Su alcune toposequenze di suoli nel Bacino del Rio S'Acqua Callenti (Sardegna meridionale)

Nel presente lavoro vengono descritte e commentate tre sequenze di suoli in funzione della morfologia, studiate in altrettanti piccoli bacini idrografici nel Sarrabus-Gerrei (Sardegna centro-meridionale). Lo scopo principale della ricerca è quello di chiarire alcuni rapporti esistenti tra morfologia e suoli derivati dalle rocce metamorfiche e cristalline diffuse nella zona centrale e meridionale dell'isola. Tale immagine vuole essere anche un contributo alla soluzione di alcuni problemi di cartografia pedologica che si sono manifestati durante i rilevamenti che si stanno effettuando nella suddetta area

Preoperative Evaluation of Patients Undergoing Lung Resection Surgery: Defining the Role of the Anesthesiologist on a Multidisciplinary Team

IN THE FIELD of thoracic surgery, one of the key problems in lung resection is the management and function of the residual lung, which has the potential to interfere with both the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems, and, therefore, influence surgical outcome in terms of morbidity and mortality. Between 2007 and 2013, 5 papers addressing preoperative evaluation and risk stratification were published.1-5 However, the members of the task forces responsible for these documents did not include all the professionals involved in the preoperative surgical evaluation, and the documents mainly addressed the stratification of respiratory risk

Blu e il cielo: un progetto didattico sperimentale per la scuola dell’infanzia.

Il progetto didattico generale è presentato nelle pagine web: https://www.oa-cagliari.inaf.it/divulgazione/page.php?id_page=124&level=4 https://play.inaf.it/le-avventure-di-blu/In questo report riassumeremo le linee generali di un progetto didattico pilota (“Blu e il cielo”) realizzato dall'INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari durante l'anno scolastico 2018-2019. Il progetto è stato sviluppato nell’ambito delle attività di progettazione e produzione di materiali didattici per studenti di qualsiasi età e livello scolastico, che INAF porta avanti da anni a livello sia locale sia nazionale. In particolare, il progetto descritto nel presente report è stato recentemente sviluppato attorno a un personaggio guida, una sfera blu chiamata Blu, che si propone di diventare un elemento iconografico identificativo delle attività didattiche INAF per i bambini della fascia prescolare o dei primi anni della scuola primaria

Carbon Nanodots from an In Silico Perspective

Carbon nanodots (CNDs) are the latest and most shining rising stars among photoluminescent (PL) nanomaterials. These carbon-based surface-passivated nanostructures compete with other related PL materials, including traditional semiconductor quantum dots and organic dyes, with a long list of benefits and emerging applications. Advantages of CNDs include tunable inherent optical properties and high photostability, rich possibilities for surface functionalization and doping, dispersibility, low toxicity, and viable synthesis (top-down and bottom-up) from organic materials. CNDs can be applied to biomedicine including imaging and sensing, drug-delivery, photodynamic therapy, photocatalysis but also to energy harvesting in solar cells and as LEDs. More applications are reported continuously, making this already a research field of its own. Understanding of the properties of CNDs requires one to go to the levels of electrons, atoms, molecules, and nanostructures at different scales using modern molecular modeling and to correlate it tightly with experiments. This review highlights different in silico techniques and studies, from quantum chemistry to the mesoscale, with particular reference to carbon nanodots, carbonaceous nanoparticles whose structural and photophysical properties are not fully elucidated. The role of experimental investigation is also presented. Hereby, we hope to encourage the reader to investigate CNDs and to apply virtual chemistry to obtain further insights needed to customize these amazing systems for novel prospective applications

Oxytocin Nasal Spray in the Treatment of Binge Eating Disorder and Obesity: A pilot, Randomized, Double Blind Trial

1.1. Background Preclinical studies suggest that the neuropeptide oxytocin reduces food intake and body weight, but only a few clinical studies have investigated the translatability of these findings in humans. The present study investigated the safety and efficacy of oxytocin nasal spray in patients affected by binge eating disorder and obesity. 1.2. Methods Seventeen outpatients affected by binge eating disorder and obesity participated in a 8 week double-blind trial and received oxytocin (n=8; 24 IU, four times a day, 20 min before each of three meals and before going to bed) or placebo (n=9) with an energy-restricted diet. Primary outcomes included adverse events and the number of binge eating episodes per week. Secondary measures included body weight, BMI, severity of BED, craving for food, quality of sleep, quality of life, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. 1.3. Results One patient of oxytocin group discontinued prematurely the trial before the first post-randomization efficacy measure. Among the other 16 participants, 13 (81.2%) completed the trial, and 3 (18.8%) discontinued [3 in the oxytocin group; 0 in the placebo group (p=0.0625, Fisher’s exact test)]. No significant difference between groups was found in any outcome evaluated. Patients of the placebo group performed slightly better than patients of the oxytocin group in some secondary outcomes, but these differences were not significant. 1.4. Conclusion Oxytocin nasal spray resulted to be safe, including in women of childbearing age but did not significantly reduce the number of binge eating episodes per week in outpatients affected by binge eating disorder and obesity. These findings are discussed in light of the human oxytocin literature. Keyword