Backbone-free duplex-stacked monomer nucleic acids exhibiting Watson-Crick selectivity.

We demonstrate that nucleic acid (NA) mononucleotide triphosphates (dNTPs and rNTPs), at sufficiently high concentration and low temperature in aqueous solution, can exhibit a phase transition in which chromonic columnar liquid crystal ordering spontaneously appears. Remarkably, this polymer-free state exhibits, in a self-assembly of NA monomers, the key structural elements of biological nucleic acids, including: long-ranged duplex stacking of base pairs, complementarity-dependent partitioning of molecules, and Watson-Crick selectivity, such that, among all solutions of adenosine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine NTPs and their binary mixtures, duplex columnar ordering is most stable in the A-T and C-G combinations

Rapidly rotating second-generation progenitors for the blue hook stars of {\omega} Cen

Horizontal Branch stars belong to an advanced stage in the evolution of the oldest stellar galactic population, occurring either as field halo stars or grouped in globular clusters. The discovery of multiple populations in these clusters, that were previously believed to have single populations gave rise to the currently accepted theory that the hottest horizontal branch members (the blue hook stars, which had late helium-core flash ignition, followed by deep mixing) are the progeny of a helium-rich "second generation" of stars. It is not known why such a supposedly rare event (a late flash followed by mixing) is so common that the blue hook of {\omega} Cen contains \sim 30% of horizontal branch stars 10 , or why the blue hook luminosity range in this massive cluster cannot be reproduced by models. Here we report that the presence of helium core masses up to \sim 0.04 solar masses larger than the core mass resulting from evolution is required to solve the luminosity range problem. We model this by taking into account the dispersion in rotation rates achieved by the progenitors, whose premain sequence accretion disc suffered an early disruption in the dense environment of the cluster's central regions where second-generation stars form. Rotation may also account for frequent late-flash-mixing events in massive globular clusters.Comment: 44 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables in Nature, online june 22, 201

Salivary microRNA for diagnosis of cancer and systemic diseases: A systematic review

Background: The aberrant expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been associated with several diseases, including cancer, inflammatory, and autoimmune conditions. Interest in salivary miRNAs as non-invasive tools for the diagnosis of malignancies and systemic diseases is rapidly increasing. The present systematic review was developed for answering the question: \u201cAre salivary microRNAs reliable biomarkers for diagnosis of cancer and systemic diseases?\u201d Methods: The application of inclusion and exclusion criteria led to the selection of 11 papers. Critical appraisals and quality assessments of the selected studies were performed through the National Institute of Health \u201cStudy Quality Assessment Tool\u201d and the classification of the Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine. Results: Seven studies reported statistically significant correlations between one or more salivary miRNAs and the investigated disease. The critical analysis allowed us to classify only two studies (18.2%) as having \u201cgood\u201d quality, the rest being scored as \u201cintermediate\u201d (8; 73%) and \u201cpoor\u201d (1; 9%). Evidence exists that salivary miR-940 and miR-3679-5p are reliable markers for pancreatic cancer and that miR140-5p and miR301a are promising molecules for the salivary diagnosis of gastric cancer. Conclusions: Further studies, possibly avoiding the risk of bias highlighted here, are necessary to consolidate these findings and to identify new reliable salivary biomarkers

Quantitative determination of spin-dependent quasiparticle lifetimes and electronic correlations in hcp cobalt

We report on a quantitative investigation of the spin-dependent quasiparticle lifetimes and electron correlation effects in ferromagnetic hcp Co(0001) by means of spin and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The experimental spectra are compared in detail to state-of-the-art many-body calculations within the dynamical mean field theory and the three-body scattering approximation, including a full calculation of the one-step photoemission process. From this comparison we conclude that although strong local many-body Coulomb interactions are of major importance for the qualitative description of correlation effects in Co, more sophisticated many-body calculations are needed in order to improve the quantitative agreement between theory and experiment, in particular concerning the linewidths. The quality of the overall agreement obtained for Co indicates that the effect of non-local correlations becomes weaker with increasing atomic number

West Nile virus transmission. results from the integrated surveillance system in Italy, 2008 to 2015

IIn Italy a national Plan for the surveillance of imported and autochthonous human vector-borne diseases (chikungunya, dengue, Zika virus disease and West Nile virus (WNV) disease) that integrates human and veterinary (animals and vectors) surveillance, is issued and revised annually according with the observed epidemiological changes. Here we describe results of the WNV integrated veterinary and human surveillance systems in Italy from 2008 to 2015. A real time data exchange protocol is in place between the surveillance systems to rapidly identify occurrence of human and animal cases and to define and update the map of affected areas i.e. provinces during the vector activity period from June to October. WNV continues to cause severe illnesses in Italy during every transmission season, albeit cases are sporadic and the epidemiology varies by virus lineage and geographic area. The integration of surveillance activities and a multidisciplinary approach made it possible and have been fundamental in supporting implementation of and/or strengthening preventive measures aimed at reducing the risk of transmission of WNV trough blood, tissues and organ donation and to implementing further measures for vector control

