The Role of Optic Flow and Gaze Direction on Postural Control

Objective: The observers use the optic flow to control self-motion. However, the current state of knowledge indicates that it is difficult to understand how optic flow is used by the visual system without a direct measurement of the changes in the flow patterns caused by eye movements during natural behaviour. The purpose of this literature review is to highlight the importance of the integration between optic flow and eye movements for postural control. Methods: A literature review of the electronic papers through July 2022 was independently performed by three investigators. The selection of the studies was made by a search on PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar with two groups of selected keywords. We excluded papers performed on subjects with pathologies, children, and the elderly. Results: The results of this literature analysis highlight that eye movements are required to drive visual motion processing and heading perception in both static and dynamic contexts. Conclusion: Although we now know many neural mechanisms that process heading direction from the optic flow field, a consideration of optic flow patterns relative to gaze direction provides more detailed information on how the retinal flow field is used to control body balance. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2022-06-06-020 Full Text: PD

Allestimento e trial clinico di un vaccino a DNA per il trattamento della leishmaniosi canina

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a DNA vaccine based on two Leishmania antigens (Cpb1, PO) in leishmaniotic dogs. Twelve leishmaniotic dogs from a leishmaniasis-endemic area (Naples, Italy) received three consecutive injections of DNA vaccine at 15-days intervals. Another group of five leishmaniotic dogs received the same amount of pVAX-1 without the coding sequences of Leishmania antigens. Leishmania DNA load, INFγ, IL-4 mRNA expression levels and clinical parameters were tested before and after the therapy, every 3 months for a period of 12 months. Analysis of the data in the vaccinated dogs showed: i) a decrease Leishmania DNA load in lymph node samples, ii) an increase of INFγ and IL-levels in PBMC samples. All vaccinated dogs also showed an improvement in the clinical symptoms. Our results show that the vaccine developed in this study may represent a useful tool in the treatment of leishmaniotic dogs. However, since the duration of positive effects is limited in time, further trials are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of immunotherapy alone or in association with conventional therapy.</br

36. Genome-Wide Insight Into the Transcriptional Modulations Triggered By Lentiviral Transduction in Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Recent studies suggest that hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) can sense foreign nucleic acids and pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Exposure to lentiviral vectors (LV) upon gene transfer may thus trigger acute host responses in HSC that could potentially impact on their biological properties, although no comprehensive studies are available to date. We have performed a high throughput RNA-Seq analysis on human cord-blood (CB)-derived CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) exposed to research- or clinical-grade VSV-g pseudotyped (SIN) LV at a high multiplicity of infection, matching current clinical vector dose requirements. As controls, cells were exposed to non-transducing Env-less, genome-less or heat inactivated control vectors or kept in culture untreated. RNA was extracted at different times early after transduction, processed and ran in Illumina HiSeq2000. Analysis of Differential Expression in Time Course was performed using LIMMA R/BioConductor library. Key pathways were assessed by Term Enrichment Analysis considering KEGG pathways and Gene Ontology Biological processes. Transduction with both research-and clinical-grade LV significantly triggered DNA damage and apoptosis-related responses. In particular, p53 signaling was among the most significantly altered pathways (p<3.47×10−14) and induction of several key players, including a 8-fold increase in p21 mRNA, was further confirmed by Taqman. This signaling occurred also in bone-marrow-derived CD34+ cells and was integration-independent as Integrase-Defective LV (IDLV) induced p21 to a similar extent as LV. Furthermore, equal induction was observed in all CD34+ subpopulations, including in the most primitive CD38-CD133+ fraction. Finally, LV/IDLV exposure lead to a slight but significant increase in the percentage of apoptotic HSPC in culture (p<0.001) as compared to control vector exposed cells and untreated controls. Experiments are ongoing to further investigate the potential short and long-term consequences of this signaling on the biological properties of HSPC in vitro and in vivo. Overall, our results suggest for the first time that LV transduction triggers transcriptional changes in HSPC involving pathways pivotal for their biology. Better understanding of the potential functional consequences this may have will be important for the development of improved gene therapy protocols

Epidemiology and genetic characterization of <i>Border Disease Virus</i> circulating in Sardinia

