Effect of Cover Crops on Nitrogen Uptake, Soil Water Content and Biomass Production in a Short Rotation Poplar Plantation

The agricultural production of biomass for energy-giving uses is attracting increasing interest particularly in relation to the possibility of reducing the use of fossil fuels and thereby limiting the emission of greenhouse gases. However one of the barriers to wider development of biomass energy sources is the lack of information about the environmental impacts on the landscape of increasing production of biomass crops. In the first growth phases as in the subsequent harvesting stages, the risks of erosion can become considerable due to the absence of any sort of protective canopy. In this case resorting to the use of cover crops can represent a useful agronomic measure since it provides and maintains a suitable ground covering, above all in the winter months when leaf fall exposes the soil to rain action. The aim of the present work was to evaluate some of the agronomic effects of the planting of two different species of cover crops, the legume Trifolium subterraneum L. and the grass Lolium perenne L. in a closely spaced forestry plantation

Olfactory dysfunction in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps is associated with clinical-cytological grading severity

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is a common inflammatory disorder, affecting about 4% of the worldwide population and strongly impacting the quality of life. CRSwNP is still a challenge for ENT specialists in terms of its unknown pathogenesis, difficulty in management and frequent relapse. Olfactory impairment frequently affects CRSwNP patients. We tested the hypothesis that clinical-cytological grading (CCG) could be associated with olfactory dysfunction. The study was cross-sectional, enrolling 62 patients (37 males, 25 females, mean age 49 years, range 18-83) suffering from newly diagnosed CRSwNP. Olfactory dysfunction was very frequent (about 90%) and did not depend on nasal obstruction as assessed by both polyp size and nasal airflow limitation. A CCG > 4 was the best cutoff value to suspect olfactory dysfunction [area under the ROC curve of 0.831 (0.715 to 0.914)]; in addition, the statistical risk of having dysosmia was over 7-fold higher in subjects with CCG > 4 compared with subjects reporting a CCG < 4 (adjOR 7.46). The present study underlines that olfactory dysfunction is common in CRSwNP patients and demonstrates an association between olfactory dysfunction and inflammation, suggesting that CCG could be useful in the work-up of CRSwNP patients and in suspecting olfactory impairment

Extra galactic sources of high energy neutrinos

The main goal of the construction of large volume, high energy neutrino telescopes is the detection of extra-Galactic neutrino sources. The existence of such sources is implied by observations of ultra-high energy, >10^{19} eV, cosmic-rays (UHECRs), the origin of which is a mystery. The observed UHECR flux sets an upper bound to the extra-Galactic high energy neutrino intensity, which implies that the detector size required to detect the signal in the energy range of 1 TeV to 1 PeV is >=1 giga-ton, and much larger at higher energy. Optical Cerenkov neutrino detectors, currently being constructed under ice and water, are expected to achieve 1 giga-ton effective volume for 1 TeV to 1 PeV neutrinos. Coherent radio Cerenkov detectors (and possibly large air-shower detectors) will provide the >> 1 giga-ton effective volume required for detection at ~10^{19} eV. Detection of high energy neutrinos associated with electromagnetically identified sources will allow to identify the sources of UHECRs, will provide a unique probe of the sources, which may allow to resolve open questions related to the underlying physics of models describing these powerful accelerators, and will provide information on fundamental neutrino properties.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures; Summary of talk presented at the Nobel Symposium 129: Neutrino Physics, Sweden 200

Development status of the LAUE project

We present the status of LAUE, a project supported by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), and devoted to develop Laue lenses with long focal length (up to 100 meters), for hard X--/soft gamma--ray astronomy (80-600 keV). Thanks to their focusing capability, the design goal is to improve the sensitivity of the current instrumention in the above energy band by 2 orders of magnitude, down to a few times $10^{-8}$ photons/(cm$^2$ s keV).Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, presented at the Space Telescopes and Instrumentation Symposium in Amsterdam, 2012: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray Conference. Published in the Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 8443, id. 84430B-84430B-9 (2012

Exploring the endocannabinoidome in genetically obese (ob/ob) and diabetic (db/db) mice: Links with inflammation and gut microbiota

Background: Obesity and type 2 diabetes are two interrelated metabolic disorders characterized by insulin resistance and a mild chronic inflammatory state. We previously observed that leptin (ob/ob) and leptin receptor (db/db) knockout mice display a distinct inflammatory tone in the liver and adipose tissue. The present study aimed at investigating whether alterations in these tissues of the molecules belonging to the endocannabinoidome (eCBome), an extension of the endocannabinoid (eCB) signaling system, whose functions are important in the context of metabolic disorders and inflammation, could reflect their different inflammatory phenotypes. Results: The basal eCBome lipid and gene expression profiles, measured by targeted lipidomics and qPCR transcriptomics, respectively, in the liver and subcutaneous or visceral adipose tissues, highlighted a differentially altered eCBome tone, which may explain the impaired hepatic function and more pronounced liver inflammation remarked in the ob/ob mice, as well as the more pronounced inflammatory state observed in the subcutaneous adipose tissue of db/db mice. In particular, the levels of linoleic acid-derived endocannabinoid-like molecules, of one of their 12-lipoxygenase metabolites and of Trpv2 expression, were always altered in tissues exhibiting the highest inflammation. Correlation studies suggested the possible interactions with some gut microbiota bacterial taxa, whose respective absolute abundances were significantly different between ob/ob and the db/db mice. Conclusions: The present findings emphasize the possibility that bioactive lipids and the respective receptors and enzymes belonging to the eCBome may sustain the tissue-dependent inflammatory state that characterizes obesity and diabetes, possibly in relation with gut microbiome alterations

