Intersecting Ecosystem Services Across the Aquatic Continuum: From Global Change Impacts to Local, and Biologically Driven, Synergies and Trade-Offs

The study of ecosystem services requires the integration of different observational points. This is particularly true in Water, as this element continuously cycles, increasing chances of interaction among services originating in different ecosystems. However, aquatic scientists historically approached the study of inland/freshwater and open/marine waters in different ways and this cultural division potentially hampers integrative approaches. Herein, we explored the literature pertaining to ecosystem services across the last 23 years, analysing 4,590 aquatic papers. By aggregating and intersecting topics included in this papers’ collection using text-mining and topical network approaches, we saw that the study of local environmental conditions (e.g., river estuary management) and synergies and trade-offs between services (e.g., carbon sequestration and water purification) can display several potential conceptual links between freshwater and marine sciences. Our analyses suggest that to intersect ecosystem services across the aquatic continuum, the conceptual integration between marine and freshwater science must be reinforced, especially at the interface between different “salinity realms.” Such integration should adopt a “system thinking” perspective, in which the focus is on multiple socio-ecological processes giving rise to interactions that are (i) biologically mediated, (ii) potentially conflicting, and (iii) entangled within networks

Off-shore and underwater sampling of aquatic environments with the aerial-aquatic drone MEDUSA

Monitoring of aquatic habitats for water quality and biodiversity requires regular sampling, often in off-shore locations and underwater. Such sampling is commonly performed manually from research vessels, or if autonomous, is constrained to permanent installations. Consequentially, high frequency ecological monitoring, such as for harmful algal blooms, are limited to few sites and/or temporally infrequent. Here, we demonstrate the use of MEDUSA, an Unmanned Aerial-Aquatic Vehicle which is capable of performing underwater sampling and inspection at up to 10 m depth, and is composed of a multirotor platform, a tether management unit and a tethered micro Underwater Vehicle. The system is validated in the task of vertical profiling of Chlorophyll-a levels in freshwater systems by means of a custom solid sample filtering mechanism. This mechanism can collect up to two independent samples per mission by pumping water through a pair of glass-fibre GF/F filters. Chlorophyll levels measured from the solid deposits on the filters are consistent and on par with traditional sampling methods, highlighting the potential of using UAAVs to sample aquatic locations at high frequency and high spatial resolution

Free and cued selective reminding test predicts progression to Alzheimer's disease in people with mild cognitive impairment

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Primary squamous cell carcinoma of major salivary gland: “Sapienza Head and Neck Unit” clinical recommendations

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of salivary gland (SCG) is an extremely rare type of malignant salivary gland tumor, which in turn results in scarcity of data available regarding both its treatment and associated genetic alterations. A retrospective analysis of 12 patients with primary SCG was conducted, along with analysis of the association between treatment, clinical/pathological characteristics, and outcomes. Most patients (8) were staged IVa, with the majority of them (10) having G3 fast growing cancer. Local and systemic recurrence were reported in only three out of nine parotid cases (0 out of 2 submandibular SCGs). In two out of eight patients local relapse occurred after integrated treatment, while recurrence occurred in two out of three patients undergoing exclusive surgery. Five patients eventually died. Treatment of resectable disease must be aggressive and multimodal, with achievement of loco-regional control in order to reduce rate of recurrence and improve outcomes. Metastatic disease would require a therapeutic strategy tailored to the molecular profile in order to improve the currently disappointing results

Constitutive expression of lymphoma-associated NFKB-2/Lyt-10 proteins is tumorigenic in murine fibroblasts

The NFKB-2 (Lyt-10) gene codes for an NF-kappa B-related transcription factor containing rel-polyG-ankyrin domains. Rearrangements of the NFKB-2 locus leading to the production of 3' truncated NFKB-2 proteins are recurrently found in lymphoid neoplasms, particularly cutaneous lymphomas, Such mutant NFKB-2 proteins have lost the ability to repress transcription that is typical of NFKB-2 subunit p52, and function as constitutive transcriptional activators. To verify whether the expression of abnormal NFKB-2 proteins can lead to malignant transformations in mammalian cells, we transfected human lymphoblastoid cell lines and murine fibroblasts (Balb/3T3) with expression vectors carrying the cDNAs coding far normal NFKB-2p52, Lyt-10C alpha or LB40 proteins, which are representative of the abnormal types found in lymphoma cases. The expression of both normal and mutant NFKB-2 proteins has a lethal effect on lymphoblastoid cells and a cytotoxic effect was also observed in murine fibroblasts. The fibroblast cell lines expressing Lyt-10C alpha or LB40, but not those expressing normal MFKB-2p52, were capable of forming colonies in soft agar. The analysis of individual clones revealed that cloning efficiency correlated with the expression levels of the abnormal proteins, Injection of the Lyt-10C alpha-transfected Balb cells in SCID mice led to tumor formation in all of the animals, whereas no tumors were observed in the mice injected with control or NFKB-2p52-transfected cells, thus indicating that abnormal NFKB-2 protein expression is tumorigenic in vivo. Our results show that mutant NFKB-2 proteins can lead to the transformed phenotype, and support the hypothesis that alterations in NFKB-2 genes may play a role in lymphomagenesis

