Search

This article presents the epistemological complexity inherent in the roll out of an international project on Disaster and Risk Reduction, and consequently about science education in the Indigenous context of Turkana County in Kenya. After an introduction that explains the current state of Disaster and Risk Reduction, the paper focuses on the 'Paper Volcanoes Laboratory' program and toolkit for children and teachers, which aims to spread awareness about natural hazards among children. The paper argues that the geographical, social and educational context where the project is carried out is critical to consider, and decolonial studies provide a conceptual and theoretical framework for this project. This allows to recognize reproduction of infantilization of Indigenous people and children through Western knowledge and science if implemented without consideration for local contexts, and demonstrates how Western educational projects have been a tool of discrimination and colonization. However, at the same time, it opens up the possibility for a dialogue and an encounter between the different epistemologies present in a project that was conceptualized within the Western context, but is to be carried out in Turkana County in Kenya.

Bordetella's genome contains a large family of periplasmic binding proteins (PBPs) known as Bugs, whose functions are mainly unassigned. Two members, Bug27 and Bug69, have previously been considered potential candidates for the uptake of small pyridine precursors, possibly linked to NAD biosynthesis. Here, we show an in vitro affinity of Bug27 and Bug69 for quinolinate in the submicromolar range, with a marked preference over other NAD precursors. A combined sequence similarity network and genome context analysis identifies a cluster of Bug69/27 homologs that are genomically associated with the NAD transcriptional regulator NadQ and the enzyme quinolinate phosphoribosyltransferase (QaPRT, gene nadC), suggesting a functional linkage to NAD metabolism. Integrating molecular docking and structure‐based multiple alignments confirms that quinolinate is the preferred ligand for Bug27 and Bug69.

Abstract In their natural environment, animals face a variety of ecological and social challenges, which might be linked to the emergence of different cognitive skills. To assess inter-specific variation in cognitive skills, we used ungulates as a study model, testing a total of 26 captive individuals across 5 different species (i.e., dwarf goats, Capra aegagrus hircus, llamas, Lama glama, guanacos, Lama guanicoe, zebras, Equus grevyi, and rhinos, Diceros bicornis michaeli). Across species, we used the same well-established experimental procedures to test individuals’ performance in naïve physics tasks, i.e. object permanence, short-term spatial memory, causality, understanding of object properties, and gravity. Our results revealed that study subjects showed object permanence, were able to remember the position of hidden food after up to 60 s, and inferred the position of hidden food from the sound produced or not produced when shaking containers. Moreover, they showed an understanding of basic object properties, being able to locate objects hidden behind occluders based on their size and inclination, and could reliably follow the trajectory of falling objects across different conditions. Finally, inter-specific differences were limited to the understanding of object properties, and suggest that domesticated species as goats might perform better than non-domesticated ones in tasks requiring these skills. These results provide new information on the cognitive skills of a still understudied taxon and confirm ungulates as a promising taxon for the comparative study of cognitive evolution.

The Raphe Pallidus (RPa) is a brainstem nucleus containing sympathetic premotor neurons that control thermogenesis and modulate cardiovascular function. It receives inputs from various hypothalamic areas, including the Lateral Hypothalamus (LH), a heterogeneous region intricately involved in several autonomic and behavioral functions. A key subpopulation of neurons in the LH expresses orexin/hypocretin, a neuropeptide which is crucially involved in the regulation of the wake–sleep states and feeding behavior. The RPa receives orexinergic projections from the LH and orexinergic signalling in the RPa has been shown to enhance thermogenesis in the anaesthetized rat, but only in the presence of an already existing thermogenic drive, without significantly affecting cardiovascular function. The present work was aimed at exploring the effects on thermoregulation and autonomic function and the possible role in the modulation of the wake–sleep states and feeding behavior of orexin injection in the RPa in the free-behaving rat. In order to assess the influence of an already present thermogenic drive on orexinergic signalling in the RPa, animals were studied at three different ambient temperatures (Ta, 10°C, 24°C, and 32°C). We found that orexin injection into the RPa variably affected the wake–sleep states, autonomic functions, motor activity, and feeding behavior, at the different Tas. In particular, in the first post-injection hour, we observed an increase in wakefulness, which was large at Ta 24°C and Ta 10°C and rather mild at Ta 32°C. Deep brain temperature was increased by orexin injection at Ta 10°C, but not at either Ta 24°C or Ta 32°C. Moreover, an increase in mean arterial blood pressure occurred at Ta 24°C, which was probably masked by the high baseline levels at Ta 10°C and was completely absent at Ta 32°C. Finally, an enhancement in feeding behavior was observed at Ta 24°C and 10°C only. In accordance with what observed in anaesthetized rats, orexinergic signalling in the RPa seems to be ineffective in the absence of any thermogenic drive. Moreover, the effects observed on the wake–sleep states and feeding behavior introduce the RPa as a novel player in the central neural network promoting wakefulness and feeding.

