Marine climate change and environmental indicators from the Marine Core Service

In the framework of the Mediterranean Operational Oceanography Network (MOON, http://www.moon-oceanforecasting.eu) The Mediterranean Forecasting System (Pinardi et al., 2003) has started the design and development of services that include the routine production of environmental and climate indicators. A process of identifying user requirements has been started in collaboration with European Environment Agency and the indicators definition and implementation aim to take user requirements into account. The indicators are extensively used by EEA (EEA web page on indicators: http://themes.eea.europa.eu/indicators/). INGV has carried out an analysis on the possible improvements of existing indicators in use by EEA and on the development of new indicators based on Marine Core Services (MCS) products. The list of indicators includes: Temperature, Chlorophyll-a (from ocean colour), Ocean Currents and Transport, Salinity, Transparency, Sea Level, Sea Ice and Density. A critical analysis has been carried out to identify the relevance of the above-mentioned indicators for EU policies, their spatial and temporal coverage, their accuracy and their availability (Coppini et al., 2008). INGV in collaboration with CNR-ISAC are directly involved on the development of the indicators in the Mediterranean region and European Seas region the Temperature and Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) products are the most suitable for an indicator development test phase. In particular the OO Chl-a product, deduced from satellite data, is able to contribute to the further development of the EEA Chl-a indicator on eutrohpication that is based on in-situ measurements (CSI023). For this indicator a development phase has been undertaken in 2008 and 2009 within the European Topic Center for Water (ETC-W) for EEA. The temperature indicators, developed with the support of MyOcean and Operational Oceanography community, consist of long time series (1870-Today) of SST anomaly able to describe ocean temperature increase due to climate change in the European Seas and on SST trends map of the last 25 years for the European Seas. These last two indicators have been included in the last 2008 EEA report on Impacts of Climate change in the European Seas (http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/eea_report_2008_4). Moreover MFS re-analysis have been produced for the Mediterranean Sea and it consists of daily output of MFS-OPA hydrodinamic model (1/16 of degree horizontal resolution) that assimilates all available in situ and satellite observation for 1985 to 2007. This reanalysis product is used to detect temperature anomalies over the last 20 years in the coastal zone that could be related with environmental stresses. In addition to that we have also identified a Density indicator that appears relevant for the ecosystem health assessment in the coastal waters.PublishedBerlin, Germany3.7. Dinamica del clima e dell'oceanoope

Elevated Hypercoagulability Markers In Hemoglobin Sc Disease

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Hemoglobin SC disease is a very prevalent hemoglobinopathy; however, very little is known about this condition specifically. There appears to be an increased risk of thromboembolic events in hemoglobin SC disease, but studies evaluating the hemostatic alterations are lacking. We describe the findings of a cross-sectional observational study evaluating coagulation activation markers in adult patients with hemoglobin SC, comparing them with those in sickle cell anemia patients and healthy controls. A total of 56 hemoglobin SC and 39 sickle cell anemia patients were included in the study, all in steady state, and 27 healthy controls. None of the patients was taking hydroxyurea. Hemoglobin SC patients had a significantly up-regulated relative expression of tissue factor, as well as elevations in thrombin-antithrombin complex and D-dimer, in comparison to controls (P<0.01). Hemoglobin SC patients had lower tissue factor expression, and thrombin-antithrombin complex and D-dimer levels when compared to sickle cell anemia patients (P<0.05). Markers of endothelial activation (soluble thrombomodulin and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1) and inflammation (tumor necrosis factor-alpha) were both significantly elevated in hemoglobin SC patients when compared to controls, being as high as the levels seen in patients with sickle cell anemia. Overall, in hemoglobin SC patients, higher hemolytic activity and inflammation were associated with a more intense activation of coagulation, and hemostatic activation was associated with two very prevalent chronic complications seen in hemoglobin SC disease: retinopathy and osteonecrosis. In summary, our results demonstrate that hemoglobin SC patients have a hypercoagulable state, although this manifestation was not as intense as that seen in sickle cell anemia.1004469474Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Crizanlizumab for the Prevention of Pain Crises in Sickle Cell Disease

The up-regulation of P-selectin in endothelial cells and platelets contributes to the cell–cell interactions that are involved in the pathogenesis of vaso-occlusion and sickle cell–related pain crises. The safety and efficacy of crizanlizumab, an antibody against the adhesion molecule P-selectin, were evaluated in patients with sickle cell disease

17.6% stabilized efficiency in low-temperature processed planar perovskite solar cells

We present here a planar perovskite solar cell with a stabilized power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.6% at the maximum power point and a PCE of 17% extracted from quasi-static J–V with an open-circuit voltage of 1.11 V. Such excellent figures of merit can be achieved by engineering a solution-processed electron buffer layer that does not require high temperature steps. A compact thin film of perovskite absorber is grown onto a PCBM-based electron extraction layer by implementing a novel two-step procedure which preserves the soluble organic interlayer during the deposition of successive layers. We demonstrate that efficient charge extraction is the key for high steady state efficiency in perovskite solar cells with a highly integrable architecture

