51 research outputs found
Novel Biological Therapies for Severe Asthma Endotypes
No full textSevere asthma comprises several heterogeneous phenotypes, underpinned by complex pathomechanisms known as endotypes. The latter are driven by intercellular networks mediated by molecular components which can be targeted by specific monoclonal antibodies. With regard to the biological treatments of either allergic or non-allergic eosinophilic type 2 asthma, currently available antibodies are directed against immunoglobulins E (IgE), interleukin-5 (IL-5) and its receptor, the receptors of interleukins-4 (IL-4) and 13 (IL-13), as well as thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and other alarmins. Among these therapeutic strategies, the best choice should be made according to the phenotypic/endotypic features of each patient with severe asthma, who can thus respond with significant clinical and functional improvements. Conversely, very poor options so far characterize the experimental pipelines referring to the perspective biological management of non-type 2 severe asthma, which thereby needs to be the focus of future thorough research
Biological Therapy of Severe Asthma with Dupilumab, a Dual Receptor Antagonist of Interleukins 4 and 13
No full textInterleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) are key cytokines involved in the pathophysiology of both immune-inflammatory and structural changes underlying type 2 asthma. IL-4 plays a pivotal role in Th2 cell polarization, immunoglobulin E (IgE) synthesis and eosinophil recruitment into the airways. IL-13 synergizes with IL-4 in inducing IgE production and also promotes nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, eosinophil chemotaxis, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and mucus secretion, as well as the proliferation of airway resident cells such as fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells. The biological effects of IL-4 and IL-13 are mediated by complex signaling mechanisms activated by receptor dimerization triggered by cytokine binding to the α-subunit of the IL-4 receptor (IL-4Rα). The fully human IgG4 monoclonal antibody dupilumab binds to IL-4Rα, thereby preventing its interactions with both IL-4 and IL-13. This mechanism of action makes it possible for dupilumab to effectively inhibit type 2 inflammation, thus significantly reducing the exacerbation of severe asthma, the consumption of oral corticosteroids (OCS) and the levels of fractional exhaled NO (FeNO). Dupilumab has been approved not only for the add-on therapy of severe asthma, but also for the biological treatment of atopic dermatitis and nasal polyposis
Publisher Correction: Protein-altering variants associated with body mass index implicate pathways that control energy intake and expenditure in obesity
No full textIn the published version of this paper, the name of author Emanuele Di Angelantonio was misspelled. This error has now been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article
La Strategia europea e italiana di Bioeconomia. Scenari e impatti territoriali, opportunità e rischi. Documento di valutazione e indirizzo
No full textLa conferenza multidisciplinare “La Strategia europea di Bioeconomia: scenari e impatti territoriali, opportunità e rischi” dello scorso settembre – patrocinata da società scientifiche e università – ha raccolto i contributi di storici, geografi, economisti, urbanisti, costituzionalisti, biologi, biologi forestali e medici le cui analisi hanno messo in evidenza una serie di criticità sulla base delle quali si può asserire che la Strategia di Bioeconomia della Commissione europea (del 2012 aggiornata nel 2018) e la conseguente Strategia italiana siano distanti dall’idea originaria di Bioeconomia teorizzata da Georgescu-Roegen, ovvero una bioeconomia compatibile con la vita e le leggi della natura.
La Strategia di Bioeconomia – promossa come la nuova frontiera dell’economia “verde” e basata sulla sostituzione delle fonti fossili con la biomassa – presenta forti contraddizioni rispetto agli stessi obiettivi che si pone, ovvero la riduzione dell’uso di fonti non sostenibili e non rinnovabili e della dipendenza dalle importazioni. La mera sostituzione delle fonti (che non prenda in considerazione anche la riduzione dei consumi di energia, materia e acqua) non solo non è sufficiente ma può essere dannosa. Questa si basa sulla produzione di biomassa su larga scala – e, quindi, sulla necessità di suolo fertile (sottratto anche alle foreste), acqua e input chimici – prodotta secondo il modello (e le logiche) dell’agro-industria che, come ampiamente dimostrato in letteratura, ha un forte impatto su ambiente, biodiversità ed economia territoriale. La Strategia, fondandosi sulla produzione energetica prevalentemente via combustione di sostanza biologica, compromette il recupero di questa per la compensazione dei suoli incidendo, così, sul clima a causa de bilancio di CO2 sfavorevole.
Con riferimento all’Italia, è stata rilevata una stretta connessione fra la Strategia di Bioeconomia e il
Testo Unico Forestale (TUF) del 2018, il cui impatto sul patrimonio forestale e la biodiversità appare piuttosto negativo. Con l’aggiornamento del 2018, la Strategia di bioeconomia si connette strettamente al processo di digitalizzazione (adeguamento alla Nuova Strategia di Politica Industriale 2017) aumentando esponenzialmente il fabbisogno di minerali essenziali alla produzione di alta tecnologia, come le terre rare che – oltre a non essere rinnovabili – sono fortemente impattanti per l’ambiente e la salute (ad esempio, la produzione di una tonnellata di terre rare genera fra 1 e 1,4 tonnellate di rifiuti radioattivi) e rendono, inevitabilmente, l’UE dipendente dalle importazioni (considerato che oltre il 90% delle terre rare sono prodotte in Cina).
Pertanto, la Strategia di bioeconomia risulta dipendente da risorse non sostenibili, non rinnovabili e dalle importazioni, motivo per cui richiederebbe una rielaborazione sistematica partendo dall’imprescindibile adeguamento alla Strategia europea sulla biodiversità, al Piano nazionale integrato per l’energia e il clima (PNIEC) e ai piani di adattamento climatico.
Il Comitato scientifico ha elaborato il Documento di valutazione e indirizzo della Strategia europea e italiana di bioeconomia - che esprime osservazioni e proposte già presentate alla Commissione europea e al governo italiano - pubblicato sulla Rivista “Economia e Ambiente” e liberamente scaricabile dall’homepage del sito www.economiaeambiente.i
Microbiological and hydrogeological assessment of groundwater in southern Italy
No full textThis study represents the first investigation of microbiological groundwater pollution as a function of aquifer type and season for the Apulia region of southern Italy. Two hundred and seven wells were randomly selected from those monitored by the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection for emergency use. Both compulsory (Escherichia coli, Total Coliform, and Enterococci) and optional (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella spp., Heterotrophic Plate Count at 37 and 22 °C) microbiological parameters were assessed regularly at these wells. Groundwater from only 18 of the 207 (8.7 %) wells was potable; these all draw from karst-fissured aquifers. The remaining 189 wells draw from karst-fissured (66.1 %) or porous (33.9 %) aquifers. Of these, 82 (43.4 %) tested negative for Salmonella spp. and P. aeruginosa, while 107 (56.6 %) tested positive for P. aeruginosa (75.7 %), Salmonella spp. (10.3 %), or for both Salmonella spp. and P. aeruginosa (14 %). A logistic regression model shows that the probability of potable groundwater depends on both season and aquifer type. Typically, water samples were more likely to be potable in autumn-winter than in spring-summer periods (odds ratio, OR = 2.1; 95 % confidence interval, 95 % CI = 1.6-2.7) and from karst-fissured rather than porous aquifers (OR = 5.8; 95 % CI = 4.4-7.8). Optional parameters only showed a seasonal pattern (OR = 2.6; 95 % CI = 1.7-3.9). Clearly, further investigation of groundwater microbiological aspects should be carried out to identify the risks of fecal contamination and to establish appropriate protection methods, which take into account the hydrogeological and climatic characteristics of this region
Sulphide Biooxidation in Activated Sludge Diffusion Process: Microbiological and Biochemical Effects
No full textSulphide was adopted as odorous compound in a simulation of AS Diffusion, an interesting process to treat odors at wastewater treatment plants by diffusing odorous air into aerobic basins. Its behaviour were experimentally evaluated along with its effects on the biomass and the biological processes supposed by some author in an AS diffusion test. Two bench scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) were fed in parallel on real primary sewage and monitored after adding increasing concentrations of sulphide to one of them. In this reactor, an average sulphide removal of 94% was measured. Microbial biochemical activity and composition did not show relevant variations after the addition of sulphide, and the good features of activated sludge flocs were maintained also in terms of sludge settleability
Innovative Methodology for Detecting of Possible Harmful Compounds for Wastewater Treatment the MAUI Project
No full textIn this paper, the preliminary results of the research project 'Monitoraggio continuo per le Acque refiue Urbane ed Industriali per l'ecoindustria' (MAUI) are depicted. Specifically, innovative methods for real-Time monitoring of urban and industrial wastewater, along with new data management techniques, have been employed to manage the data acquired by a vapor phase e-nose, namely VPeN, based on a semiconductor sensor array, which was used to get real-Time monitoring data
A new approach for microbiological characterization of activated sludge: from the sample to the biomolecular analysis
No full textThe growing biomass in the wastewater treatment plant is called "activated sludge"; usually it is mainly composed by bacteria (95%) and by Protozoa and Metazoans (5%). The sludge biological composition is a good indicator of the wastewater treatment plant state of health. In this study, an initial characterization of the microorganisms present in the activated sludge is carried out through DNA analysis.The aim of this activity is the development of the procedures for the characterization of the sludge of the biological oxidation lines, to identify microorganism throught a new approach using biomolecular analysis and the definition of new standard protocols
Occurrence of Uncultured Legionella spp. in Treated Wastewater Effluent and Its Impact on Human Health (SCA.Re.S Project)
No full textWastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) provide optimal conditions for the environmental spread of Legionella. As part of the Evaluation of Sanitary Risk Related to the Discharge of Wastewater to the Ground (SCA.Re.S) project, this study was conducted to evaluate the presence of Legionella in WWTP effluent and in groundwater samples collected from two wells located downstream from the plant. The samples were analyzed to determine the concentrations of Legionella spp using the standard culture-based method and molecular techniques, followed by genomic sequencing analysis. Legionella was detected only with the molecular methods (except in one sample of effluent positive for L. pneumophila serogroup 6), which showed viable Legionella pneumophila and L. non-pneumophila through the use of free DNA removal solution in both the effluent and groundwater, with concentrations that progressively decreased downstream from the plant. Viable L. pneumophila appeared to be slightly more concentrated in warm months. However, no significant differences (p ≥ 0.05) in concentrations between cold and warm months were observed. A genotypic analysis characterized the species present in the samples and found that uncultured Legionella spp, as yet undefined, constituted the prevalent species in all the samples (range 77.15-83.17%). WWTPs play an important role in the hygienic and sanitary quality of groundwater for different uses. The application of Legionella control systems during the purification of effluents is warranted to prevent possible outbreaks of legionellosis
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