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Abstract The dynamic behavior of biological materials is central to their functionality, suggesting that interfacial dynamics could also mediate the activity of chemical events at the surfaces of synthetic materials. Here, we investigate the influence of surface flexibility and hydration on heavy metal remediation by nanostructures self-assembled from small molecules that are decorated with surface-bound chelators in water. We find that incorporating short oligo(ethylene glycol) spacers between the surface and interior domain of self-assembled nanostructures can drastically increase the conformational mobility of surface-bound lead-chelating moieties and promote interaction with surrounding water. In turn, we find the binding affinities of chelators tethered to the most flexible surfaces are more than ten times greater than the least flexible surfaces. Accordingly, nanostructures composed of amphiphiles that give rise to the most dynamic surfaces are capable of remediating thousands of liters of 50 ppb Pb2+-contaminated water with single grams of material. These findings establish interfacial dynamics as a critical design parameter for functional self-assembled nanostructures.

Neurodegenerative diseases are illnesses that affect the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by a series of symptoms such as dementia, motor disturbances, behavioural and psychological disorders, and cognitive impairments. The most common neurodegenerative disorders are Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, for which radiopharmaceuticals have been developed and approved for the purpose of PET investigation. Biomarkers are molecules that can be studied and used for diagnostic purposes, to monitor diseases, and to identify potential risk factors early.

Background/objectiveEmotional dysregulation is bidirectionally associated with sleep disturbances, with potentially critical implications for emotional reactivity, in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). This study evaluated subjective and objective sleep quality, emotional regulation, and emotional reactivity in 20 patients with BPD compared to 20 non-clinical individuals.MethodsSubjective and objective sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and a 3-day actigraphic measurement. Emotional regulation was evaluated using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and the Berkeley Expressivity Questionnaire. Furthermore, each participant underwent an emotional reactivity task selected from the International Affective Picture System.ResultsCompared to control subjects, individuals with BPD reported poor subjective sleep quality and objective sleep continuity disturbances, with more sleep fragmentation and decreased sleep efficiency. Moreover, BPD patients showed emotional dysregulation and altered subjective reactivity to emotional stimuli, particularly positively valenced stimuli.ConclusionThese results suggest the importance of further clarifying the specific direction of sleep-dependent emotional modulation in individuals with BPD, with significant clinical implications for patients with co-occurring sleep disturbances.

Abstract Quasicrystals, solids with rotational symmetries forbidden for crystals, are usually synthesized in the laboratory by mixing specific ratios of selected elemental components in the liquid and quenching under strictly controlled protocols. Nevertheless, the discovery of Al-Cu-Fe natural quasicrystals in the Khatyrka meteorite showed that these exotic phases could also form in high-velocity impact-induced shock events introducing an endeavour to search them in cosmic material. Here we report the discovery of an extraterrestrial icosahedral quasicrystal with an unusual composition Al51.7(6)Cu30.8(9)Fe10.3(4)Si7.2(9), ideally Al52Cu31Fe10Si7, found in a scoriaceous micrometeorite, named FB-A1, recovered at the top of Mt. Gariglione (Italy). The chemistry of the icosahedral phase was characterized by electron microprobe, and the rotational symmetry was confirmed by means of electron backscatter diffraction. The FB-A1 micrometeorite represents the third independent discovery of naturally occurring intermetallic Al-Cu-Fe-(Si) alloys in extraterrestrial bodies and the second case of extraterrestrial material containing a natural quasicrystal, after Khatyrka meteorite.

