Rimozione di sedimenti per fluitazione dal serbatoio di Sernio (SO)

Il presente lavoro descrive la rimozione di un ingente quantitativo di sedimenti (circa 100'000 tonnellate) dal serbatoio di Sernio, in provincia di Sondrio, effettuata tra maggio e luglio del 2009. Il sedimento \ue8 stato evacuato per fluitazione (flushing), nel sostanziale rispetto dei vincoli preventivamente stabiliti sulla concentrazione di solidi sospesi (CSS) delle acque scaricate. Tali limitazioni hanno lo scopo di contenere l\u2019impatto delle operazioni sugli ecosistemi acquatici coinvolti. La CSS \ue8 stata controllata regolando il livello nel serbatoio, la portata in uscita e, in un secondo tempo, mediante l\u2019utilizzo di escavatori meccanici. La gestione delle operazioni si \ue8 basata sul costante monitoraggio della CSS poco a valle dell\u2019area di intervento. La campagna di misura \ue8 stata ulteriormente estesa a valle, per un tratto di circa 40 km lungo l\u2019asta dell\u2019Adda, al fine di quantificare la riduzione della CSS per effetto combinato di diluizione e deposizione

Beta-diversity and stressor specific index reveal patterns of macroinvertebrate community response to sediment flushing

Anthropogenic increase of fine sediment loading is one of the main pressures for rivers worldwide. Particularly, Alpine streams are increasingly facing this issue due to sediment flushing operations from hydropower reservoirs, aimed at recovering storage for preserving electricity generation. Although Controlled Sediment Flushing Operations (CSFOs) are becoming increasingly frequent, ecological indicators to adequately assess and monitor their impact on the stream ecosystem have been poorly developed. In this work, we aimed to perform a screening of currently available biomonitoring tools to evaluate the CSFO effects on the riverine biota and adequately assess its recovery, starting from the recognition of the main ecological mechanisms triggered by the mentioned activities on benthic macroinvertebrate communities. We used two independent datasets concerning two reservoirs in the central Italian Alps to investigate the temporal effects of CSFOs repeated for four consecutive years (case-study I), and the impact of a single CSFO at a seasonal scale through a before/after-control/impact approach (case-study II). Initially, we quantified the CSFO impact on the richness and beta-diversity of macroinvertebrate communities by combining multivariate and univariate statistical techniques. Then, we compared the performance of the Siltation Index for LoTic EcoSystems (SILTES), recently developed for detecting siltation impact in Alpine streams, with that of the generic index currently adopted to assess the ecological status (sensu Water Framework Directive) of the Italian rivers, and of another sediment-specific index, but developed for a different bio-geographical area. The analysis of the two case-studies demonstrated that the nestedness (i.e. taxa loss) is the primary source of biological impairment caused by CSFOs. Moreover, we found that SILTES was more effective than the other indices because of its strong correlation with the nestedness, and since it properly discriminated impaired and pristine conditions, at both multi-annual and seasonal scale. In the first case-study, a threshold in the temporal trend of this index was detected, indicating a recovery within three months. In the second one, SILTES showed a recovery to pre-event seasonal values after nine months from the CSFO, due to larger and more persistent sediment deposition. This study demonstrates that SILTES could be adopted as a benchmark to improve the management of CSFOs from an ecological viewpoint. Our findings can be extended to the management of other sediment-related activities affecting mountainous streams worldwide, and, more generally, the adopted approach can be replicated for developing new ecological tools to manage other disturbances to river environments

Estructuras geométricas jerárquicas para la modelización de escenas 3D

This work surveys on the principal hierarchical geometric structures used to represent 3D scenes. We also present the basic algorithms to work with them, an overview on some recent works and a comparative discussion. This work has been the outcomes of the graduate coursePostprint (published version

No me mueve á tomar la pluma el pueril deseo de ostentar una erudicion de que carezco ...

Se trata de la vindicación del autor sobre su participación en los sucesos acaecidos en Santa Cruz de Tenerife el dia 24 de agosto de 1836Texto fechado en Santa Cruz de Tenerife a 12 de diciembre de 1836Texto a dos col.Última p. en bl

The karyotype of Nothoscordum arenarium Herter (Gilliesioideae, Alliaceae): A populational and cytomolecular analysis

The genus Nothoscordum Kunth comprises approximately 20 species native to South America. Karyologically, the genus is remarkable for its large chromosomes and Robertsonian translocations. Variation in chromosome number has been recorded in a few polyploid species and it is unknown among diploids. This study presents the chromosome number and morphology of 53 individuals of seven populations of N. arenarium Herter (2n = 10). In addition, karyotype analyses after C-banding, staining with CMA and DAPI, and in situ hybridization with 5S and 45S rDNA probes were performed in six individuals from one population. All individuals exhibited 2n = 10 (6M + 4A), except for one tetraploid (2n = 20, 12M + 8A) and one triploid (2n = 15, 9M + 6A) plant. C-banding revealed the presence of CMA+ /DAPI - heterochromatin in the short arm and in the proximal region of the long arm of all acrocentric chromosomes. The 45S rDNA sites co-localized with the CMA + regions of the acrocentrics short arms, while the 5S rDNA probe only hybridized with the subterminal region of a pair of metacentric chromosomes. A change in the pattern of CMA bands and rDNA sites was observed in only one individual bearing a reciprocal translocation involving the long arm of a metacentric and the long arm of an acrocentric chromosome. These data suggest that, despite isolated cases of polyploidy and translocation, the karyotype of N. arenarium is very stable and the karyotypic instability described for other species may be associated with their polyploid condition

Interprofesionalidad y salud en el primer nivel de atención La experiencia en Barrio Penino, San José 2020