The Chromospheric Activity and Ages of M Dwarf Stars in Wide Binary Systems

We investigate the relationship between age and chromospheric activity for 139 M dwarf stars in wide binary systems with white dwarf companions. The age of each system is determined from the cooling age of its white dwarf component. The current limit for activity-age relations found for M dwarfs in open clusters is 4 Gyr. Our unique approach to finding ages for M stars allows for the exploration of this relationship at ages older than 4 Gyr. The general trend of stars remaining active for a longer time at later spectral type is confirmed. However, our larger sample and greater age range reveals additional complexity in assigning age based on activity alone. We find that M dwarfs in wide binaries older than 4 Gyr depart from the log-linear relation for clusters and are found to have activity at magnitudes, colors and masses which are brighter, bluer and more massive than predicted by the cluster relation. In addition to our activity-age results, we present the measured radial velocities and complete space motions for 161 white dwarf stars in wide binaries.Comment: 22 pages including 9 figures and 5 tables. Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa

Development status of a Laue lens project for gamma-ray astronomy

We report the status of the HAXTEL project, devoted to perform a design study and the development of a Laue lens prototype. After a summary of the major results of the design study, the approach adopted to develop a Demonstration Model of a Laue lens is discussed, the set up described, and some results presented.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, 2007 SPIE Conference on Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy II

Financial Modeling and Prediction as a Service

© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media DordrechtThis paper describes our proposal for Quality of Service (QoS) for Financial Modeling and Prediction as a Service (FMPaaS), since a majority of papers does not focus on SaaS level. We focus on two factors for delivering successful QoS, which are performance and accuracy for FMPaaS. The design process, theories and models behind the FMPaaS service have been explained. To support our FMPaaS service, two APIs have been developed to improve on performance and accuracy. Two major experiments have been illustrated and results show that each API processing can be completed in 2.12 seconds and 100,000 simulations can be completed in an acceptable period of time. Accuracy tests have been performed while using Facebook as an example. Three points of comparisons between actual and predicted prices have been undertaken. Results support accuracy since results are between 93.72 % and 99.63 % for Facebook. Three case studies have been used and results can support the accuracy and validity of the high level of accuracy offered by FMPaaS

Selenotriapine – An isostere of the most studied thiosemicarbazone with pronounced pro-apoptotic activity, low toxicity and ability to challenge phenotype reprogramming of 3-D mammary adenocarcinoma tumors

Triapine, the most studied α-N-heterocyclic thiosemicarbazone, revealed potent activity against advanced leukemia, but was ineffective against a variety of solid tumors. Moreover, methemoglobinemia, which is a side effect of triapine administration, may limits all clinical application. To enhance anticancer activity and reduce side effects, we applied an isosteric replacement of sulfur to selenium atom was performed by synthesis and characterization of selenium triapine analog, 3-aminopyridine-2-carboxaldehyde selenosemicarbazone (selenotriapine). Compared to triapine, selenotriapine revealed superior pro-apoptotic activity with activation of intrinsic apoptotic pathway in both human monocytic leukemia (THP-1) and mammary adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cell lines. For MCF-7 2-D cultures, selenotriapine induced notable increase in mitochondrial superoxide radical generation and dissipation of mitochondrial transmembrane potential. A significant delay in growth of MCF-7 spheroids (3-D culture) was accompanied by phenotypic stem cell reprogramming (Oct-4 expression). Additionally, selenotriapine demonstrated a very low toxicity profile as compared to triapine, confirmed over alleviated extent of methemoglobin formation and higher IC50 value in brine shrimp cytotoxicity assay

Male breast cancer

Male breast cancer (MBC) is a rare disease representing less than 1% of all breast cancers (BC) and less than 1% of cancers in men. Age at presentation is mostly in the late 60s. MBC is recognized as an estrogen-driven disease, specifically related to hyperestrogenism. About 20% of MBC patients have family history for BC. Mutations in BRCA1 and, predominantly, BRCA2, account for approximately 10% of MBC cases. Because of its rarity, MBC is often compared with female BC (FBC). Based on age-frequency distribution, age-specific incidence rate patterns and prognostic factors profiles, MBC is considered similar to late-onset, postmenopausal estrogen/progesterone receptor positive (ER+/PR+) FBC. However, clinical and pathological characteristics of MBC do not exactly overlap FBC. Compared with FBC, MBC has been reported to occur later in life, present at a higher stage, and display lower histologic grade, with a higher proportion of ER+ and PR+ tumors. Although rare, MBC remains a substantial cause for morbidity and mortality in men, probably because of its occurrence in advanced age and delayed diagnosis. Diagnosis and treatment of MBC generally is similar to that of FBC. Men tend to be treated with mastectomy rather than breast-conserving surgery. The backbone of adjuvant therapy or palliative treatment for advanced disease is endocrine, mostly tamoxifen. Use of FBC-based therapy led to the observation that treatment outcomes for MBC are worse and that survival rates for MBC do not improve like FBC. These different outcomes may suggest a non-appropriate utilization of treatments and that different underlying pathogenetic mechanisms may exist between male and female BC