Authentication of Sorrento walnuts by NIR spectroscopy coupled with different chemometric classification strategie

Walnuts have been widely investigated because of their chemical composition, which is particularly rich in unsaturated fatty acids, responsible for different benefits in the human body. Some of these fruits, depending on the harvesting area, are considered a high value-added food, thus resulting in a higher selling price. In Italy, walnuts are harvested throughout the national territory, but the fruits produced in the Sorrento area (South Italy) are commercially valuable for their peculiar organoleptic characteristics. The aim of the present study is to develop a non-destructive and shelf-life compatible method, capable of discriminating common walnuts from those harvested in Sorrento (a town in Southern Italy), considered a high quality product. Two-hundred-and-twenty-seven walnuts (105 from Sorrento and 132 grown in other areas) were analyzed by near-infrared spectroscopy (both whole or shelled), and classified by Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA). Eventually, two multi-block approaches have been exploited in order to combine the spectral information collected on the shell and on the kernel. One of these latter strategies provided the best results (98.3% of correct classification rate in external validation, corresponding to 1 misclassified object over 60). The present study suggests the proposed strategy is a suitable solution for the discrimination of Sorrento walnuts. © 2020 by the authors

Dental age estimation in children affected by juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

Dental root calcification has proven to be a reliable biological evidence to estimate chronological age of children. The development of structures usually examined in the age estimation forensic practice (e.g. skeleton, teeth) is supposed to be influenced by diseases and nutritional, environmental, ethnic, and ultimately even socioeconomic factors. This research aims to study the age estimation in children affected by juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) with and without steroids treatment and compared with healthy subjects. Material and methods Dental age estimations based on 752 OPGs, 420 girls and 332 boys, aged from 3.3 to 15.99 years, were provided by applying Demirjian and Willems' original methods. Of the whole sample, 103 individuals were affected by JRA and 40 received a continuous corticosteroid therapy, over 1 year long. Conclusions Willems' and Demirjian's original methods, as methods commonly applied to estimate age for sub-adults with unremarkable medical history, can be used for medico-legal purposes to children affected by JRA. Willems' method tended to underestimate age while Demirjian's method resulted to be prone to overestimation for both healthy and JRA-affected children. JRA showed to have no influence on root calcification process even in children that received steroid treatment for 1 year or longer

Infodemia e pandemia: la cognitive warfare ai tempi del SARS-CoV-2

With the appearance of SARS-CoV-2, two epidemics have spread: one for health and one for information. The virus has generated an unprecedented infodemic, contributing to the establishment of a climate of great uncertainty. Massive and redundant information has also been an effective vector of propaganda, on a global scale, by state and non-state actors. A real hostile act in which physical violence is not foreseen, but systematic management of information through the manipulation of the cognitive sphere. For this reason, the adoption of an attitude of active critical analysis by citizens and institutions and also the implementation of common policies at an international level could undoubtedly facilitate the fight against cognitive warfare (so-called cognitive warfare) and therefore limit its disastrous effects.Comment: in Italian languag

Perioperative characterization of anastomotic doughnuts with high-resolution probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy in colorectal cancer surgery: a feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Confocal laser enables in vivo real-time histopathology of the mucosa layer of gastrointestinal tract. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and the role of probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy in extemporary examination of staple rings of patients with colorectal cancer. METHODS: This was a prospective, single-center pilot study. Patients who underwent end-to-end stapled surgical resection for colorectal cancer were included. Confocal imaging was analyzed with great attention to image quality evaluation of cellular morphology and cellular structures of the serosal, muscular, and mucosal layers of the doughnuts than comparing results with definitive histopathology. RESULTS: Twenty-six doughnuts were analyzed. Real-time video sequences were obtained in all patients, with a total of 204 mosaic images. For each doughnut, most of the images were adequate for evaluation of cellular morphology and cellular structure of the serosal, muscular, and mucosal layers. CONCLUSIONS: Perioperative assessment of doughnut tissues in patients with colorectal cancer by confocal laser endomicroscopy is feasible and safe. Prospective studies are warranted for further evaluation of the clinical impact of this technology during surgery

Investigating the Relationship between White Matter Connectivity and Motivational Circuits in Subjects with Deficit Schizophrenia: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) Study

Deficit schizophrenia is a subtype of schizophrenia presenting primary and enduring negative symptoms (NS). Although one of the most updated hypotheses indicates a relationship between NS and impaired motivation, only a few studies have investigated abnormalities of motivational circuits in subjects with deficit schizophrenia (DS). Our aim was to investigate structural connectivity within motivational circuits in DS. We analyzed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data from 46 subjects with schizophrenia (SCZ) and 35 healthy controls (HCs). SCZ were classified as DS (n = 9) and nondeficit (NDS) (n = 37) using the Schedule for Deficit Syndrome. The connectivity index (CI) and the Fractional Anisotropy (FA) of the connections between selected brain areas involved in motivational circuits were examined. DS, as compared with NDS and HCs, showed increased CI between the right amygdala and dorsal anterior insular cortex and increased FA of the pathway connecting the left nucleus accumbens with the posterior insular cortex. Our results support previous evidence of distinct neurobiological alterations underlying different clinical subtypes of schizophrenia. DS, as compared with NDS and HCs, may present an altered pruning process (consistent with the hyperconnectivity) in cerebral regions involved in updating the stimulus value to guide goal-directed behavior

