Genetic deletion of astrocytic calcineurin B1 prevents cognitive impairment and neuropathology development in acute and chronic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) represents an urgent yet unmet challenge for modern society, calling for exploration of innovative targets and therapeutic approaches. Astrocytes, main homeostatic cells in the CNS, represent promising cell-target. Our aim was to investigate if deletion of the regulatory CaNB1 subunit of calcineurin in astrocytes could mitigate AD-related memory deficits, neuropathology, and neuroinflammation. We have generated two, acute and chronic, AD mouse models with astrocytic CaNB1 ablation (ACN-KO). In the former, we evaluated the ability of β-amyloid oligomers (AβOs) to impair memory and activate glial cells once injected in the cerebral ventricle of conditional ACN-KO mice. Next, we generated a tamoxifen-inducible astrocyte-specific CaNB1 knock-out in 3xTg-AD mice (indACNKO-AD). CaNB1 was deleted, by tamoxifen injection, in 11.7-month-old 3xTg-AD mice for 4.4 months. Spatial memory was evaluated using the Barnes maze; β-amyloid plaques burden, neurofibrillary tangle deposition, reactive gliosis, and neuroinflammation were also assessed. The acute model showed that ICV injected AβOs in 2-month-old wild type mice impaired recognition memory and fostered a pro-inflammatory microglia phenotype, whereas in ACN-KO mice, AβOs were inactive. In indACNKO-AD mice, 4.4 months after CaNB1 depletion, we found preservation of spatial memory and cognitive flexibility, abolishment of amyloidosis, and reduction of neurofibrillary tangles, gliosis, and neuroinflammation. Our results suggest that ACN is crucial for the development of cognitive impairment, AD neuropathology, and neuroinflammation. Astrocyte-specific CaNB1 deletion is beneficial for both the abolishment of AβO-mediated detrimental effects and treatment of ongoing AD-related pathology, hence representing an intriguing target for AD therapy.

Comprehensive Molecular Profiling of NPM1-Mutated Acute Myeloid Leukemia Using RNAseq Approach

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a complex hematologic malignancy with high morbidity and mortality. Nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) mutations occur in approximately 30% of AML cases, and NPM1-mutated AML is classified as a distinct entity. NPM1-mutated AML patients without additional genetic abnormalities have a favorable prognosis. Despite this, 30-50% of them experience relapse. This study aimed to investigate the potential of total RNAseq in improving the characterization of NPM1-mutated AML patients. We explored genetic variations independently of myeloid stratification, revealing a complex molecular scenario. We showed that total RNAseq enables the uncovering of different genetic alterations and clonal subtypes, allowing for a comprehensive evaluation of the real expression of exome transcripts in leukemic clones and the identification of aberrant fusion transcripts. This characterization may enhance understanding and guide improved treatment strategies for NPM1mut AML patients, contributing to better outcomes. Our findings underscore the complexity of NPM1-mutated AML, supporting the incorporation of advanced technologies for precise risk stratification and personalized therapeutic strategies. The study provides a foundation for future investigations into the clinical implications of identified genetic variations and highlights the importance of evolving diagnostic approaches in leukemia management.

Is Silver Addition to Scaffolds Based on Polycaprolactone Blended with Calcium Phosphates Able to Inhibit Candida albicans and Candida auris Adhesion and Biofilm Formation?

Candida spp. periprosthetic joint infections are rare but difficult-to-treat events, with a slow onset, unspecific symptoms or signs, and a significant relapse risk. Treatment with antifungals meets with little success, whereas prosthesis removal improves the outcome. In fact, Candida spp. adhere to orthopedic devices and grow forming biofilms that contribute to the persistence of this infection and relapse, and there is insufficient evidence that the use of antifungals has additional benefits for anti-biofilm activity. To date, studies on the direct antifungal activity of silver against Candida spp. are still scanty. Additionally, polycaprolactone (PCL), either pure or blended with calcium phosphate, could be a good candidate for the design of 3D scaffolds as engineered bone graft substitutes. Thus, the present research aimed to assess the antifungal and anti-biofilm activity of PCL-based constructs by the addition of antimicrobials, for instance, silver, against C. albicans and C. auris. The appearance of an inhibition halo around silver-functionalized PCL scaffolds for both C. albicans and C. auris was revealed, and a significant decrease in both adherent and planktonic yeasts further demonstrated the release of Ag+ from the 3D constructs. Due to the combined antifungal, osteoproliferative, and biodegradable properties, PCL-based 3D scaffolds enriched with silver showed good potential for bone tissue engineering and offer a promising strategy as an ideal anti-adhesive and anti-biofilm tool for the reduction in prosthetic joints of infections caused by Candida spp. by using antimicrobial molecule-targeted delivery.

Overview of Cyanide Poisoning in Cattle from Sorghum halepense and S. bicolor Cultivars in Northwest Italy

Sorghum plants naturally produce dhurrin, a cyanogenic glycoside that may be hydrolysed to cyanide, resulting in often-lethal toxicoses. Ruminants are particularly sensitive to cyanogenic glycosides due to the active role of rumen microbiota in dhurrin hydrolysis. This work provides an overview of a poisoning outbreak that occurred in 5 farms in Northwest Italy in August 2022; a total of 66 cows died, and many others developed acute toxicosis after being fed on either cultivated (Sorghum bicolor) or wild Sorghum (Sorghum halepense). Clinical signs were recorded, and all cows received antidotal/supportive therapy. Dead animals were subjected to necropsy, and dhurrin content was determined in Sorghum specimens using an LC-MS/MS method. Rapid onset, severe respiratory distress, recumbency and convulsions were the main clinical features; bright red blood, a bitter almond smell and lung emphysema were consistently observed on necropsy. The combined i.v. and oral administration of sodium thiosulphate resulted in a rapid improvement of clinical signs. Dhurrin concentrations corresponding to cyanide levels higher than the tolerated threshold of 200 mg/kg were detected in sorghum specimens from 4 out of 5 involved farms; thereafter, such levels declined, reaching tolerable concentrations in September-October. Feeding cattle with wild or cultivated Sorghum as green fodder is a common practice in Northern Italy, especially in summer. However, care should be taken in case of adverse climatic conditions, such as severe drought and tropical temperatures (characterising summer 2022), which are reported to increase dhurrin synthesis and storage.

Political context of the European vaccine debate on Twitter

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, fears grew that making vaccination a political (instead of public health) issue may impact the efficacy of this life-saving intervention, spurring the spread of vaccine-hesitant content. In this study, we examine whether there is a relationship between the political interest of social media users and their exposure to vaccine-hesitant content on Twitter. We focus on 17 European countries using a multilingual, longitudinal dataset of tweets spanning the period before COVID, up to the vaccine roll-out. We find that, in most countries, users' endorsement of vaccine-hesitant content is the highest in the early months of the pandemic, around the time of greatest scientific uncertainty. Further, users who follow politicians from right-wing parties, and those associated with authoritarian or anti-EU stances are more likely to endorse vaccine-hesitant content, whereas those following left-wing politicians, more pro-EU or liberal parties, are less likely. Somewhat surprisingly, politicians did not play an outsized role in the vaccine debates of their countries, receiving a similar number of retweets as other similarly popular users. This systematic, multi-country, longitudinal investigation of the connection of politics with vaccine hesitancy has important implications for public health policy and communication.

Alendronate-Grafted Nanoemulsions for Bone-Targeted Vincristine Delivery: Preliminary Studies on Cell and Animal Models

Bone is a site of distant metastases, which are a common cause of morbidity and mortality with a high socio-economic impact, for many malignant tumours. In order to engineer pharmacological therapies that are suitable for this debilitating disease, this experimental work presents injectable lipid nanoemulsions, which are endowed with a long history of safe clinical usage in parenteral nutrition, their loading with vincristine and their grafting with alendronate, with a dual purpose: merging the anticancer activity of bisphosphonates and vincristine, and enhancing bone-targeted delivery. In cell studies, alendronate synergised with the anti-migration activity of vincristine, which is important as migration plays a key role in the metastatisation process. In preliminary animal studies, carried out thanks to IVIS technology, alendronate conjugation enhanced the bone targeting of fluorescently labelled nanoemulsions. These encouraging results will drive further studies on suitable animal models of the disease.