From Bio-Prospecting to Field Assessment: The Case of Carvacrol Rich Essential Oil as a Potent Mosquito Larvicidal and Repellent Agent

Contemporary legislation tends to increase limitation on the use of all synthetic pesticides, promoting bio-pesticides as a safer alternative. Bio-prospecting efforts for bio-pesticides provide results, which rarely reach the industry. Present essay elaborates on our efforts to chart the path from the laboratory bench to field assessment. Eight Mediterranean wild gathered foods provided the essential oils that were assessed as mosquito control agents against the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). Three Lamiaceae essential oils, derived from Satureja thymbra, Origanum onites, and Thymbra spicata presented carvacrol as principal component. All exhibited DEET-like repellent performance and total larvae mortality defining the carvacrol rich essential oil (CREO) as a promising mosquito control agent. A commercial variety of Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum, was selected as CREO source and subjected to dose-response and eco-toxicity studies. We have found significant larvicidal (LC90 of 58,747 mg/L), and repellent (0.2 μL/cm2) properties, but also severe toxicity (LC90 of 12,806 mg/L) against Macrocyclops albidus. This last figure was the limit for the larvicidal field assessment; while for the repellent evaluation was used double the minimum indication (0.4 μL/cm2). CREO was tested per se as larvicidal agent, and emulsified for both repellent and larvicidal field activity. The emulsified CREO's spatial repellent assessment showed maximum efficacy of 86% in day 1 that gradually declined in the following 2 days (81%, 69%). Both emulsified and crude CREO proved to be efficient larvicidal agents, with crude CREO (3 weeks) overrunning slightly the emulsified (2 weeks) in terms of endurance. Conclusively, CREO in its emulsified form may be considered as a promising mosquito larvicidal and repellent agent, applicable in both precautionary and emergency response measures

The future of Cybersecurity in Italy: Strategic focus area

This volume has been created as a continuation of the previous one, with the aim of outlining a set of focus areas and actions that the Italian Nation research community considers essential. The book touches many aspects of cyber security, ranging from the definition of the infrastructure and controls needed to organize cyberdefence to the actions and technologies to be developed to be better protected, from the identification of the main technologies to be defended to the proposal of a set of horizontal actions for training, awareness raising, and risk management

INFN What Next: Ultra-relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions

This document was prepared by the community that is active in Italy, within INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare), in the field of ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The experimental study of the phase diagram of strongly-interacting matter and of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) deconfined state will proceed, in the next 10-15 years, along two directions: the high-energy regime at RHIC and at the LHC, and the low-energy regime at FAIR, NICA, SPS and RHIC. The Italian community is strongly involved in the present and future programme of the ALICE experiment, the upgrade of which will open, in the 2020s, a new phase of high-precision characterisation of the QGP properties at the LHC. As a complement of this main activity, there is a growing interest in a possible future experiment at the SPS, which would target the search for the onset of deconfinement using dimuon measurements. On a longer timescale, the community looks with interest at the ongoing studies and discussions on a possible fixed-target programme using the LHC ion beams and on the Future Circular Collider.Comment: 99 pages, 56 figure

Discovery of the 151^{151}Eu α\alpha decay

We report on the first compelling observation of $\alpha$ decay of $^{151}$Eu to the ground state of $^{147}$Pm. The measurement was performed using a 6.15 g Li$_6$Eu(BO$_3$)$_3$ crystal operated as a scintillating bolometer. The Q-value and half-life measured are: Q = 1948.9$\pm 6.9(stat.) \pm 5.1(syst.)$ keV, and T$_{1/2}=\left( 4.62\pm0.95(stat.)\pm0.68(syst.)\right) \times 10^{18}$ y . The half-life prediction of nuclear theory using the Coulomb and proximity potential model are in good agreement with this experimental result

Search for 14.4 keV solar axions from M1 transition of Fe-57 with CUORE crystals

We report the results of a search for axions from the 14.4 keV M1 transition from Fe-57 in the core of the sun using the axio-electric effect in TeO2 bolometers. The detectors are 5x5x5 cm3 crystals operated at about 10 mK in a facility used to test bolometers for the CUORE experiment at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy. An analysis of 43.65 kg d of data was made using a newly developed low energy trigger which was optimized to reduce the detectors energy threshold. An upper limit of 0.63 c kg-1 d-1 was established at 95% C.L.. From this value, a lower bound at 95% C.L. was placed on the Peccei-Quinn energy scale of fa >= 0.76 10**6 GeV for a value of S=0.55 for the flavor-singlet axial vector matrix element. Bounds are given for the interval 0.15 < S < 0.55.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, submitted to JCA