If Dante had known Phytoplankton. A comparison between literature and science through the didactics of metaphors.

This project, conducted with Classical High School students, was developed under the "Alternating School and Work Experience" program (Italian Law n. 107/2015) between the "G. Palmieri" High School of Lecce and the Environmental Protection Agency of Puglia (ARPA), Department of Lecce, in Italy. In particular, this paper describes the “HABs’ world” allegorically, in terms of one of the most famous examples of Italian literature, the Divine Comedy. Harmful algal blooms, or HABs, occur when colonies of algae, simple photosynthetic organisms that live in the sea and freshwater, grow out of control while producing toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and birds. Since HABs can be defined as “bad”, based on their negative characteristics, some of these were compared to the sinful souls that Dante and Virgil encountered along their journey into Hell. It is argued that such integration of literary and scientific contexts in terms of ecological indicators helps students understand the relationship between the sustainability of human and environmental trajectories.Key words: Phytoplankton, Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs), The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri, ecological indicator

Revolution of Alzheimer Precision Neurology. Passageway of Systems Biology and Neurophysiology

The Precision Neurology development process implements systems theory with system biology and neurophysiology in a parallel, bidirectional research path: a combined hypothesis-driven investigation of systems dysfunction within distinct molecular, cellular and large-scale neural network systems in both animal models as well as through tests for the usefulness of these candidate dynamic systems biomarkers in different diseases and subgroups at different stages of pathophysiological progression. This translational research path is paralleled by an “omics”-based, hypothesis-free, exploratory research pathway, which will collect multimodal data from progressing asymptomatic, preclinical and clinical neurodegenerative disease (ND) populations, within the wide continuous biological and clinical spectrum of ND, applying high-throughput and high-content technologies combined with powerful computational and statistical modeling tools, aimed at identifying novel dysfunctional systems and predictive marker signatures associated with ND. The goals are to identify common biological denominators or differentiating classifiers across the continuum of ND during detectable stages of pathophysiological progression, characterize systems-based intermediate endophenotypes, validate multi-modal novel diagnostic systems biomarkers, and advance clinical intervention trial designs by utilizing systems-based intermediate endophenotypes and candidate surrogate markers. Achieving these goals is key to the ultimate development of early and effective individualized treatment of ND, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The Alzheimer Precision Medicine Initiative (APMI) and cohort program (APMI-CP), as well as the Paris based core of the Sorbonne University Clinical Research Group “Alzheimer Precision Medicine” (GRC-APM) were recently launched to facilitate the passageway from conventional clinical diagnostic and drug development towards breakthrough innovation based on the investigation of the comprehensive biological nature of aging individuals. The APMI movement is gaining momentum to systematically apply both systems neurophysiology and systems biology in exploratory translational neuroscience research on ND

Sex differences in functional and molecular neuroimaging biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease in cognitively normal older adults with subjective memory complaints

Introduction: Observational multimodal neuroimaging studies indicate sex differences in Alzheimer's disease pathophysiological markers. Methods: Positron emission tomography brain amyloid load, neurodegeneration (hippocampus and basal forebrain volumes adjusted to total intracranial volume, cortical thickness, and 2-deoxy-2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-D-glucose–positron emission tomography metabolism), and brain resting-state functional connectivity were analyzed in 318 cognitively intact older adults from the INSIGHT-preAD cohort (female n = 201, male n = 117). A linear mixed-effects model was performed to investigate sex effects and sex∗apolipoprotein E genotype interaction on each marker as well as sex∗amyloid group interaction for non-amyloid markers. Results: Men compared with women showed higher anterior cingulate cortex amyloid load (P =.009), glucose hypometabolism in the precuneus (P =.027), posterior cingulate (P <.001) and inferior parietal (P =.043) cortices, and lower resting-state functional connectivity in the default mode network (P =.024). No brain volumetric markers showed differences between men and women. Sex∗apolipoprotein E genotype and sex∗amyloid status interactions were not significant. Discussion: Our findings suggest that cognitively intact older men compared with women have higher resilience to pathophysiological processes of Alzheimer's disease

Differential default mode network trajectories in asymptomatic individuals at risk for Alzheimer's disease

International audienc

Effect of Alzheimer's disease risk and protective factors on cognitive trajectories in subjective memory complainers: An INSIGHT‐preAD study

International audienc

Association of plasma YKL-40 with brain amyloid-β levels, memory performance, and sex in subjective memory complainers

International audienc