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Abstract Converging evidence suggests that oxytocin (OT) is associated with creative thinking (CT) and that release of OT depends on ADP ribosyl-cyclases (CD38 and CD157). Neural mechanisms of CT and OT show a strong association with dopaminergic (DA) pathways, yet the link between CT and CD38, CD157, dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) peripheral gene expression remain inconclusive, thus limiting our understanding of the neurobiology of CT. To address this issue, two principal domains of CT, divergent thinking (AUT), were assessed. In men, both AUT is associated with gene expression of CD38, CD157, and their interaction CD38 × CD157. There were no significant associations for DA expression (DRD2, COMT, DRD2 × COMT) on both CT measures. However, analysis of the interactions of OT and DA systems reveal significant interactions for AUT in men. The full model explained a sizable 39% of the variance in females for the total CT score. The current findings suggest that OT and DA gene expression contributed significantly to cognition and CT phenotype. This provides the first empirical foundation of a more refined understanding of the molecular landscape of CT.

Research suggests that robotics can provide an engaging learning experience for learners with special educational needs. However, further work is required to explore the impact of robots within the classroom, particularly for learners with intellectual disabilities (ID). This paper seeks to further explore the potential effects of robots on such learners through examining engagement and goal achievement within teaching sessions. Eleven participants with ID were recruited from two countries to take part in the study using an ABAB design where the participants acted as their own controls. An appropriate learning goal for each participant was selected by the teacher and equivalent control sessions designed seeking to achieve the same learning goal but without the robot. Engagement, using eye-gaze, learning goal achievement with and without help and goals not achieved provided the outcome measures from the sessions. This study found no significant difference between the robot and the control sessions for any of the outcome measures utilized suggesting robots are as effective as teaching tools as traditional methods. Through an increased sample size and a rigorously applied experimental protocol, this study provides new data and methodological considerations for further work based on the techniques applied in this study.

Hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites (HOIPs) are promising materials in several fields related to electronics, offering long carrier-diffusion lengths, high absorption coefficients, tunable band gaps, and long spin lifetimes. Recently, chiral perovskites have attracted huge interest thanks to the possibility of further widening the applications of HOIPs. Chiral materials, being intrinsically non-centrosymmetric, display several attractive physicochemical properties, including circular dichroism, circularly polarized photoluminescence, nonlinear optics, ferroelectricity, and spin-related effects. Recent studies have shown that chirality can be transferred from the chiral organic ligands into the inorganic perovskite framework, resulting in materials combining the advantages of both chirality and perovskite superior optoelectronic characteristics. As for HOIPs for photovoltaics, strong interest is currently devoted towards the development of lead-free chiral perovskites to overcome any toxicity issue. While considering the basic and general features of chiral HOIPs, this review mainly focuses on lead-free materials. It highlights the first attempts to understand the correlation between the crystal structure characteristics and the chirality-induced functional properties in lead and lead-free chiral perovskites.

