Iodine biofortification in tomato

Iodine is an essential element in the human diet, and iodine deficiency is a significant health problem. No attempts to increase iodine content in plant-derived food (biofortification) have so far been particularly effective. We studied iodine uptake in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) to evaluate whether it is possible to increase the iodine concentration in its fruits. Iodine translocation and storage inside tomato tissues were studied using radioactive iodine. Potassium iodide was also supplied at different concentrations to tomato plants to evaluate the resulting iodide concentration both in the vegetative tissues and the fruits. The results indicate that iodine was taken up better when supplied to the roots using hydroponically grown plants. However, a considerable amount of iodine was also stored after leaf treatment, suggesting that iodine transport through phloem also occurred. We found that tomato plants can tolerate high levels of iodine, stored both in the vegetative tissues and fruits at concentrations that are more than sufficient for the human diet. We conclude that tomato is an excellent crop for iodine-biofortification programs

Physical conditions in CaFe interstellar clouds

Interstellar clouds that exhibit strong Ca I and Fe I lines were called CaFe clouds. The ionisation equilibrium equations were used to model the column densities of Ca II, Ca I, K I, Na I, Fe I and Ti II in CaFe clouds. The chemical composition of CaFe clouds is that of the Solar System and no depletion of elements onto dust grains is seen. The CaFe clouds have high electron densities n=1 cm^-3 that leads to high column densities of neutral Ca and Fe.Comment: Changed content, figure adde

EUV emission lines and diagnostics observed with Hinode/EIS

Quiet Sun and active region spectra from the Hinode/EIS instrument are presented, and the strongest lines from different temperature regions discussed. A list of emission lines recommended to be included in EIS observation studies is presented based on analysis of blending and diagnostic potential using the CHIANTI atomic database. In addition we identify the most useful density diagnostics from the ions covered by EIS.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PASJ Hinode first results issu

Il contenimento del consumo di suolo a scala europea: il Programma ESPON

La pianificazione e lo sviluppo territoriale hanno informato l’agenda europea negli ultimi 10 anni soprattutto attraverso l’European Spatial Planning and Development Perspective (ESDP) formalizzatosi attraverso gli studi dell’European Spatial Planning Observatory Network (ESPON) e le Guidelines for the Sustainable Development of the European Continent del Council of Ministers of the Wider Europe with responsibility for Regional Planning (CEMAT)). Pur inizialmente lontani da quella concezione pienamente territoriale propria del pensiero geografico ed urbanistico italiano, che si è manifestata solo nel 2007, questi contributi rappresentano un forte incentivo a rinnovare l’atteggiamento politico, economico, culturale nei confronti del valore che il territorio, la sua utilizzazione e la sua identità hanno per lo sviluppo. Di fronte a queste sollecitazioni, nell’ultimo quinquennio il Programma ESPON si è aperto alla revisione dei paradigmi e dei contenuti operativi disciplinari, affrontando e sviluppando temi quali: i cambiamenti strutturali e le grandi tendenze del territorio europeo tra il 1998 e il 2007 (la coesione, sostenibilità e il cambiamento climatico, il policentrismo, l’urbano-rurale, la dimensione competitiva delle città anche medio-piccole, la governance, il cambiamento demografico, ecc.); l’integrazione tra i principi della ricerca geoeconomica e della pianificazione attraverso la creazione di modelli multidisciplinari applicabili a differenti scale - NUTs 2, 3, 4 - per l’individuazione delle capacità competitive endogene entro i limiti di sostenibilità; le procedure e gli strumenti di valutazione comuni per la scelta di politiche e piani/programmi in applicazione delle direttive europee (Territorial Impact Assessment – TIA); lo sviluppo di GIS e database dedicati alla conoscenza e alla gestione di processi cooperativi comparabili trasparenti, sussidiari, integrati; la definizione e l’applicazione di un protocollo di indicatori statistico-economico-geografici condivisi e certificati a sostegno dei processi decisionali; lo sviluppo di case study transnazionali sui temi principali della politica UE. In Italia, molti di questi cambiamenti sono stati introdotti e sperimentati attraverso i progetti speciali, tematici, strategici ESPON, confermando il valore di nuovi orientamenti geografici e della pianificazione, che coinvolgono direttamente i policy makers. I risultati dei progetti di ricerca transnazionale ESPON promossi tra il 2000-2006 e il 2007-2010 , ed in particolare quelli più legati alla dimensione territoriale ed urbana delle strategie europee in applicazione della Territorial Agenda 2007, hanno consentito di misurare e sperimentare anche in Italia indicatori, metodi, criteri di ricerca comuni, rivelatisi utili alla discussione internazionale e nazionale che accompagnano la revisione di molti temi, tra cui l’uso del suolo, la città e il suo rapporto con con l’area vasta di più stretta pertinenza, la provincia come luogo centrale della sussidiarietà europea (Prezioso, 2009)

