Changes in Physiological and Agronomical Parameters of Barley (Hordeum vulgare) Exposed to Cerium and Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles

The aims of our experiment were to evaluate the uptake and translocation of cerium and titaniumoxide nanoparticles and to verify their effects on the growth cycle of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Barley plants were grown to physiological maturity in soil enriched with either 0, 500 or 1000 mg kg1 cerium oxide nanoparticles (nCeO2) or titanium oxide nanoparticles (nTiO2) and their combination. The growth cycle of nCeO2 and nTiO2 treated plants was about 10 days longer than the controls. In nCeO2 treated plants the number of tillers, leaf area and the number of spikes per plant were reduced respectively by 35.5%, 28.3% and 30% (p \ua4 0.05). nTiO2 stimulated plant growth and compensated for the adverse effects of nCeO2. Concentrations of Ce and Ti in aboveground plant fractions were minute. The fate of nanomaterials within the plant tissues was different. Crystalline nTiO2 aggregates were detected within the leaf tissues of barley, whereas nCeO2 was not present in the form of nanoclusters

Heterodimers based on CoPt3-Au nanocrystals with tunable domain size.

We describe an approach to synthesize colloidal nanocrystal heterodimers composed of CoPt3 and Au. The growth is based on the nucleation of gold domains on preformed CoPt3 nanocrystals. It is a highly versatile methodology which allows us to tune independently the size of the two domains in each dimer by varying several reaction parameters. The statistical analysis of the distribution of the domain sizes in the dimers and the compositional mapping achieved by dark field imaging and energy dispersive spectroscopy confirm that the two domains in each dimer are indeed made of CoPt3 and Au, respectively. Structural characterization by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows that the two domains, both having cubic fcc Bravais lattice, can share a common {111}, {100}, or {110} facet, depending on the size of the initial CoPt3 seeds. The magnetization measurements evidence a ferromagnetic CoPt3 phase with a relatively low anisotropy as a consequence of their disordered crystalline structure, regardless of the presence of a Au tip. We believe that this prototype of nanocrystal dimer, which can be manipulated under air, can find several applications in nanoscience, as the Au section can be exploited as the preferential anchor point for various molecules, while the CoPt3 domain can be used for magnetic detection

The EARTHCRUISERS project (EARTH CRUst Imagery for investigating SEismicity, volcanism and marine natural Resources in the Sicilian offshore)

The EARTHCRUISERS project was developed for the MIUR’s call “Progetti Premiali 2015” by the “Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale” (Trieste, Italy) in collaboration with the “Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Osservatorio Etneo” (Catania, Italy) and “Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn” (Naples, Italy). The main goals of the project are: (i) to identify and characterize the main crustal tectonic structures offshore Sicily and the Aeolian Islands, (ii) to better understand the geodynamic processes controlling seismicity and volcanism affecting this region, and (iii) to furnish a useful tool to estimate seismic, tsunamigenic and volcanic hazard in the highly populated coastal sectors. Furthermore, in order to contribute at the Blue Growth objectives, the project aims to analyze some relevant issues related to mineral prospecting offshore, such as the characterization of the hydrothermal systems in the Tyrrhenian Sea and the impact of the exploitation of oil and gas fields on the marine environment in the Sicily Channel. To achieve these objectives the acquisition of multibeam and sidescan sonar, multichannel seismic reflection, magnetic and gravimetric data is planned. Nearly 2500 km of multichannel seismic reflection lines will be acquired during the project in the Marsili Basin (Tyrrhenian Sea) and Mt. Etna offshore. This large amount of data will allow to: better understand the relationship between tectonics and evolution of volcanism; identify active faults and volcanic bodies; better constrain the seismostratigraphic and structural setting of the study areas, and investigate the eventual occurrence of unstable volcanic slopes which could lead to landslide and tsunami. Finally, the deployment offshore southeastern Sicily of a temporary Ocean Bottom Seismometer (OBS) network will carry out for monitoring the natural seismicity in the area of VEGA platform, the largest oil extraction site in Italian seas. Data collected will be used to study the eventual correlation between local seismicity and oil extractive activities.PublishedRome2T. Deformazione crostale attiv

A Machine Learning Approach to Support Treatment Identification for Chiari I Malformation

Chiari I malformation is characterized by the herniation of cerebellar tonsils below the foramen magnum. It is often accompanied by syringomyelia and neurosurgical management is still controversial. In fact, it is frequent that some symptomatic patients initially undergo bony decompression of the posterior fossa and need in a short time more invasive surgery with higher morbility (e.g., decompression of posterior fossa with dural plastic, with or without tonsillar coarctation) because of unsatisfactory results at MRI controls. This study proposes a machine learning approach (based on SVM classifier), applied to different morphometric indices estimated from sagittal MRI and some information on the patient (i.e., age and symptoms at diagnosis), to recognize patients with higher risk of syringomyelia and clinical deterioration. Our database includes 58 pediatric patients who underwent surgery treatment. A negative outcome at 1 year from the intervention was observed in 38% of them (accuracy of 62%). Our algorithm allows us to increase the accuracy to about 71%, showing it to be a valid support to neurosurgeons in refining the clinical picture

Diagnostic accuracy of inferior vena cava evaluation in the diagnosis of acute heart failure among dyspneic patients.

