Bryophytes: how to conquer an alien planet and live happily (ever after)

There are many push and pull factors that commonly drive individuals to leave their homeland. For example, escaping competition and occupying a novel habitat undoubtedly offer the advantage of new opportunities to pilgrims, but the absence of unfavorable biotic interactions can be counterbalanced by other antagonistic abiotic forces. After all, conquering an alien planet is not now nor ever was an easy task. We cannot know how many attempts and failures have punctuated the journey that led ancestral, photosynthetic organisms to leave the aquatic world and successfully establish on dry land. However, some traits developed by the ancestors of modern bryophytes that allowed them to adapt their life cycle to such a different habitat and persist there, have been undoubtedly identified

Assessment of the radiological impact of a decommissioning nuclear power plant in Italy

The assessment of the radiological impact of a decommissioning Nuclear Power Plant is presented here through the results of an environmental monitoring survey carried out in the area surrounding the Garigliano Power Plant. The levels of radioactivity in soil, water, air and other environmental matrices are shown, in which {\alpha}, {\beta} and {\gamma} activity and {\gamma} equivalent dose rate are measured. Radioactivity levels of the samples from the Garigliano area are analyzed and then compared to those from a control zone situated more than 100 km away. Moreover, a comparison is made with a previous survey held in 2001. The analyses and comparisons show no significant alteration in the radiological characteristics of the area surroundings the plant, with an overall radioactivity depending mainly from the global fallout and natural sources

Assessment of the radiological impact of a decommissioning nuclear power plant in Italy

The assessment of the radiological impact of a decommissioning Nuclear Power Plant is presented here through the results of an environmental monitoring survey carried out in the area surrounding the Garigliano Power Plant. The levels of radioactivity in soil, water, air and other environmental matrices are shown, in which {\alpha}, {\beta} and {\gamma} activity and {\gamma} equivalent dose rate are measured. Radioactivity levels of the samples from the Garigliano area are analyzed and then compared to those from a control zone situated more than 100 km away. Moreover, a comparison is made with a previous survey held in 2001. The analyses and comparisons show no significant alteration in the radiological characteristics of the area surroundings the plant, with an overall radioactivity depending mainly from the global fallout and natural sources.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, 2 table

Refugial peatlands in the Northern Apennines. Vegetation-environment relationships and future perspectives

Aims: We aimed to detect the environmental drivers conditioning plant diversity and to predict how modifications in habitat conditions and ongoing global warming could lead to vegetation changes or biodiversity losses in a region especially rich in peatlands despite its relatively low latitude. Study area: The study area was located in the Northern Apennines, Northern Italy (about 44 degrees 45' N; 10 degrees 20' E). The vegetation study was carried out at 12 peatland sites where 206 plots were set up. Species composition in the 206 plots were recorded in the field and classified with cluster analysis. Data on hydrology, water chemistry and peat chemistry were collected at a subset of 127 plots and statistically analysed by a multivariate ordination method. Species richness and evenness were calculated for all plots. Relationships between species composition and environmental variables were analysed by stepwise multiple regression. Results: The cluster analysis defined 17 vegetation units. Water table depth represented the major environmental factors accounting for vegetation patterns, with the vegetation units being grouped in four main blocks based on vegetation physiognomy and species composition: Sphagnum hummocks, Sphagnum lawns, fens and pools. Water chemistry and peat chemistry both presented moderate variations among the vegetation units with mean water pH ranging from 4.9 to 6.3. Concentrations of major cations in the pore water showed that all of the habitats investigated were influenced by telluric water, with no evidence of ombrotrophic conditions. Species richness and evenness both presented poor relations with the environment while responses of individual species to environmental factors were more informative on vegetation changes triggered by climate change. Conclusions: Prolonged drought events associated with high temperature in summer months are expected to exert a strong impact on peatland vegetation. The main effect of climate change on the vegetation of the peatlands investigated consists in the spreading of vascular plants at the expense of Sphagnum mosses

Histological analysis of thrombi retrieved after acute ischemic stroke from large vessel occlusion: from research to clinical practice

Emergent reperfusion therapies have improved acute ischemic stroke prognosis, but many patients are still bound to bad clinical outcome, probably because of our incomplete knowledge of its pathophysiology. Thanks to mechanical thrombectomy, occluding material is available for histological analysis. Several studies investigated the possible relationship between thrombus composition and clinical, procedural, and radiological variables of acute ischemic stroke. The potential value of thrombus analysis as a tool for clinical practice and research is still not defined, as data from the literature are heterogeneous and sometimes conflicting. We propose a review of the existing literature regarding histological analysis of thrombi in acute ischemic stroke. We classified articles on clot composition according to the clinical variable explored in each study. We first distinguished articles about etiology, procedural, and radiological variables, and then we performed a subclassification for each group. This review could help both in the interpretation of thrombus analysis in clinical practice and in its usage for future researc

Wind turbine wake properties: Comparison between a non-rotating simplified wind turbine model and a rotating model

