Response of electron transport rate of water stress-affected grapevines: Influence of leaf age

The present study examined the electron transport rate of photosynthesis in response to light for leaves of different age following the imposition of water stress in Vitis vinifera during the growth period when leaf carbon gain is largely used for sugar accumulation into the berries. Vines grown in pots were gradually dehydrated to soil moisture levels of 100, 60, 40 and 25 % of field capacity and at each soil moisture level the photosynthetic light response of selected leaves was recorded using chlorophyll fluorescence analysis. Light response curves (LRC) were established by fitting a model of the form of a non-rectangular hyperbola to the data. Changes in quantum yield (Φ), the convexity of LRC (Θ) and the maximum electron transport rate (JTsat) following adjustment to water stress and as a result of leaf aging, were analysed and their contribution towards the formation of LRCs was assessed. F varied little due to leaf aging and as a result of falling soil moisture content, whereas JTsat declined strongly following soil dehydration and the decline was exacerbated by leaf aging. Such behaviour suggests that biochemical/stomatal limitations played a more important role in determining the water stress-related decline of photosynthesis than biophysical processes of energy transfer and electron transport. Θ of LRCs, under well-watered conditions was highest for basal leaves with a leaf plastochron index (LPI) of about 16.6 but only small changes were obvious during adjustment to water stress. The most important adjustment in total photosynthetic electron flow following the onset of water deficits resulted from a depression in JTsat, and was most obvious in leaves of a basal (LPI 16.6) and medium (LPI 6.9) position on the shoot. Results suggest that young, fully mature leaves are an important source of carbohydrate assimilation during berry ripening

Lime-induced chlorosis and physiological responses in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot blanc) leaves

Research Note

A Damage Identification procedure based on Hilbert transform: experimental validation

This paper aims at validating the feasibility of an identification procedure, based on the use of the Hilbert transform, by means of experimental tests for shear-type multi-degree-of-freedom systems. Particularly, a three-degree-of-freedom frame will be studied either numerically or experimentally by means of a laboratory scale model built at the laboratory of the Structural, Aerospace and Geotechnical Engineering Department (DISAG) of University of Palermo. Several damage scenarios have been considered to prove the effectiveness of the procedure. Moreover, the experimental tests have been conducted by considering two different input loads: pulse forces, simulated by means of an instrumental hammer, and wide band noise base inputs, by a shake table. In the first section the damage identification procedure, proposed in recent works, is presented. The procedure is based on the minimization of an objective function mathematically based on the properties of the analytical signal and the Hilbert transform. Second section reports the experimental model geometrical data and the data acquisition set-up as built in the DISAG laboratory. In Section 3, the results of the experimental campaigns are presented and discussed having considered three damage scenarios. The validated procedure has been proved to be able to not only detect damage even at early stage but it also needs processing of only few samples of the structural respons

Opening the Sea Gates of Europe: Interaction in the Southern Adriatic Sea during the Late Bronze Age

This research analyses the modes and outcomes of economic and Social interaction, adopting a theoretical framework that merges elements of Marxism and social network thinking. The focus is on the Bronze Age societies Constituting the interface between the Eastern Mediterranean and Europe, the area around the Southern Adriatic Sea in the period from the establishment of the first regular contacts with the Aegean world, up to the end of the 2nd millennium BC. The primary medium through which the examination is carried out is pottery from a number of key sites in the region, which! is! analysed through a variety of methodologies, Including contextual and stylistic comparison as well as formal Network analyses. The study is organized as a diachronic enquiry in which evidence from a large number of contexts (examined in relation to both consumption and production) is deployed to discuss the development of three nested scales through which interaction took place.The first of these scales is the individual community, with the main case study provided by the long lived site of Roca in Apulia,which has yielded the largest amount of Aegean type material retrieved to date west of Greece. This material is largely unpublished and is comprehensively analysed for the first time. The second scale considers the region of Apulia on the western side of the Adriatic, which was the focus of intense interaction with the Aegean world during the second half of the 2nd millennium BC. The final scale encompasses much of the Mediterranean and assesses the long term and large scale implications of the phenomena observed at the site and region levels. The results of this study highlight the critical role played by southern Adriatic societies in establishing and maintaining interaction with other areas of the Mediterranean, and stresses at the same time the important social implications of such linkages

Revolution and counter-revolution; or why it is difficult to have a heritage of communism and what can we do about it

