The study analyzes the Italian Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov) outbreaks, searching possible predicting model, underlining the risk of the Trend of phenomena.

Atherosclerosis is considered a systemic disease, and its presence in any site of the arterial system in the body raises suspicion of its presence somewhere else. Since atherothrombosis represents the most common cause of stroke, it is important to investigate whether coronary artery calcification, a commonly used measure of cardiac atherosclerotic burden, can be a similarly useful measure of atherosclerotic burden in the brain. This review aimed to summarize the current evidence regarding the role of CAC in the detection and prevention of cerebrovascular disease. CAC is an independent risk factor of stroke development, and using it to supplement traditional risk factors may allow better identification of higher-risk groups. Intermediate risk patients with elevated CAC scores can be started on statin therapy. CAC score may hold promise in identifying patient groups most likely to benefit from aspirin therapy. In addition, it may have a role in the identification of stroke patients who may benefit from closer cardiac monitoring as it can aid traditional scores in the detection of coronary pathology in stroke survivors.

DNA barcoding identification needs a good characterization of intra-specific genetic divergence to establish the limits between species. Yet, the number of barcodes per species is many times low and geographically restricted. A poor coverage of the species distribution range may hamper identification, especially when undersampled areas host genetically distinct lineages. If so, the genetic distance between some query sequences and reference barcodes may exceed the maximum intra-specific threshold for unequivocal species assignation. Taking a group of Quercus herbivores (moths) in Europe as model system, we found that the number of DNA barcodes from southern Europe is proportionally very low in the Barcoding of Life Data Systems (BOLD). This geographical bias complicates the identification of southern query sequences, due to their high intra-specific genetic distance with respect to barcodes from higher latitudes. Pairwise intra-specific genetic divergence increased along with spatial distance, but was higher when at least one of the sampling sites was in southern Europe. Accordingly, GMYC (General Mixed Yule Coalescent) single threshold model retrieved clusters constituted exclusively by Iberian haplotypes, some of which could correspond to cryptic species. The number of putative species retrieved was more reliable than that of multiple threshold GMYC but very similar to results from ABGD and jMOTU. Our results support GMYC as a key resource for species delimitation within poorly inventoried biogeographic regions in Europe, where historical factors (e.g. glaciations) have promoted genetic diversity and singularity. Future European DNA barcoding initiatives should be preferentially performed along latitudinal gradients, with special focus on southern peninsulas.

1. The abundance of UV-B absorbing compounds (for example p-Coumaric acid, pCA) within pollen-grain sporopollenin has been proposed as a proxy for reconstructing past changes in surface solar radiation, but drivers of the variation of these compounds in pollen grains remains poorly understood. 2. One important consideration is that the physiological response that results in the production and timing of pCA in pollen remains poorly understood. This calls for studies that explicitly tests the temporal resolution and plasticity of the response of pCA in pollen under field conditions. 3. To address this, we conducted two parallel experiments. First, we measured pCA in four Pinus spp. from Geneva in two consecutive years to investigate the impact of natural variation in ambient solar radiation, and differences in responses between species. Second, we covered pollen cones on Pinus sylvestris trees in Bergen with 90% shading cloth one month before dehiscence and compared the amount of pCA in pollen from shaded and sun-exposed cones from the same tree. 4. Between years, in Geneva, Pinus spp. produced 31% more pCA in 2014 than in 2013, with higher levels of solar radiation also observed in 2014. pCA content also showed strong species-level variation, largely reflecting differences in pollen size between species. Experimentally shaded Pinus sylvestris pollen produced 21% less pCA than fully exposed pollen. 5. Our work demonstrates a plastic response in the production of UV absorbing compounds (pCA) to inter-annual and experimentally induced variation in ambient solar radiation in Pinus spp. pollen. This supports pCA as a highly responsive proxy for early-season solar radiation. We also find strong species-level variation in pCA content in pine pollen, likely related to pollen grain size, which should be accounted for in reconstructions from sites with multiple Pinus species present.

