Anomalous mass diffusion in a binary mixture and Rayleigh-Bénard instability.

The onset of the Rayleigh-Bénard instability in a horizontal fluid layer is investigated by assuming the fluid as a binary mixture and the concentration buoyancy as the driving force. The focus of this study is on the anomalous diffusion phenomenology emerging when the mean squared displacement of molecules in the diffusive random walk is not proportional to time, as in the usual Fick's diffusion, but it is proportional to a power of time. The power-law model of anomalous diffusion identifies subdiffusion when the power-law index is smaller than unity, while it describes superdiffusion when the power-law index is larger than unity.

Activation of innate immunity selectively compromises mitochondrial complex I, proline oxidation, and flight activity in the major arbovirus vector Aedes aegypti.

Aedes aegypti females are natural vectors of important arboviruses such as dengue, zika, and yellow fever. Mosquitoes activate innate immune response signaling pathways upon infection, as a resistance mechanism to fight pathogens and limit their propagation. Despite the beneficial effects of immune activation for insect vectors, phenotypic costs ultimately affect their fitness.

Mosquito midgut stem cell cellular defense response limits Plasmodium parasite infection.

A novel cellular response of midgut progenitors (stem cells and enteroblasts) to Plasmodium berghei infection was investigated in Anopheles stephensi. The presence of developing oocysts triggers proliferation of midgut progenitors that is modulated by the Jak/STAT pathway and is proportional to the number of oocysts on individual midguts. The percentage of parasites in direct contact with enteroblasts increases over time, as progenitors proliferate.

Mosquito midgut stem cell cellular defense response limits parasite infection.

A novel cellular response of midgut progenitors (stem cells and enteroblasts) to infection was investigated in The presence of developing oocysts triggers proliferation of midgut progenitors that is modulated by the Jak/STAT pathway, and proportional to the number of oocysts on individual midguts. The percentage of parasites in direct contact with enteroblasts increases over time, as progenitors proliferate. Enhancing proliferation of progenitors significantly decreases oocyst numbers, while limiting proliferation increases oocyst survival.

The Aedes aegypti peritrophic matrix controls arbovirus vector competence through HPx1, a heme-induced peroxidase.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the main vectors of arboviruses. The peritrophic matrix (PM) is an extracellular layer that surrounds the blood bolus. It acts as an immune barrier that prevents direct contact of bacteria with midgut epithelial cells during blood digestion.

MRI evidence of olfactory system alterations in patients with COVID-19 and neurological symptoms.

Background And Objective: Despite olfactory disorders being among the most common neurological complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), their pathogenesis has not been fully elucidated yet. Brain MR imaging is a consolidated method for evaluating olfactory system's morphological modification, but a few quantitative studies have been published so far. The aim of the study was to provide MRI evidence of olfactory system alterations in patients with COVID-19 and neurological symptoms, including olfactory dysfunction.

Pneumonia-related pneumatoceles in infants: CT assessment and image-guided treatment.

Lung pneumatoceles represent a potential life-threatening complication of pneumonia in infants, especially when they do not spontaneously reabsorb. In this category of patients, scientific literature lacks and no consensus guidelines for management have been proposed. Imaging plays a key role in the diagnosis, characterization, and follow-up of pneumatoceles.

Hemocyte differentiation to the megacyte lineage enhances mosquito immunity against .

Activation of signaling in by silencing , a suppressor of this pathway, enhances local release of hemocyte-derived microvesicles (HdMv), promoting activation of the mosquito complement-like system, which eliminates ookinetes. We uncovered the mechanism of this immune enhancement. silencing triggers a -mediated differentiation of granulocytes to the megacyte lineage, a new subpopulation of giant cells, resulting in a dramatic increase in the proportion of circulating megacytes.

Cerebral Microbleeds Assessment and Quantification in COVID-19 Patients With Neurological Manifestations.

It is increasingly acknowledged that Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) can have neurological manifestations, and cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) have been observed in this setting. The aim of this study was to characterize CMBs patterns on susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 with neurological manifestations. CMBs volume was quantified and correlated with clinical and laboratory parameters.

Double peroxidase and histone acetyltransferase AgTip60 maintain innate immune memory in primed mosquitoes.

Immune priming in is mediated by the systemic release of a hemocyte differentiation factor (HDF), a complex of lipoxin A bound to Evokin, a lipid carrier. HDF increases the proportion of circulating granulocytes and enhances mosquito cellular immunity. Here, we show that Evokin is present in hemocytes and fat-body cells, and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression increases significantly after immune priming.

Morphological Characterization of the Antennal Sensilla of the Afrotropical Sand Fly, Phlebotomus duboscqi (Diptera: Psychodidae).

