Search

The management of tandem extracranial internal carotid artery and intracranial large vessel occlusion during endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) has been under-investigated. We sought to investigate outcomes of AIS patients with tandem occlusion (TO) treated with carotid artery stenting (CAS) compared to those not treated with CAS (no-CAS) during EVT.We performed a cohort study using data from AIS patients enrolled in the Italian Registry of Endovascular Treatment in Acute Stroke. Outcomes were 3 months' mortality, functional outcome, complete and successful recanalization, any intracranial hemorrhage, parenchymal hematoma and symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage.Among 466 AIS patients with TO, CAS patients were 122 and no-CAS patients were 226 (118 excluded). After adjustment for unbalanced variables, CAS was associated with a lower rate of 3 months' mortality (OR 0.407, 95% CI 0.171-0.969, p = 0.042). After adjustment for pre-defined variables, CAS was associated with a lower rate of 3 months' mortality (aOR 0.430, 95% CI 0.187-0.989, p = 0.047) and a higher rate of complete recanalization (aOR 1.986, 95% CI 1.121-3.518, p = 0.019), successful recanalization (aOR 2.433, 95% CI 1.263-4.686, p = 0.008) and parenchymal hematoma (aOR 2.876, 95% CI 1.173-7.050, p = 0.021). CAS was associated with lower 3 months mortality (OR 0.373, 95% CI 0.141-0.982, p = 0.046) and higher rates of successful recanalization (OR 2.082, 95% CI 1.099-3.942, p = 0.024) after adjustment for variables associated with 3 months' mortality and successful recanalization, respectively.Among AIS patients with TO, CAS during EVT was associated with a higher rate of successful reperfusion and a lower rate of 3 months' mortality.

The Beamline for Advanced diCHroism BACH of the Istituto Officina dei Materiali Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche IOM CNR , operating at Elettra synchrotron in Trieste Italy , works in the extreme ultra violet EUV soft x ray photon energy range with selectable light polarization, high energy resolution, brilliance and time resolution. The beamline offers a multi technique approach for the investigation of the electronic, chemical, structural, magnetic, and dynamical properties of materials. Recently one of the three end stations has been dedicated to experiments based on electron transfer processes at the solid liquid interfaces and during photocatalytic or electrochemical reactions. Suitable cells to perform soft x ray spectroscopy in the presence of liquids and reagent gases atambient pressure were developed. Here we present two types of static cells working in transmission or in fluorescence yield, and an electrochemical flow cell which allows to carry out cyclic voltammetry in situ, electrodeposition on a working electrode WE and to study chemical reactions in operando conditions. Examples of X ray absorption spectroscopy XAS measurements performed in ambient conditions and during electrochemical experiments in liquids are presented

Recently, germanium selenide (GeSe) has emerged as a promising van der Waals semiconductor for photovoltaics, solar light harvesting, and water photoelectrolysis cells. Contrary to previous reports claiming perfect ambient stability based on experiments with techniques without surface sensitivity, here, by means of surface-science investigations and density functional theory, it is demonstrated that actually both: i) the surface of bulk crystals; and ii) atomically thin flakes of GeSe are prone to oxidation, with the formation of self-assembled germanium-oxide skin with sub-nanometric thickness. Surface oxidation leads to the decrease of the bandgap of stoichiometric GeSe and GeSe1−x, while bandgap energy increases upon surface oxidation of Ge1−xSe. Remarkably, the formation of a surface oxide skin on GeSe crystals plays a key role in the physicochemical mechanisms ruling photoelectrocatalysis: the underlying van der Waals semiconductor provides electron–hole pairs, while the germanium-oxide skin formed upon oxidation affords the active sites for catalytic reactions. The self-assembled germanium-oxide/germanium-selenide heterostructure with different bandgaps enables the activation of photocatalytic processes by absorption of light of different wavelengths, with inherently superior activity. Finally, it is discovered that, depending on the specific solvent-GeSe interaction, the liquid phase exfoliation of bulk crystals can induce the formation of Se nanowires. © 2021 The Authors. Advanced Functional Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH A.P. thanks CERIC-ERIC for the access to the NAP-XPS facility and Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste for providing access to its synchrotron radiation facilities. S.N. and F.B. acknowledge funding from EUROFEL project (RoadMap Esfri), J.D.S., V.P., and A.P. thank Maria Giammatteo for technical support in SEM experiments at Microscopy Centre of University of L'Aquila. Open access funding provided by Universita degli Studi dell'Aquila within the CRUI-CARE Agreement.

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are at the frontier of research on graphene materials since the 1D quantum confinement of electrons allows for the opening of an energy gap. GNRs of uniform and well-defined size and shape can be grown using the bottom-up approach, i.e. by surface assisted polymerization of aromatic hydrocarbons. Since the electronic properties of the nanostructures depend on their width and on their edge states, by careful choice of the precursor molecule it is possible to design GNRs with tailored properties. A key issue for their application in nanoelectronics is their stability under operative conditions. Here, we characterize pristine and oxygen-exposed 1.0 nm wide GNRs with a well-defined mixed edge-site sequence (two zig-zag and one armchair) synthesized on Ag(110) from 1,6-dibromo-pyrene precursors. The energy gap and the presence of quantum confined states are investigated by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. The effect of oxygen exposure under ultra-high vacuum conditions is inferred from scanning tunneling microscopy images and photoemission spectra. Our results demonstrate that oxygen exposure deeply affects the overall system by interacting both with the nanoribbons and with the substrate; this factor must be considered for supported GNRs under operative conditions.

