Trapping light with micro lenses in thin film organic photovoltaic cells.

We demonstrate a novel light trapping configuration based on an array of micro lenses in conjunction with a self aligned array of micro apertures located in a highly reflecting mirror. When locating the light trapping element, that displays strong directional asymmetric transmission, in front of thin film organic photovoltaic cells, an increase in cell absorption is obtained. By recycling reflected photons that otherwise would be lost, thinner films with more beneficial electrical properties can effectively be deployed. The light trapping element enhances the absorption rate of the solar cell and increases the photocurrent by as much as 25%. (C) 2008 Optical Society of Americ

Genome-wide classification of MYB-regulatory genes in the perennial grass Eragrostis curvula and identification of the ZmFDL1 orthologue

Eragrostis curvula is a perennial grass native to Southern Africa that was introduced into semiarid regions of Australia, USA, and Argentina as forage grass. In the recent years, E. curvula has been considered one of the model organisms for the study of the molecular mechanisms underlying apomixis in plants. However, this species has also received much interest for its ability to adapt to marginal environments. Ecotypes with different drought stress response are characterized by changes in cuticle wax deposition, a trait that may influence plants capability to maintain a high-water content. Aim of this work is to isolate key regulatory genes of wax biosynthesis and deposition in E. curvula and investigate their involvement in drought stress response. The recent availability of E curvula genome sequence allowed us to identify the whole family of MYB transcription factors. The construction of a phylogenetic tree allowed to establish the relationships among MYB genes of E. curvula and closely related grasses. This analysis highlighted the presence, among different candidates, of the Eragrostis curvula orthologue of the ZmMYB94/fused leaves1 (fdl1) gene. This MYB factor is required in maize for a proper cuticle deposition in the juvenile phase of plant development, and its expression, which is confined to seedling tissues, is modulated by drought stress. Ecfdl1 is also expressed in the aerial parts of the plant, however, differently from what observed in maize, it is specifically expressed in adult tissues. The Ecfdl1 transcript level was measured in Eragrostis ecotypes characterized by different drought stress tolerance and wax content. Variations of Ecfdl1 gene expression observed in four ecotypes nicely correlated with differences in the amount of waxes. Our results indicate that the two MYB orthologs are characterized by distinct spatial-temporal expression patterns in the perennial E. curvula and the annual Zea mays plants. They may contribute to a general understanding of the cuticle role in stress adaptation mechanisms.Fil: Castorina, Giulia. Università degli Studi di Milano; ItaliaFil: Carballo, José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Selva, Juan Pablo. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; ArgentinaFil: Zilio, Massimo. Università degli Studi di Milano; ItaliaFil: Echenique, Daniela Rosalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Consonni, Gabriella. Università degli Studi di Milano; Italia63rd Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics Annual Congress: Science and innovation for sustainable agriculture intensification. The contribution of plant genetics and breedingNapolesItaliaUniversità degli Studi di Napoli Federico IIDipartimento di AgrariaConsiglio Nazionale dele RicercheIstituto di Bioscienze e Biorisors

A combination of drug-eluting stents and bioresorbable vascular scaffolds in the treatment of multivessel coronary artery disease

Optimal management of multivessel coronary artery disease can be complex. We report a 67-year-old male patient who was admitted to the Padua University Hospital, Padua, Italy, in 2014 with a non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Coronary angiography showed diffuse multiple sub-occlusive lesions of the proximal and distal left coronary vessels involving a long segment of the vessel. On intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS), the left main artery was moderately diseased with critically stenotic and calcified branch ostia. A successful percutaneous coronary intervention using the T-stenting and small protrusion technique with two drug-eluting stents (DES) was performed on the left main artery and its main branches. Two bioresorbable vascular scaffolds were also deployed in overlap at the mid to distal segments of the left anterior descending artery and overlapping a previous DES at the proximal segment. The full expansion and apposition of the struts and scaffolds to the vessel wall without residual stenosis was confirmed by IVUS

[The worst complication during percutaneous coronary intervention: left main coronary artery dissection]

Although rare, left main coronary artery dissection is a cause of periprocedural mortality during percutaneous coronary interventions. We report a case of iatrogenic dissection of the left main coronary artery causing cardiogenic shock, treated by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support and later on by multiple balloon angioplasty and drug-eluting stent deployment, due to clinical worsening despite patent left coronary arteries with preserved good TIMI flow grade. We also reviewed the management strategies of this complication reported in the literature

