Apparent N Balance in Organic and Conventional Low Input Cropping Systems

The determination of nutrient surplus is one of the indicators of potential N losses from the agricultural system to the environment. An experiment was started in 1998 in Central Italy to evaluate the soil surface N balance of an organic and a conventional low input cropping system over a long term crop rotation. Results at the end of a 6-year crop rotation showed an estimated N surplus in organic system 1.3-2 times higher than in conventional system while N content in the top soil was not different in the two systems, so that organic system should have involved a higher N loss from that soil layer

Redirecting dendritic cells and macrophages towards tumor rejection

The liver expressed chemokine CCL16/LEC exerts chemotactic activity on human monocytes and lymphocytes and is also active on murine cells. An adenovirus encoding the chemokine CCL16 was used to test whether this chemokine might inhibit pre-existing tumors in mice. AdCCL16, but not control empty vector, when injected in established TSA mammary carcinoma, significantly delayed tumor growth. Immunohistochemistry revealed accumulation at tumor site of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells (DC) the latter being also enriched in draining lymph nodes. Despite the robust and rapid immune response triggered by intratumoral injection of AdCCL16, the lesions were not completely rejected. However the same treatment given before surgical excision of primary lesions prevented metastatic spread and cured 63% of mice bearing the 4T1 mammary adenocarcinoma. The finding of an hostile tumor microenvironment preventing innate immunity explains the weak effect on the primary tumor. As CCL16 promotes accumulation of macrophages and DC at the site of pre-established tumor nodules this treatment was combined with the TLR9 ligand CpG and with anti-interleukin 10-receptor (IL10R) antibody to contrast the local tumor-induced immunosuppression. CpG plus anti- IL10R promptly switched M2 infiltrating macrophages to Ml that, triggering a strong innate response, debulked large tumors within 16 hrs. Tumor infiltrating DC matured and migrated in parallel with the onset of the innate response, allowing the initiation of adaptive immunity before the diffuse hemorrhagic necrosis halted the communication between tumor and draining lymph node. Treatment of B6>CXB6 chimeras implanted with BALB/c tumors induced an efficient innate response but not CTL-mediated tumor lysis; in these mice tumor rejection did not exceed 25%. The requirement of CD4 help for an effective CTL induction was shown in CD40KO, as well as in mice depleted for CD4 T cells during the priming rather than the effector phase. Together the data describe the critical requirements for the immunological rejection of large tumors: a hemorrhagic necrosis initiated by activated Ml macrophages and a concomitant DC-migration to DLN for subsequent CTL priming and clearing of any tumor remnants

Manipulating quantum Hall edge channels in graphene through Scanning Gate Microscopy

We show evidence of the backscattering of quantum Hall edge channels in a narrow graphene Hall bar, induced by the gating effect of the conducting tip of a Scanning Gate Microscope, which we can position with nanometer precision. We show full control over the edge channels and are able, due to the spatial variation of the tip potential, to separate co-propagating edge channels in the Hall bar, creating junctions between regions of different charge carrier density, that have not been observed in devices based on top- or split-gates. The solution of the corresponding quantum scattering problem is presented to substantiate these results, and possible follow-up experiments are discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure

Cooperação técnica e produção familiar sustentável de hortaliças: análise dos condicionantes e determinantes para a formulação de uma política nacional de segurança alimentar e nutricional para o Haiti.

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Class I and Class II Patients Treated with Damon System: A Study of Transversal, Sagittal and Torque Values Variations

Objective: To analyze the transversal and anterior-posterior changes obtained in patients treated only with the Damon system. Material and Methods: 51 patients with either class I or class II division 1 sagittal relationship treated with the Damon system and the same archwire sequence were retrospectively selected. Dental casts of each patient before (T0) and after treatment (T1) were scanned and analyzed using NEMOCAST 3D software. Inter-molar, inter first-premolar, inter-second premolar and inter-canine distances were measured in both upper and lower arches. Initial and final lateral cephalograms were traced using the OrisCeph program. Pre and post-treatment measurements were compared using the t-test for repeated measurements. The Pearson Correlation Index and Linear Regression Analysis were used to determine the dependence between continuous variables. The significance level was set at 0.05. Results: Transversal diameters in the upper arch increase statistically significantly, especially in the bicuspid area. Initial intra-arch diameter was the only statistically significant variable correlated with the final expansion obtained. A linear negative correlation between the initial latero-posterior torque and the final expansion was observed in both arches. Conclusion: Using identical arches in patients with very different initial characteristics, the changes in bicuspids’ diameters remain the most predominant. Patients with initial more negative torque in the posterior region had a higher expansion amount

The crowded crossroad to angiogenesis in systemic sclerosis: where is the key to the problem?

In systemic sclerosis (SSc), peripheral vasculopathy is characterized by a progressive and irreversible loss of capillaries following endothelial cell injury, due to defects in both vascular repair and expected increase in new vessel growth (angiogenesis). The discovery of key molecular targets may help to develop the most effective therapeutic strategy for the SSc-related vasculopathy. A pathway worth targeting in SSc may include vascular endothelial growth factor, 165b isoform, an endogenous angiogenesis inhibitor abnormally expressed and released by different cell types, including activated endothelial cells and platelets