Artificial biomineralisation of flax fibres in the presence of amino acids for use in natural fibre reinforced composites

Biomineralisation is gaining increasing interest as a potential technology for coating fibres for use in high-performance composites. The application of molecular biology and protein chemistry into material engineering creates an important interface between traditional methods in materials design and structural biology. In this thesis, three amino acids were taken into account (Glycine, Î2-alanine and L-lycine) to artificially biomineralise natural fibres for use in composites materialsope

AtopyReg®, the Prospective Italian Patient Registry for Moderate‐to‐Severe Atopic Dermatitis in Adults: Baseline Demographics, Disease Characteristics, Comorbidities, and Treatment History

Background and Objective AtopyReg® is a multicenter, prospective, observational, non-profit cohort study on moderate-tosevere atopic dermatitis in adults promoted in 2018 by the Italian Society of Dermatology and Venereology (SIDeMaST). We aimed to describe baseline demographics, disease characteristics, comorbidities, and therapeutic data of adult patients affected by moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. Methods Patients were selected based on the following inclusion criteria: age ≥ 18 years; Eczema Area and Severity Index score ≥ 16 or localization in visible or sensitive areas (face, neck, hands, or genitalia), or a Numeric Rating Scale itch score ≥ 7 or a Numeric Rating Scale sleep loss score ≥ 7, or a Dermatology Life Quality Index score ≥ 10. Demographic and clinical data at baseline were recorded and analyzed. Results A total of 1170 patients (male 51.1%; mean age: 44.7 years; range 18–90 years) were enrolled by 12 Italian Dermatology Units between January 2019 and November 2022. Skin lesions were eczematous in 83.2% of patients, the most involved site were the flexures (53.9%), face (50.9%), and neck (48.0%). Mean Eczema Area and Severity Index score was 22.3, mean Dermatology Life Quality Index value was 17.6, mean Patient Oriented Eczema Measure score was 13.1, and mean Numeric Rating Scale itch and sleep loss scores were 7.6 and 5.9, respectively. Previous systemic therapies were corticosteroids in 77.7% of patients, antihistamines in 50.3% of patients, and cyclosporine A in 42.6% of patients. Conclusions This baseline data analysis deriving from AtopyReg ® provides real-life evidence on patients with moderateto- severe atopic dermatitis in Italy confirming the high burden of atopic dermatitis with a significant impact on patients’ quality of life

Clinical and molecular epidemiology of erythropoietic protoporphyria in Italy

Background: Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) is a rare inherited disease associated with heme metabolism, characterized by severe life-long photosensitivity and liver involvement. Objectives: To provide epidemiological data of EPP in Italy. Materials and Methods: Prospective/retrospective data of EPP patients were collected by an Italian network of porphyria specialist centres (Gruppo Italiano Porfiria, GrIP) over a 20-year period (1996-2017). Results: In total, 179 patients (79 females) with a clinical and biochemical diagnosis of EPP were assessed, revealing a prevalence of 3.15 cases per million persons and an incidence of 0.13 cases per million persons/year. Incidence significantly increased after 2009 (due to the availability of alfa-melanotide, which effectively limits skin photosensitivity). Mean age at diagnosis was 28 years, with only 22 patients (12.2%) diagnosed 6410 years old. Gene mutations were assessed in 173 (96.6%) patients; most (164; 91.3%) were FECH mutations on one allele in association with the hypomorphic variant, c.315-48C, on the other (classic EPP), and nine (5.2%) were ALAS2 mutations (X-linked EPP). Only one case of autosomal recessive EPP was observed. Of the 42 different FECH mutations, 15 are novel, three mutations collectively accounted for 45.9% (75/164) of the mutations (c.215dupT [27.2%], c.901_902delTG [11.5%] and c.67\u2009+\u20095G\u2009>\u2009A [7.2%]), and frameshift mutations were prevalent (33.3%). A form of light protection was used by 109/179 (60.8%) patients, and 100 (56%) had at least one \u3b1-melanotide implant. Three cases of severe acute liver involvement, requiring OLT, were observed. Conclusions: These data define, for the first time, the clinical and molecular epidemiology of EPP in Italy