Forest areas and mountainous territories provide crucial ecosystem services, among which cultural-recreational services are of particular relevance in the Alps. In 2018, the mountain area of Northeast Italy was struck by the VAIA windstorm, resulting in extensive damage to trail networks and substantial landscape transformations in valleys. Restoring the storm-affected area while considering forest resilience and public preferences became a critical need. This research is aimed at assessing the landscape scenic preferences of visitors and residents of the area impacted by the storm with reference to alternative intervention strategies for restoring the VAIA-affected forests. The psychophysical approach was applied to understand residents preferences and a survey was conducted in May 2022, involving 713 residents in the Veneto region. Respondents were requested to evaluate the scenic quality of 8 landscape typologies characterized by panoramic and non-panoramic views, forests with and without fallen trees, and meadows cultivated or abandoned. They were also required to associate eight proposed categories of emotions with the landscapes, providing scores accordingly. To analyze the factors affecting landscape scenic quality we estimated two regression models. The first model highlighted that the scenic quality of the landscape is positively correlated with panoramic views, cultivated meadows, and forests, while abandoned areas or trees felled by VAIA have negative correlations. The second model demonstrated the existence of a strong relationship between landscape quality and the emotions evoked, with certain emotions significantly impacting scenic quality perception. The second model explains a higher proportion of the scenic quality scores than the first one (R2 = 0.788 vs R2 = 0.527) meaning that emotions are a better predictor of scenic quality than the physical characteristics of the territory. Our results suggest that, in order to improve the recreational services of the mountain territories, for restoring the VAIA-affected forests it will be necessary to remove the felled trees and at the same time increase the presence of panoramic views by substituting in some areas the forests with cultivated meadows.

In the Brazilian Cerrado region, the soils have significant agricultural potential; however, they are naturally acidic soils due to the constitution of the source material and the high weathering process. Liming has been the main tool for correcting acidity and supplying Ca2+ and Mg2+ to the soil; however, the effect of the corrector is limited to the soil surface. Consequently, the benefits of liming are restricted to the surface layer of the soil and do not solve the subsurface acidity problems. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the subsoiling operation together with the application of a soil acidity corrector on the nutrition and productivity of soybean crops. The experiment was carried out in the experimental area of the Federal University of Jataí in the state of Goias, Brazil. The experimental design was a randomized block design, consisting of six treatments and four replications. The experiment was implemented in 2018, and it utilized the following treatments: T1: control (without subsoiling and liming); T2: the application of superficial limestone, without incorporation at a dose of 1 Mg ha−1; T3: limestone applied through gravity up to 60 centimeters (cm) deep using a subsoiler, with a spacing between the rods of 0.37 meters (m), at a dose of 2.82 Mg ha−1; T4: limestone applied with the same implement used in T3, at the same dose, but with a spacing between the rods of 0.75 m; T5: subsoiling, without the use of liming; and T6: subsoiling and, subsequently, liming on the surface at a dosage of 1 Mg ha−1. The superficial application of the oxide increases the mineral nutrition of plants, the production components, and the productivity of soybeans. There is no agronomic feasibility for using the subsoiler to incorporate limestone.

The characterization of objects of historical and cultural interest represents a crucial topic, specifically when it regards gemstones. Actually, the advanced investigation of precious minerals of gemological interest requires exclusively non-destructive analyses which are also suitable for determining their provenance when it is unknown. In this study, a non-destructive analytical protocol, previously tested on diamonds for petrogenetic studies, has been applied to a natural diamond of very high historical and gemological value, donated in 1852 by Monsignor Lavinio de ‘Medici Spada to the Museum of Earth Sciences of Sapienza University (Rome). The analytical protocol used includes X-ray diffraction topography, micro-computed X-ray tomography, single-crystal micro-X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The results show the presence of dislocations originating from inclusions and a very low degree of plastic deformation. The aggregation states of its N impurities show that this diamond is type IaAB, while the inclusions consist of olivine (Fo92-93), suggesting a lithospheric origin. The historical references found in the catalogs of the Museum indicate only a Brazilian origin, without any reference to the mining district. The information acquired in this study, enhanced by document research on mining in Brazil since 1700, suggests that the diamond likely comes from the district of Diamantina, Mina Gerais, Brazil.

