Star formation in the central regions of galaxies

Massive star formation in the central regions of spiral galaxies plays an important role in the dynamical and secular evolution of their hosts. Here, we summarise a number of recent investigations of the star formation history and the physical conditions of the gas in circumnuclear regions, to illustrate not only the detailed results one can achieve, but also the potential of using state-of-the-art spectroscopic and analysis techniques in researching the central regions of galaxies in general. We review how the star formation history of nuclear rings confirms that they are long-lived and stable configurations. Gas flows in from the disk, through the bar, and into the ring, where successive episodes of massive star formation occur. Analysing the ring in NGC 7742 in particular, we determine the physical conditions of the line emitting gas using a combination of ionisation and stellar population modelling, concluding that the origin of the nuclear ring in this non-barred galaxy lies in a recent minor merger with a small gas-rich galaxy.Comment: Invited contribution, to appear in "Mapping the Galaxy and other galaxies", Eds. K. Wada and F. Combes, Springer, in pres

A review of power electronics equipment for all-electric ship MVDC power systems

Medium Voltage DC (MVDC) distribution Power Systems for all-electric ships (AES) can be regarded as functionally composed of three subsystems, namely the power sources, the load centers and the distribution network. Extensive use of power electronics is required for connecting power sources and load centers to the MVDC bus and for protecting the MVDC power system through properly placed DC circuit breakers. In this paper, an overview is given of the power electronics equipment found in the literature and on the market that could be suitable for use in future AES MVDC power systems. Some industrial experiences regarding DC generator systems, energy storage apparatus and solid-state DC circuit breaker prototypes are reported in the paper as examples of state-of-the-art realizations. Different DC/DC converters, which can be employed as solid-state transformers, are also discussed and a structure obtained by combining them is proposed

Comparison of the effect of different resistance training frequencies on phase angle and handgrip strength in obese women: A randomized controlled trial

Phase angle (PA) is a strong predictor of sarcopenia, fragility, and risk of mortality in obese people, while an optimal muscular function and handgrip strength (HS) are required to perform different daily activities. Although there is a general agreement that resistance training improves health status in obese people, the optimal weekly training frequency forPA and physical performance parameters is not clear.This study aimed to compare the effects of different weekly resistance training frequencies performed over a 24week exercise program on PA and HSin obese people. Forty-two women (56.2 \ub1 9.1 years, body mass index (BMI) 37.1 \ub1 4.9 kg/m2) were randomly allocatedto one of two groups: a group with a highweekly training frequency of three times a week (HIGH, n= 21) and a group that performed only one weekly session (LOW, n= 21). The groups trained with an identical exercise intensity and volume per session for 6 months. Before and after the intervention period, the participants were assessed for anthropometric measures, bioimpedance analysis, and HS. There was a significant group 7 time interaction (p<0.05) for waist circumference, bioimpedance reactance divided by body height (Xc/H), PA, and HS measures. In addition, only the HIGH group increased Xc/H, PA, and HS after the intervention period (p<0.05), even after adjusting for weight loss and menopausal status. Physical exercise performed three times a week promotes better adaptations in PA and HSwhen compared with the same program performed once a week in obese women

Mid-sagittal plane detection for advanced physiological measurements in brain scans

Objective: The process of diagnosing many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's and progressive supranuclear palsy, involves the study of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in order to identify and locate morphological markers that can highlight the health status of the subject. A fundamental step in the pre-processing and analysis of MRI scans is the identification of the mid-sagittal plane, which corresponds to the mid-brain and allows a coordinate reference system for the whole MRI scan set. Approach: To improve the identification of the mid-sagittal plane we have developed an algorithm in Matlab® based on the k-means clustering function. The results have been compared with the evaluation of four experts who manually identified the mid-sagittal plane and whose performances have been combined with a cognitive decisional algorithm in order to define a gold standard. Main results: The comparison provided a mean percentage error of 1.84%. To further refine the automatic procedure we trained a machine learning system using the results from the proposed algorithm and the gold standard. We tested this machine learning system and obtained results comparable to medical raters with a mean absolute error of 1.86 slices. Significance: The system is promising and could be directly incorporated into broader diagnostic support systems

Effects of the ionizing radiation disinfection treatment on historical leather

Microorganisms often cause significant damage on historical objects. The archive or library materials as well as textile or leather artifacts suffer serious attacks that need appropriate care treatments. Several biocide processes have been implemented but often their application does not preserve the material of the good. The objective of this work is the disinfection through ionizing radiation of leather wallpaper from the museum building Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia (Rome, Italy). The controlled sterilization treatments were carried out using X-ray beams to eliminate the microorganisms present on the leather and maintaining unchanged the properties of the constituent material. Some fragments of decorated leather wallpaper, dating back to the 1700s, were irradiated with X-rays up to 5,000 Gy. The amount of microorganisms was evaluated by microbiological analysis before and after X-ray irradiation treatments to identify the dose that inhibits the bacterial load. It will be shown how the results obtained by the application of different chemical-physical techniques (Scanning Electron Microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy and Light Transmission Analysis) have helped in the evaluation of the impact of the X-rays on leather chemical and physical integrity

A hydroalcoholic gel-based disinfection system for deteriogenic fungi on the contemporary mixed media artwork Poesia by Alessandro Kokocinski

The disinfection of deteriogenic microorganisms and the removal of induced chromatic alterations in artworks are still open challenges in the field of conservation. For this purpose, a new alcoholic hydrogel was tested to remove an extensive fungal attack from a multimaterial collage by the artist Alessandro Kokocinski and to mitigate chromatic changes caused by the contamination of its poster paper and plywood support layers. A Gellan gum-based hydrogel was used, which was modified by adding a high concentration of alcohol (66.7% ethanol), to give the system an effective disinfecting agent in addition to the detergent capacity of the gel for water-sensitive works of art. It was successfully tested on samples mimicking the complex stratigraphy of the artwork under study. To create replica mock-ups, the artwork materials and stratigraphy were investigated through diagnostic and laboratory techniques such as multispectral imaging, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and pyrolysis coupled with gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry. The treatment was shown to have a disinfecting effect on the test samples and did not alter their structure, allowing us to apply the method to the artwork. Here, the hydrogel successfully removed and inhibited fungal proliferation in addition to mitigating the color changes caused by fungi

Crizotinib plus radiotherapy in brain oligoprogressive NSCLC ROS1 rearranged and PD-L1 strong

ROS1+ patients represent a unique molecular subset of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Early phase clinical trials have shown a high response rate to crizotinib in these patients. We describe a case of an 18 years old woman, never smoker, with NSCLC ROS1+ and miliary brain metastases treated with crizotinib and radiotherapy. From October 2014 to June 2015 the Patient was treated with crizotinib. The first intracranial time to progression (IT-TTP) occurred after 7 months; the patient underwent stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and continued TKI treatment. The second IT-TTP appeared after 16 months. A continued response in the chest was observed for all the 23 months of crizotinib treatment. At the progression, we assessed programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression by immunohistochemistry, that resulted highly expressed. Our report indicates that the integration of crizotinib with local treatments should be considered in ROS1 NSCLC patients experiencing oligometastatic progression. Moreover, this case is an example of PD-L1 strong in oncogene addicted patients