Liquid-gas phase transition in nuclear multifragmentation

The equation of state of nuclear matter suggests that at suitable beam energies the disassembling hot system formed in heavy ion collisions will pass through a liquid-gas coexistence region. Searching for the signatures of the phase transition has been a very important focal point of experimental endeavours in heavy ion collisions, in the last fifteen years. Simultaneously theoretical models have been developed to provide information about the equation of state and reaction mechanisms consistent with the experimental observables. This article is a review of this endeavour.Comment: 63 pages, 27 figures, submitted to Adv. Nucl. Phys. Some typos corrected, minor text change

A Set of 100 Chloroplast DNA Primer Pairs to Study Population Genetics and Phylogeny in Monocotyledons

Chloroplast DNA sequences are of great interest for population genetics and phylogenetic studies. However, only a small set of markers are commonly used. Most of them have been designed for amplification in a large range of Angiosperms and are located in the Large Single Copy (LSC). Here we developed a new set of 100 primer pairs optimized for amplification in Monocotyledons. Primer pairs amplify coding (exon) and non-coding regions (intron and intergenic spacer). They span the different chloroplast regions: 72 are located in the LSC, 13 in the Small Single Copy (SSC) and 15 in the Inverted Repeat region (IR). Amplification and sequencing were tested in 13 species of Monocotyledons: Dioscorea abyssinica, D. praehensilis, D. rotundata, D. dumetorum, D. bulbifera, Trichopus sempervirens (Dioscoreaceae), Phoenix canariensis, P. dactylifera, Astrocaryum scopatum, A. murumuru, Ceroxylon echinulatum (Arecaceae), Digitaria excilis and Pennisetum glaucum (Poaceae). The diversity found in Dioscorea, Digitaria and Pennisetum mainly corresponded to Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) while the diversity found in Arecaceae also comprises Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR). We observed that the most variable loci (rps15-ycf1, rpl32-ccsA, ndhF-rpl32, ndhG-ndhI and ccsA) are located in the SSC. Through the analysis of the genetic structure of a wild-cultivated species complex in Dioscorea, we demonstrated that this new set of primers is of great interest for population genetics and we anticipate that it will also be useful for phylogeny and bar-coding studies

Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes

Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale(1-3). Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4-5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter(4); identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation(5,6); analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution(7); describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity(8,9); and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes(8,10-18).Peer reviewe

The pharmacopoeias in Ferrara: history of the pursuit of the Italian unification

At the end of the 17th Century Ferrara is in need of an official pharmacopeia. Even if many were mentioned to work together, Francesco Maria Nigrisoli will honourably take responsibility on the project in the end. Cum haec igitur animo agitarem, nunquàm enim componendae Pharmacopee Ferrariensi manum admovere ... If we have a look at the past, relevant names of the “Studio Ferrarese” gave an important contribute to the world of medicine and pharmacy: referam praeclara duo illa Medicorum Ferrariensium lumina, Antonium Musam Brasavolam, & Ioannem Manardum. Nigrisoli’s Pharmacopeia was written in Latin (1725) and is divided into “XII classes” of galenic preparations. The prescriptions of Ferrara were analysed meticulously. In 1798 Antonio Campana will propose a modern private Pharmacopeia that will be very successful internationally. It was written in Italian and soon replaced the previous one that was in Latin. Only after some decades after the Italian unification the first Farmacopea Ufficiale Italiana was published: it was 1892

La fortuna della Pommade d'Helmerich

All'inizio dell'Ottocento un medico chirurgo militare olandese, Christian-Fredrich Helmrich (n. 1766), promette la risoluzione della scabbia in 48h con un rimedio inizialmente a formula segreta. Si tratta di un nuovo preparato a base di zolfo, di grande efficacia e di grande successo. Uno studio di documenti manoscritti ottocenteschi ne dimostra l'uso presso l'Ospedale S. Anna in Ferrara. I rimedi suggeriti nelle farmacopee ferraresi del Nigrisoli e del Campana risultano ormai superati. La pomade d'Helmerich è ancora riportata nella XII FUI

