The activation of non-linear optical response in Ag@ZnO nanocolloids under an external highly intense electric field

An extensive theoretical and experimental study of the non-linear optical properties of bare and silver-decorated zinc oxide (ZnO and Ag@ZnO) nanostructures, prepared by laser-generated plasmas in water and in water/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solutions, is reported. The z-scan technique was used to monitor the activation of the non-linear optical mechanisms, focusing an intense laser radiation through the nanocolloids under study. A classical formalism was adopted to explain the z-scan data of these anisotropic materials and to describe the influence of radiation torque and forces on the optically activated nanostructures. This modelling approach includes effects of nanoparticles rearrangements, also taking into account plasmonic effects. An interesting coupling between the nature of the optical limiting response and the nanostructures reorganization under the high-power laser excitation, used during the z-scan measurements, was found and, for the first time to our knowledge, was explained using a classical theoretical approach

Planning amid crisis and austerity : in, against and beyond the contemporary conjuncture

This article introduces the special issue ‘Planning amid crisis and austerity: in, against and beyond the contemporary juncture’. It starts by acknowledging two limits of the existing body of literature on the planning/crisis/austerity nexus: on the one hand, the excessive reliance on cases at the ‘core’ of the financial crisis of 2007–2008, with impacts on the understanding of austerity as a response to economic crises; and, on the other, the limited attention given to the impacts of austerity on planning, and their implications for planning practice and research. Based on the contributions in the special issue, the article reflects on some lessons learned: first, the need for a more nuanced understanding of the multiple geographies and temporalities of crisis and austerity; second, the problematic standing of planning practice and research in the face of crisis and austerity; and, third, the potential and limitations of (local) responses and grassroots mobilizations in shaping alternatives

Trauma and Parenting Beliefs : Exploring the Ethnotheories and Socialization Goals of Palestinian Mothers

Parenting beliefs are important to infant wellbeing, but there is a lack of research into their role in war conditions. We examined (1) how maternal traumatic experiences (war events and childhood abuse) and mental health would be associated with parenting beliefs about good childrearing practices (ethnotheories) and desirable child characteristics (socialization goals) and (2) whether parenting beliefs mediate the impact of traumatic experiences and mental health on mother-infant interaction and infant development. Palestinian mothers (N = 510) participated during pregnancy and at four and 12 months postpartum. They reported current traumatic war events, emotional and physical abuse in their own childhood and mental health (posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety symptoms), their ethnotheories and socialization goals and the quality of dyadic mother-infant interactions and infant developmental skills (language, fine-motor, and gross-motor). High maternal exposure to traumatic war events was associated with higher autonomy-enhancing-and lower relatedness-enhancing-socialization goals. Conversely, maternal childhood abuse was associated with higher relatedness-enhancing-and lower autonomy-enhancing-socialization goals. High maternal exposure to traumatic war events was associated with high levels of positive dyadic interaction, whereas high emotional and physical abuse and mental health problems were associated with low levels of positive dyadic interaction. Parenting beliefs did not mediate the impact of maternal traumatic experiences and mental health on dyadic interaction or infant development. The nature of maternal traumatic experiences was central for the socialization goals in unique and specific ways. The findings emphasize the meaningfulness of parenting values, goals, and practices among mothers caring for their infants in war conditions.Peer reviewe

Lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation in patients affected by Hodgkin's lymphoma.

A dysregulation of the redox homoeostasis has been reported in various neoplastic disorders. Malondialdehyde/4-hydroxy-2,3-nonenal (MDA/HNE) and protein carbonyl groups represent in vivo indexes of lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation, respectively, suitable to investigate radical-mediated physio-pathological conditions. We evaluated MDA/HNE and protein carbonyl groups in sera of untreated Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) patients in advanced disease stages, in order to quantify the oxidative stress. HL patients displayed significantly higher levels of both MDA/HNE and protein carbonyl groups as compared with healthy controls. This is the first evidence that a strong increase in HL is one of the most common haematological malignancies, representing approximately 30% of all lymphomas in the circulating protein carbonyl content in HL. These findings may contribute to a better definition of the redox homoeostasis dysregulation in HL

Fast UPLC/PDA determination of squalene in Sicilian P.D.O. pistachio from Bronte: optimization of oil extraction method and analytical characterization

A fast reversed-phase UPLC method was developed for squalene determination in Sicilian pistachio samples that entry in the European register of the products with P.D.O. In the present study the SPE procedure was optimized for the squalene extraction prior to the UPLC/PDA analysis. The precision of the full analytical procedure was satisfactory and the mean recoveries were 92.8 + 0.3 % and 96.6 + 0.1 % for 25 and 50 mg L-1 level of addition, respectively. Selected chromatographic conditions allowed a very fast squalene determination; in fact it was well separated in ~ 0.54 min with good resolution. Squalene was detected in all the pistachio samples analyzed and the levels ranged from 55.45 to 226.34 mg . kg-1. Comparing our results with those of other studies it emerges that squalene contents in P.D.O. Sicilian pistachio samples, generally, were higher than those measured for other samples of different geographic origins

Anomalous melting behavior under extreme conditions: hard matter turning "soft"

