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The Global-Multi Conjugated Adaptive Optics (GMCAO) approach offers an alternative way to correct an adequate scientific Field of View (FoV) using only natural guide stars (NGSs) to extremely large ground-based telescopes. Thus, even in the absence of laser guide stars, a GMCAO-equipped ELT-like telescope can achieve optimal performance in terms of Strehl Ratio (SR), retrieving impressive results in studying star-poor fields, as in the cases of the deep field observations. The benefits and usability of GMCAO have been demonstrated by studying 6000 mock high redshift galaxies in the Chandra Deep Field South region. However, a systematic study simulating observations in several portions of the sky is mandatory to have a robust statistic of the GMCAO performance. Technical, tomographic and astrophysical parameters, discussed here, are given as inputs to GIUSTO, an IDL-based code that estimates the SR over the considered field, and the results are analyzed with statistical considerations. The best performance is obtained using stars that are relatively close to the Scientific FoV; therefore, the SR correlates with the mean off-axis position of NGSs, as expected, while their magnitude plays a secondary role. This study concludes that the SRs correlate linearly with the galactic latitude, as also expected. Because of the lack of natural guide stars needed for low-order aberration sensing, the GMCAO confirms as a promising technique to observe regions that can not be studied without the use of laser beacons. It represents a robust alternative way or a risk mitigation strategy for laser approaches on the ELTs.

The genetic make-up of an individual contributes to the susceptibility and response to viral infection. Although environmental, clinical and social factors have a role in the chance of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and the severity of COVID-19 1 , 2 , host genetics may also be important. Identifying host-specific genetic factors may reveal biological mechanisms of therapeutic relevance and clarify causal relationships of modifiable environmental risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection and outcomes. We formed a global network of researchers to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity. Here we describe the results of three genome-wide association meta-analyses that consist of up to 49,562 patients with COVID-19 from 46 studies across 19 countries. We report 13 genome-wide significant loci that are associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection or severe manifestations of COVID-19. Several of these loci correspond to previously documented associations to lung or autoimmune and inflammatory diseases 3 – 7 . They also represent potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection. Mendelian randomization analyses support a causal role for smoking and body-mass index for severe COVID-19 although not for type II diabetes. The identification of novel host genetic factors associated with COVID-19 was made possible by the community of human genetics researchers coming together to prioritize the sharing of data, results, resources and analytical frameworks. This working model of international collaboration underscores what is possible for future genetic discoveries in emerging pandemics, or indeed for any complex human disease. A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) is ESA’s M3 mission designed to detect and characterise extrasolar planets and perform asteroseismic monitoring of a large number of stars. PLATO will detect small planets (down to <2R Earth ) around bright stars (<11 mag), including terrestrial planets in the habitable zone of solar-like stars. With the complement of radial velocity observations from the ground, planets will be characterised for their radius, mass, and age with high accuracy (5%, 10%, 10% for an Earth-Sun combination respectively). PLATO will provide us with a large-scale catalogue of well-characterised small planets up to intermediate orbital periods, relevant for a meaningful comparison to planet formation theories and to better understand planet evolution. It will make possible comparative exoplanetology to place our Solar System planets in a broader context. In parallel, PLATO will study (host) stars using asteroseismology, allowing us to determine the stellar properties with high accuracy, substantially enhancing our knowledge of stellar structure and evolution. The payload instrument consists of 26 cameras with 12cm aperture each. For at least four years, the mission will perform high-precision photometric measurements. Here we review the science objectives, present PLATO‘s target samples and fields, provide an overview of expected core science performance as well as a description of the instrument and the mission profile towards the end of the serial production of the flight cameras. PLATO is scheduled for a launch date end 2026. This overview therefore provides a summary of the mission to the community in preparation of the upcoming operational phases.

We investigated the association of melanoma risk with food consumption in a northern Italian population in which disease risk was shown to correlate with linoleic acid and soluble carbohydrates intake. We collected information regarding the habitual consumption of 188 food items in 59 patients with newly diagnosed cutaneous melanoma and 59 sex- and age-matched population controls. In the unadjusted analyses, the intake of several foodstuffs directly or inversely correlated with melanoma risk. In multivariate analysis adjusting for several potential confounders, risk correlated directly with vegetable oil intake and inversely with consumption of crispbreads and rusks. Overall, most of the food items rich in linoleic acid and soluble carbohydrates were unrelated to disease risk. Despite the limited statistical precision of the point estimates, these findings seem to indicate that consumption of specific foods may influence melanoma risk.

