The effect of lighting changes on simultaneous colour contrast: a new aspect of colour rendition

Among the many metrics used to compute the colour rendition of a light source which have been investigated in recent years, most consider only the spectral power distribution of the light source being tested. To highlight aspects not usually considered in the development of colour rendition metrics, and to propose future directions for alternative approaches consistent with human visual perception, an experiment was conducted to examine colour appearance variations on certain spatial visual content configurations, in other words the effects of illusions under different light sources. Results indicate that stronger simultaneous contrast configurations have a more unpredictable variation in appearance. Therefore, it is proposed that colour spatial distribution should be considered for the future generation of rendering metrics.     

Contemporary Production and Urban Change: The Case of Milan

ABSTRACT

How do new sites of production and workplaces relate to the making of urban change in Milan’s peripheral areas? The paper answers this question by looking at two different fields of investigation related to peripheral areas. On one hand, the paper examines the policies promoted by the public administration at the municipal level to enhance urban innovation through new workplaces within the smart city agenda. On the other hand, the urban innovation brought by the establishment of cultural and creative industries promoted by private actors will be examined, ranging from the new geography of creative places to the creation of temporary transformations. Starting from these two fields of analysis, the paper identifies areas of difference and potential combined effects between public action and private initiative. These are placed against the backdrop of a conception of contemporary production that has worked as a tool for social inclusion and place-making in peripheral contexts in Milan.     

Opportunities and barriers for international bioenergy trade

Recently, the international trade of various bioenergy commodities has grown rapidly, yet this growth is also hampered by some barriers. The aim of this paper is to obtain an overview of what market actors currently perceive as major opportunities and barriers for the development of international bioenergy trade. The work focuses on three bioenergy commodities: bioethanol, biodiesel and wood pellets. Data were collected through an internet-based questionnaire. The majority of the 141 respondents had an industrial background. Geographically, two-thirds were from (mainly Western) Europe, with other minor contributions from all other continents. Results show that import tariffs and the implementation of sustainability certification systems are perceived as (potentially) major barriers for the trade of bioethanol and biodiesel, while logistics are seen mainly as an obstacle for wood pellets. Development of technical standards was deemed more as an opportunity than a barrier for all commodities. Most important drivers were high fossil fuel prices and climate change mitigation policies. Concluding, to overcome some of the barriers, specific actions will be required by market parties and policy makers. Import tariffs for biofuels could be reduced or abolished, linked to multinational trade agreements and harmonization (including provisions on technical standards and sustainability requirements).     

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, perfluorinated compounds and chlorinated pesticides in swordfish (Xiphias gladius) from the Mediterranean Sea

The relative isolation of the Mediterranean population, their feeding habits, and the widespread use of their fillets for human consumption make the Mediterranean swordfish, Xiphias gladius, an interesting species from an ecotoxicological and commercial point of views. High resolution gas chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry detected 19 PBDE congeners, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), p,p' and o,p' isomers of DDT, DDE, and DDD in all samples. The presence of PBDEs was reported for the first time in Mediterranean swordfish from the South Tyrrhenian Sea; total PBDE concentrations were 2218 +/- 3291 and 612 +/- 598 pg/g wet wt in the liver and in the muscle, respectively. Significant correlations were identified between BDE47 and sigmaPBDE liver concentrations versus sex and sexual maturity of specimens. The lipid-normalized concentrations ratio BDEn(liver)/BDEn(muscle+liver) suggested that this species mostly accumulates POPs in the liver. PFOS and PFOA were below the LOD (1.5 and 3 ng/g wet wt, respectively) in all the samples. The sigmaDDTs was 155 +/- 125 and 309 +/- 273 ng/g wet wt in the muscle and the liver, respectively. The estimated daily ingestion of PBDEs and DDTs through diet was lower than the acceptable weekly intakes proposed by the World Health Organization.     

Effect of pork lard content on the chemical, microbiological and sensory properties of a typical fermented meat product (Pitina) obtained from Alpagota sheep

The aim was to investigate the physicochemical, microbiological and sensory properties of Pitina, a typical fermented meat product and evaluate the effect of two levels of pork lard content (Low Fat, LF, 10% vs. High Fat, HF, 30%) on its attributes. HF attained lower pH than LF Pitina, which reached lower water activity. LAB comprised the major flora with substantial counts of micrococci, enterococci and mould and yeast. Gram negative Enterobacteria were recovered as coliforms and faecal coliforms. Listeria monocytogenes was also isolated. The lard level influenced the count of micrococci and some sensory attributes. LF attained higher scores for both hardness and cohesiveness and differed from HF in having a more marked odour of ewe and smoke and sweeter taste. HF had a more pronounced odour and taste of garlic and mould than LF.     

