Measurement of thermophysical properties of liquid metallic alloys in a ground- and microgravity based research program. The Thermolab Project

An outline of the Thermolab Project is reported with the aim of informing on the wide range of properties which are becoming available for some industrial alloys. Selected examples of experiments and properties are provided

Perequazione orizzontale semi-volontaria

Nel presente modello di federalismo fiscale, si studia il caso in cui giurisdizioni che differiscono nelle loro capacità fiscali negoziano il livello dei trasferimenti inter-giurisdizionali. L’articolo mostra come la regola negoziale prescelta redistribuisca, di fatto, il potere di veto tra le giurisdizioni, influenzando il livello di perequazione tra i territori. Pertanto, le difficoltà incontrate dal legislatore nell’implementazione dei meccanismi di perequazione orizzontale, previsti da alcune leggi, dipendono da una sbilanciata determinazione del potere di veto tipicamente a favore dei territori con capacità fiscali sopra la media. Un problema, questo, da considerare nella progettazione dei meccanismi di perequazione orizzontale

The Radiation-Induced Regenerative Response of Adult Tissue-Specific Stem Cells: Models and Signaling Pathways

Simple Summary A common side effect of radiotherapy is the impairment of integrity and functionality of the co-irradiated surrounding normal tissue. Homeostasis and regeneration of many organs are maintained by specific stem/progenitor cells. Radiation can harm these resident stem/progenitor populations involving the disruption of the signaling cascade of pathways known to normally sustain stem/progenitor cellular activity. This review describes the currently existing models used to study the response of stem/progenitor cells to irradiation and the key signaling pathways involved during solid tissue-specific stem/progenitor driven regeneration. Radiotherapy is involved in the treatment of many cancers, but damage induced to the surrounding normal tissue is often inevitable. Evidence suggests that the maintenance of homeostasis and regeneration of the normal tissue is driven by specific adult tissue stem/progenitor cells. These tasks involve the input from several signaling pathways. Irradiation also targets these stem/progenitor cells, triggering a cellular response aimed at achieving tissue regeneration. Here we discuss the currently used in vitro and in vivo models and the involved specific tissue stem/progenitor cell signaling pathways to study the response to irradiation. The combination of the use of complex in vitro models that offer high in vivo resemblance and lineage tracing models, which address organ complexity constitute potential tools for the study of the stem/progenitor cellular response post-irradiation. The Notch, Wnt, Hippo, Hedgehog, and autophagy signaling pathways have been found as crucial for driving stem/progenitor radiation-induced tissue regeneration. We review how these signaling pathways drive the response of solid tissue-specific stem/progenitor cells to radiotherapy and the used models to address this

Activated carbon monoliths from particle stabilized foams

Particle stabilized liquid foams are used as templates to obtain carbon-based porous materials with open cell structure, high specific area and hierarchical porosity. This route relies on gel casting to strengthen the structure of the liquid foams, followed by high temperature treatment to eliminate organic components and obtain solid foams. The liquid foam stabilizer was a commercial activated carbon powder, characterized by high porosity and irregular morphology of the particles, associated with a cationic surfactant. The micro-structure and the textural properties of the final solid materials have been investigated by Scanning Electronic Microscopy and Nitrogen adsorption methods. The results show that this method can be used to fabricate high specific area porous materials in the form of monoliths, with adequate consistence and mechanical resistance. The materials obtained seem promising for many practical applications such as gas adsorption, filtering and catalysis

Surface Tension of Liquid Ag–Cu Binary Alloys

Surface tension of liquid Ag–Cu binary alloys has been measured contactlessly using the technique of electromagnetic levitation in combination with the oscillating drop technique. The measurements were performed at temperatures above the melting point of alloys. The surface tension values were obtained from an analysis of the frequency spectra of droplet oscillations recorded with a CMOS-camera at 400 fps. The alloy samples covered the entire composition range. The surface tension data can be described by linear functions of temperature with negative slopes. The new experimental data were compared to the corresponding theoretical values calculated combining the Butler equation with the ideal and subregular solution models, respectively. The agreement with the experimentally obtained data is excellent for the isothermal surface tension and quite reasonable for their temperature coefficients