quantitative mapping of clay minerals using airborne imaging spectroscopy new data on mugello italy from sim ga prototypal sensor

AbstractThe possibility of using high spectral and spatial resolution remote sensing technologies is becoming increasingly important in the monitoring of soil degradation processes. A high spatial resolution hyperspectral dataset was acquired with the airborne Hyper SIM-GA sensor from Selex Galileo, simultaneously with ground soil spectral signatures and samples collection. A complete mapping procedure was developed using the 2000–2450 nm spectral region, demonstrating that the 2200 absorption band allows the obtainment of reliable maps of the clay content. The correlation achieved between the observed and the predicted values is encouraging for the extensive application of this technique in soil conservation planning and protection actions

Multilingualism in South Tyrol: between old fears and new challenges

This contribution illustrates the specific sociolinguistic landscape of South Tyrol, an Italian province where the majority of the population is German-speaking. First, we explain to what extent the division of society into separate language groups has remained in force to this day and to which degree this hinders the achievement of German-Italian bilingual everyday life. Secondly, the discussion focusses on residents with foreign citizenship almost 10 % of the population) and how they deal with and live this local sociolinguistic situation. Against the backdrop of the changed transformed socio-demographic situation, we discuss possible strategies as to how the longstanding focus on bilingualism may be expanded to include multilingualism, which is already mostly in place

Optical mapping of neuronal activity during seizures in zebrafish

Mapping neuronal activity during the onset and propagation of epileptic seizures can provide a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying this pathology and improve our approaches to the development of new drugs. Recently, zebrafish has become an important model for studying epilepsy both in basic research and in drug discovery. Here, we employed a transgenic line with pan-neuronal expression of the genetically-encoded calcium indicator GCaMP6s to measure neuronal activity in zebrafish larvae during seizures induced by pentylenetretrazole (PTZ). With this approach, we mapped neuronal activity in different areas of the larval brain, demonstrating the high sensitivity of this method to different levels of alteration, as induced by increasing PTZ concentrations, and the rescuing effect of an anti-epileptic drug. We also present simultaneous measurements of brain and locomotor activity, as well as a high-throughput assay, demonstrating that GCaMP measurements can complement behavioural assays for the detection of subclinical epileptic seizures, thus enabling future investigations on human hypomorphic mutations and more effective drug screening methods. Notably, the methodology described here can be easily applied to the study of many human neuropathologies modelled in zebrafish, allowing a simple and yet detailed investigation of brain activity alterations associated with the pathological phenotype

Modeling Human Muscular Dystrophies in Zebrafish: Mutant Lines, Transgenic Fluorescent Biosensors, and Phenotyping Assays

: Muscular dystrophies (MDs) are a heterogeneous group of myopathies characterized by progressive muscle weakness leading to death from heart or respiratory failure. MDs are caused by mutations in genes involved in both the development and organization of muscle fibers. Several animal models harboring mutations in MD-associated genes have been developed so far. Together with rodents, the zebrafish is one of the most popular animal models used to reproduce MDs because of the high level of sequence homology with the human genome and its genetic manipulability. This review describes the most important zebrafish mutant models of MD and the most advanced tools used to generate and characterize all these valuable transgenic lines. Zebrafish models of MDs have been generated by introducing mutations to muscle-specific genes with different genetic techniques, such as (i) N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) treatment, (ii) the injection of specific morpholino, (iii) tol2-based transgenesis, (iv) TALEN, (v) and CRISPR/Cas9 technology. All these models are extensively used either to study muscle development and function or understand the pathogenetic mechanisms of MDs. Several tools have also been developed to characterize these zebrafish models by checking (i) motor behavior, (ii) muscle fiber structure, (iii) oxidative stress, and (iv) mitochondrial function and dynamics. Further, living biosensor models, based on the expression of fluorescent reporter proteins under the control of muscle-specific promoters or responsive elements, have been revealed to be powerful tools to follow molecular dynamics at the level of a single muscle fiber. Thus, zebrafish models of MDs can also be a powerful tool to search for new drugs or gene therapies able to block or slow down disease progression

Verschränkte Lernwelten: physisch, virtuell, seamless

Lehr- und Lernräume haben Einfluss auf den Lernerfolg und die Zufriedenheit der Lernenden. Durch die Integration digitaler Komponenten werden zunehmend Räume im herkömmlichen Sinn mit Online-Räumen verschränkt, was zu einer Flexibilisierung des Lehrens, Lernens und Prüfens führt und einen völlig neuen Umgang mit Lehr-/Lernräumen erfordert. Dieser Aspekt des seamless learning wird an der WU (auch in Zusammenarbeit mit anderen Hochschulen und Projekten) im Kontext des Projekts „Future Learning Experience“ (FLEX) erkundet und umgesetzt. Dabei wurden u. a. Einsatzszenarien von 360°-Szenarien (Videos/Fotos) und Virtual-Reality (VR)-Anwendungen in konkreten Lehr-/Lernkontexten pilotiert. Dieses Projekt wurde am 1. Juni 2023 im Rahmen einer Online-Veranstaltung des BMBWF präsentiert. Die Präsentationsunterlagen finden Sie hier

