SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE: UNUSUAL DEATH IN WESTERN COUNTRY. SUICIDE OR HOMICIDE?

This case report describes a particular case of carbonized corpse, found in his burnt-out car in an isolated Palermo’s west suburban zone. The goal of this case report is to describe the shame and the social stigma related with suspicious of pedophilia and how it led a man to suicide by fire, considering that is an unusual way to die in western countrie

Computerized assessment of coronary lumen and atherosclerotic plaque dimensions in three-dimensional intravascular ultrasound correlated with histomorphometry.

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), which depicts both lumen and plaque, offers the potential to improve on the limitations of angiography for the assessment of the natural history of atherosclerosis and progression or regression of the disease. To facilitate measurements and increase the reproducibility of quantitative IVUS analyses, a computerized contour detection system was developed that detects both the luminal and external vessel boundaries in 3-dimensional sets of IVUS images. To validate this system, atherosclerotic human coronary segments (n = 13) with an area obstruction ≥40% (40% to 61%) were studied in vitro by IVUS. The computerized IVUS measurements (areas and volumes) of the lumen, total vessel, plaque-media complex, and percent obstruction were compared with findings by manual tracing of the IVUS images and of the corresponding histologic cross sections obtained at 2-mm increments (n = 100). Both area and volume measurements by the contour detection system agreed well with the results obtained by manual tracing, showing low mean between-method differences (−3.7% to 0.3%) with SDs not exceeding 6% and high correlation coefficients (r = 0.97 to 0.99). Measurements of the lumen, total vessel, plaque-media complex, and percent obstruction by the contour detection system correlated well with histomorphometry of areas (r = 0.94, 0.88, 0.80, and 0.88) and volumes (r = 0.98, 0.91, 0.83, and 0.91). Systematic differences between the results by the contour detection system and histomorphometry (29%, 13%, −9%, and −22%, respectively) were found, most likely resulting from shrinkage during tissue fixation. The result

Enhancing quantum efficiency of thin-film silicon solar cells by Pareto optimality

We present a composite design methodology for the simulation and optimization of the solar cell performance. Our method is based on the synergy of different computational techniques and it is especially designed for the thin-film cell technology. In particular, we aim to efficiently simulate light trapping and plasmonic effects to enhance the light harvesting of the cell. The methodology is based on the sequential application of a hierarchy of approaches: (a) full Maxwell simulations are applied to derive the photon’s scattering probability in systems presenting textured interfaces; (b) calibrated Photonic Monte Carlo is used in junction with the scattering matrices method to evaluate coherent and scattered photon absorption in the full cell architectures; (c) the results of these advanced optical simulations are used as the pair generation terms in model implemented in an effective Technology Computer Aided Design tool for the derivation of the cell performance; (d) the models are investigated by qualitative and quantitative sensitivity analysis algorithms, to evaluate the importance of the design parameters considered on the models output and to get a first order descriptions of the objective space; (e) sensitivity analysis results are used to guide and simplify the optimization of the model achieved through both Single Objective Optimization (in order to fully maximize devices efficiency) and Multi Objective Optimization (in order to balance efficiency and cost); (f) Local, Global and “Glocal” robustness of optimal solutions found by the optimization algorithms are statistically evaluated; (g) data-based Identifiability Analysis is used to study the relationship between parameters. The results obtained show a noteworthy improvement with respect to the quantum efficiency of the reference cell demonstrating that the methodology presented is suitable for effective optimization of solar cell devices

Silver Nanoparticles Decorated with PEGylated Porphyrins as Potential Theranostic and Sensing Agents

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) stand out over other metal nanoparticles thanks to their peculiar bactericidal and spectroscopic properties. Tunability of the AgNPs chemical–physical properties could be provided through their organic covalent coating. On the other hand, PEGylated porphyrin derivatives are versatile heteromacrocycles investigated for uses in the biomedical field as cytotoxic and tracking agents, but also as sensors. In this work, an easy multi-step approach was employed to produce coated silver nanoparticles. Specifically, the AgNPs were functionalized with 5,10,15-[p-(ω-methoxy-polyethyleneoxy)phenyl]-20-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-porphyrin (P(PEG350)3), using chloropropanethiol as a coupling agent. The P(PEG350)3 was structurally characterized through MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy and thermal analyses. The functionalization of AgNPs was monitored step-by-step employing UV-Vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering and thermogravimetric techniques. HRTEM and STEM measurements were used to investigate the morphology and the composition of the resulting nanostructured system (AgNP@P(PEG350)3), observing a long-range alignment of the outer porphyrin layer. The AgNP@P(PEG350)3 combines the features of the P(PEG350)3 with those of AgNPs, producing a potential multifunctional theranostic tool. The nanosystem revealed itself suitable as a removable pH sensor in aqueous solutions and potentially feasible for biological environment applications

