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.

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.

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).

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.

Morphometric, biochemical and genetic analyses were conducted on Olea europaea L. of Campania, an area of Southern Italy highly suited to the cultivation of olive trees and the production of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). We aimed to characterize the distribution of morphological, biochemical and genetic diversity in this area and to develop a practical tool to aid traceability of oils.

In this paper, we present a 2-Dimensional (2D) Optimal Interpolation (OI) technique for spatially scattered infrared satellite observations, from which level 2 products have been obtained, in order to yield level 3, regularly gridded, data. The scheme derives from a Bayesian predictor-corrector scheme used in data assimilation and is based on the Kalman Filter estimation.

In this interdisciplinary paper, we study the formation of iron precipitates - the so-called Liesegang rings - in Lecce stones in contact with iron source. These phenomena are responsible of exterior damages of lapideous artifacts, but also in the weakening of their structure. They originate in presence of water, determining the flow of carbonate compounds mixing with the iron ions and then, after a sequence of reactions and precipitation, leading to the formation of Liesegang rings.