Comparison between the allergenic airborne pollen in Trieste and at Lozzo di Cadore (Italy) in 1989

Summary A comparative study was carried out between aeroallergenic pollen spectra in Trieste and at Lozzo di Cadore. The two localities were found to be different on a five-day running mean basis as to the 8 pollen taxa monitored by the National Aerobiological Monitoring Network managed by the Italian Association of Aerobiology (AIA). In the zone of Lozzo the pollination curve of the spring flowering taxa showed a lag of about one month due to the colder climate. Lozzo di Cadore showed a poor airborne pollen content,Corylus and Graminaceae being prevailing. Trieste has a higher airborne pollen diversity and longer pollination times because of its higher floristic and vegetational complexity. In Trieste the allergenic pollen spectrum showed great quantities ofOstrya, Quercus, Oleaceae, Graminaceae and of ruderal taxa, widespread over the area, due to man's influence.     

Allele intersection analysis: a novel tool for multi locus sequence assignment in multiply infected hosts

Wolbachia are wide-spread, endogenous α-Proteobacteria of arthropods and filarial nematodes. 15-75% of all insect species are infected with these endosymbionts that alter their host's reproduction to facilitate their spread. In recent years, many insect species infected with multiple Wolbachia strains have been identified. As the endosymbionts are not cultivable outside living cells, strain typing relies on molecular methods. A Multi Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) system was established for standardizing Wolbachia strain identification. However, MLST requires hosts to harbour individual and not multiple strains of supergroups without recombination. This study revisits the applicability of the current MLST protocols and introduces Allele Intersection Analysis (AIA) as a novel approach. AIA utilizes natural variations in infection patterns and allows correct strain assignment of MLST alleles in multiply infected host species without the need of artificial strain segregation. AIA identifies pairs of multiply infected individuals that share Wolbachia and differ in only one strain. In such pairs, the shared MLST sequences can be used to assign alleles to distinct strains. Furthermore, AIA is a powerful tool to detect recombination events. The underlying principle of AIA may easily be adopted for MLST approaches in other uncultivable bacterial genera that occur as multiple strain infections and the concept may find application in metagenomic high-throughput parallel sequencing projects.     

An information system on Italian liverworts,hornworts and mosses

The checklist of hornworts, liverworts and mosses of Italy is available online as a federated database, which can be queried by combining taxonomic and distributional information. Several digital identification keys have been included in the system, which will be part of the forthcoming Italian Biodiversity Network.     

Preliminary inventory of aerobiological monitoring stations in europe

Summary The IAA Working Group of the European Aeroallergen Network has been gradually set up as result of the great interest shown on the occasion of the 3rd International Conference on Aerobiology (Basel 1986). Presently 21 countries join the EAN. The IAA Working Group, with the aim of stimulating the exchange of aeroallergen information between the various countries in Europe has planned the issue of a booklet containing information on distribution of sampling sites in Europe, collecting and analysing methods, type and availability of allergy service. The sphere of activitie carried out by the IAA Working Group may serve as a model for other parts of the world whenever a network of monitoring stations is being organized and coordinated.     

The glutathione-linked metabolism of 2-allyl-2-isopropy-lacetamide in rats. Further evidence for the formation of a reactive metabolite

2-Allyl-2-isopropylacetamide (AIA) causes a depletion of liver glutathione in rats only if the animals have been pretreated with phenobarbitone. Phenobarbitone stimulates the excretion in bile of a component derived from AIA and glutathione which is apparently not the same as the conjugate formed by reaction of the two components in simple solutions. The significance of these findings are considered in relation to the suggestion that AIA is metabolised to an epoxide by the microsomal enzyme system; in addition several differences between AIA and the non-porphyrogenic compound, acrylamide, are discussed.     

