Effects of the restoration actions to combat desertification on soils: the practice project study site in Pula (Sardinia, Italy)

Land Degradation and Desertification affect much of the world’s drylands, resulting in a significant loss of biological and economic productivity. Responding to desertification by improving the efficiency of land and resource management represents a crucial step towards social welfare in drylands. However, the evaluation of the actions to combat desertification remains limited. The PRACTICE EC-FP7 project develops and tests integrated evaluation protocols to assess the effectiveness of restoration practices in a network of study sites distributed among the most LD affected regions of the world

Endolymphatic potassium of the chicken vestibule during embryonic development

The endolymph fills the lumen of the inner ear membranous labyrinth. Its ionic composition is unique in vertebrates as an extracellular fluid for its high-K(+)/low-Na(+) concentration. The endolymph is actively secreted by specialized cells located in the vestibular and cochlear epithelia. We have investigated the early phases of endolymph secretion by measuring the endolymphatic K(+) concentration in the chicken vestibular system during pre-hatching development. Measurements were done by inserting K(+)-selective microelectrodes in chicken embryo ampullae dissected at different developmental stages from embryonic day 9 up to embryonic day 21 (day of hatching). We found that the K(+) concentration is low (<10mM/L) up to embryonic day 11, afterward it increases steeply to reach a plateau level of about 140 mM/L at embryonic day 19--21. We have developed a short-term in vitro model of endolymph secretion by culturing vestibular ampullae dissected from embryonic day 11 chicken embryos for a few days. The preparation reproduced a double compartment system where the luminal K(+) concentration increased along with the days of culturing. This model could be important for (1) investigating the development of cellular mechanisms contributing to endolymph homeostasis and (2) testing compounds that influence those mechanisms

Evolutionary properties of the low-luminosity galaxy population in the NGC5044 Group

In this third paper of a series we present Johnson-Gunn B, g, V, r, i, z multicolour photometry for 79 objects, including a significant fraction of the faintest galaxies around NGC5044, assessing group membership on the basis of apparent morphology (through accurate Sérsic-profile fitting) and low-resolution (R= 500-1000) optical spectroscopy to estimate the redshift for 21 objects. Early- and late-type systems are found to be clearly separate in Sérsic parameter space, with the well-known luminosity versus shape relation being mostly traced by different morphological types spanning different ranges in the shape parameter n. A significantly blue colour is confirmed for Magellanic irregulars (Sm/Ims), while a drift toward bluer integrated colours is also an issue for dwarf ellipticals (dEs). Both features point to moderate but pervasive star-formation activity even among nominally 'quiescent' stellar systems. Together, dEs and Ims provide the bulk of the galaxy luminosity function, around M(g) ≃-18.0 ± 1.5, while the S0 and dwarf spheroidal (dSph) components dominate the bright and faint-end tails of the distribution respectively. This special mix places the NGC5044 Group just 'midway' between the high-density cosmic aggregation scale typical of galaxy clusters and the low-density environment of looser galaxy clumps like our Local Group. The bright mass of the 136 member galaxies with available photometry and morphological classification, as inferred from appropriate M/L model fitting, amounts to a total of 2.3 × 10 12M ⊙. This is one seventh of the total dynamical mass of the group, according to its X-ray emission. The current star-formation rate within the group turns to be about 23M ⊙yr -1, a figure that may however be slightly increased as a result of the evident activity among dwarf ellipticals, as shown by enhanced Hβ emission in their spectra. Lick narrow-band indices have been computed for 17 galaxies, probing all the relevant atomic and molecular features in the 4300-5800Å wavelength range. Dwarf ellipticals are found to share a subsolar metallicity (-1.0 ≲ [Fe/H] ≲- 0.5), with a clear decoupling between iron and α elements, as already established for high-mass systems. Both dEs and dS0s are consistent with a high age, about one Hubble time, although a possible bias towards higher values of age may be induced by the gas emission affecting the Hβ strength. © 2012 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical SocietyFacultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y GeofísicasInstituto de Astrofísica de La Plat

On the collapse of a post-tensioned reinforced concrete truss bridge during the construction phases

On March 2018 a post-tensioned reinforced concrete (RC) truss bridge, built inside a North American university campus using the Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) method, collapsed during the construction phases, while the bars of a diagonal member were being re-tensioned. This process was not part of the scheduled construction phases, but it was decided by the designers after having observed several cracks in the structural nodes. This paper aims to analyse the final design of the bridge useful to determine the hypothetical causes of the collapse. Several numerical analyses have been performed to reproduce the behaviour of the different structural elements during the construction phases. In particular, construction stage analyses have been carried out to obtain the internal actions acting on the structural elements and on the nodes during the different construction steps and in order to analyse in detail the critical phases where the occurrence of the collapse has been hypothesized. The collapse mechanism is identified in the shear failure of a node of the concrete truss during the re-tensioning of a diagonal element. In fact, the reapplication of the post-tension had increased the axial force of the diagonal and consequently the shear action on the node. Moreover, the results obtained have shown that the bridge has never been in safe conditions, mainly because the interface surface of the cold joints had not undergone any type of work and remained smooth

Metil derivati chirali di platino(II) con piridine 2-sostituite

Molte ricerche sui farmaci antitumorali riguardano i derivati di platino dopo la scoperta che il cisplatino, cis-diamminodicloroplatino(II) era risultato molto attivo in certi tipi di cancro. Anche complessi di Pt(II) con piridine hanno mostrato attività, in qualche caso superiore a quella del cisplatino. Noi da anni studiamo complessi di Pt(II) con leganti azotati aventi nuclei piridinici e recentemente abbiamo intrapreso un’indagine della reattività del frammento ibrido organicoinorganico ”Pt(Me)Cl” con una serie di piridine 2-R sostituite (R= alchile arile, benzile)

Calyx and dimorphic neurons of mouse Scarpa's ganglion express histamine H3 receptors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Histamine-related drugs are commonly used in the treatment of vertigo and related vestibular disorders. The site of action of these drugs however has not been elucidated yet. Recent works on amphibians showed that histamine H3 receptor antagonists, e.g. betahistine, inhibit the afferent discharge recorded from the vestibular nerve. To assess the expression of H3 histamine receptors in vestibular neurons, we performed mRNA RT-PCR and immunofluorescence experiments in mouse Scarpa's ganglia.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>RT-PCR analysis showed the presence of H3 receptor mRNA in mouse ganglia tissue. H3 protein expression was found in vestibular neurons characterized by large and roundish soma, which labeled for calretinin and calbindin.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present results are consistent with calyx and dimorphic, but not bouton, afferent vestibular neurons expressing H3 receptors. This study provides a molecular substrate for the effects of histamine-related antivertigo drugs acting on (or binding to) H3 receptors, and suggest a potential target for the treatment of vestibular disorders of peripheral origin.</p

Chiral cyclometalation of 6-(1-phenylbenzyl)-2,2′-bipyridine

A new bipyridine ligand, 6-(1-phenylbenzyl)-2,2′-bipyridine, has been prepared by a multistep synthesis starting from the corresponding substituted pyridine. The coordinating properties of the new ligand have been tested with two d8 metal ions, Pt(II) and Pd(II), to give the cyclometalated complexes [Pt(N,N,C)Cl] and [Pd(N,N,C)Cl], where N,N,C is a terdentate deprotonated bipyridine containing a new stereogenic carbon atom directly generated by C–H bond activation. The single-crystal of the platinum complex has been solved by X-ray diffraction. DFT calculations confirm the presence of a Pt⋯H interaction that stabilizes one of the two possible conformers by 14.7 kJ mol−1 for Pt and 12.9 kJ mol−1 for Pd. The energy barrier to pass from one conformer to the other is 25.4 and 23.8 kJ mol−1 respectively. Under different reaction conditions, regioselective activation of a pyridine C–H bond gave the less common cyclometalated rollover complex [Pt(L-H)Me(DMSO)], which was isolated and characterised

Complessi di oro con leganti imidazolici di interesse farmacologico

L'imidazolo gioca un ruolo importante nella chimica biologica, difatti costituisce un componente laterale dell'istidina, amminoacido essenziale, e si trova anche in molte proteine. Nel nostro gruppo di ricerca da anni ci si occupa della sintesi di complessi con leganti eterociclici azotati, con metalli di transizione come oro, platino e palladio, sia con scopi catalitici che con scopi farmaceutici. Nello specifico il mio lavoro si e basato sulla sintesi di complessi di oro(I) e oro(III) con leganti contenenti anelli imidazolici

Evolutionary properties of the low-luminosity galaxy population in the NGC5044 Group

In this third paper of a series we present Johnson-Gunn B, g, V, r, i, z multicolour photometry for 79 objects, including a significant fraction of the faintest galaxies around NGC5044, assessing group membership on the basis of apparent morphology (through accurate Sérsic-profile fitting) and low-resolution (R= 500-1000) optical spectroscopy to estimate the redshift for 21 objects. Early- and late-type systems are found to be clearly separate in Sérsic parameter space, with the well-known luminosity versus shape relation being mostly traced by different morphological types spanning different ranges in the shape parameter n. A significantly blue colour is confirmed for Magellanic irregulars (Sm/Ims), while a drift toward bluer integrated colours is also an issue for dwarf ellipticals (dEs). Both features point to moderate but pervasive star-formation activity even among nominally 'quiescent' stellar systems. Together, dEs and Ims provide the bulk of the galaxy luminosity function, around M(g) ≃-18.0 ± 1.5, while the S0 and dwarf spheroidal (dSph) components dominate the bright and faint-end tails of the distribution respectively. This special mix places the NGC5044 Group just 'midway' between the high-density cosmic aggregation scale typical of galaxy clusters and the low-density environment of looser galaxy clumps like our Local Group. The bright mass of the 136 member galaxies with available photometry and morphological classification, as inferred from appropriate M/L model fitting, amounts to a total of 2.3 × 10 12M ⊙. This is one seventh of the total dynamical mass of the group, according to its X-ray emission. The current star-formation rate within the group turns to be about 23M ⊙yr -1, a figure that may however be slightly increased as a result of the evident activity among dwarf ellipticals, as shown by enhanced Hβ emission in their spectra. Lick narrow-band indices have been computed for 17 galaxies, probing all the relevant atomic and molecular features in the 4300-5800Å wavelength range. Dwarf ellipticals are found to share a subsolar metallicity (-1.0 ≲ [Fe/H] ≲- 0.5), with a clear decoupling between iron and α elements, as already established for high-mass systems. Both dEs and dS0s are consistent with a high age, about one Hubble time, although a possible bias towards higher values of age may be induced by the gas emission affecting the Hβ strength. © 2012 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical SocietyFacultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y GeofísicasInstituto de Astrofísica de La Plat