Search

Background: A growing body of evidence suggests that non-viral hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) might benefit less from immunotherapy. Materials and methods: We carried out a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from consecutive patients with non-viral advanced HCC, treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, lenvatinib, or sorafenib, in 36 centers in 4 countries (Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, and UK). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab versus lenvatinib. Secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab versus lenvatinib, and OS and PFS with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab versus sorafenib. For the primary and secondary endpoints, we carried out the analysis on the whole population first, and then we divided the cohort into two groups: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) population and non-NAFLD/NASH population. Results: One hundred and ninety patients received atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, 569 patients received lenvatinib, and 210 patients received sorafenib. In the whole population, multivariate analysis showed that treatment with lenvatinib was associated with a longer OS [hazard ratio (HR) 0.65; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.44-0.95; P = 0.0268] and PFS (HR 0.67; 95% CI 0.51-0.86; P = 0.002) compared to atezolizumab plus bevacizumab. In the NAFLD/NASH population, multivariate analysis confirmed that lenvatinib treatment was associated with a longer OS (HR 0.46; 95% CI 0.26-0.84; P = 0.0110) and PFS (HR 0.55; 95% CI 0.38-0.82; P = 0.031) compared to atezolizumab plus bevacizumab. In the subgroup of non-NAFLD/NASH patients, no difference in OS or PFS was observed between patients treated with lenvatinib and those treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab. All these results were confirmed following propensity score matching analysis. By comparing patients receiving atezolizumab plus bevacizumab versus sorafenib, no statistically significant difference in survival was observed. Conclusions: The present analysis conducted on a large number of advanced non-viral HCC patients showed for the first time that treatment with lenvatinib is associated with a significant survival benefit compared to atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, in particular in patients with NAFLD/NASH-related HCC.

The role of visual evoked potentials (VEPs) monitoring during neurosurgical procedure in patient remains unclear. The purpose of our study was to determine the feasibility of intra-operative VEPs recording using a strip cortical electrode during surgical resection of intracranial lesions METHODS: In this prospective monocentric observational study, we enrolled consecutive patients undergoing neurosurgical procedure for intracranial lesions. After dural opening, a cortical strip was positioned on the lateral occipital surface. Flash VEPs were continuously recorded using both subdermal corkscrew electrodes and strip electrodes. An electroretinogram was also recorded to guarantee delivery of adequate flash stimuli to the retina.We included 10 patients affected by different intracranial lesions. Flash VEPs were recorded using subdermal corkscrew electrodes in all patients except one in whom they were never identified during the recording. Flash VEPs were recorded using strip electrodes in all patients and showed a polyphasic morphology with a significantly larger amplitude compared with that of flash VEPs measured using subdermal corkscrew electrodes. No patient reported worsened postoperative vision, and a50% decrease in the VEPs amplitude was never registered.We have reported for the first time in the literature that VEPs monitoring during a neurosurgical procedure is feasible via a cortical strip located on the occipital surface. The technique demonstrated greater stability and a larger amplitude compared with recordings with scalp electrodes, facilitating identification of any changes. Studies with more patients are needed to assess the clinical reliability of the technique.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers; ∼20% of patients have metastases at diagnosis, and 50%-60% subsequently develop metachronous metastases. Bone involvement, despite being rare, is usually associated with higher disease burden, worse prognosis, impaired quality of life, and significant health-related cost. In the last few years, following the positive results of the TRIBE and TRIBE2 trials, the association of FOLFOXIRI plus bevacizumab has become the new standard of care for metastatic CRC. Despite being highly efficacious in all subgroups, little is known about the activity of this regimen in patients with bone metastases.We carried out a pooled analysis of TRIBE and TRIBE2 studies focusing on patients with skeletal deposits.Our analyses on the whole population showed that patients with baseline bone involvement reported shorter overall survival [OS; 14.0 versus 26.2 months; hazard ratio (HR) 2.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.46-2.87; P0.001] and progression-free survival (PFS; 6.2 versus 11.1 months; HR 1.96, 95% CI 1.42-2.69; P0.001) compared with those without bone metastases; no significant interaction with the treatment was reported for PFS (P = 0.094) and OS (P = 0.38). Bone metastases had a negative prognostic implication in the multivariate analysis (HR 2.24, 95% CI 1.54-3.26; P 0.001). Furthermore, patients with bone lesions at first radiological progression (including those with baseline bone metastases) had a shorter OS compared with those who progressed in other sites (10.4 versus 13.2 months; HR 1.48, 95% CI 1.15-1.91; P = 0.002). A trend toward inferior OS (7.5 versus 11 months, HR 1.50, 95% CI 0.92-2.45; P = 0.10) appeared in patients with basal skeletal deposits compared with those with bone involvement at first radiological progression.Our study confirmed the negative prognostic impact of bone metastases in CRC. Furthermore, we demonstrated for the first time that the survival advantage of triplet chemotherapy plus bevacizumab is maintained even in this prognostically unfavorable subgroup.

