From periphery to centre: pagan continuity and revival in Britain and Rome during the late fourth centaury AD

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Semi-Automatic Method for Early Detection of Xylella fastidiosa in Olive Trees Using UAV Multispectral Imagery and Geostatistical-Discriminant Analysis

Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca (Xfp) is one of the most dangerous plant pathogens in the world. Identified in 2013 in olive trees in south–eastern Italy, it is spreading to the Mediterranean countries. The bacterium is transmitted by insects that feed on sap, and causes rapid wilting in olive trees. The paper explores the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in combination with a multispectral radiometer for early detection of infection. The study was carried out in three olive groves in the Apulia region (Italy) and involved four drone flights from 2017 to 2019. To classify Xfp severity level in olive trees at an early stage, a combined method of geostatistics and discriminant analysis was implemented. The results of cross-validation for the non-parametric classification method were of overall accuracy = 0.69, mean error rate = 0.31, and for the early detection class of accuracy 0.77 and misclassification probability 0.23. The results are promising and encourage the application of UAV technology for the early detection of Xfp infection

Discovery and synthesis of the first selective BAG domain modulator of BAG3 as an attractive candidate for the development of a new class of chemotherapeutics

BAG3 protein has emerged as a key regulator of important cellular processes and its expression is increased in some tumor types; however, despite its potential value for future chemotherapeutics, no selective BAG3 modulators have been yet reported. Here we report the 2,4-thiazolidinedione derivative 28 as the first BAG3 protein modulator

HPV and Covid-19 Era: effects of nonpharmaceutical interventions on HPV transmission

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is considered the commonest viral cause of sexually transmitted infections. The impact of social distance measures due to Covid-19 pandemic on HPV spread is unknown. Therefore, this study has analyzed the seven-year trend of HPV prevalence in all patients tested for HPV DNA at the Microbiology and Virology Unit at Bari Policlinico. Moreover, the HPV prevalence in 2020 has been compared with the previous year ones in order to evaluate the consequences of lockdown and social distancing measures on transmission risks. From 2013 to 2020, we retrospectively analyzed 64 anal swabs, 418 biopsies, 5925 cervical-vaginal swabs, 512 cervical swabs, 104 gland swabs, 154 oral swabs, 21 seminal fluids and 503 urethral swabs. HPV DNA detection was initially performed using nested-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subsequently multiplex real-time PCR assay. All statistical tests were carried out by the open-source environment R 4.0.3 (R Core Team). The data were analyzed according to yearly positivity rates, temporal trend and prevalence of HPV genotypes (HPV-6, HPV-11, HPV-16, HPV-18, high risk and low risk) by age category and sex. The number of patients increased steadily from 2016 to 2019 and then decreased in 2020. There were significant differences in prevalence between females and males for HPV-6 (6.16% in females Vs 30.80% in males), HPV-11 (0.82% Vs 7.16%) and HPV-16 (7.77% Vs 5.01%). The prevalence of HPV-6 and HPV-11 significantly increased in 2020 compared to 2013-2019 (15.72% Vs 8.52 and 3.18% Vs 1.44%). On the contrary, the overall prevalence of HPV DNA remained constant in 2020 (52.84% Vs 48.44%). Over time, the prevalence of HPV DNA (Coefficient=-0.020, p-value = 0.036) and particularly high-risk genotypes (Coefficient=-0.030, p-value = 0.005) decreased in females, while low-risk genotypes (Coefficient = 0.141, p-value= < 0.001) and the prevalence of HPV DNA increased in males (Coefficient = 0.068, p-value = 0.008). During the pandemic, the number of screened patients declined, although HPV prevalence compared to 2013-2019 remained constant or increased as in the case of low-risk genotypes. It can be assumed that the reduction of the screening coverage favored the emerging of the more symptomatic low-risk infections. In conclusion, nonpharmaceutical interventions due to Covid-19 pandemic did not reduce the risk of HPV infection but it likely caused a decrease in access to health services resulting in an increased risk of undiagnosed HPV.KEY MESSAGESTo decrease the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the general population, several measures of social distancing were worldwide implemented potentially affecting sexual behaviors.Evaluating the impact of the social distancing measures on the risk of sexually transmitted infections, the published studies reached contradictory results showing the absence of a common epidemiological trend.The overall prevalence of HPV and some of its genotypes among female and male patients did not decrease in 2020 compared to the years 2013-2019.The risk of the HPV infection was not affected by the social distancing measures

