A CRITICAL NOTE BY ABELE DE BLASIO (1902) ON THE ARCHAEO-ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONJECTURES OF LUIGI PALMIERI (1872)

This paper offers a description and explanation of a criticism written by Abel De Blasio in 1902 on the archaeological and anthropological conjectures that Luigi Palmieri had made in the past. In a note presented in 1872 at the Academy of Sciences of Naples, regarding some ancient tombs discovered by chance near the Observatory on Mount Vesuvius, Palmieri presented interpreta- tive observations that were unacceptable for specialists in anthropological studies and funerary archaeology

Possible future monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based therapy against arbovirus infections

More than 150 arboviruses belonging to different families are known to infect humans, causing endemic infections as well as epidemic outbreaks. Effective vaccines to limit the occurrence of some of these infections have been licensed, while for the others several new immunogens are under development mostly for their improvements concerning safety and effectiveness profiles. On the other hand, specific and effective antiviral drugs are not yet available, posing an urgent medical need in particular for emergency cases. Neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of several infectious diseases as well as in preliminary in vitro and in vivo models of arbovirus-related infections. Given their specific antiviral activity as well-tolerated molecules with limited side effects, mAbs could represent a new therapeutic approach for the development of an effective treatment, as well as useful tools in the study of the host-virus interplay and in the development of more effective immunogens. However, before their use as candidate therapeutics, possible hurdles (e.g., Ab-dependent enhancement of infection, occurrence of viral escape variants) must be carefully evaluated. In this review are described the main arboviruses infecting humans and candidate mAbs to be possibly used in a future passive immunotherapy

Deriving relativistic momentum and energy

We present a new derivation of the expressions for momentum and energy of a relativistic particle. In contrast to the procedures commonly adopted in textbooks, the one suggested here requires only the knowledge of the composition law for velocities along one spatial dimension, and does not make use of the concept of relativistic mass, or of the formalism of four-vectors. The basic ideas are very general and can be applied also to kinematics different from the Newtonian and Einstein ones, in order to construct the corresponding dynamics.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure

Effect of Functional Fitness on Plasma Oxidation Level in Elders: Reduction of the Plasma Oxidants and Improvement of the Antioxidant Barrier

Aging is characterized by a progressive decline in the physiological function due to the gradual alteration of molecules, cells and tissues. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are the by-product of aerobic metabolism, and their increase is physiologically counteracted by the activation of the antioxidant machinery. A typical hallmark of aging is the imbalance of such equilibrium, due to either an increase of the amount of radicals or a failure of the antioxidant system. Literature reports that physical exercise is able to restore and maintain the homeostasis of oxidants and antioxidants during aging. Recently, growing interest has been turned to functional fitness, a special physical activity aimed to enhance the ability to perform everyday tasks, such as dressing, climbing stairs and preparing meals. The aim of this work was to assess whether a 24 weeksfunctional fitness program carried out on 28 elderly participants (57-86 years old) could be able to improve their oxidative status. For this purpose, dROMs (diacron Reactive Oxygen Metabolites) and BAP (Biological Antioxidant Potential) were analysed at the beginning and at the end of the study. Furthermore, both plasma and saliva protein carbonylation levels were explored through proteomics analysi

DNA barcoding to trace Medicinal and Aromatic Plants from the field to the food supplement

The global market of food supplements is growing, along with consumers demand for high-quality herbal products. Nevertheless, substitution fraud, and adulteration cases remain a common safety problem of global concern. In the last years, the DNA barcoding approach has been proposed as a valid identification method and it is now commonly used in the authentication of herbal and food products. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether DNA barcoding can be applied to trace the plant species from the starting raw material to the finished commercial products. We selected a panel of 28 phytoextracts obtained through three different extraction methods (i.e., maceration, percolation and sonication) with different solvents (i.e., ethanol, deionized water and glycerol). Furthermore, we chose six plant species for which we collected and analysed all the intermediates of the industrial production. We sequenced and analyzed the sequence variability at DNA barcoding (psbA-trnH, ITS) and minibarcoding (rbcL 1-B) marker regions. Phytoextracts obtained through hydroalcoholic treatment, with the lower percentage of ethanol (<40%), and aqueous processing, at the lowest temperature, had major rate of sequencing and identification success. This study proves that DNA barcoding is a useful tool for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) traceability, which would provide consumers with safe and high-quality herbal products

