P.I.P.P.I.: What has changed? How and why? The empirical evidence

This paper provides a summary of the results of the P.I.P.P.I. Program in achieving the prefixed goals on the final, intermediate and proximal outcome variables, regarding children\u2019s development, the positive exercise of parental competences and the effective action of services respectively. Therefore, the main purpose is to describe the impact of the program on the overall well-being of children and families in relation to the processes implemented. This is possible thanks to the wealth of information gathered by professionals through the tools provided for the analysis, design and monitoring activities in the work with families

Investigating the Mechanism by which Bcl-xL Regulates Ceramide Channels

Digitalitzat per Artypla

Microwave processing of high entropy alloys: A powder metallurgy approach

Microwaves at the ISM frequency of 2450 and 5800 MHz have been exploited to prepare FeCoNiCrAl-family high entropy alloys by direct heating of pressed mixtures of metal powders. The aim of this work is to explore a new microwave assisted near-net-shape technology, using powder metallurgy approach for the preparation of high entropy alloys, able to overcome the limits of current melting technologies (defects formation) or solid state ones (time demanding). Results show that direct microwave heating of the powder precursors occurs, and further heating generation is favored by the ignition of exothermal reactions in the compound. Microwave processing, exploited both for the ignition and sustaining of such reactions, has been compared to reactive sintering in laboratory furnace and mechanical alloying in a planetary ball milling. Results demonstrate that microwave required the shortest time and lowest energy consumption, thus it is promising time- and cost-saving synthetic route

Stability, resonance and role of turbulent stresses in 1D alluvial flows

Linear stability analysis is used to investigate the behavior of small perturbations of a uniform flow in a straight channel with an erodible bed composed by a unisize sediment. A shallow-water flow model is employed and bedload sediment transport is assumed. The mathematical structure of the linear problem, in terms of the eigenvalues and their associated eigenvectors is explored in detail and information is gathered on the wavespeed and growth rate of the perturbations as a function of their wavelength and of the relevant flow and sediment parameters. Several aspects of the solution are discussed, with particular focus on the behaviour in the transcritical region where the Froude number approaches unity. An approximate solution for the roots of the eigenrelationship is presented, which is not uniformly valid in the transcritical region, leading to the appearance of an unphysical instability. A regular perturbation expansion is then introduced that allows for the elimination of this singularity

Analytical pyrolysis with in-situ silylation, Py(HMDS)-GC/MS, for the chemical characterization of archaeological and historical amber objects

n/

Timing in Analytical Pyrolysis: Py(HMDS)-GC/MS of Glucose and Cellulose Using Online Micro Reaction Sampler

A novel analytical approach based on pyrolysis-gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry of carbohydrates with in situ silylation using hexamethyldisilazane is presented in this work for the first time. A micro reaction sampler was used to simultaneously achieve the pyrolyis reaction and facilitate the derivatization of pyrolysis products, by enabling the materials to react with the derivatizing agent in a sealed capsule at high temperature and pressure for long periods of time. This drastically increased the complete silylation of the pyrolysis products and the chromatographic resolution, resulting in less complex pyrograms and increased sensitivity toward the most stable compounds. Different results were obtained for glucose and cellulose in terms of predominant pyrolytic pathways. The formation of anhydrosugars was the preferential pyrolytic reaction for glucose, while the formation of cyclopentenones and small molecules was predominant for the pyrolysis of cellulose. Steric hindrance effects of polysaccharide chains on the efficiency of the derivatizing agent were hypothesized in order to explain the different results. A good reproducibility was found, with relative standard deviations not greater than 10%. Semiquantitative calculations showed that the partial silylation of anhydrosugars was almost completely overcome after 10 min of reactive pyrolysis. This work discloses a powerful and potentially widely applicable analytical method for the investigations of organic materials under controlled pyrolytic conditions, with the advantage of increasing the effectiveness of in situ derivatization

Triplin: Functional Probing of Its Structure and the Dynamics of the Voltage-Gating Process

Gram-negative bacteria have a large variety of channel-forming proteins in their outer membrane, generally referred to as porins. Some display weak voltage dependence. A similar trimeric channel former, named Triplin, displays very steep voltage dependence, rivaling that responsible for the electrical excitability of mammals, and high inter-subunit cooperativity. We report detailed insights into the molecular basis for these very unusual properties explored at the single-molecule level. By using chemical modification to reduce the charge on the voltage sensors, they were shown to be positively charged structures. Trypsin cleavage of the sensor eliminates voltage gating by cleaving the sensor. From asymmetrical addition of these reagents, the positively charged voltage sensors translocate across the membrane and are, thus, responsible energetically for the steep voltage dependence. A mechanism underlying the cooperativity was also identified. Theoretical calculations indicate that the charge on the voltage sensor can explain the rectification of the current flowing through the open pores if it is located near the pore mouth in the open state. All results support the hypothesis that one of the three subunits is oriented in a direction opposite to that of the other two. These properties make Triplin perhaps the most complex pore-forming molecular machine described to date

Pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry: a promising tool for disclosing metal-free tanning agents used in leather industry

Leather represents the principal industrial product derived from the skin of animals. Leather manufacturing has evolved from artisanal practice, making use of vegetable tannins, to industrial production, today mostly based on chromium salts. Chromium tanning accounts for the most efficient and affordable process available on the market, but the environmental pressure caused by heavy metal pollution has pushed towards the development of Metal-Free leather tanning agents. This paper aims at highlighting the potentialities and limits of analytical pyrolysis to characterise metal-free leather samples and to identify the tanning agents. To this aim, thirty-three bovine split leather samples tanned with various metal-free tanning agents (constituted by single or combined formulations of GRANOFIN® F90, glutaraldehyde, tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium sulphate, oxazolidine and three different synthetic tannins), provided by bovine split suppliers (Tuscany, Italy) were analysed by flash Pyrolysis coupled with Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC-MS). For most of the tanning formulations, Py-GC-MS was able to determine pyrolytic markers in reference materials, intermediates (wet-white metal-free and metal-free crust) and end-products (metal-free final products). Evolved Gas Analysis coupled with Mass Spectrometry (EGA-MS) was used to evaluate, from the molecular point of view, the thermodegradative profiles of metal-free leathers and compare them with that of chromium tanned leather