The aeolian project: a MAB‐UNESCO investigation to promote sustainable tourism in the mediterranean area

The Aeolian archipelago is undergoing social and economical changes that threaten its natural and cultural patrimony, which is also the essence of a tourist appeal, as an image of uncontaminated sites, where nature's ancestral phenomena and seasonal rhythms are experienced. Salina island may serve as a prototype for exploring the possibility of implementing conservation strategies compatible with human needs, landscape preservation and sustainable economic development. By means of the CORINE methodology, “ecological sensitivity” (from a functional viewpoint) and “ecological vulnerability” (either physical or ecological) maps have been drawn to objectively quantify the environmental risk. Some final remarks are devoted to clarify the concepts of “environmental perception” and “citizens’ consent”.     

Dual Stimuli Responsive Gelatin‐CNT Hybrid Films as a Versatile Tool for the Delivery of Anionic Drugs

Hybrid hydrogel films able to modulate the release of anionic species, ketoprofen (Ket) and bovine serum albumin (BSA), as a function of their molecular size are prepared by UV‐induced polymerization of methacrylated gelatin in the presence of oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNT_COOH). The dual‐stimuli responsive composites can modulate the release in response to the variation of temperature and the application of an external voltage. Drug release profiles, analyzed by mathematical models, show that different temperatures (25 and 45 °C) and applied voltages (0 and 36 V) have a different effect on the release of the two therapeutics. Ket release is enhanced at 45 °C (77% vs 22% at 25 °C) with the maximum value recorded when 36 V is applied (94%). An increase in the amount of released BSA is recorded at 45 °C (96% vs 50% at 25 °C), while the application of the external voltage reduces this value (39%).

     

Deposition of few layer graphene nanowalls at the electrodes during electric field-assisted laser ablation of carbon in water

We have observed the nucleation and growth of carbon nanowalls at the electrode surface during laser ablation experiments conducted in water under the presence of an electric field. The nanowalls consist graphene sheets (2–6 layers) in a flower-like arrangement which uniformly cover the whole electrode surface. The deposition mechanism and the role of the plasma-produced carbon species are discussed.     

Chiral nano-liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry applied to amino acids analysis for orange juice profiling

Determination of amino acid enantiomers is a very important topic in food analysis, since the presence of d-isomers may indicate, e.g., adulteration, microbiological contamination, uncontrolled fermentation processes, etc. In fact, the d- and l-enantiomers contents can be a useful marker for several elements such as quality control, contamination detection, processing monitoring, etc. Here we studied the potentiality of nano-liquid chromatography (nano-LC) coupled with mass spectrometry for the enantiomeric separation of several d- and l-amino acids that can be found in food products. Analytes were derivatized with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). The mixture was injected and compounds focused on a C18 cartridge, then nano-LC analysis was carried out in a capillary column (75 μm i.d.) packed with vancomycin-modified silica–diol particles. The effect of some experimental parameters, such as pH and buffer concentration on enantioresolution and retention factors, was studied for method optimization. The chromatographic separation system was coupled with an ion-trap mass spectrometer through a nano spray interface. It provided a final evaluation on analytes detected in all investigated samples with LOD values as low as 8 ng/mL. That method was applied to the comparative analysis of two different orange juice samples (fresh natural vs. commercial one). Obtained profiles confirmed expected high quality standards. In fact, they mainly contained l-amino acids forms and not their antipodes.     

A fully automatic method for biological target volume segmentation of brain metastases

Leksell Gamma Knife is a mini‐invasive technique to obtain a complete destruction of cerebral lesions delivering a single high dose radiation beam. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging is increasingly utilized for radiation treatment planning. Nevertheless, lesion volume delineation in PET datasets is challenging because of the low spatial resolution and high noise level of PET images. Nowadays, the biological target volume (BTV) is manually contoured on PET studies. This procedure is time expensive and operator‐dependent. In this article, a fully automatic algorithm for the BTV delineation based on random walks (RW) on graphs is proposed. The results are compared with the outcomes of the original RW method, 40% thresholding method, region growing method, and fuzzy c‐means clustering method. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in a clinical environment, BTV segmentation on 18 patients with cerebral metastases is performed. Experimental results show that the segmentation algorithm is accurate and has real‐time performance satisfying the physician requirements in a radiotherapy environment.     

Training and assessing numerical abilities across the lifespan with intelligent systems: The example of Baldo

Baldo is an intelligent system that can be used to assess and train numerical abilities across the lifespan, especially for children and elderly. Baldo includes digital and tangible materials to propose activities, built on the game-based learning approach, strongly grounded on well-known and experimentally supported theories about numerical and mathematical cognition. Moreover, Baldo has a special module devoted to motivational and affective dimensions related to mathematic cognition and a tutoring system to select specific activities that are adequate to the actual and potential level of the people involved in the training pathway.     

Teachers' perceptions of their relationships with students: Effects of child age, gender, and ethnicity of teachers and children.

This study assessed the extent to which teachers' perceptions of their relationships with young students varied as a function of child and teacher characteristics in a large, demographically diverse sample of 197 preschool and kindergarten teachers and 840 children (mean age 4 yrs 7 mo old). Children were approximately evenly divided between boys and girls. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the relation between teachers' perceptions of their relationships with students and (a) teacher ethnicity, (b) child age, ethnicity, and gender, and (c) the ethnic match between teacher and child. Child age and ethnicity and teacher–child ethnic match were consistently related to teachers perceptions, explaining up to 27% of the variance in perceptions of negative aspects of the teacher–child relationship, specifically teacher–child conflict. When child and teacher had the same ethnicity, teachers rated their relationships with children more positively. The results are discussed in terms of classroom social processes related to children's adjustment and the measurement of teacher–child relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moisture buffering capacity of highly absorbing materials

This research investigates the possibility to use highly absorbing materials to dampen indoor RH% variations. The practical MBV of sodium polyacrylate, cellulose-based material, perlite and gypsum is evaluated for a daily cyclic exposure that alternates high (75%) and low (33%) RH% levels for 8 h and 16 h, respectively. The adjustment velocity to RH% variations and the presence of hysteretic phenomena are also presented. The cellulose-based material proves to be the most suitable for moisture buffering applications. Starting from this material’s properties, the effect of thickness, vapour resistance factor (μ) and mass surface exchange coefficient (Z_v) on sorption capacity is evaluated by the use of a numerical model.