Editorial: Recent Advances in Seismic Risk Assessment and Its Applications

This special issue discusses recent advances in seismic risk assessment with particular attention to the development and validation of new procedures that are capable of assessing failure modes and the fragility curves of existing buildings. The studies presented have also a probabilistic background, and show the importance of typological characteristics in the seismic response of a building. Furthermore, non-linear numerical analyses have confirmed the importance of implementing specific models in order to design appropriate interventions aimed at reducing the seismic risk of a specific construction

Diversidade de Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) em mata de galeria no Distrito Federal.

Os coleópteros pertencentes a subfamília Scarabaeinae são popularmente conhecidos como besouros rola-bosta, devido ao hábito de manipular fezes para alimentação e construção dos seus ninhos. Apesar de ser considerado um grupo relativamente bem estudado, pouco se conhece a respeito das espécies que habitam áreas de mata de galeria na região do Cerrado. No entanto, sabe-se que a cobertura florestal representa um elemento determinante da estrutura e diversidade da fauna destes besouros e que as matas de galeria no Cerrado podem ter influências de outros biomas, como a Amazônia e Mata Atlântica. O estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a diversidade de Scarabaeinae em um fragmento de mata de galeria localizado na Fazenda Experimental Água Limpa da Universidade de Brasília (FAL), Brasília, DF. Foram utilizadas 15 armadilhas do tipo pitfall iscadas com carne de porco, moela de frango e fezes humanas, distribuídas em cinco pontos, a uma distância de 15 metros entre si; além de uma armadilha de interceptação de voo. As iscas foram repostas e os besouros coletados semanalmente, durante quatro meses (novembro de 2013 a março de 2014). Foram coletados 2.643 espécimes e 21 espécies, distribuídas em 9 gêneros: Anomiopus, Canthidium, Coprophanaeus, Delthochilum, Dichotomius, Eurysternus, Eutrichillum, Onthophagus e Phanaeus. O gênero Dichotomius foi o que apresentou maior riqueza (6 espécies) e também a maior abundância (1.399 indivíduos). As espécies Dichotomius (Selenocopris) quadraticeps (429 indivíduos) e D. (Selenocopris) bicuspis (309 indivíduos), que obrigatoriamente ocorrem em ambientes florestais, e uma espécie de D. (Luederwaldtinia) do grupo assifer, predominante em áreas de Mata Atlântica, foram as três mais abundantes do gênero. Ambas foram atraídas pelas três iscas, enquanto D. depressicoliis apenas por fezes. Armadilhas do tipo pitfall mostraram-se mais eficientes na coleta de rola-bostas, entretanto, o gênero Anomiopus foi capturado apenas na interceptação de voo

Role of neuronal and non-neuronal acetylcholine signaling in Drosophila humoral immunity

Acetylcholine (ACh) is one the major neurotransmitters in insects, whose role in mediating synaptic interactions between neurons in the central nervous system is well characterized. It also plays largely unexplored regulatory functions in non-neuronal tissues. Here we demonstrate that ACh signaling is involved in the modulation of the innate immune response of Drosophila melanogaster. Knockdown of ACh synthesis or ACh vesicular transport in neurons reduced the activation of drosomycin (drs), a gene encoding an antimicrobial peptide, in adult flies infected with a Gram-positive bacterium. drs transcription was similarly affected in Drosophila α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, nAChRalpha7 (Dα7) mutants, as well as in flies expressing in the nervous system a dominant negative form (Dα7DN) of this specific receptor subunit. Interestingly, Dα7DN elicited a comparable response when it was expressed in non-neuronal tissues and even when it was specifically produced in the hemocytes. Consistently, full activation of the drs gene required Dα7 expression in these cells. Moreover, knockdown of ACh synthesis in non-neuronal cells affected drs expression. Overall, these findings uncover neural and non-neural cholinergic signals that modulate insect immune defenses and shed light on the role of hemocytes in the regulation of the humoral immune response

Effects of a vibrational proprioceptive stimulation on recovery phase after maximal incremental cycle test

Global Proprioceptive Resonance (GPR) is a recently developed approach conceived to solicit the various cutaneous mechanoreceptors, through application of mechanical multifocal vibration at low amplitude and at definite body sites, limiting the stimulation of the profound structures. This interventional study evaluated the effects of GPR on cardiorespiratory function during the post-exertional recovery period. A group of volunteers involved in Triathlon (a multisport discipline consisting of sequential swim, cycle, and run disciplines higly demanding in terms of metabolic engagment), underwent two maximal incremental exercise tests until exhaustion followed alternatively to (a) a 13 minutes section of GPR or (b) a standard low intensity exercise acute trend of the same duration. These effects of these two approaches were compared in terms of recovery of: heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) and venous lactate concentration (Lac). The physiological parameters (HR, RR, SpO2 and Lac) recorded in the pre-exertion session showed similar values between the 40 volunteers while several differences were recorded in the post-exertion phase. After 6 min of GPR recovery it was recorded a drop in RR below baseline (19.4±4.15 min-1 vs. 12.2± 0.4 min-1; p<0.001) coupled with an increase in peripheral oxygen saturation above the baseline (GPR: 99.0%±0.16% vs. 96.6%±0.77%, p<0.001). Moreover, the most striking result was the drop in lactate concentration measured after 13 min of GPR recovery: 84.5±3.5% in GPR vs 2.9±7.6% reduction in standard recovery (p<0.001). Notably no differences were recorded recovery of heart rate. GPR has promising effects on post-exercise recovery on RR, SpO2 and lactate level on young athletes. © 2020 PAGEPress Publications. All rights reserved

A 6 day course of liposomal amphotericin B in the treatment of infantile visceral leishmaniasis: the Italian experience

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate in a retrospective analysis the efficacy and safety of a 6 day course of liposomal amphotericin B (L-AmB) in infantile cases of Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis (VL) diagnosed over a 10 year period in Italy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients included were diagnosed as having VL consecutively admitted from December 1992 to December 2001 at four main referral children's hospitals in Italy and treated with six intravenous doses of 3 mg/kg L-AmB given on days 1-5 and 10 (a total dose of 18 mg/kg). Demographic data, nutritional status, underlying diseases, clinical and laboratory findings, and therapy outcome were considered. RESULTS: A total of 164 HIV-negative children (median age 1.6 years; range 4 months to 14 years) were enrolled. All patients were initially cured by the given treatment, and did not present adverse events related to drug infusion. Seven patients (4.3%) had a clinical and parasitological relapse 3-15 months after therapy. All relapses were successfully retreated with 3 mg/kg L-AmB for 10 consecutive days (a total dose of 30 mg/kg). CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the efficacy (>95%) and safety of the six dose L-AmB regimen and validates it as a first-line treatment for Mediterranean VL in children

Surface patterning of carbon nanotubes can enhance their penetration through a phospholipid bilayer

Nanotube patterning may occur naturally upon the spontaneous self-assembly of biomolecules onto the surface of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). It results in periodically alternating bands of surface properties, ranging from relatively hydrophilic to hydrophobic, along the axis of the nanotube. Single Chain Mean Field (SCMF) theory has been used to estimate the free energy of systems in which a surface patterned nanotube penetrates a phospholipid bilayer. In contrast to un-patterned nanotubes with uniform surface properties, certain patterned nanotubes have been identified that display a relatively low and approximately constant system free energy (10 kT) as the nanotube traverses through the bilayer. These observations support the hypothesis that the spontaneous self-assembly of bio-molecules on the surface of SWNTs may facilitate nanotube transduction through cell membranes.Comment: Published in ACS Nano http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nn102763

Sport medicine and safety at work

As humans become more and more sedentary, physical capacities also become lost along with aerobic fitness, muscular strength, coordination, and action-reaction time. This situation can lead to not only absence from work (back pain is the most common reason in European Union (EU), but especially, workplace accidents. In this article we want to combine our experience with exercise physiology and physical capacities with our medical work in a critical environment. We tested over ten years, the fitness profile of 1200 Italian Alpine Soldiers, and gave them a scientific training program. We obtained a trained and homogeneous team (homogeneous, in terms of aerobic and anaerobic fitness). Here, we detail changes to aerobic and anaerobic fitness that occurred as a result of soldiers' participation in a training program. We consider this method necessary for safe work in a critical environment. © 2020 PAGEPress Publications. All rights reserved

Evaluation of the preclinical efficacy of lurbinectedin in malignant pleural mesothelioma

Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a highly aggressive cancer generally diagnosed at an advanced stage and characterized by a poor prognosis. The absence of alterations in druggable kinases, together with an immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment, limits the use of molecular targeted therapies, making the treatment of MPM particularly challenging. Here we investigated the in vitro susceptibility of MPM to lurbinectedin (PM01183), a marine-derived drug that recently received accelerated approval by the FDA for the treatment of patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Methods: A panel of primary MPM cultures, resembling the three major MPM histological subtypes (epithelioid, sarcomatoid, and biphasic), was characterized in terms of BAP1 status and histological markers. Subsequently, we explored the effects of lurbinectedin at nanomolar concentration on cell cycle, cell viability, DNA damage, genotoxic stress response, and proliferation. Results: Stabilized MPM cultures exhibited high sensitivity to lurbinectedin independently from the BAP1 mutational status and histological classification. Specifically, we observed that lurbinectedin rapidly promoted a cell cycle arrest in the S-phase and the activation of the DNA damage response, two conditions that invariably resulted in an irreversible DNA fragmentation, together with strong apoptotic cell death. Moreover, the analysis of long-term treatment indicated that lurbinectedin severely impacts MPM transforming abilities in vitro. Conclusion: Overall, our data provide evidence that lurbinectedin exerts a potent antitumoral activity on primary MPM cells, independently from both the histological subtype and BAP1 alteration, suggesting its potential activity in the treatment of MPM patients