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A profound transformation, in recent decades, is promoting shifts in the ways ecological science is produced and shared; as such, ecologists are increasingly encouraged to engage in dialogues with multiple stakeholders and in transdisciplinary research. Among the different forms of public engagement, citizen science (CS) has significant potential to support science-society interactions with mutual benefits. While many studies have focused on the experience and motivations of CS volunteers, scarce literature investigating the perspectives of researchers is available. The main purpose of this paper is to better understand scientists’ attitudes about CS in the context of its potential to support outcomes that extent beyond more traditional ones focused on promoting science knowledge and interest. We surveyed the scientific community belonging to the International Long-Term Ecological Research (ILTER) network because ILTER is of interest to multiple stakeholders and occurs over long time scales. Via an online questionnaire, we asked ILTER scientists about their willingness to participate in different types of public engagement, their reasons for participating in CS, the associated barriers, and any impacts of these efforts on them. Our findings show that many ILTER scientists are open to participating in CS for a wide range of reasons; the dominant ones involve deeper public engagement and collaboration. The barriers of greatest concern of these respondents were the lack of institutional support to start and run a CS project and the difficulty of establishing long-term stable relationships with the public. They reported impacts of CS activities on how they pursue their work and acknowledged the benefit of opportunities to learn from the public. The emerging picture from this research is of a community willing and actively involved in many CS projects for both traditional reasons, such as data gathering and public education, and expanded reasons that activate a real two-way cooperation with the public. In the ILTER community, CS may thus become an opportunity to promote and develop partnerships with citizens, helping to advance the science-society interface and to rediscover and enhance the human and social dimension of the scientific work.

In the last decades, citizen science (CS) has experienced an increasing interest as a practice in which scientists and citizens collaborate to produce new knowledge for science, society and policy. Environmental and ecological sciences are among the most active in proposing CS activities and new models for citizen participation in research. In addition to environmental dimensions, these fields necessarily include social and cultural dimensions to confront the complex local and global environmental challenges. This is particularly evident in the International Long-Term Ecological Research (ILTER) network, where the integration of social sciences has become a recognized priority. ILTER offers a valuable landscape to explore common CS features across a wide range of different cultural and socio-ecological contexts, as well as worldviews of science-society interactions. In 2020, we surveyed scientists working at ILTER sites across the globe to identify key features of CS initiatives in which they are/were involved and the levels of participation of the volunteers. We consider these features in the context of the internationally-developed “Ten Principles of Citizen Science” by examining scientific outcomes and societal/policy impact, type of volunteers’ involvement, and sharing of data/findings and feedbacks and acknowledging volunteers. Our results indicate that the ILTER community demonstrated a good predisposition toward environmentally-focused CS initiatives with diverse scientific questions including biodiversity, water quality, ecosystem services and climate change. Most of the respondents reported that the volunteers were involved mainly in collecting samples or recording data; some other activities, such as dissemination of the project conclusions and discussion and translation of the results into action, were also mentioned. Volunteers were usually trained for these initiatives and acknowledged in peer-reviewed publication, however data from the initiatives were only partially shared openly. We conclude with remarks and suggestions for expanding design and implementation of CS in the ILTER community.

In this paper we describe a 25-year (1986-2010) dataset of phytoplankton cell density abundance and biovolume in Lake Candia, a eutrophic, natural, small, and shallow lake located in north-western Italy, with data that are made available through the GBIF repository. The lake belongs to the national (LTER-Italy), European (LTER-Europe) and International (ILTER) long-term ecological research (LTER) networks. Phytoplankton samples were collected approximately monthly at the maximum depth station of the lake (7.7 m) and analysed with the inverted microscope, estimating both the cell density abundance and biovolume of each taxon. The dataset includes 10,120 georeferenced occurrences related to 545 taxa. During this 25-year period, the lake underwent profound modifications mainly related to the lake biomanipulation activities addressed to the management of aquatic macrophyte and to the evolution of the trophic condition. Making this dataset available represents a contribution to the current activities of the LTER networks for defining and reconstructing spatial and temporal dynamics and to identify and compare reliable trends.

