Diagnostic Performance of PET Imaging Using Different Radiopharmaceuticals in Prostate Cancer According to Published Meta-Analyses.

A significant number of meta-analyses reporting data on the diagnostic performance of positron emission tomography (PET) in prostate cancer (PCa) is currently available in the literature. In particular, different PET radiopharmaceuticals were used for this purpose. The aim of this review is to summarize information retrieved by published meta-analyses on this topic. The first step included a systematic search of the literature (last search date: June 2020), screening two databases (PubMed/MEDLINE and Cochrane Library). This combination of key words was used: (A) "PET" OR "positron emission tomography" AND (B) "prostate" OR "prostatic" AND (C) meta-analysis. Only meta-analyses on Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) or Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance (PET/MR) in PCa were selected. We have summarized the diagnostic performance of PET imaging in PCa, taking into account 39 meta-analyses published in the literature. Evidence-based data showed the good diagnostic performance of PET/CT with several radiopharmaceuticals, including prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted agents, radiolabeled choline, fluciclovine, and fluoride in restaging and staging settings. Less evidence-based data were available for PET/MR with different radiotracers. More prospective multicentric studies and cost-effectiveness analyses are warranted

Ferromagnetic features on zero-bias conductance peaks in ferromagnet/insulator/superconductor junction

We present a formula for tunneling conductance in ballistic ferromagnet/ferromagnetic insulator/superconductor junctions where the superconducting state has opposite spin pairing symmetry. The formula can involve correctly a ferromagnetism has been induced by effective mass difference between up- and down-spin electrons. Then, this effective mass mismatch ferromagnet and standard Stoner ferromagnet have been employed in this paper. As an application of the formulation, we have studied the tunneling effect for junctions including spin-triplet p-wave superconductor. The conductace spectra show a clear difference between two ferromagnets depending upon the way of normalization of the conductance. Especially, a essential difference is seen in zero-bias conductance peaks reflecting characteristics of each ferromagnets. From obtained results, it will be suggested that the measurements of the tunneling conductance in the junction provide us a useful information about the mechanism of itinerant ferromagnetism in metal.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, references added to the first versio

The role of Akt signalling in the mammalian ovary

The serine/threonine protein kinase Akt is involved in many cellular processes including cell growth, survival, proliferation and metabolism. Akt activity is modulated downstream of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) in response to different extracellular stimuli. In the mammalian ovary, Akt collaborates with other kinases in the regulation of coordinate follicle and oocyte development. Akt determines the pool of primordial follicles and the transition from quiescent to growing phase. In addition, the kinase modulates granulosa cell apoptosis throughout folliculogenesis. In oocytes Akt participates in the control of meiosis resumption and, at metaphase II stage, regulates polar body emission and spindle organization. Its inhibition negatively affects preimplantation embryo development. As a consequence of such a central role, Akt dysregulation is associated with several human diseases including infertility and ovarian cancer.[...

Organocatalytic alpha-trifluoromethylthiolation of silylenol ethers : Batch vs continuous flow reactions

This work describes the organocatalytic \uce\ub1-trifluoromethylthiolation of silylenol ethers using N-(trifluoromethylthio)saccharin as trifluoromethylthiolating reagent that is activated by the presence of catalytic amounts of a Lewis base. Tetrahydrothiophene was identified as the best organocatalyst and it was successfully employed to promote the synthesis of different \uce\ub1-trifluoromethylketones; the reaction has been performed under a traditional batch methodology and under continuous flow conditions. In general, yields obtained using the traditional batch process were higher than those observed when the reaction was performed under flow conditions. However, short reaction times, higher productivity and higher space time yields were observed when a flow system process was employed. Preliminary DFT calculations were also performed in order to elucidate the mechanism of the reaction

The Influence of Alcohol Warning Labels on Consumers’ Choices of Wine and Beer

This study aims to analyse the influence of alternative formats of health warnings on French and Italian Millennial consumers’ choices of beer and wine. Two Discrete Choice Experiments were built for wine and beer and two Latent Class choice models were applied in order to verify the existence of different consumer profiles. Results show that young consumers’ choices for wine and beer are influenced by framing, design and visibility of warnings. In both countries, the acceptance of warnings is higher for beer than for wine and in both cases consumers show higher utility for a logo on the front label: on the neck with a neutral message in the case of beer; on the front, without a message for wine. Latent Class choice models highlight the existence of different consumers’ groups with different levels of warning influencing their choices. In order to apply policies conducting to health benefits, our results suggest the need to focus on young individuals to communicate the risks of alcohol abuse through targeted messages and, more generally, to make them aware of the potential negative effects of excessive consumption of both wine and beer

An overview of coumarin as a versatile and readily accessible scaffold with broad-ranging biological activities