Il Tesoro della Sanità

L’Accademia Italiana di Storia della Farmacia, che ha come fine la diffusione e l'incremento degli studi storico-farmaceutici in tutti i loro aspetti, incoraggia e sostiene tutte le iniziative atte a ricercare i tesori nascosti in biblioteche e in sorprendenti fondi e archivi privati. In quest’ottica per questo libro le autrici hanno indagato le sezioni Silvestriana e Concordiana della Biblioteca dell'Accademia dei Concordi di Rovigo. Si è così potuto reperire un centinaio di opere tra storie naturali, trattati di medicina, erbari (talvolta in unione con bestiari e lapidari), prontuari farmaceutici, suggerimenti alimentari e consigli di igiene, che vanno dalla fine del Quattrocento sino all'ultimo decennio dell'Ottocento. Tutta la documentazione è proposta agli specialisti e alle persone dotte, ma pure agli appassionati e ai lettori comuni tramite uno splendido corredo iconografico: un itinerario nel passato per riavvolgere il film del lento, difficile e tortuoso cammino compiuto dall’uomo per preservare o riacquistare il benessere fisico e psichico. Lo studio guiderà il lettore nel viaggio entro il ricco patrimonio librario dell’Accademia dei Concordi, che riesce sempre a sorprendere con nuove meraviglie

Una lumaca nella Biblioteca Maggioni

Snails and slime in particular can be found very often in the classical pharmaceutical literature, not only in the Regimina sanitatis precepts, but also in galenic. The therapeutic and cosmetic properties are still confirmed nowadays. The aim now is to develop products for the dietary cosmetic and pharmaceutical markets by promoting the use of the Secreto di Chiocciola as an excellent raw material and also by offering a high standard quality and a safe, healthy product from the microbiological point of view

Il Tesoro della Sanità

L’Accademia Italiana di Storia della Farmacia, che ha come fine la diffusione e l'incremento degli studi storico-farmaceutici in tutti i loro aspetti, incoraggia e sostiene tutte le iniziative atte a ricercare i tesori nascosti in biblioteche e in sorprendenti fondi e archivi privati. In quest’ottica per questo libro le autrici hanno indagato le sezioni Silvestriana e Concordiana della Biblioteca dell'Accademia dei Concordi di Rovigo. Si è così potuto reperire un centinaio di opere tra storie naturali, trattati di medicina, erbari (talvolta in unione con bestiari e lapidari), prontuari farmaceutici, suggerimenti alimentari e consigli di igiene, che vanno dalla fine del Quattrocento sino all'ultimo decennio dell'Ottocento. Tutta la documentazione è proposta agli specialisti e alle persone dotte, ma pure agli appassionati e ai lettori comuni tramite uno splendido corredo iconografico: un itinerario nel passato per riavvolgere il film del lento, difficile e tortuoso cammino compiuto dall’uomo per preservare o riacquistare il benessere fisico e psichico. Lo studio guiderà il lettore nel viaggio entro il ricco patrimonio librario dell’Accademia dei Concordi, che riesce sempre a sorprendere con nuove meraviglie

Scorpions, jellyfish and spiders as the source of a new generation of biomimetic drugs produced through biotechnology. Scorpioni, meduse e ragni come fonte di una nuova generazione di farmaci biomimetici prodotti mediante biotecnologie.

The animal kingdom is a source of drugs since long time and also nowadays, in several countries, they are still presents as recipes in drugs. Moreover, traditional use are a source of consistent inspiration for the drug development and in recent years the composition and mechanistic aspects of the components of ancients recipes have been clarified. However, nowadays it is not anymore acceptable to apply methods of production and extraction that cause sufferances to animals. In this regards biotechnology consent to obtain complex biomolecules through the recombinant DNA techniques, in a more pure form and without the use of animals but yeast or bacteria. This represents a new paradigm in drug development and further support the necessity to deepen the knowledge on recipes described in ancient preparation