Context: Sexual selection results from male competition and female choice linked by complex interactions that drive the population's life history, often leading to the development of specific secondary sexual traits with an increased reproductive success. Aims: To investigate the male mating tactics and the role of a secondary sexual trait ('black band' on the caudal fin) along the male ontogenetic development in the Mediterranean killifish, Aphanius fasciatus (Valenciennes, 1821). Methods: Male–male competition was investigated through a combination of an extensive field collection and behavioural analysis under controlled conditions, comparing four groups differing in the presence or absence of the black band and body size. Key results: Banded males courted more and tended to monopolise the female, but the overall spawning performance did not differ significantly among the analysed groups. Conclusion: (1) The black band on the caudal fin depends on ontogeny; (2) all mature males express the entire courtship and competitive repertory; (3) sexual maturity occurs in fish of at least 20 mm; (4) large size and presence of the black band seem to contribute to male dominance. Implications: This study has highlighted the role of Aphanius fasciatus as an excellent model for studying polygynandrous mating systems, on the basis of intense male–male competition. Sexual selection drives the individual's life history, leading to the development of alternative mating tactics or even bizarre sexual traits to maximise fitness. In this study, we investigated the mating behaviour and the role of a secondary sexual trait of the Mediterranean killifish (Aphanius fasciatus) highlighting its role as an excellent model for studying polyginandrous mating systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parasitoidism strongly influences the structure of the spiders' populations, and it can be affected by environmental factors such as those caused by anthropogenic actions. We studied the prevalence of parasitoids in egg sacs and the proportion of eggs parasitized in each egg sac of two synanthropic spider species, one native to the American continent (Parasteatoda tepidariorum) and another recently introduced to the Americas (Latrodectus geometricus). We conducted the study at two scales, along an urban gradient (from highly urbanized to rural sites) and in the vegetation surrounding each sampling site (microscale). We expected to find a larger prevalence of parasitoids in the most urbanized sites and around sampling sites with more vegetation. However, we saw more parasitized egg sacs at the intermediate urbanized site for both species, and the vegetation surrounding the sampling sites did not affect the number of parasitized egg sacs. Therefore, conditions in the site with intermediate urban development favored parasitoids. We also found more parasitized egg sacs in P. tepidariorum than in L. geometricus, which is likely a consequence of native parasites not being adapted to a new host. The proportion of eggs parasitized was similar for both species in all sites, which may be related to the behavior (e.g., searching behavior) and number of spider eggs a female parasitoid can parasitize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The porcine and human heart are remarkably similar in cardiac physiology and biochemistry. Translational research involving the porcine biomedical model is becoming increasingly applicable for the study of human cardiac function in health and disease. Presently, few protocols exist for collecting experimentally viable cardiac tissue from large animal models, particularly during neonatal maturation. To address this deficiency, we have developed a technique to procure and preserve ventricular tissue from neonatal piglets at day 3 (n = 4) and day 30 (n = 6) postpartum. Piglets were subjected to a strict sedation, anesthesia, and analgesia regimen. During surgery, cardiopulmonary indices of electrocardiogram, heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respiration rate, peripheral O2 saturation, and end-tidal CO2 were monitored continuously to ensure normal cardiac function. Before cardiectomy, each heart was perfused with an intravenous administration of heparin (10 mL/kg) and ice-cold Custodiol HTK cardioplegia solution (10 mL/kg). After cardiac explantation, myocardial samples (dimensions: 1 × 1 × 1 cm) were dissected from the left and right ventricles and snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen. Analysis via SDS-PAGE densitometry demonstrated that myofibrillar proteins are stable and undegraded. Western Blots showed full expression of protein. These results suggest that the detailed cardiac tissue procurement technique preserves the experimental viability of the cardiac tissue and prevents the degradation of myofibrillar proteins. NEW & NOTEWORTHY: This project's objective was to develop a technique for procuring and preserving cardiac tissue from a porcine model. Porcine is a rapidly emerging animal model to study cardiovascular disease and has recently been popularized due to advancements in CRISPR-cas9 technology. The technique, originally derived from human heart transplant protocols, involves full anesthetic and analgesic regimens and the use of saline heparin and cardioplegia solution to preserve tissue integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water distribution networks (WDNs) are significant users of energy and contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Energy recovery strategies (ERSs) have potential for switching WDNs to a renewable energy source, thereby assisting with the transition to net-zero emissions and reducing the dependency of water utilities on power-grids. To address the current lack of understanding of the potential for ERSs to achieve these goals, this work presents a holistic review, which considers all available devices, i.e. turbines, pumps as turbines, and other alternative strategies, such as the GreenValves, as well as all the kinds of application in the literature. Besides describing the latest most significant achievements in the context of ERSs, the review also identifies the most common issues and proposes several future research directions, including the need for a better test and comparison of the various available solutions in field applications, and more thorough analyses of the socio/political problems hampering their diffusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global mapping of forest height is an extremely important task for estimating habitat quality and modeling biodiversity. Recently, three global canopy height maps have been released, the global forest canopy height map (GFCH), the high‐resolution canopy height model of the Earth (HRCH), and the global map of tree canopy height (GMTCH). Here, we assessed their accuracy and usability for biodiversity modeling. We examined their accuracy by comparing them with the reference canopy height models derived from airborne laser scanning (ALS). Our results show considerable differences between the evaluated maps. The root mean square error ranged between 10 and 18 m for GFCH, 9–11 m for HRCH, and 10–17 m for GMTCH, respectively. GFCH and GMTCH consistently underestimated the height of all canopies regardless of their height, while HRCH tended to overestimate the height of low canopies and underestimate tall canopies. Biodiversity models using predicted global canopy height maps as input data are sufficient for estimating simple relationships between species occurrence and canopy height, but their use leads to a considerable decrease in the discrimination ability of the models and to mischaracterization of species niches where derived indices (e.g., canopy height heterogeneity) are concerned. We showed that canopy height heterogeneity is considerably underestimated in the evaluated global canopy height maps. We urge that for temperate areas rich in ALS data, activities should concentrate on harmonizing ALS canopy height maps rather than relying on modeled global products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Habitat monitoring in Europe is regulated by Article 17 of the Habitats Directive, which suggests the use of typical species to assess habitat conservation status. Yet, the Directive uses the term “typical” species but does not provide a definition, either for its use in reporting or for its use in impact assessments. To address the issue , a n online workshop was organized by the Italian Society for Vegetation Science (SISV) to shed light on the diversity of perspectives regarding the different concepts of typical species, and to discuss the possible implications for habitat monitoring. To this aim, we inquired 73 people with a very different degree of expertise in the field of vegetation science by means of a tailored survey composed of six questions. We analysed the data using Pearson's Chi-squared test to verify that the answers diverged from a random distribution and checked the effect of the degree of experience of the surveyees on the results. We found that most of the surveyees agreed on the use of the phytosociological method for habitat monitoring and of the diagnostic and characteristic species to evaluate the structural and functional conservation status of habitats. With this contribution, we shed light on the meaning of “typical” species in the context of habitat monitoring.

