SINTA - SImulations of climate chaNge in the mediTerranean Area - Final scientific report

This SINTA Project establish a scientific cooperation between the Italian Scientific Institution INGV (National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) and the Serbian Scientific Institutions such as the Republic HydroMeteorological Service (RHMSS) and the University of Belgrade (UB). INGV contributes the global models, University of Belgrade and RHMSS contribute their expertise on regional models, parameterization ofphysical processes and numerical schemes. In particular, the main objectives of this Project are: 1) Perform a set of global simulations with a Global Climate Model (GCM) available at INGV; 2) Perform a set of regional simulations with the UB Regional Climate Model (RCM) forced by boundary conditions from the GCM simulations; 3) Test the convection parameterization developed at UB in the INGV global model; 4) Training and visit exchanges of Serbian scientists in Italy

Effect of Phosphorus and Strontium Additions on Formation Temperature and Nucleation Density of Primary Silicon in Al-19 Wt Pct Si Alloy and Their Effect on Eutectic Temperature

The influence of P and Sr additions on the formation temperature and nucleation density of primary silicon in Al-19 wt pct Si alloy has been determined, for small volumes of melt solidified at cooling rates _T of ~0.3 and 1 K/s. The proportion of ingot featuring primary silicon decreased progressively with increased Sr addition, which also markedly reduced the temperature for first formation of primary silicon and the number of primary silicon particles per unit volume �Nv: When combined with previously published results, the effects of amount of P addition and cooling rate on �Nv are in reasonable accord with �Nv� _T ¼ ðp=6fÞ1=2 109 [250 � 215 (wt pct P)0.17]�3, where �Nv is in mm�3, _T is in K/s, and f is volume fraction of primary silicon. Increased P addition reduces the eutectic temperature, while increased Sr appears to generate a minimum in eutectic temperature at about 100 ppmw Sr

Deciduous Trees and the Application of Universal DNA Barcodes: A Case Study on the Circumpolar Fraxinus

The utility of DNA barcoding for identifying representative specimens of the circumpolar tree genus Fraxinus (56 species) was investigated. We examined the genetic variability of several loci suggested in chloroplast DNA barcode protocols such as matK, rpoB, rpoC1 and trnH-psbA in a large worldwide sample of Fraxinus species. The chloroplast intergenic spacer rpl32-trnL was further assessed in search for a potentially variable and useful locus. The results of the study suggest that the proposed cpDNA loci, alone or in combination, cannot fully discriminate among species because of the generally low rates of substitution in the chloroplast genome of Fraxinus. The intergenic spacer trnH-psbA was the best performing locus, but genetic distance-based discrimination was moderately successful and only resulted in the separation of the samples at the subgenus level. Use of the BLAST approach was better than the neighbor-joining tree reconstruction method with pairwise Kimura's two-parameter rates of substitution, but allowed for the correct identification of only less than half of the species sampled. Such rates are substantially lower than the success rate required for a standardised barcoding approach. Consequently, the current cpDNA barcodes are inadequate to fully discriminate Fraxinus species. Given that a low rate of substitution is common among the plastid genomes of trees, the use of the plant cpDNA “universal” barcode may not be suitable for the safe identification of tree species below a generic or sectional level. Supplementary barcoding loci of the nuclear genome and alternative solutions are proposed and discussed

Strength-ductility behaviour of Al-Si-Cu-Mg casting alloys in T6 temper

A comparative study of the mechanical properties of 20 experimental alloys has been carried out. The effect of different contents of Si, Cu, Mg, Fe and Mn, as well as solidification rate, has been assessed using a strength-ductility chart and a quality index-strength chart developed for the alloys. The charts show that the strength generally increases and the ductility decreases with an increasing content of Cu and Mg. Increased Fe (at Fe/Mn ratio 0.5) dramatically lowers the ductility and strength of low Si alloys. Increased Si content generally increases the strength and the ductility. The increase in ductility with increased Si is particularly significant when the Fe content is high. The charts are used to show that the cracking of second phase particles imposes a limit to the maximum achievable strength by limiting the ductility of strong alloys. The (Cu + Mg) content (at.%), which determines the precipitation strengthening and the volume fraction of Cu-rich and Mg-rich intermetallics, can be used to select the alloys for given strength and ductility, provided the Fe content stays below the Si-dependent critical level for the formation of pre-eutectic alpha-phase particles or beta-phase plates

The worldwide C3S CORDEX grand ensemble: A major contribution to assess regional climate change in the IPCC AR6 Atlas

peer reviewedAbstract The collaboration between the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) and the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) provides open access to an unprecedented ensemble of Regional Climate Model (RCM) simulations, across the 14 CORDEX continental-scale domains, with global coverage. These simulations have been used as a new line of evidence to assess regional climate projections in the latest contribution of the Working Group I (WGI) to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), particularly in the regional chapters and the Atlas. Here, we present the work done in the framework of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) to assemble a consistent worldwide CORDEX grand ensemble, aligned with the deadlines and activities of IPCC AR6. This work addressed the uneven and heterogeneous availability of CORDEX ESGF data by supporting publication in CORDEX domains with few archived simulations and performing quality control. It also addressed the lack of comprehensive documentation by compiling information from all contributing regional models, allowing for an informed use of data. In addition to presenting the worldwide CORDEX dataset, we assess here its consistency for precipitation and temperature by comparing climate change signals in regions with overlapping CORDEX domains, obtaining overall coincident regional climate change signals. The C3S CORDEX dataset has been used for the assessment of regional climate change in the IPCC AR6 (and for the interactive Atlas) and is available through the Copernicus Climate Data Store (CDS)

Cardiopoietic cell therapy for advanced ischemic heart failure: results at 39 weeks of the prospective, randomized, double blind, sham-controlled CHART-1 clinical trial

Cardiopoietic cells, produced through cardiogenic conditioning of patients' mesenchymal stem cells, have shown preliminary efficacy. The Congestive Heart Failure Cardiopoietic Regenerative Therapy (CHART-1) trial aimed to validate cardiopoiesis-based biotherapy in a larger heart failure cohort