Time trend occurrence of duodenal intraepithelial lymphocytosis and celiac disease in an open access endoscopic population

Background: Duodenal intraepithelial lymphocytosis (DIL) is a histological finding characterized by the increase of intraepithelial CD3T-lymphocytes over the normal value without villous atrophy, mostly associated to coeliac disease (CD), Helicobacter pylori (Hp) gastritis and autoimmune diseases. Objective: To assess the occurrence of DIL, CD and Hp gastritis in an endoscopic population over a 13 year period. Methods: From 2003 to 2015 we included adult patients who consecutively underwent oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy (OGD) with duodenal biopsies assessing the overall and annual occurrence of DIL and CD and the prevalence of Hp gastritis. Results: 160 (2.3%) patients with DIL and 275 (3.9%) with CD were detected among 7001 patients. CD occurrence was higher from 2003 to 2011, while since 2012 DIL occurrence gradually increased significantly compared to CD (p = 0.03). DIL patients were more frequently female (p = 0.0006) and underwent OGD more frequently for dyspepsia (p = 0.002) and for indications not related to gastrointestinal symptoms than CD patients (p = 0.0003). Hp gastritis occurred similarly in CD and DIL patients but the latter had higher frequency of atrophic body gastritis (p = 0.005). Conclusions: DIL is a condition increasing in the general endoscopic population mainly diagnosed by chance. Concomitant gastric histological evaluation is able in one third of DIL patients to identify associated possible causes of DIL, such as Hp and atrophic gastritis

Ultrafast Molecular Transport on Carbon Surfaces: The Diffusion of Ammonia on Graphite

We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the self-diffusion of ammonia on exfoliated graphite. Using neutron time-of-flight spectroscopy we are able to resolve the ultrafast diffusion process of adsorbed ammonia, NH$_3$, on graphite. Together with van der Waals corrected density functional theory calculations we show that the diffusion of NH$_3$ follows a hopping motion on a weakly corrugated potential energy surface with an activation energy of about 4 meV which is particularly low for this type of diffusive motion. The hopping motion includes further a significant number of long jumps and the diffusion constant of ammonia adsorbed on graphite is determined with D=3.9 \cdot 10^{-8}~\mbox{m}^2 /\mbox{s} at 94 K

Information-disturbance tradeoff in estimating a maximally entangled state

We derive the amount of information retrieved by a quantum measurement in estimating an unknown maximally entangled state, along with the pertaining disturbance on the state itself. The optimal tradeoff between information and disturbance is obtained, and a corresponding optimal measurement is provided.Comment: 4 pages. Accepted for publication on Physical Review Letter

Flood Historical Data for Flood Risk Estimation in Coastal Areas, Eastern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy

A reconstruction of historical floods occurred along the Amalfi coast, during the last five 7 centuries is presented. The analysis of historical sources allowed to achieve a chronological 8 reconstruction of more than 100 floods, four of which classified as catastrophic events. In this 9 task, the level of information was decisive to carry out space–time identification, estimate the 10 affected area and define the type of damage to the structures, and the environment (e.g. mud 11 flow, debris flow, rock falls, shoreline progradation, fan deltas), which may be relevant for the 12 recognition of similar events within the geologic record. The magnitude of the events was 13 finally estimated, taking into account the size of the areas affected by flooding as well as the 14 type of effects induced on the urban and physical environment and the recurrence intervals

The use of documentary sources for reconstructing flood chronologies on the Amalfi rocky coast (southern Italy)

Documentary source materials are essential for retrospective reconstruction of flood events occurring in past centuries. This paper presents methods of research and archiving of historical data from the 16th century to the present. The quality and completeness of the various original sources were evaluated and carefully analysed in their historical context, to avoid serious mistakes. Systematic investigation of about 3000 documents, mainly found in national State Archives and libraries, allows us to identify and localize at least 106 flood events occurring along the Amalfi coast (southern Italy) for five centuries between the years 1500 and 2000. The collected data provide useful details on flood dynamics, size of flooded areas, flood duration, damage level, number of victims and induced geological effects. When available in sufficient quantity, the flood data allow determination of very useful parameters such as the severity class, to identify large floods and their recurrence interval

Tracing groundwater circulation in a valuable mineral water basin with geochemical and isotopic tools: the case of FERRARELLE, Riardo basin, Southern Italy

The Riardo basin hosts groundwater exploited for the production of high quality, naturally sparkling, bottled water (e.g., Ferrarelle water), and circulating in a system constituted by highly fractured Mesozoic carbonates, overlain by more impervious volcanic rocks of the Roccamonfina complex. The two formations are locally in hydraulic connection and dislocated by deep-rooted faults. The study aimed at elucidating groundwater origin and circulation, using isotopic tracers (δ18O, δ2H, δ11B and 87Sr/86Sr) coupled to groundwater dating (Tritium, CFCs and SF6). Besides recharge by local precipitation over the Riardo hydrogeological basin, stable isotope ratios in water indicated an extra-basin recharge, likely from the elevated surrounding carbonate reliefs (e.g., Maggiore and Matese Mts.). The mineralization process, promoted by the deep CO2 flux, controls the B and Sr contents. However, their isotopic ratios did not allow discriminating between circulation in the volcanic and in the carbonate aquifers, as in the latter the isotopic composition differed from the original marine signature. Groundwater model ages ranged from ~ 30 years for the volcanic endmember to > 70 years for the deep, mineralized end-member, with longer circuits recharged at higher elevations. Overall, the results of this study were particularly relevant for mineral water exploitation. A recharge from outside the hydrogeological basin could be evidenced, especially for the more mineralized and valuable groundwater, and an active recent recharge was detected for the whole Riardo system. Both findings will contribute to the refinement of the hydrogeological model and water budget, and to a sustainable development of the resource

