Maintaining high soil quality is necessary to let healthy living ecosystems and to protect them from disturbances. The present research aimed to: test the quality of soils located inside the Vesuvius ...National Park (Southern Italy), an example of a peculiar volcanic system of great naturalistic interest affected by high touristic pressure and human impact, by the analyses of 25 parameters. Other goals of the research were to identify the main drivers among site-specific factors (altitude, seasonality, touristic impact) in defining soil quality and to individuate a Minimum Data Set (MDS) able to assess soil quality inside the Vesuvius National Park. The soil quality index (SQI) was calculated by linear scoring technique applying the “more is better” or “less is better” functions. In order to individuate the MDS, two statistical approaches were performed. In the first approach, not redundant parameters and showing the highest loading values were considered (MDS1); whereas, in the second approach, those with the highest sum of correlation coefficients were considered (MDS2). The SQI, calculated for all the parameters, showed intermediate values (0.44–0.67) reflecting the combination of the good level of naturalness and the metal accumulation. Seasonality affected the soil quality with high value in autumn, when the microclimatic conditions were less suitable for microorganisms and the soil metal contamination degree was lower than in spring. Anyway, also the touristic season inside the National Park affected the qualities of the soils along the two roads as they were similar regardless on accessibility and duration of the traffic flow. Also altitude that, regulating the microclimatic conditions, conditioned the type and density of plant cover affected soil quality. In fact, at low altitude most favourable conditions occurred for soil microbial biomass growth and activities. The MDS1 (C content, total Ni concentration, qCO2 and percentage effect of root elongation for S. saccharatum L.) appeared sufficiently informative to evaluate soil quality.
•The main aim was to identify which site-specific factors affected the soil quality.•Higher soil quality was detected in Autumn and at low altitude.•The levels of naturalness and soil metal content caused moderate soil quality.•Only 4 indicators out of 25 parameters were enough to define soil quality.
This research explores the effects of explicit instruction on the use of discourse markers (DMs) by international students of Italian as a second language (L2). 30 students of various nationalities ...with A2-B1 proficiency level participated in the study: 15 students represented the experimental group and 15 students the control group. Both groups were given a written pre-test and a post-test consisting both of a story telling completion task and a dialogue completion task. The instruction consisted of some detailed informations about the use and function of DMs as well as the exposure to native-models use of DMs. The students of the control group were exposed to the input flood and were encouraged to notice the DMs but they were not presented with the detailed description of DMs and were not engaged in any communicative practice other than drills and cloze tests. The Italian markers beh ('well'), magari ('maybe'), insomma ('in short'), quindi ('then', 'so') were the focus of the instruction. The results of the study point to the differences between the two groups. The experimental group showed a greater range of pragmatic functions (interactional, metadiscoursive and cognitive) associated with the DMs than the control group. Indeed, the learners of the control group showed no improvement in terms of frequency and variety of DMs.
An ideal therapeutic anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody would resist viral escape
, have activity against diverse sarbecoviruses
, and be highly protective through viral neutralization
and effector functions
. ...Understanding how these properties relate to each other and vary across epitopes would aid the development of therapeutic antibodies and guide vaccine design. Here we comprehensively characterize escape, breadth and potency across a panel of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies targeting the receptor-binding domain (RBD). Despite a trade-off between in vitro neutralization potency and breadth of sarbecovirus binding, we identify neutralizing antibodies with exceptional sarbecovirus breadth and a corresponding resistance to SARS-CoV-2 escape. One of these antibodies, S2H97, binds with high affinity across all sarbecovirus clades to a cryptic epitope and prophylactically protects hamsters from viral challenge. Antibodies that target the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor-binding motif (RBM) typically have poor breadth and are readily escaped by mutations despite high neutralization potency. Nevertheless, we also characterize a potent RBM antibody (S2E12
) with breadth across sarbecoviruses related to SARS-CoV-2 and a high barrier to viral escape. These data highlight principles underlying variation in escape, breadth and potency among antibodies that target the RBD, and identify epitopes and features to prioritize for therapeutic development against the current and potential future pandemics.
The main subject of this paper is a wooden statue of an Egyptian official sold on the 12ᵗʰ November 2019 during an auction held by the Casa d'Aste Pandolfini in Florence¹. This sculpture, unpublished ...and lacking any information about its provenience, got immediately my attention because it shows unusual features that can shed light on the stylistic taste and the craftsmanship developed between the end of the Second Intermediate Period and the first part of the New Kingdom.
As an introduction of this study, I present a brief state of the art in order to define the level reached by the literature regarding the Egyptian wooden statuary, which clearly demonstrates the necessity of more and deeper studies.
•Technosols in a short time show an important C accumulation in urban area.•Soil spectroscopy can provide a quick estimate of anthropogenic influence.•Vis–NIR spectra can be used to predict the ...content of microbial biomass and activity.
