Azione e cognizione: uno studio sull'effetto del movimento nella percezione del tempo

A feature of temporal cognition is that it is built on properties linked to action (i.e., duration, speed and rhythm). It is therefore plausible to assume that temporal perception and representation are affected by motor experience. The present study investigated the influence of movement in a time-estimation task (i.e., to beat a drum concurrently with a rhythmic sound acoustically perceived) in the presence (i.e., experimental group) or in the absence (i.e., control group) of a movement performed between two subsequent beats. Findings showed that experimental group is more accurate than control group probably because it benefited of more information: those from the soundtrack and those from the proprioceptive sensors involved in the movement of the arm

Chiral discrimination in helicity-preserving Fabry-Pérot cavities

We theoretically study circular dichroism of chiral molecules embedded inside a helicity-preserving Fabry-Pérot cavity. We find an increase of the intrinsic chiroptical response of the molecules by 2 orders of magnitude and report the first clear signature of chiral cavity polaritons upon entering the regime of strong light-matter coupling. We study a cavity design based on two dielectric photonic crystal mirrors acting, in a narrow frequency range, as efficient polarization cross-converters in transmission for one polarization and almost perfect reflectors for the other polarization. We show that a Pasteur medium hosted inside such a cavity can couple efficiently to both the outside of the cavity and to the helicity-preserving mode, inheriting an enhanced chiral character. We expect such a device to be useful in the future to design ultrasensitive chiral sensors for optics and stereochemistr

Physiological aspects of lime-induced chlorosis in some Vitis species. 2. Genotype response to stress conditions

Research NoteOne-year-old cuttings from 7 Vitis species (V. amurensis Rupr., V. berlandieri Planch., V. californica Bentham, V. cinerea Engelm., V. longii Prince, V. monticola Buckl., V. riparia Michx.) were grown in pots containing non-calcareous and calcareous soil. Leaves selected in the middle of the second year's growing season were assayed to test the iron concentration of the dry matter and the total iron uptake. The most significant findings of the trial were: a) shoot growth of V. amurensis, V. longii, V. monticola and V. riparia was strongly depressed by the calcareous soil; b) V. berlandieri and V. californica took up higher amounts of iron when growing in the calcareous soil; c) a high ash alkalinity occurred in chlorotic leaves of V. riparia compared to non-chlorotic leaves at the same iron concentration

In vitro method to screen grapevine genotypes for tolerance to lime-induced chlorosis

Herbaceous nodes of four grapevine genotypes with different tolerance to lime-induced chlorosis (V. berlandieri x V. rupestris 140 Ru; V. berlandieri x V. riparia SO 4; V, riparia MICH. Gloire de Montpellier; V. vinifera L. cv. Chardonnay) were cultured in vitro. The effects of three levels of FeNaEDTA (5, 15, 30 mg/l) and of four mixtures of iron and bicarbonate in the MS medium were compared and chlorosis rating, ferrous iron content of the leaves and fresh weight of the plantlets were assayed. The chlorosis rating of the tested genotypes ranked according to their known degree of tolerance/susceptibility to lime-induced chlorosis

Effect of nitrogen and potassium fertilizer on induced resveratrol synthesis in two grapevine genotypes

Research NoteOne-year-old grapevine cuttings of the interspecific hybrid Castor and V. vinifera L. cv. Bacchus were grown in pots with 4 combined doses of nitrogen and potassium, in order to test their effect on the resveratrol synthesis of the leaves, after elicitation with mucic acid (0.01 %). The tests were performed on leaf discs, inside bio-assay dishes. The most significant findings were:  the fertilizer treatments had a higher effect on the resveratrol synthesis of Castor than in Bacchus;high potassium supply together with low nitrogen rate promoted the resveratrol synthesis of Castor;high potasium rates did not balance the negative effect of high nitrogen supply on resveratrol synthesis

Physiological aspects of lime-induced chlorosis in some Vitis species. I. Pot trial calareous soil

