Sacubitril/valsartan therapy reduces sudden cardiac death (SCD) among patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) when compared to guidelines recommended doses of enalapril, however the mechanism ...is still not clear. There are few, contrasting results about the effect of sacubitril/valsartan on arrhythmias in the clinical context of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and there are no clinical data about its effect on measured implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) electrical parameters, such as atrial/ventricular electrograms sensing and pacing threshold. We conducted a 12 month follow-up observational study in 167 ischemic and nonischemic DCM patients (mean age 68.1 ± 11.6 years; 85% male), with dual-chamber ICD on sacubitril/valsartan treatment, to evaluate the incidence of device detected tachyarrhythmia events, both atrial and ventricular, and the change in measured ICD electrical parameters. We collected data on clinical, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic parameters to find a possible electro-mechanical correlation within results. Our results show that DCM patients with reduced ejection fraction and ICD on sacubitril/valsartan treatment experienced a reduction in both atrial and ventricular arrhythmias incidence and an improvement in ICD electrical atrial parameters. The findings might be explained by the electro-mechanical cardiac reverse remodeling induced by sacubitril/valsartan therapy.
Particulate organic matter (POM) export represents the underlying principle of the biological carbon pump, driving the carbon flux from the sunlit to the dark ocean. The efficiency of this process is ...tightly linked to the prokaryotic community, as >70% of POM respiration is carried out by particle-associated prokaryotes. In the Ross Sea, one of the most productive areas of the Southern Ocean, up to 50% of the surface primary production is exported to the mesopelagic ocean as POM. Recent evidence suggests that a significant fraction of the POM in this area is composed of intact phytoplankton cells. During austral summer 2017, we set up bottle enrichment experiments in which we amended free-living surface and deep prokaryotic communities with organic matter pools generated from native microplankton, mimicking the particle export that may derive from mild (1 μg of Chlorophyll a L-1) and intense (10 μg of Chlorophyll a L-1) phytoplankton bloom. Over a course of 4 days, we followed free-living and particle-attached prokaryotes' abundance, the degradation rates of polysaccharides, proteins and lipids, heterotrophic production as well as inorganic carbon utilization and prokaryotic community structure dynamics. Our results showed that several rare or undetected taxa in the initial community became dominant during the time course of the incubations and that different phytodetritus-derived organic matter sources induced specific changes in microbial communities, selecting for peculiar degradation and utilization processes spectra. Moreover, the features of the supplied detritus (in terms of microplankton taxa composition) determined different colonization dynamics and organic matter processing modes. Our study provides insights into the mechanisms underlying the prokaryotic utilization of phytodetritus, a significant pool of organic matter in the dark ocean.
Pollution of the marine environment is an emerging threat. Nowadays, engineered nanoparticles (<100 nm) such as zinc, copper and silver are widely used as antimicrobial agents, therefore often ...present in daily-life products. Consequently, the demand and production of nanoparticles are expected to increase. Here, we specifically focus on silver nanoparticles (AgNP). Once released into the environment, AgNPs pose an obvious ecotoxicological risk, potentially affecting ecosystem structure and functioning. For instance, phytoplankton-derived exudates, rich in acidic polysaccharides and amino acids, can abiotically aggregate into microgels such as transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) and Coomassie stainable particles (CSP). Hence, microgels can bridge dissolved and particulate size fractions and facilitate aggregate formation with organic and mineral particles. Both physical and chemical properties make TEP and CSP attractive nutrient hotspots for heterotrophic bacterioplankton. Bacteria, in turn, utilize extracellular enzymes to access these carbon and nitrogen pools. However, knowledge about the mechanisms by which AgNPs might interact with and affect the biogeochemical cycling of TEP and CSP is still insufficient. Therefore, we conducted a mesocosm experiment in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and investigated the effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of silver ions (Ag+) and AgNP on the properties of TEP and CSP (i.e., area and abundance) along with enzymatic activity measurements. Our results showed that cyanobacteria were likely the primary source of CSP in the ultra-oligotrophic Mediterranean Sea. Also, CSP contributed more to the microgel pool than TEP, as indicated by a strong relationship between CSP and heterotrophic microbial dynamics. While silver (i.e., Ag+ or AgNP) had overall only marginal effects, both species affected the relationships between cell-specific LAPase activity and CSP and cell-specific APase activity and phosphate levels. Thus, Ag+ and AgNP have the potential to regulate microgel dynamics. However, future studies are needed to derive a robust understanding of the effects of silver pollution on the coupling of microgel formation and degradation and the follow-on effect on biogeochemical cycles.
