Who was buried with Nestor’s Cup? Macroscopic and microscopic analyses of the cremated remains from Tomb 168 (second half of the 8th century BCE, Pithekoussai, Ischia Island, Italy)

Cremation 168 from the second half of the 8th century BCE (Pithekoussai’s necropolis, Ischia Island, Italy), better known as the Tomb of Nestor’s Cup, is widely considered as one of the most intriguing discoveries in the Mediterranean Pre-Classic archaeology. A drinking cup, from which the Tomb’s name derives, bears one of the earliest surviving examples of written Greek, representing the oldest Homeric poetry ever recovered. According to previous osteological analyses, the Cup is associated with the cremated remains of a juvenile, aged approximately 10–14 years at death. Since then, a vast body of literature has attempted to explain the unique association between the exceptionality of the grave good complex, the symposiac and erotic evocation of the Nestor’s Cup inscription with the young age of the individual buried with it. This paper reconsiders previous assessments of the remains by combining gross morphology with qualitative histology and histomorphometric analyses of the burnt bone fragments. This work reveals the commingled nature of the bone assemblage, identifying for the first time, more than one human individual mixed with faunal remains. These outcomes dramatically change previous reconstructions of the cremation deposit, rewriting the answer to the question: who was buried with Nestor’s Cup

The roles of different forms of IL-15 in human melanoma progression

BackgroundMelanoma is a lethal skin cancer, and the risk of developing it is increased by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The production of cytokines such as interleukin-15 (IL-15), induced by the exposure of skin cells to UV rays, could also promote melanoma development. The aim of this study is to investigate the possible role of Interleukin-15/Interleukin-15 Receptor α (IL-15/IL-15Rα) complexes in melanoma development.MethodsThe expression of IL-15/IL-15Rα complexes by melanoma cells was evaluated both ex vivo and in vitro by tissue microarray, PCR, and flow cytometry. The presence of the soluble complex (sIL-15/IL-15Rα) in the plasma of metastatic melanoma patients was detected using an ELISA assay. Subsequently, we investigated the impact of natural killer (NK) cell activation after rIL-2 starvation followed by exposure to the sIL-15/IL-15Rα complex. Finally, by analyzing public datasets, we studied the correlation between IL-15 and IL-15Rα expressions and melanoma stage, NK and T-cell markers, and overall survival (OS).ResultsAnalysis of a melanoma tissue microarray shows a significant increase in the number of IL-15+ tumor cells from the benign nevi to metastatic melanoma stages. Metastatic melanoma cell lines express a phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)-cleavable membrane-bound IL-15 (mbIL-15), whereas cultures from primary melanomas express a PMA-resistant isoform. Further analysis revealed that 26% of metastatic patients present with consistently high plasmatic levels of sIL-15/IL-15Rα. When the recombinant soluble human IL-15/IL-15Rα complex is added to briefly starved rIL-2-expanded NK cells, these cells exhibit strongly reduced proliferation and levels of cytotoxic activity against K-562 and NALM-18 target cells. The analysis of public gene expression datasets revealed that high IL-15 and IL-15Rα intra-tumoral production correlates with the high levels of expression of CD5+ and NKp46+ (T and NK markers) and significantly correlates with a better OS in stages II and III, but not in stage IV.ConclusionsMembrane-bound and secreted IL-15/IL-15Rα complexes are continuously present during progression in melanoma. It is notable that, although IL-15/IL-15Rα initially promoted the production of cytotoxic T and NK cells, at stage IV promotion of the development of anergic and dysfunctional cytotoxic NK cells was observed. In a subgroup of melanoma metastatic patients, the continuous secretion of high amounts of the soluble complex could represent a novel NK cell immune escape mechanism

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Environmental effectiveness of GAEC cross-compliance Standard 3.1 ‘Ploughing in good soil moisture conditions’ and economic evaluation of the competitiveness gap for farmers

Within the MO.NA.CO. Project the environmental effectiveness of GAEC cross-compliance Standard 3.1 ‘Ploughing in good soil moisture conditions’ was evaluated, as well as the economic evaluation of the competitiveness gap for farmers which conform or do not conform to cross-compliance. The monitoring has been carried out at nine experimental farms with different pedoclimatic characteristics, where some indicators of soil structure degradation have been evaluated, such as bulk density, packing density and surface roughness of the seedbed, and the crop productive and qualitative parameters. In each monitoring farm two experimental plots have been set up: factual with soil tillage at proper water content (tilth), counterfactual with soil tillage at inadequate water content (no tilth). The monitoring did not exhibit univocal results for the different parameters, thus the effectiveness of the Standard 3.1 is ‘contrasting’ (class of merit B), and there was an evident practical problem to till the soil at optimum water content, even in controlled experimental condition. Bulk density was significantly lower in the factual treatment although in soils with very different textures (sandy-loam and clayey). Packing density (PD) showed a high susceptibility to compaction in soils with low PD and medium texture. The tortuosity index, indicating the roughness of the seedbed, was lower and generally significantly different in the factual treatment. Results showed that the ploughing done in excessive soil moisture conditions is more expensive due to the increased force of traction of the tractor, which causes an increase in slip of the tractor wheels, with a speed reduction and increase in the working times and fuel consumption. Moreover, the crop yield is also reduced considerably according to the cultivated species

ESTREMO/WFXRT: Extreme phySics in the TRansient and Evolving COsmos

We present a mission designed to address two main themes of the ESA Cosmic Vision Programme: the Evolution of the Universe and its Violent phenomena. ESTREMO/WFXRT is based on innovative instrumental and observational approaches, out of the mainstream of observatories of progressively increasing area, i.e.: Observing with fast reaction transient sources, like GRB, at their brightest levels, thus allowing high resolution spectroscopy. Observing and surveying through a X-ray telescope with a wide field of view and with high sensitivity extended sources, like cluster and Warm Hot Intragalactic Medium (WHIM). ESTREMO/WFXRT will rely on two cosmological probes: GRB and large scale X-ray structures. This will allow measurements of the dark energy, of the missing baryon mass in the local universe, thought to be mostly residing in outskirts of clusters and in hot filaments (WHIM) accreting onto dark matter structures, the detection of first objects in the dark Universe, the history of metal formation. The key asset of ESTREMO/WFXRT with regard to the study of Violent Universe is the capability to observe the most extreme objects of the Universe during their bursting phases. The large flux achieved in this phase allows unprecedented measurements with high resolution spectroscopy. The mission is based on a wide field X-ray/hard X-ray monitor, covering >1/4 of the sky, to localize transients; fast (min) autonomous follow-up with X-ray telescope (2000 cm ) equipped with high resolution spectroscopy transition edge (TES) microcalorimeters (2eV resolution below 2 keV) and with a wide field (1°) for imaging with 10" resolution (CCD) extended faint structures and for cluster surveys. A low background is achieved by a 600 km equatorial orbit. The performances of the mission on GRB and their use as cosmological beacons are presented and discussed