Composition and Conservation Value of Epiphytic Lichen Communities on Common Ash in North-Western Alps: A First Assessment

In the western sector of the Alps, and particularly in the Aosta Valley, lichenological communities on broad-leaved trees have received very little attention, and information about lichen species associated with common ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) are still scanty. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed epiphytic lichen communities of ash trees to estimate their composition, their conservation value, and their association with some key environmental variables. Our results show that lichen communities appear to be different in terms of occurrence and frequencies in different sampling sites. The tested environmental variables contribute to shape the lichen communities, which are significantly different (p Lecanora impudens and Rinodina polyspora) were included in the red list of Italian epiphytic lichens

Integration of crosswind forces into train dynamic modelling

In this paper a new method is used to calculate unsteady wind loadings acting on a railway vehicle. The method takes input data from wind tunnel testing or from computational fluid dynamics simulations (one example of each is presented in this article), for aerodynamic force and moment coefficients and combines these with fluctuating wind velocity time histories and train speed to produce wind force time histories on the train. This method is fast and efficient and this has allowed the wind forces to be applied to a vehicle dynamics simulation for a long length of track. Two typical vehicles (one passenger, one freight) have been modelled using the vehicle dynamics simulation package ‘VAMPIRE®’, which allows detailed modelling of the vehicle suspension and wheel—rail contact. The aerodynamic coefficients of the passenger train have been obtained from wind tunnel tests while those of the freight train have been obtained through fluid dynamic computations using large-eddy simulation. Wind loadings were calculated for the same vehicles for a range of average wind speeds and applied to the vehicle models using a user routine within the VAMPIRE package. Track irregularities measured by a track recording coach for a 40 km section of the main line route from London to King's Lynn were used as input to the vehicle simulations. The simulated vehicle behaviour was assessed against two key indicators for derailment; the Y/Q ratio, which is an indicator of wheel climb derailment, and the Δ Q/Q value, which indicates wheel unloading and therefore potential roll over. The results show that vehicle derailment by either indicator is not predicted for either vehicle for any mean wind speed up to 20 m/s (with consequent gusts up to around 30 m/s). At a higher mean wind speed of 25 m/s derailment is predicted for the passenger vehicle and the unladen freight vehicle (but not for the laden freight vehicle)

A novel format for recombinant antibody-interleukin-2 fusion proteins exhibits superior tumor-targeting properties in vivo

The targeted delivery of interleukin-2 to the tumor is gaining attention as an avenue to potentiate the action of T and NK cells at the site of disease. We have previously described the fusion of the L19 antibody, specific to the EDB domain of fibronectin, with human interleukin-2, using a non-covalent homodimeric diabody format. Here, we describe four novel formats for the L19-IL2 fusion, featuring different arrangements of antibody and IL2. A comparative quantitative biodistribution analysis in tumor-bearing mice using radioiodinated proteins revealed that the novel format (L19L19-IL2, with the antibody in single-chain diabody format) exhibited the best biodistribution results. In vitro assays on peripheral blood mononuclear cells showed a decrease activation of regulatory T cells when single IL2 domain was used. In vivo, both L19-IL2 and L19L19-IL2 inhibited tumor growth in immunocompetent mouse models of cancer. T-cell analysis revealed similar levels of CD4+ and FoxP3+ cells, with an expansion of the CD8+ T cell in mice treated with L19-IL2 and L19L19-IL2. The percentage of CD4+ regulatory T cells was markedly decreased with L19L19-IL2 combined with a mouse-specific PD-1 blocker. Collectively, these data indicate that the new L19L19-IL2 format exhibits favorable tumor-homing properties and mediates a potent anti-cancer activity in vivo

A Short Counterexample Property for Safety and Liveness Verification of Fault-tolerant Distributed Algorithms

Distributed algorithms have many mission-critical applications ranging from embedded systems and replicated databases to cloud computing. Due to asynchronous communication, process faults, or network failures, these algorithms are difficult to design and verify. Many algorithms achieve fault tolerance by using threshold guards that, for instance, ensure that a process waits until it has received an acknowledgment from a majority of its peers. Consequently, domain-specific languages for fault-tolerant distributed systems offer language support for threshold guards. We introduce an automated method for model checking of safety and liveness of threshold-guarded distributed algorithms in systems where the number of processes and the fraction of faulty processes are parameters. Our method is based on a short counterexample property: if a distributed algorithm violates a temporal specification (in a fragment of LTL), then there is a counterexample whose length is bounded and independent of the parameters. We prove this property by (i) characterizing executions depending on the structure of the temporal formula, and (ii) using commutativity of transitions to accelerate and shorten executions. We extended the ByMC toolset (Byzantine Model Checker) with our technique, and verified liveness and safety of 10 prominent fault-tolerant distributed algorithms, most of which were out of reach for existing techniques.Comment: 16 pages, 11 pages appendi

