Relative influence of environmental factors on biodiversity and behavioural traits of a rare mesopelagic fish, Trachipterus trachypterus (gmelin, 1789), in a continental shelf front of the Mediterranean Sea

Coastal environments can be influenced by water body masses with particular physical, chemical, and biological properties that create favourable conditions for the development of unique planktonic communities. In this study, we investigated a continental shelf front at Ponza Island (Tyrrhenian Sea) and discussed its diversity and complexity in relation to major environmental parameters. Moon phase and current direction were found to play a significant role in shaping species abundance and behaviour. During in situ observations, we also provided the first data on the behaviour of juveniles of a rare mesopelagic species, Trachipterus trachypterus, suggesting the occurrence of Batesian mimicry

On chip interconnects for multiprocessor turbo decoding architectures

International audienc

SARS-CoV-2 concentrations and virus-laden aerosol size distributions in outdoor air in north and south of Italy

The COVID-19 disease spread at different rates in the different countries and in different regions of the same country, as happened in Italy. Transmission by contact or at close range due to large respiratory droplets is widely accepted, however, the role of airborne transmission due to small respiratory droplets emitted by infected individuals (also asymptomatic) is controversial. It was suggested that outdoor airborne transmission could play a role in determining the differences observed in the spread rate. Concentrations of virus-laden aerosol are still poorly known and contrasting results are reported, especially for outdoor environments. Here we investigated outdoor concentrations and size distributions of virus-laden aerosol simultaneously collected during the pandemic, in May 2020, in northern (Veneto) and southern (Apulia) regions of Italy. The two regions exhibited significantly different prevalence of COVID-19. Genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 (RNA) was determined, using both real time RT-PCR and ddPCR, in air samples collected using PM10 samplers and cascade impactors able to separate 12 size ranges from nanoparticles (diameter D < 0.056 µm) up to coarse particles (D > 18 µm). Air samples tested negative for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 at both sites, viral particles concentrations were <0.8 copies m−3 in PM10 and <0.4 copies m−3 in each size range investigated. Outdoor air in residential and urban areas was generally not infectious and safe for the public in both northern and southern Italy, with the possible exclusion of very crowded sites. Therefore, it is likely that outdoor airborne transmission does not explain the difference in the spread of COVID-19 observed in the two Italian regions

Substantial lymph-vascular space invasion (Lvsi) as predictor of distant relapse and poor prognosis in low-risk early-stage endometrial cancer

Objective: The aim of this study is to analyze the prognostic role of lymph-vascular space invasion (LVSI), evaluated in a semi-quantitative fashion on prognosis of early stage, low risk endometrial cancer (EC). Methods: We enrolled patients who underwent surgery for endometrial cancer between 2003 and 2018 in two referral cancer center. All patients had endometrioid EC, G1–G2, with myometrial invasion <50%, and no lymph-node involvement. LVSI was analyzed in a semi-quantitative way, according to a 3-tiered scoring system in absent, focal and substantial. Results: Among 524 patients, any positive LVSI was found in 57 patients (10.9%) with focal LVSI (n=35, 6.7%) and substantial LVSI (n=22, 4.2%). Substantial LVSI was associated to higher rate of G2 (p<0.001), myometrial infiltration (p=0.002) and greater tumor dimensions (p=0.014). Patients with substantial LVSI were more likely to receive adjuvant treatment (6.6% vs. 52.6%, p<0.001). The 5-year OS was 99.5% in patients with absent LVSI and 70.6% in those with substantial LVSI (p<0.001). The 5-year disease free survival (DFS) was 93.6% in patients with absent LVSI and 56.5% in those with substantial LVSI (p<0.001). The rate of distant failures increased from 1.8% for absent LVSI to 22.7% for substantial LVSI (p=0.002). In univariate analysis substantial LVSI was the strongest predictor of poor overall survival (hazard ratio [HR]=11.9, p=0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that substantial LVSI was an independent predictive factor of both recurrence (HR=5.88, p=0.001) and distant failure (HR=10.6, p=0.006). Conclusions: Substantial LVSI represents the strongest independent risk factor for decreased survival and distant relapse, indicating a role for potential hematogenous dissemination

Impact of maritime transport on particulate matter concentrations and chemical compositions in four port-cities of the Adriatic/Ionian area: an overview of the results of POSEIDON project