Small noncoding RNAs and sperm nuclear basic proteins reflect the environmental impact on germ cells

BACKGROUND

Molecular techniques can complement conventional spermiogram analyses to provide new information on the fertilizing potential of spermatozoa and to identify early alterations due to environmental pollution.

METHODS

Here, we present a multilevel molecular profiling by small RNA sequencing and sperm nuclear basic protein analysis of male germ cells from 33 healthy young subjects residing in low and high-polluted areas.

RESULTS

Although sperm motility and sperm concentration were comparable between samples from the two sites, those from the high-pollution area had a higher concentration of immature/immune cells, a lower protamine/histone ratio, a reduced ability of sperm nuclear basic proteins to protect DNA from oxidative damage, and an altered copper/zinc ratio in sperm. Sperm levels of 32 microRNAs involved in intraflagellar transport, oxidative stress response, and spermatogenesis were different between the two areas. In parallel, a decrease of Piwi-interacting RNA levels was observed in samples from the high-polluted area.

CONCLUSIONS

This comprehensive analysis provides new insights into pollution-driven epigenetic alterations in sperm not detectable by spermiogram.

DegraderTCM: A Computationally Sparing Approach for Predicting Ternary Degradation Complexes

Proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs or degraders) represent a novel therapeutic modality that has raised interest thanks to promising results and currently undergoing clinical testing. PROTACs induce the selective proteasomal degradation of undesired proteins by the formation of ternary complexes (TCs). Having knowledge of the 3D structure of TCs is crucial for the design of PROTAC drugs. Here, we describe DegraderTCM, a new computational method for modeling PROTAC-mediated TCs that requires low computational power and provides sound results in a short time span. We validated DegraderTCM against a selected set of experimentally determined structures and defined a method to predict the PROTAC degradation activity based on the computed TC structure. Finally, we modeled TCs of known degraders holding significance for defining the method's applicability domain. A retrospective analysis of structure-activity relationships unveiled possibilities for utilizing DegraderTCM in the initial stages of designing novel PROTAC drugs.

The Role of the Toll-like Receptor 2 and the cGAS-STING Pathways in Breast Cancer: Friends or Foes?

Breast cancer stands as a primary malignancy among women, ranking second in global cancer-related deaths. Despite treatment advancements, many patients progress to metastatic stages, posing a significant therapeutic challenge. Current therapies primarily target cancer cells, overlooking their intricate interactions with the tumor microenvironment (TME) that fuel progression and treatment resistance. Dysregulated innate immunity in breast cancer triggers chronic inflammation, fostering cancer development and therapy resistance. Innate immune pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) have emerged as crucial regulators of the immune response as well as of several immune-mediated or cancer cell-intrinsic mechanisms that either inhibit or promote tumor progression. In particular, several studies showed that the Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathways play a central role in breast cancer progression. In this review, we present a comprehensive overview of the role of TLR2 and STING in breast cancer, and we explore the potential to target these PRRs for drug development. This information will significantly impact the scientific discussion on the use of PRR agonists or inhibitors in cancer therapy, opening up new and promising avenues for breast cancer treatment.

Exploring the Effects of Probiotic Treatment on Urinary and Serum Metabolic Profiles in Healthy Individuals

Probiotics are live microorganisms that confer health benefits when administered in adequate amounts. They are used to promote gut health and alleviate various disorders. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the potential effects of probiotics on human physiology. In the presented study, the effects of probiotic treatment on the metabolic profiles of human urine and serum using a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabonomic approach were investigated. Twenty-one healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study, and they received two different dosages of probiotics for 8 weeks. During the study, urine and serum samples were collected from volunteers before and during probiotic supplementation. The results showed that probiotics had a significant impact on the urinary and serum metabolic profiles without altering their phenotypes. This study demonstrated the effects of probiotics in terms of variations of metabolite levels resulting also from the different probiotic posology. Overall, the results suggest that probiotic administration may affect both urine and serum metabolomes, although more research is needed to understand the mechanisms and clinical implications of these effects. NMR-based metabonomic analysis of biofluids is a powerful tool for monitoring host-gut microflora dynamic interaction as well as for assessing the individual response to probiotic treatment.

Advancements in Portable Voltammetry: A Promising Approach for Iron Speciation Analysis

Iron, a crucial element in our environment, plays a vital role in numerous natural processes. Understanding the presence and concentration of iron in the environment is very important as it impacts various aspects of our planet's health. The on-site detection and speciation of iron are significant for several reasons. In this context, the present work aims to evaluate the applicability of voltammetry for the on-site determination of iron and its possible speciation using a portable voltammetric analyzer. Voltammetry offers the advantage of convenience and cost-effectiveness. For iron (III) determination, the modification of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with an antimony-bismuth film (SbBiFE) using the acetate buffer (pH = 4) as a supporting electrolyte was used. The technique adopted was Square Wave Adsoptive Cathodic Stripping Voltammetry (SW-AdCSV), and we used 1-(2-piridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) as the iron (III) ligand. Linearity, repeatability, detection limit, and accuracy were determined using synthetic solutions; then, a Standard Reference Material (SRM) of 1643f Trace Elements in Water (iron content: 93.44 ± 0.78 µg L-1) was used for validation measurements in the real matrix. the accuracy of this technique was found to be excellent since we obtained a recovery of 103.16%. The procedure was finally applied to real samples (tap, lake, and seawater), and the results obtained were compared via Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The amount of iron found was 207.8 ± 6.6 µg L-1 for tap water using voltammetry and 200.9 ± 1.5 µg L-1 with ICP-OES. For lake water, 171.7 ± 3.8 µg L-1, 169.8 ± 4.1 µg L-1, and 187.5 ± 5.7 µg L-1 were found using voltammetry in the lab both on-site and using ICP-OES, respectively. The results obtained demonstrate the excellent applicability of the proposed on-site voltammetric procedure for the determination of iron and its speciation in water.

Preschool Emotional Problems in the Post-Pandemic Era between Parental Risk and Protective Factors

The psychosocial adaptation of children born or experiencing their early years during the COVID-19 pandemic remains uncertain. In order to implement prevention strategies, it is, therefore, a priority to deeply analyze children's mental health in this post-pandemic phase and to identify family risk and protective factors. Indeed, recent studies reveal that children's emotional distress increased with the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in situations of high parental stress. The study investigates associations between some parental characteristics (coping strategies, parental burnout, resilience, perception of social support, and promotion of children's social-emotional competence) and children's emotional symptoms, considering gender differences. A total of 358 parents of children aged 2 to 6 years participated in this study. Regression analyses show that parental burnout is a predictor of emotional symptoms; moreover, for females, higher levels of emotional symptoms are associated with parental maladaptive coping strategies, whereas for males, the parent's ability to promote children's emotional competence is a protective factor. Results emphasize the importance of supporting parental well-being as a critical factor in shielding children from the repercussions of adverse situations.

Can Narrative Skills Improve in Autism Spectrum Disorder? A Preliminary Study with Verbally Fluent Adolescents Receiving the Cognitive Pragmatic Treatment

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting social and communicative skills, including narrative ability, namely the description of real-life or fictive accounts of temporally and causally related events. With this study, we aimed to determine whether a communicative-pragmatic training, i.e., the version for adolescents of the Cognitive-Pragmatic Treatment, is effective in improving the narrative skills of 16 verbally fluent adolescents with ASD. We used a multilevel approach to assess pre- and post-training narrative production skills. Discourse analysis focused on micro- (i.e., mean length of utterance, complete sentences, omissions of morphosyntactic information) and macrolinguistic measures (i.e., cohesion, coherence errors, lexical informativeness). Results revealed a significant improvement in mean length of utterance and complete sentences and a decrease in cohesion errors. No significant change was found in the other narrative measures investigated. Our findings suggest that a pragmatically oriented training may be useful in improving grammatical efficiency in narrative production.

Age and synovitis affect the results of the treatment of knee osteoarthritis with Microfragmented Autologous Fat Tissue

PURPOSE

This study aims to assess the effectiveness of Microfragmented Autologous Fat Tissue (MFAT) treatment for knee osteoarthritis and to investigate whether patients' pre-treatment clinical condition, such as synovitis, correlates with clinical outcomes, to identify potential predicting factors for the success or failure of the treatment.

METHODS

In this prospective Cohort Study Level II multicentric trial, consecutive patients with a diagnosis of early/mild osteoarthritis and failure of previous conservative measures were enrolled to undergo diagnostic arthroscopy and a single MFAT injection. Patients were assessed with repeated scoring systems at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months after surgery. The demographic features, the arthroscopic findings, the immunophenotype of injected tissue and the histologic examination of synovia of failed patients were analyzed.

RESULTS

Data from 91 patients showed a significant improvement in Lysholm, WOMAC scores at 1-year follow-up (p < 0.001). A significant decrease in VAS score was observed, while a significant improvement of measured flexion angle was registered at 1 year (p < 0.001). No major complications were reported. Age and synovitis were identified as significant factors influencing the clinical outcome (p < 0.05). Body mass index, previous or concomitant procedures, and specific cartilage defects had no influence. The mean number of injected adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells seem not to correlate with the clinical outcome.

CONCLUSION

MFAT is effective in reducing pain when used with a single dose injection in early/mild OA of the knee, without major complications. Age over 60 and synovitis may be predictive for persistent pain at one year and should be considered before indications.

Tuning of Silver Content on the Antibacterial and Biological Properties of Poly(ɛ-caprolactone)/Biphasic Calcium Phosphate 3D-Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

There is a growing interest in tissue engineering, in which biomaterials play a pivotal role in promoting bone regeneration. Furthermore, smart functionalization can provide biomaterials with the additional role of preventing orthopedic infections. Due to the growing microbial resistance to antimicrobials used to treat those infections, metal ions, such as silver, thanks to their known wide range of bactericidal properties, are believed to be promising additives in developing antibacterial biomaterials. In this work, novel poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-based 3D scaffolds have been designed and developed, where the polymer matrix was modified with both silver (Ag), to supply antibacterial behavior, and calcium phosphates (biphasic calcium phosphate, BCP) particles to impart bioactive/bioresorbable properties. The microstructural analysis showed that constructs were characterized by square-shaped macropores, in line with the morphology and size of the templating salts used as pore formers. Degradation tests demonstrated the important role of calcium phosphates in improving PCL hydrophilicity, leading to a higher degradation degree for BCP/PCL composites compared to the neat polymer after 18 days of soaking. The appearance of an inhibition halo around the silver-functionalized PCL scaffolds for assayed microorganisms and a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in both adherent and planktonic bacteria demonstrate the Ag+ release from the 3D constructs. Furthermore, the PCL scaffolds enriched with the lowest silver percentages did not hamper the viability and proliferation of Saos-2 cells. A synergic combination of antimicrobial, osteoproliferative and biodegradable features provided to 3D scaffolds the required potential for bone tissue engineering, beside anti-microbial properties for reduction in prosthetic joints infections.

An mRNA Profiling Study of Vaginal Swabs from Pre- and Postmenopausal Women

Body fluid identification by means of mRNA profiling provides valuable supplementary information in forensic investigations. In particular, the detection of vaginal mucosa mRNA markers is highly relevant in sexual assault cases. Although the vagina undergoes characteristic age-related physiological changes over a lifetime, few studies have evaluated the efficacy of vaginal mRNA markers in women of different ages. In this multicentric study, a 19-plex mRNA profiling assay including vaginal-specific markers (CYP2B7P1, MUC4, MYOZ1) was tested in a collection of 6-20-month-old vaginal swabs obtained from pre- (n = 84) and postmenopausal (n = 55) female volunteer donors. Overall, participating laboratories were able to correctly identify ~85% of samples as vaginal mucosa by mRNA profiling. The assay's success rate did not differ between the two age groups and was not affected by the time interval between swab collection and RNA analysis. MYOZ1 resulted a less sensitive vaginal marker compared to MUC4 and CYP2B7P1. A significant relative increase in the contribution to the total amplification signal was observed for MUC4, compared to CYP2B7P1 and MYOZ1, in postmenopausal women. Observation of other body fluids and tissues different from vaginal mucosa was also evaluated in connection to information on previous sexual activity and menstrual cycle phase at the time of sampling.

The Gut Microbiota of Farmed and Wild Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis): Evaluation of Feed-Related Differences Using 16S rRNA Gene Metabarcoding

The gut microbiota has become a topic of increasing importance in various fields, including aquaculture. Several fish species have been the subject of investigations concerning the intestinal microbiota, which have compared different variables, including the intestinal portions, the environment, and diet. In this study, the microbiota of farmed and wild brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were analyzed, in which the wall and content of the medial portion of the intestine were considered separately. A total of 66 fish (age class 2+) were sampled, of which 46 were wild and 20 were farmed brook trout, in two different years. Microbiota data were obtained using a 16S metabarcoding approach by analyzing the V3-V4 hypervariable regions of the corresponding 16S rRNA. The data showed that the core microbiota of these species consist of Proteobacteria (Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria), Actinobacteria, Firmicutes (Bacilli and Clostridia), and, only for farmed animals, Fusobacteria. The latter taxon's presence is likely related to the fishmeal-based diet administered to farmed brook trout. Indeed, alpha and beta diversity analysis showed differences between wild and farmed fish. Finally, statistically significant differences in the microbiota composition were observed between the intestinal walls and contents of wild fish, while no differences were detected in reared animals. Our work represents the first study on the intestinal microbiota of brook trout with respect to both farmed and wild specimens. Future studies might focus on the comparison of our data with those pertaining to other fish species and on the study of other portions of the brook trout intestine.

Nr2f1 shapes mitochondria in the mouse brain unraveling new insights into the neurodevelopmental disorder BBSOAS

The nuclear receptor Nr2f1 acts as a strong transcriptional regulator in embryonic and postnatal neural cells. In humans, mutations in the NR2F1 gene cause the Bosch-Boonstra-Schaaf Optic Atrophy-intellectual Syndrome (BBSOAS), a rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by multiple clinical features including vision impairments, intellectual disability, and autistic traits. In this study, we identified, by genome-wide and in silico analyses, a wide set of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes as potential genomic targets under direct Nr2f1 transcriptional control in neurons. By combining mouse genetics, neuroanatomical and imaging approaches we demonstrated that conditional Nr2f1 loss-of-function within the adult mouse hippocampal neurogenic niche results in a reduced mitochondrial mass associated with mitochondrial fragmentation and downregulation of key mitochondrial proteins in newborn neurons, whose functional integration and survival are impaired. Importantly, we also found dysregulation of several nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes and downregulation of key mitochondrial proteins in the brain of Nr2f1-heterozygous mice, a validated BBSOAS model. Our data point to an active role of Nr2f1 in the mitochondrial gene expression regulatory network in neurons and support the involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction in BBSOAS pathogenesis.

Impact of tiered measures on social contact and mixing patterns of in Italy during the second wave of COVID-19

BACKGROUND

Most countries around the world enforced non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19. Italy was one of the first countries to be affected by the pandemic, imposing a hard lockdown, in the first epidemic wave. During the second wave, the country implemented progressively restrictive tiers at the regional level according to weekly epidemiological risk assessments. This paper quantifies the impact of these restrictions on contacts and on the reproduction number.

METHODS

Representative (with respect to age, sex, and region of residence) longitudinal surveys of the Italian population were undertaken during the second epidemic wave. Epidemiologically relevant contact patterns were measured and compared with pre-pandemic levels and according to the level of interventions experienced by the participants. Contact matrices were used to quantify the reduction in the number of contacts by age group and contact setting. The reproduction number was estimated to evaluate the impact of restrictions on the spread of COVID-19.

