Triadic Motifs in the Partitioned World Trade Web

AbstractOne of the crucial aspects of the Internet of Things that influences the effectiveness of communication among devices is the communication model, for which no universal solution exists. The actual interaction pattern can in general be represented as a directed graph, whose nodes represent the "Things" and whose directed edges represent the sent messages. Frequent patterns can identify channels or infrastructures to be strengthened and can help in choosing the most suitable message routing schema or network protocol. In general, frequent patterns have been called motifs and overrepresented motifs have been recognized to be the low-level building blocks of networks and to be useful to explain many of their properties, playing a relevant role in determining their dynamic and evolution. In this paper triadic motifs are found first partitioning a network by strength of connections and then analyzing the partitions separately. The case study is the World Trade Web (WTW), that is the directed graph connecting world Countries with trade relationships, with the aim of finding its topological characterization in terms of motifs and isolating the key factors underlying its evolution. The WTW has been split based on the weights of the graph to highlight structural differences between the big players in terms of volumes of trade and the rest of the world. As test case, the period 2003-2010 has been analyzed, to show the structural effect of the economical crisis in the year 2007

Does the somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold change over time in focal dystonia?

BACKGROUND: The somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold (STDT) is defined as the shortest interval at which an individual recognizes two stimuli as asynchronous. Some evidence suggests that STDT depends on cortical inhibitory interneurons in the basal ganglia and in primary somatosensory cortex. Several studies have reported that the STDT in patients with dystonia is abnormal. No longitudinal studies have yet investigated whether STDT values in different forms of focal dystonia change during the course of the disease. METHODS: We designed a follow-up study on 25 patients with dystonia (15 with blepharospasm and 10 with cervical dystonia) who were tested twice: upon enrolment and 8 years later. STDT values from dystonic patients at the baseline were also compared with those from a group of 30 age-matched healthy subjects. RESULTS: Our findings show that the abnormally high STDT values observed in patients with focal dystonia remained unchanged at the 8-year follow-up assessment whereas disease severity worsened. CONCLUSIONS: Our observation that STDT abnormalities in dystonia remain unmodified during the course of the disease suggests that the altered activity of inhibitory interneurons-either at cortical or at subcortical level-responsible for the increased STDT does not deteriorate as the disease progresses

Voluntary movement takes shape. the link between movement focusing and sensory input gating

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between motor surround inhibition (mSI) and the modulation of somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold (STDT) induced by voluntary movement. Seventeen healthy volunteers participated in the study. To assess mSI, we delivered transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) single pulses to record motor evoked potentials (MEPs) from the right abductor digiti minimi (ADM; “surround muscle”) during brief right little finger flexion. mSI was expressed as the ratio of ADM MEP amplitude during movement to MEP amplitude at rest. We preliminarily measured STDT values by assessing the shortest interval at which subjects were able to recognize a pair of electric stimuli, delivered over the volar surface of the right little finger, as separate in time. We then evaluated the STDT by using the same motor task used for mSI. mSI and STDT modulation were evaluated at the same time points during movement. mSI and STDT modulation displayed similar time-dependent changes during index finger movement. In both cases, the modulation was maximally present at the onset of the movement and gradually vanished over about 200 ms. Our study provides the first neurophysiological evidence about the relationship between mSI and tactile-motor integration during movement execution

ProNGF-p75NTR axis plays a proinflammatory role in inflamed joints. A novel pathogenic mechanism in chronic arthritis

To identify the role of mature nerve growth factor (mNGF), its immature form proNGF and their receptors in arthritis inflammatio

The inclusion of fresh forage in the lactating buffalo diet affects fatty acid and sensory profile of mozzarella cheese

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of inclusion of fresh forage in diet for lactating buffalo on properties of mozzarella cheese under intensive farming conditions. Thirty-two buffalo cows were equally allotted into 2 groups fed diets with (fresh group, FRS) or without (control group, CTL) fresh sorghum. The study consisted of 2 trials. In the first one, animals from group FRS were fed a diet containing 10 kg of fresh sorghum (10-FRS diet) that was doubled to 20 kg (20-FRS diet) in the second trial. All diets were isonitrogenous and isoenergetic, and fresh forage accounted for 13.4 and 26.5 of dietary dry matter, respectively, for the 10-FRS and 20-FRS diet. In each trial, milk from the 2 groups was used to produce 3 batches/diet of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana Protected Designation of Origin cheese. Milk yield and composition were not influenced by dietary treatment. The use of 10-FRS diet did not affect any properties of mozzarella. As the inclusion rate of fresh sorghum doubled to 20 kg, an increment of unsaturated fatty acid percentages and a lowering of short-chain and saturated fatty acids were observed. Moreover, the sensory characteristics of mozzarella were modified, although no effects were observed on consumer acceptance. We conclude that the use of green fodder can represent a low-cost feeding strategy to improve the healthiness of buffalo mozzarella under intensive farming conditions with no detrimental effect on consumer blind acceptance

Clinical Applications of Synovial Biopsy

The synovial tissue is a primary target of multiple diseases characterized by different pathogenic mechanisms, including infective, deposition, neoplastic, and chronic immune-inflammatory pathologies. Synovial biopsy can have a relevant role in differential diagnosis of specific conditions in clinical practice, although its exploitation remains relatively limited. In particular, no validated synovial-tissue-derived biomarkers are currently available in the clinic to aid in the diagnosis and management in most frequent forms of chronic inflammatory arthropathies, namely rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the spondyloarthritides (SpA). In this brief review, we will discuss the current spectrum of clinical applications of synovial biopsy in routine rheumatologic care and will provide an analysis of the perspectives for its potential exploitation in patients with chronic inflammatory arthritides

