Antarctic Salt-Cones: An Oasis of Microbial Life? The Example of Boulder Clay Glacier (Northern Victoria Land)

The evaporation of a localized, highly saline water body of the Boulder Clay debris-covered glacier, in the Northern Victoria Land, probably generated the accumulation of mirabilite (Na2SO4 × 10H2O) and thenardite (Na2SO4) in a glacier salt-cone. Such an extremely cold and salty environment resembles the conditions on Mars, so it can be considered a terrestrial analog. The study was aimed at gaining a first glimpse at the prokaryotic community associated with Antarctic mirabilite and thenardite minerals and also to find clues about the origin of the salts. For this purpose, samples were analyzed by a next generation approach to investigate the prokaryotic (Bacteria and Archaea) diversity. Phylogenetic analysis allowed the identification of Bacteroidota, Actinobacteriota, Firmicutes, and Gammaproteobacteria as the main bacterial lineages, in addition to Archaea in the phylum Halobacterota. The genera Arthrobacter, Rhodoglobus, Gillisia, Marinobacter and Psychrobacter were particularly abundant. Interestingly, several bacterial and archaeal sequences were related to halotolerant and halophilic genera, previously reported in a variety of marine environments and saline habitats, also in Antarctica. The analyzed salt community also included members that are believed to play a major role in the sulfur cycle

First insights into the microbiology of three antarctic briny systems of the northern Victoria land

Different polar environments (lakes and glaciers), also in Antarctica, encapsulate brine pools characterized by a unique combination of extreme conditions, mainly in terms of high salinity and low temperature. Since 2014, we have been focusing our attention on the microbiology of brine pockets from three lakes in the Northern Victoria Land (NVL), lying in the Tarn Flat (TF) and Boulder Clay (BC) areas. The microbial communities have been analyzed for community structure by next generation sequencing, extracellular enzyme activities, metabolic potentials, and microbial abundances. In this study, we aim at reconsidering all available data to analyze the influence exerted by environmental parameters on the community composition and activities. Additionally, the prediction of metabolic functions was attempted by the phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states (PICRUSt2) tool, highlighting that prokaryotic communities were presumably involved in methane metabolism, aromatic compound biodegradation, and organic compound (proteins, polysaccharides, and phosphates) decomposition. The analyzed cryoenvironments were different in terms of prokaryotic diversity, abundance, and retrieved metabolic pathways. By the analysis of DNA sequences, common operational taxonomic units ranged from 2.2% to 22.0%. The bacterial community was dominated by Bacteroidetes. In both BC and TF brines, sequences of the most thermally tolerant and methanogenic Archaea were detected, some of them related to hyperthermophiles

Monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of non-haematological tumours: Update of an expanding scenario

Introduction: The identification of cell membrane-bound molecules with a relevant role in cancer cell survival prompted the development of moAbs to block the related pathways. In the last few years, the number of approved moAbs for cancer treatment has constantly increased. Many of these drugs significantly improved the survival outcomes in patients with solid tumours.Areas covered: In this review, all the FDA-approved moAbs in solid tumours have been described. This is an update of moAbs available for cancer treatment nowadays in comparison with the moAbs approved until few years ago. The moAbs under development are also discussed here.Expert opinion: The research on cancer antigens as therapeutic targets led to an expanding scenario of available treatment options in non-haematological malignancies. In a few years, the number of approved drugs has increased rapidly. Some of these agents are actually on label in combination with standard chemotherapy. Only some of them can be delivered as monotherapy. The research on these new drugs is addressing both the identification of further target molecules in key cancer-related pathways and the improvement of drug effectiveness by changing the affinity and the selectivity of a moAb relative to its target

Does Learning Through Movement Improve Academic Performance in Primary Schoolchildren? A Systematic Review

Physically active children have greater motor competence and a faster maturation compared with their sedentary peers. Recent research also suggests that physical activity during childhood may also promote cognitive development and therefore improve academic performance. The aim of this study was to understand if physically active academic lessons may improve academic achievement in primary schoolchildren. A systematic review following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines was conducted. The search was performed on the following database: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), and PsycINFO (APA). Studies evaluating schoolchildren aged between 3 and 11 years taking part in educational contexts that include physical activity and natural environments evaluating physical fitness and/or educational outcomes were included. A total of 54 studies (for a total sample of 29,460 schoolchildren) were considered eligible and included in the qualitative synthesis. The Effective Public Health Practice Project risk-of-bias assessment revealed a moderate quality of the included studies with only two considered weeks. Despite differences in the retrieved protocols, physically active academic lessons improve the total time engaged in physical activity, motor skills, and/or academic performance. The results of this review suggest that learning through movement is an effective, low-cost, and enjoyable strategy for elementary schoolchildren

Bombyx mori Silk Fibroin Regeneration in Solution of Lanthanide Ions: A Systematic Investigation

Silk Fibroin (SF) obtained from Bombyx mori is a very attractive biopolymer that can be useful for many technological applications, from optoelectronics and photonics to biomedicine. It can be processed from aqueous solutions to obtain many scaffolds. SF dissolution is possible only with the mediation of chaotropic salts that disrupt the secondary structure of the protein. As a consequence, recovered materials have disordered structures. In a previous paper, it was shown that, by modifying the standard Ajisawa’s method by using a lanthanide salt, CeCl3, as the chaotropic agent, it is possible to regenerate SF as a fibrous material with a very ordered structure, similar to that of the pristine fiber, and doped with Ce+3 ions. Since SF exhibits a moderate fluorescence which can be enhanced by the incorporation of organic molecules, ions and nanoparticles, the possibility of doping it with lanthanide ions could be an appealing approach for the development of new photonic systems. Here, a systematic investigation of the behavior of degummed SF in the presence of all lanthanide ions, Ln+3, is reported. It has been found that all lanthanide chlorides are chaotropic salts for solubilizing SF. Ln+3 ions at the beginning and the end of the series (La+3, Pr+3, Er+3, Tm+3, Yb+3, Lu+3) favor the reprecipitation of fibrous SF as already found for Ce+3. In most cases, the obtained fiber preserves the morphological and structural features of the pristine SF. With the exception of SF treated with La+3, Tm+3, and Lu+3, for all the fibers re-precipitated a concentration of Ln+3 between 0.2 and 0.4% at was measured, comparable to that measured for Ce+3-doped SF

EFFICACY OF PNEUMATIC DILATATION FOR THE TREATMENT OF IDIOPATIC ACHALASIA: A SINGLE-CENTRE EXPERIENCE

Pneumatic dilatation (PD) and surgical miotomy (SM) are presentely the best treastments for untreated achalasia, with similar efficacy. There is no information on the relative efficacy of PD in younger compared to older patients. Aim of our study was to compare success rate and safety of PD patients under fifty years old in our Unit with graded PD under fluoroscopic view. Five male and 15 female with a median age of 47 years were treated. Twelve patients were less than fifthy years old (group I) while 8 were older (group II). Median dysphagia questionnaire score was 14 and 13 in group I and II respectively. Technical success was achieved in all patients. Seven patients were previously treated through other techniques. In group I all patients achieved a complete remission of symptoms with significant decrease of the dysphagia questionnaire (3). in group II all patients achieved a complete remissionof symptoms with significant decrease of the dysphagia questionnaire score (4,5) but 3 of them repeated the procedure. In boths groups the efficacy of the dilation was radiologically confirmed. Neither early nor late complications were reported in either groups. In our experience PD was an effective and safe procedure both in young and old patients although the older group had more recurrences, all successfully re-dilated

Microbial assemblages in pressurized antarctic brine pockets (Tarn flat, northern Victoria land): A hotspot of biodiversity and activity

Two distinct pressurized hypersaline brine pockets (named TF4 and TF5), separated by a thin ice layer, were detected below an ice-sealed Antarctic lake. Prokaryotic (bacterial and archaeal) diversity, abundances (including virus-like particles) and metabolic profiles were investigated by an integrated approach, including traditional and new-generation methods. Although similar diversity indices were computed for both Bacteria and Archaea, distinct bacterial and archaeal assemblages were observed. Bacteroidetes and Gammaproteobacteria were more abundant in the shallowest brine pocket, TF4, and Deltaproteobacteria, mainly represented by versatile sulphate-reducing bacteria, dominated in the deepest, TF5. The detection of sulphate-reducing bacteria and methanogenic Archaea likely reflects the presence of a distinct synthrophic consortium in TF5. Surprisingly, members assigned to hyperthermophilic Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota were common to both brines, indicating that these cold habitats host the most thermally tolerant Archaea. The patterns of microbial communities were different, coherently with the observed microbiological diversity between TF4 and TF5 brines. Both the influence exerted by upward movement of saline brines from a sub-surface anoxic system and the possible occurrence of an ancient ice remnant from the Ross Ice Shelf were the likely main factors shaping the microbial communities

Interleukin-9 over-expression and T helper 9 polarization in systemic sclerosis patients.

T helper 9 (Th9) cells and interleukin (IL)-9 are involved in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune diseases. The exact role of IL-9 and Th9 cells in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) have not yet been studied adequately. IL-9, IL-9R, transcription factor PU.1 (PU.1), IL-4, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-\u3b2 expression were assessed in skin and kidney biopsies of SSc patients and healthy controls (HC) by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The cellular source of IL-9 was also analysed by confocal microscopy analysis. Peripheral IL-9-producing cells were also studied by flow cytometry. The functional relevance of IL-9 increased expression in SSc was also investigated. Our results demonstrated a strong expression of IL-9, IL-9R, IL-4, TSLP and TGF-\u3b2 in skin tissues of patients with both limited and diffuse SSc. IL-9 expression was observed mainly in the context of skin infiltrating mononuclear cells and keratinizing squamous epithelium. IL-9 over-expression was also observed in renal biopsies of patients with SSc. IL-9 producing cells in the skin were identified as Th9 cells. Similarly, Th9 cells were expanded and were the major source of IL-9 among SSc peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), their percentage being correlated directly with the modified Rodnan skin score. Infiltrating mononuclear cells, mast cells and neutrophils expressed IL-9R. In in-vitro studies stimulation with rIL-9 significantly induced NET (neutrophil extracellular traps) release by dying cells (NETosis) in neutrophils, expansion of mast cells and increase of anti-systemic scleroderma 70 (Scl70) production by B cells. Our findings suggest that Th9 cells and IL-9 could be implicated in the pathogenesis of SSc

Mini Black Holes in the first year of the LHC

The experimental signatures of TeV-mass black hole (BH) formation in heavy ion collisions at the LHC is examined. We find that the black hole production results in a complete disappearance of all very high $p_T$ ({$> 500$} GeV) back-to-back correlated di-jets of total mass {$M > M_f \sim 1$}TeV. We show that the subsequent Hawking-decay produces multiple hard mono-jets and discuss their detection. We study the possibility of cold black hole remnant (BHR) formation of mass $\sim M_f$ and the experimental distinguishability of scenarios with BHRs and those with complete black hole decay. Due to the rather moderate luminosity in the first year of LHC running the least chance for the observation of BHs or BHRs at this early stage will be by ionizing tracks in the ALICE TPC. Finally we point out that stable BHRs would be interesting candidates for energy production by conversion of mass to Hawking radiation.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure