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Psychedelics elicit prosocial, antidepressant, and anxiolytic effects via neuroplasticity, neurotransmission and neuroimmunomodulatory mechanisms. Whether psychedelics affect the brain endocannabinoid system and its extended version, the endocannabinoidome (eCBome), or the gut microbiome, remains unknown.Adult C57BL/6N male mice were administered lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or saline for 7 days. Sociability was assessed in the direct social interaction and three chambers tests. Prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampal (HCC) endocannabinoids and endocannabinoid-like mediators and metabolites were quantified via HPLC-MS/MS. Neurotransmitter levels were assessed via HPLC-UV/fluorescence. Gut microbiome changes were investigated by 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing.LSD increased social preference and novelty, and decreased hippocampal levels of the N-acylethanolamines, N-linoleoylethanolamine (LEA), N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide, AEA) and N-docosahexaenoylethanolamine (DHEA), the monoacylglycerol ½-docosahexaenoylglycerol (1/2-DHG), the prostaglandins D2 (PGD2) and F2α (PGF2α), thromboxane 2, and kynurenine. Prefrontal eCBome mediator and metabolite levels were less affected by the treatment. LSD decreased Shannon alpha diversity of the gut microbiota, prevented the decrease in the Firmicutes : Bacteroidetes ratio observed in saline-treated mice, and altered the relative abundance of the bacterial taxa Bifidobacterium, Ileibacterium, Dubosiella, and Rikenellaceae RC9.The prosocial effects elicited by repeated LSD administration are accompanied by alterations of hippocampal eCBome and kynurenine levels, and the composition of the gut microbiota. Modulation of the hippocampal eCBome and kynurenine pathway might represent a mechanism by which psychedelic compounds elicit prosocial effects and affect the gut microbiome.

INTRODUCTION Venous congestion is the most common vascular complication of the deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) flaps. Adding a second venous drainage by anastomosing a flap vein and a recipient vein (super-drainage) is considered the solution of choice. Evidence to support this procedure, had not yet been confirmed by an analysis of the literature. We aimed to provide this evidence. MATERIALS AND METHODS We searched the literature (MedLine, Scopus, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar), for studies discussing venous congestion and venous super-drainage in DIEP flap for breast reconstruction. Thirteen of the 35 articles compared results between one or two venous anastomoses. Meta-analysis was performed following PRISMA guidelines. Pooled risk ratio (RRs) for congestion, fat necrosis, partial necrosis, and total necrosis with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using a fixed-effect model with the Mantel-Haenszel method. The need to return to surgery (95% CI) was estimated with a random effect model using the DerSimonian and Liard method. RESULTS We showed a statistically significant advantage of super-drainage to reduce the venous congestion of the flap (RR: 0.12, 95% CI: 0.04-0.34, p-value

Converging lines of evidence from several models, and post‐mortem human brain tissue studies, support the involvement of the kynurenine pathway (KP) in Huntington's disease (HD) pathogenesis. Quantifying KP metabolites in HD biofluids is desirable, both to study pathobiology and as a potential source of biomarkers to quantify pathway dysfunction and evaluate the biochemical impact of therapeutic interventions targeting its components. In a prospective single‐site controlled cohort study with standardised collection of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), blood, phenotypic and imaging data, we used high‐performance liquid‐chromatography to measure the levels of KP metabolites—tryptophan, kynurenine, kynurenic acid, 3‐hydroxykynurenine, anthranilic acid and quinolinic acid—in CSF and plasma of 80 participants (20 healthy controls, 20 premanifest HD and 40 manifest HD). We investigated short‐term stability, intergroup differences, associations with clinical and imaging measures and derived sample‐size calculation for future studies. Overall, KP metabolites in CSF and plasma were stable over 6 weeks, displayed no significant group differences and were not associated with clinical or imaging measures. We conclude that the studied metabolites are readily and reliably quantifiable in both biofluids in controls and HD gene expansion carriers. However, we found little evidence to support a substantial derangement of the KP in HD, at least to the extent that it is reflected by the levels of the metabolites in patient‐derived biofluids., Converging lines of evidence from non‐human models support the involvement of the kynurenine pathway in Huntington's disease. However, evidence in living humans is limited. In a prospective study with standardised collection of cerebrospinal fluid and blood, we used high‐performance liquid‐chromatography to analyse this pathway. We concluded that the selected metabolites are readily and reliably quantifiable. Yet, we found little evidence to support a substantial derangement of the kynurenine pathway in Huntington's disease, at least to the extent that it is reflected by the levels of the metabolites in patient‐derived biofluids. 3‐HK, 3‐hydroxykynurenine; KYNA, kynurenic acid; QUIN, quinolinic acid.

Without rescue drugs approved, holistic approach by daily hemodialysis, noninvasive ventilation, anti‐inflammatory medications, fluid assessment by bedside ultrasound, and anxiolytics improved outcomes of a maintenance hemodialysis patient affected by severe COVID‐19.

This work focuses on the optimization of pyro-gasification process of carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) with the aim of recovering carbon fibers (CFs) with properties suitable for the production of new more sustainable composites with high performances. In particular, the pyro-gasification process is carried out on cured CFRPs panels based on both epoxy (EC) and vinyl ester (VC) matrices, which are the two most used resins for CFRPs. The matrix degradation is evaluated via sample's weight loss measurement and the recovered CFs obtained after different time of treatment are analyzed to identify convenient pyro-gasification conditions to avoid damaging of the recovered CFs. The obtained results highlight the importance of the thickness of the composites to be treated for the identification of the more suitable pyro-gasification conditions.

In the present work, the mechanical behavior of flax fiber reinforced polymers (FFRPs) intended for racing applications is evaluated when subjected to different environmental conditions. A significant drop of mechanical performance in the presence of water (both 100% relative humidity and water submersion) is observed, highlighting also the fact that panels themselves already contain a fraction of water, probably absorbed onto the flax fibers prior their impregnation with the resin, that, where removed, may influence the mechanical behavior. Moreover, the flame behavior of the FFRP composite is also assessed in comparison with the widely applied carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) to highlight the effect of the different reinforcement. Both FRPs are produced with the same flame retarded resin to highlight the contribution of the different reinforcement. The evaluation of the flame behavior of the FFRP panels shows that it completely burns during the cone-calorimetric test, involving in the fire both the matrix and the reinforcement with a stronger and faster heat release than the corresponding CFRP based on the same resin. The above observations seem thus to discourage their use in critical conditions, where the decrease of mechanical performance and the event of fire incidental condition may dramatically and negatively affect the final application.

In the present work, thermoplastic elastomeric nanofibers made up of a homogenous blend of nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) and Ppolycaprolactone (CL), with 80% wt of rubbery component, are used to modify a carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminate with the aim of improving its delamination and damping behavior at the same time. Since the nanofibrous membrane is not chemically cross-linked, the fibrous morphology is lost during composite curing owing to its melting. Nonetheless, the nanomodified CFRP displays an impressive ability to improve the delamination resistance in mode I and also an enhanced damping capacity at low temperature. The use of nanofibrous membranes allows for modification of specifically selected areas, thus maximizing the toughening and damping behavior where most required, without necessarily affecting the whole bulk of the resin. Both PCL and NBR components contribute to the final performance; however, the very high amount of rubber leads to a membrane difficult to handle whose final performance in CFRP modification is not superior to membranes up to 60% wt NBR that are instead more stable and easier to deal with. Overall, the proposed results are nonetheless very promising, taking into account also that the improved delamination resistance in mode I and enhanced damping are obtained without significantly sacrificing the weight and overall dimension of the obtained composite.

Aim To date, despite their great potential biogeographical regionalization models have been mostly developed on descriptive and empirical bases. This paper aims at applying the beta‐diversity framework on a statistically representative data set to analytically test the consistency of the biogeographical regionalization of Italian forests. Location Italy. Taxon Vascular plants. Methods Forest plant communities were surveyed in 804 plots made in a statistically representative sample of forest communities made by 201 sites of Italian forests across the three biogeographical regions of the country: Alpine, Continental, and Mediterranean. We conducted an ordination analysis and an analysis of beta‐diversity, decomposing it into its turnover and nestedness components. Results Our results provide only partial support to the consistency of the biogeographical regionalization of Italy. While the differences in forest plant communities support the distinction between the Alpine and the other two regions, differences between Continental and Mediterranean regions had lower statistical support. Pairwise beta‐diversity and its turnover component are higher between‐ than within‐biogeographical regions. This suggests that different regional species pools contribute to assembly of local communities and that spatial distance between‐regions has a stronger effect than that within‐regions. Main conclusions Our findings confirm a biogeographical structure of the species pools that is captured by the biogeographical regionalization. However, nonsignificant differences between the Mediterranean and Continental biogeographical regions suggest that this biogeographical regionalization is not consistent for forest plant communities. Our results demonstrate that an analytical evaluation of species composition differences among regions using beta‐diversity analysis is a promising approach for testing the consistency of biogeographical regionalization models. This approach is recommended to provide support to the biogeographical regionalization used in some environmental conservation polices adopted by EU., This paper aims at applying the beta‐diversity framework on a statistically representative data set to test the consistency of the biogeographical regionalization of Italian forests based on the three different regions recognised within the country. Our results provide only partial support to the consistency of the biogeographical regionalization of Italy based on three regions. Our findings support the existence of a biogeographical structure of the species pools that is captured by the biogeographical regionalization. However, nonsignificant differences between the Mediterranean and Continental biogeographical regions suggest a weakness in this biogeographical regionalization.

