Installation mowed into the grass at Leicester’s Abbey Park marks the opening of two exhibitions at University of Leicester arts centre

 Installation forms part of ‘Leicester: Memories of Industry’, 10 June – 20 August at Attenborough Arts Centre. One man went to mow, quite literally, to create a stunning new outdoor art installation for the Attenborough Arts Centre, the University of Leicester’s arts centre. During the bright days of summer, the task of mowing the lawn is considered by most to be an inevitable chore. But artist Graham Ensor is using mown grass to literally imprint Leicester’s industrial past into its natural landscape, with an artwork created in the city’s Abbey Park for the public to appreciate and enjoy. The installation ‘Indus Tree – revolution’ forms part of ‘Leicester: Memories of Industry’, two new exhibitions by the Attenborough Arts Centre, the University of Leicester’s arts centre, from 10 June to 20 August that explores the influence of Leicester’s industrial legacy on its urban and natural landscapes.

Like many areas in Central Europe, large parts of the Black Forest are covered by spruce forests. These are particularly susceptible to climate change. Photo: Jürgen Bauhusertal_(Jürgen Bauhus)

Silver and Douglas firs could replace Norway spruce in the long run due to their greater resistance to droughts

As the climate change progresses, droughts are expected to become more and more common and more intense in Europe, as in many parts of the globe. However, many plants are not able to handle this kind of climate. This includes the Norway spruce, which is Germany’s most important commercial tree species and accounts for the majority of trees in the Black Forest. Valentia Vitali and Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bauhus from the Chair of Silviculture at the University of Freiburg are thus studying other types of needle-leaved conifers to find alternatives. Conifers play a far greater role in commercial forestry and climate protection than broad-leaved trees. In their article “Silver Fir and Douglas Fir Are More Tolerant to Extreme Droughts than Norway Spruce in South-Western Germany” published in the journal Global Change Biology, the scientists concluded that the native silver fir and the Douglas fir, which was imported from the Americas, are suitable tree replacements for the Norway spruce in the long run.

Un recente studio dell’Isac-Cnr ha scoperto come i tensioattivi organici aumentino la capacità delle nubi marine di riflettere la radiazione solare, con effetti su precipitazioni e clima. Il lavoro pubblicato su Nature Le nubi sono elementi fondamentali del bilancio radiativo del nostro pianeta, cioè del rapporto tra la radiazione solare che arriva sulla Terra e quella che viene riflessa di nuovo verso lo spazio. La limitata capacità dei modelli attualmente elaborati e utilizzati dagli studiosi di riprodurre i processi di formazione ed evoluzione delle nubi, perciò, rappresenta un fattore di incertezza essenziale nell’analisi e nella predizione dei cambiamenti climatici. Un team di ricercatori dell’Istituto di scienze dell’atmosfera e del clima del Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche (Isac-Cnr) di Bologna ha ora confermato dal punto di vista sperimentale un’ipotesi formulata due decenni fa che riveste un’importante rilevanza climatologica. I risultati sono stati pubblicati su Nature.

Retogar Improving the autonomy and care of dependent people with acquired brain injury is the scientific and technological challenge of the Retogar project led by researchers from the University of Alicante Institute for Computer Engineering Research (IUII), Miguel Cazorla and José García. These experts started in January and will be focusing on the project through 2019, with virtual reality applications and 3D interfaces, as well as sensors to monitor the movements of this type of patients. Design of an intelligent environment with alerts and geolocation sensors to detect risk scenarios inside and outside the home such as orientation errors, motor difficulties or reduced visibility due to hemiplegia, among other situations. On the other hand, the project focusses on the development of a social robot to improve the interaction with the patient in their physical and cognitive rehabilitation, and even to bring objects closer and to recognise their mood by their facial expressions.

 

 Heart attack shown to be "systemic condition" - other organs also affected

 

An acute heart attack should not be viewed in isolation – myocardial infarction is a "systemic" condition with an impact upon the whole body and engenders responses in other organs, such as liver and spleen.  That is the main finding of a study conducted by PhD student Matthias Zimmermann under the supervision of Hendrik Jan Ankersmit and Michael Mildner at the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the Departments of Surgery and Dermatology of MedUni Vienna. This study has now been published in the journal "Oncotarget". "We have demonstrated the need to rethink our tunnel vision that focuses solely on the heart in the event of a heart attack," says Zimmerman. "A myocardial infarction is not an isolated event – the rest of the body responds as well." Ankersmit adds: "For the first time we were able to scientifically describe the full picture of a myocardial infarction. This contributes enormously to our understanding in terms of systems biology."

