Abstract
The brown marmorated stink bug
Halyomorpha halys
is an Asian species that has become a major agricultural pest in North America and Europe. Ants from the genus
Crematogaster
are predators of
...H. halys
nymphs in Asia, as well as in the Mediterranean, where known native predators are still few. At the same time, ants usually do not harm
H. halys
eggs, which are the target of the main biological control agents, the scelionid parasitoids of the genus
Trissolcus
. However, ants, as generalist predators and territorial organisms, may kill or displace a variety of other insects, potentially interfering with parasitoids and biological control programmes. We conducted laboratory experiments to investigate the interactions between the Mediterranean ant
Crematogaster scutellaris
and the parasitoids
T. japonicus
and
T. mitsukurii
, evaluating the possibility that the ants could damage the parasitized eggs, attack the parasitoids during emergence or interfere with the egg‐laying behaviour of female parasitoids. Our results demonstrate that
C. scutellaris
is not able to damage parasitized eggs and is not aggressive towards adult parasitoids at any stage. The presence of ants can slow down the parasitization rate in
T. mitsukurii
females in the smallest laboratory setups; however, this has not been observed in a more natural setting. We suggest that ants may play a complementary role together with egg‐parasitoids in the control of
H. halys
without interfering with each other.
This study investigates the reliability of a pilot hybrid constructed wetland (H-CW), located in Eastern Sicily (Italy). To address the uncertainty associated with implementing representative ...monitoring during highly variable storm events, unique to Mediterranean conditions, a recipe for semi-synthetic stormwater was used to evaluate the removal efficiency of the system. This was characterised by metals (Cd, Cr, Fe, Pb, Cu, Zn) and relative concentrations typically found in urban stormwater runoff (SR). Approximately one month of intensive monitoring activities were carried out and quality analyses were conducted on three matrices comprising the pilot H-CW: water, biomass (Canna indica, Typha latifolia), and volcanic gravel substrate. Metal retention in early clogging matter (SS) was also examined. The results showed a significantly high H-CW efficiency for the removal of all metals (70–98%) already at the horizontal flow unit outflow, confirming its strategic role. A metal mass balance analysis was also conducted to describe the retention capacity and influence of each system component on the overall efficiency (ranging from 87.8% for Cr to 99.2% for Pb). Metal removal was mostly related to sediment and substrate processes, while plants exhibited root bioaccumulation and phytostabilisation capacity even with a limited impact on overall system retention. The pilot H-CW exhibits characteristics suitable for the treatment of metal-enriched stormwater runoff and validates the useful application of decentralised natural systems for water resource management.
Display omitted
•Metal removal was mostly related to sediment and substrate processes.•Plants exhibited limited impact in retention paths and through root system stabilisation.•Assessment of metals removal processes in CWs can help management and maintenance operations.
Abstract
In the framework of the activities carried out for a research project aimed at the structural monitoring of public and historic buildings in the Savuto valley (Cosenza, Italy), the survey of ...the
S. Angelo
Roman bridge along the
Via ab Regio ad Capuam
was carried out with integrated geomatic techniques. The result of the geometric survey is a realistic 3D model with a dual utility: (a) to allow the identification of elements that can provide indications on the structural health of the artifact (crack pattern, deformations, settlements) and (b) to extract a simplified 3D model to be used for structural calculation with the Finite Element Method (FEM). In the paper, the survey of the
S. Angelo
bridge is described, carried out with integrated geomatics techniques. The 3D structural model of this artifact is shown and the comparison with previous research results is presented.
A power management integrated circuit for an energy autonomous device is presented. It is based on a configurable 2:1 switched capacitor converter that is capable of delivering a maximum current to ...always-on and duty-cycled loads equal to 5 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX"> \mu \text{A} </tex-math></inline-formula> and 2 mA, respectively, from a thin-film 4.2-V lithium battery. The circuit is designed and implemented using the 0.8-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX"> \mu \text{m} </tex-math></inline-formula> CMOS transistors of a BCD technology and exploits off-chip ceramic capacitors. Power conversion efficiency as high as 93% in the active mode and 80% in the sleep mode, despite the large variation range of the output current, is achieved.
Objectives
To create a statistical tool for the estimation of extracapsular extension (ECE) level of prostate cancer and determine the nerve‐sparing (NS) approach that can be safely performed during ...radical prostatectomy (RP).
Patients and Methods
A total of 11 794 lobes, from 6 360 patients who underwent robot‐assisted RP between 2008 and 2016 were evaluated. Clinicopathological features were included in a statistical algorithm for the prediction of the maximum ECE width. Five multivariable logistic models were estimated for: presence of ECE and ECE width of >1, >2, >3, and >4 mm. A five‐zone decision rule based on a lower and upper threshold is proposed. Using a graphical interface, surgeons can view patient's pre‐treatment characteristics and a curve showing the estimated probabilities for ECE amount together with the areas identified by the decision rule.
Results
Of the 6 360 patients, 1 803 (28.4%) were affected by non‐organ‐confined disease. ECE was present in 1 351 lobes (11.4%) and extended beyond the capsule for >1, >2, >3, and >4 mm in 498 (4.2%), 261 (2.2%), 148 (1.3%), 99 (0.8%) cases, respectively. ECE width was up to 15 mm (interquartile range 1.00–2.00). The five logistic models showed good predictive performance, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was: 0.81 for ECE, and 0.84, 0.85, 0.88, and 0.90 for ECE width of >1, >2, >3, and >4 mm, respectively.