Loss of function mutations within the vesicular trafficking protein Ras analogy in brain 39B (RAB39B) are associated with rare X‐linked Parkinson’s disease (PD). Physiologically, RAB39B is localized to Golgi vesicles and recycling endosomes and is required for glutamatergic receptor maturation but also for alpha‐Synuclein (aSyn) homeostasis and the inhibition of its aggregation. Despite evidence linking RAB39B to neurodegeneration, the involvement of the protein in idiopathic neurodegenerative diseases remains undetermined. Here, analysis of the spatial distribution and expression of RAB39B was conducted in post‐mortem human brain tissue from cases of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB, n = 10), Alzheimer’s disease (AD, n = 12) and controls (n = 12). Assessment of cortical RAB39B immunoreactivity using tissue microarrays revealed an overall reduction in the area of RAB39B positive gray matter in DLB cases when compared to controls and AD cases. Strikingly, RAB39B co‐localized with beta‐amyloid (Aβ) plaques in all cases examined and was additionally present in a subpopulation of Lewy bodies (LBs) in DLB. Biochemical measures of total RAB39B levels within the temporal cortex were unchanged between DLB, AD and controls. However, upon subcellular fractionation, a reduction of RAB39B in the cytoplasmic pool was found in DLB cases, alongside an increase of phosphorylated aSyn and Aβ in whole tissue lysates. The reduction of cytoplasmic RAB39B is consistent with an impaired reserve capacity for RAB39B‐associated functions, which in turn may facilitate LB aggregation and synaptic impairment. Collectively, our data support the involvement of RAB39B in the pathogenesis of DLB and the co‐aggregation of RAB39B with Aβ in plaques suggests that age‐associated cerebral Aβ pathology may be contributory to the loss of RAB39B. Thus RAB39B, its associated functional pathways and its entrapment in aggregates may be considered as future targets for therapeutic interventions to impede the overall pathological burden and cellular dysfunction in Lewy body diseases.

Intracellular vesicular trafficking is essential for neuronal development, function, and homeostasis and serves to process, direct, and sort proteins, lipids, and other cargo throughout the cell. This intricate system of membrane trafficking between different compartments is tightly orchestrated by Ras analog in brain (RAB) GTPases and their effectors. Of the 66 members of the RAB family in humans, many have been implicated in neurodegenerative diseases and impairment of their functions contributes to cellular stress, protein aggregation, and death. Critically, RAB39B loss-of-function mutations are known to be associated with X-linked intellectual disability and with rare early-onset Parkinson's disease. Moreover, recent studies have highlighted altered RAB39B expression in idiopathic cases of several Lewy body diseases (LBDs). This review contextualizes the role of RAB proteins in LBDs and highlights the consequences of RAB39B impairment in terms of endosomal trafficking, neurite outgrowth, synaptic maturation, autophagy, as well as alpha-synuclein homeostasis. Additionally, the potential for therapeutic intervention is examined via a discussion of the recent progress towards the development of specific RAB modulators. © 2021 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Plant responses against biotic stress agents are affected by a number of environmental conditions, including the presence of other pests and pathogens. Moreover, the impact of infestation on subsequent plant colonization by conspecifics can vary, reflecting the high diversity in the co‐evolutionary processes shaping host‐plant interactions. Here, we address this issue by studying how aphid–plant interplay can influence the subsequent colonization of zucchini plants (Cucurbita pepo L., Cucurbitaceae) by conspecific Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae, Aphidini). Previous infestation does not impact development time, longevity, and fertility of aphids. However, a previous infestation affects the distribution of the newly produced nymphs on the plant – they actively disperse on the plant, rather than starting their feeding activity where they were originally deposited, as observed in controls. Interestingly, this altered dispersal behaviour is reproduced by saliva application, suggesting the occurrence of an elicitor triggering a plant response affecting the strategy of host‐plant colonization by A. gossypii. The hypothesis that salicylic acid (SA) induction can trigger the observed behavioural response in a secondary infestation, was confirmed by exposure to methyl salicylate, a volatile product of the SA pathway. This evidence was further corroborated by analysis of gene expression profiles. Aphid infestation showed a transcriptional up‐regulation of genes underlying the biosynthesis of SA and of genes modulating the SA‐mediated defence response. Collectively, the experimental data consistently indicate regulation of aphid behaviour, mediated by plant metabolic changes following aphid infestation.