Espressione dei geni GUS e UGT85A in Arabidopsis thaliana

Le \u3b2-glucuronidasi (GUS) sono enzimi che catalizzano l\u2019idrolisi del legame glicosidico fra l\u2019acido \u3b2-glucuronico e altre molecole e sono suddivise in due famiglie: glicosil-idrolasi 2 e glicosil-idrolasi 79. Le \u3b2-glucuronidasi della famiglia 2, alle quali appartiene il GUS di E. coli largamente usato come gene reporter nei vegetali, sono note in un grande range di organismi, ma sembrano essere assenti nelle piante, nelle quali l\u2019attivit\ue0 GUS endogena sembra associata a \u3b2-glucuronidasi della famiglia 79 (Eparanasi) (1). In Arabidpopsis thaliana sono stati identificati e parzialmente caratterizzati tre diversi geni GUS (AtGUS1, AtGUS2 e AtGUS3), dei quali AtGUS1 e AtGUS2 mostrano elevata omologia. A parte funzioni specifiche (2),coinvolgimento delle \u3b2-glucuronidasi \ue8 stato proposto nel processo di accrescimento cellulare per distensione e, in particolare, nell\u2019allungamento dei peli radicali (3). E\u2019 stato, inoltre, ipotizzato che \u3b2-glucuronidasi, agendo in coordinazione con glucuronisiltrasferasi (UGT) del gruppo 85A, siano responsabili della regolazione del ciclo cellulare (4,5). Uno studio pi\uf9 recente tuttavia ha messo in parte in discussione quanto emerso in precedenza riportando che nelle radici di plantule di Arabidopsis thaliana non \ue8 presente attivit\ue0 \u3b2-glucuronidasica (6). In questo lavoro si \ue8 voluto approfondire lo studio dell\u2019espressione dei geni GUS e UGT in Arabidopsis. Verifiche preliminari effettuate con PCR semiquantitativa hanno mostrato che, nonostante il gene AtGUS2 risulti espresso in modo pi\uf9 rilevante rispetto a AtGUS1 e AtGUS3, tutti e tre i geni AtGUS sono espressi, sia pure differenzialmente, in tutti gli organi della pianta. I geni AtUGT85A mostranoun pattern di espressione pi\uf9 differenziato rispetto ai geni AtGUS. AtUGT85A1, AtUGT85A2 e AtUGT85A4 risultano differenzialmente espressi nei vari organi della pianta, mentre AtUGT85A3 e UGT85A7 mostrano un\u2019espressione organo specifica che coinvolge fiore e foglia Utilizzando la tecnica di ibridazione in situ con sonde multiple recentemente messa a punto su campioni vegetali (7), l\u2019espressione dei geni GUS \ue8 stata studiata anche a livello tissutale. A livello radicale , il pattern di espressione dei tre geni analizzati appare chiaramente differenziato: AtGUS1 e AtGUS2 sono espressi nell\u2019epidermide, nella zona corticale e nella cuffia, mentre l\u2019espressione di AtGUS3 \ue8 limitata all\u2019epidermide. Sono in corso le analisi relative agli altri organi della pianta e, in particolare, fiore e polline. Analogo approccio verr\ue0 esteso ai geni AtUGT85 al fine di verificarne l\u2019overlapping o meno con i domini istologici di espressione dei geni GUS e definirne eventuali correlazioni

Measuring ammonia and odours emissions during full field digestate use in agriculture

The use of digestate in agriculture represents an opportunity for reducing the use of synthetic fertilizers while promoting nutrient and organic matter recycling, i.e. contributing to a circular economy. However, some environmental impacts could result from digestate use, with particular reference to N emissions, which can contribute to particulate matter formation in the atmosphere. So, correct digestate spreading methods need to be tested to reduce ammonia emission and, possibly, also to avoid annoyance to the inhabitants. In this work a digestate from organic wastes was used as a fertilizer by its injection at 15 cm, in comparison with a synthetic one (urea) for three consecutive years in open fields, measuring ammonia and odours emission. On average, the ammonia emission from digestate was of 25.6 ± 9.4 kg N Ha−1 (11.6% ± 4 of Total Ammonia Nitrogen - TAN - dosed), while urea emitted 24.8 ± 8.3 kg N Ha−1 (13.4% ± 4.5 of TAN dosed). The injected digestate also emitted less odour than urea (601 ± 531 and 1767 ± 2221 OU m−2 h−1, respectively), being ammonia coming from urea hydrolysis responsible for odour productions. The different N fertilizers did not lead to differences in crop yields, i.e. 18.5 ± 2.9 Mg grain Ha−1 and 17.4 ± 1.2 Mg grain Ha−1 for digestate and urea respectively.</p

Nitrogen fertilising products based on manure and organic residues : supporting literature of the SYSTEMIC factsheets

The EU H2020 project SYSTEMIC has taken up the challenge to recover nutrients from animal manure and biowaste. Biowaste, like animal manure, sewage sludge and food and feed waste, forms the most abundant waste stream in Europe and hence the most prominent potential resource for the production of biogas and the recovery and reuse of mineral nutrients like phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N) and potassium (K). The application of nutrient recovery from waste is hindered by regulatory requirements amongst others the Nitrates Directive 91/676/EEG. This report gives an overview of the agronomic and environmental performance of nitrogen fertilising products made from manure. These products are ammonium sulphate and ammonium nitrate from air scrubbers and ammonia strippers, mineral concentrates produced by reverse osmosis, condensated ammonia water from capturing ammonia and liquid digestate produced by separation of digestate. For each fertilising product the state of the art of information on the technology, characteristics, composition, agronomic effectivity and risk assessment on contaminants, pathogens and other components is given. The information is condensed to a factsheet. These factsheets are also found at the website of the SYSTEMIC product (https://systemicproject.eu/downloads/)