Club of Bologna International Best PhD Prize 2012

The Club of Bologna, in collaboration with UNACOMA, will be awarding a prize for the best PhD theses on subjects related to agricultural machinery design and development. Up to ten theses will be selected and the best five of these will have the chance of being presented during the annual Club of Bologna meeting that will be held from 9 to 10 November 2012, on occasion of the EIMA. The authors of the best three PhD theses will also receive a cash prize. The winners will be guests in Bologna of UNACOMA who will cover travelling expenses and hotel accommodation for 2 nights. They will also meet farm machinery manufacturers attending the international trade fair. The winners of the Club of Bologna Prize 2012 will be announced here. Application forms and further information can be downloaded from the Club of Bologna website (http://www.clubofbologna.org/)

Energy and environmental assessment of industrial hemp for building applications : a review

Buildings significantly contribute to global environmental pollution due to consumption of both natural and primary-energy resources as well as to emission of carbon dioxide in their life-cycles. Therefore, to enable construction of more sustainable buildings, it is important and urgent that new low-environmental impact materials are developed, mainly by reducing the use of non-renewable resources. In this regard, the recent advances in the development of natural fibres represent a significant opportunity to produce improved-materials and energy from renewable resources. For this purpose, assessments of energy and environmental performances are needed to support both the design and the production of the aforementioned materials so as to identify solutions for enhanced contribution to global sustainability. In this context, this study presented a review of the papers published so far that have focussed upon the assessment of the environmental and energy impacts related to the use of hemp-based materials for building applications. The reviewed studies aimed at testing and improving hygro-thermal properties and eco-friendliness of these materials so as to enable reduction of both embodied and operational energy, whilst preserving both indoor air quality and comfort. Doing so would enable limiting the use of energy resources and, as a consequence, their impacts to human health and to the environment, so contributing to making buildings healthier and more environmentally sustainable throughout their life-cycles. Based upon the findings of the studies reviewed these materials have strengths and weaknesses and their use is strictly dependent on the given structural situation and on specific requirements of thermal, moisture, fire and sound protection. In particular, all studies concluded that the main strength in the use of hemp-based materials comes from the production phase because of the “green” origin of these materials, mainly associated with the carbon sequestration during plantation growth

Odor-Induced Multi-Level Inhibitory Maps in Drosophila

Optical imaging of intracellular Ca2+ influx as a correlate of neuronal excitation represents a standard technique for visualizing spatiotemporal activity of neuronal networks. However, the information-processing properties of single neurons and neuronal circuits likewise involve inhibition of neuronal membrane potential. Here, we report spatially resolved optical imaging of odor-evoked inhibitory patterns in the olfactory circuitry of Drosophila using a genetically encoded fluorescent Cl- sensor. In combination with the excitatory component reflected by intracellular Ca2+ dynamics, we present a comprehensive functional map of both odor-evoked neuronal activation and inhibition at different levels of olfactory processing. We demonstrate that odor-evoked inhibition carried by Cl- influx is present both in sensory neurons and second-order projection neurons (PNs), and is characterized by stereotypic, odor-specific patterns. Cl--mediated inhibition features distinct dynamics in different neuronal populations. Our data support a dual role of inhibitory neurons in the olfactory system: global gain control across the neuronal circuitry and glomerulus-specific inhibition to enhance neuronal information processing

Odor-Induced Multi-Level Inhibitory Maps in Drosophila

Grabe V, Schubert M, Strube-Bloss M, et al. Odor-Induced Multi-Level Inhibitory Maps in Drosophila. eNeuro. 2019;7(1): ENEURO.0213-19.2019

Unc13A and Unc13B contribute to the decoding of distinct sensory information in Drosophila

