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The serendipitous discovery of nanobodies (NBs) around two decades ago opened the door to new possibilities for innovative strategies, particularly in cancer treatment. These antigen-binding fragments are derived from heavy-chain-only antibodies naturally found in the serum of camelids and sharks. NBs are an appealing agent for the progress of innovative therapeutic strategies because they combine the advantageous assets of smaller molecules and conventional monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Moreover, the possibility to produce NBs using bacterial systems reduces manufacturing expenses and speeds up the production process, making them a feasible option for the development of new bio-drugs. Several NBs have been developed over the past 10 years and are currently being tested in clinical trials for various human targets. Here, we provide an overview of the notable structural and biochemical characteristics of NBs, particularly in their application against HER2, an extracellular receptor that often gets aberrantly activated during breast cancer tumorigenesis. The focus is on the recent advancements in diagnostic and therapeutic research up to the present date.

Background: Several instruments have been proposed to investigate restricted, repetitive behaviors (RRBs) in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Systematic video observations may overcome questionnaire and interview limitations to investigate RRBs. This study aimed to analyze stereotypic patterns through video recordings and to determine the correlation between the number and appearance of RRBs to ASD severity. Methods: Twenty health professionals wearing a body cam recorded 780 specific RRBs during everyday activities of 67 individuals with ASD (mean age: 14.2 ± 3.72 years) for three months. Each stereotypy was classified according to its complexity pattern (i.e., simple or complex) based on body parts and sensory channels involved. Results: The RRBs spectrum for each subject ranged from one to 33 different patterns (mean: 11.6 ± 6.82). Individuals with a lower number of stereotypies shown a lower ASD severity compared to subjects with a higher number of stereotypies (p = 0.044). No significant differences were observed between individuals exhibiting simple (n = 40) and complex patterns (n = 27) of stereotypies on ASD severity, age, sex, and the number of stereotypes. Conclusions: This study represents the first attempt to systematically document expression patterns of RRBs with a data-driven approach. This may provide a better understanding of the pathophysiology and management of RRBs.

Twenty expert caregivers wearing a body cam recorded 1868 videoclips in 67 autistic subjects along a 3 months close follow-up. A team consisting of a senior child neuro-psychiatrist and a senior psychologist selected 780 of them as expressing repetitive behaviors (RB) and made an empirical classification according to components, complexity, body parts and sensory channels involved, with the aim to understand better the pattern complexity and correlate with autism severity. The RB spectrum for each subject ranged from 1 to 33 different patterns (average= 11.6; S.D.= 6.82). Forty subjects expressed prevalent simple pattern and 27 prevalent complex patterns. No significant differences are found between the two groups according to ADOS score severity. This study represents a first attempt to systematically document expression patterns of RB with a data driven approach. This may provide a better understanding of the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of RB.

The paper proposes a theoretical and methodological contribution on the role of the neighbourhood in contextualising sustainability policies and in guiding environ-mental governance at the urban level. In a perspective that sees compact urban system as a body and its communities as cells, the work focuses on the neighborhood in an ecological key, assuming it as a fundamental analytical unit to contextualise the socio-environmental innovation, both in terms of policies and bottom-up practices. Analyzing social and spatial inequalities that specifically characterize the urban neighborhoods and civic resources that represent catalysts of socio-environmental innovation, we introduce the theme of territorial social capital. A methodological path for its measurement is outlined, through a collection of information at the micro level, integrating classical research techniques with an approach known as "Ecometrics". Through these tools, it is possible to pay due attention to the social and spatial morphology of neighborhoods: different territorial social capitals become a key element for the planning and implementation of urban policies and practices of sustainable transition.

The paper will present an experiment implemented by the Municipality of Bologna with the engagement of part of the residential public housing sector (ERP). The project consisted on testing a form of social mix that was based on populations with different needs and resources but a hard housing problem in common. The aim of the project was favoring the creation of social ties and neighborhood attachment, in order to subvert the territorial stigma that sometimes affects ERP settlements. This social mix proposal assumed that many resources are available within housing problems, and these resources are just waiting to be properly recognized and valued.

Time-domain interferometry (TDI) is a method to probe space-time correlations among particles in condensed matter systems. Applying TDI to quantum systems raises the general question, whether two-time correlations can be reliably measured without adverse impact of the measurement backaction onto the dynamics of the system. Here, we show that a recently developed quantum version of TDI (QTDI) indeed can access the full quantum-mechanical two-time correlations without backaction. We further generalize QTDI to weak classical continuous-mode coherent input states, alleviating the need for single-photon input fields. Finally, we interpret our results by splitting the space-time correlations into two parts. While the first one is associated to projective measurements and thus insensitive to backaction, we identify the second contribution as arising from the coherence properties of the state of the probed target system, such that it is perturbed or even destroyed by measurements on the system., Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures

The paper focuses on two-dimensional (2D) analyses of a bridge abutment based on a spatially variable soil. The analysis was carried out to evaluate the settlement of the bridgehead. The numerical model consists of a reinforced concrete support structure, embankment and natural soil. Moreover, frictional contact between the soil and the structure is assumed. As it is well known, the natural soils are spatially highly variable materials, and their mechanical and physical parameters in geotechnical designing, such as a bridge abutment, must be considered variable. Thus, the presented analyses will be devoted to determining the settlement of the structure under study, in probabilistic terms due to soil variability. To this end, Sequential Gaussian Simulation was used to describe the spatial variability of soil parameters. This approach uses geostatistical methods to produce different realizations of soil parameters. A data set of several Cone Penetration Tests (CPT) was used. Simulations were used to calculate the histogram of a bridgehead settlement and search the worst case. Abaqus program and some ad hoc scripts written in Python language were used to perform the analyses. The analysis reflects several stages of abutment’s construction. This allows for a comprehensive analysis of a bridge abutment.

This study was conducted to estimate soil clay content in two depths using geophysical techniques (Ground Penetration Radar—GPR and Electromagnetic Induction—EMI) and ancillary variables (remote sensing and topographic data) in an arid region of the southeastern Iran. GPR measurements were performed throughout ten transects of 100 m length with the line spacing of 10 m, and the EMI measurements were done every 10 m on the same transect in six sites. Ten soil cores were sampled randomly in each site and soil samples were taken from the depth of 0–20 and 20–40 cm, and then the clay fraction of each of sixty soil samples was measured in the laboratory. Clay content was predicted using three different sets of properties including geophysical data, ancillary data, and a combination of both as inputs to multiple linear regressions (MLR) and decision tree-based algorithm of Chi-Squared Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) models. The results of the CHAID and MLR models with all combined data showed that geophysical data were the most important variables for the prediction of clay content in two depths in the study area. The proposed MLR model, using the combined data, could explain only 0.44 and 0.31% of the total variability of clay content in 0–20 and 20–40 cm depths, respectively. Also, the coefficient of determination (R 2 ) values for the clay content prediction, using the constructed CHAID model with the combined data, was 0.82 and 0.76 in 0–20 and 20–40 cm depths, respectively. CHAID models, therefore, showed a greater potential in predicting soil clay content from geophysical and ancillary data, while traditional regression methods (i.e. the MLR models) did not perform as well. Overall, the results may encourage researchers in using georeferenced GPR and EMI data as ancillary variables and CHAID algorithm to improve the estimation of soil clay content.

In this work we present a quantum theoretical account of hard x-ray time-domain interferometry, which is an experimental technique to probe the correlations in time between particles in a condensed matter system via their interaction with hard x-radiation. This technique has so far been successfully applied to classical systems. The recent proposal of using the same technique on systems for which quantum effects play a major role requires a detailed analysis due to the dramatic effect that the measurement act can have on the dynamics of a quantum system. In particular, trying to access the correlations in a quantum system via direct measurements would give only incomplete information about them. Treating both the probed matter system and the probing radiation as quantum systems which interact weakly, we show that in time-domain interferometry the radiation does not affect the system in the above sense, such that it can access the particles correlations in time fully. Furthermore, in view of some recent advancements in x-ray control, it is proposed that time-domain interferometry can be used for the reconstruction of particles correlations and for detecting the presence of quantum effects in the probed system.

Precision agriculture is a management approach for sustainable agriculture. It can be applied even in small fields. It aims to optimize inputs, improve profits, and reduce adverse environmental impacts. In this study, a series of measurements were conducted over three growing seasons to assess variability in a 0.55 ha pear orchard located in central Greece. Soil ECa was measured using EM38 sensor, while soil samples were taken from a grid 17 × 8 m and analysed for texture, pH, P, K, Mg, CaCO3, and organic matter content. Data analysis indicated that most of the nutrients were at sufficient levels. Soil and yield maps showed considerable variability while fruit quality presented small variations across the orchard. Yield fluctuations were observed, possibly due to climatic conditions. Prescription maps were developed for nitrogen variable rate application (VRA) for two years based on the replacement of the nutrients removed by the crop. VRA application resulted in 56% and 50% reduction of N fertiliser compared to uniform application.

La progressiva crescita delle citta pone inevitabilmente problemi di eco-compatibilita: in una prospettiva di sviluppo urbano sostenibile, un ritorno alla citta compatta sembra essere l’univa via perseguibile, per diverse ragioni. Una prospettiva di ricompattamento urbano richiede di focalizzare l’attenzione sui quartieri: ricorrendo ad alcuni concetti degli studi di Sampson, si evidenzia come le Transition Towns possano essere lette in una prospettiva di Neighbourhood e come la letteratura sulla resilienza di comunita presenti elementi di sostanziale continuita con il neighbourhood approach.

