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Metal halide perovskites (MHPs) are low-temperature processable hybrid semiconductor materials with exceptional performances that are revolutionizing the field of optoelectronic devices. Despite their great potential, commercial deployment is hindered by MHPs lack of stability and durability, mainly attributed to ion migration and chemical interactions with the electrodes. To address these issues, 2D layered MHPs are investigated as possible device interlayers or active material substitutes. Here, the 2D perovskite (PEA)2PbBr4 is considered that is recently discussed as promising candidate for X-ray direct detection. While the increased resilience of (PEA)2PbBr4 radiation detectors has already been reported, the physical mechanisms responsible for such improvement compared to 3D perovskites are not still fully understood. To unravel the charge transport process in (PEA)2PbBr4 crystals thought to underly the device better performance, an investigation technique is adapted previously used on highly resistive inorganic semiconductors, called photo induced current transient spectroscopy (PICTS). It is demonstrated that PICTS can reliably detect three trap states (T1, T2, and T3), and that their evolution upon X-ray exposure can explain (PEA)2PbBr4 superior radiation tolerance and reduced aging effects. Overall, the results provide essential insights into the electrical characteristics of 2D perovskites and their potential application as reliable direct X-ray detectors.

This work presents the approach used to estimate coastal flood impact, developed within the EU H2020 European Coastal Flood Awareness System (ECFAS) project, for assessing flood direct impacts on population, buildings, and roads along European coasts. The methodology integrates object-based and probabilistic evaluations to provide uncertainty estimates for damage assessment. The approach underwent a user-driven co-evaluation process. It was applied to 16 test cases across Europe and validated against reported impact data in three major reference cases: Xynthia in La Faute-sur-Mer (France) in 2010, Xaver in Norfolk (UK) in 2013, and Emma in Cádiz (Spain) in 2018. A comparison with grid-based damage evaluation methods was also conducted. The findings demonstrate that the ECFAS impact approach offers valuable estimates for affected populations, reliable damage assessments for buildings and roads, and improved accuracy compared to traditional grid-based approaches. The methodology also provides information for prevention and preparedness activities, and it facilitates further evaluations of risk scenarios and cost–benefit analysis of disaster risk reduction strategies. The approach is a tool suitable for large-scale coastal flood impact assessments, offering improved accuracy and operational capability for coastal flood forecasts. It represents a potential advancement of the existing European-scale impact method used by the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS) for riverine flood warnings. The integration of object-based and probabilistic evaluations, along with uncertainty estimation, enhances the understanding and management of flood impacts along European coasts.

Metal halide perovskites (MHPs) are disruptive materials for a vast class of optoelectronic devices. The presence of electronic trap states has been a tough challenge in terms of characterization and thus mitigation. Many attempts based on electronic spectroscopies have been tested, but due to the mixed electronic-ionic nature of MHP conductivity, many experimental results retain a large ambiguity in resolving electronic and ionic charge contributions. Here we adapt a method, previously used in highly resistive inorganic semiconductors, called photoinduced current transient spectroscopy (PICTS) on lead bromide 2D-like ((PEA)2PbBr4) and standard 3D (MAPbBr3) MHP single crystals. We present two conceptually different outcomes of the PICTS measurements, distinguishing the different electronic and ionic contributions to the photocurrents based on the different ion drift of the two materials. Our experiments unveil deep level trap states on the 2D, ion-frozen (PEA)2PbBr4 and set new boundaries for the applicability of PICTS on 3D MHPs.

Nematodes are abundant and ubiquitous animals which are poorly known at intraspecific level. This work represents the first attempt to fill the gap on basic knowledge of genetic variability and differentiation in Protostrongylus oryctolagi, a nematode parasite of lagomorphs. 68 cox1 sequences were obtained from brown hares collected in five locations in Northern and Central Italy, highlighting the presence of a high amount of genetic variation inside this species. The eleven haplotypes identified (Haplotype diversity equal to 0.702) were split into two lineages: lineage A (comprising six different haplotypes, A1-A6) and lineage B (B1-B5). The mean intra-lineage amount of genetic variation was 0.3%, whereas the inter-lineage percentage of variation was ten-fold higher (3%). These two lineages were non-randomly distributed in the investigated areas. Lineage A showed a preference for Central Italy (Tuscany) even if it was sporadically found also in northern territories (Emilia-Romagna), while B-haplotypes were present exclusively in Emilia-Romagna. The analysis of molecular variance identified two main barriers to gene flow: (i) a strong major one which separate samples of Central Italy (PIA and GR7) from the northern ones (RE1, RE3 and MO1; ΦST = 0.750, P = 0.00); (ii) a secondary faint barrier which separates Pianosa island from Grosseto (ΦST = 0.133, P = 0.00). Any difference was found among northern samples (ΦST = 0.009, P = 0.00). The observed data may be explained by several factors ranging from the parasite's biology (presence of a narrow host spectrum), the final host's behaviour (small home range), the natural dispersion of the host-parasite dyad occurred in past or the recent passive men-mediated migration. Finally, the presence of unconventional shortened amplicons revealed the presence of NUMTs (nuclear copy of mitochondrial genes) in the P. oryctolagi nuclear genome, suggesting caution when using DNA barcode as unique marker for the identification of species belonging to this genus. "In short, if all the matter in the universe except the nematodes were swept away, our world would still be dimly recognizable". Nathan Augustus Cobb, from "Nematodes and Their Relationships", 1915.

We show how the recurrence phenomenon characteristic of the nonlinear stage of induced modulational instability in a passive fiber is affected by forcing. An additional linear amplification, even if extremely weak, induces separatrix crossing corresponding to critical values of the gain around which the recurrence process considerably slows down, switching between dynamical orbits of different kind. We present evidence for such phenomenon in a fiber optics experiment where the gain is finely tuned by means of Raman amplification. A theoretical explanation is also provided that matches almost perfectly with our experimental results.

Coastal flooding is recognized as one of the most devastating natural disasters, resulting in significant economic losses. Therefore, hazard assessment is crucial to support preparedness and response to such disasters. Toward this, flood map databases and catalogues are essential for the analysis of flood scenarios, and furthermore they can be integrated into disaster risk reduction studies. In this study and in the context of the European Coastal Flood Awareness System (ECFAS) project (GA 101004211), which aimed to propose the European Copernicus Coastal Flood Awareness System, a catalogue of flood maps was produced. The flood maps were generated from flood models developed with LISFLOOD-FP for defined coastal sectors along the entire European coastline. For each coastal sector, 15 synthetic scenarios were defined focusing on high-frequency events specific to the local area. These scenarios were constructed based on three distinct storm durations and five different total-water-level (TWL) peaks incorporating tide, mean sea level, surge and wave setup components. The flood model method was extensively validated against 12 test cases for which observed data were collated using satellite-derived flood maps and in situ flood markers. Half of the test cases represented well the flooding with hit scores higher than 80 %. The synthetic-scenario approach was assessed by comparing flood maps from real events and their closest identified scenarios, producing a good agreement and global skill scores higher than 70 %. Using the catalogue, flood scenarios across Europe were assessed, and the biggest flooding occurred in well-known low-lying areas. In addition, different sensitivities to the increase in the duration and TWL peak were noted. The storm duration impacts a few limited flood-prone areas such as the Dutch coast, for which the flooded area increases more than twice between 12 and 36 h storm scenarios. The influence of the TWL peak is more global, especially along the Mediterranean coast, for which the relative difference between a 2- and 20-year return period storm is around 80 %. Finally, at a European scale, the expansion of flood areas in relation to increases in TWL peaks demonstrated both positive and negative correlations with the presence of urban and wetland areas, respectively. This observation supports the concept of storm flood mitigation by wetlands.

