An innovative fast track solution for food bolus impaction due to Jackhammer esophagus in an emergency department: the "Nitro-Push Blind Technique" case report

Background: In the medical literature are described only few clinical cases of esophageal food bolus impaction due to esophageal motility disorders. Moreover, the management of this condition is highly variable with no evidence in the literature to strongly support a clear defined intervention.Case presentation: In this paper we describe for the first time a case of 53-year-old male with food bolus impaction due to Jackhammer esophagus referred to emergency department. On the basis of the known esophageal past medical history as well as the absence of bones in the bolus, the patient was submitted to a new conservative treatment, the "Nitro-Push Blind Technique".Conclusions: The new technique performed with naso-gastric tube thrust after nitrates medication in definite clinical case supported by known functional disease, represents a safe and successful method, with short observational period to minimize exposure to potential morbidity and reduce the inpatient stay in emergency department. It should be recommended, once validated in a larger cohort, as the initial treatment of choice in the selected patients with food boneless bolus impaction in the emergency settings. Indeed, this management provides only minimal deviation from the current practice and is hence technically easy to learn and perform

Emerging glyco-based strategies to steer immune responses

Glycan structures are common posttranslational modifications of proteins, which serve multiple important structural roles (for instance in protein folding), but also are crucial participants in cell-cell communications and in the regulation of immune responses. Through the interaction with glycan-binding receptors, glycans are able to affect the activation status of antigen-presenting cells, leading either to induction of pro-inflammatory responses or to suppression of immunity and instigation of immune tolerance. This unique feature of glycans has attracted the interest and spurred collaborations of glyco-chemists and glyco-immunologists to develop glycan-based tools as potential therapeutic approaches in the fight against diseases such as cancer and autoimmune conditions. In this review, we highlight emerging advances in this field, and in particular, we discuss on how glycan-modified conjugates or glycoengineered cells can be employed as targeting devices to direct tumor antigens to lectin receptors on antigen-presenting cells, like dendritic cells. In addition, we address how glycan-based nanoparticles can act as delivery platforms to enhance immune responses. Finally, we discuss some of the latest developments in glycan-based therapies, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells to achieve targeting of tumor-associated glycan-specific epitopes, as well as the use of glycan moieties to suppress ongoing immune responses, especially in the context of autoimmunity

Recent advances on smart glycoconjugate vaccines in infections and cancer

Vaccination is one of the greatest achievements in biomedical research preventing death and morbidity in many infectious diseases through the induction of pathogen-specific humoral and cellular immune responses. Currently, no effective vaccines are available for pathogens with a highly variable antigenic load, such as the human immunodeficiency virus or to induce cellular T-cell immunity in the fight against cancer. The recent SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has reinforced the relevance of designing smart therapeutic vaccine modalities to ensure public health. Indeed, academic and private companies have ongoing joint efforts to develop novel vaccine prototypes for this virus. Many pathogens are covered by a dense glycan-coat, which form an attractive target for vaccine development. Moreover, many tumor types are characterized by altered glycosylation profiles that are known as “tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens”. Unfortunately, glycans do not provoke a vigorous immune response and generally serve as T-cell-independent antigens, not eliciting protective immunoglobulin G responses nor inducing immunological memory. A close and continuous crosstalk between glycochemists and glycoimmunologists is essential for the successful development of efficient immune modulators. It is clear that this is a key point for the discovery of novel approaches, which could significantly improve our understanding of the immune system. In this review, we discuss the latest advancements in development of vaccines against glycan epitopes to gain selective immune responses and to provide an overview on the role of different immunogenic constructs in improving glycovaccine efficacy

Levels of cadmium and lead in blood: An application of validated methods in a group of patients with endocrine/metabolic disorders from the Rome area

Lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) are environmental pollutants, known to cause adverse health effects in humans even following long-term exposure to low doses. These metals, individually or in combination with other persistent environmental contaminants, have been claimed to have the potential to cause alterations in the function of the endocrine system. Human exposure to Pb and Cd is generally assessed by monitoring their concentrations in blood, taking into account the influence of various factors, such as age, gender, smoking habit, occupation, alcohol consumption, diet and air pollution. Following the phase-out of leaded gasoline in the European Union and improvements in food-packaging and contamination control, a decrease in blood Pb levels of the general population has been observed in several European countries and the USA. We report the preliminary results of a study, performed within the framework of the project "Human Exposure to Xenobiotics with potential Endocrine Activities: Evaluation of Reproductive and Developmental risks". We measured the concentrations of Cd and Pb in the blood of a group of patients with endocrine/metabolic disorders. The analytical procedures, based on atomic absorption spectrometry, were validated according to the EURACHEM guidelines. The median values and ranges were 0.48 μg l-1 (0.20-1.73 μg l-1) and 21.8 μg l-1 (12.0-65.7 μg l-1) for Cd and Pb, respectively; the Cd levels were significantly higher in smokers. Overall, the concentrations of Cd and Pb found in our series of patients were comparable to levels currently expected in the general population. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Recent advances on smart glycoconjugate vaccines in infections and cancer

