Stress response to cadmium and manganese in Paracentrotus lividus developing embryos is mediated by nitric oxide

Increasing concentrations of contaminants, often resulting from anthropogenic activities, have been reported to occur in the marine environment and affect marine organisms. Among these, the metal ions cadmium and manganese have been shown to induce developmental delay and abnormalities, mainly reflecting skeleton elongation perturbation, in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, an established model for toxicological studies. Here, we provide evidence that the physiological messenger nitric oxide (NO), formed by l-arginine oxidation by NO synthase (NOS), mediates the stress response induced by cadmium and manganese in sea urchins. When NO levels were lowered by inhibiting NOS, the proportion of abnormal plutei increased. Quantitative expression of a panel of 19 genes involved in stress response, skeletogenesis, detoxification and multidrug efflux processes was followed at different developmental stages and under different conditions: metals alone, metals in the presence of NOS inhibitor, NO donor and NOS inhibitor alone. These data allowed the identification of different classes of genes whose metal-induced transcriptional expression was directly or indirectly mediated by NO. These results open new perspectives on the role of NO as a sensor of different stress agents in sea urchin developing embryos. © 2014 Elsevier B.V

Numerical Study of the Optical Response of ITO-In2O3 Core-Shell Nanocrystals for Multispectral Electromagnetic Shielding

Nowadays materials to protect equipment from unwanted multispectral electromagnetic waves are needed in a broad range of applications including electronics, medical, military and aerospace. However, the shielding materials currently in use are bulky and work effectively only in a limited frequency range. Therefore, nanostructured materials are under investigation by the relevant scientific community. In this framework, the design of multispectral shielding nanomaterials must be supplemented with proper numerical models that allow dealing with non-linearities and being effective in predicting their absorption spectra. In this study, the electromagnetic response of metal-oxide nanocrystals with multispectral electromagnetic shielding capability has been investigated. A numerical framework was developed to predict energy bands and electron density profiles of a core-shell nanocrystal and to evaluate its optical response at different wavelengths. To this aim, a finite element method software is used to solve a non-linear Poisson's equation. The numerical simulations allowed to model the optical response of ITO-In2O3 core-shell nanocrystals and can be effectively applied to different nanotopologies to support an enhanced design of nanomaterials with multispectral shielding capabilities

Track running shoes: a case report of the transition from classical spikes to "super spikes" in track running

Research on high-tech running shoes is increasing but few studies are available about the use of high-tech track spike shoes (super spikes), despite their growing popularity among running athletes. The aim of this case study was to investigate kinematics, kinetics, and plantar pressures of an Olympic running athlete using two different types of shoes, to provide an easy and replicable method to assess their influence on running biomechanics. The tested athlete performed six running trials, at the same speed, wearing a pair of normal spikes shoes (NSS) and a super spikes shoe (SSS), in random order. SSS increased contact time, vertical impact, and swing force (Effect Size 3.70, 7.86, and 1.31, respectively), while it reduced foot-strike type and vertical ground reaction force rate (Effect Size 3.62 and 7.21, respectively). Moreover, a significant change was observed in medial and lateral load, with SSS inducing a more symmetrical load distribution between the left and right feet compared to the NSS (SSS left medial load 57.1 +/- 2.1%, left lateral load 42.9 +/- 1.4%, right medial load 55.1 +/- 2.6%, right lateral load 44.9 +/- 2.6%; NSS left medial load 58.4 +/- 2.6%, left lateral load 41.6 +/- 2.1%, right medial load 49.2 +/- 3.7%, right lateral load 50.8 +/- 3.7%). The results of this case study suggest the importance of using individual evaluation methods to assess shoe adaptations in running athletes, which can induce biomechanical modifications and should be considered by coaches to ensure optimal running performance

Neutralino spin measurement with ATLAS detector at LHC

Minimal Supergravity (mSUGRA) [1] Supersimmetry breaking mechanism is a leading candidate for yielding new physics beyond the Standard Model (SM). Within mSUGRA framework masses, mixings and decays of all SUSY and Higgs particles are determined in terms of four input parameters and a sign: the common mass m 0 of scalar particles at the grand unification scale, the common fermion mass m 1/2, the common trilinear coupling A 0, the ratio of the Higgs vacuum expectation values tan β and the sign of the supersymmetric Higgs mass parameter μ. Once a signal of a physics beyond the Standard Model is seen at LHC, it will be fundamental to measure properties of new particles, like spin, in order to prove that they are indeed supersymmetric partners. The present work [2] is based on the spin analysis method proposed in [3] and allows the discrimination of different hypotheses for spin assignments. Some studies [4, 5] show that this method can also be used for the discrimination of SUSY from an Universal Extra Dimensions model which can mimick low energy SUSY at hadron colliders. In this report two selected points inside stau-coannihilation and bulk regions of the allowed mSUGRA parameter space are considered. Fast simulation [6] of the ATLAS detector was performed in order to investigate the feasibility of supersymmetric particles’ spin measurement

Study of second lightest neutralino spin measurement with ATLAS detector at LHC

One of the goals of the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider is to search for evidence of Supersymmetry (SUSY) signals. If SUSY would be discovered, it will be fundamental to measure the spin of the new particles in order to prove that they are indeed supersymmetric partners. Left-handed squark cascade decay to second lightest neutralino which further decays to slepton can represent a good opportunity for SUSY particles' spin measurement. Assuming the neutralino spin to be 1/2, the invariant mass distributions of some detectable final products of the reactions have to be charge asymmetric. In the present work the detectability of this charge asymmetry is analysed in the stau-coannihilation region and in the bulk region of the minimal Supergravity parameter space allowed by the latest experimental constraints. The criteria used to isolate the decay chain of interest and to reject the background, coming from both Standard Model and different SUSY decay channels, are described as obtained by suitable optimizations on Monte Carlo samples produced with the ATLAS fast simulation. The estimates of the residual contributions to background and of the applied cut efficiencies are presented. Results on charge asymmetry are then shown and discussed

Subtle reproductive impairment through nitric oxide-mediated mechanisms in sea urchins from an area affected by harmful algal blooms

The health of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, a key species in the Mediterranean Sea, is menaced by several pressures in coastal environments. Here, we aimed at assessing the reproductive ability of apparently healthy P. lividus population in a marine protected area affected by toxic blooms of Ostreospsis cf. ovata. Wide-ranging analyses were performed in animals collected prior to and during the bloom, as well as at several times thereafter, during the reproductive season. Adults showed a low fertilization rate, along with high nitric oxide (NO) levels in the gonads and the nitration of the major yolk protein toposome, which is an important player in sea urchin development. Serious developmental anomalies were observed in the progeny, which persist several months after the bloom. NO levels were high in the different developmental stages, which also showed variations in the transcription of several genes that were found to be directly or indirectly modulated by NO. These results highlight subtle but important reproductive flaws transmitted from the female gonads to the offspring with the NO involvement. Despite a recovery along time after the bloom, insidious damages can be envisaged in the local sea urchin population, with possible reverberation on the whole benthic system