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Objective: To evaluate the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) anti-spike (S) IgG antibody production after vaccination with BNT162b2 and the protection from symptomatic breakthrough infections in health care workers. Methods: This prospective observational study (RENAISSANCE) had as a primary end point the evaluation of serologic response to BNT162b2 14 days after a second dose. SARS-CoV-2 anti-S IgG antibodies were evaluated with LIAISON SARS-CoV-2 TrimericS IgG assay (DiaSorin S.p.A.), which is able to detect the presence of both binding and neutralizing antibodies for trimeric spike glycoprotein. Participants were recruited from February 1, 2021, to February 22, 2021. Occurrence of vaccine breakthrough infections was assessed by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction on symptomatic and contact cases up to June 6, 2021. Results: Of 2569 staff evaluated, only 4 were nonresponders (0.16%; 95% CI, 0.04% to 0.41%). All 4 nonresponders were severely immunosuppressed and receiving treatment with mycophenolate mofetil or mycophenolic acid. At 14 days after the second dose, 67.5% (1733) of staff had anti-S IgG titers of 2000 BAU/mL or higher; 19.2% (494), between 1500 and 2000 BAU/mL; 9.8% (251), between 1000 and 1500 BAU/mL; and 3.4% (87), 1000 BAU/mL or lower. Women had a higher probability of having higher titers than men (64.5% [1044/1618] vs 58.3% [410/703]; P=.005). This was confirmed after adjustment for age group (odds ratio, 1.275; 95% CI, 1.062 to 1.531; P=.009). Four months after the end of the vaccination program, only 13 participants (0.26%) had experienced a breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection, including 1 nonresponder. This was the only participant requiring hospitalization for severe COVID-19. Conclusion: The vaccination campaign among health care workers at the ASST GOM Niguarda has resulted in a marked serologic response and reduction of incident COVID-19 cases. Yet, the lack of protection should not be overlooked in immunocompromised individuals.

None.

SARS‐CoV2 infection is a systemic disease that may involve multiple organs, including the central nervous system (CNS). Aims of our study are to describe prevalence and clinical features of neurological manifestations, mortality and hospital discharge in subjects hospitalized with COVID‐19. All individuals admitted for to our hospital COVID‐19 were retrospectively included. Patients were classified according to the symptoms at hospital entry in (1) isolated respiratory, (2) combined respiratory and neurologic, (3) isolated neurologic and (4) stroke manifestations. Descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests to compare the groups were calculated. Kaplan Meier probability curves and multivariable Cox regression models for survival and hospital discharge were applied. The analysis included 901 patients: 42.6% showed a severe or critical disease with an overall mortality of 21.2%. At least one neurological symptom or disease was observed in 30.2% of subjects ranging from dysgeusia/anosmia (9.1%) to postinfective diseases (0.8%). Patients with respiratory symptoms experienced a more severe disease and a higher in‐hospital mortality compared to those who showed only neurologic symptoms. Kaplan Meier estimates displayed a statistically significant different survival among groups (p = 0.003): subjects with stroke had the worst. After adjusting for risk factors such as age, sex and comorbidity, individuals with isolated neurologic manifestations exhibited a better survival (aHR 0.398, 95% CI [0.206, 0.769], p = 0.006). Neurologic manifestations in COVID‐19 are common but heterogeneous and mortality in subjects with isolated neurologic manifestations seems lower than in those with respiratory symptoms., At least one neurologic symptom was observed in 30.2% of subjects. Neurologic manifestations in COVID‐19 are common but heterogeneous. Patients with neurologic symptoms exhibited a less severe pulmonary disease and a lower in‐hospital mortality (aHR 0.398, 95% CI 0.206‐0.769, p = 0.006) compared to those showing respiratory symptoms.