Pollutant emissions from ships and harbour activities constitute an important source of pollution of coastal areas with potential influences on the climate and the health of their inhabitants. A recent review (Viana et al., 2014) shows that these emissions could have an important impact on the Mediterranean and that there is a lack of data for the Eastern and South-Eastern part of this area. This work presents an analysis of the impact of ship emissions to atmospheric particle concentrations (PM) in four important port-cities (Patras Greece, Brindisi and Venice Italy, and Rijeka Croatia) of the Adriatic/Ionian area. The study was performed within the POSEIDON project (Pollution monitoring of ship emissions: an integrated approach for harbours of the Adriatic basin, funded within the MED Programme 2007-2013). The study uses an integrated approach using emission inventories, dispersion modelling and measurements taken at high temporal resolution (1 min) and low temporal resolution for chemical characterization of PM. The emission inventories of the four port-cities show that ships contribute between 11.7% and 31.0% of the total PM emissions being a source locally comparable with road traffic (ranging between 11.8% and 26.6%). The source apportionment using the receptor model PMF showed and oil combustion source (that includes ship emissions), characterized by V and Ni, in Brindisi, Venice and Rijeka with V/Ni ratio ranging between 1.4 and 4.2 indicating local differences in chemical profiles of the emissions. The V concentrations were used to evaluate the contributions of primary ship emissions to PM (Agrawal et al., 2009) that resulted between 1.3% and 2.8%. The contribution to secondary sulphate was 11% of PM2.5 in Brindisi (Cesari et al., 2014). The analysis of high-temporal resolution measurements taken near the harbour areas of Venice, Patras and Brindisi showed a contribution of ship emissions to PM2.5 varying between 3.5% and 7.4%. The relative contribution to particle number concentrations (PNC) was larger at all sites (between 6% and 26%). This demonstrates that ship particulate missions include mainly small and ultrafine particles. The trend of the impact of passenger ships primary emissions to PM2.5 concentrations in Venice between 2007 and 2012 showed a decrease from 7% (+-1%) to 3.5% (+-1%) even if the gross tonnage of ship traffic increased in the same period by 47% (Contini et al., 2015). This was a consequence of the use of low-sulphur content fuels due to the application of local mitigation strategies and of the European Directive 2005/33/EC. The WRF-CAMx modeling system was applied over the Central and Eastern Mediterranean so as to identify the air quality impact of ship emissions. The zero-out modelling method was implemented involving model simulations performed while including and omitting the ship emissions. The results for both gaseous and particulate pollutant concentrations generally show a fairly good agreement with observations at the areas under study. Agrawal et al., 2009. Environmental Science and Technology 43, 5398-5402. Cesari et al., 2014. Science of the Total Environment 497-498, 392-400. Contini et al., 2015. Atmospheric Environment 102, 183-190. Viana et al., 2014. Atmospheric Environment 90, 96-105

Development of genetic tools for the redbait species Pyura herdmani and P. stolonifera, important bioengineers along African coastlines

The development of new genetic resources is key for biological conservation in an era when the preservation of biodiversity is crucial. Here, we report the development of microsatellites and mitochondrial markers for the redbait species Pyura herdmani and P. stolonifera, both important bioengineers along African coastlines. Specifically, we identified microsatellites by means of pyrosequencing and variable regions in the mitochondrial genome using RAD-seq libraries that were generated with Illumina sequencing. A total of 4 339 putative microsatellites were found, of which 32 were tested on individuals collected along the southeast coast of South Africa. Of those, five  microsatellites cross-amplified consistently in both species, and these were tested on a total of 260 samples. Additionally, we mapped the partial mitochondrial genome of a small number of  individuals from both species and identified the most-variable regions by comparing a small number of individuals from all regions where these species have been recorded (including western South Africa and northwest Africa). The genetic markers developed here can be used to conduct population genetic studies, to monitor range shifts under   contemporary climate change, and to help in preserving ecosystem functioning along African coastlines

Oxyfuncionalization of Non-Natural Targets by Dioxiranes. 5. Selective Oxidation of Hydrocarbons Bearing Cyclopropyl Moieties.”

The powerful methyl(trifluoromethyl)dioxirane (1b) was employed to achieve the direct oxyfunctionalization of 2,4-didehydroadamantane (5), spiro[cyclopropane-1,2′-adamantane] (9), spiro[2.5]- octane (17), and bicyclo[6.1.0]nonane (19). The results are compared with those attained in the analogous oxidation of two alkylcyclopropanes, i.e., n-butylcyclopropane (11) and (3-methyl-butyl)- cyclopropane (14). The product distributions observed for 11 and 14 show that cyclopropyl activation ofR-C-H bonds largely prevails when no tertiary C-H are present in the open chain in the tether; however, in the oxyfunctionalixation of 14 cyclopropyl activation competes only mildly with hydroxylation at the tertiary C-H. The application of dioxirane 1b to polycyclic alkanes possessing a sufficiently rigid framework (such as 5 and 9) demonstrates the relevance of relative orientation of the cyclopropane moiety with respect to the proximal C-H undergoing oxidation. At one extreme, as observed in the oxidation of rigid spiro compound 9, even bridgehead tertiary C-H’s become deactivated by the proximal cyclopropyl moiety laying in the unfavorable “eclipsed” (perpendicular) orientation; at the other end, a cyclopropane moiety constrained in a favorable “bisected” orientation (as for didehydroadamantane 5) can activate an “R” methylene CH2 to compete effectively with dioxirane O-insertion into tertiary C-H bonds. Comparison with literature reports describing similar oxidations by dimethyldioxirane (1a) demonstrate that methyl(trifluoromethyl)dioxirane (1b) presents similar selectivity and remarkably superior reactivit

Relation of air mass source regions to PM10 mass concentrations using back trajectories

Abstract T06A195

Development of genetic tools for the redbait species Pyura herdmani and P. stolonifera, important bioengineers along African coastlines

The development of new genetic resources is key for biological conservation in an era when the preservation of biodiversity is crucial. Here, we report the development of microsatellites and mitochondrial markers for the redbait species Pyura herdmani and P. stolonifera, both important bioengineers along African coastlines. Specifically, we identified microsatellites by means of pyrosequencing and variable regions in the mitochondrial genome using RAD-seq libraries that were generated with Illumina sequencing. A total of 4 339 putative microsatellites were found, of which 32 were tested on individuals collected along the southeast coast of South Africa. Of those, five microsatellites cross-amplified consistently in both species, and these were tested on a total of 260 samples. Additionally, we mapped the partial mitochondrial genome of a small number of individuals from both species and identified the most-variable regions by comparing a small number of individuals from all regions where these species have been recorded (including western South Africa and northwest Africa). The genetic markers developed here can be used to conduct population genetic studies, to monitor range shifts under contemporary climate change, and to help in preserving ecosystem functioning along African coastlines