Response to 'No evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection by polymerase chain reaction or serology in children with pseudo-chilblain'. Reply from the authors

Dear Editor, Recalcati et al. conclude that chilblain-like lesions (CLLs) are part of the spectrum of COVID-19 based on reports of SARS-CoV-2 in endothelial cells of skin biopsies assessed by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy (EM).1 Nevertheless, the conclusion does not seem to be adequately supported by the data. Recalcati et al. expand their previously reported case series to include 32 patients with CLLs. In 21 of 32 cases, no nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) was tested for SARS-CoV-2. Two of 11 patients subjected to molecular testing were positive for SARS-CoV-2, but no serological test was performed to verify the seroconversion. Three patients tested positive for IgM and negative for IgG antibodies without any confirmation of infection through NPS

Alteration effects of volcanic ash in seawater: Anomalous Y/Ho ratios in coastal waters of the Central Mediterranean sea

This paper presents the results of a study based on data collected during the oceanographic cruise ANSIC 2001 carried out in the Ionian Sea during the explosive activity of Mount Etna in the summer of 2001. Anomalous low values of Y/Ho ratios in seawater suggest extensive scavenging processes on the surfaces of smectitic alteration products, with Y and Ho fractionation controlled by the differences in their electronic configurations and behaviour during solution/surface complexation equilibria. These processes can also be traced through the presence of significant tetrad effects recorded in the chondrite-normalised Rare Earth Elements and Yttrium (YREEs) patterns of suspended particulate matter. This suggests that the preferential Y scavenging from seawater is due to the formation of inner-sphere complexes with OH- groups on montmorillonite crystal surfaces. The preliminary results of kinetic experiments of YREE released from volcanic ash to coexisting seawater, and the related effects on Y/Ho ratios and Ce anomalies, are consistent with the fractionation of Light Rare Earth Elements (LREEs) with respect to Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREEs) observed in dissolved phase. They suggest a behaviour of Y similar to that reported for LREEs, particularly for Ce and Pr. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Consistent and simultaneous modelling of galaxy clustering and galaxy-galaxy lensing with Subhalo Abundance Matching

The spatial distribution of galaxies and their gravitational lensing signal offer complementary tests of galaxy formation physics and cosmology. However, their synergy can only be fully exploited if both probes are modelled accurately and consistently. In this paper, we demonstrate that this can be achieved using an extension of Subhalo Abundance Matching, dubbed SHAMe. Specifically, we use mock catalogues built from the TNG300 hydrodynamical simulation to show that SHAMe can simultaneously model the multipoles of the redshift-space galaxy correlation function and galaxy-galaxy lensing, without noticeable bias within the statistical sampling uncertainties of a SDSS volume and on scales r = [0.6-30] Mpc/h. Modelling the baryonic processes in galaxy-galaxy lensing with a baryonification scheme allows SHAMe's range of validity to be extended to r = [0.1-30] Mpc/h. Remarkably, our model achieves this level of precision with just five free parameters beyond those describing the baryonification model. At fixed cosmology, we find that galaxy-galaxy lensing provides a general consistency test but little additional information on galaxy modelling parameters beyond that encoded in the redshift-space multipoles. It does, however, improve constraints if only the projected correlation function is available, as in surveys with only photometric redshifts. We expect SHAMe to have a higher fidelity across a wider range of scales than more traditional methods such as Halo Occupation Distribution modelling. Thus it should provide a significantly more powerful and more robust tool for analysing next-generation large-scale surveys.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures. Submitted to MNRA

Natural cytotoxicity impairment in familial haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.

Ten children with the characteristic clinical and haematological features of haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis are reported. Four patients treated with a combination of drugs comprising etoposide, methotrexate, and steroids were in complete remission after 10 to 30 months. Natural cytotoxic mechanisms including natural killer cell activity, antibody dependent cell mediated cytotoxicity, lymphokine activated killer cell activity, and natural killer cell like activity were persistently absent or severely impaired in these four patients despite their clinical remission. Their parents and one healthy sibling also had impaired natural cytotoxic mechanisms. Constitutional impairment of natural cytotoxic mechanisms could be important in the pathogenesis of haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis

The cosmology dependence of the concentration-mass-redshift relation

The concentrations of dark matter haloes provide crucial information about their internal structure and how it depends on mass and redshift -- the so-called concentration-mass-redshift relation, denoted $c(M,z)$. We present here an extensive study of the cosmology-dependence of $c(M,z)$ that is based on a suite of 72 gravity-only, full N-body simulations in which the following cosmological parameters were varied: $\sigma_{8}$, $\Omega_{\mathrm{M}}$, $\Omega_{\mathrm{b}}$, $n_{\mathrm{s}}$, $h$, $M_{\nu}$, $w_{0}$ and $w_{\mathrm{a}}$. We characterize the impact of these parameters on concentrations for different halo masses and redshifts. In agreement with previous works, and for all cosmologies studied, we find that there exists a tight correlation between the characteristic densities of dark matter haloes within their scale radii, $r_{-2}$, and the critical density of the Universe at a suitably defined formation time. This finding, when combined with excursion set modelling of halo formation histories, allows us to accurately predict the concentrations of dark matter haloes as a function of mass, redshift, and cosmology. We use our simulations to test the reliability of a number of published models for predicting halo concentration and highlight when they succeed or fail to reproduce the cosmological $c(M,z)$ relation.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure

NarE: a novel ADP-ribosyltransferase from Neisseria meningitidis.

