Probiotic Administration Increases Amino Acid Absorption from Plant Protein: a Placebo-Controlled, Randomized, Double-Blind, Multicenter, Crossover Study

The fate of dietary protein in the gut is determined by microbial and host digestion and utilization. Fermentation of proteins generates bioactive molecules that have wide-ranging health effects on the host. The type of protein can affect amino acid absorption, with animal proteins generally being more efficiently absorbed compared with plant proteins. In contrast to animal proteins, most plant proteins, such as pea protein, are incomplete proteins. Pea protein is low in methionine and contains lower amounts of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), which play a crucial role in muscle health. We hypothesized that probiotic supplementation results in favorable changes in the gut microbiota, aiding the absorption of amino acids from plant proteins by the host. Fifteen physically active men (24.2 \ub1 5.0 years; 85.3 \ub1 12.9 kg; 178.0 \ub1 7.6 cm; 16.7 \ub1 5.8% body fat) co-ingested 20 g of pea protein with either AminoAlta\u2122, a multi-strain probiotic (5 billion CFU L. paracasei LP-DG\uae (CNCM I-1572) plus 5 billion CFU L. paracasei LPCS01 (DSM 26760), SOFAR S.p.A., Italy) or a placebo for 2 weeks in a randomized, double-blind, crossover design, separated by a 4-week washout period. Blood samples were taken at baseline and at 30-, 60-, 120-, and 180-min post-ingestion and analyzed for amino acid content. Probiotic administration significantly increased methionine, histidine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, tyrosine, total BCAA, and total EAA maximum concentrations (Cmax) and AUC without significantly changing the time to reach maximum concentrations. Probiotic supplementation can be an important nutritional strategy to improve post-prandial changes in blood amino acids and to overcome compositional shortcomings of plant proteins. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: ISRCTN3890378

The Atmospheric Monitoring System of the JEM-EUSO space mission

An Atmospheric Monitoring System (AMS) is mandatory and a key element of a space-based mission which aims to detect Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR). JEM-EUSO has a dedicated atmospheric monitoring system that plays a fundamental role in our understanding of the atmospheric conditions in the Field of View (FoV) of the telescope. Our AMS consists of an infrared camera and a LIDAR device that are being fully designed with space qualification to fulfil the scientific requirements of this space mission. This AMS will provide information of the cloud cover in the FoV of JEM-EUSO, as well as measurements of the cloud top altitudes with an accuracy of 500 m and the optical depth profile of the atmosphere transmittance in the direction of each air shower with an accuracy of 0.15 degree and a resolution of 500 m. This will ensure that the energy of the primary UHECR and the depth of maximum development of the EAS (Extensive Air Shower) are measured with an accuracy better than 30% and 120 g/cm2, for EAS occurring either in the clear sky or with the EAS depth of maximum development above optically thick cloud layers. Moreover novel stereoscopic and radiometric retrieval techniques are under development to infer the Cloud Top Height (CTH) from the brightness temperature patterns obtained from the infrared camera

The Atmospheric Monitoring System of the JEM-EUSO space mission

An Atmospheric Monitoring System (AMS) is mandatory and a key element of a space-based mission which aims to detect Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR). JEM-EUSO has a dedicated atmospheric monitoring system that plays a fundamental role in our understanding of the atmospheric conditions in the Field of View (FoV) of the telescope. Our AMS consists of an infrared camera and a LIDAR device that are being fully designed with space qualification to fulfil the scientific requirements of this space mission. This AMS will provide information of the cloud cover in the FoV of JEM-EUSO, as well as measurements of the cloud top altitudes with an accuracy of 500 m and the optical depth profile of the atmosphere transmittance in the direction of each air shower with an accuracy of 0.15 degree and a resolution of 500 m. This will ensure that the energy of the primary UHECR and the depth of maximum development of the EAS (Extensive Air Shower) are measured with an accuracy better than 30% and 120 g/cm2, for EAS occurring either in the clear sky or with the EAS depth of maximum development above optically thick cloud layers. Moreover novel stereoscopic and radiometric retrieval techniques are under development to infer the Cloud Top Height (CTH) from the brightness temperature patterns obtained from the infrared camer

ROLE OF CD1A AND HSP60 IN THE ANTITUMORAL RESPONSE OF OESOPHAGEAL CANCER.

Oesophageal cancer (OC) is one of the most common and severe forms of tumor. A wider knowledge of molecular mechanisms which lead to a normal epithelium becoming a neoplasm may reveal new strategies to improve treatment and outcome of this disease. In this review, we report recent findings concerning molecular events which take place during carcinogenesis of the oesophagus. In particular, we focus on the role of two molecules, CD1a and Hsp60, which are overexpressed in oesophageal and many other types of tumor. Both molecules may present tumor antigens and promote in situ the stimulation of an antitumoral immune activity. We suggest there is a synergistic action between these molecules. Further knowledge about their intracellular pathways and extracellular roles may help develop new antitumoral tools for OC

