[en] The sensitivity of human natural killer (NK) cell activities (both binding and killing) after exposure of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to different doses of gamma radiation was studied. A panel of monoclonal antibodies was used to identify the NK and T-lymphocyte subsets and to evaluate their radiosensitivity. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were irradiated with low (2-6 Gy) and high (10-30 Gy) doses and NK cell binding and cytotoxic activity against K562 target cells were studied after 3 h and 48 h in culture. The primary damage to NK cell activity was identified at the postbinding level and affected mainly the lytic machinery. After 48 h culture postirradiation, an overall depression of cytotoxic activity was observed, but ionizing radiation produced either a selection of the more cytotoxic NK cell subsets, which therefore might be considered more resistant to radiation damage than the less cytotoxic NK cells, or a long-term stimulation of cytotoxic activity in surviving cells

No abstract available

[en] We analyze the evolution of galaxy spectral properties up to z = 1 by using galaxies from the zCOSMOS-Bright 20k spectroscopic survey. We divide the sample in several mass-redshift bins to obtain stacked galaxy spectra and measure emission lines with a higher S/N. The aim of this work is to investigate whether it is possible to highlight some evidence of AGN activity in suppressing star formation during the transitional phase of galaxies from late to early type, with a particular look on a possible trend of the galaxy total stellar mass. Our main finding is a clear role of the total stellar mass in leading galaxy evolution. As the diagnostic diagrams indicate, the objects show a progressive shift towards the AGNs region with increasing total stellar mass. Additionally, the composites follow, for a fixed redshift bin, evolutionary tracks that move from the upper part of the SF galaxies sequence down to the same metallicity sequence. For stellar masses greater than 1.6 x 10¹⁰ solar masses, the objects start being classified as composites or AGNs. This indicates that AGNs mostly act at the highest mass bins, where our sample is firstly populated by passive galaxies that have experienced the quenching. The evidence that older stellar populations inhabit more massive galaxies, together with the increasing AGN detection rate with increasing masss, suggest a scenario in which AGNs might act to quench the star formation and, then, contribute to the transformation from young blue late-type galaxies to old red early-type galaxies.

[en] Background: The presence of subcutaneous implants, such as permanent defibrillators, is an absolute contraindication to the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Moreover, MRI is unadvisable in subjects with metallic hardware near the area of study, as artifacts generated by such materials distort image quality. Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and indications of arthrography with multidetector computed tomography arthrography (arthro-MDCT) of the shoulder in patients with absolute or relative contraindications to MRI and in patients with periarticular metal implants using diagnostic arthroscopy as the gold standard. Material and Methods: After intraarticular injection of iodixanol and volumetric acquisition, 70 shoulders in 70 patients (30 females, 40 males, age range 32-60 years) were examined with a 16-detector-row CT scanner. The patients had arthralgia but no radiologically detected fractures. They could not be studied by MRI because of absolute contraindications (subcutaneous electronic implants), surgical metal implants, or claustrophobia. In 28 of the 70 patients who had had previous shoulder surgery, the arthro-CT examination was preceded by an MRI on the same day. All examinations were interpreted by two experienced musculoskeletal radiologists. The findings were compared with arthroscopic findings carried out within 28 days of the CT study. Results: In the 42 non-operated patients, the comparison between arthro-MDCT and arthroscopy showed sensitivity and specificity ranging between 87% and 100%. In the 28 operated shoulders, arthro-MDCT had an accuracy of 94% compared with 25% with MRI. Interobserver agreement was almost perfect (κ=0.95) in the evaluation of all types of lesions, both on MDCT and MRI. When arthro-MDCT was compared with MRI in the postoperative patients by a McNemar test, a significant difference (P<0.05) was found between these two techniques. Conclusion: Arthro-MDCT of the shoulder is a safe technique that provides accurate diagnosis in identifying chondral, fibrocartilaginous, and intraarticular ligamentous lesions in patients who cannot be evaluated by MRI, and in patients after surgery

[en] The recent natural and anthropic disasters have led some of today’s experimental researches to be oriented towards the study of residences for temporary living. During an emergency, the lack of primary resources and services often forces part of the affected population to live in inadequate health and environmental conditions. These problems are aggravated by the psychological damage to which the displaced people are subjected, as well as by the temporary nature of the residence. The temporary residence project should respect different requirements, e.g. construction speed, the ease of transport and the flexibility of the interior spaces. The aim of the present research is to improve the internal comfort of modular and prefabricated living areas designed for emergencies, through the application of a controlled mechanical ventilation system. The study aims to develop combinable and transportable modules that allow to obtain multiple spatial and planimetric combinations of accommodation thanks to an easy and quick junction system, the same for almost all panels. The easy assembly and disassembly as well as the ease of transport make these modules reusable and easy to install, fundamental characteristics as different emergency situations can occur in places very distant from each other. To achieve the required performance, a controlled mechanical ventilation system has been designed to make the modules adaptable to any environmental and climate context. A comparative analysis was carried out between a mechanical ventilation system and natural ventilation. For the mechanical ventilation an autonomous system for each module was chosen compared to a centralized system with ducts distributed in the house. The proposed solution allows to guarantee an adequate level of air health, without a significant increase of the associated costs. (paper)

[en] The starburst/Seyfert composite galaxy IRAS 01072+4954 (z = 0.0236) is an enigmatic source that combines a Seyfert 1-like X-ray emission with a starburst optical spectrum that lacks broad line emission. We performed High Angular Resolution observations of the central kiloparsec of this galaxy in the near-infrared. Combining our data with 2MASS images of the whole galaxy, we obtain and model the surface brightness profile. We find indications for the presence of an elongated bar-like structure in both data sets. We also model the line of sight velocity distribution of the stars in the bulge. The derived photometrical and kinematical parameters of the bulge are used to evaluate the black hole mass through scaling relations. We find that all reliable estimations of the black hole mass are consistent with the presence of an intermediate mass black hole of M_BH ∼< 10⁵ M_o-dot.

[en] Ozone (O_3) is both a greenhouse gas and a secondary air pollutant causing adverse impacts on forests ecosystems at different scales, from cellular to ecosystem level. Specifically, the phytotoxic nature of O_3 can impair CO_2 assimilation that, in turn affects forest productivity. This study aims to evaluate the effects of tropospheric O_3 on Gross Primary Production (GPP) at 37 European forest sites during the time period 2000–2010. Due to the lack of carbon assimilation data at O_3 monitoring stations (and vice-versa) this study makes a first attempt to combine high resolution MODIS Gross Primary Production (GPP) estimates and O_3 measurement data. Partial Correlations, Anomalies Analysis and the Random Forests Analysis (RFA) were used to quantify the effects of tropospheric O_3 concentration and its uptake on GPP and to evaluate the most important factors affecting inter-annual GPP changes. Our results showed, along a North-West/South-East European transect, a negative impact of O_3 on GPP ranging from 0.4% to 30%, although a key role of meteorological parameters respect to pollutant variables in affecting GPP was found. In particular, meteorological parameters, namely air temperature (T), soil water content (SWC) and relative humidity (RH) are the most important predictors at 81% of test sites. Moreover, it is interesting to highlight a key role of SWC in the Mediterranean areas (Spanish, Italian and French test sites) confirming that, soil moisture and soil water availability affect vegetation growth and photosynthesis especially in arid or semi-arid ecosystems such as the Mediterranean climate regions. Considering the pivotal role of GPP in the global carbon balance and the O_3 ability to reduce primary productivity of the forests, this study can help in assessing the O_3 impacts on ecosystem services, including wood production and carbon sequestration. - Highlights: • Assessment of the surface O_3 effects on Gross Primary Production (GPP) • GPP is negatively related to O_3 concentration and positively to O_3 fluxes • Temperature and relative humidity were the most important factors controlling GPP. • Key role of the Soil Water Content in the Mediterranean regions.

[en] Ozone (O₃) exposure at Italian background sites exceeds UN/ECE concentration-based critical levels (CLe_c), if expressed in terms of AOT40. Yet the occurrence of adverse effects of O₃ on forests and crops is controversial. Possible reasons include (i) ability of response indicators to provide an unbiased estimate of O₃ effects, (ii) setting of current CLe_c in terms of cut-off value and accumulation level, (iii) response functions adopted to infer a critical level, (iv) environmental limitation to O₃ uptake and (v) inherent characteristics of Mediterranean vegetation. In particular, the two latter points suggest that critical levels based on accumulated stomatal flux (CLe_f) can be a better predictor of O₃ risk than CLe_c. While this concept is largely acknowledged, a number of factors may limit its applicability for routine monitoring. This paper reviews levels, uptake and vegetation response to O₃ in Italy over recent years to discuss value, uncertainty and feasibility of different approaches to risk assessment. - While the flux-based approach is scientifically sounder, a more practical concentration-based approach is still necessary for routine monitoring