Immune combinations and complete response: a new hope for metastatic renal cell carcinoma

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Radioactivity of Mt. Etna volcano and radionuclides transfer to groundwater

The paper presents the results of a radiometric survey carried out on the eastern flank of Mt. Etna over an area of approximately 120 km2. Activity concentrations of 238,234U, 232,230,228Th, 226,228Ra, from 238U and 232Th decay chains, and potassium 40K were determined using α- and γ- spectrometry techniques. All rock samples presented activity concentrations of U, Th and Ra isotopes ranging from 20 Bq kg-1 to about 90 Bq kg-1, and they showed no particular compositional variations over the investigated area. Based on their respective elemental concentrations, the isotopic ratios of different elements were studied to check the presence of radioactive equilibrium, or disequilibrium, in the decay chains. Moreover, an attempt to calculate radionuclide transfer factors from soil to water was made, and the radiological risk resulting from ingestion of these isotopes contained in drinking water was calculated. The results were compared with current regulations on the quality of drinking water

Natural radioactivity content in groundwater of Mt. Etna's eastern flank and gamma background of surrounding rocks

Waters of Mt. Etna are the main source of drinking water for the local population and are also distributed in municipal supply systems to neighbouring areas. Radioactivity in underground waters and surrounding rocks from the eastern flank of Mt. Etna was investigated on the basis of 9 water and 8 rock samples from 12 localities altogether. Three samples were from water drainage galleries and six from water wells. All water intakes are used for consumption. Activity concentration of uranium isotopes234,238U, radium isotopes226,228Ra and radon222Rn were determined with the use different nuclear spectrometry techniques. The determination of uranium isotopes was carried out with the use of alpha spectrometry. The measurements of radium and radon activity concentration in water were performed with the use of a liquid scintillation technique. Additionally, rocks surrounding the intakes were examined with gamma spectrometry. All water samples showed uranium concentration above Minimum Detectable Activity (MDA), with the highest total uranium (234U +238U) activity concentration equal to 149.2±6 mBq/L. Conversely, all samples showed radium isotopes activity concentrations below MDA. Radon activity concentration was within the range from 2.91±0.36 to 21.21±1.10 Bq/L, hence these waters can be classified as low-radon waters. Gamma natural background of the rocks surrounding the water sampling sites was found on the same levels as other volcanic rocks of Italy

Psychological factors may impacton postmenopausal women fracture risk

Anxiety and osteoporosis are common diseases and major public health problems. The association between  anxiety levels and bone loss was poorly investigated, thus we aimed to explore whether anxiety severity could be considered as an independent fracture risk. In a setting of postmenopausal women we measured anxiety levels by Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), depressive symptoms by Beck Depression Inventory and evaluated quality of life by the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire. Women with higher anxiety levels showed lower BMD at lumbar spine and femoral neck, and exhibited a poorer quality of life after grouping our population in tertiles of HAMA score. Anxiety levels were predictive of reduced BMD after correcting for other known clinical risk of fractures

Significant coronary stenosis detected by coronary computed angiography in asymptomatic HIV infected subjects

Objectives: increased incidence of acute coronary events, high rate of abnormal surrogate markers of atherosclerosis and increased amount of coronary calcium have been described in HIV infected population. To expand knowledge on coronary artery disease (CAD) in HIV patients, cardiac CT scan was performed in asymptomatic subjects with low cardiovascular (CV) risk. Methods: A cross-sectional study using dual-source CT (MDCT) coronary angiography. was conducted in HIV-infected subjects with the following characteristics: Framingham Risk Score (FRS) <= 10, absence of metabolic syndrome, negative echocardiographic and ECG stress-test. A luminal narrowing exceeding 50% was defined as a clinically significant coronary stenosis. Calcium score was quantified using the Agatston Calcium Score method. Results: Fifty-five subjects were enrolled. Significant coronary stenoses, requiring coronary angiography, were found in 16/55 (29.1%). At multivariate analysis older age was the only variable independently associated with the presence of significant luminal narrowing (p = 0.011). Conclusions: MDCT showed an unexpected, age-associated high rate of significant coronary stenosis in asymptomatic HIV positive subjects with low CV risk. These findings suggest that aggressive screening programs for coronary artery disease may be appropriate in this population; further studies are recommended to assess the appropriateness of MDCT for this purpose. (C) 2011 The British Infection Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

A matter of life and death : substance-caused and substance-related fatalities in Ibiza in 2015

