Investigating and exploiting the interaction of Multimerin-2 and its receptors CLEC14A and CD93

Multimerin-2 is an endothelial specific extracellular matrix protein, which has been found to play a role in angiogenesis and tumour progression. MMRN2 is a ligand for the C-type lectin domain family proteins CLEC14A, CD93 and CD248. CLEC14A and CD93 bind to MMRN2 in the same mapped region MMRN2495-674. CLEC14A is expressed in the vessel of a number of tumour types as tumour endothelial marker (TEM) and like CD93 is involved in angiogenesis. Single or double siRNA-mediated knockdown of CLEC14A, CD93 and MMRN2 confirmed an important role of CD93 in sprouting angiogenesis that is CLEC14A and MMRN2 independent. Furthermore, due to the high affinity of the binding of MMRN2495-674 to the TEM CLEC14A, it has been exploited to target tumour endothelium. The fragment has been employed in the generation of a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) and other applications. T cells transduced with this receptor were activated on stimulation with both purified antigens and antigens expressed on the cell surface. The activation of T cells was measured as levels of IFNγ released in ELISA assays. Overall, this work sheds light on the interactions of MMRN2 and two of its receptors in in vitro models of angiogenesis

Analiza kapljica vode: klasični i kvantni hidrodinamički okviri

The design of a sprinkler irrigation system is always associated with a full understanding of the kinematics of the droplets during their aerial path. Resolving this problem involves both theoretical and experimental considerations. Among the theoretical studies the classical mechanical approach, based on the Newton’s law, offers a useful tool to describe the trajectories of water droplets from the sprinkler nozzle to the ground. The problem becomes even more complicated when not just a single droplet alone is assessed but a multi-droplet system is accounted for. In addition to the inter-parameter dependencies, it is also observed an inter-droplet reciprocal repulsion, mainly due to electrical interactions between the hydrogen and the oxygen atoms of the different water molecules. An alternative to traditional classical procedures, to analyse water droplet dynamics in sprinkler irrigation, has been recently proposed in the form of a quantum approach. In this context, the whole classic-quantum and single-droplet versus multi-droplet alternatives need to be discussed and pinpointed and these are the main aims of the present paper which focuses on the theoretical part of the issue, thus highlighting the new perspectives of a deeper comprehension in the spray flow related phenomena. On the whole, the new approach leads to the concept of quantum trajectory in analogy to the well-established concept of classical trajectory and allows to recast the classical fluid dynamic equations into the so-called quantum equations.Konstrukcija sistema za navodnjavanje sa rasprskivačima uvek je praćena potpunim razumevanjem kinematike kretanja kapljica kroz vazduh. Rešavanje ovog problema uključuje, kako teorijska, tako i eksperimentalna razmatranja. Među teorijskim studijama, klasični mehanički pristup, zasnovan na Njutnovim zakonima, daje korisno sredstvo za opis putanja kretanja kapljica vode od rasprskivača do tla. Problem postaje još komplikovaniji kad se ne posmatra samo jedna sama kapljica, već system više kapljica. Pored inter-parametarskih zavisnosti, proučavano je i među-kapljično uzajamno odbijanje, najviše usled električnih interakcija između atoma vodonika i kiseonika iz različitih molekula vode. Alternativa tradicionalnim klasičnim postupcima za analizu dinamike vodenih kapljica pri rasprskavanju, nedavno je ponuđena u obliku kvantnog pristupa. U ovom kontekstu treba proučiti ceo sistem klasičnog i kvantnog pristupa kao i alternative jedno-kapljične i više-kapljične strukture, pa su ovo osnovni ciljevi predstavljenog rada, koji se fokusira na teorijski deo problema, čime naglašava nove perspektive i celovitije obuhvata fenomen toka rasprsnutog spreja. Uopšte, novi pristup vodi do koncepta kvantne putanje u analogiji sa dobro ustanovljenim konceptom klasične trajektorije i dozvoljava da se prerade klasične jednačine dinamike fluida u tzv. kvantne jednačine

