Con parole tue: Dai parlanti a VerbaAlpina attraverso il crowdsourcing

In its third stage, the project VerbaAlpina of Munich University investigates the vocabulary of ecology and tourism in the Alpine area. Since the existing linguistic atlases do not include this vocabulary, VerbaAlpina collects the lexical material using a special platform. This paper aims primarily at informing about the context of use and discussing achievements and limitations of this platform. It is addressed to researchers who wish to adopt the same data collection methods.Il progetto VerbaAlpina della Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität di Monaco di Baviera sta elaborando la sua terza fase, incentrata sul lessico alpino relativo all’ecologia e al turismo in area alpina. Dal momento che gli atlanti linguistici dell’arco alpino non contengono tale lessico, si è proceduto alla raccolta del materiale lessicale autonomamente utilizzando un’apposita piattaforma. Il presente contributo desidera dare comunicazione del contesto di utilizzo, dei successi e delle limitazioni di tale piattaforma e, nell’ottica della condivisione delle esperienze, si rivolge in prima linea a ricercatori che intendono intraprendere lo stesso percorso

High triplet energy host materials for blue TADF OLEDs—A tool box approach

The synthesis of stable blue TADF emitters and the corresponding matrix materials is one of the biggest challenges in the development of novel OLED materials. We present six bipolar host materials based on triazine as an acceptor and two types of donors, namely, carbazole, and acridine. Using a tool box approach, the chemical structure of the materials is changed in a systematic way. Both the carbazole and acridine donor are connected to the triazine acceptor via a para- or a meta-linked phenyl ring or are linked directly to each other. The photophysics of the materials has been investigated in detail by absorption-, fluorescence-, and phosphorescence spectroscopy in solution. In addition, a number of DFT calculations have been made which result in a deeper understanding of the photophysics. The presence of a phenyl bridge between donor and acceptor cores leads to a considerable decrease of the triplet energy due to extension of the overlap electron and hole orbitals over the triazine-phenyl core of the molecule. This decrease is more pronounced for the para-phenylene than for the meta-phenylene linker. Only direct connection of the donor group to the triazine core provides a high energy of the triplet state of 2.97 eV for the carbazole derivative CTRZ and 3.07 eV for the acridine ATRZ. This is a major requirement for the use of the materials as a host for blue TADF emitters.We acknowledge funding through the EU Marie Sklodowska-Curie ITN TADFlife grant (GA. 812872). This work was also supported by the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research

Genotype and residual enzyme activity in medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency: Are predictions possible?

AbstractMedium‐chain acyl‐CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD) is the most common defect of mitochondrial β‐oxidation. Confirmation diagnostics after newborn screening (NBS) can be performed either by enzyme testing and/or by sequencing of the ACADM gene. Here, we report the results from enzyme testing in lymphocytes with gene variants from molecular analysis of the ACADM gene and with the initial acylcarnitine concentrations in the NBS sample. From April 2013 to August 2019, in 388 individuals with characteristic acylcarnitine profiles suggestive of MCADD the octanoyl‐CoA‐oxidation was measured in lymphocytes. In those individuals with residual activities 35% excluding MCADD. In the remaining 21 individuals, MCAD residual activity ranged from 30% to 35%. The latter group comprised both heterozygous carriers and individuals carrying two gene variants on different alleles. Twenty new variants could be identified and functionally classified based on their effect on enzyme function. C6 and C8 acylcarnitine species in NBS correlated with MCAD activity and disease severity. MCADD was only confirmed in half of the cases referred suggesting a higher false positive rate than expected. Measurement of the enzyme function in lymphocytes allowed fast confirmation diagnostics and clear determination of the pathogenicity of new gene variants. There is a clear correlation between genotype and enzyme function underlining the reproducibility of the functional measurement in vitro

Substitution effects on a new pyridylbenzimidazole acceptor for thermally activated delayed fluorescence and their use in organic light-emitting diodes

