Diffusion on non exactly decimable tree-like fractals

We calculate the spectral dimension of a wide class of tree-like fractals by solving the random walk problem through a new analytical technique, based on invariance under generalized cutting-decimation transformations. These fractals are generalizations of the NTD lattices and they are characterized by non integer spectral dimension equal or greater then 2, non anomalous diffusion laws, dynamical dimension splitting and absence of phase transitions for spin models.Comment: 5 pages Latex, 3 figures (figures are poscript files

Cultural Heritage Destruction: Experiments with Parchment and Multispectral Imaging

This chapter describes a highly collaborative project in digital humanities, which used tools and expertise from a diverse range of disciplines: medical physics, image science, and conservation. We describe this collaboration through three examples: the use of phantoms taken from medical physics, a historically accurate model of parchment degradation, and a detailed description of the steps taken to run experiments and collect data within a manageable budget. Each example highlights how procedures from a discipline were adapted for the project through collaboration. Whilst conservation focuses on developing methods to best preserve cultural heritage documents, we describe an unusual collaboration between conservation and image science to document through multispectral imaging the deliberate damage of a manuscript. Multispectral imaging has been utilised to examine cultural heritage documents by providing information about their physical properties. However, current digitisation efforts concentrate on recording documents in their current state. In this project, we aimed at recording the process of macroscopic document degradation using multispectral imaging, and the digital recovery of the writing using standard image processing methodologies. This project’s success lay in the intersection of knowledge of the processes of parchment deterioration and the specific processes that occur when a document is imaged: this has permitted us to construct a more successful and informed experiment. The knowledge acquired during the project allows us to address the issues related to the recovery of information from damaged parchment documents, and to determine which research questions can be addressed, and through which imaging methodology

Morphology and orientation of thin poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) films on differently silanized silicon oxide

AbstractThe morphology and structure of the overlying poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) layer onto differently silanized silicon oxide has been studied by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques. By increasing the silanizer alkyl chain length, the layer morphology evolves from a filament like to globular needle like as a consequence of the different SAM organization, while the P3HT conformation remains edge-on. For each case the effect of the annealing temperature has been studied. For all the cases a particular attention has been paid to the first thin layers close to the interface P3HT/SiOx. The effect of a polar substituent and presence of aromatic ring has been also studied

Study of the growth process of in situ polyaniline deposited films.

Polyaniline (PAni) thin films were deposited onto BK7 glass substrates using the in situ deposition technique. The control of the time and the aniline concentration in the PAni polymerization reaction on the film deposition allowed us to prepare films with different thickness, down to ?25 nm. The film growth process was monitored by measuring the UV?vis spectra and the AFM height profiles of the film surface. The curves of adsorption kinetics were analyzed with the Avrami?s model, yielding an exponent n = 3, thus indicating nucleation of spheroids at the initial stages of polymerization that grow through a diffusion process. AFM images of the surface height profiles corroborate this hypothesis, with spheroids growing with no preferred orientation during the in situ deposition

D1.5 ‐ Data Management Plan

The Working Package 1 'Project Management and Coordination", Task 1.3 "Data Management Plan (DMP), open science practices and Research Data Management" of the GreenFORCE project comprises the Deliverable 1.5 – Data Management Plan (DMP). This document is the first Version of the DMP, which, as per the Grant Agreement, is to be submitted within the 6th month of the GreenFORCE Project, more precisely, within 31/12/2022. In case needed, an updated second version of the DMP shall be shared in the 18th month of the project duration. The DMP produced in the framework of the GreenFORCE Project is a living document that describes how to research information (research documents and data) will be managed during and after the project duration (the data life cycle). The document is prepared based on the Horizon DMP Template1 and reflects the Grant Agreement and Consortium Agreement requirements. Furthermore, the DMP describes the data that will be generated/created/used, how the generated/created/used data will be shared and preserved in the short and long term, and what restrictions (if any) will be applied. The approach for the DMP preparation evolved in steps. Preliminarily, all partners in the GreenFORCE Project provided information regarding data management policy and practices in respective institutions through a structured questionnaire. Part of the information provided has been embedded in the current version of the DMP. In a second step, the draft DMP was shared with all partners, providing information regarding research documents and data used/produced in the framework of the GreenFORCE Project. Once all comments were addressed, the DMP was submitted to the Ethics Advisor for clearance. Finally, the DMP was finalised and uploaded into the system on 31/12/2022. In its first Version (V1), the DMP provides the general approach and policy to the data management of the GreenFORCE Project. It is expected that during the GreenFORCE Project implementation, the DMP will be updated regularly and accordingly, gaining precision and substance

Click-Chemistry Cross-Linking of Hyaluronan Graft Copolymers

An easy and viable crosslinking procedure by click-chemistry (click-crosslinking) of hyaluronic acid (HA) was developed. In particular, the clickable propargyl groups of hyaluronane-based HA-FA-Pg graft copolymers showing low and medium molecular weight values were exploited in crosslinking by click-chemistry by using a hexa(ethylene glycol) spacer. The resulting HA-FA-HEG-CL materials showed an apparent lack of in vitro cytotoxic effects, tuneable water affinity, and rheological properties according to the crosslinking degree that suggests their applicability in different biomedical fields