RESULTS

The comparison with the pre-pandemic baseline shows a significant decrease in the number of contacts, independently from the age group or contact settings. This decrease in the number of contacts significantly depends on the strictness of the non-pharmaceutical interventions. For all levels of strictness considered, the reduction in social mixing results in a reproduction number smaller than one. In particular, the impact of the restriction on the number of contacts decreases with the severity of the interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

The progressive restriction tiers implemented in Italy reduced the reproduction number, with stricter interventions associated with higher reductions. Readily collected contact data can inform the implementation of mitigation measures at the national level in epidemic emergencies to come.

Immortalized Alzheimer's Disease Astrocytes: Characterization of Their Proteolytic Systems

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegeneration with dysfunctions in both the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and autophagy. Astroglia participation in AD is an attractive topic of research, but molecular patterns are partially defined and available in vitro models have technical limitations. Immortalized astrocytes from the hippocampus of 3xTg-AD and wild-type mice (3Tg-iAstro and WT-iAstro, respectively) have been obtained as an attempt to overcome primary cell line limitations and this study aims at characterizing their proteolytic systems, focusing on UPS and autophagy. Both 26S and 20S proteasomal activities were downregulated in 3Tg-iAstro, in which a shift in catalytic subunits from constitutive 20S proteasome to immunoproteasome occurred, with consequences on immune functions. In fact, immunoproteasome is the specific complex in charge of clearing damaged proteins under inflammatory conditions. Parallelly, augmented expression and activity of the lysosomal cathepsin B, enhanced levels of lysosomal-associated membrane protein 1, beclin1, and LC3-II, together with an increased uptake of monodansylcadaverine in autophagic vacuoles, suggested autophagy activation in 3Tg-iAstro. The two proteolytic pathways were linked by p62 that accumulated in 3Tg-iAstro due to both increased synthesis and decreased degradation in the UPS defective astrocytes. Treatment with 4-phenylbutyric acid, a neuroprotective small chemical chaperone, partially restored proteasome and autophagy-mediated proteolysis in 3Tg-iAstro. Our data shed light on the impaired proteostasis in 3Tg-iAstro with proteasome inhibition and autophagic compensatory activation, providing additional validation of this AD in vitro model, and propose a new mechanism of action of 4-phenylbutyric acid in neurodegenerative disorders.

Surface Functionalised Parenteral Nanoemulsions for Active and Homotypic Targeting to Melanoma

Despite recent progressions in cancer genomic and immunotherapies, advanced melanoma still represents a life threat, pushing to optimise new targeted nanotechnology approaches for specific drug delivery to the tumour. To this aim, owing to their biocompatibility and favourable technological features, injectable lipid nanoemulsions were functionalised with proteins owing to two alternative approaches: transferrin was chemically grafted for active targeting, while cancer cell membrane fragments wrapping was used for homotypic targeting. In both cases, protein functionalisation was successfully achieved. Targeting efficiency was preliminarily evaluated using flow cytometry internalisation studies in two-dimensional cellular models, after fluorescence labelling of formulations with 6-coumarin. The uptake of cell-membrane-fragment-wrapped nanoemulsions was higher compared to uncoated nanoemulsions. Instead, the effect of transferrin grafting was less evident in serum-enriched medium, since such ligand probably undergoes competition with the endogenous protein. Moreover, a more pronounced internalisation was achieved when a pegylated heterodimer was employed for conjugation (p < 0.05).

Calcineurin Signalling in Astrocytes: From Pathology to Physiology and Control of Neuronal Functions

Calcineurin (CaN), a Ca²⁺/calmodulin-activated serine/threonine phosphatase, acts as a Ca²⁺-sensitive switch regulating cellular functions through protein dephosphorylation and activation of gene transcription. In astrocytes, the principal homeostatic cells in the CNS, over-activation of CaN is known to drive pathological transcriptional remodelling, associated with neuroinflammation in diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and brain trauma. Recent reports suggest that, in physiological conditions, the activity of CaN in astrocytes is transcription-independent and is required for maintenance of basal protein synthesis rate and activation of astrocytic Na⁺/K⁺ pump thereby contributing to neuronal functions such as neuronal excitability and memory formation. In this contribution we overview the role of Ca²⁺ and CaN signalling in astroglial pathophysiology focusing on the emerging physiological role of CaN in astrocytes. We propose a model for the context-dependent switch of CaN activity from the post-transcriptional regulation of cell proteostasis in healthy astrocytes to the CaN-dependent transcriptional activation in neuroinflammation-associated diseases.

On the forecastability of food insecurity

Food insecurity, defined as the lack of physical or economic access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food, remains one of the main challenges included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Near real-time data on the food insecurity situation collected by international organizations such as the World Food Programme can be crucial to monitor and forecast time trends of insufficient food consumption levels in countries at risk. Here, using food consumption observations in combination with secondary data on conflict, extreme weather events and economic shocks, we build a forecasting model based on gradient boosted regression trees to create predictions on the evolution of insufficient food consumption trends up to 30 days in to the future in 6 countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Nigeria, Syria and Yemen). Results show that the number of available historical observations is a key element for the forecasting model performance. Among the 6 countries studied in this work, for those with the longest food insecurity time series, that is Syria and Yemen, the proposed forecasting model allows to forecast the prevalence of people with insufficient food consumption up to 30 days into the future with higher accuracy than a naive approach based on the last measured prevalence only. The framework developed in this work could provide decision makers with a tool to assess how the food insecurity situation will evolve in the near future in countries at risk. Results clearly point to the added value of continuous near real-time data collection at sub-national level.

Quantification of the Chemical Chaperone 4-Phenylbutyric Acid (4-PBA) in Cell Culture Media via LC-HRMS: Applications in Fields of Neurodegeneration and Cancer

In recent years, 4-phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA), an FDA-approved drug, has increasingly been used as a nonspecific chemical chaperone in vitro and in vitro, but its pharmacodynamics is still not clear. In this context, we developed and validated a Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (LC-HRMS) method to quantify 4-PBA in NeuroBasal-A and Dulbecco's Modified Eagle widely used cell culture media. Samples were injected on a Luna® 3 µm PFP(2) 100 Å (100 × 2.0 mm) column maintained at 40 °C. Water and methanol both with 0.1% formic acid served as mobile phases in a step gradient mode. The mass acquisition was performed by selected ion monitoring (SIM) in negative mode for a total run time of 10.5 min at a flow rate of 0.300 mL/min. The analogue 4-(4-Nitrophenyl)-Butyric Acid served as internal standard. Validation parameters were verified according to FDA and EMA guidelines. The quantification ranges from 0.38-24 µM. Inter and intraday RSDs (Relative Standard Deviations) were within 15%. The developed LC-HRMS method allowed the estimation of 4-PBA absorption and adsorption kinetics in vitro in two experimental systems: (i) 4-PBA improvement of protein synthesis in an Alzheimer's disease astrocytic cell model; and (ii) 4-PBA reduction of endoplasmic reticulum stress in thapsigargin-treated melanoma cell lines.

Organotrifluoroborate Sugar Conjugates for a Guided Boron Neutron Capture Therapy: From Synthesis to Positron Emission Tomography

Sugars are a versatile tool for targeting malignant cells and have been extensively used for drug delivery and imaging techniques. Their prototype, fluorodeoxyglucose ([¹⁸F]FDG), is currently used for positron emission tomography. Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a cancer treatment that relies on irradiation with thermal neutrons of cancer cells previously loaded with [¹⁰B]-containing compounds. The recent introduction of accelerators as a neutron source for clinical use prompts the planning of delivery compounds enriched with boron able to be traced in real time. This work describes the first synthesis of a new class of sugar derivatives conjugated to a trifluoroborate moiety as potential theranostic agents. Stability and cytotoxicity studies are reported for all compounds, together with [¹⁸F] radiolabeling optimization and in vivo preliminary positron emission tomography (PET) experiments on a selected compound.

