Tissue localization and the physiological effects induced by an environmentally relevant mix of heavy metals in the liverwort Conocephalum conicum L. Dum

Tissue accumulation, ultrastructural alterations, oxidative stress, and effects on photosynthesis were assessed in the liverwort Conocephalum conicom exposed in vitro to heavy metals (HM) concentrations in three sites of the Savone River, representative of different anthropic impacts. The uptake and accumulation of HM in the thallus of the liverwort was first studied, and the biological effects in relation to the different accumulation sites of HM along thallus, ribs and wings, were then investigated, considering: bioaccumulation (by atomic absorption spectrometry), localization (by X-ray scanning electron microscopy microanalysis), ultrastructural damage of photosynthetic parenchyma (by transmission electron microscopy), oxidative stress (by ROS contents and antioxidant enzymes activities determination), photosynthesis (by chlorophyll fluorescence). The results showed the HM bioaccumulation in C. conicom was dependent by their concentrations in the contaminated water. As for spatial localization, HM preferentially accumulated in the nerve of gametophytes respect to the wings. With respect to tissue localization, HM were mainly found in the hyaline and in the photosynthetic parenchyma. Essential metals (Cu and Zn) were accumulated at higher concentrations with respect to non-essential metals (Pb and Cd). At the ultrastructural level, HM caused alterations of the fine structure of the cells, most evident along the nerve, inducing marked alterations of the chloroplast structure and therefore of the photosynthetic capacity. Based on the results of the presented study, C.conicum can be used as a marker to indicate heavy metal pollution in water natural resources

Antioxidant response to heavy metal pollution of regi lagni freshwater in Conocephalum conicum L. (Dum.)

Conocephalum conicum L. is a cosmopolitan liverwort species able to respond to local environmental pollution by changing its biological features. In the present study, we assessed the different biological responses in C. conicum to heavy metal contamination of Regi Lagni channels, a highly polluted freshwater body. As for the in field experiment, we set up moss bags containing collected samples of the local wild growing C. conicum, from the upstream site (non-polluted area), and we exposed them in the three selected sites characterized by different and extreme conditions of heavy metal pollution. In addition, to better understand the contribution of heavy metals to the alterations and response of the liverwort, we performed in vitro tests, using the same concentration of heavy metals measured in the sites at the moment of the exposition. In both experimental settings, bioaccumulation, ultrastructural damage, reactive oxygen species production and localization, antioxidant enzymes activity (superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione S-transferases), glutathione (reduced and oxidized) levels, localization of compounds presenting thiol groups and phenolic content were investigated. The results showed that the samples from different sites and conditions (for in vitro tests) showed significant differences. In particular, the ultrastructural alterations show a trend correlated to the different exposure situations; ROS contents, glutathione, antioxidant enzyme activities, and phenolic contents were increased showing an enhancement of the antioxidant defense both by the enzymatic way and by using the synthesis of antioxidant phenolic compounds. This study confirms the ability of C. conicum to respond to heavy metal pollution and the responses studied are, at least partially, correlated to the presence of heavy metals. All the responses considered respond consistently with the pollution trend and they can be proposed as pollution biomarkers. Therefore, we suggest the use of C. conicum to identify local hot spots of pollution in further investigation

The symbIoTe Solution for Semantic and Syntactic Interoperability of Cloud-based IoT Platforms

The current IoT landscape is dominated by cloud-based platforms offering non-standardized interfaces to access virtualized IoT resources and adopting proprietary information models. The implementation of cross-platform and cross-domain IoT applications becomes cumbersome and usually leads to custom solutions, tailored to the involved platforms, due to the semantic and syntactic incompatibilities. The symbIoTe approach offers mediation services for search and controlled access to IoT resources (sensors, actuators, and related services) across platforms in a uniform way. It provides an IoT Portal with registration and search capabilities using semantic web technologies for semantic interoperability, and an abstraction layer for unified and secure access to those resources across distributed IoT platform instances for syntactic interoperability. In this paper, we present the general concepts and design decisions built into the symbIoTe open source middleware and showcase the evolving symbIoTe ecosystem which facilitates the rapid development of innovative cross-platform IoT applications. The open IoT Portal currently integrates 15 IoT platforms and data sources for Smart City and Smart Residence domains, and hosts metadata registering more than 4,000 various IoT resources

Adherence to guidelines for management of children hospitalized for acute diarrhea

Background: The major burden of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in childhood is related to its high frequency and the large number of hospitalizations, medical consultations, tests and drug prescriptions. The adherence to evidence-based recommendations for AGE management in European countries is unknown. The purpose of the study was to compare hospital medical interventions for children admitted for AGE with recommendations reported in the European Societies of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and Pediatric Infectious Diseases guidelines. Methods: A multicenter prospective study was conducted in 31 Italian hospitals. Data on children were collected through an online clinical reporting form and compared with European Societies of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and Pediatric Infectious Diseases guidelines for AGE. The main outcomes were the inappropriate hospital admissions and the percentage of compliance to the guidelines (full >90%, partial >80% compliance) based on the number and type of violations to evidence-based recommendations. Results: Six-hundred and twelve children (53.6% male, mean age 22.8 +/- 15.4 months) hospitalized for AGE were enrolled. Many hospital admissions (346/602, 57.5%) were inappropriate. Once admitted, 20.6% (126/612) of children were managed in full compliance with the guidelines and 44.7% (274/612) were managed in partial compliance. The most common violations were requests for microbiologic tests (404; 35.8%), diet changes (310; 27.6%) and the prescription of non-recommended probiotics (161; 14.2%), antibiotics (103; 9.2%) and antidiarrheal drugs (7; 0.6%). Conclusions: Inappropriate hospital admissions and medical interventions are still common in the management of children with AGE in Italy. Implementation of guidelines recommendations is needed to improve quality of care

Adherence to guidelines for management of children hospitalized for acute diarrhea.

BACKGROUND: The major burden of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in childhood is related to its high frequency and the large number of hospitalizations, medical consultations, tests and drug prescriptions. The adherence to evidence-based recommendations for AGE management in European countries is unknown. The purpose of the study was to compare hospital medical interventions for children admitted for AGE with recommendations reported in the European Societies of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and Pediatric Infectious Diseases guidelines. METHODS: A multicenter prospective study was conducted in 31 Italian hospitals. Data on children were collected through an online clinical reporting form and compared with European Societies of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and Pediatric Infectious Diseases guidelines for AGE. The main outcomes were the inappropriate hospital admissions and the percentage of compliance to the guidelines (full >90%, partial >80% compliance) based on the number and type of violations to evidence-based recommendations. RESULTS: Six-hundred and twelve children (53.6% male, mean age 22.8 ± 15.4 months) hospitalized for AGE were enrolled. Many hospital admissions (346/602, 57.5%) were inappropriate. Once admitted, 20.6% (126/612) of children were managed in full compliance with the guidelines and 44.7% (274/612) were managed in partial compliance. The most common violations were requests for microbiologic tests (404; 35.8%), diet changes (310; 27.6%) and the prescription of non-recommended probiotics (161; 14.2%), antibiotics (103; 9.2%) and antidiarrheal drugs (7; 0.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Inappropriate hospital admissions and medical interventions are still common in the management of children with AGE in Italy. Implementation of guidelines recommendations is needed to improve quality of car