We catalog the 443 bright supernovae discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) in $2018-2020$ along with the 519 supernovae recovered by ASAS-SN and 516 additional $m_{peak}\leq18$ mag supernovae missed by ASAS-SN. Our statistical analysis focuses primarily on the 984 supernovae discovered or recovered in ASAS-SN $g$-band observations. The complete sample of 2427 ASAS-SN supernovae includes earlier $V$-band samples and unrecovered supernovae. For each supernova, we identify the host galaxy, its UV to mid-IR photometry, and the offset of the supernova from the center of the host. Updated light curves, redshifts, classifications, and host galaxy identifications supersede earlier results. With the increase of the limiting magnitude to $g\leq18$ mag, the ASAS-SN sample is roughly complete up to $m_{peak}=16.7$ mag and is $90\%$ complete for $m_{peak}\leq17.0$ mag. This is an increase from the $V$-band sample where it was roughly complete up to $m_{peak}=16.2$ mag and $70\%$ complete for $m_{peak}\leq17.0$ mag., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables. Updated to reflect changes made in the published version. Tables containing the catalog data presented in this submission are included in machine-readable format as ancillary files

The aim of this study is to evaluate the gender balance in a topic of Materials Research related to the development of alkali activated materials (AAMs) including geopolymers. A great attention has been recently addressed to this topic as AAMs represent a new class of materials with sustainable features. The first paper on geopolymers was published in 1979 by Davidovits, but around early 2000s the research interest has increased and nowadays up to 1000 papers each year are published on International peer-reviewed journals (Scopus source) since 2017

Introduction: Serum uric acid (SUA) has been depicted as a contributory causal factor in metabolic syndrome (MS), which in turn, portends unfavourable prognosis. Aim: We assessed the prognostic role of SUA in patients with and without MS. Methods: We used data from the multicentre Uric Acid Right for Heart Health study and considered cardiovascular mortality (CVM) as death due to fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, sudden cardiac death, or heart failure. Results: A total of 9589 subjects (median age 58.5 years, 45% males) were included in the analysis, and 5100 (53%) patients had a final diagnosis of MS. After a median follow-up of 142 months, we observed 558 events. Using a previously validated cardiovascular SUA cut-off to predict CVM (> 5.1 mg/dL in women and 5.6 mg/dL in men), elevated SUA levels were significantly associated to a worse outcome in patients with and without MS (all p < 0.0001) and provided a significant net reclassification improvement of 7.1% over the diagnosis of MS for CVM (p = 0.004). Cox regression analyses identified an independent association between SUA and CVM (Hazard Ratio: 1.79 [95% CI, 1.15–2.79]; p < 0.0001) after the adjustment for MS, its single components and renal function. Three specific combinations of the MS components were associated with higher CVM when increasing SUA levels were reported, and systemic hypertension was the only individual component ever-present (all p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Increasing SUA levels are associated with a higher CVM risk irrespective of the presence of MS: a cardiovascular SUA threshold may improve risk stratification. Graphic abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2021, The Author(s).