The physical distance between presynaptic Ca2+ channels and the Ca2+ sensors triggering the release of neurotransmitter-containing vesicles regulates short-term plasticity (STP). While STP is highly diversified across synapse types, the computational and behavioral relevance of this diversity remains unclear. In the Drosophila brain, at nanoscale level, we can distinguish distinct coupling distances between Ca2+ channels and the (m)unc13 family priming factors, Unc13A and Unc13B. Importantly, coupling distance defines release components with distinct STP characteristics. Here, we show that while Unc13A and Unc13B both contribute to synaptic signalling, they play distinct roles in neural decoding of olfactory information at excitatory projection neuron (ePN) output synapses. Unc13A clusters closer to Ca2+ channels than Unc13B, specifically promoting fast phasic signal transfer. Reduction of Unc13A in ePNs attenuates responses to both aversive and appetitive stimuli, while reduction of Unc13B provokes a general shift towards appetitive values. Collectively, we provide direct genetic evidence that release components of distinct nanoscopic coupling distances differentially control STP to play distinct roles in neural decoding of sensory information

Aralar Sequesters GABA into Hyperactive Mitochondria, Causing Social Behavior Deficits

Social impairment is frequently associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and altered neurotransmission. Although mitochondrial function is crucial for brain homeostasis, it remains unknown whether mitochondrial disruption contributes to social behavioral deficits. Here, we show that Drosophila mutants in the homolog of the human CYFIP1, a gene linked to autism and schizophrenia, exhibit mitochondrial hyperactivity and altered group behavior. We identify the regulation of GABA availability by mitochondrial activity as a biologically relevant mechanism and demonstrate its contribution to social behavior. Specifically, increased mitochondrial activity causes gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) sequestration in the mitochondria, reducing GABAergic signaling and resulting in social deficits. Pharmacological and genetic manipulation of mitochondrial activity or GABA signaling corrects the observed abnormalities. We identify Aralar as the mitochondrial transporter that sequesters GABA upon increased mitochondrial activity. This study increases our understanding of how mitochondria modulate neuronal homeostasis and social behavior under physiopathological conditions

AIDS since 1984: No evidence for a new, viral epidemic – not even in Africa

Since the discoveries of a putative AIDS virus in 1984 and of millions of asymptomatic carriers in subsequent years, no general AIDS epidemic has occurred by 2011. In 2008, however, it has been proposed that between 2000 and 2005 the new AIDS virus, now called HIV, had killed 1.8 million South Africans at a steady rate of 300,000 per year and that anti-HIV drugs could have saved 330,000 of those. Here we investigate these claims in view of the paradoxes that HIV would cause a general epidemic in Africa but not in other continents, and a steady rather than a classical bell-shaped epidemic like all other new pathogenic viruses. Surprisingly, we found that South Africa attributed only about 10,000 deaths per year to HIV between 2000 and 2005 and that the South African population had increased by 3 million between 2000 and 2005 at a steady rate of 500,000 per year. This gain was part of a monotonic growth trajectory spanning from 29 million in 1980 to 49 million in 2008. During the same time Uganda increased from 12 to 31 million, and Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole doubled from 400 to 800 million, despite high prevalence HIV. We deduce from this demographic evidence that HIV is not a new killer virus. Based on a review of the known toxicities of antiretroviral drugs we like to draw the attention of scientists, who work in basic and clinical medical fields, including embryologists, to the need of rethinking the risk-and-benefit balance of antiretroviral drugs for pregnant women, newborn babies and all others who carry antibodies against HIV

Changing climate shifts timing of European floods

A warming climate is expected to have an impact on the magnitude and timing of river floods; however, no consistent large-scale climate change signal in observed flood magnitudes has been identified so far. We analyzed the timing of river floods in Europe over the past five decades, using a pan-European database from 4262 observational hydrometric stations, and found clear patterns of change in flood timing. Warmer temperatures have led to earlier spring snowmelt floods throughout northeastern Europe; delayed winter storms associated with polar warming have led to later winter floods around the North Sea and some sectors of the Mediterranean coast; and earlier soil moisture maxima have led to earlier winter floods in western Europe. Our results highlight the existence of a clear climate signal in flood observations at the continental scale