Abusi su animali e abusi su umani. Complici nel crimine

The relationship between animal abuse and interpersonal violence has been hotly debated in the scientific literature from the 1960s onwards, especially in the US. An Italian project established in 2009, LINK-ITALIA, has been investigating this relationship; this is a pioneer project encompassing the whole country. A multidisciplinary team has analyzed 278 cases in which one or more instances of animal abuse were followed by crimes against humans. 93% of the abusers were male, 17% thereof children or teenagers; 54% of the victims were women, 24% children, 3% elderly people, 5% adult men, while 14%of the crimes involved more than one victim. 61% of the women avoided or delayed escaping their abusers because they feared for their pets. 19% of the human victims died. The main categories of abuse linked to both animal and human victims were shown to be: domestic violence, rape, stalking, bullying and organized crime. Because more people keep pets in Italy than in the US, investigation of animal abuse in Italy is likely to show a stronger relationship to abuse on humans and a stronger preventive effect than is the case in the US. These results are confirmed by multivariate statistics methods (PCA analysis); this is the first application of multivariate statistics to criminology in Italy. The application of multivariate statistical methods can supplement the traditional statistical tools already in use by criminologists, yelding insights and suggestionsabout interpersonal violence which cannot be reached by analyzing one variable at a time. The results of this study have led to a number of projects and collaborations with police forces, lawyers’ associations, victim support communities, schools, prisons and NGOs in order to collect more, and more in depth, data. Three shelters have been established, two of which can house abused animals (or animals belonging to abused victims) and one which can house human victims with their pets.Nella letteratura scientifica, soprattutto statunitense, è in corso dagli anni 60 in poi un nutrito dibattito sulla relazione tra la crudeltà su animali e la violenza interpersonale. Nato nel 2009 un progetto italiano, LINK-ITALIA, ha creato e svolto una ricerca su tale relazione per poter fornire un primo stato dell’arte a livello nazionale. Un team multidisciplinare ha analizzato 278 casi in cui a uno o più maltrattamenti su animali sono seguiti reati contro la persona. Gli abusatori sono risultati maschi nel 93% dei casi, di cui il 17% bambini o adolescenti. Le vittime sono risultate: donne nel 54% dei casi, bambini 24%, anziani3%, uomini 5%, vittime miste 14%. Nel 61% dei casi la vittima donna ha evitato o rallentato l’allontanamento dall’abusatore per paura di quello che sarebbe successo ai propri animali. Nel 19% dei casi la vittima umana è deceduta. Le principali tipologie di abuso collegato sia a vittime animali che a vittime umane sono risultate essere: violenza domestica, violenza sessuale, stalking, bullismo e reati collegati alla malavita organizzata. Data la maggiore diffusione percentuale di pet, il maltrattamento su animali in Italia può avere collegamenti con abusi su umani e un potenziale effetto preventivo di tali abusi in misura probabilmente maggiore rispetto agli Stati Uniti. Tali risultati vengono confermati dalla parallela prima applicazione di metodi di analisistatistica multivariata, analisi PCA, in ambito criminologico italiano. L’applicazione di metodi di statistica multivariata può aggiungersi alla statistica tradizionale usata in ambito criminologico fornendo spunti e idee agli operatori nell’ambito della violenza interpersonale non evidenziabili tramite l’analisi di una variabile alla volta. A seguito dei risultati ottenuti, per una raccolta datipiù completa e approfondita, sono stati attivati protocolli di intesa e collaborazione con unità di polizia giudiziaria, associazioni di avvocati, comunità di assistenza vittime, scuole, carceri, associazioni. Sono stati creati e resi operativi due rifugi in grado di ospitare animali vittime o di vittime di violenza domestica e un rifugio in grado di ospitare vittime umane con i loro animali

A generalizable definition of chemical similarity for read-across

Background: Methods that provide a measure of chemical similarity are strongly relevant in several fields of chemoinformatics as they allow to predict the molecular behavior and fate of structurally close compounds. One common application of chemical similarity measurements, based on the principle that similar molecules have similar properties, is the read-across approach, where an estimation of a specific endpoint for a chemical is provided using experimental data available from highly similar compounds. Results: This paper reports the comparison of multiple combinations of binary fingerprints and similarity metrics for computing the chemical similarity in the context of two different applications of the read-across technique. Conclusions: Our analysis demonstrates that the classical similarity measurements can be improved with a generalizable model of similarity. The proposed approach has already been used to build similarity indices in two open-source software tools (CAESAR and VEGA) that make several QSAR models available. In these tools, the similarity index plays a key role for the assessment of the applicability domain.Pubblicat

CAESAR models for developmental toxicity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The new REACH legislation requires assessment of a large number of chemicals in the European market for several endpoints. Developmental toxicity is one of the most difficult endpoints to assess, on account of the complexity, length and costs of experiments. Following the encouragement of QSAR (<it>in silico</it>) methods provided in the REACH itself, the CAESAR project has developed several models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two QSAR models for developmental toxicity have been developed, using different statistical/mathematical methods. Both models performed well. The first makes a classification based on a random forest algorithm, while the second is based on an adaptive fuzzy partition algorithm. The first model has been implemented and inserted into the CAESAR on-line application, which is java-based software that allows everyone to freely use the models.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The CAESAR QSAR models have been developed with the aim to minimize false negatives in order to make them more usable for REACH. The CAESAR on-line application ensures that both industry and regulators can easily access and use the developmental toxicity model (as well as the models for the other four endpoints).</p

