Design and circular economy. Architectures that regenerate the built fabric

Although the circular economy has occupied a crucial place in the development agendas of industrialized countries in recent years, the construction sector still seems far from a mature understanding of the cultural dimensions related to the notion of circularity since, until now, its focus has been mainly on improving technological solutions. However, the circular economy opens up new operational frontiers beyond the scale of the construction detail. It embraces more complex social and cultural fields that ultimately question the changing relationship between man and inhabited space. The article assumes this perspective and examines the possible implications of circular logics’ spatial organizations at larger scales that have a great impact on settlement forms, proposing a critical comparison between two case studies characterized by two built fabrics with different densities. The first one is the regeneration of the Ilot de l’Arc de Triomphe district (high density and compactness), and the second one is the transformation of Contrada Bricconi (low density and rarefaction). The two design experiences ensurie a second life to inhabited artifacts and soils

Single-cell profiling of lncRNA expression during Ebola virus infection in rhesus macaques

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in numerous biological processes and are pivotal mediators of the immune response, yet little is known about their properties at the single-cell level. Here, we generate a multi-tissue bulk RNAseq dataset from Ebola virus (EBOV) infected and not-infected rhesus macaques and identified 3979 novel lncRNAs. To profile lncRNA expression dynamics in immune circulating single-cells during EBOV infection, we design a metric, Upsilon, to estimate cell-type specificity. Our analysis reveals that lncRNAs are expressed in fewer cells than protein-coding genes, but they are not expressed at lower levels nor are they more cell-type specific when expressed in the same number of cells. In addition, we observe that lncRNAs exhibit similar changes in expression patterns to those of protein-coding genes during EBOV infection, and are often co-expressed with known immune regulators. A few lncRNAs change expression specifically upon EBOV entry in the cell. This study sheds light on the differential features of lncRNAs and protein-coding genes and paves the way for future single-cell lncRNA studies

Acute Delta Hepatitis in Italy spanning three decades (1991–2019): Evidence for the effectiveness of the hepatitis B vaccination campaign

Updated incidence data of acute Delta virus hepatitis (HDV) are lacking worldwide. Our aim was to evaluate incidence of and risk factors for acute HDV in Italy after the introduction of the compulsory vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) in 1991. Data were obtained from the National Surveillance System of acute viral hepatitis (SEIEVA). Independent predictors of HDV were assessed by logistic-regression analysis. The incidence of acute HDV per 1-million population declined from 3.2 cases in 1987 to 0.04 in 2019, parallel to that of acute HBV per 100,000 from 10.0 to 0.39 cases during the same period. The median age of cases increased from 27 years in the decade 1991-1999 to 44 years in the decade 2010-2019 (p < .001). Over the same period, the male/female ratio decreased from 3.8 to 2.1, the proportion of coinfections increased from 55% to 75% (p = .003) and that of HBsAg positive acute hepatitis tested for by IgM anti-HDV linearly decreased from 50.1% to 34.1% (p < .001). People born abroad accounted for 24.6% of cases in 2004-2010 and 32.1% in 2011-2019. In the period 2010-2019, risky sexual behaviour (O.R. 4.2; 95%CI: 1.4-12.8) was the sole independent predictor of acute HDV; conversely intravenous drug use was no longer associated (O.R. 1.25; 95%CI: 0.15-10.22) with this. In conclusion, HBV vaccination was an effective measure to control acute HDV. Intravenous drug use is no longer an efficient mode of HDV spread. Testing for IgM-anti HDV is a grey area requiring alert. Acute HDV in foreigners should be monitored in the years to come

Dataset for the article: Single-cell profiling of lncRNA expression during Ebola virus infection in rhesus macaques

Data availability: The sequencing data generated in this study have been deposited in the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database under accession code GSE192447. The publicly available whole blood bulk short-read RNA-Seq data from healthy samples and samples infected with Makona Ebola Virus data used in this study are available in the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database under accession code GSE115785. The single-cell RNA-Seq data used in this study are available in the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database under accession code GSE158390. Raw Seurat Objects for both single-cell datasets used in this study are available at Zenodo. The full co-expression network file is also provided (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7997135). The reference genome of EBOV used in this study is available in the GenBank database under accession code KU182905.1. The assembly and reference genome of Macaca Mulatta used in this study are available in the Ensembl database (Mmul_10) (https://ftp.ensembl.org/pub/release-100/fasta/macaca_mulatta/dna/Macaca_mulatta.Mmul_10.dna.toplevel.fa.gz, https://ftp.ensembl.org/pub/release-100/gtf/macaca_mulatta/Macaca_mulatta.Mmul_10.100.gtf.gz). The assembly and reference genome of human used in this study are available in the Gencode database (release_23) (https://ftp.ebi.ac.uk/pub/databases/gencode/Gencode_human/release_23/gencode.v23.annotation.gtf.gz, https://ftp.ebi.ac.uk/pub/databases/gencode/Gencode_human/release_23/GRCh38.primary_assembly.genome.fa.gz). Source data are provided with this paper. Code availability: The code used for this study is available at: https://github.com/Mele-Lab/2023_SingleCellEbolaLncRNAs_NatComms

Efficacy of Benralizumab in severe asthma in real life and focus on nasal polyposis