none 9 no Fully biodegradable novel bio-based organogels were developed for removing aged protective films from the surfaces of paintings, aiming at providing effective cleaning tools, easily controllable by reducing the solvent permeation into underlying paint layers and not dangerous for human health and the environment. The gels were based on poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) as gelling agent, γ-valerolactone (GVL) as solvent and triethyl citrate (TEC) as plasticizer. PHB-gels were able to completely remove protective varnishes on real oil paintings, without affecting the pictorial layer and leaving negligible residues after the application. Moreover, the gels showed good mechanical and handling properties, they were fully composed by non-toxic ingredients and resulted readily biodegradable in water, therefore easily disposable after the use. mixed Samorì, Chiara; Galletti, Paola; Giorgini, Loris; Mazzeo, Rocco; Mazzocchetti, Laura; Prati, Silvia; Sciutto, Giorgia; Volpi, Francesca; Tagliavini, Emilio Samorì, Chiara; Galletti, Paola; Giorgini, Loris; Mazzeo, Rocco; Mazzocchetti, Laura; Prati, Silvia; Sciutto, Giorgia; Volpi, Francesca; Tagliavini, Emilio

Question We compared active and abandoned beech coppices in terms of: (1) structural features, (2) total, understorey and overstorey plant diversity across spatial scales, and (3) species richness of beech forest specialist species. Location Central Apennines, Italy. Methods We applied a multi-scale approach, working at fine scale (management unit) and at a coarser scale (forest patch). Two forest patches were selected according to management regimes (active coppicing, 1–40 yrs; abandoned coppicing, >40 yrs) in each of the two study areas (Bolognola and Ussita). Within each forest patch, 20 stands were sampled in 20 m × 20 m plots, for a total of 80 sampling units. Results We found that the height of standards and number of dominant trees were negatively correlated with the total number of species. At the plot scale, the number of beech specialist species was significantly higher in abandoned plots. At the forest patch scale, the number of species in Bolognola was markedly higher in the actively coppiced forest than in the abandoned one, while the opposite result was found at Ussita. Regarding the beech specialist species richness, the abandoned forest at Ussita showed higher richness than the coppiced forest, while in Bolognola we found the opposite. The managed forest hosted more overstorey species than the abandoned one in both areas. Surprisingly, at forest patch scale in Bolognola, the total beech specialist species richness was higher in the coppiced plots than in the abandoned ones. The species assemblages were more similar between patches having different management regimes within the same area, than between patches having the same management regime across different areas. Conclusions This material provides a novel contribution to the study of species diversity patterns in this forest system, suggesting the importance of a multiple scale approach in forest diversity studies. The beech specialist species can largely persist in a heterogeneous coppice landscape, where abandoned stands are mixed with stands under regular coppicing. The results can link current knowledge about beech coppice diversity on the landscape scale with that on the plot scale, and thus help guide new conservation planning.

Autologous fat grafting and methods of purification of harvested tissue have become one of the most current themes in regenerative medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro regenerative potential of abdomen lipoaspirates subjected to a combined washing-decantation purifying procedure, the Lull pgm System (Lull). Blood cells and stromal-vascular fraction (SVF) cells contained in the aspirates were investigated and compared with those obtained through more conventional fat-processing methods, that is, the decantation and Coleman's centrifugation techniques. The lowest number of erythrocytes, which are proinflammatory cells, was observed in the Lull samples, corresponding to about 50% of those isolated by decantation and centrifugation. The highest amount of SVF cells were isolated from the Lull samples whose number of colony forming units, representative of the amount of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), was about fourfold and sixfold higher than in the decantation and centrifugation samples, respectively. Adipocyte and osteoblast commitment of SVF cells obtained from all the three procedures also confirmed that the subpopulation of ADSCs was actively represented in the processed aspirates. Moreover, the growth rate of the SVF cells was more accentuated in the samples obtained from decantation and Lull than centrifugation. In conclusion, Lull seems to be the best processing technique for adipose tissue graft with respect to decantation and centrifugation, because it clears more efficiently the fat from proinflammatory blood cells and provides the greatest number of proliferating SFV cells and ADSCs.