High frequency oscillations as a correlate of visual perception

“NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in International journal of psychophysiology. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in International journal of psychophysiology , 79, 1, (2011) DOI 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.07.004Peer reviewedPostprin

Streptococcus thermophilus : to survive, or not to survive the gastrointestinal tract, that is the question!

The probiotic market is increasing world-wide as well as the number of products marketed as probiotics. Among the latter, many products contain Streptococcus thermophilus strains at several dosages. However, the scientific evidence that should support the probiotic status of those S. thermophilus strains is often contradictory. This review analyses the scientific literature aimed to assess the ability of S. thermophilus strains to survive the human gastrointestinal tract by discussing the scientific validity of the methods applied for the bacterial recovery and identification from stool samples. This review highlights that in most of the intervention studies reviewed, the identification of S. thermophilus strains from stools was not carried out with the necessary taxonomic accuracy to avoid their misidentification with Streptococcus salivarius, a common human commensal and a species phylogenetically close to S. thermophilus. Moreover, this review highlights how critical the accurate taxonomic identification of S. thermophilus in metagenomics-based studies can be

Micorrización de plantulas en contendor de Pinus nigra con Suillus granulates bajo condiciones de campo

Seedling mycorrhization acts as an efficient tool for improving the quality of seedlings. In this study, the effectiveness of Suillus granulatus, originating from Pinus heldreichii forests (Montenegro), to produce containerized ectomycorrhizal seedlings of autochthonous Pinus nigra in open field conditions was investigated. Spore (106, 107, 108) and vegetative (1:16, 1:8, 1:4) inoculation on ectomycorrhizal formation and seedling growth were tested. Spore and vegetative inoculums of autochthonous Pisolithus arhizus were used in the same trial as additional control treatments. The utilization of vegetative and spore inoculums of autochthonous S. granulatus has proven to be an effective method of obtaining containerized ectomycorrhizal P. nigra seedlings under open field conditions after 11 months. S. granulatus spore inoculations resulted in well developed ectomycorrhiza, decreasing the growth of the P. nigra seedlings in the first growing season. Mycelial inoculations resulted in slightly developed S. granulatus ectomycorrhiza, which increased the growth of the seedlings. Therefore, it would be feasible to use spore inocula of S. granulatus, with 106 spores per plant, to produce ectomycorrhizal P. nigra plants on a large scale. Controlled mycorrhizal inoculation of seedlings is not a common practice in Montenegrin and Serbian nurseries; as such, the obtained results will contribute to the enhancement of nursery production of Pinus nigra and other conifers. This also could be assumed as a starting point for many further efforts and investigations with autochthonous fungal and plant material in this region.La micorrización de plántulas actúa como una herramienta eficaz para la mejora de la calidad de los brinzales. En este estudio se investiga la eficacia de Suillus granulatus, procedentes de bosques de Pinus heldreichii (Montenegro), para producir plántulas ectomicorrícicas en contenedores de Pinus nigra autóctonos en condiciones de campo. Se ensayaron inoculacion por esporas (106, 107, 108) y vegetativa (1:16, 1:8, 1:4) para la formación ectomicorrízica y el crecimiento de las plántulas. Se utilizó inóculo de esporas y vegetativo de Pisolithus arhizus autóctonos en el mismo ensayo como tratamiento control. La utilización de inóculos vegetativos y esporas de S. granulatus autóctonos ha demostrado ser un método eficaz para la obtención de plantas en contenedor ectomicorrícicas de P. nigra bajo condiciones de campo después de 11 meses. La inoculación de esporas de S. granulatus produjeron un buen desarrollo ectomicorrizas, disminuyendo el crecimiento de las plántulas de P. nigra en la primera estación de crecimiento. Las inoculaciones miceliales produjeron un escaso desarrollo ectomicorrizico de S. granulatus, con aumento en el crecimiento de las plántulas. Por lo tanto, sería factible el uso de inóculos de esporas de S. granulatus, con 106 esporas por planta, para producir plantas ectomicorrícicas de P. nigra a gran escala. La inoculación micorrízica controlada de plántulas no es una práctica común en los viveros de Serbia y Montenegro y, como tal, los resultados obtenidos contribuirán a la mejora de la producción en viveros de Pinus nigra y otras coníferas. Esto también podría ser asumido como un punto de partida para futuras investigaciones con material autóctono de hongos y plantas en esta región

Solid-state ion exchange of Fe in small pore SSZ-13 zeolite: Characterization of the exchanged species and their relevance for the NOx SCR reaction