Grazie alle loro eccellenti proprietà e al fatto che si possono ottenere anche a temperatura ambiente, è possibile impiegare i geopolimeri in diversi settori industriali. In questo studio, alcuni mix geopolimerici sono stati progettati in modo da poter ottenere sfere con diametro nell’intervallo di 0.5 – 2.8 mm, da utilizzare come aggregato fine leggero per malte. Il precursore, caolino calcinato a 700 °C per 10 ore, è stato attivato con una soluzione di idrossido di sodio, NaOH, e silicato di sodio, Na2SiO3, (SiO2/Al2O3 = 3.9, Na2O/Al2O3 = 1.4, H2O/Na2O = 16). Le sfere geopolimeriche sono state ottenute mediante un processo di solidificazione in sospensione utilizzando PEG-600 come fase liquida. Parametri come mix design, temperatura del bagno, velocità di agitazione, tipologia di elica, metodo di iniezione e tempo di immersione sono stati ottimizzati al fine di ottenere la forma e la granulometria desiderate. La rimozione della fase liquida è avvenuta mediante lavaggio con acqua distillata e l’indurimento è stato completato a temperatura ambiente per 7 giorni. Le sfere così ottenute sono state utilizzate per la preparazione di malte geopolimeriche (sviluppate a partire dallo stesso mix utilizzato per le sfere) e, queste ultime, sono state confrontate con paste geopolimeriche (non contenenti quindi alcun aggregato). La stagionatura delle paste e delle malte è stata condotta per 24 ore a 60 °C e successivamente per 6 giorni a temperatura ambiente. Il grado di geopolimerizzazione dell’aggregato è stato valutato mediante diffrattometria a raggi-X e microscopia elettronica a scansione (SEM-EDS). Le paste e le malte sono invece state caratterizzate dal punto di vista fisico con misure di densità geometrica, assorbimento d’acqua, porosità aperta e relativa distribuzione dei pori (mediante porosimetro ad intrusione di Hg); dal punto di vista microstrutturale mediante analisi al microscopio ottico ed elettronico e dal punto di vista della morfologia superficiale mediante profilometro laser. I risultati mostrano che è possibile utilizzare la tecnologia dei geopolimeri per produrre malte in cui la matrice e gli aggregati siano a base geopolimerica. Gli aggregati sviluppati possono essere classificati come aggregati fini e leggeri (secondo la norma UNI EN 206-1:2006). L’aggiunta dell’aggregato all’interno della malta geopolimerica ha anche permesso di ridurre la porosità aperta e il ritiro volumetrico. Studi futuri si concentreranno sulla caratterizzazione dei materiali sia dal punto di vista delle resistenze meccaniche che dell’ottimizzazione dei parametri di processo in relazione alla granulometria delle sfere. Nell’ottica dell’economia circolare, sarà anche valutato l’utilizzo di precursori a base di scarti industriali così da incentivare i processi di riciclo.

A two-year M-ERA.NET project – the Bronze-IMproved nonhazardous PAtina CoaTings project (B-IMPACT) – focused on this conservation issue with the aim of promoting innovative, ecofriendly, and non-hazardous protection treatments for outdoor patinated bronze. Two types of sand-cast bronzes (traditional Cu-Sn-Zn-Pb and modern Cu-Si-Mn foundry alloys) were artificially patinated and several protective treatments were selected by preliminary electrochemical tests in artificial acid rain. After patination, accelerated aging was applied to test their protective efficiency. The visual aspect of the coated surfaces was assessed both before and after aging, including the aesthetic impact, which was one of the selection parameters. The health impacts of selected coatings were also investigated by occupational hazard tests. The behavior of these innovative treatments was compared to uncoated samples and to a reference coating: the benzotriazole (BTA)-containing acrylic polymer Incralac widely used for the protection of outdoor bronze monuments. A full assessment of the protectiveness of the selected coatings was performed using focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) cross sections down to the nanometric scale and top-surface investigation by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. A specifically designed adhesion 3-point bending test was also used. For the patinated Cu-Sn-Zn-Pb bronze, a hydrophobic fluoropolymer was identified as the best-performing coating in comparison to several other candidates, such as sol-gel polymers or organosilane coatings. For the modern Cu-Si-Mn alloy, blackpatinated according to the 19th-century traditional recipe, a silane-based coating (PropS-SH) was selected from different options. These included silane-based coatings with different functional groups, such as amino, thiol, and tetrasulfide groups, or long aliphatic chains. Finally, guidelines for the application of the best-performing coatings on bronze statues were also developed and issued during the project, thanks to interaction with restorers involved in the optimization of application procedures on the real cast bronze objects produced for this purpose.