Since the adoption of the Habitats and Birds Directives by EU governments, marine Natura 2000 (N2K) sites have been established in the European Mediterranean Sea, creating one of the largest international networks of protected areas. Nevertheless, to date, marine N2K sites are generally scarcely implemented, studied and monitored, and thus their management effectiveness is weak, and their environmental status is often unknown. The Interreg Italy-Croatia ECOSS project aimed at establishing the ECOlogical observing system of the Adriatic Sea (ECOAdS), to integrate the existing research and monitoring activities in the area, and to promote data sharing at international level, for enhancing monitoring and conservation in Adriatic N2K network. In the framework of ECOSS, a conceptual model was developed and applied to selected N2K sites, to review the existing knowledge, assess site effectiveness, and suggest possible improvements in their monitoring and management based on the contribution that ECOAdS can provide to their implementation. Information on social, ecological, and oceanographic elements related to the conservation and management of these case studies was gathered by consulting the project partners involved in the management and monitoring of the sites and through a literature review. The results of this study revealed a discouraging condition with no management plan in most of the sites, while regulatory measures are generally in place but without surveillance. Monitoring activities are performed occasionally, and information on presence and status of protected species is often lacking or outdated. Although the N2K network provides a unique opportunity to advance marine conservation and achieve the 30% conservation target by 2030, the biggest challenge ahead is the proper management and monitoring of N2K sites. The proposed conceptual model may be taken as a framework to properly set up ecological observing systems in the N2K network and help overcome current limitations, integrating scientific research within the N2K conservation strategies.

Implementing effective marine monitoring to detect and track ecosystem shifts, biodiversity alteration, and habitat loss is one of the most crucial challenges to meet the objectives set out by the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework and by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The lack of coordinated and harmonized monitoring frameworks at different spatial scales and their weakness in accounting for ecological processes, due to incomplete sets of monitoring variables, strongly hinder the achievement of conservation objectives. Here, we propose an approach to build a coherent ecosystem-based system of monitoring variables for target marine species and habitats. The approach is designed to integrate the existing monitoring frameworks set up by the Water and the Marine Strategy Framework directives, and the Essential Ocean and Biodiversity Variables, with the aim to contribute to their harmonization and implementation. Furthermore, by embracing a holistic vision, it aims to incorporate ecological processes and socio-ecological aspects, considering the benefits of public engagement through citizen science, and of the ecosystem services approach for policies’ implementation. The study stems from the Ecological Observing System of the Adriatic Sea (ECOAdS), which was developed in the framework of the Interreg Italy-Croatia project ECOSS, using as exemplary monitoring test cases two relevant conservation targets for Natura 2000 sites of the Adriatic Sea, the common bottlenose dolphin and seagrass meadows. We test the potential of this approach in guiding the prioritization of monitoring variables under ecosystem-based criteria, and provide insights into the benefits delivered by an integrated system of observatories’ networks and monitoring frameworks to support marine conservation at both local and regional scales. The proposed approach can be transferred to other contexts and scales to help build a common knowledge and monitoring framework for conservation and management strategies, saving costs by relying on available resources and on consolidated and long-lasting approaches that might converge towards global initiatives.

