Dietary nitrate and the microbiota : modulators of metabolic function

Nitric oxide (NO) deficiency represents a known feature of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases as well as natural aging. The NO metabolites nitrate and nitrite have long been considered as health-threatening food components with potential carcinogenic effects. Surprisingly, more recent research has demonstrated that boosting of a nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway via the diet (mainly green leafy vegetables and beetroot) improves cardiovascular function, mitochondrial efficiency and reduces oxidative stress. The aim of this thesis was to explore the effects of inorganic nitrate and nitrite with respect to metabolic dysfunction, when this is driven by either unbalanced diets or natural aging. At the same time, we sought to clarify whether the microbiota is an indispensable factor for the bioactivation of dietary nitrate, its cardiometabolic effects as well as the onset of diet-induced obesity. We demonstrate that inorganic dietary nitrite extends the lifespan of female fruit flies and protects them from age-dependent locomotor decline, thus promoting healthspan. Moreover, nitrite could lower glucose and triglycerides levels in aged female flies. This, together with modulation of dTOR and dSir2 gene expression, indicates that nitrite might benefit metabolism during aging by regulating the sensing of nutrients. Furthermore, we show the existence of a nitrite-NO pathway, to which the fly bacteria likely contribute. Similarly, we prove the obligatory role of the host microbiota in bioactivation of dietary nitrate in mammals. In a mouse model of cardio-metabolic dysfunction, we described blood pressure-lowering and anti-diabetic effects as well as protection from hepatic steatosis by dietary nitrate, in the presence of a conventional microbiota. However, when the same disease model was reproduced in germ-free mice, carrying no bacteria, none of these salutary effects of nitrate was achieved. While attributing the cardiometabolic benefits of inorganic nitrate to the host microbiota, in a separate study we show that no such obligatory relationship underlies the general onset of diet-induced obesity. This finding is in stark contrast to the current literature which suggests a causal role of gut bacteria in fat storage. In conclusion, we here describe previously unknown metabolic effects of dietary nitrate and nitrite which are dependent on the host microbiota. In addition, we show that diet-induced obesity and its complications develop both in the presence and absence of gut bacter

Alimentar el Barrio: Farmers´ Market, a New Opportunity to Drive Change

In Barcelona, food markets have always been a symbol of the city. In recent decades, by adapting to new forms of consumption, they have conformed to largescale distribution, selling only a small percentage of local farmers’ products. Through the project described below—“Alimentar el Barrio”—actions have been undertaken to support farmers, by improving the current market system with low-impact micro-interventions. The research describes a way to create a new “system” of market making to promote local culture and products, thus regenerating the urban space, driving communities towards responsible food consumption, and spreading best practices. This paper shows how design and communication can provide farmers with an adequate physical and culture-driven infrastructure, to increase their competitiveness and decrease inequalities of the large-scale distribution

Piano Urbano del Traffico del Comune di Peschiera Borromeo

Piano Urbano del Traffico del Comune di Peschiera Borromeo - Convenzione di consulenza tra il Politecnico di Milano e l’Amministrazione Comunale di Peschiera Borrome

Mapping interactions between geology, subsurface resource exploitation and urban development in transforming cities using InSAR Persistent Scatterers: two decades of change in Florence, Italy

Urban expansion and city transformation are increasing reality across the world. Now more than ever it is essential to understand and map at the appropriate scale the processes happening along the verticality and horizontality of cities, to gather robust evidence underpinning strategies for sustainable management of the built environment. This paper explores how established techniques of Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) can be shaped into a novel dedicated procedure to detect vertical and horizontal urban dynamics including: use and re-use of urban space (new building construction, intentional demolition, renovation projects); exploitation of groundwater resources (induced land subsidence); interactions between new foundations, superficial deposits and bedrock geology (settlement of recent buildings); ground and slope instability affecting settled buildings; susceptibility of heritage assets to structural damages; baseline characterisation prior to planned major infrastructure construction (tunnelling and transportation networks). Florence, central Italy, is used as a demonstration site. This city includes UNESCO World Heritage List historic centre, 20th-century residential, industrial and peri-urban quarters, and is currently in transition to metropolitan area of over 1 million of inhabitants. Velocity decomposition maps were generated based on millimetre-precise estimates of surface displacements retrieved from PSI processing of the full archives of satellite C-band radar images, including 79 ERS-1/2 descending (1992–2000), 70 ENVISAT ASAR ascending and descending (2003–2010) and 101 RADARSAT-1 ascending and descending (2003–2007). 12 macropatterns and 84 micropatterns in the final map of alert areas highlight a dualism which reflects the physical and urban geography of Florence. North-western and south-western quarters show hot spots of new building construction and regeneration projects for residential, business and tertiary service purposes, alongside issues due to groundwater exploitation and induced land subsidence up to 30–40 mm/yr. Local interactions with underlying geology and natural slope instability processes predominate in the southern and north-eastern sectors. At local scale, stable condition was found for the heritage assets and buildings located along the tracks of the planned subway railway and tramway, with motion rates averagely within ±1.5 mm/yr and localised deformation only up to −3.5 mm/yr. Structural assessment based on future PSI monitoring campaign will benefit of this baseline characterisation

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among school-aged children in urban, rural and mountain areas of the Veneto Region, Italy

