Análise espacial do sítio arqueológico Córrego do Maranhão, Carangola, MG

-A partir da análise da implantação dos sítios arqueológicos na paisagem e distribuição dos vestígios in situ e suas associações é possível identificaraspectos da cultura material até então pouco conhecidos, além de permitir estudos comparativos intra e inter-sítios com maior acuidade. Sob essaperspectiva, apresentamos nesse trabalho a análise espacial do sítio Córrego do Maranhão, Carangola-MG. Trata-se de uma área muito bempreservada, que similar ao contexto dos demais assentamentos já pesquisados na região, se caracteriza por possuir cultura material típica daTradição Tupiguarani. Em campo, utilizando um GPS geodésico, cada fragmento cerâmico foi plotado individualmente em uma área deaproximadamente 65.000 m2. Esses pontos foram vetorizados e trabalhados a partir dos seguintes softwares: Astech Solutions, RapidDXF 3.1,Autocad 2005, Topocal e o Surfer. Posteriormente, foram realizadas, a partir da proposta de Hodder e Orton (1990), análises do vizinho maispróximo, que permitiram calcular as estatísticas de dispersão e o estado de conservação do sítio. Com os dados obtidos até o momento, é possívelsupor que a aldeia em pauta apresentava-se disposta numa forma anelar ou de ferradura, com a parte com menor densidade de vestígios localizadana direção leste/oeste, partindo do centro da mesma, apresentando ainda um pátio central com aproximadamente 6 mil m² com declividades suavespróximas a 1%. Ressaltamos por fim, que através da metodologia empregada, foi possível efetuar uma setorização do sítio, a partir do cruzamentodos dados de campo com aqueles obtidos em laboratório. Verificamos que as áreas com maiores concentrações de um determinado tipo defragmento. Este dado permite estabelecer as diferentes áreas de sociabilidade do sítio, permitindo conhecer um pouco mais sobre os antigosmoradores da região

Differential and transferable modulatory effects of mesenchymal stromal cell-derived extracellular vesicles on T, B and NK cell functions

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells, immunomodulatory stem cells that are currently used for regenerative medicine and treatment of a number of inflammatory diseases, thanks to their ability to significantly influence tissue microenvironments through the secretion of large variety of soluble factors. Recently, several groups have reported the presence of extracellular vesicles (EVs) within MSC secretoma, showing their beneficial effect in different animal models of disease. Here, we used a standardized methodological approach to dissect the immunomodulatory effects exerted by MSC-derived EVs on unfractionated peripheral blood mononuclear cells and purified T, B and NK cells. We describe here for the first time: i. direct correlation between the degree of EV-mediated immunosuppression and EV uptake by immune effector cells, a phenomenon further amplified following MSC priming with inflammatory cytokines; ii. induction in resting MSCs of immunosuppressive properties towards T cell proliferation through EVs obtained from primed MSCs, without any direct inhibitory effect towards T cell division. Our conclusion is that the use of reproducible and validated assays is not only useful to characterize the mechanisms of action of MSC-derived EVs, but is also capable of justifying EV potential use as alternative cell-free therapy for the treatment of human inflammatory diseases

Towards coordinated site monitoring and common strategies for mitigation of Radio Frequency Interference at the Italian radio telescopes

We present a project to implement a national common strategy for the mitigation of the steadily deteriorating Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) situation at the Italian radio telescopes. The project involves the Medicina, Noto, and Sardinia dish antennas and comprised the definition of a coordinated plan for site monitoring as well as the implementation of state-of-the-art hardware and software tools for RFI mitigation. Coordinated monitoring of frequency bands up to 40 GHz has been performed by means of continuous observations and dedicated measurement campaigns with fixed stations and mobile laboratories. Measurements were executed on the frequency bands allocated to the radio astronomy and space research service for shared or exclusive use and on the wider ones employed by the current and under-development receivers at the telescopes. Results of the monitoring campaigns provide a reference scenario useful to evaluate the evolution of the interference situation at the telescopes sites and a case series to test and improve the hardware and software tools we conceived to counteract radio frequency interference. We developed a multi-purpose digital backend for high spectral and time resolution observations over large bandwidths. Observational results demonstrate that the spectrometer robustness and sensitivity enable the efficient detection and analysis of interfering signals in radio astronomical data. A prototype off-line software tool for interference detection and flagging has been also implemented. This package is capable to handle the huge amount of data delivered by the most modern instrumentation on board of the Italian radio telecsopes, like dense focal plane arrays, and its modularity easen the integration of new algorithms and the re-usability in different contexts or telescopes.Comment: 39 pages, 10 Figures and 7 Tables. INAF Technical Report n. 149 (2022). http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12386/3208

