The bronze bug Thaumastocoris peregrinus: a new insect recorded in Italy, damaging to Eucalyptus trees

The bronze bug Thaumastocoris peregrinus Carpintero et Dellape (Heteroptera Thaumastocoridae) is reported for the first time from Italy infesting Eucalyptus spp. in several urban and rural sites of the Latium region. The host plants are very common in Italy as ornamental and forest trees. This is the first record of a member of the family Thaumastocoridae from Europe and the Mediterranean region. Preliminary bservations on general biological aspects and distribution of T.peregrinus have been conducted

Work and heat probability distribution of an optically driven Brownian particle: Theory and experiments

We analyze the equations governing the evolution of distributions of the work and the heat exchanged with the environment by a manipulated stochastic system, by means of a compact and general derivation. We obtain explicit solutions for these equations for the case of a dragged Brownian particle in a harmonic potential. We successfully compare the resulting predictions with the outcomes of experiments, consisting in dragging a micron-sized colloidal particle through water with a laser trap

Towards a Relationship-Centered Approach in Higher Education: The Dynamic Student Development Metatheodel (DSDM)

College success is often too simply measured as ultimate graduation and overlooks students\u27 critical need for a perceived sense of affiliation and belonging to the collegiate community which develops self-identity as a college student and can result in a higher level of performance over the academic lifespan. This article presents the Dynamic Student Development Metatheodel (DSDM) which was developed from common factors identified in multiple theories and models of human development, student development, and learning. When intentionally employed, the DSDM can be expected to improve retention, persistence, and ultimate graduation, as well as improve students\u27 academic and co-curricular experience

Influence of rotational force fields on the determination of the work done on a driven Brownian particle

For a Brownian system the evolution of thermodynamic quantities is a stochastic process. In particular, the work performed on a driven colloidal particle held in an optical trap changes for each realization of the experimental manipulation, even though the manipulation protocol remains unchanged. Nevertheless, the work distribution is governed by established laws. Here, we show how the measurement of the work distribution is influenced by the presence of rotational, i.e. nonconservative, radiation forces. Experiments on particles of different materials show that the rotational radiation forces, and therefore their effect on the work distributions, increase with the particle refractive index.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Comparing extrapolations of the coronal magnetic field structure at 2.5 solar radii with multi-viewpoint coronagraphic observations

The magnetic field shapes the structure of the solar corona but we still know little about the interrelationships between the coronal magnetic field configurations and the resulting quasi-stationary structures observed in coronagraphic images (as streamers, plumes, coronal holes). One way to obtain information on the large-scale structure of the coronal magnetic field is to extrapolate it from photospheric data and compare the results with coronagraphic images. Our aim is to verify if this comparison can be a fast method to check systematically the reliability of the many methods available to reconstruct the coronal magnetic field. Coronal fields are usually extrapolated from photospheric measurements typically in a region close to the central meridian on the solar disk and then compared with coronagraphic images at the limbs, acquired at least 7 days before or after to account for solar rotation, implicitly assuming that no significant changes occurred in the corona during that period. In this work, we combine images from three coronagraphs (SOHO/LASCO-C2 and the two STEREO/SECCHI-COR1) observing the Sun from different viewing angles to build Carrington maps covering the entire corona to reduce the effect of temporal evolution to ~ 5 days. We then compare the position of the observed streamers in these Carrington maps with that of the neutral lines obtained from four different magnetic field extrapolations, to evaluate the performances of the latter in the solar corona. Our results show that the location of coronal streamers can provide important indications to discriminate between different magnetic field extrapolations.Comment: Accepted by A&A the 20th of May, 201

