Reflection High-Energy Electron Diffraction oscillations during epitaxial growth of artificially layered films of (BaCuOx)m /(CaCuO2)n

Pulsed Laser Deposition in molecular-beam epitaxy environment (Laser-MBE) has been used to grow high quality BaCuOx/CaCuO2 superlattices. In situ Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction (RHEED) shows that the growth mechanism is 2-dimensional. Furthermore, weak but reproducible RHEED intensity oscillations have been monitored during the growth. Ex-situ x-ray diffraction spectra confirmed the growth rate deduced from RHEED oscillations. Such results demonstrate that RHEED oscillations can be used, even for (BaCuOx)2/(CaCuO2)2 superlattices, for phase locking of the growth.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Corresponding author: Dr. A. Tebano: [email protected]

EMISSIONS REDUCTION FROM PELLET STOVESTHROUGH BURNER POT MODIFICATIONS

In this study, results of an extensive set of experiments onfive wood pellet stoves (8-11 kW nominal power) have been per-formed to verify whether carbon monoxide (CO), particulatematter (PM) and nitrogen monoxide (NO) emissions can be re-duced upon modification of burner pot geometry, depth and airinlet positions. A modification of “traditional” burner pot geom-etry brings CO emission close to zero. Also PM emissions arereduced but not as much as those of CO. It is verified that increas-ing the burner pot’s depth, PM emissions can be further reducedcompared to the less deep burner pot. Finally, since plots of in-stantaneous emissions versus O2content exhibit significant scat-tering and do not show a clear correlation, plots of mean valueof emissions, over narrow intervals of O2, versus O2are intro-duced. These plots show an optimal interval of O2content thatminimizes emissions

Analysis of health care and actual needs of patients with psoriasis: a survey on the Italian population

Background: Over recent years the public health system has shown increasing interest in patients' views for use as guideline criteria in evaluating the quality of assistance above all for those patients with chronic diseases. Hence the interest in psoriasis, which is a chronic disease frequently associated with diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases. The aims of our study were to describe clinic characteristics of patients with psoriasis, the quality of the assistance perceived by patients arrived at outpatients clinics and the information received, in order to identify areas in Italy requiring improvement. Methods: 1954 patients, aged between 18 and 85 years, were consecutively enrolled at outpatients clinics across 21 Italian provinces over the period December 2004 - January 2006. A standardized questionnaire was developed in collaboration with an Italian Association of Psoriatic Patients ( A. DI. PSO) and tested in a pilot study. The questionnaire was divided into three sections: the first section included social, demographic and individual variables; the second concerned the quality of the assistance perceived by the patients at public dermatologic clinics and the third focused on the need of information requirements of patients with psoriasis. The chi(2) test was used to estimate the association between the categorical variables under study. Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to the interval and ordinal variables. Results: The presence of psoriatic arthritis was reported in 26.0% of patients. Associated chronic diseases included depression (15.4%), hypertension (13.3%), obesity (8.9%) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (7.3%). The study highlighted the need of improvements of health care services at public dermatologic clinics especially in overcoming architectonic barriers and reducing appointment wait-times, particularly in South Italy. However, patients reported a positive relationship with Health System employers due to the confidentiality. This positive impression was confirmed by the observation that dermatologists were considered the best source of information about therapies on psoriasis. Conclusion: Our study allowed to identify critical aspects which could be tackled through initiatives with the aim of improving these emerged needs

Immunity of honeybee guards reflects their transition from house bees to foragers

Eusocial insect colonies represent some of the most extreme examples of specialized division of labor. Ageing in workers is often associated with a temporal polyethism in the tasks performed both inside and outside the colony. Such behavioral transition is sometimes linked to a gradual reduction in individual immunity. Here, we studied the immune ability of Apis mellifera guard bees, which represent an intermediate stage between house bees working inside the nest and foragers collecting resources outside, to assess if their specific task is associated with an immune specialization. Through immune challenge with Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, we compared the guards ability to clear bacterial cells from their haemolymph with respect to house bees and foragers. Our findings demonstrate that guards do not show an immune specialization linked to their task but seem to represent a transition also in terms of immunity, since their anti-bacterial response appears intermediate between house bees and foragers

Marine alien species in Italy: A contribution to the implementation of descriptor D2 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive

A re-examination of marine alien species or Non Indigenous Species (NIS) reported in Italian Seas, until December 2018, is provided, focusing on establishment success, year of first record, origin, potential invasiveness, and likely pathways, in particular. Furthermore, their distribution is assessed according to the marine subregions outlined by the European Union (EU) Marine Strategy Framework Directive: Adriatic Sea (ADRIA), Ionian Sea and Central Mediterranean Sea (CMED), and Western Mediterranean Sea (WMED). In Italy, 265 NIS have been detected with the highest number of species being recorded in the CMED (154 species) and the WMED (151 species) subregions, followed by the ADRIA (143) subregion. Most of these species were recorded in more than one subregion. One hundred and eighty (180 or 68%) NIS have established stable populations in Italian Seas among which 26 have exhibited invasive traits. As regards the taxa involved, Macrophyta rank first with 65 taxa. Fifty-five of them are established in at least one subregion, mostly in the ADRIA and the CMED. Crustacea rank second with 48 taxa, followed by Polychaeta with 43 taxa, Mollusca with 29 taxa, and Fishes with 28 taxa, which were mainly reported from the CMED. In the period 2012-2017, 44 new alien species were recorded, resulting in approximately one new entry every two months. Approximately half of the NIS (~52%) recorded in Italy have most likely arrived through the transport-stowaway pathway related to shipping traffic (~28% as biofoulers, ~22% in ballast waters, and ~2% as hitchhikers). The second most common pathway is the unaided movement with currents (~19%), followed by the transport-contaminant on farmed shellfishes pathway (~18%). "Unaided" is the most common pathway for alien Fishes, especially in the CMED; escapes from confinement account for ~3% and release in nature for ~2%. The present NIS distribution hotspots for new introductions were defined at the first recipient area/location in Italy. In the ADRIA, the hotspot, Venice, accounts for the highest number of alien taxa introduced in Italy, with 50 newly recorded taxa. In the CMED subregion, the hotspots of introduction are the Taranto and Catania Gulfs, hosting 21 first records each. The Strait of Sicily represents a crossroad between alien taxa from the Atlantic Ocean and the Indo-Pacific area. In the WMED, bioinvasion hotspots include the Gulfs of Naples, Genoa and Livorno. This review can serve as an updated baseline for future coordination and harmonization of monitoring initiatives under international, EU and regional policies, for the compilation of new data from established monitoring programs, and for rapid assessment surveys

