103 research outputs found
Field observations about the behaviour of codling-moth in Trentino (North-Eastern Italy)
Codling-moth and applescab are the most important pathogens in both conventional and
organic apple productions. In order to control any phytopathological problem, it is
important to improve the knowledge of the behaviour of each specific pest. Since several
years (starting from 1986) we are improving in Trentino (North-Eastern Italy) the
observations of the population dynamics of codling-moth in order to find the best way to
control and treat this pest insect.
Constant monitoring and the knowledge of the characteristics of the different compounds
and possible methods to control the codling-moth (mating disruption, granulose virus and
specific nematodes) represent the most important basis to organize an effective controlstrategy
Value-at-Risk and Tsallis statistics: risk analysis of the aerospace sector
In this study, we analyze the aerospace stocks prices in order to
characterize the sector behavior. The data analyzed cover the period from
January 1987 to April 1999. We present a new index for the aerospace sector and
we investigate the statistical characteristics of this index. Our results show
that this index is well described by Tsallis distribution. We explore this
result and modify the standard Value-at-Risk (VaR), financial risk assessment
methodology in order to reflect an asset which obeys Tsallis non-extensive
statistics.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, to appear in Physica
Critical Temperature tuning of Ti/TiN multilayer films suitable for low temperature detectors
We present our current progress on the design and test of Ti/TiN Multilayer
for use in Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs). Sensors based on
sub-stoichiometric TiN film are commonly used in several applications. However,
it is difficult to control the targeted critical temperature , to maintain
precise control of the nitrogen incorporation process and to obtain a
production uniformity. To avoid these problems we investigated multilayer
Ti/TiN films that show a high uniformity coupled with high quality factor,
kinetic inductance and inertness of TiN. These features are ideal to realize
superconductive microresonator detectors for astronomical instruments
application but also for the field of neutrino physics. Using pure Ti and
stoichiometric TiN, we developed and tested different multilayer configuration,
in term of number of Ti/TiN layers and in term of different interlayer
thicknesses. The target was to reach a critical temperature around
K in order to have a low energy gap and slower recombination time
(i.e. low generation-recombination noise). The results prove that the
superconductive transition can be tuned in the K temperature
range properly choosing the Ti thickness in the nm range, and the
TiN thickness in the nm rang
Detection and distribution of European stone fruit yellows (ESFY) in apricot cv. ‘Bergeron’ and epidemiological studies in the province of Trento (Italy)
The aim was to investigate the performance of ‘Bergeron’ on ‘Wavit’ in 4 experimental fields, in the province of Trento (Italy), where European stone fruit yellows (ESFY) caused by “Candidatus Phytoplasma prunorum” has been constantly spreading since 2000.This included visual inspections for typical symptoms (early bud-break during dormancy and premature leaf-roll) and a highly sensitive Real time-PCR (Rt-PCR) assay. 25 % of the propagation material was checked with this method and found to be healthy, before planting in 2005.The epidemiology of the disease was also studied by focusing on: the presence of the vector Cacopsylla pruni (Scopoli) on conifers, the detection of “Ca. P. prunorum” in psyllid eggs and the transmission efficiency at different stages. This was done by exposing apricot trees in 2 locations, during 2 periods from January to July, to the overlapping presence in the orchards of the re-immigrants and the new generation of C. pruni. The results obtained demonstrated that ‘Bergeron’ seems to be highly susceptible to ESFY: typical bud-break was rarely observed, but up to 20-30% of the plants showed premature leaf-roll, fruit deformation and dieback. C. pruni was caught only once on Picea abies during winter; “Ca. P. prunorum” was found in 4 egg samples from 2 locations and the preliminary results on the exposed trees confirmed that the re-immigrants could be the most efficient vectors at least on apricot.Keywords: Prunus armeniaca, cultivar ‘Bergeron’, Real time-PCR, “Candidatus Phytoplasma prunorum”,epidemiolog
Assessment of ORDYL SY 355 dry film for RF MEMS 0-level packaging
RF MEMS must be protected by a suitable package. A simple and cheap solution is to use quartz caps bonded by a polymer. This work reports on the use of ORDYL SY 355, a photosensitive dry film. The caps fabrication and bonding process were developed and tests were performed to define performance. Shear tests demonstrated good adhesion to the substrate and water immersion the sealing capability. Caps bonded on CPW and microstrip lines demonstrated negligible or very low impact on the RF performance in the 0-30GHz tested frequency band. Preliminary tests on capped RF MEMS switches indicated good performance of both capacitive and ohmic contact switches. Yield of ohmic switches resulted more sensitive to process conditions requiring a more accurate control
Accounting for risk of non linear portfolios: a novel Fourier approach
The presence of non linear instruments is responsible for the emergence of
non Gaussian features in the price changes distribution of realistic
portfolios, even for Normally distributed risk factors. This is especially true
for the benchmark Delta Gamma Normal model, which in general exhibits
exponentially damped power law tails. We show how the knowledge of the model
characteristic function leads to Fourier representations for two standard risk
measures, the Value at Risk and the Expected Shortfall, and for their
sensitivities with respect to the model parameters. We detail the numerical
implementation of our formulae and we emphasizes the reliability and efficiency
of our results in comparison with Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures. Final version accepted for publication on Eur.
Phys. J.
FUS-ALS mutants alter FMRP phase separation equilibrium and impair protein translation
FUsed in Sarcoma (FUS) is a multifunctional RNA binding protein (RBP). FUS mutations lead to its cytoplasmic mislocalization and cause the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here, we use mouse and human models with endogenous ALS-associated mutations to study the early consequences of increased cytoplasmic FUS. We show that in axons, mutant FUS condensates sequester and promote the phase separation of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), another RBP associated with neurodegeneration. This leads to repression of translation in mouse and human FUS-ALS motor neurons and is corroborated in vitro, where FUS and FMRP copartition and repress translation. Last, we show that translation of FMRP-bound RNAs is reduced in vivo in FUS-ALS motor neurons. Our results unravel new pathomechanisms of FUS-ALS and identify a novel paradigm by which mutations in one RBP favor the formation of condensates sequestering other RBPs, affecting crucial biological functions, such as protein translation
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