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AbstractBrowsing intensity influences a plant’s response to herbivory. Plants face a trade‐off between investment in the production of secondary compounds and investment in growth. To elucidate this trade‐off, we simulated four browsing intensities (0%, 50%, 75% and 100%) on mopane saplings, Colophospermum mopane (J.Kirk ex Benth.) J.Léonard, in a greenhouse experiment. This showed that, with increasing defoliation intensity, plants change their investment strategy. At intermediate levels of defoliation (50%), mopane saplings increased the synthesis of condensed tannins, so that tannin concentrations followed a hump‐shaped relation with defoliation intensity, with significantly higher tannin concentration at intermediate defoliation levels. When defoliated heavily (75% and 100%), tannin concentrations dropped, and plants were carbon stressed as indicated by a reduced growth rate of the stem diameter, and leaf production and mean individual leaf mass were reduced. This suggests that, at intermediate defoliation intensity, the strategy of the plants is towards induced chemical defences. With increasing defoliation, the relative costs of the secondary metabolite synthesis become too high, and therefore, the plants change their growing strategy. Hence, browsers should be able to benefit from earlier browsing by either adopting a low or a relatively high browsing pressure.

In bioreactors used for the purification of wastewater, microorganisms are active in biofilms or aggregates. Insight into the factors that determine the structure and function of aggregated biomass is increasing steadily. Besides conventional techniques, modem molecular techniques are used increasingly to get a better understanding of the complex microbial communities in wastewater treatment systems. In recent years, the combined use of these techniques has led to a good insight into the population dynamics of different types of microbes in bioreactors.

This study has analyzed the segmental energy changes in the recovery from a stumble induced during walking on a treadmill. Three strategies emerged according to the behavior of the perturbed limb, elevating, lowering, and delayed lowering. These three strategies showed different changes in the segmental energy with respect to normal gait. In the elevating strategy, the energy loss induced by the stumble was restored during the perturbed step and reached normal levels during the recovery step. The largest energy changes occurred in the lowering and delayed lowering strategies during the double stance (DS) phase. Moreover, in some of these trials there was energy absorption during the double stance phase for several strides after the perturbation. The most challenging perturbations had longer duration or occurred at mid-swing, triggering delayed lowering or lowering strategies, because more strides and larger energy changes were needed to recover, suggesting a trade-off between stability and energy efficiency.

The need to reduce CO2 emissions leads the field of research to find the most suitable solutions to combat this phenomenon. The main solution is represented by the replacement of internal combustion engine vehicles with electric ones unitedly to the realization of microgrids for the urban vehicles charging. In this paper, the energy demand of a node of the proposed Urban Charging Infrastructure (UCI) is estimated through the determination of pre-defined shuttle bus loop routes. In addition, a criterion for the sizing of Supercapacitors (SCs) bank used as on-board storage is provided. Finally, simulation and experimental results are compared.

Climate emergency is calling for a quick and decisive legal response. Currently, there is a jurisprudential convergence in reference to the obligations deriving from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement of 2015. In analyzing this trend, the article introduces the differences between climate justice and climate litigation, in order to provide an “idea” of climate justice that goes beyond the distributive theory. After recalling the genesis of the climate obligation and the common but differentiated responsibilities of the States within the international law regime, the analysis exposes the cases considered to be the most significant in Europe (Urgenda in the Netherlands, the French L’Affaire du siècle, the German Neubauer et al. and the Belgian Affaire Climat ASBL), with the aim of assessing a possible dogmatic reconstruction of a specific model and addressing some potential critical issues.

The transcription factor cAMP responsive element-binding protein 1 (CREB1) has a complex influence on behavioural responses to drugs of abuse which varies depending on the brain region in which it is expressed. In response to drug exposure, CREB1 is phosphorylated in the striatum, a structure that is critically involved in reward-related learning.The present study assessed the role of striatal CREB1 and its coactivator CREB-binding protein (CBP) in behavioural responses to psychostimulants.Using the 'cre/lox' recombination system, we generated mice with a postnatal deletion of CREB1 or CBP directed to medium spiny neurons of the striatum. qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to confirm the deletion, and mice were assessed with respect to their locomotor response to acute cocaine (20 mg/kg), cocaine sensitization (10 mg/kg), amphetamine-induced stereotypies (10 mg/kg) and ethanol-induced hypnosis (3.5 g/kg).Here we show that CREB1 mutant mice have increased sensitivity to psychostimulants, an effect that does not generalise to ethanol-induced hypnosis. Furthermore, in the absence of CREB1, there is rapid postnatal upregulation of the related transcription factor CREM, indicating possible redundancy amongst this family of transcription factors. Finally striatal deletion of CBP, a coactivator for the CREB1/CREM signalling pathway, results in an even more increased sensitivity to psychostimulants.These data suggest that striatal CREB1 regulates sensitivity to psychostimulants and that CREM acting via CBP is able to partially compensate in the absence of CREB1 signalling.

The prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma in Europe and the US is increasing and is currently the leading cause of death in patients with cirrhosis. Surveillance programs for patients with cirrhosis aim to detect tumors at an early stage, when the greatest therapeutic benefits can be achieved. Curative treatments for early-stage tumors include liver transplantation, resection and percutaneous ablation. Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and sorafenib can improve survival for patients with intermediate and advanced tumors, respectively. In clinical practice, combination therapies are often used, despite limited evidence to support this approach from randomized controlled trials. Combination therapy with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) plus percutaneous ethanol injection can, however, improve survival for selected patients compared with RFA alone. Combined treatment with TACE and RFA also improves patients' survival compared with TACE or RFA monotherapy. TACE performed before or after surgical resection, however, is not beneficial. Prevention of tumor progression in patients awaiting liver transplantation requires nonsurgical treatments; however, the real advantages of the available treatment modalities are yet to be defined. The role of sorafenib administration in combination with TACE after the use of potentially curative treatments, for the treatment of intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma, or in selective settings after liver transplantation, requires further study.

The co-digestion of a variable amount of fruit and vegetable waste in a waste mixed sludge digester was investigated using a pilot scale apparatus. The organic loading rate (OLR) was increased from 1.46 kg VS/m(3) day to 2.8 kg VS/m(3) day. The hydraulic retention time was reduced from 14 days to about 10 days. Specific bio-methane production increased from about 90 NL/kg VS to the maximum value of about 430 NL/kg VS when OLR was increased from 1.46 kg VS/m(3) day to 2.1 kg VS/m(3) day. A higher OLR caused an excessive reduction in the hydraulic retention time, enhancing microorganism wash out. Process stability evaluated by the total volatile fatty acids concentration (mg/l) to the alkalinity buffer capacity (eq. mg/l CaCO3) ratio (i.e. FOS/TAC) criterion was 2.46 kg VS/m(3) day, GI decreased rapidly. This corresponding trend between FOS/TAC and GI was further investigated by the definition of the GI ratio (GIR) parameter. Comparison between GIR and FOS/TAC suggests that GI could be a suitable criterion for evaluating process stability.