Tear levels of neuropeptides increase after specific allergen challenge in allergic conjunctivitis

Growing evidence is showing a role of neurogenic inflammation in allergic reactions, with sensory and autonomic nerve fibers releasing neuromediators, which may actively participate in the allergic inflammatory cascade. Although the cornea is the most densely innervated tissue of the human body, little is known on the role of neuromediators at the ocular surface. In this study, we aimed at evaluating the role of substance P (SP), calcitonine gene related peptide (CGRP), neuropeptide Y (NPY) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in allergic reactions of the ocular surface

Informe campaña MAÍZ 2020 : Valle de Lerma / Salta

La producción de maíz ha cobrado importancia en el Valle de Lerma como cultivo de rotación de los cultivos de verano más importantes de la zona: tabaco y poroto, lo cual sumado a la necesidad de intensificar la producción por unidad de superficie y la integración con las actividades pecuarias intensivas (vacas, cerdo y aves), constituye un importante sistema de producción para los valles templados de Salta y Jujuy.Fil: Valdez Naval, Gabriela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: Failde, Viviana Norma. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: De Simone, Mario Eduardo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: Renfijes, Carlos Rolando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinFil: Speranza, Flavio Cesar. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Yuto; Argentina

Geosciences Roadmap for Research Infrastructures 2025 - 2028 by the Swiss Geosciences Community

This roadmap is the product of a grassroots effort by the Swiss Geosciences community. It is the first of its kind, outlining an integrated approach to research facilities for the Swiss Geosciences. It spans the planning period 2025-2028. Swiss Geoscience is by its nature leading or highly in-volved in research on many of the major national and global challenges facing society such as climate change and meteorological extreme events, environmental pol-lution, mass movements (land- and rock-slides), earth-quakes and seismic hazards, global volcanic hazards, and energy and other natural resources. It is essential to under- stand the fundamentals of the whole Earth system to pro-vide scientific guidelines to politicians, stakeholders and society for these pressing issues. Here, we strive to gain efficiency and synergies through an integrative approach to the Earth sciences. The research activities of indivi- dual branches in geosciences were merged under the roof of the 'Integrated Swiss Geosciences'. The goal is to facilitate multidisciplinary synergies and to bundle efforts for large research infrastructural (RI) requirements, which will re-sult in better use of resources by merging sectorial acti- vities under four pillars. These pillars represent the four key RIs to be developed in a synergistic way to improve our understanding of whole-system processes and me- chanisms governing the geospheres and the interactions among their components. At the same time, the roadmap provides for the required transition to an infrastructure adhering to FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) data principles by 2028.The geosciences as a whole do not primarily profit from a single large-scale research infrastructure investment, but they see their highest scientific potential for ground-break-ing new findings in joining forces in establishing state-of-the-art RI by bringing together diverse expertise for the benefit of the entire geosciences community. Hence, the recommendation of the geoscientific community to policy makers is to establish an integrative RI to support the ne- cessary breadth of geosciences in their endeavor to ad-dress the Earth system across the breadth of both temporal and spatial scales. It is also imperative to include suffi-cient and adequately qualified personnel in all large RIs. This is best achieved by fostering centers of excellence in atmospheric, environmental, surface processes, and deep Earth projects, under the roof of the 'Integrated Swiss Geosciences'. This will provide support to Swiss geo-sciences to maintain their long standing and internatio- nally well-recognized tradition of observation, monitor-ing, modelling and understanding of geosciences process-es in mountainous environments such as the Alps and beyond

Proceedings of the Fifth Italian Conference on Computational Linguistics CLiC-it 2018

On behalf of the Program Committee, a very warm welcome to the Fifth Italian Conference on Computational Linguistics (CLiC-­‐it 2018). This edition of the conference is held in Torino. The conference is locally organised by the University of Torino and hosted into its prestigious main lecture hall “Cavallerizza Reale”. The CLiC-­‐it conference series is an initiative of the Italian Association for Computational Linguistics (AILC) which, after five years of activity, has clearly established itself as the premier national forum for research and development in the fields of Computational Linguistics and Natural Language Processing, where leading researchers and practitioners from academia and industry meet to share their research results, experiences, and challenges

Variabilidad paleoclimática y cambios paleoambientales en la región Chaqueña semiárida Argentina

