Distribution and kinematics of atomic and molecular gas inside the Solar circle

The detailed distribution and kinematics of the atomic and the CO-bright molecular hydrogen in the disc of the Milky Way inside the Solar circle are derived under the assumptions of axisymmetry and pure circular motions. We divide the Galactic disc into a series of rings, and assume that the gas in each ring is described by four parameters: its rotation velocity, velocity dispersion, midplane density and its scale height. We fit these parameters to the Galactic HI and CO (J=1-0) data by producing artificial HI and CO line-profiles and comparing them with the observations. Our approach allows us to fit all parameters to the data simultaneously without assuming a-priori a radial profile for one of the parameters. We present the distribution and kinematics of the HI and H2 in both the approaching (QIV) and the receding (QI) regions of the Galaxy. Our best-fit models reproduces remarkably well the observed HI and CO longitude-velocity diagrams up to a few degrees of distance from the midplane. With the exception of the innermost 2.5 kpc, QI and QIV show very similar kinematics. The rotation curves traced by the HI and H2 follow closely each other, flattening beyond R=6.5 kpc. Both the HI and the H2 surface densities show a) a deep depression at 0.5<R<2.5 kpc, analogous to that shown by some nearby barred galaxies, b) local overdensities that can be interpreted in terms of spiral arms or ring-like features in the disk. The HI (H2) properties are fairly constant in the region outside the depression, with typical velocity dispersion of 8.9+/-1.1 (4.4+/-1.2) km/s, density of 0.43+/-0.11 (0.42+/-0.22) cm-3 and HWHM scale height of 202+/-28 (64+/-12) pc. We also show that the HI opacity in the LAB data can be accounted for by using an `effective' spin temperature of about 150 K: assuming an optically thin regime leads to underestimate the HI mass by about 30%.Comment: 23 pages, 24 figures. Accepted by A&

Artichoke biorefinery: From food to advanced technological applications

A sequential extraction process has been designed for valorizing globe artichoke plant residues and waste (heads, leaves, stalks, and roots left in the field) by means of green extraction techniques according to a biorefinery approach. We investigated two cascading extractions based on microwave-assisted extractions (MAE) and green solvents (water and ethanol) that have been optimized for varying temperature, solvent and extraction time. In the first step, phenols were extracted with yields that ranged between 6.94 mg g−1 dw (in leaves) and 3.28 mg g−1 dw (in roots), and a phenols productivity of 175.74 kg Ha−1. In the second step, inulin was extracted with impressive yields (42% dw), higher than other conventional inulin sources, corresponding to an inulin productivity of 4883.58 kg Ha−1. The remaining residues were found to be valuable feedstocks both for bioenergy production and green manure (back to the field), closing the loop according to the Circular Economy paradigm

Calcific aortic valve disease and hypertension

This review addresses the role of hypertension in precipitating Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) and the therapeutic potential of anti-hypertensive interventions to ameliorate CAVD. CAVD was originally considered to be a degenerative disease representing the &quot;wear and tear&quot; of the aortic valves. More recently both conceptually and experimentally, CAVD has come to be considered the result of an active disease process, Whilst, there are some common factors in the pathology and risk factors for atherosclerosis and CAVD there are also some distinct differences. Hypertension is an established risk factor for coronary artery disease and has been recognised as a risk factor for CAVD. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors have been found to have beneficial effects in CAVD and as in atherosclerosis such effects may be due to the blood pressure lowering action but also to direct pleiotropic effects on the biochemical and cellular mechanisms of disease progression in the respective tissues. The very high prevalence of hypertension in the community coupled with an aging population, a risk factor associated with both hypertension and CAVD, infers that hypertension will be one of the predominant factors that increase the impact of CAVD on human health in the coming decades

Gastric melanoma of unknown primary

We describe a case of a patient with anemia referring to our Digestive Endoscopy Unit. Upper GI endoscopy revealed a polypoid lesion with an ulcerated central depression. Histopathological examination of the biopsy specimen taken during endoscopy revealed a gastric metastatic melanoma. The dermatologic inspection failed in finding the primary melanoma. The importance of endoscopic examination in the diagnostic process of metastatic patients with unknown primaries is highlited by this case

Meta-analysis: Post-COVID-19 functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome

Introduction: The burden of post-COVID-19 functional dyspepsia (FD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) remains unclear. The aim of this meta-analysis was to estimate the rate of post-COVID-19 FD and IBS. Methods: MEDLINE, Scopus and Embase were searched through 17 December 2022. Studies reporting the incidence of FD and/or IBS in COVID-19 survivors and controls (without COVID-19), when available, according to the Rome criteria, were included. Estimated incidence with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was pooled. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was pooled; heterogeneity was expressed as I2. Results: Ten studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. Overall, four studies including 1199 COVID-19 patients were considered for FD. Post-COVID-19 FD was reported by 72 patients (4%, 95% CI: 3%–5% and I2 0%). The pooled OR for FD development (three studies) in post-COVID-19 patients compared to controls was 8.07 (95% CI: 0.84–77.87, p = 0.071 and I2 = 67.9%). Overall, 10 studies including 2763 COVID-19 patients were considered for IBS. Post-COVID-19 IBS was reported by 195 patients (12%, 95% CI: 8%–16%, I2 95.6% and Egger's p = 0.002 test). The pooled OR for IBS development (four studies) in COVID-19 patients compared to controls was 6.27 (95% CI: 0.88–44.76, p = 0.067 and I2 = 81.4%); considering only studies with a prospective COVID-19 cohort (three studies), the pooled OR was 12.92 (95% CI: 3.58–46.60, p &lt; 0.001 and I2 = 0%). Conclusions: COVID-19 survivors were found to be at risk for IBS development compared to controls. No definitive data are available for FD

Structural investigation of nucleophosmin interaction with the tumor suppressor Fbw7γ

Nucleophosmin (NPM1) is a multifunctional nucleolar protein implicated in ribogenesis, centrosome duplication, cell cycle control, regulation of DNA repair and apoptotic response to stress stimuli. The majority of these functions are played through the interactions with a variety of protein partners. NPM1 is frequently overexpressed in solid tumors of different histological origin. Furthermore NPM1 is the most frequently mutated protein in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Mutations map to the C-terminal domain and lead to the aberrant and stable localization of the protein in the cytoplasm of leukemic blasts. Among NPM1 protein partners, a pivotal role is played by the tumor suppressor Fbw7γ, an E3-ubiquitin ligase that degrades oncoproteins like c-MYC, cyclin E, Notch and c-jun. In AML with NPM1 mutations, Fbw7γ is degraded following its abnormal cytosolic delocalization by mutated NPM1. This mechanism also applies to other tumor suppressors and it has been suggested that it may play a key role in leukemogenesis. Here we analyse the interaction between NPM1 and Fbw7γ, by identifying the protein surfaces implicated in recognition and key aminoacids involved. Based on the results of computational methods, we propose a structural model for the interaction, which is substantiated by experimental findings on several site-directed mutants. We also extend the analysis to two other NPM1 partners (HIV Tat and CENP-W) and conclude that NPM1 uses the same molecular surface as a platform for recognizing different protein partners. We suggest that this region of NPM1 may be targeted for cancer treatment

How Ram Pressure Drives Radial Gas Motions in the Surviving Disk

Galaxy evolution can be dramatically affected by the environment, especially by the dense environment of a galaxy cluster. Recent observational studies show that massive galaxies undergoing strong ram pressure stripping (RPS) also show an enhanced frequency of nuclear activity. Here, we investigate this topic using a suite of wind-tunnel hydrodynamical simulations of an individual massive $M_\text{star} = 10^{11} M_\odot$ disk galaxy with 39 pc resolution and including star formation and stellar feedback. We find that RPS increases the inflow of gas to the galaxy centre regardless of the wind impact angle. This increase is driven by the mixing of interstellar and non-rotating intracluster media at all wind angles, and by increased torque on the inner disk gas, mainly from local pressure gradients when the ICM wind has an edge-on component. In turn, the increase in pressure torques is driven by rising gradient of ram pressure. We estimate the black hole (BH) accretion using Bondi-Hoyle and torque models, and compare it with the mass flux in the central 140 pc region. We find that the torque model estimates much less accretion onto the BH of a RPS galaxy than the Bondi-Hoyle estimator. However, we argue that both models are incomplete because the commonly used torque model does not account for torques caused by the gas distribution or local pressure gradients and the Bondi-Hoyle estimator depends on the the sound speed of the hot gas, which includes the ICM in stripped galaxies, thus a new estimator would be required.Comment: 26 pages, 17 figures, accepted to Ap

Glomerular and mitral-granule cell microcircuits coordinate temporal and spatial information processing in the olfactory bulb

The olfactory bulb processes inputs from olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) through two levels: the glomerular layer at the site of input, and the granule cell level at the site of output to the olfactory cortex. The sequence of action of these two levels has not yet been examined. We analyze this issue using a novel computational framework that is scaled up, in three-dimensions (3D), with realistic representations of the interactions between layers, activated by simulated natural odors, and constrained by experimental and theoretical analyses. We suggest that the postulated functions of glomerular circuits have as their primary role transforming a complex and disorganized input into a contrast-enhanced and normalized representation, but cannot provide for synchronization of the distributed glomerular outputs. By contrast, at the granule cell layer, the dendrodendritic interactions mediate temporal decorrelation, which we show is dependent on the preceding contrast enhancement by the glomerular layer. The results provide the first insights into the successive operations in the olfactory bulb, and demonstrate the significance of the modular organization around glomeruli. This layered organization is especially important for natural odor inputs, because they activate many overlapping glomeruli

A numerical solution for addressing the overturning phenomena of heritage assets

Historical heritage represent a crucial aspect for societies and therefore it should be preserved from natural disasters such as earthquake. Base isolation systems are widely used to mitigate the horizontal effects of strong ground motions on important buildings and bridges, but there are also interesting applications on statues. However, such systems are characterized by properties that are quite different from the ones that belong to traditional civil structures. For this reason, national and international regulations are not exhaustive and actual dynamics of the system should be studied through numerical and experimental methods. Starting from analytical formulations, the paper investigates the sliding and rocking motion in details, being the typical one of statues under seismic loads. The presented numerical model describes the problem and is an alternative to the analytical formulation to perform several analyses automatically. In addition, it allows running parametric analyses to assess the influence of various parameters, such as eccentricity, stiffness, mass, geometric ratios, etc. Future work is geared to validate the numerical model trough performing experimental tests on shaking table

The angular momentum of disc galaxies at z=1

We investigate the relation between stellar mass and specific stellar angular momentum, or `Fall relation', for a sample of 17 isolated, regularly rotating disc galaxies at z=1. All galaxies have a) rotation curves determined from Halpha emission-line data; b) HST imaging in optical and infrared filters; c) robust determinations of their stellar masses. We use HST images in f814w and f160w filters, roughly corresponding to rest-frames B and I bands, to extract surface brightness profiles for our systems. We robustly bracket the specific angular momentum by assuming that rotation curves beyond the outermost Halpha rotation point stay either flat or follow a Keplerian fall-off. By comparing our measurements with those determined for disc galaxies in the local Universe, we find no evolution in the Fall relation in the redshift range 0<z<1, regardless of the band used and despite the uncertainties in the stellar rotation curves at large radii. This result holds unless stellar masses at z=1 are systematically underestimated by more than 50%. Our findings are compatible with expectations based on a LCDM cosmological framework and support a scenario where both the stellar Tully-Fisher and mass-size relations for spirals do not evolve significantly in this redshift range.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Accepted by A&