External Shape Differences between Sympatric Populations of Commercial Clams <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tapes decussatus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">T. philippinarum</Emphasis>

The actual Italian production of clams is chiefly sustained by the native Tapes decussatus and the fortuitously imported Tapes philippinarum. Both species are commercialized as “Vongola verace”, but the commercial value of T. philippinarum is lower. The discrimination of species by sight is usually difficult and it cannot be done by observation based on shell morphology but only when animals open their valves hence displaying the two siphons. In this study, we propose a new, noninvasive method to discriminate individuals of both species based on the analysis of the external shape of their shells. Accordingly, in sympatric populations at two sites of the Po river outlet, we have chosen individuals (63 for T. decussatus and 57 for T. philippinarum) of comparable commercial size for which a certain genetic discrimination was previously done. Pictures of the left side valve were taken for all specimens. Their profiles were analyzed with the elliptic Fourier analysis. The mean outline for each species was graphically extracted. The coefficients of the harmonic equations were analyzed by multivariate classification (partial least squares discriminant analysis [PLSDA]). Results showed a high percentage of correct classification of individuals of both species (96.6%). Contour analysis reflected the overall shell shape and thus identified morphological aspects that were difficult to recognize and quantify in sight. The high percentage of correct classifications obtained by combining the analysis of elliptic Fourier harmonics with PLSDA demonstrated the feasibility of this method to discriminate species with a high level of resemblance.     

Systematic Review on Tumor Microenvironment in Glial Neoplasm: From Understanding Pathogenesis to Future Therapeutic Perspectives

Despite the multidisciplinary management in the treatment of glioblastomas, the average survival of GBM patients is still 15 months. In recent years, molecular biomarkers have gained more and more importance both in the diagnosis and therapy of glial tumors. At the same time, it has become clear that non neoplastic cells, which constitute about 30% of glioma mass, dramatically influence tumor growth, spread, and recurrence. This is the main reason why, in recent years, scientific research has been focused on understanding the function and the composition of tumor microenvironment and its role in gliomagenesis and recurrence. The aim of this review is to summarize the most recent discovery about resident microglia, tumor-associated macrophages, lymphocytes, and the role of extracellular vesicles and their bijective interaction with glioma cells. Moreover, we reported the most recent updates about new therapeutic strategies targeting immune system receptors and soluble factors. Understanding how glioma cells interact with non-neoplastic cells in tumor microenvironment is an essential step to comprehend mechanisms at the base of disease progression and to find new therapeutic strategies for GBM patients. However, no significant results have yet been obtained in studies targeting single molecules/pathways; considering the complex microenvironment, it is likely that only by using multiple therapeutic agents acting on multiple molecular targets can significant results be achieved.     

Pressure‐Tunable Ambipolar Conduction and Hysteresis in Thin Palladium Diselenide Field Effect Transistors

Few‐layer palladium diselenide (PdSe₂) field effect transistors are studied under external stimuli such as electrical and optical fields, electron irradiation, and gas pressure. The ambipolar conduction and hysteresis are observed in the transfer curves of the as‐exfoliated and unprotected PdSe₂ material. The ambipolar conduction and its hysteretic behavior in the air and pure nitrogen environments are tuned. The prevailing p‐type transport observed at atmospheric pressure is reversibly turned into a dominant n‐type conduction by reducing the pressure, which can simultaneously suppress the hysteresis. The pressure control can be exploited to symmetrize and stabilize the transfer characteristics of the device as required in high‐performance logic circuits. The transistors are affected by trap states with characteristic times in the order of minutes. The channel conductance, dramatically reduced by the electron irradiation during scanning electron microscope imaging, is restored after an annealing of several minutes at room temperature. The work paves the way toward the exploitation of PdSe₂ in electronic devices by providing an experiment‐based and deep understanding of charge transport in PdSe₂ transistors subjected to electrical stress and other external agents.     

Nonlinear model identification and see-through cancelation from recto–verso data

The problem of see-through cancelation in digital images of double-sided documents is addressed. We show that a nonlinear convolutional data model proposed elsewhere for moderate show-through can also be effective on strong back-to-front interferences, provided that the recto and verso pure patterns are estimated jointly. To this end, we propose a restoration algorithm that does not need any classification of the pixels. The see-through PSFs are estimated off-line, and an iterative procedure is then employed for a joint estimation of the pure patterns. This simple and fast algorithm can be used on both grayscale and color images and has proved to be very effective in real-world cases. The experimental results we report in this paper demonstrate that our algorithm outperforms the ones based on linear models with no need to tune free parameters and remains computationally inexpensive despite the nonlinear model and the iterative solution adopted. Strategies to overcome some of the residual difficulties are also envisaged.     

