Unveiling the processes driving exotic plant invasion represent a central issue in taking decisions aimed at constraining the loss of biodiversity and related ecosystem services. The invasion success ...is often linked to anthropogenic land uses and warming due to climate change. We studied the responses of native versus casual and naturalised exotic species richness to land uses and climate at the landscape level, relying on a large floristic survey undertaken in North - Eastern Italy. Both climate and land use drove exotic species richness. Our results suggest that the success of plant invasion at this scale is mainly due to warm climatic conditions and the extent of urban and agricultural land, but with different effects on casual and naturalized exotic species. The occurrence of non-linear trends showed that a small percentage of extensive agricultural land in the landscape may concurrently reduce the number of exotic plant while sustaining native plant diversity. Plant invasion could be potentially limited by land management, mainly focusing on areas with extensive agricultural land use. A more consciousness land management is more and more commonly required by local administrations. According to our results, a shift of intensive to extensive agricultural land, by implementing green infrastructures, seems to be a win-win solution favouring native species while controlling the oversimplification of the flora due to plant invasion.
•We want to optimize a CBM policy when the maintenance model parameters are uncertain.•The uncertainty is Monte-Carlo propagated onto the performance indicators (unavailability and cost).•The ...objective functions are Cumulative Distribution Functions.•An extension of Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithms is proposed to optimize maintenance.•The technique is compared to a CVar based MOGA approach.
This paper proposes and compares different techniques for maintenance optimization based on Genetic Algorithms (GAs), when the parameters of the maintenance model are affected by uncertainty and the fitness values are represented by Cumulative Distribution Functions (CDFs). The main issues addressed to tackle this problem are the development of a method to rank the uncertain fitness values, and the definition of a novel Pareto dominance concept. The GA-based methods are applied to a practical case study concerning the setting of a condition-based maintenance policy on the degrading nozzles of a gas turbine operated in an energy production plant.
The development of performant integrated detectors, which are sensitive to quantum fluctuations of coherent light, are strongly desired to realize a scalable and determinist photonic quantum ...processor based on continuous variables states of light. Here, we investigate the performance of hot electron bolometers (HEBs) fabricated on top of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) photonic circuit showing responsivities up to 8600 V/W and a record noise equivalent temperature of 1.1 dB above the quantum limit. Thanks to a detailed analysis of the noise sources of the waveguide integrated HEB, we estimate 14.8 dBV clearance between the shot noise and electrical noise with just 1.1µW of local oscillator power. The full technology compatibility with superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) opens the possibility of nonclassical state engineering and state tomography performed within the same platform, enabling a new class of optical quantum processors.
Abstract
STUDY QUESTION
Are JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) and BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) infections associated with spontaneous abortion (SA)?
SUMMARY ANSWER
There is no association of JCPyV or BKPyV with SA.
...WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
A large number of risk factors have been associated with SA. The role of polyomaviruses, including JCPyV and BKPyV, in SA remains to be clarified.
STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
This is a case–control study including women affected by spontaneous abortion (SA, n = 100, the cases) and women who underwent voluntary interruption of pregnancy (VI, n = 100, the controls).
PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
Viral DNAs were investigated by qualitative PCR and quantitative droplet-digital PCR (ddPCR) in matched chorionic villi tissues and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from SA (n = 100) and VI (n = 100). Indirect ELISAs with mimotopes/synthetic peptides corresponding to JCPyV and BKPyV viral capsid protein 1 epitopes were then employed to investigate specific IgG antibodies against JCPyV and BKPyV in human sera from SA (n = 80) and VI (n = 80) cohorts.
MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
JCPyV DNA was detected in 51% and 61% of SA and VI samples, respectively, with a mean viral DNA load of 7.92 copy/104 cells in SA and 5.91 copy/104 cells in VI (P > 0.05); BKPyV DNA was detected in 11% and 12% of SA and VI specimens, respectively, with a mean viral DNA load of 2.7 copy/104 cells in SA and 3.08 copy/104 cells in VI (P > 0.05). JCPyV was more prevalent than BKPyV in both SA and VI specimens (P < 0.0001). In PBMCs from the SA and VI cohorts, JCPyV DNA was detected with a prevalence of 8% and 12%, respectively, with a mean viral DNA load of 2.29 copy/104 cells in SA and 1.88 copy/104 cells in VI (P > 0.05). The overall prevalence of serum IgG antibodies against JCPyV detected by indirect ELISAs was 52.5% and 48.7% in SA and VI groups, respectively, whereas BKPyV-positive sera were found in 80% SA and 78.7% VI samples.
LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
This study did not investigate the presence of viral mRNA and/or proteins, which are indicative of an active viral infection, and these might be taken into consideration in future studies.
WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
JCPyV and BKPyV DNA sequences were detected and quantitatively analyzed for the first time by PCR/ddPCR in chorionic villi tissues and PBMCs from SA and VI specimens. Moreover specific immunological approaches detected serum IgG against JCPyV/BKPyV. Statistical analyses, however, do not indicate an association between these polyomaviruses and SA.
STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(s)
This work was supported by the University of Ferrara, FAR research grants and the University Hospital of Ferrara/University of Ferrara joint grant. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.
Background
Clinical presentations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) among children with asthma have rarely been investigated. This study aimed to assess clinical manifestations and outcome of ...COVID‐19 among children with asthma, and whether the use of asthma medications was associated with outcomes of interest.
Methods
The Global Asthma Network (GAN) conducted a global survey among GAN centers. Data collection was between November 2020 and April 2021.
Results
Fourteen GAN centers from 10 countries provided data on 169 children with asthma infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). COVID‐19 was asymptomatic in 58 (34.3%), mild in 93 (55.0%), moderate in 14 (8.3%), and severe/critical in 4 (2.4%). Thirty‐eight (22.5%) patients had exacerbation of asthma and 21 (12.4%) were hospitalized for a median of 7 days (interquartile range 3–16). Those who had moderate or more severe COVID‐19 were significantly more likely to have exacerbation of asthma as compared to those who were asymptomatic or had mild COVID‐19 (adjusted odds ratio (adjOR) 3.97, 95% CI 1.23–12.84). Those who used inhaled bronchodilators were significantly more likely to have a change of asthma medications (adjOR 2.39, 95% CI 1.02–5.63) compared to those who did not. Children who used inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) did not differ from those who did not use ICS with regard to being symptomatic, severity of COVID‐19, asthma exacerbation, and hospitalization.
Conclusions
Over dependence on inhaled bronchodilator may be inappropriate. Use of ICS may be safe and should be continued in children with asthma during the pandemic of COVID‐19.
The scope of the present review focuses on the interfacial properties of cell membranes that may establish a link between the membrane and the cytosolic components. We present evidences that the ...current view of the membrane as a barrier of permeability that contains an aqueous solution of macromolecules may be replaced by one in which the membrane plays a structural and functional role. Although this idea has been previously suggested, the present is the first systematic work that puts into relevance the relation water–membrane in terms of thermodynamic and structural properties of the interphases that cannot be ignored in the understanding of cell function. To pursue this aim, we introduce a new definition of interphase, in which the water is organized in different levels on the surface with different binding energies. Altogether determines the surface free energy necessary for the structural response to changes in the surrounding media. The physical chemical properties of this region are interpreted in terms of hydration water and confined water, which explain the interaction with proteins and could affect the modulation of enzyme activity. Information provided by several methodologies indicates that the organization of the hydration states is not restricted to the membrane plane albeit to a region extending into the cytoplasm, in which polar head groups play a relevant role. In addition, dynamic properties studied by cyclic voltammetry allow one to deduce the energetics of the conformational changes of the lipid head group in relation to the head–head interactions due to the presence of carbonyls and phosphates at the interphase. These groups are, apparently, surrounded by more than one layer of water molecules: a tightly bound shell, that mostly contributes to the dipole potential, and a second one that may be displaced by proteins and osmotic stress. Hydration water around carbonyl and phosphate groups may change by the presence of polyhydroxylated compounds or by changing the chemical groups esterified to the phosphates, mainly choline, ethanolamine or glycerol. Thus, surface membrane properties, such as the dipole potential and the surface pressure, are modulated by the water at the interphase region by changing the structure of the membrane components. An understanding of the properties of the structural water located at the hydration sites and the functional water confined around the polar head groups modulated by the hydrocarbon chains is helpful to interpret and analyze the consequences of water loss at the membranes of dehydrated cells. In this regard, a correlation between the effects of water activity on cell growth and the lipid composition is discussed in terms of the recovery of the cell volume and their viability. Critical analyses of the properties of water at the interface of lipid membranes merging from these results and others from the literature suggest that the interface links the membrane with the aqueous soluble proteins in a functional unit in which the cell may be considered as a complex structure stabilized by water rather than a water solution of macromolecules surrounded by a semi permeable barrier.
See also Lordkipanidze M, Harrison P. Aspirin twice a day keeps new COX‐1 at bay. This issue, pp 1217–9.
Summary Background. Interindividual variability in response to aspirin has been popularized ...as ‘resistance’. We hypothesized that faster recovery of platelet cyclooxygenase‐1 activity may explain incomplete thromboxane (TX) inhibition during the 24‐h dosing interval.
Objective. To characterize the kinetics and determinants of platelet cyclooxygenase‐1 recovery in aspirin‐treated diabetic and non‐diabetic patients.
Patients/Methods. One hundred type 2 diabetic and 73 non‐diabetic patients on chronic aspirin 100 mg daily were studied. Serum TXB2 was measured every 3 h, between 12 and 24 h after a witnessed aspirin intake, to characterize the kinetics of platelet cyclooxygenase‐1 recovery. Patients with the fastest TXB2 recovery were randomized to aspirin 100 mg once daily, 200 mg once daily or 100 mg twice daily, for 28 days and TXB2 recovery was reassessed.
Results and Conclusions. Platelet TXB2 production was profoundly suppressed at 12 h in both groups. Serum TXB2 recovered linearly, with a large interindividual variability in slope. Diabetic patients in the third tertile of recovery slopes (≥ 0.10 ng mL−1 h−1) showed significantly higher mean platelet volume and body mass index, and younger age. Higher body weight was the only independent predictor of a faster recovery in non‐diabetics. Aspirin 100 mg twice daily completely reversed the abnormal TXB2 recovery in both groups. Interindividual variability in the recovery of platelet cyclooxygenase activity during the dosing interval may limit the duration of the antiplatelet effect of low‐dose aspirin in patients with and without diabetes. Inadequate thromboxane inhibition can be easily measured and corrected by a twice daily regimen.
Introduction
Treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) represents a major clinical issue, characterized by worse psychopathological outcome, a more disrupted neurobiological substrate and higher ...healthcare costs. Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia, strongly associated with patients’ functional outcome. Different studies showed that TRS patients exhibit poorer neurocognitive performance, particularly on verbal domains. To date Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT) represents the best available tool for treating cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. However, CRT outcomes are highly heterogeneous and significant treatment predictors are still lacking.
Objectives
To investigate possible differences of CRT outcome among patients with schizophrenia, stratified according to antipsychotic response (TRSs vs. first-line responders - FLRs).
Methods
150 patients with schizophrenia, (95 FLRs, 55 TRSs) were assessed for neurocognition with BACS and WCST at baseline and after CRT. General Linear Models (GLMs) were performed to investigate possible differences between groups on basal cognition and CRT outcome (Cohen’s d Effect Size).
Results
At baseline, GLMs showed significant differences in Verbal Memory (F=4,66; p=0,03) and WCST–executive functions (F=5,59; p=0,02), both worse in TRS group. Effecr Sizes of CRT outcome resulted significantly different in domains of Verbal Memory (F=4,68; p=0,03) and WCST–executive functions (F=4,62; p=0,03), with greater improvements among TRS patients.
Conclusions
This is the first study to indicate treatment-resistance as a possible predictor of CRT outcome in schizophrenia. Moreover, we observed that CRT resulted able to fill the cognitive gap between treatment groups. Thus, these results further highlight the importance of early cognitive interventions in order to reduce the neuropsychological and functional burden associated with the disease, especially for TRS patients.
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
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