Pyrosilviculture and understory fuel management to reduce forest stand and landscape flammability represent loss-making interventions from an economic point of view. Consequently, prevention is carried out above all on public property and with public funds (e.g. Rural Development Programs), while the interest of the private individual for prevention interventions on aggregated areas is limited. These shortcomings do not allow to reach the distribution and the quantity of treated surface necessary to modify the fire regime and its impacts. To solve this problem, we need initiatives that catalyse the interests of multiple stakeholders (economic actors, bodies responsible for territorial management and research, fire-fighter agencies) towards common goals. Moreover, we need to improve the cost-efficiency ratio of prevention through value-chains of products and services generated by preventive measures (e.g. payments for positive externalities and ecosystem services). Within the European project PREVAIL (PREVention Action Increases Large fire response preparedness) we analysed collaborative processes in the Mediterranean Basin between private and public actors that developed 'smart solutions'. Different sources of funding, including non-specific funds for prevention, offer additional economic resources to support preventive value-chains (e.g. RDP funds for agro-pastoral and forestry development, LIFE funds for habitat conservation, private investments, PES mechanisms). This paper analyses the key elements that characterise smart solutions for wildfire risk prevention in Southern EU: sustainability, cost-benefit ratio, synergies between sources of financing, inter-sectoral cooperation and integration between strategic prevention planning and multiple land governance objectives, innovation and knowledge transfer, and adaptive approach. A selection of solutions documented by the PREVAIL project and replicable in other contests will be presented and discussed.

Aim: Fungal ‘fairy rings’ (FRs) are regular bands of vegetation caused by a centrifugal expansion of fungal mycelia. It is well established that FR fungi affect both soil chemistry and microbiome, but nothing is known about the distribution of these patterns at the regional scale. Here, we assess the abundance and occurrences of different FR shapes i.e. rings, arcs and rotors, and explore their association with geomorphology and climate. Location: The Apennine Mountains, 300-km latitudinal gradient along the Italian Peninsula. Taxon: Basidiomycetous fungi. Methods: High-resolution freely available images were gathered to study FR shapes and distribution in the Apennine region of Italy. First, 12 mountains with different elevations and geomorphology were studied to assess the colonial density and relative distribution of FR type. FR distribution and shape and size of additional 616 FRs were studied in 61 study sites and relationship with selected climatic and topographic variables were assessed using different modelling approaches. Results: Overall, 1163 FR structures were found across the study area. Arcs were the most common shape followed by rings. Rotors were rare, accounting for less than 2% of all observations. Fungal colony density varied largely both among and within sites, averaging 6.7 arcs, 2.2 rings and only 0.1 rotors per ha. On average, arcs (18.8 m) were similar in size compared to rotors (18.4 m) whilst rings were smaller (11.7 m). Arcs presented a higher frequency of occurrence on steeper slopes whilst rings were mostly found on flat and moderate slopes. FRs occurred within the altitudinal range between 546 m and 2148 m a.s.l., corresponding to temperatures between 3.4 and 12.7°C and rainfall between 1100 and 1300 mm per year. Main Conclusions: FRs are common elements of the Apennine grassland landscape where they may contribute to the maintenance of plant and microbial diversity. Better systematic identification of the fungal species involved in the formation of FRs is required. Further research that combines long-term field manipulative experiments and modelling work would help to explain the formation of rings, arcs and rotors during the ontogenetic development of fungal fronts.

