At the origins of Pompeii: the plant landscape of the Sarno River floodplain from the first millennium bc to the ad 79 eruption

The ad 79 eruption of the Vesuvius severely affected the floodplain surrounding the ancient city of Pompeii, i.e. the Sarno River floodplain. The landscape was covered with volcaniclastic materials that destroyed the ecosystem but, at the same time, preserved the traces of former environmental conditions. This study provides—for the first time—a pollen sequence reconstructing the environmental evolution and the plant landscape of the Sarno floodplain between 900 and 750 cal bc and ad 79, i.e. before and during the foundation of the city, and during its life phases. Previous geomorphological studies revealed that the portion of the Sarno floodplain under the “Pompeii hill” was a freshwater backswamp with patchy inundated and dry areas. Palynology depicts a thin forest cover since the Early Iron Age, suggesting an open environment with a mosaic of vegetation types. The local presence of Mediterranean coastal shrubland, hygrophilous riverine forest and mesophilous plain forest is combined with the regional contribution of mountain vegetation through the sequence. Oscillations between inundated and wet ground characterized the studied area until the ad 79 eruption. Such a natural environment shows anthropogenic traits since pre-Roman times: pasturelands, cultivated fields and olive groves, which probably occupied drier soils. The most important change in the land use system was the introduction of cabbage cultivation in the fourth century bc and its intensification from the second century bc, when Roman influence grew. The presence of tree crops and of ornamental trees reveals the opulence of the Imperial age until the catastrophic eruption

Impact of the Wiggler Coherent Synchrotron Radiation Impedance on the Beam Instability

Coherent Synchrotron Radiation (CSR) can play an important role by not only increasing the energy spread and emittance of a beam, but also leading to a potential instability. Previous studies of the CSR induced longitudinal instability were carried out for the CSR impedance due to dipole magnets. However, many storage rings include long wigglers where a large fraction of the synchrotron radiation is emitted. This includes high-luminosity factories such as DAPHNE, PEP-II, KEK-B, and CESR-C as well as the damping rings of future linear colliders. In this paper, the instability due to the CSR impedance from a wiggler is studied assuming a large wiggler parameter $K$. The primary consideration is a low frequency microwave-like instability, which arises near the pipe cut-off frequency. Detailed results are presented on the growth rate and threshold for the damping rings of several linear collider designs. Finally, the optimization of the relative fraction of damping due to the wiggler systems is discussed for the damping rings.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Cerebral cortex activity in freely moving sheep using a wireless CW fNIRS system: preliminary results

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was recently applied in studies involving animals, showing great potential as, to date, this is the only technique that can be used to non-invasively measure hemodynamic brain responses in freely moving animals [1\u20133]. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cerebral activity of freely moving sheep undergoing different tasks (motor and somatosensory). Four one-year-old Sarda ewes were exposed to two different stimuli: a motor task (walking), and a sudden noise. To measure the changes of oxyhemoglobin ([\u394O2Hb]) and deoxyhemoglobin ([\u394HHb]) concentration, a mobile and miniaturized wireless CW fNIRS system (Octamon, Artinis Medical Systems, The Netherlands) was used. Sensors were applied on the forehead of the sheep depilated head and held in place with a customized head cap (Fig.1(a)). Four transmitters and two receivers (four channels in total), with pairs of transmitter-receiver at short (10 mm) and long (30 mm) distance, were used to cover the left and right hemisphere of the sheep head. The intensity of the light after transmission through tissue was recorded. The optical density was converted into [\u394O2Hb] and [\u394HHb] by the modified Lambert-Beer law. Our result of the motor task showed a decrease of [\u394O2Hb] and increase of [\u394HHb] in both hemispheres when sheep were walking (Fig.1(b)). For the sudden noise test, both hemispheres showed a transient decrease when the stimulus began, followed by a gradual increase in [\u394O2Hb] concentration (Fig.1(c)). Our preliminary results suggest that fNIRS has the potential to non-invasively measure cerebral cortex activity in free moving sheep undergoing different tasks. Combining behavioral indicators with these innovative measurements will strengthen knowledge on animal cognition and perception of different environmental situations, thus enhancing their welfare. This work was supported by MIUR-PRIN2015 (Grant 2015Y5W9YP)

Circulating haematopoietic and endothelial progenitor cells are decreased in COPD

Circulating CD34+ cells are haemopoietic progenitors that may play a role in tissue repair. No data are available on circulating progenitors in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Circulating CD34+ cells were studied in 18 patients with moderate-to-severe COPD (age: mean+/-sd 68+/-8 yrs; forced expiratory volume in one second: 48+/-12% predicted) and 12 controls, at rest and after endurance exercise. Plasma concentrations of haematopoietic growth factors (FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (Flt3) ligand, kit ligand), markers of hypoxia (vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)) and stimulators of angiogenesis (VEGF, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)) and markers of systemic inflammation (tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8) were measured. Compared with the controls, the COPD patients showed a three-fold reduction in CD34+ cell counts (3.3+/-2.5 versus 10.3+/-4.2 cells.microL-1), and a 50% decrease in AC133+ cells. In the COPD patients, progenitor-derived haemopoietic and endothelial cell colonies were reduced by 30-50%. However, four COPD patients showed progenitor counts in the normal range associated with lower TNF-alpha levels. In the entire sample, CD34+ cell counts correlated with exercise capacity and severity of airflow obstruction. After endurance exercise, progenitor counts were unchanged, while plasma Flt3 ligand and VEGF only increased in the COPD patients. Plasma HGF levels were higher in the COPD patients compared with the controls and correlated inversely with the number of progenitor-derived colonies. In conclusion, circulating CD34+ cells and endothelial progenitors were decreased in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients and could be correlated with disease severity

Can functional near-infrared spectroscopy (FNIRS) give us reliable insights on sheep brain activity?

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a noninvasive optical technique for monitoring the concentration of oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin in human cerebral cortex. Recently, fNIRS has been increasingly used in animal studies, but research is needed to improve measurement accuracy and result reliability (e.g. rejecting possible extracerebral contributions). A wearable continuous wave (CW) fNIRS system (Octamon, Artinis Medical Systems, The Netherlands) was used to measure the cerebral activity of ten freely moving ewes (Sarda breed, 8-month-old) undergoing a motor task (30s baseline, 30s walking; ten repetitions) and a startling test (after 30s baseline an umbrella was opened in front of the sheep for 3s, followed by 60s recovery; five repetitions). fNIRS sensors were applied on the depilated sheep forehead and held in place with a customized head cap. Two pairs of transmitter-receiver at short (10mm) and long (30mm) distance were used to record light intensity at two wavelengths (760nm, 850nm) from the left and right hemisphere. Data were fitted to a CW model for photon diffusion in a two-layer geometry to estimate absorption changes with respect to the baseline in the bottom layer (representing cerebral cortex) and in the upper layer (representing tissues above brain: scalp, skull, CSF). Upper layer thickness was derived from anatomical measurements, while baseline optical properties (absorption and reduced scattering coefficients) were derived from time-resolved reflectance measurements on the same sheep. Beer\u2019s law was then used to calculate oxygenated haemoglobin changes (\u394O2Hb) and deoxygenated haemoglobin changes (\u394HHb) in both layers. Results of the motor task showed no changes in the upper layer and a canonical response in the bottom layer (\u394O2Hb increase and \u394HHb decrease) in both hemispheres when sheep were walking (Fig 1a). For the startling test, we found no changes in the upper layer and, after the stimulus, a canonical response only in right bottom layer (\u394O2Hb increase and \u394HHb decrease) (Fig 1b). These results confirm that CW fNIRS allowed to non-invasively measure cerebral cortex activity in freely moving sheep and that the use of short and long distance pairs of transmitter-receiver, coupled to a two-layer model for photon diffusion, was useful to reject extracerebral contributions. Measuring cerebral areas activation has the potential to give us new insights in the study of animal emotion and welfare. This study was approved by the Italian National Ethical Commission (authorization n\ub0457/2016-PR) and supported by MIUR-PRIN2015 (Grant 2015Y5W9YP)

How different husbandry conditions influence hind-gut microbiome, cortisol level and behaviour in lambs?