The main aim of this paper is to paint an ecological picture of the phytoplankton communities of two adjacent and connected ecosystems, one transitional and one coastal marine, in the Northern Adriatic Sea: the Lagoon of Venice (LoV) and the Gulf of Venice (GoV). Based on 10 years (2011-2020) of monthly samplings, we compare the taxonomic composition, abundance and seasonal cycles of the two ecosystems. We focus on the inner zones of the LoV and on the coastal sea up to 8 nmi offshore, an area suitable for assessing the reciprocal influence of the lagoon and sea in terms of phytoplankton. Our main interest is to verify (i) whether the sea still affects the lagoon phytoplankton and (ii) whether the lagoon can provide organisms to the adjacent sea. Using a matrix composed of 466 samples, we performed various types of analysis to: (i) identify the prevalent features and seasonal patterns of abiotic factors and chlorophyll a, (ii) assess and compare taxonomic composition at each station and (iii) identify the generalist and specialist taxa. Our findings provide evidence that the prevalent structure of the communities in the selected areas of the two environments clearly differ concerning (i) seasonal succession, unimodal in the LoV (only one peak in summer) and multi-peak in the GoV (a succession of small peaks from spring to autumn), (ii) abundance and chlorophyll a, both much higher in the LoV (average: 6,009,593 cells l-1 and 4.1 µgl-1 respectively) than in the GoV (average 2,901,266 cells l-1 and 1,5 µgl-1 respectively), (iii) community composition, dominated by diatoms shared with benthic habitats (e.g. Thalassiosira, Nitzschia, Navicula) in the lagoon and by euplanktonic diatoms (e.g. Skeletonema, Chaetoceros, Pseudonitzschia) in the sea. The phytoplankton in the LoV appears to be affected by the marine phytoplankton of the adjacent sea and vice versa: the two environments share taxa that are both generalist (e.g. Skeletonema, Chaetoceros, Cyclotella, Pseudonitzschia) and specialist. Although the dominant factors in structuring the phytoplankton communities are local, dispersal rates, while not intense enough to generate transport of species that could significantly affect assemblage composition, are also at play.

E-health applications can support continuing care for persons with chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). We have developed a web-based mobile app called VIOLA to be used at home by persons with MS (pwMS) who previously participated in an innovative multidisciplinary rehab program. The purpose of VIOLA is to reinforce what participants have learned about a healthy lifestyle and to keep them motivated to adhere to rehabilitation programs. As the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has severely curtailed pwMS contact with their usual health providers, we quickly updated VIOLA to grant continuity of care to our home-bound patients.By monitoring pwMS subscriptions to individual modules, we found a definite increase after the national lockdown was declared. Subscribers rated the app very positively.Encouraged by the positive feedbacks, we are planning to extend the access to our app also to pwMS with no prior specific learning experience. This would limit the psychophysical consequences of the lockdown. Furthermore, VIOLA could be effective in maintaining a proper lifestyle, contributing to improve the quality of life of pwMS.VIOLA has the potential of increasing the adherence of pwMS to the rehabilitation confirming that digital communication tools are a valuable solution for those home-bound.].

SUMMARYThe magnetic anisotropy exhibited by ferrofluid-impregnated samples serves as a proxy for their pore fabrics, and is therefore known as magnetic pore fabric (MPF). Empirically, the orientation of the maximum susceptibility indicates the average pore elongation direction, and predicts the preferred flow direction. Further, correlations exist between the degree and shape of magnetic anisotropy and the pores’ axial ratio and shape, and between the degrees of magnetic and permeability anisotropies. Despite its potential, the method has been rarely used, likely because the large variability in reported empirical relationships compromises interpretation. Recent work identified an additional contribution of distribution anisotropy, related to the arrangement of the pores, and a strong dependence of anisotropy parameters on the ferrofluid type and concentration, partly explaining the variability. Here, an additional effect is shown; the effective susceptibility of the ferrofluid depends on the measurement frequency, so that the resulting anisotropy depends on measurement conditions. Using synthetic samples with known void geometry and ferrofluids with known susceptibility (4.04 SI and 1.38 SI for EMG705 and EMG909, respectively), magnetic measurements at frequencies from 500 to 512 kHz are compared to numerical predictions. Measurements show a strong frequency-dependence, especially for EMG705, leading to large discrepancies between measured and calculated anisotropy degrees. We also observe artefacts related to the interaction of ferrofluid with its seal, and the aggregation of particles over time. The results presented here provide the basis for a robust and quantitative interpretation of MPFs in future studies, and allow for re-interpretation of previous results provided that the ferrofluid properties and measurement conditions are known. We recommend that experimental settings are selected to ensure a high intrinsic susceptibility of the fluid, and that the effective susceptibility of the fluid at measurement conditions is reported in future studies.