Orientador: Saul Barisnik Suslick Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociencias Resumo: As rochas ornamentais são utilizadas principalmente como material de revestimento na construção civil. Mundialmente a indústria é dominada pela Itália, que se utiliza de modernas e eficientes técnicas de beneficiamento destas rochas, e se caracteriza como um grande importador de blocos de rocha em estado bruto e exportador de produtos acabados. No Brasil, que entre as décadas de 70 e 80 se firmou como um grande exportador de blocos brutos, principalmente de granitos, entra na década de 90 com tendência à modernização do parque industrial para ocupar destaque dentre os exportadores de produtos manufaturados. Os principais produtores estão localizados nos Estados de Minas Gerais e Espírito Santo, com destaque também para a Bahia, Ceará, São Paulo e Rio de Janeiro. A produção de blocos atualmente esta ao redor de 580.000 m3. O consumo destas rochas no Brasil, atualmente em torno de 12 milhões de m2, ainda é pequeno quando comparado ao de outros países. A região de Bragança Paulista (SP) é reconhecida de longa data pela produção de rochas ornamentais, particularmente os granitos Vermelho Bragança e Preto Bragança. A extração destas rochas trouxe para a região a indústria de beneficiamento, que transformam o bloco bruto em chapas, sendo comercializadas no estado bruto ou polidas. Estão instaladas na área de estudo 06 empresas, cuja capacidade de beneficiamento chega a 420.000 m2 por ano com um faturamento estimado de US$ 9,44 milhões, gerando 267 empregos diretos. Em conjunto, estas empresas operam 24 áreas de lavra de granitos, espalhadas pelos Estados de Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro e São Paulo. Além da extração própria, estas empresas compram blocos de terceiros, beneficiando-os em sua unidade industrial Abstract: Dimension stone are mainly used as cover material for construction industry. Italy is the leading producer of dimension stone, that use modero and efficient techniques to process these rocks. This country is also the biggest rough blocks importer and also a great exporter of manufactured products, like tiles and polished slabs. During the 70's and 80's Brazil became a big rough block exporter, mainly granites. In the 90's showed a trend for modemization of its industrial park which reflects in the increase of exports of manufactured products. The mainly producers are at Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo States, including Bahia, Ceará, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro States. Presently the rough blocks production is approximately 580.000 m3. Consumption of this rocks at Brazil is approximately 12 million of square meters, which is small when compared with others industrial econormes. Bragança Paulista (SP) has been recognizing for long time for dimension stone sector, especially Vermelho Bragança and Preto Bragança Granites. The rock extraction brought to Bragança Paulista modemization of the quarrying and processing stone industries, that transform the rough block at slabs, which are sale polished or unpolished products. In the study area there is 6 companies, with processing capacity at 420.000 m2 per year and revenues of US$ 9,44 millions, generating directly 267 jobs. The firms operated 24 granites quarries, throughout Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo States. Besides their own extraction sites, the companies buy rough blocks for others sources and processing them at the industrial unit at Bragança Paulista Mestrado Administração e Politica de Recursos Minerais Mestre em Geociências

Metschnikowia pulcherrima is a non-conventional yeast with the potential to be used in biotechnological processes, especially involving low-cost feedstock exploitation. However, there are a lack of tools for researching it at a molecular level and for producing genetically modified strains. We tested the amenability to genetic modification of ten different strains, establishing a transformation protocol based on LiAc/PEG that allows us to introduce heterologous DNA. Non-homologous integration was broadly successful and homologous recombination was successful in two strains. Chemical inhibition of non-homologous end joining recombination had a modest effect on the improvement of homologous recombination rates. Removal of selective markers via flippase recombinase was successful across integrated loci except for those targeted to the native URA3 locus, suggesting that the genome sequence or structure alters the efficacy of this system.

Background: Since SARS-CoV-2 spread, evidence regarding sex differences in progression and prognosis of COVID-19 have emerged. Besides this, studies on patients' clinical characteristics have described electrolyte imbalances as one of the recurrent features of COVID-19. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study on all patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) from 1 March to 31 May 2020 who had undergone a blood gas analysis and a nasopharyngeal swab test for SARS-CoV-2 by rtPCR. We defined positive patients as cases (n=710) and negatives as controls (n=619), for a total number of patients of 1.329. The study was approved by the local ethics committee Area 3 Milan. Data were automatically extracted from the hospital laboratory SQL-based repository in anonymised form. We considered as outcomes potassium (K+), sodium (Na+), chlorine (Cl−) and calcium (Ca++) as continuous and as categorical variables, in their relation with age, sex and SARS-CoV-2 infection status. Results: We observed a higher prevalence of hypokalaemia among patients positive for SARS-CoV-2 (13.7% vs 6% of negative subjects). Positive patients had a higher probability to be admitted to the ED with hypokalaemia (OR 2.75, 95% CI 1.8-4.1, P&nbsp