The agouti gene encodes the agouti signaling protein (ASIP) which regulates pheomelanin and eumelanin synthesis in mammals. To investigate the role of agouti in coat color variation of alpaca, we ...characterized the agouti gene and identified three mutations potentially involved with the determinism of eumelanic and pheomelanic phenotypes. The exon-4 hosts the mutations g.3836C>T, g.3896G>A and g.3866_3923del57. Further analysis of these mutations revealed two genotypes for black animals. The reverse transcription analysis of mRNA purified from skin biopsies of alpaca revealed the presence of three transcripts with different 5′ untranslated regions (UTRs) and color specific expression. The white specific transcript, possibly originating from a duplication event (intra-chromosomal recombination) of the agouti gene is characterise by a 5′UTR containing 142bp of the NCOA6 gene sequence. Furthermore, the relative level expression analysis of mRNA demonstrates that the agouti gene has up-regulated expression in white skin, suggesting a pleiotropic effect of agouti in the white phenotype. Our findings refine the structure of the agouti locus and transcripts and provide additional information in order to understand the role of agouti in the pigmentation of alpaca.
•ASIP regulates switching between eumelanin and pheomelanin synthesis in melanocytes.•We investigate the role of ASIP in coat color variation of alpaca.•ASIP gene, transcripts and relative mRNA expression levels were characterized.•Mutations probably affecting eumelanin and pheomelanin synthesis were identified.•These findings provide the farmers with molecular tools for coat color determination.
The release of silver into the marine environment is of growing concern as its impact on marine life is not fully understood. Despite previous experiments that have shown toxic effects of silver as ...nanoparticles (AgNPs) and as free ions (Ag
+
) on microbial organisms, the impact on important biogeochemical processes, such as marine nitrogen fixation, remains relatively unexplored. The present study investigated the impact of AgNPs and Ag
+
on nitrogen fixation activity in oligotrophic coastal ecosystems. Nine mesocosm enclosures were set-up in Crete, Greece, for twelve days during May 2019. Three mesocosms were left unamended at ambient light and temperature; three were manipulated with 50 ng AgNPs L
-1
d
-1
and three were amended with 50 ng Ag
+
L
-1
d
-1
. Over the duration of the experiment, mean nitrogen fixation rates proved higher in treated waters; 0.28 ± 0.24 nmol N L
-1
d
-1
and 0.21 ± 0.19 nmol N L
-1
d
-1
in AgNP and Ag
+
which were 2.2 (p< 0.001) and 1.6 (not significant) times higher than control rates of 0.13 ± 0.07 nmol N L
-1
d
-1
respectively. Changes in nitrogen fixation rates were paralleled by significantly higher concentrations of phosphate and silicate in treated versus control mesocosms, suggesting an inhibition of the uptake of these nutrients by non-diazotrophic groups. Sequencing of 16S and 18S rRNA genes showed shifts in community composition over time but only very minor changes could be linked to the Ag treatments. Decreases to the relative abundance of three diatom species were observed in the Ag treatments but these were considered insufficient to support the relative differences in nutrient concentration. It is therefore speculated that there was physiological disruption of nutrient uptake mechanisms of the non-diazotrophic community. A number of potential diazotrophs were detected and the relative sequence abundance of a number of known nitrogen fixing taxa, including
Burkholderiaceae
,
Oceanospirillales
and
Pseudomonadales
correlated with measured nitrogen fixation rates. Phosphorus limitation of diazotrophic activity was therefore lowered relative to other microbial groups in silver amended treatments and significant increases in particulate nitrogen for both Ag treatments indicate an enhancement in cellular N for the nitrogen fixing communities.
A Corrigendum on The presence of silver nanoparticles reduces demand for dissolved phosphorus to the benefit of biological nitrogen fixation in the coastal eastern Mediterranean Sea by Rees AP, ...Faraggiana E, Tait K, Celussi M, Dafnomilli E, Manna V, Manning AJ, Pitta P, Tsiola A and Živanović S (2022). The correct author contributions section appears below: AR planned the experimental procedures, supervised EF, provided quality control to nitrogen fixation data and wrote the manuscript. Andrew P. Rees1*†, Eleonora Faraggiana1,2†, Karen Tait1, Mauro Celussi3, Eleni Dafnomilli4, Vincenzo Manna3, Andrew Manning2, Paraskevi Pitta5, Anastasia Tsiola5 and Snežana Živanović4 * 1Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, United Kingdom * 2School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom * 3Oceanography Division, Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale, Trieste, Italy * 4Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Heraklion, Greece * 5Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Oceanography, Heraklion, Greece
The Italy-Croatia Cross Border Cooperation (CBC) Programme is the financial instrument supporting the cooperation between the two European Member States overlooking the Adriatic Sea. The first call ...for proposals was launched in 2017, identifying four priority axes of intervention. Subsequently, in 2019, the kick-off of the AdSWiM project “Managed use of treated urban wastewater for the quality of the Adriatic Sea” took place in Udine (IT). Adriatic marine waters are generally classified as good to excellent based on the Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC). Nevertheless, issues of low productivity or the lack of nutrients have been often suggested, especially on the Italian side. The project addresses the question of whether wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) discharging to the sea, after applying appropriate pollution control and management technologies, can modulate the nutrient content of their effluents to support localized depleted areas. This idea is borrowed from one of the motivations that support the reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation, thus leading to the return of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc.) to natural biogeochemical cycles. However, the hypothesis of modulating the nutrient composition of wastewater opens up to several critical aspects, including legislative and technological ones. Being aware of the delicate environmental implications, we have undertaken the project involving WWTPs, research centers, municipalities, and legal experts with the aim of investigating in detail the problems related to wastewater reuse, especially with regard to the content of nutrients. Our experimental approach aimed to evaluate appropriate and possibly new treatment technologies to reduce the microbial load and to implement chemical and microbiological tests on the treated wastewater. Results have shown that it can be tricky to draw decisive conclusions because (i) the wastewater management systems differ between the two sides of the Adriatic sea due to the different levels of technological development of WWTPs; (ii) the Italian and Croatian coasts deeply differ in geographic characteristics (i.e., topography, orography, current circuits, presence of rivers) and anthropogenic pressure (i.e., exploitation levels, population density); (iii) the new treatment technologies to lower bacterial contamination need further efforts to raise their technological level of readiness (TRL) and make them implementable in the existing WWTPs. However, in terms of chemical control methodologies, the proposed sensors and biosensors gave positive results, managing to decrease the detection limits for the measured parameters, and the tested technologies for microbiological monitoring were also effective. In particular, the latter was carried out by using recent molecular biology techniques, capable of resolving the microbiota in treated wastewater, which emerged to be strictly related to the features of the WWTPs.
Low back pain continues to be a major clinical challenge with high direct and indirect societal costs. It is a complex disease with complex pathophysiology both for acute and chronic low back pain.
...Although there is consistent evidence about multidisciplinary treatment of low back pain, several different approaches and techniques are proposed, with different results often conflicting among them. In fact, even though the multidisciplinary approach is widely accepted, it is generally applied in different steps involving only one health care providing for each approach. This approach not only does not guarantee a real multidisciplinary vision of this disease but also lacks evaluation of the dynamic changes of the disease according to real patients’ needs.
In our hospital setting we have developed a “simultaneous multidisciplinary care” of low back pain patients in order to overcome these problems and to satisfy all patients’ needs by evaluating and treating all problems causing and related to low back pain. Starting from the existing literature we propose our approach as a new pathway to treat low back patients with a simultaneous multidisciplinary approach.
The objectives of the present study were to characterize the MC1R gene, its transcripts and the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with coat color in alpaca. Full length cDNA ...amplification revealed the presence of two transcripts, named as F1 and F2, differing only in the length of their 5′-terminal untranslated region (UTR) sequences and presenting a color specific expression. Whereas the F1 transcript was common to white and colored (black and brown) alpaca phenotypes, the shorter F2 transcript was specific to white alpaca. Further sequencing of the MC1R gene in white and colored alpaca identified a total of twelve SNPs; among those nine (four silent mutations (c.126C>A, c.354T>C, c.618G>A, and c.933G>A); five missense mutations (c.82A>G, c.92C>T, c.259A>G, c.376A>G, and c.901C>T)) were observed in coding region and three in the 3′UTR. A 4 bp deletion (c.224 227del) was also identified in the coding region. Molecular segregation analysis uncovered that the combinatory mutations in the MC1R locus could cause eumelanin and pheomelanin synthesis in alpaca. Overall, our data refine what is known about the MC1R gene and provides additional information on its role in alpaca pigmentation.
Fungi contribute to different important ecological processes, including decomposition of organic matter and nutrient cycling, but in the marine environment the main factors influencing their ...diversity and dynamics at the spatial and temporal levels are still largely unclear. In this study, we performed DNA metabarcoding on seawater sampled monthly over a year and a half in the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea), targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the 18S rRNA gene regions. The fungal communities were diverse, very dynamic, and belonged predominantly to marine taxa. Samples could be clustered in two groups, mainly based on the high (> 30%) or low relative proportion of the ascomycetes
Parengyodontium album
, which emerged as a key taxon in this area. Dissolved and particulate organic C:N ratio played important roles in shaping the mycoplankton assemblages, suggesting that differently bioavailable organic matter pools may be utilized by different consortia. The proportion of fungal over total reads was 31% for ITS and 0.7% for 18S. ITS had the highest taxonomic resolution but low power to detect early divergent fungal lineages. Our results on composition, distribution, and environmental drivers extended our knowledge of the structure and function of the mycobiome of coastal waters.
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