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A comprehensive framework for solution space exploration in community detection
Abstract: Community detection algorithms are essential tools for understanding complex networks, yet their results often vary between runs and are affected by node input order and the presence of outliers, undermining reproducibility and interpretation. This paper addresses these issues by introducing a framework for systematic exploration of the solution space, obtained through repeated runs of a given algorithm with permuted node orders. A Bayesian model assesses convergence, estimates solution probabilities, and provides a defensible stopping rule that balances accuracy and computational cost. Building on this process, we propose a taxonomy of solution spaces that offers clear diagnostics of partition reliability across algorithms and a shared vocabulary for interpretation. Applied to a real-world network, the approach shows that different algorithms produce various types of solution space, highlighting the importance of systematic exploration of the solutions before drawing scientific conclusions. Autori Fabio Morea, Domenico de Stefano Rivista Scientific Reports Data di pubblicazione 31/10/2025 Consulta la pubblicazione
Eco-friendly NaCl glycerol-based deep eutectic electrolyte for high-voltage electrochemical double layer capacitor
Abstract Herein, we propose eco-friendly electrolytes based on sodium chloride as a hydrogen bond acceptor and glycerol as a hydrogen bond donor, as alternatives to toxic, flammable and unsustainable electrolytes commonly used in electrochemical energy storage systems. By means of an in-depth multi-technique investigation, including Raman and FT-FIR spectroscopy, of the formulated electrolytes, we point out the effect of the structuring of the system on the transport and electrochemical properties. The 1 : 10 molar ratio mixture proves to be a deep eutectic solvent (DES), showing good room temperature ionic conductivity (0.186 mS cm−1) and electrochemical stability (≈3 V). When implemented as electrolyte in an activated-carbon electrochemical double layer capacitor, this DES exhibits superior performance compared to mixtures with different molar ratio and those containing ethylene glycol as the hydrogen bond donor, with a high operational voltage (2.6 V), a specific capacitance of 14.1 F g−1, and a remarkable cycling stability. These findings highlight the potential of glycerol-based DESs as alternative electrolytes for sustainable electrochemical energy storage applications. Autori Daniele Motta, Alessandro Damin, Hamideh Darjazi, Stefano Nejrotti, Federica Piccirilli, Giovanni Birarda, Claudia Barolo, Claudio Gerbaldi, Giuseppe Antonio Elia, Matteo Bonomo Rivista Green Chemistry Data di pubblicazione 31/03/2025 Consulta la pubblicazione
Cobalt recycling patents dataset selected using ‘green’ classification codes: Focus on the nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) batteries recycling
Abstract Il Critical Raw Materials Act è stato emanato per affrontare i rischi percepiti riguardanti le catene di approvvigionamento di materie prime critiche alla luce della crescita prevista della domanda. Il cobalto è una delle materie prime critiche per l’UE: svolge un ruolo centrale nella transizione verso un’economia a basse emissioni di carbonio ed è cruciale per le batterie che alimentano i veicoli elettrici. L’industria del cobalto è importante non solo per la transizione verde, ma anche perché crea opportunità di lavoro, dato che l’Europa è la terza regione più vasta nella catena del valore globale del cobalto. Il mercato globale dei veicoli elettrici a batteria (BEV) è in continuo aumento, il che comporta una consistente domanda di materiali per la produzione di batterie agli ioni di litio (LIB). In particolare, le batterie al litio nichel manganese cobalto (NMC) sono uno dei tipi di batterie principali utilizzati nei BEV e il riciclo dei materiali dalle batterie usate per produrre nuove batterie può mitigare il rischio di approvvigionamento di materiali. Il presente studio concerne la creazione e il confronto di due dataset di brevetti riguardanti il riciclo del cobalto, rispettivamente ottenuti senza (dataset 1) e con (dataset 2) l’aggiunta di un codice di classificazione CPC specifico ‘verde’ ad una vasta lista di codici di