Margins and Forgotten Places

In 2020, a group of doctoral students decided to submit an interdisciplinary proposal for the organisation of the first doctoral conference of the newly founded United Doctoral School of the University of Verona. Despite the outbreak and long-term, socio-economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic – which put academic activities under a severe strain – the conference proposal was warmly welcomed and promoted by the School as an opportunity for dialogue that could transcend disciplinary boundaries, and as encouragement to continue the too often underappreciated but significant work of scientific research at the margins and on the margins . It was from the concept of margins – seen as limit, as an opportunity, as a meeting place for contact and cross-fertilisation between definitions, traditional perspectives, societies, cultures – that the international conference Margins and Forgotten Places was developed. Our main imperative since the conception of this work was the application of multifaceted expressions of research innovation to socially relevant challenges of the present age. For this purpose we brought the commitment to collective well-being to the forefront of every discipline’s attention, and we allocated a full day to delve into the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda. Together with outstanding keynote speakers, more than sixty speakers presented their contributions, which are still available online on our YouTube channel, and which are partially published in this volume. In an increasingly alienating and highly specialised academic world, we, the Organising Committee, wish to advocate the choral value of scientific research and advise as many colleagues as possible to promote interdisciplinary initiatives that deepen the little, the small and the useless. Only by actively listening what is different, indeed, can we truly appreciate what we already know, thus using our positive attitude towards learning and researching knowledge beyond borders to imagine and shape a different future

A pilot project for energy retrofit of educational buildings - The engineering campus of the University of L’Aquila

The engineering campus of the University of L’Aquila represents a complex use case in the context of energy efficiency, mainly due to its size, the high thermal power, the hybrid hydronic and ventilation system, the absence of a room’s thermal control, and the progressive obsolescence of the heating plant. An in-depth recognition and study of the campus’ HVAC system made it possible to assess the main energy inefficiencies and define interventions to improve its performance. The energy retrofit, carried out by the University’s “Energy Commission Workgroup”, highlighted the main criticalities and potentials of the HVAC system providing viable paths for energy optimization. Among them, one of the hypothesized interventions concerned the thermal regulation of the heating plant, which is, to date, substantially absent. This work presents the results of a Pilot Project to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of the closed-loop control on a thermal system. Two classrooms in the Engineering Campus, similar in geometry, orientation, and occupancy, were selected. One of them has been equipped with a control system. The results of the monitoring campaign showed that the proposed system achieved more than 30% energy savings over a three-month trial period

Gain-of-function defects of astrocytic Kir4.1 channels in children with autism spectrum disorders and epilepsy

Dysfunction of the inwardly-rectifying potassium channels Kir4.1 (KCNJ10) represents a pathogenic mechanism contributing to Autism-Epilepsy comorbidity. To define the role of Kir4.1 variants in the disorder, we sequenced KCNJ10 in a sample of affected individuals, and performed genotype-phenotype correlations. The effects of mutations on channel activity, protein trafficking, and astrocyte function were investigated in Xenopus laevis oocytes, and in human astrocytoma cell lines. An in vivo model of the disorder was also explored through generation of kcnj10a morphant zebrafish overexpressing the mutated human KCNJ10. We detected germline heterozygous KCNJ10 variants in 19/175 affected children. Epileptic spasms with dysregulated sensory processing represented the main disease phenotype. When investigated on astrocyte-like cells, the p.R18Q mutation exerted a gain-of-function effect by enhancing Kir4.1 membrane expression and current density. Similarly, the p.R348H variant led to gain of channel function through hindrance of pH-dependent current inhibition. The frequent polymorphism p.R271C seemed, instead, to have no obvious functional effects. Our results confirm that variants in KCNJ10 deserve attention in autism-epilepsy, and provide insight into the molecular mechanisms of autism and seizures. Similar to neurons, astrocyte dysfunction may result in abnormal synaptic transmission and electrical discharge, and should be regarded as a possible pharmacological target in autism-epilepsy. Supplementary information accompanies this paper in the files section.peer-reviewe

Genome-based reclassification of azospirillum brasilense SP245 as the type strain of azospirillum baldaniorum sp. nov