The study of spatial (paleo)ecology in mammals is critical to understand how animals adapt to and exploit their environment. In this work we analysed the 87Sr/86Sr, δ18O and δ13C isotope composition of 65 moose bone and antler samples from Sweden from wild-shot individuals dated between 1800 and 1994 to study moose mobility and feeding behaviour for (paleo)ecological applications. Sr data were compared with isoscapes of the Scandinavian region, built ad-hoc during this study, to understand how moose utilise the landscape in Northern Europe. The 87Sr/86Sr isoscape was developed using a machine-learning approach with external geo-environmental predictors and literature data. Similarly, a δ18O isoscape, obtained from average annual precipitation δ18O values, was employed to highlight differences in the isotope composition of the local environment vs. bone/antler. Overall, 82% of the moose samples were compatible with the likely local isotope composition (n = 53), suggesting that they were shot not far from their year-round dwelling area. 'Local' samples were used to calibrate the two isoscapes, to improve the prediction of provenance for the presumably 'non-local' individuals. For the latter (n = 12, of which two are antlers and ten are bones), the probability of geographic origin was estimated using a Bayesian approach by combining the two isoscapes. Interestingly, two of these samples (one antler and one bone) seem to come from areas more than 250 km away from the place where the animals were hunted, indicating a possible remarkable intra-annual mobility. Finally, the δ13C data were compared with the forest cover of Sweden and ultimately used to understand the dietary preference of moose. We interpreted a difference in δ13C values of antlers (13C-enriched) and bones (13C-depleted) as a joint effect of seasonal variations in moose diet and, possibly, physiological stresses during winter-time, i.e., increased consumption of endogenous 13C-depleted lipids.

Abstract Background Throughout their range, red deer are a well-studied species. In Italy, this species occupies two ecologically different ranges: the Alps and the Apennines. Although several studies have described the spatial behaviour of red deer in the Italian Alps, no data are available for the Apennine population. Results The spatial behaviours of 13 deer from the Northern Apennines range were analysed for the first time using GPS-GSM telemetry from 2011 to 2017. Red deer displayed two coexisting strategies, i.e., migratory and stationary. In our sample, females tended to migrate more than males. We found a high level of interindividual variability in the date of migration/return, while each migratory deer was very conservative during the study period. The migration ranges were on average 12 ± 4.2 km from the resident range. Both migratory and resident deer displayed high site fidelity. No switch from the migratory to stationary strategy was observed for any deer during the study period; however, the period could have been too short to detect any switch. At the management level, over 18 management cycles occurred during the study period, and a spatial mismatch was found between deer range and management units (districts) in 38.9% (7) of the cases. Merging the districts belonging to each province to obtain an area of approximately 1000 km2 would partially address such spatial mismatch, reducing its occurrence to 22%. Conclusions Despite the small sample size, these results can guide future management actions. However, an in-depth study with a larger sample size is required to better understand and manage the red deer Apennines population.

Background and purpose: Antibiotic-loaded bone cement (ALBC) and systemic antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP) have been used to reduce periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) rates. We investigated the use of ALBC and SAP in primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Patients and methods: This observational study is based on 2,971,357 primary TKAs reported in 2010–2020 to national/regional joint arthroplasty registries in Australia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA. Aggregate-level data on trends and types of bone cement, antibiotic agents, and doses and duration of SAP used was extracted from participating registries. Results: ALBC was used in 77% of the TKAs with variation ranging from 100% in Norway to 31% in the USA. Palacos R+G was the most common (62%) ALBC type used. The primary antibiotic used in ALBC was gentamicin (94%). Use of ALBC in combination with SAP was common practice (77%). Cefazolin was the most common (32%) SAP agent. The doses and duration of SAP used varied from one single preoperative dosage as standard practice in Bolzano, Italy (98%) to 1-day 4 doses in Norway (83% of the 40,709 TKAs reported to the Norwegian arthroplasty register). Conclusion: The proportion of ALBC usage in primary TKA varies internationally, with gentamicin being the most common antibiotic. ALBC in combination with SAP was common practice, with cefazolin the most common SAP agent. The type of ALBC and type, dose, and duration of SAP varied among participating countries.