Els estudis paleoclimàtics i paleoambientals de l'holocè proporcionen informació rellevant sobre les tendències climàtiques a llarg termini necessàries per generar i provar hipòtesis sobre patrons i models climàtics, i per entendre els canvis ambientals recents. Si bé hi ha un nombre creixent d'aquests tipus d'estudis a Amèrica de Sud, encara hi ha extenses regions que no compten amb estudis detallats i d'alta resolució, tal com succeeix en el Chaco semiàrid. El present treball constitueix una aportació significativa per reduir la bretxa espacial d'informació sobre la variabilitat paleoclimàtica, la dinàmica del paisatge, i la transformació paleoambiental, a diferents escales espacials i temporals durant els últims segles a la regió semiàrida del Chaco argentí, mitjançant la vinculació i articulació d'una quantitat i diversitat significatives d'indicadors. Es van dur a terme estudis fluviomorfològics, geomorfològics, i seqüències sedimentàries mineralògiques i texturals de paleolits a la conca baixa del riu Bermejo, principal modelador del paisatge de la plana chaqueña semiàrida; anàlisis de registres multiparamètrics sedimentològics d'alta resolució (litologia, geoquímica, mineralogia) i palinològics de sediments lacustres de la Laguna Yema; construcció i anàlisis de cronologies de gruixos d'anells de l'espècie arbòria Schinopsis lorentzii, situats en un gradient latitudinal (Nord-Sud) a la regió chaqueña semiàrida d'Argentina i, complementàriament, es van emprar bases de dades d'estacions meteorològiques i hidrométriques de l'àrea d'estudi. Els nostres resultats i interpretacions constitueixen eines per ser emprades en la gestió integrada de recursos hídrics a la regió chaqueña semiàrida, on la deficiència en la disponibilitat d'aigua per la producció i consum humà i les inundacions són unes de les principals amenaces de la regió. Addicionalment, el nostre treball constitueix una entrada per a la gestió de l'ordenament ambiental i productiu del territori, on l'avanç de la frontera agropecuària per al desenvolupament de cultius extensius és el principal fenomen de canvi en la cobertura de terra, sent la seva sostenibilitat altament depenent de les variacions i estacionalitat climàtica.Los estudios paleoclimáticos y paleoambientales del holoceno proporcionan información relevante sobre las tendencias climáticas a largo plazo necesarias para generar y probar hipótesis sobre patrones y modelos climáticos y entender los cambios ambientales recientes. Si bien hay un número creciente de este tipo de estudios en América del Sur, todavía existen extensas regiones que no cuentan con estudios detallados y de alta resolución, tal como sucede en el Chaco semiárido. El presente trabajo constituye un aporte significativo para reducir la brecha espacial de información de la variabilidad paleoclimática, la dinámica del paisaje y la transformación paleoambiental, a distintas escalas espaciales y temporales, durante los últimos siglos en la región semiárida del Chaco argentino, mediante la vinculación y articulación de una significativa cantidad y diversidad de indicadores. Se llevaron a cabo estudios fluviomorfológicos, geomorfológicos y secuencias sedimentarias mineralógicas y texturales de paleocauces en la cuenca baja del río Bermejo, principal modelador del paisaje de la llanura chaqueña semiárida; análisis de registros multiparamétricos sedimentológicos de alta resolución (litología, geoquímica, mineralogía) y palinológicos de sedimentos lacustres de Laguna Yema; construcción y análisis de cronologías de ancho de anillos de la especie arbórea Schinopsis lorentzii, ubicados en un gradiente latitudinal (Norte-Sur) en la región chaqueña semiárida de Argentina y, complementariamente, se emplearon bases de datos de estaciones meteorológicas e hidrométricas dispuestas en el área de estudio. Nuestros resultados e interpretaciones constituyen herramientas para ser empleadas en la gestión integrada de recursos hídricos en la región chaqueña semiárida, en donde la deficiencia en la disponibilidad de agua para la producción y consumo humano y las inundaciones son unas de las principales amenazas de la región. Adicionalmente, nuestro trabajo constituye un insumo para la gestión del ordenamiento ambiental y productivo del territorio, en donde el avance de la frontera agropecuaria para el desarrollo de cultivos extensivos es el principal fenómeno de cambio en la cobertura del suelo, siendo su sustentabilidad altamente dependiente de las variaciones y estacionalidad climática.Paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental studies of the Holocene provide relevant information regarding climatic trends in the long-term, necessaries to generate and test hypothesis on climatic patterns and models, as well as understanding recent environmental changes. While an increasing number of these type of studies are being developed in South America, there are still large regions that do not have detailed and high resolution studies, as in the case of the semi-arid Chaco. This work constitutes a significant contribution in order to reduce the spatial information gap regarding paleoclimatic variability, landscape dynamics, and paleoenvironmental transformations, at different spatial and temporal scales, during the last centuries in the semi-arid region of Argentinian Chaco, through the linkage and articulation of a significant amount and diversity of indicators. A series of studies were conducted, including fluvialmorphological, geomorphological, and textural and mineralogical sedimentary sequences in the lower basin of the Bermejo River, the main landscape modeler of the semi-arid plains in Chaco; analysis of multi-parametric sedimentological records of high-resolution (lithology, geochemistry, mineralogy) and palynological from lake sediments in Laguna Yema; construction and analysis of tree-ring width chronologies of Schinopsis lorentzii, mainly located in an altitudinal gradient (North-South) of the semi-arid Chaco region in Argentina and, as a complement, databases from meteorological and hydrometric stations arranged in the study are were also consulted. Our results and interpretations constitute tools to be employed in the integrated management of hydric resources in the semi-arid Chaco, where deficiency in water availability for production and human consumption, as well as floods, are one of the main threats in the region. In addition to that, our investigation constitutes an input for the environmental and productive management of the territory, where the advance of the agricultural border for the development of extensive crops is the main change phenomenon in soil coverage, with a sustainability highly dependent of climatic variations and seasonality.Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Programa de Doctorat en Ecologia Terrestr