The “polonium in vivo” study. Polonium-210 in bronchial lavages of patients with suspected lung cancer

Few studies have reported on polonium-210, a decay breakdown product of radon-222 and lead-210, in human lungs and there has been no study in patients with suspected lung cancer. The main aim of this "Polonium in vivo" study was to evaluate polonium-210 radioactivity in bronchopulmonary systems of smoker, ex-smoker and never smoker patients with suspected lung cancer. Alpha-spectrometric analyses were performed on bronchial lavage (BL) fluids from two Italian hospitals in 2013-2016. Socio-demographic, smoking, occupational and spirometric characteristics, lung cancer confirmation and histologic type and radon-222 concentration in patients' homes were collected. Seventy BL samples from never (n = 13), former (n = 35) and current smokers (n = 22) were analyzed; polonium-210 was detected in all samples from current and former smokers and in 54% of samples from never smokers (p &lt; 0.001; median values: 1.20, 1.43 and 0.40 mBq, respectively). Polonium-210 levels were significantly higher in COPD versus no COPD patients (median value: 3.60 vs. 0.97 mBq; p = 0.007); former and current smokers, without and with COPD, had significantly increased polonium-210 levels (p = 0.012); 96% of confirmed versus 69% of non-confirmed lung cancer patients recorded detectable polonium-210 levels (p = 0.018). A polonium-210 detectable activity was measured in BL samples from all current and former smokers. Polonium-210 in the lungs could be the result of lead-210 entrapment, which, with its half-life of 22 years, could provide a continuous emission of alpha radioactivity, even many years after quitting, thus proposing a possible explanation for the onset of lung cancer, particularly in former smokers

Reconstruction of primary vertices at the ATLAS experiment in Run 1 proton–proton collisions at the LHC

This paper presents the method and performance of primary vertex reconstruction in proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment during Run 1 of the LHC. The studies presented focus on data taken during 2012 at a centre-of-mass energy of √s=8 TeV. The performance has been measured as a function of the number of interactions per bunch crossing over a wide range, from one to seventy. The measurement of the position and size of the luminous region and its use as a constraint to improve the primary vertex resolution are discussed. A longitudinal vertex position resolution of about 30μm is achieved for events with high multiplicity of reconstructed tracks. The transverse position resolution is better than 20μm and is dominated by the precision on the size of the luminous region. An analytical model is proposed to describe the primary vertex reconstruction efficiency as a function of the number of interactions per bunch crossing and of the longitudinal size of the luminous region. Agreement between the data and the predictions of this model is better than 3% up to seventy interactions per bunch crossing

Heart Failure With Mid-range or Recovered Ejection Fraction: Differential Determinants of Transition

The recent definition of an intermediate clinical phenotype of heart failure (HF) based on an ejection fraction (EF) of between 40% and 49%, namely HF with mid-range EF (HFmrEF), has fuelled investigations into the clinical profile and prognosis of this patient group. HFmrEF shares common clinical features with other HF phenotypes, such as a high prevalence of ischaemic aetiology, as in HF with reduced EF (HFrEF), or hypertension and diabetes, as in HF with preserved EF (HFpEF), and benefits from the cornerstone drugs indicated for HFrEF. Among the HF phenotypes, HFmrEF is characterised by the highest rate of transition to either recovery or worsening of the severe systolic dysfunction profile that is the target of disease-modifying therapies, with opposite prognostic implications. This article focuses on the epidemiology, clinical characteristics and therapeutic approaches for HFmrEF, and discusses the major determinants of transition to HFpEF or HFrEF

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements