Well quasi-orders and context-free grammars

Let G be a context-free grammar and let L be the language of all the words derived from any variable of G. We prove the following generalization of Higman's theorem: any division order on L is a well quasi-order on L. We also give applications of this result to some quasi-orders associated with unitary grammars. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Electrostatically gated nanofluidic membranes: Technological developments and use of electrochemically polarizable materials

Solid-state nanoporous membranes able to control ionic flows at the molecular level could have important applications in fields of research such as water filtration, nanomedicine, energy production, drug delivery, and bio-chemical analysis. The ability to dynamically control the surface charge and the electrical potential inside nanopores extends the range of applications from passive to active devices, such as nanofluidic transistors. In the first part of the thesis a new wafer-scale manufacturing method for solid-state nanoporous membranes based on casting of sacrificial templates is proposed. This way it is possible to individually define the position and geometry of every nanopore by design, independently from the materials used, whichmake this fabrication strategy adapted to the manufacturing of both passive and active nanofluidic devices. In the second part of the thesis this technology was used to fabricate electrostatically gated nanofluidic membranes with nanopores integrating polarizable electrodes made of amorphous carbon inside the nanochannels. Those membranes demonstrated the ability to modulate the ionic conductivity of the nanopores via the variation of the surface charge of the nanochannels with a sensitivity two-three orders of magnitude larger compared to nanochannels gated through metal-oxide electrodes

Inter-society consensus for the use of inhaled corticosteroids in infants, children and adolescents with airway diseases

Background: In 2019, a multidisciplinary panel of experts from eight Italian scientific paediatric societies developed a consensus document for the use of inhaled corticosteroids in the management and prevention of the most common paediatric airways disorders. The aim is to provide healthcare providers with a multidisciplinary document including indications useful in the clinical practice. The consensus document was intended to be addressed to paediatricians who work in the Paediatric Divisions, the Primary Care Services and the Emergency Departments, as well as to Residents or PhD students, paediatric nurses and specialists or consultants in paediatric pulmonology, allergy, infectious diseases, and ear, nose, and throat medicine. Methods: Clinical questions identifying Population, Intervention(s), Comparison and Outcome(s) were addressed by methodologists and a general agreement on the topics and the strength of the recommendations (according to the GRADE system) was obtained following the Delphi method. The literature selection included secondary sources such as evidence-based guidelines and systematic reviews and was integrated with primary studies subsequently published. Results: The expert panel provided a number of recommendations on the use of inhaled corticosteroids in preschool wheezing, bronchial asthma, allergic and non-allergic rhinitis, acute and chronic rhinosinusitis, adenoid hypertrophy, laryngitis and laryngospasm. Conclusions: We provided a multidisciplinary update on the current recommendations for the management and prevention of the most common paediatric airways disorders requiring inhaled corticosteroids, in order to share useful indications, identify gaps in knowledge and drive future research

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Introduzione

Questa raccolta di saggi risponde al forte impulso dato in tempi relativamente recenti a livello nazionale e internazionale allo studio dei flussi migratori femminili. Il Novecento e l’inizio del xxi secolo, in particolare, si caratterizzano per la notevole presenza delle donne nelle correnti migratorie provenienti sia dai paesi europei sia da molte altre zone del globo quali l’America centrale e meridionale, il continente africano e quello asiatico. La partecipazione femminile a tali flussi,..

Well quasi-orders and formal languages

The concept of well quasi-order is a generalization of the classical notion of well order and plays a role in the studying of several problems of Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science. This paper concerns some applications of well quasi-orders to Formal Language Theory. In particular, we present a survey of classical and recent results, based upon such structures, concerning context-free and regular languages. We also focus our attention to some application of well quasi-orders in the studying of languages obtained by using the operators of shuffle and iterated shuffle of finite languages. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg