'Ti voglio raccontare.' Narrazioni orali di un flusso migratorio dalla Campania (Italia) ad Adelaide (Sud Australia) nel Secondo Dopoguerra

This paper is also presented in Italian in the same volume. It appears as: 'Ti voglio raccontare.' Narrazioni orali di un flusso migratorio dalla Campania (Italia) ad Adelaide (Sud Australia) nel Secondo Dopoguerra, 29-38. The bibliography appears after the English version.This paper presents selected findings from the oral testimonies of a group of first generation Italians who were born in the region of Campania in Southern Italy and who emigrated to the city of Adelaide, in South Australia, in the 1950s-1960s. It considers data drawn from two discrete groups: firstly, Campanians who migrated to Adelaide after the Second World War, and who now live there; and secondly, a small number of them who moved to Adelaide in the same period but who decided to return to Italy. The narratives of both groups were examined to analyse issues of cultural dislocation, the maintenance of core values, identity formation and the development of ways to help the integration of Australian-born children. The reasons for repatriation of the second group were of particular interest

A Comparison of Marketing Techniques Among Military Recruiters

The U.S. Department of Defense spent $11 billion in enlistment and retention bonuses from 2006 to 2010, which had only a marginally positive effect on the enlistment rate for the Army. The case study addressed this business problem of recruiting by exploring marketing strategies successful recruiting professionals used to motivate individuals to join the military. The purpose of this study was to determine effective recruiting strategies. Therefore, it incorporated the conceptual framework of emergent strategy theory, which postulated the best strategies are neither completely planned nor completely random, but are rather an adaptation to changing dynamics and circumstances. The population consisted of 2 former recruiters, 1 from the Army and another from the Marine Corps, as well as 38 college students located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Data for the study morphed from face-to-face interviews and 3 focus groups comprised of 10 to 15 students each, for the purpose of addressing the research question. Data analysis occurred through a process of coding and theming. The 9 themes identified included tell the story, advertising strategies, and fit for duty. A lesson learned from these themes was that the key for successful recruiting strategies lies in aligning with the wants and needs of individuals in the target demographic. If senior leaders in the Department of Defense followed the recommendations provided, each of the branches of the military service could potentially achieve higher recruiting rates at a lower cost. The study could result in social change whereby eligible recruits could view the Army and Marine Corps as professions of arms in which individuals can live out their ideals of patriotism but also have a good quality of life due to the benefits of military service

Frequency noise characterization of diode lasers for vapor-cell clock applications

The knowledge of the frequency noise spectrum of a diode laser is of interest in several high-resolution experiments. Specifically, in laser-pumped vapor-cell clocks, it is well-established that the laser frequency noise plays a role in affecting clock performances. It is then relevant to characterize the frequency noise of a diode laser since such measurements are rarely found in the literature and hardly ever provided by vendors. In this article, we describe a technique based on a frequency-to-voltage (f/V) converter that transforms the laser frequency fluctuations into voltage fluctuations. In this way, it is possible to characterize the laser frequency noise power spectral density (PSD) in a wide range of Fourier frequencies, as required in cell clock applications

Modulation of Antioxidant Compounds in Fruits of Citrus reticulata Blanco Using Postharvest LED Irradiation

Phlegrean mandarin fruits are already known for health-promoting properties due to the high concentration of phytochemicals in peel, pulp, and seed. Biotic and abiotic factors, including light, may modulate their biosynthesis, metabolism, and accumulation. In this context, light-emitting diodes (LED) have recently been applied to control nutritional traits, ripening process, senescence, fruit shelf-life, and pathogenic microbial spoilage of fruits. This study investigated the effect of the seven-day exposure of Phlegrean mandarin fruits to two LED regimes, white (W) and red–blue (RB), to test the possibility that the storage under specific light wavelengths may be used as green preservation technology that enhances fruit phytochemical properties. To pursue this aim, the antioxidant activity and polyphenolic profile of the pulp and peel of mandarins under W and RB light regimes were evaluated and compared with Control fruits not exposed to LED treatment. Our results indicated that storage under W and RB treatments modulates the antioxidant content in pulp and peel differently. Compared to W, the RB regime increases the ascorbic acid, flavonoid, anthocyanin, and carotenoid concentrations, while the polyphenol profile analysis reveals that the number of important phytochemicals, i.e., quercetin rutinoside, chlorogenic acid, sinensetin, and rutin, are higher under W. The overall data demonstrated that postharvest LED irradiation is a valid tool for modifying fruit phytochemical properties, which also boosts specific bioactive compounds

a smartphone application for supporting the data collection and analysis of the cultural heritage damaged during natural disasters

The adverse impacts of natural disasters on lives and livelihoods, as well as regional and local economies, are increasingly evident, and losses to both tangible and intangible cultural heritage due to these disasters pay an important role in the total amount. In fact, damages to sites, structures and artifacts of cultural and historical value, as well as impacts to cultural tourism and the financial resources, produce a strong competitive disadvantage on local communities. Emergency decision making, based on awareness of the suffered damages, can play a crucial role in the attempts of improving resilience of the strategic elements; however, this process typically requires a fast overview on large territories. In this work, we propose a novel framework for obtaining an agile solution to quickly collect and analyze picture galleries and information provided by both internal staff and citizens through commercially available mobile devices. This solution virtually generates a network of information sources during emergency time (e.g., a seismic sequence), and allows to produce a situation map in GIS environment, hence supporting the health status analysis of cultural heritage over time. This paper presents the prototype system composed of: (1) a smartphone application for the acquisition of new information and the examination of existing one; (2) a web-service for exchanging data with databases; and (3) a local service that makes use of a proper piece of software for obtaining a 3D reconstruction from new picture galleries. The proposed system results in a scalable, exportable and modular tool useful during the emergency and for preserving memories of local communities

