Search for Gamma-Ray Spectral Lines from Dark Matter Annihilation up to 100 TeV toward the Galactic Center with MAGIC.

Linelike features in TeV γ rays constitute a "smoking gun" for TeV-scale particle dark matter and new physics. Probing the Galactic Center region with ground-based Cherenkov telescopes enables the search for TeV spectral features in immediate association with a dense dark matter reservoir at a sensitivity out of reach for satellite γ-ray detectors, and direct detection and collider experiments. We report on 223 hours of observations of the Galactic Center region with the MAGIC stereoscopic telescope system reaching γ-ray energies up to 100 TeV. We improved the sensitivity to spectral lines at high energies using large-zenith-angle observations and a novel background modeling method within a maximum-likelihood analysis in the energy domain. No linelike spectral feature is found in our analysis. Therefore, we constrain the cross section for dark matter annihilation into two photons to ⟨σv⟩≲5×10^{-28} cm^{3} s^{-1} at 1 TeV and ⟨σv⟩≲1×10^{-25} cm^{3} s^{-1} at 100 TeV, achieving the best limits to date for a dark matter mass above 20 TeV and a cuspy dark matter profile at the Galactic Center. Finally, we use the derived limits for both cuspy and cored dark matter profiles to constrain supersymmetric wino models.

Histomorphometric and immunohistochemical study shows that tricalcium silicate cement associated with zirconium oxide or niobium oxide is a promising material in the periodontal tissue repair of rat molars with perforated pulp chamber floors.

AIM: To evaluate the periodontium response to tricalcium silicate (TCS) with zirconium oxide (ZrO2 ) or niobium oxide (Nb2 O5 ) used in the sealing of perforated pulp chamber floors in rat maxillary molars. METHODOLOGY: In eighty rats, the perforations in right maxillary molars were filled with either TCS + ZrO2 , TCS + Nb2 O5 , White MTA (used as a gold standard material) or no repair material was placed (Sham Group, SG); the left molars of SG, were used as controls (CG). Sections of maxillary fragments following 7, 15, 30 and 60 days were used to evaluate the volume densities of inflammatory cells (VvIC) and fibroblasts (VvFb), width of the periodontal space, amount of collagen, number of osteoclasts and number of IL-6-immunostained cells. The data were subjected to two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's test (P ≤ 0.05). RESULTS: At all periods, significant differences in VvIC were not detected among TCS + ZrO2, TCS + Nb2 O5 and MTA groups, which had values significantly lower (P < 0.05) than the SG. Significant differences in the number of IL-6-immunolabelled cells were not observed among TCS + ZrO2 , TCS + Nb2 O5 and MTA groups (P > 0.05) at 15, 30 and 60 days. At 7, 15 and 30 days, the number of osteoclast was significantly greater in TCS + ZrO2, TCS + Nb2 O5 and MTA (P < 0.05) than in the CG; no significant difference was detected after 60 days (P > 0.05). The width of the periodontal space and amount of collagen in TCS + ZrO2 and TCS + Nb2 O5 groups were similar to the CG at 30 and 60 days while SG specimens had a significant reduction (P < 0.05) in the amount of collagen and significant increase (P < 0.05) in the width of the periodontal space. CONCLUSIONS: TCS + ZrO2 and TCS + Nb2 O5 were associated with periodontium repair since these materials allowed the reestablishment of periodontal space width and collagen formation when used in the filling of uninfected perforations in the pulp chamber floor of maxillary rat molars. Furthermore, the significant reduction in the periodontal space of TCS + ZrO2 and TCS + Nb2 O5 specimens after 60 days confirmed that the experimental materials were associated with a more rapid recovery of the injured tissues than MTA.

Bounds on Lorentz Invariance Violation from MAGIC Observation of GRB 190114C.

On January 14, 2019, the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov telescopes detected GRB 190114C above 0.2 TeV, recording the most energetic photons ever observed from a gamma-ray burst. We use this unique observation to probe an energy dependence of the speed of light in vacuo for photons as predicted by several quantum gravity models. Based on a set of assumptions on the possible intrinsic spectral and temporal evolution, we obtain competitive lower limits on the quadratic leading order of speed of light modification.

