Flexible mobile hub for e-bike sharing and cruise tourism: A case study

Bike sharing is no longer a novelty in transportation and has now become a mobility solution in its own right. This study investigated the potential scope of application of e-bike sharing solutions for a niche sector such as cruise tourism, the importance of which is growing, with the aim of improving sustainability and reducing pollution levels in cruise ports. A revealed preference survey was administered to cruise tourists, who chose a pilot e-bike service once they had disembarked from the ship to visit the nearby city center, to investigate the main variables affecting satisfaction with the service under investigation. An ordered probit model was specified and calibrated to identify the relationship among the variables influencing e-bike sharing usage by cruise tourists and their satisfaction. Subsequently, the marginal effect of each significant factor was evaluated to quantify its actual impact on the related e-bike sharing satisfaction level. The results obtained are consistent with the literature, but interesting interpretations are provided in terms of the relative importance of significant variables

Searching for new predators of the invasive Halyomorpha halys: the role of the black garden ant Lasius niger

In recent years, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae, Cappaeini) has become an invasive pest in North America and Europe, where it caused extensive damage to agriculture, resulting in great economic losses. Evaluating the potential of native predators in the invaded areas, ants might represent good candidates thanks to their biology, ecology, and behavior. In Italy, H. halys proved to be the top key pest in pear orchards, where the black garden ant, Lasius niger (L.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Lasiini), is the most abundant ant species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predatory ability of L. niger on the eggs and on all the juvenile instars of H. halys under laboratory conditions. The results indicate that L. niger significantly reduces the survival of the second and third nymphal instars by 56 and 58%, respectively, but it is unable to reduce the egg hatching and the survival of the first, fourth, and fifth instars. Our preliminary results obtained in laboratory conditions suggest a possible role of the ant L. niger in controlling H. halys invasion mainly acting on the smaller and more mobile nymphal stages. The effective role of this species as potential biocontrol agents of H. halys in fruit orchards in association with other ant species as well as with other predatory insects is discussed

A Two-Threshold Model for Scaling Laws of Non-Interacting Snow Avalanches

The sizes of snow slab failure that trigger snow avalanches are power-law distributed. Such a power-law probability distribution function has also been proposed to characterize different landslide types. In order to understand this scaling for gravity driven systems, we introduce a two-threshold 2-d cellular automaton, in which failure occurs irreversibly. Taking snow slab avalanches as a model system, we find that the sizes of the largest avalanches just preceeding the lattice system breakdown are power law distributed. By tuning the maximum value of the ratio of the two failure thresholds our model reproduces the range of power law exponents observed for land-, rock- or snow avalanches. We suggest this control parameter represents the material cohesion anisotropy.Comment: accepted PR

Role of the IL-23/IL-17 Pathway in Rheumatic Diseases: An Overview

Interleukin-23 (IL-23) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine composed of two subunits, IL-23A (p19) and IL-12/23B (p40), the latter shared with Interleukin-12 (IL-12). IL-23 is mainly produced by macrophages and dendritic cells, in response to exogenous or endogenous signals, and drives the differentiation and activation of T helper 17 (Th17) cells with subsequent production of IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-6, IL-22, and tumor necrosis factor \u3b1 (TNF-\u3b1). Although IL-23 plays a pivotal role in the protective immune response to bacterial and fungal infections, its dysregulation has been shown to exacerbate chronic immune-mediated inflammation. Well-established experimental data support the concept that IL-23/IL-17 axis activation contributes to the development of several inflammatory diseases, such as PsA, Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis; AS, Ankylosing Spondylitis; IBD, Inflammatory Bowel Disease; RA, Rheumatoid Arthritis; SS, Sjogren Syndrome; MS, Multiple Sclerosis. As a result, emerging clinical studies have focused on the blockade of this pathogenic axis as a promising therapeutic target in several autoimmune disorders; nevertheless, a greater understanding of its contribution still requires further investigation. This review aims to elucidate the most recent studies and literature data on the pathogenetic role of IL-23 and Th17 cells in inflammatory rheumatic diseases

Constrained Simulations of the Magnetic Field in the Local Universe and the Propagation of UHECRs

We use simulations of LSS formation to study the build-up of magnetic fields (MFs) in the ICM. Our basic assumption is that cosmological MFs grow in a MHD amplification process driven by structure formation out of a seed MF present at high z. Our LCDM initial conditions for the density fluctuations have been statistically constrained by the observed galaxies, based on the IRAS 1.2-Jy all-sky redshift survey. As a result, prominent galaxy clusters in our simulation coincide closely with their real counterparts. We find excellent agreement between RMs of our simulated clusters and observational data. The improved resolution compared to previous work also allows us to study the MF in large-scale filaments, sheets and voids. By tracing the propagation of UHE protons in the simulated MF we construct full-sky maps of expected deflection angles of protons with arrival energies E=1e20eV and 4e19eV, respectively. Strong deflections are only produced if UHE protons cross clusters, however covering only a small area on the sky. Multiple crossings of sheets and filaments over larger distances may give rise to noticeable deflections, depending on the model adopted for the magnetic seed field. Based on our results we argue that over a large fraction of the sky the deflections are likely to remain smaller than the present experimental angular sensitivity. Therefore, we conclude that forthcoming air shower experiments should be able to locate sources of UHE protons and shed more light on the nature of cosmological MFs.Comment: 3revised version, JCAP, accepte