INTRODUCTION: Severe asthma occurs in 5-10% of asthmatic patients, with nasal polyposis as one of the most frequent comorbidity. Benralizumab was recently marketed, thus we could analyse its effects in real-life in severe asthma, and compare the effects of the drug in patients with and without polyposis.METHODS: Patients with severe asthma, receiving Benralizumab were enrolled in Italian asthma centres. The efficacy criteria for asthma (exacerbation rate, oral corticosteroid intake, hospitalizations, pulmonary function, exhaled nitric oxide) were evaluated at baseline and after 24 weeks of treatment. Patients were then sub-analysed according to the presence/absence of nasal polyposis.RESULTS: Fifty-nine patients with severe uncontrolled asthma (21 males, age range 32-78) and treated with benralizumab for at least 24 weeks has been evaluated, showing significant improvements in asthma-related outcomes, except for pulmonary function and exhaled nitric oxide. This included a reduction in the sino-nasal outcome-22 score versus baseline of 13.7 points (p=.0037) in the 34 patients with nasal polyposis. Anosmia disappeared in 31% patients (p=.0034). When comparing the groups with and without nasal polyposis, a similar reduction of exacerbations was seen, with a greater reduction of the steroid dependence in patients with polyposis (-72% vs -53%; p<.0001), whereas lung function was significantly more improved (12% vs 34%, p=.0064) without polyposis patients.CONCLUSIONS: Benralizumab, after 6 months of treatment, confirmed its efficacy in severe asthma, and also in nasal polyposis, which is the most frequent comorbidity. The efficacy of Benralizumab in reducing steroid dependence was even higher in patients with polyposis

Severe asthma: One disease and multiple definitions

Introduction There is, so far, no universal definition of severe asthma. This definition usually relies on: number of exacerbations, inhaled therapy, need for oral corticosteroids, and respiratory function. The use of such parameters varies in the different definitions used. Thus, according to the parameters chosen, each patient may result in having severe asthma or not. The aim of this study was to evaluate how the choice of a specific definition of severe asthma can change the allocation of patients. Methods Data collected from the Severe Asthma Network Italy (SANI) registry were analyzed. All the patients included were then reclassified according to the definitions of U-BIOPRED, NICE, WHO, ATS/ERS, GINA, ENFUMOSA, and TENOR. Results 540 patients, were extracted from the SANI database. We observed that 462 (86%) met the ATS/ERS criteria as well as the GINA criteria, 259 (48%) the U-Biopred, 222 (41%) the NICE, 125 (23%) the WHO, 313 (58%) the Enfumosa, and 251 (46%) the TENOR criteria. The mean eosinophil value were similar in the ATS/ERS, U-Biopred, and Enfumosa (528, 532 and 516 cells/mcl), higher in WHO and Tenor (567 and 570 cells/mcl) and much higher in the NICE classification (624 cells/mcl). Lung function tests resulted similarly in all groups, with WHO (67%) and ATS/ERS-GINA (73%), respectively, showing the lower and upper mean FEV1 values. Conclusions The present observations clearly evidence the heterogeneity in the distribution of patients when different definitions of severe asthma are used. However, the recent definition of severe asthma, provided by the GINA document, is similar to that indicated in 2014 by ATS/ERS, allowing mirror reclassification of the patients examined. This lack of homogeneity could complicate the access to biological therapies. The definition provided by the GINA document, which reflects what suggested by ATS/ERS, could partially overcome the problem

Oral CorticoSteroid sparing with biologics in severe asthma: A remark of the Severe Asthma Network in Italy (SANI)

According to the data derived from several national and international registries, including SANI (Severe Asthma Network Italy), and considering the strong impact that frequent or regular use of oral corticosteroid has on quality of life (QoL) of severe asthmatics, as well as on the costs for managing corticosteroid-related diseases, oral corticosteroid sparing up to withdrawal should be considered a primary outcome in the management of severe asthma. New biologics have clearly demonstrated that this effect is possible, with concomitant reduction in the rate of exacerbations and in symptom control. Then, there is no reason for using so frequently oral corticosteroid before having explored all alternatives currently available for a large part of severe asthmatics

Mild/Moderate Asthma Network in Italy (MANI): a long-term observational study

Objective The prevalence of asthma in Italy is estimated to be around 4%; it affects approximately 2,000,000 citizens, and up to 80-90% of patients have mild-to-moderate asthma. Despite the clinical relevance of mild-to-moderate asthma, longitudinal observational data are very limited, including data on disease progression (worsening vs. improvement), the response to treatment, and prognosis. Studies are needed to develop long-term, observational, real-life research in large cohorts. The primary outcomes of this study will be based on prospective observation and the epidemiological evolution of mild and moderate asthma. Secondary outcomes will include patient-reported outcomes, treatments over time, disease-related functional and inflammatory patterns, and environmental and life-style influences. Methods This study, called the Mild/Moderate Asthma Network of Italy (MANI), is a research initiative launched by the Italian Respiratory Society and the Italian Society of Allergology, Asthma and Clinical Immunology. MANI is a cluster-based, real world, cross-sectional, prospective, observational cohort study that includes 20,000 patients with mild-to-moderate asthma. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04796844). Results and conclusion Despite advances in asthma care, several research gaps remain to be addressed through clinical research. This study will add important new knowledge about long-term disease history, the transferability of clinical research results to daily practice, the efficacy of currently recommended strategies, and their impact on the burden and evolution of the disease