Stratigraphic context and paleoenvironmental significance of minor taxa (Pisces, Reptilia, Aves, Rodentia) from the late Early Pleistocene paleoanthropological site of Buia (Eritrea).

The Buia Homo site, also known as Wadi Aalad, is an East African paleoanthropological site near the village of Buia that, due to its very rich yield from the late Early Pleistocene, has been intensively investigated since 1994. In this paper, which reports on the finds of the 2010-2011 excavations, we include new fossil evidence on previously identified taxa (i.e., reptiles), as well as the very first description of the small mammal, fish and bird remains discovered. In particular, this study documents the discovery of the first African fossil of the genus Burhinus (Aves, Charadriiformes) and of the first rodent from the site. This latter is identified as a thryonomyid rodent (cane rat), a relatively common taxon in African paleoanthropological faunal assemblages. On the whole, the new occurrences documented within the Buia vertebrate assemblage confirm the occurrence of taxa characterized by strong water dependence. The paleoenvironmental characteristics of the fauna are confirmed as fully compatible with the evidence obtained through sedimentology and facies analysis, documenting the sedimentary evolution of fluvio-deltaic and lacustrine systems.

The role of post-natal ontogeny in the evolution of phenotypic diversity in Podarcis lizards.

Understanding the role of the developmental pathways in shaping phenotypic diversity allows appreciating in full the processes influencing and constraining morphological change. Podarcis lizards demonstrate extraordinary morphological variability that likely originated in short evolutionary time. Using geometric morphometrics and a broad suite of statistical tests, we explored the role of developmental mechanisms such as growth rate change, ontogenetic divergence/convergence/parallelism as well as morphological expression of heterochronic processes in mediating the formation of their phenotypic diversity during the post-natal ontogeny. We identified hypermorphosis - the prolongation of growth along the same trajectory - as the process responsible for both intersexual and interspecific morphological differentiation. Albeit the common allometric pattern observed in both sexes of any species constrains and canalizes their cephalic scales variation in a fixed portion of the phenotypic space, the extended growth experienced by males and some species allows them to achieve peramorphic morphologies. Conversely, the intrasexual phenotypic diversity is accounted for by non-allometric processes that drive the extensive morphological dispersion throughout their ontogenetic trajectories. This study suggests a model of how simple heterochronic perturbations can produce phenotypic variation, and thus potential for further evolutionary change, even within a strictly constrained developmental pathway.

The impact of a diagnosis of couple subfertility on male sexual function.

AIM: The aim was to study: a) the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in male partners of subfertile couples; b) the possible correlation between sexual dysfunction and seminal profile. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Male partners (no.=171) of subfertile couples were studied, aged between 25 and 40 yr, attending the Andrology Unit of Sant'Andrea Hospital. All the subjects responded to a modified International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaire, made up of 5 questions: 2 regarding erectile function, 1 concerning orgasmic function, 1 question on sexual desire, and 1 on satisfaction with intercourse. The questionnaire investigated both spontaneous sex for pleasure and sex intended to lead to pregnancy. The subjects underwent standard semen analysis, according to World Health Organization guidelines. RESULTS: The data showed a disorder in sexual intercourse for reproductive purposes in 37 subjects (23.7%). Of these, only 14 (8.9%) also had problems with sex for pleasure. On the other hand, there was no significant variation in the prevalence of sexual dysfunction related to seminal profile. CONCLUSIONS: A diagnosis of subfertility represents a stressful situation which can reduce the pleasure of sex, especially in intercourse intended for reproductive purposes; this disorder in sexual activity does not seem to be directly correlated with awareness of the severity of the semen alterations.

Malignant mesothelioma in construction workers: the Apulia regional mesothelioma register, Southern Italy.

OBJECTIVE: Asbestos was widely used in construction in both a friable and a compact form until the 1990s, before its use was banned. Today, many of these materials are still in situ and represent a source of risk for construction workers. The objective of the study was to analyse the cases of mesothelioma arising among construction workers registered in the Apulia regional register of mesothelioma. RESULTS: For the period 1993-2018, there were 178 male cases, and 10.2% of the cases were present in the regional register. The average age at diagnosis was 64.7 years. The site was pleural in 96.06% of cases, with a diagnosis of certainty in 86.5% of the total cases and 61.8% of cases with epithelial histology. The average latency is 43.9 years. In 75.2% of cases, the exposure began between 1941 and 1970, with an average duration of 24.3 years. The age at the start of exposure in 68.5% of cases is between 8 and 20 years. The ORs were 2.5 (C.I. 95% 1.01-6.17) for the epithelioid histotype and the high duration of exposure. The data underline the need for prevention and information on all activities involving construction workers in which asbestos-containing materials are still used.