Privileged structures have been widely used as an effective template for the research and discovery of high value chemicals. Coumarin is a simple scaffold widespread in Nature and it can be found in a considerable number of plants as well as in some fungi and bacteria. In the last years, these natural compounds have been gaining an increasing attention from the scientific community for their wide range of biological activities, mainly due to their ability to interact with diverse enzymes and receptors in living organisms. In addition, coumarin nucleus has proved to be easily synthetized and decorated, giving the possibility of designing new coumarin-based compounds and investigating their potential in the treatment of various diseases. The versatility of coumarin scaffold finds applications not only in medicinal chemistry but also in the agrochemical field as well as in the cosmetic and fragrances industry. This review is intended to be a critical overview on coumarins, comprehensive of natural sources, metabolites, biological evaluations and synthetic approaches

Breast cancer prevention in premenopausal women: Role of the Mediterranean diet and its components

Breast cancer (BC) is a growing public health concern in most developed and developing countries. Since an increasing number of patients with BC are diagnosed before the menopause and premenopausal women show a more aggressive phenotype, there is consistent interest in promoting prevention strategies in order to reduce the incidence of BC in the premenopause. The Mediterranean diet (MD) has been reported to have beneficial effect in terms of cancer prevention. This healthy dietary pattern consists primarily of foods having important antioxidant properties along with a favourable fatty acid profile, all associated with a reduced risk of cancer. Due to the large variability in study subject characteristics, the protective role of the MD on BC still remains controversial and studies that have investigated the association between adherence to the MD and risk of BC in premenopausal women are fewer than those in postmenopausal women. In addition, the possibility that the beneficial effects of the MD are due to a single component or might more probably derive from the synergic effects of all components of the MD remains a scantly explored field. Considering the increased risk of recurrence and mortality rate of BC in premenopausal women as compared with postmenopausal women, the aim of the present report is to provide a general overview of the current evidence on the relationship between BC and the MD specifically in premenopausal women, and to emphasise the potential role of the MD as an effective measure to reduce the risk of developing BC in premenopausal women

Myocardial hypothermia increases autophagic flux, mitochondrial mass and myocardial function after ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Animal studies have demonstrated beneficial effects of therapeutic hypothermia on myocardial function, yet exact mechanisms remain unclear. Impaired autophagy leads to heart failure and mitophagy is important for mitigating ischemia/reperfusion injury. This study aims to investigate whether the beneficial effects of therapeutic hypothermia are due to preserved autophagy and mitophagy. Under general anesthesia, the left anterior descending coronary artery of 19 female farm pigs was occluded for 90 minutes with consecutive reperfusion. 30 minutes after reperfusion, we performed pericardial irrigation with warm or cold saline for 60 minutes. Myocardial tissue analysis was performed one and four weeks after infarction. Therapeutic hypothermia induced a significant increase in autophagic flux, mitophagy, mitochondrial mass and function in the myocardium after infarction. Cell stress, apoptosis, inflammation as well as fibrosis were reduced, with significant preservation of systolic and diastolic function four weeks post infarction. We found similar biochemical changes in human samples undergoing open chest surgery under hypothermic conditions when compared to the warm. These results suggest that autophagic flux and mitophagy are important mechanisms implicated in cardiomyocyte recovery after myocardial infarction under hypothermic conditions. New therapeutic strategies targeting these pathways directly could lead to improvements in prevention of heart failure

Consumers’ reactions to nutrition and ingredient labelling for wine – A cross-country discrete choice experiment

The purpose of this study is to examine consumers' reactions to the introduction of nutrition and ingredient labelling for wine, a product that is so far still exempt from mandatory nutrition and ingredient labelling. It also analyses the effect of positive and negative information about the use of ingredients in wine on consumers' choice. Representative samples for wine consumers from three distinctly different countries representing old and new wine markets (Australia, n = 745; Germany, n = 716; Italy, n = 715) completed a discrete choice experiment (DCE) with graphically simulated wine back labels. For each country, respondents were randomly allocated to a reference group and two different treatment conditions where they received newspaper-like information (positive, negative) before making choices. Results for the reference condition show that consumers across all three countries have a significant positive utility for detailed nutrition information. Instead, ingredient information only receives a positive utility in Italy, whereas German and Australian respondents do not receive utility from ingredient labelling. When consumers in the treatment group are confronted with negative media information the attribute importance of ingredients significantly increases across all three countries, clean labelled products without ingredients are preferred, and a significantly higher share of consumers in Germany and Italy prefer not to buy any wine. The treatment effect of positive media information on consumers’ wine choice is lower than that of negative information. The results of the study have implications for the pending new regulation of wine labelling and for communication strategies of the wine industry that should actively inform consumers about the necessity of ingredients in wine production