Oral Bisphenol A Worsens Liver Immune-Metabolic and Mitochondrial Dysfunction Induced by High-Fat Diet in Adult Mice: Cross-Talk between Oxidative Stress and Inflammasome Pathway

Lines of evidence have shown the embryogenic and transgenerational impact of bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine-disrupting chemical, on immune-metabolic alterations, inflammation, and oxidative stress, while BPA toxic effects in adult obese mice are still overlooked. Here, we evaluate BPA's worsening effect on several hepatic maladaptive processes associated to high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity in mice. After 12 weeks HFD feeding, C57Bl/6J male mice were exposed daily to BPA (50 μg/kg per os) along with HFD for 3 weeks. Glucose tolerance and lipid metabolism were examined in serum and/or liver. Hepatic oxidative damage (reactive oxygen species, malondialdehyde, antioxidant enzymes), and mitochondrial respiratory capacity were evaluated. Moreover, liver damage progression and inflammatory/immune response were determined by histological and molecular analysis. BPA amplified HFD-induced alteration of key factors involved in glucose and lipid metabolism, liver triglycerides accumulation, and worsened mitochondrial dysfunction by increasing oxidative stress and reducing antioxidant defense. The exacerbation by BPA of hepatic immune-metabolic dysfunction induced by HFD was shown by increased toll-like receptor-4 and its downstream pathways (i.e., NF-kB and NLRP3 inflammasome) amplifying inflammatory cytokine transcription and promoting fibrosis progression. This study evidences that BPA exposure represents an additional risk factor for the progression of fatty liver diseases strictly related to the cross-talk between oxidative stress and immune-metabolic impairment due to obesity

Narrazioni postcoloniali della contemporaneità, tra conflitto e convivenza

L’uscita nel 2012 di "Postcolonial Cinema Studies", a cura di Sandra Ponzanesi e Marguerite Waller, ha sollecitato l’opportunità di un rilancio del dialogo tra film e postcolonial studies. A distanza di alcuni anni, riteniamo più che mai urgente la questione, tenuto conto dalle crescenti criticità introdotte dalla globalizzazione nei rapporti Nord-Sud sul piano economico e ambientale, criticità esacerbate in Italia, nel Mediterraneo e in altre zone di contatto dall’incapacità di regolamentare canali legali per l’immigrazione. Nell’epoca del postcinema e dei postmedia, nuove narrazioni audiovisuali si affacciano all’orizzonte dell’analisi, imponendo una revisione significativa del nostro lessico teorico di riferimento, in considerazione di quanto negli ultimi anni è stato raccolto in relazione a produzioni di volta in volta definite come globali, transnazionali, accentate, postcoloniali. Imago ha raccolto questa sfida, ospitando nel dossier del n. 19 una raccolta di otto saggi inediti, arricchita da tre articoli per la prima volta tradotti in italiano e aperta da un’introduzione metodologica

Un modello integrato di valutazione e gestione del rischio di Infezione Tubercolare e di Tubercolosi attiva negli homeless nella citt\ue0 di Roma

Viene descritta l'elaborazione di un modello integrato per la valutazione e la successiva gestione del rischio di infezione tubercolare e di TBC attiva in popolazioni socialmente svantaggiate nella citt\ue0 di Roma e vengono presentati e discussi il "percorso" dei pazienti e la scheda di raccolta dati realizzata, strumenti utili per la sorveglianza epidemiologica e per la gestione clinica della patologi

Evolution over Time of Ventilatory Management and Outcome of Patients with Neurologic Disease∗

OBJECTIVES: To describe the changes in ventilator management over time in patients with neurologic disease at ICU admission and to estimate factors associated with 28-day hospital mortality. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of three prospective, observational, multicenter studies. SETTING: Cohort studies conducted in 2004, 2010, and 2016. PATIENTS: Adult patients who received mechanical ventilation for more than 12 hours. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Among the 20,929 patients enrolled, we included 4,152 (20%) mechanically ventilated patients due to different neurologic diseases. Hemorrhagic stroke and brain trauma were the most common pathologies associated with the need for mechanical ventilation. Although volume-cycled ventilation remained the preferred ventilation mode, there was a significant (p < 0.001) increment in the use of pressure support ventilation. The proportion of patients receiving a protective lung ventilation strategy was increased over time: 47% in 2004, 63% in 2010, and 65% in 2016 (p < 0.001), as well as the duration of protective ventilation strategies: 406 days per 1,000 mechanical ventilation days in 2004, 523 days per 1,000 mechanical ventilation days in 2010, and 585 days per 1,000 mechanical ventilation days in 2016 (p < 0.001). There were no differences in the length of stay in the ICU, mortality in the ICU, and mortality in hospital from 2004 to 2016. Independent risk factors for 28-day mortality were age greater than 75 years, Simplified Acute Physiology Score II greater than 50, the occurrence of organ dysfunction within first 48 hours after brain injury, and specific neurologic diseases such as hemorrhagic stroke, ischemic stroke, and brain trauma. CONCLUSIONS: More lung-protective ventilatory strategies have been implemented over years in neurologic patients with no effect on pulmonary complications or on survival. We found several prognostic factors on mortality such as advanced age, the severity of the disease, organ dysfunctions, and the etiology of neurologic disease