This review discusses the lattice Boltzmann-particle dynamics (LBPD) multiscale paradigm for the simulation of complex states of flowing matter at the interface between physics, chemistry, and biology. In particular, current large-scale LBPD simulations of biopolymer translocation across cellular membranes, molecular transport in ion channels, and amyloid aggregation in cells are described.

This paper examines how information systems can assist experts to analyse the state of conservation of buildings of historic importance. The main focus is on image compression, characterisation and recognition, all of which are fundamental for defining a database on the state of conservation. In particular, an overview of available methods is presented for characterising the structure of materials and recognising the various degrees of degradation. A new unified approach to image compression, characterisation and recognition is also proposed.

The huge volumes of Earth Observation (EO) data and their processing is overwhelming for many employees in Protected Areas (PAs) and hence not often undertaken. The need is to provide a tool that transforms EO data into easy to interpret and use products. The Virtual Laboratory, empowered by cloud-computing technologies, allows the execution of multiple workflows (modules) and models, tailor made for the needs of the Protected Areas, accessible and open for all. Latter minimizes the requirement for local installations to execute relevant applications.

We show that the First-Passage-Time probability distribution of a Lévy time-changed Brownian motion with drift is solution of a time fractional advection-diffusion equation subject to initial and boundary conditions; the Caputo fractional derivative with respect to time is considered. We propose a high order compact implicit discretization scheme for solving this fractional PDE problem and we show that it preserves the structural properties (non-negativity, boundedness, time monotonicity) of the theoretical solution, having to be a probability distribution.

The role of comics in science communications has been subject of a number of recent papers. While some debate on an accepted definition of what constitutes a science comics is still ongoing, the role of comics in science outreach is now universally recognized. [1] Here we present the Comics&Science comic books published by CNR Edizioni and edited by Roberto Natalini and Andrea Plazzi. The Comics&Science concept was implemented in the first place as a section of the Lucca Comics&Games festival, followed by the printed series in 2013.

We developed a Self-Adapting Constraint Retrieval Scheme (SACRS) to retrieve ozone profiles from nadir infrared satellite measurements. In this algorithm, the constraint is variable in altitude and adapted automatically for each individual measurement. The algorithm is tested on synthetic observations representing the future IASI-NG satellite observations and considering either ozonesonde measurements or chemistry-transport model ozone simulations to represent the true ozone (pseudo-reality).

In this paper we present a possible extension of a Man Machine Interface, by which we can code the user's knowledge by the concept of Research Path. This extension allows us to store the parameters' value of the laboratory functionalities.

A new approach to encoding knowledge in a integrated environment, by means of research paths, is shown.

Macrophages derived from monocyte precursors undergo specific polarization processes being influenced by the local tissue environment: classically-activated (M1) macrophages, showing a pro-inflammatory activity affecting effector cells in Th1 cellular immune responses; and alternatively-activated (M2) macrophages, with anti-inflammatory functions, involved in immunosuppression and tissue repair. At least three distinctive subsets of M2 macrophages, i.e. M2a, M2b and M2c, are characterized in the literature based on their eliciting molecular signals.

Purpose: Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is a developmental disorder caused by dysregulation of the imprinted gene cluster of chromosome 11p15.5 and often associated with loss of methylation (LOM) of the imprinting center 2 (IC2) located in KCNQ1 intron 10. To unravel the etiological mechanisms underlying these epimutations, we searched for genetic variants associated with IC2 LOM. Methods: We looked for cases showing the clinical features of both BWS and long QT syndrome (LQTS), which is often associated with KCNQ1 variants.