Health impact of exposure to asbestos in polluted area of Southern Italy.

The three main sources of asbestos pollution in the city of Bari, Puglia, the former Fibronit asbestos factory, the Torre Quetta beach, the former Rossani barracks and the history of their reclamation are described. The results of cohort studies on factory workers and case-control studies on asbestos exposure to the resident population and the onset of mesothelioma are also reported. Finally, the data of the regional register of mesothelioma related to residents in the city of Bari and four new cases with environmental exposure due to the former Rossani barracks are presented.

New software for the automatic and semiautomatic assessment of sperm morphology.

AIM: An attempt was made to improve the standardization of sperm morphology assessment. METHODS: A software for computerized automatic/semiautomatic sperm morphology assessment was developed and a comparative study between this computerized system and the subjective micrometric method was carried out. RESULTS: The software has shown to be very reliable and reproducible. The subjective micrometric method significantly underestimated the percentage of atypical forms compared with the objective method. CONCLUSION: Until the development of new fully-automatic techniques, this system is certainly an effective first step in the objective, reproducible standardization of sperm morphology assessment.

Prevalence of diabetes mellitus in male partners of infertile couples.

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in a population of male partners of infertile couples, to evaluate their seminal and biochemical parameters and to plan therapeutic strategies to achieve pregnancy. METHODS: Standard semen analysis was carried out in 510 male partners of infertile couples, aged 25 to 51 years. RESULTS: The prevalence of DM in the subjects studied was 1.18%, 4 cases with non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and 2 cases with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Three subjects with NIDDM and 1 with IDDM had normal ejaculation. Semen analysis of these subjects showed qualitative alteration; the most important effects concerned the kinetic properties, especially progressive motility. Sperm morphology was also significantly compromised. On the other hand, sperm concentration did not show significant alterations. The therapeutic iter in these subjects is similar to that for other dyspermic male partners of infertile couples. The 2 remaining subjects (one with NIDDM and one with IDDM) had retrograde ejaculation (sperm recovery from post-orgasmic urine) and were included in intrauterine insemination or in vitro fertilization programs. In addition, in the subjects with DM, the biochemical seminal profile showed significantly higher levels of fructose compared with the nondiabetic subjects. CONCLUSION: DM has a negative impact both in terms of sperm quality and of the ejaculation mechanism. The low prevalence of DM among this study population of 510 male partners of infertile couples is due to the low prevalence of DM in this age range.

Expression and heterodimer-binding activity of Ku70 and Ku80 in human non-melanoma skin cancer.

BACKGROUND: Experimental data suggest that exposure to ultraviolet radiation may indirectly induce DNA double-strand breaks. AIM: To investigate the contribution of the non-homologous end-joining repair pathway in basal and squamous cell carcinomas. METHODS: Levels of Ku70 and Ku80 proteins were determined by immunohistochemical analysis and Ku70-Ku80 heterodimer-binding activity by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Matched pathological normal margins and skin from healthy people were used as controls. RESULTS: A significant increase in Ku70 and Ku80 protein levels was found for both tumour types as compared with normal skin (p<0.001). Squamous cell carcinoma showed increased immunostaining as compared with basal cell tumours (p<0.02). A direct correlation was found between Ku70 and Ku80 protein levels and expression of the proliferation markers Ki-67/MIB-1 (p<0.02 and p<0.002, respectively) in basal cell carcinoma. DNA binding activity was increased in basal cell carcinoma samples as compared with matched skin histopathologically negative for cancer (p<0.006). In squamous cell carcinomas, however, the difference was significant only with normal skin (p<0.02) and not with matched pathologically normal margins. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, an up regulation of the Ku70 and Ku80 protein levels seems to correlate only with tumour proliferation rate. As non-homologous end joining is an error-prone mechanism, its up regulation may ultimately increase genomic instability, contributing to tumour progression.