AbstractObjectiveTo define the prevalence of overweight and obesity among school-aged children resident in mountain areas, rural areas and urban areas.Design, setting and subjectsThe sample (n= 12 832; 50.7% boys) included 9- and 11-year-old children of the Veneto Region of north-east Italy. Overweight and obesity status were determined using the International Obesity Task Force cut-off points for body mass index. The prevalence of overweight and obese subjects was calculated with a confidence interval of 95%. The Mantel–Haenszel method was used to compare the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity among children resident in mountain areas, rural areas and urban areas.ResultsAmong boys the prevalence of overweight was 21.06%, while obesity prevalence was 5.92%; among girls overweight prevalence was 21.30%, while obesity prevalence was 5.15%. The prevalence was higher among 11-year-old boys (odds ratio (OR) = 1.19; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06–1.33) and 9-year-old girls (OR = 1.13; 95% CI: 1.01–1.26). Children resident in rural areas presented a higher risk of overweight and obesity compared with children resident in mountain areas (Mantel–Haenszel OR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.13–1.42;χ2= 17.55;P< 0.0001) and in urban areas (Mantel–Haenszel OR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.07–1.31;χ2= 10.39;P< 0.001).ConclusionsA relevant prevalence of overweight and obesity was found; the excess weight concerns one child in four. There are differences linked to different geographical areas that must be further investigated

An implementation of nDGP gravity in Pinocchio

In this paper we investigate dark matter structure formation in the normal branch of the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (nDGP) model using the PINOCCHIO algorithm. We first present 2nd order Lagrangian perturbation theory for the nDGP model, which shows that the 1st- and 2nd-order growth functions in nDGP are larger than those in {\Lambda}CDM. We then examine the dynamics of ellipsoidal collapse in nDGP, which is accelerated compared to {\Lambda}CDM due to enhanced gravitational interactions. Running the nDGP-PINOCCHIO code with a box size of 512 Mpc/h and 1024*1024*1024 particles, we analyze the statistical properties of the output halo catalogs, including the halo power spectrum and halo mass function. The calibrated PINOCCHIO halo power spectrum agrees with N-body simulations within 5% in the comoving wavenumber range k < 0.3 (h/Mpc) at redshift z = 0. The agreement is extended to smaller scales for higher redshifts. For the cumulative halo mass function, the agreement between N-body and PINOCCHIO is also within the simulation scatter.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figure

Interacting dark energy from redshift-space galaxy clustering

Interacting dark energy models have been proposed as attractive alternatives to $\Lambda$CDM. Forthcoming Stage-IV galaxy clustering surveys will constrain these models, but they require accurate modelling of the galaxy power spectrum multipoles on mildly non-linear scales. In this work we consider a dark scattering model with a simple 1-parameter extension to $w$CDM - adding only $A$, which describes a pure momentum exchange between dark energy and dark matter. We then provide a comprehensive comparison of three approaches of modeling non-linearities, while including the effects of this dark sector coupling. We base our modeling of non-linearities on the two most popular perturbation theory approaches: TNS and EFTofLSS. To test the validity and precision of the modelling, we perform an MCMC analysis using simulated data corresponding to a $\Lambda$CDM fiducial cosmology and Stage-IV surveys specifications in two redshift bins, $z=0.5$ and $z=1$. We find the most complex EFTofLSS-based model studied to be better suited at both, describing the mock data up to smaller scales, and extracting the most information. Using this model, we forecast uncertainties on the dark energy equation of state, $w$, and on the interaction parameter, $A$, finding $\sigma_w=0.06$ and $\sigma_A=1.1$ b/GeV for the analysis at $z=0.5$ and $\sigma_w=0.06$ and $\sigma_A=2.0$ b/GeV for the analysis at $z=1$. In addition, we show that a false detection of exotic dark energy up to 3$\sigma$ would occur should the non-linear modelling be incorrect, demonstrating the importance of the validation stage for accurate interpretation of measurements.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures. Version accepted for publication in JCA

Interacting dark energy from the joint analysis of the power spectrum and bispectrum multipoles with the EFTofLSS

Interacting dark energy models have been suggested as alternatives to the standard cosmological model, $\Lambda$CDM. We focus on a phenomenologically interesting class of dark scattering models that is characterised by pure momentum exchange between dark energy and dark matter. This model extends the parameter space with respect to $\Lambda$CDM by two parameters, $w$ and $A$, which define the dark energy equation of state and the strength of the coupling between dark energy and dark matter, respectively. In order to test non-standard cosmologies with Stage-IV galaxy clustering surveys, it is crucial to model mildly nonlinear scales and perform precision vs accuracy tests. We use the Effective Field Theory of Large-Scale Structure, and we perform validation tests by means of an MCMC analysis using a large set of N-body simulations. We find that adding the bispectrum monopole to the power spectrum multipoles improves the constraints on the dark energy parameters by $\sim 30 \%$ for $k_{\mathrm{max}, B}^{l=0} = 0.11$ $h$ Mpc$^{-1}$ without introducing biases in the parameter estimation. We also find that the same improvement can be achieved with more moderate scale cuts and the use of bias relations, or with the addition of the bispectrum quadrupole. Finally, we study degeneracies between the dark energy parameters and the scalar amplitude $A_\mathrm{s}$ and discuss the corresponding projection effects, as well as degeneracies with other cosmological parameters.Comment: 22 pages, 13 figures; V2: Matches version accepted for publication in MNRAS, includes a new analysis of degeneracies with cosmological parameter