A deep X-ray observation of M82 with XMM-Newton

We report on the analysis of a deep (100 ks) observation of the starburst galaxy M82 with the EPIC and RGS instruments on board the X-ray telescope XMM-Newton. The broad-band (0.5-10 keV) emission is due to at least three spectral components: i) continuum emission from point sources; ii) thermal plasma emission from hot gas; iii) charge exchange emission from neutral metals (Mg and Si). The plasma emission has a double-peaked differential emission measure, with the peaks at ~0.5 keV and ~7 keV. Spatially resolved spectroscopy has shown that the chemical absolute abundances are not uniformly distributed in the outflow, but are larger in the outskirts and smaller close to the galaxy centre. The abundance ratios also show spatial variations. The X-ray derived Oxygen abundance is lower than that measured in the atmospheres of red supergiant stars, leading to the hypothesis that a significant fraction of Oxygen ions have already cooled off and no longer emit at energies > ~0.5 keV.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 20 pages, 15 figures, LaTeX2

Attachment forerunners, dyadic sensitivity and development of the child in families with a preterm born baby

Objective: The aim of this study is to explore attachment forerunners and dyadic sensitivity in the family with preterm born child. Methods: 89 families, 35 with preterm born children ( 2500 gr.) were studied from 3 months to 1 year corrected age (267 total subjects). Mother-child and father-child couples were subjected to CARE-Index and both parents to DAS, CES-D and STAI Y-2. The child\u2019s psychomotor development was assessed by Bayley Scales. Results: The mothers of preterm children presented high risk interactive behaviors at CARE-Index (low scores at Dyadic Sensitivity Scale, p = .000), high anxiety (p = .003) and depression (p = .03). Preterm fathers presented low scores at Dyadic Sensitivity Scale (p = .000) and high anxiety (p = .024). In interaction, attachment forerunners suggest an insecure attachment in preterm mothers (p = .001) and fathers (p = .000) and in preterm children in the interaction with the mother (p = .028). These risk factors were correlated, in both parents, with low performance of the child at Bayley Scales (p =.04). Fathers of preterm children presented also a negative perception of the child and an unsatisfied perception of the hospital care. Conclusions: The results show in the preterm family that 40% of mothers and 75% of fathers are in high risk area suggested by CARE-Index. In these cases, insecure attachment forerunners, low dyadic sensitivity and psychological difficulties (couple conflicts, anxiety, depression) seem to influence the psychomotor development of the preterm child

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'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

Superflares on Ordinary Solar-Type Stars

Short duration flares are well known to occur on cool main-sequence stars as well as on many types of `exotic' stars. Ordinary main-sequence stars are usually pictured as being static on time scales of millions or billions of years. Our sun has occasional flares involving up to $\sim 10^{31}$ ergs which produce optical brightenings too small in amplitude to be detected in disk-integrated brightness. However, we identify nine cases of superflares involving $10^{33}$ to $10^{38}$ ergs on normal solar-type stars. That is, these stars are on or near the main-sequence, are of spectral class from F8 to G8, are single (or in very wide binaries), are not rapid rotators, and are not exceedingly young in age. This class of stars includes many those recently discovered to have planets as well as our own Sun, and the consequences for any life on surrounding planets could be profound. For the case of the Sun, historical records suggest that no superflares have occurred in the last two millennia.Comment: 16 pages, accepted for publication in Ap

Phagocytosis and epithelial cell invasion by Crohn's disease-associated adherent-invasive Escherichia coli are inhibited by the anti-inflammatory drug 6-mercaptopurine

Adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) strains are overrepresented in the dysbiotic microbiota of Crohn's disease (CD) patients, and contribute to the onset of the chronic inflammation typical of the disease. However, the effects of anti-inflammatory drugs used for CD treatment on AIEC virulence have not yet been investigated. In this report, we show that exposure of AIEC LF82 strain to amino-6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) riboside, one of the most widely used anti-inflammatory drugs in CD, impairs its ability to adhere to, and consequently to invade, human epithelial cells. Notably, phagocytosis of LF82 treated with 6-MP by human macrophages is also reduced, suggesting that 6-MP affects AIEC cell surface determinants involved both in interaction with epithelial cells and in uptake by macrophages. Since a main target of 6-MP in bacterial cells is the inhibition of the important signal molecule c-di-GMP, we also tested whether perturbations in cAMP, another major signaling pathway in E. coli, might have similar effects on interactions with human cells. To this aim, we grew LF82 in the presence of glucose, which leads to inhibition of cAMP synthesis. Growth in glucose-supplemented medium resulted in a reduction in AIEC adhesion to epithelial cells and uptake by macrophages. Consistent with these results, both 6-MP and glucose can affect expression of cell adhesion-related genes, such as the csg genes, encoding thin aggregative fimbriae (curli). In addition, glucose strongly inhibits expression of the fim operon, encoding type 1 pili, a known AIEC determinant for adhesion to human cells. To further investigate whether 6-MP can indeed inhibit c-di-GMP signaling in AIEC, we performed biofilm and motility assays and determination of extracellular polysaccharides. 6-MP clearly affected biofilm formation and cellulose production, but also, unexpectedly, reduced cell motility, itself an important virulence factor for AIEC. Our results provide strong evidence that 6-MP can affect AIEC-host cell interaction by acting on the bacterial cell, thus strengthening the hypothesis that mercaptopurines might promote CD remission also by affecting gut microbiota composition and/or physiology, and suggesting that novel drugs targeting bacterial virulence and signaling might be effective in preventing chronic inflammation in CD

Spectral Observations of Diffuse Far-Ultraviolet Emission from the Hot Phase of the Interstellar Medium with the Diffuse Ultraviolet Experiment

One of the keys to interpreting the character and evolution of interstellar matter in the galaxy is understanding the distribution of the low density hot (10^5 K -10^6 K) phase of the interstellar medium (ISM). This phase is much more difficult to observe than the cooler high density components of the ISM because of its low density and lack of easily observable tracers. Because gas of this temperature emits mainly in the far ultraviolet (912 angstrom - 1800 angstroms) and extreme ultraviolet (80 angstrom - 912 angstrom), and (for gas hotter than 10^6 K) X-rays, observations in these bands can provide important constraints to the distribution of this gas. Because of interstellar opacity at EUV wavelengths, only FUV and X-ray observations can provide clues to the properties of hot gas from distant regions. We present results from a search for FUV emission from the diffuse ISM conducted with an orbital FUV spectrometer, DUVE, which was launched in July, 1992. The DUVE spectrometer, which covers the band from 950 angstrom to 1080 angstrom with 3.2 angstrom resolution, observed a region of low neutral hydrogen column density near the south galactic pole for a total effective integration time of 1583 seconds. The only emission line detected was a geocoronal hydrogen line at 1025 angstrom. We are able to place upper limits to several expected emission features that provide constraints on interstellar plasma parameters. We are also able to place limits on the continuum emission throughout the bandpass. We compare these limits and other diffuse observations with several models of the structure of the interstellar medium and discuss the ramifications.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX, 10 eps figures, uses aaspp4.sty and Psfig/TeX Release 1.2, Minor editorial change