Isoselective Polymerization of 1-Vinylcyclohexene (VCH) and a Terpene Derived Monomer S-4-Isopropenyl-1-vinyl-1-cyclohexene (IVC), and Its Binary Copolymerization with Linear Terpenes.

The advancement of stereoregular polymerization techniques for linear 1,3-dienes has enabled the production of polymers with precise stereocontrol, influencing their physical and chemical properties significantly. While 1,3-butadiene and isoprene yield diverse stereoregular polymers, cyclic dienes have received less attention due to catalyst challenges and limited application in the rubber industry. However, the growing interest in bio-based monomers, particularly those derived from terpenes and terpenoids, has revitalized interest in cyclic monomers with conjugated double bonds.

Synthesis and Characterization of β-Myrcene-Styrene and β-Ocimene-Styrene Copolymers.

The structure-properties relationships of sustainable materials derived from biomass-based monomers are investigated, focusing on hybrid styrene/terpene-based copolymers with blocky microstructures, such as β-myrcene- and β-ocimene-styrene copolymers. The samples show complex glass transition dynamics, as evidenced by the physical aging experienced by the amorphous phase in styrene-rich copolymers. The tendency of styrene- and terpene-rich sequences to give heterogeneous morphologies with correlation strength extending over 10-40 nm is outlined, through small-angle X-ray scattering analysis.

Spin-Dependent ππ^{*} Gap in Graphene on a Magnetic Substrate.

We present a detailed analysis of the electronic properties of graphene/Eu/Ni(111). By using angle- and spin-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and ab initio calculations, we show that the intercalation of Eu in the graphene/Ni(111) interface gives rise to a gapped freestanding dispersion of the ππ^{*} Dirac cones at the K[over ¯] point with an additional lifting of the spin degeneracy due to the mixing of graphene and Eu states. The interaction with the magnetic substrate results in a large spin-dependent gap in the Dirac cones with a topological nature characterized by a large Berry curvature and a spin-polarized Van Hove singularity, whose closeness to the Fermi level gives rise to a polaronic band.

Salen-like Chromium and Aluminum Complexes as Catalysts in the Copolymerization of Epoxides with Cyclic Anhydrides for the Synthesis of Polyesters.

Chromium and aluminum complexes bearing salalen ligands were explored as catalysts for the ring-opening copolymerization (ROCOP) of succinic (SA), maleic (MA), and phthalic (PA) anhydrides with several epoxides: cyclohexene oxide (CHO), propylene oxide (PO), and limonene oxide (LO). Their behavior was compared with that of traditional salen chromium complexes. A completely alternating enchainment of monomers to provide pure polyesters was achieved with all the catalysts when used in combination with 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP) as the cocatalyst.

CCL21-CCR7 signaling promotes microglia/macrophage recruitment and chemotherapy resistance in glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and fatal primary tumor of the central nervous system (CNS) and current treatments have limited success. Chemokine signaling regulates both malignant cells and stromal cells of the tumor microenvironment (TME), constituting a potential therapeutic target against brain cancers. Here, we investigated the C-C chemokine receptor type 7 (CCR7) and the chemokine (C-C-motif) ligand 21 (CCL21) for their expression and function in human GBM and then assessed their therapeutic potential in preclinical mouse GBM models.

Chromium Complexes Supported by Salen-Type Ligands for the Synthesis of Polyesters, Polycarbonates, and Their Copolymers through Chemoselective Catalysis.

Salen, Salan, and Salalen chromium (III) chloride complexes have been investigated as catalysts for the ring-opening copolymerization reactions of cyclohexene oxide (CHO) with CO and of phthalic anhydride (PA) with limonene oxide (LO) or cyclohexene oxide (CHO). In the production of polycarbonates, the more flexible skeleton of salalen and salan ancillary ligands favors high activity. Differently, in the copolymerization of phthalic anhydride with the epoxides, the salen complex showed the best performance.

The multiple functions of PrP in physiological, cancer, and neurodegenerative contexts.

Cellular prion protein (PrP) is a highly conserved glycoprotein, present both anchored in the cell membrane and soluble in the extracellular medium. It has a diversity of ligands and is variably expressed in numerous tissues and cell subtypes, most notably in the central nervous system (CNS). Its importance has been brought to light over the years both under physiological conditions, such as embryogenesis and immune system homeostasis, and in pathologies, such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

Looking beyond history: tracing the dispersal of the Malaysian complex of crops to Africa.