A Smad3 transgenic reporter reveals TGF-beta control of zebrafish spinal cord development

TGF-beta (TGFβ) family mediated Smad signaling is involved in mesoderm and endoderm specification, left-right asymmetry formation and neural tube development. The TGFβ1/2/3 and Activin/Nodal signal transduction cascades culminate with activation of SMAD2 and/or SMAD3 transcription factors and their overactivation are involved in different pathologies with an inflammatory and/or uncontrolled cell proliferation basis, such as cancer and fibrosis. We have developed a transgenic zebrafish reporter line responsive to Smad3 activity. Through chemical, genetic and molecular approaches we have seen that this transgenic line consistently reproduces in vivo Smad3-mediated TGFβ signaling. Reporter fluorescence is activated in phospho-Smad3 positive cells and is responsive to both Smad3 isoforms, Smad3a and 3b. Moreover, Alk4 and Alk5 inhibitors strongly repress the reporter activity. In the CNS, Smad3 reporter activity is particularly high in the subpallium, tegumentum, cerebellar plate, medulla oblongata and the retina proliferative zone. In the spinal cord, the reporter is activated at the ventricular zone, where neuronal progenitor cells are located. Colocalization methods show in vivo that TGFβ signaling is particularly active in neuroD+ precursors. Using neuronal transgenic lines, we observed that TGFβ chemical inhibition leads to a decrease of differentiating cells and an increase of proliferation. Similarly, smad3a and 3b knock-down alter neural differentiation showing that both paralogues play a positive role in neural differentiation. EdU proliferation assay and pH3 staining confirmed that Smad3 is mainly active in post-mitotic, non-proliferating cells. In summary, we demonstrate that the Smad3 reporter line allows us to follow in vivo Smad3 transcriptional activity and that Smad3, by controlling neural differentiation, promotes the progenitor to precursor switch allowing neural progenitors to exit cell cycle and differentiate

Zebrafish mutants and TEAD reporters reveal essential functions for Yap and Taz in posterior cardinal vein development

As effectors of the Hippo signaling cascade, YAP1 and TAZ are transcriptional regulators playing important roles in development, tissue homeostasis and cancer. A number of different cues, including mechanotransduction of extracellular stimuli, adhesion molecules, oncogenic signaling and metabolism modulate YAP1/TAZ nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling. In the nucleus, YAP1/TAZ tether with the DNA binding proteins TEADs, to activate the expression of target genes that regulate proliferation, migration, cell plasticity, and cell fate. Based on responsive elements present in the human and zebrafish promoters of the YAP1/TAZ target gene CTGF, we established zebrafish fluorescent transgenic reporter lines of Yap1/Taz activity. These reporter lines provide an in vivo view of Yap1/Taz activity during development and adulthood at the whole organism level. Transgene expression was detected in many larval tissues including the otic vesicles, heart, pharyngeal arches, muscles and brain and is prominent in endothelial cells. Analysis of vascular development in yap1/taz zebrafish mutants revealed specific defects in posterior cardinal vein (PCV) formation, with altered expression of arterial/venous markers. The overactivation of Yap1/Taz in endothelial cells was sufficient to promote an aberrant vessel sprouting phenotype. Our findings confirm and extend the emerging role of Yap1/Taz in vascular development including angiogenesis

Hydraulic resistance of artificial vegetation patches in aligned and staggered configurations

Funding The study has been supported by three EPSRC/UK grants (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council): “High-resolution numerical and experimental studies of turbulence-induced sediment erosion and near-bed transport” (EP/G056404/1), “Bed friction in rough-bed free-surface flows: a theoretical framework, roughness regimes, and quantification” (EP/K041088/1) and “Secondary currents in turbulent flows over rough walls” (EP/V002414/1). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research.Peer reviewe

Mutant MYO1F alters the mitochondrial network and induces tumor proliferation in thyroid cancer

Familial aggregation is a significant risk factor for the development of thyroid cancer and Familial Non-Medullary Thyroid Cancer (FNMTC) accounts for 5-7% of all NMTC. Whole Exome Sequencing analysis in the family affected by FNMTC with oncocytic features where our group previously identified a predisposing locus on chromosome 19p13.2, revealed a novel heterozygous mutation (c.400G>A, NM_012335; p.Gly134Ser) in exon 5 of MYO1F, mapping to the linkage locus. In the thyroid FRTL-5 cell model stably expressing the mutant MYO1F p.Gly134Ser protein we observed an altered mitochondrial network, with increased mitochondrial mass and a significant increase of both intracellular and extracellular Reactive Oxygen Species, compared to cells expressing the wild-type protein or carrying the empty vector. The mutation conferred a significant advantage in colony formation, invasion and anchorage independent growth. These data were corroborated by in vivo studies in zebrafish, since we demonstrated that the mutant MYO1F p.Gly134Ser, when overexpressed, can induce proliferation in whole vertebrate embryos, compared to the wild-type one. MYO1F screening in additional 192 FNMTC families identified another variant in exon 7, which leads to exon skipping, and is predicted to alter the ATP-binding domain in MYO1F. Our study identified for the first time a role for MYO1F in NMTC. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved