In this paper, we study a dynamically consistent numerical method for the approximationof a nonlinear integro-differential equation modeling an epidemic with age of infection. The discretescheme is based on direct quadrature methods with Gregory convolution weights and preserves,with no restrictive conditions on the step-length of integration h, some of the essential properties ofthe continuous system. In particular, the numerical solution is positive and bounded and, in casesof interest in applications, it is monotone. We prove an order of convergence theorem and show bynumerical experiments that the discrete final size tends to its continuous equivalent as h tends to zero.

In this study we investigated the transcriptome and epigenome dynamics of the tomato fruit during post-harvest in a landracebelonging to a group of tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) collectively known as "Piennolo del Vesuvio", all characterized by a long shelflife. Expression of protein-coding genes and microRNAs as well as DNA methylation patterns and histone modifications were analysedin distinct post-harvest phases. Multi-omics data integration contributed to the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlyingprocesses leading to long shelf-life. We unveiled global changes in transcriptome and epigenome. DNA methylation increased and therepressive histone mark H3K27me3 was lost as the fruit progressed from red ripe to 150 days post-harvest. Thousands of genes weredifferentially expressed, about half of which were potentially epi-regulated as they were engaged in at least one epi-mark change inaddition to being microRNA targets in ~5% of cases. Down-regulation of the ripening regulator MADS-RIN and of genes involved inethylene response and cell wall degradation was consistent with the delayed fruit softening. Large-scale epigenome reprogrammingthat occurred in the fruit during post-harvest likely contributed to delayed fruit senescence.

A conclusione del primo ciclo di seminari AIM - Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics, svolti nel 2021 totalmente in streaming, a causa dell'emergenza pandemica, questo rapporto tecnico si interroga sull'efficacia generale dei seminari scientifici online. Mediante la presentazione di una breve indagine tra i ricercatori dell'IAC e l'analisi della letteratura sull'argomento, il report considera prospettive, vantaggi e svantaggi - per la comunità dei ricercatori - dell'utilizzo della modalità telematica nell'organizzazione dei workshop.Partendo poi dalle performance, in termini di pubblico, dei vari seminari, vengono analizzate le modalità di comunicazione e promozione delle diverse giornate del ciclo di seminari AIM, al fine di comprendere se ci sia una connessione tra il numero di spettatori (in diretta e in differita) e la loro promozione sui canali social - Facebook, Twitter e Instagram - dell'istituto.

TBX1 is a key regulator of pharyngeal apparatus (PhAp) development. Vitamin B12 (vB12) treatment partially rescues aortic arch patterning defects of Tbx1+/- embryos. Here, we show that it also improves cardiac outflow tract septation and branchiomeric muscle anomalies of Tbx1 hypomorphic mutants. At the molecular level, in vivo vB12 treatment enabled us to identify genes that were dysregulated by Tbx1 haploinsufficiency and rescued by treatment. We found that SNAI2, also known as SLUG, encoded by the rescued gene Snai2, identified a population of mesodermal cells that was partially overlapping with, but distinct from, ISL1+ and TBX1+ populations. In addition, SNAI2+ cells were mislocalized and had a greater tendency to aggregate in Tbx1+/- and Tbx1-/- embryos, and vB12 treatment restored cellular distribution. Adjacent neural crest-derived mesenchymal cells, which do not express TBX1, were also affected, showing enhanced segregation from cardiopharyngeal mesodermal cells. We propose that TBX1 regulates cell distribution in the core mesoderm and the arrangement of multiple lineages within the PhAp.

We propose and analyze a class of vectorial crystallization problems, with applications to crystallization of anisotropic molecules and collective behavior such as birds flocking and fish schooling. We focus on two-dimensional systems of "oriented" particles: Admissible configurations are represented by vectorial empirical measures with density in S-1. We endow such configurations with a graph structure, where the bonds represent the "convenient" interactions between particles, and the proposed variational principle consists in maximizing their number. The class of bonds is determined by hard sphere type pairwise potentials, depending both on the distance between the particles and on the angles between the segment joining two particles and their orientations, through threshold criteria. Different ground states emerge by tuning the angular dependence in the potential, mimicking ducklings swimming in a row formation and predicting as well, for some specific values of the angular parameter, the so-called diamond formation in fish schooling.

We describe the emergence of topological singularities in periodic media within the Ginzburg-Landau model and the core-radius approach. The energy functionals of both models are denoted by E, where ? represent the coherence length (in the Ginzburg-Landau model) or the core-radius size (in the core-radius approach) and ? denotes the periodicity scale. We carry out the ? -convergence analysis of E as ?-> 0 and ?= ?-> 0 in the | log ?| scaling regime, showing that the ? -limit consists in the energy cost of finitely many vortex-like point singularities of integer degree. After introducing the scale parameter ?=min{1,lim?->0|log??||log?|}(upon extraction of subsequences), we show that in a sense we always have a separation-of-scale effect: at scales smaller than ? we first have a concentration process around some vortices whose location is subsequently optimized, while for scales larger than ? the concentration process takes place "after" homogenization.

