Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease provide a unique opportunity to take care of patients

Exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (ECOPD) identifies the acute phase of COPD. The COPD patient is often frail and elderly with concomitant chronic diseases. This requires the physician not only looks at specific symptoms or organs, but to consider the patient in all his or her complexity. \ua9Copyright B. Begh\ue9 et al., 2013 Licensee PAGEPress

Gossip promotes cooperation only when it is pro-socially motivated

Humans are often shown to cooperate with one another. Most of the mechanisms that foster cooperation among humans rely on reputation, which itself relies on the acquisition of information about other people’s behaviors. Gossip has been proposed as a cheap yet efficient tool to acquire information, and it has largely been proved to be an effective means to foster and maintain cooperation. However, empirical studies supporting this claim have ignored two aspects: (1) they often compared gossip to treatments in which no reputation was available, impeding a direct assessment of whether it is gossip that promotes cooperation or rather the introduction of a reputation system; and (2) they focused on pro-social gossip (e.g., gossip aimed at helping the receiver), neglecting the impact of other types of gossip. We show here that, in contrast with the widespread notion that gossip promotes cooperation, gossip mostly depletes cooperation compared to first-hand information. If lying is fruitful for individuals or if a group’s behavior is largely uncooperative, gossip leads to negative reputational information and decreased cooperation

The Varied Role of Efflux Pumps of the MFS Family in the Interplay of Bacteria with Animal and Plant Cells

Efflux pumps represent an important and large group of transporter proteins found in all organisms. The importance of efflux pumps resides in their ability to extrude a wide range of antibiotics, resulting in the emergence of multidrug resistance in many bacteria. Besides antibiotics, multidrug efflux pumps can also extrude a large variety of compounds: Bacterial metabolites, plant-produced compounds, quorum-sensing molecules, and virulence factors. This versatility makes efflux pumps relevant players in interactions not only with other bacteria, but also with plant or animal cells. The multidrug efflux pumps belonging to the major facilitator superfamily (MFS) are widely distributed in microbial genomes and exhibit a large spectrum of substrate specificities. Multidrug MFS efflux pumps are present either as single-component transporters or as tripartite complexes. In this review, we will summarize how the multidrug MFS efflux pumps contribute to the interplay between bacteria and targeted host cells, with emphasis on their role in bacterial virulence, in the colonization of plant and animal host cells and in biofilm formation. We will also address the complexity of these interactions in the light of the underlying regulatory networks required for the effective activation of efflux pump genes

Il trust familiare: problemi e prospettive

La ricerca, analizzate le caratteristiche generali del trust di common law e dello shapeless trust introdotto dalla Convenzione dell\u2019Aja del 1985, si concentra sull\u2019impiego del c.d. trust interno \u2013 caratterizzato dalla localizzzione in territorio italiano di tutti gli elementi oggettivi e soggettivi ed avente quale unico ed inevitabile elemento di internazionalit\ue0 la legge regolatrice \u2013 nell\u2019ambito del diritto di famiglia, con particolare riferimento ai vantaggi che esso presenta rispetto agli istituti interni di specializzazione della garanzia patrimoniale, quali il fondo patrimoniale e l\u2019atto di destinazione ex art. 2645 ter c.c

Pharmacogenetics driving personalized medicine: Analysis of genetic polymorphisms related to breast cancer medications in Italian isolated populations

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women characterized by a high variable clinical outcome among individuals treated with equivalent regimens and novel targeted therapies. In this study, we performed a population based approach intersecting high-throughput genotype data from Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) isolated populations with publically available pharmacogenomics information to estimate the frequency of genotypes correlated with responsiveness to breast cancer treatment thus improving the clinical management of this disease in an efficient and cost effective way. METHODS: A list of 80 variants reported to be related to the efficacy or toxicity of breast cancer drugs was obtained from PharmGKB database. Fourty-one were present in FVG, 1000G European (EUR) and ExAC (Non Finnish European) databases. Their frequency was extracted using PLINK software and the differences tested by Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Statistical analyses revealed that 13 out of the 41 (32 %) variants were significantly different in frequency in our sample as compared to the EUR/ExAC cohorts. For nine variants the available level of evidence (LOE) included polymorphisms related to cyclophosphamide, tamoxifen, doxorubicin, fluorpyrimidine and paclitaxel. In particular, for trastuzumab two variants were detected: (1) rs1801274-G within FCGR2A and associated with decreased efficacy (LOE 2B); (2) rs1136201-G located within ERBB2 and associated with increased toxicity (LOE 3). Both these two variants were underrepresented in the FVG population compared to EUR/ExAC population thus suggesting a high therapeutic index of this drug in our population. Moreover, as regards fluoropyrimidines, the frequency of two polymorphisms within the DPYD gene associated with drug toxicity (e.g., rs2297595-C allele and rs3918290-T allele, LOE 2A and 1, respectively) was extremely low in FVG population thus suggesting that a larger number of FVG patients could benefit from full dosage of fluoropyrimidine therapy. CONCLUSIONS: All these findings increase the overall knowledge on the prevalence of specific variants related with breast cancer treatment responsiveness in FVG population and highlight the importance of assessing gene polymorphisms related with cancer medications in isolated communities

