Superconductivity in the doped bilayer Hubbard model

We study by the Gutzwiller approximation the melting of the valence bond crystal phase of a bilayer Hubbard model at sufficiently large inter-layer hopping. We find that a superconducting domain, with order parameter $d_{z^2-r^2}$, $z$ being the inter-layer direction and $r$ the intra-layer one, is stabilized variationally close to the half-filled non-magnetic Mott insulator. Superconductivity exists at half-filling just at the border of the Mott transition and extends away from half-filling into a whole region till a critical doping, beyond which it gives way to a normal metal phase. This result suggests that superconductivity should be unavoidably met by liquefying a valence bond crystal, at least when each layer is an infinite coordination lattice and the Gutzwiller approximation becomes exact. Remarkably, this same behavior is well established in the other extreme of two-leg Hubbard ladders, showing it might be of quite general validity.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

STATIC AND DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR ASSESSMENT OF THE TRAJAN ARCH BY MEANS OF NEW MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES

An effective assessment of the static and dynamic structural behavior of historical monuments requires the development and validation of suitable adaptive structural models using high-quality experimental data acquired with an effectively continuous and distributed monitoring. Furthermore, the adaptive strategy allows an efficient evaluation of the health status and of the evolution along the time of a historical monument, providing relevant information to plan appropriate actions for its long-term preservation. The Trajan Arch in Benevento chosen as a case of study to develop and apply this new adaptive strategy in cultural heritage conservation. The paper, after a description of the innovative monitoring system, based on state-of-the-art mechanical sensors, presents and discusses the results of two tests, comparing the measurements with the predictions of an adaptive structural FEM model developed for the dynamical simulation of the Trajan Arch

Phenotypic and molecular selection of a superior Solanum pennellii introgression sub-line suitable for improving quality traits of cultivated tomatoes

The Solanum pennellii Introgression Line (IL) population can be exploited to identify favorable alleles that can improve yield and fruit quality traits in commercial tomato varieties. Over the past few years, we have selected ILs that exhibit increased content of antioxidant compounds in the fruit compared to the cultivar M82, which represents the genetic background in which the different wild regions of the S. pennellii ILs were included. Recently, we have identified seven sub-lines of the IL7-3 accumulating different amounts of antioxidants in the ripe fruit. Since the wild region carried on chromosome 7 induces a low fruit production in IL7-3, the first aim of the present work was to evaluate yield performances of the selected sub-lines in three experimental fields located in the South of Italy. Another aim was to confirm in the same lines the high levels of antioxidants and evaluate other fruit quality traits. On red ripe fruit, the levels of soluble solids content, firmness, and ascorbic acid (AsA) were highly variable among the sub-lines grown in three environmental conditions, evidencing a significant genotype by environment interaction for soluble solids and AsA content. Only one sub-line (coded R182) exhibited a significantly higher firmness, even though no differences were observed for this trait between the parental lines M82 and IL7-3. The same sub-line showed significantly higher AsA content compared to M82, thus resembling IL7-3. Even though IL7-3 always exhibited a significantly lower yield, all the sub-lines showed yield variability over the three trials. Interestingly, the sub-line R182, selected for its better performances in terms of fruit quality, in all the trials showed a production comparable to that of the control line M82. A group of species-specific molecular markers was tested on R182 and on the parental genotypes in order to better define the wild genomic regions carried by the elite line R182. In these regions three candidate genes that could increase the level of AsA in the fruit were identified. In the future, the line R182 could be used as pre-breeding material in order to obtain new varieties improved for nutritional traits.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exploiting Genetic and Genomic Resources to Enhance Heat-Tolerance in Tomatoes

