The δ-Opioid Receptor Affects Epidermal Homeostasis via ERK-Dependent Inhibition of Transcription Factor POU2F3.

Neuropeptides and their receptors are present in human skin, and their importance for cutaneous homeostasis and during wound healing is increasingly appreciated. However, there is currently a lack of understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which their signaling modulates keratinocyte function. Here, we show that δ-opioid receptor (DOPr) activation inhibits proliferation of human keratinocytes, resulting in decreased epidermal thickness in an organotypic skin model. DOPr signaling markedly delayed induction of keratin intermediate filament (KRT10) during in vitro differentiation and abolished its induction in the organotypic skin model. This was accompanied by deregulation of involucrin (IVL), loricrin, and filaggrin. Analysis of the transcription factor POU2F3, which is involved in regulation of KRT10, IVL, and profilaggrin expression, revealed a DOPr-mediated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)-dependent downregulation of this factor. We propose that DOPr signaling specifically activates the ERK 1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway to regulate keratinocyte functions. Complementing our earlier studies in DOPr-deficient mice, these data suggest that DOPr activation in human keratinocytes profoundly influences epidermal morphogenesis and homeostasis

The Vite Maritata as a Landscape Catalyst. The Grapevine as Part of Edible Greenways

The grapevine on living trellises, or “vite maritata” in Italian, is an ancient grape growing technique that uses, instead of poles, trees as support for the grapevine to climb. Conceived by the Etruscans, it was a common element in the Italian rural landscape until the 1960s. As an agronomic practice, it has been abandoned mainly because of the ceasing of the socioeconomic forces that drove its expansion, summarized by sharecropping. Today, in evaluating the natural ecosystem and environment, we have the theory of ecosystem services as a powerful tool. This theory states that ecosystems impact human well-being. This impact affects four different categories that group the various services provided by ecosystems. These four categories are provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting. The grapevine on living trellises provides services in all four categories, with precise services regulating microclimate and supporting wildlife (Bigliardi, 2021). The linear arrangement of the grapevine on living trellises in the urban landscape could function as a helpful green infrastructure for wild species of animals and plants, but of course, also for human beings, contrasting territorial fragmentation and promoting biodiversity. As a greenway, it can be a source of recreational spaces and slow mobility and provide substantial food resources, becoming the protagonist of an edible landscape (Fabris, 2010). The Metropolitan City of Milan possesses already a substratum of dismissed railway yards that, united with the renovation of the Navigli canal system, define a favourable environment for the design of this kind of greenways that can contribute to the “ForestaMI” Reforestation Plan of the Lombard metropolis (Boeri, 2021). Moreover, the “vite maritata” fits well with this situation, being acclimated to the climate of the Po valley

Path Approximation Strategies for Robot Manufacturing: A Preliminary Experimental Evaluation

Industrial Robots (IRs) are increasingly adopted for material subtraction or deposition functions owing to their advantages over machine tools, like cost-effectiveness and versatility. Unfortunately, the development of efficient robot manufacturing processes still faces unsolved issues related to the IRs poor positioning accuracy and to the tool path generation process. Novel engineering methods and tools are needed for CAD based programming of accurate paths and continuous robot motions to obtain the required manufacturing quality and tolerances. Within this context, to achieve smoothness along the tool path formed by linear G-code segments, the IR controllers’ approximation strategies, summarily reported in the manufacturer’s manuals, must be considered. The aim of this paper is to present the preliminary work carried out to identify the approximation algorithms of a Kuka IR when executing linear moves. An experimental study is conducted by varying the controller settings and the maximum translational velocity. The robot behavior has been acquired thanks to the controller tracing function and then processed to yield relations readily employable for the interpretation of G-Code commands and the subsequent generation of proper robot motion instructions. The obtained formulas allow to accurately predict the robot geometric path and kinematics within the corner transition between two linear segments

Potential role of interleukin-1 at the peri-ovulation stage in a species of placental viviparous reptile, the three-toed skink, Chalcides chalcides (squamata: scincidae)

We recently showed that interleukin-1 (IL-1) is secreted by the placenta of a species of squamate reptile, the three-toed skink, Chalcides chalcides. In this study, we used immunohistochemical techniques to investigate the expression of IL-1 (in the two isoforms, IL-1α and IL-1β) and its specific membrane receptor IL-1 RtI in uterine oviduct during the peri-implantation period. We found that both IL-1 and its receptor were expressed in uterine tissues before and after ovulation (in the pre-ovulatory stage, even before the yolk had formed in the ovary). However, while IL-1α was mostly localized in the uterine mesenchyme tissue, IL-1β and IL-1RtI were present in the uterine epithelium. Our data provide a further comparison between the reproduction of mammals and squamate reptiles

Middle cerebral artery ischemic stroke and COVID-19: a case report

We present a clinical case of a patient with SARS-CoV-2 infection and respiratory symptoms, complicated with a pro-thrombotic state involving multiple vascular territories and concomitant interleukin-6 increase. This case underlines the possibility to develop a COVID-19-related coagulopathy

traumatic uterine rupture in a queen at early stage of pregnancy

The rupture of a pregnant uterus is a rare complication of pregnancy, which can result in the death of the mother and the fetus. This life threating condition generally occurs during late pregnancy, it can be asymptomatic and scarred uteruses have been reported as incidental findings during abdominal surgery. This clinical case describes a queen with vulvar bleeding during the early stage of pregnancy. Wall laceration of a pregnant uterus was diagnosed by means of an ultrasound examination. During ovariohysterectomy two uterine ruptures, fragments of the great omentum were found sequestering embryonic tissue. Histopathology showed that the uterine wall was torn in the same place where two embryonic implantations were found and residues of embryonic tissue were observed. This clinical case shows that when a traumatic injury is reported, the mandatory abdomen investigations should evaluate the condition of the uterus and determine the early stage of a pregnancy

In-hospital and out-of-hospital stroke in patients with COVID-19: two different diseases?

Background: Ischemic stroke is a known complication of COVID-19. It may have a different pathogenesis and worse outcome compared to stroke in patients without COVID-19. Furthermore, patients with COVID-19 and out-of-hospital stroke onset might have different characteristics compared to patients with COVID-19 and in-hospital stroke onset. The aim of our study was to analyze the characteristics of patients with stroke with and without COVID-19 and of patients with COVID-19 with in-hospital and out-of-hospital stroke. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of all consecutive patients admitted to our hospital with ischemic stroke between October 2020 and February 2021. We compared functional outcome, lab test, demographic, and clinical characteristics between patients with or without COVID-19. We performed a sub-analysis comparing patients with COVID-19 and in-hospital and out-of-hospital stroke onset. Results: We included in the final analysis 137 patients of whom 26 with COVID-19. Half (13) had out-of-hospital stroke and half in-hospital stroke onset. Overall, patients with COVID-19 had higher mortality compared to the control group (27% vs 9%, p: 0.02), and non-significantly lower rate of good functional outcome (50% vs 63%, p: 0.22). Patients with COVID-19 and out-of-hospital stroke had higher rate of good functional outcome (69% vs 39%, p: 0.05), higher lymphocyte count, and lower D-dimer compared with patients with in-hospital stroke onset. Conclusions: Patients with stroke and COVID-19 had higher mortality compared to patients without COVID-19. Among patients with COVID-19 those with out-of-hospital stroke had better outcome and fewer blood test abnormalities compared to patients with in-hospital stroke