Lorenzo Viselli,1,* Fabiana Festucci,1,* Maria Chiara Pino,1 Aurora D’Atri,1 Federico Salfi,1 Giulia Amicucci,1,2 Domenico Corigliano,1,2 Federica Naccarato,1 Michele Ferrara,1 Daniela Tempesta1 1Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy; 2Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Michele Ferrara, Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy, Email michele.ferrara@univaq.itPurpose: The present study aimed to validate the Italian version of the Iowa Resistance to Sleeplessness Test (iREST), a 16-item self-report assessing resilience to sleep debt in the affective, cognitive, and somatic domains.Participants and Methods: We examined its factor structure, assessed internal consistency and criterion validity, and established test-retest reliability on 768 Italian native speakers (65.8% of women) with a mean age of 25.98 years old.Results: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed a new 13-item structure for the Italian iREST (iREST-13), demonstrating more satisfactory goodness-of-fit values, and exhibiting good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α ranging from 0.73 to 0.89), relative to the 16-item original version. Results supported the iREST convergent validity, showing significant independence from established measures of sleep; low correlations with conceptually unrelated measures supported divergent validity, indicating that the iREST effectively measures resistance to sleeplessness without confounding with other constructs. Lastly, test-retest reliability was evaluated by administering the iREST to the same sample with a 2-week interval: the significant correlations supported its temporal stability.Conclusion: Further studies are needed to evaluate the applicability of the iREST in diverse populations and explore its relationship with objective sleep measures. Nevertheless, the Italian iREST provides a valuable tool for assessing resistance to sleep loss, offering insights into individual differences in resilience. Additionally, the iREST can assist in identifying individuals who require interventions to enhance resilience to sleep debt, as well as help clinicians evaluate the impact of chronic sleep disruption and deliver targeted interventions.Keywords: sleeplessness, resilience, sleep loss, vulnerability, individual differences, Italian validation

Using spatial regression models, we detect determinants of farmland’s prices in a rural area located in the upper Treviso plain (Veneto region, Italy). Econometric analysis is based on a Spatial linear regression model able to account for spatial lags in the data. Estimates show which intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics have the greatest influence on price, and how buyers and sellers’ profiles also matter on the price determination. Our application fosters spatial regression models in rural real estate market analysis and appraisal, and highlights that in the area under study the farmland’s prices are significantly affected by factors that are rarely considered in the literature, such as sellers and buyers’ profiles, the land use in the context where the sold plot is located matters, the hydraulic risk of the area and the presence of large infrastructures.

This peer commentary investigates how individuals assign blame to non-native supervisors after an accident where an employee suffers a workplace accident in a multilingual organization. Extending research presented in the focal article by Obenauer and Kalsher's (2023), the authors propose that supervisors with non-native accents are likely to be blamed after an accident they tried to prevent due to stereotypes and increased cognitive effort in processing accented speech. The authors discuss scenarios where, even when supervisors effectively conduct a verbal safety briefing warning employees about possible dangers, they are not excepted from blame. Additionally, the authors suggest that biases against non-native supervisors may extend to native speakers with strong regional or foreign sounding accents. Moving forward, this commentary encourages more nuanced theorizing around non-native accents and more research differentiating between various Latin/Hispanic accents.

We propose a novel discretization procedure for the classical Euler equation, based on the theory of Galois differential algebras and the finite operator calculus developed by G.C. Rota and collaborators. This procedure allows us to define algorithmically a new discrete model which inherits from the continuous Euler equation a class of exact solutions.

Devotional artworks represent a valuable form of art, as they are evidence of religious worship and the demo-ethno-anthropological, as well as historical-artistic, heritage of a community, which is why they definitely belong to the cultural identity of a geographic area. The Madonna della Croce wall painting is an example of devotional art preserved today in the homonymous church in Triggiano (Bari, Italy). The presented study concerns the characterization of pigments used in the painting. The identification of pictorial materials had the aim of providing a contribution to knowledge about the painting, the history of restorations, and other historical events, and to increase the information about the Apulian painting to better reconstruct the social, cultural, and economic contexts of the region. Through a non-invasive and fast methodological approach, including portable digital microscopy, colorimetry, fibre optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS), and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF); 42 points considered on coloured areas were analysed in situ, and results on pigment identification were achieved. According to the local wall painting tradition, red and yellow ochres, green earth, vine black, massicot, and lead-tin yellow were found. Furthermore, both indigo-woad dye and a mixture of vine black and yellow ochre to obtain a blueish colour on the Virgin’s mantle were highlighted.