A simple solution to mitigate noise effects in time-redundant sequences of small baseline multi-look DInSAR interferograms

We present a simple and effective filtering algorithm to mitigate noise effects in a time-redundant sequence of multi-look small baseline (SB) differential synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferograms by exploiting the temporal relationships among the selected interferometric data pairs. The proposed method relies on the estimation of the (wrapped) filtered phase terms associated to each SAR acquisition; this result is achieved via a non-linear minimization procedure which is applied to the phase signal of conventional multi-look interferograms without any pixel selection process, and with no a-priori information on the statistics of the involved complex-valued SAR images. Following their estimation, the phase images are paired to reconstruct a new sequence of filtered SB differential interferograms, which are used to generate surface deformation products, such as deformation velocity maps and displacement time-series. The filtering algorithm effectiveness is demonstrated by analysing a set of SAR images..

Metabolomics approach based on NMR spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis to explore the interaction between the leafminer<i> Tuta absoluta</i> and tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i>)

Introduction: Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is one of the most devastating and harmful pests of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) crops causing up to 80–100% yield losses. A large arsenal of plant metabolites is induced by the leafminer feeding including defence compounds that could differ among varieties. Objective: To compare the metabolomic changes of different genotypes of tomato (tolerant “T”, susceptible “S” and “F1” hybrid obtained between T and S) after exposition to T. absoluta. Methodology: Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy followed by multivariate data analysis were performed to analyse the metabolic profiles of control and infested samples on three different tomato genotypes.Results: Signals related to GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) were relatively much higher in all infested samples compared to the non-infested plants used as control. Infested T genotype samples were the most abundant in organic acids, including fatty acids and acyl sugars, chlorogenic acid, neo-chlorogenic acid and feruloyl quinic acid, indicating a clear link between the exposure to leafminer. Results also showed an increase of trigonelline in all tomato varieties after exposition to T. absoluta. Conclusion: Metabolomics approach based on NMR spectroscopy followed by multivariate data analysis allowed for a detailed metabolite profile of plant defences, providing fundamental information for breeding programmes in plant crops.</p

A Multistep Approach to Deal With Advanced Heart Failure: A Case Report on the Positive Effect of Cardiac Contractility Modulation Therapy on Pulmonary Pressure Measured by CardioMEMS

During the last years, the management of heart failure (HF) made substantial progress, focusing on device-based therapies to meet the demands of this complex syndrome. In this case report, we present a multistep approach to deal with HF. Specifically, we report the first patient subjected to the implantation of both Optimizer Smart(R) (Impulse Dynamics Inc., Marlton, NJ, USA) and CardioMEMS devices. A 72-year-old male patient with HF and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) was admitted to our cardiology department in January 2021, following a progressive shortening of the time between hospitalizations for levosimendan infusions. Specifically, the patient was monitored daily by CardioMEMS, and a strategy of levosimendan infusions guided by the device had been adopted. He was also a carrier of MitraClips and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D) and had optimized HF medical therapy. In January 2021, the patient implanted Optimizer Smart(R) device for cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) therapy because of poor response to therapy and elevated pulmonary artery pressure (PAP). CCM significantly reduced PAP values following discharge (systolic PAP 33.67 &amp; PLUSMN; 2.92 vs. 40.6 &amp; PLUSMN; 3.37 mmHg, diastolic PAP 14.5 &amp; PLUSMN; 2.01 vs. 22.5 &amp; PLUSMN; 2.53 mmHg, mean PAP 22.87 &amp; PLUSMN; 2.20 vs. 30.9 &amp; PLUSMN; 2.99 mmHg, HR 60.93 &amp; PLUSMN; 1.53 vs. 80.83 &amp; PLUSMN; 3.66 bpm; p &lt; 0.0001), with persisting effect at 9 months. The usefulness of CCM is objectively demonstrated for the first time by continuous invasive monitoring of PAP by CardioMEMS, which can suggest the correct timing for CCM implantation

Evaluation of microfiltration and heat treatment on the microbiological characteristics, phenolic composition and volatile compound profile of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) juice

BACKGROUND: Since processing technology and storage may influence the sensory and nutritional value as well as the shelf life of pomegranate juice (PJ), mild technologies based on microfiltration may be a promising alternative to heat treatments for fruit juice preservation. In this study, physicochemical and microbiological properties of raw (RPJ), microfiltered (MPJ) and cloudy pasteurized (PPJ) PJ were compared over a period of 4weeks. RESULTS: Data demonstrated that microfiltration was comparable to pasteurization in guaranteeing microbiological stability of the juice, avoiding spoilage of the final product. After treatment, PPJ showed the highest amounts of gallic acid (GA) and ellagic acid derivatives (EAs). During storage, the amount of ellagitannins, EAs and GA similarly decreased in all types of juice. Trends towards variations of monomeric anthocyanins in MPJ and variations of polymeric and copigmented anthocyanins in both MPJ and PPJ were found over storage. CONCLUSION: The optimization of pretreatments and filtration parameters can lead to the industrial scale-up of microfiltration technology for the development of high-quality non-heat-treated PJ. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry