Editorial: Nutritional modulation of central nervous system development, maintenance, plasticity, and recovery

No abstrac

Sustainability achievements in building regulations. The example of Bologna

The urban development in the last decades has meant for most cities a significant increasing of land consumption and waste of natural resources. Despite the process of urban sprawl is now being reduced, there is an urgent need for corrective measures to qualify the existing town, according to more sustainable principles.The city of Bologna has recently developed new tools, in order to promote a social and economic growth without affecting the urban and environmental quality. This article aims to describe the achievements of the innovative requirements in the new Town Planning Building Regulations, to analyse their effect, in relation to the reduction of use of natural resources and the improvement of environmental quality of the interventions

Conserving indigenous crayfish: stock assessment and habitat requirements in the threatened Austropotamobius italicus.

International audienceAs part of the Austropotamobius pallipes species complex, the crayfish Austropotamobius italicus is a species of community interest whose preservation requires the designation of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) (Annex II, EU Habitats Directive). This study aimed at (1) assessing the conservation status of this threatened indigenous species by stock assessment in central Italy and (2) identifying some aspects of its elective habitat

Scattering from Singular Potentials in Quantum Mechanics

In non-relativistic quantum mechanics, singular potentials in problems with spherical symmetry lead to a Schrodinger equation for stationary states with non-Fuchsian singularities both as r tends to zero and as r tends to infinity. In the sixties, an analytic approach was developed for the investigation of scattering from such potentials, with emphasis on the polydromy of the wave function in the r variable. The present paper extends those early results to an arbitrary number of spatial dimensions. The Hill-type equation which leads, in principle, to the evaluation of the polydromy parameter, is obtained from the Hill equation for a two-dimensional problem by means of a simple change of variables. The asymptotic forms of the wave function as r tends to zero and as r tends to infinity are also derived. The Darboux technique of intertwining operators is then applied to obtain an algorithm that makes it possible to solve the Schrodinger equation with a singular potential containing many negative powers of r, if the exact solution with even just one term is already known.Comment: 19 pages, plain Tex. In this revised version, the analysis of Eq. (5.29) has been amended, and an appendix has been added for completenes

Coherent Vector Meson Photo-Production from Deuterium at Intermediate Energies

We analyze the cross section for vector meson photo-production off a deuteron for the intermediate range of photon energies starting at a few GeVs above the threshold and higher. We reproduce the steps in the derivation of the conventional non-relativistic Glauber expression based on an effective diagrammatic method while making corrections for Fermi motion and intermediate energy kinematic effects. We show that, for intermediate energy vector meson production, the usual Glauber factorization breaks down and we derive corrections to the usual Glauber method to linear order in longitudinal nucleon momentum. The purpose of our analysis is to establish methods for probing interesting physics in the production mechanism for phi-mesons and heavier vector mesons. We demonstrate how neglecting the breakdown of Glauber factorization can lead to errors in measurements of basic cross sections extracted from nuclear data.Comment: 41 pages, 13 figures, figure 9 is compressed from previous version, typos fixe

Finite formation time effects in quasi-elastic (e,e′)(e,e') scattering on nuclear targets

The problem of the final state interaction in quasi-elastic $(e,e')$ scattering at large $Q^2$, is investigated by exploiting the idea that the ejected nucleon needs a finite amount of time to assume its asymptotic form. It is shown that when the dependence of the scattering amplitude of the ejected nucleon on its virtuality is taken into account, the final state interaction is decreased. The developed approach is simpler to implement than the one based on the color transparency description of the damping of the final state interaction, and is essentially equivalent to the latter in the case of the single rescattering term. The $(e,e')$ process on the deuteron is numerically investigated and it is shown that, at $x=1$, appreciable finite formation time effects at $Q^2$ of the order of 10 (GeV/c)$^2$ are expected.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figure

Electro-Thermal Parameters of Graphene Nano-Platelets Films for De-Icing Applications

This paper provides a study of some relevant electro-thermal properties of commercial films made by pressed graphene nano-platelets (GNPs), in view of their use as heating elements in innovative de-icing systems for aerospace applications. The equivalent electrical resistivity and thermal emissivity were studied, by means of models and experimental characterization. Macroscopic strips with a length on the order of tens of centimeters were analyzed, either made by pure GNPs or by composite mixtures of GNPs and a small percentage of polymeric binders. Analytical models are derived and experimentally validated. The thermal response of these graphene films when acting as a heating element is studied and discussed

Impact of galactooligosaccharides delivered in ovo on mitigating negative effects of heat stress on performance and welfare of broilers

Galactooligosaccharides (GOS) delivered in ovo improve intestinal health of broiler chickens. This study aimed to demonstrate the impact of in ovo stimulation with GOS prebiotic on day 12 of egg incubation on performance and welfare traits in broiler chickens. The incubating eggs were divided into 3 groups, based on the substance injected in ovo: 3.5 mg of GOS dissolved in 0.2 mL physiological saline (GOS), 0.2 mL physiological saline (S), or uninjected controls (C). Constant heat stress (HS) was induced on days 32 to 42 post-hatch by increasing environmental temperature to 30\ub0C. Thermoneutral (TN) animals were kept at 25\ub0C. The performance (body weight [BW], daily feed intake [DFI], daily weight gain [DWG], and feed conversion rate [FCR]) were measured and mortality was scored for starter (days 0 to 13), grower (days 14 to 27), and finisher (days 28 to 42) feeding phases. Rectal temperature was scored on days 32 to 42. Food-pad dermatitis (FPD) was scored post-mortem (day 42). GOS increased (P < 0.01) BW on day 42 (2.892 kg in GOS vs. 2.758 kg in C). Heat stress significantly reduced (P < 0.01) final BW (2.516 kg in TN vs. 3.110 kg in HS). During finisher phase, DFI was significantly higher in GOS vs. C (173.2 g vs. 165.7 g; P < 0.05). FCR calculated for the entire rearing period (days 0 to 42) ranged from 1.701 in C to 1.653 in GOS (P < 0.05). GOS improved FCR in HS animals during finisher phase (P < 0.05). Rectal temperature of GOS chickens under HS reached 42.5\ub0C 1 day earlier than C and S (P < 0.05), which suggests that those birds recovered earlier from the high environmental temperature. Heat stress increased (P < 0.05) mortality about 5 times compared to TN during finisher phase (from 1.59% in TN to 7.69% in HS). GOS decreased FPD in TN conditions by 20% (no lesions in 81% in GOS vs. 60% in C). GOS delivered in ovo mitigated negative effects of HS on performance and welfare in broiler chickens