Etherification mechanism of 4,5-dihydroxy-1,3-bis (hydroxymethyl) imidazolidin-2-one (DMDHEU) with primary alcohols in acidic and parched condition were investigated by using density functional theory combined with comparision and reference to results of experiment and spectral analysis. Geometry and energy of reactants, products, actived complexes and carbocation intermediate were optimized at B3LYP/6-311g(d,p) level. Energy level diagram is compatible with type of cation – molecule reaction. Reactants and products form actived complexes with H+ and water, in this state H+ is occupied by both alcohol and water or ether and water. This state has lower energy level compared to both of the following cases: H+ is only occupied by water; and H+ is only occupied by the product or reactant. Computational results indicate that the etherification reaction follows unimolecular nucleophilic substitution (SN1) mechanism; substituent group –R in primary alcohol R-CH2OH (-R = -H, -CH3, -CH2CH3, -Vinyl, -CH2NHCH3, -CH2OCH3, -CH2Cl) only affect to energy barrier of step releasing H3O+ Ec but no effect to energy barrier of activation step Ea = 12.8 kcal/mol; value of Ec is much higher than value of Ea which were verified and confirmed through experiment results.

Plant negative density dependence is the result of interactions between plants themselves and between plants and the environment. We selected a succession series comprising early successional, mid-successional and late successional stages (Artemisia ordosica, Sophora alopecuroides and Stipa bungeana communities, respectively) in a semi-arid area. We investigated plant density and biomass and determined the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents of each plant species in each of 225 quadrats, and we calculated the N and P contents of vegetation using biomass as a weighted coefficient. We found that the total plant density of the A. ordosica community increased with the increase in vegetation N:P ratio while the total plant density of the S. bungeana community decreased with the increase in vegetation N:P ratio, with the latter (late successional stage) community exhibiting negative density dependence. In the communities representing the early successional and mid-successional stages, the vertex coordinate of the quadratic function relationship between plant total density and vegetation N/P ratio was (16.6, 353.3); that is, if the N:P ratio of the vegetation was greater than 16.6, the community was characterized by negative density dependence. The analysis showed that the negative density dependence was due to P limitation. These findings reveal that the vegetation N:P ratio in a semi-arid region is the driver of negative density dependence.

The Arctic pelagic environment is expected to strongly alter due to global climate change. As a consequence, modification of the unicellular plankton species composition and biomass, with consequences to biogeochemical cycling and pelagic food web, is expected. In this study we used meta-barcoding of the V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene to profile eukaryotic microbial communities exported to deeper water layers at the Long-Term Ecological Research Site HAUSGARTEN in the northeastern Fram Strait. We collected sinking particles at ca. 80 to 300 m depths using long-term deployed sediment traps and analyzed selected samples of spring and summer periods from 2000-2011. Acknowledging the limitations and biases of currently used 18S rRNA gene meta-barcoding primers in detecting certain taxa especially from environmental samples, we developed new primer sets and compared them with those already in use. Using the information generated by three different primer sets, the results of our study suggest decreasing trends in the abundances of large-cell phytoplankton (i.e., diatoms) and increasing pico-phytoplankton (Micromonas sp. and haptophytes) during the warm anomaly of 2005-2007. Phylogenetic analyses further revealed the displacement of cold-adapted with warm-adapted phylotypes of Micromonas and haptophytes, which could be related to the warming event. Ecotype-level changes observed in this study do not only suggest changing structures in community composition and ecosystem functioning but also in the biogeography and distribution of some species. These data provided new insights and information on the potential diversity changes and species displacement brought about by the environmental changes occurring in the Arctic Ocean.

The shifting defence hypothesis attributes the invasion success of many plant species to the species’ post- introduction evolution of traits that confer high fitness including reduced allocation to physiologically and ecologically costly chemical defence compounds against herbivores. However, to date, most of the studies that compared invasive and conspecific native plants for differences in defence compounds focused only on one or a few compounds. Thus, it remains unclear whether invasive plants may evolve a lower diversity of defence compounds in response to a simplified herbivore community assemblages in the introduced range. Therefore, the present study used B. nigra plants from 11 invasive- and 14 native range populations to test whether invasive B. nigra plants: i) express a lower diversity of glucosinolate compounds and higher concentration of a single dominant glucosinolate compound owing to a reduced diversity of herbivores in the introduced range; ii) are less preferred by generalist herbivores and attract more specialist herbivore species than B. nigra from the native range when grown in a common garden in the native range; iii) are less preferred by generalist herbivores than native-range B. nigra in no- choice feeding bioassays. In support of the shifting defence hypothesis, invasive B. nigra plants expressed a lower diversity of glucosinolates and a higher concentration of sinigrin (a major glucosinolate compound in B. nigra) than native-range B. nigra plants. Moreover, the invasive B. nigra plants were more deterrent to two generalist herbivore species in no-choice feeding bioassays than native B. nigra plants. Brassica nigra plants that expressed higher concentrations and diversities of glucosinolate compounds were visited by a more diverse specialist herbivore community than B. nigra plants with low concentrations and diversities of glucosinolates. The biogeographical differences in glucosinolate profiles observed here may be the result of differential herbivore selection pressures in the respective invaded and native ranges.