classificazione riguardanti il riciclo dei materiali. In particolare, il CPC Y02P10/20 determina un miglioramento significativo dell’esaustività della ricerca riguardante il riciclaggio del cobalto nel dataset 2, d’altra parte potrebbe anche generare problemi evidenziati da una successiva selezione di quei risultati che in linea di principio sono focalizzati sul recupero delle batterie NMC ma caratterizzati da diversi falsi positivi. Pertanto, si raccomanda una strategia di affinamento per rendere l’accuratezza del dataset NMC comparabile a quella che caratterizza i risultati NMC del dataset 1 ottenuti senza applicare alcun criterio di affinamento. Author Riccardo Priore Journal Data in Brief, March 2024, 105519 Date Available online 13/03/2024 Consult the paper
Co-assembled supramolecular hydrogels: nano-IR sheds light on tripeptide assemblies
Abstract Supramolecular hydrogels composed of self-assembling short peptides are gaining momentum for enzyme mimicry. In particular, multicomponent systems that feature similar peptides with a self-assembling motif (e.g., Phe–Phe) and catalytic residues (e.g., His, Asp) offer a convenient approach to organize in space, functional residues that typically occur at enzymatic active sites. However, characterisation of these systems, and especially understanding whether the different peptides co-assemble or self-sort, is not trivial. In this work, we study two-component hydrogels composed of similar tripeptides and describe how nano-IR can reveal important details of their packing, thus demonstrating it to be a useful technique to characterise multicomponent, nanostructured gels. Autori Paola Alletto, Ana M. Garcia, Federica Piccirilli, Silvia Marchesan Rivista Faraday Discussions Data di pubblicazione 21/02/2025 Consulta la pubblicazione
Innovation in rare earths recycling: A quantitative and qualitative analysis of patent data
Abstract Gli elementi delle terre rare (REE) sono essenziali per la transizione digitale e la decarbonizzazione. Tuttavia, la loro filiera è altamente concentrata e la loro estrazione ha un elevato impatto ambientale. Le soluzioni di economia circolare potrebbero fornire un doppio vantaggio: ridurre il rischio di fornitura per i paesi dipendenti dalle importazioni e mitigare gli impatti dell’estrazione di REE. Questo articolo si concentra sul riciclo di REE e fornisce una panoramica globale completa delle dinamiche di innovazione in questo settore utilizzando i dati sui brevetti. La metodologia di ricerca proposta per identificare i brevetti di riciclo dei REE si articola in due fasi: l’utilizzo della classificazione ENV-TECH dell’OCSE per le tecnologie verdi e l’occorrenza di parole chiave. È stata sviluppata una serie di metriche quantitative e qualitative per esplorare le dinamiche di innovazione a livello di Paese, richiedente e per tipo di tecnologia. La Cina emerge chiaramente come il mercato più attraente per i brevetti di riciclo di REE e le università cinesi sono le richiedenti più attive a livello mondiale. Al contrario, le domande di brevetto in tutti gli altri Paesi hanno mostrato tendenze stagnanti nell’ultimo decennio. In particolare, l’Europa ha un numero inferiore sia di domande di brevetto che di brevetti sviluppati rispetto agli Stati Uniti e al Giappone. Tuttavia, gli indicatori di qualità dei brevetti mostrano un quadro molto diverso: i richiedenti statunitensi e giapponesi sembrano essere all’avanguardia tecnologica in quanto ricevono più citazioni e sono più orientati a proteggere le loro invenzioni a livello internazionale. La nostra analisi evidenzia quindi l’importanza di considerare sia le metriche quantitative che qualitative dei brevetti quando si esaminano le tendenze dell’innovazione nel riciclo delle terre rare. Per finire, nell’articolo si discutono i determinanti di questi fenomeni osservati, si forniscono indicazioni di policy, in particolare per i paesi dipendenti dalle importazioni di terre rare, e si propongono percorsi per la ricerca futura nell’intersezione tra materiali critici (come le terre rare), l’economia circolare e gli studi sull’innovazione. Autori Riccardo Priore , Marco Compagnoni , Marinella Favot Rivista Resources Policy Volume 102, March 2025, 105519 Data di pubblicazione Disponibile dal 24/02/2025 Consulta la pubblicazione
CO2 and Temperature Induced Switching of a Flexible Metal–Organic Framework with Surface-Mounted Nanoparticles
