Territory and memory: The Landing of the Allies in Sicily in 1943

The concept of memory (memorial site) has gained crucial importance in recent years for the identification of places (areas) and in the affirmation of local identities. The memorial sites are areas where usually tragic events have occurred and resulted in a cultural change. In these places there are still signs of these historical events and/or tangible and intangible indications created by the society such as: monuments, obelisks, marble inscriptions, others. Sicily represents an ideal area for studying memorial sites; not only because of the number of dominations in the past centuries, but also for the significance of all places where the mafia has taken its root. These elements have caused several changes in the culture and in the landscape. Sicily is the land where \u201cOperation Husky\u201d began, in the summer of 1943. This agreement between the Americans and the British aimed at occupying Sicily, Italy after World War II. Seventy years after this operation the territory is still marked by testimonies of those tragic events. The bombing devastated buildings, which we can still acknowledge for their cultural significance. These memorial areas represent a strong testimony of the past. There are cemeteries, protecting bodies many of which are unknown; there are bunkers and other military garrisons well preserved throughout the territory. These signs must be rediscovered, to be replicated because of the contemporary geopolitical situation. As a result, in this paper we propose to identify the area of eastern Sicily suitable for a tourist itinerary in the cultural memory of the war of 1943. The idea is to encourage tourism that gives rise to real emotions and thoughts

Dark Matter detection via lepton cosmic rays

Recent observations of lepton cosmic rays, coming from the PAMELA and FERMI experiments, have pushed our understanding of the interstellar medium and cosmic rays sources to unprecedented levels. The imprint of dark matter on lepton cosmic rays is the most exciting explanation of both PAMELA's positron excess and FERMI's total flux of electrons. Alternatively, supernovae are astrophysical objects with the same potential to explain these observations. In this work, we present an updated study of the astrophysical sources of lepton cosmic rays and the possible trace of a dark matter signal on the positron excess and total flux of electrons.Comment: 6 pages and 3 figures. Proceedings for PASCOS 2010, Valencia, Spai

A new p65 isoform that bind the glucocorticoid hormone and is expressed in inflammation liver diseases and COVID-19

Inflammation is a physiological process whose deregulation causes some diseases including cancer. Nuclear Factor kB (NF-kB) is a family of ubiquitous and inducible transcription factors, in which the p65/p50 heterodimer is the most abundant complex, that play critical roles mainly in inflammation. Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor and acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and immunosuppressant. Thus, NF-kB and GR are physiological antagonists in the inflammation process. Here we show that in mice and humans there is a spliced variant of p65, named p65 iso5, which binds the corticosteroid hormone dexamethasone amplifying the effect of the glucocorticoid receptor and is expressed in the liver of patients with hepatic cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Furthermore, we have quantified the gene expression level of p65 and p65 iso5 in the PBMC of patients affected by SARS-CoV-2 disease. The results showed that in these patients the p65 and p65 iso5 mRNA levels are higher than in healthy subjects. The ability of p65 iso5 to bind dexamethasone and the regulation of the glucocorticoid (GC) response in the opposite way of the wild type improves our knowledge and understanding of the anti-inflammatory response and identifies it as a new therapeutic target to control inflammation and related diseases

Co-firing of biomass with coals Part 1. Thermogravimetric kinetic analysis of combustion of fir (abies bornmulleriana) wood

The chemical composition and reactivity of fir (Abies bornmulleriana) wood under non-isothermal thermogravimetric (TG) conditions were studied. Oxidation of the wood sample at temperatures near 600 A degrees C caused the loss of aliphatics from the structure of the wood and created a char heavily containing C-O functionalities and of highly aromatic character. On-line FTIR recordings of the combustion of wood indicated the oxidation of carbonaceous and hydrogen content of the wood and release of some hydrocarbons due to pyrolysis reactions that occurred during combustion of the wood. TG analysis was used to study combustion of fir wood. Non-isothermal TG data were used to evaluate the kinetics of the combustion of this carbonaceous material. The article reports application of Ozawa-Flynn-Wall model to deal with non-isothermal TG data for the evaluation of the activation energy corresponding to the combustion of the fir wood. The average activation energy related to fir wood combustion was 128.9 kJ/mol, and the average reaction order for the combustion of wood was calculated as 0.30

Nearby quasar remnants and ultra-high energy cosmic rays

As recently suggested, nearby quasar remnants are plausible sites of black-hole based compact dynamos that could be capable of accelerating ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). In such a model, UHECRs would originate at the nuclei of nearby dead quasars, those in which the putative underlying supermassive black holes are suitably spun-up. Based on galactic optical luminosity, morphological type, and redshift, we have compiled a small sample of nearby objects selected to be highly luminous, bulge-dominated galaxies, likely quasar remnants. The sky coordinates of these galaxies were then correlated with the arrival directions of cosmic rays detected at energies $> 40$ EeV. An apparently significant correlation appears in our data. This correlation appears at closer angular scales than those expected when taking into account the deflection caused by typically assumed IGM or galactic magnetic fields over a charged particle trajectory. Possible scenarios producing this effect are discussed, as is the astrophysics of the quasar remnant candidates. We suggest that quasar remnants be also taken into account in the forthcoming detailed search for correlations using data from the Auger Observatory.Comment: 2 figures, 4 tables, 11 pages. Final version to appear in Physical Review

Strong coupling of excited heavy mesons

We compute the strong coupling constant $G_{B^{**} B \pi} \; (G_{D^{**} D \pi})$, where $B^{**}$ ($D^{**}$) is the $0^+$ $P-$wave $b \bar q \; (c \bar q)$ state, by QCD sum rules and by light-cone sum rules. The two methods give compatible results in the limit $m_Q \to \infty$, with a rather large value of the coupling constant. We apply the results to the calculation of the hadronic widths of the positive parity $B$ and $D$ states and to the chiral loop contribution to the ratio $f_{D_s}/f_D$.Comment: 31 pages, RevTeX, 4 figures appended as uuencoded fil

Pontine extension of a tentorial schwannoma without cranial nerve involvement: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Intracranial schwannomas unrelated to the cranial nerves are uncommon. We report a new case of tentorial schwannoma unrelated to the cranial nerves, with extension into the pons. A literature review with discussion of the most relevant pathogenetic aspects is also performed.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 42-year-old Caucasian man was admitted with right-sided paresthesias and weakness of his upper and lower extremities. The neurological examination revealed right hemiparesis and hemi-hypoesthesia. A brain magnetic resonance imaging scan revealed a cerebellopontine lesion, arising from the left free edge of the tentorium, and extending into his pons. A piecemeal removal was performed through a retrosigmoid approach. The lesion was not found to be associated with any cranial nerves. The histological examination revealed a schwannoma Antoni type A. His postoperative course was uneventful. At one year follow-up, the patient was neurologically intact and the magnetic resonance imaging of his brain performed at that time showed complete removal without signs of recurrence.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Tentorial schwannomas are rare clinical entities. Knowledge of their clinical, radiological and anatomical characteristics is very important for the correct diagnosis and management.</p