A Pilot Study of Distant `Mind-Matter' Interaction with Digital Photography

This pilot study explored the possibility of (a) mentally producing, at a geographical distance, predefined images on digital sensors within modern professional-grade photographic equipment, and with (b) sufficient resolution to be objectively verified via a Structural Similarity Index by specialized software for pattern recognition. Three participants, expert in distant ‘mind-matter interaction’ techniques, completed a total of 49 trials. In 6 out of 49 trials (12.2%), the Structural Similarity Index of the ‘target’ image, chosen by the participant for the distant mental influence trial on the camera’s sensor, was greater than that obtained when the target was different. These preliminary results suggest the possibility of using modern cameras to study the putative effects of distant ‘mind-matter’ interactions

Complete Acid Ceramidase ablation prevents cancer-initiating cell formation in melanoma cells

Acid ceramidase (AC) is a lysosomal cysteine hydrolase that catalyzes the conversion of ceramide into fatty acid and sphingosine. This reaction lowers intracellular ceramide levels and concomitantly generates sphingosine used for sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) production. Since increases in ceramide and consequent decreases of S1P reduce proliferation of various cancers, AC might offer a new target for anti-tumor therapy. Here we used CrispR-Cas9-mediated gene editing to delete the gene encoding for AC, ASAH1, in human A375 melanoma cells. ASAH1-null clones show significantly greater accumulation of long-chain saturated ceramides that are substrate for AC. As seen with administration of exogenous ceramide, AC ablation blocks cell cycle progression and accelerates senescence. Importantly, ASAH1-null cells also lose the ability to form cancer-initiating cells and to undergo self-renewal, which is suggestive of a key role for AC in maintaining malignancy and self-renewal of invasive melanoma cells. The results suggest that AC inhibitors might find therapeutic use as adjuvant therapy for advanced melanoma

CRISPR/Cas9 Ablation of Integrated HIV-1 Accumulates Proviral DNA Circles with Reformed Long Terminal Repeats

Gene editing may be used to excise the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) provirus from the host cell genome, possibly eradicating the infection. Here, using cells acutely or latently infected by HIV-1 and treated with long terminal repeat (LTR)-targeting CRISPR/Cas9, we show that the excised HIV-1 provirus persists for a few weeks and may rearrange in circular molecules. Although circular proviral DNA is naturally formed during HIV-1 replication, we observed that gene editing might increase proviral DNA circles with restored LTRs. These extrachromosomal elements were recovered and probed for residual activity through their transfection in uninfected cells. We discovered that they can be transcriptionally active in the presence of Tat and Rev. Although confirming that gene editing is a powerful tool to eradicate HIV-1 infection, this work highlights that, to achieve this goal, the LTRs must be cleaved in several pieces to avoid residual activity and minimize the risk of reintegration in the context of genomic instability, possibly caused by the off-target activity of Cas9. IMPORTANCE The excision of HIV-1 provirus from the host cell genome has proven feasible in vitro and, to some extent, in vivo. Among the different approaches, CRISPR/Cas9 is the most promising tool for gene editing. The present study underlines the remarkable effectiveness of CRISPR/Cas9 in removing the HIV-1 provirus from infected cells and investigates the fate of the excised HIV-1 genome. This study demonstrates that the free provirus may persist in the cell after editing and in appropriate circumstances may reactivate. As an episome, it might be transcriptionally active, especially in the presence of Tat and Rev. The persistence of the HIV-1 episome was strongly decreased by gene editing with multiple targets. Although gene editing has the potential to eradicate HIV-1 infection, this work highlights a potential issue that warrants further investigation

Large Horizontal Near-field Scanner based on a Non-tethered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

A horizontal planar scanner with an approximate size of 40 m x 40 m has been implemented using the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology. The UAV is not wired to the ground to maintain the flexibility and short setup time of a non-tethered flight. In this configuration, the UAV-mounted continuous-wave source is not phase-locked to the on-the-ground receiver. A dual-polarized reference antenna placed on the ground is hence used to retrieve the relevant phase information. The presented approach has been applied on the Pre - Aperture Array Verification System (Pre -AAVS1) of the Square Kilometre Array, which is a digital beamformed array with 16 active elements. An inverse source technique has been applied on measured Near-Field (NF) data acquired on two different sets of points (one for each electric field component) from all the receiver channels. In this way, Embedded Element Patterns (EEPs), array calibration coefficients and pattern have been determined from NF data only. The achieved results have been validated using a complementary set of Far-Field (FF) measurements and simulations

The Silent Epidemic of Diabetic Ketoacidosis at Diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents in Italy During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020

To compare the frequency of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 with the frequency of DKA during 2017-2019

Corrigendum: The silent epidemic of diabetic ketoacidosis at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents in italy during the covid-19 pandemic in 2020(Front. Endocrinol., (2022), 13, (878634), 10.3389/fendo.2022.878634)

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