Building Relations and Enhanced Relationality as the Backbone of Methodologies in the Digital and Public Humanities

The very act of building relations or putting things into relationship – be they technology and culture, scholars and audiences, data and materials – thus form the backbone of scholarly projects that came to define this research field. The authors chosen for this first issue interpret the topic of “Relations” at different levels, from the scholarly practice of creating internal and external references across a digital research project (Stonayova, Pizzirusso), to the necessity of connecting digital resources and audiences from different domains (Venuti et al.), to the more theoretical reflection on relations between resources and users in the web (Scanagatta, Charlesworth et al.). What emerges from all papers is the on-going effort to build platforms and resources that aim to become collaborative workspaces for sharing research results and the essential precondition of building digital communities of scholars and practitioners to achieve this goal

Exponential Decay Of Concentration Variance During Magma Mixing: Robustness Of A Volcanic Chronometer And Implications For The Homogenization Of Chemical Heterogeneities In Magmatic Systems

The mixing of magmas is a fundamental process in the Earth system causing extreme compositional variations in igneous rocks. This process can develop with different intensities both in space and time, making the interpretation of compositional patterns in igneous rocks a petrological challenge. As a time-dependent process, magma mixing has been suggested to preserve information about the time elapsed between the injection of a new magma into sub-volcanic magma chambers and eruptions. This allowed the use of magma mixing as an additional volcanological tool to infer the mixing-to-eruption timescales. In spite of the potential of magma mixing processes to provide information about the timing of volcanic eruptions its statistical robustness is not yet established. This represents a prerequisite to apply reliably this conceptual model. Here, new chaotic magma mixing experiments were performed at different times using natural melts. The degree of reproducibility of experimental results was tested repeating one experiment at the same starting conditions and comparing the compositional variability. We further tested the robustness of the statistical analysis by randomly removing from the analysed dataset a progressively increasing number of samples. Results highlight the robustness of the method to derive empirical relationships linking the efficiency of chemical exchanges and mixing time. These empirical relationships remain valid by removing up to 80% of the analytical determinations. Experimental results were applied to constrain the homogenization time of chemical heterogeneities in natural magmatic system during mixing. The calculations show that, when the mixing dynamics generate millimetre thick filaments, homogenization timescales of the order of a few minutes are to be expected

Diffusive exchange of trace elements between alkaline melts: implications for element fractionation and timescale estimations during magma mixing

The diffusive exchange of 30 trace elements during the interaction of natural mafic and silicic alkaline melts was experimentally studied at conditions relevant to shallow magmatic systems. In detail, a set of 12 diffusion couple experiments have been performed between natural shoshonitic and rhyolitic melts from the Vulcano Island (Aeolian archipelago, Italy) at a temperature of 1200 {\deg}C, pressures from 50 to 500 MPa, and water contents ranging from nominally dry to ca. 2 wt. %. Concentration-distance profiles, measured by Laser Ablation ICP-MS, highlight different behaviours, and trace elements were divided into two groups: (1) elements with normal diffusion profiles (13 elements, mainly low field strength and transition elements), and (2) elements showing uphill diffusion (17 elements including Y, Zr, Nb, Pb and rare earth elements, except Eu). For the elements showing normal diffusion profiles, chemical diffusion coefficients were estimated using a concentration-dependent evaluation method, and values are given at four intermediate compositions (SiO2 equal to 58, 62, 66 and 70 wt. %, respectively). A general coupling of diffusion coefficients to silica diffusivity is observed, and variations in systematics are observed between mafic and silicic compositions. Results show that water plays a decisive role on diffusive rates in the studied conditions, producing an enhancement between 0.4 and 0.7 log units per 1 wt.% of added H2O. Particularly notable is the behaviour of the trivalent-only REEs (La to Nd and Gd to Lu), with strong uphill diffusion minima, diminishing from light to heavy REEs. Modelling of REE profiles by a modified effective binary diffusion model indicates that activity gradients induced by the SiO2 concentration contrast are responsible for their development, inducing a transient partitioning of REEs towards the shoshonitic melt.Comment: 57 pages, 12 figures, 5 table

Use of Carbon Additives towards Rechargeable Zinc Slurry Air Flow Batteries

The performance of redox flow batteries is notably influenced by the electrolyte, especially in slurry-based flow batteries, as it serves as both an ionic conductive electrolyte and a flowing electrode. In this study, carbon additives were introduced to achieve a rechargeable zinc slurry flow battery by minimizing the zinc plating on the bipolar plate that occurs during charging. When no carbon additive was present in the zinc slurry, the discharge current density was 24 mA∙cm$^{-2}$ at 0.6 V, while the use of carbon additives increased it to up to 38 mA∙cm$^{-2}$. The maximum power density was also increased from 16 mW∙cm$^{-2}$ to 23 mW∙cm$^{-2}$. Moreover, the amount of zinc plated on the bipolar plate during charging decreased with increasing carbon content in the slurry. Rheological investigation revealed that the elastic modulus and yield stress are directly proportional to the carbon content in the slurry, which is beneficial for redox flow battery applications, but comes at the expense of an increase in viscosity (two-fold increase at 100 s$^{-1}$). These results show how the use of conductive additives can enhance the energy density of slurry-based flow batteries

Role of Akt and c-Jun N-terminal Kinase 2 in Apoptosis Induced by Interleukin-4 Deprivation