呼吸房子——现代沙特房屋

项目地点:沙特阿拉伯利雅得项目类型:建筑(住宅)开工日期:未知该项目获2005年豪瑞可持续建筑大奖赛非洲中东地区提名奖     

Synthesis and thermal properties of hetero-bifunctional PLA oligomers and their stereocomplexes

Hetero-telechelic, low-molecular-weight polylactides (PLAs) were prepared by the zinc-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of l-lactide or d-lactide using functional initiators and subsequent reaction with termination reagents, yielding –OH, –COOH, –NH₂ and –SH as functional chain ends. Structural characterization was performed by molecular weight analysis, NMR spectroscopy and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The thermal behavior of the species was investigated by DSC, which revealed that the modification of the hydroxyl terminus lowered the number of lactic acid units within a PLA chain that can effectively participate in crystallization. Both the T_m and ΔH_m values for these polymers were lower compared to those of PLAs of comparable chain length with no modification of the hydroxyl end-group. In stereocomplexes prepared from equimolar amounts of the hetero-telechelic PLLAs and PDLAs, this suppressive effect on T_m and ΔH_m was also observed. Modification of the hydroxyl ends to produce –COOH, –NH₂ and –SH end groups reduced the stereocomplex T_m values to ～10–20 °C. The lower limit for the crystallization of the stereocomplexes was found at a DP of 5.     

The underground cavity network of south-eastern Rome (Italy): an evolutionary geological model oriented to hazard assessment

There are many abandoned underground mines beneath the city of Rome, created in the Pleistocene pyroclastic deposits over thousands of years. These pose a serious public safety risk hence the study was undertaken to better assess the stability of the underground workings. The Villa de Sanctis public park was selected as a suitable test site, as in this area the cavity network can be inspected and the different steps of the progressive migration of voids toward the surface can be identified. In addition to an underground geological survey, geophysical investigations were undertaken to elucidate some key characteristics of the involved lithological units, including elastic stiffness and layer thickness. Recommendations are made for further studies of the accessible and inaccessible areas.     

Case Study: Seismic Upgrade of a Masonry Bell Tower Using Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Ties

In many cases masonry buildings present structural problems related to development of local mechanisms under seismic actions. The solution to this weakness has to be chosen taking into account several aspects if the construction is ancient and is gifted of monumental significance. In this paper the case of the Bell Tower of Santa Maria del Carmine (Napoli, Italy) is discussed; the construction has been deeply examined by the writers performing experimental inquires in situ and theoretical analysis with three-dimensional models. While the results obtained in the hypothesis of compact behavior of the structure have pointed out a low risk condition under seismic actions, in contrast the study of local out-of-plane mechanisms, dealt with in detail in this paper, have evidenced an unsafe situation. To avoid such mechanisms, connective systems with tie rods made of glass fiber-reinforced polymer laminates have been designed to be inserted where local verifications are not satisfied. Design, application, and monitoring procedures of this innovative intervention are discussed in detail herein.     

Colour features and pigment composition of Italian carbonic macerated red wines

Thirty commercially available Italian carbonic macerated young red wines, have been analysed by HPLC–DAD–MS with the aim to characterise their pigment composition and find possible correlations with the colour features evaluated by means of spectrophotometric measurements. The composition in anthocyanin monoglucosides, acetates, p-coumarates as well as that in pyranoanthocyanins and direct and ethyl-bridged adducts with flavanols, was studied. Because of the peculiar maceration process, carbonic macerated wines demonstrated to be qualitatively rich in pyranoanthocyanins and pigment adducts. A number of ethyl-bridged anthocyanin isomers was found, together with significant contents of vitisin A and vitisin B (up to 15.5 mg/L as a sum). Malvidin-3-glc-4-vinylphenol was the main pyranoanthocyanin-vinylphenol adduct (up to 1.10 mg/L). The colour features of the wines were broadly distributed as a consequence of the percentage of carbonic macerated wine present in the marketed product. The statistical treatment of the entire data set revealed that pyranoanthocyanins are positively correlated with colour density (while no correlation was found for monoglucosides) and that direct adducts and/or ethyl-bridged compounds can play a role for what concerns the hue of carbonic macerated wines.