On the shape factor of interaction laws for a non-local approximation of the Sobolev norm and the total variation

We consider the family of non-local and non-convex functionals introduced by H. Brezis and H.-M. Nguyen in a recent paper. These functionals Gamma-converge to a multiple of the Sobolev norm or the total variation, depending on a summability exponent, but the exact values of the constants are unknown in many cases. We describe a new approach to the Gamma-convergence result that leads in some special cases to the exact value of the constants, and to the existence of smooth recovery families.Comment: Compte-rendu that summarizes the strategy developed in ArXiv:1708.01231 and ArXiv:1712.04413. This version extends the previous one keeping into account the changes in the above papers. 9 page

Ground beetle assemblages in six different forest ecosystems from Tuscany (Central Italy) (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

Forest ecosystems are an important part of the European territory. In 1994 the Regional Administration of Tuscany (Italy) promoted a monitoring program called MON.I.TO (Intensive Monitoring of forest in Toscana) in order to obtain data on the functioning of the forest ecosystem and on its response to possible sources of disturbance in this part of Italy. Although this monitoring program was mostly dedicated to botanical aspects, zoological research has found its proper place within it, and analyzing carabid coenoses provided useful information on the structural and functional characteristics of the forest. This study was performed in six different Tuscan forest ecosystems (Central Italy): 2 beech woodlands, 2 turkey oak woodlands and 2 holm oak woodlands with the aim of broadening the general knowledge of italian carabid communities and understanding the ecological, adaptive and biogeographical factors influencing their composition in different forest ecosystems. The analysis of the species richness and abundance data was carried out using non-parametric tests (Kruskal-Wallis and PERMANOVA tests) and descriptive statistic methods (n-MDS, SIMPER) applied to 22 different collected species (some of them endemic to the Italian territory) revealing that beech woodlands differed significantly from other forest types. Beech woodlands hosted carabid communities that are extremely sensitive to environmental simplification, showing a prevalence of brachypterous and predator species. In the other forest types, instead, carabid communities were composed of generalist species with high dispersal ability that were prevalent due to the effects of anthropic activities that occurred over time in these territories. Our results highlight the importance of considering community-wide functional implications in landscape ecology studies

Oribatid mite (Arachnida: Oribatida) coenoses from SW Sardinia

Oribatid mite communities were investigated at five sites in SW Sardinia (Carbonia-Iglesias and Medio Campidano provinces) in three representative habitat types: holm oak (Quercus ilex) forest, cork oak (Quercus suber) forest and pineland (Pinus radiata and P. pinaster). A total of 1,180 oribatid mite specimens, belonging to 67 different species, were extracted from soil samples. Significant differences in species diversity, abundance and Berger-Parker index of dominance were found among the different vegetation types throughout the sampling period, and non-metric multidimensional scaling (n-MDS) ordination confirmed a clear separation between the three coenoses, showing how oribatid assemblages are significantly affected by habitat evolution. The faunistic knowledge of the oribatid mites of Sardinia is rather poor, the present research represents one of the first contributions for the main Sardinian island. Besides a majority of eurytopic and widespread species representing the main part of the edaphic communities in Mediterranean landscapes, some rare and characteristic species are recorded. They are remnants of the original populations of Sardinia and the western part of the Italian peninsula, resulting from the complex tectonic events that formed the western Mediterranean basin. Among these, Belorchestes gebennicus Grandjean, 1957 (Zetorchestidae), Microppia minus longisetosa Subías & Rodriguez, 1988, and Pluritrichoppia insolita Subías & Arillo, 1989 (Oppiidae) had never been collected in Italy, single individuals of Oxyoppioides and Thamnacarus probably belong to undescribed species, while Brachychthonius hirtus Moritz, 1976 (Brachychthoniidae), Mongaillardia aeoliana (Bernini, 1979) (Amerobelbidae), Berniniella aeoliana (Bernini, 1973), Lauroppia similifallax Subías & Minguez, 1986, Ramusella (Ramusella) gyrata (Mahunka & Paoletti, 1984) (Oppiidae) and Ophidiotrichus oglasae Bernini, 1975 (Oribatellidae) are new to the Sardinian fauna

On the usability of consumer locomotion techniques in serious games: Comparing arm swinging, treadmills and walk-in-place

When we refer to locomotion in Virtual Reality (VR) we subtend a vast and variegated number of investigations, solutions and devices coming from both research and industry. Despite this richness, a consolidated methodology for evaluating the many locomotion techniques available is still lacking. The present paper extends a previous work in which authors performed a user study-based comparison between two common locomotion techniques, i.e., Arm Swinging, and an omni-directional treadmill with a containment ring. In the study, users were engaged in a realistic immersive VR scenario depicting a fire event in a road tunnel. Remaining adherent to the previously defined methodology, the current work widens the comparison to consider two other locomotion methods (keeping results obtained with the former technique above for reference purposes), namely, a different treadmill constraining the user through a top-mounted independent support structure, and Walk-in-Place, a technique which allows the user to move in the virtual environment by performing a natural marching gesture by exploiting two sensors placed on his or her legs

Highly diverse urban soil communities: does stochasticity play a major role?

