Intercultural Immersions and Cultural Competency: Preparing Seminarians to Minister in Today's Global Reality

Current increases in population migration, movement, and co-existence are theological opportunities for Christians. These increases allow the appreciation of the diverse ways in which God shines through the narratives of people from culturally different backgrounds

Numerical simulations and experimental results of the deployment of thin-walled bistable composite booms

For advanced space missions, meeting the concurrent requirements of increasing payload size while minimizing spacecraft volume can be achieved through the utilization of deployable structures. In a previous study, we conducted a characterization of a thin/walled boom in terms of its interaction between attitude and elastic dynamics when fully deployed. In this current work, we have developed a numerical model to analyze the critical phase of the deployment process. We compared the model's predictions with theoretical expectations and experimental data, and found a strong agreement between them. Additionally, we investigated the effects of bistability on the deployment process by conducting experiments on both a bistable and a monostable boom. Lastly, we performed deployment tests on a free-floating platform, which emulates a small satellite, to quantitatively measure the attitude perturbations caused by the rapid deployment of the boom

Resuming elective surgical activity after the COVID-19 wave: what the patients need to know

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), infected more than four million people during the first months of 2021, and Italy was reported to have the highest death toll per million population at the beginning of May2. While there is no consensus on the treatment of the disease yet, understanding how the virus and its transmission will behave in the future is a cardinal priority for planning the re-establishment of routine healthcare services, such as surgery, in view of preventing indirectly COVID-19-related deaths due to undelivered care and lack of adequate treatment. Sadly, elective surgery on patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection, has shown increased mortality risk, therefore increasing anxiety among the population waiting for surgical interventions, as most of the elective activity was suspended due to COVID-19 outbreak

Contenimento naturale di Bactrocera oleae (Rossi): clima o parassitoidi? Confronto tra Western Cape (Sud Africa) e Sicilia

Bactrocera oleae (Rossi), mosca delle olive, e\u300 presente anche in Sud Africa, ma finora non si sono avute notizie di infestazioni economicamente rilevanti negli oliveti. L\u2019accertata presenza di un maggior numero di braconidi parassitoidi della mosca delle olive rispetto alle aree mediterranee e\u300 stata ed e\u300 considerata da molti autori la principale causa di queste minori infestazioni, senza che pero\u300 siano stati eseguiti in Sud Africa adeguati studi sulle infestazioni da B. oleae e sui fattori cli- matici delle aree interessate. Analizzando recenti dati sui livelli d\u2019infestazione di B. oleae registrati su olivo coltivato e selvatico nel Western Cape e in Sicilia, appaiono simili in una normale annata fino a meta\u300 estate, ma sono nettamente differenti a fine estate-inizio autunno, quando in Sicilia il clima diviene piu\u300 umido. Da una puntuale analisi dei corrispondenti dati climatici registrati nelle due aree e\u300 infatti emersa una sostanziale differenza nel decorso piu\u300 caldo e secco degli ultimi tre mesi precedenti la raccolta nel Western Cape; questo periodo invece in Sicilia e\u300 caratterizzato da temperature piu\u300 fresche e un aumento dell\u2019umidita\u300 relativa che favorisce l\u2019impennata delle infestazioni di B. oleae. Nei quattro mesi presi in considerazione si rileva anche una significativa differenza nell\u2019escursione termica, maggiore nel Western Cape, dovuta a minime notturne piu\u300 basse. Da un confronto dei livelli di parassitizzazione di B. oleae del Western Cape (Sud Africa) e dell\u2019area costiera della Provincia di Trapani, recentemente registrati su olivo colti- vato e selvatico (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata in Sud Africa, Olea europaea subsp. europaea var. sylvestris in Sicilia) non sono emerse sostanziali differenze quantitative, pur confer- mando che in Sud Africa i principali parassitoidi sono tre bra- conidi (Utetes africanus (Sze\u301pligeti), Psyttalia lounsburyi (Silvestri) e Bracon celer (Sze\u301pligeti)), con il primo preva- lente sull\u2019olivo selvatico e l\u2019ultimo sul coltivato, mentre in Sicilia il braconide parassitoide Psyttalia concolor (Sze\u301pligeti) prevale sia sull\u2019olivo selvatico che sul coltivato. Comunque in entrambe le aree la parassitizzazione su B. oleae non rag- giunge elevati ed efficaci livelli. Il clima, e non la parassitizzazione dovuta ai braconidi, appare il piu\u300 importante fattore di contenimento di B. oleae anche in Sud Africa. L\u2019introduzione di parassitoidi specifici della mosca delle olive e\u300 necessaria nelle aree colonizzate di recente dove essi mancano, ma i tentativi di fornir loro una maggiore dis- ponibilita\u300 di larve dell\u2019ospite mediante l\u2019impianto di cultivar d\u2019olivo a maturazione e permanenza dei frutti piu\u300 differen- ziata, potrebbe produrre risultati certamente piu\u300 negativi che positivi nei confronti della presenza e dei livelli d\u2019infesta- zione di B. oleae sull\u2019olivo coltivato, come avviene nelle aree pandacie dove cresce spontaneo l\u2019olivastro.Natural environmental control of Bactrocera oleae (Rossi): climate or parasitoids? A comparison between the Western Cape of South Africa and Sicily. Bactrocera oleae (Rossi), the olive fruit fly is considered not a continuosly serious pest of olive trees in the Western Cape of South Africa, in spite of the climate similar to Mediterranean areas. South African braconid parasitoids of B. oleae are more numerous than in Mediterranean areas, and until now their action has been considered the factor lowering the level of infestation due to the olive fruit fly, but no deep studies on its infestation levels and climatic factors influencing them were carried out in the past. Analyzing recent data on infestation levels collected in the Western Cape and Sicily, they appear similar in a regular mid- summer, differing at the end of summer-beginning of autumn, when in Sicily the climate becomes more humid than in the Western Cape. A comparison of climatic data regarding four years underlines that Somerset West and Franshhoek, in comparison with Trapani, have significantly lower minimum daily temperatures, a higher daily thermal excursion and a lower relative humidity in the last three months preceding harvesting. Parasitization rates on B. oleae of Western Cape and Sicily, recorded on both cultivated and wild olives (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata in South Africa, Olea europaea subsp. europaea var. sylvestris in Sicily) are not substantially different, confirming that in South Africa three braconids, Utetes africanus (Sze\u301pligeti), Psyttalia lounsburyi (Silvestri) and Bracon celer (Sze\u301pligeti), are the main parasitoids, with the first one as leader in wild olives and the last one as leader in cultivated ones, while in Sicily the braconid Psyttalia concolor (Sze\u301pligeti) is the main parasitoid in both wild and cultivated olives. Nevertheless parasitism on B. oleae doesn\u2019t reach effective levels of control in bats ragions. The climate, instead of parasitization due to braconids, is the main environmental factor limiting the olive fruit fly infestations in the Western Cape of South Africa. The introduction of parasitoids specific to the olive fruit fly is necessary in new invaded areas where they lack, but the attempt of providing them a more available amount of host fruits along the year, planting olive trees bearing fruits up to spring, could bring serious problems as those typical of Mediterranean areas where the European wild olive naturally grows

