Constitutional Law - Voting Rights

Legislative election of a governor in default of a victor in the popular election does not violate the fourteenth amendment guarantee of equal protection of the laws. Fortson v. Morris, 385 U.S. 231 (1966)

Aliens - Parole

Automatic revocation of approval of alien\u27s nonquota visa petition pursuant to statute authorizing Attorney General to revoke same for good and sufficient cause and subsequent revocation of alien\u27s parole without a hearing does not violate fifth amendment due process. United States ex rel. Stellas v. Esperdy, 366 F.2d 266 (2d Cir. 1966)

The Living Treaty Power

States are sovereign entities vis-A-vis each other in the international arena. There are several basic sources from which rules regulating their conduct toward each other emanate, to wit: treaties, customs and certain general principles. The lack of a vertical centralized authority to formulate rules governing the conduct of nations is the most salient feature of today\u27s international law, yet such an authority is assumed to be an essential part of any mature legal system rather than a luxury. However, treaties serve the purpose of the next best method of legislation in the international system: they are rules expressly agreed upon by the signatories thereto. Conventions, i.e. treaties open to universal subscription, are notably quasi-legislative in character due to their almost universal application

New clones and old varieties: Quality of sicilian hillside apple cultivation

Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate the qualitative characteristics of the new clones according to the Mediterranean hillside growing environment and, at the same time, to highlight the qualitative peculiarities of the old varieties in order to avoid genetic loss. Introduction: Several apple varieties are constantly selected for improved quality traits and introduced for cultivation and marketing in addition to a few traditional and affirmed varieties. On the other side, local genotype and ancient varieties are still valorised due to the request of a niche market. Methods: We have studied the physico-chemical quality and the sensory traits of the fruit obtained in this particular environment. Results: Our study reveals a qualitative response to the environment in a genotype-dependent manner. As expected, the physico-chemical characteristics favour the new clones. Conclusion: Both old varieties and new clones of apple fruit, grown in the Mediterranean area, turned out to be of high quality. Nevertheless, results revealed the better characteristics of new clones for commercialization in large-scale supply chain

Meditation acutely improves psychomotor vigilance, and may decrease sleep need

BACKGROUND: A number of benefits from meditation have been claimed by those who practice various traditions, but few have been well tested in scientifically controlled studies. Among these claims are improved performance and decreased sleep need. Therefore, in these studies we assess whether meditation leads to an immediate performance improvement on a well validated psychomotor vigilance task (PVT), and second, whether longer bouts of meditation may alter sleep need. METHODS: The primary study assessed PVT reaction times before and after 40 minute periods of mediation, nap, or a control activity using a within subject cross-over design. This study utilized novice meditators who were current university students (n = 10). Novice meditators completed 40 minutes of meditation, nap, or control activities on six different days (two separate days for each condition), plus one night of total sleep deprivation on a different night, followed by 40 minutes of meditation.A second study examined sleep times in long term experienced meditators (n = 7) vs. non-meditators (n = 23). Experienced meditators and controls were age and sex matched and living in the Delhi region of India at the time of the study. Both groups continued their normal activities while monitoring their sleep and meditation times. RESULTS: Novice meditators were tested on the PVT before each activity, 10 minutes after each activity and one hour later. All ten novice meditators improved their PVT reaction times immediately following periods of meditation, and all but one got worse immediately following naps. Sleep deprivation produced a slower baseline reaction time (RT) on the PVT that still improved significantly following a period of meditation. In experiments with long-term experienced meditators, sleep duration was measured using both sleep journals and actigraphy. Sleep duration in these subjects was lower than control non-meditators and general population norms, with no apparent decrements in PVT scores. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that meditation provides at least a short-term performance improvement even in novice meditators. In long term meditators, multiple hours spent in meditation are associated with a significant decrease in total sleep time when compared with age and sex matched controls who did not meditate. Whether meditation can actually replace a portion of sleep or pay-off sleep debt is under further investigation

Il primo OBS/H italiano per il monitoraggio e lo studio di faglie e vulcani sottomarini