Targeting Acute Myelogenous Leukemia Using Potent Human Dihydroorotate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors Based on the 2-Hydroxypyrazolo[1,5-a]pyridine Scaffold: SAR of the Aryloxyaryl Moiety

In recent years, human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase inhibitors have been associated with acute myelogenous leukemia as well as studied as potent host targeting antivirals. Starting from MEDS433 (IC50 1.2 nM), we kept improving the structure-activity relationship of this class of compounds characterized by 2-hydroxypyrazolo[1,5-a]pyridine scaffold. Using an in silico/crystallography supported design, we identified compound 4 (IC50 7.2 nM), characterized by the presence of a decorated aryloxyaryl moiety that replaced the biphenyl scaffold, with potent inhibition and pro-differentiating abilities on AML THP1 cells (EC50 74 nM), superior to those of brequinar (EC50 249 nM) and boosted when in combination with dipyridamole. Finally, compound 4 has an extremely low cytotoxicity on non-AML cells as well as MEDS433; it has shown a significant antileukemic activity in vivo in a xenograft mouse model of AML.

Evidence of pandemic fatigue associated with stricter tiered COVID-19 restrictions

Despite the availability of effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, non-pharmaceutical interventions remain an important part of the effort to reduce viral circulation caused by emerging variants with the capability of evading vaccine-induced immunity. With the aim of striking a balance between effective mitigation and long-term sustainability, several governments worldwide have adopted systems of tiered interventions, of increasing stringency, that are calibrated according to periodic risk assessments. A key challenge remains in quantifying temporal changes in adherence to interventions, which can decrease over time due to pandemic fatigue, under such kind of multilevel strategies. Here, we examine whether there was a reduction in adherence to tiered restrictions that were imposed in Italy from November 2020 through May 2021, and in particular we assess whether temporal trends in adherence depended on the intensity of the restrictions adopted. We analyzed daily changes in movements and in residential time, combining mobility data with the restriction tier enforced in the Italian regions. Through mixed-effects regression models, we identified a general trend of reduction in adherence and an additional effect of faster waning associated with the most stringent tier. We estimated both effects being of the same order of magnitude, suggesting that adherence decreased twice as fast during the strictest tier as in the least stringent one. Our results provide a quantitative measure of behavioral responses to tiered interventions-a metric of pandemic fatigue-that can be integrated into mathematical models to evaluate future epidemic scenarios.

First Report on Genome Editing via Ribonucleoprotein (RNP) in Castanea sativa Mill

Castanea sativa is an important tree nut species worldwide, highly appreciated for its multifunctional role, in particular for timber and nut production. Nowadays, new strategies are needed to achieve plant resilience to diseases, climate change, higher yields, and nutritional quality. Among the new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs), the CRISPR/Cas9 system represents a powerful tool to improve plant breeding in a short time and inexpensive way. In addition, the CRISPR/Cas9 construct can be delivered into the cells in the form of ribonucleoproteins (RNPs), avoiding the integration of exogenous DNA (GMO-free) through protoplast technology that represents an interesting material for gene editing thanks to the highly permeable membrane to DNA. In the present study, we developed the first protoplast isolation protocol starting from European chestnut somatic embryos. The enzyme solution optimized for cell wall digestion contained 1% cellulase Onozuka R-10 and 0.5% macerozyme R-10. After incubation for 4 h at 25 °C in dark conditions, a yield of 4,500,000 protoplasts/mL was obtained (91% viable). The transfection capacity was evaluated using the GFP marker gene, and the percentage of transfected protoplasts was 51%, 72 h after the transfection event. The direct delivery of the purified RNP was then performed targeting the phytoene desaturase gene. Results revealed the expected target modification by the CRISPR/Cas9 RNP and the efficient protoplast editing.

Silencing of ATP Synthase β Impairs Egg Development in the Leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus, Vector of the Phytoplasma Associated with Grapevine Flavescence Dorée

Scaphoideus titanus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) is the natural vector of Flavescence dorée phytoplasma, a quarantine pest of grapevine with severe impact on European viticulture. RNA interference (RNAi) machinery components are present in S. titanus transcriptome and injection of ATP synthase β dsRNAs into adults caused gene silencing, starting three days post injection (dpi) up to 20 dpi, leading to decrease cognate protein. Silencing of this gene in the closely related leafhopper Euscelidiusvariegatus previously showed female sterility and lack of mature eggs in ovaries. Here, alteration of developing egg morphology in S. titanus ovaries as well as overexpression of hexamerin transcript (amino acid storage protein) and cathepsin L protein (lysosome proteinase) were observed in dsATP-injected females. To evaluate RNAi-specificity, E.variegatus was used as dsRNA-receiving model-species. Different doses of two sets of dsRNA-constructs targeting distinct portions of ATP synthase β gene of both species induced silencing, lack of egg development, and female sterility in E. variegatus, indicating that off-target effects must be evaluated case by case. The effectiveness of RNAi in S. titanus provides a powerful tool for functional genomics of this non-model species and paves the way toward RNAi-based strategies to limit vector population, despite several technical and regulatory constraints that still need to be overcome to allow open field application.

Novel Silver-Functionalized Poly(ε-Caprolactone)/Biphasic Calcium Phosphate Scaffolds Designed to Counteract Post-Surgical Infections in Orthopedic Applications

In this study, we designed and developed novel poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-based biomaterials, for use as bone scaffolds, through modification with both biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP), to impart bioactive/bioresorbable properties, and with silver nitrate, to provide antibacterial protection against Staphylococcus aureus, a microorganism involved in prosthetic joint infections (PJIs). Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) showed that the samples were characterized by square-shaped macropores, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis confirmed the presence of PCL and BCP phases, while inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) established the release of Ag+ in the medium (~0.15-0.8 wt% of initial Ag content). Adhesion assays revealed a significant (p < 0.0001) reduction in both adherent and planktonic staphylococci on the Ag-functionalized biomaterials, and the presence of an inhibition halo confirmed Ag release from enriched samples. To assess the potential outcome in promoting bone integration, preliminary tests on sarcoma osteogenic-2 (Saos-2) cells indicated PCL and BCP/PCL biocompatibility, but a reduction in viability was observed for Ag-added biomaterials. Due to their combined biodegrading and antimicrobial properties, the silver-enriched BCP/PCL-based scaffolds showed good potential for engineering of bone tissue and for reducing PJIs as a microbial anti-adhesive tool used in the delivery of targeted antimicrobial molecules, even if the amount of silver needs to be tuned to improve osteointegration.

First Report of CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing in Castanea sativa Mill

CRISPR/Cas9 has emerged as the most important tool for genome engineering due to its simplicity, design flexibility, and high efficiency. This technology makes it possible to induce point mutations in one or some target sequences simultaneously, as well as to introduce new genetic variants by homology-directed recombination. However, this approach remains largely unexplored in forest species. In this study, we reported the first example of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing in Castanea genus. As a proof of concept, we targeted the gene encoding phytoene desaturase (pds), whose mutation disrupts chlorophyll biosynthesis allowing for the visual assessment of knockout efficiency. Globular and early torpedo-stage somatic embryos of Castanea sativa (European chestnut) were cocultured for 5 days with a CRISPR/Cas9 construct targeting two conserved gene regions of pds and subsequently cultured on a selection medium with kanamycin. After 8 weeks of subculture on selection medium, four kanamycin-resistant embryogenetic lines were isolated. Genotyping of these lines through target Sanger sequencing of amplicons revealed successful gene editing. Cotyledonary somatic embryos were maturated on maltose 3% and cold-stored at 4°C for 2 months. Subsequently, embryos were subjected to the germination process to produce albino plants. This study opens the way to the use of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in European chestnut for biotechnological applications.

