P/2010A2 LINEAR - I: An impact in the Asteroid Main Belt

Comet P/2010A2 LINEAR is a good candidate for membership with the Main Belt Comet family. It was observed with several telescopes (ESO NTT, La Silla; Gemini North, Mauna Kea; UH 2.2m, Mauna Kea) from 14 Jan. until 19 Feb. 2010 in order to characterize and monitor it and its very unusual dust tail, which appears almost fully detached from the nucleus; the head of the tail includes two narrow arcs forming a cross. The immediate surroundings of the nucleus were found dust-free, which allowed an estimate of the nucleus radius of 80-90m. A model of the thermal evolution indicates that such a small nucleus could not maintain any ice content for more than a few million years on its current orbit, ruling out ice sublimation dust ejection mechanism. Rotational spin-up and electrostatic dust levitations were also rejected, leaving an impact with a smaller body as the favoured hypothesis, and ruling out the cometary nature of the object. The impact is further supported by the analysis of the tail structure. Finston-Probstein dynamical dust modelling indicates the tail was produced by a single burst of dust emission. More advanced models, independently indicate that this burst populated a hollow cone with a half-opening angle alpha~40degr and with an ejection velocity v_max ~ 0.2m/s, where the small dust grains fill the observed tail, while the arcs are foreshortened sections of the burst cone. The dust grains in the tail are measured to have radii between a=1-20mm, with a differential size distribution proportional to a^(-3.44 +/- 0.08). The dust contained in the tail is estimated to at least 8x10^8kg, which would form a sphere of 40m radius. Analysing these results in the framework of crater physics, we conclude that a gravity-controlled crater would have grown up to ~100m radius, i.e. comparable to the size of the body. The non-disruption of the body suggest this was an oblique impact.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, in pres

Efficiency of DNA mini-barcoding to assess mislabeling in commercial fish products in italy: An overview of the last decade

The problem of fish traceability in processed products is still an important issue in food safety. Major attention is nowadays dedicated to consumer health and prevention of possible frauds regulated by national and international laws. For this reason, a technical approach is fun-damental in revealing mislabeling at different levels. In particular, the use of genetic markers has been standardized and DNA barcoding is considered the gold-standard strategy to examine and prevent species substitution. Considering the richness of available DNA databases, it is nowadays possible to rapidly reach a reliable taxonomy at the species level. Among different approaches, an innovative method based on DNA mini barcoding has recently been proposed at an international level. Starting from this evidence, we herein illustrate an investigation dealing with the evolution of this topic in Italy over the last decade. The molecular analysis of 71 commercial fish samples based on mini-COI sequencing with two different primer sets reached an amplification success rate of 87.3 and 97.2%. The investigation revealed four major frauds (5.8%) and four minor ones (5.8%). Results highlighted a decrease in incorrect labeling in Italy from 32% to 11.6% over the last decade, although a recurrent involvement of “endangered” species sensu IUCN was still observed

Compulsivity Reveals a Novel Dissociation between Action and Confidence

Confidence and actions are normally tightly interwoven—if I am sure that it is going to rain, I will take an umbrella—therefore, it is difficult to understand their interplay. Stimulated by the ego-dystonic nature of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), where compulsive actions are recognized as disproportionate, we hypothesized that action and confidence might be independently updated during learning. Participants completed a predictive-inference task designed to identify how action and confidence evolve in response to surprising changes in the environment. While OCD patients (like controls) correctly updated their confidence according to changes in the environment, their actions (unlike those of controls) mostly disregarded this knowledge. Therefore, OCD patients develop an accurate, internal model of the environment but fail to use it to guide behavior. Results demonstrated a novel dissociation between confidence and action, suggesting a cognitive architecture whereby confidence estimates can accurately track the statistic of the environment independently from performance

A kinetic and mechanistic study of copper-based catalysts in the ARGET-ATRP of multifunctional natural molecules: The case of methacrylated eugenol

Herein we report on a kinetic study of Cu-based catalysts employed in the ARGET-ATRP of the methacrylic derivative of eugenol, namely eugenyl methacrylate (EuMA). Polymerizations were carried out in solution in presence of catalytic systems formed in situ by CuBr2 and nitrogen-ligands such as BiPy, PMDETA, HMTETA and Me6TREN. The formation of insoluble polymers, due to secondary reactions responsible of cross-linking, was observed with CuBr2/BiPy and CuBr2/HMTETA systems; Me6TREN- and PMDETA-based catalyst proved, instead, to be capable of generating linear polymers. For the latter, first order kinetics occurred for monomer conversion up to ca 50 %, whilst higher conversion led to deviations from the linear trend. This suggested the direct involvement of the allyl group in the termination reactions, which was convincedly demonstrated by comparing kinetic results for EuMA and the corresponding di-hydrogenated monomer (DEuMA). At EuMA conversion above 50 %, the side reactions lead to inactivation of the PMDETA-based catalytic system via reducing agent consumption rather than to the formation of insoluble/crosslinked polymers. Electronic structure calculations provided the energy profile for all possible side reactions. Among these, the radical chain transfer to the allyl group through hydrogen abstraction, as well as the attack of the propagating methacrylic radical to the allyl group, contributed to rationalizing the experimental behavior of the three copper-catalyst systems employed in this work. This study demonstrates that modulating the kinetic of polymerization by properly selecting ligands and reaction temperatures represents a useful strategy towards the reduction of undesired secondary reactions of molecules with sensitive functional groups such as bio-derived phenols; moreover, such preserved functional groups would serve as possible post-functionalization sites (i.e. epoxidation) allowing for the preparation of new materials with tailored properties

Bypassing the statistical limit of singlet generation in sensitized upconversion using fluorinated conjugated systems