Welche Branche fällt Ihnen ein, wenn Sie an Umweltverschmutzung denken? Klar: Autobauer, die Flugindustrie oder Energieversorger gelten als Klimasünder. Aber Versicherungen? Die werden bei solchen Umfragen kaum genannt. Sind sie damit imagetechnisch aus dem Schneider? Zweifel sind angebracht. Versicherer bilden eine wichtige Komponente der Gesamtwirtschaft. Gleichzeitig werden die Ziele für die Begrenzung des Klimawandels verfehlt. Ein aktiver Umgang mit dem Thema Nachhaltigkeit ist sehr zu empfehlen, wie die Studie "Leading the Green Insurance Revolution" der Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften aufzeigt.

Le malattie infiammatorie croniche intestinali (MICI) sono malattie caratterizzate da una condizione cronica immuno-mediata del tratto gastrointestinale che includono il morbo di Crohn e la rettocolite ulcerosa. Le MICI che colpiscono pazienti pediatrici sono di particolare interesse poiché la loro incidenza è in aumento e, anche se vengono utilizzate strategie farmacologiche diverse, il trattamento ottimale è lungi dall'essere raggiunto. Nella prima parte del progetto di tesi è stato studiato il ruolo dell'lncRNA GAS5, mettendo in evidenza il suo possibile coinvolgimento nel processo di patogenesi del danno tissutale, attraverso la regolazione dei mediatori di danno tissutale, in particolare la MMP-2 e MMP-9 . Dai dati ottenuti sulle biopsie tissutali di pazienti pediatrici affetti da MICI e dagli esperimenti in vitro, è risultato evidente che GAS5 potrebbe essere coinvolto nei processi di danno tissutale e nella determinazione di uno stato infiammatorio cronico che regola l'espressione delle MMP-2 e MMP-9 , metallo proteasi che, in queste malattie, provocano gravi danni alla parete intestinale. L'identificazione di un target molecolare in grado di modulare i livelli di questi enzimi consentirebbe non solo di approfondire le conoscenze sulle cause di un'alterata produzione di MMP-2 e MMP-9 ma anche di sviluppare una strategia farmacologica mirata. Inoltre grazie ad esperimento RNA-IP è stato dimostrato che questo lncRNA era in grado di legarsi e interagire fisicamente con NF-κB, fattore trascrizionale coinvolto nel processo infiammatorio, GAS5 si lega a NF-κB, probabilmente modulando la sua attività trascrizionale, dimostrando ancora una volta il coinvolgimento di questo lncRNA nell'infiammazione e confermando il suo ruolo come biomarcatore dell'infiammazione. Ad oggi nelle MICI non esiste una terapia farmacologica curativa e l'approccio terapeutico è finalizzato a indurre la remissione e a favorirne il mantenimento. Recenti studi hanno dimostrato che la talidomide è molto efficace nei bambini affetti da MICI, ma il meccanismo d'azione di questo farmaco rimane ancora non del tutto chiaro. La seconda parte di questa tesi si è focalizzata ad investigare sui meccanismi d'azione della talidomide nei pazienti con MICI, al fine di identificare non solo marcatori di efficacia ma anche di indagare le cause molecolari che scatenano gli effetti collaterali noti, come la neuropatia periferica. Un’analisi del trascrittoma è stata condotta su campioni di sangue di pazienti pediatrici con MICI refrattari alle terapie standard e in trattamento con talidomide; sono emersi 252 geni differenzialmente espressi dall’analisi di RNA-seq a seguito del trattamento con il farmaco. Il test ipergeometrico basato su annotazioni di Gene Ontology (GO) ha rilevato una serie di pathway alterate implicati nel meccanismo della talidomide e nel suo principale effetto avverso, tra cui la via di signaling del recettore degli ecosanoidi e delle prostaglandine e pathway associata alle proteine G accoppiate alla via dell'adenilato ciclasi, e anche pathway coinvolte nel sistema nervoso. Per validare questi risultati trascrittomici, le PGE2 e cAMP sono stati quantificati in cellule monocitiche Thp-1 e THP-1 differenziate in macrofagi. La talidomide causa una significativa diminuzione della produzione di PGE2 nei macrofagi stimolati con LPS, mentre nel THP-1 il trattamento farmacologico induce un significativo aumento della produzione di cAMP. Studi preliminari condotti sulla linea cellulare neuronale sh-sy5y, al fine di identificare nuove pathway e geni coinvolti nella neuropatia periferica indotta dalla talidomide, hanno rivelato che questo farmaco non ha un effetto citotossico, né un'azione a livello dell’attività mitocondriale. La quantificazione di ATP e del calcio intracellulare nelle sh-sy5y hanno rilevato che il farmaco induce un aumento di entrambi in seguito a trattamento. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic immune-mediated condition of the gastrointestinal tract that includes Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis. Pediatric IBDs are of particular interest since their incidence is rising and, even if different pharmacological strategies are used, the optimal treatment is far from being achieved. In the first part of the thesis project the role of the lncRNA GAS5 was studied, reporting the possible involvement of this lncRNA in the pathogenesis process of tissue damage, thorough the regulation of mediators of tissue injury, in particular MMP-2 and MMP-9. From data obtained on biopsy tissues of pediatric patients affected by IBD and from in vitro experiments, it is clear that GAS5 could be involved in the processes of tissue damage and in determining a chronic inflammatory state regulating the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9, proteases that, in IBD cause serious damage to the intestinal wall. The identification of a molecular target capable of modulating the levels of these enzymes would allow not only to deepen the knowledge about the causes of an altered production of MMP-2 and MMP-9 but also to develop a targeted pharmacological strategy. Moreover after a RNA-IP experiment it was shown that this lncRNA was able to bind and interact physically with NF-κB, a transcriptional factor involved in inflammation process, GAS5 bind NF-κB probably modulating its transcriptional activity, demonstrating the involvement of this lncRNA in inflammation and a confirming its role as biomarker of inflammation. To date, there is no curative drug therapy and the therapeutic approach is aimed at inducing remission and promoting its maintenance. Recent studies have shown that thalidomide is very effective in children with IBD, but the mechanism of action of this drug works still remain ambiguous. The second part of this thesis was focused to obtain a greater knowledge of the mechanisms of action of thalidomide in patients with IBD, in order to identify not only markers of efficacy but also to investigate the molecular causes that trigger the known side effects, including peripheral neuropathy. Transcriptome analysis, performed on blood samples from IBD pediatric patient’s refractory to standard therapies and treated with thalidomide were performed, and 252 differentially expressed genes emerged from RNA-seq, following treatment with the drug. The hypergeometric test on gene ontology (GO) annotations, revealed a series of altered pathways implicated in the mechanism of thalidomide and its main adverse effect, including the eicosanoid and prostaglandin receptor signaling pathway and related to the G protein-coupled adenylate cyclase pathway, and also pathways involved in the nervous system. To validate these transcriptomic results, PGE2 and cAMP were quantified in monocytic Thp-1 cells and THP-1 differentiated in macrophages. Thalidomide caused a significant decrease of PGE2 production in macrophages stimulates with LPS, whereas in THP-1 the drug treatment induced a significative increase in cAMP production. Preliminary studies conducted on neuronal cell line, sh-sy5y, in order to study identify new pathways and genes involved thalidomide induced peripheral neuropathy, revealed that this drug did not have a cytotoxic effect, nor an action at the level of mitochondrial activity. ATP quantification and analysis on intracellular calcium in sh-sy5y revealed that the drug induced an increase in ATP production and in intracellular calcium.

Anthropogenic climate change is accelerating, and severe and widespread consequences are expected in many areas. Although the insurance sector is not closely associated with any of the sustainability dimensions, expectations may change rapidly. Against this background, we analyze the role of insurers, especially in the property and casualty areas, in addressing the environmental and climate risk challenges and developing a truly sustainable, environmentally friendly business model—green insurance. Building on the Principles of Sustainable Insurance set by the United Nations, we develop a comprehensive roadmap along the insurance value chain for executive management to design their company’s sustainability efforts, with special focus on property and casualty. The roadmap indicates actions to be taken as well as metrics to be managed in product development, marketing and sales, risk management and underwriting and operations and claims management towards green insurance. The existing products, risk appetite and operational processes must be reviewed to support sustainability goals and include the full portfolio of activities, including claims. The time to act is now, the sustainability journey is complex and the proposed business model transformation should provide benefits for early movers.