The 4-methyl-2-(pyridin-2-yl)-2,1-borazaronaphthalene molecule Hazab-py has been successfully used, for the first time, as a ligand in a ruthenium(II) polypyridine complex A (with the formula [Ru(dtbbpy)2(azab-py)]+, where dtbbpy = 4,4′-di-tert-butyl-2,2′-bipyridine). This compound was characterized by NMR spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS), and its electrochemical and photophysical properties were fully investigated and compared to those of its homoleptic analogue [Ru(dtbbpy)3]2+ (B), an archetypical mono-cationic cyclometalated complex C (with the formula [Ru(dtbbpy)2(ppy)]+, where Hppy = 2-phenylpyridine), and the more structurally similar analogue [Ru(dtbbpy)2(naft-py)]+ (D), where the B–N unit of the azaborine ligand is replaced by a standard C＝C one, resulting in the 2-(naphthalen-2-yl)pyridine ligand (Hnaft-py). The presence of the novel 1,2-azaborine ligand induces a 0.51 V decrease in the redox gap of complex A, compared to that of B, leading to electrochemical and photophysical properties that resemble those of C and D. Accordingly, the azaborine complex displays an emission band extending up to the near infrared region of the spectrum (with the maximum at 765 nm in room-temperature acetonitrile solution), arising from a triplet metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (3MLCT) state. As in the case of other mono-cationic cyclometalated ruthenium(II) complexes, A shows modest photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs), but higher PLQYs when compared to those of its direct C＝C analogue D (e.g., PLQY = 0.6 vs. 0.1% in a PMMA matrix at 298 K). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to provide complete rationalization of the electronic properties of all the complexes and to identify lower-lying metal-centred triplets (3MC), responsible for the low PLQYs of such an azaborine-based ruthenium(II) complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nematodes are abundant and ubiquitous animals which are poorly known at intraspecific level. This work represents the first attempt to fill the gap on basic knowledge of genetic variability and differentiation in Protostrongylus oryctolagi, a nematode parasite of lagomorphs. 68 cox1 sequences were obtained from brown hares collected in five locations in Northern and Central Italy, highlighting the presence of a high amount of genetic variation inside this species. The eleven haplotypes identified (Haplotype diversity equal to 0.702) were split into two lineages: lineage A (comprising six different haplotypes, A1-A6) and lineage B (B1-B5). The mean intra-lineage amount of genetic variation was 0.3%, whereas the inter-lineage percentage of variation was ten-fold higher (3%). These two lineages were non-randomly distributed in the investigated areas. Lineage A showed a preference for Central Italy (Tuscany) even if it was sporadically found also in northern territories (Emilia-Romagna), while B-haplotypes were present exclusively in Emilia-Romagna. The analysis of molecular variance identified two main barriers to gene flow: (i) a strong major one which separate samples of Central Italy (PIA and GR7) from the northern ones (RE1, RE3 and MO1; ΦST = 0.750, P = 0.00); (ii) a secondary faint barrier which separates Pianosa island from Grosseto (ΦST = 0.133, P = 0.00). Any difference was found among northern samples (ΦST = 0.009, P = 0.00). The observed data may be explained by several factors ranging from the parasite's biology (presence of a narrow host spectrum), the final host's behaviour (small home range), the natural dispersion of the host-parasite dyad occurred in past or the recent passive men-mediated migration. Finally, the presence of unconventional shortened amplicons revealed the presence of NUMTs (nuclear copy of mitochondrial genes) in the P. oryctolagi nuclear genome, suggesting caution when using DNA barcode as unique marker for the identification of species belonging to this genus. "In short, if all the matter in the universe except the nematodes were swept away, our world would still be dimly recognizable". Nathan Augustus Cobb, from "Nematodes and Their Relationships", 1915 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents the approach used to estimate coastal flood impact, developed within the EU H2020 European Coastal Flood Awareness System (ECFAS) project, for assessing flood direct impacts on population, buildings, and roads along European coasts. The methodology integrates object-based and probabilistic evaluations to provide uncertainty estimates for damage assessment. The approach underwent a user-driven co-evaluation process. It was applied to 16 test cases across Europe and validated against reported impact data in three major reference cases: Xynthia in La Faute-sur-Mer (France) in 