Study on the suitable lighting design of Beato Angelico’s artworks displayed at the National Museum of San Matteo in Pisa (Italy)

The lighting design of exhibition space has a great impact on visual and colour perception and different lighting arrangements can create very different visual impression of artworks and, if not carefully designed, compromise the enjoyment of the viewers. This study involved the design of a new lighting solution for two of Beato Angelico’s artworks displayed at the National Museum of San Matteo (Pisa, Italy). Multiple test lighting configurations were designed using different LED luminaires and different settings of the luminaires. The test lighting configurations were evaluated by a restricted group of observers through a survey in order to individuate the most suitable solution, able to enhance the two artworks simultaneously and to provide a good visual experience for museum visitors

Ants modulate stridulatory signals depending on the behavioural context

Insect societies require an effective communication system to coordinate members’ activities. Although eusocial species primarily use chemical communication to convey information to conspecifics, there is increasing evidence suggesting that vibroacoustic communication plays a significant role in the behavioural contexts of colony life. In this study, we sought to determine whether stridulation can convey information in ant societies. We tested three main hypotheses using the Mediterranean ant Crematogaster scutellaris: (i) stridulation informs about the emitter’caste; (ii) workers can modulate stridulation based on specific needs, such as communicating the profitability of a food resource, or (iii) behavioural contexts. We recorded the stridulations of individuals from the three castes, restrained on a substrate, and the signals emitted by foragers workers feeding on honey drops of various sizes. Signals emitted by workers and sexuates were quantitatively and qualitatively distinct as was stridulation emitted by workers on different honey drops. Comparing across the experimental setups, we demonstrated that signals emitted in different contexts (restraining vs feeding) differed in emission patterns as well as certain parameters (dominant frequency, amplitude, duration of chirp). Our findings suggest that vibrational signaling represents a flexible communication channel paralleling the well-known chemical communication system

Complexing the Marine Sesquiterpene Euplotin C by Means of Cyclodextrin-Based Nanosponges: A Preliminary Investigation

Euplotin C is a sesquiterpene of marine origin endowed with significant anti-microbial and anti-tumor properties. Despite the promising functional profile, its progress as a novel drug candidate has failed so far, due to its scarce solubility and poor stability in aqueous media, such as biological fluids. Therefore, overcoming these limits is an intriguing challenge for the scientific community. In this work, we synthesized β-cyclodextrin-based nanosponges and investigated their use as colloidal carriers for stably complex euplotin C. Results obtained proved the ability of the carrier to include the natural compound, showing remarkable values of both loading efficiency and capacity. Moreover, it also allowed us to preserve the chemical structure of the loaded compound, which was recovered unaltered once extracted from the complex. Therefore, the use of β-cyclodextrin-based nanosponges represents a viable option to vehiculate euplotin C, thus opening up its possible use as pharmacologically active compound

Intruding into a conversation: how behavioral manipulation could support management of Xylella fastidiosa and its insect vectors

Behavioral manipulation (BM) is a multimodal control approach based on the interference with the stimuli mediating insect perception and interaction with the surroundings. BM could represent a win–win strategy for the management of vector-borne plant pathogens as the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, since it could reduce the number of vectors alighting on host plants and, consequently, the chances for transmission to occur. In this review, we summarized current knowledge and highlighted gaps in information on (i) how insect vectors of X. fastidiosa in general, and more specifcally the meadow spittlebug Philaenus spumarius, locate and accept the host plant; and (ii) how behavioral manipulation techniques could be applied to disrupt the vector–host plant interaction. Finally, we discussed how diverse BM strategies could be combined with other integrated pest management tools to protect olive groves from inoculation with the fastidious bacterium

Rickettsial infection in Amblyomma cajennense ticks and capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in a Brazilian spotted fever-endemic area

Brazilian spotted fever (BSF), caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, is the deadliest spotted fever of the world. In most of the BSF-endemic areas, capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) are the principal host for the tick Amblyomma cajennense, which is the main vector of BSF. In 2012, a BSF case was confirmed in a child that was bitten by ticks in a residential park area inhabited by A. cajennense-infested capybaras in Itú municipality, southeastern Brazil. Host questing A. cajennense adult ticks were collected in the residential park and brought alive to the laboratory, where they were macerated and intraperitoneally inoculated into guinea pigs. A tick-inoculated guinea pig that presented high fever was euthanized and its internal organs were macerated and inoculated into additional guinea pigs (guinea pig passage). Tissue samples from guinea pig passages were also used to inoculate Vero cells through the shell vial technique. Infected cells were used for molecular characterization of the rickettsial isolate through PCR and DNA sequencing of fragments of three rickettsial genes (gltA, ompA, and ompB). Blood serum samples were collected from 172 capybaras that inhabited the residential park. Sera were tested through the immunofluorescence assay using R. rickettsii antigen. A tick-inoculated guinea pig presented high fever accompanied by scrotal reactions (edema and marked redness). These signs were reproduced by consecutive guinea pig passages. Rickettsia was successfully isolated in Vero cells that were inoculated with brain homogenate derived from a 3rd passage-febrile guinea pig. Molecular characterization of this rickettsial isolate (designated as strain ITU) yielded DNA sequences that were all 100% identical to corresponding sequences of R. rickettsii in Genbank. A total of 83 (48.3%) out of 172 capybaras were seroreactive to R. rickettsii, with endpoint titers ranging from 64 to 8192. A viable isolate of R. rickettsii was obtained from the tick A. cajennense, comprising the first viable R. rickettsi isolate from this tick species during the last 60 years. Nearly half of the capybara population of the residential park was seroreactive to R. rickettsii, corroborating the findings that the local A. cajennense population was infected by R. rickettsii.We are grateful to the administrative staff of the residential park that provided logistic support for the present study, and to the “Superintendência de Controle de Endemias” of the state of São Paulo (SUCEN) for their valuable help in collecting ticks. This work was supported by the Brazilian funding agencies FAPESP, CNPq, and CAPES

