Restoration of the Frieze by Aristide Sartorio in the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament

In 1897, the architect Ernesto Basile was commissioned to design the new Chamber in the Italian Parliament. Basile visualised a long painted frieze crowning the Chamber. The assignment was given to the painter Aristide Sartorio who executed it between 1908 and 1911. The frieze is 105 meters long, 3.75 high, and consists of 50 panels painted on canvas. In 1998 the frieze was examined closely and several problems regarding its state of conservation became evident, such as the loss of elasticity of the canvas and the widespread tendency of the paint film to become detached. In order to study the problem and plan the restoration for the entire frieze, it was decided to do a pilot restoration on only one of the 50 panels. The restoration was carried out in an equipped environment inside the Parliament, during the period 2003- 2004. Based on the studies carried out over the two years, it was possible to plan the restoration of the entire frieze, which was completed in one year: from 2006 to 2007. The panels were taken to a Roman studio exclusively dedicated to this restoration. It was not possible to do the restoration in situ as it would have created a disturbance in the working of the Parliament. The panels painted by Sartorio with a particular technique based on oil and wax, were treated with BEVA 371, reactivated with heat using a flat, low pressure table, and with a heated curved low pressure table specially designed by us. Using the same system and cloth bands, the edges of the panels were reinforced and then placed on their original frames. Finally, the veil of greasy particulate matter that had deposited over a century was removed. The restoration, directed by the Architectural Superintendency of Rome, was preceded and accompanied by numerous scientific research studies on the colors, canvas, color medium, wood and microclimate of the frieze. An extensive detailed color photographic documentation recorded all the phases of the restoration

Gianluigi Colalucci y su trayectoria restauradora. Un viaje a través de las transformaciones en el mundo de la restauración desde Cesare Brandi a nuestros días

En principio debo destacar que se trata de la primera Tesis Doctoral que se ha presentado y leído dentro del nuevo Programa de Doctorado: CIENCIA Y RESTAURACIÓN DEL PATRIMONIO HISTÓRICO-ARTÍSTICO (Mención de Calidad: MCD 2.006-00513), ya que la Dra. Bartoletti ha sido alumna del Máster Oficial en Conservación y Restauración de Bienes Culturales del Departamento del mismo nombre de la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. El objetivo prioritario de la Tesis Doctoral es resaltar la extensa trayectoria profesional de una figura emblemática en el mundo de la restauración, el Doctor Gianluigi Colalucci, nombrado en 1.995 Doctor Honoris Causa por la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. La Tesis adopta un modo directo para narrar todo lo sucedido en su prolongada experiencia laboral, de forma que nos lleva a penetrar en el complejo universo de la Historia de la Restauración en Italia y en el mundo, durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX. La humildad, la sagacidad, el saber escuchar y el saber aceptar las críticas, incluso las más mordaces, han sido los atributos que han caracterizado al Restaurador Jefe de los Museos Vaticanos. La metodología puesta a punto por la Doctora Bartoletti se ha basado en la trayectoria profesional y humana del Dr. Colalucci, llevando un seguimiento cronológico y objetivo. De esta forma, ha mostrado documentos originales e inéditos, realizando entrevistas muy elaboradas, y dejando que los hechos confirmaran sus argumentos. Es de enorme importancia incidir sobre el encuentro del Dr. Colalucci con la extraordinaria obra de Miguel Ángel durante los 14 años que duró la restauración que llevó a cabo en la Capilla Sixtina. El Doctor Colalucci representa la figura del restaurador que habían soñado Giulio Carlo Argan y Cesare Brandi.Bartoletti, D. (2010). Gianluigi Colalucci y su trayectoria restauradora. Un viaje a través de las transformaciones en el mundo de la restauración desde Cesare Brandi a nuestros días [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/8956Palanci

The diagnostic role of Next Generation Sequencing in uncovering isolated splenomegaly: A case report

Many diseases can induce splenomegaly, however, about 5% of splenomegalies are idiopathic. When there is no underlying treatable cause, and the splenomegaly significantly affects the quality of life, splenectomy is the best therapeutic choice. A 67-year-old woman had idiopathic and asymptomatic splenomegaly. The increase in splenomegaly resulted in hypersplenism with cytopenia and symptoms related to abdominal discomfort. The patient underwent splenectomy which led to clinical improvement. A histological examination showed the presence of hematopoietic tissue. Peripheral blood Next Generation Sequencing with the myeloid panel SOPHiA Genetics showed the following mutations: ASXL1, SRSF2, KRAS and TET2. Three out of these four mutations were also found in the splenic tissue. Next Generation Sequencing could be useful in the diagnosis of splenomegalies associated with myeloproliferative neoplasms otherwise defined as idiopathic, in order to address a therapeutic strategy

Clinical characteristics and molecular aspects of low-grade serous ovarian and peritoneal cancer: a multicenter, observational, retrospective analysis of MITO Group (MITO 22)

BACKGROUND: Low-grade serous ovarian and peritoneal cancer (LGSC) is a rare disease and few data on the clinical and genomic landscape have been published.METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with LGSC between 1996 and 2019 was conducted in MITO centers. Objective Response Rate (ORR) to treatments, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were assessed. Additionally, the tumor molecular profile of 56 patients was evaluated using the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) FoundationOne CDX (Foundation Medicine (R)).RESULTS: A total of 128 patients with complete clinical data and pathologically confirmed diagnosis of LGSC were identified. ORR to first and subsequent therapies were 23.7% and 33.7%, respectively. PFS was 43.9 months (95% CI:32.4-53.1) and OS was 105.4 months (95% CI: 82.7-not reached). The most common gene alterations were: KRAS (n = 12, 21%), CDKN2A/B (n = 11, 20%), NRAS (n = 8, 14%), FANCA (n = 8, 14%), NF1 (n = 7, 13%) and BRAF (n = 6, 11%). Unexpectedly, pathogenetic BRCA1 (n = 2, 4%), BRCA2 (n = 1, 2%) and PALB2 (n = 1, 2%) mutations were found.CONCLUSIONS: MITO 22 suggests that LGSC is an heterogenous disease for both its clinical behavior in response to standard therapies and its molecular alterations. Future prospective studies should test treatments according to biological and molecular tumor's characteristics

Biologically driven cut-off definition of lymphocyte ratios in metastatic breast cancer and association with exosomal subpopulations and prognosis

High neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (MLR) are respectively associated with systemic inflammation and immune suppression and have been associated with a poor outcome. Plasmatic exosomes are extracellular vesicles involved in the intercellular communication system that can exert an immunosuppressive function. Aim of this study was to investigate the interplay between the immune system and circulating exosomes in metastatic breast cancer (MBC). A threshold capable to classify patients according to MLR, NLR and PLR, was computed through a receiving operator curve analysis after propensity score matching with a series of female blood donors. Exosomes were isolated from plasma by ExoQuick solution and characterized by flow-cytometry. NLR, MLR, PLR and exosomal subpopulations potentially involved in the pre-metastatic niche were significantly different in MBC patients with respect to controls. MLR was significantly associated with number of sites at the onset of metastatic disease, while high levels of MLR and NLR were found to be associated with poor prognosis. Furthermore, exosomal subpopulations varied according to NLR, MLR, PLR and both were associated with different breast cancer subtypes and sites of distant involvement. This study highlights the nuanced role of immunity in MBC spread, progression and outcome. Moreover, they suggest potential interaction mechanisms between immunity, MBC and the metastatic niche

Ruxolitinib in cytopenic myelofibrosis: Response, toxicity, drug discontinuation, and outcome

Background: Patients with cytopenic myelofibrosis (MF) have more limited therapeutic options and poorer prognoses compared with patients with the myeloproliferative phenotype. Aims and methods: Prognostic correlates of cytopenic phenotype were explored in 886 ruxolitinib-treated patients with primary/secondary MF (PMF/SMF) included in the RUX-MF retrospective study. Cytopenia was defined as: leukocyte count <4 × 109 /L and/or hemoglobin <11/<10 g/dL (males/females) and/or platelets <100 × 109 /L. Results: Overall, 407 (45.9%) patients had a cytopenic MF, including 249 (52.4%) with PMF. In multivariable analysis, high molecular risk mutations (p = .04), intermediate 2/high Dynamic International Prognostic Score System (p < .001) and intermediate 2/high Myelofibrosis Secondary to Polycythemia Vera and Essential Thrombocythemia Prognostic Model (p < .001) remained associated with cytopenic MF in the overall cohort, PMF, and SMF, respectively. Patients with cytopenia received lower average ruxolitinib at the starting (25.2 mg/day vs. 30.2 mg/day, p < .001) and overall doses (23.6 mg/day vs. 26.8 mg/day, p < .001) and achieved lower rates of spleen (26.5% vs. 34.1%, p = .04) and symptom (59.8% vs. 68.8%, p = .008) responses at 6 months compared with patients with the proliferative phenotype. Patients with cytopenia also had higher rates of thrombocytopenia at 3 months (31.1% vs. 18.8%, p < .001) but lower rates of anemia (65.6% vs. 57.7%, p = .02 at 3 months and 56.6% vs. 23.9% at 6 months, p < .001). After competing risk analysis, the cumulative incidence of ruxolitinib discontinuation at 5 years was 57% and 38% in patients with cytopenia and the proliferative phenotype (p < .001), whereas cumulative incidence of leukemic transformation was similar (p = .06). In Cox regression analysis adjusted for Dynamic International Prognostic Score System score, survival was significantly shorter in patients with cytopenia (p < .001). Conclusions: Cytopenic MF has a lower probability of therapeutic success with ruxolitinib as monotherapy and worse outcome. These patients should be considered for alternative therapeutic strategies

Ruxolitinib rechallenge in resistant or intolerant patients with myelofibrosis: Frequency, therapeutic effects, and impact on outcome

BACKGROUND After ruxolitinib discontinuation, the outcome of patients with myelofibrosis (MF) is poor with scarce therapeutic possibilities. METHODS The authors performed a subanalysis of an observational, retrospective study (RUX-MF) that included 703 MF patients treated with ruxolitinib to investigate 1) the frequency and reasons for ruxolitinib rechallenge, 2) its therapeutic effects, and 3) its impact on overall survival. RESULTS A total of 219 patients (31.2%) discontinued ruxolitinib for >= 14 days and survived for >= 30 days. In 60 patients (27.4%), ruxolitinib was rechallenged for >= 14 days (RUX-again patients), whereas 159 patients (72.6%) discontinued it permanently (RUX-stop patients). The baseline characteristics of the 2 cohorts were comparable, but discontinuation due to a lack/loss of spleen response was lower in RUX-again patients (P = .004). In comparison with the disease status at the first ruxolitinib stop, at its restart, there was a significant increase in patients with large splenomegaly (P < .001) and a high Total Symptom Score (TSS; P < .001). During the rechallenge, 44.6% and 48.3% of the patients had spleen and symptom improvements, respectively, with a significant increase in the number of patients with a TSS reduction (P = .01). Although the use of a ruxolitinib dose > 10 mg twice daily predicted better spleen (P = .05) and symptom improvements (P = .02), the reasons for/duration of ruxolitinib discontinuation and the use of other therapies before rechallenge were not associated with rechallenge efficacy. At 1 and 2 years, 33.3% and 48.3% of RUX-again patients, respectively, had permanently discontinued ruxolitinib. The median overall survival was 27.9 months, and it was significantly longer for RUX-again patients (P = .004). CONCLUSIONS Ruxolitinib rechallenge was mainly used in intolerant patients; there were clinical improvements and a possible survival advantage in many cases, but there was a substantial rate of permanent discontinuation. Ruxolitinib rechallenge should be balanced against newer therapeutic possibilities

Metabolite and lipoprotein profiles reveal sex-related oxidative stress imbalance in de novo drug-naive Parkinson's disease patients

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the neurological disorder showing the greatest rise in prevalence from 1990 to 2016. Despite clinical definition criteria and a tremendous effort to develop objective biomarkers, precise diagnosis of PD is still unavailable at early stage. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have used omic methods to unveil the molecular basis of PD, providing a detailed characterization of potentially pathological alterations in various biological specimens. Metabolomics could provide useful insights to deepen our knowledge of PD aetiopathogenesis, to identify signatures that distinguish groups of patients and uncover responsive biomarkers of PD that may be significant in early detection and in tracking the disease progression and drug treatment efficacy. The present work is the first large metabolomic study based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with an independent validation cohort aiming at the serum characterization of de novo drug-naive PD patients. Here, NMR is applied to sera from large training and independent validation cohorts of German subjects. Multivariate and univariate approaches are used to infer metabolic differences that characterize the metabolite and the lipoprotein profiles of newly diagnosed de novo drug-naive PD patients also in relation to the biological sex of the subjects in the study, evidencing a more pronounced fingerprint of the pathology in male patients. The presence of a validation cohort allowed us to confirm altered levels of acetone and cholesterol in male PD patients. By comparing the metabolites and lipoproteins levels among de novo drug-naive PD patients, age- and sex-matched healthy controls, and a group of advanced PD patients, we detected several descriptors of stronger oxidative stress