L’Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) ha testato con successo, nel luglio 2006, il primo Ocean Bottom Seismometer with Hydrophone (OBS/H) italiano (Fig. 1). Lo strumento, interamente progettato e realizzato all’Osservatorio di Gibilmanna del Centro Nazionale Terremoti, dopo aver superato i test in laboratorio, in camera iperbarica a 600 bar ed in mare a 3412 m di profondità, è stato deposto per 9 giorni (12-21/07/’06) sulla spianata sommitale del vulcano sottomarino Marsili a 790 m di profondità (Fig. 2) ed ha registrato 835 eventi tra cui un telesisma, 8 eventi regionali e circa 800 eventi vulcanici.La realizzazione dell’OBS/H si colloca nell’ambito dei progetti finanziati dalla convenzione tra l’INGV e il Dipartimento Nazionale della Protezione Civile (DPC), che ha avuto come obiettivo la costituzione di un primo pool strumentale, costituito da 7 OBS/H, da impiegare come rete mobile sottomarina in occasione di forti eventi sismici che dovessero interessare le coste e i mari italiani. Tale progetto si inquadra in uno scenario di ben più ampio respiro che vedrà nei prossimi anni l’estensione a mare della rete sismica nazionale, obiettivo strategico inserito nel piano triennale dell’INGV che porterà entro il 2008 alla realizzazione della prima stazione italiana real-time collegata a terra via radio, che verrà posizionata a circa 30 miglia a sud-est di Ustica, luogo in cui è stato localizzato il terremoto di Palermo del 6 settembre 2002. Il prototipo di OBS/H utilizzato nel test sul Marsili è stato equipaggiato con un sensore sismico Trillium 40s della Nanometrics ed un idrofono OAS E-2PD con banda di risposta piatta tra 0 e 5 kHz. I segnali emessi da questi strumenti sono stati registrati da un digitalizzatore a 21 bit a basso consumo (Geolon MLS della SEND) che ha acquisito i dati ad una frequenza di campionamento di 200 campioni al secondo, per sfruttare il più possibile l’ampia banda di risposta dell’idrofono, al fine di mettere in evidenza l’attività idrotermale del vulcano. Il sensore sismico è posto all’interno di una bentosfera di 17 pollici (sfera di vetro certificata per operazioni sino a 6000 m di profondità), installato su una base autolivellante controllata elettronicamente. Il digitalizzatore e le batterie sono poste all’interno di un contenitore in ERGAL 7075. Per il recupero dello strumento a fine esperimento, è stato utilizzato uno sganciatore acustico IXSEA AR816S-MR opportunamente modificato dal personale dell’osservatorio di Gibilmanna per attivare, una volta ricevuto il segnale di “release”, un sistema di sgancio elettrolitico (burn-wire). Per deposizioni di lungo periodo, sino ad uno o due anni in relazione al tipo di sismometro a bordo, l’OBS/H sarà dotato della strumentazione indicata nella Tab. 1 Attualmente è in fase di progettazione un’evoluzione dello strumento che mira a dotarlo di un digitalizzatore a 24 bit, di un sistema di comunicazione basato su modem acustico e di un PC industriale con processore ARM grazie al quale, nell’eventualità di interventi della rete mobile sottomarina, sarà possibile estrarre tracce degli eventi verificatisi per una più accurata localizzazione dell’epicentro senza che si renda necessario il recupero dello strumento. Inoltre, mediante l’implementazione di algoritmi di trigger, sarà possibile l’utilizzo dell’OBS/H all’interno di un sistema di allerta tsunami in comunicazione con una boa di superficie collegata al centro di controllo via satellite

Aloe-based edible coating to maintain quality of fresh-cut italian pears (Pyrus communis L.) during cold storage