Border Disease Virus (BDV), a pestivirus from the Flaviviridae family, is an important pathogen of sheep and goats responsible for significant losses in farms around the world. In spite of the relevance of this pathogen there are only a few epidemiological studies on BDV infection and, as a consequence, the economic impact on small ruminant productions is probably under-estimated. The aims of this study are i) to determine the distribution of BDV in small ruminant farms in Sardinia and genetically characterize circulating strains ii) analyze the relation between seroprevalence, Somatic Cells Count (SCC) an milk yeld. ELISA was performed using “BVDV/MD/BDV p80 Protein Antibody Test Kit” (IDEXX) on serum of bulk tank milk (BTM) samples collected from Sardinian sheep flocks and goat herds between spring 2014 and 2015. The number of sampled farms corresponded to 8.5% of all registered farms in Sardinia. RNA was isolated using Qiamp Viral RNA mini kit from the cellular fraction of each ELISA positive BTV sample and amplified by rt-PCR using complementary primers to a highly conserved region in the untranslated regions (UTRs) of the viral genome. The amplicons were sequenced for phylogenetic analysis. Geographic distribution of collected specimen, seroprevalence and virological positive samples were analyzed via GIS (ESRI ARCGIS 10.3). ELISA screening shows a seroprevalence of 8.3% among goat farms and 10.5% among ovine farms. Ten from the ELISA positive samples were found rt-PCR positive. The sequence analysis indicates that all the amplified samples match with BDV genomes and the phylogenetic analysis revealed that all the viruses clustered in the same group classified as BDV-7. BDV-7 is the only group isolated in Sardinia so far

Glucorticoid receptor in human cutaneous melanoma: immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence study

GR is a nuclear receptor which, when activated by its specific ligand, can act as a transcription factor that binds to glucocorticoid response elements (GRE) or negative GRE. It affects inflammatory responses, differentiation and cell proliferation. The ligand activated glucocorticoid receptor induces a G1 cell cycle arrest or apoptosis in immature thymocytes and impairs proliferation of fibroblasts of undifferentiated mammary epithelial cells. It impairs proliferation and differentiation of neural progenitor cells in vivo and in vitro. Glucocorticoids are widely used in cancer therapy and have cell type-specific pro- or antiapoptotic effects. In melanoma, however, the antitumor activity of glucocorticoids remains an open question. A recent report demonstrated that in mouse embryo tissue and in human undifferentiated cells, cytoplasmic accumulation of GR is determined by nestin in conjunction with vimentin, copolymerised into an intermediate filament system, and that this anchoring of GR to the nestin/vimentin etheromeric complex is related to the maintenance of a high proliferation rate. The aim of this study was to analyse the expression of subcellular GR in cutaneous melanoma by immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry and laser scanning confocal microscopy and to evaluate any effect in melanoma progression. The results will be discussed

Designing greenhouse subsystems for a lunar mission: the LOOPS - M Project

The 2020s is a very important decade in the space sector, where international cooperation is moving towards the exploration of the Moon and will lead to stable lunar settlements, which will require new, innovative, and efficient technologies. In this context, the project LOOPS–M (Lunar Operative Outpost for the Production and Storage of Microgreens) was created by students from Sapienza University of Rome with the objective of designing some of the main features of a lunar greenhouse. The project was developed for the IGLUNA 2021 campaign, an interdisciplinary platform coordinated by Space Innovation as part of the ESA Lab@ initiative. The LOOPS-M mission was successfully concluded during the Virtual Field Campaign that took place in July 2021. This project is a follow-up of the V-GELM Project, which took part in IGLUNA 2020 with the realization in Virtual Reality of a Lunar Greenhouse: a simulation of the main operations connected to the cultivation module, the HORT3 , which was already developed by ENEA (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development) during the AMADEE-18 mission inside the HORTSPACE project. This paper will briefly describe the main features designed and developed for the lunar greenhouse and their simulation in a VR environment: an autonomous cultivation system able to handle the main cultivation tasks of the previous cultivation system, a bioconversion system that can recycle into new resources the cultivation waste with the use of insects as a biodegradation system, and a shield able of withstanding hypervelocity impacts and the harsh lunar environment. A wide overview of the main challenges faced, and lessons learned by the team to obtain these results, will be given. The first challenge was the initial inexperience that characterized all the team members, being for most the first experience with an activity structured as a space mission, starting with little to no know-how regarding the software and hardware needed for the project, and how to structure documentation and tasks, which was acquired throughout the year. An added difficulty was the nature of LOOPS-M, which included very different objectives that required different fields of expertise, ranging from various engineering sectors to biology and entomology. During the year, the team managed to learn how to handle all these hurdles and the organizational standpoint, working as a group, even if remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Through careful planning, hard work and the help of supervisors, the activity was carried out through reviews, up to the prototyping phase and the test campaign with a successful outcome in each aspect of the project. By the end of the year everyone involved had acquired new knowledge, both practical and theoretical, and learned how to reach out and present their work to sponsors and to the scientific community

A review of the main genetic factors influencing the course of COVID-19 in Sardinia: the role of human leukocyte antigen-G

Introduction: A large number of risk and protective factors have been identified during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic which may influence the outcome of COVID-19. Among these, recent studies have explored the role of HLA-G molecules and their immunomodulatory effects in COVID-19, but there are very few reports exploring the genetic basis of these manifestations. The present study aims to investigate how host genetic factors, including HLA-G gene polymorphisms and sHLA-G, can affect SARS-CoV-2 infection. Materials and Methods: We compared the immune-genetic and phenotypic characteristics between COVID-19 patients (n = 381) with varying degrees of severity of the disease and 420 healthy controls from Sardinia (Italy). Results: HLA-G locus analysis showed that the extended haplotype HLA-G*01:01:01:01/UTR-1 was more prevalent in both COVID-19 patients and controls. In particular, this extended haplotype was more common among patients with mild symptoms than those with severe symptoms [22.7% vs 15.7%, OR = 0.634 (95% CI 0.440 – 0.913); P = 0.016]. Furthermore, the most significant HLA-G 3’UTR polymorphism (rs371194629) shows that the HLA-G 3’UTR Del/Del genotype frequency decreases gradually from 27.6% in paucisymptomatic patients to 15.9% in patients with severe symptoms (X2 = 7.095, P = 0.029), reaching the lowest frequency (7.0%) in ICU patients (X2 = 11.257, P = 0.004). However, no significant differences were observed for the soluble HLA-G levels in patients and controls. Finally, we showed that SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Sardinian population is also influenced by other genetic factors such as β-thalassemia trait (rs11549407C&gt;T in the HBB gene), KIR2DS2/HLA-C C1+ group combination and the HLA-B*58:01, C*07:01, DRB1*03:01 haplotype which exert a protective effect [P = 0.005, P = 0.001 and P = 0.026 respectively]. Conversely, the Neanderthal LZTFL1 gene variant (rs35044562A&gt;G) shows a detrimental consequence on the disease course [P = 0.001]. However, by using a logistic regression model, HLA-G 3’UTR Del/Del genotype was independent from the other significant variables [ORM = 0.4 (95% CI 0.2 – 0.7), PM = 6.5 x 10-4]. Conclusion: Our results reveal novel genetic variants which could potentially serve as biomarkers for disease prognosis and treatment, highlighting the importance of considering genetic factors in the management of COVID-19 patients

The double-sided of human leukocyte antigen-G molecules in type 1 autoimmune hepatitis

The immunomodulatory effects of HLA-G expression and its role in cancers, human liver infections and liver transplantation are well documented, but so far, there are only a few reports addressing autoimmune liver diseases, particularly autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Method and materialsWe analyzed the genetic and phenotypic characteristics of HLA-G in 205 type 1 AIH patients (AIH-1) and a population of 210 healthy controls from Sardinia (Italy). ResultsAnalysis of the HLA-G locus showed no substantial differences in allele frequencies between patients and the healthy control population. The HLA-G UTR-1 haplotype was the most prevalent in both AIH-1 patients and controls (40.24% and 34.29%). Strong linkage was found between the HLA-G UTR-1 haplotype and HLA-DRB1*03:01 in AIH-1 patients but not controls (D' = 0.92 vs D' = 0.50 respectively; P = 1.3x10(-8)). Soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) levels were significantly lower in AIH-1 patients compared to controls [13.9 (11.6 - 17.4) U/mL vs 21.3 (16.5 - 27.8) U/mL; P = 0.011]. Twenty-four patients with mild or moderate inflammatory involvement, as assessed from liver biopsy, showed much higher sHLA-G levels compared to the 28 patients with severe liver inflammation [33.5 (23.6 - 44.8) U/mL vs 8.8 (6.1 - 14.5) U/mL; P = 0.003]. Finally, immunohistochemistry analysis of 52 liver biopsies from AIH-1 patients did not show expression of HLA-G molecules in the liver parenchyma. However, a percentage of 69.2% (36/52) revealed widespread expression of HLA-G both in the cytoplasm and the membrane of plasma cells labeled with anti-HLA-G monoclonal antibodies. ConclusionThis study highlights the positive immunomodulatory effect of HLA-G molecules on the clinical course of AIH-1 and how this improvement closely correlates with plasma levels of sHLA-G. However, our results open the debate on the ambiguous role of HLA-G molecules expressed by plasma cells, which are pathognomonic features of AIH-1