Creation of pure non-crystalline diamond nanostructures via room-temperature ion irradiation and subsequent thermal annealing

Carbon exhibits a remarkable range of structural forms, due to the availability of sp³, sp² and sp¹ chemical bonds. Contrarily to other group IV elements such as silicon and germanium, the formation of an amorphous phase based exclusively on sp³ bonds is extremely challenging due to the strongly favored formation of graphitic-like structures at room temperature and pressure. As such, the formation of a fully sp³-bonded carbon phase requires an extremely careful (and largely unexplored) definition of the pressure and temperature across the phase diagram. Here, we report on the possibility of creating full-sp³ amorphous nanostructures within the bulk crystal of diamond with room-temperature ion-beam irradiation, followed by an annealing process that does not involve the application of any external mechanical pressure. As confirmed by numerical simulations, the (previously unreported) radiation-damage-induced formation of an amorphous sp²-free phase in diamond is determined by the buildup of extremely high internal stresses from the surrounding lattice, which (in the case of nanometer-scale regions) fully prevent the graphitization process. Besides the relevance of understanding the formation of exotic carbon phases, the use of focused/collimated ion beams discloses appealing perspectives for the direct fabrication of such nanostructures in complex three-dimensional geometries.

Early social distancing policies in Europe, changes in mobility & COVID-19 case trajectories: Insights from Spring 2020

BACKGROUND

Social distancing have been widely used to mitigate community spread of SARS-CoV-2. We sought to quantify the impact of COVID-19 social distancing policies across 27 European counties in spring 2020 on population mobility and the subsequent trajectory of disease.

METHODS

We obtained data on national social distancing policies from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker and aggregated and anonymized mobility data from Google. We used a pre-post comparison and two linear mixed-effects models to first assess the relationship between implementation of national policies and observed changes in mobility, and then to assess the relationship between changes in mobility and rates of COVID-19 infections in subsequent weeks.

RESULTS

Compared to a pre-COVID baseline, Spain saw the largest decrease in aggregate population mobility (~70%), as measured by the time spent away from residence, while Sweden saw the smallest decrease (~20%). The largest declines in mobility were associated with mandatory stay-at-home orders, followed by mandatory workplace closures, school closures, and non-mandatory workplace closures. While mandatory shelter-in-place orders were associated with 16.7% less mobility (95% CI: -23.7% to -9.7%), non-mandatory orders were only associated with an 8.4% decrease (95% CI: -14.9% to -1.8%). Large-gathering bans were associated with the smallest change in mobility compared with other policy types. Changes in mobility were in turn associated with changes in COVID-19 case growth. For example, a 10% decrease in time spent away from places of residence was associated with 11.8% (95% CI: 3.8%, 19.1%) fewer new COVID-19 cases.

DISCUSSION

This comprehensive evaluation across Europe suggests that mandatory stay-at-home orders and workplace closures had the largest impacts on population mobility and subsequent COVID-19 cases at the onset of the pandemic. With a better understanding of policies' relative performance, countries can more effectively invest in, and target, early nonpharmacological interventions.

Effect of manual and digital contact tracing on COVID-19 outbreaks: a study on empirical contact data

Non-pharmaceutical interventions are crucial to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic and contain re-emergence phenomena. Targeted measures such as case isolation and contact tracing can alleviate the societal cost of lock-downs by containing the spread where and when it occurs. To assess the relative and combined impact of manual contact tracing (MCT) and digital (app-based) contact tracing, we feed a compartmental model for COVID-19 with high-resolution datasets describing contacts between individuals in several contexts. We show that the benefit (epidemic size reduction) is generically linear in the fraction of contacts recalled during MCT and quadratic in the app adoption, with no threshold effect. The cost (number of quarantines) versus benefit curve has a characteristic parabolic shape, independent of the type of tracing, with a potentially high benefit and low cost if app adoption and MCT efficiency are high enough. Benefits are higher and the cost lower if the epidemic reproductive number is lower, showing the importance of combining tracing with additional mitigation measures. The observed phenomenology is qualitatively robust across datasets and parameters. We moreover obtain analytically similar results on simplified models.

Detecting adherence to the recommended childhood vaccination schedule from user-generated content in a US parenting forum

Vaccine hesitancy is considered as one of the leading causes for the resurgence of vaccine preventable diseases. A non-negligible minority of parents does not fully adhere to the recommended vaccination schedule, leading their children to be partially immunized and at higher risk of contracting vaccine preventable diseases. Here, we leverage more than one million comments of 201,986 users posted from March 2008 to April 2019 on the public online forum BabyCenter US to learn more about such parents. For 32% with geographic location, we find the number of mapped users for each US state resembling the census population distribution with good agreement. We employ Natural Language Processing to identify 6884 and 10,131 users expressing their intention of following the recommended and alternative vaccination schedule, respectively RSUs and ASUs. From the analysis of their activity on the forum we find that ASUs have distinctly different interests and previous experiences with vaccination than RSUs. In particular, ASUs are more likely to follow groups focused on alternative medicine, are two times more likely to have experienced adverse events following immunization, and to mention more serious adverse reactions such as seizure or developmental regression. Content analysis of comments shows that the resources most frequently shared by both groups point to governmental domains (.gov). Finally, network analysis shows that RSUs and ASUs communicate between each other (indicating the absence of echo chambers), however with the latter group being more endogamic and favoring interactions with other ASUs. While our findings are limited to the specific platform analyzed, our approach may provide additional insights for the development of campaigns targeting parents on digital platforms.

The importance and effectiveness of vaccines is generally high, but concerns toward vaccination contribute to eroding confidence in vaccination. Recently, alternative vaccination schedules are becoming popular as they allow parents to selectively delay or refuse certain vaccines depending on their specific concerns. Not being expressly anti-vaccination, these parents are challenging to identify on social media, however understanding the determinants of their hesitancy toward vaccines could help addressing parents’ concerns through targeted interventions. In this work, we create a Natural Language Processing pipeline to automatically identify parents who state their adherence to the recommended or alternative vaccination schedule on a popular parenting forum, BabyCenter US. We find that these users have distinct interests and different experiences with vaccination, although they frequently share similar sources of information (e.g., .gov websites). Differently from what is observed on most popular digital platforms like Facebook or Twitter, where users communicate mainly with like-minded users, Babycenter users communicate between each other independently of the vaccination schedule they adopt. These observations suggest that parenting fora may be a more suitable medium to develop intervention aiming to influence positively the vaccination behavior of parents.

Outcome and diagnostic reproducibility of the thyroid cytology "indeterminate categories" SIAPEC/SIE 2014 in a consecutive series of 302 cases

PURPOSE

The clinical impact of the SIAPEC/SIE 2014 classification for thyroid cytology has been addressed in few studies that evaluated the malignancy rate and the relative prevalence of each category. No study analyzed its intra-observer and inter-observer reproducibility, so far.

METHODS

We retrospectively collected all "indeterminate" lesions diagnosed before (2011-2014) and after (2015-2018) the application of the SIAPEC/SIE 2014 classification at our Institution. Their relative malignancy risks were calculated based on available histological diagnoses. Cytological and clinical features of TIR3A were compared with the surgical outcome. Finally, a large set of samples was re-evaluated in blind of the original cytological and histological diagnoses by two pathologists, independently.

RESULTS

The prevalence of "indeterminate" diagnoses increased in years 2015-2018 (302/1482, 21% with 14% of TIR3A and 7% TIR3B categories) compared to years 2011-2014 (261/1680, 16%). Surgery was performed in 27% TIR3A and in 97% TIR3B cases. Malignancy rates were 40% for TIR3B and 17% for TIR3A, but were greatly influenced by the adoption of the WHO 2017 re-classification of encapsulated follicular-patterned lesions (decreasing to 28% and 6%, respectively). No criteria except for tumor size were associated to malignancy in TIR3A category. Intra-observer agreement of the experienced pathologist was 122/141 (86%), whereas inter-observer agreement between the expert and in-training pathologist was 95/141 (67%).

CONCLUSIONS

In this real-life experience, the sub-classification of TIR3A and TIR3B slightly increased the overall prevalence of "indeterminate" diagnoses. Malignancy rates were higher than estimated for both TIR3A and TIR3B categories. Agreement among observers highly depended on pathologist's training.

