Assessing Vegetation Decline Due to Pollution from Solid Waste Management by a Multitemporal Remote Sensing Approach

Nowadays, the huge production of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is one of the most strongly felt environmental issues. Consequently, the European Union (EU) delivers laws and regulations for better waste management, identifying the essential requirements for waste disposal operations and the characteristics that make waste hazardous to human health and the envi-ronment. In Italy, environmental regulations define, among other things, the characteristics of sites to be classified as “potentially contaminated”. From this perspective, the Basilicata region is cur-rently one of the Italian regions with the highest number of potentially polluted sites in proportion to the number of inhabitants. This research aimed to identify the possible effects of potentially toxic element (PTE) pollution due to waste disposal activities in three “potentially contaminated” sites in southern Italy. The area was affected by a release of inorganic pollutants with values over the thresholds ruled by national/European legislation. Potential physiological efficiency variations of vegetation were analyzed through the multitemporal processing of satellite images. Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) images were used to calcu-late the trend in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) over the years. The mul-titemporal trends were analyzed using the median of the non-parametric Theil–Sen estimator. Fi-nally, the Mann–Kendall test was applied to evaluate trend significance featuring areas according to the contamination effects on investigated vegetation. The applied procedure led to the exclu-sion of significant effects on vegetation due to PTEs. Thus, waste disposal activities during previ-ous years do not seem to have significantly affected vegetation around targeted sites

Promising Non-cytotoxic Monosubstituted Chalcones to Target Monoamine Oxidase-B

A library of monosubstituted chalcones (1-17) bearing electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups on both aromatic rings were selected. The cell viability on human tumor cell lines was evaluated first. The compounds unable to induce detectable cytotoxicity (1, 13, and 14) were tested using the monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity assay. Interestingly, they inhibit MAO-B, acting as competitive inhibitors, with 13 and 14 showing the best profiles. In particular, 13 exhibited a potency higher than that of safinamide, taken as a reference. Docking studies and crystallographic analysis showed that in human MAO-B 13 binds with the halogen-substituted aromatic ring in the entrance cavity, similar to safinamide, whereas 14 is accommodated in the opposite way. The main conclusion of this cell biology, biochemistry, and structural study is to highlights 13 as a chalcone derivative that is worth consideration for the development of novel MAO-B-selective inhibitors for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

Functional Myogenic Engraftment from Mouse iPS Cells

Direct reprogramming of adult fibroblasts to a pluripotent state has opened new possibilities for the generation of patient- and disease-specific stem cells. However the ability of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to generate tissue that mediates functional repair has been demonstrated in very few animal models of disease to date. Here we present the proof of principle that iPS cells may be used effectively for the treatment of muscle disorders. We combine the generation of iPS cells with conditional expression of Pax7, a robust approach to derive myogenic progenitors. Transplantation of Pax7-induced iPS-derived myogenic progenitors into dystrophic mice results in extensive engraftment, which is accompanied by improved contractility of treated muscles. These findings demonstrate the myogenic regenerative potential of iPS cells and provide rationale for their future therapeutic application for muscular dystrophies

High levels of untreated distress and fatigue in cancer patients

The purpose of the study was to assess a large representative sample of cancer patients on distress levels, common psychosocial problems, and awareness and use of psychosocial support services. A total of 3095 patients were assessed over a 4-week period with the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18), a common problems checklist, and on awareness and use of psychosocial resources. Full data was available on 2776 patients. On average, patients were 60 years old, Caucasian (78.3%), and middle class. Approximately, half were attending for follow-up care. Types of cancer varied, with the largest groups being breast (23.5%), prostate (16.9%), colorectal (7.5%), and lung (5.8%) cancer patients. Overall, 37.8% of all patients met criteria for general distress in the clinical range. A higher proportion of men met case criteria for somatisation, and more women for depression. There were no gender differences in anxiety or overall distress severity. Minority patients were more likely to be distressed, as were those with lower income, cancers other than prostate, and those currently on active treatment. Lung, pancreatic, head and neck, Hodgkin's disease, and brain cancer patients were the most distressed. Almost half of all patients who met distress criteria had not sought professional psychosocial support nor did they intend to in the future. In conclusion, distress is very common in cancer patients across diagnoses and across the disease trajectory. Many patients who report high levels of distress are not taking advantage of available supportive resources. Barriers to such use, and factors predicting distress and use of psychosocial care, require further exploration

Discovery of directional and nondirectional pioneer transcription factors by modeling DNase profile magnitude and shape

We describe protein interaction quantitation (PIQ), a computational method for modeling the magnitude and shape of genome-wide DNase I hypersensitivity profiles to identify transcription factor (TF) binding sites. Through the use of machine-learning techniques, PIQ identified binding sites for >700 TFs from one DNase I hypersensitivity analysis followed by sequencing (DNase-seq) experiment with accuracy comparable to that of chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq). We applied PIQ to analyze DNase-seq data from mouse embryonic stem cells differentiating into prepancreatic and intestinal endoderm. We identified 120 and experimentally validated eight 'pioneer' TF families that dynamically open chromatin. Four pioneer TF families only opened chromatin in one direction from their motifs. Furthermore, we identified 'settler' TFs whose genomic binding is principally governed by proximity to open chromatin. Our results support a model of hierarchical TF binding in which directional and nondirectional pioneer activity shapes the chromatin landscape for population by settler TFs.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Common Fund 5UL1DE019581)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Common Fund RL1DE019021)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Common Fund 5TL1EB008540)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 1U01HG007037)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 5P01NS055923

Prevalence of vertebral fractures in women and men in the population-based Tromsø Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Osteoporotic vertebral fractures are, as the hip fractures, associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Norway has one of the highest reported incidences of hip fractures in the world. Because of methodological challenges, vertebral fractures are not extensively studied. The aim of this population based study was to describe, for the first time, the age- and sex specific occurrence of osteoporotic vertebral fractures in Norway.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data was collected in the Tromso Study, 2007/8 survey. By the use of dual x-ray absorptiometry (GE Lunar Prodigy) vertebral fracture assessments were performed in 2887 women and men aged from 38 to 87 years, in addition to measurements of bone mineral density at the femoral sites. Information on lifestyle was collected through questionnaires. Comparisons between fractures and non-fractures were done sex stratified, by univariate analyses, adjusting for age when relevant.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prevalence of vertebral fractures varied from about 3% in the age group below 60 to about 19% in the 70+ group in women, and from 7.5% to about 20% in men, with an overall prevalence of 11.8% in women and 13.8% in men (<it>p </it>= 0.07). Among those with fractures, only one fracture was the most common; two and more fractures were present in approximately 30% of the cases. Fractures were seen from the fourth lumbar to the fifth thoracic vertebrae, most common between first lumbar and sixth thoracic vertebrae. The most common type of fracture was the wedge type in both sexes. Bone mineral density at the hip differed significantly according to type of fracture, being highest in those with wedge fractures and lowest in those with compression fractures.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The prevalence of vertebral fractures increased by age in women and men, but the overall prevalence was lower than expected, considering the high prevalence of hip and forearm fractures in Norway. In both sexes, the wedge type was the fracture type most frequently observed and most common in the thoracic region.</p

La merienda escolar, aliada de la buena alimentación

En Argentina menos de 30 productos representan más de la mitad del gasto en alimentos de los hogares pobres, y más del 85% de las calorías y nutrientes ingeridos. La alimentación en los sectores de menores ingresos es muy parecida en todo el territorio, si bien en el Noroeste un poco más de mandioca o en el Sur un poco más de cordero. La dieta de los pobres es monótona por problemas económicos y determina déficit de nutrientes y micronutrientes. En los hogares de nivel socioeconómico medio-alto aún conserva rasgos de monotonía por exceso en el consumo de alimentos muy industrializados, alto contenido de azúcares y grasas saturadas y pobre contenido de fibra. En la Provincia de San Luis, se ha reglamentado la LEY Nº III-0743-2010 “MEjor alimentacion, mas salud”, homologada por el Decreto del Poder Ejecutivo Nº  2826, por el cual se ha implementado también un Programa del Ministerio de Salud de la Provincia, con el objetivo de difundir en las escuelas el establecimiento de “Kioscos  saludables”, con el propósito fundamental de proveer a los distintos actores de la comunidad educativa una merienda que respete las características de saludable, accediendo a ella en forma responsable y voluntaria, respetando las Leyes de la Nutrición: suficiente, completa, armónica, adecuada e inocua. Desde el Programa de Extensión de la Universidad Nacional de San Luis, en colaboración con INTA San Luis, nos propusimos investigar la realidad en una escuela de nivel medio de la ciudad de Villa Mercedes (S.L) junto a docentes del nivel primario y secundario de la escuela. Se realizaron talleres para indagar los hábitos alimenticios de niños de 5to grado, (tres divisiones). Se usaron técnicas de juego y grupos donde los niños pudieron expresar mediante dibujos y recortes tres consignas: 1) qué les gustaba comer, 2) qué comían habitualmente, 3) qué alimentos no habían comido nunca. Se valoraron los alimentos más nutritivos y a su vez sanos y se brindaron recomendaciones para la buena alimentación a niños y mediante trípticos divulgativos llegamos a sus padres. Los resultados obtenidos luego de la evaluación de las encuestas y los afiches mostró que los niños de clase media tienen una dieta poco variada, que hay muchos alimentos que nunca se han probado y que sus gustos van dirigidos a alimentos de alto contenido graso y poco valor nutricional. Se espera en el segundo año de ejecución del proyecto indicadores de cambio de hábitos nutricionales en los alumnos con los que se ha trabajado en la concientización y educación en dieta saludable. 

Gene co-regulation by Fezf2 selects neurotransmitter identity and connectivity of corticospinal neurons

The neocortex contains an unparalleled diversity of neuronal subtypes, each defined by distinct traits that are developmentally acquired under the control of subtype-specific and pan-neuronal genes. The regulatory logic that orchestrates the expression of these unique combinations of genes is unknown for any class of cortical neuron. Here, we report that Fezf2 is a selector gene able to regulate the expression of gene sets that collectively define mouse corticospinal motor neurons (CSMN). We find that Fezf2 directly induces the glutamatergic identity of CSMN via activation of Vglut1 (Slc17a7) and inhibits a GABAergic fate by repressing transcription of Gad1. In addition, we identify the axon guidance receptor EphB1 as a target of Fezf2 necessary to execute the ipsilateral extension of the corticospinal tract. Our data indicate that co-regulated expression of neuron subtype–specific and pan-neuronal gene batteries by a single transcription factor is one component of the regulatory logic responsible for the establishment of CSMN identity