MODELLI DI INTERAZIONE OSPITE-PARASSITA DICROCOELIUM DENDRITICUM ASPETTI EPIDEMIOLOGICI, BIOLOGICI, PATOLOGICI E MOLECOLARI

LO SCOPO DEL PRESENTE STUDIO E' STATO QUELLO DI APPROFONDIRE I DIVERSI ASPETTI DEL TREMATODE DICROCOELIUM DENDRITICUM, PARASSITA A LOCALIZZAZIONE EPATICA DI DIVERSE SPECIE ANIMALI, UOMO COMPRESO. IN PARTICOLARE, D. DENDRITICUM E' STATO UTILIZZATO COME MODELLO DI INTERAZIONE OSPITE-PARASSITA E COME TALE NE SONO STATI CARATTERIZZATI GLI ASPETTI EPIDEMIOLOGICI, BIOLOGICI, PATOLOGICI E BIOLOGICI. I RISULTATI DI QUESTA TESI HANNO DATO UN IMPORTANTE CONTRIBUTO ALLE CONOSCENZE RELATIVE ALLA EPIDEMIOLOGIA DELLA DICROCOELIOSI IN CAMPANIA ED HANNO CONSENTITO DI CARATTERIZZARE LE REGIONI ITS2 e 28S del rDNA DI DICROCOELIUM DENDRITICUM. INOLTRE HANNO FORNITO DAT PRELIMINARI SUI MECCANISMI MOLECOLARI MEDIATI DALL'INTERAZIONE OSPITE-PARASSITA

Quality control in Volunteered Geographic Information: analysis, representation and proposals for its assessment

Questo lavoro analizza i contributi geografici volontari come particolare sorgente di informazione in applicazioni di carattere scientifico o professionale, approfondendone la principale criticità: la qualità. Dopo aver fornito un quadro introduttivo, si illustrano le componenti di qualità nelle informazioni geografiche volontarie, si descrivono con schemi ed esempi i principali approcci al controllo della qualità, e si introduce una metodologia per stimare l’efficacia delle strategie di controllo qualitativo sui contributi.This work takes into account geographical voluntary contributions as a particular source of information for scientific or professional applications, deepening the main critical issues: quality. After providing an introductory framework we illustrate the components of quality in volunteered geographic information. We then describe the main approaches to quality management with diagrams and examples, and introduce a methodology for estimating the effectiveness of strategies for quality control

Alpine Glaciology: An Historical Collaboration between Volunteers and Scientists and the Challenge Presented by an Integrated Approach

European Alpine glaciology has a long tradition of studies and activities, in which researchers have often relied on the field work of some specialized volunteer operators. Despite the remarkable results of this cooperation, some problems in field data harmonization and in covering the whole range of monitored glaciers are still present. Moreover, dynamics of reduction, fragmentation and decline, which in recent decades characterize Alpine glaciers, make more urgent the need to improve spatial and temporal monitoring, still maintaining adequate quality standards. Scientific field monitoring activities on Alpine glaciers run parallel to a number of initiatives by individuals and amateur associations, keepers of alternative, experiential and para-scientific knowledge of the glacial environment. Problems of harmonization, coordination, recruitment and updating can be addressed with the help of a collaborative approach—citizen science-like—in which the scientific coordination guarantees information quality and web 2.0 tools operate as mediators between expert glaciologists and non-expert contributors. This paper gives an overview of glaciological information currently produced in the European Alpine region, representing it in an organized structure, functional to the discussion. An empowering solution is then proposed, both methodological and technological, for the integration of multisource data. Its characteristics, potentials and problems are discussed

Construcciones discursivas sobre los jóvenes: estereotipos y desatención de derechos

La ley nacional 26.657 de Salud Mental propone que “las adicciones deben ser abordadas como parte integrante de las políticas en salud mental” por eso nuestra propuesta de trabajar los derechos que se desprenden de las leyes de salud mental con los grupos terapéuticos del Programa del Sol. Además nuestra propuesta en el proyecto de extensión se plantea desnaturalizar prácticas de los servicios de salud y estereotipos sociales que ubican a las personas como sujetos de “no derecho” (dentro del ámbito de la salud mental), pero en la práctica tuvimos que comenzar antes con otras cuestiones. Esto debido a que las personas con las que trabajamos en los talleres antes de ser personas con consumo problemático de drogas son jóvenes (hombres, mujeres) insertos dentro de un entramado socio-cultural que los moldea, los condiciona, los estructura de modo imperceptible y por eso poderoso. La identidad, el lugar que ellos ocupan en el mundo se evidencia como un espacio de incertidumbres donde “otros” (familiares, amigos, vecinos, los medios, la sociedad) aparecen con un peso enorme para llenarlo de certezas. ¿Cómo dicen los otros que soy? ¿Cómo quieren que sea? ¿Cómo creo yo que debo ser? ¿Cómo creo que soy? Por eso antes de trabajar con estereotipos y derechos en salud mental debimos problematizar las definiciones y los lugares que esos otros asignan a los jóvenes con los que trabajamos. Se realizaron actividades tendientes a reflexionar sobre el rol social concedido a las mujeres, sobre las concepciones que circulan sobre las mujeres que presentan consumo problemático de drogas. También se problematizó la construcción social de la seguridad/inseguridad y se identificaron las características que la sociedad asocia a la persona peligrosa y sobre la construcción que los medios realizan respecto a todo lo anterior. También se trabajó sobre los derechos de los jóvenes desde la “Convención Iberoamericana de Derechos de los Jóvenes”. El énfasis en este proyecto se encuentra en trabajar sobre los procesos de construcción discursiva que operan en diferentes niveles y que asignan a las mujeres, al marginal, al joven, a la persona con problemas de drogas un lugar, un ser y/o un deber ser único y desvinculado de toda situación económica, social y política. Trabajamos sobre que lo peligroso, lo violento, lo feo… no es propiedad de ninguna persona en particular si no que son productos sociales y culturales y de esa manera deben comprenderse.

