Scientific modelling can be accessible, interoperable and user friendly: A case study for pasture and livestock modelling in Spain

This article describes the adaptation of a non-spatial model of pastureland dynamics, including vegetation life cycle, livestock management and nitrogen cycle, for use in a spatially explicit and modular modelling platform (k.LAB) dedicated to make data and models more interoperable. The aim is to showcase to the social-ecological modelling community the delivery of an existing, monolithic model, into a more modular, transparent and accessible approach to potential end users, regional managers, farmers and other stakeholders. This also allows better usability and adaptability of the model beyond its originally intended geographical scope (the Cantabrian Region in the North of Spain). The original code base (written in R in 1,491 lines of code divided into 13 files) combines several algorithms drawn from the literature in an opaque fashion due to lack of modularity, non-semantic variable naming and implicit assumptions. The spatiotemporal rewrite is structured around a set of 10 namespaces called PaL (Pasture and Livestock), which includes 198 interoperable and independent models. The end user chooses the spatial and temporal context of the analysis through an intuitive web-based user interface called k.Explorer. Each model can be called individually or in conjunction with the others, by querying any PaL-related concepts in a search bar. A scientific dataflow and a provenance diagram are produced in conjunction with the model results for full transparency. We argue that this work demonstrates key steps needed to create more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) models beyond the selected example. This is particularly essential in environments as complex as agricultural systems, where multidisciplinary knowledge needs to be integrated across diverse spatial and temporal scales in order to understand complex and changing problems. © 2023 Marquez Torres et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.The authors would like to thank Joan Busqué who created and shared the original Puerto model and the team lead by José Barquín at the Hydrological Institute of Cantabria (IHC). Special thanks to Simone Langhans and Ken Bagstad who suggested revisions to the article. Robinson et al. (2014) for logistic support for EarthEnv-DEM90

Role of innate immunity in the neuroprotective effect of estrogens

Background and Purpose \u2013 Activation of the brain inflammatory response plays a key role in the pathogenesis and progression of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD)1, although the specific contribution of pro and anti-inflammatory phenotypes of microglia is still unclear. Several lines of evidence show a different female/male ratio in the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases, including PD, which has been at least partially ascribed to the neuroprotective activity of estrogen hormones2. Although it is known that there is a gender-related dimorphism in innate immunity, which drives the inflammatory response, the interplay between the neuroprotective effects of estrogens and hormone action in inflammatory cells is still poorly understood. Our previous data showed that 17\u3b2-estradiol (E2) is able to reduce the pro-inflammatory response of the brain induced by LPS, a potent inflammatory stimulus, or by amyloid deposition in the APP23 mice3. Thus, the aim of the study is to better characterize the response of macrophage cells to estrogens, by analyzing gene expression and cell polarization through a genome wide approach, and to evaluate the relevance of dampening neuroinflammation for the efficacy of neuroprotective strategies by using an experimental model of PD. Methods and Results \u2013 Female mice were treated subcutaneously with vehicle or 5 \ub5g/kg E2 for 4 hr. Peritoneal macrophages were isolated by magnetic beads preloaded with an antibody against CD11b, RNA extracted and assayed for gene expression by realtime PCR. E2 treatment resulted in an increase in selected mRNAs, such as Tgm-2 and ApoE, known to be under estrogen control in other tissues, thus showing that peripheral macrophages in the intact animal are responsive to this hormone. The hormonal responsiveness of microglia cells is underway as we recently optimized the isolation of microglia cells from the adult mouse brain. Polarization of microglia cells was first analyzed by setting up a protocol of intracerebroventricular (icv) injections of IL-4, a well-known inducer of the M2 phenotype, followed by gene expression and immunological analyses of known M2 markers. Results will be presented. Conclusions \u2013 We observed that estrogens are able to modify the gene expression programme of macrophage cells in vivo, corroborating the hypothesis that these hormones are able to regulate the inflammatory response. These preliminary results sustain further analyses of hormone action in neuroinflammatory cells and in experimental models of neurodegenerative diseases associated with inflammation and macrophage polarization

Molecular characterization of multidrug-resistant strains of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium and Monophasic variant isolated from human infections in Italy

