54 research outputs found
Erratum: Lack of immunity against rubella among Italian young adults. [BMC Infect Dis., 17, (2017) (199)] Doi: 10.1186/s12879-017-2295-y
No full textAfter publication of this article [1], the authors noted that the given names and family names of all authors had been inverted, and are therefore incorrect in the original article. In the original article, the author names appear as the following: Gallone Maria Serena, Gallone Maria Filomena, Larocca Angela Maria Vittoria, Germinario Cinzia and Tafuri Silvio. However, this is incorrect, and the author names should appear as per the below: Maria Serena Gallone, Maria Filomena Gallone, Angela Maria Vittoria Larocca, Cinzia Germinario, Silvio Tafuri. The author names have been corrected in the author list and the citation for this Erratum
Handheld-Impedance-Measurement System with seven-decade capability and potentiostatic function
No full textThis paper describes design and test of a new impedance-measurement system for nonlinear devices that exhibits a seven-decade range and works down to a frequency of 0.01 Hz. The system is specifically designed for electrochemical measurements, but the proposed architecture can be employed in many other fields where flexible signal generation and analysis are required. The system employs an unconventional signal generator based on two pulsewidth modulation (PWM) oscillators and an autocalibration system that allows uncertainties of less than 3% to be obtained over a range of 1 kΩ to 100 GΩ. A synchronous demodulation processing allows the noise superimposed to the low-amplitude input signals to be made negligibl
Interspecific hybridization as a driver of fungal evolution and adaptation
No full textCross-species gene transfer is often associated with bacteria, which have evolved several mechanisms that facilitate horizontal DNA exchange. However, the increased availability of whole-genome sequences has revealed that fungal species also exchange DNA, leading to intertwined lineages, blurred species boundaries or even novel species. In contrast to prokaryotes, fungal DNA exchange originates from interspecific hybridization, where two genomes are merged into a single, often highly unstable, polyploid genome that evolves rapidly into stabler derivatives. The resulting hybrids can display novel combinations of genetic and phenotypic variation that enhance fitness and allow colonization of new niches. Interspecific hybridization led to the emergence of important pathogens of humans and plants (for example, various Candida and 'powdery mildew' species, respectively) and industrially important yeasts, such as Saccharomyces hybrids that are important in the production of cold-fermented lagers or cold-cellared Belgian ales. In this Review, we discuss the genetic processes and evolutionary implications of fungal interspecific hybridization and highlight some of the best-studied examples. In addition, we explain how hybrids can be used to study molecular mechanisms underlying evolution, adaptation and speciation, and serve as a route towards development of new variants for industrial applications.sponsorship: K.J.V. acknowledges funding from KU Leuven, European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant CoG682009, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB), Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen (FWO) and Vlaanderen Agentschap Innoveren & Ondernemen (VLAIO). J.S. acknowledges funding from FWO (grant number 12W3918N). (KU Leuven, European Research Council (ERC)|CoG682009, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB), Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen (FWO), Vlaanderen Agentschap Innoveren & Ondernemen (VLAIO), FWO|12W3918N)status: Publishe
The genus Cortinarius should not (yet) be split
No full textAbstract The genus Cortinarius (Agaricales, Basidiomycota) is one of the most species-rich fungal genera, with thousands of species reported. Cortinarius species are important ectomycorrhizal fungi and form associations with many vascular plants globally. Until recently Cortinarius was the single genus of the family Cortinariaceae, despite several attempts to provide a workable, lower-rank hierarchical structure based on subgenera and sections. The first phylogenomic study for this group elevated the old genus Cortinarius to family level and the family was split into ten genera, of which seven were described as new. Here, by careful re-examination of the recently published phylogenomic dataset, we detected extensive gene-tree/species-tree conflicts using both concatenation and multispecies coalescent approaches. Our analyses demonstrate that the Cortinarius phylogeny remains unresolved and the resulting phylogenomic hypotheses suffer from very short and unsupported branches in the backbone. We can confirm monophyly of only four out of ten suggested new genera, leaving uncertain the relationships between each other and the general branching order. Thorough exploration of the tree space demonstrated that the topology on which Cortinarius revised classification relies on does not represent the best phylogenetic hypothesis and should not be used as constrained topology to include additional species. For this reason, we argue that based on available evidence the genus Cortinarius should not (yet) be split. Moreover, considering that phylogenetic uncertainty translates to taxonomic uncertainty, we advise for careful evaluation of phylogenomic datasets before proposing radical taxonomic and nomenclatural changes
