Cannabinoid receptors are widely expressed in goldfish: molecular cloning of a CB2-like receptor and evaluation of CB1 and CB2 mRNA expression profiles in different organs.

Cannabinoids, the bioactive constituents of Cannabis sativa, and endocannabinoids, among which the most important are anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, control various biological processes by binding to specific G protein-coupled receptors, namely CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors. While a vast amount of information on the mammalian endocannabinoid system does exist, few data have been reported on bony fish. In the goldfish, Carassius auratus, the CB1 receptor has been cloned and its distribution has been analyzed in the retina, brain and gonads, while CB2 had not yet been isolated. In the present paper we cloned the goldfish CB2 receptor and show that it presents a quite high degree of amino acid identity with zebrafish Danio rerio CB2A and CB2B receptors, while the percentage of identity is lower with the pufferfish Fugu rubripes CB2, as also confirmed by the phylogenetic analysis. The sequence identity becomes much lower when comparing the goldfish and the mammalian CB2 sequences; as for other species, goldfish CB2 and CB1 amino acid sequences share moderate levels of identity. Western-blotting analysis shows the CB2 receptor as two major bands of about 53 kDa and 40 kDa, and other faint bands with apparent molecular masses around 70 kDa, 57 kDa and 55 kDa. Since the distribution of a receptor could give information on its physiological role, we evaluated and compared CB1 and CB2 mRNA expression in different goldfish organs by means of quantitative Real-Time PCR. Our results show that both CB1 and CB2 receptors are widely expressed in the goldfish, displaying some tissue specificities, thus opening the way for further functional studies on bony fish and other non-mammalian vertebrates

Polymorphisms of cytochrome P450 1A1, glutathione s-transferases M1 and T1 genes in Ouangolodougou (Northern Ivory Coast)

In this study, the frequencies of CYP1A1, GSTM1, and GSTT1 gene polymorphisms were determined in 133 healthy individuals from Ouangolodougou, a small rural town situated in the north of the Ivory Coast. As appeared in several published studies, ethnic differences in these frequencies have been found to play an important role in the metabolism of a relevant number of human carcinogens. In the studied sample, the frequencies of Ile/Ile (wild type), Ile/Val (heterozygous variant), and Val/Val (homozygous variant) CYP1A1 genotypes were 0.271, 0.692, and 0.037, respectively. Frequencies of GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes were 0.361 and 0.331, respectively. No significant differences were noted between men and women. In contrast to published data for Africans, CYP1A1 *Val Allele frequency (0.383) was significantly high (p < 0.001) in this specific population. For the GSTT1 null genotype, no differences were found between the studied and other African populations, the contrary to what occurred for the GSTM1 null genotype in relation to Gambia and Egypt

Reconstructing Fluctuations of La Mare Glacier (Eastern Italian Alps) in the Late Holocene: New Evidence for a Little Ice Age Maximum Around 1600 AD

Field observations, old terrestrial photographs and maps, aerial orthophotos and detailed geomorphological mapping were used for compiling and validating a 119-year cumulative record of terminus changes for La Mare Glacier, Eastern Italian Alps. Late Holocene glacier maxima preceding direct observations were reconstructed by applying age dating techniques (radiocarbon and lichenometry) to glacial deposits in the proglacial area of the glacier. Results show that the glacier reached its maximal position around 1600 ad, followed by smaller advances in the eighteenth century, while in the nineteenth century it did not reach or overrun these positions. A similar behaviour for neighbouring glaciers was reported by previous works, documenting absolute Late Holocene maxima in the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries. By contrast, multi-century reconstructions available for the north-western Alps show that in the nineteenth century, glaciers were at their maximum or very close to previous maxima achieved in the first half of the seventeenth century. Climatic causes for these discrepancies have been examined, analyzing multi-proxy climatic reconstructions starting in 1500 ad, but also morphodynamic processes linked to the bedrock characteristics of La Mare Glacier could have played a role in modulating its response to climatic changes

Laser Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer with Immunostimulating Interstitial Laser Thermotherapy Protocol: Safety and Feasibility Results From Two Phase 2a Studies

Ablative techniques have emerged as new potential therapeutic options for patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). We explored the safety and feasibility of using TRANBERG|Thermal Therapy System (Clinical Laserthermia Systems AB, Lund, Sweden) in feedback mode for immunostimulating Interstitial Laser Thermotherapy (imILT) protocol, the newest ablative technique introduced for the treatment of LAPC

Prefazione

Prefazione a un volume collettivo ("Festschrift"), pensato e organizzato come un omaggio corale all’etnomusicologo, regista e musicista Renato Morelli (Trento 1950), in occasione del suo settantesimo compleanno. Un organico di voci miste, composto da antropologi, sociologi, etnomusicologi, filosofi, storici, registi, musicisti. Una polifonia di voci, dai timbri più diversi, per celebrare la straordinarietà di un percorso umano, di ricerca e artistico. E rievocare un intreccio infinito di relazioni, iniziative, progetti condivisi che hanno saputo collegare, in nome della musica, del canto e della danza tradizionali e del cinema etnografico l’intero arco alpino e numerose regioni italiane con Francia, Ungheria, Austria, Romania, Albania, Grecia, Ucraina, Armenia, Georgia, Australia, Perù, Brasile

Guidelines for time-to-event end-point definitions in trials for pancreatic cancer. Results of the DATECAN initiative (Definition for the Assessment of Time-to-event End-points in CANcer trials)

International audienceBACKGROUND:Using potential surrogate end-points for overall survival (OS) such as Disease-Free- (DFS) or Progression-Free Survival (PFS) is increasingly common in randomised controlled trials (RCTs). However, end-points are too often imprecisely defined which largely contributes to a lack of homogeneity across trials, hampering comparison between them. The aim of the DATECAN (Definition for the Assessment of Time-to-event End-points in CANcer trials)-Pancreas project is to provide guidelines for standardised definition of time-to-event end-points in RCTs for pancreatic cancer.METHODS:Time-to-event end-points currently used were identified from a literature review of pancreatic RCT trials (2006-2009). Academic research groups were contacted for participation in order to select clinicians and methodologists to participate in the pilot and scoring groups (>30 experts). A consensus was built after 2 rounds of the modified Delphi formal consensus approach with the Rand scoring methodology (range: 1-9).RESULTS:For pancreatic cancer, 14 time to event end-points and 25 distinct event types applied to two settings (detectable disease and/or no detectable disease) were considered relevant and included in the questionnaire sent to 52 selected experts. Thirty experts answered both scoring rounds. A total of 204 events distributed over the 14 end-points were scored. After the first round, consensus was reached for 25 items; after the second consensus was reached for 156 items; and after the face-to-face meeting for 203 items.CONCLUSION:The formal consensus approach reached the elaboration of guidelines for standardised definitions of time-to-event end-points allowing cross-comparison of RCTs in pancreatic cancer