Observation angles, Fermi coordinates, and the Geodesic-Light-Cone gauge

We show that the angular directions locally measured by a static geodesic observer in a generic cosmological background and expressed in the system of Fermi Normal Coordinates always coincide with those expressed in the Geodesic-Light-Cone (GLC) gauge, up to a local transformation which exploits the residual gauge freedom of the GLC coordinates. This is not the case for other gauges - like, for instance, the synchronous and longitudinal gauge - commonly used in the context of observational cosmology. We also make an explicit proposal for the GLC gauge-fixing condition that ensures a full identification of its angles with the observational ones.Comment: 14 pages, version accepted for publication on JCA

The second-order luminosity-redshift relation in a generic inhomogeneous cosmology

After recalling a general non-perturbative expression for the luminosity-redshift relation holding in a recently proposed "geodesic light-cone" gauge, we show how it can be transformed to phenomenologically more convenient gauges in which cosmological perturbation theory is better understood. We present, in particular, the complete result on the luminosity-redshift relation in the Poisson gauge up to second order for a fairly generic perturbed cosmology, assuming that appreciable vector and tensor perturbations are only generated at second order. This relation provides a basic ingredient for the computation of the effects of stochastic inhomogeneities on precision dark-energy cosmology whose results we have anticipated in a recent letter. More generally, it can be used in connection with any physical information carried by light-like signals traveling along our past light-cone.Comment: 19 pages. Some comments, clarifications and a reference added. Typos corrected. Version accepted for publication in JCA

A-to-I RNA Editing: Current Knowledge Sources and Computational Approaches with Special Emphasis on Non-Coding RNA Molecules

RNA editing is a dynamic mechanism for gene regulation attained through the alteration of the sequence of primary RNA transcripts. A-to-I (Adenosine-to-Inosine) RNA editing, which is catalyzed by members of the Adenosine Deaminase Acting on RNA (ADAR) family of enzymes, is the most common post-transcriptional modification in humans. The ADARs bind double-stranded regions and deaminate adenosine (A) into inosine (I), which in turn is interpreted by the translation and splicing machineries as guanosine (G). In recent years, this modification has been discovered to occur not only in coding RNAs but also in non-coding RNAs (ncRNA), such as microRNAs (miRNAs), small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), transfer RNAs (tRNAs), and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). This may have several consequences, such as the creation or disruption of microRNA/mRNA binding sites, and thus affect the biogenesis, stability, and target recognition properties of ncRNAs. The malfunction of the editing machinery is not surprisingly associated with various human diseases, such as neurodegenerative, cardiovascular and carcinogenic diseases.Despite the enormous efforts made so far, the real biological function of this phenomenon, as well as the features of the ADAR substrate, in particular in non-coding RNAs, has still not been fully understood. In this work we focus on the current knowledge of RNA editing on ncRNA molecules and provide a few examples of computational approaches to elucidate its biological function

Towards the measurement of photon polarisation in the decay B⁺ → K⁺ π⁻ π⁺ γ

This thesis presents a study of the flavour-changing neutral-current radiative B+ to K+pi-pi+gamma decay performed using 3 fb-1 of data collected with the LHCb detector in proton-proton collisions at 7 and 8 TeV centre-of-mass energies. The study of radiative decays with three scalar hadrons in the final state gives access to the polarisation of the photon, one of the very few predictions of the Standard Model of particle physics that has not been precisely tested experimentally and that is sensitive to new physics effects in the b to s gamma penguin loop. Nearly 14 000 signal events, containing all possible intermediate resonances with a K+pi-pi+ final state in the [1,2] GeV/c2 mass interval, are reconstructed and selected in the data sample. The distribution of the angle of the photon direction with respect to the plane defined by the final-state hadrons in their rest frame is studied in intervals of K+pi-pi+ mass and the asymmetry between the number of signal events with the photon emitted on each side of the plane is obtained. The first direct observation of the photon polarisation in the b to s gamma transition is reported with a significance of 5.2 sigma. The contributions of the resonances populating the studied K+pi-pi+ mass interval are then disentangled by means of a three-dimensional amplitude analysis of the invariant squared masses of the K+pi-pi+, K+pi- and pi+pi- systems, integrating out the angular dimensions that describe the direction of the photon. The results of this analysis are the most precise ever obtained in this decay channel, allowing for an accurate description of the decay modes of the intermediate resonances and their interference patterns: the K1(1270)+ to K+rho(770)0 channel has been found to be the dominant kaon resonance decay mode, followed by K1(1270)+ to K*(892)0pi+; the fraction of the K1(1270)+ decaying to K*(1430)0pi+ has been found to be much lower than the world average, analogously to already existing experimental and theoretical studies; a significant interference between the K1(1270)+ and K1(1400)+ kaon resonances decay modes is observed. Based on the results of these studies, the full five-dimensional amplitude analysis of the invariant masses and the angular variables is introduced, aiming at the first determination of a numerical value for the polarisation of the photon

Cystic echinococcosis in the Campania region (southern Italy)

Echinococcosis is cosmopolitan zoonosis caused by adult or larval stages of tapeworms belonging to the genus Echinococcus Rudolphi, 1801. Within the genus Echinococcus four species are presently recognised, namely Echinococcus granulosus, E. multilocularis, E. oligarthrus and E. vogeli, and taxonomic revision of the genus is probably needed (Thompson RCA, McManus DC, 2002, Trends Parasitol 18: 452- 457). E. granulosus, the major species of medical and public health importance which causes cystic echinococcosis (hydatidosis), has a global distribution

Classification-Based Screening of Parkinson’s Disease Patients through Graph and Handwriting Signals