Environmental DNA assessment of airborne plant and fungal seasonal diversity

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding and metagenomics analyses can improve taxonomic resolution in biodiversity studies. Only recently, these techniques have been applied in aerobiology, to target bacteria, fungi and plants in airborne samples. Here, we present a nine-month aerobiological study applying eDNA metabarcoding in which we analyzed simultaneously airborne diversity and variation of fungi and plants across five locations in North and Central Italy. We correlated species composition with the ecological characteristics of the sites and the seasons. The most abundant taxa among all sites and seasons were the fungal genera Cladosporium, Alternaria, and Epicoccum and the plant genera Brassica, Corylus, Cupressus and Linum, the latter being much more variable among sites. PERMANOVA and indicator species analyses showed that the plant diversity from air samples is significantly correlated with seasons, while that of fungi varied according to the interaction between seasons and sites. The results consolidate the performance of a new eDNA metabarcoding pipeline for the simultaneous amplification and analysis of airborne plant and fungal particles. They also highlight the promising complementarity of this approach with more traditional biomonitoring frameworks and routine reports of air quality provided by environmental agencies

Antibacterial rifampicin-loaded electrospun polycaprolactone membranes for ureteral regeneration

Author of the study: Nowadays partial or complete ureteral loss following resection or injuries of various etiology is managed with different surgical techniques involving local tissue flaps or autologous tissues interposition. In the last years ureteral tissue engineering using membranes, tubular scaffolds or decellularized matrices has shown promising results for ureteral substitution. The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of antibacterial electrospun polycaprolactone/ rifampicin (PCL/RIF) membranes for the production of ureteral scaffolds with antibacterial properties. Materials and methods: Electrospinning processwas used to produce the membranes that were subsequently impregnated with rifampicin. Membranes stability was evaluated by immersion in Simulated Body Fluid (SBF) at 37 °C. Mechanical properties were evaluated by uniaxial tensile tests, Young’s modulus was calculated for each sample. UV spectrophotometry was used to evaluate in vitro release of rifampicin. The ability of PCL/Rif membranes to sustain cell adhesion and proliferation was evaluated by seeding human urothelial bladder carcinoma cells on the membranes. In order to investigate the antibacterial effect of PCL/Rif membranes, in vitro antibacterial tests were performed using bacterial strains belonging to the “ESKAPE” group. Results: PCL/Rif membranes are characterized by a random distribution of fibers with an average diameter of 0.52 μm.Water contact angle for PCL and PCL/Rif membranes is around 125° and decreases to 0° after air-plasma treatment. When culture medium is used as testing fluid PCL and PCL/Rif contact angles are 116° and 12° respectively. Membranes are deformable up to 300% of their initial dimension and possess an elastic Young modulus of about 20 kPa; after 3 weeks membranes gain the property to sustain a 100% deformation before rupture. The 72% of rifampicin load is released by the membranes in the first 24 hours. Proliferation assay showed a seven-fold increase of cell number adhered on the membranes after 7 days of culture. At the same time in presence of PCL/Rif membranes, rates of bacterial proliferation inhibition ranged from 75 to 94% compared to controls. Conclusions: PCL/Rif membranes represent a promising starting point in the production of ureteral scaffolds with antibacterial properties for ureteral substitution

Effects of EPO on blood parameters and running performance in Kenyan athletes

Introduction: Recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEpo) administration enhances oxygen carrying capacity and performance at sea level. It remains unknown whether similar effects would be observed in chronic altitude-adapted endurance runners. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of rHuEpo on hematological and performance parameters in chronic altitude-adapted endurance runners as compared to sea level athletes. Methods: Twenty well-trained Kenyan endurance runners (KEN) living and training at approximately 2150 m received rHuEpo injections of 50 IU·kg−1 body mass every 2 d for 4 wk and responses compared with another cohort (SCO) that underwent an identical protocol at sea level. Blood samples were obtained at baseline, during rHuEpo administration and 4 wk after the final injection. A maximal oxygen uptake (V˙O2max) test and 3000-m time trial was performed before, immediately after and 4 wk after the final rHuEpo injection. Results: Hematocrit (HCT) and hemoglobin concentration (HGB) were higher in KEN compared to SCO before rHuEpo but similar at the end of administration. Before rHuEpo administration, KEN had higher V˙O2max and faster time trial performance compared to SCO. After rHuEpo administration, there was a similar increase in V˙O2max and time trial performance in both cohorts; most effects of rHuEpo were maintained 4 wk after the final rHuEpo injection in both cohorts. Conclusions: Four weeks of rHuEpo increased the HGB and HCT of Kenyan endurance runners to a lesser extent than in SCO (~17% vs ~10%, respectively) and these alterations were associated with similar improvements in running performance immediately after the rHuEpo administration (~5%) and 4 wk after rHuEpo (~3%)

Notulae to the Italian flora of algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens: 5

In this contribution, new data concerning bryophytes, fungi, and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the bryophyte genera Diplophyllum and Ptychostomum, the fungal genera Arrhenia, Gymnosporangium, and Sporidesmium and the lichen genera Arthonia, Coenogonium, Flavoplaca, Gyalolechia, Parmotrema, Peltigera, Pterygiopsis, Squamarina, Tornabea, and Waynea

593pthe seneca study prognostic role of serum biomarkers in elderly metastatic colorectal cancer patients

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