Evolutionary context improves regulatory network predictions
No full textA novel algorithm harnesses phylogenetic information and facilitates a better understanding of the evolutionary divergence of gene regulation between species
Domestication of Industrial Microbes
No full textDomestication refers to artificial selection and breeding of wild species to obtain cultivated variants that thrive in man-made niches and meet human or industrial requirements. Several genotypic and phenotypic signatures of domestication have been described in crops, livestock and pets. However, domestication is not unique to plants and animals. Microbial diversity has also been shaped by the emergence of novel and highly specific man-made environments, like food and beverage fermentations. This allowed rapid adaptation and diversification of various microbes, such as certain Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Oenococcus, Saccharomyces and Aspergillus species. During the domestication process, microbes gained the capacity to efficiently consume particular nutrients, cope with a multitude of industry-specific stress factors and produce desirable compounds, often at the cost of a reduction in fitness in their original, natural environments. Moreover, different lineages of the same species adapted to highly diverse niches, resulting in genetically and phenotypically distinct strains. In this Review, we discuss the basic principles of microbial domestication and describe how recent research is uncovering its genetic underpinnings.sponsorship: The authors apologize to those colleagues whose relevant work could not be cited due to space limitations. The authors thank the reviewers and editors for their valuable feedback on the manuscript. K.V. and J.S. are supported by a FWO postdoctoral fellowship. B.G. acknowledges funding from the Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB) International PhD Program in Life Sciences. Original research in the lab of K.J.V. is supported by KU Leuven Program Financing, European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant CoG682009, Human Frontier Science (HFSP) program grant RGP0050/2013, VIB, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Young Investigator program, FWO and VLAIO (Vlaams Agentschap Innoveren en Ondernemen). (FWO postdoctoral fellowship, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB) International PhD Program in Life Sciences, KU Leuven Program Financing, European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant|CoG682009, Human Frontier Science (HFSP) program|RGP0050/2013, VIB, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Young Investigator program, FWO, VLAIO (Vlaams Agentschap Innoveren en Ondernemen))status: Publishe
Italian Costume Drama in the Period of Fascism: In the Dressing Room of History
No full textAutorka analizuje dwa włoskie filmy kostiumowe wyprodukowane w latach trzydziestych XX wieku, wpisując je w kontekst polityki historycznej reżimu Mussoliniego. Zarówno 1860 (reż. Alessandro Blasetti, 1933), jak i Scypion Afrykański (reż. Carmine Gallone, 1937), posługując się historycznym kostiumem, przekazywały, w mniej lub bardziej zawoalowany sposób, tezy oficjalnej propagandy. Ideologiczną podstawę fabuły 1860 stanowią koncepcje wypracowane przez czołowego teoretyka faszyzmu, Giovanniego Gentile, zgodnie z którymi rządy Mussoliniego miały być ostatnim ogniwem epoki Risorgimenta. Z kolei Scypion Afrykański wykorzystuje mit starożytnego Rzymu w celu propagowania wśród widzów kultu wodza („ducismo”). Oba filmy stanowią przykład wkładu kinematografii w kształtowanie się pojęcia włoskiej tożsamości narodowej w kraju liczącym sobie wówczas zaledwie siedemdziesiąt lat.The author analyses two Italian costume dramas produced in the 1930s, in the context of Mussolini’s regime. Both the 1860 (Alessandro Blasetti, 1933), and the Scipione l’Africano (Carmine Gallone, 1937) using historical costume, promoted more or less openly the main arguments of the official propaganda. The ideological basis of the storyline of the 1860 is based on work by Giovanni Gentile, a leading theoretician of fascism of the time, according to whom mussolini’s rule were the final element of the period of Risorgimento. Whereas Scipione l’Africano relies on the ancient Roman myth in order to promote the cult of the leader (ducismo). Both films are examples of how national identity was shaped in the country, which at the time was only seventy years old
Chamber Music. On <i>The Apology of the Female Spirit</i> by Anita Kłos
No full textThe article discusses the study by Anita Kłos of the Italian author Sibilla Aleramo (1876–1960) and her links with the Polish literary culture in the first half of the 20th century. Apart from Aleramo, a poet, novelist, playwright and diarist, “a muse of countless artists”, “an emancipatory icon”, the book also presents Zofia Nałkowska, Stanisława (Soava) Gallone, Emilia Szenwicowa, Thérèse Koerner and Maria Poznańska. In fact, Kłos depicts two literary cultures: Italian and Polish, portrayed in detail ca. 1910 and 1930, in the context of the translations she analyzes. The monograph, written with a feminist slant, goes definitely beyond the narrow framework of a classic comparative case study: it reconstructs the two moments in the Italian and Polish literary life with impressive accuracy and it covers a wide range of topics related to both literatures and cultures.
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