Measurement Of Quasiparticle Transport In Aluminum Films Using Tungsten Transition-Edge Sensors

We report new experimental studies to understand the physics of phonon sensors which utilize quasiparticle diffusion in thin aluminum films into tungsten transition-edge-sensors (TESs) operated at 35 mK. We show that basic TES physics and a simple physical model of the overlap region between the W and Al films in our devices enables us to accurately reproduce the experimentally observed pulse shapes from x-rays absorbed in the Al films. We further estimate quasiparticle loss in Al films using a simple diffusion equation approach.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, PRA

Population genetic structure and milk production traits in Girgentana goat breed

The aim of this work was to evaluate the genetic status of the Girgentana goat, an endangered breed from Sicily (Italy), using microsatellite markers. Furthermore, as the main purpose of the Girgentana breed is milk production, quantitative milk traits were investigated, including fatty acid profile. Molecular data from CSN1S1, CSN2, CSN1S2, and CSN3 casein genes were also used to infer haplotypes. A total of 264 individuals were collected. Samples of Maltese (n 64 41) and Derivata di Siria (n 64 33) goat breeds were also used to understand the genetic relationship among breeds. Test-day records for milk production were collected to determine daily milk yield, fat, protein, casein, lactose, and somatic cell count. Individual milk samples were also collected for fatty acid extraction. Wright's statistics, gene flow, Nei genetic distance, factorial correspondence analysis, and Bayesian assignment test showed the existence of genetic variability and differentiation among breeds. The AMOVA results indicated that 89.96% of the total variance was partitioned within populations. The Girgentana breed appears to have a subdivided population, and has not experienced a recent bottleneck. A high variability in milk yield was observed. Mean morning milk yield was 1448 \ub1 404 g, with 4.30 \ub1 0.87% and 3.72 \ub1 0.44% of fat and protein percentages, respectively. The average somatic cell count found in Girgentana goat milk was higher than the threshold of 1 500000 cells/mL advised in Europe for fresh milk. Gross milk and fatty acid composition were similar to that reported in the literature for other local goat breeds

First detection of the adventive egg parasitoid of Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Trissolcus mitsukurii (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) in France

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The invasive brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys, is a polyphagous species and a serious pest worldwide. Classical biological control (CBC), i.e., the introduction of a natural enemy from the native area of the pest, is considered as the preferential solution for BMSB regulation. Adventive populations of exotic egg parasitoids of BSMB, Trissolcus japonicus and T. mitsukurii, have been reported worldwide. With the aim to characterize the French diversity of egg parasitoids associated to various stink bugs including BMSB, field surveys were conducted between 2018 and 2020. Surprisingly, morphological and molecular analyses unambiguously revealed 12 specimens of T. mitsukurii, an Asian egg parasitoid of BSMB. Although its permanent establishment has to be confirmed, this first record in France could actually facilitate CBC initiatives, T. mitsukurii being considered with T. japonicus as the two most promising biological control agents against BMSB. ABSTRACT: We report the first detection of Trissolcus mitsukurii in France. More than 1860 sentinel egg masses of Halyomorpha halys (BMSB) were exposed in the field during the 2018–2020 period, and 12 specimens of T. mitsukurii emerged from one egg mass. Their taxonomic identification was confirmed both by morphological and molecular analysis. Trissolcus mitsukurii, similar to T. japonicus, is an egg parasitoid of BMSB in its area of origin in Asia, and both species are considered to be candidates for a classical biological control strategy against BMSB. Trissolcus mitsukurii was previously recorded in Italy where it is well established and widespread, and this may be the source of the French population. Possible permanent establishment and dispersion of T. mitsukurii in France should be monitored with emphasis on its potential effect on BMSB populations