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Rita Santacroce, et al, 'A matter of life and death: substance-caused and substance-related fatalities in Ibiza in 2015', Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical & Experimental, Vol. 32 (3), e2592, May 2017, which has been published in final form at DOI: 10.1002/hup.2592. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. The Accepted Manuscript is under embargo. Embargo end date: 18 May 2018.Objectives and methods: In the framework of the EU-funded project “EU-Madness,” we collected and analysed all the reports of fatalities directly or indirectly related to substances of abuse registered in Ibiza from January to September 2015, in order to analyse the characteristics of the sample, the identified substances, and the nature of deaths associated with their consumption. Results: A significant increase of substance-caused deaths with respect to the previous 4 years has been highlighted. Most of the subjects were young males, more than half were not Spanish. Males prevailed also amongst the victims of traffic accidents and suicides. The most commonly involved substances included MDMA, alcohol, cocaine, THC, opiates and prescription drugs. Conclusions: Although the use of NPS is rapidly increasing in Europe, according to the results from our sample, alcohol and well-known stimulants (MDMA and cocaine) are still the substances of abuse mainly involved in the cases of substance-caused and substance-related fatalities. The significant increase of fatalities in Ibiza in the last 5 years is an issue that must be taken into account and should be better investigated, as other theories besides NPS-increased diffusion should be proposed, and therefore, targeted prevention strategies should be designed.Peer reviewe

PYRROLO[1,2-b][1,2,5]BENZOTHIADIAZEPINES (PBTDs) induce apoptosis in K562 cells

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to gain insight into the molecular mechanism of induced cell death (apoptosis) by PYRROLO [1,2-b][1,2,5]BENZOTHIADIAZEPINES (PBTDs) series compounds, using human (K562) cells as a model. METHODS: We focused our attention on some members of the PBTDs family to test their potential apoptotic activity in K562 cells. Important apoptotic activity was demonstrated, as evidenced by the concentration and percentage of cell death quantified by measuring PI-uptake by flow cytometry, and DNA fragmentation analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis, generating a characteristic ladder pattern of discontinuous DNA fragments. The expression of Bcl-2 family was tested using western blotting and transfection method. RESULTS: PBTDs-mediated suppression of K562 cell proliferation was induced by apoptosis characterized by the appearance of DNA fragmentation and was associated with the poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase (PARP) cleavage. PBTD-1 and -3 treatment resulted in caspase-3 activation through down-regulation of Bcl-2 and up-regulation of Bax. Furthermore, we used K562/vector and K562/bcl-2 cells, which were generated by transfection of the cDNA of the Bcl-2 gene. As compared with K562/vector, K562/Bcl-2 cells exhibited a 4-fold greater expression of Bcl-2. Treatment with 10 muM PBTD-1 and -3 for 24 h produced morphological features of apoptosis and DNA fragmentation in K562/vector cells, respectively. In contrast, PBTD-1 and -3-induced caspase-3 activation and apoptosis were inhibited in K562/Bcl-2. Furthermore, Bcl-2 overexpressing cells exhibited less cytocrome c release during PBTDs-induced apoptosis. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that PBTDs effectively induce apoptosis of K562 leukemia cells through the activation of caspase cascades. In addition, these findings indicate that Bcl-2 inhibits PBTD-1 and -3 induced-apoptosis via a mechanism that interferes with cytocrome c release, and the activity of caspase-3, which is involved in the execution of apoptosis

Executive functions and bone health: a focus on cognitive impulsivity and bone mineral density

Background: It is known that cognitive impairment is associated with low bone mineral density (BMD) and that low BMD is also observed in elderly people with neurodegenerative diseases, in which executive functions (EF) could be decreased. A limited number of studies investigated the association between EF with BMD and fracture risk in elderly women. Aims: The aim of this study was to explore the association between cognitive impulsivity, BMD and fall risk in a sample of postmenopausal women evaluated for osteoporosis. Methods: We consecutively recruited women who obtained a score ≥ 24 at the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Cognitive impulsivity was evaluated by the Stroop Colour and Word Test (SCWT). BMD was detected by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at lumbar spine and femoral neck. Results: Cognitive impulsivity, as evidenced by the greater number of errors at the SCWT, was significantly related with BMD values at lumbar spine and femoral neck (r= -0.39, p= 0.01 and r= 0.43, p= 0.008; respectively), suggesting a neuropsychological impairment in patients assessed for osteoporosis. Moreover, interference effect on response time was significantly associated with higher prevalence of falls (r= 0.342; p= 0.031). Discussion and Conclusions: Our findings suggested a potential involvement of cognitive impulsivity on BMD and risk of fall. This is a relevant issue in clinical practice for both clinical psychologists and physicians who evaluate postmenopausal women, to eventually predict risk of fracture