Absolute frequency measurement of a Yb optical clock at the limit of the Cs fountain

We present the new absolute frequency measurement of ytterbium (171Yb) obtained at INRiM with the optical lattice clock IT-Yb1 against the cryogenic caesium (133Cs) fountain IT-CsF2, evaluated through a measurement campaign that lasted 14 months. Measurements are performed by either using a hydrogen maser as a transfer oscillator or by synthesizing a low-noise microwave for Cs interrogation using an optical frequency comb. The frequency of the 171Yb unperturbed clock transition ${^1}$S$_0\rightarrow {^3}$P0 results to be 518 295 836 590 863.44(14) Hz, with a total fractional uncertainty of $2.7 \times 10^{-16}$ that is limited by the uncertainty of IT-CsF2. Our measurement is in agreement with the Yb frequency recommended by the Consultative Committee for Time and Frequency. This result confirms the reliability of Yb as a secondary representation of the second and is relevant to the process of redefining the second in the International System of Units on an optical transition

Antioxidant Properties of Pulp, Peel and Seeds of Phlegrean Mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) at Different Stages of Fruit Ripening

In this work, we assess the potential of waste products of Phlegrean mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco), namely seeds and peel, to be reutilized as a source of bioactive compounds beneficial for the human diet. Starting from the evidence that the by-products of this specific cultivar are the most powerful sources of antioxidants compared to pulp, we have investigated if and how the bioactive compounds in peel and seeds may be affected by fruit ripening. Three stages of fruit ripening have been considered in our study: unripe fruits = UF, semi-ripe fruits = SRF, ripe fruits = RF. The overall results indicated that RF showed the highest concentration of antioxidants. Among fruit components, peel was the richest in total antioxidant capacity, total polyphenol content, total flavonoids, total chlorophylls and carotenoids, while seeds exhibited the highest concentration of total condensed tannins and ascorbic acid. The liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay indicates the occurrence, in peel extracts, of 28 phenolic compounds, mainly flavonoids (FLs); in seeds, 34 derivatives were present in the first stage (UF), which diminish to 24 during the ripening process. Our data indicated that the content of phytochemicals in citrus strongly varies among the fruit components and depends on the ripening stage. The higher antioxidant activity of peel and seeds, especially in RF, encourage a potential use of by-products of this specific citrus cultivar for industrial or pharmacological applications. However, to maximize the occurrence of desired bioactive compounds, it is important also to consider the ripening stage at which fruits must be collected

Novel insights on the contribution of collagen degradative macrophages to fibrosis resolution

Trabajo presentado en el EASL Congress 2023, celebrado en Viena (Austria), del 21 al 24 de junio de 2023Background and aims: Liver fibrosis is caused by an excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Macrophages are important effectors for ECM remodelling through recycling of the ECM within acidic compartments and can contribute to liver fibrosis resolution. Proteases, such as cathepsins, are essential for lysosomal proteolytic activity; however, their contribution to ECM remodelling within the macrophages is unknown. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the proteolytic and degradative signalling pathways associated to macrophages during liver fibrosis. Method: A novel macrophage-cathepsin D KO mouse strain (CtsDΔMyel) was generated by breeding LysMCre (macrophages) with CtsD-floxed mice. Fibrosis was established by chronic CCl4 administration and bile duct ligation in CtsDF/F or CtsDΔMyel mice and determined by hydroxyproline, Sirius Red, α-SMA, Col1A1 and TGF-β RT-PCR. Proteomic profile was determined by LC-MS/MS in fibrotic livers. Reversion was assessed 72 h post-challenge in a 4-week CCl4 model. Collagen degradation in liver was determined by R-CHP staining. Macrophage polarization and proteolytic secretome was assessed by RT-PCR and protease array, respectively. Collagen degradation and endocytosis was determined by FACS in Kupffer cells (KC). Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis was performed using GSE136103 dataset. Results: ScRNAseq analysis and CtsD IHP demonstrated high expression of CtsD in liver macrophages from cirrhotic patients. Next, CtsDΔMyel mouse was validated by FACS and WB in KC and dual IHP (F4/80-CtsD) in liver. CtsD deletion in macrophages enhanced liver fibrosis with enriched matrisome proteomic signatures in chronic CCl4 and BDL models. Analysis of KC isolated from 72hCCl4-treated livers demonstrated significantly lower expression of markers associated with resolutive macrophages (CD206, TREM-2 and TGF-β) and defective proteolytic secretome profile in CtsDΔMyel KC. In addition, CtsDΔMyel KC displayed defective proteolytic processing of collagen I without impairment of the Endo180 receptormediated endocytosis demonstrated by FACS. Analysis of CtsD macrophage subclusters in control and cirrhotic human livers, confirmed cirrhotic CtsD-expressing subclusters were differentially enriched in ECM degradation and organization signalling pathways. In addition, it revealed a decrease in the number of CtsD-expressing macrophage subclusters in cirrhotic livers, which could contribute to inadequate ECM recycling, perpetuating fibrosis and hampering resolution. Indeed, CtsDΔMyel mouse was unable to remodel collagen in vivo when subjected to a fibrosis reversion model determined by both percentage of HP and fluorescent intensity of collagen hybridizing peptide (CHP) binding to liver tissue. Conclusion: CtsD is essential in regulating the collagenolytic activity of macrophages during liver fibrosis and is part of a novel and currently unknown degradome landscape of restorative macrophages

Protease-driven lysosomal activity is a core mechanism for macrophage driven collagen remodeling during liver and kidney fibrosis

Trabajo presentado en el 2nd International Workshop on Liver and Gut Fibrosis, celebrado en Valencia (España), los días 26 y 27 de octubre de 202