The photon upconversion based on triplet–triplet annihilation (TTA) is a mechanism that converts the absorbed low-energy electromagnetic radiation into higher energy photons also at extremely low excitation intensities, but its use in actual technologies is still hindered by the limited availability of efficient annihilator moieties. We present here the results obtained by the synthesis and application of two new fluorinated chromophores based on phenazine and acridine structures, respectively. Both compounds show upconverted emission demonstrating their ability as TTA annihilator. More interesting, the acridine-based chromophore shows an excellent TTA yield that overcomes the one of some of best model systems. By correlating the experimental data and the quantum mechanical modeling of the investigated compound, we propose an alternative efficient pathway for the generation of the upconverted emissive states involving the peculiar high-energy triplet levels of the dye, thus suggesting a new development strategy for TTA annihilators based on the fine tuning of their high-energy excited states properties. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Prevalence of airflow obstruction according GOLD, ATS and ERS criteria in symptomatic ever-smokers referring to a Pulmonary Rehabilitation Department

Aim. To evaluate in a Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) setting the prevalence of airflow obstruction (AO) in either current or former smokers ≥45 years old both with dyspnoea and with chronic productive cough, using European Respiratory society (ERS) statement (FEV1/SVC <88 and <89% predicted in men and women, respectively), American Thoracic Society (ATS) statement (FEV1/FVC <75%), and Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) statement (FEV1/FVC <70%). Methods. Lung function tests were performed in each patient who was referred to our PR department due to respiratory diagnosis or symptoms. For analysis, in patients showing AO we used post-bronchodilator lung function values. Results. In 184 ever-smoker patients with symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the prevalence rates of AO were as follows: ERS = 89.7%, ATS = 76.6%, and GOLD = 63.6%. Patients with AO according ERS criteria showing moderate to severe (M/S) obstruction (i.e., FEV1 <70% predicted) were 119. Patients with ERS M/S AO but without AO using either ATS or GOLD criteria were 8.4% and 19.3%, respectively. Conclusions. Prevalence of AO is highly dependent on which guidelines it is based. ATS and particularly GOLD statement can cause a large under-diagnosis even of moderate to severe COPD. Diagnosis of COPD may be overlooked if SVC is not performed

Highly efficient morpholine-based organocatalysts for the 1,4-addition reaction between aldehydes and nitroolefins: an unexploited class of catalysts

Many studies have demonstrated how the pyrrolidine nucleus is more efficient than the corresponding piperidine or morpholine as organocatalysts in the condensation of aldehydes with electrophiles via enamine. Focussing on morpholine–enamines, their low reactivity is ascribed to the presence of oxygen on the ring and to the pronounced pyramidalisation of nitrogen, decreasing the nucleophilicity of the enamine. Thus, the selection of efficient morpholine organocatalysts appears to be a difficult challenge. Herein, we reported on the synthesis of new organocatalysts belonging to the class of ß-morpholine amino acids that were tested in a model reaction, i.e., the 1,4-addition reaction of aldehydes to nitroolefins. Starting from commercially available amino acids and epichlorohydrin, we designed an efficient synthesis for the aforementioned catalysts, controlling the configuration and the substitution pattern. Computational studies indeed disclosed the transition state of the reaction, explaining why, despite all the limitations of the morpholine ring for enamine catalysis, our best catalyst works efficiently, affording condensation products with excellent yields, diastereoselection and good-to-exquisite enantioselectivity

Can healthcare utilization data reliably capture cases of chronic respiratory diseases? a cross-sectional investigation in Italy

Healthcare utilization data are increasingly used for chronic disease surveillance. Nevertheless, no standard criteria for estimating prevalence of high-impact diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, are available. In this study an algorithm for recognizing COPD/asthma cases from HCU data is developed and implemented in the HCU databases of the Italian Lombardy Region (about 10 million residents). The impact of diagnostic misclassification for reliably estimating prevalence was also assessed

Clinical audit of minimally invasive nonsurgical techniques in active periodontal therapy

Aims: Periodontitis is one of the most widespread diseases worldwide. Many efforts have been made to increase the efficacy of periodontitis therapy as much as possible. Recently, minimally invasive nonsurgical techniques (MINST) were introduced in the periodontal field as an alternative to minimally invasive surgical techniques (MIST). This clinical audit aims to evaluate the results of MINST in the initial phase of treatment for periodontitis. Materials and methods: One hundred seven patients with periodontitis who were treated with MINST between 2013 and 2017 and reevaluated after 2 months were included in this clinical audit. The primary outcome analyzed was the proportion of pocket closure. The secondary outcomes were tooth extraction before active periodontal therapy, full-mouth plaque score (FMPS) change, full-mouth bleeding score (FMBS) change, average probing pocket depth (PPD) reduction, and average clinical attachment level (CAL) gain between the baseline and reevaluation values. Results: A total of 2,407 teeth were included in the analysis. At the patient level, the treatment resulted in a mean pocket closure rate of 71.6 ± 15.7% for sites with an initial PPD ≥5 mm. The treatment was statistically significantly (p &lt; 0.001) more effective with respect to the primary outcome compared with expected values reported in a recent meta-analysis (57%). The subgroup analysis revealed statistically significant differences between single and multirooted teeth and between shallow (5-6 mm) and deep pockets (≥7 mm) at the baseline. Conclusion: Nonsurgical periodontal therapy with MINST achieved satisfactory results that were better than expected based on the scientific literature. Single-rooted and shallow pockets showed the best proportion of pocket closure at the reevaluation after treatment. Clinical significance: Minimally invasive nonsurgical techniques can be the treatment of choice when approaching periodontally diseased patients with nonsurgical periodontal therapy