Polypyrrole coatings on rheocast aluminum-silicon alloy : A correlation between properties and electrodeposition conditions

The effect of the electrolyte composition and the deposition potential range on the physical properties and possible corrosion protection effect of polypyrrole coatings on rheocast aluminum–2.5 % silicon alloy is investigated. Solutions with different concentrations of sodium nitrate and an electron transfer mediator reagent were used for the electrodeposition. Polypyrrole coating is able to hinder the entrance of electrolyte. Upon the penetration of chloride ions, the coating can induce passivation of the alloy's surface by its reduction. The thickness of the coating and its ion-barrier properties, controlled by the electrodeposition conditions, are shown as the important factors influencing the protection efficiency. However, localized drastic galvanic coupling at the polypyrrole/aluminum interface forms blisters, causes failure, and limits the possible protection

Probabilistic assessment of structural operational efficiency in emergency limit conditions: the I.OPÃ .CLE method

One major issue in the aftermath of a strong earthquake is the emergency management, which cannot be guaranteed if the physical components necessary for the operability of the contingency plan are either damaged, unusable or inaccessible. In order to assess the physical efficiency of the emergency system on which a contingency plan is based, the I.OPà.CLE method (Indices for evaluation of the Operational efficiency of Limit Condition Emergency) has been set up by the Italian Civil Protection Department. It is basically aimed at supporting civil protection decision makers in evaluating emergency systems and establishing strategies and priorities concerning strengthening interventions at national, regional or municipality level. The method must be potentially applied to any of the around 8000 municipalities all over Italy, and then it must refer to a minimum information dataset readily available for any municipality. Therefore, I.OPà.CLE has been specifically tailored for the minimum standard information that is provided by the analysis of Limit Condition for Emergency, as formulated in 2012 by the Italian Civil Protection Department. This analysis defines the standard framework of the physical layout of a municipal seismic emergency plan, relying on a limited number of information. Notwithstanding the numerically extensive target and limited amount of information available, the ambition of I.OPà.CLE is to perform simplified analyses without renouncing to rigor in the methodology. The present paper illustrates the analytic formulation of I.OPà.CLE and its capabilities, as well as two real examples. In the conclusion, future upgrading of the model are discussed, even in relation to the availability of further pieces of information

Deposition and characterization of cerium-based conversion coating on HPDC low Si content aluminum alloy

Cerium-based conversion coatings were deposited on high pressure die cast (HPDC) Al-Si alloys using an immersion method. Hydrogen peroxide and sodium chloride were added to the conversion solution to accelerate the coating formation and to understand its formation mechanism. These studies showed that the deposition of cerium hydroxide/oxide conversion layer starts from iron-rich intermetallic particles, which are located inside the eutectic region and then the coating growth continues to cover the entire alloy surface. This phenomenon passivates the active interfaces between iron-rich intermetallic particles and/or the eutectic silicon phase and the aluminum matrix, which are prone to localized corrosion in chloride ions containing environments. Accordingly, values of the total impedance in EIS measurements significantly increased for the treated substrates. Morphologies of the conversion coatings and the oxidation state of cerium compounds were found to be dependent on the composition of the solution and the presence of chloride ions and/or hydrogen peroxide. Aluminum alloy with higher silicon content showed a more active surface during immersion in the conversion solution. This makes it more difficult to be treated using aggressive conversion solutions

Deposition and Characterization of Cerium-Based Conversion Coating on HPDC Low Si Content Aluminum Alloy

Cerium-based conversion coatings were deposited on high pressure die cast (HPDC) Al-Si alloys using an immersion method. Hydrogen peroxide and sodium chloride were added to the conversion solution to accelerate the coating formation and to understand its formation mechanism. These studies showed that the deposition of cerium hydroxide/ oxide conversion layer starts from iron-rich intermetallic particles, which are located inside the eutectic region and then the coating growth continues to cover the entire alloy surface. This phenomenon passivates the active interfaces between iron-rich intermetallic particles and/ or the eutectic silicon phase and the aluminum matrix, which are prone to localized corrosion in chloride ions containing environments. Accordingly, values of the total impedance in EIS measurements significantly increased for the treated substrates. Morphologies of the conversion coatings and the oxidation state of cerium compounds were found to be dependent on the composition of the solution and the presence of chloride ions and/ or hydrogen peroxide. Aluminum alloy with higher silicon content showed a more active surface during immersion in the conversion solution. This makes it more difficult to be treated using aggressive conversion solutions.