with the IBIS at the DST on April 17, 2012, consisting of full Stokes measurements of the Fe I 617.3 nm lines. Furthermore, we analysed SDO/HMI observations in the continuum and vector magnetograms derived from the Fe I 617.3 nm line data taken from April 15 to 19, 2012. We estimated the magnetic field strength and vector components and the LOS and horizontal motions in the photospheric region hosting the pore formation. We discuss our results in light of other observational studies and recent advances of numerical simulations. The pore formation occurs in less than 1 hour in the leading region of the AR. The evolution of the flux patch in the leading part of the AR is faster (< 12 hour) than the evolution (20-30 hour) of the more diffuse and smaller scale flux patches in the trailing region. During the pore formation, the ratio between magnetic and dark area decreases from 5 to 2. We observe strong downflows at the forming pore boundary and diverging proper motions of plasma in the vicinity of the evolving feature that are directed towards the forming pore. The average values and trends of the various quantities estimated in the AR are in agreement with results of former observational studies of steady pores and with their modelled counterparts, as seen in recent numerical simulations of a rising-tube process. The agreement with the outcomes of the numerical studies holds for both the signatures of the flux emergence process (e.g. appearance of small-scale mixed polarity patterns and elongated granules) and the evolution of the region. The processes driving the formation of the pore are identified with the emergence of a magnetic flux concentration and the subsequent reorganization of the emerged flux, by the combined effect of velocity and magnetic field, in and around the evolving structure.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic