Nitrogen removal in fixed-bed submerged biofilters without backwashing

The paper reports the findings of four years of pilot-scale research on nitrogen removal in fixed-bed biofilters fed on real raw municipal wastewater. The plant was made of two fixed-bed biofilm reactors in series with an intermediate settling tank from which excess biomass from the first stage was discharged. The first filter was used for carbon removal either with oxygen or nitrates. The second filter was used for nitrification. The average nitrification rate at 20°C was 0.84 gNH 4 + -N m −2 d −1 with 5 mg l −1 dissolved oxygen in the bulk liquid. Temperature dependence was calculated (r n = r n,20° 1,05 T-20 ). The influent organic load strongly affected ammonia oxidation. If the organic loading exceeded 2.5 gCOD m −2 d −1 nitrification rate was reduced by 50%. Denitrification was performed by recycling nitrates back from the second filter and by using sewage itself as carbon source. Denitrification rate showed to be strongly dependent on temperature (r d = r d,20° 1.11 T-20 ) and on the recycle rate. Hydrolysis of the colloidal COD fraction showed a similar dependence on both temperature and recycle rate. Therefore, it has been concluded that the hydrolysis of finely dispersed COD particles can be the limiting step of denitrification in the biofilter when real sewage is used as carbon source

Modulation of microglial activation by adenosine A2a receptor in animal models of perinatal brain injury

Neuroinflammation has a key role in the pathogenesis of perinatal brain injury. Caffeine, a nonspecific antagonist of adenosine receptors (ARs), is widely used to treat apnea of prematurity and has been linked to a decrease in the incidence of cerebral palsy in premature infants. The mechanisms explaining its neuroprotective effect have not yet been elucidated. The objective of this study was to characterize the expression of adenosine and ARs in two neonatal rat models of neuroinflammation and to determine the effect of A2aR blockade on microglial activation assessed through inflammatory cytokine gene expression. We have used two rat models of microglial activation: the gestational low protein diet (LPD) model, associated with chronic brain injury, and postnatal ibotenate intracerebral injections, responsible for acute excitotoxicity injury. Adenosine blood levels have been measured by Tandem Mass Spectrometry. The expression of ARs in vivo was assessed using qPCR and immunohistochemistry. In vivo models have been replicated in vitro on primary microglial cell cultures exposed to A2aR agonist CGS-21680 or antagonist SCH-58261. The effects of these treatments have been assessed on the M1/M2 cytokine expressions measured by RT-qPCR. LPD during pregnancy was associated with higher adenosine levels in pups at postnatal day 1 and 4. A2aR mRNA expression was significantly increased in both cortex and magnetically sorted microglial cells from LPD animals compared to controls. CD73 expression, responsible for extracellular production of brain adenosine, was significantly increased in LPD cortex and sorted microglia cells. Moreover, CD73 protein level was increased in ibotenate treated animals. In vitro experiments confirmed that LPD or control microglial cells exposed to ibotenate display an increased expression, at both protein and molecular levels, of A2aR and M1 markers (IL-1\u3b2, IL-6, iNOS, TNF\u3b1). This pro-inflammatory profile was significantly reduced by SCH-58261, which reduces M1 markers in both LPD and ibotenate-exposed cells, with no effect on control cells. In the same experimental conditions, a partial increased of M1 cytokines was observed in response to A2aR agonist CGS-21680. These results support the involvement of adenosine and particularly of its receptor A2aR in the regulation of microglia in two different animal models of neuroinflammation

Evolution of plasmon excitations across the phase diagram of the cuprate superconductor La2−x_{2-x}Srx_{x}CuO4_4

We use resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the O $K$- and Cu $K$-edges to investigate the doping- and temperature dependence of low-energy plasmon excitations in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_4$. We observe a monotonic increase of the energy scale of the plasmons with increasing doping $x$ in the underdoped regime, whereas a saturation occurs above optimal doping $x \gtrsim 0.16$ and persists at least up to $x = 0.4$. Furthermore, we find that the plasmon excitations show only a marginal temperature dependence, and possible effects due to the superconducting transition and the onset of strange metal behavior are either absent or below the detection limit of our experiment. Taking into account the strongly correlated character of the cuprates, we show that layered $t$-$J$-$V$ model calculations accurately capture the increase of the plasmon energy in the underdoped regime. However, the computed plasmon energy continues to increase even for doping levels above $x \gtrsim 0.16$, which is distinct from the experimentally observed saturation, and reaches a broad maximum around $x = 0.55$. We discuss whether possible lattice disorder in overdoped samples, a renormalization of the electronic correlation strength at high dopings, or an increasing relevance of non-planar Cu and O orbitals could be responsible for the discrepancy between experiment and theory for doping levels above $x = 0.16$.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figure

Habilidades funcionales de niños, niñas y adolescentes con parálisis cerebral y su relación con el compromiso motor y la discapacidad intelectual en Argentina.