Prognostication after cardiac arrest (CA) represents a challenging issue, and several biomarkers have been proposed in the attempt to predict outcome. Among these, F2-isoprostanes stand out as potential biomarkers for early prognostication, providing information on the magnitude of global oxidative injury after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). We performed a topical review searching PubMed and Scopus databases to identify studies evaluating the modifications of F2-isoprostanes in the early period after CA, and a meta-analysis of studies providing curves of F2-isoprostanes plasma levels seeking to describe the biomarker’s kinetics after CA. Evidence suggests that plasma levels of F2-isoprostanes increase in the early post-resuscitation period and seem well correlated with the burden of ischaemia-reperfusion injury. Our meta-analysis shows a possible increase as early as 5 minutes after ROSC, which persists at 2 hours and is attenuated at 4 hours. Clinical studies are warranted to evaluate the utility of this biomarker for prognostication purposes in CA survivors. © 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The microstructure and mechanical properties of the precipitation-hardening powder metallurgy Ni-base alloys UNS N07626 are investigated. The material was compacted by hot isostatic pressing and solution treated adopting distinct conditions to reveal the effect of processing temperature on material properties. The microstructure is analysed by scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The prior particle boundaries (PPBs) are related to the presence of thermally stable nanometric Nb-carbides and aluminium oxides. An increase of processing temperature conditions is associated to a slight decrease of mechanical strength and to an appreciable improvement of toughness, as suggested by Instrumented V-Notch Charpy experiments. This behaviour is attributed to the reduction of the density of PPBs precipitates acting as void-nucleating sites in a micro-ductility mechanism. The precipitates’ density is related to a limited grain gr...

The drastic reduction of agrobiodiversity has induced all countries in the world to implement numerous initiatives to safeguard genetic resources. The biodiversity issue is also one of the priority objectives of the global action plan for the conservation and sustainable use of FAO's cytogenetic resources and of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. In Italy, the primary competence on genetic resources of agricultural interest is entrusted to the Ministry of Agricultural. In 2004, the Ministry entrusted the coordination of the RGV/FAO Project to CREA. The main objectives of the project, in addition to the inventory of accessions present in the collections of the structures involved, are their morphological, agronomic and molecular characterization and the productive enhancement with particular reference to the autochthonous varieties at risk of extinction. The project in question includes the activities of recovery and characterization of the viticultural germplasm illustrated in the present work. The 12 vines described here, like others yet to be rediscovered, are strongly linked to small winegrowers and indissolubly characterial of a territory in Campania Region that from the socio-cultural (rather fragmented agricultural system) and environmental orography point of view, like the national one, is very diversified.

Context. The rotation states of small asteroids are affected by a net torque arising from an anisotropic sunlight reflection and thermal radiation from the asteroids’ surfaces. On long timescales, this so-called YORP effect can change asteroid spin directions and their rotation periods. Aims. We analyzed lightcurves of four selected near-Earth asteroids with the aim of detecting secular changes in their rotation rates that are caused by YORP or at least of putting upper limits on such changes. Methods. We use the lightcurve inversion method to model the observed lightcurves and include the change in the rotation rate dω/ dt as a free parameter of optimization. To enlarge the time line of observations and to increase the sensitivity of the method, we collected more than 70 new lightcurves. For asteroids Toro and Cacus, we used thermal infrared data from the WISE spacecraft and estimated their size and thermal inertia by means of a thermophysical model. We also used the currently available optical and radar astrometry of Toro, Ra-Shalom, and Cacus to infer the Yarkovsky effect. Results. We detected a YORP acceleration of dω/ dt = (1.9 ± 0.3) × 10-8 rad d-2 for asteroid Cacus. The current astrometric data set is not sufficient to provide detection of the Yarkovsky effect in this case. For Toro, we have a tentative (2σ) detection of YORP from a significant improvement of the lightcurve fit for a nonzero value of dω/ dt = 3.0 × 10-9 rad d-2. We note an excellent agreement between the observed secular change of the semimajor axis da/ dt and the theoretical expectation for densities in the 2–2.5 g cm-3 range. For asteroid Eger, we confirmed the previously published YORP detection with more data and updated the YORP value to (1.1 ± 0.5) × 10-8 rad d-2. We also updated the shape model of asteroid Ra-Shalom and put an upper limit for the change of the rotation rate to | dω/ dt | ≲ 1.5 × 10-8 rad d-2. Ra-Shalom has a greater than 3σ Yarkovsky detection with a theoretical value consistent with observations assuming its size and/or density is slightly larger than the nominally expected values. Using the convex shape models and spin parameters reconstructed from lightcurves, we computed theoretical YORP values and compared them with those measured. They agree with each other within the expected uncertainties of the model.