Loss of Xenopus cadherin-11 leads to increased Wnt/β-catenin signaling and up-regulation of target genes c-myc and cyclin D1 in neural crest

AbstractXenopus cadherin-11 (Xcadherin-11) is an exceptional cadherin family member, which is predominantly expressed in cranial neural crest cells (NCCs). Apart from mediating cell–cell adhesion it promotes cranial NCC migration by initiating filopodia and lamellipodia formation. Here, we demonstrate an unexpected function of Xcadherin-11 in NCC specification by interfering with canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Loss-of-function experiments, using a specific antisense morpholino oligonucleotide against Xcadherin-11, display a nuclear β-catenin localization in cranial NCCs and a broader expression domain of the proto-oncogene cyclin D1 which proceeds c-myc up-regulation. Additionally, we observe an enhanced NCC proliferation and an expansion of specific NCC genes like AP2 and Sox10. Thereby, we could allocate NCC proliferation and specification to different gene functions. To clarify which domain in Xcadherin-11 is required for early NCC development we tested different deletion mutants for their rescue ability in Xcadherin-11 morphants. We identified the cytoplasmic tail, specifically the β-catenin binding domain, to be necessary for proper NCC development. We propose that Xcadherin-11 is necessary for controlled NCC proliferation and early NCC specification in tuning the expression of the canonical Wnt/β-catenin target genes cyclin D1 and c-myc by regulating the concentration of the nuclear pool of β-catenin

New and Reconditioned Electrical and Electronic Equipment. How does change the environmental performance?

The scope of this study, carried out within the LIFE12 ENV/IT001058 - "WEEENmodels" project, was to compare the environmental performance of the life cycle of new electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and the reused one through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. Different set of replaced components have been evaluated in order to understand which determines the best solution. Finally, both attributional and consequential LCI (Life Cycle Inventory) modelling have been implemented. A representative product has been considered for each WEEE group, assuming that it generates the same environmental damage of the other products belonging to the same category. In particular, the following representative products have been selected: refrigerator (R1), washing machine (R2), cathode ray tube (CRT) (R3), laptop (R4) and fluorescent lamp (R5). In addition, in the use phase, lower performance of reconditioned EEE has been taken into account, e.g. higher energy consumptions. The lifespan of the reused product has been supposed to be equal to half-life time of an equivalent new product. This study evaluated different set of replaced components for each WEEE category in order to examine how the environmental performance can vary adopting different maintenance choices in the reconditioning step. In particular, Scenario A represents the set of replaced components, which damage more frequently; Scenario B is just an alternative set of replaced components. The environmental comparison between new and reused WEEE, adopting attributional LCI modelling, showed that Scenario B produces a damage decrease for all WEEE categories. Moving on the consequential LCI modelling, the environmental comparison highlighted for both scenarios a considerable damage reduction for the reused EEE respect the new one. In addition, Scenario B determined the best environmental performance. Furthermore, for the reused R1, R2, R3 the analysis of results carried out environmental credits. This is due to the avoided burdens associated to the manufacturing of the new EEE, since the system boundaries have been enlarged until to considering the avoided production of the new product. Attributional and consequential LCI modelling performed different LCIA results. Following the methodological guidance for the identification of the most adequate LCI modelling framework presented by Laurent et al., 2014, it would recommend to adopt consequential LCI modelling. But we suggest to LCA practitioner to focus also the attention on the request of who commissioned the project, which often in the waste field are local administrations. Generally, they wants a snapshot of the real effects that waste management policies provoke on human health and environment. For this reason, attributional LCI modelling would be the proper LCI modelling to achieve this scope. Considering this LCI modelling the Scenario B determines the best environmental performance