We show that a system of particles interacting through the exp-6 pair potential, commonly used to describe effective interatomic forces under high compression, exhibits anomalous melting features such as reentrant melting and a rich solid polymorphism, including a stable BC8 crystal. We relate this behavior to the crossover, with increasing pressure, between two different regimes of local order that are associated with the two repulsive length scales of the potential. Our results provide a unifying picture for the high-pressure melting anomalies observed in many elements and point out that, under extreme conditions, atomic systems may reveal surprising similarities with soft matter.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Sustainable local development and environmental governance: a strategic planning experience

The emphasis on learning and adaptation among different actors at various political administrative levels and on various geographic scales has become a precondition for the emergence of sustainable development. It is possible to find the essential form of collaborative management by using a Strategic Plan, designed to determine a local model of sustainable competitiveness in economic, social and environmental terms. The adoption of a Strategic Plan stimulates a process of shared knowledge, through which it is possible to generate a new environmental governance (EG) that is truly representative of a local system. This paper presents, as a case study representative of the Italian context, the Strategic Plan of the Nebrodi area (SP), and assesses the structure of a new form of public and private environmental governance focused on sustainable concern. Finally, the SP could be considered a guideline for managing the local territorial and environmental system from a long-term perspective

Intelligent non-colorimetric indicators for the perishable supply chain by non-wovens with photo-programmed thermal response

Spoiled perishable products, such as food and drugs exposed to inappropriate temperature, cause million illnesses every year. Risks range from intoxication due to pathogen-contaminated edibles, to suboptimal potency of temperature-sensitive vaccines. High-performance and low-cost indicators are needed, based on conformable materials whose properties change continuously and irreversibly depending on the experienced time-temperature profile. However, these systems can be limited by unclear reading, especially for colour-blind people, and are often difficult to be encoded with a tailored response to detect excess temperature over varying temporal profiles. Here we report on optically-programmed, non-colorimetric indicators based on nano-textured non-wovens encoded by their cross-linking degree. This combination allows a desired time-temperature response to be achieved, to address different perishable products. The devices operate by visual contrast with ambient light, which is explained by backscattering calculations for the complex fibrous material. Optical nanomaterials with photo-encoded thermal properties might establish new design rules for intelligent labels

Protein carbonyl group content in patients affected by familiar chronic nail candidiasis.

Familiar chronic nail candidiasis (FCNC) is a rare disorder characterized by early-onset infections caused by different species of Candida, restricted to the nail of the hands and feet, and associated with a low serum concentration of intercellular adhesion molecule 1. Host defense mechanisms against candidiasis require the cooperation of many immune cells through several candidacidal mechanisms, including oxygen-dependent killing mechanisms, mediated by a superoxide anion radical myeloperoxidase--H2O2--halide system, and reactive nitrogen intermediates. We analyzed protein carbonyl groups (considered a useful marker of oxidative stress) in the serum of patients belonging to a five-generation Italian family with an isolated form of FCNC. Serum protein carbonyl groups in FCNC patients were significantly lower than those measured in healthy donors. Also, if this hypothesis is merely speculative, we could suggest that the decreased circulating level of protein carbonyl groups in these patients is not a marker of a lower oxidative stress condition, but might be linked to a lower protease activity

Life cycle inventory data for the Italian agri-food sector: background, sources and methodological aspects

AbstractPurposeFor the development of any life cycle assessment study, the practitioner frequently integrates primary data collected on-field, with background data taken from various life cycle inventory databases which are part of most commercial LCA software packages. However, such data is often not generally applicable to all product systems since, especially concerning the agri-food sector, available datasets may not be fully representative of the site specificity of the food product under examination. In this context, the present work investigates the background, sources and methodological aspects that characterise the most known commercial databases containing agri-food data, with a focus on four agri-food supply chains (olive oil, wine, wheat products and citrus fruit), which represent an important asset for the Italian food sector.MethodsSpecifically, the paper entails a review of currently available LCI databases and their datasets with a twofold scope: firstly, to understand how agri-food data is modelled in these databases for a coherent and consistent representation of regional scenarios and to verify whether they are also suitable for the Italian context and, secondly, to identify and analyse useful and relevant methodological approaches implemented in the existing LCI databases when regional data are modelled.ResultsBased on the aforementioned review, it is possible to highlight some problems which may arise when developing an LCI pertaining to the four Italian agri-food supply chains, namely:1. The need for specific inventory datasets to tackle the specificities of agri-food product systems.2. The lack of datasets, within the existing DBs, related to the Italian context and to the abovementioned supply chains. In fact, at present, in the currently available LCI DBs, there are very few (or in some cases none) datasets related to Italian wine, olive oil, wheat-based products and citrus fruit. The few available datasets often contain some data related to the Italian context but also approximate data with that of product systems representing other countries.Furthermore, the present study allowed to identify and discuss the main aspects to be used as starting elements for modelling regional data to be included in a future Italian LCI database of the abovementioned four supply chains.ConclusionsThe results of the present study represent a starting point for the collection of data and its organisation, in order to develop an Italian LCI agri-food database with datasets which are representative of the regional specificities of four agri-food supply chains which play an important role in the Italian economy