Nuovi profili letterari,

v. III. Scrittori comici: G.M. Cecchi, G.B. Porta, Pandolfo Collenuccio, Bernardo Divizio, Lorenzino de' Medici, Alessandro Piccolomini, G.B. Gelli, Agostino Ricchi, Girolamo Gigli, La commedia dell' arte alla corte di Baviera nel secolo XVI, I tipi comici.--v. IV. Poligrafi: G.B. Giraldi Cintio, Mescolanze d'amore, Senofonte Efesio, Giuseppe Betussi, Federigo Luigini, Lodovico Dolce, Mons. Paolo Giovio, G.F. Pico della Mirandola, Antonfrancesco Doni, Tommaso Moro e T. Campanella, Giuseppe Averani, Card. Guido Bentivoglio, Lucio Annea Seneca, Erasmo, Tullia d'Aragona, Tommaso Garzoni, M. Cervantes Saavedra, Antonio Picozzi, Il trecento in Francia.

Le veglie piacevoli, ovvero Notizie de' più bizzarri, e giocondi uomini toscani, le quali possono servire servire di utile trattenimento,

Title vignettes.

Relazione della preziosa morte dell'Eminentiss. e Reverendiss. Carlo Tomaso Maillard di Tournon, prete cardinale della S.R. Chiesa : commissario, e Visitatore Apostolico Generale, con le facoltà di legato a latere nell'impero della Cina, e regni dell' Indie Orientali, seguita nella città di Macao li 8. del mese di giugno dell'anno 1710, edi [sic] ciò, che gli avvene negli ultimi cinque mesi della sua vita.

"Oratio habita ... in funere ... Caroli Thomae Maillard de Tournon ... a Carolo Majello": p. [51]-70.

Sancti Thomae Aquinatis ex Ordine Praedicatorum ... Expositiones praeclarissimae in duodecim Libros Metaphysices Aristotelis & in Librum de Causis nec-non Tractatum de Ente, et Essentia eiusdem Sancti Thomae /

Mode of access: Internet.

Historia de la guerra de América entre Chile, Perú y Bolivia /

V. 2 "por don Tomas Caivano."

Campanella,

Mode of access: Internet.

Storia di Sicilia /

Reprint. Previously published: Palermo : G. Assenzio, 1817.

Elogio del conte Leopoldo Cicognara.

First presented on Sept. 9, 1834 at the Accademia della Crusca.

Alpha tocopherol supplementation elevates plasma apolipoprotein A1 isoforms in normal healthy subjects

Plasma α-tocopherol (AT) concentrations are inversely related to cardiovascular (CV) risk; however, intervention studies with AT have failed to show any consistent benefit against CV disease (CVD). Proteomics offers the opportunity to examine novel effects of AT supplementation on protein expression and therefore improve our understanding of the physiological roles of AT. Thus, to investigate the effects of AT supplementation on the plasma proteome of healthy subjects we have undertaken a double-blind, randomised, parallel design supplementation study in which healthy subjects (n = 32; 11 male and 21 female) consumed AT supplements (134 or 268 mg/day) or placebo capsules for up to 28 days. Plasma samples were obtained before supplementation and after 14 and 28 days of supplementation for analysis of changes in the plasma proteome using 2-DE and MALDI-MS. Using semiquantitative proteomics, we observed that proapolipoprotein A1 (identified by MS and Western blotting) was altered at least two-fold. Using quantitative ELISA techniques, we confirmed a significant increase in plasma apolipoprotein A1 concentration following supplementation with AT which was both time and dose dependent (p < 0.01 after 28 days supplementation with 268 mg AT/day). These data demonstrate the time and dose sensitivity of the plasma proteome to AT supplementation. © 2006 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

A comparison of denoising methods for X-ray fluoroscopic images

Fluoroscopic images exhibit severe signal-dependent quantum noise, due to the reduced X-ray dose involved in image formation, that is generally modelled as Poisson-distributed. However, image gray-level transformations, commonly applied by fluoroscopic device to enhance contrast, modify the noise statistics and the relationship between image noise variance and expected pixel intensity. Image denoising is essential to improve quality of fluoroscopic images and their clinical information content. Simple average filters are commonly employed in real-time processing, but they tend to blur edges and details. An extensive comparison of advanced denoising algorithms specifically designed for both signal-dependent noise (AAS, BM3Dc, HHM, TLS) and independent additive noise (AV, BM3D, K-SVD) was presented. Simulated test images degraded by various levels of Poisson quantum noise and real clinical fluoroscopic images were considered. Typical gray-level transformations (e.g. white compression) were also applied in order to evaluate their effect on the denoising algorithms. Performances of the algorithms were evaluated in terms of peak-signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), mean square error (MSE), structural similarity index (SSIM) and computational time. On average, the filters designed for signal-dependent noise provided better image restorations than those assuming additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN). Collaborative denoising strategy was found to be the most effective in denoising of both simulated and real data, also in the presence of image gray-level transformations. White compression, by inherently reducing the greater noise variance of brighter pixels, appeared to support denoising algorithms in performing more effectively. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modelling the size distribution of cosmic voids