We investigated by scanning electron microscopy the morphology, distribution, and abundance of antennal sensilla of females Phlebotomus duboscqi sand fly, an important vector of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis at Afrotropical region. Thirteen well-differentiated sensilla were identified, among six types of cuticular sensilla. The probable function of these sensillary types is discussed in relation to their external structure and distribution.

Cerebral superb microvascular imaging in preterm neonates: in vivo evaluation of thalamic, striatal, and extrastriatal angioarchitecture.

Purpose: To explore the potential of superb microvascular imaging (SMI) in visualizing brain microvessels in preterm neonates of different gestational ages (GA).

Methods: In this retrospective, observational pilot study, 15 preterm newborns were equally divided into GA groups: extremely (GA < 28 weeks), very (28-31 weeks), and moderate to late (32-37 weeks) preterm. All patients underwent conventional transcranial ultrasounds during the first day of life following the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine practice guidelines.

Prostaglandins regulate humoral immune responses in Aedes aegypti.

Prostaglandins (PGs) are immuno-active lipids that mediate the immune response in invertebrates and vertebrates. In insects, PGs play a role on different physiological processes such as reproduction, ion transport and regulation of cellular immunity. However, it is unclear whether PGs play a role in invertebrate's humoral immunity, and, if so, which immune signaling pathways would be modulated by PGs.

Corrigendum to: The Horton-Rogers-Lapwood problem for an inclined porous layer with permeable boundaries.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2018.

Mosquito cellular immunity at single-cell resolution.

Hemocytes limit the capacity of mosquitoes to transmit human pathogens. Here we profile the transcriptomes of 8506 hemocytes of and mosquito vectors. Our data reveal the functional diversity of hemocytes, with different subtypes of granulocytes expressing distinct and evolutionarily conserved subsets of effector genes.

Ultrastructure of the Antennae and Sensilla of Nyssomyia intermedia (Diptera: Psychodidae), Vector of American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis.

The antennal sensilla and the antenna of females Nyssomyia intermedia, one of the main vectors of American cutaneous leishmaniasis, were studied by scanning electron microscopy. The main goal was to characterize the quantity, typology, and topography of the sensilla with particular attention to the olfactory types. The insects were captured in the city of Corte de Pedra, State of Bahia, Brazil, by CDC-type light traps and raised in a laboratory as a new colony.

A rare case of bladder diverticulosis.

The incidence of bladder diverticula in the pediatric population is unknown as they are often asymptomatic. A minority of cases are a manifestation of a genetic syndrome. Primary diverticula have different features compared to secondary diverticula, which are generally caused by an obstructive or iatrogenic mechanism.

A mosquito juvenile hormone binding protein (mJHBP) regulates the activation of innate immune defenses and hemocyte development.

Insects rely on the innate immune system for defense against pathogens, some aspects of which are under hormonal control. Here we provide direct experimental evidence showing that the juvenile hormone-binding protein (mJHBP) of Aedes aegypti is required for the regulation of innate immune responses and the development of mosquito blood cells (hemocytes). Using an mJHBP-deficient mosquito line generated by means of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology we uncovered a mutant phenotype characterized by immunosuppression at the humoral and cellular levels, which profoundly affected susceptibility to bacterial infection.

Mosquito Midgut Prostaglandin Release Establishes Systemic Immune Priming.

Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes that have been infected with Plasmodium mount a more effective immune response to a subsequent infection. Priming is established when Plasmodium invasion of the mosquito midgut allows contact of the gut microbiota with epithelial cells. This event is followed by a systemic release of a hemocyte differentiation factor (HDF) consisting of Lipoxin A4 bound to Evokin, a lipocalin carrier, which increases the proportion of circulating hemocytes.

Unstable wave-packet perturbations in an advective Cahn-Hilliard process.

A study of the perturbation dynamics in a one-dimensional advective Cahn-Hilliard system, characterized by a nonvanishing driving force, is carried out to test the stability of a uniform basic solution. The linear stability of small-amplitude perturbations is analyzed both in the case of normal Fourier modes, with a given wave number, and in the case of wave packets localized in space. The dual nature of the instability, either of convective or absolute type, is studied, revealing that the driving force creates a gap between the parametric threshold to instability of normal modes and that to instability of wave packets.

The Aedes aegypti IMD pathway is a critical component of the mosquito antifungal immune response.

Successful infection of the insect body by entomopathogenic fungi is the result of complex molecular interactions between the host and the invading pathogenic fungi. The mosquito antifungal response is multifaceted and is regulated in part by the Toll and Jak-STAT pathways. Here, we assessed the role of the IMD pathway in the mosquito Ae.