In his 1959 book, Africa: Its Peoples and Their Culture History, George P. Murdock suggested that a Malaysian complex of crops dispersed to Africa in ancient times across the Indian Ocean along the Sabaean Lane. The Malaysian complex comprised bananas, sugarcane, taro, three yam species, rice, Polynesian arrowroot, breadfruit, coconut, areca palm, and betel leaf.

The multiple functions of the co-chaperone stress inducible protein 1.

Stress inducible protein 1 (STI1) is a co-chaperone acting with Hsp70 and Hsp90 for the correct client proteins' folding and therefore for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Besides being expressed in the cytosol, STI1 can also be found both in the cell membrane and the extracellular medium playing several relevant roles in the central nervous system (CNS) and tumor microenvironment. During CNS development, in association with cellular prion protein (PrP), STI1 regulates crucial events such as neuroprotection, neuritogenesis, astrocyte differentiation and survival.

Zinc(II) tetraphenylporphyrin on Au(111) investigated by scanning tunnelling microscopy and photoemission spectroscopy measurements.

Porphyrins are a versatile class of molecules, which have attracted attention over the years due to their electronic, optical and biological properties. Self-assembled monolayers of porphyrins were widely studied on metal surfaces in order to understand the supramolecular organization of these molecules, which is a crucial step towards the development of devices starting from the bottom-up approach. This perspective could lead to tailor the interfacial properties of the surface, depending on the specific interaction between the molecular assembly and the metal surface.

Innovative Approaches to Active and Healthy Ageing: Campania Experience to Improve the Adoption of Innovative Good Practices.

The demographic projections on the European population predict that people aged over 60 will increase by about two million/year in the next decades. Since 2012, the Campania Reference Site of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing supports the innovation of the Regional Health System, to face up demographic changes and sustainability. Campania Reference Site provides the opportunity to connect loco-regional stakeholders in social and health care services (universities, healthcare providers, social services, local communities and municipalities), with international organizations, in order to adopt and scale up innovative solutions and approaches.

An Approach to Prevent Frailty in Community Dwelling Older Adults: a pilot study performed in Campania region in the framework of the PERSSILAA project.

We developed and tested an innovative physical training method in older adults that embeds the gym program into everyday life in the most conservative way possible. Physical training was included in the activities of local parishes where older women from Southern Italy spend most of their free time and was delivered by trained physical therapists with the support of an ICT tool known as CoCo. 113 older women (aged 72.

Breaking the silence of the 500-year-old smiling garden of everlasting flowers: The En Tibi book herbarium.

We reveal the enigmatic origin of one of the earliest surviving botanical collections. The 16th-century Italian En Tibi herbarium is a large, luxurious book with c. 500 dried plants, made in the Renaissance scholarly circles that developed botany as a distinct discipline.

Glioblastoma Therapy in the Age of Molecular Medicine.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and fatal primary malignant brain tumor. Despite advances in the understanding of the biology of gliomas, little has changed in the treatment of these tumors in the past decade. Phase III clinical trials showed no benefit for the use of bevacizumab in newly diagnosed patients, leading to a renewed search for new antiangiogenic drugs, as well as immunotherapeutic approaches, including checkpoint inhibitors, chimeric antigen receptor T cells, and intracerebral CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides.

Literary evidence for taro in the ancient Mediterranean: A chronology of names and uses in a multilingual world.

Taro, Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott, is a vegetable and starchy root crop cultivated in Asia, Oceania, the Americas, Africa, and the Mediterranean. Very little is known about its early history in the Mediterranean, which previous authors have sought to trace through Classical (Greek and Latin) texts that record the name colocasia (including cognates) from the 3rd century BC onwards.

Selective coupling of Whispering Gallery Modes in film coated micro-resonators.

Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM) micro-resonators like microspheres or microtoroids are typically used as high-Q cavity substrate on which a functional film coating is deposited. In order to exploit the coating properties a critical step is the efficient excitation of WGMs mainly contained inside the deposited layer. We developed a simple method able to assess whether or not these modes are selectively excited.

Multifunctional optofluidic lab-on-chip platform for Raman and fluorescence spectroscopic microfluidic analysis.

A multifunctional lab-on-a-chip platform for spectroscopic analysis of liquid samples based on an optofluidic jet waveguide is reported. The optofluidic detection scheme is achieved through the total internal reflection arising in a liquid jet of only 150 μm diameter, leading to highly efficient signal excitation and collection. This results in an optofluidic chip with an alignment-free spectroscopic detection scheme, which avoids any background from the sample container.

Plasma functionalization procedure for antibody immobilization for SU-8 based sensor.

In this paper, we report the study on a new protocol for the immobilization process of antigen/antibody assay on SU-8 layers by oxygen plasma treatment. Plasma treatments, at different plasma powers and for different duration times, are performed and their effects on immobilization efficiency are studied. The chemical properties and the surface morphology of SU-8 before and after the functionalization and immobilization of (IgG) are then verified by Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Storytelling and story testing in domestication.

The domestication of plants and animals marks one of the most significant transitions in human, and indeed global, history. Traditionally, study of the domestication process was the exclusive domain of archaeologists and agricultural scientists; today it is an increasingly multidisciplinary enterprise that has come to involve the skills of evolutionary biologists and geneticists. Although the application of new information sources and methodologies has dramatically transformed our ability to study and understand domestication, it has also generated increasingly large and complex datasets, the interpretation of which is not straightforward.

Graded-size microlens array by the pyro-electrohydrodynamic continuous printing method.

In the present work, the pyro-electrohydrodynamic technique was used for the realization of tunable-size microlens arrays. Poly(methyl methacrylate) dissolved in different solvent mixtures was used as the polymeric material for the realization of the microstructures. By controlling the experimental parameters and in particular, the volume of the drop reservoir, graded-size square arrays of tens of microlenses with focal length in the range 1.

Modelling of organic field effect transistors with inkjet printed poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrene sulfonate) electrodes: study of the annealing effects.

In the present work, the transport mechanism of organic transistors with bottom-gate/top-contact structure, manufactured by employing traditional and inkjet printing techniques, was studied. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) conductive polymer was used for realizing printed source, drain and gate electrodes. The influence of the printing parameters (substrate temperature, drop overlapping degree, drop emission frequency) on the uniformity and morphology of the PEDOT:PSS layer was investigated.

Printing of polymer microlenses by a pyroelectrohydrodynamic dispensing approach.

The investigation of a method for fabricating microlenses by a nozzle-free inkjet printing approach is reported. The new method, based on a pyroelectrohydrodynamic mechanism, is also able to dispense viscous liquids and to draw liquid phase drops directly from the reservoir. Specifically, by dispensing optical grade polymer dissolved in different solvent mixtures, microlenses were printed with a pattern defined directly through this deposition method.

Study of the interference effects in an optical cavity for organic light-emitting diode applications.

The interference effects generated in a bottom-emitting electroluminescent device fabricated on a polymer underlayer introduced with the aim of improving the anode roughness have been studied. The analysis of the interference fringes at different detection angles and the spatial coherence demonstrates that this phenomenon is due to multiple internal reflections that propagate in the polymer layer. This effect can be eliminated by modifying the polymer thickness and the incidence angle of the electromagnetic radiation at the anode-polymer interface.

[Usefulness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in psychiatric disorders].

Mental disorders represent a concern for the public health because of their prevalence in the general population. Despite progress in psychopharmacology, 20-30 % of the patients suffering of depressive disorders are responding only partially to different pharmacological and psychological therapeutic strategies. Until recently, the therapeutic alternative in refractory depression was the electroconvulsive therapy.

Anxiety and depression in psychogenic movement disorder and non-epileptic seizures: a prospective comparative study.

Objective: This study compared anxiety and depression in patients presenting with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) with those suffering from psychogenic movement disorders (PMD) to assess the link between these psychiatric pathologies and neurological symptoms.

Methods: This clinically descriptive, prospective study involved consecutive patients who fulfilled the clinical and video-EEG criteria for PNES and PMD, and who were recruited over an 18-month period. Semi-structured (according to DSM-IV criteria) psychiatric interviews and self-evaluation using the Beck Depression Inventory and Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were carried out.