We present V and R photometry of the gravitationally lensed quasars WFI2033-4723 and HE0047-1756. The data were taken by the MiNDSTEp collaboration with the 1.54 m Danish telescope at the ESO La Silla observatory from 2008 to 2012. Differential photometry has been carried out using the image subtraction method as implemented in the HOTPAnTS package, additionally using GALFIT for quasar photometry. The quasar WFI2033-4723 showed brightness variations of order 0.5 mag in V and R during the campaign. The two lensed components of quasar HE0047-1756 varied by 0.2-0.3 mag within five years. We provide, for the first time, an estimate of the time delay of component B with respect to A of $\Delta t= 7.6\pm1.8$ days for this object. We also find evidence for a secular evolution of the magnitude difference between components A and B in both filters, which we explain as due to a long-duration microlensing event. Finally we find that both quasars WFI2033-4723 and HE0047-1756 become bluer when brighter, which is consistent with previous studies., Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures, 10 tables. Accepted for publication in A&A

This manuscript presents information for all supernovae discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) during 2015, its second full year of operations. The same information is presented for bright ($m_V\leq17$), spectroscopically confirmed supernovae discovered by other sources in 2015. As with the first ASAS-SN bright supernova catalog, we also present redshifts and near-UV through IR magnitudes for all supernova host galaxies in both samples. Combined with our previous catalog, this work comprises a complete catalog of 455 supernovae from multiple professional and amateur sources, allowing for population studies that were previously impossible. This is the second of a series of yearly papers on bright supernovae and their hosts from the ASAS-SN team., 16 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables. Submitted to MNRAS. Tables containing the catalog data presented in this submission are included in machine-readable format as ancillary files. Manuscript updated to reflect changes made in the published version and to correct an error in the host galaxy magnitudes presented in Tables 3 and 4. For a brief video explaining this paper, see https://youtu.be/iqYJp1AmyMw

We collected data on rotations and elongations of 46 secondaries of binary and triple systems among near-Earth, Mars-crossing and small main belt asteroids. 24 were found or are strongly suspected to be synchronous (in 1:1 spin–orbit resonance), and the other 22, generally on more distant and/or eccentric orbits, were found or are suggested to have asynchronous rotations. For 18 of the synchronous secondaries, we constrained their librational angles, finding that their long axes pointed to within 20° of the primary on most epochs. The observed anti-correlation of secondary synchroneity with orbital eccentricity and the limited librational angles agree with the theories by Cuk and Nesvorný (Cuk, M., Nesvorný, D. [2010]. Icarus 207, 732–743) and Naidu and Margot (Naidu, S.P., Margot, J.-L. [2015]. Astron. J. 149, 80). A reason for the asynchronous secondaries being on wider orbits than synchronous ones may be longer tidal circularization time scales at larger semi-major axes. The asynchronous secondaries show relatively fast spins; their rotation periods are typically 10 h. An intriguing observation is a paucity of chaotic secondary rotations; with an exception of (35107) 1991 VH, the secondary rotations are single-periodic with no signs of chaotic rotation and their periods are constant on timescales from weeks to years. The secondary equatorial elongations show an upper limit of a 2 / b 2 ∼ 1.5 . The lack of synchronous secondaries with greater elongations appears consistent, considering uncertainties of the axis ratio estimates, with the theory by Cuk and Nesvorný that predicts large regions of chaotic rotation in the phase space for a 2 / b 2 ≳ 2 . Alternatively, secondaries may not form or stay very elongated in gravitational (tidal) field of the primary. It could be due to the secondary fission mechanism suggested by Jacobson and Scheeres (Jacobson, S.A., Scheeres, D.J. [2011]. Icarus 214, 161–178), as its efficiency is correlated with the secondary elongation. Sharma (Sharma, I. [2014]. Icarus 229, 278–294) found that rubble-pile satellites with a 2 / b 2 ≲ 1.5 are more stable to finite structural perturbations than more elongated ones. It appears that more elongated secondaries, if they originally formed in spin fission of parent asteroid, are less likely to survive intact and they more frequently fail or fission.

The microlensing event OGLE-2008-BLG-510 is characterised by an evident asymmetric shape of the peak, promptly detected by the ARTEMiS system in real time. The skewness of the light curve appears to be compatible both with binary-lens and binary-source models, including the possibility that the lens system consists of an M dwarf orbited by a brown dwarf. The detection of this microlensing anomaly and our analysis demonstrates that: 1) automated real-time detection of weak microlensing anomalies with immediate feedback is feasible, efficient, and sensitive, 2) rather common weak features intrinsically come with ambiguities that are not easily resolved from photometric light curves, 3) a modelling approach that finds all features of parameter space rather than just the `favourite model' is required, and 4) the data quality is most crucial, where systematics can be confused with real features, in particular small higher-order effects such as orbital motion signatures. It moreover becomes apparent that events with weak signatures are a silver mine for statistical studies, although not easy to exploit. Clues about the apparent paucity of both brown-dwarf companions and binary-source microlensing events might hide here.