The St Andrews team would like to thank the Leverhulme Trust (RPG-2016-047) for financial support. P.R. acknowledges support from a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (MCIF; No. 749557). S.M.S acknowledges support from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship, grant 27 agreement no. 838885 (NarrowbandSSL). Computational resources have been provided by the Consortium des Équipements de Calcul Intensif (CÉCI), funded by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifiques de Belgique (F.R.S.-FNRS) under Grant No. 2.5020.11, as well as the Tier-1 supercomputer of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, infrastructure funded by the Walloon Region under the grant agreement n1117545. We acknowledge support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the ITN TADFlife (GA 812872). Y.O. acknowledges funding by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique-FNRS under Grant n° F.4534.21 (MIS-IMAGINE). D.B. is a FNRS Research Director.In this work a new acceptor is used for use in thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters, pyridylbenzimidazole, which when coupled with phenoxazine allows efficient TADF to occur. N-functionalization of the benzimidazole using methyl, phenyl, and tert-butyl groups permits color tuning and suppression of aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) with minimal impact on the TADF efficiency. The functionalized derivatives support a higher doping of 7 wt% before a fall-off in photoluminescence quantum yields is observed, in contrast with the parent compound, which undergoes ACQ at doping concentrations greater than 1 wt%. Complex conformational dynamics, reflected in the time-resolved decay profile, is found. The singlet−triplet energy gap, ΔEST, is modulated by N-substituents of the benzimidazole and ranges of between 0.22 and 0.32 eV in doped films. Vacuum-deposited organic light-emitting diodes, prepared using three of the four analogs, show maximum external quantum efficiencies, EQEmax, of 23.9%, 22.2%, and 18.6% for BIm(Me)PyPXZ , BIm(Ph)PyPXZ , and BImPyPXZ , respectively, with a correlated and modest efficiency roll-off at 100 cd m–2 of 19% 13%, and 24% of the EQEmax, respectively.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Modelli di lettura e finger-tracking. Analisi dei dati di un campione di lettori a sviluppo tipico e atipico della scuola primaria e secondaria di primo grado.

IT L'obiettivo di questa tesi è di analizzare il profilo di lettura in chiave incrementale di un campione di 281 bambini, di cui 247 a sviluppo tipico e 34 a sviluppo atipico, ai quali sono stati sottoposti dei brevi racconti da leggere su tablet. Per fare ciò, è stato selezionato un gruppo di variabili (lunghezza, frequenza di parola, classe, età di acquisizione, immaginabilità, concretezza, frequenza del vicinato, ampiezza del vicinato, distanza media del vicinato) per verificare il ruolo facilitatorio o inibitorio di tali variabili sulla velocità di lettura, rilevata mediante finger-tracking. Sulla base dell'evidenza mostrata nel corso della trattazione, ritengo che i bambini italiani, ottimizzino la loro competenza di lettura combinando sinergicamente due strategie: una lessicale, per parole brevi e frequenti, e una sub-lessicale, per parole lunghe, poco frequenti o non note. Anche i bambini a sviluppo atipico adotterebbero una strategia di lettura sub-lessicale, ma con maggiori difficoltà e integrandola in modo meno efficiente. EN The aim of this thesis is to analyse the incremental reading profile of a sample of 281 children, 247 of whom were typically developing and 34 of whom were atypically developing, who were given short stories to read on tablets. To do so, a group of variables (length, word frequency, class, age of acquisition, imaginability, concreteness, neighbourhood frequency, neighbourhood size, neighbourhood distance) was selected to test the facilitative or inhibitory role of these variables on reading speed, as measured by finger-tracking. On the basis of the evidence shown in the course of the discussion, I believe that Italian children optimise their reading competence by synergistically combining two strategies: a lexical one, for short and frequent words, and a sub-lexical one, for long, infrequent or unknown words. Children with atypical development would also adopt a sub-lexical reading strategy, but with greater difficulty and integrating it less efficiently

Evaluation of a new quantitative test for HCV core Ag

Introduction.The quantitative determination of viral antigens is a diagnostic innovation. The availability of an automated test for detecting the “core” antigen of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) allowed to assess its characteristics and potential applications. Methods.The Abbott ARCHITECT HCV core Ag assay is a fully automated CMIA measuring HCV core antigen at concentrations between 3 and 180,000 fmol / L. The evaluation has been conducted on anti-HCV positive samples at various levels: on samples for which the quantitative (bDNA) and / or qualitative (TMA) HCV-RNA have been tested and on samples of hemodialysis patients. Results.A positivity for HCV Ag was detectable in 10/142 (7.0%) sera with single anti-core reactivity at additional RIBA 3 test while 58 samples reactive to NS3 or NS4 or NS5 were all HCV Ag negative.The frequency of Ag positivity was correlated with the anti-HCV signal (at anti-HCV ARCHITECT), ranging from 71% in samples with S / CO> 5 to 6% in samples with S / CO <5. The antigen was detectable at low concentrations (average 50±1.17 fmol / L) in 8 / 53 samples (15.1%) with viremia below 500 IU / mL. On samples with quantifiable HCV-RNA, the correlation between bDNA and HCV Ag was very good. Of the 65 examined hemodialysis patients, 46 were positive for both antibodies and antigen, 15 for only antibodies, 3 negative for both and one was highly positive for HCV Ag (and HCV-RNA), but anti-HCV negative. Conclusion. The sensitivity and the practicality of the new quantitative test for HCV Ag allow to envisage the use for the evaluation of active HCV infection in anti-HCV positive patients, monitoring patients at risk of infection and as a complement of quantitative viremia

Percezione dell’offerta turistico-balneare, risorse e problematiche ambientali delle spiagge di Battipaglia, Eboli e Capaccio (Campania)