Vaccination is one of the greatest achievements in biomedical research preventing death and morbidity in many infectious diseases through the induction of pathogen-specific humoral and cellular immune responses. Currently, no effective vaccines are available for pathogens with a highly variable antigenic load, such as the human immunodeficiency virus or to induce cellular T-cell immunity in the fight against cancer. The recent SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has reinforced the relevance of designing smart therapeutic vaccine modalities to ensure public health. Indeed, academic and private companies have ongoing joint efforts to develop novel vaccine prototypes for this virus. Many pathogens are covered by a dense glycan-coat, which form an attractive target for vaccine development. Moreover, many tumor types are characterized by altered glycosylation profiles that are known as "tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens". Unfortunately, glycans do not provoke a vigorous immune response and generally serve as T-cell-independent antigens, not eliciting protective immunoglobulin G responses nor inducing immunological memory. A close and continuous crosstalk between glycochemists and glycoimmunologists is essential for the successful development of efficient immune modulators. It is clear that this is a key point for the discovery of novel approaches, which could significantly improve our understanding of the immune system. In this review, we discuss the latest advancements in development of vaccines against glycan epitopes to gain selective immune responses and to provide an overview on the role of different immunogenic constructs in improving glycovaccine efficacy

Emerging glyco‐based strategies to steer immune responses

Glycan structures are common posttranslational modifications of proteins, which serve multiple important structural roles (for instance in protein folding), but also are crucial participants in cell-cell communications and in the regulation of immune responses. Through the interaction with glycan-binding receptors, glycans are able to affect the activation status of antigen-presenting cells, leading either to induction of pro-inflammatory responses or to suppression of immunity and instigation of immune tolerance. This unique feature of glycans has attracted the interest and spurred collaborations of glyco-chemists and glyco-immunologists to develop glycan-based tools as potential therapeutic approaches in the fight against diseases such as cancer and autoimmune conditions. In this review, we highlight emerging advances in this field, and in particular, we discuss on how glycan-modified conjugates or glycoengineered cells can be employed as targeting devices to direct tumor antigens to lectin receptors on antigen-presenting cells, like dendritic cells. In addition, we address how glycan-based nanoparticles can act as delivery platforms to enhance immune responses. Finally, we discuss some of the latest developments in glycan-based therapies, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells to achieve targeting of tumor-associated glycan-specific epitopes, as well as the use of glycan moieties to suppress ongoing immune responses, especially in the context of autoimmunity

Dibujos españoles e italianos del siglo XVI de la Biblioteca Nacional de España

Disegni spagnoli e italiani del Cinquecento della Biblioteca Nacional de España è il risultato di un primo approccio d’insieme all’importante patrimonio grafico del Cinquecento di questa istituzione, realizzato nell’ambito del progetto di ricerca HAR2017-86804-P del Ministero della Scienza e dell’Innovazione di Spagna, diretto dai professori Benito Navarrete Prieto e Gonzalo Redín Michaus. Lo studio intrapreso ha voluto tenere in considerazione l’indiscutibile relazione che legava Italia e Spagna nel Cinquecento, intesa come parte di un’identità mediterranea comune, frutto di scambi, flussi, ibridazioni e influenze degli artisti spagnoli e italiani. Il volume si apre con un’introduzione storiografica a cura di Marzia Faietti che fa il punto sugli studi sui disegni italiani conservati in Spagna effettuati fino agli anni ottanta. A questa fa seguito il saggio di Elena Santiago Páez e Beatriz Hidalgo Caldas sulla provenienza delle collezioni di disegni acquisite nell’Ottocento dall’istituzione spagnola, essenzialmente quelle di Valentín Carderera, José de Madrazo e Manuel Castellano. Da questo punto di vista, lo studio calligrafico delle iscrizioni e dei marchi di collezione è stato fondamentale per tracciare il percorso delle raccolte più antiche, come quella del pittore spagnolo del Seicento Francisco de Solís oppure, nel secolo successivo, quella di padre Sebastiano Resta, oggetto dell’approfondimento di Francesco Grisolia. Benito Navarrete Prieto affronta il tema dell’identità e dell’appropriazione culturale del disegno spagnolo e italiano analizzando i legami tra Spagna e Italia e successivamente Gonzalo Redín Michaus fa un bilancio delle nuove attribuzioni dei disegni italiani della Biblioteca Nacional. Federica Mancini si occupa dei disegni genovesi e dei problemi di attribuzione, avanzando nuove proposte d’indagine, mentre Carlos Plaza fa luce sulle collezioni di disegni di architettura, riflettendo sulla ricchezza di queste raccolte e sul modo di studiarle. Manuel Arias Martínez si concentra sull’importanza dei disegni per i retabli di Gaspar Becerra e sul loro rapporto con i modelli italiani, infine José Ramón Marcaida López analizza in termini metodologici le possibilità di studio per la storia della scienza offerte dai due manoscritti di Leonardo da Vinci che fanno parte del patrimonio della Biblioteca Nacional. Il volume include un catalogo di disegni selezionati a seguito della ricerca e studiati da specialisti della materia: Manuel Arias Martínez, Antonella Chiodo, Elisabetta Fadda, Marzia Faietti, Mauro Vincenzo Fontana, Carmen García Frías-Checa, Antonio Geremicca, Francesco Grisolia, Federica Mancini, Giorgio Marini, Manuela B. Mena Marqués, Francisco Merino Rodríguez, Carmen Morte García, Benito Navarrete Prieto, Elena Parma, Carlos Plaza, Gonzalo Redín Michaus e Patrizia Tosini.Agencia Estatal de InvestigaciónDepto. de Historia del ArteFac. de Geografía e HistoriaTRUEpu