Site-specific replacement of the thymine methyl group by fluorine in thrombin binding aptamer significantly improves structural stability and anticoagulant activity

Here we report investigations, based on circular dichroism, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, molecular modelling, differential scanning calorimetry and prothrombin time assay, on analogues of the thrombin binding aptamer (TBA) in which individual thymidines were replaced by 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine residues. The whole of the data clearly indicate that all derivatives are able to fold in a G-quadruplex structure very similar to the 'chair-like' conformation typical of the TBA. However, only ODNs TBA-F4: and TBA-F13: have shown a remarkable improvement both in the melting temperature (ΔTm ≈ +10) and in the anticoagulant activity in comparison with the original TBA. These findings are unusual, particularly considering previously reported studies in which modifications of T4 and T13 residues in TBA sequence have clearly proven to be always detrimental for the structural stability and biological activity of the aptamer. Our results strongly suggest the possibility to enhance TBA properties through tiny straightforward modifications

The tumor microenvironment of colorectal cancer: stromal TLR-4 expression as a potential prognostic marker

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Colorectal cancer can be efficiently treated when found at early stages, thus the search for novel markers is of paramount importance. Since inflammation is associated with cancer progression and angiogenesis, we investigated expression of cytokines like IL-6 and other mediators that play a key role in the innate immune system, in particular toll like receptor 4 (TLR4), in the microenvironment of lesions from different stages of colon disease progression, from ulcerative colitis to adenoma and adenocarcinoma to find useful markers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The presence of inflammatory cells and expression of key cytokines involved in the inflammation process were quantified by immunohistochemistry in specific tissue compartments (epithelial, stromal, endothelial) by immunohistochemistry. A murine azoxymethane/dextran sulfate model in which Tir8, a negative regulator of the inflammatory response, was ablated was used to confirm the clinical observations. 116 Archival tissue samples from patients with different stages of colorectal disease: 13 cases of ulcerative colitis (UC), 34 tubular or tubulo-villous adenomas (AD), and 53 infiltrating adenocarcinomas. 16 specimens of healthy mucosa surgically removed with the cancerous tissue were used as a control.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The differences between healthy tissues and the diverse lesions was characterized by a marked inflammatory-angiogenic reaction, with significantly (P < 0.05) higher numbers of CD68, CD15, and CD31 expressing cells in all diseased tissues that correlated with increasing grade of malignancy. We noted down-regulation of a potential modulator molecule, Hepatocyte Growth Factor, in all diseased tissues (P < 0.05). TLR-4 and IL6 expression in the tumor microenvironment were associated with adenocarcinoma in human samples and in the murine model. We found that adenocarcinoma patients (pT1-4) with higher TLR-4 expression in stromal compartment had a significantly increased risk in disease progression. In those patients with a diagnosis of pT3 (33 cases) colon cancer, those with very high levels of TLR-4 in the tumor stroma relapsed significantly earlier than those with lower expression levels.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These data suggest that high TLR-4 expression in the tumor microenvironment represents a possible marker of disease progression in colon cancer.</p

Umbria-Marche Basin, Central Italy: A Reference Section for the Aptian-Albian Interval at Low Latitudes

Within the Cretaceous Period, the Aptian-Albian interval (125–99.6 Ma, Ogg et al., 2008) was a critical time on a global scale. This is evident from 1) changes in the nature of the ocean-climate system brought about by increased ocean crust production coupled with active midplate and plate margin volcanism in a shifting paleogeography (Skelton et al., 2003); 2) cyclic deposition and preservation of common “black shales”, some of them termed Oceanic Anoxic Events(OAE1a to OAE1d) (Schlanger and Jenkyns, 1976; Arthur et al., 1990); 3) periodic changes in redox conditions at the ocean bottom (Oceanic Red Beds, ORBs) (Wang et al., 2009); and 4) rapid biotic radiations and turnovers (Leckie et al., 2002). The Aptian-Albian time is also of interest for one of the most noteworthy geomagnetic events, namely the post-M0r “Cretaceous Quiet Zone”. This long and constant normal polarity superchron without any convincing true reversal to date (Satolli et al., 2008) precludes usage of reversals magnetostratigraphy from the Aptian through the Santonian. The Poggio le Guaine core was designed to provide a high-resolution age model and a high-resolution relative magnetic paleointensity reference curve for the Aptian-Albian interval of the long normal Cretaceous superchron; it was also designed to understand the causal linkages among geological, biogeochemical, oceanographic and climatic eventsas well as their consequences. The core was drilled at Poggio le Guaine, where the most continuous, complete, and best preserved Aptian-Albian succession is exposed throughout the Umbria-Marche Basin (UMB) of the northern Apennines of central Italy (Fig. 1). It represents a continuous record of fossiliferous pelagic rocks extending from the Albian-Cenomanian boundary down to the uppermost Barremian (99.6–126 Ma). In this progress report we present the first preliminary findings of this ongoing project