A reliable evaluation of crop nutritional status is crucial for supporting fertilization aiming at maximizing qualitative and quantitative aspects of production and reducing the environmental impact of cropping systems. Most of the available simulation models evaluate crop nutritional status according to the nitrogen (N) dilution law, which derives critical N concentration as a function of above-ground biomass. An alternative approach, developed during a project carried out with students of the Cropping Systems Masters course at the University of Milan, was tested and compared with existing models (N dilution law and approaches implemented in EPIC and DAISY models). The new model (MAZINGA) reproduces the effect of leaf self-shading in lowering plant N concentration (PNC) through an inverse of the fraction of radiation intercepted by the canopy. The models were tested using data collected in four rice (Oryza sativa L.) experiments carried out in Northern Italy under potential and N-limited conditions. MAZINGA was the most accurate in identifying the critical N concentration, and therefore in discriminating PNC of plants growing under N-limited and non-limited conditions, respectively. In addition, the present work proved the effectiveness of crop models when used as tools for supporting education.

A capture–recapture study was undertaken to estimate the incidence and likely total burden of malaria cases in England. Cases diagnosed by the national Malaria Reference Laboratory (MRL) between July 2003 and December 2004 were matched with cases reported to Hospital Episode Statistics using demographic, geographical, parasitological, and temporal information. A total of 3861 cases were recorded in one or both datasets; the ‘unknown population’ was estimated as 746 cases (95% CI 677–822) giving a total of 4607 cases (95% CI 4446–4767) over 18 months. Eighty-four percent (95% CI 83–85) of cases were recorded in one or both datasets. Fifty-six percent (95% CI 54–58) of cases were captured by the MRL surveillance system; ascertainment for Plasmodium falciparum and London cases was higher at 66% and 62%, respectively. Improving case ascertainment will facilitate effective measures to reduce the burden of this preventable disease in the UK.

This paper concerns experiments on the turbulence of a toroidal magnetoplasma in the presence of a radial electric field. The possibility of reduction of turbulence through the application of an external biasing potential has been evaluated by measuring the electrostatic fluctuations and main plasma parameters.

Both CEF6, a cation-exchange fraction of soluble Schistosoma mansoni egg antigens (SEA), composed of the 2 antigens, alpha-1 and omega-1, and haemocyanin from the keyhole limpet, Megathura crenulata, have shown potential for immunodiagnosis of human schistosomiasis. Possible cross-reactivity between antigens in SEA and keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH) was explored by Western immunoblotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using sera from rabbits immunized with KLH, SEA, CEF6, alpha-1, omega-1, or egg antigen k5. Both immunoassays revealed a high degree of serological cross-reactivity between the schistosome egg antigens and KLH, much of it due to sodium periodate-sensitive epitopes. Cross-reactivity with schistosome antigens with proven diagnostic efficacy may thus, in part, explain the usefulness of KLH for the diagnosis of human schistosomiasis mansoni.

Sn centers are point defects easily formed by X-ray irradiation of Sn-doped silica. Point defects are a tool for assessing the substitutional character of the dopant in Sn-doped SiO2 glasses with different Sn content (SnO2/SiO2 ratio from 0.01 to 10.0 % w/w) and prepared by two sol-gel methods differing in tin precursors (tin tetraterbutoxide and tin dibutyldiacetate). The former method produced transparent crack-free monolithic glasses of Sn-doped silica with maximum tin content of 0.1 % (SnO2/SiO2 % w/w). The latter method is more efficient and produced transparent glasses with a tin content of 1%.