Redox Mediation at 11-Mercaptoundecanoic Acid Self-Assembled Monolayers on Gold

Cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and digital simulation techniques were used to investigate quantitatively the mechanism of electron transfer (ET) through densely packed and well-ordered self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid on gold, either pristine or modified by physically adsorbed glucose oxidase (GOx). In the presence of ferrocenylmethanol (FcMeOH) as a redox mediator, ET kinetics involving either solution-phase hydrophilic redox probes such as [Fe(CN)6]3-/4- or surface-immobilized GOx is greatly accelerated: [Fe(CN)6]3-/4- undergoes diffusion-controlled ET, while the enzymatic electrochemical conversion of glucose to gluconolactone is efficiently sustained by FcMeOH. Analysis of the results, also including the digital simulation of CV and EIS data, showed the prevalence of an ET mechanism according to the so-called membrane model that comprises the permeation of the redox mediator within the SAM and the intermolecular ET to the redox probe located outside the monolayer. The analysis of the catalytic current generated at the GOx/SAM electrode in the presence of glucose and FcMeOH allowed the high surface protein coverage suggested by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements to be confirmed.

A Comparative Study between Hydrogen Peroxide Amperometric Biosensors Based on Different Peroxidases Wired by Os-Polymer: Applications in Water, Milk and Human Urine

In the last few years, hydrogen peroxide [...

A Comparative Study between Hydrogen Peroxide Amperometric Biosensors Based on Different Peroxidases Wired by Os-Polymer: Applications in Water, Milk and Human Urine

In the last few years, hydrogen peroxide [...

Papillocystic Variant of Acinar Cell Pancreatic Carcinoma

Acinar cell pancreatic carcinoma is a rare solid malignant neoplasm. Recent review of the literature showed occasional cases with papillary or papillocystic growth patterns, ranging from 2 to 5 cm in diameter. We report a large 10 cm pancreatic tumor with papillocystic pathology features involving the pancreatic head. The growth pattern of these tumors could be mistaken for intraductal papillary mucinous tumors or other pancreatic cystic neoplasms

Identità religiosa e diritto alla salute. Interazioni classiche ed emergenti

Sommario: PARTE I: LE INTERAZIONI CLASSICHE - 1. Salute e religione, un tema tradizionale in evoluzione - 2. La “religione” come cura. Santoni e guaritori - 3. Libertà religiosa versus tutela della salute. Le pratiche di mutilazione genitale femminile - 4. (segue) La circoncisione maschile - PARTE II: LE INTERAZIONI EMERGENTI - 5. Il dissenso religioso al trattamento sanitario. Il caso dei testimoni di Geova, e non solo - 6. Le nuove frontiere di tutela della salute nella legge n. 219 del 2017. Gli effetti sull’identità religiosa del paziente-fedele - 7. (segue) Gli spazi di obiezione di coscienza del personale medico sanitario. Religious identity and right to health. Classic and emerging interactions ABSTRACT: The relationship existing between health and religion is innate. Legal systems started dealing with it since the first formulations about freedom of religion and right to health, in order to take care of the individual and collective needs. Taking this premise into account, the first part of the essay analyzes the classic interactions between health and religion, in which the latter replaces official medicine or prescribes harmful conduct. Consequently, legal systems have developed resolutive dialectics which can be applied to new specific cases brought by multiculturalism, like infibulation. In the second part, the essay examines the emerging interactions caused by a third party - the medical health personnel - owner of the duty of care and freedom of conscience, recreating the solutions offered by doctrine and law. Lastly, it focuses on the objections which can be moved by the medical health personnel, which are connected to early end-of-life dispositions (law n. 219/2017), proposing solutions to the lack of regulation left by the law

Hydrogeological characterization of peculiar Apenninic springs

Abstract. In the northern Apennines of Italy, springs are quite widespread over the slopes. Due to the outcropping of low-permeability geologic units, they are generally characterized by low-yield capacities and high discharge variability during the hydrologic year. In addition, low-flow periods (discharge lower than 1 Ls-1) reflect rainfall and snowmelt distribution and generally occur in summer seasons. These features strongly condition the management for water-supply purposes, making it particularly complex. The "Mulino delle Vene" springs (420 m a.s.l., Reggio Emilia Province, Italy) are one of the largest in the Apennines for mean annual discharge and dynamic storage and are considered as the main water resource in the area. They flow out from several joints and fractures at the bottom of an arenite rock mass outcrop in the vicinity of the Tresinaro River. To date, these springs have not yet been exploited, as the knowledge about the hydrogeological characteristics of the aquifer and their hydrological behaviour is not fully achieved. This study aims to describe the recharge processes and to define the hydrogeological boundaries of the aquifer. It is based on river and spring discharge monitoring and groundwater balance assessment carried out during the period 2012–2013. Results confirm the effectiveness of the approach, as it allowed the total aliquot of discharge of the springs to be assessed. Moreover, by comparing the observed discharge volume with the one calculated with the groundwater balance, the aquifer has been identified with the arenite slab (mean altitude of 580 m a.s.l.), extended about 5.5 km2 and located 1 km west of the monitored springs

UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES PRODUCE HIGH-RESOLUTION, SEASONALLY-RELEVANT IMAGERY FOR CLASSIFYING WETLAND VEGETATION

With recent advances in technology, personal aerial imagery acquired with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has transformed the way ecologists can map seasonal changes in wetland habitat. Here, we use a multi-rotor (consumer quad-copter, the DJI Phantom 2 Vision+) UAV to acquire a high-resolution (< 8 cm) composite photo of a coastal wetland in summer 2014. Using validation data collected in the field, we determine if a UAV image and SWOOP (Southwestern Ontario Orthoimagery Project) image (collected in spring 2010) differ in their classification of type of dominant vegetation type and percent cover of three plant classes: submerged aquatic vegetation, floating aquatic vegetation, and emergent vegetation. The UAV imagery was more accurate than available SWOOP imagery for mapping percent cover of submergent and floating vegetation categories, but both were able to accurately determine the dominant vegetation type and percent cover of emergent vegetation. Our results underscore the value and potential for affordable UAVs (complete quad-copter system < $3,000 CAD) to revolutionize the way ecologists obtain imagery and conduct field research. In Canada, new UAV regulations make this an easy and affordable way to obtain multiple high-resolution images of small (< 1.0 km2) wetlands, or portions of larger wetlands throughout a year

Use of fixed-wing and multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles to map dynamic changes in a freshwater marsh1

We used a multi-rotor (Phantom 2 Vision+, DJI) and a fixed-wing (eBee, senseFly) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to acquire high-spatial-resolution composite photos of an impounded freshwater marsh during late summer in 2014 and 2015. Dominant type and percent cover of three vegetation classes (submerged aquatic, floating or emergent vegetation) were identified and compared against field data collected in 176 (2 m × 2 m) quadrats during summer 2014. We also compared these data against the most recently available digital aerial true colour, high-resolution photographs provided by the government of Ontario (South-western Ontario Orthophotography Project (SWOOP), May 2010), which are free to researchers but taken every 5 years in leaf-off spring conditions. The eBee system produced the most effective data for determining percent cover of floating and emergent vegetation (58% and 64% overall accuracy, respectively). Both the eBee and the Phantom were comparable in their ability to determine dominant habitat types (moderate kappa agreement) and were superior to SWOOP in this respect (poor kappa agreement). UAVs can provide a time-sensitive, flexible, and affordable option to capture dynamic seasonal changes in wetlands, information that ecologists often require to study how species at risk use their habitat