Non-native fish invasions are among the greatest threats to freshwater ecosystems worldwide. In South China, the same climatic conditions that facilitate the culture of some non-native fishes may also support their invasive potential. We conducted systematic collections of fish in eight main rivers of South China, from 2016 to 2018, to investigate and analysis species composition and the distribution of non-native fishes. The data reveal that non-native fishes are widespread in the sampled rivers: of the 98,887 fish collected, 11,832 individuals representing 20 species were not native. Of the non-native fish species, 17 are used in aquaculture and 19 are native to the tropics; 13 are omnivores while other seven are predators. Based on dissimilarity of the non-native fish species distributions across the eight rivers, the different rivers could be divided into four assemblages. Geographical isolation and temperature were identified as affecting the distribution patterns of non-native fishes, thereby influencing fish species composition, species number, dominant species, and distribution variations in the South China rivers. Species composition of the non-native fishes in the rivers in this region are related to their introduction vector, compatibility with their native habitat, and trophic position. And their distribution pattern was mainly influenced by the geographical location and temperature.

The polyphenyl chains with $n$ hexagons are the special graphs of unbranched polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The objective of this study is to find the expected values of the multiplicative version of the atomic-bond connectivity index and geometric-arithmetic index of this class of special hydrocarbons. The average values of these two indices with respect to the set of all polyphenyl chains have been determined. Finally, the comparisons between the expected values of the aforementioned indices in the random polyphenyl and spiro chains, have been outlined.

Fermentation of the pentose fraction from hemicellulosic hydrolysate is an important challenge to be studied in second generation ethanol (E2G) production. In this sense, we have tested non-conventional (Scheffersomyces stipitis and Spathaspora passalidarum) and recombinant yeast strains (Saccharomyces cerevisiae recombinant MP-C5 and MP-C5H1) capable to uptake xylose with the aim to design a strategy for E2G production. Growth tests in different carbohydrates (glucose, xylose, glucose + xylose and sucrose + xylose) have shown that the integration of xylose and sucrose presented better results for all yeast tested, and the co-fermentation of these sugars provided faster xylose consumption by S. cerevisiae recombinant. One the other hand, Sp. passalidarum do not present high performance of sucrose consumption in microanaerobic fermentation conditions and an intracellular invertase high activity was observed by this yeast. S. cerevisiae MP-C5H1 presented best performance for fermentation tests and a batch strategy with high cell density was designed. By this strategy was possible to achieve high ethanol yield (0.48 g g-1), titer (53.7 g L-1) and global ethanol productivity (2.24 g L-1 h-1).

Maize and teosintes are excellent systems for study of population and ecological genomics, as well as teosintes provide excellent germplasm resources for forage maize breeding. However, genetic relationship, evolution, hybridization and introgression among the genus Zea species have not been completely resolved and effective methods for Zea species classification and identification are scarce. In current study, nuclear (ITS), mitochondrial DNA (atp6, cob and nad1) and chloroplast DNA sequences (matK, psbA-trnH and rbcL) were used to explore as a simple and efficient DNA barcode for identification and genetic study of the Zea species. Phylogenetic incongruence between nuclear and cytoplasmic sequences detected in present study. The lowest divergence value from pairwise comparisons were found between Z. mexicana and Z. parviglumis based on combined six cytoplasmic sequences and Z. mexicana and maize showed lowest divergence value based on ITS sequences. It is suggested that single-gene data sets and combined data sets of six cytoplasmic sequences failed to identify and classify every species at inter-species level, however, the combined data set containing ITS and atp6 can identify and classify Zea species perfectly. Moreover, the tetraploid Z. perennis was confirmed an autotetraploid of diploid Z. diploperennis reflecting from phylogenetic tree based on combined six cytoplasmic sequences.

Abstract Background and Purpose: The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been spread out since December 2019 from China to 29 countries. No effective treatment is currently available, although the combination regimen of the antiretroviral drugs– lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r), with other antiviral drugs have been using, but the evidences are limited. A recent in vitro study showed that chloroquine could inhibit COVID-19 to cells, and enhance antiviral efficacy. This study aimed to predict the optimal dose regimens of LPV/r, and chloroquine in combination as a potential treatment of COVID-19 infection, using the physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling. Experimental approach: The whole PBPK models were constructed. The predicted plasma drug concentrations were compared with the published clinical data. The validated models were used to predict optimal dosage regimens of LPV/r, and chloroquine co-administration. The optimal dose regimen was determined based on the efficacy, and toxicity reported in the published data. Key Results: The average errors of the predicted values were within 30% of the observed data. The proposed optimal dosage regimen is the once-daily dose of 800/200 mg LPV/r co-administered with chloroquine at a loading dose of 1,000 mg, followed by twice-daily dose of 500 mg for 8 doses on the second day, and the twice-daily dose of 400 mg for 18 doses. Conclusion and Implications: PBPK modelling successfully predicted pharmacokinetic profiles within an acceptable range of errors. The study provides a focus for clinical studies to confirm the efficacy of the proposed dosage regimen as a novel treatment for COVID-19 infection.

The objectives of this study are to test innovations for the farms diagnosis, to locate erosion and to correct them with changes in the way of soil management, to aiming transforming Rio do Peixe Watershed properties that were degraded, rehabilitating them, promoting conservationist agriculture whit evaluating the results through remote sensing and water quality indicators. Secretariat of Agriculture of São Paulo State (SA), responsible for applying the Soil Conservation Law, has been carrying out this study for 20 years, working up 772,000 ha, with 19,846 agricultural properties. In 2019, it turned twelve years of inspection/monitoring at the Rio do Peixe Watershed. From 2007 to 2017 14,076 ha were inspected in Vera Cruz, with notification of 94 properties that went from degraded into agricultural companies. In Ocauçu, 82 properties were notified, on 8,125 ha. Besides other tested methodologies, model airplanes and helicopters, in Marília the Innovative CAD Methodology was used, which allowed 52 properties to be inspected on 27,000 ha from 2017 to 2019. There were transformations of degrading agriculture into conservation agriculture on the study carried out at Rio do Peixe Watershed. Property with degraded pasture turned into an agricultural area, with the no-tillage system. Pastures were recovered with the Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems, where the occupancy rate was increased by 31% comparing to the original situation. It is a great work that benefits the Watershed farmers and the population in the region, including improving the water quality that supplies Marília. It is the SA “Caring for the Well-Being of Society”.

Desertification models do not include analyses of rainfall, temporality, field visits and projection scenarios. The objective is to evaluate desertification under levels of vegetation, soil and albedo, construct forecast models and analyze its variability with time and rainfall. Landsat TM was used for NDVI, TGSI and albedo between 2000 and 2008 in dry and rainy periods in Irauçuba Centro Norte (ICN) and in the National Forest of Sobral (FLONA). Desertification levels and indices of 30 pixels were quantified and their means were inputs in the ARIMA model. The results showed vegetation and albedo at different levels of desertification. The medium desertification class of NDVI increased by 18% at ICN and the low desertification class of albedo increased by 3%. TGSI showed the class severe at ICN and FLONA. The AR(3) model indicated reduction in NDVI, while MA(1) for TGSI and albedo showed severe and low level. ARMA(2,1) showed optimistic scenario of recovery for pixels with desertified NDVI and Albedo of FLONA. The AR(3) model for TGSI of FLONA showed a reduction of 0.0006504 in 70 years. Anthropic practices and climate were responsible for the desertification of ICN, while FLONA was shown to be non-desertified, but NDVI and TGSI were affected by the anthropic practices. Therefore, desertification showed different levels at ICN, rainfall and time affected vegetation and albedo at ICN and FLONA. ARMA(2,1) models showed that the prospects of desertification reversal are greater for FLONA.

