GloPID-R report on chikungunya, o\u27nyong-nyong and Mayaro virus, part 5: Entomological aspects

The GloPID-R (Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness) chikungunya (CHIKV), o\u27nyong-nyong (ONNV) and Mayaro virus (MAYV) Working Group has been established to investigate natural history, epidemiology and clinical aspects of infection by these viruses. Here, we present a report dedicated to entomological aspects of CHIKV, ONNV and MAYV. Recent global expansion of chikungunya virus has been possible because CHIKV established a transmission cycle in urban settings using anthropophilic vectors such as Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti. MAYV and ONNV have a more limited geographic distribution, being confined to Africa (ONNV) and central-southern America (MAYV). ONNV is probably maintained through an enzootic cycle that has not been characterized yet, with Anopheles species as main vectors and humans as amplification hosts during epidemics. MAYV is transmitted by Haemagogus species in an enzootic cycle using non-human primates as the main amplification and maintenance hosts, and humans becoming sporadically infected when venturing in or nearby forest habitats. Here, we focused on the transmission cycle and natural vectors that sustain circulation of these viruses in their respective locations. The knowledge of the natural ecology of transmission and the capacity of different vectors to transmit these viruses is crucial to understand CHIKV emergence, and to assess the risk that MAYV and ONNV will expand on wide scale using anthropophilic mosquito species not normally considered primary vectors. Finally, the experts identified knowledge gaps and provided adapted recommendations, in order to address future entomological investigations in the right direction

Feeding dehydrated alfalfa increases polyunsaturated fatty acids concentration in Marchigiana beef muscle

Beef meat is a low fat food (<5% fat). However, the fatty acid composition of beef is relatively saturated (approximately 45-50%). The polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acids (P/S) ratio in beef is approximately 0.1, the ideal being about 0.4 (Department of Health, 1994). This can cause critical comments to beef meat related to human health

Promile: A management architecture for programmable modular routers

September 200

Antimicrobial effects of chemically functionalized and/or photo-heated nanoparticles

Antibiotic resistance refers to when microorganisms survive and grow in the presence of specific antibiotics, a phenomenon mainly related to the indiscriminate widespread use and abuse of antibiotics. In this framework, thanks to the design and fabrication of original functional nanomaterials, nanotechnology offers a powerful weapon against several diseases such as cancer and pathogenic illness. Smart nanomaterials, such as metallic nanoparticles and semiconductor nanocrystals, enable the realization of novel drug-free medical therapies for fighting against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In the light of the latest developments, we highlight the outstanding capabilities of several nanotechnology-inspired approaches to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Chemically functionalized silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles have been employed for their intrinsic toxicity, which enables them to exhibit an antimicrobial activity while, in a different approach, photo-thermal properties of metallic nanoparticles have been theoretically studied and experimentally tested against several temperature sensitive (mesophilic) bacteria. We also show that it is possible to combine a highly localized targeting with a plasmonic-based heating therapy by properly functionalizing nanoparticle surfaces with covalently linked antibodies. As a perspective, the utilization of properly engineered and chemically functionalized nanomaterials opens a new roads for realizing antibiotic free treatments against pathogens and related diseases

Indagine sul comportamento di Co- Creazione degli studenti: il ruolo della Web Communication e delle tecnologie digitali come driver per l’Università 4.0. Una review sistematica della letteratura

Le tecnologie digitali ampliano l’orizzonte dell’innovazione didattica richiedendo l’integrazione di modelli organizzativi e tecnologici. L’università 4.0 necessità di supporto e stimolo da parte del sistema istituzionale per intraprendere il processo di cambiamento sul fronte della didattica. Il nostro lavoro intende indagare, attraverso una analisi sistematica della letteratura, le azioni da proporre al sistema universitario, al fine di attivare uno sviluppo efficiente e condiviso di esperienze, infrastrutture e percorsi didattici. L’obiettivo è esaminare la relazione esistente tra le diverse variabili che attivano il processo di co-creazione e allinearle con gli istituti di istruzione universitaria. Il paper evidenzia inoltre ciò che costituisce la soddisfazione degli studenti a livello di esperienza universitaria ed esamina l’influenza della soddisfazione complessiva sul comportamento di co-creazione, al fine di migliorare la qualità dell’offerta universitaria e la reputazione dell’università stessa. I risultati ottenuti possono riassumersi in sinergie profonde tra soddisfazione dello studente, comunicazione partecipativa e comportamenti di co-creazione, spinti da fattori tecnologici e digitali avanzati

Local energy transfer rate and kinetic processes: the fate of turbulent energy in two-dimensional Hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell numerical simulations

The nature of the cross-scale connections between the inertial range turbulent energy cascade and the small-scale kinetic processes in collisionless plasmas is explored through the analysis of two-dimensional Hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell numerical simulation (HVM), with α particles, and through a proxy of the turbulent energy transfer rate, namely the Local Energy Transfer rate (LET). Correlations between pairs of variables, including those related to kinetic processes and to deviation from Maxwellian distributions, are first evidenced. Then, the general properties and the statistical scaling laws of the LET are described, confirming its reliability for the description of the turbulent cascade and revealing its textured topology. Finally, the connection between such proxy and the diag- nostic variables is explored using conditional averaging, showing that several quantities are enhanced in the presence of large positive energy flux, and reduced near sites of neg- ative flux. These observations can help determining which processes are involved in the dissipation of energy at small scales, as for example ion-cyclotron or mirror instabilities typically associated with perpendicular anisotropy of temperature

Integration of focal vibration and intra-articular oxygen–ozone therapy in rehabilitation of painful knee osteoarthritis

Objective: To examine the pain-reducing effects of intra-articular oxygen–ozone (O2O3) injections and mechanical focal vibration (mFV) versus O2O3 injections alone in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: Patients with chronic pain (&gt;6 weeks) due to knee osteoarthritis (II–III on the Kellgren–Lawrence scale) were consecutively enrolled and divided into two groups: O2O3 (n = 25) and O2O3-mFV (n = 24). The visual analog scale (VAS), Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and Medical Research Council (MRC) Manual Muscle Testing scale were administered at baseline (before treatment), after 3 weeks of treatment, and 1 month after the end of treatment. Patients received three once-weekly intra-articular injections of O2O3 into the knee (20 mL O3, 20 μg/mL). The O2O3-mFV group also underwent nine sessions of mFV (three sessions per week). Results: The VAS score, KOOS, and MRC score were significantly better in the O2O3-mFV than O2O3 group. The within-group analysis showed that all scores improved over time compared with baseline and were maintained even 1 month after treatment. No adverse events occurred. Conclusion: An integrated rehabilitation protocol involving O2O3 injections and mFV for 3 weeks reduces pain, increases autonomy in daily life activities, and strengthens the quadriceps femoris