Shmt2: a stat3 signaling new player in prostate cancer energy metabolism

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a multifactorial disease characterized by the aberrant activity of different regulatory pathways. STAT3 protein mediates some of these pathways and its activation is implicated in the modulation of several metabolic enzymes. A bioinformatic analysis indicated a STAT3 binding site in the upstream region of SHMT2 gene. We demonstrated that in LNCaP, PCa cells' SHMT2 expression is upregulated by the JAK2/STAT3 canonical pathway upon IL-6 stimulation. Activation of SHTM2 leads to a decrease in serine levels, pushing PKM2 towards the nuclear compartment where it can activate STAT3 in a non-canonical fashion that in turn promotes a transient shift toward anaerobic metabolism. These results were also confirmed on FFPE prostate tissue sections at different Gleason scores. STAT3/SHMT2/PKM2 loop in LNCaP cells can modulate a metabolic shift in response to inflammation at early stages of cancer progression, whereas a non-canonical STAT3 activation involving the STAT3/HIF-1α/PKM2 loop is responsible for the maintenance of Warburg effect distinctive of more aggressive PCa cells. Chronic inflammation might thus prime the transition of PCa cells towards more advanced stages, and SHMT2 could represent a missing factor to further understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for the transition of prostate cancer towards a more aggressive phenotyp

Multi‑parametric MRI in the diagnosis and scoring of gastrointestinal acute graft‑versus‑host disease

Objectives Acute gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease (GI-aGVHD) is a severe complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Diagnosis relies on clinical, endoscopic, and pathological investigations. Our purpose is to assess the value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis, staging, and prediction of GI-aGVHD-related mortality. Methods Twenty-one hematological patients who underwent MRI for clinical suspicion of acute GI-GVHD were retrospectively selected. Three independent radiologists, blinded to the clinical findings, reanalyzed MRI images. The GI tract was evaluated from stomach to rectum by analyzing fifteen MRI signs suggestive of intestinal and peritoneal inflammation. All selected patients underwent colonoscopy with biopsies. Disease severity was determined on the basis of clinical criteria, identifying 4 stages of increasing severity. Disease-related mortality was also assessed. Results The diagnosis of GI-aGVHD was histologically confirmed with biopsy in 13 patients (61.9%). Using 6 major signs (diagnostic score), MRI showed 84.6% sensitivity and 100% specificity in identifying GI-aGVHD (AUC = 0.962; 95% confidence interval 0.891–1). The proximal, middle, and distal ileum were the segments most frequently affected by the disease (84.6%). Using all 15 signs of inflammation (severity score), MRI showed 100% sensitivity and 90% specificity for 1-month related mortality. No correlation with the clinical score was found. Conclusion MRI has proved to be an effective tool for diagnosing and scoring GI-aGVHD, with a high prognostic value. If larger studies will confirm these results, MRI could partly replace endoscopy, thus becoming the primary diagnostic tool for GI-aGVHD, being more complete, less invasive, and more easily repeatable. Key Points • We have developed a new promising MRI diagnostic score for GI-aGVHD with a sensitivity of 84.6% and specificity of 100%; results are to be confirmed by larger multicentric studies. • This MRI diagnostic score is based on the six MRI signs most frequently associated with GI-aGVHD: small-bowel inflammatory involvement, bowel wall stratification on T2-w images, wall stratification on post-contrast T1-w images, ascites, and edema of retroperitoneal fat and declivous soft tissues. • A broader MRI severity score based on 15 MRI signs showed no correlation with clinical staging but high prognostic value (100% sensitivity, 90% specificity for 1-month related mortality); these results also need to be confirmed by larger studies

SpheraCosmolife: a new tool for the risk assessment of cosmetic products.

A new, freely available software for cosmetic products has been designed that considers the regulatory framework for cosmetics. The software allows an overall toxicological evaluation of cosmetic ingredients without the need for additional testing and, depending on the product type, it applies defined exposure scenarios to derive risk for consumers. It takes regulatory thresholds into account and uses either experimental values, if available, or predictions. Based on the exper­imental or predicted no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL), the software can define a point of departure (POD), which is used to calculate the margin of safety (MoS) of the query chemicals. The software also provides other toxico­logical properties, such as mutagenicity, skin sensitization, and the threshold of toxicological concern (TTC) to provide an overall evaluation of the potential chemical hazard. Predictions are calculated using in silico models implemented within the VEGA software. The full list of ingredients of a cosmetic product can be processed at the same time, at the effective concentrations in the product as given by the user. SpheraCosmolife is designed as a support tool for safety assessors of cosmetic products and can be used to prioritize the cosmetic ingredients or formulations according to their potential risk to consumers. The major novelty of the tool is that it wraps a series of models (some of them new) into a single, user-friendly software system