In Malawi, tetanus toxoid vaccination (TTV) is recommended in pregnancy, but few studies have assessed the prevalence of infant seroprotection against tetanus. Anti-TT levels from 84 6-week-old infants, born in 2019–2020 to mothers living with HIV (HEU: HIV-exposed-uninfected) infants and to HIV-negative women (HUU: HIV-unexposed-uninfected) infants were determined by ELISA assay. Although 94% of the infants (HEU=94.8%, HUU=92.3%) showed protective levels (>0.1 IU/mL), the mean titers observed (0.51 IU/mL) suggest an incomplete compliance with TT vaccination. The only factor positively correlated to anti-TT IgG levels was the duration of maternal antiretroviral therapy in HEU.

Abstract Background CLAD (Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction) remains a serious complication following lung transplantation. Some evidence shows that portions of Extracorporeal Photopheresis (ECP)-treated patients improve/stabilize their graft function. In spite of that, data concerning molecular mechanisms are still lacking. Aims of our study were to assess whether ECP effects are mediated by Mononuclear Cells (MNCs) modulation in term of microRNAs (miRNAs) expression and growth factors release. Methods Cells from leukapheresis of 16 CLAD patients, at time 0 and 6-months (10 cycles), were cultured for 48h ± PHA (10 ug/ml) or LPS (2 ug/ml). Expression levels of miR-146a-5p, miR-155-5p, miR-31-5p, miR181a-5p, miR-142-3p, miR-16-5p and miR-23b-5p in MNCs-exosomes were evaluated by qRT-PCR, while ELISA assessed different growth factors levels on culture supernatants. Results Our result showed miR-142-3p down-regulation (p = 0.02) in MNCs of ECP-patients after the 10 cycles and after LPS stimulation (p = 0.005). We also find miR-146a-5p up-regulation in cells after the 10 cycles stimulated with LPS (p = 0.03). Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) levels significantly decreased in MNCs supernatant (p = 0.04). The effect of ECP is translated into frequency changes of Dendritic Cell (DC) subpopulations and a slight increase in T regulatory cells (Treg) number and a significant decrease in CTGF release. Conclusions ECP might affect regulatory T cell functions, since both miR-142 and miR-146a have been shown to be involved in the regulation of suppressor regulatory T cell functions and DCs. On the other side ECP, possibly by regulating macrophage activation, is able to significantly down modulate CTGF release.

Although he represents an essential figure for a full understanding of the phenomenon of so-called Italian noir, which has developed since the first decade of the 2000s, Luigi Bernardi remains a profile to which academic criticism has not paid due attention. This article proposes a path of analysis that looks at both Bernardi as an author and as an essayist, considering his Atlante freddo trilogy, first published in a single volume in 2006, and two non-fiction texts such as A sangue caldo (2001) and Il male stanco (2003). The aim of this study will be to highlight the value and uniqueness of Bernardi’s work in the context of Italian crime fiction.

