IMA (Italy)

The Sardinian wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) belongs to a felid North-African lineage that reached the Mediterranean island in Neolithic times. While numerous studies have been conducted on the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris), very little is known about the Sardinian wildcat ecology, genetics, and conservation status. Therefore, it is paramount to investigate the current distribution and genetics of the Sardinian population of F. s. lybica, previously described as var. sarda. In this work we assessed morphological and molecular traits of Sardinian wildcats, ascertained areas of species presence on the island, and investigated possible occurrence of hybridization with domestic cats. An integrated approach was adopted, involving questionnaire distribution and interviews to local people, and the morphological evaluation of road-killed individuals combined with their genetic typing using 29 polymorphic autosomal microsatellite loci. Genotypes were then analyzed by Bayesian clustering and assignment analyses. Questionnaires and interviews allowed us to build a preliminary alleged distribution map of the species and select candidate areas for non-invasive monitoring. The morphological and genetic characterization of road kills and museum specimens allowed us to identify pure individuals and recent wild × domestic hybrids, paving the way for better characterizing the Sardinian wildcat. Further steps of the research will allow us to shed light on this elusive presence on the island and enhance its conservation.

This work sought to test the positive effect of red LED light on frozen bovine sperm resistance to thawing in suboptimal conditions. Moreover, a preliminary study explores whether this improvement could have any repercussions on in vivo fertilizing ability. Thus, frozen bull semen straws (n = 16) were thawed (a) with irradiation for 5 min at 20 °C (2 min light, 1 min darkness, 2 min light; PHOTO); (b) without irradiation for 5 min at 20 °C (ET); or (c) through immersion into a water bath at 38 °C for 40 s as standard control (CONTROL). Sperm quality and preliminary, purely descriptive AI trials were performed. The PHOTO samples demonstrated significantly (p < 0.05) improved percentages of intact acrosomes, progressive motility, DNA condensation and fragmentation, and viable sperm with high ROS/superoxides. The viability of PHOTO samples decreased significantly (p < 0.05) when compared with the ET ones. Overall results of both the PHOTO and ET samples were poorer than those of the CONTROL. Otherwise, the PHOTO straws yielded greater pregnancy rates (64.0% vs. 49.4% in CONTROL) when evaluated at two different farms. The results suggest that irradiating cryopreserved bovine sperm during thawing in suboptimal conditions could improve AI pregnancy rates, although more in vivo studies are needed to support this conclusion.

The increasing global demand for sustainable seafood calls for innovative solutions that reduce reliance on marine resources. Organic aquaculture, with its focus on environmental sustainability and animal welfare, represents a promising avenue. However, one of the major constraints to its expansion is the limited availability of certified organic feed ingredients. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of replacing fishmeal (FM) in the diets of meagre (Argyrosomus regius), a promising aquaculture species, by increasing the inclusion of organic pea protein meal (0%, 7%, 18% and 27.5%), while supplementing all pea-protein enriched diets with fixed levels of functional organic ingredients (5% yeast and 2% brown seaweed). Four isoenergetic diets—C (control), PEA 7%, PEA 18% and PEA 27%—were administered to triplicate groups of 40 juvenile meagre over 85 days. We assessed growth performance, feed utilisation, body composition, plasma biochemistry, and gut microbiota composition. All pea protein inclusion levels (7%–27.5%) showed comparable growth to the control diet, with no significant differences in final body weight (PEA 7%: 173 ± 22.5 g; PEA 18%: 189 ± 11.7 g; PEA 27%: 178 ± 23.7 g vs. control: 171 ± 10.0 g) or feed conversion ratio (FCR), demonstrating successful FM replacement up to 27.5%. The PEA 18% group showed superior lipid utilisation with 109% ± 7.21% gross lipid efficiency (GLE; vs. 75.4% ± 10.8% in PEA 7% and 85.3% ± 5.47% in control) and optimal protein metabolism (albumin [ALB]: 0.71 ± 0.07 g/dL vs. control: 0.62 ± 0.05), indicating enhanced nutrient utilisation at intermediate inclusion. High pea inclusion (27.5%) significantly increased beneficial Lactobacillus (8.74% ± 3.30% vs. control: 4.92% ± 3.96%) while maintaining microbial diversity, suggesting pre-biotic effects without dysbiosis. Overall, the results demonstrated that organic pea protein as well as organic seaweed and yeast can be successfully incorporated into meagre diets without compromising growth, feed efficiency, or fish health. These findings highlight the potential of organic pea meal as a sustainable protein alternative to FM in organic aquafeeds for meagre.

The aim of this work is to report some interesting references and documents related to the mRNA vaccine. Every cited reference can act as an instrument to better understand what some independent researchers find: this work is mainly focused on the public debate related presence/absence of graphene derivates in some vaccine vials for COVID-19. Relevant classic articles White Papers or other kinds of a document are useful instruments to better clarify some crucial aspects of this infectious disease, its epidemiology and the efficacy of the measure adopted (preventive, therapeutic, or vaccine). If the reviewed article show an intrinsic recognized international value other kinds of source like a White Paper or other documents can be of interest to generate hypotheses or to open public discussion on crucial topics. For this reason, it is useful to use this method also in the discussion related to impurity profiles in new innovative bio-pharmaceuticals like the mRNA vaccine. The fact that this product was introduced with an emergency authorization, whit reduced the time of experimentation and due to the lack of official quality information related to some raw materials used authorizes us to use also this method. Even if the international official regulatory agency does not find this substance in the control for release of the lots it is interesting to more deeply investigate what funded by an independent researcher in some vials of vaccine or sample patient’s blood after vaccination. This reference even if not a smoking gun the same can stimulate the reasoning about the general concept involved. It is needed, to read this work, to consider the intrinsic limitation of some of the study research reported (White Paper) or the other documents.

&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The Arctic region is showing the most intense warming of the globe, because of different regional feedback mechanisms. Both observed and projected warming rates reach a maximum in the autumn and winter seasons (Bintanja and Krikken, 2016), when the Arctic surface energy budget is dominated by longwave radiation. Indeed, due to the seasonal variation of the of shortwave radiation, the longwave radiation plays a key role in the Arctic, where the annual total Downward Longwave Irradiance (DLI) is usually more than twice as large as the annual downward shortwave irradiance. Nevertheless, surface longwave irradiance measurements in the Arctic are particularly scarce, and satellite retrievals of surface radiation budget based on satellite data are notoriously problematic at high latitudes.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;High resolution observations of DLI, surface temperature, water vapour surface partial pressure and column amount, zenith sky IR radiance and vertical temperature profile derived by a microwave radiometer are routinely carried out at the Thule High Arctic Atmospheric Observatory (THAAO, 76.5 N, 68.8 W), in North Eastern Greenland (https://ofcsg2dvf1.dwd.de/fmlurlsvc/?fewReq=:B:JVs5MjYzOSV1PjEtMyVqZz4zMjkzMiVwamRtYnd2cWY+MTVnMjJiYmU6ZztgZ2dlYDBiNWVnO2U1NjtiNmE6OjtgNTcwNGBnMSV3PjI1NjEzOjI2NTslcmpnPjE3OkJJUDtOMzI1NDM3LjE3OkJJUDtNMzI1NDM3JXFgc3c+UHdmZWJtLVRiYGhmcUNndGctZ2YlYD43OiVrZ28+Mw==&amp;amp;url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.thuleatmos-it.it%2f ). In the frame of the CLouds And Radiation in the Arctic and Antarctica (CLARA2) project, a celiometer has been installed in November 2019 with the aim of strengthening the cloud observational capability at the Observatory already including, among the other instruments, upward- and downward-looking pyranometers and pyrgeometers operating at THAAO since July 2016.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Preliminary statistical results for cloud base altitude, cloud depth, liquid water path (LWP), temperature profiles and presence/intensity of temperature inversion at THAAO will be shown. Analysis on the relationship between LWP and IR downward irradiance and radiance in cloudy and clear sky is also presented.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;References&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Bintanja, R., Krikken, F. Magnitude and pattern of Arctic warming governed by the seasonality of radiative forcing. Sci Rep 6, 38287 (2016). https://ofcsg2dvf1.dwd.de/fmlurlsvc/?fewReq=:B:JVs5MjYzOSV1PjEtMyVqZz4zMjkzMiVwamRtYnd2cWY+MjRnOzY0ZjQ3Ojc1ZTAwNDM2NWAxYjE1NTVmNzo3N2YwYDAyNDRnMyV3PjI1NjEzOjI2NTslcmpnPjE3OkJJUDtOMzI1NDM3LjE3OkJJUDtNMzI1NDM3JXFgc3c+UHdmZWJtLVRiYGhmcUNndGctZ2YlYD42MSVrZ28+Mw==&amp;amp;url=https%3a%2f%2fdoi.org%2f10.1038%2fsrep38287&amp;amp;#160;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

We introduce a large-scale benchmark for continuous collision detection (CCD) algorithms, composed of queries manually constructed to highlight challenging degenerate cases and automatically generated using existing simulators to cover common cases. We use the benchmark to evaluate the accuracy, correctness, and efficiency of state-of-the-art continuous collision detection algorithms, both with and without minimal separation. We discover that, despite the widespread use of CCD algorithms, existing algorithms are (1) correct but impractically slow; (2) efficient but incorrect, introducing false negatives that will lead to interpenetration; or (3) correct but over conservative, reporting a large number of false positives that might lead to inaccuracies when integrated in a simulator. By combining the seminal interval root finding algorithm introduced by Snyder in 1992 with modern predicate design techniques, we propose a simple and efficient CCD algorithm. This algorithm is competitive with state-of-the-art methods in terms of runtime while conservatively reporting the time of impact and allowing explicit tradeoff between runtime efficiency and number of false positives reported.

Related the need to search new strategy in vaccine design in order to reduce also some rare effect like trombosys for some registered products it is interesting the role played by the SPIKE RGD domain. The binding with molecules like Fibronectin is a process that must to be deeply investigated. A better understanding in this process can be used to improve safety of the new generation of COVID vaccine. The rare effect like thrombosis recognized by regulatory agency produced a modification of technical data sheet of some vaccine so the phenomena Is interesting to be more investigated. Spike protein and its domains are involved in producing pathological effect of the COVID-19 disease. What it is interesting is that some pathological effect of this pathology are similar to some rare side effect produced by some COVID-19 vaccine classes. After a review of interesting literature related this topics is submitted an experimental projects able to verify in vitro the spike procoaugulant property.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks disrupt global network services by mainly overwhelming the victim host with requests originating from multiple traffic sources. DDoS attacks are currently on the rise due to the ease of execution and rental of distributed architectures such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud infrastructures, which could potentially result in substantial revenue losses. Therefore, the detection and prevention of DDoS attacks are currently topics of high interest. In this study, we use traffic flow information to determine if a specific flow is associated with a DDoS attack. We used traditional Machine Learning (ML) methods in developing our DDoS detector and applied an exhaustive hyperparameter search to optimize their detection capability. Using lightweight approaches is suitable for resource-constrained environments such as IoT to reduce computing overhead. Our evaluation shows that most algorithms provide satisfactory results, with Random Forests achieving as high as 99% of detection accuracy, which is similar to the performance of current deep learning solutions for DDoS detection.