Este trabajo sistematiza y reflexiona acerca de la experiencia integral desarrollada en el primer nivel de atención en salud en el Barrio Penino, San José. Específicamente se expone la realizada en el año 2020 por un colectivo docente de seis servicios universitarios de la Universidad de la República, en la cual se formaron estudiantes de grado de esos centros, a través de varios proyectos que incluyeron la formación interprofesional como su eje central. En la práctica se actualizó la aproximación diagnóstica en salud realizada en 2019 prepandemia, destacando cambios y concordancias, y se realizaron una serie de actividades de promoción y educación para la salud bajo el lema #ConvivenciaSinViolencia. De ellas se destacan la implementación de la segunda edición de la Feria de la Salud, el diseño y realización de un mural y de una fotogalería, realizados en forma presencial en el segundo semestre de 2020. Durante la experiencia se priorizó la reflexión conjunta sobre temas relevantes, como la naturaleza del Sistema Nacional Integrado de Salud y sus fundamentos, la participación comunitaria en salud, la interdisciplina y la necesaria formación conjunta, tomando en cuenta las restricciones establecidas a partir de la emergencia sanitaria Los proyectos de intervención fueron diseñados e implementados por docentes y estudiantes

Propagação vegetativa de amoreira-preta das cultivares Tupy e BRS Cainguá.

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o potencial de enraizamento e brotação de estacas caulinares lenhosas e de raiz das cultivares Tupy e BRS Cainguá de amoreira-preta. Para a realização desse experimento foram coletadas estacas caulinares e radiculares das plantas matrizes de amoreira-preta. Posteriormente, essas estacas foram levadas para a casa de vegetação e colocadas em bandejas de poliestireno expandido (72 células) contendo mistura do substrato comercial Turfa fértil® e vermiculita expandida na proporção 2:1 (v:v). Os tratamentos consistiram em diferentes tipos de estacas (caulinar e radicular) e duas cultivares (?Tupy? e ?Cainguá?). O delineamento experimental adotado foi inteiramente casualizados, sendo um bifatorial (cultivares X tipo de estaca) com quatro repetições, contendo 10 estacas cada. Após 97 dias da instalação do experimento foram avaliados os seguintes parâmetros: porcentagem de estacas enraizadas (%), porcentagem de sobrevivência (%), número de folhas, área foliar (cm²), comprimento de parte aérea e da maior raiz (cm), massa fresca e seca de parte aérea e do sistema radicular (g). A propagação da amoreira-preta da cultivar BRS Cainguá pode ser realizada de forma eficaz tanto por estaca caulinar como radicular. No caso da cultivar Tupy teve menor potencial de enraizamento, quando comparada com a Cainguá. As estacas radiculares apresentaram maiores resultados no enraizamento de amoreira-preta

Mixing and matching siderophore clusters: structure and biosynthesis of serratiochelins from Serratia sp. v4

Studying the evolutionary history underlying the remarkable structures and biological activities of natural products has been complicated by not knowing the functions they have evolved to fulfill. Siderophores - soluble, low molecular weight compounds - have an easily understood and measured function: acquiring iron from the environment. Bacteria engage in a fierce competition for acquiring iron, which rewards the production of siderophores that bind iron tightly and cannot be used or pirated by competitors. The structures and biosyntheses of 'odd' siderophores can reveal the evolutionary strategy that led to their creation. Here, we here report a new Serratia strain that produces serratiochelin and an analog of serratiochelin. A genetic approach located the serratiochelin gene cluster, and targeted mutations in several genes implicated in serratiochelin biosynthesis were generated. Bioinformatic analyses and mutagenesis results demonstrate that genes from two well known siderophore clusters, the Escherichia coli enterobactin cluster and the Vibrio cholerae vibriobactin cluster, were shuffled to produce a new siderophore biosynthetic pathway. These results highlight how modular siderophore gene clusters can be mixed and matched during evolution to generate structural diversity in siderophores.This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (Grants GM82137 to R.K., and AI057159 and GM086258 to J.C.). M.R.S. acknowledges support from the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (Grant 1K99 GM098299-01). S.C. and M.J.V. acknowledge support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (PhD Grant SFRH/BD/38298/2007 to S.C.; Project PTDC/EBB-EBI/104263/2008 to M.J.V.)

Mechanistic Insights into a Novel Exporter-Importer System of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Unravel Its Role in Trafficking of Iron

Elucidation of the basic mechanistic and biochemical principles underlying siderophore mediated iron uptake in mycobacteria is crucial for targeting this principal survival strategy vis-à-vis virulence determinants of the pathogen. Although, an understanding of siderophore biosynthesis is known, the mechanism of their secretion and uptake still remains elusive.Here, we demonstrate an interplay among three iron regulated Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) proteins, namely, Rv1348 (IrtA), Rv1349 (IrtB) and Rv2895c in export and import of M.tb siderophores across the membrane and the consequent iron uptake. IrtA, interestingly, has a fused N-terminal substrate binding domain (SBD), representing an atypical subset of ABC transporters, unlike IrtB that harbors only the permease and ATPase domain. SBD selectively binds to non-ferrated siderophores whereas Rv2895c exhibits relatively higher affinity towards ferrated siderophores. An interaction between the permease domain of IrtB and Rv2895c is evident from GST pull-down assay. In vitro liposome reconstitution experiments further demonstrate that IrtA is indeed a siderophore exporter and the two-component IrtB-Rv2895c system is an importer of ferrated siderophores. Knockout of msmeg_6554, the irtA homologue in Mycobacterium smegmatis, resulted in an impaired M.tb siderophore export that is restored upon complementation with M.tb irtA.Our data suggest the interplay of three proteins, namely IrtA, IrtB and Rv2895c in synergizing the balance of siderophores and thus iron inside the mycobacterial cell