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Forest understorey plants are sensitive to light availability, and different species groups can respond differently to changing light conditions. A plant trait tightly linked to light capture is specific leaf area (SLA). Studies considering the relative role of within‐ and among‐species SLA variation across different species groups (e.g. specialists and generalists) are rarely implemented in temperate forest understories varying in their maturity.We examined community‐level SLA patterns of beech forest understories along a light availability gradient, and for habitat specialists and generalists separately. We then disentangled and quantified the contribution of intraspecific trait variability and interspecific trait differences in shaping SLA patterns.We revealed that the increase in community‐level SLA with decreasing light availability was primarily driven by beech forest specialists (and, to a lesser extent, by forest generalists), and this pattern was mainly determined by specialists' high intraspecific variability. Community‐level SLA was therefore formed by different responses at different organizational levels, i.e. within and among species, and for separate species groups.This study provides insights into factors shaping the shade tolerance strategy in beech forest understorey plants; specialists persistence under putative less favourable conditions (i.e. high irradiation) may be fostered by their ability to adjust their light capture strategies intraspecifically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal behaviour of selected ionic liquids, potentially useful as electrolyte components in electrochemical devices, formed by ammonium or imidazolium cations combined with bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (C2F6NO4S2, TFSI) or bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (F2NO4S2, FSI) anions, was investigated through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The liquid with the FSI anion decomposes at lower temperatures than those based on TFSI. Among ionic liquids with the TFSI anion, the stability in scanning mode with different cations decreases in the order 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium (C6H11N2, EMI) > N-trimethyl-N-butylammonium (C7H18N, N1114) ≈ N-trimethyl-N(2-methoxyethyl)ammonium (C6H16NO, N111(2O1)) > N,N-diethyl-N-methyl-N(2-methoxyethyl)ammonium (C8H20NO, N122(2O1)) ≈ N-trimethyl-N-propylammonium (C6H16N, N1113). Moreover, the vapour pressure of the six ionic liquids was obtained by means of long-lasting isothermal heating at temperatures between 150 and 300 °C. The highest pressure values were obtained in the order N1114 FSI > EMI TFSI > N122(2O1) TFSI > N1114 TFSI > N111(2O1) TFSI > N1113 TFSI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Invasive fungal infections (IFI) of the Central Nervous System (IFI‐CNS) and Paranasal Sinuses (IFI‐PS) are rare, life‐threatening infections in haematologic patients, and their management remains a challenge despite the availability of new diagnostic techniques and novel antifungal agents. In addition, analyses of large cohorts of patients focusing on these rare IFI are still lacking. Between January 2010 and December 2016, 89 consecutive cases of Proven (53) or Probable (36) IFI‐CNS (71/89) and IFI‐PS (18/89) were collected in 34 haematological centres. The median age was 40 years (range 5‐79); acute leukaemia was the most common underlying disease (69%) and 29% of cases received a previous allogeneic stem cell transplant. Aspergillus spp. were the most common pathogens (69%), followed by mucormycetes (22%), Cryptococcus spp. (4%) and Fusarium spp. (2%). The lung was the primary focus of fungal infection (48% of cases). The nervous system biopsy was performed in 10% of IFI‐CNS, and a sinus biopsy was performed in 56% of IFI‐PS (P = 0.03). The Galactomannan test on cerebrospinal fluid has been performed in 42% of IFI‐CNS (30/71), and it was positive in 67%. Eighty‐four pts received a first‐line antifungal therapy with Amphotericine B in 58% of cases, Voriconazole in 31% and both in 11%. Moreover, 58% of patients received 2 or more lines of therapy and 38% were treated with a combination of 2 or more antifungal drugs. The median duration of antifungal therapy was 60 days (range 5‐835). A surgical intervention was performed in 26% of cases but only 10% of IFI‐CNS underwent neurosurgical intervention. The overall response rate to antifungal therapy (complete or partial response) was 57%, and 1‐year overall survival was 32% without significant differences between IFI‐CNS and IFI‐PS. The overall mortality was 69% but the IFI attributable mortality was 33%. Mortality of IFI‐CNS/PS remains high but, compared to previous historical data, it seems to be reduced probably due to the availability of newer antifungal drugs. The results arising from this large contemporary cohort of cases may allow a more effective diagnostic and therapeutic management of these very rare IFI complications in haematologic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I Computing 3D sCoM acceleration: i following Pillet et al. ([3]), a 15-segment subject-specific inertial model, personalized using calibrated photographs in a static posture, is used to obtain the sCoM positions in an OMCS reference frame Graph HT ht The MIMU positions are manually identified on the photographs, which allows to compute their relative position with respect to the sCoM (Graph HT ht ) in Graph HT ht The transformation matrix from Graph HT ht to Graph HT ht can be approximated at the beginning of each acquisition using the a priori known static posture and manual alignment of MIMUs on the segments. [Extracted from the article]