Service providers are developing more sophisticated offerings, and it is important for them to understand the demographics and specific context by which individuals might procure their services. This allows companies to stay relevant to their customers. The target of this paper is to investigate the types of goals Millennials and Generation Z individuals are pursuing and what role different service providers may play in supporting these endeavors, with the aim of providing actionable insights for insurers. Furthermore, it is to investigate how personality traits may relate to differences in individuals’ preferences. The study is based on a survey of 854 Swiss university students. The results indicate that goals are concentrated in a few categories, and educational institutions and healthcare providers are well-positioned to support goal achievement. Insurers, on the other hand, rank low among the preferences, and their profile is largely undifferentiated. This result indicates that insurers need to further focus their efforts to gain relevance among younger customers. Supporting goals relating to self-fulfillment and ability for high-conscientious and/or low-honest/humble customers by focusing on risk education and risk management seems a particularly interesting strategy for insurers.

Pore-scale experiments are crucial to obtain pore geometry and distribution, i.e., pore fabrics, controlling preferred fluid flow directions in rocks. Pore fabrics are characterized to derive models, which are important for hydrocarbon exploration and geothermal applications. X-ray computed tomography (XRCT) is one typical method to obtain three-dimensional pore fabrics, but limited by its micron-scale resolution in 1-inch cores. Magnetic pore fabrics (MPFs) were proposed as a fast and efficient way to indirectly measure the pore fabrics, and target micropores down to 10 nm. Empirical relationships exist between MPFs and pore space properties, and between MPFs and permeability anisotropy. Previous studies investigated a limited number of rock types or plastic synthetic samples with simplified pores to compare MPFs, pore fabrics and permeability anisotropy. Permeability is commonly estimated from measurements parallel and perpendicular to the macroscopic fabric, and thus the measurement needs a priori information on the fabric orientation. This study integrates complementary measurements to characterize pore fabrics on various scales: pycnometer porosity, MPF, XRCT, and permeability anisotropy measurements. The specimens include various kinds of sandstones and carbonates to cover the main sedimentary lithologies, and hot isostatically pressed (HIP) samples of simple and controlled compositions to bridge the gap between the synthetic samples of previous studies and complex natural rocks. HIP samples were made by mixing calcite and muscovite powders in different proportions and grain sizes, and were cold pressed at 20 MPa and then hot pressed at 160 MPa and 670 °C. Full permeability tensors including confidence angles were determined, and each tensor was calculated from 7 directional permeability measurements for natural rocks. Considering the uniaxial symmetry of the HIP samples, 3 directional measurements are sufficient to calculate a tensor with confidence angles. One additional core from each block was scanned by XRCT with ~5.5 µm pixel size for 3D pore fabric analysis, prior to being impregnated with ferrofluid to measure MPFs. A total shape ellipsoid, representing the average XRCT-derived pore fabric, is compared with other second-order tensors, permeability anisotropy and MPFs. Initial data suggest that the maximum principal directions of permeability anisotropy, total shape ellipsoids and MPFs are coaxial in homogeneous samples with consistent pore space anisotropy. These confirmed quantitative correlations help to apply MPFs as an efficient method to determine pore fabrics and predict preferred flow direction.