Abstract Within the material family of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) the subclass of flexible MOFs (flexMOFs) has attracted great attention, showing structural flexibility as a response to external stimuli such as guest adsorption, temperature, and pressure. Hybrid composites like nanoparticle (NP) loaded flexible MOFs, which stand to potentially combine advantageous properties of both are yet largely unexplored. Here the synthesis of flexMOFs with surface mounted nanoparticles, e. g. NP@Zn2(BME-bdc)2dabco composites (NP = Pt and SiO2 nanoparticles, BME-bdc2− = 2,5-bismethoxyethoxy-1,4-benzenedicarboxylate, dabco = 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane) is reported, studying the impact of nanoparticles on the stimulus-responsiveness of a flexMOF. It is shown that CO2 physisorption triggered flexibility of the MOF is retained and reversible for all NP@flexMOF composites. Additionally, it is observed that NPs stabilize the large pore state of the MOF, slightly increasing and shifting the switching pressure window. This effect is also observed during temperature-induced switching but Pt@flexMOF composites partially lose long-range order during the reversion to their narrow pore state, while attached SiO2 NPs allow for a fully reversible transition. These findings suggest that the total exerted material strain triggering the switching is heavily dependent on NP size and the applied stimulus and that guest-induced switchability can be fully realized in NP@flexMOF hybrid materials. Autori Jan Berger, Stephanie Terruzzi, Hana Bunzen, Filippo Ballerini, Marco Vandone, Marcello Marelli, Luca Braglia, Roland A. Fischer, Valentina Colombo, Gregor Kieslich Rivista Small Data di pubblicazione 07/01/2025 Consulta la pubblicazione
Ultrasensitive detection and quantification of bovine Deltapapillomavirus in the semen of healthy horses.
Abstract BPV1, BPV2, BPV13, and BPV14 are all genotypes of bovine delta papillomaviruses (δPV), of which the first three cause infections in horses and are associated with equine sarcoids. However, BPV14 infection has never been reported in equine species. In this study, we examined 58 fresh and thawed commercial semen samples from healthy stallions. In 34 (58.6%), bovine δPV DNA was detected and quantified using droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR). Real time quantitative PCR (qPCR) was able to identify bovine δPV DNA in 5 samples (8.6%). Of the BPV-infected semen samples, 15 were positive for BPV2 (~ 44.1%) on ddPCR and 4 (~ 11.7%) on qPCR; 12 (~ 35.3%) for BPV14 on ddPCR and 1 (~ 3%) by qPCR; 4 (~ 11.7%) for BPV1 on ddPCR, whereas qPCR failed to reveal this infection; 3 (~ 8.8%) for BPV13 on ddPCR; and BPV13 infection was not detected by qPCR. Our study showed for the first time that BPV14 is an additional infectious agent potentially responsible for infection in horses, as its transcripts were detected and quantified in some semen samples. Large-scale BPV14 screening is necessary to provide substantial data on the molecular epidemiology for a better understanding of the geographical divergence of BPV14 prevalence in different areas and how widespread BPV14 is among equids. Autori Anna Cutarelli, Francesca De Falco, Francesco Serpe, Simona Izzo, Giovanna Fusco, Cornel Catoi, Sante Roperto Rivista Scientific Report Data di pubblicazione 04/01/2025 Consulta la pubblicazione
Limiting serine availability during tumor progression promotes muscle wasting in cancer cachexia
Abstract Cancer cachexia is a multifactorial syndrome characterized by a progressive loss of body weight occurring in about 80% of cancer patients, frequently representing the leading cause of death. Dietary intervention is emerging as a promising therapeutic strategy to counteract cancer-induced wasting. Serine is the second most-consumed amino acid (AA) by cancer cells and has emerged to be strictly necessary to preserve skeletal muscle structure and functionality. Here, we demonstrate that decreased serine availability during tumor progression promotes myotubes diameter reduction in vitro and induces muscle wasting in in vivo mice models. By investigating the metabolic crosstalk between colorectal cancer cells and muscle cells, we found that incubating myotubes with conditioned media from tumor cells relying on exogenous serine consumption triggers pronounced myotubes diameter reduction. Accordingly, culturing myotubes in a serine-free medium induces fibers width reduction and suppresses the activation of the AKT-mTORC1 pathway with consequent impairment in protein synthesis, increased protein degradation, and enhanced expression of the muscle atrophy-related genes Atrogin1 and MuRF1. In addition, serine-starved conditions affect myoblast differentiation and mitochondrial oxidative metabolism, finally inducing oxidative stress in myotubes. Consistently, serine dietary deprivation strongly strengthens cancer-associated weight loss and muscle atrophy in mice models. These findings uncover serine consumption by tumor cells as a previously undisclosed driver in cancer cachexia, opening new routes for possible therapeutic approaches. Autori Erica Pranzini, Livio Muccillo, Ilaria Nesi, Alice Santi, Caterina Mancini, Giulia Lori, Massimo Genovese, Tiziano Lottini, Giuseppina Comito, Anna Caselli, Annarosa Arcangeli, Lina Sabatino, Vittorio Colantuoni, Maria Letizia Taddei, Paolo Cirri, Paolo Paoli Rivista Cell Death Discovery Data di pubblicazione 21/12/2024 Consulta la pubblicazione
Degradation of α-MnO2 in Zn-air battery gas-diffusion electrodes: An investigation based on chemical-state mapping
Abstract Here, we present an integrated ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) apparatus for the growth of complex materials and heterostructures. The specific growth technique is the Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) by means of a dual-laser source based on an excimer KrF ultraviolet and solid-state Nd:YAG infra-red lasers. By taking advantage of the two laser sources—both lasers can be independently used within the deposition chambers—a large number of different materials—ranging from oxides to metals, to selenides, and others—can be successfully grown in the form of thin films and heterostructures. All of the samples can be in situ transferred between the deposition chambers and the analysis chambers by using vessels and holders’ manipulators. The apparatus also offers the possibility to transfer samples to remote instrumentation under UHV conditions by means of commercially available UHV-suitcases. The dual-PLD operates for in-house research as well as user facility in combination with the Advanced Photo-electric Effect beamline at the Elettra synchrotron radiation facility in Trieste and allows synchrotron-based photo-emission as well as x-ray absorption experiments on pristine films and heterostructures. Autori Benedetto Bozzini, Alessandro Alleva, Valentina Bonanni, Regina Ciancio, George Kourousias, Francesco Guzzi, Piu Rajak, Alessandra Gianoncelli Rivista Electrochimica Acta Data di pubblicazione 20/12/2024 Consulta la pubblicazione
Dimeric and monomeric conformation of SARS-CoV-2 main protease: New technical approaches based on IR radiation
Abstract The main proteases Mpro are a group of highly conserved cysteine hydrolases in β-coronaviruses. They have been demonstrated to play an unavoidable role in viral replication, and consequently they have been suggested as key targets for treating coronavirus-caused infectious diseases, mainly from the COVID-19 epidemic. Since the most functional form for Mpro enzymatic activity is associated to its homodimer, compounds inhibiting dimerization should also inhibit catalytic activity. We show how PIR-SEIRA (Plasmonic Internal Reflection-Surface Enhanced InfraRed Absorption) spectroscopy can be a noteworthy technique to study proteins subtle structural variations associated to inhibitor binding. Nanoantennas arrays can selectively confine and enhance electromagnetic field via localized plasmonic resonances, thus promoting ultrasensitive detection of biomolecules in close proximity of nanoantenna arrays and enabling the effective investigation of protein monolayers. By adopting this approach, reflection measurements conducted under back illumination of nanoantennas allow to probe anchored protein monolayers, with minimum contribution of environmental buffer molecules. PIR-SEIRA spectroscopy on Mpro was carried out by ad hoc designed devices, resonating in the spectral region of Amide I and Amide II bands. We evaluated here the structure of anchored monomers and dimers in different buffered environment and in presence of a newly designed Mpro inhibitor. Experimental results show that dimerization is not associated to relevant backbone rearrangements of the protein at secondary structure level, and even if the compound inhibits the dimerization, it is not effective at breaking preformed dimers. Autori Federica Piccirilli, Hendrik Vondracek, Lucia Silvestrini, Pietro Parisse, Francesco Spinozzi, Lisa Vaccari, Andrea Toma, Vincenzo Aglieri, Loredana Casalis, Antonio Palumbo Piccionello, Paolo Mariani, Giovanni Birarda, Maria Grazia Ortore Rivista Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy Data di pubblicazione 5/12/2024 Consulta la pubblicazione
