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The human vasculature is essential in organs and tissues for the transport of nutrients, metabolic waste products, and the maintenance of homeostasis. The integration of vessels in in vitro organs-on-chip may, therefore, improve the similarity to the native organ microenvironment, ensuring proper physiological functions and reducing the gap between experimental research and clinical outcomes. This gap is particularly evident in drug testing and the use of vascularized models may provide more realistic insights into human responses to drugs in the pre-clinical phases of the drug development pipeline. In this context, different vascularized liver models have been developed to recapitulate the architecture of the hepatic sinusoid, exploiting either porous membranes or bioprinting techniques. In this work, we developed a method to generate perfusable vascular channels with a circular cross section within organs-on-chip without any interposing material between the parenchyma and the surrounding environment. Through this technique, vascularized liver sinusoid-on-chip systems with and without the inclusion of the space of Disse were designed and developed. The recapitulation of the Disse layer, therefore, a gap between hepatocytes and endothelial cells physiologically present in the native liver milieu, seems to enhance hepatic functionality (e.g., albumin production) compared to when hepatocytes are in close contact with endothelial cells. These findings pave the way to numerous further uses of microfluidic technologies coupled with vascularized tissue models (e.g., immune system perfusion) as well as the integration within multiorgan-on-chip settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately georeferenced data acquired using mobile mapping systems is of great importance for many geospatial applications. The accuracy of direct georeferencing – the standard procedure in the field of outdoor mobile mapping – strongly relies on GNSS reception and therefore varies greatly depending on the environment. By incorporating control point observations, integrated georeferencing enables homogenous accuracy and reliability over the whole mapping perimeter. Unfortunately, exact measurement and documentation of control points is needed, which often must be done manually. To automate this process, approaches from the field of autonomous vehicles use pole-like objects to support localization in complex urban environments, with the disadvantage of requiring a prior mapping campaign. However, various classes of pole-like objects have been recorded with accurate location and entered in public cadastres, so they could serve as 2D control points. In this paper, we present an approach for improving the trajectory accuracy in challenging urban environments by means of integrated georeferencing. It uses range image observations to pole-like objects from publicly available cadastres. Our approach achieves sub-metre accuracy, with a maximal cross-track difference of 98 cm, using real-world data acquired with our low-cost mobile mapping system. We further demonstrate that it significantly improves discontinuities and inaccuracy peaks in direct georeferencing and that the limiting factors are errors in the depth estimation of available range imaging sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a methodology for recording and documenting building processes using an anthropological approach. The village of Esfahak, in the region of South Khorasan (Iran) is situated in an arid environment scarce in water and trees. These conditions have resulted in the development of building forms that are almost entirely made out of earth. For centuries houses have been erected by local master masons utilizing only mud bricks and without the use of any architectural drawings. This research seeks to document how building processes unfold and are implemented in the village, for both restoration and new constructions. The researcher undertakes ethnographic fieldwork examining the relationship between villagers and their architecture. This approach is based on participant observation, engaging the local community to study how buildings were and are conceived, constructed, inhabited, maintained and restored. Moreover, the research employs an apprentice-style fieldwork method to access building sites. Thus, the researcher learns by doing with masons as a way to embody local knowledge, and not merely through passive observation. The work on site, given its processual nature, is documented through audio-visual recordings from both an external and first-person perspective. The use of head-mounted cameras facilitates review and discussion of building processes with the masons allowing for an in-depth understanding of this craft practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explains the thermal behavior of the coercivity and remanence of melt-spun copper-cobalt ribbons using Monte Carlo simulations and a model of balance between the magnetization of superparamagnetic and blocked granules of cobalt. Monte Carlo simulations; Balance model of coercivity; Conclusions.