To report a case of colchicine-induced rhabdomyolysis and neuromyopathy in a patient treated with atorvastatin and colchicine and to review the literature about this topic. A 69-year-old man affected by diabetes mellitus and chronic renal insufficiency was prescribed atorvastatin, after that an ischemic stroke occurred, with no side effect. After 2 months colchicine (0.5 mg three times a day) was added to treat pericarditis and six weeks later, the patient began to experience increasing symmetrical proximal muscle weakness which was worse in the legs. Laboratory results suggested rhabdomyolysis, while physical examination and electromyography findings were consistent with neuromyopathy. One month after the discontinuation of colchicine and atorvastatin, the patient weakness improved and muscle enzymes levels returned to normal levels. Eleven patients with clinical and laboratory characteristics similar to our patient’s caused by the combined use of colchicine and statins have been previously described in literature. Both colchicine and statin therapy may be associated with myopathy. Co-administration may exacerbate the myotoxicity because both drugs metabolism depend on hepatic demethylation through CYP450 3A4. Combination therapy with colchicine and statin should be avoided because of the risk of developing myopathy and rhabdomyolysis even after a long uneventful statin or colchicine medication.

The following research took place during the 2018 − ‘19 season in ‘Italia' table grape vineyard in Apulia. Four treatments were compared: no fertilized (T), organic amendment fertilized (B) at rate of 5.0 ton/hectare, equivalent at the rate of 100 Kg N ha−1, 75 Kg P2O5 ha−1 and 75 Kg K202 ha−1; mineral fertilized (M) at the same rate of N, P2O5 and K2O of organic fertilized vines and finally a cover crops treatment with a mixture of vetch, pea and lentil (S). Leaf gas exchange during summer season shown significant differences in term of net CO2 assimilation, stomatal conductance, transpiration onto organic fertilized vines respect to control vines. Vines fertilized with organic amendment shown a better water status during warmest summer days since organic compounds improve the soil-water holding capacity. Compared to unfertilized vines, vines fertilized with organic amendment have shown a significant increase in yield per vine (+ 32%) in relation to the highest cluster weight and the highest sugar content respect to mineral fertilized vines. Our results indicates that application of an high level of soil organic amendment on ‘Italia' table grape vines increase grapevines yield, berry solid soluble solid and have improved soil properties, contrasting summer drought effect.

We report the discovery of ASASSN-15lh (SN 2015L), which we interpret as the most luminous supernova yet found. At redshift z = 0.2326, ASASSN-15lh reached an absolute magnitude of Mu ,AB = -23.5 ± 0.1 and bolometric luminosity Lbol = (2.2 ± 0.2) × 10(45) ergs s(-1), which is more than twice as luminous as any previously known supernova. It has several major features characteristic of the hydrogen-poor super-luminous supernovae (SLSNe-I), whose energy sources and progenitors are currently poorly understood. In contrast to most previously known SLSNe-I that reside in star-forming dwarf galaxies, ASASSN-15lh appears to be hosted by a luminous galaxy (MK ≈ -25.5) with little star formation. In the 4 months since first detection, ASASSN-15lh radiated (1.1 ± 0.2) × 10(52) ergs, challenging the magnetar model for its engine.

We report the discovery of ASASSN-15lh (SN 2015L), which we interpret as the most luminous supernova yet found. At redshift z = 0.2326, ASASSN-15lh reached an absolute magnitude of M_{u,AB} = -23.5+/-0.1 and bolometric luminosity L_bol = (2.2+/-0.2)x 10^45 ergs s^-1, which is more than twice as luminous as any previously known supernova. It has several major features characteristic of the hydrogen-poor super-luminous supernovae (SLSNe-I), whose energy sources and progenitors are currently poorly understood. In contrast to most previously known SLSNe-I that reside in star-forming dwarf galaxies, ASASSN-15lh appears to be hosted by a luminous galaxy (M_K ~ -25.5) with little star formation. In the 4 months since first detection, ASASSN-15lh radiated (1.1+/- 0.2)x10^52 ergs, challenging the magnetar model for its engine., Comment: Published in the January 15, 2016 Issue of Science Magazine