Selective inactivation of cytochrome P-450 isozymes by suicide substrates

The autocatalytic destruction of cytochrome P-450 by the following six substrates has been investigated in vivo and in vitro with microsomal and purified, reconstituted rat liver enzymes: 2-isopropyl-4-pentenamide (AIA), 1-ethinylcyclopentanol, 17α-propadienyl-19-nortestosterone, fluroxene, 5,6-dichloro-1,2,3-benzothiadiazole (DCBT), and 1-aminobenzotriazole (ABT). Administration of the first three substrates to rats pretreated with either phenobarbital (Pb) or 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC), or their incubation with hepatic microsomes from such rats, produced a larger decrease in cytochrome P-450 levels in the membranes from Pb- than 3-MC-treated rats. Comparable losses, however, were observed in microsomes from rats pretreated with both Pb and 3-MC when the last three agents were used. Similar experiments were carried out using the major cytochrome P-450 isozymes purified from liver microsomes of Pb- or 3-MC-treated rats. The Pb isozyme was inactivated during catalytic turnover of all six substrates while only three substrates (DCBT, ABT, and fluroxene) were found to inactivate the 3-MC isozyme. Oxygen consumption studies with purified enzymes have shown that AIA is not a measurable substrate for the 3-MC isozyme, a fact which explains its failure to inactivate this isozyme. Similar studies with the Pb isozyme establish that one enzyme molecule is inactivated for approximately every 230–320 AIA molecules processed by the enzyme.     

Goals and objectives of the Italian Network for Tumor Biotherapy (NIBIT)

The explosion in the immuno-oncology field, exemplified by the clinical implementation of immune checkpoint inhibitor blockade and other immunotherapeutic strategies was quickly recognized by the Italian biomedical community, thanks to the networking activities of the Italian Network for Tumor Biotherapy (NIBIT), which has been active since 2004 in the diffusion of new scientific and clinical findings in the fields of tumor immunology and immunotherapy. Numerous activities of NIBIT have also helped to overcome the hurdles associated with the clinical implementation of cancer immune-biotherapeutic strategies at the national and international levels. Looking forward, a concerted interaction of NIBIT with existing European networks focused on cancer bio-immunotherapy will further contribute to the development of improved therapies in the immuno-oncology field. This Introduction briefly summarizes the history and objectives of NIBIT, as well as the current activities of the Network.     

TRAIN: Training through Research Application Italian iNitiative

Training through Research Application Italian iNitiative (TRAIN) is a mobility program financed under the EU action called "Cofinancing of regional, national and international programs" (COFUND) of the European Commission Seventh Framework Program (FP7) - People, and has been designed to encourage the promotion and development of international programs of research through mobility at various stages of research careers. The aim of TRAIN is to improve translational skills in the field of cancer by promoting a three-year international mobility program assigning a total of 51 fellowships subdivided into incoming, outgoing and reintegration fellowships.?The TRAIN proposal has been submitted in February 2009 to the European Commission in reply to the 2008 FP7-PEOPLE-COFUND call and has been successfully evaluated. TRAIN is addressed to postdoctoral scientists or scientists who have at least four years' full-time equivalent research experience and who wish to improve their careers spending one year abroad. The mobility program is open also to non-Italian experienced scientists wishing to spend one year in an Italian research center or private company. Part of the scheme is targeted to experienced Italian scientists who have completed at least three years of research in a foreign country and are interested in returning to Italy.?TRAIN is part of an overall Italian strategy outlined by the International Program of the Italian Cancer Network "Alleanza Contro il Cancro" to promote Italian participation in the building of the European Area for translational cancer research and to enhance the interaction between academy and industry.     

