The Milky Way as a High Redshift Galaxy: The Importance of Thick Disk Formation in Galaxies

We compare the star-formation history and dynamics of the Milky Way (MW) with the properties of distant disk galaxies. During the first ~4 Gyr of its evolution, the MW formed stars with a high star-formation intensity (SFI), Sigma_SFR~0.6 Msun/yr/kpc2 and as a result, generated outflows and high turbulence in its interstellar medium. This intense phase of star formation corresponds to the formation of the thick disk. The formation of the thick disk is a crucial phase which enables the MW to have formed approximately half of its total stellar mass by z~1 which is similar to "MW progenitor galaxies" selected by abundance matching. This agreement suggests that the formation of the thick disk may be a generic evolutionary phase in disk galaxies. Using a simple energy injection-kinetic energy relationship between the 1-D velocity dispersion and SFI, we can reproduce the average perpendicular dispersion in stellar velocities of the MW with age. This relationship, its inferred evolution, and required efficiency are consistent with observations of galaxies from z~0-3. The high turbulence generated by intense star formation naturally resulted in a thick disk, a chemically well-mixed ISM, and is the mechanism that links the evolution of MW to the observed characteristics of distant disk galaxies.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; accepted to ApJ Letter

Evidence from multivariate morphometric study of the quercus pubescens complex in southeast Italy

The name Quercus pubescens s.l. encompasses a complex of deciduous oak taxa with mainly southeastEuropean distribution and a large ecological niche. As the easternmost region of Italy, Apulia is rather isolated from a geographical and physiographical viewpoint and counts the highest number of oak species (10). In the taxonomic and phytosociological literature, the occurrence of several species belonging to the Quercus pubescens collective group is reported for this region. In order to verify if different sets of morphological characters are associated with different taxa, 24 populations of Quercus pubescens s.l. located in different ecological-geographical areas of Apulia were sampled. A total of 367 trees, 4254 leaves and 1120 fruits were collected and morphologically analysed. Overall, 25 morphological characters of oak leaves and fruits were statistically treated using both univariate and multivariate analysis. Nested ANOVA showed that leaves collected from a single tree exhibited a degree of morphological variability higher than that observed when comparing leaves coming from different trees of the same population and from different trees of different populations as well. Almost all the morphological characters analysed exhibited a continuous trend of variation so that none of them can be used as a character to discriminate between populations. Only leaf and fruit “size” and fruit petiole length emerged as slightly discriminating characters. Our results suggest that it is unlikely that more than one species belonging to the Quercus pubescens complex occurs in the Apulia region. Comparison between the Apulian populations and a genetically pure Q. pubescens population coming from a different area (the Molise region) strengthened the assumption as to the existence of a single species that can provisionally be classified under the name of Q. pubescens s.

The role of aqp3 in amnion cells exposed to an osmotic stress

INTRODUCTION: AQPs in fetal membranes have been proposed to regulate the amniotic fluid volume. Altered expression of these proteins might be associated with oligo and polyhydramnios syndromes. However, we recently observed that the blocking of AQP3 did not prevent cell swelling in amnion cells. In addition, under osmotic stress the pattern expression of amnion AQP3 was different from other AQPs, suggesting a different role for this protein. OBJETIVE: To study the regulation of AQP3 and its role in the amnion.METHODS: Amnion-derived WISH cells were cultured in hypo (150 mOsm) and hyperosmolar (400 mOsm) conditions. Levels of phosphorylated ERK (pERK), JUNK (pJNK) and p38 (p-p38) were studied. Nf-ĸB and tonEBP expressions were assessed in nuclear and cytosolic fractions. AQP3 expression was analyzed after the inhibition of Nf-ĸB and tonEBP pathways with Sodium Salicylate and Cyclosporine-A, respectively. Cell viability was studied by MTT assay. Apoptosis was studied by TUNEL assay and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio after the inhibition of AQP3 using CuSO4 or the specific siRNA. RESULTS: pERK levels increased in hyperosmolarity and did not change in hypoosmolarity (p<0.001; n=6). No significant differences were observed in p-p38 and pJNK (ns; n=6). Nf-ĸB and tonEBP expressions increased in nuclear fraction only in hyperosmolarity (p<0.05; n=5; p<0.01; n=5). In this condition, the blocking of Nf-ĸB pathway increased AQP3 expression (p<0.001; n=5) compared to controls, while the inhibition of tonEBP pathway did not modify its expression. Regarding cell viability in hiperosmolarity, the blocking of AQP3 decreased MTT incorporation (p<0.01; n=8). Moreover, Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and the number of apoptotic nuclei increased after CuSO4 treatment (p<0.001; n=5; p<0.001; n=9) and AQP3 silencing (p<0.05; n=5; p<0.01; n=10).CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that AQP3 may have an important role in the survival of the amniotic cells and its expression may be regulated by ERK, Nf-ĸB and tonEBP pathways.Fil: Di Paola, Mauricio Adriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay; ArgentinaFil: Sierra, M. N.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas. Cátedra de Biología Celular y Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez, N.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; ArgentinaFil: Erlejman, A.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Castro Parodi, M.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Damiano, Alicia Ermelinda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas. Cátedra de Biología Celular y Molecular; ArgentinaLXV Reunión anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica; LXVIII Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología y Reunión Anual de la Asociación Argentina de FisiologíaBuenos AiresArgentinaSociedad Argentina de Investigación ClínicaSociedad Argentina de InmunologíaAsociación Argentina de Fisiologí

A ten-year (2009–2018) database of cancer mortality rates in Italy

In Italy, approximately 400.000 new cases of malignant tumors are recorded every year. The average of annual deaths caused by tumors, according to the Italian Cancer Registers, is about 3.5 deaths and about 2.5 per 1,000 men and women respectively, for a total of about 3 deaths every 1,000 people. Long-term (at least a decade) and spatially detailed data (up to the municipality scale) are neither easily accessible nor fully available for public consultation by the citizens, scientists, research groups, and associations. Therefore, here we present a ten-year (2009–2018) database on cancer mortality rates (in the form of Standardized Mortality Ratios, SMR) for 23 cancer macro-types in Italy on municipal, provincial, and regional scales. We aim to make easily accessible a comprehensive, ready-to-use, and openly accessible source of data on the most updated status of cancer mortality in Italy for local and national stakeholders, researchers, and policymakers and to provide researchers with ready-to-use data to perform specific studies

The spatial association between environmental pollution and long-term cancer mortality in Italy

Tumours are nowadays the second world-leading cause of death after cardiovascular diseases. During the last decades of cancer research, lifestyle and random/genetic factors have been blamed for cancer mortality, with obesity, seden-tary habits, alcoholism, and smoking contributing as supposed major causes. However, there is an emerging consensus that environmental pollution should be considered one of the main triggers. Unfortunately, all this preliminary scien-tific evidence has not always been followed by governments and institutions, which still fail to pursue research on can-cer's environmental connections. In this unprecedented national-scale detailed study, we analyzed the links between cancer mortality, socio-economic factors, and sources of environmental pollution in Italy, both at wider regional and finer provincial scales, with an artificial intelligence approach. Overall, we found that cancer mortality does not have a random or spatial distribution and exceeds the national average mainly when environmental pollution is also higher, despite healthier lifestyle habits. Our machine learning analysis of 35 environmental sources of pollution showed that air quality ranks first for importance concerning the average cancer mortality rate, followed by sites to be reclaimed, urban areas, and motor vehicle density. Moreover, other environmental sources of pollution proved to be relevant for the mortality of some specific cancer types. Given these alarming results, we call for a rearrangement of the priority of cancer research and care that sees the reduction and prevention of environmental contamination as a priority action to put in place in the tough struggle against cancer

Recent outburst of the young star V1180 Cas

We report on the ongoing outburst of the young variable V1180 Cas, which is known to display characteristics in common with EXor eruptive variables. We present results that support the scenario of an accretion-driven nature of the brightness variations of the object and provide the first evidence of jet structures around the source. We monitored the recent flux variations of the target in the Rc, J, H, and K bands. New optical and near-IR spectra taken during the current high state of V1180 Cas are presented, in conjunction with H2 narrow-band imaging of the source. Observed near-IR colour variations are analogous to those observed in EXors and consistent with excess emission originating from an accretion event. The spectra show numerous emission lines, which indicates accretion, ejection of matter, and an active disc. Using optical and near-IR emission features we derive a mass accretion rate of ~3 E-8 Msun/yr, which is an order of magnitude lower than previous estimates. In addition, a mass loss rate of ~4 E-9 and ~4 E-10 Msun/yr are estimated from atomic forbidden lines and H2, respectively. Our H2 imaging reveals two bright knots of emission around the source and the nearby optically invisible star V1180 Cas B, clearly indicative of mass-loss phenomena. Higher resolution observations of the detected jet will help to clarify whether V1180 Cas is the driving source and to determine the relation between the observed knots.Comment: Accepted as Letter in A&A; 4 pages, 3 figure