Summary Gradual transitions from K-feldspar free gneisses to K-feldspar bearing augengneisses are sometimes observed in metamorphic terranes. They have been explained with metasomatic porphyroblastic growth connected with regional metamorphism, or with pre-metamorphic presence of magmatic megacrysts. A transition of this kind can be observed in the Serie dei Laghi (Southern Alps, Italy), where coarse-grained meta-arenites ( Cenerigneiss ) grade into Ceneri augengneisses with large K-feldspar porphyroclasts, and banded amphibolites of the “Strona Ceneri Border Zone” grade into Hbl augengneisses rich in K-feldspar. The Ceneri augengneisses are chemically indistinguishable from the Cenerigneiss , but have higher 87 Sr /86 Sr (0.7256–0.7258 vs. 0.7215–0.7233), similar to those of the Ordovician granites that were intruded, before the regional metamorphism, into the protoliths of both Cenerigneiss and amphibolites . The Cenerigneiss contains two types of zircons: (1) highly luminescent, rounded grains or fragments, yielding U–Pb SHRIMP ages from 0.43 to 1.0 Ga; (2) euhedral grains with oscillatory zoning (magmatic), with U–Pb SHRIMP concordant ages of 466 ± 13 Ma. This age coincides with the Rb–Sr whole rock emplacement age of the Ordovician granitoids (466 ± 5 Ma). The Hbl augengneisses form three groups with distinct geochemical patterns, whose distributions on inter-element diagrams trend towards the Ordovician metagranites and meta-aplites. In addition, the Hbl augengneisses have higher 87 Sr /86 Sr (0.7132–0.7147 vs. 0.7031–0.7046) and lower 143 Nd /144 Nd (0.51214–0.51219 vs. 0.51273–0.51297) than the amphibolites , suggesting the addition of an isotopically evolved component. The observed chemical and isotope patterns, as well as the vicinity of the augen gneisses to the Ordovician intrusions, lead us to conclude that the Ceneri augengneisses and Hbl augengneisses are the result of infiltration of residual hydrous magmas into the protolith of both the Cenerigneiss and the amphibolites at the time of Ordovician granite emplacement, long before the regional metamorphism in the Serie dei Laghi.

We examined the association between risk of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and seroprevalence of antibodies to echovirus-7 (echo-7) and herpesviruses 6, 7, and 8 through a population-based case-control study. We enrolled in a northern Italy area 20 newly diagnosed ALS cases and 20 referents. Risk of ALS was higher in subjects seropositive for echo-7 when we used the immunofluorescent assay, while little increase was noted with the neutralization test. Considering the different characteristics of these two serological assays, these results suggest an association between disease risk and infection with enterovirus (EV) family members (not specifically echo-7). ALS risk was slightly associated with seropositivity of human herpesvirus-6 (odds ratio: 3.2; p = 0.102) and more strongly with human herpesvirus-8 seropositivity (odds ratio: 8.4, p = 0.064), though these point estimates were statistically unstable due to the limited number of observed cases. The findings of this study warrant further investigation in larger studies of the possible etiologic role of EV or herpesvirus infection in sporadic ALS.

The incineration of municipal solid waste leads to the environmental release of some toxic substances, albeit of low atmospheric concentration in the proximity of the most recently built incinerators thanks to the substantial advancements in air pollution control equipment. An excess risk of some adverse health outcomes (cancer, birth defects, and respiratory diseases in particular) has been linked to the environmental release of these toxic substances on the basis of epidemiologic and laboratory studies. The methodologies most frequently adopted by environmental scientists and regulatory agencies to evaluate these potential risk are the modelling of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks, and the implementation of epidemiologic studies in the populations residing near the incinerators. Geographic Information System (GIS) software to map specific diseases in the areas around the incinerators can also be used in support of data management and data representation. We describe a health surveillance program concerning the population of a northern Italian town where the capacity of a municipal solid waste incinerator is planned to substantially increase in the near future. The program will analyse the risk of birth defects and spontaneous abortions in the population potentially exposed to the incinerator emissions.

Our aim was to examine the risk of melanoma in association with exposure to trace elements of toxicological and nutritional interest. We analyzed the concentrations of cadmium, lead, chromium, selenium, copper and zinc in toenails of 58 patients with newly diagnosed cutaneous melanoma as well as in 58 age- and sex-matched control subjects, randomly selected from the population of Modena province in northern Italy. Melanoma risk was substantially unrelated to toenail levels of cadmium, chromium, lead and selenium. Subjects with higher toenail copper levels showed an excess risk, both in the crude analysis and after adjusting for sun exposure and level of education, while in both analyses high iron concentrations were associated with a decreased risk of the disease. A weak direct association between zinc levels and melanoma risk also emerged in the multivariate analysis. Overall, these results do not suggest an involvement of heavy metals in melanoma etiology, while they do give some support to a possible role of zinc and, in particular, copper and iron exposure in influencing disease risk. However, these findings must be evaluated with caution due to the limited statistical stability of the point estimates.