Characterizing Long COVID: Deep Phenotype of a Complex Condition

Background: Numerous publications describe the clinical manifestations of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC or “long COVID”), but they are difficult to integrate because of heterogeneous methods and the lack of a standard for denoting the many phenotypic manifestations. Patient-led studies are of particular importance for understanding the natural history of COVID-19, but integration is hampered because they often use different terms to describe the same symptom or condition. This significant disparity in patient versus clinical characterization motivated the proposed ontological approach to specifying manifestations, which will improve capture and integration of future long COVID studies. Methods: The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) is a widely used standard for exchange and analysis of phenotypic abnormalities in human disease but has not yet been applied to the analysis of COVID-19. Findings: We identified 303 articles published before April 29, 2021, curated 59 relevant manuscripts that described clinical manifestations in 81 cohorts three weeks or more following acute COVID-19, and mapped 287 unique clinical findings to HPO terms. We present layperson synonyms and definitions that can be used to link patient self-report questionnaires to standard medical terminology. Long COVID clinical manifestations are not assessed consistently across studies, and most manifestations have been reported with a wide range of synonyms by different authors. Across at least 10 cohorts, authors reported 31 unique clinical features corresponding to HPO terms; the most commonly reported feature was Fatigue (median 45.1%) and the least commonly reported was Nausea (median 3.9%), but the reported percentages varied widely between studies. Interpretation: Translating long COVID manifestations into computable HPO terms will improve analysis, data capture, and classification of long COVID patients. If researchers, clinicians, and patients share a common language, then studies can be compared/pooled more effectively. Furthermore, mapping lay terminology to HPO will help patients assist clinicians and researchers in creating phenotypic characterizations that are computationally accessible, thereby improving the stratification, diagnosis, and treatment of long COVID. Funding: U24TR002306; UL1TR001439; P30AG024832; GBMF4552; R01HG010067; UL1TR002535; K23HL128909; UL1TR002389; K99GM145411. © 2021 The Author(s

Novel and emerging biotechnological crop protection approaches

Traditional breeding or genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have for a long time been the sole approaches to effectively cope with biotic and abiotic stresses and implement the quality traits of crops. However, emerging diseases as well as unpredictable climate changes affecting agriculture over the entire globe force scientists to find alternative solutions required to quickly overcome seasonal crises. In this review, we first focus on cisgenesis and genome editing as challenging biotechnological approaches for breeding crops more tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses. In addition, we take into consideration a toolbox of new techniques based on applications of RNA interference and epigenome modifications, which can be adopted for improving plant resilience. Recent advances in these biotechnological applications are mainly reported for non‐model plants and woody crops in particular. Indeed, the characterization of RNAi machinery in plants is fundamental to transform available information into biologically or biotechnologically applicable knowledge. Finally, here we discuss how these innovative and environmentally friendly techniques combined with traditional breeding can sustain a modern agriculture and be of potential contribution to climate change mitigation

Ultra high energy photons and neutrinos with JEM-EUSO

Ultra high energy photons and neutrinos are carriers of very important astrophysical information. They may be produced at the sites of cosmic ray acceleration or during the propagation of the cosmic rays in the intergalactic medium. In contrast to charged cosmic rays, photon and neutrino arrival directions point to the production site because they are not deflected by the magnetic fields of the Galaxy or the intergalactic medium. In this work we study the characteristics of the longitudinal development of showers initiated by photons and neutrinos at the highest energies. These studies are relevant for development of techniques for neutrino and photon identification by the JEM-EUSO telescope. In particular, we study the possibility of observing the multi-peak structure of very deep horizontal neutrino showers with JEM-EUSO. We also discuss the possibility to determine the flavor content of the incident neutrino flux by taking advantage of the different characteristics of the longitudinal profiles generated by different type of neutrinos. This is of grate importance for the study of the fundamental properties of neutrinos at the highest energies. Regarding photons, we discuss the detectability of the cosmogenic component by JEM-EUSO and also estimate the expected upper limits on the photon fraction which can be obtained from the future JEM-EUSO data for the case in which there are no photons in the samples

Performances of JEM-EUSO : angular reconstruction

Mounted on the International Space Station(ISS), the Extreme Universe Space Observatory, on-board the Japanese Experimental Module (JEM-EUSO), relies on the well established fluorescence technique to observe Extensive Air Showers (EAS) developing in the earth’s atmosphere. Focusing on the detection of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) in the decade of 10^{20} eV, JEM-EUSO will face new challenges by applying this technique from space. The EUSO Simulation and Analysis Framework (ESAF) has been developed in this context to provide a full end-to-end simulation frame, and assess the overall performance of the detector. Within ESAF, angular reconstruction can be separated into two conceptually different steps. The first step is pattern recognition, or filtering, of the signal to separate it from the background. The second step is to perform different types of fitting in order to search for the relevant geometrical parameters that best describe the previously selected signal. In this paper, we discuss some of the techniques we have implemented in ESAF to perform the geometrical reconstruction of EAS seen by JEM-EUSO. We also conduct thorough tests to assess the performances of these techniques in conditions which are relevant to the scope of the JEM-EUSO mission. We conclude by showing the expected angular resolution in the energy range that JEM-EUSO is expected to observe