Molecular species recognition and identification, based on the mitochondrial cox1 and on the nuclear ITS2, were performed on individuals of Torymus sinensis collected in Italy, on its close relative T. beneficus and on native torymids. The automatic-gap-discovery (ABGD) analyses correctly separate almost all morphospecies. On the basis of cox1 , individuals of late-spring T. beneficus clustered with T. sinensis, and those identified as early-spring T. beneficus were recognized as a separate entity. Whereas, T. beneficus ecotypes clustered with T. sinensis on the basis of ITS2. Coalescent tree-based methods confirmed these results. The cox1- based recognition of early-spring T. beneficus as a separate phylospecies led us to conclude that this taxon deserves to be treated as a valid species, whereas individuals identified as late-spring T. beneficus might be considered as part of T. sinensis. Morphological identification and BLAST analyses confirmed that no T. beneficus was imported into Italy to control Dryocosmus kuriphilus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Ultraviolet (UV)‐C irradiation is used for the reduction of microbial spoilage in food. Its effectiveness for the treatment of white grape must has been investigated considering different microbial species and modification of must composition. Methods and Results: Static and dynamic laboratory‐scale systems emitting at 254 nm were used for the treatment of Vitis vinifera cv. Chardonnay and cv. Crimson grape juices of variable turbidity. The must samples were singularly inoculated with a pure culture of wine spoilage strains belonging to three species, Dekkera bruxellensis, Acetobacter aceti and Lactobacillus brevis, and treated with UV‐C ranging from 300 to 1800 J/L. Cell counts and microbial reduction (derived from α values, according to the Weibull model), colour change, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) inactivation and formation of α‐dicarbonyl compounds were evaluated. After treatment at the maximum UV‐C dosage under static conditions, reductions of yeast counts of 4.91–5.99 log10 colony‐forming units (CFU)/mL and bacterial counts of 4.12–5.05 log10 CFU/mL were achieved, depending on the strain being tested. Polyphenol oxidase activity decreased by up to 7.8 ± 1.4% with variation attributed to must turbidity, which indicated that clarification of must before UV‐C treatment can lead to PPO inactivation. No significant variation in the colour or the concentration of α‐dicarbonyl compounds was detected. Results were confirmed for grape juice with the continuous flow apparatus. Conclusions: The UV‐C systems achieved microbial reduction without formation of oxidative compounds, suggesting that the experimental conditions employed did not cause any noticeable oxidative phenomena. Significance of the Study: The UV‐C treatment of grape juice can be considered a potential alternative to sulfur dioxide addition for processing of white must. Improved efficacy of treatment can be achieved by increasing the flow rate and by clarification of must, making the system potentially applicable under industrial conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a stochastic model, previously proposed for the maximum daily temperature, has been improved for the combined analysis of mean daily temperature and diurnal temperature range. In particular, the procedure applied to each variable sequentially performs the deseasonalization, by means of truncated Fourier series expansions, and the normalization of the temperature data, with the use of proper transformation functions. Then, a joint stochastic analysis of both the climatic variables has been performed by means of a FARIMA model, taking into account the stochastic dependency between the variables, namely introducing a cross-correlation between the standardized noises. The model has been applied to five daily temperature series of southern Italy. After the application of a Monte Carlo simulation procedure, the return periods of the joint behavior of the mean daily temperature and the diurnal temperature range have been evaluated. Moreover, the annual maxima of the temperature excursions in consecutive days have been analyzed for the synthetic series. The results obtained showed different behaviors probably linked to the distance from the sea and to the latitude of the station. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Andaluza de Medicina del Deporte is the property of Centro Andaluza de Medicina del Deporte and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, an investigation of the temporal rainfall variability, in a large area of southern Italy, has been carried out using a homogeneous monthly rainfall dataset of 559 rain gauges with more than 50 years of observation. The area under investigation is a large portion of the Italian peninsula, ranging from the Campania and the Apulia regions in the North, to Sicily in the South, and covering an area of about 85,000 km2. Possible trends in seasonal and annual rainfall values have been detected by means of a new graphical technique, Şen's method, which allows the trend identification of the low, medium and high values of a series. Moreover, the Mann-Kendall test has been also applied. As a result, different values and tendencies of the highest and of the lowest rainfall data have emerged among the five regions considered in the analysis. In particular, at seasonal scale, a negative trend has been detected especially in winter and in autumn in the whole study area, whereas not well defined trend signals have been identified in summer and spring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study that reported observation of carbon dioxide laser-induced photoeffects in germanium and PAsGa junctions. Methodology of the study; Results and discussion on the study.