Azospirillum sp. strain Sp245T, originally identified as belonging to Azospirillum brasilense, is recognized as a plant-growth-promoting rhizobacterium due to its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen and to produce plant-beneficial compounds. Azospirillum sp. Sp245T and other related strains were isolated from the root surfaces of different plants in Brazil. Cells are Gram-negative, curved or slightly curved rods, and motile with polar and lateral flagella. Their growth temperature varies between 20 to 38 °C and their carbon source utilization is similar to other Azospirillum species. A preliminary 16S rRNA sequence analysis showed that the new species is closely related to A. brasilense Sp7T and A. formosense CC-Nfb-7T. Housekeeping genes revealed that Azospirillum sp. Sp245T, BR 12001 and Vi22 form a separate cluster from strain A. formosense CC-Nfb-7T, and a group of strains closely related to A. brasilense Sp7T. Overall genome relatedness index (OGRI) analyses estimated based on average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) between Azospirillum sp. Sp245T and its close relatives to other Azospirillum species type strains, such as A. brasilense Sp7T and A. formosense CC-Nfb-7T, revealed values lower than the limit of species circumscription. Moreover, core-proteome phylogeny including 1079 common shared proteins showed the independent clusterization of A. brasilense Sp7T, A. formosense CC-Nfb-7T and Azospirillum sp. Sp245T, a finding that was corroborated by the genome clustering of OGRI values and housekeeping phylogenies. The DNA G+C content of the cluster of Sp245T was 68.4–68.6%. Based on the phylogenetic, genomic, phenotypical and physiological analysis, we propose that strain Sp245T together with the strains Vi22 and BR12001 represent a novel species of the genus Azospirillum, for which the name Azospirillum baldaniorum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Sp245T (=BR 11005T=IBPPM 219T) (GCF_007827915.1, GCF_000237365.1, and GCF_003119195.2).Fil: Ferreira, Natalia Dos Santos. Universidade Federal Rural Do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Sant´Anna, Fernando Hayashi. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Reis, Veronica Massena. Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento de Brasil. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria; BrasilFil: Ambrosini, Adriana. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Volpiano, Camila Gazolla. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Rothballer, Michael. Helmholtz Center Munich German Research Center For Environmental Health; AlemaniaFil: Schwab, Stefan. Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento de Brasil. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria; BrasilFil: Baura, Valter Antonio. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Balsanelli, Eduardo. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Pedrosa, Fabio de Oliveira. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Passaglia, Luciane Maria Pereira. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: de Souza, Emanuel Maltempi. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Hartmann, Anton. Ludwig Maximilians Universitat; AlemaniaFil: Cassan, Fabricio Dario. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiotecnológicas - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiotecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Zilli, Jerri Edson. Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento de Brasil. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria; Brasi

Variant-specific pathophysiological mechanisms of AFF3 differently influence transcriptome profiles

Background We previously described the KINSSHIP syndrome, an autosomal dominant disorder associated with intellectual disability (ID), mesomelic dysplasia and horseshoe kidney, caused by de novo variants in the degron of AFF3. Mouse knock-ins and overexpression in zebrafish provided evidence for a dominant-negative mode of action, wherein an increased level of AFF3 resulted in pathological effects. Methods Evolutionary constraints suggest that other modes-of-inheritance could be at play. We challenged this hypothesis by screening ID cohorts for individuals with predicted-to-be damaging variants in AFF3. We used both animal and cellular models to assess the deleteriousness of the identified variants. Results We identified an individual with a KINSSHIP-like phenotype carrying a de novo partial duplication of AFF3 further strengthening the hypothesis that an increased level of AFF3 is pathological. We also detected seventeen individuals displaying a milder syndrome with either heterozygous Loss-of-Function (LoF) or biallelic missense variants in AFF3. Consistent with semi-dominance, we discovered three patients with homozygous LoF and one compound heterozygote for a LoF and a missense variant, who presented more severe phenotypes than their heterozygous parents. Matching zebrafish knockdowns exhibit neurological defects that could be rescued by expressing human AFF3 mRNA, confirming their association with the ablation of aff3. Conversely, some of the human AFF3 mRNAs carrying missense variants identified in affected individuals did not rescue these phenotypes. Overexpression of mutated AFF3 mRNAs in zebrafish embryos produced a significant increase of abnormal larvae compared to wild-type overexpression further demonstrating deleteriousness. To further assess the effect of AFF3 variation, we profiled the transcriptome of fibroblasts from affected individuals and engineered isogenic cells harboring + / + , KINSSHIP/KINSSHIP, LoF/ + , LoF/LoF or KINSSHIP/LoF AFF3 genotypes. The expression of more than a third of the AFF3 bound loci is modified in either the KINSSHIP/KINSSHIP or the LoF/LoF lines. While the same pathways are affected, only about one third of the differentially expressed genes are common to the homozygote datasets, indicating that AFF3 LoF and KINSSHIP variants largely modulate transcriptomes differently, e.g. the DNA repair pathway displayed opposite modulation. Conclusions Our results and the high pleiotropy shown by variation at this locus suggest that minute changes in AFF3 function are deleterious