MicroRNA-Mediated Metabolic Shaping of the Tumor Microenvironment

The metabolism of cancer cells is generally very different from what is found in normal counterparts. However, in a tumor mass, the continuous crosstalk and competition for nutrients and oxygen among different cells lead to metabolic alterations, not only in cancer cells, but also in the different stromal and immune cells of the tumor microenvironment (TME), which are highly relevant for tumor progression. MicroRNAs (miRs) are small non-coding RNAs that silence their mRNA targets post-transcriptionally and are involved in numerous physiological cell functions as well as in the adaptation to stress situations. Importantly, miRs can also be released via extracellular vesicles (EVs) and, consequently, take part in the bidirectional communication between tumor and surrounding cells under stress conditions. Certain miRs are abundantly expressed in stromal and immune cells where they can regulate various metabolic pathways by directly suppressing enzymes or transporters as well as by controlling important regulators (such as transcription factors) of metabolic processes. In this review, we discuss how miRs can induce metabolic reprogramming in stromal (fibroblasts and adipocytes) and immune (macrophages and T cells) cells and, in turn, how the biology of the different cells present in the TME is able to change. Finally, we debate the rebound of miR-dependent metabolic alterations on tumor progression and their implications for cancer management.

DXA-Derived Adiposity and Lean Indices for Management of Cardiometabolic and Musculoskeletal Frailty: Data Interpretation Tricks and Reporting Tips

The proper assessment and follow-up of obesity and sarcopenia are relevant for the proper management of the complications of cardiometabolic and musculoskeletal frailty. A total body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan should be systematically incorporated in the rehabilitative routine management of patients with obesity and sarcopenia. In the former patients, the total body DXA can be used to assess the fat tissue amount and distribution, while in the latter patients, it can be used to quantify the reduction of appendicular lean mass and to investigate the inter-limb lean mass asymmetry. This tutorial article provides an overview of different DXA-derived fat and lean indices and describes a step-by-step procedure on how to produce a complete DXA report. We suggest that the systematic incorporation of these indices into routine examinations of the patients with obesity and sarcopenia can be useful for identifying the patients at risk for cardiometabolic and neuromuscular impairment-related comorbidities and for evaluating the effectiveness of pharmacological and rehabilitative interventions.

HPLC-MS/MS Method for the Detection of Selected Toxic Metabolites Produced by Penicillium spp. in Nuts

Penicillium spp. are emerging as producers of mycotoxins and other toxic metabolites in nuts. A HPLC-MS/MS method was developed to detect 19 metabolites produced by Penicillium spp. on chestnuts, hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds. Two extraction methods were developed, one for chestnuts and one for the other three nuts. The recovery, LOD, LOQ and matrix effect were determined for each analyte and matrix. Correlation coefficients were always >99.99%. In walnuts, a strong signal suppression was observed for most analytes and patulin could not be detected. Six strains: Penicillium bialowiezense, P. brevicompactum, P. crustosum, P. expansum, P. glabrum and P. solitum, isolated from chestnuts, were inoculated on four nuts. Chestnuts favored the production of the largest number of Penicillium toxic metabolites. The method was used for the analysis of 41 commercial samples: 71% showed to be contaminated by Penicillium-toxins. Cyclopenin and cyclopenol were the most frequently detected metabolites, with an incidence of 32% and 68%, respectively. Due to the risk of contamination of nuts with Penicillium-toxins, future studies and legislation should consider a larger number of mycotoxins.

The impact of news exposure on collective attention in the United States during the 2016 Zika epidemic

In recent years, many studies have drawn attention to the important role of collective awareness and human behaviour during epidemic outbreaks. A number of modelling efforts have investigated the interaction between the disease transmission dynamics and human behaviour change mediated by news coverage and by information spreading in the population. Yet, given the scarcity of data on public awareness during an epidemic, few studies have relied on empirical data. Here, we use fine-grained, geo-referenced data from three online sources—Wikipedia, the GDELT Project and the Internet Archive—to quantify population-scale information seeking about the 2016 Zika virus epidemic in the U.S., explicitly linking such behavioural signal to epidemiological data. Geo-localized Wikipedia pageview data reveal that visiting patterns of Zika-related pages in Wikipedia were highly synchronized across the United States and largely explained by exposure to national television broadcast. Contrary to the assumption of some theoretical epidemic models, news volume and Wikipedia visiting patterns were not significantly correlated with the magnitude or the extent of the epidemic. Attention to Zika, in terms of Zika-related Wikipedia pageviews, was high at the beginning of the outbreak, when public health agencies raised an international alert and triggered media coverage, but subsequently exhibited an activity profile that suggests nonlinear dependencies and memory effects in the relation between information seeking, media pressure, and disease dynamics. This calls for a new and more general modelling framework to describe the interaction between media exposure, public awareness and disease dynamics during epidemic outbreaks.

Despite its importance for public health policy-makers, understanding the impact of media coverage on collective attention during disease outbreaks remains an elusive research task, due to the lack of available data, especially at high spatial granularity. In this paper, we study the dynamics of collective attention received by the 2016 Zika epidemic in the USA and its interplay with the media coverage of the outbreak, at level of US states and cities. We measure the attention to Zika through geo-localized Wikipedia page view data, and we compare it with mentions of Zika in US news outlets and TV shows. We also compare the collective attention received by the outbreak with the incidence of Zika reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in each state. We find that the attention dynamics was highly synchronized across states, irrespective of the local risk of transmission of the virus. By building a linear regression model, we show that the dynamics of collective attention is highly predictable, even at state level, only based on the national media coverage received by the outbreak.

Multistage and passive cooling process driven by salinity difference

Space cooling in buildings is anticipated to rise because of an increasing thermal comfort demand worldwide, and this calls for cost-effective and sustainable cooling technologies. We present a proof-of-concept multistage device, where a net cooling capacity and a temperature difference are demonstrated as long as two water solutions at disparate salinity are maintained. Each stage is made of two hydrophilic layers separated by a hydrophobic membrane. An imbalance in water activity in the two layers naturally causes a non-isothermal vapor flux across the membrane without requiring any mechanical ancillaries. One prototype of the device developed a specific cooling capacity of up to 170 W m^-2 at a vanishing temperature difference, considering a 3.1 mol/kg calcium chloride solution. To provide perspective, if successfully up-scaled, this concept may help satisfy at least partially the cooling needs in hot, humid regions with naturally available salinity gradients.

Noncoding RNAs in Extracellular Fluids as Cancer Biomarkers: The New Frontier of Liquid Biopsies

The last two decades of cancer research have been devoted in two directions: (1) understanding the mechanism of carcinogenesis for an effective treatment, and (2) improving cancer prevention and screening for early detection of the disease. This last aspect has been developed, especially for certain types of cancers, thanks also to the introduction of new concepts such as liquid biopsies and precision medicine. In this context, there is a growing interest in the application of alternative and noninvasive methodologies to search for cancer biomarkers. The new frontiers of the research lead to a search for RNA molecules circulating in body fluids. Searching for biomarkers in extracellular body fluids represents a better option for patients because they are easier to access, less painful, and potentially more economical. Moreover, the possibility for these types of samples to be taken repeatedly, allows a better monitoring of the disease progression or treatment efficacy for a better intervention and dynamic treatment of the patient, which is the fundamental basis of personalized medicine. RNA molecules, freely circulating in body fluids or packed in microvesicles, have all the characteristics of the ideal biomarkers owing to their high stability under storage and handling conditions and being able to be sampled several times for monitoring. Moreover, as demonstrated for many cancers, their plasma/serum levels mirror those in the primary tumor. There are a large variety of RNA species noncoding for proteins that could be used as cancer biomarkers in liquid biopsies. Among them, the most studied are microRNAs, but recently the attention of the researcher has been also directed towards Piwi-interacting RNAs, circular RNAs, and other small noncoding RNAs. Another class of RNA species, the long noncoding RNAs, is larger than microRNAs and represents a very versatile and promising group of molecules which, apart from their use as biomarkers, have also a possible therapeutic role. In this review, we will give an overview of the most common noncoding RNA species detectable in extracellular fluids and will provide an update concerning the situation of the research on these molecules as cancer biomarkers.

