Reconnection in a slow Coronal Mass Ejection

This paper aims at studying reconnection occurring in the aftermath of the 28 May 2004, CME, first imaged by the LASCO (Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph) C2 at 11:06 UT. The CME was observed in White Light and UV radiation: images acquired by the LASCO C2 and C3 coronagraphs and spectra acquired by UVCS (Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer) allowed us to identify the level at which field lines, stretched outwards by the CME ejection, reconnect below the CME bubble. As the CME propagates outwards, reconnection occurs at increasingly higher levels. The process goes on at a low pace for several hours: here we give the profile of the reconnection rate vs. heliocentric distance over a time interval of &asymp;14 h after the CME onset, extending estimates of the reconnection rate to larger distances than previously inferred by other authors. The reconnection rate appears to decrease with time/altitude. We also calculate upper and lower limits to the density in the diffusion region between 4 and 7 <I>R</I>_&#x2299; and conclude by comparing estimates of the classical and anomalous resistivity in the diffusion region with the value inferred from the data. The latter turns out to be &ge;5 order of magnitudes larger than predicted by classical or anomalous theories, pointing to the need of identifying the process responsible for the observed value

Editorial: XXXIII SIMGBM Congress 2019 - Antimicrobials and Host-Pathogen Interactions

This Research Topic (RT) is intended to provide a collection of selected contributions in the broad area “Antimicrobials and Host-Pathogen Interactions” from the participants of “Microbiology 2019” congress organized by the Italian Society for General Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology (SIMGBM, www.simgbm.it), which was held in Florence, Italy, on June 19–22, 2019. The congress was attended by 224 scientists from all over the world, and contributions relevant to this RT were collected from presentations in the following congress sessions: (i) Antibiotic resistome: where do antibiotic resistance genes come from? (ii) New antimicrobial strategies in the post-antibiotic era; (iii) Intercellular communication in host-pathogen interactions; (iv) New approaches to unravel fungal-host interactions; (v) Bacterial cell surface and signaling. The unifying concept of this RT originates from the increasing awareness that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a complex problem which should be addressed by a multifocal approach. Fundamental microbiological investigations in this direction involve understanding of the flow of AMR genes from the environment to human and animal pathogens, the development of new drugs to tackle AMR, and the discovery of new druggable targets to impairmicrobial growth and/or pathogenicity

Lapex: A Phoswich balloon experiment for hard X-ray astronomy

Satellite and balloon observations have shown that several classes of celestial objects are hard ( 15 keV) energy band with a sensitivity of approx 10 mCrab has been performed with the UCSD/MIT instrument (A4) on board the HEAO 1 satellite. About 70 X-ray sources were detected, including galactic and extragalactic objects. Hard X-ray emission has been detected in the Galaxy from X-ray pulsars. Extragalactic sources of hard X-ray emission include clusters of galaxies, QSOs, BL Lac objects, Seyfert galaxies. The essential characteristics of the Large Area Phoswich Experiment (LAPEX) for crowded sky field observations are described. It has: (1) a broad energy band of operation (20-300 keV); (2) a 3 sigma sensitivity of about 1 mCrab in 10,000 s of live observing time; and (3) imaging capabilities with an angular resolution of about 20'

Probiotic Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium Strains Counteract Adherent-Invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) Virulence and Hamper IL-23/Th17 Axis in Ulcerative Colitis, but Not in Crohn&apos;s Disease

Hypersecretion of proinflammatory cytokines and dysregulated activation of the IL-23/Th17 axis in response to intestinal microbiota dysbiosis are key factors in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In this work, we studied how Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains affect AIEC-LF82 virulence mechanisms and the consequent inflammatory response linked to the CCR6-CCL20 and IL-23/Th17 axes in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. All Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains significantly reduced the LF82 adhesion and persistence within HT29 intestinal epithelial cells, inhibiting IL-8 secretion while not affecting the CCR6-CCL20 axis. Moreover, they significantly reduced LF82 survival within macrophages and dendritic cells, reducing the secretion of polarizing cytokines related to the IL-23/Th17 axis, both in healthy donors (HD) and UC patients. In CD patients, however, only B. breve Bbr8 strain was able to slightly reduce the LF82 persistence within dendritic cells, thus hampering the IL-23/Th17 axis. In addition, probiotic strains were able to modulate the AIEC-induced inflammation in HD, reducing TNF-\u3b1 and increasing IL-10 secretion by macrophages, but failed to do so in IBD patients. Interestingly, the probiotic strains studied in this work were all able to interfere with the IL-23/Th17 axis in UC patients, but not in CD patients. The different interaction mechanisms of probiotic strains with innate immune cells from UC and CD patients compared to HD suggest that testing on CD-derived immune cells may be pivotal for the identification of novel probiotic strains that could be effective also for CD patients

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection: Analytical performance of real-time NASBA assay

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Analysis and characterization of mouse monoclonal antibodies reactive to Chikungunya virus (CHIKV)

occurring in 1984). However, plague has made an astonishing comeback in the last decade. Methods: n/a. Results: After a silence of 50 years, an outbreak of bubonic plague suddenly occurred close to Oran in Algeria, in June 2003. Eighteen bubonic cases were identified, and Yersinia pestis was isolated from 6 patients. In July 2008, a new cluster was reported among nomads 300 km south of the first one. Four members of one family were affected and one died. The bacillus was isolated from one patient. No epidemiological association was identified between the two events. On June 2009, 25 years after the last occurrence in the country, Libya reported five confirmed cases of bubonic plague in the Tobruk area. Y. pestis was isolated from three patients. In all these cases, further local ecological investigations confirmed the existence of a natural focus The re-emergence of human plague in the region is not without international consequences. Two of the last concerned natural foci are close to an international port which raises the question of the potential exportation of infected rodents. Cross-border tensions, between ''plague countries'' and ''plague-free countries'' have been observed although the foci's limits are unknown as any systematic ecological investigation and surveillance is lacking. Additionally, the potential weaponization of Y.pestis together with international political tensions feed a recurrent interest in plague in North Africa. False rumors of alleged military laboratory accidents or terrorist acts are routinely mentioned, although events could be first explained by the natural history of the disease. Conclusion: In this context, and although the number of human cases has been very limited so far, the first priorities are to establish appropriate ecological surveillance and agree on a common plague control strategy for the region

Improving plastic management by means of people awareness

In past decades the usage of plastic has seen a tremendous increment. This raise is mainly caused by industrial development and by the spread of this material in every aspect of people life, from food package to aerospace application. For sure plastic has a key role in society and it is not possible to erase, nevertheless its overuse has a serious impact on the environment as well know. In particular, just a few percentage of the total amount of plastic is recycled, the rest has to be landfilled or burnt causing serious pollution side effect. This poor circularity in plastic value chain is mainly caused by difficulties in sorting processes and expensiveness of recycling. By the way a great part of plastic applications could be avoided without implying a reduction in life quality for the people. In addition, a better education in plastic objects shopping and plastic waste management could decrease the difficulties in sorting and recycling. One of the crucial reason why these applications and incorrect behaviour are still present is that the information on alternatives are not present or very hard to be found. In the present paper a novel platform to enhance a more plastic-free life is presented. First a detailed description of the problem is stated, then the process to achieve the proposed solution is described. Finally the platform prototype is analysed in details among its functionalities

Numerical simulations of light scattering in soft anisotropic fibrous structures and validation of a novel optical setup from fibrous media characterization

The insight of biological microstructures is at the basis of understanding the mechanical features and the potential pathologies of tissues, like the blood vessels. Different techniques are available for this purpose, like the Small Angle Light Scattering (SALS) approach. The SALS method has the advantage of being fast and non-destructive, however investigation of its physical principles is still required. Within this work, a numerical study for SALS irradiation of soft biological fibrous tissues was carried out through in-silico simulations based on a Monte Carlo approach to evaluate the effect of the thickness of the specimen. Additionally, the numerical results were validated with an optical setup based on SALS technique for the characterization of fibrous samples with dedicated tests on four 3D-printed specimens with different fibers architectures. The simulations revealed two main regions of interest according to the thickness (thk) of the analyzed media: a Fraunhofer region (thk &lt; 0.6 mm) and a Multiple Scattering region (thk &gt; 1 mm). Semi-quantitative information about the tissue anisotropy was successfully gathered by analyzing the scattered light spot. Moreover, the numerical results revealed a remarkable coherence with the experimental data, both in terms of mean orientation and dispersion of fibers

The gamma-ray burst monitor for Lobster-ISS

Lobster-ISS is an X-ray all-sky monitor experiment selected by ESA two years ago for a Phase A study (now almost completed) for a future flight (2009) aboard the Columbus Exposed Payload Facility of the International Space Station. The main instrument, based on MCP optics with Lobster-eye geometry, has an energy passband from 0.1 to 3.5 keV, an unprecedented daily sensitivity of 2x10^{-12} erg cm^{-2}s$^{-1}, and it is capable to scan, during each orbit, the entire sky with an angular resolution of 4--6 arcmin. This X-ray telescope is flanked by a Gamma Ray Burst Monitor, with the minimum requirement of recognizing true GRBs from other transient events. In this paper we describe the GRBM. In addition to the minimum requirement, the instrument proposed is capable to roughly localize GRBs which occur in the Lobster FOV (162x22.5 degrees) and to significantly extend the scientific capabilities of the main instrument for the study of GRBs and X-ray transients. The combination of the two instruments will allow an unprecedented spectral coverage (from 0.1 up to 300/700 keV) for a sensitive study of the GRB prompt emission in the passband where GRBs and X-Ray Flashes emit most of their energy. The low-energy spectral band (0.1-10 keV) is of key importance for the study of the GRB environment and the search of transient absorption and emission features from GRBs, both goals being crucial for unveiling the GRB phenomenon. The entire energy band of Lobster-ISS is not covered by either the Swift satellite or other GRB missions foreseen in the next decade.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Paper presented at the COSPAR 2004 General Assembly (Paris), accepted for publication in Advances in Space Research in June 2005 and available on-line at the Journal site (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02731177), section "Articles in press