The sedimentation process in an active suspension is the result of the competition between gravity and the autonomous motion of particles. We carry out simulations of run-and-tumble squirmers that move in a fluid medium, focusing on the dependence of the non-equilibrium steady state on the swimming properties. We find that for large enough activity, the density profiles are no longer simple exponentials; we recover the numerical results through the introduction of a local effective temperature, suggesting that the breakdown of the Perrin-like exponential form is a collective effect due to fluid-mediated dynamic correlations among particles. We show that analogous concepts can also fit the case of active non-motile particles, for which we report the first study of this kind. Moreover, we provide evidence of scenarios where the solvent hydrodynamics induces non-local effects which require the full three-dimensional dynamics to be taken into account in order to understand sedimentation in active suspensions. Finally, analyzing the statistics of the orientations of microswimmers, the emergence of a height-dependent polar order in the system is discussed.

Switchable and adaptive substrates emerged as valuable tools for the control of wetting and actuation of droplet motion. Here we report a computational study of the dynamics of an unstable thin liquid film deposited on a switchable substrate, modelled with a space and time varying contact angle. With a static pattern, all the fluid is drained into droplets located around contact angle minima, whereas for a sufficiently large rate of wettability variation a state consisting of metastable rivulets is observed. A criterion discriminating whether rivulets can be observed or not is identified in terms of a single dimensionless parameter. Finally, we show and explain theoretically how the film rupture times, droplet shape and rivulet life time depend on the pattern wavelength and speed.

This work analyzes trajectories obtained by YOLO and DeepSORT algorithms of dense emulsion systems simulated via lattice Boltzmann methods. The results indicate that the individual droplet's moving direction is influenced more by the droplets immediately behind it than the droplets in front of it. The analysis also provide hints on constraints of a dynamical model of droplets for the dense emulsion in narrow channels.

Network-based epidemic models that account for heterogeneous contact patterns are extensively used to predict and control the diffusion of infectious diseases. We use census and survey data to reconstruct a geo-referenced and age-stratified synthetic urban population connected by stable social relations. We consider two kinds of interactions, distinguishing daily (household) contacts from other frequent contacts. Moreover, we allow any couple of individuals to have rare fortuitous interactions. We simulate the epidemic diffusion on a synthetic urban network for a typical medium-sized Italian city and characterize the outbreak speed, pervasiveness, and predictability in terms of the socio-demographic and geographic features of the host population. Introducing age-structured contact patterns results in faster and more pervasive outbreaks, while assuming that the interaction frequency decays with distance has only negligible effects. Preliminary evidence shows the existence of patterns of hierarchical spatial diffusion in urban areas, with two regimes for epidemic spread in low- and high-density regions.

High quality long-term data sets of altitude-resolved measurements of the atmospheric composition areimportant because they can be used both to study the evolu-tion of the atmosphere and as a benchmark for future mis-sions. For the final ESA reprocessing of MIPAS (MichelsonInterferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding) on ENVISAT (ENViromental SATellite) data, numerous improve-ments were implemented in the Level 2 (L2) processor Op-timised Retrieval Model (ORM) version 8.22 (V8) and itsauxiliary data. The implemented changes involve all aspects of the processing chain, from the modelling of the measure-ments with the handling of the horizontal inhomogeneitiesalong the line of sight to the use of the optimal estimationtechnique to retrieve the minor species, from a more sensitive approach to detecting the spectra affected by cloudsto a refined method for identifying low quality products. Improvements in the modelling of the measurements werealso obtained with an update of the used spectroscopic dataand of the databases providing the a priori knowledge ofthe atmosphere. The HITRAN_mipas_pf4.45 spectroscopic database was finalised with new spectroscopic data verifiedwith MIPAS measurements themselves, while recently measured cross-sections were used for the heavy molecules. TheLevel 2 Initial Guess (IG2) data set, containing the clima-tology used by the MIPAS L2 processor to generate the ini-tial guess and interfering species profiles when the retrieved profiles from previous scans are not available, was improved taking into account the diurnal variation of the profiles defined using climatologies from both measurements and models. Horizontal gradients were generated using the ECMWFERA-Interim data closest in time and space to the MIPASdata. Further improvements in the L2 V8 products derivedfrom the use of the L1b V8 products, which were upgraded to reduce the instrumental temporal drift and to handle theabrupt changes in the calibration gain. The improvements in-troduced into the ORM V8 L2 processor and its upgraded auxiliary data, together with the use of the L1b V8 products, lead to the generation of the MIPAS L2 V8 products, which are characterised by an increased accuracy, better temporal stability and a greater number of retrieved species.