Measuring rill flow velocity by dye tracer technique

Mean flow velocity, V, is one of the most important hydrodynamic variables for rill erosion phenomena. The measurement of flow velocity is fundamental to obtain predictive relationships for modeling water soil erosion and can be performed by the dye tracer technique. This method gives the surface flow velocity Vs, which needs to be multiplied by a correction factor αv to obtain V. This paper is aimed to evaluate αv for two different rill roughness conditions, using an experimental set up which simulates flows moving in fixed bed rills. In particular, two flumes covered by soils with different textures, named Sparacia and Aranceto, were used. For each roughness, ten slopes values ranging from 0.1% to 15% were investigated and, for a given slope, five discharges Q (0.20 – 0.87 L s‐1) were applied. For each (Q, s) pair 20 measurements of Vs were performed. The results showed that the correction factor is independent of the Reynolds number for both the roughness conditions. For the Sparacia soil, for the higher s values, αv can be estimated by a particular Froude number Fs and s, while is constant for the lower s values. For the Aranceto soil, no statistically significant relationships were detected. Finally, the correction factor increased with roughness, but only for a limited slope range concerning the lowest investigated s values

Plant Genotype Shapes the Bacterial Microbiome of Fruits, Leaves, and Soil in Olive Plants

The plant microbiome plays an important role in plant biology, ecology, and evolution. While recent technological developments enabled the characterization of plant-associated microbiota, we still know little about the impact of different biotic and abiotic factors on the diversity and structures of these microbial communities. Here, we characterized the structure of bacterial microbiomes of fruits, leaves, and soil collected from two olive genotypes (Sinopolese and Ottobratica), testing the hypothesis that plant genotype would impact each compartment with a different magnitude. Results show that plant genotype differently influenced the diversity, structure, composition, and co-occurence network at each compartment (fruits, leaves, soil), with a stronger effect on fruits compared to leaves and soil. Thus, plant genotype seems to be an important factor in shaping the structure of plant microbiomes in our system, and can be further explored to gain functional insights leading to improvements in plant productivity, nutrition, and defenses

Malignant phyllodes tumor of the breast: a systematic review

Phyllodes tumors (PT) are fibroepithelial neoplasms of the breast showing a peculiar leaf-like appearance. They account for 0.3 to 1% of all primary breast tumors and 2.5% of all fibroepithelial breast tumors. PT are classified into benign, borderline and malignant based upon their stromal morphology with a distribution of 60%, 20%, and 20%, respectively. Malignant PT of the breast constitute an uncommon challenging group of fibroepithelial neoplasms. They have a relatively high tendency to recur, although distant metastasis is uncommon, and nearly exclusive to malignant PT. Adequate surgical resection remains the standard approach to achieve maximal local control. Giant malignant PT are rare and a pose a diagnostic dilemma for pathologists, especially when comprised of sarcomatous elements. This review highlights the morphological features of PT detected in cytology and histology specimens and discusses diagnostic pitfalls and differential diagnosis

Polymer-Based Graphene Derivatives and Microwave-Assisted Silver Nanoparticles Decoration as a Potential Antibacterial Agent

Nanocomposites obtained by the decoration of graphene-based materials with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have received increasing attention owing to their antimicrobial activity. However, the complex synthetic methods for their preparation have limited practical applications. This study aims to synthesize novel NanoHybrid Systems based on graphene, polymer, and AgNPs (namely, NanoHy-GPS) through an easy microwave irradiation approach free of reductants and surfactants. The polymer plays a crucial role, as it assures the coating layer/substrate compatibility making the platform easily adaptable for a specific substrate. AgNPs’ loading (from 5% to 87%) can be tuned by the amount of Silver salt used during the microwave-assisted reaction, obtaining spherical AgNPs with average sizes of 5–12 nm homogeneously distributed on a polymer-graphene nanosystem. Interestingly, microwave irradiation partially restored the graphene sp2 network without damage of ester bonds. The structure, morphology, and chemical composition of NanoHy-GPS and its subunits were characterized by means of UV-vis spectroscopy, thermal analysis, differential light scattering (DLS), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) techniques. A preliminary qualitative empirical assay against the typical bacterial load on common hand-contacted surfaces has been performed to assess the antibacterial properties of NanoHy-GPS, evidencing a significative reduction of bacterial colonies spreading

Gelso in Sicilia: qualità, caratterizzazione e comportamento dei frutti in post-raccolta

Il gelso è una pianta arborea originaria dell'Asia e della Persia, introdotta in Italia dai Romani per le sue proprietà medicinali, oltre che per fini alimentari. Si distinguono due specie principali, comunemente denominati: gelso bianco e nero. I frutti, tipiche more di colore bianco violaceo o nero, sono molto apprezzati dall'uomo sin dall'antichità, sebbene vengano spesso collocati tra i frutti minori per la loro scarsa diffusione commerciale. Oggi, l'elevato interesse per le proprietà nutraceutichedi tali frutti spinge gli agricoltori ad una rivalutazione della gelsicoltura. Punto dolente della commercializzazione del gelso è la gestione post-raccolta a causa della brevissima shelf-life dei frutti. Una corretta impostazione delle temperature permette di allungare proficuamente la vita commerciale del frutto che varia da cultivar a cultivar

La coltivazione del melograno in Sicilia: qualità dei frutti e adattamento di due cultivar

Nel presente lavoro sono stati monitorati gli stadi fenologici di due varietà di melograno durante una stagione produttiva al fine di studiarne l’evoluzione e l’adattamento utilizzando la scala BCH. I risultati hanno permesso di valutare l’andamento vegeto-produttivo di queste varietà di melograno in clima mediterraneo