We evaluated autonomic cardiovascular modulation and baroreflex control of heart rate (HR) in a particular epileptic rat strain, Wistar audiogenic rats (WARs). We studied spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity as well as reflex changes in HR evoked by phenylephrine/nitroprusside-induced changes in arterial pressure (AP). Atropine and propranolol were used to measure cardiac autonomic tone. AP and p...

Historically, Mangifera indica L. cultivations have been widely rooted in tropical areas of India, Africa, Asia and Central America. However, at least 20 years ago its spreading allowed the development of some cultivars, also in Sicily, the South of Italy, where the favorable subtropical climate and adapted soils represent the perfect field to create new sources of production for Sicilian agric...

The Messina Strait, that separates peninsular Italy from Sicily, is one of the most seismically active areas of the Mediterranean. The structure and seismotectonic setting of the region are poorly understood, although the area is highly populated and important infrastructures are planned there. New seismic reflection data have identified a number of faults, as well as a crustal scale NE-trendin...

Recent cases of swordfish attacks on harpoon fishing vessels of the Sicilian fleet were examined and the particular behavior adopted by this fish during the approach to fishermen was described. The information was collected in the period between 1999 and 2014 in Sicilian waters (Mediterranean Sea) through interviews with harpoon fishermen and through direct observations during research activiti...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) disease is carried through inflammatory and degenerative stages. Based on clinical feaures, it can be subdivided into three groups: relapsing-remitting MS, secondary progressive MS, and primary progressive MS. Multiple sclerosis has a multifactorial etiology with an interplay of genetic predisposition, environmental factors, and autoimmune inflammatory mechanism in which...

INTRODUCTION Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progression of memory problems to a slow global decline of cognitive function. Inflammation when left unregulated becomes a major cofactor in the pathogenesis of AD. PTGS2 is of crucial relevance in the inflammatory response, and it has been shown to play a considerable role in AD pathogenesis. MATERIAL AND METHODS To assess the possib...

Virtualization-based cloud computing platforms allow multiple virtual machines (VMs) running on the same physical machine. Efficient allocation of limited underlying resources has been a key issue. In order to improve the CPU resources utilization, this paper presents a workload-aware CPU resources scheduling method (WARS). WARS uses the allocated credits and consumed credits to diagnose the CP...

Several studies have suggested the possibility of reverse causation in the ‘democratic peace’ relationship: that the well-known extreme rarity of wars between democratic nations may be partially or wholly explained by a negative impact of war on democracy. Three kinds of war-on-regime effects are discussed. Anterior effects are regime changes that occur in preparation for wars; concurrent effec...

This paper presents an analysis of scientific research output of the republics of former Yugoslavia for the period 1970-2014. Thomson Reuters’ Web of Science (WoS) database was used for data acquisition and 223 135 publications have been analyzed. The Yugoslav Wars were ethnic conflicts fought from 1991 to 1999 on the territory of former Yugoslavia, which accompanied the breakup of the country,...