Consistency of cruise data of the CARINA database in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean

Initially a North Atlantic project, the CARINA carbon synthesis was extended to include the Southern Ocean. Carbon and relevant hydrographic and geochemical ancillary data from cruises all across the Arctic Mediterranean Seas, Atlantic and Southern Ocean were released to the public and merged into a new database as part of the CARINA synthesis effort. Of a total of 188 cruises, 37 cruises are part of the Southern Ocean, including 11 from the Atlantic sector. The variables from all Southern Ocean cruises, including dissolved inorganic carbon (TCO2), total alkalinity, oxygen, nitrate, phosphate and silicate, were examined for cruise-to-cruise consistency in one collective effort. Seawater pH and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are also part of the database, but the pH quality control (QC) is described in another Earth System Science Data publication, while the complexity of the Southern Ocean physics and biogeochemistry prevented a proper QC analysis of the CFCs. The area-specific procedures of quality control, including crossover analysis between stations and inversion analysis of all crossover data (i.e. secondary QC), are briefly described here for the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. Data from an existing, quality controlled database (GLODAP) were used as a reference for our computations – however, the reference data were included into the analysis without applying the recommended GLODAP adjustments so the corrections could be independently verified. The outcome of this effort is an internally consistent, high-quality carbon data set for all cruises, including the reference cruises. The suggested corrections by the inversion analysis were allowed to vary within a fixed envelope, thus accounting for natural variability. The percentage of cruises adjusted ranged from 31% (for nitrate) to 54% (for phosphate) depending on the variable

Millstones as indicators of relative sea-level changes in northern Sicily and southern Calabria coast lines, Italy

New data are presented for late Holocene relative sea-level changes in two coastal sites of Sicily and Calabria, southern Italy. Reconstructions are based on precise measurements of submerged archaeological remains that are valuable indicators of past sea-level position. The archaeological remains are millstone quarries carved on sandstone coastal rocks and nowadays partially submerged which, to the authors’ knowledge, are used for the first time as sea-level markers. Millstones of similar typology are located on the coast of Capo d’Orlando (northern Sicily) and Capo dell’Armi (southern Calabria). When the archeologically-based sea-level position is compared with the shoreline elevation provided by geological markers (Holocene beachrock, Late Pleistocene marine terraces), a refined understanding of relative sea-level changes and rates of vertical tectonic movements for these coastline locations is gained

Impact of Diabetes Mellitus and Its Comorbidities on Elderly Patients Hospitalized in Internal Medicine Wards: Data from the RePoSi Registry

Background: Currently, diabetes represents the seventh leading cause of death worldwide, with a significant economic burden. The number and severity of comorbidities increase with age, and are identified as important determinants that influence the prognosis. We aimed to investigate comorbidities and outcomes in a cohort of hospitalized elderly patients affected by diabetes. Methods: In this observational study, we retrospectively analyzed data collected from the REgistro dei pazienti per lo studio delle POlipatologie e politerapie in reparti della rete Simi (RePoSi) reg-istry. Socio-demographic, clinical characteristics, and laboratory findings were considered. The association between variables and in-hospital and 1-year follow-up were analyzed. Results: Among 4708 in-patients, 1378 (29.3%) had a diagnosis of diabetes. Patients with diabetes had more previous hospitalization, a clinically significant disability, and more need for a urinary catheter in comparison with subjects without diabetes. Patients affected by diabetes took more drugs, both at admission, at in-hospital stay, at discharge, and at 1-year follow-up. Thirty-five comorbidities were more frequent in patients with diabetes, and the first five were hypertension (57.1%), ischemic heart disease (31.4%), chronic renal failure (28.8%), atrial fibrillation (25.6%), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (22.7%). Heart rate was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality. At 1-year follow-up, cancer and male sex were strongly independently associated with mortality. Conclusions: Our findings showed the severity of the impact of diabetes and its comorbidities in the real life of internal medicine and geriatric wards, and provide data to be used for a better tailored management of elderly in-patients with diabetes

Mitochondrial-Derived Vesicles as Candidate Biomarkers in Parkinson's Disease: Rationale, Design and Methods of the EXosomes in PArkiNson Disease (EXPAND) Study

The progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the nigro-striatal system is a major trait of Parkinson's disease (PD), manifesting clinically as motor and non-motor symptoms. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are alleged pathogenic mechanisms underlying aggregation of misfolded α-synuclein that in turn triggers dopaminergic neurotoxicity. Peripheral processes, including inflammation, may precede and contribute to neurodegeneration. Whether mitochondrial dyshomeostasis in the central nervous system and systemic inflammation are linked to one another in PD is presently unclear. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are delivery systems through which cells can communicate or unload noxious materials. EV trafficking also participates in mitochondrial quality control (MQC) by generating mitochondrial-derived vesicles to dispose damaged organelles. Disruption of MQC coupled with abnormal EV secretion may play a role in the pathogenesis of PD. Furthermore, due to its bacterial ancestry, circulating mitochondrial DNA can elicit an inflammatory response. Therefore, purification and characterisation of molecules packaged in, and secreted through, small EVs (sEVs)/exosomes in body fluids may provide meaningful insights into the association between mitochondrial dysfunction and systemic inflammation in PD. The EXosomes in PArkiNson Disease (EXPAND) study was designed to characterise the cargo of sEVs/exosomes isolated from the serum of PD patients and to identify candidate biomarkers for PD

A primer on machine learning techniques for genomic applications

High throughput sequencing technologies have enabled the study of complex biological aspects at single nucleotide resolution, opening the big data era. The analysis of large volumes of heterogeneous “omic” data, however, requires novel and efficient computational algorithms based on the paradigm of Artificial Intelligence. In the present review, we introduce and describe the most common machine learning methodologies, and lately deep learning, applied to a variety of genomics tasks, trying to emphasize capabilities, strengths and limitations through a simple and intuitive language. We highlight the power of the machine learning approach in handling big data by means of a real life example, and underline how described methods could be relevant in all cases in which large amounts of multimodal genomic data are available

Headache in Behçet’s disease: case reports and literature review

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of headache and its different patterns in patients with Behçet’s disease (BD) with and without neurological involvement and to investigate clinical correlations. Methods: Patients fulfilling the International Study Group criteria for Behçet disease (ISGc) were studied. Patients were invited to fill a “headache questionnaire”, which consisted of two sections: the first one included demographic and anamnestic data, family history for both headache and BD, disease duration and clinical manifestations of BD; the second section included items about headache, investigated accordingly to International Headache Society diagnostic criteria (IHS, 2004). Clinical history and current comorbidities-medications were collected. Each patient underwent a neurological examination to assess neurological involvement (Neuro-BD) and, if necessary, instrumental investigations. One hundred-fifty healthy subjects matched for age and gender were used as control group for comparison. Results: Of the 55 patients diagnosed as BD (ISG criteria) 41 patients adhered and were enrolled into the study. Headache occurred in 29 of BD patients (70,7%) and in 13 of Neuro-BD patients (92,8%). Migraine without aura did prove the most frequent type of headache in BD patients (with and without neurological involvement) and there were no differences in the frequency of the different pattern of headache between BD patients and controls. Conclusions: Headache is a frequent manifestation in BD and primary headache like migraine emerged as the most frequent type of headache. A careful search for headache should be included in the diagnostic work-up of BD since this manifestation may be related to the underlying disease

Population and decay of C-12 states

By using the CHIMERA detector, we have measured the gamma-ray and alpha decay width of excited C-12 states important for the carbon production inastrophysical environments. For the first time, we directly observed the gamma-ray decayof the 9.64 MeV level. A gamma-ray decay width larger than previous observations wasobserved for the Hoyle state. In order to explain this enhanced yield we investigatedon the recently proposed population of an Efimov state at 7.458 MeV. The decaycharacteristics of such level are inferred

Are Brightest Halo Galaxies Central Galaxies?

It is generally assumed that the central galaxy in a dark matter halo, that is, the galaxy with the lowest specific potential energy, is also the brightest halo galaxy (BHG), and that it resides at rest at the centre of the dark matter potential well. This central galaxy paradigm (CGP) is an essential assumption made in various fields of astronomical research. In this paper we test the validity of the CGP using a large galaxy group catalogue constructed from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For each group we compute two statistics, ${\cal R}$ and ${\cal S}$, which quantify the offsets of the line-of-sight velocities and projected positions of brightest group galaxies relative to the other group members. By comparing the cumulative distributions of $|{\cal R}|$ and $|{\cal S}|$ to those obtained from detailed mock group catalogues, we rule out the null-hypothesis that the CGP is correct. Rather, the data indicate that in a non-zero fraction $f_{\rm BNC}(M)$ of all haloes of mass $M$ the BHG is not the central galaxy, but instead, a satellite galaxy. In particular, we find that $f_{\rm BNC}$ increases from $\sim 0.25$ in low mass haloes (10^{12} h^{-1} {\rm M_{\odot}} \leq M \lsim 2 \times 10^{13} h^{-1}{\rm M_{\odot}}) to $\sim 0.4$ in massive haloes (M \gsim 5 \times 10^{13} h^{-1} {\rm M_{\odot}}). We show that these values of $f_{\rm BNC}$ are uncomfortably high compared to predictions from halo occupation statistics and from semi-analytical models of galaxy formation. We end by discussing various implications of a non-zero $f_{\rm BNC}(M)$, with an emphasis on the halo masses inferred from satellite kinematics.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures. Axes labels of Fig. 3 fixe

Natalizumab affects T-cell phenotype in multiple sclerosis: implications for JCV reactivation

The anti-CD49d monoclonal antibody natalizumab is currently an effective therapy against the relapsing-remitting form of multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Natalizumab therapeutic efficacy is limited by the reactivation of the John Cunningham polyomavirus (JCV) and development of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). To correlate natalizumab-induced phenotypic modifications of peripheral blood T-lymphocytes with JCV reactivation, JCV-specific antibodies (serum), JCV-DNA (blood and urine), CD49d expression and relative abundance of peripheral blood T-lymphocyte subsets were longitudinally assessed in 26 natalizumab-treated RRMS patients. Statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism and R. Natalizumab treatment reduced CD49d expression on memory and effector subsets of peripheral blood T-lymphocytes. Moreover, accumulation of peripheral blood CD8+ memory and effector cells was observed after 12 and 24 months of treatment. CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocyte immune-activation was increased after 24 months of treatment. Higher percentages of CD8+ effectors were observed in subjects with detectable JCV-DNA. Natalizumab reduces CD49d expression on CD8+ T-lymphocyte memory and effector subsets, limiting their migration to the central nervous system and determining their accumulation in peripheral blood. Impairment of central nervous system immune surveillance and reactivation of latent JCV, can explain the increased risk of PML development in natalizumab-treated RRMS subjects