High-resolution contact networks of free-ranging domestic dogs Canis familiaris and implications for transmission of infection

Contact patterns strongly influence the dynamics of disease transmission in both human and non-human animal populations. Domestic dogs Canis familiaris are a social species and are a reservoir for several zoonotic infections, yet few studies have empirically determined contact patterns within dog populations. Using high-resolution proximity logging technology, we characterised the contact networks of free-ranging domestic dogs from two settlements (n = 108 dogs, covering >80% of the population in each settlement) in rural Chad. We used these data to simulate the transmission of an infection comparable to rabies and investigated the effects of including observed contact heterogeneities on epidemic outcomes. We found that dog contact networks displayed considerable heterogeneity, particularly in the duration of contacts and that the network had communities that were highly correlated with household membership. Simulations using observed contact networks had smaller epidemic sizes than those that assumed random mixing, demonstrating the unsuitability of homogenous mixing models in predicting epidemic outcomes. When contact heterogeneities were included in simulations, the network position of the individual initially infected had an important effect on epidemic outcomes. The risk of an epidemic occurring was best predicted by the initially infected individual's ranked degree, while epidemic size was best predicted by the individual's ranked eigenvector centrality. For dogs in one settlement, we found that ranked eigenvector centrality was correlated with range size. Our results demonstrate that observed heterogeneities in contacts are important for the prediction of epidemiological outcomes in free-ranging domestic dogs. We show that individuals presenting a higher risk for disease transmission can be identified by their network position and provide evidence that observable traits hold potential for informing targeted disease management strategies.

Close encounters between infants and household members measured through wearable proximity sensors

Describing and understanding close proximity interactions between infant and family members can provide key information on transmission opportunities of respiratory infections within households. Among respiratory infections, pertussis represents a public health priority. Pertussis infection can be particularly harmful to young, unvaccinated infants and for these patients, family members represent the main sources of transmission. Here, we report on the use of wearable proximity sensors based on RFID technology to measure face-to-face proximity between family members within 16 households with infants younger than 6 months for 2–5 consecutive days of data collection. The sensors were deployed over the course of approximately 1 year, in the context of a national research project aimed at the improvement of infant pertussis prevention strategies. We investigated differences in close-range interactions between family members and we assessed whether demographic variables or feeding practices affect contact patterns between parents and infants. A total of 5,958 contact events were recorded between 55 individuals: 16 infants, 4 siblings, 31 parents and 4 grandparents. The aggregated contact networks, obtained for each household, showed a heterogeneous distribution of the cumulative time spent in proximity with the infant by family members. Contact matrices defined by age and by family role showed that most of the contacts occurred between the infant and other family members (70%), while 30% of contacts was among family members (infants excluded). Many contacts were observed between infants and adults, in particular between infant and mother, followed by father, siblings and grandparents. A larger number of contacts and longer contact durations between infant and other family members were observed in families adopting exclusive breastfeeding, compared to families in which the infant receives artificial or mixed feeding. Our results demonstrate how a high-resolution measurement of contact matrices within infants’ households is feasible using wearable proximity sensing devices. Moreover, our findings suggest the mother is responsible for the large majority of the infant’s contact pattern, thus being the main potential source of infection for a transmissible disease. As the contribution to the infants’ contact pattern by other family members is very variable, vaccination against pertussis during pregnancy is probably the best strategy to protect young, unvaccinated infants.

Assessing the use of mobile phone data to describe recurrent mobility patterns in spatial epidemic models

The recent availability of large-scale call detail record data has substantially improved our ability of quantifying human travel patterns with broad applications in epidemiology. Notwithstanding a number of successful case studies, previous works have shown that using different mobility data sources, such as mobile phone data or census surveys, to parametrize infectious disease models can generate divergent outcomes. Thus, it remains unclear to what extent epidemic modelling results may vary when using different proxies for human movements. Here, we systematically compare 658 000 simulated outbreaks generated with a spatially structured epidemic model based on two different human mobility networks: a commuting network of France extracted from mobile phone data and another extracted from a census survey. We compare epidemic patterns originating from all the 329 possible outbreak seed locations and identify the structural network properties of the seeding nodes that best predict spatial and temporal epidemic patterns to be alike. We find that similarity of simulated epidemics is significantly correlated to connectivity, traffic and population size of the seeding nodes, suggesting that the adequacy of mobile phone data for infectious disease models becomes higher when epidemics spread between highly connected and heavily populated locations, such as large urban areas.

A Novel Functional Domain of Tab2 Involved in the Interaction with Estrogen Receptor Alpha in Breast Cancer Cells

Tab2, originally described as a component of the inflammatory pathway, has been implicated in phenomena of gene de-repression in several contexts, due to its ability to interact with the NCoR corepressor. Tab2 interacts also with steroid receptors and dismisses NCoR from antagonist-bound Estrogen and Androgen Receptors on gene regulatory regions, thus modifying their transcriptional activity and leading to pharmacological resistance in breast and prostate cancer cells. We demonstrated previously that either Tab2 knock-down, or a peptide mimicking the Estrogen Receptor alpha domain interacting with Tab2, restore the antiproliferative response to Tamoxifen in Tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells. In this work, we map the domain of Tab2 responsible of Estrogen Receptor alpha interaction. First, using both co-immunoprecipitation and pull-down with recombinant proteins, we found that the central part of Tab2 is primarily responsible for this interaction, and that this region also interacts with Androgen Receptor. Then, we narrowed down the essential interaction region by means of competition assays using recombinant protein pull-down. The interaction motif was finally identified as a small region adjacent to, but not overlapping, the Tab2 MEKK1 phosphorylation sites. A synthetic peptide mimicking this motif efficiently displaced Tab2 from interacting with recombinant Estrogen Receptor alpha in vitro, prompting us to test its efficacy using derivatives of the MCF7 breast carcinoma cell lines that are spontaneously resistant to Tamoxifen. Indeed, we observed that this mimic peptide, made cell-permeable by addition of the TAT minimal carrier domain, reduced the growth of Tamoxifen-resistant MCF7 cells in the presence of Tamoxifen. These data indicate a novel functional domain of the Tab2 protein with potential application in drug design.

Quantifying social contacts in a household setting of rural Kenya using wearable proximity sensors

Close proximity interactions between individuals influence how infections spread. Quantifying close contacts in developing world settings, where such data is sparse yet disease burden is high, can provide insights into the design of intervention strategies such as vaccination. Recent technological advances have enabled collection of time-resolved face-to-face human contact data using radio frequency proximity sensors. The acceptability and practicalities of using proximity devices within the developing country setting have not been investigated. We present and analyse data arising from a prospective study of 5 households in rural Kenya, followed through 3 consecutive days. Pre-study focus group discussions with key community groups were held. All residents of selected households carried wearable proximity sensors to collect data on their close (<1.5 metres) interactions. Data collection for residents of three of the 5 households was contemporaneous. Contact matrices and temporal networks for 75 individuals are defined and mixing patterns by age and time of day in household contacts determined. Our study demonstrates the stability of numbers and durations of contacts across days. The contact durations followed a broad distribution consistent with data from other settings. Contacts within households occur mainly among children and between children and adults, and are characterised by daily regular peaks in the morning, midday and evening. Inter-household contacts are between adults and more sporadic when measured over several days. Community feedback indicated privacy as a major concern especially regarding perceptions of non-participants, and that community acceptability required thorough explanation of study tools and procedures. Our results show for a low resource setting how wearable proximity sensors can be used to objectively collect high-resolution temporal data without direct supervision. The methodology appears acceptable in this population following adequate community engagement on study procedures. A target for future investigation is to determine the difference in contact networks within versus between households. We suggest that the results from this study may be used in the design of future studies using similar electronic devices targeting communities, including households and schools, in the developing world context.

ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

The online version of this article (doi:10.1140/epjds/s13688-016-0084-2) contains supplementary material.