Fatty Acids Abolish Shigella Virulence by Inhibiting Its Master Regulator, VirF

The pathogenicity of Shigella, the intracellular pathogen responsible for human bacillary dysentery, depends on a coordinated and tightly regulated expression of its virulence determinants. This is the result of a cascade organization of its positive regulators, with VirF, a transcriptional activator belonging to the AraC-XylS family, in a pivotal position. VirF itself is submitted to several well-known regulations at the transcriptional level. In this work, we present evidence for a novel posttranslational regulatory mechanism of VirF mediated by the inhibitory interaction with specific fatty acids. By homology modeling and molecular docking analyses, we identify a jelly roll motif in the structure of ViF capable of interacting with medium-chain saturated and long-chain unsaturated fatty acids. In vitro and in vivo assays show that capric, lauric, myristoleic, palmitoleic, and sapienic acids interact effectively with the VirF protein, abolishing its transcription-promoting activity. This silences the virulence system of Shigella, leading to a drastic reduction in its ability to invade epithelial cells and proliferate in their cytoplasm. IMPORTANCE In the absence of a valid vaccine, the main therapeutic approach currently used to treat shigellosis is based on the use of antibiotics. The emergence of antibiotic resistance jeopardizes the future effectiveness of this approach. The importance of the present work resides both in the identification of a new level of posttranslational regulation of the Shigella virulence system and in the characterization of a mechanism offering new opportunities for the design of antivirulence compounds, which may change the treatment paradigm of Shigella infections by limiting the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

An integrative definition and framework to study gossip

The omnipresence of workplace gossip makes understanding gossip processes imperative to understand social life in organizations. Although gossip research has recently increased across the social sciences, gossip is conceptualized in disparate ways in the scientific literature. This conceptual confusion impedes theoretical integration and providing practical advice. To resolve this, we systematically reviewed 6114 scientific articles on gossip and identified 324 articles that define gossip. From these definitions, we extracted two essential characteristics of gossip on which there seems to be agreement within the literature, namely, (1) that gossip is communication between humans involving a sender, a receiver, and a target, and (2) that the target is absent or unaware of the communicated content. These two characteristics formed the basis of a broad, integrative definition of gossip: a sender communicating to a receiver about a target who is absent or unaware of the content. Furthermore, some definitions include characteristics on which there is less agreement: gossip valence (from negative to neutral to positive) and formality (from informal to intermediate to formal). We incorporate these characteristics in a dimensional scaling framework that can guide future research. Our broad, integrative definition of gossip and the dimensional scaling framework provide the building blocks for a systematic, integrated knowledge base on the role of gossip in human social life in general as well as in organizations. This can foster future theory development and hypothesis testing, ultimately helping organizations to manage gossip

Preparation for reuse activity of waste electrical and electronic equipment: Environmental performance, cost externality and job creation

The European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment system introduced measures to encourage both the reduction of the amount of electronic waste and its separation to prepare for reuse. The aim of this study is compare the environmental performance, cost externality and job creation of the whole life cycle of new and reconditioned electrical and electronic equipment by adopting Life Cycle Assessment methodology. Five electrical and electronic equipment categories were investigated and the data collection was made on an Italian context. The refurbishing of breakdown electrical and electronic equipment was assessed by considering different sets of faulty components (Scenario A and B) and a total of 25 scenarios were studied. Moreover, both attributional and consequential life cycle inventory modelling framework were adopted to represent the investigated scenarios. The outcomes highlighted that the preparation for reuse process leads to obtaining a sustainable electronic device than the new one, depending on which set of components are replaced. Adopting Scenario B with the attributional model, the environmental damage of reconditioned electrical and electronic equipment decreases compared to the new one. Conversely, the consequential approach determines an environmental credit for all repaired electronic devices except for one category; in particular, Scenario A produced the largest environmental advantage. The analyses of external costs and social aspects confirm that the preparation for reuse activity allows to obtain a more sustainable product than a new one. For these two latter aspects, the results showed a turnaround passing from attributional model to consequential one. Noting the variability in results adopting both different life cycle inventory modelling framework and set of replaced components, the Life Cycle Assessment practitioner, that conducted the study, should help the decision-makers to determine which scenario is more sustainable accomplishing an adequate choice