Spontaneous dissection of cervical arteries (sCAD) is a major cause of ischemic stroke in young patients, with an incidence varying from 1.7 to 3/100,000/year for extracranial internal carotid artery (ICAD) and 1 to 1.9/100,000/year for extracranial vertebral artery (VAD). Reliable epidemiological data on stroke incidence related to sCAD are scarce in Italy. This study aims to evaluate the incidence, clinical features, and outcome of cerebrovascular events related to sCAD and spontaneous intracranial arteries dissections (sIAD) in the city of Pisa (Italy). We retrospectively analyzed consecutive patients admitted between December 1997 and June 2015 with a diagnosis of stroke, TIA, or Bernard-Horner syndrome due to acute cervical or intracranial artery dissection. Considering that our hospital collects presumptively all patients hospitalized with sCAD coming from the referral geographical area, data may provide a good approximation to real incidence of sCAD in our population. Clinical and radiological features, acute treatment and outcome were collected. Seventy-seven cases were included (mean age 48.1±10.4 years, range 23-77,72.7% males), 66 residents in the district of Pisa. Crude incidence rate of cerebrovascular events due to intra or extracranial dissection was 1.88/100,000/year. The incidence of ICAD was 0.80/100,000/year and 0.43/100,000/year for VAD. Stroke occurred in 76.6% of patients. VAD was more prone to cause ischemic stroke and present with cervical pain or focal signs (p < 0.01) than ICAD group, which had older age at onset. sIAD were more frequent in the posterior circle (p = 0.01) and more associated with ischemic lesions. A good outcome (mRS 0-2) was observed in 79% of patients. This is the first epidemiological attempt to investigate impact of sCAD and sIAD in Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a stochastic model for the analysis of the daily maximum temperature is proposed. First, a deseasonalization procedure based on the truncated Fourier expansion is adopted. Then, the Johnson transformation functions were applied for the data normalization. Finally, the fractionally autoregressive integrated moving average model was used to reproduce both short- and long-memory behavior of the temperature series. The model was applied to the data of the Cosenza gauge (Calabria region) and verified on other four gauges of southern Italy. Through a Monte Carlo simulation procedure based on the proposed model, 10 years of daily maximum temperature have been generated. Among the possible applications of the model, the occurrence probabilities of the annual maximum values have been evaluated. Moreover, the procedure was applied for the estimation of the return periods of long sequences of days with maximum temperature above prefixed thresholds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analyses of temperature extremes can be very useful because they are highly representative of the climatic tendency of an area. In this study, 19 temperature series registered in southern Italy have been analysed for detecting trends through the Mann–Kendall non-parametric test. The tendencies have been detected since 1951 for the maximum and minimum monthly temperatures and for several indices of daily extremes. As a result, the minimum and maximum monthly temperatures mainly denote a positive trend for spring and summer months and a marked negative one in September. Moreover, the trend analysis on the extreme temperature indices shows opposite behaviours: a clear positive tendency in the frequency and intensity of the highest values and some negative trends for the lowest ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The analyses of temperature extremes can be very useful because they are highly representative of the climatic tendency of an area. In this study, 19 temperature series registered in southern Italy have been analysed for detecting trends through the Mann-Kendall non-parametric test. The tendencies have been detected since 1951 for the maximum and minimum monthly temperatures and for several indices of daily extremes. As a result, the minimum and maximum monthly temperatures mainly denote a positive trend for spring and summer months and a marked negative one in September. Moreover, the trend analysis on the extreme temperature indices shows opposite behaviours: a clear positive tendency in the frequency and intensity of the highest values and some negative trends for the lowest ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COPD is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Pharmacotherapy improves quality of life and reduces exacerbations although low adherence with prescribed treatments may represent a barrier to optimal disease management. The first objective of this paper is to report the distribution of COPD patients according to GOLD categories, in a sample of patients from a cohort study in an area of the Latium region in Italy. The second objective is to evaluate the agreement between the distributions of severity obtained from the HCPs and the experts included in the study board (Board). Methods: COPD patients were given a card to collect demographic and clinical data at baseline. Information in those cards was independently evaluated by HCPs and Board to include each patient into one of the four GOLD categories. Results: In a sample of 187 stable COPD patients, 59% male, mean age 70 year, the distribution of GOLD categories according to the Board was: 6% A, 34% B, 