Magnetic anisotropy is a time-efficient and powerful tool to characterize the anisotropy of pore space in ferrofluid-impregnated rocks. Empirical correlations exist between magnetic pore fabrics and the shape preferred orientation of pores, as well as between magnetic pore fabrics and permeability anisotropy. Up to now, quantitative interpretation has been challenging, and one reason is the variability of ferrofluids and their properties that have been used in different studies. Namely, the susceptibility of the ferrofluid largely controls the degree of measured magnetic anisotropy. Being a colloidal solution of superparamagnetic particles, ferrofluid displays magnetic properties that are both frequency- and time-dependent. This in turn affects the quantitative interpretation of magnetic pore fabrics. This study sheds light on the magnetic properties of the ferrofluids used in pore fabric studies, with a particular focus on processes such as particle aggregation and sedimentation, and how these affect ferrofluid impregnation as well as the measured pore fabrics. Further, interactions between the ferrofluid and the rock that lead to changes in magnetic properties are studied. These results will form the basis for future quantitative interpretation of magnetic pore fabric studies in groundwater, CO2 or hydrocarbon applications.

This Policy Brief succinctly presents the Ecological Observing System of the Adriatic Sea (ECOAdS), aimed at integrating the ecological and oceanographic dimensions within the conservation strategy of the Natura 2000 network, and to propose a way to go for its future development and maintenance. After a definition of marine ecological observatories, we describe the current structure of ECOAdS, its key components and potential relevance in relation to the main European strategies for biodiversity and marine observation for the next decade. Finally, we suggest some actions that could be undertaken for the future development of ECOAdS, targeting possible perspectives in different regional, macro-regional, national and European strategic contexts. This Policy Brief is one of the outcomes of the Interreg Italy-Croatia Project ECOSS (ECological Observing System in the Adriatic Sea: oceanographic observations for biodiversity; https://www.italy-croatia.eu/web/ecoss), which had the main purpose to design and carry out the first steps for the establishment of ECOAdS.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative inflammatory condition mediated by autoreactive immune processes. Due to its potential to influence host immunity and gut-brain communication, the gut microbiota has been suggested to be involved in the onset and progression of MS. To date, there is no definitive cure for MS, and rehabilitation programs are of the utmost importance, especially in the later stages. However, only a few people generally participate due to poor support, knowledge, and motivation, and no information is available on gut microbiota changes. Herein we evaluated the potential of a brief high-impact multidimensional rehabilitation program (B-HIPE) in a leisure environment to affect the gut microbiota, mitigate MS symptoms and improve quality of life. B-HIPE resulted in modulation of the MS-typical dysbiosis, with reduced levels of pathobionts and the replenishment of beneficial short-chain fatty acid producers. This partial recovery of a eubiotic profile could help counteract the inflammatory tone typically observed in MS, as supported by reduced circulating lipopolysaccharide levels and decreased populations of pro-inflammatory lymphocytes. Improved physical performance and fatigue relief were also found. Our findings pave the way for integrating clinical practice with holistic approaches to mitigate MS symptoms and improve patients’ quality of life.

Background Lombardy was the epicenter in Italy of the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. To face the contagion growth, from March 8 to May 8 2020, a regional law re-designed the hub-and-spoke system for time-dependent diseases to better allocate resources for COVID-19 patients. Methods We report the reorganization of the major hospital in Lombardy during COVID-19 pandemic, including the rearrangement of its ICU beds to face COVID-19 pandemic and fulfill its role as extended hub for time-dependent diseases while preserving transplant activity. To highlight the impact of the emergently planned hub-and-spoke system, all patients admitted to a COVID-19-free ICU hub for trauma, neurosurgical emergencies and stroke during the two-month period were retrospectively collected and compared to 2019 cohort. Regional data on organ procurement was retrieved. Observed-to-expected (OE) in-ICU mortality ratios were computed to test the impact of the pandemic on patients affected by time-dependent diseases. Results Dynamic changes in ICU resource allocation occurred according to local COVID-19 epidemiology/trends of patients referred for time-dependent diseases. The absolute increase of admissions for trauma, neurosurgical emergencies and stroke was roughly two-fold. Patients referred to the hub were older and characterized by more severe conditions. An increase in crude mortality was observed, though OE ratios for in-ICU mortality were not statistically different when comparing 2020 vs. 2019. An increase in local organ procurement was observed, limiting the debacle of regional transplant activity. Conclusions We described the effects of a regional emergently planned hub-and-spoke system for time-dependent diseases settled in the epicenter of COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.