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (STM) represents the prevalent cause of foodborne gastroenteritis in Italy with the majority of isolates exhibiting multidrug resistance. A resistant pattern that includes ampicillin (A), streptomycin (S), sulfonamide (Su), and tetracycline (T) (ASSuT) but lacks resistance to chloramphenicol (C) has recently emerged in Italy among strains of STM and of its monophasic variant, S. enterica subspecies enterica serovar S. 4,[5],12:i:-. With the aim to evaluate their clonal relationships, 553 strains of STM and S. 4,[5],12:i:- with the ASSuT and ACSSuT resistance patterns isolated in Italy from human infections between 2003 and 2006 were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) according to the PulseNet-Europe protocol and nomenclature. Among both the STM and S. 4,[5],12:i:- ASSuT strains, the predominant PFGE profile was STYMXB.0079 (53.2-73.0% of strains, respectively), while the STM ACSSuT strains belonged to the STYMXB.0061 (37.2% of strains) and STYMXB.0067 (29.9% of strains). Bionumerics cluster analysis of the nonunique PFGE profiles showed that more than 90% of ASSuT and ACSSuT-resistant strains were included in two distinct clusters with a genetic homology of 73% each other, suggesting that the ASSuT-resistant strains belong to a same clonal lineage different from that of the ACSSuT strains. Phage typing showed that 23% of the ASSuT STM strains were not typeable and 22.3% were U302. The same phage types were observed among the ASSuT strains of S. 4,[5],12:i:-. A different figure was observed for the ACSSuT strains: the STM isolates mostly belonged to DT104 (70.2%), while none of the S. 4,[5],12:i:- strains belonged to this phage type. This study indicates that the tetra-resistant ASSuT strains of STM and S. 4,[5],12:i:-, increasingly isolated in Italy, belong to a same clonal lineage and that the S. 4,[5],12:i:- strains circulating in our country mainly derive from this STM clonal lineage

B-Pol: Detecting Primordial Gravitational Waves Generated During Inflation

B-Pol is a medium-class space mission aimed at detecting the primordial gravitational waves generated during inflation through high accuracy measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization. We discuss the scientific background, feasibility of the experiment, and implementation developed in response to the ESA Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Call for Proposals.Comment: Experimental Astronomy - The original publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co

Chagas disease knocks on our door : A cross-sectional study among Latin American immigrants in Milan, Italy

Objectives: We aimed to assess the prevalence and risk factors for Chagas disease (CD) in Latin American immigrants and to evaluate the accuracy of diagnostic tests. Moreover, we offered to all positive subjects a complete free-of-charge clinical/instrumental evaluation as well as benznidazole treatment in order to stage the disease and verify drug tolerability. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of CD among Latin Americans living in Milan and its metropolitan area was conducted between July 2013 and July 2014. Blood samples were tested for serologic evidence of CD together with a questionnaire covering demographic and clinical-epidemiological information. Results: Forty-eight (9.6%) of the 501 tested subjects were conclusively diagnosed as having CD. The highest prevalence of CD was among those from Bolivia (43/169, 25.4%) and El Salvador (4/68, 5.9%). Older age (adjusted odds ratio (aOR)] 1.05, p =0.004), a Bolivian origin (aOR 8.80; p =0.003), being born in the department of Santa Cruz (aOR 3.72, p =0.047), having lived in mud houses (aOR 2.68; p =0.019), and having an affected relative (aOR 12.77, p =0.001) were independently associated with CD. The ARCHITECT Chagas test showed the highest sensitivity (100%) and specificity (99.8%). Twenty-nine of the subjects with CD (60.4%) underwent disease staging, 10 of whom (35.7%) showed cardiac and/or digestive involvement. Benznidazole treatment was associated with high frequency of adverse reactions (19/27, 70.4%) and permanent discontinuation (8/27, 29.6%). Conclusions: CD is highly prevalent among Bolivians and Salvadorans living in Milan. Regions with a large Latin American immigrant population should implement programmes of active detection and treatment

POEtic Tissue: An Integrated Architecture for Bio-inspired Hardware

It is clear to all, after a moments thought, that nature has much wemight be inspired by when designing our systems, for example: robustness, adaptability and complexity, to name a few. The implementation of bio-inspired systems in hardware has however been limited, and more often than not been more a matter of artistry than engineering. The reasons for this are many, but one of the main problems has always been the lack of a universal platform, and of a proper methodology for the implementation of such systems. The ideas presented in this paper are early results of a new research project, "Reconfigurable POEtic Tissue". The goal of the project is the development of a hardware platform capable of implementing systems inspired by all three major axes (phylogenesis, ontogenesis, and epigenesis) of bio-inspiration, in digital hardware

Selective Oxidation of Veratryl Alcohol over Au-Pd/Ce0.62Zr0.38O₂ Catalysts Synthesized by Sol-Immobilization: Effect of Au:Pd Molar Ratio

The selective oxidation of veratryl alcohol (VA), a model compound of lignin, with oxygen molecules to produce veratraldehyde (VAld) was studied over monometallic Au, Pd, and bimetallic Au:Pd nanoparticles supported on a Ce0.62Zr0.38O\u2082 mixed oxide for the first time. These bimetallic Au-Pd catalysts with Au:Pd molar ratios from 0.4 to 4.3 were synthesized by the sol-immobilization method. Furthermore, all the catalysts were characterized by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), N\u2082 physisorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning transmission electron microscopy-high angle annular dark field (STEM-HAADF) imaging, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), and temperature programmed reduction (TPR) techniques. A synergistic effect between gold and palladium was observed over all the bimetallic catalysts in a wide range of studied Au:Pd ratios. Remarkably, the optimum Au:Pd ratio for this reaction was 1.4 with a turnover frequency of almost six times larger than for the monometallic gold and palladium catalysts. Selectivity to veratraldehyde was higher than 99% for the monometallic Au, Pd, and all the bimetallic Au-Pd catalysts, and stayed constant during the reaction time