1,030 research outputs found
Spatial and temporal hot spots of Aedes albopictus abundance inside and outside a South European metropolitan area
Aedes albopictus is a tropical invasive species which in the last decades spread worldwide,
also colonizing temperate regions of Europe and US, where it has become a public health
concern due to its ability to transmit exotic arboviruses, as well as severe nuisance problems
due to its aggressive daytime outdoor biting behaviour. While several studies have
been carried out in order to predict the potential limits of the species expansions based on
eco-climatic parameters, few studies have so far focused on the specific effects of these
variables in shaping its micro-geographic abundance and dynamics. The present study
investigated eco-climatic factors affecting Ae. albopictus abundance and dynamics in metropolitan
and sub-urban/rural sites in Rome (Italy), which was colonized in 1997 and is nowadays
one of the most infested metropolitan areas in Southern Europe. To this aim,
longitudinal adult monitoring was carried out along a 70 km-transect across and beyond the
most urbanized and densely populated metropolitan area. Two fine scale spatiotemporal
datasets (one with reference to a 20m circular buffer around sticky traps used to collect
mosquitoes and the second to a 300m circular buffer within each sampling site) were
exploited to analyze the effect of climatic and socio-environmental variables on Ae. albopictus
abundance and dynamics along the transect. Results showed an association between
highly anthropized habitats and high adult abundance both in metropolitan and sub-urban/
rural areas, with âsmall green islandsâ corresponding to hot spots of abundance in the metropolitan
areas only, and a bimodal seasonal dynamics with a second peak of abundance in
autumn, due to heavy rains occurring in the preceding weeks in association with permissive
temperatures. The results provide useful indications to prioritize public mosquito control
measures in temperate urban areas where nuisance, human-mosquito contact and risk of
local arbovirus transmission are likely higher, and highlight potential public health risks also
after the summer months typically associated with high mosquito densities
Autonomous Observations in Antarctica with AMICA
The Antarctic Multiband Infrared Camera (AMICA) is a double channel camera
operating in the 2-28 micron infrared domain (KLMNQ bands) that will allow to
characterize and exploit the exceptional advantages for Astronomy, expected
from Dome C in Antarctica. The development of the camera control system is at
its final stage. After the investigation of appropriate solutions against the
critical environment, a reliable instrumentation has been developed. It is
currently being integrated and tested to ensure the correct execution of
automatic operations. Once it will be mounted on the International Robotic
Antarctic Infrared Telescope (IRAIT), AMICA and its equipment will contribute
to the accomplishment of a fully autonomous observatory.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, Advances in Astronomy Journal, Special Issue
"Robotic Astronomy", Accepted 11 February 201
ZOOMICS: comparative metabolomics of red blood cells from dogs, cows, horses and donkeys during refrigerated storage for up to 42 days
The use of omics technologies in human transfusion medicine has improved our understanding of the red blood cell (RBC) storage lesion(s). Despite significant progress towards understanding the storage lesion(s) of human RBCs, a comparison of basal and post-storage RBC metabolism across multiple species using omics technologies has not yet been reported, and is the focus of this study
Protective effects of the neuropeptides PACAP, substance P and the somatostatin analogue octreotide in retinal ischemia: a metabolomic analysis.
Ischemia is a primary cause of neuronal death in retinal diseases and the somatostatin subtype receptor 2
agonist octreotide (OCT) is known to decrease ischemia-induced retinal cell death. Using a recently
optimized ex vivo mouse model of retinal ischemia, we tested the anti-ischemic potential of two additional
neuropeptides, pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide (PACAP) and substance P (SP), and monitored
the major changes occurring at the metabolic level. Metabolomics analyses were performed via fast HPLC
online using a microTOF-Q MS instrument, a workflow that is increasingly becoming the gold standard in
the field of metabolomics. The metabolomic approach allowed detection of the most significant alterations
induced in the retina by ischemia and of the significance of the protective effects exerted by OCT, PACAP
or SP. All treatments were shown to reduce ischemia-induced cell death, vascular endothelial growth factor
over-expression and glutamate release. The metabolomic analysis showed that OCT and, to a lesser extent,
also PACAP or SP, were able to counteract the ischemia-induced oxidative stress and to promote, with
various efficacies, (i) decreased accumulation of glutamate and normalization of glutathione homeostasis;
(ii) reduced build-up of a-ketoglutarate, which might serve as a substrate for the enhanced biosynthesis of
glutamate in response to ischemia; (iii) reduced accumulation of peroxidized lipids and inflammatory
mediators; (iv) the normalization of glycolytic fluxes and thus preventing the over-accumulation of lactate or
either promoting the down-regulation of the glyoxalate anti-oxidant system; (v) a reduced metabolic shift
from glycolysis towards the PPP or either a blockade at the non-oxidative phase of the PPP; and (vi) tuning
down of purine metabolism. In addition, OCT seemed to stimulate nitric oxide production. None of the
treatments was able to restore ATP production, although ATP reservoirs were partly replenished by OCT,
PACAP or SP. These data indicate that, in addition to that of somatostatin, peptidergic systems such as those
of PACAP and SP deserve attention in view of peptide-based therapies to treat ischemic retinal disorders
Cross-talk between red blood cells and plasma influences blood flow and omics phenotypes in severe COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and can affect multiple organs, among which is the circulatory system. Inflammation and mortality risk markers were previously detected in COVID-19 plasma
and red blood cells (RBCs) metabolic and proteomic profiles. Additionally, biophysical properties,
such as deformability, were found to be changed during the infection. Based on such data, we
aim to better characterize RBC functions in COVID-19. We evaluate the flow properties of RBCs
in severe COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit by using microfluidic techniques
and automated methods, including artificial neural networks, for an unbiased RBC analysis. We find
strong flow and RBC shape impairment in COVID-19 samples and demonstrate that such changes
are reversible upon suspension of COVID-19 RBCs in healthy plasma. Vice versa, healthy RBCs
resemble COVID-19 RBCs when suspended in COVID-19 plasma. Proteomics and metabolomics
analyses allow us to detect the effect of plasma exchanges on both plasma and RBCs and demonstrate a new role of RBCs in maintaining plasma equilibria at the expense of their flow properties.
Our findings provide a framework for further investigations of clinical relevance for therapies against
COVID-19 and possibly other infectious diseases
SWIPE: a bolometric polarimeter for the Large-Scale Polarization Explorer
The balloon-borne LSPE mission is optimized to measure the linear
polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background at large angular scales. The
Short Wavelength Instrument for the Polarization Explorer (SWIPE) is composed
of 3 arrays of multi-mode bolometers cooled at 0.3K, with optical components
and filters cryogenically cooled below 4K to reduce the background on the
detectors. Polarimetry is achieved by means of large rotating half-wave plates
and wire-grid polarizers in front of the arrays. The polarization modulator is
the first component of the optical chain, reducing significantly the effect of
instrumental polarization. In SWIPE we trade angular resolution for
sensitivity. The diameter of the entrance pupil of the refractive telescope is
45 cm, while the field optics is optimized to collect tens of modes for each
detector, thus boosting the absorbed power. This approach results in a FWHM
resolution of 1.8, 1.5, 1.2 degrees at 95, 145, 245 GHz respectively. The
expected performance of the three channels is limited by photon noise,
resulting in a final sensitivity around 0.1-0.2 uK per beam, for a 13 days
survey covering 25% of the sky.Comment: In press. Copyright 2012 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation
Engineers. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only.
Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this
paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of
the paper are prohibite
The Large-Scale Polarization Explorer (LSPE)
The LSPE is a balloon-borne mission aimed at measuring the polarization of
the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at large angular scales, and in
particular to constrain the curl component of CMB polarization (B-modes)
produced by tensor perturbations generated during cosmic inflation, in the very
early universe. Its primary target is to improve the limit on the ratio of
tensor to scalar perturbations amplitudes down to r = 0.03, at 99.7%
confidence. A second target is to produce wide maps of foreground polarization
generated in our Galaxy by synchrotron emission and interstellar dust emission.
These will be important to map Galactic magnetic fields and to study the
properties of ionized gas and of diffuse interstellar dust in our Galaxy. The
mission is optimized for large angular scales, with coarse angular resolution
(around 1.5 degrees FWHM), and wide sky coverage (25% of the sky). The payload
will fly in a circumpolar long duration balloon mission during the polar night.
Using the Earth as a giant solar shield, the instrument will spin in azimuth,
observing a large fraction of the northern sky. The payload will host two
instruments. An array of coherent polarimeters using cryogenic HEMT amplifiers
will survey the sky at 43 and 90 GHz. An array of bolometric polarimeters,
using large throughput multi-mode bolometers and rotating Half Wave Plates
(HWP), will survey the same sky region in three bands at 95, 145 and 245 GHz.
The wide frequency coverage will allow optimal control of the polarized
foregrounds, with comparable angular resolution at all frequencies.Comment: In press. Copyright 2012 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation
Engineers. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only.
Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this
paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of
the paper are prohibite
DNA damage contributes to neurotoxic inflammation in Aicardi-GoutiĂšres Syndrome astrocytes
Aberrant induction of type I IFN is a hallmark of the inherited encephalopathy Aicardi-GoutiĂšres syndrome (AGS), but the mechanisms triggering disease in the human central nervous system (CNS) remain elusive. Here, we generated human models of AGS using genetically modified and patient-derived pluripotent stem cells harboring TREX1 or RNASEH2B loss-of-function alleles. Genome-wide transcriptomic analysis reveals that spontaneous proinflammatory activation in AGS astrocytes initiates signaling cascades impacting multiple CNS cell subsets analyzed at the single-cell level. We identify accumulating DNA damage, with elevated R-loop and micronuclei formation, as a driver of STING- and NLRP3-related inflammatory responses leading to the secretion of neurotoxic mediators. Importantly, pharmacological inhibition of proapoptotic or inflammatory cascades in AGS astrocytes prevents neurotoxicity without apparent impact on their increased type I IFN responses. Together, our work identifies DNA damage as a major driver of neurotoxic inflammation in AGS astrocytes, suggests a role for AGS gene products in R-loop homeostasis, and identifies common denominators of disease that can be targeted to prevent astrocyte-mediated neurotoxicity in AGS
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