A fate for organic acids, formaldehyde and methanol in cloud water: their biotransformation by micro-organisms

International audienceThe interactions between microbial and chemical contents of cloud water were investigated. First, we observe that the bulk cloud water solution provides a substantial environment where bacteria can develop significantly. Then, a total number of 60 microbial strains originating from seven distinct samples of cloud water and affiliated to various taxonomic groups were looked for their ability to degrade some of the main atmospheric carboxylic compounds: formate, acetate, lactate, succinate, formaldehyde and methanol. Biodegradation tests show that all these compounds can be transformed when used as single carbonaceous substrates, with activities depending on both the strain and the compound. The highest capacities of biodegradation are observed towards formaldehyde, formate and acetate, which are also the more concentrated compounds typically measured in cloud water. Hence, analyses by 1H NMR permitted to establish for instance that compounds like pyruvate or fumarate can be produced and released in the media in relation to the transformation of lactate or succinate. In addition, utilization of 13C labelled formaldehyde showed that it can be transformed through many metabolic pathways, similar to those induced by photochemistry and leading to the production of formate and/or methanol. These results suggest that microorganisms of cloud water can have various behaviours towards the chemical compounds present in the atmosphere: they can represent either a sink or source for organic carbon, and may have to be considered as actors of cloud chemistry

Cystic lymphangioma of the adrenal gland: report of a case and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Cystic lymphangioma is a rare tumor of the lymphatic vessels that occurs more frequently in women. Location of this pathology can be diverse but most commonly occurs in the neck or axilla. Cystic lymphangioma originating from the adrenal tissue represents a very rare entity. CASE PRESENTATION: We report here the case of a 38-year-old woman who was diagnosed with a cystic retroperitoneal mass. After further investigations, the patient was suspected to have a left adrenal cystic lymphangioma. She underwent successful open left adrenalectomy as curative treatment, and the diagnosis of cystic lymphangioma of the left adrenal gland was confirmed at histology. The postoperative course was uneventful. CONCLUSION: This case report and review of the literature bring new insights into the diagnostic difficulty and management of cystic lymphangioma of the adrenal gland

Inhibition of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Homing Towards Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Microenvironment Using an Anti-PDGFRβ Aptamer

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are shown to participate in tumor progression by establishing a favorable tumor microenvironment (TME) that promote metastasis through a cytokine networks. However, the mechanism of homing and recruitment of BM-MSCs into tumors and their potential role in malignant tissue progression is poorly understood and controversial. Here we show that BM-MSCs increase aggressiveness of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines evaluated as capability to migrate, invade and acquire stemness markers. Importantly, we demonstrate that the treatment of BM-MSCs with a nuclease-resistant RNA aptamer against platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ) causes the inhibition of receptor-dependent signaling pathways thus drastically hampering BM-MSC recruitment towards TNBC cell lines and BM-MSCs trans-differentiation into carcinoma-associated fibroblast (CAF)-like cells. Moreover, in vivo molecular imaging analysis demonstrated the aptamer ability to prevent BM-MSCs homing to TNBC xenografts. Collectively, our results indicate the anti-PDGFRβ aptamer as a novel therapeutic tool to interfere with BM-MSCs attraction to TNBC providing the rationale to further explore the aptamer in more complex pre-clinical settings

Worsening renal function in patients hospitalised for acute heart failure: clinical implications and prognostic significance.

BACKGROUND: Renal function is a powerful prognostic variable in patients with heart failure (HF). Hospitalisations for acute HF (AHF) may be associated with further worsening of renal function (WRF). METHODS AND RESULTS: We analysed the clinical significance of WRF in 318 consecutive patients admitted at our institute for AHF. WRF was defined as the occurrence, at any time during the hospitalisation, of both a > or =25% and a > or =0.3 mg/dL increase in serum creatinine (s-Cr) from admission (WRF-Abs-%). RESULTS: Patients were followed for 480+/-363 days. Fifty-three patients (17%) died and 132 (41%) were rehospitalised for HF. WRF-Abs-% occurred in 107 (34%) patients. At multivariable survival analysis, WRF-Abs-% was an independent predictor of death or HF rehospitalisation (adjusted HR, 1.47; 95%CI, 1.13-1.81; p=0.024). The independent predictors of WRF-Abs-%, evaluated using multivariable logistic regression, were history of chronic kidney disease (p=0.002), LV ejection fraction (p=0.012), furosemide daily dose (p=0.03) and NYHA class (p=0.05) on admission. CONCLUSION: WRF is a frequent finding in patients hospitalised for AHF and is associated with a poor prognosis. Severity of HF and daily furosemide dose are the most important predictors of the occurrence of WRF

Sustainable business model in practice: a digital business game training for high school students

This paper explores the nexus between sustainable business models, education and technology, addressing pressing challenges in economic, social, and environmental spheres. On one hand, education is identified as a key tool for fostering sustainability principles and essential skills for future managers; on the other, businesses, particularly through sustainable business models (SBMs) and evolving digital platforms, play a pivotal role in advancing sustainability goals. The research answer to the need for sustainable development examining the potential of educational business games, blending entertainment and education to engage the 'gamer generation' actively. Considering the growing literature upon sustainable entrepreneurship and business models, the objective of the paper is to implement a digital business game for sustainability education designed to teach high school students how to implement an entrepreneurial activity through a sustainable business model. This study contributes to understanding sustainable business practices and innovative educational approaches, aligning with the global imperative for a sustainable future. In the end of the manuscript some prelaminar result of the game testing phase are presented

Assessing the reliability of retrospective reports of adverse childhood experiences among adolescents with documented childhood maltreatment

The literature suggests that childhood maltreatment is related to a higher probability of developing psychopathology and disease in adulthood. However, some authors have questioned the reliability of self-reports of maltreatment, suggesting that psychopathology at the time of evaluation affects self-reports. We evaluated the reliability of the self-reports of 79 young adults who were identified in childhood by Child Protective Services by comparing two moments of evaluation. Psychological and physical symptoms were tested to evaluate their interference with the reports. We found good to excellent agreement, with no significant correlation between the changes in self-reported experiences and the changes in physical and psychological symptoms, suggesting that the reliability of reports is not related to the health state at the time of the report

Emerging topics in Brexit debate on Twitter around the deadlines a probabilistic topic modelling approach

The present study is focused on the online debate relating to the Brexit process, three years and half since the historical referendum that has sanctioned the divide of the United Kingdom from the European Union. In our analysis we consider a corpus of approximately 33 million Brexit related tweets, shared on Twitter for 58 weeks, spanning from 31 December 2019 to 9 February 2020. Due to its great accessibility to data, Twitter constitutes a convenient data source to monitor and evaluate a wide variety of topics. In addition, Twitter’s marked orientation towards news and the dissemination of information makes this microblogging network more connected to politics compared to other platforms. Through static and dynamic topic modelling techniques, we were able to identify the topics that have attracted the most attention from Twitters users and to characterise their temporal evolution. The topics retrieved by the static model highlight the major events of the Brexit process while the dynamic analysis recovered the persistent themes of discussion and debate over the entire period