Evolution of structural and magnetic properties in Ta/Ni_81Fe_(19) multilayer thin films

The interdiffusion kinetics in short period (12.8 nm) Ta/Ni81Fe19 polycrystalline multilayer films has been investigated and related to the evolution of soft magnetic properties upon thermal annealing in the temperature range 300-600-degrees-C. Small angle x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to estimate the multilayer period. Interdiffusion in the multilayers was directly computed from the decay of the satellites near (000) in a small angle x-ray diffraction spectrum. A kinetic analysis of interdiffusion suggests that grain growth is concurrent with grain boundary diffusion of Ta in Ni81Fe19. The evolution of soft magnetic properties of Ni81Fe19, i.e., lowering of 4piM(s) and increase in coercivity H(c), also lend support to the above analysis

Alert threshold assessment based on equivalent displacements for the identification of potentially critical landslide events

Over the past years, the growing number of natural hazards all over the world has led to an increasing focus on activities aimed at studying and controlling the occurrence of these phenomena. In this context, monitoring systems have become a fundamental component for Landslide Early Warning Systems, allowing to understand the evolution of these processes and assess the need for dedicated mitigation measures. This result is achieved thanks to several technological advancements that led to the introduction of more accurate and reliable sensors, as well as automatic procedures for data acquisition and elaboration. However, despite these improvements, the data interpretation process is still a challenging task, in particular when it comes to the identification of critical events and failure forecasting operations. This paper presents a methodology developed to assess if a potentially critical event is displaying a significant deviation from previously sampled data, or if it could be classified as a false alarm. The process relies on the definition of a threshold value based on the landslide behavior preceding the event of interest. In particular, the reference value derives from the evaluation of equivalent displacements, defined as the displacements previously observed in a time interval equal to the one showed by the potentially critical event. This paper reports a series of examples referring to different case studies, involving both false alarms and real collapses, underlining the effectiveness of the proposed model as a useful tool to evaluate the landslide behavior with a near-real-time approach

Cromoglycate and Nedocromil: Influence on Airway Reactivity

Although basic mechanisms of bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) are still incompletely understood, inflammation of airways is likely to play a fundamental role in modulating BHR in patients with asthma. The involvement of several inflammatory cells (eosinophils, mast cells, lymphocytes, neutrophils, macrophages and platelets) and of bioactive mediators secreted by these cells in the pathogenesis of asthma is well documented. Sodium cromoglycate and nedocromil sodium are two pharmacological agents which have anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory properties. Their clinical effectiveness in mild to moderate asthma, and the capacity to reduce BHR under different natural and experimental conditions, make them valuable drugs for maintenance therapy in patients with asthma

Digital Terrain Model Geospatial Modelling

The modelling means the world object cognition based on the analogy. This analogy presents an idea and material imitation of some properties of the existing world. It is processed by various anthropogenic objects, in which the chosen properties are presented, defined and characterised as shapes and relations of original objects. The simplified objects are created. These objects are specially created only for world study. These types of objects are called models. To edit the digital terrain model correctly, it is necessary to understand the geospatial modelling

Impact of environmental factors on stilbene biosynthesis

Stilbenes are a small family of polyphenolic secondary metabolites that can be found in several distantly related plant species. These compounds act as phytoalexins, playing a crucial role in plant defense against phytopathogens, as well as being involved in the adaptation of plants to abiotic environmental factors. Among stilbenes, trans-resveratrol is certainly the most popular and extensively studied for its health properties. In recent years, an increasing number of stilbene compounds were subjected to investigations concerning their bioactivity. This review presents the most updated knowledge of the stilbene biosynthetic pathway, also focusing on the role of several environmental factors in eliciting stilbenes biosynthesis. The effects of ultraviolet radiation, visible light, ultrasonication, mechanical stress, salt stress, drought, temperature, ozone, and biotic stress are reviewed in the context of enhancing stilbene biosynthesis, both in planta and in plant cell and organ cultures. This knowledge may shed some light on stilbene biological roles and represents a useful tool to increase the accumulation of these valuable compounds

Analysis of the integration of the three-way catalyst thermal management in the on-line supervisory control strategy of a gasoline full hybrid vehicle

Full hybrid electric vehicles have proven to be a midterm viable solution to fulfil stricter regulations, such as those regarding carbon dioxide abatement. Although fuel economy directly benefits from hybridization, the use of the electric machine for propulsion may hinder an appropriate warming of the aftertreatment system, whose temperature is directly related to the emissions conversion efficiency. The present work evaluates the efficacy of a supervisory energy management strategy based on Equivalent Minimization Consumption Strategy (ECMS) which incorporates a temperature-based control for the thermal management of the Three-Way Catalyst (TWC). The impact of using only the midspan temperature of TWC is compared against the case where temperature at three different sampling points along the TWC length are used. Moreover, a penalty term based on TWC temperature has been introduced in the cost functional of the ECMS to allow the control of the TWC temperature operating window. In fact, beyond a certain threshold, the increase of the engine load, requested to speed up TWC warming, does not translate into a better catalyst efficiency, because the TWC gets close to its highest conversion rate. A gasoline P2 parallel full hybrid powertrain has been considered as test case. Results show that the effects of the different calibrations strategies are negligible on the TWC thermal management, as they do not provide any improvements in the fuel economy nor in the emissions abatement of the hybrid powertrain. This effect can be explained by the fact that the charge sustaining condition has a greater weight on the energy management strategy than the effects deriving from the addition of the soft constraints to control the TWC thermal management. These results hence encourage the use of simple setups to deal with the control of the TWC in supervisory control strategies for full hybrid electric vehicle