Persian oak decline is a syndrome within the oak decline complex in Iran. Profuse stem bleed-ing and larval galleries of the native buprestid, Agrilus hastulifer characterize the disease. A systematic study comparing healthy with diseased trees was undertaken. This work reports the result of isolations from healthy trees and diseased tissue in affected trees, at eight sites in Iran. Culturable bacterial communities were identified using the 16S rDNA sequencing. A significantly higher proportion of symptomatic tissue pieces from diseased trees (Disease In-dex=5) yielded bacterial growth than other disease indexes (83.78%). Significantly higher yields were also obtained from bulk and rhizosphere compared with the root, leaf, and stem. Overall bacterial communities compositions varied at each site, but significant similarities were evident in diseased tissues at all sites. Enterobacteriaceae were dominated in diseased trees whereas Bacilluceae and Moraxellaceae were remarkable more abundant in healthy trees. Sig-nificant associations occurred between diseased tissues and certain bacterial species, implying that the cause of tissue necrosis was not due to random microbiota. Brenneria goodwinii, Ser-ratia marecescence, and Dickeya chrysanthemi were key species consistently isolated from diseased tissue; Campylobacter jejuni and an un-named Clostridium taxon were also frequent-ly isolated from both healthy and diseased trees. It was concluded that there was a shift in the cultivatable bacterial microbiome of diseased trees, with Enterobacteriaceae strongly repre-sented in symptomatic but not healthy tissues. No single dominated species was isolated from diseased tissues, so tissue degradation in oak likely have a polymicrobial cause.

We have recently described a non-chromatographic, ligand-free approach for antibody (Ab) purification based on specially designed: [Tween-20:bathophenanthroline:Fe2+] aggregates. To assess the potential generality of this approach, a variety of detergents belonging to four nonionic detergent families (Tween, Brij, Triton and Pluronic) have now been studied. All surfactant aggregates lead to high purity of the recovered Abs (>95%, by gel densitometry). Good overall Ab recovery yields were observed with: Tween-20 (80-83%), Brij-O20 (85-87%) and Triton X-100 (87-90%), while Pluronic F-127 was less efficient (42-53%). Of additional importance is the finding that the process can depend on filtration (rather than centrifugation), thereby allowing a continuous purification mode that leads to the recovery of monomeric IgG’s (by DLS) and preservation of Ab specificity (by ELISA). The amphiphilic chelator, bathophenanthroline (batho) is recycled almost quantitatively (95%) by crystallization. Good IgG recovery yields (~80%) are also observed when Ab concentrations are increased from 1 mg/ml to 3-5 mg/mL. Potential advantages of the purification platform for industrial downstream processing of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), are discussed.

In the current research chor, we are reporting the synthesis of 2-amino-6-methylpyrimidin-4-yl benzenesulfonate (AMPBS) and 2,6-diaminopyrimidin-4-yl benzenesulfonate (DAPBS) via O-benzenesulfonylation of 2-amino-6-methylpyrimidin-4-ol 1 and 2,6-diaminopyrimidin-4-ol 2 respectively. The structures of the synthesized compounds were characterized unambiguously by single crystal analysis (SC-XRD).Hirshfeld surface study showed that C-H…O, C-H…N and especially C-H…C hydrogen bond interactions are the key contributors to the intermolecular stabilisation in the crystal. The quantum chemical understanding about optimized geometry, natural bond orbitals (NBOs), frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) and nonlinear optical (NLO) analysis for AMPBS and DAPBS were obtained by applying density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP level and 6-311G(d,p) basis set. Time dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT)/ B3LYP/ 6-311G(d,p) level were employed to determine the photo physical properties of compounds. As a whole, the simulated results were found to have an excellent concurrence to the experimental results. The charge transfer phenomenon entitled compounds was determined by FMOs. Global reactivity parameters were obtained by using HOMO–LUMO energies of compounds. Overall, the computational results of AMPBS and DAPBS have outstanding agreement to experimental data. The computational study also showed that the title compounds have remarkable NLO properties.