Genetic and Epigenetic Characterization of a Discordant KMT2A/AFF1-Rearranged Infant Monozygotic Twin Pair

The KMT2A/AFF1 rearrangement is associated with an unfavorable prognosis in infant acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). Discordant ALL in monozygotic twins is uncommon and represents an attractive resource to evaluate intrauterine environment–genetic interplay in ALL. Mutational and epigenetic profiles were characterized for a discordant KMT2A/AFF1-rearranged infant monozygotic twin pair and their parents, and they were compared to three independent KMT2A/AFF1-positive ALL infants, in which the DNA methylation and gene expression profiles were investigated. A de novo Q61H NRAS mutation was detected in the affected twin at diagnosis and backtracked in both twins at birth. The KMT2A/AFF1 rearrangement was absent at birth in both twins. Genetic analyses conducted at birth gave more insights into the timing of the mutation hit. We identified correlations between DNA methylation and gene expression changes for 32 genes in the three independent affected versus remitted patients. The strongest correlations were observed for the RAB32, PDK4, CXCL3, RANBP17, and MACROD2 genes. This epigenetic signature could be a putative target for the development of novel epigenetic-based therapies and could help in explaining the molecular mechanisms characterizing ALL infants with KMT2A/AFF1 fusions.     

Characterization of glycerophosphocholine phosphodiesterase activity and phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis in cultured retinal microcapillary pericytes. Effect of adenosine and endothelin-1

In pericytes from bovine retina, the enzyme glycerophosphocholine phosphodiesterase, catalyzing the hydrolysis of sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine to glycero-3-phosphate and choline, has been characterized with respect to pH optimum, metal ion dependence, K _m, inhibitors, and subcellular localization. In these cells, the natural substrate sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine was present at relatively high concentration (6.4±1.2 nmol/mg protein), and the EDTA-sensitive phosphodiesterase activity was also found to be markedly high (9.80±1.5 nmol/min/mg protein) compared to the estimated in liver and brain (1–3 nmol/min/mg protein) or in renal epithelial cell culture (0.27 nmol/min/mg protein). The reaction conditions were in general agreement with those found earlier in brain and other tissues. The majority of the enzyme specific activity was located in the plasma membrane, whereas a minor part was present in the microsomal fraction. The physiological significance of the high catabolic phosphodiesterase activity in these cells may be related to the tranfer, followed by deacylation, of lysophosphatidylcholine from the bloodstream to nervous tissue. In addition, capillary pericytes in culture were able to incorporate ³H-choline rapidly into choline-containing soluble phosphorylated intermediates and into phosphatidylcholine. To find a positive and negative effector on phosphatidylcholine formation, adenosine, an important intercellular mediator in the retina in response to alterations in oxygen delivery, and endothelin-1, a potent paracrine mediator present at the blood-brain and blood-retina barrier, were tested. The cells cultured for 1 or 24 h in a medium containing adenosine at concentrations of 10⁻⁶ and 10⁻⁴ M showed significant reduction in ³H-choline incorporation compared to control cultures, whereas endothelin-1, at a concentration of 10 and 100 nM, caused stimulation of phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis. These findings provide evidence that both agonists may modulate phosphatidylcholine metabolism in pericytes.     

Comprehensive characterization of a cost-effective microbial fuel cell with Pt-free catalyst cathode and slip-casted ceramic membrane

This work reports a new procedure for low-cost Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) manufacture, based on the optimization of the most expensive MFC components: separator and cathode. For the first time, tubular MFC clay separators were fabricated by slip-casting, which allowed to reach the lowest thickness reported to date (1.55 mm), with a minimum cost (0.43 €·m^?2). On the other hand, a novel cathode was fabricated by using commercial CuO based catalyst and Carbon Mesh (CM). The new cathode showed a power density of 110 mW m^?2, more than 40% higher than other Cu based cathodes for Ceramic-MFCs (C-MFCs) studied in the literature. The proposed cell was operated for more than 6 months, with a power reduction of 29.4%, contrasting with Pt-cathodes (deactivation of almost 50% during the first month). A deep economic analysis showed a cost of 0.51 €/cell when energetic optimization and a semi-industrial production were considered, one of the lowest for C-MFCs ever reported.     

Sensitive Determination of 6-Thioguanine Using Caffeic Acid-functionalized Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> Nanoparticles as an Electrochemical Sensor

The study demonstrates the potential application of caffeic acid-functionalized magnetite nanoparticles (CA-Fe₃O₄ NPs) as an effective electrode modifying material for the electrochemical oxidation of the 6-thioguanine (6-TG) drug. The functionalized Fe₃O₄ NPs were prepared using simple wet-chemical methodology where the used caffeic acid acted simultaneously as growth controlling and functionalizing agent. The study discusses the influence of an effective functionalization on the signal sensitivity observed for the electro-oxidation of 6-TG over CA-Fe₃O₄ NPs in comparison to a glassy carbon electrode modified with bare and nicotinic acid (NA)-functionalized Fe₃O₄ NPs. The experiment results provided sufficient evidence to support the importance of favorable functionality to achieve higher signal sensitivity for the electro-oxidation of 6-TG. The presence of favorable interactions between the active functional moieties of caffeic acid and 6-TG synergized with the greater surface area of magnetic NPs produces a stable electro-oxidation signal within the working range of 0.01–0.23 μM with sensitive up to 0.001 μM. Additionally, the sensor showed the strong anti-interference potential against the common co-existing drug molecules such as benzoic acid, acetaminophen, epinephrine, norepinephrine, glucose, ascorbic acid and l-cysteine. In addition, the successful quantification of 6-TG from the commercial tablets obtained from local pharmacy further signified the practical capability of the discussed sensor.