Solid state ion exchange was performed for the successful introduction of Fe cations in the small pore CHA structured SSZ-13 zeolite. The produced catalysts were characterized by IR and UV-Vis spectroscopies and thermally programmed reaction techniques to probe the Fe sites formed during the exchange and the catalytic activity for the NOx SCR reaction. The results indicate that highly dispersed and heterogeneous Fe sites are formed, and the type depends on the Al distribution in the zeolite. Dimeric Fe species are formed preferentially at the start of the exchange on the 6- and 8-member rings that contain at least two Al exchange sites and once these sites are fully saturated the Fe is exchanged as isolated cations

Implications for first-order cosmological phase transitions from the third LIGO-Virgo observing run

We place constrains on the normalised energy density in gravitational waves from first-order strong phase transitions using data from Advanced LIGO and Virgo's first, second and third observing runs. First, adopting a broken power law model, we place $95 \%$ confidence level upper limits simultaneously on the gravitational-wave energy density at 25 Hz from unresolved compact binary mergers, $\Omega_{\rm cbc} < 5.9 \times 10^{-9}$, and strong first-order phase transitions, $\Omega_{\rm bpl} < 2.8 \times 10^{-9}$. We then consider two more complex phenomenological models, limiting at 25 Hz the gravitational-wave background due to bubble collisions to $\Omega_{\rm pt} < 5.0\times 10^{-9}$ and the background due to sound waves to $\Omega_{\rm pt} < 5.8\times10^{-9}$ at $95 \%$ confidence level for temperatures above $10^8$GeV.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Reverse Micelle Strategy for the Synthesis of MnOx-TiO2Active Catalysts for NH3-Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOxat Both Low Temperature and Low Mn Content

MnOx-TiO2catalysts (0, 1, 5, and 10 wt % Mn nominal content) for NH3-SCR (selective catalytic reduction) of NOxhave been synthesized by the reverse micelle-assisted sol-gel procedure, with the aim of improving the dispersion of the active phase, usually poor when obtained by other synthesis methods (e.g., impregnation) and thereby lowering its amount. For comparison, a sample at nominal 10 wt % Mn was obtained by impregnation of the (undoped) TiO2sample. The catalysts were characterized by using an integrated multitechnique approach, encompassing X-ray diffraction followed by Rietveld refinement, micro-Raman spectroscopy, N2isotherm measurement at −196 °C, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectroscopy, temperature-programmed reduction technique, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The obtained results prove that the reverse micelle sol-gel approach allowed for enhancing the catalytic activity, in that the catalysts were active in a broad temperature range at a substantially low Mn loading, as compared to the impregnated catalyst. Particularly, the 5 wt % Mn catalyst showed the best NH3-SCR activity in terms of both NOxconversion (ca. 90%) and the amount of produced N2O (ca. 50 ppm) in the 200-250 °C temperature range

Measuring the propagation speed of gravitational waves with LISA

The propagation speed of gravitational waves, cT , has been tightly constrained by the binary neutron star merger GW170817 and its electromagnetic counterpart, under the assumption of a frequency-independent cT . Drawing upon arguments from Effective Field Theory and quantum gravity, we discuss the possibility that modifications of General Relativity allow for transient deviations of cT from the speed of light at frequencies well below the band of current ground-based detectors. We motivate two representative Ansätze for cT (f), and study their impact upon the gravitational waveforms of massive black hole binary mergers detectable by the LISA mission. We forecast the constraints on cT (f) obtainable from individual systems and a population of sources, from both inspiral and a full inspiral-merger-ringdown waveform. We show that LISA will enable us to place stringent independent bounds on departures from General Relativity in unexplored low-frequency regimes, even in the absence of an electromagnetic counterpart

Plasma Proteomic Variables Related to COVID-19 Severity: An Untargeted nLC-MS/MS Investigation

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection leads to a wide range of clinical manifestations and determines the need for personalized and precision medicine. To better understand the biological determinants of this heterogeneity, we explored the plasma proteome of 43 COVID-19 patients with different outcomes by an untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry approach. The comparison between asymptomatic or pauci-symptomatic subjects (MILDs), and hospitalised patients in need of oxygen support therapy (SEVEREs) highlighted 29 proteins emerged as differentially expressed: 12 overexpressed in MILDs and 17 in SEVEREs. Moreover, a supervised analysis based on a decision-tree recognised three proteins (Fetuin-A, Ig lambda-2chain-C-region, Vitronectin) that are able to robustly discriminate between the two classes independently from the infection stage. In silico functional annotation of the 29 deregulated proteins pinpointed several functions possibly related to the severity; no pathway was associated exclusively to MILDs, while several only to SEVEREs, and some associated to both MILDs and SEVEREs; SARS-CoV-2 signalling pathway was significantly enriched by proteins up-expressed in SEVEREs (SAA1/2, CRP, HP, LRG1) and in MILDs (GSN, HRG). In conclusion, our analysis could provide key information for 'proteomically' defining possible upstream mechanisms and mediators triggering or limiting the domino effect of the immune-related response and characterizing severe exacerbations