Increased immunocompetence and network centrality of allogroomer workers suggest a link between individual and social immunity in honeybees.

The significant risk of disease transmission has selected for effective immune-defense strategies in insect societies. Division of labour, with individuals specialized in immunity-related tasks, strongly contributes to prevent the spread of diseases. A trade-off, however, may exist between phenotypic specialization to increase task efficiency and maintenance of plasticity to cope with variable colony demands. We investigated the extent of phenotypic specialization associated with a specific task by using allogrooming in the honeybee, Apis mellifera, where worker behaviour might lower ectoparasites load. We adopted an integrated approach to characterize the behavioural and physiological phenotype of allogroomers, by analyzing their behavior (both at individual and social network level), their immunocompetence (bacterial clearance tests) and their chemosensory specialization (proteomics of olfactory organs). We found that allogroomers have higher immune capacity compared to control bees, while they do not differ in chemosensory proteomic profiles. Behaviourally, they do not show differences in the tasks performed (other than allogrooming), while they clearly differ in connectivity within the colonial social network, having a higher centrality than control bees. This demonstrates the presence of an immune-specific physiological and social behavioural specialization in individuals involved in a social immunity related task, thus linking individual to social immunity, and it shows how phenotypes may be specialized in the task performed while maintaining an overall plasticity

A network perspective to the measurement of sense of coherence (SOC): an exploratory graph analysis approach

The measurement of sense of coherence (SOC) has received attention for more than three decades. Despite the extensive use of SOC-13, there is still a long debate regarding its dimensionality structure. Recently, there has been an increasing use of network modeling as a valid alternative to latent-variable modeling. This study proposes an exploratory approach to the structure of SOC-13 by adopting a network perspective. The network structure was estimated with a Gaussian Graphical Model, and Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA) was used to inspect network dimensionality. We fit and compared the unidimensional, first- and second-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), bifactor-CFA, and structure derived from EGA. Our results showed unacceptable fit values for the CFA models, suggesting that SOC-13 is not unidimensional. Inspection of the estimated network suggested that the SOC-13 items emerged as a dynamic system of mutually interacting nodes that formed three distinct clusters of items (communities) that are not those defined in the literature. EGA identified three communities of items: the first community was characterized by comprehensibility and manageability items, the second community was characterized by comprehensibility and manageability items, and the third dimension was characterized by all meaningfulness items and one comprehensibility item. Our study presented a novel perspective in investigating the structure of SOC-13 that strengthens the assumption that SOC should be conceptualized as a complex system of cognitive (comprehensibility), behavioral (manageability), and motivational dimensions (meaningfulness) that are deeply linked and not necessarily distinct

Identification of inhibitors targeting ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase from the xanthomonas citri subsp. Citri phytopathogenic bacteria

Ferredoxin-NADP(H) reductases (FNRs) deliver NADPH or low potential one-electron donors to redox-based metabolism in plastids and bacteria. Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc) is a Gram-negative bacterium responsible for citrus canker disease that affects commercial citrus crops worldwide. The Xcc fpr gene encodes a bacterial type FNR (XccFPR) that contributes to the bacterial response to oxidative stress conditions, usually found during plant colonization. Therefore, XccFPR is relevant for the pathogen survival and its inhibition might represent a strategy to treat citrus canker. Because of mechanistic and structural differences from plastidic FNRs, XccFPR is also a potential antibacterial target. We have optimized an activity-based high-throughput screening (HTS) assay that identifies XccFPR inhibitors. We selected 43 hits from a chemical library and narrowed them down to the four most promising inhibitors. The antimicrobial effect of these compounds was evaluated on Xcc cultures, finding one with antimicrobial properties. Based on the functional groups of this compound and their geometric arrangement, we identified another three XccFPR inhibitors. Inhibition mechanisms and constants were determined for these four XccFPR inhibitors. Their specificity was also evaluated by studying their effect on the plastidic Anabaena PCC 7119 FNR, finding differences that can become interesting tools to discover Xcc antimicrobials

Optical conductivity of CuO_2 infinite-layer films

The infrared conductivity of CaCuO_2, SrCuO_{2-y}, and Sr_{0.85}Nd_{0.15}CuO_2 infinite-layer films is obtained from reflectivity measurements by taking into account the substrate contribution. SrCuO_{2-y} and Sr_{0.85}Nd_{0.15}CuO_2 exhibit extra-phonon modes and structured bands in the midinfrared, not found in stoichiometric CaCuO_2. These features mirror those observed in the perovskitic cuprates, thus showing that the polaronic properties of high-T_c superconductors are intrinsic to the CuO_2 planes.Comment: File latex, 5 p. incl. 4 fig. in epsf. Submitted to Solid State Com