Folic acid and primary prevention of birth defects

Birth defects (BDs) are an important public health problem, due to their overall incidence, occurring in 2-3% of live births in European Union. Neural tube defects (NTDs) are among major NTDs, due to their severity and relatively high incidence; in the meanwhile NTDs are also the most effectively preventable BDs to date. In particular, an adequate folic acid (FA) intake reduces both the occurrence and the recurrence of NTDs; FA is the synthetic form of folates, naturally occurring vitamins in a number of foods, especially vegetables. The daily intake of 0.4 mg of FA should be recommended to all women of childbearing age who plan to become pregnant. The Italian Network for Primary Prevention of BDs through FA Promotion has achieved a significant improvement in FA awareness and use in the periconceptional period. Nevertheless, primary prevention of BDs needs to make further progress; the Italian National Centre for Rare Diseases participates in european sureveillance of congenital anomalies (EUROCAT) Joint Action as coordinator of activities on the effectiveness of BDs prevention. Mandatory food fortification with FA has not been introduced in any European country. The health benefits of FA in reducing the risk of NTDs are undisputed; however mechanistic and animal studies suggest a relationship between high FA intakes and increased cancer promotion, while human studies are still inconsistent and inconclusive. A Working Group organized by the European Food Safety Authority pointed out significant uncertainties about fortification safety and the need for more studies; currently, FA intake from fortified foods and supplements should not exceed 1 mg/day in adults. In conclusion, based on up-to-date scientific evidence, the Italian Network strategy pivots on periconceptional supplementation integrated with promotion of healthy eating habits, support to health education, enhancing the role of women in managing life choices about their health and pregnancy and increasing the scientific knowledge about BDs primary prevention.     

Sharing Italian Botanic Gardens’ living collections: The role of the National Biodiversity Network

This paper presents the role of the Italian National Biodiversity Network in making available biodiversity data from Italian Botanic Gardens at a national and international level. The case study of the Botanic Garden of Rome is presented explaining procedures and methods for collecting georeferenced data on living plant species and making them available through web-based applications.     

Estimating the subjective value of future rewards: comparison of adjusting-amount and adjusting-delay procedures

The present study examined whether equivalent discounting of delayed rewards is observed with different experimental procedures. If the underlying decision-making process is the same, then similar patterns of results should be observed regardless of procedure, and similar estimates of the subjective value of future rewards (i.e., indifference points) should be obtained. Two experiments compared discounting on three types of procedure: adjusting-delay (AD), adjusting-immediate-amount (AIA), and adjusting-delayed-amount (ADA). For the two procedures for which discounting functions can be established (i.e., AD and AIA), a hyperboloid provided good fits to the data at both the group and individual levels, and individuals' discounting on one procedure tended to be correlated with their discounting on the other. Notably, the AIA procedure produced the more consistent estimates of the degree of discounting, and in particular, discounting on the AIA procedure was unaffected by the order in which choices were presented. Regardless of which of the three procedures was used, however, similar patterns of results were obtained: Participants systematically discounted the value of delayed rewards, and robust magnitude effects were observed. Although each procedure may have its own advantages and disadvantages, use of all three types of procedure in the present study provided converging evidence for common decision-making processes underlying the discounting of delayed rewards.     

Voting Behavior,Coalitions and Government Strength through a Complex Network Analysis

We analyze the network of relations between parliament members according to their voting behavior. In particular, we examine the emergent community structure with respect to political coalitions and government alliances. We rely on tools developed in the Complex Network literature to explore the core of these communities and use their topological features to develop new metrics for party polarization, internal coalition cohesiveness and government strength. As a case study, we focus on the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament, for which we are able to characterize the heterogeneity of the ruling coalition as well as parties specific contributions to the stability of the government over time. We find sharp contrast in the political debate which surprisingly does not imply a relevant structure based on established parties. We take a closer look to changes in the community structure after parties split up and their effect on the position of single deputies within communities. Finally, we introduce a way to track the stability of the government coalition over time that is able to discern the contribution of each member along with the impact of its possible defection. While our case study relies on the Italian parliament, whose relevance has come into the international spotlight in the present economic downturn, the methods developed here are entirely general and can therefore be applied to a multitude of other scenarios.     

The influence of climate changes in Platanus spp. pollination in Spain and Italy

There is evidence of a significant increase in air temperature in the northern hemisphere over recent decades, with consequent changes for anemophilous pollen. In this work we present the effects of climatic change on Platanus spp. pollination in different areas of Italy and Spain, characterized by different climates. In particular, the historical series of pollen monitoring and meteorological data of two Italian stations, Perugia (1982 – 2003) and Torino (1985 – 2003), and two Spanish stations, Santiago de Compostela (1992 – 2003) and Vigo (1994 – 2003), were analysed. The changes recorded in all stations included the timing and behaviour of pollen release. However, no or minimal influence on the total pollen emission was found. Research has linked the changes in phenological events to an increase in temperature, moreover in this study temperature changes are believed to be mainly responsible for the variations recorded in the pollen season of Platanus. A previous start of pollination (?0.66; ?1.21; days/year) is reported in both Italian stations where the temperatures have significantly increased and a delay of 0.2 – 0.8 days/year in Spanish stations where a different trend of temperature is recorded. Other important data is given regarding the type of discharge of pollen grains during the pollen season. Pollination curves are examined by two statistical shape parameters (kurtosis and skewness) which show that pollen release is more gradual with higher temperatures or faster under colder conditions. A regression analysis links the atmospheric pollen presence to mean air temperature.     

Are diatom diversity indices reliable monitoring metrics?

A biological survey was carried out in 640 stations spread over the Loire-Bretagne National Network (France) between 1996 and 2000. Epilithic diatom inventories were obtained following standard methods. A total of 934 diatom taxa were identified. Common diversity indices (species richness, Shannon’s diversity, equitability, dominance, etc.) were calculated and compared against abiotic factors verify their reliability as biomonitoring metrics. Sampling stations were classified according to their trophic status (TP concentration). Several theoretical predictions about the relationship between community structural parameters and limnological variables were tested. In general, diversity indices exhibited poor linear correlations with environmental factors indicating ecological status. No clear patterns were found concerning species accumulation curves, occurrence-abundance, frequency-abundance and frequency distribution of diatom taxa between different trophic levels, although assemblages from stations with lower TP levels were characterized by relatively high dominances of certain taxa, mainly Achnanthidium minutissimum. In the light of these findings, the use of diatom diversity indices in biological quality surveillance protocols in continental waters is discouraged. Results are compared and discussed with similar studies.     

Pollen counts statistics and its relevance to precision

In the day to day management of pollen counts from aerobiological samples of national networks, only a small proportion (usually from 12 to 15%) of the daily microscope slide is read. It is generally believed that, otherwise, too much time will be spent reading slides for a minimal increase in precision. Different networks use different slide sampling methods (longitudinal, transverse or at random) and a different number of lines are routinely read. However, the topic of the precision of the different pollen count strategies has seldom been the object of serious investigation. In this study, the precision of different sampling methods of 12 pollen types was investigated by: a) counting pollen grains over the whole slide (3 slides per taxa), b) spatially (i.e. microscope field per microscope field) recording over the 3120 fields found at 400× the location of each pollen grain, c) sub-sampling, by macro procedures, this population by selecting a number of transverse (1 to 48) or longitudinal (1 to 20) lines, or a number of random fields (90 to 2340), so that between 0.96 to 46.15% (transverse), 3 to 66.6% (longitudinal) or 3 to 75% (random) of the whole slide was artificially counted. Between nine and twelve procedures were built per reading strategy. The error found is much higher than what is normally believed, and it was significantly correlated with the abundance of a pollen taxa on the sampled slide. It is only with a total count over 1000 (corresponding to a concentration of above 500 m–3) that the mean error of 4 longitudinal lines (or 13.3% of the slide), the standard protocol of both the Italian Association of Aerobiology (AIA) and the Spanish Aerobiology Network (REA), was always below 30%.     

Effects of polyurethane foams on microbial growth in fuel-water systems

Four, open-cell, ester-base polyurethane foams were examined for their effect on growth of fuel-utilizing organisms in jet fuel-water systems. Three foams contained a potential biocide, tetraethylthiuram E (0.66%), sodium omadine (0.07%), or zinc omadine (0.07%), all w/v. These were compared with a control foam which did not contain an additive. Each foam was examined in fuel-water systems containing JP-4 fuel, JP-4 fuel plus 0.1% anti-icing additive (AIA), or JP-5 fuel. Pure cultures of a fuel-grown bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and of a fuel-grown fungus, Hormodendrum (Cladosporium) sp., served as test organisms. In control cultures without foam and in cultures containing control foam, P. aeruginosa achieved maximum stationary-phase populations of approximately 10⁸ viable cells per ml, and Hormodendrum sp. produced an extensive mycelial mat. In the three fuel systems examined, tetraethylthiuram E- and sodium omadine-containing foams had little effect on growth of the bacterium; foam with zinc omadine decreased the rate of bacterial growth but had little effect on total populations. Tetraethylthiuram E decreased the rate of fungal growth and showed its greatest effect in JP-4 plus AIA. Foam with sodium omadine or zinc omadine markedly decreased fungal growth in all three fuel systems. The data suggest that either sodium omadine or zinc omadine in polyurethane foam may be a useful antifungal agent; and that tetraethylthiuram E and AIA could exert a synergistic effect, particularly at AIA concentrations which have been reported to occur in some field situations.     

SANI-Severe Asthma Network in Italy: a way forward to monitor severe asthma

Even if severe asthma (SA) accounts for 5–10% of all cases of the disease, it is currently a crucial unmet need, owing its difficult clinical management and its high social costs. For this reason several networks, focused on SA have been organized in some countries, in order to select these patients, to recognize their clinical features, to evaluate their adherence, to classify their biological/clinical phenotypes, to identify their eligibility to the new biologic therapies and to quantify the costs of the disease. Aim of the present paper is to describe the ongoing Italian Severe Asthma Network (SANI). Up today 49 centres have been selected, widespread on the national territory. Sharing the same diagnostic protocol, data regarding patients with SA will be collected and processed in a web platform. After their recruitment, SA patients will be followed in the long term in order to investigate the natural history of the disease. Besides clinical data, the cost/benefit evaluation of the new biologics will be verified as well as the search of peculiar biomarker(s) of the disease.     

Quantitative analysis of the ultrasonic vocalization responses elicited in adjuvant-induced arthritic rats for screening analgesic drugs

Adjuvant-induced arthritic (AIA) rats have been developed as a chronic pain model to evaluate the effects of analgesic drugs. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether there is dose-dependent inhibition of the emission of ultrasonic vocalization (USV) responses by analgesic drugs in AIA rats. It was demonstrated that morphine (1.25-5.0 mg/kg, s.c.) and ketoprofen (2.5-10.0 mg/kg, s.c.) dose-dependently inhibit USV responses. These results suggest that the USV responses elicited in AIA rats are useful for the quantitative evaluation of analgesic drugs.     

Taking up the legacy of Waterhouse Hawkins and Owen: art and science for a new Italian project to bring back dinosaurs to life

Since their initial formal recognition by Richard Owen in 1842, dinosaurs have always stood out in the collective imagination for their size and unusual appearance. Therefore, these marvellous animals are a source of curiosity and wonder for people of all ages, social and cultural backgrounds. Thanks to improved research techniques, palaeontologists have been able to work reconstructing the most plausible appearance of dinosaurs. Starting with petrified bones, they tried to make a dream come true – to bring the planet’s ancient inhabitants back to life. The new Italian exhibition Dinosaurs in the Flesh: Science and Art bring the Rulers of a Lost World Back to Life reveals the marriage of science and art that brings back to life animals that lived tens or hundreds of millions of years ago. Palaeontologists and artists collaborate on reconstructing the appearance of organisms from the distant past through study of the fossils, often with the aid of new technologies. The new project, which takes up the idea of Waterhouse Hawkins and Owen and their legacy to restore these ancient vertebrates based on solid scientific foundations, represents to date the only way to reanimate these fascinating lost animals.     

A federated database of taxon pages in the Italian Biodiversity Network

Primary biodiversity data are often organised in federated databases in the framework of big international projects and initiatives. Other data are normally organised into isolated resources: ecological, morphological and morpho-anatomic databases, checklists, archives of digital identification tools, etc. These data, which do not refer specifically to one specimen or observation, but to a taxon, can be addressed to as “taxon-related data”. In the framework of the Italian Biodiversity Network, taxon-related data have been aggregated by using a federated approach, with the creation of a network of data providers, which required the development of a communication protocol, the species-related data (SRD) protocol and of a simple data format (the SRD format). The SRD federated database aggregates currently ca. 70,000 taxon pages for several groups of organisms: vascular plants, lichens, mosses, algae, freshwater fishes and butterflies. All these resources can be queried by using one simple interface in the web portal of the Italian Biodiversity Network (http://www.naturaitalia.it/nnb/).