Homological analysis of multi-qubit entanglement

We propose the usage of persistent homologies to characterize multipartite entanglement. On a multi-qubit data set we introduce metric-like measures defined only in terms of bipartite entanglement and then we derive barcodes. We show that they are able to provide a good classification of entangled states, at least for a small number of qubit

NGF modulates trkANGFR/p75NTR in αsMA-expressing conjunctival fibroblasts from human ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP)

OBJECTIVE: In a previous study, we reported the upregulation of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) and trkANGFR expression in Ocular Cicatricial Pemphigoid (OCP), an inflammatory and remodeling eye disease. Herein, we hypothesize a potential NGF-driven mechanism on fibroblasts (FBs) during OCP remodeling events. To verify, human derived OCP-FBs were isolated and characterized either at baseline or after NGF exposure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Conjunctival biopsies were obtained from 7 patients having OCP and 6 control subjects (cataract surgery). Both conjunctivas and primary FB cultures were characterised for αSMA, NGF and trkANGFR/p75NTR expression. Subcultures were exposed to NGF and evaluated for αSMA, NGF, trkANGFR/p75NTR expression as well as TGFβ1/IL4 release. For analysis, early and advanced subgroups were defined according to clinical parameters. RESULTS: OCP-conjunctivas showed αSMA-expressing FBs and high NGF levels. Advanced OCP-FBs showed higher αSMA expression associated with higher p75NTR and lower trkANGFR expression, as compared to early counterparts. αSMA expression was in keeping with disease severity and correlated to p75NTR. NGF exposure did not affect trkANGFR levels in early OCP-FBs while decreased both αSMA/p75NTR expression and TGFβ1/IL4 release. These effects were not observed in advanced OCP-FBs. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these data are suggestive for a NGF/p75NTR task in the potential modulation of OCP fibrosis and encourages further studies to fully understand the underlying mechanism occurring in fibrosis. NGF/p75NTR might be viewed as a potential therapeutic target

Soil fertility comparison among organic and conventional managed citrus orchards in Sicily.

In recents years, organic farming is expanding in Southern Italy and in the Mediterranean area, due to interest of consumers and EU agricultural policies. Evaluation of organic farming system introduction on soil quality and fertility status should be taken into account in order to define medium-long term environmental and agricultural strategies, on both locol and national scale. Soil physical, chemical and biological parameters represent effective tools to evaluate soil quality and changes in soil fertility status, as a consequence of different agronomic management (i.e. organic vs coventional). The aim of this work was to compare soil fertility of conventional and organic managed citrus Orchards, using specific soil system descriptors. The research was carried out in a Mediterranean environment (Sicil Region, Southern Italy), on Navelina and Tarocco orchards. Soil characteristics were analysed in 54 farms under both organic and conventional management. Farms were selected to obtain similar pairs (27) in the same environmental conditions. Moreover, orchards pairs were homogeneous for age, cultivar and rootsock to reduce effects not linked to soil management. For each soil, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, mineral NO3-N and NH4-N were determined. In addition, in order to evaluate biological fertility of the considered soils, carbon mineralisation and nitrogen mineralisation in anaerobic conditions were studied. Soils' humic fraction was at least characterised qualitatively by isoelectric focusing technique,to obtain information on soil organic matter stability. Potenzially mineralisable carbon and cumulative mineralised carbon determined on 21 days experimental trials differed significantly in organic and conventional soils. Since this significance was detected also for cumulative mineralised carbon after 7 days, probably C-mineralisation represents the more reliable and prompter indicator to discriminate soil biological fertility with respect to the other tested ones. Moreover, it should be remarked that some parameters (as total nitrogen content, mineralised carbon after 1 days and the more humified organic matter fraction), even if not yet significantly different, revealed a strong tendency to increase in organic managed soils, attesting that the organic citrus orchards can be considered systems able to conserve energy and store nutrients more than the conventional ones

Quaternary deformation in SE Sicily: Insights into the life and cycles of forebulge fault systems

