Genetic differentiation and hybridization in two naturally occurring sympatric trout Salmo spp. forms from a small karstic lake.

In this study, multiple molecular markers [genotyping of 12 nuclear microsatellite loci and the protein-coding gene ldh-c1 * plus sequencing of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region] were employed to investigate the genetic structure of the two trout forms, Salmo cettii and Salmo fibreni , inhabiting Lake Posta Fibreno, central Italy. The two forms were found to share a unique mtDNA haplotype, belonging to a widespread Mediterranean haplogroup (AD). Bayesian clustering analyses showed that these two forms correspond to well-defined autochthonous gene pools. Genetic introgression between the two gene pools, however, was observed, whose frequency appears to correlate with the environmental features of the spawning sites. The interplay of selection for the spawning sites, philopatry and natural selection can be argued to maintain genetic differentiation despite the lack of complete reproductive isolation

Multi-object spectroscopy of stars in the CoRoT fields I: Early-type stars in the CoRoT-fields IRa01, LRa01, LRa02

Observations of giant stars indicate that the frequency of giant planets is much higher for intermediate-mass stars than for solar-like stars. Up to now all known planets of giant stars orbit at relatively far distances from their host stars. It is not known whether intermediate-mass stars also had many close-in planets when they were on the main sequence, which were then engulfed when the star became a giant star. To understand the formation and evolution of planets it is therefore important to find out whether main-sequence stars of intermediate-mass have close-in planets or not. A survey for transiting planets of intermediate-mass stars would be ideal to solve this question, because the detection of transiting planets is not affected by the rapid rotation of these stars. As a first step for an efficient survey we need to identify intermediate-mass stars in the CoRoT-fields, which can then be used as an input list. To compile the input list we derived the spectral types of essentially all O, B and A stars down to 14.5 mag in the CoRoT fields IRa01, LRa01, LRa02 taken with the multi-object spectrograph AAOmega. We determined the spectral types by comparing the spectra with template spectra from a library. In total we identify 1856 A and B stars that have been observed with CoRoT. Given the number of planets that have been detected in these fields amongst late-type stars, we estimate that there are one to four transiting planets of intermediate-mass stars waiting to be discovered. Our survey not only allows us to carry out a dedicated planet search programme but is also essential for any types of studies of the light curves of early-type stars in the CoRoT database. We also show that it would be possible to extend the survey to all fields that CoRoT has observed using photometrically determined spectral types.Comment: 57 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Mitochondrial DNA suggests uniqueness of an isolated population of the Italian minnow (Phoxinus lumaireul Schinz, 1840) (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) in central Apennines (Italy)

Two mitochondrial genes (cytochrome oxidase I and cytochrome b) were examined to compare an isolated population of the Italian minnow in the central Apennines to other populations in the species’ range (Po plain) and other European minnow species. Both mitochondrial markers showed a new haplotype, fixed in a sample of 30 specimens, never observed in the main species distribution range, and ostensibly divergent from other Italian minnow haplotypes. The result suggests a long history of isolation, probably preceding the Holocene retreat northwards of the Po River. This relict population is now at serious extinction risk owing to habitat loss and predation by alien trout restocked into the wild for recreational fishing purposes

Random Cluster Models on the Triangular Lattice

We study percolation and the random cluster model on the triangular lattice with 3-body interactions. Starting with percolation, we generalize the star--triangle transformation: We introduce a new parameter (the 3-body term) and identify configurations on the triangles solely by their connectivity. In this new setup, necessary and sufficient conditions are found for positive correlations and this is used to establish regions of percolation and non-percolation. Next we apply this set of ideas to the $q>1$ random cluster model: We derive duality relations for the suitable random cluster measures, prove necessary and sufficient conditions for them to have positive correlations, and finally prove some rigorous theorems concerning phase transitions.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figur

Health-related quality of life and psychological features in post-stroke patients with chronic pain: A cross-sectional study in the neuro-rehabilitation context of care