Consiglio Nazionale dei Geologi: recepite le nostre istanze e ascoltate le Regioni coinvolte dal sisma

È stato firmato lo scorso giovedì 22 giugno a Roma il “Protocollo d’intesa recante i criteri generali e requisiti minimi per l’iscrizione nell’Elenco speciale dei professionisti abilitati di cui all’articolo 34, commi 1, 2, 5 e 7, Decreto Legge 17 ottobre 2016, n. 189, schema di contratto tipo, censimento dei danni ed istituzione dell’Osservatorio della ricostruzione” tra la Rete Professioni Tecniche e il Commissario straordinario per la ricostruzione Vasco Errani. Il nuovo Protocollo è stato aggiornato anche alla luce del decreto “Sisma 2” che ha accolto molte delle proposte avanzate in precedenza dalla Rete.

Si chiama Turritopsoides marhei ed è un piccolo organismo marino: la nuova specie è stata identificata dai ricercatori del Marhe Center dell’Università di Milano-Bicocca, dal quale prende il nome, in collaborazione con l’Università Politecnica delle Marche. La scoperta è stata pubblicata sulla rivista scientifica Marine Biology Research.

Milano, 27 giugno 2017 – È stata scoperta una nuova specie marina: si chiama Turritopsoides marhei ed è un idrozoo, un piccolo organismo lungo fino a tre millimetri che vive in colonie che raggiungono le dimensioni di circa un centimetro. Gli esemplari della nuova specie sono stati osservati su una scogliera corallina delle Maldive, in ambiente tropicale, e sono in grado di vivere sia su un substrato inorganico, sia su spugne e altre formazioni organiche.

Lo spettroscopio istallato sull’osservatorio ESO ha individuato una “medusa” nel cluster di Abell2670. La galassia avvistata è peculiare sia nell’aspetto che nelle caratteristiche: appartiene alla famiglia late type ma si comporta come una early

 

MUSE pesca una strana “medusa” nel cuore di Abell 2670. Attraverso il Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, il potente spettroscopio tridimensionale istallato sul Very Large Telescope dell’ESO, un gruppo internazionale di astronomi ha individuato, all’interno dell’ammasso Abell 2670, una fuoriclasse del “mare” con spettacolari code di gas e giovani stelle brillanti.  Si tratta di una cosiddetta galassia medusa, una formazione stellare che deve il suo aspetto alla catena di interazioni tra il suo gas, il cluster di riferimento e la forza di ram. La straordinaria presenza di materiale all’interno di una galassia di tal genere infatti avvia processi di rimodellamento per mezzo dell’azione della pressione di ram (la forza di resistenza generata quando qualcosa si muove attraverso un fluido). In altre parole, mentre una galassia appartenente ad un cluster come Abell 2670 si muove, precipitando verso il centro dell’ammasso, si deforma per via della spinta creata in quell’ambiente ricco di materia. Filamenti lacerati di gas e code in cui si formano stelle, simili a tentacoli blu di una medusa cosmica, illustrano il processo.

The impact of climate change in the Central Pyrenees has been greater since 1970, particularly in the spring and summer months. / Javier Sigró 

The Iberian Peninsula is undergoing climate change, with temperatures on the rise, and mountain ranges are not exempt from this trend. A team of scientists has analysed regional climate series from the Central Pyrenees for 1910 to 2013 (the most extensive climate records to date for the area), concluding that temperatures have risen at an increasing rate since 1970, particularly in spring and summer. In the past three decades, temperatures have risen by 2.5 °C in Spain, surpassing the European average of 0.95°C. Mountain ranges such as the Pyrenees are also subject to climate variations, however climate change does not affect all regions equally, hence the need for in-depth, long-term observation of these changes. In order to analyse this climate change in the Pyrenees, a team from Rovira i Virgili University's Centre for Climate Change collected hundreds of climate series from meteorological observatories on the southern side of the Central Pyrenees and analysed the most complete and representative series from the area for the period 1910-2013.

A research of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) has shown that the inclusion of agroindustrial by-products in pig feed can reduce the nitrous oxide emissions (N2O) of the slurry used as manures up to 65%. The aim of this study carried out by UPM researchers with the collaboration of Institute for Animal Science and Technology of UPV was to influence the ingredients of pig diet to modify the composition of slurry used as manures and to assess the possible variations on N2O emissions. According to the results, soils amended with slurries obtained from modified diets (with orange pulp and carob) decreased N2O emissions by 65 and 47%, respectively, compared with slurries obtained through a conventional pig diet. These results show the potential of alternative strategies of animal feeding to reduce the environmental issues associated with agriculture. Nitrogen fertilizers, organic or mineral, are responsible for most of the N2O emissions from agricultural activity. This gas has a heating potential 300 times higher than CO2, this is the reason why it is essential to develop mitigation strategies. N2O emissions are mainly caused by microbiological processes known as nitrification and denitrification. When a nitrogen fertilizer is added to the soil, it increases its microbiological activity by activating both processes that at the same time they depend on factors such as such as climatic, edaphic and field management.