The residential heritage in Ivrea, built during the most successful years of famous Italian company Olivetti, is made up of assets that can be traced back to the Modern Movement of the Twentieth Century. The site "Ivrea, industrial city of the XX Century" was included in the World Heritage List in 2018, which shows the value and originality of the Ivrea experience and recognizes its identity as a city-laboratory. The aim of this article is to analyse the potential enhancement of the Olivetti villas of Ivrea within their fragile socio-economic context and to check whether their architectural quality and the “Olivetti connotation” is recognized by the real estate market. Furthermore, the energy efficiency upgrade of the residential heritage is investigated in order to understand if and how it is able to enhance the value of the buildings and influence listing prices in Ivrea’s real estate market. The influence of some intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics on listing prices was measured by creating a sample of residential units listed on the market and by applying a multiple linear regression model, which was used for both descriptive and predictive purposes. The results showed that the Ivrea’s real estate market can be more positively affected by energy retrofitting, despite the architectural quality of the buildings, which is monetized but with a considerably lower marginal price.

Summary: Manipulation by external pressure of the optical response of 2D Metal Halide Perovskites (MHPs) is a fascinating route to tune their properties and promote the emergence of novel features. We investigate here DA2PbI4 and DA2GeI4 (DA = decylammonium) perovskites in the pressure range up to ∼12 GPa by X-ray powder diffraction, absorption, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Although the two systems share a similar structural evolution with pressure, the optical properties are rather different and influenced by Pb or Ge. DA2PbI4 shows a progressive red shift from 2.28 eV (P = 0 GPa) to 1.64 eV at 11.5 GPa, with a narrow PL emission, whereas DA2GeI4, changes from a non-PL system at ambient pressure to a clear broadband emitter centered around 730 nm with an intensity maximum at about 3.7 GPa. These results unveil the role of the central atom on the nature of emission under pressure in 2D MHPs containing a long alkyl chain.

The aim of the present work is to develop and test an innovative cooling system for the thermal management of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). At present, the technology most used for electric propulsion is based on lithium-ion cells. The power supply unit must often deliver a large amount of power in a short time, forcing the batteries to produce a considerable amount of heat. This leads to a high working temperature that can cause a sharp decrease in the battery performance or even a malfunction. Moreover, their working outside of the prescribed temperature range (20–40 °C) or with a significant temperature gradient across the battery meaningfully accelerates their aging or breakage. In this case, a battery thermal management system (BTMS) is necessary to allow the batteries to work as efficiently as possible. In the present work, a pulsating heat pipe with a three-dimensional structure is proposed as cooling technology for a battery pack. At first the performance of the proposed PHP is evaluated in a dedicated experimental setup under different boundary conditions and a wide spectrum of power input values. Then the PHP is tested by applying, as load at the evaporator section, heat power distribution corresponding to three different discharging processes of a battery. These tests, directly referring to an applicative case, show that the proposed 3D PHP has an optimal cooling ability and the possibility to offer a powerful solution for electrical battery thermal management.