2% C, and 58% D. A discrepancy in GOLD classification was observed between the study board and field-based HCPs, regarding more than 50% of the patients, with a clear trend to underestimate the frequency of patients in D level (21%) and to overestimate the frequency in C level (21%). Conclusions: These results describe for the first time the distribution of COPD patients in an Italian cohort according to the GOLD categories, with the highest frequencies in levels B and D. The misclassification from HCPs may impact the therapeutic approach and the clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: to validate the MSRA questionnaire proposed as prescreening tool for sarcopenia, in a population of community-dwelling elderly subjects. Design: observational study. Setting: community dwelling elderly subjects. Participants: 274 community dwelling elderly subjects, 177 women and 97 men, aged 66-78 years. Measurements: Based on EWGSOP diagnostic criteria subjects were classified as sarcopenic and nonsarcopenic. The Mini Sarcopenia Risk Assessment (MSRA) questionnaire, is composed of seven questions and investigates anamnestic and nutritional characteristics related to risk of sarcopenia onset (age, protein and dairy products consumption, number of meals per day, physical activity level, number of hospitalizations and weight loss in the last year). Results: 33.5% of the study population, were classified as sarcopenic. With the 7-item MSRA score, subjects with a score of 30 or less, had a 4-fold greater risk of being sarcopenic than subjects with a score higher than 30 (OR:4.20;95% CI:2.26-8.06); area under the ROC curve was 0.786 (95% CI:0.725-0.847). In a logistic regression, considering as dependent variable the probability of being sarcopenic, and as independent variables the 7 items of the questionnaire, two items (number of meals and milk and dairy products consumption) showed non-significant diagnostic power. A 5-item score was then derived and the area under the ROC curve was 0.789 (95% IC:0.728-0.851). Taking into account the cost of false positive and false negative costs and the prevalence of sarcopenia, the 'optimal' threshold of the original MSRA score (based on 7 items) is 30, with a sensitivity of 0.804 and a specificity of 0.505, while the 'optimal' threshold of the MSRA score based on 5 items, is 45, with a sensitivity of 0.804 and a specificity of 0.604. Conclusion: this preliminary study shows that the MSRA questionnaire is predictive of sarcopenia and can be suggested as prescreening instrument to detect this condition. The use of a short form of the MSRA questionnaire improves the capacity to identify sarcopenic subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A deficit in precipitation may impact greatly on soil moisture, snowpack, streamflow, groundwater and reservoir storage. Among the several approaches available to investigate this phenomenon, one of the most applied is the analysis of dry spells. In this study, a non-homogeneous Poisson model has been applied to a set of high-quality daily rainfall series, recorded in southern Italy (Calabria region) during the period 1981-2010, for the stochastic analysis of dry spells. Firstly, some statistical details of the Poisson models were presented. Then, the proposed model has been applied to the analysis of long dry spells. In particular, a Monte Carlo technique was performed to reproduce the characteristics of the process. As a result, the main characteristics of the long dry spells have shown patterns clearly related to some geographical features of the study area, such as elevation and latitude. The results obtained from the stochastic modelling of the long dry spells proved that the proposed model is useful for the probability evaluation of drought, thus improving environmental planning and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Agriscientia is the property of Revista AgriScientia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background/objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between body image dissatisfaction and body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (BF%) and to identify which of these anthropometric indicators are more strongly associated, and finally to estimate the prevalence of overweight and high body adiposity in male children and adolescents, according to maturational stages.Subjects/methods: Overall, 1499 students aged from 7 to 17 years from Cascavel, PR, Brazil, were evaluated. Body image was self-rated through the body silhouette scale. Body weight, height and triceps and subscapular skinfolds were measured and BMI and BF% were calculated. Sexual maturity was self-assessed by the development of pubic hair. Data analysis used the Fisher exact test, the χ(2)-test and multinomial logistic regression.Results: Body image dissatisfaction because of excess weight was associated with BMI and BF%, whereas in prepubertal students, this association did not remain in the adjusted analysis. In pubescent students, both BMI (odds ratio (OR)=5.25, confidence interval (CI) 95%=3.06-9.01) and BF% (OR=2.42, CI 95%=1.60-3.66), and in post-pubescent students for BMI (OR=3.77, CI 95%=1.33-10.70), the association remained. Body image dissatisfaction because of thinness was associated only with BF% in pubescent (OR=0.50, CI 95%= 0.33-0.75) and post-pubescent students (OR=0.38, CI 95%= 0.16-0.94).Conclusions: Body image dissatisfaction was associated with BMI and BF%, especially in pubescent and post-pubescent