Objective: Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) diagnosis currently requires quite a long time span. A quicker and more efficient diagnostic tool in emergency departments could improve management during this global crisis. Our maingoal was assessing the accuracy of artificial intelligence in forecasting the resultsof RT-PCR for SARS-COV-2, using basic information at hand in all emergencydepartments.Methods: This is a retrospective study carried out between February 22 and March 16 2020 in one of the main hospitals in Milan, Italy. We screened for eligibility all patients admitted with influenza-like symptoms tested for SARS-COV-2.Patients under 12 years old, with no leukocyte formula performed in the ED,were excluded. Input data through artificial intelligence were made up of a combination of clinical, radiological and routine laboratory data upon hospital admission.Results: Among 199 patients subject to study (median [interquartile range] age 65 [46-78] years; 127 [63.8%] men), 124 [62.3%] resulted positive to SARS-COV-2. The best Machine Learning System reached an accuracy of 91.4% with 94.1% sensitivity and 88.7% specificity.Conclusion: Our study suggests that properly trained artificial intelligence algorithms may be able to predict correct results in RT-PCR for SARS-COV-2, using basic clinical data. If confirmed,on a larger-scale study, this approach could have important clinical and organizational implications.

Background: SARS-CoV2 infection is a systemic disease that may involve multiple organs, including the nervous system. Aims of our study are to describe prevalence and clinical features of neurological manifestations, mortality and hospital discharge in subjects hospitalized with COVID-19. Methods: All individuals admitted for COVID-19 were retrospectively included. Patients were classified according to the symptoms at hospital entry in 1) isolated respiratory, 2) combined respiratory and neurologic, 3) isolated neurologic and 4) stroke manifestations. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests to compare the groups were applied. Kaplan Meier probability curves and multivariable Cox regression models for survival and hospital discharge were applied. Results: The analysis included 901 patients, 42.6% showed a severe or critical disease with an overall mortality of 21.2%. At least one neurological symptom or disease was observed in 30.2% of subjects ranging from dysgeusia/anosmia (9.1%) to post-infective diseases (0.8%). Patients with respiratory symptoms experienced a more severe disease and a higher in-hospital mortality compared to those who showed only neurologic symptoms. Kaplan Meier estimates displayed a statistically significant different survival among groups (p=0.003): subjects with stroke had the worst. After adjusting for risk factors such as age, sex and comorbidity, individuals with isolated neurologic manifestations exhibited a better survival (aHR 0.398, 95% CI 0.206-0.769, p=0.006). Discussion: Neurologic manifestations in COVID-19 are common but heterogeneous. Subjects with isolated neurologic manifestations, experienced a lower mortality than those with respiratory symptoms, suggesting that neurologic disease may have a different course than when the virus involves respiratory system. Funding Statement: None. Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest for this work. Ethics Approval Statement: The local Ethics Committee approved the protocol under the special conditions indicated by the Italian 648/96 law. All subjects provided written informed consent.