Spectral emissivity is a key property of the Earth's surface, of which only very few measurements exist so farin the far-infrared (FIR) spectral region, even though recent work has shown that the FIR is important for accurate mod-elling of the global climate. The European Space Agency's9th Earth Explorer, FORUM (Far-infrared Outgoing Radi-ation Understanding and Monitoring) will provide the firstglobal spectrally resolved measurements of the Earth's top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) spectrum in the FIR. In clear-skyconditions with low water vapour content, these measurements will provide a unique opportunity to retrieve spectrally resolved FIR surface emissivity. In preparation for the FORUM mission with an expected launch in 2027, this study takes the first steps towards the development of an opera-tional emissivity retrieval for FORUM by investigating the sensitivity of the emissivity product of a full spectrum optimal estimation retrieval method to different physical andoperational parameters. The tool used for the sensitivity testsis the FORUM mission's end-to-end simulator. These tests show that the spectral emissivity of most surface types canbe retrieved for dry scenes in the 350-600 cm-1 region, with an absolute uncertainty ranging from 0.005 to 0.01. In addition, the quality of the retrieval is quantified with respectto the precipitable water vapour content of the scene, and the uncertainty caused by the correlation of emissivity withsurface temperature is investigated. Based on these investigations, a road map is recommended for the development of the operational emissivity product.

FORUM (Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring) will fly as the ninth ESA's Earth Explorer mission, and an end-to-end simulator (E2ES) has been developed as a support tool for the mission selection process and the subsequent development phases. The current status of the FORUM E2ES project is presented together with the characterization of the capabilities of a full physics retrieval code applied to FORUM data. We show how the instrument characteristics and the observed scene conditions impact on the spectrum measured by the instrument, accounting for the main sources of error related to the entire acquisition process, and the consequences on the retrieval algorithm. Both homogeneous and heterogeneous case studies are simulated in clear and cloudy conditions, validating the E2ES against appropriate well-established correlative codes. The performed tests show that the performance of the retrieval algorithm is compliant with the project requirements both in clear and cloudy conditions. The far-infrared (FIR) part of the FORUM spectrum is shown to be sensitive to surface emissivity, in dry atmospheric conditions, and to cirrus clouds, resulting in improved performance of the retrieval algorithm in these conditions. The retrieval errors increase with increasing the scene heterogeneity, both in terms of surface characteristics and in terms of fractional cloud cover of the scene.

If I? R is a bounded interval, we prove the boundedness of Calderón singular operator and of Hardy-Littlewood Maximal operator in the generalized weighted Grand Lebesgue spaces Lpp),?(I), 1 < p< ?.

Progress in understanding, managing, and securing current and future ecosystem functions and services is challenged by fragmented and dispersed ecosystem research. As the topic is often approached using narrow disciplinary perspectives, a holistic understanding of complex eco- and socio-ecological systems is hampered and prevented. The emerging European Long-Term Ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological systems Research Infrastructure (eLTER) aims to overcome this challenge by addressing this issue in the ecosystem and biodiversity domain and thereby closing this gap in the European RI landscape. With its concept of the 'Information Clusters' eLTER aims to provide a framework to lower the barrier to information access and exchange. The main idea behind the concept is to simplify the harvesting and user uptake of data from multiple information sources, facilitating the integration with eLTER data by making use of existing services, like Copernicus or statistical information. The selection of sources and content of relevant data layers is the result of an internal discussion where the Research Challenges (RC) play the main role by identifying the current requirements for environmental research and the ensuing demand for external data. The overarching framework of the eLTER Standard Observations informs this process. In order to achieve the implementation of 'Information Clusters', three different data sources have been identified to complement eLTER observations and analysis: (a) in-situ legacy and third party data, (b) data from official statistics, and (c) remote sensing data and products. The activities described in the report focus on the collection and exemplary retrieval of relevant in-situ legacy data, which we identified as complementary data sources and could play an important role within the planned eLTER data analysis workflows. This is relevant to (a) get additional data for data analysis or visualisation, (b) retrieve data from eLTER sites provided by national level catalogues, and (c) retrieve data from eLTER sites provided to other relevant RIs or monitoring networks. The aim of task 4.1 was to develop and test workflows for access and basic level harmonisation of relevant in-situ data sources on global, continental and national scale. We focused on data requirements defined both by the RC addressed in the eLTER PLUS project as well as the needs for supporting the implementation of data flows defined by the eLTER SOs. We identified 176 legacy and third party data sources which could be assigned to a respective eLTER SO and which sufficiently cover each component of the Ecological Integrity concept. Based on a generic workflow described in the report we tested through demonstrators exemplary data extraction workflows being of relevance in the project context. This demonstrators focused on: (a) retrieve occurrence biodiversity data based on API access, (b) retrieve harmonised site gas flux observation data based on downloads, (c) retrieve data from E-OBS historic data (Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2020) to calculate climate diagrams for sites, (d) retrieve data from gridded and modelled data (e.g. E-OBS) based on the site extent, and (e) retrieve earth observation data products based on site extent. It could be shown that the selected workflows are, at least on a prototype level, operational and are useful for the eLTER PLUS users. We applied a co-design process including the respective RC leads and Science Case (SC) contributors in the design and implementation phase on a regular basis. However, eLTER needs to decide if eLTER Information Clusters focus on on-demand services for extracting information sources or pre-calculated datasets. The results of the work done in task 4.1 provide input to the design and architecture of the extended eLTER Information System led by WP11 and the further definition of workflows towards the eLTER Standard Data Products led by WP10. The report summarises the work done with respect to define and prototype workflows for the retrieval and harmonisation of legacy data. It specifically focuses on priority variables defined by the eLTER SO and aims to support Research Challenge related Science Cases at both, site and network scale. The first section describes the context of the work done, also in relation to the 'Information Clusters' concept, which aims to enhance findability and accessibility of relevant data sources in the eLTER context. The second section lists identified relevant data sources relevant in this context and provides demonstrators for data retrieval and harmonisation in the third part. We finally discuss and provide recommendations for the eLTER Information Clusters that focus on thematic prioritisation, structural and legal interoperability as well as outline next steps for the implementation. The annexes provide detailed information shown in the report only in aggregated format.