The growing interest in emerging environmental crisis has increased the level of public attention and the willingness to take part in participatory science projects, commonly defined with the term “Citizen Science”. This phenomenon can be recorded globally in many national contexts, with a prevalence in anglophone and more industrialized countries. In the biodiversity sector, the growing demand for public involvement has been declined in many different ways, with solutions aimed at providing cognitive and participatory tools. Among these, one of the best known is the BioBlitz: a 24-hour event held in a specific place with the aim of listing as many living species as possible. This work presents the data collected during the first two BioBlitzes organized by the Maremma Natural History Museum in 2013 and 2014. Both were made in the area of the San Felice Oasis, near the terminal part of the San Leopoldo ditch. During the BioBlitz, data collected attested the presence of 616 different taxonomic entities, of which 507 were identified at the level of species and 22 at the level of subspecies. The rest were identified at higher taxonomic levels. Eleven alien species, one endemic species, 33 species protected by national and international laws and / or directives and 9 species at risk of extinction were identified.

The Maremma Natural History Museum is active in the field of Citizen Science at the Tuscan, national and international level. Among the founding bodies of the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA), it has promoted meetings for a national Citizen Science strategy in Italy, actively participated in the drafting of national guidelines on the subject and developed Citizen Science projects in Tuscany and other regions nearby. BioBlitzes are one of the best-known activities in the field of environmental Citizen Science. In May 2016, the Museum organized its fourth BioBlitz at the Accesa Lake Special Protection Area. On this occasion, data collected attested the presence of 784 different taxonomic entities, 678 of which were identified at the species level and 18 at the subspecies level. Nineteen alien species and two endemic species have been identified. Thirty-nine species protected by national or international laws and 13 endangered species have been detected. The area has been confirmed to be an important biodiversity hotspot; future utilization plans must be developed with due consideration for the fragility of the habitats close to the lake from the conservation point of view.

The threat to the survival of many species, caused by emerging ecological crises, has favored the development of a new environmental awareness. In recent decades, especially in the most industrialized nations, an increasing participation of citizens in the collection of scientific data has also been recorded. The active involvement of society in different aspects of science has been defined by the sociologist Alan Irwin as “Citizen Science”. Although environmental Citizen Science brings together the largest number of projects, the fields of application of this new way of doing science are innumerable. BioBlitz is one of the best-known examples of citizen science activities, aimed at monitoring the biodiversity of an area. The Maremma Natural History Museum, as part of its activities, regularly organizes BioBlitz on an annual basis, starting from 2013. During BioBlitz 2017 in the SPZ and SCZ “Monte Labbro and Alta Valle dellAlbegna” data were collected attesting the presence of 403 different taxonomic entities, of which 367 identified at the species level and 5 at the subspecies level. Six alien and 2 endemic species were identified. In terms of environmental legislation, 38 protected species and 7 endangered species were detected in the area. The most relevant aspect that emerges from the collected data is the consistent number of protected species. This confirms the environmental value of the area and the need for management and conservation plans for the entire site.

In recent decades, many natural history museums in Europe have integrated their traditional functions with new ways of interacting with visitors and local communities. In particular, the need to adapt their mission according to the changes in modern society has led them to develop initiatives aiming at an active involvement of the public in scientific research. This is one of the inspiring principles of Citizen Science. BioBlitz are among the most popular activities dedicated to biodiversity in this field. In line with the inspiring principles of this cultural revolution, since 2012 the Maremma Natural History Museum organized public participation initiatives for the collection of biodiversity data. We hereby report the main results of the BioBlitz 2018 organized by the Maremma Natural History Museum in the Talamone area, located in the southern portion of the Uccellina Hills. Four hundred and ninety eight taxa were sampled and identified, 447 of which at the level of species and 10 at the level of subspecies; the remaining refer to higher taxonomic levels. 31 protected species and 10 endangered species were found in the area; moreover, 6 alien species and one endemic species were detected. The main feature that distinguished BioBlitz 2018 to others conducted in previous years was the large number of participants. The data collected increased the scientific knowledge of the southern portion of the Maremma Regional Park, less known than other areas of the same protected area.

© 2017 American Chemical Society. Photoelectrochemical water splitting is a promising approach for renewable production of hydrogen from solar energy and requires interfacing advanced water-splitting catalysts with semiconductors. Understanding the mechanism of function of such electrocatalysts at the atomic scale and under realistic working conditions is a challenging, yet important, task for advancing efficient and stable function. This is particularly true for the case of oxygen evolution catalysts and, here, we study a highly active Co3O4/Co(OH)2biphasic electrocatalyst on Si by means of operando ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy performed at the solid/liquid electrified interface. Spectral simulation and multiplet fitting reveal that the catalyst undergoes chemical-structural transformations as a function of the applied anodic potential, with complete conversion of the Co(OH)2and partial conversion of the spinel Co3O4phases to CoO(OH) under precatalytic electrochemical conditions. Furthermore, we observe new spectral features in both Co 2p and O 1s core-level regions to emerge under oxygen evolution reaction conditions on CoO(OH). The operando photoelectron spectra support assignment of these newly observed features to highly active Co4+centers under catalytic conditions. Comparison of these results to those from a pure phase spinel Co3O4catalyst supports this interpretation and reveals that the presence of Co(OH)2enhances catalytic activity by promoting transformations to CoO(OH). The direct investigation of electrified interfaces presented in this work can be extended to different materials under realistic catalytic conditions, thereby providing a powerful tool for mechanism discovery and an enabling capability for catalyst design.