Chemical abundances and radial velocities in the extremely metal-poor galaxy DDO 68

We present chemical abundances and radial velocities of six HII regions in the extremely metal-poor star-forming dwarf galaxy DDO 68. They are derived from deep spectra in the wavelength range 3500 - 10,000 {\AA}, acquired with the Multi Object Double Spectrograph (MODS) at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). In the three regions where the [O III]$\lambda$4363 {\AA} line was detected, we inferred the abundance of He, N, O, Ne, Ar, and S through the "direct" method. We also derived the oxygen abundances of all the six regions adopting indirect method calibrations. We confirm that DDO 68 is an extremely metal-poor galaxy, and a strong outlier in the luminosity - metallicity relation defined by star-forming galaxies. With the direct-method we find indeed an oxygen abundance of 12+log(O/H)=7.14$\pm$0.07 in the northernmost region of the galaxy and, although with large uncertainties, an even lower 12+log(O/H)=6.96$\pm$0.09 in the "tail". This is, at face value, the most metal-poor direct abundance detection of any galaxy known. We derive a radial oxygen gradient of -0.06$\pm$0.03 dex/kpc (or -0.30 dex $R_{25}^{-1}$) with the direct method, and a steeper gradient of -0.12$\pm$0.03 dex/kpc (or -0.59 dex $R_{25}^{-1}$) from the indirect method. For the $\alpha$-element to oxygen ratios we obtain values in agreement with those found in other metal-poor star-forming dwarfs. For nitrogen, instead, we infer much higher values, leading to log(N/O)$\sim-1.4$, at variance with the suggested existence of a tight plateau at $-1.6$ in extremely metal poor dwarfs. The derived helium mass fraction ranges from Y=0.240$\pm$0.005 to Y=0.25$\pm$0.02, compatible with standard big bang nucleosynthesis. Finally, we measured HII region radial velocities in the range 479$-$522 km/s from the tail to the head of the "comet", consistent with the rotation derived in the HI.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Rice Responses to Water Limiting Conditions: Improving Stress Management by Exploiting Genetics and Physiological Processes

Water-limiting conditions can severely affect rice yield. Therefore, increasing plant tolerance to water stress is a priority for many rice breeding programs. However, improving rice tolerance to this abiotic stress comes with several complications related to the seeding practices, the adopted water management system and the growth stage where water stress occurs. For this reason, it is challenging to outline single ideotypes showing traits suitable for overcoming drought at different times during the life cycle of rice in diverse cropping ecosystems. The current knowledge of genomics and biochemicals can contribute to drawing rice ideotypes flexible towards diverse water availability conditions. Traits identified in accessions of the wild ancestor of cultivated rice, as well as other wild rice species, in Oryza glaberrima and weedy rice were demonstrated to confer enhanced tolerance to water stress, while screenings of cultivated rice germplasms identified several genes/loci improving water stress resistance. New frontiers are represented by the dissection of the epigenetic control of stress tolerance and the implementation of the contribution of favorable microbiota. Innovative breeding technologies, whose feasibility is related to advancements in genomic analyses, are contributing to enhancing the knowledge-based development of water stress-tolerant rice varieties

HST resolves stars in a tiny body falling on the dwarf galaxy DDO 68

We present new Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging of a stream-like system associated with the dwarf galaxy DDO 68, located in the Lynx-Cancer Void at a distance of D$\sim$12.65 Mpc from us. The stream, previously identified in deep Large Binocular Telescope images as a diffuse low surface brightness structure, is resolved into individual stars in the F606W (broad V) and F814W ($\sim$I) images acquired with the Wide Field Camera 3. The resulting V, I color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of the resolved stars is dominated by old (age$\gtrsim$1-2 Gyr) red giant branch (RGB) stars. From the observed RGB tip, we conclude that the stream is at the same distance as DDO 68, confirming the physical association with it. A synthetic CMD analysis indicates that the large majority of the star formation activity in the stream occurred at epochs earlier than $\sim$1 Gyr ago, and that the star formation at epochs more recent than $\sim$500 Myr ago is compatible with zero. The total stellar mass of the stream is $\sim10^{6} M_{\odot}$, about 1/100 of that of DDO~68. This is a striking example of hierarchical merging in action at the dwarf galaxy scales.Comment: ApJ in pres

Minimum error discrimination of Pauli channels

We solve the problem of discriminating with minimum error probability two given Pauli channels. We show that, differently from the case of discrimination between unitary transformations, the use of entanglement with an ancillary system can strictly improve the discrimination, and any maximally entangled state allows to achieve the optimal discrimination. We also provide a simple necessary and sufficient condition in terms of the structure of the channels for which the ultimate minimum error probability can be achieved without entanglement assistance. When such a condition is satisfied, the optimal input state is simply an eigenstate of one of the Pauli matrices.Comment: 8 pages, no figure