Italian Guidelines in diagnosis and treatment of alopecia areata

Alopecia areata (AA) is an organ-specific autoimmune disorder that targets anagen phase hair follicles. The course is unpredictable and current available treatments have variable efficacy. Nowadays, there is relatively little evidence on treatment of AA from well-designed clinical trials. Moreover, none of the treatments or devices commonly used to treat AA are specifically approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The Italian Study Group for Cutaneous Annexial Disease of the Italian Society of dermatology proposes these Italian guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of Alopecia Areata deeming useful for the daily management of the disease. This article summarizes evidence-based treatment associated with expert-based recommendations

Artificial biomineralisation of flax fibres in the presence of amino acids for use in natural fibre reinforced composites

Biomineralisation is gaining increasing interest as a potential technology for coating fibres for use in high-performance composites. The application of molecular biology and protein chemistry into material engineering creates an important interface between traditional methods in materials design and structural biology. In this thesis, three amino acids were taken into account (Glycine, β-alanine and L-lycine) to artificially biomineralise natural fibres for use in composites material

Synthesis of potential inhibitors of BRAF V600E

reservedSintesi di potenziali inibitori di BRAF V600E derivanti da un pregresso studio di docking. Sono stati sintetizzati diversi analoghi da testare successivamente in vitro per confermarne l'attività inibitoria. La proteina oggetto di studio è coinvolta in numerosi tumori, soprattutto in melanomi e tumori alla tiroide.Synthesis of potential inhibitors of BRAF V600E from a previous docking study. Several analogues have been synthesized and then they will be tested in vitro to confirm their inhibitory activity. The protein under study is involved in numerous cancers, especially in melanoma and thyroid cancer

Implementation of a simulator for microbial communities based on a multi-agent model

embargoed_20240121In natura le comunità microbiche contengono centinaia, se non migliaia, di specie interagenti. La loro interazione con l'ambiente circostante, talvolta coincidente con i tessuti di un certo organismo ospite, è un fattore critico per poter determinare l'evoluzione di sistemi ecologici e fisiologici complessi. Per questa ragione le simulazioni computazionali stanno acquisendo un ruolo sempre più importante nell'ecologia microbica. In questo manoscritto, viene presentato un simulatore per comunità batteriche basato su un modello ad agenti multipli, entità autonome capaci di interagire tra loro e con l'ambiente. I modelli Agent-Based (ABM) fanno parte della classe dei modelli meccanicistici, la cui struttura matematica è basata su rigorose ipotesi biologiche. Questo tipo di modelli mira a descrivere i sistemi biologici con cognizione di causa, cercando di generare nuova conoscenza sull'evoluzione di un sistema, a partire da nozioni ben consolidate sui singoli costituenti che lo compongono. L'obiettivo di questo progetto di tesi è sviluppare la versione preliminare del simulatore, implementando in Python una struttura di base che consenta già di ottenere le prime simulazioni e che sia modularmente incrementabile, sia in termini di funzionalità che di livello di dettaglio dei modelli e parametri descriventi la biologia rappresentata. Il fine ultimo è, infatti, quello di produrre uno strumento atto a validare teorie ed ipotesi e che permetta di sostituire, in parte, la sperimentazione diretta. Questo garantirebbe enormi vantaggi dal punto di vista dell'impiego di tempo e risorse. Ci sono ancora diversi raffinamenti da effettuare, alcuni dei quali vengono suggeriti verso la fine del manoscritto. Si tenga conto, inoltre, che il simulatore è stato pensato per un utilizzo futuro: al momento attuale le tecnologie disponibili non consentono ancora di ottenere facilmente la conoscenza necessaria ad una definizione rigorosa di tutti i parametri degli agenti. Considerando, però, la velocità con la quale la scienza progredisce ci si aspetta che in una decina d'anni questo gap venga riempito e ci auguriamo che nel frattempo il simulatore raggiunga lo stato dell'arte. In ogni caso, si sta già considerando la possibilità di rendere il simulatore un pacchetto Python con un'interfaccia user-friendly che sia fruibile anche ad utenti con limitate competenze di programmazione ed informatica in generale