Environmentally friendly analysis of emerging contaminants by pressurized hot water extraction-stir bar sorptive extraction-derivatization and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

This work describes the development, optimiza- tion, and validation of a new method for the simultaneous determination of a wide range of pharmaceuticals (beta- blockers, lipid regulators ... ) and personal care products (fragrances, UV filters, phthalates ... ) in both aqueous and solid environmental matrices. Target compounds were extracted from sediments using pressurized hot water ex- traction followed by stir bar sorptive extraction. The first stage was performed at 1,500 psi during three static extrac- tion cycles of 5 min each after optimizing the extraction temperature (50 – 150 °C) and addition of organic modifiers (% methanol) to water, the extraction solvent. Next, aqueous extracts and water samples were processed using polydime- thylsiloxane bars. Several parameters were optimized for this technique, including extraction and desorption time, ionic strength, presence of organic modifiers, and pH. Fi- nally, analytes were extracted from the bars by ultrasonic irradiation using a reduced amount of solvent (0.2 mL) prior to derivatization and gas chromatography – mass spectrome- try analysis. The optimized protocol uses minimal amounts of organic solvents (<10 mL/sample) and time ( ≈ 8 h/sam- ple) compared to previous ex isting methodologies. Low standard deviation (usually below 10 %) and limits of de- tection (sub-ppb) vouch for the applicability of the method- ology for the analysis of target compounds at trace levels. Once developed, the method was applied to determin

Nutritional status and body composition by bioelectrical impedance vector analysis : a cross sectional study in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer&apos;s disease

Aims Analysis of nutritional status and body composition in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Methods A cross-sectional study was performed in a University-Hospital setting, recruiting 59 patients with AD, 34 subjects with MCI and 58 elderly healthy controls (HC). Nutritional status was assessed by anthropometric parameters (body mass index; calf, upper arm and waist circumferences), Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and body composition by bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA). Variables were analyzed by analysis of variance and subjects were grouped by cognitive status and gender. Results Sociodemographic variables did not differ among the three groups (AD, MCI and HC), except for females' age, which was therefore used as covariate in a general linear multivariate model. MNA score was significantly lower in AD patients than in HC; MCI subjects achieved intermediate scores. AD patients (both sexes) had significantly (p<0.05) higher height-normalized impedance values and lower phase angles (body cell mass) compared with HC; a higher ratio of impedance to height was found in men with MCI with respect to HC. With BIVA method, MCI subjects showed a significant displacement on the RXc graph on the right side indicating lower soft tissues (Hotelling's T2 test: men = 10.6; women = 7.9;p < 0,05) just like AD patients (Hotelling's T2 test: men = 18.2; women = 16.9; p<0,001). Conclusion Bioelectrical parameters significantly differ from MCI and AD to HC; MCI showed an intermediate pattern between AD and HC. Longitudinal studies are required to investigate if BIVA could reflect early AD-changes in body composition in subjects with MCI

Weight loss predicts progression of mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer&apos;s disease

Background Weight loss is common in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and it could be a marker of impending AD in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and improve prognostic accuracy, if accelerated progression to AD would be shown. Aims To assess weight loss as a predictor of dementia and AD in MCI. Methods One hundred twenty-five subjects with MCI (age 73.8 \ub1 7.1 years) were followed for an average of 4 years. Two weight measurements were carried out at a minimum time interval of one year. Dementia was defined according to DSM-IV criteria and AD according to NINCDS-ADRDA criteria. Weight loss was defined as a 654% decrease in baseline weight. Results Fifty-three (42.4%) MCI progressed to dementia, which was of the AD-type in half of the cases. Weight loss was associated with a 3.4-fold increased risk of dementia (95% CI = 1.5-6.9) and a 3.2-fold increased risk of AD (95% CI = 1.4-8.3). In terms of years lived without disease, weight loss was associated to a 2.3 and 2.5 years earlier onset of dementia and AD. Conclusions Accelerated progression towards dementia and AD is expected when weight loss is observed in MCI patients. Weight should be closely monitored in elderly with mild cognitive impairment

Author correction : a global database for metacommunity ecology, integrating species, traits, environment and space

Correction to: Scientific Data https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0344-7, published online 08 January 202

Author correction : a global database for metacommunity ecology, integrating species, traits, environment and space

Correction to: Scientific Data https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0344-7, published online 08 January 202