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

The support model for people with legally modified abilities according to United Nations

Este artículo se basa en una investigación social sobre el sistema de protección jurídica de las personas con algún tipo de discapacidad o en situación de dependencia que se encuentran sometidas a las figuras de tutela o curatela, en aplicación de lo previsto y establecido en el Código Civil Español, en sus artículos 199 y 200, así como en la Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil. La investigación se plantea como un estudio comparado entre diferentes países de la Unión Europea para ver su adecuación a lo establecido en el artículo 12 de la Convención de Naciones Unidas sobre derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad (en adelante, CDPD) en los procedimientos de incapacitación. Los resultados se analizan sobre la base de modelos técnico-sociales de intervención, los análisis jurídicos y la experiencia adquirida por las Fundación Tutelares de Castilla y León. Se proponen y diseñan algunas alternativas y servicios que pueden mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas adultas incapacitadas judicialmente y el tipo de apoyos que se les puede prestar, de acuerdo a lo establecido en la Convención de Naciones Unidas.This article is based on social research into the system of legal protection for persons with disabilities or in a situation of dependence who are subject to the figures of guardianship or conservatorship pursuant to the provisions in the Spanish Civil Code, sections 199 and 200, as well as the Code of Civil Procedure. The research is presented as a comparative study between different countries of the European Union regarding the adaptation to the provisions of Article 12 of the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereinafter CRPD) Incapacitation procedures. The results are analyzed on the basis of technical-social intervention models, legal analysis and the experience of Guardianship Foundations of Castilla y León. Some alternatives and services are proposed and designed that can improve the quality of life of legally incapacitated persons and the type of support that can be provided to them in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention

“Fantasmas” na mecânica quântica

CNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCan you pick a complex subject in quantum mechanics and discuss it with a minimum number of equations, in a simplified form that the general scientific public could understand? This was a question presented to graduate students of the one-year Quantum Mechanics course based on the text book Modern Quantum Mechanics by J. J. Sakurai and Jim Napolitano, at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. The first seven authors of this paper are graduate students (alphabetical order) that accepted to try it. The chosen subject was "delocalized quantum states", and it will be discussed using colloquial terms like quantum ghosts, spooky action, splitting beings and invisibility cloak. © Sociedade Brasileira de Física. Printed in Brazil.Can you pick a complex subject in quantum mechanics and discuss it with a minimum number of equations, in a simplified form that the general scientific public could understand? This was a question presented to graduate students of the one-year Quantum Mechanics course based on the text book Modern Quantum Mechanics by J. J. Sakurai and Jim Napolitano, at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. The first seven authors of this paper are graduate students (alphabetical order) that accepted to try it. The chosen subject was "delocalized quantum states", and it will be discussed using colloquial terms like quantum ghosts, spooky action, splitting beings and invisibility cloak.383111CNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOSem informaçãoSem informaçãoSem informaçãoPode-se escolher um topico complexo em mecanica quantica e discuti-lo com um numero mınimo de equações, e de forma simplificada para que um publico com apenas conhecimento basico em fısica possa entender? Essa foi a pergunta apresentada aos alunos de pos-graduação das disciplinas de um ano de Mecanica Quantica I e II da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), baseadas no livro “Quantum Mechanics” de J. J. Sakurai e Jim Napolitano. Os primeiros sete autores desse artigosão os alunos de pos-graduação (em ordem alfabetica) que aceitaram o desafio. O topico escolhido foi estados quanticos delocalizados, e sera discutido utilizando termos coloquiais como fantasmas quanticos, ações fantasmagoricas, entidades divididas e capa de invisibilidade.G.M.A., D.T.M, M.M. and M.A.P.L acknowledge support from the Brazilian agency “Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico” (CNPq). D.Q.A., L.F.M.C, and S.I.C.G acknowledge support from the Brazilian agency “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior” (CAPES), and L.F.C.F acknowledges support from the Brazilian state of São Paulo agency “Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo” (FAPESP). The authors thank Amanda A. R. Lima for drawing the inspiring figure 2. The authors are grateful to Profs. Michael Brunger, Prof. Amir Caldeira and Prof. José A. Roversi for their critical reading of the manuscript and constructive comments and suggestions. The authors also thank for critical reading of this manuscript, the following group of people of the aimed public target: Paulo S. P. Lima (Mechanical Engineer), Martín E. Navarro Maldonado (Chemical Engineer), and Luis Quesada (Professor of Computer Science and Informatics)

On the recurrence and robust properties of Lorenz'63 model

Lie-Poisson structure of the Lorenz'63 system gives a physical insight on its dynamical and statistical behavior considering the evolution of the associated Casimir functions. We study the invariant density and other recurrence features of a Markov expanding Lorenz-like map of the interval arising in the analysis of the predictability of the extreme values reached by particular physical observables evolving in time under the Lorenz'63 dynamics with the classical set of parameters. Moreover, we prove the statistical stability of such an invariant measure. This will allow us to further characterize the SRB measure of the system.Comment: 44 pages, 7 figures, revised version accepted for pubblicatio

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

Multiple Sclerosis in the Mount Etna Region: Possible Role of Volcanogenic Trace Elements

Background: Trace elements have been hypothesised to be involved in the pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis and volcanic degassing is the major natural sources of trace elements. Both incidence of Multiple Sclerosis in Catania and volcanic activity of Mount Etna have been significantly increased during the last 30 years. Due to prevailing trade winds direction, volcanic gases from Etna summit craters are mostly blown towards the eastern and southern sectors of the volcano. Objective: To evaluate the possible association between Multiple Sclerosis and exposure to volcanogenic trace elements. Methods: We evaluated prevalence and incidence of Multiple Sclerosis in four communities (47,234 inhabitants) located in the eastern flank and in two communities (52,210 inhabitants) located in the western flank of Mount Etna, respectively the most and least exposed area to crater gas emissions. Results: A higher prevalence was found in the population of the eastern flank compared to the population of the western one (137.6/100,000 versus 94.3/100,000; p-value 0.04). We found a borderline significantly higher incidence risk during the incidence study period (1980–2009) in the population of the eastern flank 4.6/100,000 (95% CI 3.1–5.9), compared with the western population 3.2/100,000 (95% CI 2.4–4.2) with a RR of 1.41 (95% CI 0.97–2.05; p-value 0.06). Incidence risks have increased over the time in both populations reaching a peak of 6.4/100,000 in the eastern flank and of 4.4/100.000 in the western flank during 2000–2009. Conclusion: We found a higher prevalence and incidence of Multiple Sclerosis among populations living in the eastern flank of Mount Etna. According to our data a possible role of TE cannot be ruled out as possible co-factor in the MS pathogenesis. However larger epidemiological study are needed to confirm this hypothesis.Publishede742596A. Monitoraggio ambientale, sicurezza e territorioJCR Journalope

The CoQ oxidoreductase FSP1 acts parallel to GPX4 to inhibit ferroptosis.

Ferroptosis is a form of regulated cell death that is caused by the iron-dependent peroxidation of lipids1,2. The glutathione-dependent lipid hydroperoxidase glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) prevents ferroptosis by converting lipid hydroperoxides into non-toxic lipid alcohols3,4. Ferroptosis has previously been implicated in the cell death that underlies several degenerative conditions2, and induction of ferroptosis by the inhibition of GPX4 has emerged as a therapeutic strategy to trigger cancer cell death5. However, sensitivity to GPX4 inhibitors varies greatly across cancer cell lines6, which suggests that additional factors govern resistance to ferroptosis. Here, using a synthetic lethal CRISPR-Cas9 screen, we identify ferroptosis suppressor protein 1 (FSP1) (previously known as apoptosis-inducing factor mitochondrial 2 (AIFM2)) as a potent ferroptosis-resistance factor. Our data indicate that myristoylation recruits FSP1 to the plasma membrane where it functions as an oxidoreductase that reduces coenzyme Q10 (CoQ) (also known as ubiquinone-10), which acts as a lipophilic radical-trapping antioxidant that halts the propagation of lipid peroxides. We further find that FSP1 expression positively correlates with ferroptosis resistance across hundreds of cancer cell lines, and that FSP1 mediates resistance to ferroptosis in lung cancer cells in culture and in mouse tumour xenografts. Thus, our data identify FSP1 as a key component of a non-mitochondrial CoQ antioxidant system that acts in parallel to the canonical glutathione-based GPX4 pathway. These findings define a ferroptosis suppression pathway and indicate that pharmacological inhibition of FSP1 may provide an effective strategy to sensitize cancer cells to ferroptosis-inducing chemotherapeutic agents