Magneto-Inertial measurement units (MIMUs) are wearable sensors that allow BCoM kinematics assessment in every-day life conditions (Pavei et al. 2020): first, the BCoM acceleration can be obtained from a weighted average of segments' center of mass (sCoM) accelerations, using MIMUs located on the segments, and then, the BCoM trajectory is estimated by integration of the obtained acceleration. SCoM accelerations were obtained from OMC, and reference BCoM acceleration was obtained using the abovementioned inertial model. [Extracted from the article]

Homogeneous dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in polymers has significantly improved their processing and application as nanomaterials. Generally, CNTs tend to agglomerate due to their high aspect ratios and strong van der Waals interaction. Surface functionalization appears to be a solution to this problem. This study presents a controlled dispersion of carbon nanotubes in polyethylene through surface modification using a mixture of concentrated acid and octadecylamine (ODA). CNTs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The results confirmed that carboxyl and alkane groups were successfully introduced on CNT surfaces. The acid- and amine-functionalized carbon nanotubes were dispersed in four solvents with different polarities (water, ethanol, acetone, and xylene) to correlate the degree of dispersion of CNT with their polarity. The results showed that CNT dispersion stability strongly depends on solvent and carbon nanotube polarities after the functionalization step. The nanohardness and tensile tests showed that the addition of CNTs, especially the functionalized with ODA, leaded the polymer harder, increasing its Young’s modulus and tensile strength. However, its toughness and deformation capacity were reduced. The potential applications of CNT-based polymer nanocomposites broaden considerably due to the surface engineering of carbon nanotubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the biocontrol and the differential production of H2O2 and in the relationship Macrophomina phaseolina - PGPR in soybean seedling. Fungal colonisation was efficiently prevented by inoculation with Pseudomonas fluorescens 9. Its ability to improve ROS production and gene expression of antioxidant enzymes could be related to its capacity to control the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: Harmonic ratio; gait symmetry; lower-limb amputation; inertial measurement units EN Harmonic ratio gait symmetry lower-limb amputation inertial measurement units S221 S223 3 01/29/21 20191002 NES 191002 1. Nevertheless, despite its role in the computation of iHR, the impact of the stride segmentation method has never been addressed, especially in people characterized by high gait asymmetry, such as people with lower- limb amputation. [Extracted from the article]

Aims: Assessment of biological control of Cercospora sojina, causal agent of frogeye leaf spot (FLS) of soya bean, using three indigenous bacterial strains, BNM297 ( Pseudomonas fluorescens), BNM340 and BNM122 ( Bacillus amyloliquefaciens). Methods and Results: From cultures of each bacterial strain, cell suspensions and cell-free supernatants were obtained and assayed to determine their antifungal activity against C. sojina. Both mycelial growth and spore germination in vitro were more strongly inhibited by bacterial cell suspensions than by cell-free supernatants. The Bacillus strains BNM122 and BNM340 inhibited the fungal growth to a similar degree ( I∼52-53%), while cells from P. fluorescens BNM297 caused a lesser reduction ( I∼32-34%) in the fungus colony diameter. The foliar application of the two Bacillus strains on soya bean seedlings, under greenhouse conditions, significantly reduced the disease severity with respect to control soya bean seedlings and those sprayed with BNM297. This last bacterial strain was not effective in controlling FLS in vivo. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that the application of antagonistic bacteria may be a promising and environmentally friendly alternative to control the FLS of soya bean. Significance and Impact of the Study: To our knowledge, this is the first report of biological control of C. sojina by using native Bacillus strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, isolated from soybean rhizosphere, inhibited mycelial growth of Botrytis cinerea and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, in vitro. Leaves from Brassica napus seedlings, pre-inoculated with either of these bacteria, exhibited systemic protection against fungal pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]