The Standard Cosmological Model is generally accepted by the scientific community, there are still an amount of unresolved issues. From the observable characteristics of the structures in the Universe,it should be possible to impose constraints on the cosmological parameters. Cosmic Voids (CV) are a major component of the LSS and have been shown to possess great potential for constraining DE and testing theories of gravity. But a gap between CV observations and theory still persists. A theoretical model for void statistical distribution as a function of size exists (SvdW) However, the SvdW model has been unsuccesful in reproducing the results obtained from cosmological simulations. This undermines the possibility of using voids as cosmological probes. The goal of our thesis work is to cover the gap between theoretical predictions and measured distributions of cosmic voids. We develop an algorithm to identify voids in simulations,consistently with theory. We inspecting the possibilities offered by a recently proposed refinement of the SvdW (the Vdn model, Jennings et al., 2013). Comparing void catalogues to theory, we validate the Vdn model, finding that it is reliable over a large range of radii, at all the redshifts considered and for all the cosmological models inspected. We have then searched for a size function model for voids identified in a distribution of biased tracers. We find that, naively applying the same procedure used for the unbiased tracers to a halo mock distribution does not provide success- full results, suggesting that the Vdn model requires to be reconsidered when dealing with biased samples. Thus, we test two alternative exten- sions of the model and find that two scaling relations exist: both the Dark Matter void radii and the underlying Dark Matter density contrast scale with the halo-defined void radii. We use these findings to develop a semi-analytical model which gives promising results.

(Table 1) Comparison between bulk ICP-OES measurements and LA-ICP-MS analyses for Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios of Globigerinoides sacculifer from ODP Hole 165-1000A

We constructed a high-resolution Mg/Ca record on the planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides sacculifer in order to explore the change in sea surface temperature (SST) due to the shoaling of the Isthmus of Panama as well as the impact of secondary factors like diagenesis and large salinity fluctuations. The study covers the latest Miocene and the early Pliocene (5.6-3.9 Ma) and was combined with d18O to isolate changes in sea surface salinity (SSS). Before 4.5 Ma, SSTMg/Ca and SSS show moderate fluctuations, indicating a free exchange of surface ocean water masses between the Pacific and the Atlantic. The increase in d18O after 4.5 Ma represents increasing salinities in the Caribbean due to the progressive closure of the Panamanian Gateway. The increase in Mg/Ca toward values of maximum 7 mmol/mol suggests that secondary influences have played a significant role. Evidence of crystalline overgrowths on the foraminiferal tests in correlation with aragonite, Sr/Ca, and productivity cyclicities indicates a diagenetic overprint on the foraminiferal tests. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry analyses, however, do not show significantly increased Mg/Ca ratios in the crystalline overgrowths, and neither do calculations based on pore water data conclusively result in significantly elevated Mg/Ca ratios in the crystalline overgrowths. Alternatively, the elevated Mg/Ca ratios might have been caused by salinity as the d18O record of Site 1000 has been interpreted to represent large fluctuations in SSS, and cultivating experiments have shown an increase in Mg/Ca with increasing salinity. We conclude that the Mg/Ca record <4.5 Ma can only reliably be considered for paleoceanographical purposes when the minimum values, not showing any evidence of secondary influences, are used, resulting in a warming of central Caribbean surface water masses after 4.5 Ma of ~2°C.

Tree heights and diameters of Switzerland's Sanasilva forests

Measurements of tree heights and crown sizes are essential in long-term monitoring of spatially distributed forests to assess the health of forests over time. In Switzerland, in 1994 and 1997, more than 4'500 trees have been recorded in a 8x8 km plot within the Sanasilva Inventory, which comprises the Swiss Level I sites of the International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests' (ICP Forests). Tree heights and crown sizes were measured for the dominant and co-dominant trees (n = 1,723), resulting in a data set from 171 plots in Switzerland, spreading over a broad range of climatic gradient and forest characteristics (species recorded = 20). Average tree height was 22.1 m, average DBH 34.6 cm and crown diameter 6.5 m. The data set presented here is open to use and shall foster research in allometric equation modelling.

Phenomenal conservatism and Bergmann's dilemma

We are grateful for very useful comments and criticism on drafts of this paper to Michael Bergmann, Chris Tucker, a referee of this Journal and audience at the conference Philosophy, Analysis and Public Engagement, University of L’Aquila, 3–5 September 2014. The final draft of this paper was written at the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP). The authors thank the MCMP for hosting them and for providing a stimulating atmosphere to conduct this research.

Phenomenal conservatism and Bergmann's dilemma

We are grateful for very useful comments and criticism on drafts of this paper to Michael Bergmann, Chris Tucker, a referee of this Journal and audience at the conference Philosophy, Analysis and Public Engagement, University of L’Aquila, 3–5 September 2014. The final draft of this paper was written at the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP). The authors thank the MCMP for hosting them and for providing a stimulating atmosphere to conduct this research.