AB0844 HAND GRIP STRENGTH EVALUATION IN RHEUMATOLOGIC DISEASES

Background:Handgrip muscle strength test describes the strength of the hand muscles used to grasp or grip. Currently, hand grip evaluation is often used in clinical practice, as a marker of function and disability. In fact, it has already been applied as an outcome measure in arthritis rheumatoid clinical trials, to demonstrate the benefits of several treatments [1]. However, hand disability should also be considered in all other rheumatological diseases.Objectives:The main aim of this study is to assess the handgrip muscle strength test in a rheumatological cohort of patients as compared to a control group.Methods:This is a cross-sectional pilot study. We considered eligible 35 rheumatological consecutive female patients followed at our outpatients' clinic of Internal Medicine (I Policlinico of Naples) and 35 healthy control females (HC). Both groups included only right-handed individuals. Rheumatological patients were distributed as follows: 5 rheumatoid arthritis (14,3%), 9 psoriatic arthritis (25,7%), 4 systemic lupus erythematosus (11,4%), 10 systemic sclerosis (28,6%), 4 fibromyalgia (11,4%), 3 juvenile idiopathic arthritis (8,6%). The course of disease was under optimal treatment in all patients.The type of hand grip used is the power grip, in which an object is held firmly by wrapping the fingers around it, pressing the object against the palm, and using the thumb to apply counter-pressure. We considered as either right or left hand valid measure the mean of three consecutive tests per arm. Between-groups differences were tested both by a uni- and multivariable analysis.Results:The two subgroups were homogeneously distributed for age (median age 42 yrs. [IQR 33-48] vs. 36 yrs. [IQR 30-52] in HC; p=0.902). At univariate analysis, hand grip strength was significantly lower in the rheumatological patients, both at right hand (right 19.5 kg [IQR 13.6-24.8] vs. 24.5 kg [IQR 20.8-29] in HC; p=0.004) and left hand (18.5 kg [IQR 13.9-22.5] vs. 23.7 kg [IQR 19-27.3] in HC; p=0.002), as compared to HC. This finding was further confirmed at multivariable analysis only as for the left hand (OR 0.919, 95%CI: 0.858-0.984; p=0.016).Conclusion:Rheumatological diseases are burdened by hand disability, mostly affecting daily activities performance [2,3]. Beyond an optimal disease control, our pilot study shows a decrease in left hand strength as compared to healthy controls. This might be due to a reduced use of the non-dominant hand, which may lead over time to a higher deficit of strength. As such, these patients should be prescribed to a left hand exercise to improve both mobility and strength and, consequently, hand function.References:[1]Eberhardt K, Sandqvist G, Geborek P (2008) Hand function tests are important and sensitive tools for assessment of treatment response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Scand J Rheumatol 37(2):109–112.[2]Feced Olmos CM, Alvarez-Calderon O, Hervás Marín D, et al. Relationship between structural damage with loss of strength and functional disability in psoriatic arthritis patients. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon). 2019 Aug;68:169-174. doi: 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2019.06.009.[3]Maddali-Bongi S, Del Rosso A, Mikhaylova S, et al. Impact of hand and face disabilities on global disability and quality of life in systemic sclerosis patients. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2014 Nov-Dec;32(6 Suppl 86):S-15-20.Disclosure of Interests:None declare

Expanded Total Equivalent Warming Impact analysis on experimental standalone fresh-food refrigerator

The stand-alone refrigerators for fresh food storage represent a large part of supermarket refrigeration equip-ment. In these devices, the usage of refrigerants with low Global Warming Potential allows the mitigation of the direct emissions due to refrigerant leakages. In contrast, the indirect emissions in these components are highly dependent on the refrigerant charge, leakage, and equivalent emission factors related to the electricity pro-duction mix. The most used index to evaluate the environmental impact of refrigerators is the Total Equivalent Warming Impact. Despite that this index presents limits on the fixed evaluation of many parameters such as refrigerant charge, electricity consumption and, electricity emission factor. Otherwise in this study, an accurate evaluation of refrigerators emissions has been realised by using the innovative Expanded Total Equivalent Warming Impact method to an experimental stand-alone refrigerator by using a dynamic approach to evaluate direct and indirect contributions. The environmental analysis considers four different refrigerants and four different countries of location. The results show that the indirect emissions due to electricity consumption cover the highest share of emissions. In addition, the operating years affected by low refrigerant charges are respon-sible for emissions by greater than 25% compared to other ones. The hourly equivalent emissions due to elec-tricity consumption in countries characterized by an electricity generation mix mainly based on renewable and/ or nuclear plants show an indirect environmental impact up to 5 times lower than countries with a natural gas -based electricity production mix. The study also defines new strategies to reduce the environmental impact of the stand-alone refrigerator such as the use of photovoltaic systems combined with this technology or earlier maintenance processes that could determine an equivalent emission saving of up to 38%

Leatherback Turtles in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico: Foraging and Migration Behavior During the Autumn and Winter

We deployed 19 satellite tags on foraging adult leatherback turtles, including 17 females and 2 males, captured in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico in 2015, 2018, and 2019 in order to study regional distribution and movements. Prior to our study, limited data were available from leatherbacks foraging in the Gulf of Mexico. Tag deployment durations ranged from 63 to 247 days and turtles exhibited three distinct behavior types: foraging, transiting, or rapidly switching between foraging and transiting. Some females were tracked to nesting beaches in the Caribbean. Most of the leatherbacks remained on and foraged along the west Florida continental shelf whereas a few individuals foraged in waters of the central Gulf of Mexico during the autumn and winter. In addition, migration of adult females through the Yucatan Channel indicate that this is a seasonally important area for Caribbean nesting assemblages

On the Magnetic Field Strength of Active Region Filaments

We study the vector magnetic field of a filament observed over a compact Active Region Neutral Line. Spectropolarimetric data acquired with TIP-II (VTT, Tenerife, Spain) of the 10830 \AA spectral region provide full Stokes vectors which were analyzed using three different methods: magnetograph analysis, Milne-Eddington inversions and PCA-based atomic polarization inversions. The inferred magnetic field strengths in the filament are of the order of 600 - 700 G by all these three methods. Longitudinal fields are found in the range of 100 - 200 G whereas the transverse components become dominant, with fields as large as 500 - 600 G. We find strong transverse fields near the Neutral Line also at photospheric levels. Our analysis indicates that strong (higher than 500 G, but below kG) transverse magnetic fields are present in Active Region filaments. This corresponds to the highest field strengths reliably measured in these structures. The profiles of the Helium 10830 \AA lines observed in this Active Region filament are dominated by the Zeeman effect.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 9 pages, 4 figure