One-year-old cutting from eleven Vitis spp. (V. aestivalis Michx., V. amurensis Rupr., V. andersonii Rehder, V. arizonica Engelm., V. berlandieri Planch., V. californica Bentham, V. champini Plancch., V. cinerea Engelm., V. longii Prince, V. monticola Buckl., V. riparia Michx.) were grown in pot of a calcareous soil. Leaves selected in the middle of the annual growing season were assayed for total chlorophyll, macronutrients, oligo-element and ash alkalinity. At the end of the annual growing cycle the whole plants were analyzed for the iron concentration of the dry matter. The most significant findings were:V. berlandieri, V champini and V. cinerea ranked in the high tolerant group; V. arizonica, V. californica, V. longii and V. monticola in the tolerant group; V. aestivalis, V. amurensis, V. andersonii and V. riparia in the susceptible group;it is likely to exist two different mechanisms of tolerance to lime-induced chlorosis: an adaptive one for V. berlandieri and V. cinerea and a protective one for V. champin

Relationships between seed number, gibberellin and abscisic acid levels and ripening in Cabernet Sauvignon grape berries

In grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, berry growth, content of anthocyanin and hormonal composition affected by seed number were investigated.Gibberellin-like substance content showed highest values 45 d after anthesis, while abscisic acid content (on a per-berry basis) had two peaks, the first one just after berry set, the second coinciding with ripening phenomenon.Seed number was positively correlated with the cöncentrations of gibberellinlike substances and abscisic acid (on a per-berry basis). One-seeded berries, however, had a higher amount of anthocyanin than two or three-seeded ones.Beziehungen zwischen Anzahl der Samen sowie Gibberellin- und Abscisinsäuregehalt und Reifeverlauf der Traubenbeeren bei Cabernet SauvignonBei den Trauben von Cabernet Sauvignon wurden das Beerenwachstum, der Anthocyangehalt und die Zusammensetzung der Phytohormone in Beziehung zur Anzahl der Samen untersucht.Die Gibberellinaktivität erreichte 45 d nach der Anthese ihren höchsten Stand, während der Abscisinsäuregehalt (je Beere) zwei Maxima zeigte; das erste trat kurz nach dem Beerenansatz auf, das zweite fiel mit dem Beginn der Beerenreife zusammen. Die Anzahl der Samen war positiv mit der Gibberellinaktivität und der Abscisinsäurekonzentration (je Beere) korreliert. Einsamige Beeren. wiesen jedoch einen höheren Anthocyangehalt als zwei- oder dreisamige Beeren auf

Constitutive stilbene contents of grapevine cluster stems as potential source of resveratrol in wine

Ripe clusters of 8 Vitis vinifera L. varieties (Cabernet franc, Gewürztraminer, Marzemino, Merlot, Moscato, Pinot gris, Sauvignon, Tocai friulano) were analysed to determine the constitutional levels of trans- and cis-resveratrol, ε-viniferin and pterostilbene. Grape stems were extracted by an hydroalcoholic solution, in order to simulate the resveratrol extraction from stems that might occur during alcoholic fermentation, due to the presence of little pieces of stems in the fermenting must. The average stem concentrations of constitutive trans-, cis-resveratrol and ε-viniferin were 142, 0.30, and 70 mu g.g-1 FW, respectively; pterostilbene was not found. Varieties differed significantly in their stilbene content. The percentage of trans-resveratrol extracted from the stems by a hydroalcoholic solution varied from 2.5 % (Gewürztraminer) to 32.9 % (Marzemino), the contribution of the stems to the trans-resveratrol concentration of the hydroalcoholic solution being, on the average, 34 mu g.l-1

Photochemistry in the strong coupling regime: A trajectory surface hopping scheme

The strong coupling regime between confined light and organic molecules turned out to be promising in modifying both the ground state and the excited states properties. Under this peculiar condition, the electronic states of the molecule are mixed with the quantum states of light. The dynamical processes occurring on such hybrid states undergo several modifications accordingly. Hence, the dynamical description of chemical reactivity in polaritonic systems needs to explicitly take into account the photon degrees of freedom and nonadiabatic events. With the aim of describing photochemical polaritonic processes, in the present work, we extend the direct trajectory surface hopping scheme to investigate photochemistry under strong coupling between light and matter

The occurrence of the stilbene piceatannol in grapes

Piceatannol (trans-3,3',4,5'-tetrahydroxy-stilbene) is a natural stilbene occurring in a number of plant species, and it has been shown to have beneficial effects on human health. The compound can seldom be consumed by humans, because it occurs in non-food plants, or in non-edible organs. Here we show for the first time that grapes (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon) have significant amounts of piceatannol (0.052 µg g-1 fresh wt). The identity of piceatannol was confirmed by HPLC and LC-MS.