Variant-specific pathophysiological mechanisms of AFF3 differently influence transcriptome profiles

Background: We previously described the KINSSHIP syndrome, an autosomal dominant disorder associated with intellectual disability (ID), mesomelic dysplasia and horseshoe kidney, caused by de novo variants in the degron of AFF3. Mouse knock-ins and overexpression in zebrafish provided evidence for a dominant-negative mode of action, wherein an increased level of AFF3 resulted in pathological effects. Methods: Evolutionary constraints suggest that other modes-of-inheritance could be at play. We challenged this hypothesis by screening ID cohorts for individuals with predicted-to-be damaging variants in AFF3. We used both animal and cellular models to assess the deleteriousness of the identified variants. Results: We identified an individual with a KINSSHIP-like phenotype carrying a de novo partial duplication of AFF3 further strengthening the hypothesis that an increased level of AFF3 is pathological. We also detected seventeen individuals displaying a milder syndrome with either heterozygous Loss-of-Function (LoF) or biallelic missense variants in AFF3. Consistent with semi-dominance, we discovered three patients with homozygous LoF and one compound heterozygote for a LoF and a missense variant, who presented more severe phenotypes than their heterozygous parents. Matching zebrafish knockdowns exhibit neurological defects that could be rescued by expressing human AFF3 mRNA, confirming their association with the ablation of aff3. Conversely, some of the human AFF3 mRNAs carrying missense variants identified in affected individuals did not rescue these phenotypes. Overexpression of mutated AFF3 mRNAs in zebrafish embryos produced a significant increase of abnormal larvae compared to wild-type overexpression further demonstrating deleteriousness. To further assess the effect of AFF3 variation, we profiled the transcriptome of fibroblasts from affected individuals and engineered isogenic cells harboring + / +, KINSSHIP/KINSSHIP, LoF/ +, LoF/LoF or KINSSHIP/LoF AFF3 genotypes. The expression of more than a third of the AFF3 bound loci is modified in either the KINSSHIP/KINSSHIP or the LoF/LoF lines. While the same pathways are affected, only about one third of the differentially expressed genes are common to the homozygote datasets, indicating that AFF3 LoF and KINSSHIP variants largely modulate transcriptomes differently, e.g. the DNA repair pathway displayed opposite modulation. Conclusions: Our results and the high pleiotropy shown by variation at this locus suggest that minute changes in AFF3 function are deleterious.</p

Variant-specific pathophysiological mechanisms of AFF3 differently influence transcriptome profiles

Background: We previously described the KINSSHIP syndrome, an autosomal dominant disorder associated with intellectual disability (ID), mesomelic dysplasia and horseshoe kidney, caused by de novo variants in the degron of AFF3. Mouse knock-ins and overexpression in zebrafish provided evidence for a dominant-negative mode of action, wherein an increased level of AFF3 resulted in pathological effects. Methods: Evolutionary constraints suggest that other modes-of-inheritance could be at play. We challenged this hypothesis by screening ID cohorts for individuals with predicted-to-be damaging variants in AFF3. We used both animal and cellular models to assess the deleteriousness of the identified variants. Results: We identified an individual with a KINSSHIP-like phenotype carrying a de novo partial duplication of AFF3 further strengthening the hypothesis that an increased level of AFF3 is pathological. We also detected seventeen individuals displaying a milder syndrome with either heterozygous Loss-of-Function (LoF) or biallelic missense variants in AFF3. Consistent with semi-dominance, we discovered three patients with homozygous LoF and one compound heterozygote for a LoF and a missense variant, who presented more severe phenotypes than their heterozygous parents. Matching zebrafish knockdowns exhibit neurological defects that could be rescued by expressing human AFF3 mRNA, confirming their association with the ablation of aff3. Conversely, some of the human AFF3 mRNAs carrying missense variants identified in affected individuals did not rescue these phenotypes. Overexpression of mutated AFF3 mRNAs in zebrafish embryos produced a significant increase of abnormal larvae compared to wild-type overexpression further demonstrating deleteriousness. To further assess the effect of AFF3 variation, we profiled the transcriptome of fibroblasts from affected individuals and engineered isogenic cells harboring + / +, KINSSHIP/KINSSHIP, LoF/ +, LoF/LoF or KINSSHIP/LoF AFF3 genotypes. The expression of more than a third of the AFF3 bound loci is modified in either the KINSSHIP/KINSSHIP or the LoF/LoF lines. While the same pathways are affected, only about one third of the differentially expressed genes are common to the homozygote datasets, indicating that AFF3 LoF and KINSSHIP variants largely modulate transcriptomes differently, e.g. the DNA repair pathway displayed opposite modulation. Conclusions: Our results and the high pleiotropy shown by variation at this locus suggest that minute changes in AFF3 function are deleterious.</p

Acute diverticulitis management: evolving trends among Italian surgeons. A survey of the Italian Society of Colorectal Surgery (SICCR)

Acute diverticulitis (AD) is associated with relevant morbidity/mortality and is increasing worldwide, thus becoming a major issue for national health systems. AD may be challenging, as clinical relevance varies widely, ranging from asymptomatic picture to life-threatening conditions, with continuously evolving diagnostic tools, classifications, and management. A 33-item-questionnaire was administered to residents and surgeons to analyze the actual clinical practice and to verify the real spread of recent recommendations, also by stratifying surgeons by experience. CT-scan remains the mainstay of AD assessment, including cases presenting with recurrent mild episodes or women of child-bearing age. Outpatient management of mild AD is slowly gaining acceptance. A conservative management is preferred in non-severe cases with extradigestive air or small/non-radiologically drainable abscesses. In severe cases, a laparoscopic approach is preferred, with a non-negligible number of surgeons confident in performing emergency complex procedures. Surgeons are seemingly aware of several options during emergency surgery for AD, since the rate of Hartmann procedures does not exceed 50% in most environments and damage control surgery is spreading in life-threatening cases. Quality of life and history of complicated AD are the main indications for delayed colectomy, which is mostly performed avoiding the proximal vessel ligation, mobilizing the splenic flexure and performing a colorectal anastomosis. ICG is spreading to check anastomotic stumps' vascularization. Differences between the two experience groups were found about the type of investigation to exclude colon cancer (considering the experience only in terms of number of colectomies performed), the size of the peritoneal abscess to be drained, practice of damage control surgery and the attitude towards colovesical fistula

Italian guidelines for primary headaches: 2012 revised version

The first edition of the Italian diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines for primary headaches in adults was published in J Headache Pain 2(Suppl. 1):105–190 (2001). Ten years later, the guideline committee of the Italian Society for the Study of Headaches (SISC) decided it was time to update therapeutic guidelines. A literature search was carried out on Medline database, and all articles on primary headache treatments in English, German, French and Italian published from February 2001 to December 2011 were taken into account. Only randomized controlled trials (RCT) and meta-analyses were analysed for each drug. If RCT were lacking, open studies and case series were also examined. According to the previous edition, four levels of recommendation were defined on the basis of levels of evidence, scientific strength of evidence and clinical effectiveness. Recommendations for symptomatic and prophylactic treatment of migraine and cluster headache were therefore revised with respect to previous 2001 guidelines and a section was dedicated to non-pharmacological treatment. This article reports a summary of the revised version published in extenso in an Italian version