High temperature is one of the most detrimental abiotic stresses in tomatoes. Many studies highlighted that even small increases in temperature can alter the plant reproductive system, causing a significant reduction in tomato yield. The aim of this study was to exploit the phenotypic and genomic variations of a tomato landrace collection grown at high temperatures. Fifteen genotypes were selected as the best performing in two experimental fields. The selection was based on six yield-related traits, including flower earliness, number of flowers per inflorescence, fruit set, number of fruit per plant, fruit weight and yield per plant. In order to identify markers targeting traits that could be highly influenced by adverse climate conditions, such as flowering and fruit setting, an association mapping approach was undertaken exploiting a tomato high-throughput genomic array. The phenotypic variability observed allowed us to identify a total of 15 common markers associated with the studied traits. In particular, the most relevant associations co-localized with genes involved in the floral structure development, such as the style2.1 gene, or with genes directly involved in the response to abiotic stresses. These promising candidate genes will be functionally validated and transferred to a cultivated tomato to improve its performance under high temperatures

Wooden music instrument vibro-acoustic fingerprint: the case of a contemporary violin

Violins are complex wooden musical instruments, whose quality is mainly evaluated on the basis of their aesthetics, as well as depending on the historical relevance of their makers. However their acoustic quality remains a key evaluation parameter for performers and listeners. The instrument perceived quality, in turn, depends, on one side, on the player, the environmental conditions and on the listeners’ psychoacoustic factors. On the other side, the quality of a violin depends on its materials, constructive and setup parameters, that impact on the vibro-acoustical characteristics of the instrument. This work investigates a procedure for the vibro-acoustic characterization of a violin, here called vibro-acoustic fingerprint, as an example of vibro-acoustical characterization of a wooden music instrument. The procedure was applied, as a case study, to an Italian contemporary violin, built in the year 2011 by the violin-maker Enzo Cena on a Guarneri del Gesù model

The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) among Italian children: A cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVE: To examine prevalence and modalities of CAM use in children living in Novara, a northern Italian city, and to estimate the prescription rate from paediatricians. METHOD: We administered a phone questionnaire to the parents of a sample of 147 children, asking questions about CAM use, children's health profile, parental socio-economic status, use modalities, effectiveness perceptions, and motivations. A parallel survey was conducted by e-mail by investigating family paediatricians attitudes about CAM. RESULTS: Among 147 children whose families responded to our survey 48.3% was treated with CAM at least once in life and 38,1% during the previous year. Children treated with CAM were on average younger than those who were not. The types of CAM used were herbal medicine and homeopathy. Parents who choose CAM for their children were more skeptical about vaccinations. CAM were most frequently used to treat pathologies of ear, nose and throat. 85.9% of parents was willing to use CAM in future, 78.9% would pass to conventional medicine if CAM failed. Among paediatricians 81.5% prescribed CAM at least once, but only 13.6% received specific CAM training. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of children using CAM in Novara is high, in line with investigations conducted in Northern European countries. The distribution of pathologies treated with CAM, parental socio-economic status and general scepticism towards vaccination are consistent with the literature. Physicians should keep themselves up-to-date also about evidence-based CAM therapies and, most importantly, should have an open dialogue about CAM with their patients

Exploring depression in Alzheimer's disease: an Italian Delphi Consensus on phenomenology, diagnosis, and management

Background: In Alzheimer's disease (AD), the progressive cognitive impairment is often combined with a variety of neuropsychiatric symptoms, firstly depression. Nevertheless, its diagnosis and management is difficult, since specific diagnostic criteria and guidelines for treatment are still lacking. The aim of this Delphi study is to reach a shared point of view among different Italian specialists on depression in AD. Methods: An online Delphi survey with 30 questions regarding epidemiology, diagnosis, clinical features, and treatment of depression in AD was administered anonymously to a panel of 53 expert clinicians. Results: Consensus was achieved in most cases (86%). In the 80% of statements, a positive consensus was reached, while in 6% a negative consensus was achieved. No consensus was obtained in 14%. Among the most relevant findings, the link between depression and AD is believed to be strong and concerns etiopathogenesis and phenomenology. Further, depression in AD seems to have specific features compared to major depressive disorder (MDD). Regarding diagnosis, the DSM 5 diagnostic criteria for MDD seems to be not able to detect the specific aspects of depression in AD. Concerning treatment, antidepressant drugs are generally considered the main option for depression in dementia, according to previous guidelines. In order to limit side effects, multimodal and SSRI antidepressant are preferred by clinicians. In particular, the procognitive effect of vortioxetine seems to be appealing for the treatment of depression in AD. Conclusions: This study highlights some crucial aspects of depression in AD, but more investigations and specific recommendations are needed

