The Complement C3a and C5a Signaling in Renal Diseases: A Bridge between Acute and Chronic Inflammation.

The complement system, a cornerstone of the innate immune defense, typically confers protection against pathogens. However, in various clinical scenarios the complement's defensive actions can harm host cells, exacerbating immune and inflammatory responses. The central components C3 and C5 undergo proteolytic cleavage during complement activation, yielding small active fragments C3a and C5a anaphylatoxins.

A Geometric Feature-Based Algorithm for the Virtual Reading of Closed Historical Manuscripts.

X-ray Computed Tomography (CT), a commonly used technique in a wide variety of research fields, nowadays represents a unique and powerful procedure to discover, reveal and preserve a fundamental part of our patrimony: ancient handwritten documents. For modern and well-preserved ones, traditional document scanning systems are suitable for their correct digitization, and, consequently, for their preservation; however, the digitization of ancient, fragile and damaged manuscripts is still a formidable challenge for conservators. The X-ray tomographic approach has already proven its effectiveness in data acquisition, but the algorithmic steps from tomographic images to real page-by-page extraction and reading are still a difficult undertaking.

Sirt3 deficiency promotes endothelial dysfunction and aggravates renal injury.

Sirtuin 3 (SIRT3), the main deacetylase of mitochondria, modulates the acetylation levels of substrates governing metabolism and oxidative stress. In the kidney, we showed that SIRT3 affects the proper functioning of high energy-demanding cells, such as tubular cells and podocytes. Less is known about the role of SIRT3 in regulating endothelial cell function and its impact on the progression of kidney disease.

SARS-CoV-2 spike protein induces lung endothelial cell dysfunction and thrombo-inflammation depending on the C3a/C3a receptor signalling.

The spike protein of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can interact with endothelial cells. However, no studies demonstrated the direct effect of the spike protein subunit 1 (S1) in inducing lung vascular damage and the potential mechanisms contributing to lung injury. Here, we found that S1 injection in mice transgenic for human angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) induced early loss of lung endothelial thromboresistance at 3 days, as revealed by thrombomodulin loss and von Willebrand factor (vWF) increase.

Direct evidence that late Neanderthal occupation precedes a technological shift in southwestern Italy.

Objectives: During the middle-to-upper Paleolithic transition (50,000 and 40,000 years ago), interaction between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens varied across Europe. In southern Italy, the association between Homo sapiens fossils and non-Mousterian material culture, as well as the mode and tempo of Neanderthal demise, are still vividly debated. In this research, we focus on the study of two human teeth by using 3D geometric morphometric approaches for a reliable taxonomical attribution as well as obtaining new radiometric dates on the archeological sequence.