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, affecting millions of people worldwide, especially among the elderly population. It has been demonstrated that handwriting impairment can be an important early marker for the detection of this disease. The aim of this study was to propose a simple and quick way to discriminate PD patients from controls through handwriting tasks using machine-learning techniques. We developed a telemonitoring system based on a user-friendly application for drawing tablets that enabled us to collect real-time information about position, pressure, and inclination of the digital pen during the experiment and, simultaneously, to supply visual feedback on the screen to the subject. We developed a protocol that includes drawing and writing tasks, including tasks in the Italian language, and we collected data from 22 healthy subjects and 9 PD patients. Using the collected signals and data from a preexisting database, we developed a machine-learning model to automatically discriminate PD patients from healthy control subjects with an accuracy of 77.5%

Real-time PCR detection of Toxoplasma gondii in tissue samples of wild boars (Sus scrofa) from southern Italy reveals high prevalence and parasite load.

Background: Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii, a widespread protozoan in the phylum Apicomplexa. In Europe, several studies have demonstrated the presence of the parasite in tissues of wild boars (Sus scrofa), but no data exists on the T. gondii load in tissues which in turn may be an useful way to assess the infection risk for the consumer of wild boar meat. Methods: We sampled and tested a total of 472 tissue samples of brain, heart and masseter muscle from 177 wild boars from the Campania region of southern Italy by real-time PCR analyses for detection and quantification of T. gondii. The sensitivity and specificity of the method were calculated by ROC analysis curves. Results: PCR analysis revealed the presence of T. gondii in tissue samples of 78 out of 177 (44%) wild boars. In general, the brain presented the highest PCR prevalence (31%), followed by the heart (28.3%) and the masseter muscle (24.2%), with the highest estimated parasite numbers observed in the brain followed by the heart and masseter muscle. The PCR method showed an excellent discriminating ability for each of the examined tissues. According to the ROC analysis curves, the respective sensitivity and specificity were 99 and 100% for masseter muscle, 98 and 98% for brain and 96 and 98% for heart samples. Conclusions: The high prevalence of infection here detected suggests a widespread distribution of the parasite in the wildlife of the Campania region of southern Italy. The T. gondii burdens detected may potentially represent a source of infection for humans

Vector-borne pathogens of zoonotic concern in hunting dogs of southern Italy

Dogs are commonly exposed to vector-borne pathogens (VBPs), yet few data are available on hunting dogs, which are often at high risk of infection due to their involvement in field activities. To investigate the occurrence of VBPs and evaluate the relative performance of different diagnostic tools, blood and serum samples were collected from hunting dogs (n = 1,433) in rural areas of southern Italy. All samples were tested by Knott's technique for filarioids, serologically (SNAP® 4Dx® Plus) for Anaplasma spp., Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Dirofilaria immitis and Ehrlichia spp. and molecularly (qPCR) for all except B. burgdorferi of the above pathogens plus Babesia spp. and Leishmania infantum. Logistic regression was run to evaluate the statistical associations between the risk of VBP infection and independent variables (such as geographic area of provenience, age class and sex) and K-Cohen formula for assessing the concordance among diagnostic tests. Overall, out of 321 dogs (22.4%) positive to at least one VBP, 28 (1.9%) were infected by filarial species at the Knott's technique. In particular, Acanthocheilonema reconditum was the most prevalent (1.6%), followed by D. immitis (0.2%) and Dirofilaria repens (0.1%). One hundred forty (9.8%) and 231 (16.1%) dogs scored positive to VBPs by serological and molecular methods, respectively. The most prevalent pathogens detected were Ehrlichia spp. (7.3%) with SNAP® 4Dx® Plus, and A. reconditum (7.7%) by qPCR. Statistics revealed a significant association (p < 0.001) between A. reconditum infestation and both Ehrlichia spp. seropositivity and geographical origin of dogs. An agreement of 99.9%, 94.0% and 95.7% for Knott - SNAP® 4Dx® Plus, Knott - qPCR and SNAP® 4Dx® Plus - qPCR for D. immitis was found, respectively. Data demonstrate a high prevalence of VBPs in hunting dogs, indicating that this group of animals is largely exposed to several arthropod vector species and suggesting the transmission risk of pathogens to humans in rural areas of southern Italy. A multi-diagnostic approach and a deeper cooperation among healthcare and stakeholders are required to prevent VBP infections to animals and humans

Enlarged Bound on the Measurability of Distances and Quantum κ\kappa-Poincar\`e Group

When quantum mechanical and general relativistic effects are taken into account in the analysis of distance measurements, one finds a measurability bound. I observe that some of the structures that have been encountered in the literature on the Quantum $\kappa$-Poincar\`e Group naturally lead to this bound.Comment: 5 pages, LaTe

RNA Methylation in ncRNA: Classes, Detection, and Molecular Associations

Nearly all classes of coding and non-coding RNA undergo post-transcriptional modification, as more than 150 distinct modification types have been reported. Since RNA modifications were first described over 50 years ago, our understanding of their functional relevance in cellular control mechanisms and phenotypes has truly progressed only in the last 15 years due to advancements in detection and experimental techniques. Specifically, the phenomenon of RNA methylation in the context of ncRNA has emerged as a novel process in the arena of epitranscriptomics. Methylated ncRNA molecules may indeed contribute to a potentially vast functional panorama, from regulation of post-transcriptional gene expression to adaptive cellular responses. Recent discoveries have uncovered novel dynamic mechanisms and new layers of complexity, paving the way to a greater understanding of the role of such phenomena within the broader molecular cellular context of human disease