Exploring depression in Parkinson's disease: an Italian Delphi Consensus on phenomenology, diagnosis, and management

Background: Depression is a prodromic and a frequent non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease, associated to reduced quality of life and poor outcomes. The diagnosis of depression in parkinsonian patients represents a challenge due to the overlapping of symptoms typical of the two conditions. Methods: A Delphi panel survey was performed to reach a consensus amongst different Italian specialists on four main topics: the neuropathological correlates of depression, main clinical aspects, diagnosis, and management of depression in Parkinson's disease. Results and conclusion: Experts have recognized that depression is an established risk factor of PD and that its anatomic substrate is related to the neuropathological abnormalities typical of the disease. Multimodal and SSRI antidepressant have been confirmed as a valid therapeutic option in the treatment of depression in PD. Tolerability, safety profile, and potential efficacy on broad spectrum of symptoms of depression including cognitive symptoms and anhedonia should be considered when selecting an antidepressant and the choice should be tailored on the patients' characteristics

Observational study of sleep-related disorders in Italian patients with Parkinson's disease: usefulness of the Italian version of Parkinson's disease sleep scale.

Sleep disturbances are common in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). We aimed to evaluate prevalence and severity of nighttime sleep disturbances in Italian PD patients and to validate the Italian version of the Parkinson's disease sleep scale. A total of 221 PD patients and 57 healthy controls participated in a cross-sectional study with retest. PDSS, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), and Hoehn and Yahr staging were applied. PDSS total and individual items scores from patients were significantly lower than those in controls. Internal consistency of PDSS scale was satisfactory and intraclass correlation coefficient for test-retest reliability was 0.96 for total PDSS score. A significant negative correlation was found between total PDSS and ESS scores, and between total PDSS and HDRS scores. PDSS scores were also related to UPDRS sections II, III and IV, and H&Y stage. PDSS and ESS scores were not related to levodopa equivalent dose. Daytime sleepiness, depressive symptoms and disease severity correlate with sleep disturbances in Italian PD patients. The PDSS is a valid and reliable tool to evaluate sleep disturbances in Italian patients. © 2011 Springer-Verlag

The "Gender factor" in wearing-off among patients with Parkinson’s disease: a post hoc analysis of DEEP study

Background. The early detection of wearing-off in Parkinson disease (DEEP) observational study demonstrated that women with Parkinson’s disease (PD) carry an increased risk (80.1%) for wearing-off (WO). This post hoc analysis of DEEP study evaluates gender differences onWO and associated phenomena. Methods. Patients on dopaminergic treatment for ≥1 year were included in this multicenter observational cross-sectional study. In a single visit, WO was diagnosed based on neurologist assessment as well as the use of the 19-item wearing-off questionnaire (WOQ-19);WO was defined for scores ≥2. Post hoc analyses were conducted to investigate gender difference for demographic and clinical features with respect toWO. Results. Of 617 patients enrolled, 236 were women and 381 were men. Prevalence of WO was higher among women, according to both neurologists’ judgment (61.9% versus 53.8%, P = 0.045) and theWOQ-19 analysis (72.5% versus 64.0%, P = 0.034). In patients withWO (WOQ-19), women experienced ≥1 motor symptom in 72.5% versus 64.0% in men and ≥1 nonmotor symptom in 44.5% versus 36.7%, in men. Conclusions. Our results suggestWO as more common among women, for both motor and nonmotor symptoms. Prospective studies are warranted to investigate this potential gender-effect