students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, an approach for a climate characterization based on a statistical analysis of monthly precipitation and temperature data is presented. First, the original database (1916-2010) was homogenized and a geostatistical analysis was carried out to characterize the monthly mean distribution of the two variables in the study area. Then, temporal change of precipitation and temperature were evaluated through the Mann-Kendall test. Finally, to better assess the climate patterns in Calabria, a climatic characterization was carried out by means of the Péguy climograph. Results have shown a decreasing trend for autumn-winter rainfall and an increasing trend in summer. With respect to the average temperature, the analyses revealed a positive trend in late spring and summer, mainly due to the increase in the minimum values, and a negative trend in the autumn-winter period, mainly due to a decrease in the maximum values. The analysis of the Péguy climographs allowed the dataset to be divided into three groups, depending on the different elevation of the gauges. Moreover, different temporal behaviours were detected by analysing the climographs in three sub-periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated the consequences of excluding the first of three blood pressure (BP) readings in different settings: a random population sample (POS, n=1525), a general practice office (GPO, n=942) and a specialized hypertension center (SHC, n=462). Differences between systolic and diastolic BP (SBP and DBP) estimates obtained including and excluding the first reading were compared and their correlation with ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) was estimated. The samples were divided into quartiles according to the difference between the third and the first SBP (3-1ΔSBP). SBP decreased through sequential readings, 3-1ΔSBP was −5.5±9.7 mm Hg (P<0.001), −5.1±10.4 mm Hg (P<0.001) and −6.1±9.3 mm Hg (P<0.001) for POS, GPO and SHC, respectively. However, individuals included in the top quartile of 3-1ΔSBP showed their highest values on the third reading. The mean SBP estimate was significantly higher excluding the first reading (P<0.001), but the differences among both approaches were small (1.5-1.6 mm Hg). Moreover, the correlation between SBP values including and excluding the first reading and daytime ABPM were comparable (r=0.69 and 0.68, respectively). Similar results were observed for DBP. In conclusion, our study does not support the notion of discarding the first BP measurement and suggests that it should be measured repeatedly, regardless the first value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT An emerging topic in environmental management studies is the role of eco-labels in guiding consumers in their purchasing choices. In order to contribute to the current debate on this topic, this research paper aims to assess, through a quantitative analysis, whether the knowledge, awareness and information that consumers gather on the environmental impact of a product through an eco-label can stimulate an eco-friendly behavior. Moreover, we assess whether general attitudes in purchasing behaviors determine a personal attitude toward ecological consumption. The findings from this study, which is based on a large dataset of Italian consumers, highlight a significant role of eco-labels in increasing the consumer's perceived behavioral control, unlike loyalty in brand and in store, which do not exert a significant influence. Practical implications for green business strategies emerge. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FERMI is a seeded free-electron laser (FEL) facility located at the Elettra laboratory in Trieste, Italy, and is now in user operation with its first FEL line, FEL-1, covering the wavelength range between 100 and 20 nm. The second FEL line, FEL-2, a high-gain harmonic generation double-stage cascade covering the wavelength range 20-4 nm, has also completed commissioning and the first user call has been recently opened. An overview of the typical operating modes of the facility is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper a stochastic approach which considers the arrival of rainfall events as a Poisson process is proposed to analyse the sequences of no rainy days. Particularly, among the different Poisson models, a non-homogeneous Poisson model was selected and then applied to the daily rainfall series registered at the Cosenza rain gauge (Calabria, southern Italy), as test series. The aim was to evaluate the different behaviour of the dry spells observed in two different 30-year periods, i.e. 1951-1980 and 1981-2010. The analyses performed through Monte Carlo simulations assessed the statistical significance of the variation of the mean expected values of dry spells observed at annual scale in the second period with respect to those observed in the first. The model has then been verified by comparing the results of the test series with the ones obtained from other three rain gauges of the same region. Moreover, greater occurrence probabilities for long dry spells in 1981-2010 than in 1951-1980 were detected for the test series. Analogously, the return periods evaluated for fixed long dry spells through the synthetic data of the period 1981-2010 resulted less than half of the corresponding ones evaluated with the data generated for the previous 30-year period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]