Introducción: El compromiso motor caracteriza la parálisis cerebral (PC), y suele asociarse a la discapacidad intelectual (DI). Se han desarrollado sistemas de clasificación estandarizados para describir las funciones de personas con PC. Objetivo: caracterizar funcionalmente a niños, niñas y adolescentes de 0 a 18 años con PC de Argentina e indagar la asociación entre el compromiso motor (GMFCS), la DI y las clasificaciones funcionales. Métodos: Estudio transversal. Se recolectaron datos a través de entrevistas a las familias y revisión de historias clínicas. Se incluyeron personas con PC. Los datos se recolectaron de 19 instituciones de distintas ciudades de Argentina. Para el análisis de los datos se utilizó test de Fisher y odds ratio [IC95%], con significación <0,05. Resultados: participaron 182 niños, niñas y adolescentes con PC. Según clasificación GMFCS prevaleció el nivel V con 36,3%. Quienes presentan compromiso motor más severo (GMFCS IV-V), tienen 72 [25,4;206,0] veces y 13 [5,9;28,2] veces más chances de presentar un nivel severo de MACS y CFCS respectivamente. Pero, presentaron 34 [7,9;146,0] veces más chances de un nivel leve a moderado de EDACS. Quienes presentaron DI tuvieron 10 [5,1;20,5] veces más chances de presentar un nivel severo GMFCS, 6 [3,4;13,2] veces más chances un nivel severo MACS y 4 [2,0;7,8] veces más chances de un nivel severo CFCS. Por el contrario, tienen 4 [1,9;9,5] veces más chances de presentar un nivel leve-moderado EDACS. Conclusión: el nivel de GMFCS y la presencia de DI influyen en la funcionalidad general y aumentan la severidad en el compromiso, habilidades manuales y de comunicación

L\u2019importanza dei Proturi nell\u2019ambito delle biocenosi del suolo: stato delle conoscenze

The current knowledge on Protura are too scarce, fragmentary and heterogeneously distributed throughout the World to get a reliable detailed biogeographical and ecological panorama. In the present paper an overview about some aspects of Protura ecology based on literature and on original data of the authors is outlined. In particular, information about phenology, feeding ecology, ecological distribution and habitat selection is provided

Omar al-Mukhtar. La cattura, il processo, l'esecuzione

La mostra ha esposto le fotografie della raccolta Giuseppe Bedendo (publico ministero del Tribunale Speciale per la difesa dello Stato della Cirenaica). Si tratta di circa ottanta stampe relative agli ultimi giorni di Omar al-Mukhtar molte delle quali inedite. La mostra era corredata da didascalie e pannelli con testi introduttivi curati da Alessandro Volterr

Acerentulus tortii sp. nov. from Greece (Protura: Acerentomidae).

A new species of Protura, Acerentulus tortii sp. nov., from the island of Euboea, central Greece, is described and illustrated. The new species belongs to the A. cunhai species group, based on a short foretarsal sensillum a not reaching seta \u3b33, and sensilla b and c subequal in length. The most similar species are A. christensoni (Ewing, 1940) and A. rafalskii Szeptycki, 1979), from which A. tortii sp. nov. differs by the porotaxy of sternite III and the lengths of various foretarsal sensilla

Redescription of two European species of Acerentomidae (Protura) belonging to the Italian fauna.

Acerentulus apuliacus Rusek & Stumpp, 1988 is redescribed based on new specimens collected in Apulia and Basilicata (S-Italy) and deposited in the collection of Geneva Natural History Museum. Podolinella ruseki (Nosek, 1967) new combination is redescribed, based on the holotype from Austria and additional specimens collected in Liguria, NW Italy. The new material is deposited in the collection of the Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell\u2019Ambiente e della Vita, University of Genoa