ABSTRACTThis study compares the performance of ensemble machine learning methods stacking, blending, and soft voting for Landslide susceptibility mapping (LSM) in a highly affected Northern Italy region, Lombardy. We first created a spatial database based on open data ensuring the accessibility to relevant information for landslide-influencing factors, historical landslide records, and areas with a very low probability of landslide occurrence called ‘No Landslide Zone’, an innovative concept introduced in this study. Then, open-source software was employed for developing five Machine Learning classifiers (Bagging, Random Forests, AdaBoost, Gradient Tree Boosting, and Neural Networks) which were tested at a basin scale by implementing different combinations of training and testing schemes using three use cases. The three classifiers with the highest generalization performance (Random Forests, AdaBoost, and Neural Networks) were selected and combined by ensemble methods. The soft voting showed the highest performance among them. The best model to generate the LSM for the Lombardy region was a Neural Network model trained using data from three basins, achieving an accuracy of 0.93 in Lombardy. The LSM indicates that 37% of Lombardy is in the highest landslide susceptibility categories. Our findings highlight the importance of openness in advancing LSM not only by enhancing the reproducibility and transparency of our methodology but also by promoting knowledge-sharing within the scientific community.

The most recent literature describing the distribution and abundance of fallow deer (Dama dama) in Italy does not indicate the presence of this species in the province of Rieti. Some reports indicate the presence of the species in the middle valley of the river Velino. To test the reliability of those reports a field study was undertaken using three different techniques: fixed points census, line transects, and snow tracking. The area investigated was about 3,500 hectares. Given the topography of the study area these techniques were carried out opportunistically. Fallow deer were located, and the population was estimated to be about 70-90 individuals. Investigation in the Archives of the Provincial Command of the State Forestry Corps of Rieti allowed the origin of the population to be traced. The fallow deer escaped from a group of individuals reared on an estate called Santogna in 2001-2002. The animals came from the Presidential Estate of Castelporziano (Roma). The population of this invasive species is problematic because it dominates the native red deer (Cervus elaphus) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and restricts their natural expansion.

Introduction: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in children is characterized by repeated episodes of partial or complete obstruction of the upper airways that impair normal ventilation and cause hypoxia and sleep disruption. These episodes activate innate and adaptive immunity resulting in the production of proinflammatory cytokines: IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and reactive oxygen species. The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPT) axis is also activated with alteration of the circadian rhythm of cortisol synthesis. OSA in children, and even more in adults, induces a systemic inflammatory condition that contributes to the genesis of clinical complications: poor growth, learning disabilities, cardiovascular changes, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome. Methods: A total of 42 non-obese children (age 1–15 years) were enrolled among those sent to our sleep center to perform full polysomnography (PSG). After PSG, 6 children did not show OSA (controls), 20 had mild OSA (m OSA), and 16 had medium-severe OSA (MS OSA). In vitro IL-1β, TNF-α, and serum cortisol levels were measured at 2 and 8 am in the analyzed groups. Results: Cortisol levels did not differ between controls and OSA children. At 2 am, there were no differences between controls and OSA in TNF-α production, whereas at 8 am, TNF-α was reduced in MS-OSA. IL-1β production showed no differences between OSA and controls. Conclusions: In our population, only TNF-α production is suppressed in MS-OSA: this might indicate a role of OSA severity in inducing inflammation. In adults, the phenomenon is more pronounced due to the habitual greater severity/duration of OSA, presence of comorbidities (cardiovascular and metabolic), and different immune system function.

Abstract Fluorescent Neuronal Cells v2 is a collection of fluorescence microscopy images and the corresponding ground-truth annotations, designed to foster innovative research in the domains of Life Sciences and Deep Learning. This dataset encompasses three image collections wherein rodent neuronal cell nuclei and cytoplasm are stained with diverse markers to highlight their anatomical or functional characteristics. Specifically, we release 1874 high-resolution images alongside 750 corresponding ground-truth annotations for several learning tasks, including semantic segmentation, object detection and counting. The contribution is two-fold. First, thanks to the variety of annotations and their accessible formats, we anticipate our work will facilitate methodological advancements in computer vision approaches for segmentation, detection, feature extraction, unsupervised and self-supervised learning, transfer learning, and related areas. Second, by enabling extensive exploration and benchmarking, we hope Fluorescent Neuronal Cells v2 will catalyze breakthroughs in fluorescence microscopy analysis and promote cutting-edge discoveries in life sciences.

Abstract Comparative perspectives are crucial in the study of human development, yet longitudinal comparisons of humans and other primates are still relatively uncommon. Here, we combined theoretical frameworks from cross-cultural and comparative psychology, to study maternal style in 10 mother–infant pairs of German urban humans (Homo sapiens) and 10 mother–infant pairs of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), during the first year of infants’ development. We conducted focal observations of different behaviours (i.e. nursing, carrying, body contact, touching, grooming, restraining, approaching, leaving, rejection, aggression, mutual gaze, object stimulation), during natural interactions. Analyses revealed a more distal maternal style in WEIRD humans than in captive chimpanzees, with different behaviours being generally more common in one of the two species throughout development. For other behaviours (i.e. nursing), developmental trajectories differed between WEIRD humans and captive chimpanzees, although differences generally decreased through infants’ development. Overall, our study confirms functional approaches as a valid tool for comparative longitudinal studies.

Abstract The histone deacetylase sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) has been endowed with anti-cancer capabilities in many tumor types. Here, we investigate the impact of SIRT6-overexpression (SIRT6-OE) in Delta16HER2 mice, which are a bona fide model of HER2-positive breast cancer. After an initial delay in the tumor onset, SIRT6-OE induces a more aggressive phenotype of Delta16HER2 tumors promoting the formation of higher number of tumor foci and metastases than controls. This phenotype of SIRT6-OE tumors is associated with cancer stem cell (CSC)-like features and tumor dormancy, and low senescence and oxidative DNA damage. Accordingly, a sub-set of HER2-positive breast cancer patients with concurrent SIRT6-OE has a significant poorer relapse-free survival (RFS) probability than patients with low expression of SIRT6. ChIP-seq, RNA-seq and RT-PCR experiments indicate that SIRT6-OE represses the expression of the T-box transcription factor 3 (Tbx3) by deacetylation of H3K9ac. Accordingly, loss-of-function mutations of TBX3 or low TBX3 expression levels are predictive of poor prognosis in HER2-positive breast cancer patients. Our work indicates that high levels of SIRT6 are indicative of poor prognosis and high risk of metastasis in HER2-positive breast cancer and suggests further investigation of TBX3 as a downstream target of SIRT6 and co-marker of poor-prognosis. Our results point to a breast cancer subtype-specific effect of SIRT6 and warrant future studies dissecting the mechanisms of SIRT6 regulation in different breast cancer subtypes.

AbstractHere we describe a new species of Ochthebius (Cobalius) from marine rockpools of NW Sicily: O. (C.) senczuki sp. n. This species was first discovered on the basis of molecular evidence, but its taxonomic distinction has been subsequently supported by morphological characters. Ochthebius (C.) senczuki sp. n. shows a clear genetic diversity from the known related species, with an average COI p distance ranging from 5.6% to 10.7%; it exhibits only small morphological differences, mostly limited to dorsal punctation, pronotal and elytral outer edge, and (in males) to the mobile part of the median lobe of the aedeagus. The origin of O. (C.) senczuki sp. n. is estimated to lie in the Late Miocene (~9 Mya); the ancestors of this taxon probably remained isolated from populations of the related taxa of the Ochthebius (Cobalius) subinteger and O. (Cobalius) adriaticus complexes during cycles of regressive and transgressive marine phases that occurred in the SW Mediterranean during Late Miocene and Pliocene. The detailed state of the art of members of the O. (Cobalius) adriaticus complex throughout the Central and Eastern Mediterranean rocky coastal areas is also preliminarily discussed.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:CBFA5063-2FBE-488B-8497-E5DA7DCA9361

Assessment and feedback are common sources of student dissatisfaction within higher education, and employers have shown dissatisfaction with graduates' communication skills. Authentic assessment, containing 'real-world' context and student collaboration, provides a means to address both issues simultaneously. We discuss how we used authentic assessment within a biological sciences degree programme, replacing an individually written essay coursework assignment with learner-generated podcasts. We outline our implementation strategy in line with existing theory on learner-generated digital media, assessment for learning and self-regulated learning. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of survey data (2020 and 2021) indicate students prefer podcast assignments over traditional essay coursework, perceiving them to be more enjoyable, authentic, allowing for greater creativity, and better for building their confidence as communicators. Podcasting as an assessment may have a positive influence on knowledge retention and promote deep learning too. Our assessment design provides opportunities for community building, formative peer review and enhancing assessment literacy, while also being flexible enough to be used across any discipline of study and/or as an inter-disciplinary assessment.