University of Rijeka

About: University of Rijeka is a education organization based out in Rijeka, Croatia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Tourism. The organization has 3471 authors who have published 7993 publications receiving 110386 citations. The organization is also known as: Rijeka University & Sveučilište u Rijeci.

Altered development of the brain after focal herpesvirus infection of the central nervous system.

Abstract: Human cytomegalovirus infection of the developing central nervous system (CNS) is a major cause of neurological damage in newborn infants and children. To investigate the pathogenesis of this human infection, we developed a mouse model of infection in the developing CNS. Intraperitoneal inoculation of newborn animals with murine cytomegalovirus resulted in virus replication in the liver followed by virus spread to the brain. Virus infection of the CNS was associated with the induction of inflammatory responses, including the induction of a large number of interferon-stimulated genes and histological evidence of focal encephalitis with recruitment of mononuclear cells to foci containing virus-infected cells. The morphogenesis of the cerebellum was delayed in infected animals. The defects in cerebellar development in infected animals were generalized and, although correlated temporally with virus replication and CNS inflammation, spatially unrelated to foci of virus-infected cells. Specific defects included decreased granular neuron proliferation and migration, expression of differentiation markers, and activation of neurotrophin receptors. These findings suggested that in the developing CNS, focal virus infection and induction of inflammatory responses in resident and infiltrating mononuclear cells resulted in delayed cerebellar morphogenesis.

Kama muta: Conceptualizing and measuring the experience often labelled being moved across 19 nations and 15 languages.

Abstract: English-speakers sometimes say that they feel "moved to tears," "emotionally touched," "stirred," or that something "warmed their heart;" other languages use similar passive contact metaphors to refer to an affective state. The authors propose and measure the concept of kama muta to understand experiences often given these and other labels. Do the same experiences evoke the same kama muta emotion across nations and languages? They conducted studies in 19 different countries, 5 continents, 15 languages, with a total of 3,542 participants. They tested the construct while validating a comprehensive scale to measure the appraisals, valence, bodily sensations, motivation, and lexical labels posited to characterize kama muta. The results are congruent with theory and previous findings showing that kama muta is a distinct positive social relational emotion that is evoked by experiencing or observing a sudden intensification of communal sharing. It is commonly accompanied by a warm feeling in the chest, moist eyes or tears, chills or piloerection, feeling choked up or having a lump in the throat, buoyancy, and exhilaration. It motivates affective devotion and moral commitment to communal sharing. Although the authors observed some variations across cultures, these 5 facets of kama muta are highly correlated in every sample, supporting the validity of the construct and the measure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Searches for Dark Matter annihilation signatures in the Segue 1 satellite galaxy with the MAGIC-I telescope

Abstract: We report the results of the observation of the nearby satellite galaxy Segue 1 performed by the MAGIC-I ground-based gamma-ray telescope between November 2008 and March 2009 for a total of 43.2 hours. No significant gamma-ray emission was found above the background. Differential upper limits on the gamma-ray flux are derived assuming various power-law slopes for the possible emission spectrum. Integral upper limits are also calculated for several power-law spectra and for different energy thresholds. The values are of the order of 10^{-11} ph cm^{-2}$ s^{-1} above 100 GeV and 10^{-12} ph cm^{-2} s^{-1} above 200 GeV. Segue 1 is currently considered one of the most interesting targets for indirect dark matter searches. In these terms, the upper limits have been also interpreted in the context of annihilating dark matter particles. For such purpose, we performed a grid scan over a reasonable portion of the parameter space for the minimal SuperGravity model and computed the flux upper limit for each point separately, taking fully into account the peculiar spectral features of each model. We found that in order to match the experimental upper limits with the model predictions, a minimum flux boost of 10^{3} is required, and that the upper limits are quite dependent on the shape of the gamma-ray energy spectrum predicted by each specific model. Finally we compared the upper limits with the predictions of some dark matter models able to explain the PAMELA rise in the positron ratio, finding that Segue 1 data are in tension with the dark matter explanation of the PAMELA spectrum in the case of a dark matter candidate annihilating into tau+tau-. A complete exclusion however is not possible due to the uncertainties in the Segue 1 astrophysical factor.

The herpesviral antagonist m152 reveals differential activation of STING-dependent IRF and NF-κB signaling and STING's dual role during MCMV infection.

Abstract: Cytomegaloviruses (CMVs) are master manipulators of the host immune response. Here, we reveal that the murine CMV (MCMV) protein m152 specifically targets the type I interferon (IFN) response by binding to stimulator of interferon genes (STING), thereby delaying its trafficking to the Golgi compartment from where STING initiates type I IFN signaling. Infection with an MCMV lacking m152 induced elevated type I IFN responses and this leads to reduced viral transcript levels both in vitro and in vivo This effect is ameliorated in the absence of STING Interestingly, while m152 inhibits STING-mediated IRF signaling, it did not affect STING-mediated NF-κB signaling. Analysis of how m152 targets STING translocation reveals that STING activates NF-κB signaling already from the ER prior to its trafficking to the Golgi. Strikingly, this response is important to promote early MCMV replication. Our results show that MCMV has evolved a mechanism to specifically antagonize the STING-mediated antiviral IFN response, while preserving its pro-viral NF-κB response, providing an advantage in the establishment of an infection.