Conclusion
This novel tool predicts with good accuracy the presence and amount of ECE. Furthermore, the graphical interface available at www.prece.it can support surgeons in patient counselling and preoperative planning.
Abstract
The surveys of the excavation area of the Pauciuri archaeological site, carried out with geomatic techniques, are described. 3D models of the site and of some particularly interesting ...remains have been obtained. For an early medieval burial both TLS and photogrammetric surveys were carried out, which allowed the development of two 3D models. The comparison between the two techniques has been made: the results are discussed.
Abstract
The West-Palaearctic Colobopsis ant populations have long been considered a single species (Colobopsis truncata). We studied the diversity of this species by employing a multidisciplinary ...approach and combining data from our surveys, museum and private collections, and citizen science platforms. As a result, we have revealed the existence of a second species, which we describe as Colobopsis imitans sp. nov., distributed allopatrically from Co. truncata and living in the Maghreb, Sicily and southern Iberia. While the pigmentation of Co. truncata is reminiscent of Dolichoderus quadripunctatus, that of Co. imitans is similar to Crematogaster scutellaris, with which Co. imitans lives in close spatial association, and whose foraging trails it habitually follows, similar to Camponotus lateralis and other ant-mimicking ants. The isolation between Co. imitans and Co. truncata seems to have occurred relatively recently because of significant, yet not extreme, morphometric differentiation, and to mtDNA polyphyly. Both Co. imitans and Co. truncata appear to employ mimicry of an unpalatable or aggressive ant species as an important defensive strategy; this ‘choice’ of a different model species is motivated by biogeographic reasons and appears to act as a critical evolutionary driver of their diversification.
The moment we see a group of objects, we can appreciate its numerosity. Our numerical estimates can be imprecise for large sets (>4 items), but they become much faster and more accurate if items are ...clustered into groups compared to when they are randomly displaced. This phenomenon, termed groupitizing, is thought to leverage on the capacity to quickly identify groups from 1 to 4 items (subitizing) within larger sets, however evidence in support for this hypothesis is scarce. The present study searched for an electrophysiological signature of subitizing while participants estimated grouped numerosities exceeding this range by measuring event-related potential (ERP) responses to visual arrays of different numerosities and spatial configurations. The EEG signal was recorded while 22 participants performed a numerosity estimation task on arrays with numerosities in the subitizing (3 or 4) or estimation (6 or 8) ranges. In the latter case, items could be spatially arranged into subgroups (3 or 4) or randomly scattered. In both ranges, we observed a decrease in N1 peak latency as the number of items increased. Importantly, when items were arranged to form subgroups, we showed that the N1 peak latency reflected both changes in total numerosity and changes in the number of subgroups. However, this result was mainly driven by the number of subgroups to suggest that clustered elements might trigger the recruitment of the subitizing system at a relatively early stage. At a later stage, we found that P2p was mostly modulated by the total numerosity in the set, with much less sensitivity for the number of subgroups these might be segregated in. Overall, this experiment suggests that the N1 component is sensitive to both local and global parcelling of elements in a scene suggesting that it could be crucially involved in the emergence of the groupitizing advantage. On the other hand, the later P2p component seems to be much more bounded to the global aspects of the scene coding the total number of elements while being mostly blind to the number of subgroups in which elements are parsed.
An approach for the design of two-stage class-AB OTAs with sub-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">1{\boldsymbol {\mu }}\text{A} </tex-math></inline-formula> current consumption is proposed ...and demonstrated. The approach employs MOS transistors operating in subthreshold and allows maximum gain-bandwidth product (GBW) to be achieved for a given DC current budget, by setting optimum distribution of DC currents in the two amplifier stages. Following this strategy, a class AB OTA was designed in a standard 0.5-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">{\boldsymbol {\mu }}\text{m} </tex-math></inline-formula> CMOS technology supplied from 1.6-V and experimentally tested. Measured GBW was 307 kHz with 980-nA DC current consumption while driving an output capacitance of 40 pF with an average slew rate of 96 V/ms.
To evaluate the influence of posterior musculofascial plate reconstruction (PR) on early return of continence after radical prostatectomy (RP); an updated systematic review of the literature. A ...systematic review of the literature was performed in June 2015, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) statement and searching Medline, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science databases. We searched the terms posterior reconstruction prostatectomy, double layer anastomosis prostatectomy across the ‘Title’ and ‘’ fields of the records, with the following limits: humans, gender (male), and language (English). The authors reviewed the records to identify studies comparing cohorts of patients who underwent RP with or without restoration of the posterior aspect of the rhabdosphincter. A meta‐analysis of the risk ratios estimated using data from the selected studies was performed. In all, 21 studies were identified, including three randomised controlled trials. The overall analysis of comparative studies showed that PR improved early continence recovery at 3–7, 30, and 90 days after catheter removal, while the continence rate at 180 days was statistically but not clinically affected. Statistically significantly lower anastomotic leakage rates were described after PR. There were no significant differences for positive surgical margins rates or for complications such as acute urinary retention and bladder neck stricture. The analysis confirms the benefits at 30 days after catheter removal already discussed in the review published in 2012, but also shows a significant advantage in terms of urinary continence recovery in the first 90 days. A multicentre prospective randomised controlled trial is currently being conducted in several institutions around the world to better assess the effectiveness of PR in facilitating an earlier recovery of postoperative urinary continence.
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