Zinc(II)-methimazole complexes: synthesis and reactivity

The tetrahedral S-coordinated complex [Zn(MeImHS)(4)](ClO4)(2), synthesised from the reaction of [Zn(ClO4)(2)] with methimazole (1-methyl-3H-imidazole-2-thione, MeImHS), reacts with triethylamine to yield the homoleptic complex [Zn(MeImS)(2)] (MeImS = anion methimazole). ESI-MS and MAS C-13-NMR experiments supported MeImS acting as a (N, S)-chelating ligand. The DFT-optimised structure of [Zn(MeImS)(2)] is also reported and the main bond lengths compared to those of related Zn-methimazole complexes. The complex [Zn(MeImS)(2)] reacts under mild conditions with methyl iodide and separates the novel complex [Zn(MeImSMe)(2)I-2] (MeImSMe = S-methylmethimazole). X-ray diffraction analysis of the complex shows a ZnI2N2 core, with the methyl thioethers uncoordinated to zinc. Conversely, the reaction of [Zn( MeImS)(2)] with hydroiodic acid led to the formation of the complex [Zn(MeImHS)(2)I-2] having a ZnI2S2 core with the neutral methimazole units S-coordinating the metal centre. The Zn-coordinated methimazole can markedly modify the coordination environment when changing from its thione to thionate form and vice versa. The study of the interaction of the drug methimazole with the complex [Zn(MeIm)(4)](2+) (MeIm = 1-methylimidazole) - as a model for Zn-enzymes containing a N-4 donor set from histidine residues shows that methimazole displaces only one of the coordinated MeIm molecules; the formation constant of the mixed complex [Zn(MeIm)(3)(MeImHS)](2+) was determined

Resonant and crossover phenomena in a multiband superconductor tuning the chemical potential near a band edge

Resonances in the superconducting properties, in a regime of crossover from BCS to mixed Bose-Fermi superconductivity, are investigated in a two-band superconductor where the chemical potential is tuned near the band edge of the second mini-band generated by quantum confinement effects. The shape resonances at T=0 in the superconducting gaps (belonging to the class of Feshbach-like resonances) is manifested by interference effects in the superconducting gap at the first large Fermi surface when the chemical potential is in the proximity of the band edge of the second mini-band. The case of a superlattice of quantum wells is considered and the amplification of the superperconducting gaps at the 3D-2D Fermi surface topological transition is clearly shown. The results are found to be in good agreement with available experimental data on a superlattice of honeycomb boron layers intercalated by Al and Mg spacer layers.Comment: 13 pages, 9 image

Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR): A critical overview on the most promising applications of molecular scissors in oral medicine

The scientific community is continuously working to translate the novel biomedical techniques into effective medical treatments. CRISPR-Cas9 system (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats-9), commonly known as the “molecular scissor”, represents a recently developed biotechnology able to improve the quality and the efficacy of traditional treatments, related to several human diseases, such as chronic diseases, neurodegenerative pathologies and, interestingly, oral diseases. Of course, dental medicine has notably increased the use of biotechnologies to ensure modern and conservative approaches: in this landscape, the use of CRISPR-Cas9 system may speed and personalize the traditional therapies, ensuring a good predictability of clinical results. The aim of this critical overview is to provide evidence on CRISPR efficacy, taking into specific account its applications in oral medicine

The Psychological Impact of Dental Aesthetics in Patients with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Compared with Healthy Peers: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This study aimed to assess whether dental aesthetics had a different impact on the psychosocial domains of adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) as compared with healthy peers. Fifty JIA patients and eighty controls aged between 13 and 17 years were enrolled. The Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire (PIDAQ) was administered along with tools for the self-assessment of malocclusion and self-esteem. An objective evaluation of malocclusion severity was performed through a clinical evaluation with the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI). The sample was divided according to the DAI stages of malocclusion severity; a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to assess whether there was a difference in the studied variables according to the malocclusion and the presence of JIA. The results showed no interaction between the malocclusion severity and the presence of JIA in all analyzed variables (all p > 0.05). According to the DAI stages, the Dental Self-Confidence domain of the PIDAQ and the Perception of Occlusion Scale showed statistically significant differences only within the controls (p = 0.027 and p = 0.014, respectively). Therefore, JIA adolescents seem to be less concerned about their dental aesthetics compared with healthy peers, and clinicians should take particular care when proposing orthodontic treatments aiming only to improve dental aesthetic