Nell’estate 2015 la somministrazione di questionari sulla percezione turistica delle spiagge in Campania, ha interessato tre località balneari: Battipaglia, Eboli e Capaccio. I litorali di indagine sono caratterizzati dall’alternanza di aree a sfruttamento turistico e di zone ad elevato pregio ambientale. La balneazione delle aree è in vari tratti preclusa a causa di inquinamento delle acque indotto dallo scarico incontrollato di acque reflue. Per i tre comuni indagati, il consumo di suolo non dimostra evidenti criticità al confronto con i valori regionali, grazie anche alla presenza dell’area protetta della Foce del Sele. I dati dimostrano come territorio e turismo di questi litorali siano strettamente dipendenti. Dai risultati dell’indagine sulla percezione turistica, è emerso come il litorale in esame sia una meta raggiunta principalmente da non residenti ma che frequentano queste spiagge abitualmente e sono soddisfatti della loro vacanza. La prevalenza dei turisti predilige le spiagge libere anziché gli stabilimenti balneari e ne giudica positivamente la pulizia, la sicurezza ed il paesaggio. Di conseguenza la disponibilità a pagare dei turisti per preservare la spiaggia è elevata nonostante l’attenzione e la conoscenza delle tematiche ambientali sia scarsa. Le maggiori criticità emerse riguardano la scarsa conoscenza della GIZC, pertanto gli aspetti gestionali legati alla spiaggia non rivestono importanza nella scelta della località e nella percezione di altri aspetti, quali il paesaggio e l’affollamento. Maggiore attrattiva dei lidi può essere raggiunta migliorando le attività ricreative ed attuando sistemi di gestione e pulizia delle acque che ne garantiscano la salubrità

Detection of SV40 in colon cancer: a molecular case-control study from North-East Italy

International audienceTo explore the involvement of the simian polyomavirus SV40 in human colon cancer, a molecular case-control study was undertaken in patients and in their relatives living in an area where the spread of SV40 has already been documented. From 2006 to 2008, 94 colon cancer patients (age: 37-90 years) and 91 subjects (age: 32-70 years) relatives of each index case were enrolled. A blood sample and a specimen of cancer tissue or biopsy was collected, from each patient or control, a respectively. Samples were analyzed twice for Polyomavirus (i.e. SV40, JCV and BKV) by PCR and by quantitative Real Time PCR (RT-qPCR) with reproducible results. No BKV/JCV was detected either in normal or pathological tissues. SV40 was not present in control subjects, either normal tissue or in biopsies from adenomas or polyps. All blood samples were negative. Conversely, six adenocarcinoma specimens were positive for SV40 sequences (overall prevalence 6.4%, p=0.03 in comparison with controls). Nevertheless, the SV40-associated colon cancer risk proved statistically not significant (OR=3.91; p=0.115) when adjusted for age. Quantitation of SV40 DNA performed by RT-qPCR showed a low viral load ranging from 6.2x101 to 9x103 copies per reaction. This molecular case-control survey showed, for the first time in fresh samples and by RT-q PCR, that SV40 can be detected in colon cancer tissue. However, the finding was not statistically significant when compared with a well-structured community control group. Thus, the role of SV40 and other polyomavirus in colon cancer genesis deserves further investigation

Double versus single suture stenting to manage hypertensive spikes after glaucoma drainage device implantation

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of double compared to single intraluminal suture stenting in reducing early postoperative hypertensive spikes (HS) and hypotony after Baerveldt glaucoma implant surgery. Methods: For this retrospective study, we reviewed the medical charts of 60 patients (60 eyes) who underwent Baerveldt drainage device surgery between 2017 and 2019. Two groups were formed according to whether a single suture stent was placed within the tube (5-0 polypropylene, 30 eyes, group 1) or a double suture (5-0 and 6-0 polypropylene, 30 eyes, group 2). Intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured at baseline, at 6 h, and on postoperative days 1, 2, 5, 7, 14, 21, 30, 60, 90, 180. The occurrence of HS (IOP \u2a7e 30 mmHg), anterior chamber reformation, decompressive paracentesis, anti-glaucoma medication, and adverse events were recorded. Results: There was a greater decrease in IOP from baseline at days 1, 2, and 21 (p < 0.05) and number of HS at 6 h (p = 0.006) and postoperative day 1 (p < 0.001) in group 2. The mean number of decompressive paracentesis, anterior chamber reformation procedures, and topical anti-glaucoma medications was the same in both groups; the need for oral acetazolamide was significantly lower in group 2 at days 1, 21, and 30 (p < 0.05). Conclusions: While both stenting methods provide a gradual, controlled decrease in IOP, the double stenting technique was associated with a sooner and greater postoperative reduction in IOP and a good safety profile thanks to fewer HS in the early postoperative period and less need for oral acetazolamide