Ascariasis in a 75-year-old man with small bowel volvulus: a case report

Background: Ascaris lumbricoides and Ascaris suum are the most common soil-transmitted helminths of humans and pigs, respectively. The zoonotic potential of A. suum has been a matter of debate for decades. This study was aimed to present a case of human ascariasis caused by A. suum in southern Italy. Case presentation: A 75-year-old man presented to the department of surgery in Avellino (southern Italy) complaining of abdominal pain and vomiting. Physical examination revealed bloating and abdominal tenderness. A computed tomography scan showed air-fluid levels and small bowel distension. During exploratory laparotomy a small bowel volvulus with mesenteritis was evident and surprisingly an intraluminal worm was detected. The worm was removed with a small enterotomy and identified as an adult female of A. suum based on morphological and molecular analysis. Faecal examination revealed the presence of unfertilized Ascaris eggs with an intensity of 16 eggs per gram (EPG) of faeces. The patient was treated with mebendanzole 100 mg twice a day for 3 days. The post-operative course was regular with re-alimentation after 3 days and discharge after 12 days. Conclusions: This report shows as A. suum can function as a relevant agent of human zoonosis. Therefore, in patients with bowel obstruction with no evident aetiology a helminthic infestation should be considered for an accurate diagnosis, especially in patients living in rural areas.Fil: Romano, Giovanni. Frieri-Criscuoli Hospital; ItaliaFil: Pepe, Paola. Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II; ItaliaFil: Cavallero, Serena. Università di Roma; ItaliaFil: Cociancic, Paola. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Di Libero, Lorenzo. Frieri-Criscuoli Hospital; ItaliaFil: Grande, Giovanni. Frieri-Criscuoli Hospital; ItaliaFil: Cringoli, Giuseppe. Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II; ItaliaFil: D'Amelio, Stefano. Università di Roma; ItaliaFil: Rinaldi, Laura. Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II; Itali

Mitochondrial cytochrome b DNA sequence variations: an approach to fish species identification in processed fish products.

The identification of fish species in food products is problematic because morphological features of the fish are partially or completely lost during processing. It is important to determine fish origin because of the increasing international seafood trade and because European Community Regulation 104/2000 requires that the products be labeled correctly. Sequence analysis of PCR products from a conserved region of the cytochrome b gene was used to identity fish species belonging to the families Gadidae and Merluccidae in 18 different processed fish products. This method allowed the identification of fish species in all samples. Fish in all of the examined products belonged to these two families, with the exception of one sample of smoked baccalà (salt cod), which was not included in the Gadidae cluster

Direct 3D imaging through spatial coherence of light

Wide-field imaging is widely adopted due to its fast acquisition, cost-effectiveness and ease of use. Its extension to direct volumetric applications, however, is burdened by the trade-off between resolution and depth of field (DOF), dictated by the numerical aperture of the system. We demonstrate that such trade-off is not intrinsic to wide-field imaging, but stems from the spatial incoherence of light: images obtained through spatially coherent illumination are shown to have resolution and DOF independent of the numerical aperture. This fundamental discovery enabled us to demonstrate an optimal combination of coherent resolution-DOF enhancement and incoherent tomographic sectioning for scanning-free, wide-field 3D microscopy on a multicolor histological section.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures. Supplemental document available upon request to the authors. Submitted to Lasers and Photonics Review

Comparative assessment of autochthonous bacterial and fungal communities and microbial biomarkers of polluted agricultural soils of the Terra dei Fuochi

Organic and inorganic xenobiotic compounds can affect the potential ecological function of the soil, altering its biodiversity. Therefore, the response of microbial communities to environmental pollution is a critical issue in soil ecology. Here, a high-throughput sequencing approach was used to investigate the indigenous bacterial and fungal community structure as well as the impact of pollutants on their diversity and richness in contaminated and noncontaminated soils of a National Interest Priority Site of Campania Region (Italy) called “Terra dei Fuochi”. The microbial populations shifted in the polluted soils via their mechanism of adaptation to contamination, establishing a new balance among prokaryotic and eukaryotic populations. Statistical analyses showed that the indigenous microbial communities were most strongly affected by contamination rather than by site of origin. Overabundant taxa and Actinobacteria were identified as sensitive biomarkers for assessing soil pollution and could provide general information on the health of the environment. This study has important implications for microbial ecology in contaminated environments, increasing our knowledge of the capacity of natural ecosystems to develop microbiota adapted to polluted soil in sites with high agricultural potential and providing a possible approach for modeling pollution indicators for bioremediation purposes