Nuovi fasti dei magistri fontani in un frustulo epigrafico opistografo dal piccolo Aventino

Edizione di un nuovo frammento epigrafico, opistografo, rinvenuto a Roma sul piccolo Aventino e contenente liste di personaggi identificati, in base a vari indizi, con magistri Fontani

Clathrin-dependent endocytosis of membrane-bound RANKL in differentiated osteoclasts

Bone is continuously repaired and remodelled through well-coordinated activity of osteoblasts that form new bone and osteoclasts, which resorb it. Osteoblasts synthesize and secrete two key molecules that are important for osteoclast differentiation, namely the ligand for the receptor of activator of nuclear factor κB (RANKL) and its decoy receptor osteoprotegerin (OPG). Active membrane transport is a typical feature of the resorbing osteoclast during bone resorption. Normally, one resorption cycle takes several hours as observed by monitoring actin ring formation and consequent disappearance in vitro. During these cyclic changes, the cytoskeleton undergoes remarkable dynamic rearrangement. Active cells show a continuous process of exocytosis that plays an essential role in transport of membrane components, soluble molecules and receptor-mediated ligands thus allowing them to communicate with the environment. The processes that govern intracellular transport and trafficking in mature osteoclasts are poorly known. The principal methodological problem that have made these studies difficult is a physiological culture of osteoclasts that permit observing the vesicle apparatus in conditions similar to the in vivo conditions. In the present study we have used a number of morphological approaches to characterize the composition, formation and the endocytic and biosynthetic pathways that play roles in dynamics of differentiation of mature bone resorbing cells using a tri-dimensional system of physiologic coculture

Ice Shapes on a Tail Rotor

Testing of a thermally-protected helicopter rotor in the Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) was completed. Data included inter-cycle and cold blade ice shapes. Accreted ice shapes were thoroughly documented, including tracing, scanning and photographing. This was the first time this scanning capability was used outside of NASA. This type of data has never been obtained for a rotorcraft before. This data will now be used to validate the latest generation of icing analysis tools

Silica containing composite anion exchange membranes by sol–gel synthesis: a short review

This short review summarizes the literature on composite anion exchange membranes (AEM) containing an organo-silica network formed by sol-gel chemistry. The article covers AEM for diffusion dialysis (DD), for electrochemical energy technologies including fuel cells and redox flow batteries, and for electrodialysis. By applying a vast variety of organically modified silica compounds (ORMOSIL), many composite AEM reported in the last 15 years are based on poly (vinylalcohol) (PVA) or poly (2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) used as polymer matrix. The most stringent requirements are high permselectivity and water flux for DD membranes, while high ionic conductivity is essential for electrochemical applications. Furthermore, the alkaline stability of AEM for fuel cell applications remains a challenging problem that is not yet solved. Possible future topics of investigation on composite AEM containing an organo-silica network are also discussed

Optical bistability: a self-consistent analysis of fluctuations and the spectrum of scattered light

The main purpose of this paper is to study the behavior of the atomic fluctuations and the spectrum of the light transmitted by an absorptive bistable device. To this end we develop an approximation scheme based on the so-called system-size expansion and apply it to the quantum-mechanical Langevin equations for the atomic fluctuation operators. The Bonifacio-Lugiato mean-field equations for bistability are derived from the lowest-order approximation to the system-size expansion, while the atomic correlation functions result from the next-higher-order expansion. The calculated spectrum of the transmitted light exhibits line narrowing near the bistable thresholds, discontinuous formation of sidebands along the high-transmission branch of the device, and hysteresis effects

Quantum analysis of optical bistability and spectrum of fluctuations

We discuss the approach to equilibrium and the fluctuations of a bistable system under dynamical conditions such that the field variables can be eliminated adiabatically. The atomic system evolves under the action of the coherent pumping of an external field and of collective and incoherent relaxation processes. The competition between pumping and relaxation effects causes the atomic steady-state configurations to depend discontinuously on the strength of the driving field. We derive an explicit expression for the spectrum of the forward-scattered light, which exhibits hysteresis and a discontinuous dependence on the driving-field amplitude

Safety and commercial issues in fresh mushrooms and mushroom-based products sold at retail in Tuscany region

The compliance to European and National safety and labelling requirements relating to the sale of spontaneous and cultivated mushrooms and mushroom-based products in Tuscany was assessed. The evidence was collected by the Mycological Inspectorate of North-West Tuscany Local Health Authority during 90 inspections (from 2016 to 2020) at large-scale distribution stores, wholesalers, and restaurants in 10 cities belonging to 3 provinces, and on the labelling analysis of 98 commercial products collected at retail in 2021. Despite a substantial compliance of the inspected activities and products with the regulatory requirements, critical issues were highlighted: 1) EU legislative gap in the definition of specific measures for the safe sale of spontaneous mushrooms; 2) improper shelf storage temperatures of fresh-cut products; 3) incorrect condition of use on the labels of pre-packaged products; 4) lack of countryof-origin declaration in pre-packaged products. Furthermore, the labelling analysis highlighted that 18.4% and 15.3% of the products presented issues in the validity and correctness of the scientific names respect to national requirements in. A revision of the current EU legislation is needed to guarantee consumers safety, also considering the relevant number of poisoning cases related to false mycetisms (ingestion of edible mushrooms unproperly stored or used). Also, a specific revision and harmonization of the EU labelling of mushrooms would be desirable to protect consumers

Atomic coherent-state representation of the spectrum of scattered light from a cooperative system and numerical results

The problem of light scattering from an atomic system under cooperative conditions is analyzed. The atomic correlation function is constructed using the atomic coherent-state representation in a form that is ideally suited for numerical computations. Explicit results are reported for a system of five atoms and the question of the existence of additional side bands is analyzed