Comparative analysis of the SOL plasma in DEMO using EDGE2D/EIRENE and TECXY codes

In this contribution a benchmark of the 2D edge codes TECXY and EDGE2D-EIRENE is presented. A conventional DEMO scenario is considered by assuming a simplified geometry, with the target plates perpendicular to the separatrix, and a pure Deuterium plasma. Despite the different models adopted in the two codes, mainly related to the description of the neutral dynamics and to the different boundary conditions, the results show a good match both in terms of power load profiles on the outer target and predicted trends for global quantities. A scan in density and in diffusion coefficients is performed in order to identify the characteristic conditions and the different regimes of the SOL. Comparable values and similar dependency of the global quantities as a function of the power decay length is also observed. Keywords: EDGE2D, EIRENE, TECXY, DEMO, Diverto

In vitro fermentation of ten cultivars of barley silage.

The fermentation characteristics of whole-crop barley silages from ten different cultivars were evaluated by the in vitro gas production technique. The organic matter degradability of barley silage (62.9% in average) was comparable to those reported in our previous trials for oat (59.7%) and sorghum silages (65.5%); while the maximum gas production rate (5.38 ml/h in average) was slightly lower respect to oat (6.71 ml/h) and sorghum silage (6.74 ml/h). The mean nutritive value (4.00 MJ/kg DM) calculated on the basis of both chemical composition and in vitro fermentation data was comparable to that (4.16 MJ/kg DM) obtained in our previous research performed on corn silage, from crop sowed in the same area

Detection of plant species-specific dna (barley and soybean) in blood, muscle tissue, organs and gastrointestinal contents of rabbit

The aim of this study was to detect plant DNA sequences from low copy number genes of barley grain and soybean meal, the latter being subjected to solvent extraction process, in blood, liver, kidney, spleen, muscle tissue and digesta (duodenum, caecum and faeces from rectal ampulla) of rabbits. For fattening, Hyla rabbits (20 males and 20 females) were fed a diet including barley grain (15%) and soybean meal (12%). Animals were slaughtered at 74 d of age (2 ± 0.2 kg live weight) and samples collected from each animal. The quality of each DNA sample was verified using the UNIV P/Q primers used to amplify a mammalian specifi c portion of mtDNA 16S rRNA gene. The presence of plant DNA was subsequently ascertained on the same DNA samples, as well as on barley and soybean (control). Two classes of plant DNA sequences were monitored via real-time PCR, using SYBR(R) Green I Dye: a high copy number chloroplast gene (trnl) and a low copy number specific for barley (metal-dependent hydrolase-like protein) and soybean (lectin) genes. Melting curve analysis was used to identify the PCR products. The chloroplast fragment detection frequency was higher (P<0.01) in muscle (90%), liver (80%), kidney (80%) and spleen (80%) than in blood (40%) and digesta samples. In the latter, chloroplast DNA was found in 40 and 30% of duodenum and caecum contents respectively, and in 30% of faeces. The specificity of the amplicons obtained was checked by sequencing and annotation. In the samples positive for chloroplast fragments, the frequency of detection of barley specific sequence was higher (P<0.01) in liver (62.5%), kidney (62.5%), spleen (62.5%) and digesta (100%) than in blood (25%) and muscle (22.2%) samples. The soybean lectin gene was not detected in animal samples, although it was seen in plant samples. Results confirm that, except for gastrointestinal tract (GIT), plant single copy genes are more difficult to identify in animal samples.Tudisco, R.; Calabrò, S.; Bovera, F.; Cutrignelli, M.; Nizza, A.; Piccolo, V.; Infascelli, F. (2010). Detection of plant species-specific dna (barley and soybean) in blood, muscle tissue, organs and gastrointestinal contents of rabbit. World Rabbit Science. 18(2). doi:10.4995/WRS.2010.18.1118

HHV-8 transmission via saliva to soothe blood-sucking arthropod bites

The British Journal of Cance

A dominant mutation etiologic for human tricho-dento-osseous syndrome impairs the ability of DLX3 to downregulate ΔNp63α.

The homeodomain transcription factors play crucial roles in many developmental processes ranging from organization of the body plan to differentiation of individual tissues. The homeodomain protein Distal-less-3 (DLX3) has an essential role in epidermal stratification and development of ectodermal appendages, placenta and bones. A four-nucleotide deletion in the human DLX3 gene is etiologic for the human hereditary tricho-dento-osseous (TDO) ectodermal dysplasia, a dominant syndrome characterized by abnormalities in hair, nails, teeth, and bones. We have previously demonstrated that DLX3 gene expression induces degradation of ΔNp63α, a specific product of the TP63 gene, a master regulator of multi-layered epithelia. Here we show that the DLX3(TDO) mutant protein is unable to promote ΔNp63α protein degradation and impairs the expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins and skin differentiation markers. However, we found that in cell expressing equal amounts of mutant and wild-type DLX3, ΔNp63α protein level is efficiently regulated implying that genetic heterozygosity at the DLX3 locus protects TDO patients from developing severe p63-associated skin defects