Clinical and microbiological features of ceftolozane/tazobactam-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates in a university hospital in central Italy

Objectives: Ceftolozane/tazobactam (C/T) is a novel cephalosporin and β-lactamase inhibitor combination with great activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. To assess P. aeruginosa susceptibility to C/T, a surveil- lance study was conducted from October 2018 to March 2019 at the University Hospital ‘Ospedali Riuniti’ in Ancona, Italy. Methods: Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) to C/T were determined by Etest strip. Resistant iso- lates were characterized by phenotypic (broth microdilution antimicrobial susceptibility testing and mod- ified Carbapenem Inactivation Method [mCIM]) and genotypic (Polymerase Chain Reaction [PCR], Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis [PFGE], and whole-genome sequencing [WGS]) methods. Clinical variables of patients infected by C/T-resistant P. aeruginosa were collected from medical records. Results: Fifteen of 317 P. aeruginosa collected showed resistance to C/T (4.7%). Ten strains demonstrated carbapenemase activity by mCIM method, and PCR confirmed that eight strains harbored a blaVIM gene while the other two were positive for blaIMP. Additionally, three isolates carried acquired extended spec- trum β-lactamase genes (two isolates carried blaPER and one carried blaGES). Eight strains were strictly related by PFGE and WGS analysis confirmed that they belonged to sequence type (ST)111. The other STs found were ST175 (two isolates), ST235 (two isolates), ST70 (one isolate), ST621 (one isolate), and the new ST3354 (one isolate). Most patients had received previous antibiotic therapies, carried invasive devices, and experienced prolonged hospitalization. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the presence of C/T-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates in a regional hospital carrying a number of resistance mechanisms acquired by different high-risk clone

Morfologia e morfometria dos tipos de fibras do músculo reto abdominal de cadelas (Canis familiaris) durante a gestação

Neste trabalho foram avaliadas as alterações morfológicas e o grau de hipertrofia das fibras de contração lentas (tipo I) e rápidas (tipo II) do músculo reto abdominal de cadelas adultas nas fases: pré-gestacional, 30 e 60 dias de gestação e 30 dias pós-parto (pp). Em todas essas fases, sob anestesia, foram removidas biópsias musculares, as quais foram congeladas. Cortes histológicos foram obtidos em um micrótomo e corados com hematoxilina e eosina (HE) para a avaliação da morfologia. Outros cortes foram submetidos à ATPase miofibrilar (m-ATPase), após pré-incubação em meio alcalino (pH = 10,4) e em meio ácido (pH = 4,4), visando à identificação das fibras tipo I e II. Nas cadelas virgens, o tecido muscular revelou-se constituído por fibras com diferentes diâmetros, com contornos poligonais, tendo um ou mais núcleos periféricos. Estas características foram similares nos animais com 30 dias de gestação. Aos 60 dias, ao lado de fibras com aparência normal, observaram-se fibras com contornos mais polimórficos e outras fibras de diâmetros muito pequenos. Aos 30 dias pp, as características do tecido foram similares às dos animais em fase pré-gestacional. Em todas as fases estudadas, os diâmetros fibras tipo II foram maiores do que as do tipo I. Aos 30 dias observou-se a redução significativa dos diâmetros de ambos os tipos de fibras e aumento significativo aos 60 dias de gestação. Durante a gestação, o estímulo crônico, representado pela expansão da parede abdominal, promoveu alterações da morfologia e morfometria das fibras.The present paper deals with the evaluation of morphological and morphometric alterations of slow-twist (I) and fast-twitch (II) fibers of rectus abdominis muscle of adult female dog during pre-gestational phase, at 30 and 60 days of pregnancy and at 30 days after the parturition. At the every phases, using the open biopsy technique, muscle samples were collected. The samples were plunged. Histological sections were cut in a microtome. For general morphology, some sections were stained with HE. Subsequent sections were reacted for myofibrillar ATPase (m-ATPase), after alkaline (pH 10.4) and acid (pH 4.4) pre-incubations, in order to identificate type I and II fibers. In the pre-gestational phase, muscle tissue revealed to be composed by fibers with different diameters, presenting polygonal outlines and one or more periphery nuclei. At 30 days of pregnancy, muscle fiber characteristics were similar. At 60 days, in addition to the existence of normal fibers, polymorphic and small diameter fibers were frequent. At 30 days after the parturation, the morphology of muscle fiber were similar to that observed in the pre-gestational phase. In the four phases, type II fiber diameters were lager than type I. The diameters of both fiber types showed a significant reduction in the 30 days phase and a significative increasing at 60 days. The expansion of the abdominal wall during the pregnancy represents a chronic stimulus, induced changes in the morphology and in the fiber type diameters