Integrated geological, geomorphological, and differential interferometry synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) data are used to constrain the timing and modes of activity of Quaternary fault systems in the Hyblean Plateau. This area, which represents a unique natural laboratory for studying surface deformation in relation to deep slab dynamics, has grown since middle Miocene times as a doubly plunging forebulge associated with slab rollback during NW-directed subduction. Bimodal extension has produced two mutually orthogonal normal fault systems. The detailed stratigraphic record provided by synrift sediments and postrift marine terraces allowed us to define the timing of activity of an early Pleistocene, flexure-related fault system, thus constraining the duration of a typical foreland extensional tectonic event to ~1.5 m.y. Subsequent late Quaternary to present deformation was dominated by strike-slip faulting associated with NW-oriented horizontal compression. During this latest stage, regional uplift progressively increased toward the thrust front to the NW and was accompanied by differential uplift accommodated by dip-slip components of motion along active NNW-trending faults. The general active tectonic setting of the study area, characterized by NW-oriented horizontal compression consistent with major plate convergence, and the regional uplift pattern can both be explained within the framework of intraplate shortening and foreland rebound following complete slab detachment, a major geodynamic event interpreted to have taken place at ca. 0.7 Ma in southern Italy

an experimental protocol to support cognitive impairment diagnosis by using handwriting analysis

Abstract Nowadays diseases involving cognitive impairments affect millions of people worldwide, with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases being the most common ones. Because of the worldwide average lifespan increment, it is expected that their incidence will increase in the next few decades. Among the daily activities, handwriting is one of the first affected by cognitive impairments. For this reasons, researchers have also been investigating the analysis of handwriting alterations as diagnostic signs for this kind of diseases. In this paper we present an experimental protocol that we developed for the analysis of the handwriting dynamics of patients affected by cognitive impairments. The aim of this protocol is to build a large database that would allow to effectively train different classifier systems. We also detail the most common and effective features previously used in the literature to represent handwriting dynamics of the subjects affected by cognitive impairments

Virtual museum enriched by GIS data to share science and culture. Church of Saint Stephen in Umm Ar-Rasas (Jordan)

[EN] Umm ar-Rasas is a Jordan archaeological site, located 30 km southeast of the city of Madaba, in the northern part of Wadi Mujib. It preserves findings dating back the period from the end of 3rd to the 9th century AD and, since 2004, it belongs to the world heritage list of UNESCO. In 2015 a multidisciplinary work was undertaken over the archaeological site, mainly focusing on the Church of Saint Stephen, with the main purpose of enhancing the knowledge and documenting the conservation state of the polychrome mosaic floor, which covers the entire surface of the hall and presbytery. A huge amount of data has been collected, coming from archaeological and historical investigations, geophysics and geodetic inspections and geomatics surveying, which produced also a true orthophoto of the mosaic floor. Data has been organized in a geo-database, facilitating the exchange of information between different actors. Moreover, the management of data within a dedicated Geographic Information System (GIS), has allowed in-depth analysis for understanding the evolution of the iconographic repertoire that, over the centuries, has undergone several disfigurements due to the iconoclastic age. The knowledge of the mosaic has also been vital for the implementation of multimedia applications and for the creation of virtual experiences, in which the information can be conveyed and visualized directly on the virtual reconstruction of the whole archaeological site. The innovation of the proposed work, is therefore in the management of a data flow that can be exploited by different actors through different platforms: experts, thanks to the use of GIS, and visitors with the use of multimedia applications (such as Augmented Reality (AR) or highresolution web visualization) for dissemination purposes, in order to preserve this priceless mankind heritage.Highlights:Definition of a complete pipeline ranging from data acquisition to visualization in multi-channel multimedia applications.Management of heterogeneous data in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and their exploitation in Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR).GIS applied to the archaeological domain for expert and non-expert users.[ES] Umm er-Rasas es un sitio arqueológico de Jordania, ubicado a 30 km al sureste de la ciudad de Madaba, en la parte norte de Wadi Mujib. Conserva hallazgos que datan del período comprendido entre finales del siglo III y IX d.C. y, desde 2004, pertenece a la lista del patrimonio mundial de la UNESCO. En 2015, se realizó un trabajo multidisciplinar en el sitio arqueológico, que se centró principalmente en la Iglesia de San Esteban, con el propósito principal de mejorar el conocimiento y la documentación del estado de conservación del suelo con el mosaico policromado que cubre toda la superficie de la sala y el presbiterio. Se ha recopilado una gran cantidad de datos provenientes de investigaciones arqueológicas e históricas, inspecciones geofísicas y geodésicas y levantamientos geomáticos, que produjeron también una ortofoto verdadera del suelo con el mosaico. Los datos se han organizado en una geodatabase, facilitando el intercambio de información entre diferentes actores. Además, la gestión de los datos en un Sistema de Información Geográfica (SIG) dedicado, ha permitido un análisis profundo que facilita la comprensión de la evolución del repertorio iconográfico que, a lo largo de los siglos, ha sufrido varias desfiguraciones debido a la era iconoclasta. El conocimiento del mosaico también ha sido vital en la implementación de aplicaciones multimedia y en la creación de experiencias virtuales, en las que la información se puede transmitir y visualizar directamente en la reconstrucción virtual de todo el sitio arqueológico. La innovación del trabajo propuesto está, por lo tanto, en la gestión del flujo de datos que puede ser explotado por diferentes actores a través de diferentes plataformas: expertos, gracias al uso del SIG, y visitantes con el uso de las aplicaciones multimedia (como son la Realidad Aumentada (AR) o la visualización web de alta resolución) para fines de divulgación, con el fin de preservar este patrimonio incalculable de la humanidad.Malinverni, ES.; Pierdiccaa, R.; Di Stefano, F.; Gabrielli, R.; Albiero, A. (2019). Museo virtual enriquecido con datos GIS para compartir ciencia y cultura. La Iglesia de San Esteban en Umm er-Rasas (Jordania). Virtual Archaeology Review. 10(21):31-39. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2019.11919SWORD31391021Anichini, F., Bini, D., Bini, M., Dubbini, N., Fabiani, F., Gattiglia, G., ... Steffè, S. (2012). MAPPAproject: Methodologies applied to archaeological potential predictivity. MapPapers, 1en-I, 23-43.Anichini, F., Fabiani, F., Gattiglia, G., & Gualandi, M. 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The Use of Ovarian Fluid as Natural Fertilization Medium for Cryopreserved Semen in Mediterranean Brown Trout: The Effects on Sperm Swimming Performance