INTRODUCTION: Extranodal NK/T-Cell lymphoma, nasal type (NKTLN) is a disease that mainly affects the nasal cavity and the paranasal sinuses. Early nasal symptoms are nonspecific, simulating sinus infection. With disease progression, necrosis of the nasal mucosa increases, hindering histological diagnosis. Thus, multiple biopsies may be necessary until definitive diagnosis. Most studies on NKTLN address the hematological and immunological aspects of the disease. OBJECTIVES: To present data from a Brazilian quaternary hospital, with emphasis on the clinical aspects of the disease, and to correlate the findings with the most recent literature data. METHODS: Case study of seven patient files. RESULTS: Patients were evaluated on their medical history, number of biopsies necessary, association with Epstein-Barr virus, treatment, and outcome. All patients had nonspecific nasal complaints and underwent at least three cycles of antibiotic therapy. The earlier a biopsy was performed, the fewer biopsies were required to diagnose the disease and start treatment. However, this fact did not translate into better prognosis. CONCLUSION: The otolaryngologist plays a fundamental role in the prognosis of NKTLN and can shorten time between symptom onset and treatment of the patient. INTRODUÇÃO: O linfoma extranodal de células NK/T tipo nasal (LNKTN) é uma doença que acomete preferencialmente a cavidade nasal e os seios paranasais. Os sintomas nasais iniciais são inespecíficos, mimetizando um quadro de infecção nasossinusal. Com a progressão da doença, aumenta a necrose da mucosa nasossinusal, dificultando o diagnóstico histológico e podendo ser necessárias múltiplas biópsias até o diagnóstico definitivo. A maioria dos estudos sobre o LNKTN aborda aspectos imunológicos e hematológicos da doença. OBJETIVO: Apresentar a casuística de um hospital quaternário brasileiro, destacando os aspectos clínicos dos pacientes e correlacionando aos achados mais recentes da literatura. MÉTODO: Estudo de casos de sete pacientes. RESULTADOS: Pacientes foram avaliados quanto a aspectos de sua história clínica, número de biópsias necessárias, associação ao EBV, tratamento e evolução. Todos iniciaram o quadro com queixas inespecíficas nasais e foram submetidos a pelo menos três ciclos de antibióticos. Quanto mais precocemente a biópsia foi realizada, menos biópsias foram necessárias para se obter o diagnóstico e iniciar o tratamento. Entretanto, esta situação não refletiu num melhor prognóstico dos pacientes. CONCLUSÃO: O otorrinolaringologista tem papel fundamental no prognóstico do LNKTN, podendo encurtar o tempo entre o início dos sintomas e o tratamento do paciente.

A better understanding of soil organic C (SOC) distribution in mountain soils is important for quantifying C emissions-removals involved in land use change processes, such as afforestation, reforestation, and deforestation activities. The highest part of Valchiavenna, a Northern Italy alpine area, is characterized by a great variety of landscapes owing to the different parent material, climatic conditions, topography, vegetation, and geomorphology. The interaction of these features has produced many soil types, such as Leptosols, Regosols, Cambisols, Umbrisols, Podzols, and Histosols, with large differences in total organic C (TOC) content. To predict TOC content, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) in the visible and near-infrared (VIS-NIR) range was applied. Nine soil profiles were sampled to represent a range of pedologic profiles and were analyzed with DRS in the wavelength interval of 350 to 2500 nm and for some chemical and physical parameters. Spectral data were transformed and then analyzed through partial least square regression (PLSR) and multiple linear regression. Soil parameters were also considered as covariates. The results indicate that the DRS technique linked with PLSR and applied to smoothed spectra was able to predict TOC and highlight the relationships between TOC and Al and Fe amorphous minerals. The wavelength in the visible range, with particular regard to the 520- to 560-nm interval, were the most influential in explaining TOC variation compared with NIR (700-1400 nm) and short-wave infrared (SWIR) bands (1400-2500 nm). This may suggest that changes in reflectance in the visible range can be caused by a significant variation in TOC in the alpine soil profiles. This calls for a closer examination of pedologic processes in mountain environments owing to advanced chemometric models to predict SOC content in mountain soils. © Soil Science Society of America.

The application of viral metagenomic techniques and a series of PCRs in a human fecal sample enabled the detection of two novel circular unisense DNA viral genomes with 92% nucleotide similarity. The viruses were tentatively named circo-like virus-Brazil (CLV-BR) strains hs1 and hs2 and have genome lengths of 2526 and 2533 nucleotides, respectively. Four major open reading frames (ORFs) were identified in each of the genomes, and differences between the two genomes were primarily observed in ORF 2. Only ORF 3 showed significant amino acid similarities to a putative rolling circle replication initiator protein (Rep), although with low identity (36%). Our phylogenetic analysis, based on the Rep protein, demonstrated that the CLV-BRs do not cluster with members of the Circoviridae, Nanoviridae or Geminiviridae families and are more closely related to circo-like genomes previously identified in reclaimed water and feces of a wild rodent and of a bat. The CLV-BRs are members of a putative new family of circular Rep-encoding ssDNA viruses. Electron microscopy revealed icosahedral (~23 nm) structures, likely reflecting the novel viruses, and rod-shaped viral particles (~65-460 × 21 × 10 nm in length, diameter, and axial canal, respectively). Circo-like viruses have been detected in stool samples from humans and other mammals (bats, rodents, chimpanzees and bovines), cerebrospinal fluid and sera from humans, as well as samples from many other sources, e.g., insects, meat and the environment. Further studies are needed to classify all novel circular DNA viruses and elucidate their hosts, pathogenicity and evolutionary history.

Slides from the flash presentations from the 18th IWA-UK Young Water Professionals conference

s submitted to the 18th IWA-UK Young Water Professionals Conference and awarded for Flash presentation

BACKGROUND Two novel viruses named circo-like virus-Brazil (CLV-BR) hs1 and hs2 were previously discovered in a Brazilian human fecal sample through metagenomics. CLV-BR hs1 and hs2 possess a small circular DNA genome encoding a replication initiator protein (Rep), and the two genomes exhibit 92% nucleotide identity with each other. Phylogenetic analysis based on the Rep protein showed that CLV-BRs do not cluster with circoviruses, nanoviruses, geminiviruses or cycloviruses. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to search for CLV-BR genomes in sewage and reclaimed water samples from the metropolitan area of São Paulo, Brazil, to verify whether the first detection of these viruses was an isolated finding. METHODS Sewage and reclaimed water samples collected concomitantly during the years 2005-2006 were purified and concentrated using methodologies designed for the study of viruses. A total of 177 treated reclaimed water samples were grouped into five pools, as were 177 treated raw sewage samples. Nucleic acid extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and Sanger sequencing were then performed.e FINDINGS CLV-BR genomes were detected in two pools of sewage samples, p6 and p9. Approximately 28% and 51% of the CLV-BR genome was amplified from p6 and p9, respectively, including 76% of the Rep gene. The detected genomes are most likely related to CLV-BR hs1. Comparative analysis showed several synonymous substitutions within Rep-encoding sequences, suggesting purifying selection for this gene, as has been observed for other eukaryotic circular Rep-encoding single-stranded DNA (CRESS-DNA) viruses. MAIN CONCLUSION The results therefore indicated that CLV-BR has continued to circulate in Brazil two and three years after first being detected.

L'autore si focalizza sulle implicazioni sociologiche del tema della sostenibilitŕ ambientale allo scopo di delineare un percorso verso l'individuazione dei tratti caratterizzanti una sociologia della sostenibilitŕ che deve necessariamente declinarsi in termini ecologici ed ambientali. L'autore riprende il tema del superamento del dualismo conoscitivo soggetto/ oggetto proprio del costruttivismo in un'ottica di riabilitazione del naturale che riconosca la dipendenza uomo-natura. Si sottolinea poi la rilevanza del dibattito attorno ai temi della "prosperitŕ senza crescita" e della "felicitŕ oltre il Pil" e delle connessioni con la tematica del glocalismo e della rilocalizzazione. Infine si riflette sul tema della comunitŕ e del quartiere in un'ottica di ricompattamento urbano e sulla necessitŕ di ragionare sui limiti di un approccio bottom-up alla sostenibilitŕ ambientale recuperando una chiave di lettura ed analisi che sia anche di tipo normativo-sistemica.

In Mediterranean countries, on top of the erratic weather pattern, rainfed wheat grain yield and protein content in a field are spatially variable due to inherent variability of soil properties and position in the landscape. The objectives of this three-year field study were: (i) to assess the spatial and temporal variability of attributes related to the yield and quality of durum wheat production; and, (ii) to examine the temporal stability of sub-field management classes derived from (i). A Geostatistical approach was used to analyze data collected in each year from 100 georeferenced locations. In particular, block-kriging was used to produce maps of gluten and protein content, test weight, biomass weight and Harvest Index. The multivariate spatial data sets were then analyzed by Factorial co-Kriging Analysis (FKA). The classes obtained from the FKA output were compared with the yield maps in order to assess their production potential. The first factors relating to each year were also compared by using contingency matrices, to estimate the temporal consistency of field delineation. In the first two seasons, at most, about 50% of the total spatial variance of the crop attributes was ascribed to production potential. In the third season the variation was more erratic, equally influenced by all variables. The contingency matrices have showed that only 26% on average of the spatial variation of the attributes of wheat production was characterized by temporal stability. The present study highlighted the influence of climatic conditions over the persistence of wheat crop responses.

Il contributo presenta alcune riflessioni sul rapporto tra il modello insediativo dello urban sprawl e il consumo di territorio in Italia. L'accrescimento di aree urbane a bassa densitŕ nel nostro paese risulta sganciato dai trends demografici e viene letto come il principale responsabile del consumo della risorsa suolo. Dal punto di vista sociologico, il fenomeno della cittŕ diffusa sembra inoltre allontanarsi dai tratti peculiari della forma urbana che non puň prescindere da un certo grado di densitŕ e compattezza.

The concept of community: how to use it in urban sociology? - My article makes some questions about the heuristic actuality of community as a concept for the urban sociology. Two meanings of community will be considered, the socio-cultural and the socio-spatial one; however, the first one will be stressed, where community is a quality of social relations. So, my framework will be the Weber distinction between community and association; I think it can be used more than the Toennies one in the current context. In other words, it is a question to insert such concept of community in a reflection about urban sociology, trying to individuate the sociospatial implications of community as a quality of social relations. In this sense, the link between community and natural area is extremely important. So, the concept of natural area is the one to focus on; in particular, I will stress that it can be only partially overlapped to community as a quality of social relations, and such overlapping is more and more problematic today. However, despite the difficulty in speaking about natural areas, I think that community is still useful at a micro-level; in fact, the way in which affectional soSummaries cial actions chart the urban space is a very important field of study. So, a shift from an "area" to an "interstice" logic should be required. Key words: community, natural area, urban interstices, affective action.

The aim of this study is to describe the spatial pattern and temporal evolution of soil water content observed at the plot scale during the soil drying and wetting cycle. The intrinsic random function of order k (IRF-k) approach was used which decomposes the drift and covariance structure to define models of spatial covariance through increments of a sufficiently high order, so that the drift can be filtered out and stationarity attained. The raw directional variograms of soil water content of the study site in southern Italy showed a clear parabolic increase and zonal anisotropy in the northern and eastern directions. The order of the drift (k) was 2, whereas the generalized covariance model varied during the soil drying and wetting cycle. The maps of soil water content showed the dynamics of soil water redistribution as a function of the temporal rainfall pattern. The spatial variation of soil water was affected by two main factors: topography and texture. Also the spatial distribution of the kriging standard errors changed over time as a function of the date of soil water content measurement. Finally, a critical analysis on the use of the generalized covariance approach is developed and the results compared with the ones of universal kriging.

Lipoprotein abnormalities and increased oxidized LDL (OxLDL) are often observed in uremia and are reported to play a central role in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Vegan diet, known for its better lipoprotein profile and antioxidant vitamins content, could protect against CVD. Aim of this study was to investigate the influence of vegan diet supplemented with essential amino acids (EAA) and ketoanalogues (VSD) on both traditional and non-traditional cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF).Twenty-nine patients (18 M, 11 F) aged 55 years (range 29-79 years) with advanced chronic renal failure (median sCr: 5.6 mg/dl) on very low protein vegetarian diet (0.3 g/kg/day) supplemented with a mixture of EAA and ketoacids (VSD) and 31 patients (20 M, 11 F) aged 65 years (range 29 - 82 years) on conventional low-protein diet (CD: 0.6 g/kg/day) with a similar renal function (median sCr: 5.2 mg/dl), were investigated for lipids and apolipoprotein parameters (traditional CVRF) as well as for oxidative stress (oxidized LDL, antibodies against OxLDL and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS)), total homocysteine (tHcy), lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)), albumin and c-reactive protein (CRP) (non-traditional CVRF) including vitamins A, E, B12 and folic acid.Compared to patients on CD, those on VSD showed increased HDL cholesterol levels (p0.005) with a reduction of LDL cholesterol (p0.01) and an increase of apoA1/apoB ratio (p0.02). Among non-traditional CVRF, a mild but significant reduction of OxLDL (p0.05) with lower TBARS concentrations (p0.01) and a significant reduction of total homocysteine (p0.002), Lp(a) (p0.002) and CRP levels (p0.05) were also observed in these patients. Concentrations of vitamin E and A were not different between the two groups while vitamin B12 and folic acid resulted markedly increased in patients on VSD. OxLDL significantly correlated with total and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and Apo B in CD but not in VSD patients. Patients on CD also showed a significant correlation between urea and CRP. After a multivariate analysis, only urea (p0.001) and OxLDL (p0.006) were associated to a risk of CRP0.3 mg/dl.These results indicate a better lipoprotein profile in patients on vegan diet including non-traditional CVRF. In particular, these patients show a reduced oxidative stress with a reduced acute-phase response (CRP) as compared to patients on conventional diet. We hypothesize that urea, significantly lower in patients on VSD, may account, possibly together with the reduction of other protein breakdown products, for the decreased acute-phase response observed in these patients. Our findings suggest that low-protein diets, and vegan in particular, may exert a beneficial effect on the development of cardiovascular disease in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Soil survey is generally time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly. Optimization of sampling scheme allows one to reduce the number of sampling points without decreasing or even increasing the accuracy of investigated attribute. Maps of bulk soil electrical conductivity (EC a ) recorded with electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensors could be effectively used to direct soil sampling design for assessing spatial variability of soil moisture. A protocol, using a field-scale bulk EC a survey, has been applied in an agricultural field in Apulia region (southeastern Italy). Spatial simulated annealing was used as a method to optimize spatial soil sampling scheme taking into account sampling constraints, field boundaries, and preliminary observations. Three optimization criteria were used. the first criterion (minimization of mean of the shortest distances, MMSD) optimizes the spreading of the point observations over the entire field by minimizing the expectation of the distance between an arbitrarily chosen point and its nearest observation; the second criterion (minimization of weighted mean of the shortest distances, MWMSD) is a weighted version of the MMSD, which uses the digital gradient of the grid EC a data as weighting function; and the third criterion (mean of average ordinary kriging variance, MAOKV) minimizes mean kriging estimation variance of the target variable. The last criterion utilizes the variogram model of soil water content estimated in a previous trial. The procedures, or a combination of them, were tested and compared in a real case. Simulated annealing was implemented by the software MSANOS able to define or redesign any sampling scheme by increasing or decreasing the original sampling locations. The output consists of the computed sampling scheme, the convergence time, and the cooling law, which can be an invaluable support to the process of sampling design. The proposed approach has found the optimal solution in a reasonable computation time. The use of bulk EC a gradient as an exhaustive variable, known at any node of an interpolation grid, has allowed the optimization of the sampling scheme, distinguishing among areas with different priority levels.

Nowadays, the metagenomic approach has been a very important tool in the discovery of new viruses in environmental and biological samples. Here we discuss how these discoveries may help to elucidate the etiology of diseases and the criteria necessary to establish a causal association between a virus and a disease.

A gene coding for a class VII cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (CYP116B5) was identified from Acinetobacter radioresistens S13 growing on media with medium (C14, C16) and long (C24, C36) chain alkanes as the sole energy source. Phylogenetic analysis of its N- and C-terminal domains suggests an evolutionary model involving a plasmid-mediated horizontal gene transfer from the donor Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 to the receiving A. radioresistens S13. This event was followed by fusion and integration of the new gene in A. radioresistens chromosome. Heterologous expression of CYP116B5 in Escherichia coli BL21, together with the A. radioresistens Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase, allowed the recombinant bacteria to grow on long- and medium-chain alkanes, showing that CYP116B5 is involved in the first step of terminal oxidation of medium-chain alkanes overlapping AlkB and in the first step of sub-terminal oxidation of long-chain alkanes. It was also demonstrated that CYP116B5 is a self-sufficient cytochrome P450 consisting of a heme domain (aa 1-392) involved in the oxidation step of n-alkanes degradation, and its reductase domain (aa 444-758) comprising the NADPH-, FMN- and [2Fe2S]-binding sites. To our knowledge, CYP116B5 is the first member of this class to have its natural substrate and function identified.

L’article porte sur le rapport des personnes sans domicile a l’espace urbain. Axee sur le contexte italien et notamment sur la ville de Bologna, l’analyse focalise l’attention sur les strategies de politique urbaine visant a exclure ces sujets des espaces publics, ou a discipliner l’usage qu’ils font de ces memes espaces. Les reflexions des auteurs se developpent sur trois axes: le premier concerne le role de l’espace public dans la vie quotidienne des sans domicile; le deuxieme porte sur les changements des espaces publics provoques par les processus de regeneration urbaine; le dernier explore les mecanismes de controle de l’espace public qui, sous forme d’interventions urbanistiques ou d’arretes municipaux, produisent l’exclusion spatiale des sans domicile.

Osteoporosis is characterized by impairment of bone mass and deterioration of bone microscopic structure, resulting in increased bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture. Recent reports have indicated that reduced plasma levels of IGF-I are associated with osteoporosis in both males and females. Moreover, there is accumulating clinical evidence that treatment with GH or IGF-I has beneficial effects on bone mass and bone remodeling in men with idiopathic osteoporosis, in the elderly and in hypopituitary patients. As correlative studies on IGF-I, IGF-BP3 and bone mass in the elderly are lacking, we studied the relationships between serum IGF-I, IGF-BP3, bone mineral density (BMD), body mass index (BMI), calciotropic hormones and age in 102 premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Our study indicates that the reduction of the anabolic processes mediated by IGF-I may account for the slow and progressive loss of bone mass that take place after the age of 40-50 years. In addition, nutritional caloric or proteic deficit may add to the effects of GH, age and other factors in decreasing IGF-I synthesis and therefore further contribute to the development of primary osteoporosis.

