Hydrolyzed protein based materials for biodegradable spray mulching coatings

Low density polyethylene (LDPE) films are widespread used in agriculture for soil mulching. The use of LDPE mulching films causes the serious drawback of huge quantities of waste to be disposed of. Over the last years the growing environmental awareness has been prompting the research to develop a new generation of mulching products starting with raw materials from renewable origin. These materials have to retain their physical and mechanical properties while in use and have to be compostable or biodegradable at the end of their life, degrading via micro-organisms into carbon dioxide or methane, water and biomass. The research is focused on the development of novel biodegradable polymeric materials based on hydrolyzed proteins, derived from waste products of the leather industry. Biodegradable soil mulching coatings were realized with these biodegradable polymeric materials by means of spray techniques; the coatings were tested in a Ligustrum ovalifolium cultivation carried out inside a greenhouse. This paper describes the functionalities of the new bio-based mulching coatings, which were developed and tested in real scale greenhouse cultivation tests. During the trial, the biodegradable soil mulching materials showed suitable properties for an efficient and profitable use in agriculture. The innovative biodegradable spray coatings lasted up to 18 months. The biodegradable materials could be the environmentally friendly alternatives to synthetic petro-chemical polymers and could contribute to a sustainable agriculture

The birthplace and age of the isolated neutron star RX J1856.5-3754

X-ray observations unveiled various types of radio-silent Isolated Neutron Stars (INSs), phenomenologically very diverse, e.g. the Myr old X-ray Dim INS (XDINSs) and the kyr old magnetars. Although their phenomenology is much diverse, the similar periods (P=2--10 s) and magnetic fields (~10^{14} G) suggest that XDINSs are evolved magnetars, possibly born from similar populations of supermassive stars. One way to test this hypothesis is to identify their parental star clusters by extrapolating backward the neutron star velocity vector in the Galactic potential. By using the information on the age and space velocity of the XDINS RX J1856.5-3754, we computed backwards its orbit in the Galactic potential and searched for its parental stellar cluster by means of a closest approach criterion. We found a very likely association with the Upper Scorpius OB association, for a neutron star age of 0.42+/-0.08 Myr, a radial velocity V_r^NS =67+/- 13$ km s^{-1}, and a present-time parallactic distance d_\pi^NS = 123^{+11}_{-15} pc. Our result confirms that the "true" neutron star age is much lower than the spin-down age (tau_{sd}=3.8 Myrs), and is in good agreement with the cooling age, as computed within standard cooling scenarios. The mismatch between the spin-down and the dynamical/cooling age would require either an anomalously large breaking index (n~20) or a decaying magnetic field with initial value B_0 ~ 10^{14} G. Unfortunately, owing to the uncertainty on the age of the Upper Scorpius OB association and the masses of its members we cannot yet draw firm conclusions on the estimated mass of the RX J1856.5-3754 progenitor.Comment: 6 pages, accepted for publication on Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ

Polimorfismi biochimici nel sangue e nel latte della capra sarda

The Authors, in a study on 990 individual samples of blood and milk collected from Sardinian goats, have found the presence of polymorphism at the loci Hb, Tf, X protein, β- Lg, αs-Cn, while the loci Alb, CA, SOD, α-La, β-Cn were monomorphic

The Experience of Former Women Officials and the Impact on the Sporting Community

In an effort to explore the shortage of female sport officials, the authors examined the experience of eight former female basketball officials from five geographically diverse states in the U.S. who voluntarily left the role. Specifically, the authors asked former female basketball officials to describe their workplace experiences. Utilizing a phenomenological approach and workplace incivility framework, the results indicated that the felt social inequity for female officials detracted from the participants experiencing a sense of community in the workplace, which ultimately led to their discontinuation in the role. Results indicate four key factors that created this uncivil work environment. An examination of the data revealed four major themes. Specifically the female basketball officials reported experiencing a Lack of Mutual Respect from male counterparts; Perceived Inequity of Policies; a Lack of Role Modeling and Mentoring for and from female officials; and experiencing more Gendered Abuse than did their male counterparts. The combination of these four factors exacerbated the female officials’ inability to connect to the officiating community and led to their withdrawal from the role. The results further indicate that women officials likely threatened the hegemonic characteristics of a sport setting. Although females have made great strides in terms of sport participation, the practical implications of this research suggest that understanding females in workplace roles, such as officiating, is vital if social equity is to be achieved in the sporting community

An exploration of the lesbian label among health and kinesiology department academicians