In the context of the “Life—Nat.Sal.Mo” project, obtaining an effective semen cryopreservation protocol was an important milestone that allowed the implementation of the first European cryobank of native Mediterranean brown trout (S. cettii) inhabiting Molise rivers (Italy). The main use of our semen cryobank is represented by its practical application in artificial reproduction practices aimed at maximizing the genetic variability of the offspring and reducing the genetic introgression in the native trout populations in the project area. Thus, the choice of the most suitable activation/fertilization medium represents the last key step in the development of artificial reproduction protocols using cryopreserved semen. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of ovarian fluid as a natural activation media of spermatozoa on the post-thaw sperm swimming performance of Mediterranean trout, comparing it with D-532 and a mixed solution of 50% D-532 and 50% ovarian fluid. Our results suggest that the presence of ovarian fluid alone or in combination with D-532 in the artificial microenvironment of reproduction represents a key factor to increase the success of fertilization when the frozen semen of Mediterranean brown trout is used

The role of semen cryobanks for protecting endangered native salmonids: Advantages and perspectives as outlined by the LIFE Nat.Sal.Mo. project on Mediterranean brown trout (Molise region – Italy)

The Mediterranean brown trout is one of the most endangered freshwater results clearly showed the efficiency of the freezing procedure used, both in vitro and in vivo. In fact, we recorded satisfactory values of post-thaw sperm motility and viability that ranged from 40% to 80%, and excellent fertilization rate in vivo, which ranged from 64% to 81% species. A complicated network of climate and human influences has severely harmed its biodiversity. The introduction of alien trout is one of the most serious threats to native populations’ intraspecific diversity. In Molise region (south-Italy) an important conservation program (LIFE Nat.Sal.Mo project) has recently been proposed to preserve the genetic integrity of native Mediterranean trout. This project, alongside safeguarding and re-establishing the habitats’ usefulness aims to restore the genetic integrity of the autochthonous population. This is one of the major goals, and it is accomplished by employing frozen wild breeder semen in conjunction with proper fertilization techniques to carry out artificial reproduction to enhance genetic diversity in the progeny and maintain fitness within self-sustaining populations. In this regard, the implementation of the first European semen cryobank has played a strategic role for conserving extant genomic diversity of native population. The goal of this review is to outline the procedures developed and guidelines established for the creation of a Mediterranean trout sperm cryobank. Here, we specifically provide an overview of some of the main challenges associated with the implementation of semen cryobank, the results achieved, the prospects for restoring genetic integrity in native populations, and lastly, future views for hatchery management to preserve the wild biodiversity of native salmonid species. During the project timeframe 1,683 semen doses, from 150 native breeders were stored inside the cryobank. Our results clearly showed the efficiency of the freezing procedure used, both in vitro and in vivo. In fact, we recorded satisfactory values of post-thaw sperm motility and viability that ranged from 40% to 80%, and excellent fertilization rate in vivo, which ranged from 64% to 81%