Identification of the rainfall-runoff relationship in urban drainage networks

The calibration of conceptual models for the design of urban drainage networks is an important and well-known problem in hydraulic engineering. In this paper the problem is analysed and the use of black-box identification methods is proposed and applied to experimental data. Both linear (ARX and state space) and nonlinear (polynomial and neural NARX) models are considered and their performance in the simulation and prediction of the network flow from rainfall measurements is evaluated

Maternal and infant NR3C1 and SLC6A4 epigenetic signatures of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: When timing matters

This database includes the raw data linked with the paper “Maternal and infant NR3C1 and SLC6A4 epigenetic signatures of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: When timing matters” published on Translational Psychiatry, doi: 10.1038/s41398-022-02160-0. This publication is part of the longitudinal and multi-centric “Measuring the outcomes of maternal COVID-19-related prenatal exposure (MOM-COPE)” research project. In this paper, we report data on NR3C1 and SLC6A4 methylation status in Italian mothers and infants who were exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown during different trimesters of pregnancy. Procedures: 283 mother-infant dyads were enrolled at delivery. Within 24 hours from delivery, buccal cells were collected to assess NR3C1 (44 CpG sites) and SLC6A4 (13 CpG sites) methylation status. Mothers self-reported on depressive symptoms and anxiety by replying to an online adapted version of the well-validated Beck Depression Inventory and State-Trait Anxiety questionnaires, respectively. Analytical plan: Principal component (PC) analyses were used to reduce methylation data dimension to one PC per maternal and infant gene methylation. Mother-infant dyads were split into three groups based on the pregnancy trimester during which they were exposed to the COVID-19 lockdown. To assess the presence of significant differences in maternal and infant methylation of SLC6A4 and NR3C1 genes by pregnancy trimester of exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, four separate one-way ANOVAs were carried out with Trimester (levels: third, second, first) as the between-subject variable and each of the methylation PCs. Findings in brief: Mothers and infants who were exposed to the lockdown during the first trimester of pregnancy had lower NR3C1 and SLC6A4 methylation when compared to counterparts exposed during the second or third trimesters. The effect remained significant after controlling for confounders

The Photonic TeraStream: Enabling Next Generation Applications Through Intelligent Optical Networking at iGRID2002

Traditionally, the design and implementation of network based applications, especially large-scale, high performance applications, have had to be compromised across multiple dimensions interfaces, services, performance, flexibility, protocols, architecture, technology, etc. These restrictions exist, in part, because the most widely deployed communications infrastructure was designed to optimize traditional communications, not high performance data communications. At iGRID2002, the International Center for Advanced Internet Research (iCAIR) and its research partners demonstrated "Photonic-Empowered Applications," based on next generation intelligent optical networking technology and dynamic data services provisioning. These demonstrations indicated the potential for creating next generation global applications when traditional barriers to network optimization at multiple levels are removed. These application demonstrations were based on high performance communications infrastructure utilizing novel techniques for managing globally distributed resources and extremely large volume data streams. The innovative advanced optical networking technologies being developed by these research organizations will allow for many new types of high performance global applications across multiple disciplines and industries

Sex-dimorphic pathways in the associations between maternal trait anxiety, infant BDNF methylation and negative emotionality

Maternal antenatal anxiety is an emerging risk factor for child emotional development. Both sex and epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, may contribute to the embedding of maternal distress into emotional outcomes. Here, we investigated sex-dependent patterns in the association between antenatal maternal trait anxiety, methylation of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene (BDNFm) and infant negative emotionality (NE). Mother-infant dyads (N=276) were recruited at delivery. Maternal trait anxiety, as a marker of antenatal chronic stress exposure, was assessed soon after delivery using the Stait-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y). Infants’ BDNFm at birth was assessed in 11 CpG sites in buccal cells whereas infants’ NE was assessed at 3 (N=225) and 6 months (N=189) using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R). Hierarchical linear analyses showed that higher maternal antenatal anxiety was associated with greater 6-month-olds’ NE. Furthermore, maternal antenatal anxiety predicted greater infants’ BNDFm in 5 CpG sites in males but not in females. Higher methylation at these sites was associated with greater 3-to-6-month NE increase, independently of infants’ sex. Maternal antenatal anxiety emerged as a risk factor for infant’s NE. BNDFm might mediate this effect in males. These results may inform the development of strategies to promote mothers and infants’ emotional well-being