This study aims at exploring disability, health-related quality of life (HrQoL), psychological distress, and psychological features in post-stroke patients with chronic pain. An observational cross-sectional study involving 50 post-stroke patients (25 with chronic pain and 25 without pain) was conducted. The primary outcome was the self-reported level of disability and HrQoL which were both assessed through the Stroke Impact Scale 3.0. Both psychological distress and specific psychological features (i.e., self-efficacy, coping strategies, psychological flexibility, perceived social support) were examined. Post-stroke patients with chronic pain reported statistically significant higher levels of disability and worse HrQoL, higher psychological distress and inflexibility, as well as a lower level of self-efficacy and problem-oriented coping strategies than patients without pain (p < 0.001). Finally, correlation analysis in the group of stroke survivors with pain showed that higher levels of disability were significantly related to higher psychological distress. This study con-firms the negative influence of chronic pain on disability and HrQoL in post-stroke patients and presents preliminary insights on the association between chronic pain, disability, HrQoL, psychosocial distress, and the patient’s approach in dealing with personal difficulties and emotions. These findings carry further implications for multidisciplinary management of post-stroke patients with chronic pain

A Laboratory for the Integration of Geomatic and Geomechanical Data: The Rock Pinnacle “Campanile di Val Montanaia”

This work describes a procedure for building a high-quality 3D model of a rocky pinnacle in the Dolomites, Italy, using Structure from Motion (SfM) techniques. The pinnacle, known as “Campanile di Val Montanaia”, is challenging to survey due to its high elevation and sub-vertical cliffs. The construction of the 3D model is the first step in a multi-disciplinary approach to characterize the rock mass and understand its behavior and evolution. This paper discusses the surveying operations, which involved climbing the pinnacle to collect Ground Control Points (GCPs) and using a UAV to capture aerial imagery. The photographs were processed using SfM software to generate point clouds, mesh, and texture, which were then used for rock mass discontinuity mapping. The study compares models of different qualities and point densities to determine the optimal trade-off between processing time and accuracy in terms of discontinuity mapping. The results show that higher quality models allow for more detailed mapping of discontinuities, with some drawbacks due to noise in the case of the densest solution (e.g., increase in frequency of outliers across the point cloud). These pros and cons are also discussed in relation to the computational cost necessary to build the models. The study also examines the limitations and challenges of performing discontinuity mapping in the different models, including subjectivity in interpretation. A further element of interest is the publication of a high-quality 3D georeferenced model of the “Campanile di Val Montanaia” to be used for several potential further applications, such as stability analyses and numerical modeling

High angular resolution imaging and infrared spectroscopy of CoRoT candidates

Studies of transiting extrasolar planets are of key importance for understanding the nature of planets outside our solar system because their masses, diameters, and bulk densities can be measured. An important part of transit-search programmes is the removal of false-positives. The critical question is how many of the candidates that passed all previous tests are false positives. For our study we selected 25 CoRoT candidates that have already been screened against false-positives using detailed analysis of the light curves and seeing-limited imaging, which has transits that are between 0.7 and 0.05% deep. We observed 20 candidates with the adaptive optics imager NaCo and 18 with the high-resolution infrared spectrograph CRIRES. We found previously unknown stars within 2 arcsec of the targets in seven of the candidates. All of these are too faint and too close to the targets to have been previously detected with seeing-limited telescopes in the optical. Our study thus leads to the surprising results that if we remove all candidates excluded by the sophisticated analysis of the light-curve, as well as carrying out deep imaging with seeing-limited telescopes, still 28-35% of the remaining candidates are found to possess companions that are bright enough to be false-positives. Given that the companion-candidates cluster around the targets and that the J-K colours are consistent with physical companions, we conclude that the companion-candidates are more likely to be physical companions rather than unrelated field stars.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, A&A in pres

Pre-Main Sequence stars in the star forming complex Sh 2-284

Located at the galactic anticenter, Sh 2-284 is a HII region which harbors several young open clusters; Dolidze 25, a rare metal poor (Z~0.004) young cluster, is one of these. Given its association with Sh 2-284, it is reasonable to assume the low metallicity for the whole HII region. Sh~2-284 is expected to host a significant population of Pre-Main Sequence (PMS) stars of both low and intermediate mass stars (Herbig Ae stars). We aim at characterizing these stars by means of a spectroscopic and photometric survey conducted with VIMOS@VLT and complemented with additional optical and infrared observations. In this survey we selected and characterized 23 PMS objects. We derived the effective temperature, the spectral energy distribution and luminosity of these objects; using theoretical PMS evolutionary tracks, with the appropriate metallicity, we estimated the mass and the age of the studied objects. We also estimated a distance of 4 Kpc for Sh 2-284 by using spectroscopic parallax of 3 OB stars. From the age determination we concluded that triggered star formation is in act in this region. Our results show that a significant fraction of the young stellar objects (YSOs) may have preserved their disk/envelopes, in contrast with what is found in other recent studies of low-metallicity star forming regions in the Galaxy. Finally, among the 23 bona fide PMS stars, we identified 8 stars which are good candidates to pulsators of the delta Scuti type.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA

Prognostic value of interim positron emission tomography in patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma

The definition of the role of positron emission tomography (PET) in peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) is still under investigation. The purpose of the present observational retrospective study was to assess the early prognostic value of PET after the first three cycles of therapy (PET+3), evaluating visual data in de novo PTCL patients treated in first line with standard chemotherapy and followed by both PET and computed tomography scan. Of 27 PET+3-negative patients, 19 also had a negative PET at the end of treatment (PET+6), whereas 8 of 27 had a positive final one; 6 of 7 PET+3-positive patients had a positive PET+6, whereas only 1 patient had a negative PET+6. Estimated overall survival plotted according to PET+3 results showed 78.6% for negative patients and 21.4% for positive patients at 88.7 months with a significant difference. Patients with negative PET+3 had superior progression-free survival of 72.6% compared with 16.7% of PET+3-positive patients. At the time of this analysis, 17 of 19 (89.5%) patients with negative PET+3 are in continuous complete response (CCR) and only 1 of 7 (14.2%) patients with positive PET+3 is still in CCR. In conclusion, our results indicate that positive PET+3 is predictive of a worse outcome in PTCL, and this significant statistical difference between the two curves could be clinically informative. Larger and prospective studies and harmonization of PET reading criteria are needed

Effect of eye patching in rehabilitation of hemispatial neglect.

Eye patching (EP; monocular or right hemifield) has been proposed to improve visuospatial attention to the ignored field in patients with hemispatial neglect. The aim of this paper is to review the literature on the effects of EP in hemispatial neglect after stroke in order to convey evidence-based recommendations to clinicians in stroke rehabilitation. Thirteen intervention studies were selected from the Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsychINFO, EBRSR, and Health Star databases. Methodological quality was defined according to the Physiotherapy Evidence Database. Overall, seven studies used monocular EP, five used right hemifield patching, and one compared right monocular with right hemifield patching. Seven studies compared normal viewing to monocular or hemifield patching conditions. Six studies included a period of treatment. As to the monocular EP, four studies reported positive effects of right monocular patching. One study showed an improvement in hemispatial neglect with left monocular patching. Two studies found no superiority of right vs. left monocular patching. One study found no effects of right monocular patching. As to the right hemifield EP, one study showed improvements in neglect after right hemifield patching. Three studies found that right hemifield patching combined with another rehabilitation technique was more effective than that treatment alone. One study found no differences between right hemifield patching combined with another treatment and that treatment alone. One study found the same effect between right hemifield patching alone and another rehabilitation technique. Our results globally tend to support the usefulness of right hemifield EP in clinical practice. In order to define a level of evidence with the standard rehabilitation evidence rating tools, further properly powered randomized controlled trials or meta-analysis are needed