Marine climate change and environmental indicators from the Marine Core Service

In the framework of the Mediterranean Operational Oceanography Network (MOON, http://www.moon-oceanforecasting.eu) The Mediterranean Forecasting System (Pinardi et al., 2003) has started the design and development of services that include the routine production of environmental and climate indicators. A process of identifying user requirements has been started in collaboration with European Environment Agency and the indicators definition and implementation aim to take user requirements into account. The indicators are extensively used by EEA (EEA web page on indicators: http://themes.eea.europa.eu/indicators/). INGV has carried out an analysis on the possible improvements of existing indicators in use by EEA and on the development of new indicators based on Marine Core Services (MCS) products. The list of indicators includes: Temperature, Chlorophyll-a (from ocean colour), Ocean Currents and Transport, Salinity, Transparency, Sea Level, Sea Ice and Density. A critical analysis has been carried out to identify the relevance of the above-mentioned indicators for EU policies, their spatial and temporal coverage, their accuracy and their availability (Coppini et al., 2008). INGV in collaboration with CNR-ISAC are directly involved on the development of the indicators in the Mediterranean region and European Seas region the Temperature and Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) products are the most suitable for an indicator development test phase. In particular the OO Chl-a product, deduced from satellite data, is able to contribute to the further development of the EEA Chl-a indicator on eutrohpication that is based on in-situ measurements (CSI023). For this indicator a development phase has been undertaken in 2008 and 2009 within the European Topic Center for Water (ETC-W) for EEA. The temperature indicators, developed with the support of MyOcean and Operational Oceanography community, consist of long time series (1870-Today) of SST anomaly able to describe ocean temperature increase due to climate change in the European Seas and on SST trends map of the last 25 years for the European Seas. These last two indicators have been included in the last 2008 EEA report on Impacts of Climate change in the European Seas (http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/eea_report_2008_4). Moreover MFS re-analysis have been produced for the Mediterranean Sea and it consists of daily output of MFS-OPA hydrodinamic model (1/16 of degree horizontal resolution) that assimilates all available in situ and satellite observation for 1985 to 2007. This reanalysis product is used to detect temperature anomalies over the last 20 years in the coastal zone that could be related with environmental stresses. In addition to that we have also identified a Density indicator that appears relevant for the ecosystem health assessment in the coastal waters

Bayesian estimation of genomic copy number with single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping arrays

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The identification of copy number aberration in the human genome is an important area in cancer research. We develop a model for determining genomic copy numbers using high-density single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping microarrays. The method is based on a Bayesian spatial normal mixture model with an unknown number of components corresponding to true copy numbers. A reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm is used to implement the model and perform posterior inference.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The performance of the algorithm is examined on both simulated and real cancer data, and it is compared with the popular CNAG algorithm for copy number detection.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We demonstrate that our Bayesian mixture model performs at least as well as the hidden Markov model based CNAG algorithm and in certain cases does better. One of the added advantages of our method is the flexibility of modeling normal cell contamination in tumor samples.</p

Implementation of the One Health approach to fight arbovirus infections in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Region: Assessing integrated surveillance in Serbia, Tunisia and Georgia

Background In the Mediterranean and Black Sea Region, arbovirus infections are emerging infectious diseases. Their surveillance can benefit from one health inter-sectoral collaboration; however, no standardized methodology exists to study One Health surveillance. Methods We designed a situation analysis study to document how integration of laboratory/clinical human, animal and entomological surveillance of arboviruses was being implemented in the Region. We applied a framework designed to assess three levels of integration: policy/institutional, data collection/data analysis and dissemination. We tested the use of Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN) to graphically present evidence of inter-sectoral integration. Results Serbia, Tunisia and Georgia participated in the study. West Nile Virus surveillance was analysed in Serbia and Tunisia, Crimea-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever surveillance in Georgia. Our framework enabled a standardized analysis of One Health surveillance integration, and BPMN was easily understandable and conducive to detailed discussions among different actors/institutions. In all countries, we observed integration across sectors and levels except in data collection and data analysis. Data collection was interoperable only in Georgia without integrated analysis. In all countries, surveillance was mainly oriented towards outbreak response, triggered by an index human case. Discussion The three surveillance systems we observed prove that integrated surveillance can be operationalized with a diverse spectrum of options. However, in all countries, the integrated use of data for early warning and inter-sectoral priority setting is pioneeristic. We also noted that early warning before human case occurrence is recurrently not operationally prioritized

Clinical Features, Cardiovascular Risk Profile, and Therapeutic Trajectories of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Candidate for Oral Semaglutide Therapy in the Italian Specialist Care

Introduction: This study aimed to address therapeutic inertia in the management of type 2 diabetes (T2D) by investigating the potential of early treatment with oral semaglutide. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between October 2021 and April 2022 among specialists treating individuals with T2D. A scientific committee designed a data collection form covering demographics, cardiovascular risk, glucose control metrics, ongoing therapies, and physician judgments on treatment appropriateness. Participants completed anonymous patient questionnaires reflecting routine clinical encounters. The preferred therapeutic regimen for each patient was also identified. Results: The analysis was conducted on 4449 patients initiating oral semaglutide. The population had a relatively short disease duration (42%  60% of patients, and more often than sitagliptin or empagliflozin. Conclusion: The study supports the potential of early implementation of oral semaglutide as a strategy to overcome therapeutic inertia and enhance T2D management

White matter injury and neuroinflammation in the developing brain: implication of adenosine pathway in clinical and pre-clinical studies

Adenosine blood levels and complications of prematurity in a selected population of very low birth weight infants. We have recently reported high blood adenosine levels in extremely premature infants, positively correlating to their prematurity in function of the body weight classes. Acting via purinergic receptors, adenosine can affect different vulnerable organs including the developing brain