The majority of research investigations into the meaning and implications of the lesbian label within the sport context have primarily focused on coaches, athletes, and physical education teachers. Generally overlooked, however, has been the area of college and university health and kinesiology academia (i.e., sport-related curricula). The purpose of this study was to extend this line of inquiry to this setting within the context of sport. By doing so, investigating the lesbian label, as well as seeking to identify its presence, impact, and potential consequences as they relate to health and kinesiology department members, may contribute to the understanding of why a lesbian stigma persists within the multifaceted context of sport. Further, an additional purpose of this inquiry was to identify whether the use of identity management strategies, and their potential negative consequences, were used in relation to the lesbian label. The lesbian label was investigated through the voices of health and kinesiology department academicians. Through their words it was communicated that not only was the lesbian label and an associated stigma present within their respective departments, but the meaning of lesbianism within sport-related curricula was somewhat reminiscent of the meaning in other sport contexts. Thus, to some extent, the lesbian stigma can be extrapolated from sport to sport-related curricula. While complex, the meaning of lesbianism was intertwined with gender norms, religious beliefs, politics, personal beliefs, interpersonal relationships, societal assumptions, perceptions of powerlessness, and a necessity for self-protection. This was predominantly the case related to a female faculty members’ possession of certain physical characteristics, her physical presentation and attire, relationship status, and proximity to departmental physical activity courses that are regarded as more masculine (e.g., weight training, racquetball, basketball, etc.), in particular. Finally, whether merely acknowledged as being present or advocating for change with regard to perceptions of inequality and injustice, cognitive and emotional resources were allocated to this issue in a variety of ways. Implications of this exploration and its findings are presented and further inquiry encouraged

the effects of control measures on the economic burden associated with epidemics of avian influenza in italy

In 1999, Italy experienced a devastating epidemic of high-pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) caused by an H7N1 virus subtype. After this epidemic, a ministerial decree was passed to implement control measures for low-pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) due to H5 and H7 subtypes. We investigated whether these control measures have decreased the public expenditure associated with epidemics of LPAI and HPAI by comparing the direct and consequential losses of the 1999 epidemic to the losses associated with successive epidemics. The estimated total economic burden of the epidemics was about euro650 million (euro217 million in direct losses and euro433 million in consequential losses). The 1999 epidemic accounted for most of these losses (euro507 million: euro112 million in direct losses and euro395 million in consequential losses), whereas the total economic burden for the 5 successive LPAI was euro143 million (euro105 million in direct losses and euro38 million in consequential losses). These results demonstrate that the implementation of a coordinated set of disease-control measures, which included both emergency and prophylactic vaccination, was able to reduce the overall costs associated with avian influenza epidemics. The results also show that the application of adequate LPAI control measures may limit the risk of emergence of an HPAI virus in an area with a high poultry density, allowing the complete disruption of the poultry market and its huge associated costs to be avoided

Diagnostic pitfalls in the assessment of congenital hypopituitarism.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of congenital hypopituitarism is difficult and oftendelayed because its symptoms are nonspecific.AIM: To describe the different clinical presentations of children with congenitalhypopituitarism to reduce the time for diagnosis and to begin a precocious andappropriate treatment.STUDY DESIGN: We analyzed a cohort of five children with congenitalhypopituitarism, describing their clinical, biochemical and radiologicalcharacteristics from the birth to diagnosis.RESULTS: As first sign of the disease, all of five patients presented a neonatal hypoglycemia, associated in four cases with jaundice. In all these four cases,the clinicians hypothesized a metabolic disease delaying the diagnosis, which wasperformed in only two cases within the neonatal period. In the other three cases,the diagnosis was formulated at 2, 5 and 8 years of life because there was severeand precocious growth impairment.CONCLUSIONS: It is important to suspect congenital hypopituitarism in thepresence of persistent neonatal hypoglycemia associated with jaundice and of aprecocious and severe reduction of the growth velocity in childhood. In all thesecases, it is necessary to undertake a hypothalamic-pituitary magnetic resonanceimaging scan as soon as possible, and to start appropriate treatment

X-ray emission from the luminous O-type subdwarf HD 49798 and its compact companion

The X-ray source RX J0648.0-4418 is the only confirmed binary system in which a compact object, most likely a massive white dwarf, accretes from a hot subdwarf companion, the bright sdO star HD 49798. The X-ray emission from this system is characterized by two periodic modulations caused by an eclipse, at the orbital period of 1.55 d, and by the rotation of the compact object with a spin period of 13.2 s. In 2011 we obtained six short XMM-Newton observations centered at orbital phase 0.75, in order to study the system during the eclipse, and spaced at increasingly long time intervals in order to obtain an accurate measure of the spin-period evolution through phase-connected timing. The duration of the eclipse ingress and egress, 500 s, indicates the presence of an X-ray emitting region with dimensions of the order of a few 10^4 km, surrounding the pulsar and probably due to scattering in the companion's wind. We derived an upper limit on the spin-period derivative |Pdot|<6x10^-15 s/s, more than two orders of magnitude smaller than the previously available value. Significant X-ray emission is detected also during the 1.2 hours-long eclipse, with a luminosity of about 3x10^30 erg/s. The eclipse spectrum shows prominent emission lines of H- and He-like nitrogen, an overabundant element in HD 49798. These findings support the suggestion that the X-ray emission observed during the eclipse originates in HD 49798 and that the processes responsible for X-ray emission in the stellar winds of massive O stars are also at work in the much weaker winds of hot subdwarfs.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Development of two multiplex PCRs for microsatellite analysis in Alpine chamois (Rupicapra r. rupicapra)

The study of the genetic diversity gives important information about structure, subdivision in subunits and evolution of populations. Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra, Linneus 1758) are mountain ungulates belonging to the subfamily Caprinae. They are presently distributed over most of the medium to high altitude mountains in the Southern Europe. Ten distinct geographical populations have been recognised as subspecies (Masini and Lovari, 1988); one of this subspecies, R. r. rupicapra, includes also the chamois living on the Italian Alps