The gut microbiota\u2013brain axis is a bidirectional pathway through which the brain regulates the activity of the gut and vice versa. The intestinal microbiota was proven to influence and be influenced by stressrelated responses caused by management conditions. The aim of this work was to evaluate whether different husbandry conditions in lambs influenced gut microbiome (composition and diversity), cortisol level and behaviour. Fifteen Sarda breed lambs, aged 6 months, were randomly assigned to three groups of 5 animals each: Isolation (tactile and visual isolation; 3 h/day for 8 weeks); Enriched (in group in a outdoor grassy pen with a new enrichment each week; 3 h/day for 8 weeks); Control (habitual farm environment). Every week, 2 video-recordings of 1-hour each were collected respectively during and after each treatment, and analysed using a scan sampling technique (60 scans per video). Every two weeks hair was collected from the right shoulder using a shave and re-shave method. Cortisol concentration was measured by means of an ELISA test conducted on hair samples and expressed as pg/ml. At week 8 faecal material was collected directly from the rectal ampulla and immediately frozen at 1220\ub0C until DNA extraction was performed using a QIAmp DNA Stool kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). DNA quality and quantity were assessed using a NanoDrop ND-1000 spectrophotometer (NanoDrop Technologies, Wilmington, DE, USA). The microbiota of enriched animals was clearly different from the other two groups and showed lower within group variability. During treatment, only isolated sheep showed escape attempts (23% of scans during the first week) and freezing (58% of scans during the first week). In the home pen, after treatment, lambs did not show any stress-related behaviour. After one month of treatment, hair cortisol increased only in the isolated group. In conclusion, differences in microbiome could be related to the different stimulating enrichment and addition of grass on the diet. Although, from a behavioural point of view, sheep apparently habituated to the isolation, increase in cortisol levels could be related to experiencing a stressful situation

15 (S)-HETE modulates LTB4 production and neutrophil chemotaxis in chronic bronchitis

We evaluated the levels of 15(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid [15(S)-HETE] and the expression of 15-lipoxygenase (15-LO) mRNA in induced sputum obtained from 10 control and 15 chronic bronchitis subjects. 15(S)-HETE was evaluated by reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography separation followed by specific RIA. 15-LO mRNA expression was determined by primed in situ labeling. The levels of both soluble and cell-associated 15(S)-HETE resulted significantly higher in chronic bronchitis than in control subjects. The percentage of cells expressing 15-LO mRNA was significantly higher in chronic bronchitis than in control subjects (P < 0.01). Double staining for specific cell type markers and 15-LO mRNA showed macrophages and neutrophils positive for 15-LO, whereas similar staining of peripheral blood neutrophils did not show evidence for 15-LO expression, suggesting that expression of 15-LO in neutrophils takes place on migration into the airways. Because 15(S)-HETE inversely correlated with the percentage of neutrophils in sputum of chronic bronchitis subjects, we studied the effect of 15(S)-HETE on leukotriene B4 (LTB4) production in vitro and evaluated the concentration of LTB4 in induced sputum and the contribution of LTB4 to the chemotactic activity of induced sputum samples ex vivo. The results obtained indicate that macrophages and neutrophils present within the airways of chronic bronchitis subjects express 15-LO mRNA; increased basal levels of 15(S)-HETE may contribute to modulate, through the inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase metabolites production, neutrophil infiltration and airway inflammation associated with chronic bronchitis

Effect of Diet and Essential Oils on the Fatty Acid Composition, Oxidative Stability and Microbiological Profile of Marchigiana Burgers

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of including linseed (L) or linseed plus vitamin E (LE) in the diet of Marchigiana young bulls on the oxidative stability, color measurements, microbiological profile and fatty acid composition (FA) of burgers treated with and without a blend of essential oils (Rosmarinus officinalis and Origanum vulgare var. hirtum) (EOs). For this aim, the burgers were analysed for pH, thiobarbituric-acid-reactive substance (TBARS) content, Ferric Reducing/Antioxidant Power Assay (FRAP), vitamin E and colour measurements (L, a*, b) at 3, 6, 9, 12 days of storage: the TBARs were the highest in group L compared to C and LE after 12 days of storage (0.98, 0.73, and 0.63 mg MDA/kg, respectively). The TBARS content was also influenced by the use of EO compared to burgers not treated with EO (p < 0.05). The vitamin E content was influenced by the diet (p < 0.01), but not by the EO. The meat of the L group showed the lowest value of redness (a*) compared to C and LE (p < 0.01), while the use of EO did not affect colour parameters. The microbiological profile of the burgers showed a lower Pseudomonas count for L and LE at T0 (2.82 ± 0.30 and 2.30 ± 0.52 Log CFU/g, respectively) compared to C (3.90 ± 0.38 Log CFU/g), while the EO did not influence the microbiological profile. The FA composition was analysed at 0 and 12 days. The burgers from the LE group showed the highest value of polyunsaturated FA compared to the L and C groups (p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that the inclusion of vitamin E in a concentrate rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids is useful to limit intramuscular fat oxidation and to preserve the colour stability of burgers from young Marchigiana bulls enriched with healthy fatty acids. Moreover, linseed and vitamin E had a positive effect on microbial loads and growth dynamics, containing microbial development through time