Summary Metschnikowia pulcherrima synthesises the pigment pulcherrimin, from cyclodileucine (cyclo(Leu‐Leu)) as a precursor, and exhibits strong antifungal activity against notorious plant pathogenic fungi. This yeast therefore has great potential for biocontrol applications against fungal diseases; particularly in the phyllosphere where this species is frequently found. To elucidate the molecular basis of the antifungal activity of M. pulcherrima, we compared a wild‐type strain with a spontaneously occurring, pigmentless, weakly antagonistic mutant derivative. Whole genome sequencing of the wild‐type and mutant strains identified a point mutation that creates a premature stop codon in the transcriptional regulator gene SNF2 in the mutant. Complementation of the mutant strain with the wild‐type SNF2 gene restored pigmentation and recovered the strong antifungal activity. Mass spectrometry (UPLC HR HESI‐MS) proved the presence of the pulcherrimin precursors cyclo(Leu‐Leu) and pulcherriminic acid and identified new precursor and degradation products of pulcherriminic acid and/or pulcherrimin. All of these compounds were identified in the wild‐type and complemented strain, but were undetectable in the pigmentless snf2 mutant strain. These results thus identify Snf2 as a regulator of antifungal activity and pulcherriminic acid biosynthesis in M. pulcherrima and provide a starting point for deciphering the molecular functions underlying the antagonistic activity of this yeast., Metschnikowia pulcherrima is a strong antifungal yeast and a promising species for biocontrol applications. This multidisciplinary study on the M. pulcherrima mode of action compared a wild‐type isolate with a pigmentless mutant exhibiting reduced antifungal activity. The transcriptional regulator Snf2 was identified as an important regulator of antifungal activity of M. pulcherrima via PUL gene transcription, cyclodipeptide synthesis and additional, yet uncharacterised mechanisms.

In this work is described the approach used, in the frame of a Rural Development Programme project named TecnoAgrico, to develop the modelling core of a crop-scale multi purposes and multi species agricultural DSS. An innovative mixed System Dynamics/data science methodology and a modular architecture are proposed.

Metschnikowia pulcherrimasynthesizes the red pigment pulcherrimin, from cyclodileucine (cyclo(Leu-Leu)) as a precursor, and exhibits strong antifungal activity against notorious plant pathogenic fungi such asBotrytisandGibberella(i.e.,Fusarium). This yeast therefore has great potential for biocontrol applications against fungal diseases; particularly in the phyllosphere where this species is frequently found. To elucidate the molecular basis of the antifungal activity ofM. pulcherrima, we compared a wildtype strain with a spontaneously occurring, pigmentless, weakly antagonistic mutant derivative. Whole genome sequencing of the wildtype and mutant strains identified a point mutation that creates a premature stop codon in the transcriptional regulatorSNF2in the mutant strain. Complementation of thesnf2mutant strain with the wildtypeSNF2gene restored pigmentation and recovered the strong antifungal activity ofM. pulcherrimaagainst plant pathogensin vitroand on cherries. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-high resolution heated electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (UPLC HR HESI-MS) proved the presence and structure of the pulcherrimin precursors cyclo(Leu-Leu) and pulcherriminic acid and also identified new compounds that likely represented an additional precursor and degradation products of pulcherriminic acid and/or pulcherrimin. All of these compounds were identified in the wildtype and complemented strain, but were undetectable in the pigmentlesssnf2mutant strain. These results thus identifySNF2as a regulator of antifungal activity and pulcherriminic acid biosynthesis inM. pulcherrimaand provide a starting point for deciphering the molecular functions underlying the antagonistic activity of this yeast.Significance statementMetschnikowia pulcherrimais a strongly antifungal yeast and a most promising species for the control of notorious plant diseases. This multidisciplinary study on theM. pulcherrimamode of action compared a wildtype isolate with a pigmentless mutant exhibiting reduced antifungal activity. The transcriptional regulator Snf2 was identified as a “biocontrol regulator” controlling antifungal activity ofM. pulcherrimaviaPULgene transcription, cyclodipeptide synthesis and additional, yet uncharacterized mechanisms. The identification of cyclo(Leu-Leu), pulcherriminic acid, as well as novel precursor and degradation products of pulcherrimin, opens up new avenues for research on the metabolism and functions of pulcherrimin. Overall, this works establishesM. pulcherrimaas a genetically tractable model and will benefit the development of biocontrol solutions for important plant diseases.