Revolutions have powerful effects on the way the past is presented and perceived. In former communist states of Eastern Europe, following the revolutions establishing the regimes, a further sudden inversion has been regularly experienced in the aftermath of the fall of the Eastern Bloc. In this paper, I will comparatively discuss these changes through the lens of Albania. The discussion will highlight how the first communist revolution of the 1940s changed the way the Albanian state looked at its heritage and how this perspective was again completely transformed in the aftermath of the 1991. In both cases the perception of the periods immediately preceding the revolutionary events were those mostly affected. In particular, as regards the second revolution, in Albania, as in many other cases, after a long silence, the perspective adopted by the main stakeholders in the new democratic order was to characterise the heritage of communism in terms of trauma and terror. While these aspects undoubtedly encapsulate key features, there is more to processes of memory and heritage making related to this period. Private memories can sometimes produce rather different narratives of the same recent past, creating a clash with the representation put forward by the state.This research is based on the project C.H.O.D.I.A. (Cultural Heritage of Dictatorship in Albania) based at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge. The project is supported by the H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions [grant number 701285]

Differential effects of canopy manipulation and shading of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon. Leaf gas exchange, photosynthetic electron transport rate and sugar accumulation in berries

Partial cluster and leaf removals were performed on Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon at veraison during two years to give 4 treatments: control (C), cluster thinning (CT), leaf removal (LR) and cluster thinning + leaf removal (CT+LR). A half of each plot was shaded by a 50 % shading net at veraison (40 % berries coloured). Shading significantly reduced stomatal conductance but not CO2 assimilation rate (Pn) and carboxylation efficiency. Pn was decreased by cluster thinning and enhanced by leaf removal. Leaves of CT vines showed a photosynthetic decay 2 days after the treatment while LR leaves presented an afternoon photosynthetic enhancement 3 days after the treatment probably due to a higher photoassimilate requirement of the bunches (sink). Stomatal conductance did not totally contribute to the P-n depression or enhancement. Electron transport rate and maximum Rubisco activity were strongly affected by CT and LR suggesting that photochemical and biochemical processes were affected to a greater extent than physical processes. Juice sugar concentration was reduced by shading, an effect explained straightforwardly by the lessening of stomatal conductance. CT and LR had large effects on biochemical and photochemical processes but these were in the opposite direction to the expected effects on juice sugar concentration. It is suggested that CT increased sugar concentration because of the low fruit sink load per vine, and that LR decreased sugar concentration because of the low leaf area per vine. If cluster thinning is to be used by growers to gain increased sugar concentration it is recommended to do it at veraison; the sugar accumulation rate is then high and the adaptation of photosynthetic processes to thinning takes several days

The Development of a 2D/3D BIM-GIS Web Platform for Planned Maintenance of Built and Cultural Heritage: the Main10ance Project

The integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM), or Historic BIM (HBIM), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has assumed a crucial role not only in the management of smart cities or urban districts, as well as in the construction sector or infrastructures but also in the management, conservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage. This integration opens up new opportunities for decision-makers to assess the impact of interventions on heritage sites, evaluate preservation strategies, and facilitate informed decision-making processes. This contribution presents and describes the open-source web platform developed within the Interreg MAIN10ANCE project. The project aims to promote a common methodology for the cooperation and collaboration of the various stakeholders involved in the restoration, management and maintenance activities of built and cultural heritage sites. This objective has been pursued by creating a BIM-GIS database, focused on the definition of planned maintenance activities, whose data has been made available to professionals and management bodies by means of a shared web platform, usable directly in situ on a tablet or portable devices. The paper highlights the key components of the web platform, including the BIM, GIS, and artifact Viewers, the Planner, and the overall Dashboard. The platform's multiscale and multi-source approach makes it extensible to various cultural assets, whether environmental, architectural, or movable. By integrating historical and geometric information and planning maintenance activities, the web platform thus supports public administrations and professionals, amending existing state-of-the-art solutions

Adult-onset Still's disease: Evaluation of prognostic tools and validation of the systemic score by analysis of 100 cases from three centers

