The Roman bridge near Canosa di Puglia (Southern Italy) currently has a very different morphology from the one planned by its builders in the second century AD as part of the program for the ...construction of the Via Traiana. Although the piers, the abutments and the foundation platea are still preserved from the Roman age, the changes made over the centuries have altered its aspect, forgetting the traces of its monumental past. Starting from the surviving elements and the few available sources, an investigation has been carried out to reconstruct its original structure, thanks to a multidisciplinary and metrological approach and the combined use of aerophotogrammetry and 3D modeling. The usage of these technologies proved to be an essential tool, since they made it possible to carry out a survey otherwise hampered by the bulk of the artifact and the presence of the Ofanto River flowing below. The outcome of this research has led to a reconstruction hypothesis that returns a majestic monument that deserves an adequate place in the panorama of Roman architecture.
The bridge of Canosa di Puglia (Italy) was originally built in the 2nd century CE to cross the Ofanto river along the Via Traiana, the route built at the behest of Emperor Trajan that connected Rome ...with the port of Brindisi, on the Adriatic Sea. Restorations, collapses and architectural transformations have deeply altered its original structure over the centuries, making it lose the traces of a monumental central arch. Archival and field research, conducted through various surveys, has produced new data that has provided an update of the bridge's history. The aim of this dissertation is to show the results of a research conducted with a new methodological approach to the monument, applying ancient metrology to the interpretation of its architectural evolution. This method has proven to be indispensable to formulate hypotheses about the original configuration of the bridge, whose central arch would result to be one of the widest among the bridges of the Roman architecture.
During the COVID‐19 pandemic, Portugal has experienced three distinct SARS‐CoV‐2 infection waves. We previously documented the prevalence of SARS‐CoV‐2 immunity, measured by specific antibodies, in ...September 2020, 6 months after the initial moderate wave. Here, we show the seroprevalence changes 6 months later, up to the second week of March 2021, shortly following the third wave, which was one of the most severe in the world, and 2 months following the start of the vaccination campaign. A longitudinal epidemiological study was conducted, with a stratified quota sample of the Portuguese population. Serological testing was performed, including ELISA determination of antibody class and titers. The proportion of seropositives, which was 2.2% in September 2020, rose sharply to 17.3% (95% CI: 15.8–18.8%) in March 2021. Importantly, circulating IgG and IgA antibody levels were very stable 6 months after the initial determination and up to a year after initial infection, indicating long‐lasting infection immunity against SARS‐CoV‐2. Moreover, vaccinated people had higher IgG levels from 3 weeks post‐vaccination when compared with previously infected people at the same time post‐infection.
During the COVID‐19 pandemic, Portugal experienced three distinct SARS‐CoV‐2 infection waves. We determined the presence of antibodies after the first wave, September 2020 resulting in 2.2% seropositivity, and after the 2/3 wave in March 2021, including a contribution of the vaccination campaign, seroprevelance of 17.3%. Longitudional survey from individuals infected during the first wave indicated long‐lasting immunity, slowly waning, 1 year after infection.
Quercetin, widely distributed in fruits and vegetables, is a flavonoid known for its antioxidant, antiviral, antimicrobial, and antiinflammatory properties. Several studies highlight the potential ...use of quercetin as an antiviral, due to its ability to inhibit the initial stages of virus infection, to be able to interact with proteases important for viral replication, and to reduce inflammation caused by infection. Quercetin could also be useful in combination with other drugs to potentially enhance the effects or synergistically interact with them, in order to reduce their side effects and related toxicity. Since there is no comprehensive compilation about antiviral activities of quercetin and derivates, the aim of this review is providing a summary of their antiviral activities on a set of human viral infections along with mechanisms of action. Thus, the following family of viruses are examined: Flaviviridae, Herpesviridae, Orthomyxoviridae, Coronaviridae, Hepadnaviridae, Retroviridae, Picornaviridae, Pneumoviridae, and Filoviridae.
A literature survey and analysis was conducted to describe the epidemiology of dengue disease in Brazil reported between 2000 and 2010. The protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42011001826: ...http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.asp?ID=CRD42011001826). Between 31 July and 4 August 2011, the published literature was searched for epidemiological studies of dengue disease, using specific search strategies for each electronic database. A total of 714 relevant citations were identified, 51 of which fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The epidemiology of dengue disease in Brazil, in this period, was characterized by increases in the geographical spread and incidence of reported cases. The overall increase in dengue disease was accompanied by a rise in the proportion of severe cases. The epidemiological pattern of dengue disease in Brazil is complex and the changes observed during this review period are likely to have been influenced by multiple factors. Several gaps in epidemiological knowledge regarding dengue disease in Brazil were identified that provide avenues for future research, in particular, studies of regional differences, genotype evolution, and age-stratified seroprevalence.
PROSPERO registration number: CRD42011001826.
In this review article, I summarize the intervention I made during the "Hommage à François Gros" held at the Institut Pasteur in Paris on the 25th of April, 2023. I discuss how the discovery of the ...existence of an RNA intermediate between genetic information and protein translation has changed our perspective on the role of RNA in gene regulation in these past years. I also discuss new emerging paradigms, highlighting the role of RNA in heritable information similar to the well-known DNA function.
TAM and other myeloid‐derived tumor infiltrating cells are reviewed as pivotal players in the tumor microenvironment; implications to anti‐cancer therapy are described.
The microenvironment of solid ...tumors is characterized by a reactive stroma with an abundance of inflammatory mediators and leukocytes, dysregulated vessels and proteolytic enzymes. TAM, major players in the connection between inflammation and cancer, summarize a number of functions (e.g., promotion of tumor cell proliferation and angiogenesis, incessant matrix turnover, repression of adaptive immunity), which ultimately have an important impact on disease progression. Thus, together with other myeloid‐related cells present at the tumor site (Tie2 macrophages and MDSCs), TAM represent an attractive target of novel biological therapies of tumors.
Even in the early stages of glaucomatous visual field defects (VFDs), 49% of the defects occurred in both hemifields and 28% involved the central 5 degrees of the visual field (VF), which may have ...prognostic values.
The aim was to determine the patterns of glaucomatous VFDs in early, moderate and severe stages of primary open angle glaucoma, using the Glaucoma Staging Application.
According to the Modified University of Sao Paulo Glaucoma Visual Field Staging System Classification, patients with early, moderate and advanced VFDs were selected by the Glaucoma Staging Application using all databases of the Humphrey Visual Field Analyser of a glaucoma referral practice. We analyzed one VF of the 100 patients included in each group. The analysis consisted of classifying all exams regarding the location of the defects, the hemifields involved, and the connection to the blind spot.
We analyzed 300 VF. In the Early group, 27% of the VFDs are connected to the physiological blind spot, 64% in the Moderate group, and 95% in the Severe group ( P <0.01). In the Early group, 28% of the defects involved the central 5 degrees of the fixation, 59% in the Moderate and 88% in the Severe group. In the Early group, 49% of the defects involved both hemifields, 80% in the Moderate and 80% in the Severe group.
With increasing glaucoma severity, VFD showed a more central pattern, connected to the blind spot, and involved both hemifields. In early disease, both hemifields were commonly affected and more than a quarter of VFD involved the central 5 degrees close to fixation. Careful monitoring of the central VF in glaucoma is suggested.
Absolute binding free energy calculations with explicit solvent molecular simulations can provide estimates of protein-ligand affinities, and thus reduce the time and costs needed to find new drug ...candidates. However, these calculations can be complex to implement and perform. Here, we introduce the software BAT.py, a Python tool that invokes the AMBER simulation package to automate the calculation of binding free energies for a protein with a series of ligands. The software supports the attach-pull-release (APR) and double decoupling (DD) binding free energy methods, as well as the simultaneous decoupling-recoupling (SDR) method, a variant of double decoupling that avoids numerical artifacts associated with charged ligands. We report encouraging initial test applications of this software both to re-rank docked poses and to estimate overall binding free energies. We also show that it is practical to carry out these calculations cheaply by using graphical processing units in common machines that can be built for this purpose. The combination of automation and low cost positions this procedure to be applied in a relatively high-throughput mode and thus stands to enable new applications in early-stage drug discovery.
A macro-evolutionary theory of income inequality is proposed that is based on a society’s dynamic income generating process. Two types of processes are distinguished, namely dispersing and ...concentrating ones. A basic result shows that dispersing processes provide a selective advantage for more balanced and mutualistic interaction; whereas concentrating ones favor weaker, less balanced and less mutualistic interaction. We also show that societies with more balanced and mutualistic interaction induce more income equality and a non-stratified society, while less balanced and less mutualistic ones induce more inequality and a possibly stratified society. Also, more equal societies are more resilient in the sense of being quicker to recover from shocks and return to steady state than less equal ones. Stylized examples of pre-modern and modern societies are briefly discussed.
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