Rubella virus (RV) infection has sporadically been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), but the association with RV has been based only on clinical and/or serological backgrounds. In the present case it was possible to isolate RV (genotype 1a) from cerebrospinal fluid and peripheral blood mononuclear cells of an 18-year-old woman diagnosed with GBS after clinical manifestations of rubella. This report contributes to confirm RV as one of the triggering pathogens of this peripheral nervous system disease.

The optical properties of Cr 3+ ions in the disordered LaSr 2 Ga 11 O 20 crystal have been investigated through absorption, emission, excitation spectra. Polarized excitation measurements allows us to evaluate the crystal field parameters and to infer the distortion of the octahedral site of Cr 3+ . In spite of the relatively low value of the crystal field (Dq/B = 2.26) obtained from optical data, the emission spectra are constituted by two narrow lines. This behavior, typical of strong field material, is explained by an even lower value of the crystal field corresponding to the 2 E, 4 T 2 crossing point obtained by means of the Tanabe-Sugano diagram. The value of the splitting and the width of the emission lines, intermediate between crystals and glasses, confirm the disordered structure of this crystal.

The optical properties of trivalent chromium ions in LaSr2Ga11O20 crystals have been investigated by means of absorption, emission, excitation, and lifetime measurements for various temperatures of the sample. The data so obtained allow us to determine the values of the crystal-field parameters in the framework of the Tanabe-Sugano model for the transition-metal ion in insulating crystals and glasses. In particular, the relatively narrow emission lines indicate a high value of the crystal field. Polarized absorption and excitation measurements have allowed the assignment of the electric dipole character to the two lowest-energy transitions. From polarized excitation measurements it was possible to infer the Cr3+-ion site distortion visible in a splitting of the otherwise degenerate 4T1 level. Moreover, the effect of tempeature on the emission bands' intensities and lifetimes reveals the simultaneous presence of different competitive phenomena during the deexcitation of Cr3+ ion. © 1995 The American Physical Society.

Zolpidem and zopiclone (Z-compounds) are non-benzodiazepine hypnotics of new generation that can be used in drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA). Their determination in biological fluids, mainly urine, is of primary importance; nevertheless, although they are excreted almost entirely as metabolites, available methods deal mainly with the determination of the unmetabolized drug. This paper describes a method for the determination in urine of Z-compounds and their metabolites by ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) and UHPLC coupled with high resolution/high accuracy Orbitrap® mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). The metabolic profile was studied on real samples collected from subjects in therapy with zolpidem or zopiclone; the main urinary metabolites were identified and their MS behaviour studied by MS/MS and HRMS. Two carboxy- and three hydroxy- metabolites, that could be also detected by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) as trimethylsylyl derivatives, have been identified for zolpidem. Also, at least one dihydroxilated metabolite was detected. As for zopiclone, the two main metabolites detected were N-demethyl and N-oxide zopiclone. For both substances, the unmetabolized compounds were excreted in low amounts in urine. In consideration of these data, a UHPLC-MS/MS method for the determination of Z-compounds and their main metabolites after isotopic dilution with deuterated analogues of zolpidem and zopiclone and direct injection of urine samples was set up. The proposed UHPLC-MS/MS method appears to be practically applicable for the analysis of urine samples in analytical and forensic toxicology cases, as well as in cases of suspected DFSA.

1. Vitamin D seems to play an essential role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic hypercalciuria at least in part via intestinal hyperabsorption of calcium. Hyper-absorption of calcium, in turn, might enhance the intestinal uptake of free oxalate, thus leading to hyperoxaluria. To verify this hypothesis we studied 75 calcium-stone-formers subdivided as follows: group 1 (15 patients) with isolated hyperoxaluria; group 2 (25 patients) with hyperoxaluria and hypercalciuria; group 3 (22 patients) with isolated hypercalciuria; group 4 (12 patients) with no metabolic abnormalities. 2. As expected, urinary calcium excretion differed in the various groups (P < 0.001), being highest in groups 2 and 3; urinary oxalate excretion, by definition highest in groups 1 and 2, was even more pronounced in group 2 than in group 1 (P < 0.05). Although in the normal range, the serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D concentration was higher (P < 0.001) in the two hypercalciuric groups (2 and 3), showing peak levels in group 2. 3. When the data from the 75 stone-formers were pooled, there was a positive correlation between the serum concentration of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and urinary calcium excretion (P < 0.001) and urinary oxalate excretion (P < 0.003), the latter relationship also being present when only the two hypercalciuric groups (groups 2 and 3) were considered together (P < 0.05). 4. Our data seem to confirm a relevant role for the vitamin D system in the pathogenesis of calcium nephrolithiasis due to increased intestinal calcium absorption, but also because this in turn induces a greater intestinal absorption of oxalate, thus leading to the occurrence or exacerbation of hyperoxaluria.

Acute liver failure is a syndrome with a wide range of etiologic possibilities in children, but in up to 50% of the cases in the literature no diagnosis is established. This case report adds rubella virus to the list of possible causes of acute liver failure. This association was made by serologic, cell culture, molecular, histopathologic, and immunohistochemical methods.

Our aim was to assess the efficacy and safety of infliximab (IFX) in clinical practice in three Primary Care, Hospital Centers.From September 2004 to December 2008 62 patients (28 males, 34 females, mean age 30.25 years, range 15-55 years), affected by ulcerative colitis (UC) (23 pts) or by Crohn's disease (CD) (39 patients) were treated. Clinical efficacy, safety, mucosal healing and quality of life were assessed both in UC and CD.A total of 746 infusions were performed. IFX was administered for a mean of 26 months (range 8-44 months). 33/39 (84.61%) pts with CD were in remission under treatment with IFX for a mean time of 19 months (range 12-44 months). Mean Crohn Disease Activity Index (CDAI) score decreased from 295 (range 258-346) to 136 (range 98-136) (p0.005). Inflammatory Bowel Disease Quality of Life (IBDQL) improved from 48 (at entry) to 198 (at the end of the study) (p0.005). 20/23 (86.95%) patients with UC were in remission under treatment with IFX for a mean of 18 months (range 8-34 months). Mean Disease Activity Index (DAI) decreased from 11 (range 9-12) to3 (range 2-3) (p0.05). Mean Mayo Subscore for Endoscopy decreased from 3 to1 (range 0-1). IBDQL improved from 56 (at entry) to 194 (at the end of the study) (p0.005). Only 5 patients (8.06%) experienced side-effects.Long-term outpatients treatment with IFX seems to be safe and effective in managing patients affected by IBD in clinical practice.

Vascular access (AV) dysfunction is a major cause of morbidity and hospitalisation in hemodialysis population. Despite of guidelines statements which consider native arteriovenous fistula (nAVF) the gold standard, epidemiological studies still show a decline in their prevalence with an increase of central venous catheters (CVC). In this study we compared the activity of two Dialysis Units both characterized by a high prevalence (90%) of nAVF, in order to highlight the possible reasons. No collaboration existed between the two centres until the decision to design this work. The "policy" on creation and management of vascular access and organizational models of the two centres were assessed, in particular focusing on surgeons, presence of dedicated nephrologists, preoperatory ultrasound evaluation, follow-up and diagnosis of complications, resort to interventional radiology, complications management, in particular the timing of intervention after AVF thrombosis. Of the two dialysis populations were analysed: age, time on dialysis, coexistence of diabetes and the prevalence of various types of vascular access to 31 December 2007. It was evaluated the AV incidence in the last 4 years. The statistical analysis was performed by T student and Chi square tests. There were no substantial differences in the organizational models of the two centres, which had both a routine ECD use in preoperatory mapping and in monitoring of complications; in case of thrombosis both centres performed surgery within 12-24 hours; in case of stenosis both centres performed the correction, surgical or by angioplasty, within 15 days from the diagnosis. Another common element was the presence of a multidisciplinary team with a interventionist nephrologist, a vascular surgeon and a vascular interventional radiologist, where nephrologist has the coordination role. The data analysis showed a prevalence of nAVF in the two centres of 92.5% and 96.1%, Pescara and Lecce respectively, with a prevalence of forearm nAVF of more than 80% and 90% respectively. The analysis of incident interventions showed high percentage of forearm AVF in case of revisions for complications (stenosis, thrombosis), and a little recourse to proximal AVF and graft.

The knowledge of hydraulic properties of soil is necessary in many environmental applications and land planning. These properties, however, are difficult to determine and often they demand high labour costs, for which the tendency is to estimate them on the base of other more easily measurable or already available soil data. The level of detail reached using this method is not always satisfactory for some applications to basin scale, where variables to measure the morphologic property of the landscape are required. This study is proposed to characterize the spatial distribution of the water retention of a soil on wide scale using data relative to the physical, topographical and chemical characteristics of the soil within a model based approach.

Many experiments aim to understand how some aspect of the aerial and soil environment of a plant influences its growth. Considerable biomass is often allocated to the root system, and it is the roots that absorb most nutrients and water (Russell 1977). The property of the root system which is most appro-priate to measure depends on the objective of the experiment. Root length should be measured to calculate the inflow rate of water and nutrients (see Chaps. 6, 13, 14). Root dry mass indicates the carbon allocation to the root system. Branching patterns and the number and lengths of each class of root, together with the distribution of root diameters gives a more complete picture of root architecture, but requires a large investment of labour. Detailed information on root architecture may be of interest in constructing mathematical models of root growth (see Chap. 4), in comparing the structure and function of root systems of different species or genotypes (e.g. Fitter and Stickland 1991), and in evaluating root responses to environmental conditions (e.g. Robinson 1994).