2010, Xaver in Norfolk (UK) in 2013, and Emma in Cádiz (Spain) in 2018. A comparison with grid-based damage evaluation methods was also conducted. The findings demonstrate that the ECFAS impact approach offers valuable estimates for affected populations, reliable damage assessments for buildings and roads, and improved accuracy compared to traditional grid-based approaches. The methodology also provides information for prevention and preparedness activities, and it facilitates further evaluations of risk scenarios and cost–benefit analysis of disaster risk reduction strategies. The approach is a tool suitable for large-scale coastal flood impact assessments, offering improved accuracy and operational capability for coastal flood forecasts. It represents a potential advancement of the existing European-scale impact method used by the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS) for riverine flood warnings. The integration of object-based and probabilistic evaluations, along with uncertainty estimation, enhances the understanding and management of flood impacts along European coasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Italy, regions have the mandate to implement population-based screening programs for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer. From March to May 2020, a severe lockdown was imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic by the Italian Ministry of Health, with the suspension of screening programs. This paper describes the impact of the pandemic on Italian screening activities and test coverage in 2020 overall and by socioeconomic characteristics. Methods: The regional number of subjects invited and of screening tests performed in 2020 were compared with those in 2019. Invitation and examination coverage were also calculated. PASSI surveillance system, through telephone interviews, collects information about screening test uptake by test provider (public screening and private opportunistic). Test coverage and test uptake in the last year were computed by educational attainment, perceived economic difficulties, and citizenship. Results: A reduction of subjects invited and tests performed, with differences between periods and geographical macro areas, was observed in 2020 vs. 2019. The reduction in examination coverage was larger than that in invitation coverage for all screening programs. From the second half of 2020, the trend for test coverage showed a decrease in all the macro areas for all the screening programs. Compared with the pre-pandemic period, there was a greater difference according to the level of education in the odds of having had a test last year vs. never having been screened or not being up to date with screening tests. Conclusions: The lockdown and the ongoing COVID-19 emergency caused an important delay in screening activities. This increased the preexisting individual and geographical inequalities in access. The opportunistic screening did not mitigate the impact of the pandemic. Funding: This study was partially supported by Italian Ministry of Health – Ricerca Corrente Annual Program 2023 and by the Emilian Region DGR 839/22.

European coasts are regularly exposed to severe storms that trigger extreme water-level conditions, leading to coastal flooding and erosion. Early Warning Systems (EWS) are important tools for the increased preparedness and response against coastal flood events, hence greatly reducing associated risks. With this objective, a proof-of-concept for a European Coastal Flood Awareness System (ECFAS) was developed in the framework of the H2020 ECFAS project, which capitalizes on the Copernicus products. In this context, this manuscript evaluates for the first time the capability of the current Copernicus Marine operational ocean models to forecast extreme coastal water levels and hence to feed coastal flood awareness applications at European scale. A methodology is developed to focus the assessment on storm-driven extreme sea level events (EEs) from tide-gauge records. For the detected EEs, the event peak representation is validated, and the impact of forecast lead time is evaluated. Results show satisfactory performance but a general underprediction of peak magnitudes of 10% for water levels and 18% for surges across the detected EEs. In average, the models are capable of independently flagging 76% of the observed EEs. Forecasts show limited lead time impact up to a 4-day lead time, demonstrating the suitability of the systems for early warning applications. Finally, by separating the surge and tidal contributions to the extremes, the potential sources of the prediction misfits are discussed and consequent recommendations for the evolution of the Copernicus Marine Service forecasting models towards coastal flooding applications are provided.