Pear fruits are known for their antioxidant and nutritional characteristics. However, they are very susceptible to rapid decay. Edible coating (EC) represents a good strategy to maintain postharvest quality. The effects of two EC in slowing down the senescence processes in fresh-cut ‘Coscia’ pears were investigated: EC1 (A. vera gel, hydroxypropyl-methylcellulose and pomegranate seeds oil (PSO), EC2 (A. vera gel and hydroxypropyl-methylcellulose). Weight loss, firmness and colour decrease more slowly in both EC-treated than in untreated (CTR) slices; soluble solid content increases faster in CTR, indicating a faster ripening process. The specific investigation of undesired microorganisms did not generate any colony in all analysed samples. Sensory analysis confirmed that the tasters preferred the EC2-treated samples, as they were the only ones that did not show undesirable flavours until the last day of storage

Il primo OBS/H italiano per il monitoraggio e lo studio di faglie e vulcani sottomarini

L’Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) ha testato con successo, nel luglio 2006, il primo Ocean Bottom Seismometer with Hydrophone (OBS/H) italiano (Fig. 1). Lo strumento, interamente progettato e realizzato all’Osservatorio di Gibilmanna del Centro Nazionale Terremoti, dopo aver superato i test in laboratorio, in camera iperbarica a 600 bar ed in mare a 3412 m di profondità, è stato deposto per 9 giorni (12-21/07/’06) sulla spianata sommitale del vulcano sottomarino Marsili a 790 m di profondità (Fig. 2) ed ha registrato 835 eventi tra cui un telesisma, 8 eventi regionali e circa 800 eventi vulcanici

First long time OBS campaign in the Ionian Sea

The INGV started its interest to extend the seismic monitoring network to the sea in 1995 with GEOSTAR (Geophysical and Oceanographic Station for Abyssal Research) project, coming out with the realization of the first multidisclipinary observatory for deep-sea monitoring [Favali et al. 2002]. At the end of 2004, the National Earthquake Center (CNT) of INGV decided to provide a pool of Ocean Bottom Seismometers to be employed as a submarine mobile network and to study submarine faults and volcanoes. This was possible thanks to an agreement between the INGV and the Italian National Civil Protection Department (DPC). On July 2006, the Gibilmanna OBS Lab, tested the first OBS prototype for nine days on the flat top of the Marsili submarine volcano [D’Anna et al. 2007] and in early 2007 other seven OBS’s were ready to be deployed on the seafloor. In May 2007, within the European project NERIES (activity NA6), the Gibilmanna OBS Lab of the INGV has deployed three Broad Band Ocean Bottom Seismometers (BBOBS) in the southern Ionian Sea at 3500-4000 meters of depth. This area has been chosen during the NERIES – “NA6-BBOBS net” meeting in Rome, on the 11th of September 2006 because at first, there are at the moment few seismological data [Scrocca et al., 2003] to construct a reliable model for the Ionian lithosphere and also the rate and features of the seismicity in the area between the Hyblean-Malta fault system and the accretionary prism of the Calabrian Arc are largely unknown [Catalano et al. 2002]. The Ionian Sea is indeed one of the most seismically active area in the Mediterranean region with several destructive earthquakes sometimes followed by tsunamis [Tinti et al. 2004]. The seismicity occurring in the Ionian basin is characterized by large location uncertainties due to the lack of seafloor seismic stations. In 2002, the quality of the seismic sensing and the location of earthquakes have been improved by the deployment of the real-time submarine observatory SN-1, about 25 km offshore Eastern Sicily [Sgroi et al, 2007]. However, the SN-1 location only allows to characterize the seismicity in the area offshore the eastern Sicily. Two of the three OBS’s were successfully recovered on the 2nd of February 2008; the last one was recovered on the 15th of March 2008 and another OBS was deployed on the same location to accomplish the continuous long-term seismic monitoring task (until May 2010) as planned in NERIES project

Analysis of aroma compounds of nine autochthonous and non-autochthonous loquat cultivars grown in Sicily

Loquat cultivation in Sicily is mainly based on nonnative cultivars and local ecotypes characterized by high nutraceutical value and appreciable physicochemical characteristics. Increased interest in commercial loquat production has increased the intention to provide premium quality loquat cultivars that include volatile substances capable of conditioning the sensorial properties and, therefore, the acceptability of fruits by consumers. This study determined the content of volatile compounds in nonnative and local loquat fruits grown in Sicily. Analyses were performed on five international cultivars and four local cultivars