Second contribution to the knowledge of the Lithosiini of Gabon: the genus Nanna Birket-Smith (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae)

The presence of the genus Nanna in Gabon is treated. Four species are recorded, two of which are new to science (N. molouba sp. nov. and N. semigrisea sp. nov.), and the hitherto unknown female of Nannaa ceratopygia is described. A checklist and a key to the species of the genus Nanna are provided

Access to legal information for citizens and new citizens in Italy: using visual elements and adopting Legal Design methods to make administrative documents clearer and more effective.

In the present paper we will verify if and how the institutional guidelines on administrative document drafting of extra-EU countries, include recommendations on the use of visual elements to make the content of the institutional texts more comprehensible and the administrative procedures more accessible. This analysis had the ultimate goal of trying to make additional proposals for the Italian guidelines in order to make them more inclusive through a greater use of visual aspects

Leptomeningitis in a person with radiologically isolated syndrome and latent tuberculosis. A case report with implications for clinical research

A 39-year-old man, followed with serial MRI of CNS for a radiologically isolate syndrome (RIS, a recently described condition considered a subclinical form of MS), was hospitalized for the occurrence of a leptomeningitis. Routine blood tests and contrast enhanced total body CT scan were unremarkable. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination showed increase of cells (22 mononuclear cells/mm3), albumin (294 mg/L), immunoglobilins G (161 mg/L) and Link Index (1.9), with 17 oligoclonal bands. Microbiological examinations of CSF (including those for Koch’s Bacillus) were negative. The Mantoux reaction and the QuantiFERON test were positive, featuring a latent tuberculosis (TB). The patient started prophylaxis with rifampicin and isoniazid for four months, until a new MRI showed the disappearance of the leptomeningeal enhancement, and the stability of white matter brain and spinal cord lesions. Two other MRI scans showed a new brain Gd-enhancing lesion nine month after anti-tubercular therapy and, after additional six months, new cerebral and spinal cord areas. This case provides the following suggestions about the effects of TB infection and related therapies on the underlying autoimmune status: the infection, while actively present, did not exacerbate the RIS condition; the worsening nine months after the prophylaxis discontinuation might have been the ‘natural’ evolution of RIS condition. Alternative speculative hypotheses include a remote effect of the infection, of isoniazid (that was reported in some cases to trigger MS), or the result of the clearance of the infection itself. Irrespective of the existence of any interaction between RIS and TB infection, It seems important to collect cases with MS-related diseases and concomitant infections, that may provide clues about disease pathogenesis and treatment

A quantitative study of the interactions between oil price and renewable energy sources stock prices

In this article, we apply an integrable nonautonomous Lotka-Volterra model to study the relationship between oil and renewable energy stock prices between 2006 and 2016. The advantage of this innovative approach is that it allows us to study the simultaneous interaction among n stock indices at any point in time. In line with previous studies, we find that the relationship between oil and renewables is characterized by major structural breaks taking place in 2008 and around 2013. The first structural break might be caused by the financial crisis, whereas more studies are required to advance a hypothesis on the causes behind the second structural break. Our main finding is that oil is always in a predator-prey relationship with wind, whereas it proceeds in mutualism with solar after 2012. Moreover, we find that solar and wind proceed in mutualism between 2008 and 2013 but have a rivalrous interaction before (competition) and after (predator-prey) that period. We explore the possible reasons behind these patterns and their policy implications

Interactions between concerns for the environment and other sources of concern in 31 European countries

Understanding how different sources of concern interact in people’s mind is a question that has entertained generations of scholars. The finite-pool-of-worry (FPW) hypothesis states that humans have limited resources to worry, thus when they are worried about one issue they become less worried about other issues. Instead, the affect generalization theory (AGT) posits that an increased level of worry about one threat increases concerns about related threats. To this end, we adopt a Lotka-Volterra model to detect instances of AGT and FPW among worries for the environment, economy, safety, social issues and immigration in 31 European countries between 2012 and 2019 (Eurobarometer data). Consistently with AGT, we find that an increase in the concern for the environment often favors the growth of concerns for the economy. Meanwhile, consistently with FPW, an increase in the concerns for the economy and for other sources of worry, often pushes down concerns for the environment. Building on our results, we hypothesize the existence of a pyramid of worries. At the bottom of the pyramid lie worries like concerns for the economy, which generally predate other worries. Concerns for the environment lie at the very top of the pyramid as they are generally predated by other worries. Last, we find that AGT and FPW can coexist not only over time and across countries, but also as a result of an asymmetric interaction

Concise Review: Epigenetic Regulation of Hematopoiesis: Biological Insights and Therapeutic Applications

Hematopoiesis is the process of blood cell formation starting from hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs). The understanding of regulatory networks involved in hematopoiesis and their impact on gene expression is crucial to decipher the molecular mechanisms that control hematopoietic development in physiological and pathological conditions, and to develop novel therapeutic strategies. An increasing number of epigenetic studies aim at defining, on a genome-wide scale, the cis-regulatory sequences (e.g., promoters and enhancers) used by human HSPCs and their lineage-restricted progeny at different stages of development. In parallel, human genetic studies allowed the discovery of genetic variants mapping to cis-regulatory elements and associated with hematological phenotypes and diseases. Here, we summarize recent epigenetic and genetic studies in hematopoietic cells that give insights into human hematopoiesis and provide a knowledge basis for the development of novel therapeutic approaches. As an example, we discuss the therapeutic approaches targeting cis-regulatory regions to reactivate fetal hemoglobin for the treatment of β-hemoglobinopathies. Epigenetic studies allowed the definition of cis-regulatory sequences used by human hematopoietic cells. Promoters and enhancers are targeted by transcription factors and are characterized by specific histone modifications. Genetic variants mapping to cis-regulatory elements are often associated with hematological phenotypes and diseases. In some cases, these variants can alter the binding of transcription factors, thus changing the expression of the target genes. Targeting cis-regulatory sequences represents a promising therapeutic approach for many hematological diseases. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2017;6:2106â2114

Gli edifici del periodo razionalista in Italia: modello per la valutazione della vulnerabilità sismica

The seismic vulnerability that characterizes the architectural heritage in Italy requires methods applicable at territorial scale, simplified but reliable for a proper risk assessment and a subsequent planning of intervention strategies. For this purpose, in the present work a method for the seismic vulnerability evaluation at territorial scale was developed in order to analyze the buildings built in Italy between 1930 and 1940, belonging to the architectural movement of Italian Rationalism. Starting from the vulnerability method, based on the European Macroseismic Scale (Grunthal, 1998; Giovinazzi and Lagomarsino, 2004), the proposed methodology provides new parameters related to specific vulnerabilities of the Rationalist architectural heritage. The analysis of these buildings, represented by a sample geographically contextualized to Liguria region (Italy), pointed out that the vulnerability is related to two main reasons. The first reason is the formal characteristics, related to the research of lightness, transparency and boldness that characterized the new architectural language which, in those years, was developing in Italy, as in the rest of Europe. At the base of the formal choices is the use of reinforced concrete, a "new" construction technology: if the use of this material was a valuable tool for the formal renovation in architecture, it is true that it is, at the same time, the second cause of the vulnerability that characterizes the buildings belonging to the Italian Rationalism. In fact, it is necessary to take into account that the construction technique was in its "first steps" at the beginning of the last century, and that, therefore, had not yet fully mastered, causing structural problems, in some cases, already from a static point of view. The scores of vulnerability, assigned to the parameters identified, have been calibrated through parametrical sensitivity analysis on a building "prototype", from a real case study, selected as representative of certain recurring characteristics in the sample. The proposed method allows to assess the vulnerability of this cultural heritage, that is higher than the vulnerability that characterized the reinforced concrete existing building with modern design

Gli edifici del periodo razionalista in Italia: modello per la valutazione della vulnerabilità sismica

The seismic vulnerability that characterizes the architectural heritage in Italy requires methods applicable at territorial scale, simplified but reliable for a proper risk assessment and a subsequent planning of intervention strategies. For this purpose, in the present work a method for the seismic vulnerability evaluation at territorial scale was developed in order to analyze the buildings built in Italy between 1930 and 1940, belonging to the architectural movement of Italian Rationalism. Starting from the vulnerability method, based on the European Macroseismic Scale (Grunthal, 1998; Giovinazzi and Lagomarsino, 2004), the proposed methodology provides new parameters related to specific vulnerabilities of the Rationalist architectural heritage. The analysis of these buildings, represented by a sample geographically contextualized to Liguria region (Italy), pointed out that the vulnerability is related to two main reasons. The first reason is the formal characteristics, related to the research of lightness, transparency and boldness that characterized the new architectural language which, in those years, was developing in Italy, as in the rest of Europe. At the base of the formal choices is the use of reinforced concrete, a "new" construction technology: if the use of this material was a valuable tool for the formal renovation in architecture, it is true that it is, at the same time, the second cause of the vulnerability that characterizes the buildings belonging to the Italian Rationalism. In fact, it is necessary to take into account that the construction technique was in its "first steps" at the beginning of the last century, and that, therefore, had not yet fully mastered, causing structural problems, in some cases, already from a static point of view. The scores of vulnerability, assigned to the parameters identified, have been calibrated through parametrical sensitivity analysis on a building "prototype", from a real case study, selected as representative of certain recurring characteristics in the sample. The proposed method allows to assess the vulnerability of this cultural heritage, that is higher than the vulnerability that characterized the reinforced concrete existing building with modern design