Mono ADP-ribosyltransferases (ADPRTs) are a class of functionally conserved enzymes present in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. In bacteria, these enzymes often act as potent toxins and play an important role in pathogenesis. Here we report a profile-based computational approach that, assisted by secondary structure predictions, has allowed the identification of a previously undiscovered ADP-ribosyltransferase in Neisseria meningitidis (NarE). NarE shows structural homologies with E. coli heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) and cholera toxin (CT) and possesses ADP-ribosylating and NAD-glycohydrolase activities. As in the case of LT and CT, NarE catalyses the transfer of the ADP-ribose moiety to arginine residues. Despite the absence of a signal peptide, the protein is efficiently exported into the periplasm of Neisseria. The narE gene is present in 25 out of 43 strains analysed, is always present in ET-5 and Lineage 3 but absent in ET-37 and Cluster A4 hypervirulent lineages. When present, the gene is 100% conserved in sequence and is inserted upstream of and co-transcribed with the lipoamide dehydrogenase E3 gene. Possible roles in the pathogenesis of N. meningitidis are discussed

MHV-68 producing mIFN␣1 is severely attenuated in vivo and effectively protects mice against challenge with wt MHV-68

Corrigendum Corrigendum to "MHV-68 producing mIFN␣1 is severely attenuated in vivo and effectively protects mice against challenge with wt MHV-68" [Vaccine 29 (2011) In this study, we focused on the effects of interferon-␣ (IFN-␣) on both the lytic and latent phase of MHV-68 infection, as exerted by the constitutive release of IFN-␣1 by a clone of MHV-68 genetically modified to produce this cytokine (MHV-68mIFN␣1). Although the MHV-68mIFN␣1 recombinant virus exhibited in vitro replication features indistinguishable from those of the wild type MHV-68, its pathological properties were severely attenuated in vivo in immunocompetent mice and not in mice rendered genetically unresponsive to type I IFN, suggesting that a stronger immune response was primed in the presence of the cytokine. Notably, MHV-68mIFN␣1 attenuation did not result in a reduced level of longterm spleen latency establishment. These results prompted us to evaluate the efficacy of MHV-68mIFN␣1 in a prophylactic vaccination regimen aimed at inhibiting the symptoms of acute virus infection and the establishment of long-term latency after MHV-68 challenge. Our results show that mice vaccinated with MHV-68mIFN␣1, administered as a live-attenuated or partially inactivated (by Psoralen and UV treatment) vaccine, were protected against the challenge with wt MHV-68 from all phases of infection. The ability of MHV-68mIFN␣1 to produce IFN-␣ at the site of the infection, thus efficiently stimulating the immune system in case of virus reactivation from latency, makes this recombinant virus a safer live-attenuated vaccine as compared to the previously reported latency-deficient clones

A Comparative Environmental Assessment for the Synthesis of 1,3-Oxazin-2-one by Metrics: Greenness Evaluation and Blind Spots

Alternative syntheses for the production of 3-benzyl-1,3-oxazinan-2-one are compared and evaluated employing green metrics. An environmental assessment has been performed using the algorithm recently developed by Andraos that takes into account the mass flows and the software EATOS that considers mass flows, environmental impacts of the substances involved, and waste produced. Strengths and critical spots of the environmental tools employed are also discussed. Data collected showed that the synthesis employing diethyl carbonate is the most promising one, having the lowest environmental impact

Ultrahigh-power micrometre-sized supercapacitors based on onion-like carbon

Electrochemical capacitors, also called supercapacitors, store energy in two closely spaced layers with opposing charges, and are used to power hybrid electric vehicles, portable electronic equipment and other devices¹. By offering fast charging and discharging rates, and the ability to sustain millions of ²⁻⁵, electrochemical capacitors bridge the gap between batteries, which offer high energy densities but are slow, and conventional electrolytic capacitors, which are fast but have low energy densities. Here, we demonstrate microsupercapacitors with powers per volume that are comparable to electrolytic capacitors, capacitances that are four orders of magnitude higher, and energies per volume that are an order of magnitude higher. We also measured discharge rates of up to 200 V s⁻¹, which is three orders of magnitude higher than conventional supercapacitors. The microsupercapacitors are produced by the electrophoretic deposition of a several micrometre-thick layer of nanostructured carbon onions⁶‚⁷ with diameters of 6-7 nm. Integration of these nanoparticles in a microdevice with a high surface-to-volume ratio, without the use of organic binders and polymer separators, improves performance because of the ease with which ions can access the active material. Increasing the energy density and discharge rates of supercapacitors will enable them to compete with batteries and conventional electrolytic capacitors in a number of applications