Soil biological properties and carbon storage of three young Technosols deriving from volcanic soil of Campi Flegrei, Italy, were compared with two natural volcanic soils, sampled from two forest ecosystem sites (chestnut and Mediterranean maquis). The soil properties were examined with Vis-NIR spectroscopy and portable XRF, along the soil profile. The results showed that the average soil organic matter (SOM) amount in Technosols profiles were lower than in natural volcanic soils. The differences in SOM content between the two investigated natural volcanic soils probably resulted from their land-use histories and different plant cover. Indeed, the chestnut soil profile, which has a higher SOM content, was covered by an old chestnut grove, while the second soil profile, after a severe burning, showed a change in natural Oak forest vegetation towards the typical Mediterranean maquis. The microbial biomass can be predicted with Vis-NIR spectroscopy coupled with PLS Regression. Our results showed that 6-year natural incorporation of organic residue in Technosols significantly increased the C storage on the top soils due to the increase in C input with rhizodeposition. The forest soils show higher TOC content also with the depth that indicate a greater capacity of C storage in response to litter incorporation, whereas the Technosols accumulated about half the amount of TOC, compared to the chestnut grove. Indeed, after six years of natural vegetation, the Technosols showed a large potential to sequester C and to sustain biological activity. Overall, the emerging knowledge on Technosols make them highly promising for the regeneration of urban area.
The recent emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern
and the recurrent spillovers of coronaviruses
into the human population highlight the need for broadly neutralizing antibodies that are not ...affected by the ongoing antigenic drift and that can prevent or treat future zoonotic infections. Here we describe a human monoclonal antibody designated S2X259, which recognizes a highly conserved cryptic epitope of the receptor-binding domain and cross-reacts with spikes from all clades of sarbecovirus. S2X259 broadly neutralizes spike-mediated cell entry of SARS-CoV-2, including variants of concern (B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P.1, and B.1.427/B.1.429), as well as a wide spectrum of human and potentially zoonotic sarbecoviruses through inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) binding to the receptor-binding domain. Furthermore, deep-mutational scanning and in vitro escape selection experiments demonstrate that S2X259 possesses an escape profile that is limited to a single substitution, G504D. We show that prophylactic and therapeutic administration of S2X259 protects Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) against challenge with the prototypic SARS-CoV-2 and the B.1.351 variant of concern, which suggests that this monoclonal antibody is a promising candidate for the prevention and treatment of emergent variants and zoonotic infections. Our data reveal a key antigenic site that is targeted by broadly neutralizing antibodies and will guide the design of vaccines that are effective against all sarbecoviruses.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron sublineages carry distinct spike mutations resulting in escape from antibodies induced by previous infection or vaccination. We ...show that hybrid immunity or vaccine boosters elicit plasma-neutralizing antibodies against Omicron BA.1, BA.2, BA.2.12.1, and BA.4/5, and that breakthrough infections, but not vaccination alone, induce neutralizing antibodies in the nasal mucosa. Consistent with immunological imprinting, most antibodies derived from memory B cells or plasma cells of Omicron breakthrough cases cross-react with the Wuhan-Hu-1, BA.1, BA.2, and BA.4/5 receptor-binding domains, whereas Omicron primary infections elicit B cells of narrow specificity up to 6 months after infection. Although most clinical antibodies have reduced neutralization of Omicron, we identified an ultrapotent pan-variant-neutralizing antibody that is a strong candidate for clinical development.
•Fire caused a decrease in organic matter content in Mediterranean Andosols.•Soil total nutrient concentrations and available Pb and Cu increased after fire.•After fire, soil element concentration ...changes occurred at different speeds.•Two years after fire the soil properties didn’t reach the pre-fire values.
The increasing frequency and extent of forest fires cause severe temporal effects on soil properties, which knowledge about is controversial or lacking. So, the research aimed to evaluate changes in Mediterranean Andosol properties (pH, water and organic matter contents, C and N concentrations) and total and available Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Na, Ni and Pb concentrations 1 and 2 years after fire occurrence, comparing them to the pre-fire ones. The results underline that, in the investigated Mediterranean Andosols, fire caused significant decrease in water and organic matter contents, C, Fe and Mg total concentrations as well as significant increase in pH, total Ca, K, Fe, Na concentrations and available Cu and Pb fractions. After fire, temporal changes of soil element concentrations occurred at different speeds, as Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg and Ni total concentrations changed already 1 year after fire occurrence; whereas, K and Na total concentrations changed only after two years. Finally, 2 years after fire none of the investigated soil properties reached the pre-fire values, suggesting a whole worsening of soil conditions. The early responses of soils to fire are useful to predict the evolution of the system, the relationships between below and above ground and to provide useful tools for management practices.
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