Role of pegylated lyposomal doxorubicin (PLD) in systemic Kaposi's sarcoma: a systematic review.

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a form of skin cancer that can involve internal organs. It is often found in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and can be fatal. Kaposi's sarcoma produces pink, purple or brown tumors on the skin, mucous membranes or internal organs. Treatment goals for KS are simple: to reduce the severity of the symptoms, shrink tumors and prevent disease progression. Unfortunately, there is no single best treatment-plan that can achieve all these goals. With widespread KS lesions over the body surface or evidence of spreading to other parts of the body, the physicians need to treat the patients with systemic chemotherapy. A new class of drugs, called liposomal anthracyclines, appears to produce good results with fewer toxic side effects than more conventional cytotoxic drugs. One of these drugs, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) has become the treatment of choice. This article summarizes all the studies with PLD in systemic Kaposi's sarcoma.

Expression of HECA-452 in parapsoriasis and mycosis fungoides.

We have investigated the HECA-452 expression in large plaque parapsoriasis (PP) and mycosis fungoides (MF) patients, evaluating the potential role of this biomarker in both cutaneous disorders. Skin specimens from 72 PP and 61 MF patients were selected in this study. We compared their actual histological diagnosis with their previous diagnosis and we found that all 72 PP patients had the same diagnosis as before (stable PP), while 26 out of 61 MF had a previous PP histological diagnosis (evolving PP). Our results show an increased expression of HECA-452 in MF compared to PP (p<0.01). Furthermore, evolving PP showed a significantly higher level of HECA-452 than stable PP (p<0.05). We conclude that HECA-452 expression increases during the natural history of Mycosis Fungoides. HECA-452 could be used as a biomarker for MF and predict which PP evolves to MF.

An attempt to improve standardization of sperm motility class assessment using the superimposed image analysis system (SIAS) software.

AIM: An attempt was made to improve the standardization of sperm motility assessment. METHODS: A computerized system based on image superimposition producing final image with a motion effect was employed. Numerical definition of straight-line velocity (VSL), curvilinear velocity (VCL) and linearity (LIN) related to these motility classes were made, at different frame/rates (20 frames/s, 30 frames/s and 60 frames/s). RESULTS: At least 4 motility class categories were found to be necessary (instead of 3, WHO) for a valid assessment. According to the cut-offs suggested by the ROC curves, motility classes were defined as follows: Class 1 (straight progressive motility): VSL = or > 23 microm/s; LIN = or > 0.58 at 20 frames/s; LIN = or > 0.50 at 30 frames/s; LIN = or > 0.44 at 60 frames/s. Class 2 (straight slow motility): VSL > 10 microm/s and < 23 microm/s; LIN = or > 0.58 at 20 frames/s; LIN = or > 0.51 at 30 frames/s; LIN = or > 0.43 at 60 frames/s. Class 3 (progressive non straight motility): VSL > 10 microm/s; LIN < 0.58 at 20 frames/s; LIN < 0.51 at 30 frames/s; LIN<0.43 at 60 frames/s. Class 4 (non progressive motility): VSL <10 microm/s. A frame rate of 20 frames/s was found to be sufficient to distinguish sperm motility classes in standard semen analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The numerical definition of sperm motility classes may contribute towards standardization in the objective evaluation of sperm kinematics.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip: FAS/FASL expression, lymphocyte subtypes and outcome.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lip is a relatively common malignancy of the head and neck region. Tumour thickness, grading and perineural invasion are significant prognostic indicators. However, there is still the need of new reliable biological markers able to predict the prognosis of the single cases with an unfavourable biological behaviour unpredictable by the classic clinical-pathological parameters. 32 cases of (SCC) of the lower lip were analysed for their clincopathologic features, and immunohistochemical expression of Fas/FasL in neoplastic cells and in inflammatory infiltrate. Moreover the density and phenotype of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) were analysed. The results were related with the follow-up of the patients ranging from 2 to 6 years. The cases with over-expression of Fas/FasL in neoplastic cells and Fas+ in T cells preferentially showed a more aggressive clinical behaviour (P<0.01). Moreover we found an alteration of the normal expression of CD4 and CD8 lymphocyte types in ten cases. This data suggest that the Fas/FasL pathway is involved in the close relation between neoplastic cells and T cells and so in the biological behaviour of these tumours.