Raman Microscopy Identification of Secondary Spurious Phases in Molten GdSr2RuCu2O8-δ Superconductor for Photonics and Plasmonic Applications
Abstract Plasmonic and Photonics applications of superconducting materials, suggested at first by the necessity to minimize the dissipative losses of conventional metals in the high frequency ranges, are topics of growing interest in Optics. In this perspective, GdSr2RuCu2O8-δ (Gd1212) Rutheno-Cuprate Superconductor presents very promising properties, showing both superconducting and magnetically ordered phases coexisting in the same cell. To investigate its features, the fabrication of macroscopic crystallographically oriented samples is necessary. The use of melt texturing techniques has shown to be among the most effective ways to achieve the best characteristics, although the fabrication of high-quality Gd1212 samples is intrinsically difficult. To reach a better understanding of Gd1212 incongruent melting reaction, a series of bulk samples annealed at temperatures below and above the melting temperature was prepared. Raman Microscopy and Mapping performed on molten and re-solidified samples revealed the presence of different phases, corresponding to those identified in our previous studies. These observations were also confirmed by XRD, TGA-DTA, and SEM+EDS characterisations. Secondary phases formation showed a strong dependence on the temperature of the annealing treatments. Susceptibility and magnetization measurements show both superconducting and magnetic transitions and a contribution of different spurious magnetic phases as suggested by EDS. Autori Marcello Gombos, Stefano Managò, Danilo Zola, Giovanni Carapella, Oreste Tarallo, Vito Mocella, Anna Chiara De Luca, Ivo Rendina, Francesco Ruffo, Pasquale Orgiani, Regina Ciancio Rivista Accepted at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linquistics (ACL), Arxiv preprint: 2402.11655 Data di pubblicazione 31/10/2024 Consulta la pubblicazione
A Comprehensive Analysis of Process Energy Consumption on Multi-Socket Systems with GPUs
Abstract: Robustly estimating energy consumption in High-Performance Computing (HPC) is essential for assessing the energy footprint of modern workloads, particularly in fields such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) research, development, and deployment. The extensive use of supercomputers for AI training has heightened concerns about energy consumption and carbon emissions. Existing energy estimation tools often assume exclusive use of computing nodes, a premise that becomes problematic with the advent of supercomputers integrating microservices, as seen in initiatives like Acceleration as a Service (XaaS) and cloud computing. This work investigates the impact of executed instructions on overall power consumption, providing insights into the comprehensive behaviour of HPC systems. We introduce two novel mathematical models to estimate a process’s energy consumption based on the total node energy, process usage, and a normalised vector of the probability distribution of instruction types for CPU and GPU processes. Our approach enables energy accounting for specific processes without the need for isolation. Our models demonstrate high accuracy, predicting CPU power consumption with a mere 1.9% error. For GPU predictions, the models achieve a central relative error of 9.7%, showing a clear tendency to fit the test data accurately. These results pave the way for new tools to measure and account for energy consumption in shared supercomputing environments. Autori: Luis G. Leon-Vega, Niccolò Tosato, Stefano Cozzini Rivista: 11th Latin American High Performance Computing Conference, CARLA 2024 Data di pubblicazione: 30/09/2024 Consulta la pubblicazione