Background: Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is rare inflammatory disease of unknown etiology that usually affects young adults. The more common clinical manifestations are spiking fevers, arthritis, evanescent rash, elevated liver enzymes, lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, and serositis. The multi-visceral involvement of the disease and the different complications, such as macrophage activation syndrome, may strongly decrease the life expectancy of AOSD patients. Methods: This study aimed to identify the positive and negative features correlated with the outcome of patients. A retrospective analysis of AOSD patients prospectively admitted to three rheumatologic centers was performed to identify the clinical features present at the time of diagnosis and to predict the possible outcome. Furthermore, we investigated the as yet to be validated prognostic value of the systemic score previously proposed. Results: One hundred consecutive AOSD patients were enrolled. The mean systemic score showed that the majority of patients had a multi-organ involvement. Sixteen patients showed different complications, mainly the macrophage activation syndrome. A strong increase of inflammatory markers was observed. All patients received steroids at different dosages, 55 patients in association with immunosuppressive drugs and 32 in association with biologic agents. Sixteen patients died during the follow-up. Regression analysis showed that the higher values of the systemic score and the presence of AOSD-related complications, assessed at the time of diagnosis, were significantly correlated with patient mortality. A prognostic impact of the systemic score of 65 7.0 was reported. Conclusions: Our study showed that a higher systemic score and the presence of AOSD-related complications at the time of diagnosis were significantly associated with mortality. Of note, a cut-off at 7.0 of the systemic score showed a strong prognostic impact in identifying patients at risk of AOSD-related death

HyFlex EDM rotary Ni-Ti prototypes: the effect of an innovative machining technology on Ni-Ti wear

Aim. HyFlex EDM files were recently introduced pre- senting an innovative electro discharge machining (EDM) process of fabrication. The aim of this study was to evalua- te the surface and microstructural alterations of new and in vitro used HyFlex EDM Ni-Ti rotary prototypes. Methods. The surface and microstructural characteristi- cs of 15 new HyFlex EDM instruments were analyzed by ESEM equipped with energy dispersive x-ray spectropho- tometry (EDS) and optical metallographic imaging. Instru- ments were subjected to instrumentation tests on severely curved root canals (ranging between 50° and 70°) of ex- tracted multi-rooted teeth. Once that canal patency was verified with a #10 K-file, the working length was determi- ned by subtracting 1mm. HyFlex EDM files were used with a 16:1 reduction handpiece X-Smart (Dentsply Maillefer, Baillagues, Switzerland) following the manufacture’s direc- tion, at 500 rpm and 2.5Ncm, with slightly apical pressure and pecking motion. The operative sequence was: 25/12 at 2/3 of the WL, 10/05 and 25/08 at WL. Irrigation was per- formed at every change of instrument, with a total amount of3mlof5%NaOCland3mlof10%EDTA(Ogna,Mug- giò, Italy). Each instrument was used in 10 curved canals, washed in an ultrasonic bath containing detergent for 10 min and then autoclaved at 134°C. Surface and microstruc- tural characterizations were repeated on used instruments at same points and with same angulations to compare the pre- and postoperative micrographs, in order to verify the appearance of fractures, unwinding, microcracks, blade di- sruption and tip deformation. Results. Surface and microstructural characteriza- tion of new instruments revealed the typical features of a NiTi ED-Machined alloy with an irregular and “craters-like” surface. High magnification microgra- phs disclosed a non-uniform structure were pits, po- res and voids caused the peculiar aspect of a “rough- spark-machined” surface. No fractures were registered during instrumentation of curved canals. Surface and microstructural characterization of used files revealed no wear and no degradation of the 25.12 and 25.08 files. The tip segment was confirmed as the most me- chanically stressed portion of 10.05 prototypes. All the instruments, after several uses, well-preserved the “craters-like” irregular surface without cutting edge al- terations. The metallographic inspection on the cross section of brand new HyFlex EDM files showed an homogeneous martensitic phase. The microstructure appeared uniform from the surface to the bulk, and no microcracks or defect were identified, even at high optical magnification (1000X). Conclusion. Unaltered spark-machined surface and low microstructural degradation are the main features of recently introduced HyFlex EDM. Caution would be re- commended regarding reuse of small HyFlex EDM files. Instruments exhibited a safe in vitro use in presence of severely curved canals

Carbonatite Melts and Electrical Conductivity in the Asthenosphere

Electrically conductive regions in the Earth mantle have been interpreted to reflect the presence of either silicate melt or water dissolved in olivine. On the basis of laboratory measurements we show that molten carbonates have electrical conductivities that are 3 orders of magnitude higher than those of molten silicate and 5 orders of magnitude higher than those of hydrated olivine. High conductivities in the asthenosphere probably indicate the presence of small amounts of carbonate melt in peridotite and can therefore be interpreted in terms of carbon concentration in the upper mantle. We show that the conductivity of the Oceanic asthenosphere can be explained by 0.1 volume % of carbonatite melts on average, which agrees with the CO2 content of Mid Ocean Ridge Basalts