Nutritional management of search and rescue dogs

Dogs used for search and rescue (SAR) may experience continuous micro-traumas that predispose them to skeletal disorders. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of diet on osteo-articular apparatus in healthy SAR dogs. A total of sixteen SAR dogs were divided into two groups (low supplementation (LS) and high supplementation (HS)) and were fed for 3 months with two experimental diets, characterised by the same protein and energy density, but different inn-3 PUFA (6·2v. 8·4 % of metabolisable energy), chondroitin sulfate (219·8v. 989·0 mg/kg DM) and glucosamine (769·2v. 1318·7 mg/kg DM) in the LS and HS groups, respectively. At recruitment all dogs showed no joint inflammation signs, except four that showed mild symptoms. Haematology and serum biochemistry were performed every 30 d. Joint status was scored by physical and lameness evaluations. The sampling effect analysis showed potential beneficial effects by a decrease in a specific marker of membrane integrity (creatine kinase; CK). Comparing groups, glucose was significantly higher and CK was significantly lower in the HS group; however, in both cases the levels of these parameters fell in the normal range. At the end of the experiment, erythrocytes, Hb and packed cell volume were significantly higher in the HS compared with the LS group. These could result in an improvement in dogs' performance, even if this aspect was not investigated in the present study. Concerning joint evaluation (pain on manipulation, lameness and range of motion), no statistically significant differences were detected between the groups and within the experimental period

The Bright and Dark Sides of High-Redshift starburst galaxies from {\it Herschel} and {\it Subaru} observations

We present rest-frame optical spectra from the FMOS-COSMOS survey of twelve $z \sim 1.6$ \textit{Herschel} starburst galaxies, with Star Formation Rate (SFR) elevated by $\times$8, on average, above the star-forming Main Sequence (MS). Comparing the H$\alpha$ to IR luminosity ratio and the Balmer Decrement we find that the optically-thin regions of the sources contain on average only $\sim 10$ percent of the total SFR whereas $\sim90$ percent comes from an extremely obscured component which is revealed only by far-IR observations and is optically-thick even in H$\alpha$. We measure the [NII]$_{6583}$/H$\alpha$ ratio, suggesting that the less obscured regions have a metal content similar to that of the MS population at the same stellar masses and redshifts. However, our objects appear to be metal-rich outliers from the metallicity-SFR anticorrelation observed at fixed stellar mass for the MS population. The [SII]$_{6732}$/[SII]$_{6717}$ ratio from the average spectrum indicates an electron density $n_{\rm e} \sim 1,100\ \mathrm{cm}^{-3}$, larger than what estimated for MS galaxies but only at the 1.5$\sigma$ level. Our results provide supporting evidence that high-$z$ MS outliers are the analogous of local ULIRGs, and are consistent with a major merger origin for the starburst event.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Comparison of nutritional and antinutritional traits among different species (Lupinus albus L., Lupinus luteus L., Lupinus angustifolius L.) and varieties of lupin seeds

In order to promote the use of lupin in pig nutrition, in this research the nutritional characteristics (i.e. dietary fibre, alkaloid and fatty acid profile) and the in vitro gas production of 12 lupin varieties grown in the Mediterranean basin and belonging to three lupin species (Lupinus albus, Lupinus angustifolius and Lupinus luteus) were assessed. Four varieties of L. albus (Asfer, Lublanc, Lutteur and Multitalia) were grown in South Campania. Three varieties of L. luteus (Dukat, Mister and Taper), three of L. angustifolius (Jindalee, Sonet and Wonga) and two of L. albus (Rosetta and Luxor) were grown in Eastern Sicily. Lupinus albus varieties showed interesting nutritional and dietetic characteristics (i.e. high protein and low fibre content); the lipid fraction, rather elevated, is well represented by monounsaturated fatty acids (544 g/kg), whereas saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are less represented (167 g/kg) and the n-3/n-6 ratio (0.510) is the most favourable. Lupinus luteus varieties presented the most remarkable dietetic aspects, in terms of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content (569 g/kg), n-6 PUFA series (490 g/kg), UFA/SFA (5.24) and PUFA/SFA (3.56) ratios and atherogenic (0.059) and thrombogenic (0.100) indices and very low alkaloid content (1.07 mg per 100 g). Lupinus angustifolius varieties showed the least interesting nutritional and dietetic characteristics: low protein and fat content, high fibre level, high SFA amount (248 g/kg) and the lowest favourable nutritional indices (IA: 0.164 and IT: 0.334). Regarding the fermentation process, in L. albus, the tendency to increase the rate of gas production during the early stages of fermentation suggests that the high presence of alkaloids did not affect the in vitro degradability, production of short-chain fatty acids and fermentation process, probably due to their concentration and/or water solubility. Lupinus angustifolius and L. luteus showed intermediate and slightly worse in vitro fermentation patterns respectively. From a nutritional and dietetic point of view, lupin may represent an interesting alternative to soya bean in pig feeding

A Comparison Between Different Modeling Techniques for the Production of Bio-ethanol from Dairy Industry Wastes

In the present work, the fermentation process aimed at obtaining bio-ethanol starting from ricotta cheese whey (RCW), a waste biomass rich in lactose, was simulated by both a pure neural network model (NM) and a multiple hybrid neural model (HNM). The simulation results showed that the developed HNM was capable of providing an accurate representation of the actual time evolution of lactose, ethanol and biomass concentrations even in conditions never exploited during model development. HNM predictions indeed exhibited an average percentage error lower than 10 %, as compared to the experimental data collected during RCW fermentation runs. The proposed methodology, leading to the formulation of a hybrid paradigm, may allow overcoming some of the inherent difficulties accompanying the development of reliable models that are called to describe the true behavior of biotechnological processes