El copyright pertenece a The American Society for Cell Biology. The final versión of the paper is available at http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.govWe have shown previously that interleukin-4 (IL-4) protects TS1ab cells from apoptosis, but very little is known about the mechanism by which IL-4 exerts this effect. We found that Akt activity, which is dependent on phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase, is reduced in IL-4-deprived TS1ab cells. Overexpression of wild-type Akt or a constitutively active Akt mutant protects cells from IL-4 deprivation-induced apoptosis. Readdition of IL-4 before the commitment point is able to restore Akt activity. We also show expression and c-Jun N-terminal kinase 2 activation after IL-4 deprivation. Overexpression of the constitutively activated Akt mutant in IL-4-deprived cells correlates with inhibition of c-Jun N-terminal kinase 2 activity. Finally, TS1ab survival is independent of Bcl-2, Bcl-x, or Bax.Peer reviewe

Imbibition and percentage of germination of cape gooseberry (physalis peruviana l.) seeds under nacl stress

In Colombia cape gooseberry is often grown on salt affected soils. The present study evaluated the effect of increasing NaCl concentrations on imbibition and percentage of germination of ‘Colombia’ ecotype cape gooseberry seeds. Under controlled laboratory conditions (25/20°C day/night temperature, 80% relative humidity, and a 12 hour photoperiod), the seeds were subjected to 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 mM NaCl concentrations (corresponding to respective electrical conductivity levels of 0.8, 3.0, 6.0, 9.0, and 12.2 dS m-1), during an evaluation period of 299 hours. A significantly lower imbibition level, expressed as 35% of the fresh weight accumulated by the control seeds, was observed in the 120 mM NaCl treatment. At the end of the experiment, respective germination percentages of 97.6% and 96.4% were recorded in the salt-free seeds and in those exposed to 30 mM NaCl. In contrast, only 62.5% of those seeds treated with 120 mM NaCl germinated. Root malformations such as lack of elongation were observed in the highest NaCl concentration treatment. Regarding its germination process, cape gooseberry can be classified as moderately tolerant to sodium. In effect, after 299 h of treatment, there was no statistical difference in imbibition level or percentage of germination between the 0, 30 and 60 mM NaCl treatments

Assessing preferences for mountain wine and viticulture by using a best-worst scaling approach: do mountains really matter for Italians?

European Commission has recently published the rules on the use of the quality term “mountain product”. The new regulation aims to promote the sustainable development of mountain areas and to facilitate the identification of mountain prod- ucts by consumers. Despite the importance of viticulture for several European moun- tain communities and the growing interest of European consumers in quality certified foods, the regulation did not encompass wines. The literature addresses many issues regarding wines and consumer preferences, but so far mountain wines are not specifi- cally researched. With this study, we seek to fill this gap by analysing Italian consum- ers’ preferences for mountain wines as well as their opinion on the inclusion of this product in the mountain labelling scheme. To do so, this study applies a best-worst scaling model and subsequent latent class analysis. Data was collected through an online questionnaire applied to a consumer panel. The results indicate that most of respondents are in favour of applying the mountain label to wines. The three most preferred attributes are related to human health, ecological sustainability and prod- uct typicity. Most of participants gave less importance to the attributes that character- ize mountain agriculture. Only one consumer segment valued some of these. Findings suggest that the inclusion of mountain wines in the labelling scheme may convey a bet- ter image of wine regarding its impact on human health, environmental sustainability and terroir-based typicity

Ethics and accuracy in scientific researches with emphasize on taxonomic works

Research is one of those highly complex and subtle activities that usually remain quite unformulated in the minds of those who practise them. This is probably why most scientists think that it is not possible to give nay formal instruction in how to do research. Additionally, training in research must be largely self-training,preferably with the guidance of an experienced scientist in the handling of the actual investigation. Scientific research, which is simply the search for new knowledge, appeals especially to people who are individualists and their method vary from one person to another. A policy followed by one scientist may not be suitable for another, and different methods are required in different branches of science. However, there are some basic principles and mental techniques that are commonly used in most types of investigation, at least in the biological sphere. Honesty and morals are the first step in all scientific researches and a researcher must consider it in all stages of a scientific work. The role and importance of accuracy and honesty in taxonomy and systematic is more than other biological sciences. For having the honesty in scientific researches, learning the principals of ethics is needed for all the researchers and students. Therefore, this paper deals with the ethics in science and technology and also important comments on taxonomy.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Ethics and accuracy in scientific researches with emphasize on taxonomic works

Research is one of those highly complex and subtle activities that usually remain quite unformulated in the minds of those who practise them. This is probably why most scientists think that it is not possible to give nay formal instruction in how to do research. Additionally, training in research must be largely self-training,preferably with the guidance of an experienced scientist in the handling of the actual investigation. Scientific research, which is simply the search for new knowledge, appeals especially to people who are individualists and their method vary from one person to another. A policy followed by one scientist may not be suitable for another, and different methods are required in different branches of science. However, there are some basic principles and mental techniques that are commonly used in most types of investigation, at least in the biological sphere. Honesty and morals are the first step in all scientific researches and a researcher must consider it in all stages of a scientific work. The role and importance of accuracy and honesty in taxonomy and systematic is more than other biological sciences. For having the honesty in scientific researches, learning the principals of ethics is needed for all the researchers and students. Therefore, this paper deals with the ethics in science and technology and also important comments on taxonomy.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse