Landscape as mediator, landscape as commons: an introduction

Il contributo propone una trattazione dei due temi chiavi che si intersecano nel volume, andando a costituire non solo una introduzione ai saggi ivi contenuti, ma una pi\uf9 ampia trattazione delle questioni attorno a cui questi si muovono: le potenzialit\ue0 del concetto di paesaggio considerato come intermediario/mediatore e come bene comune/commons. Il volume raccoglie i migliori contributi internazionali presentati nelle sessioni sul paesaggio del congresso Eugeo 2013 (Roma) coordinate dai curatori dell'opera, e si conclude con una approfondita postfazione redatta da Kenneth R. Olwig, che ha partecipato come discussant ai lavori congressuali

Ambizioni e strumentalizzazioni culturali come risposta alla crisi. Discorsi e metamorfosi urbane a Cagliari

Ambitions and cultural exploitations in response to the crisis. Discourses and urban metamorphosis in Cagliari. – This contribution reflects on how the cultural dimension is embedded in the "narrative" on the city (Cagliari) as a pos-sible answer to the problems of the current economic and social crisis. Our hypothesis is that the use of "miraculous" values of culture is the 'Trojan Horse' to legitimize neoliberal policies and actions on the city, where almost get confused public interventions of actual value but also speculative interests of private individuals. This hypothesis is argued by analyzing the speeches and achievements of some projects based on ex-plicit cultural and symbolic values, ambitions and/or exploitations. These also involve the ambition of a projection of the city on the international scene: from "Cagliari capital of the Mediterranean" to "Cagliari Europe-an Capital of Culture

Fecal metaproteomic analysis reveals unique changes of the gut microbiome functions after consumption of sourdough Carasau bread

Sourdough-leavened bread (SB) is acknowledged for its great variety of valuable effects on consumer's metabolism and health, including a low glycemic index and a reduced content of the possible carcinogen acrylamide. Here, we aimed to investigate how these effects influence the gut microbiota composition and functions. Therefore, we subjected rats to a diet supplemented with SB, baker's yeast leavened bread (BB), or unsupplemented diet (chow), and, after 4 weeks of treatment, their gut microbiota was analyzed using a metaproteogenomic approach. As a result, diet supplementation with SB led to a reduction of specific members of the intestinal microbiota previously associated to low protein diets, namely Alistipes and Mucispirillum, or known as intestinal pathobionts, i.e., Mycoplasma. Concerning functions, asparaginases expressed by Bacteroides were observed as more abundant in SB-fed rats, leading to hypothesize that in their colonic microbiota the enzyme substrate, asparagine, was available in higher amounts than in BB- and chow-fed rats. Another group of protein families, expressed by Clostridium, was detected as more abundant in animal fed SB-supplemented diet. Of these, manganese catalase, small acid-soluble proteins (SASP), Ser/Thr kinase PrkA, and V-ATPase proteolipid subunit have been all reported to take part in Clostridium sporulation, strongly suggesting that the diet supplementation with SB might promote environmental conditions inducing metabolic dormancy of Clostridium spp. within the gut microbiota. In conclusion, our data describe the effects of SB consumption on the intestinal microbiota taxonomy and functions in rats. Moreover, our results suggest that a metaproteogenomic approach can provide evidence of the interplay between metabolites deriving from bread digestion and microbial metabolism

Decrease in neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio during neoadjuvant chemotherapy as a predictive and prognostic marker in advanced ovarian cancer

Since chronic inflammation is associated with ovarian cancer growth and progression, some clinical studies have assessed the association between the pre-treatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the prognosis of ovarian cancer. The purpose of this study was to assess the dynamic behavior of the NLR during the course of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in patients with high grade serous (HGS) advanced epithelial ovarian cancer and assess its correlation with clinical response, progression free survival (PFS) and changes in other inflammatory indexes. We performed a prospective observational study on 161 patients who underwent NACT at the Department of Gynecologic Oncology, ARNAS G. Brotzu, Cagliari, between 2009 and 2019. NLR was evaluated before starting and after three cycles of NACT. Based on response after three cycles of NACT, patients were divided into two groups: responsive and non-responsive. The primary endpoint was to assess the predictive role of NLR by comparing the responsive and non-responsive patients at baseline and after three cycles of NACT. Secondary endpoints were (a) to correlate NLR with other inflammation markers (CRP, fibrinogen, ferritin, IL-6), albumin, and modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS) with NLR at baseline and after NACT; (b) to assess the association between NLR and PFS. We found that the NLR value at baseline was not associated with response to NACT, while a decrease in NLR after three cycles was correlated with a better response to NACT. Also, values of CRP, IL-6, ferritin, and mGPS after three cycles of NACT (but not at baseline) were significantly associated with clinical response. Moreover, we found that patients with a low NLR value after 3 cycles of NACT, but not at baseline, had a significantly higher PFS than patients with high NLR after 3 cycles of NACT. In conclusion, NLR change during treatment could serve as a predictive marker of response to NACT in patients with HGS advanced ovarian cancer. This allows for the early identification of non-responsive patients who will need treatment remodeling