Studio microclimatico

Lo scopo di questa ricerca è soprattutto quello di presentare, senza pretesa di completezza, alcuni aspetti riguardanti un progetto ancora nella sua fase iniziale sui mitrei di Ostia antica: la buona riuscita di qualunque lavoro di ricerca dipende prima di tutto dalla scelta di un metodo appropriato. Nel caso di uno studio multidisciplinare è fondamentale che il metodo scelto sia caratterizzato da tre aspetti specifici, coerenza, coordinazione e condivisione, che costituiscono le fondamenta del progetto stesso: occorre quindi che ogni scelta, riguardante le procedure di misura, l’analisi dei dati e l’interpretazione dei risultati miri ad un obiettivo comune, che vi sia coordinazione nelle metodiche, nei tempi, nei modi opportuni per rendere dati e risultati omogenei e reciprocamente confrontabili ed infine che siano messi in comune sinergicamente le diverse competenze e i risultati ottenuti, per arrivare ad interpretarli con una visione più completa di quella possibile nell’ambito di un’unica disciplina. Questo studio è condotto con la collaborazione di giovani, che potranno mettere a frutto il loro tirocinio e la tesi di laurea sperimentando il lavoro di ricerca “fatto in squadra”, che permetterà di raggiungere risultati originali di valore scientifico al termine del loro percorso di studio. Le discipline coinvolte sono Fisica, Chimica, Biologia, Geochimica e Mineralogia, Archeoastronomia, Analisi delle Geometrie, Archeologia. Gli indizi e le conoscenze provenienti da aree disciplinari diverse saranno metaforicamente le tessere di un mosaico che prende forma mentre le tessere stesse vengono poste in modo appropriato. I risultati ottenuti e la loro interpretazione permetteranno sia di “conoscere” il sistema in studio, sia di formulare scelte opportune riguardanti la sua conservazione e il suo restaur

Studio microclimatico

Lo scopo di questa ricerca è soprattutto quello di presentare, senza pretesa di completezza, alcuni aspetti riguardanti un progetto ancora nella sua fase iniziale sui mitrei di Ostia antica: la buona riuscita di qualunque lavoro di ricerca dipende prima di tutto dalla scelta di un metodo appropriato. Nel caso di uno studio multidisciplinare è fondamentale che il metodo scelto sia caratterizzato da tre aspetti specifici, coerenza, coordinazione e condivisione, che costituiscono le fondamenta del progetto stesso: occorre quindi che ogni scelta, riguardante le procedure di misura, l’analisi dei dati e l’interpretazione dei risultati miri ad un obiettivo comune, che vi sia coordinazione nelle metodiche, nei tempi, nei modi opportuni per rendere dati e risultati omogenei e reciprocamente confrontabili ed infine che siano messi in comune sinergicamente le diverse competenze e i risultati ottenuti, per arrivare ad interpretarli con una visione più completa di quella possibile nell’ambito di un’unica disciplina. Questo studio è condotto con la collaborazione di giovani, che potranno mettere a frutto il loro tirocinio e la tesi di laurea sperimentando il lavoro di ricerca “fatto in squadra”, che permetterà di raggiungere risultati originali di valore scientifico al termine del loro percorso di studio. Le discipline coinvolte sono Fisica, Chimica, Biologia, Geochimica e Mineralogia, Archeoastronomia, Analisi delle Geometrie, Archeologia. Gli indizi e le conoscenze provenienti da aree disciplinari diverse saranno metaforicamente le tessere di un mosaico che prende forma mentre le tessere stesse vengono poste in modo appropriato. I risultati ottenuti e la loro interpretazione permetteranno sia di “conoscere” il sistema in studio, sia di formulare scelte opportune riguardanti la sua conservazione e il suo restaur

Genotypes and phenotypes heterogeneity in PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum and overlapping conditions: 150 novel patients and systematic review of 1007 patients with PIK3CA pathogenetic variants

Background: Postzygotic activating PIK3CA variants cause several phenotypes within the PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum (PROS). Variant strength, mosaicism level, specific tissue involvement and overlapping disorders are responsible for disease heterogeneity. We explored these factors in 150 novel patients and in an expanded cohort of 1007 PIK3CA-mutated patients, analysing our new data with previous literature to give a comprehensive picture. Methods: We performed ultradeep targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) on DNA from skin biopsy, buccal swab or blood using a panel including phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin pathway genes and GNAQ, GNA11, RASA1 and TEK. Additionally, 914 patients previously reported were systematically reviewed. Results: 93 of our 150 patients had PIK3CA pathogenetic variants. The merged PROS cohort showed that PIK3CA variants span thorough all gene domains, some were exclusively associated with specific PROS phenotypes: weakly activating variants were associated with central nervous system (CNS) involvement, and strongly activating variants with extra-CNS phenotypes. Among the 57 with a wild-type PIK3CA allele, 11 patients with overgrowth and vascular malformations overlapping PROS had variants in GNAQ, GNA11, RASA1 or TEK. Conclusion: We confirm that (1) molecular diagnostic yield increases when multiple tissues are tested and by enriching NGS panels with genes of overlapping 'vascular' phenotypes; (2) strongly activating PIK3CA variants are found in affected tissue, rarely in blood: conversely, weakly activating mutations more common in blood; (3) weakly activating variants correlate with CNS involvement, strong variants are more common in cases without; (4) patients with vascular malformations overlapping those of PROS can harbour variants in genes other than PIK3CA