The morphology of the dust fans and shells in the images of comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) showed significant changes between 2004 April and June due to rapid changes in the Earth viewing and solar illumination geometry. We model the trajectories of dust grains ejected from distributed sources on the comet to explain the observed dust morphology in the images obtained on 2004 April 16, May 12, 16, and 21, and June 3. From the fit to the observations we derive the direction of the rotation pole of the nucleus as αp = 270° ± 10° and δp = 15° ± 10°. The derived latitudes of the sources vary between -85° and +80°. Six of the sources are found to lie on a single meridian within ±25°. Using theoretical production rates of water from these sources, reported water production rates, and the archived visual light curve of the comet, we estimate the total active area on the comet to be 38.7 ± 5.8 km2 near perihelion. The fractional active area on the comet is 12% ± 2% or 25% ± 4% at perihelion, corresponding to a nuclear radius of 5 or 3.5 km, respectively. The large outgassing areas estimated in the present work can be attributed to the fact that comet 2001Q4 is a comet from the Oort Cloud visiting the inner solar system for the first time.

We developed a self-administered questionnaire for screening the most common adult-onset dystonias. It was tested in 90 first-degree relatives of 22 adult-onset dystonia patients, yielding 79% sensitivity and 94% specificity. Simulation of a case-finding procedure based on serial application of the questionnaire and clinical examination of both subjects screening positive and subjects screening negative who had < 8 years of schooling increased sensitivity to 95% and specificity to 100%. This questionnaire may be an important screening resource for familial aggregation studies to be used in the context of a complex case-finding procedure.

The larger number of models of asteroid shapes and their rotational states derived by the lightcurve inversion give us better insight into both the nature of individual objects and the whole asteroid population. With a larger statistical sample we can study the physical properties of asteroid populations, such as main-belt asteroids or individual asteroid families, in more detail. Shape models can also be used in combination with other types of observational data (IR, adaptive optics images, stellar occultations), e.g., to determine sizes and thermal properties. We use all available photometric data of asteroids to derive their physical models by the lightcurve inversion method and compare the observed pole latitude distributions of all asteroids with known convex shape models with the simulated pole latitude distributions. We used classical dense photometric lightcurves from several sources and sparse-in-time photometry from the U.S. Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Catalina Sky Survey, and La Palma surveys (IAU codes 689, 703, 950) in the lightcurve inversion method to determine asteroid convex models and their rotational states. We also extended a simple dynamical model for the spin evolution of asteroids used in our previous paper. We present 119 new asteroid models derived from combined dense and sparse-in-time photometry. We discuss the reliability of asteroid shape models derived only from Catalina Sky Survey data (IAU code 703) and present 20 such models. By using different values for a scaling parameter cYORP (corresponds to the magnitude of the YORP momentum) in the dynamical model for the spin evolution and by comparing synthetics and observed pole-latitude distributions, we were able to constrain the typical values of the cYORP parameter as between 0.05 and 0.6., Accepted for publication in A&A, January 15, 2013

Objectives: Early assessment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) response during sorafenib (SO) treatment is challenging, since tumor necrosis, extension and radiological appearance can be inhomogeneous. We evaluated the predictive value of different imaging criteria - such as Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1, European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), modified RECIST (mRECIST), tumor density and volume variations - in the early follow-up of SO treatment. Methods: The study included 22 patients. CT images from baseline and 2 months were reviewed to assess response according to RECIST 1.1, mRECIST, EASL, Choi's criteria (decreased tumor density by ≥15%) and arterial-enhancing tumor volume ratio; α-fetoprotein (AFP) variations were expressed as AFP ratio. Results: The response criteria and volume measurements were reproducible (k > 0.80). The overall disease control rate was 40.9% by EASL and mRECIST, and 27.3% by RECIST 1.1; a ≥15% decrease in tumor density was observed in 9 patients (40.9%). The mean volume ratio was 1.73 ± 2.12, the mean AFP ratio 14 ± 37. The 1-year survival rate was 65.9%. Volume ratio was the only predictive factor for survival, with 1-year cumulative survival rates of 90% for volume ratios ≤1.1 and of 45.4% for volume ratios >1.1 (p = 0.04). Conclusions: Tumor volume measurements are reproducible and might provide an early predictive marker of response in HCC patients treated with SO.