Raccontare il mondo, descrivere la natura. L’opera di Alexander von Humboldt tra letteratura e scienza

Descritto dai suoi contemporanei come uno degli uomini più celebri della sua epoca, Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) è stato uno dei personaggi più ammirati del XIX secolo. Fratello minore di Wilhelm, Alexander fu insieme e nello stesso tempo botanico, naturalista, esploratore e geografo. Nel 1799 si imbarcò insieme ad Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland (1773-1858) in un viaggio che li condusse prima a Tenerife, quindi in Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Perù e Messico. Frutto di questo e di altri avventurosi viaggi è una nutrita produzione letteraria e scientifica che in questo volume viene indagata unitamente alle numerose sfaccettature della figura di Humboldt e ai molteplici influssi della sua opera e del suo pensiero in ambito storico, geografico, letterario e linguistico

A first immunohistochemistry study of transketolase and transketolase-like 1 expression in canine hyperplastic and neoplastic mammary lesions

Background: Canine mammary tumors represent the most common neoplasm in female dogs, and the discovery of cancer biomarkers and their translation to clinical relevant assays is a key requirement in the war on cancer. Since the description of the 'Warburg effect', the reprogramming of metabolic pathways is considered a hallmark of pathological changes in cancer cells. In this study, we investigate the expression of two cancer-related metabolic enzymes, transketolase (TKT) and transketolase-like 1 (TKTL1), involved in the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), an alternative metabolic pathway for glucose breakdown that could promote cancer by providing the precursors and energy required for rapidly growing cells. Results: TKT and TKTL1 protein expression was investigated by immunohistochemistry in canine normal (N = 6) and hyperplastic glands (N = 3), as well as in benign (N = 11) and malignant mammary tumors (N = 17). TKT expression was higher in hyperplastic lesions and in both benign and malignant tumors compared to the normal mammary gland, while TKTL1 levels were remarkably higher in hyperplastic lesions, simple adenomas and simple carcinomas than in the normal mammary glands (P < 0.05). Conclusions: This study reveals that the expression of a key PPP enzyme varies along the evolution of canine mammary neoplastic lesions, and supports a role of metabolic changes in the development of canine mammary tumors

Diversity and functions of the sheep faecal microbiota : A multi-omic characterization

Little is currently known on the microbial populations colonizing the sheep large intestine, despite their expected key role in host metabolism, physiology and immunity. This study reports the first characterization of the sheep faecal microbiota composition and functions, obtained through the application of a multi-omic strategy. An optimized protocol was first devised for DNA extraction and amplification from sheep stool samples. Then, 16S rDNA sequencing, shotgun metagenomics and shotgun metaproteomics were applied to unravel taxonomy, genetic potential and actively expressed functions and pathways respectively. Under a taxonomic perspective, the sheep faecal microbiota appeared globally comparable to that of other ruminants, with Firmicutes being the main phylum. In functional terms, we detected 2097 gene and 441 protein families, finding that the sheep faecal microbiota was primarily involved in catabolism. We investigated carbohydrate transport and degradation activities and identified phylum-specific pathways, such as methanogenesis for Euryarchaeota and acetogenesis for Firmicutes. Furthermore, our approach enabled the identification of proteins expressed by the eukaryotic component of the microbiota. Taken together, these findings unveil structure and role of the distal gut microbiota in sheep, and open the way to further studies aimed at elucidating its connections with management and dietary variables in sheep farming

Proteomic analysis of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa : dealing with the issues of a non-conventional yeast

Red yeasts ascribed to the species Rhodotorula mucilaginosa are gaining increasing attention, due to their numerous biotechnological applications, spanning carotenoid production, liquid bioremediation, heavy metal biotransformation and antifungal and plant growth-promoting actions, but also for their role as opportunistic pathogens. Nevertheless, their characterization at the 'omic' level is still scarce. Here, we applied different proteomic workflows to R. mucilaginosa with the aim of assessing their potential in generating information on proteins and functions of biotechnological interest, with a particular focus on the carotenogenic pathway. After optimization of protein extraction, we tested several gel-based (including 2D-DIGE) and gel-free sample preparation techniques, followed by tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Contextually, we evaluated different bioinformatic strategies for protein identification and interpretation of the biological significance of the dataset. When 2D-DIGE analysis was applied, not all spots returned a unambiguous identification and no carotenogenic enzymes were identified, even upon the application of different database search strategies. Then, the application of shotgun proteomic workflows with varying levels of sensitivity provided a picture of the information depth that can be reached with different analytical resources, and resulted in a plethora of information on R. mucilaginosa metabolism. However, also in these cases no proteins related to the carotenogenic pathway were identified, thus indicating that further improvements in sequence databases and functional annotations are strictly needed for increasing the outcome of proteomic analysis of this and other non-conventional yeasts