Report attività di didattica e divulgazione INAF-IRA 2021

In questo documento sono riportate e descritte le attività di Didattica e Divulgazione (D&D) dell'INAF - Istituto di Radioastronomia svolte nel 2021. Le attività includono la progettazione di contenuti, la curatela e gestione del Centro Visite “Marcello Ceccarelli”, l’organizzazione di eventi in collaborazione con enti territoriali, nazionali e internazionali, la gestione amministrativa e finanziaria, la formazione di studenti e giovani collaboratori e la gestione degli accessi esterni per riprese video e servizi fotografici presso la Stazione Radioastronomica di Medicina (BO)

REPORT 2022 DELLE ATTIVITÀ DI DIDATTICA E DIVULGAZIONE INAF - IRA

L'Istituto di Radioastronomia (IRA) dell’Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) è impegnato nella diffusione delle proprie attività presso le scuole e il pubblico, attraverso le visite guidate alle Stazioni Radioastronomiche di Medicina (BO) e Noto (SR) e la partecipazione alla realizzazione di mostre, eventi, ecc. Le attività di Didattica e Divulgazione IRA includono la progettazione di contenuti, la curatela e gestione del Centro Visite “Marcello Ceccarelli”, l’organizzazione di eventi in collaborazione con enti territoriali, nazionali e internazionali, la gestione amministrativa e finanziaria, la formazione di nuovo personale. In questo documento sono riportate le attività svolte nel 2022

Notch signalling drives bone marrow stromal cell-mediated chemoresistance in acute myeloid leukemia

Both preclinical and clinical investigations suggest that Notch signalling is critical for the development of many cancers and for their response to chemotherapy. We previously showed that Notch inhibition abrogates stromal-induced chemoresistance in lymphoid neoplasms. However, the role of Notch in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and its contribution to the crosstalk between leukemia cells and bone marrow stromal cells remain controversial. Thus, we evaluated the role of the Notch pathway in the proliferation, survival and chemoresistance of AML cells in co-culture with bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells expanded from both healthy donors (hBM-MSCs) and AML patients (hBM-MSCs*). As compared to hBM-MSCs, hBM-MSCs* showed higher level of Notch1, Jagged1 as well as the main Notch target gene HES1. Notably, hBM-MSCs* induced expression and activation of Notch signalling in AML cells, supporting AML proliferation and being more efficientin inducing AML chemoresistance than hBM-MSCs*. Pharmacological inhibition of Notch using combinations of Notch receptor-blocking antibodies or gamma-secretase inhibitors (GSIs), in presence of chemotherapeutic agents, significant lowered the supportive effect of hBM-MSCs and hBM-MSCs* towards AML cells, by activating apoptotic cascade and reducing protein level of STAT3, AKT and NF-κB.These results suggest that Notch signalling inhibition, by overcoming the stromal-mediated promotion of chemoresistance,may represent a potential therapeutic targetnot only for lymphoid neoplasms, but also for AML

The Italian National Project of Astrobiology-Life in Space-Origin, Presence, Persistence of Life in Space, from Molecules to Extremophiles

The \u2018\u2018Life in Space\u2019\u2019 project was funded in the wake of the Italian Space Agency\u2019s proposal for the development of a network of institutions and laboratories conceived to implement Italian participation in space astrobiology experiments