Experimental results on the wake properties of a non-rotating simplified wind turbine model, based on the actuator disc concept, and a rotating model, a three-blade wind turbine, are presented. Tests were performed in two different test sections, one providing a nominally decaying isotropic turbulent inflow (turbulence intensity of 4% at rotor disc location) and one providing a neutral atmospheric boundary layer above a moderately rough terrain at a geometric scale of 1:300 (determined from the combination of several indicators), with 13% of turbulence intensity at hub height. The objective is to determine the limits of the simplified wind turbine model to reproduce a realistic wind turbine wake. Pressure and high-order velocity statistics are therefore compared in the wake of both rotor discs for two different inflow conditions in order to quantify the influence of the ambient turbulence. It has been shown that wakes of rotating model and porous disc developing in the modeled atmospheric boundary layer are indistinguishable after 3 rotor diameters downstream of the rotor discs, whereas few discrepancies are still visible at the same distance with the decaying isotropic turbulent inflow

Reply to Westaway and Lyman: emus, dingoes, and archaeology’s role in conservation biology

In a curious comment on our PNAS Perspective, Westaway and Lyman offer two Australian zooarchaeological case studies—one involving eggshells and the other dingoes—that they argue undercut one of our main points: that archaeological data and deep time perspectives have much to offer conservation biology. Neither example provides a specific substantive critique of our perspective: there are no dingoes in our article, no eggshells, and we mention the long and rich record of human management and alteration of Australian environments only briefly. Nor do we suggest that all archaeological assemblages can effectively inform current conservation biology efforts. Such datasets obviously vary in their quality and potential applicability to modern situations. When considered more closely, both of Westaway and Lyman’s case studies underscore rather than undercut the importance of archaeological and paleoecological data in conservation biology initiatives

Paratransgenesis to control malaria vectors: a semi-field pilot study

BACKGROUND: Malaria still remains a serious health burden in developing countries, causing more than 1 million deaths annually. Given the lack of an effective vaccine against its major etiological agent, Plasmodium falciparum, and the growing resistance of this parasite to the currently available drugs repertoire and of Anopheles mosquitoes to insecticides, the development of innovative control measures is an imperative to reduce malaria transmission. Paratransgenesis, the modification of symbiotic organisms to deliver anti-pathogen effector molecules, represents a novel strategy against Plasmodium development in mosquito vectors, showing the potential to reduce parasite development. However, the field application of laboratory-based evidence of paratransgenesis imposes the use of more realistic confined semi-field environments. METHODS: Large cages were used to evaluate the ability of bacteria of the genus Asaia expressing green fluorescent protein (Asaia (gfp)), to diffuse in Anopheles stephensi and Anopheles gambiae target mosquito populations. Asaia (gfp) was introduced in large cages through the release of paratransgenic males or by sugar feeding stations. Recombinant bacteria transmission was directly detected by fluorescent microscopy, and further assessed by molecular analysis. RESULTS: Here we show the first known trial in semi-field condition on paratransgenic anophelines. Modified bacteria were able to spread at high rate in different populations of An. stephensi and An. gambiae, dominant malaria vectors, exploring horizontal ways and successfully colonising mosquito midguts. Moreover, in An. gambiae, vertical and trans-stadial diffusion mechanisms were demonstrated. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate the considerable ability of modified Asaia to colonise different populations of malaria vectors, including pecies where its association is not primary, in large environments. The data support the potential to employ transgenic Asaia as a tool for malaria control, disclosing promising perspective for its field application with suitable effector molecules

First-Trimester Follistatin-Like-3 Levels in Pregnancies Complicated by Subsequent Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Objective: To determine whether maternal levels of follistatin-like-3 (FSTL3), an inhibitor of activin and myostatin involved in glucose homeostasis, are altered in the first trimester of pregnancies complicated by subsequent gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Research Design and Methods: This was a nested case-control study of subjects enrolled in a prospective cohort of pregnant women with and without GDM ($\geq$2 abnormal values on a 100-g glucose tolerance test at ~28 weeks of gestation). We measured FSTL3 levels in serum collected during the first trimester of pregnancy. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine the risk of GDM. Results: Women who developed GDM (n = 37) had lower first-trimester serum levels of FSTL3 compared with women who did not (n = 127) (median 10,789 [interquartile range 7,013-18,939] vs. 30,670 [18,370-55,484] pg/ml, P < 0.001). When subjects were divided into tertiles based on FSTL3 levels, women with the lowest levels demonstrated a marked increase in risk for developing GDM in univariate (odds ratio 11.2 [95% CI 3.6-35.3]) and multivariate (14.0 [4.1-47.9]) analyses. There was a significant negative correlation between first-trimester FSTL3 levels and ~28-week nonfasting glucose levels (r = -0.30, P < 0.001). Conclusions: First-trimester FSTL3 levels are associated with glucose intolerance and GDM later in pregnancy