We consider a nonminimally coupled curvature-matter gravity theory at the Solar System scale. Both a fifth force of Yukawa type and a further non-Newtonian extra force that arises from the nonminimal coupling are present in the solar interior and in the solar atmosphere up to interplanetary space. The extra force depends on the spatial gradient of space-time curvature R. The conditions under which the effects of such forces can be screened by the chameleon mechanism and be made consistent with Cassini measurement of parametrized post-Newtonian parameter gamma are examined. Constraints from spectroscopic observations of the solar atmosphere are also taken into account. This consistency analysis requires a specific study of the Sun's dynamical contribution to the arising forces at all its layers.

Networks are pervasive in computer science and in real world applications. It is often useful to leverage distinctive node features to regroup such data in clusters, by making use of a single representative node per cluster. Such contracted graphs can help identify features of the original networks that were not visible before. As an example, we can identify contiguous nodes having the same discrete property in a social network. Contracting a graph allows a more scalable analysis of the interactions and structure of the network nodes. This paper delves into the problem of contracting possibly large colored networks into smaller and more easily manageable representatives. It also describes a simple but effective algorithm to perform this task. Extended performance plots are given for a range of graphs and results are detailed and discussed with the aim of providing useful use cases and application scenarios for the approach.

We study the consistency and the oracle properties of the adaptive Lasso estimator for the coefficients of a linear AR(p) time series with a strictly stationary white noise (not necessarily described by i.i.d. r.v.'s). We apply the results to INAR(p) time series and to the non-parametric inference of the fertility function of a Hawkes point process. We present some numerical simulations to emphasize the advantages of the proposed procedure with respect to more classical ones and finally we apply it to a set of epidemiological data

Modeling and direct numerical simulation of particle-laden flows have a tremendous variety of applications in science and engineering across a vast spectrum of scales from pollution dispersion in the atmosphere, to fluidization in the combustion process, to aerosol deposition in spray medication, along with many others. Due to their strongly nonlinear and multiscale nature, the above complex phenomena still raise a very steep challenge to themost computationalmethods. In this review,we provide comprehensive coverage of multibody hydrodynamic (MBH) problems focusing on particulate suspensions in complex fluidic systems that have been simulated using hybrid Eulerian-Lagrangian particulate flow models. Among these hybridmodels, the Immersed Boundary-Lattice Boltzmann Method (IB-LBM) provides mathematically simple and computationally-efficient algorithms for solid-fluid hydrodynamic interactions in MBH simulations. This paper elaborates on the mathematical framework, applicability, and limitations of various 'simple to complex' representations of closecontact interparticle interactions and collision methods, including short-range interparticle and particle-wall steric interactions, spring and lubrication forces, normal and oblique collisions, and mesoscale molecular models for deformable particle collisions based on hard-sphere and soft-sphere models in MBH models to simulate settling or flow of nonuniform particles of different geometric shapes and sizes in diverse fluidic systems.

This paper is the continuation of a previous work where the authors have introduced a new class of quadrature rules for evaluating the finite Hilbert transform. Such rules are product type formulae based on the filtered de la Vallée Poussin (shortly VP) type approximation. Here, we focus on some particular cases of interest in applications and show that further results can be obtained in such special cases. In particular, we consider an optimal choice of the quadrature nodes for which explicit formulae of the quadrature weights are given and sharper error estimates are stated.