Scaphoideus titanus forecasting and management: quo vadis?

Scaphoideus titanus Ball (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) is a major pest for European viticulture due to its high efficiency in the transmission of one of the most destructive pathogens for grapevine, namely flavescence dorée phytoplasmas. Although it plays a major role in spreading this disease, S. titanus is part of a complex epidemiological cycle involving several alternative vectors with variable relevance for phytoplasma spread. Here we provide an updated review on S. titanus monitoring and modelling, as well as the available tools for management of this pest and for limiting phytoplasma transmission and, thus, also spread. Insecticide-based control is examined; additional emphasis is placed on innovative and low-impact control approaches, such as vibrational mating disruption, biocontrol, and methods to reduce vector competence. We also discuss the main emerging challenges to the implementation of effective and sustainable control programs against S. titanu

Twisted characters and holomorphic symmetries

We consider holomorphic twists of arbitrary supersymmetric theories in four dimensions. Working in the BV formalism, we rederive classical results characterizing the holomorphic twist of chiral and vector supermultiplets, computing the twist explicitly as a family over the space of nilpotent supercharges in minimal supersymmetry. The BV formalism allows one to work with or without auxiliary fields, according to preference; for chiral superfields, we show that the result of the twist is an identical BV theory, the holomorphic $\beta\gamma$ system with superpotential, independent of whether or not auxiliary fields are included. We compute the character of local operators in this holomorphic theory, demonstrating agreement of the free local operators with the usual index of free fields. The local operators with superpotential are computed via a spectral sequence, and are shown to agree with functions on a formal mapping space into the derived critical locus of the superpotential. We consider the holomorphic theory on various geometries, including Hopf manifolds and products of arbitrary pairs of Riemann surfaces, and offer some general remarks on dimensional reductions of holomorphic theories along the $(n-1)$-sphere to topological quantum mechanics. We also study an infinite-dimensional enhancement of the flavor symmetry in this example, to a recently-studied central extension of the derived holomorphic functions with values in the original Lie algebra that generalizes the familiar Kac--Moody enhancement in two-dimensional chiral theories

Symmetry enhancements via 5d instantons, qW-algebrae and (1, 0) superconformal index

We explore N=(1,0) superconformal six-dimensional theories arising from M5 branes probing a transverse Ak singularity. Upon circle compactification to 5 dimensions, we describe this system with a dual pq-web of five-branes and propose the spectrum of basic five-dimensional instanton operators driving global symmetry enhancement. For a single M5 brane, we find that the exact partition function of the 5d quiver gauge theory matches the 6d (1, 0) index, which we compute by letter counting. We finally show that S-duality of the pq-web implies new relations among vertex correlators of qW-algebrae

Bodyweight Perceptions among Texas Women: The Effects of Religion, Race/Ethnicity, and Citizenship Status

Despite previous work exploring linkages between religious participation and health, little research has looked at the role of religion in affecting bodyweight perceptions. Using the theoretical model developed by Levin et al. (Sociol Q 36(1):157–173, 1995) on the multidimensionality of religious participation, we develop several hypotheses and test them by using data from the 2004 Survey of Texas Adults. We estimate multinomial logistic regression models to determine the relative risk of women perceiving themselves as overweight. Results indicate that religious attendance lowers risk of women perceiving themselves as very overweight. Citizenship status was an important factor for Latinas, with noncitizens being less likely to see themselves as overweight. We also test interaction effects between religion and race. Religious attendance and prayer have a moderating effect among Latina non-citizens so that among these women, attendance and prayer intensify perceptions of feeling less overweight when compared to their white counterparts. Among African American women, the effect of increased church attendance leads to perceptions of being overweight. Prayer is also a correlate of overweight perceptions but only among African American women. We close with a discussion that highlights key implications from our findings, note study limitations, and several promising avenues for future research