Acute dyspnea is one of the main reasons for admission to the Emergency Department (ED). A rapid and accurate diagnosis can be lifesaving for these patients. Particularly, it is important to differentiate between dyspnea due to acute heart failure (AHF) and dyspnea of pulmonary origin. The aim of this study is to evaluate the real accuracy of the evaluation of diameter and collapsibility of IVC for the diagnosis of AHF among dyspneic patients. We analyzed 155 patients admitted for acute dyspnea to the ED of "Maurizio Bufalini" hospital in Cesena (Italy) and "Antonio Cardarelli" hospital in Naples (Italy) from November 2014 to April 2017. All patients underwent ultrasound of inferior vena cava (IVC) examination with a hand-held device in addition to the traditional pathway. Patients were classified into AHF group or non-AHF group according to the current guidelines. The final diagnosis was AHF in 64 patients and dyspnea of non-cardiac origin in 91 patients. Sensibility and specificity of IVC hypo-collapsibility was 75.81% (95% CI 63.26% to 85.78%) and 67.74% (95% CI 57.25% to 77.07%) for the diagnosis of AHF. Sensibility and specificity of IVC dilatation was 69.35% (95% CI 56.35% to 80.44%) and 74.19% (95%CI 64.08% to 82.71%) for the diagnosis of AHF. AUC was 0.718 (0.635-0.801) for IVC hypo-collapsibility, 0.718 (0.634-0.802) for IVC dilatation. Our study demonstrated that the sonographic assessment of IVC diameter and collapsibility is suboptimal to differentiate acute dyspnea due to AHF or other causes in the emergency setting

Measuring and benchmarking the quality of two different organizational ways in delivering infant vaccination

Introduction: The aim of this study was the quality of service evaluation of two different organizational ways in delivering infant vaccination according to a Regional Vaccination Plan. Materials and Methods: Eleven vaccination centres were selected in two Local Health Units (ASLs) belonging to the Regional Health Service of the Lazio Region, Italy. The services offering paediatric vaccinations for children under three years of age, delivered with the need for an appointment (VACL) or else without an appointment (VACP), were investigated. The quality aspects under evaluation were communicational efficiency, organisational efficiency and comfort. Three steps are necessary to quantify the overall quality of service. Step 1 involves different stakeholders and the elicitation of best and worst feasible performance conditions for the ASLs when delivering VACP/VACL services (i.e., subjective data collection). Step 2 consists in the observation of current performances of the selected vaccination centres (i.e., objective data collection). Step 3 involves the combination of all data. Benchmarking between VACP and VACL, i.e., two different organisational ways in delivering infant vaccination, can be performed as a result of the probabilistic meaning of the evaluated scores. Results: An expert of vaccination services, i.e., a virtual combination of patients, doctors and nurses, claims the quality of service delivery of the ASLs under investigation with probability 78.03% and 69.67% for VACL and VACP, respectively. In other words, for short, the quality scores of the ASLs were 78.03% for VACP and 69.67% for VACL. Furthermore our results show how to practically improve the current service delivery

The Temporal Modulation of Nocebo Hyperalgesia in a Model of Sustained Pain

Background: The direction and the magnitude of verbal suggestions have been shown to be strong modulators of nocebo hyperalgesia, while little attention has been given to the role of their temporal content. Here, we investigate whether temporal suggestions modulate the timing of nocebo hyperalgesia in an experimental model of sustained pain. Methods: Fifty-one healthy participants were allocated to one of three groups. Participants received an inert cream and were instructed that the agent had either hyperalgesic properties setting in after 5 (Nocebo 5, N5) or 30 (Nocebo 30, N30) minutes from cream application, or hydrating properties (No Expectation Group, NE). Pain was induced by the Cold Pressure Test (CPT) which was repeated before cream application (baseline) and after 10 (Test10) and 35 (Test35) minutes. Changes in pain tolerance and in HR at each test point in respect to baseline were compared between the three groups. Results: Tolerance change at Test 10 (Δ10) was greater in N5 (MED = −36.8; IQR = 20.9) compared to NE (MED = −5.3; IQR = 22.4; p < 0.001) and N30 (MED = 0.0; IQR = 23.1; p < 0.001), showing that hyperalgesia was only present in the group that expected the effect of the cream to set in early. Tolerance change at Test 35 (Δ35) was greater in N5 (MED = −36.3; IQR = 35.3; p = 0.002) and in N30 (MED = −33.3; IQR = 34.8; p = 0.009) compared to NE, indicating delayed onset of hyperalgesia in N30, and sustained hyperalgesia in N5. No group differences were found for HR. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that temporal expectations shift nocebo response onset in a model of sustained pain

Non-Abelian duality from vortex moduli: a dual model of color-confinement

It is argued that the dual transformation of non-Abelian monopoles occurring in a system with gauge symmetry breaking G -> H is to be defined by setting the low-energy H system in Higgs phase, so that the dual system is in confinement phase. The transformation law of the monopoles follows from that of monopole-vortex mixed configurations in the system (with a large hierarchy of energy scales, v_1 >> v_2) G -> H -> 0, under an unbroken, exact color-flavor diagonal symmetry H_{C+F} \sim {\tilde H}. The transformation property among the regular monopoles characterized by \pi_2(G/H), follows from that among the non-Abelian vortices with flux quantized according to \pi_1(H), via the isomorphism \pi_1(G) \sim \pi_1(H) / \pi_2(G/H). Our idea is tested against the concrete models -- softly-broken {\cal N}=2 supersymmetric SU(N), SO(N) and USp(2N) theories, with appropriate number of flavors. The results obtained in the semiclassical regime (at v_1 >> v_2 >> \Lambda) of these models are consistent with those inferred from the fully quantum-mechanical low-energy effective action of the systems (at v_1, v_2 \sim \Lambda).Comment: 2+27 pages, 5 figures; v3, minor change