Urban soil biota can be surprisingly diverse and recent studies hypothesize that such biodiversity is partly due to stochastic community dynamics caused by fragmentation and high environmental variability. We aimed to quantify the relative effects of these factors on the community structure of soil oribatid mites inhabiting holm oak woodlands in two Mediterranean cities. We partitioned the community variation into fractions uniquely attributable to gradients in soil abiotic properties, pollution, microbiological properties, and spatial and temporal variation that could not be related to measured soil factors. As we found strong spatial structure at the local scales, a neutral model was fitted to test whether beta diversity patterns of relatively isolated communities were consistent with a purely stochastic assembly process. The overall diversity of the assemblage was remarkable: a total of 124 species were identified and rarefaction curves demonstrated that urban parks are as rich in species as their counterpart woodlands in suburban areas. The fraction of variation explainable in terms of soil properties, microbiology and pollution was statistically significant but surprisingly low. At the site scale, patterns of beta diversity (i.e. spatial turnover in species composition and relative abundances) were not significantly different from those predicted by neutral models. Stochastic models can parsimoniously predict background levels of urban soil biodiversity at local scales, while disturbance and environmental variation still play some significant but not major role at broader scales

Investigation on microbiology of olive oil extraction process

Several batches of approx. 200 kg olives from Frantoio and Moraiolo cultivars were processed in an oil mill at two dates of harvesting. Samples were collected in several steps of extraction process for sensory, chemical and microbial analyses.All extracted olive oil from the second olive harvesting date was affected by sensory defects and hence classified as being “non-extra virgin”. A distinction between extra virgin olive oil and nonextra virgin olive oil obtained from both harvesting dates was explained by the volatile compounds content of olive oil samples and by yeast and mould counts collected at different processing steps

Obesity can influence children’s and adolescents’ airway hyperresponsiveness differently

BACKGROUND: Literature is still arguing about a possible relationship between airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and body mass index (BMI). This study aimed at evaluating the influence of BMI on AHR and pulmonary function in children and adolescents that performed a methacholine test for suggestive asthma symptoms. METHODS: 799 consecutive children/adolescents (535 M; mean age: 15 ± 3 yrs; median FEV(1)% predicted: 101.94% [93.46-111.95] and FEV(1)/FVC predicted: 91.07 [86.17-95.38]), were considered and divided into underweight, normal, overweight and obese. Different AHR levels were considered as moderate/severe (PD(20) ≤ 400 μg) and borderline (PD(20) > 400 μg). RESULTS: 536 children/adolescents resulted hyperreactive with a median PD(20) of 366 μg [IQR:168–1010.5]; 317 patients were affected by moderate/severe AHR, whereas 219 showed borderline hyperresponsiveness. Obese subjects aged > 13 years showed a lower (p = 0.026) median PD(20) (187μg [IQR:110–519]) compared to overweight (377 μg [IQR:204–774]) and normal-weight individuals’ values (370.5 μg [IQR:189–877]). On the contrary, median PD(20) observed in obese children aged ≤ 13 years (761 μg [IQR:731–1212]) was higher (p = 0.052) compared to normal-weight children’s PD20 (193 μg [IQR:81–542]) and to obese adolescents’ values (aged > 13 years) (p = 0.019). Obesity was a significant AHR risk factor (OR:2.853[1.037-7.855]; p = 0.042) in moderate/severe AHR adolescents. Females showed a higher AHR risk (OR:1.696[1.046-2.751] p = 0.032) compared to males. A significant relationship was found between BMI and functional parameters (FEV(1), FVC, FEV(1)/FVC) only in hyperreactive females. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity seems to influence AHR negatively in female but not in male adolescents and children. In fact, AHR is higher in obese teenagers, in particular in those with moderate/severe hyperresponsiveness, and may be mediated by obesity-associated changes in baseline lung function

Documenting cultural heritage in an INSPIRE-based 3D GIS for risk and vulnerability analysis

Purpose The study, within the Increasing Resilience of Cultural Heritage (ResCult) project, aims to support civil protection to prevent, lessen and mitigate disasters impacts on cultural heritage using a unique standardised-3D geographical information system (GIS), including both heritage and risk and hazard information. Design/methodology/approach A top-down approach, starting from existing standards (an INSPIRE extension integrated with other parts from the standardised and shared structure), was completed with a bottom-up integration according to current requirements for disaster prevention procedures and risk analyses. The results were validated and tested in case studies (differentiated concerning the hazard and type of protected heritage) and refined during user forums. Findings Besides the ensuing reusable database structure, the filling with case studies data underlined the tough challenges and allowed proposing a sample of workflows and possible guidelines. The interfaces are provided to use the obtained knowledge base. Originality/value The increasing number of natural disasters could severely damage the cultural heritage, causing permanent damage to movable and immovable assets and tangible and intangible heritage. The study provides an original tool properly relating the (spatial) information regarding cultural heritage and the risk factors in a unique archive as a standard-based European tool to cope with these frequent losses, preventing risk