Involvement of leukotriene pathway in the pathogenesis of ischemia-reperfusion injury and septic and non-septic shock.

The 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) pathway is responsible for the production of leukotrienes (LTs), inflammatory lipid mediators which play a role in innate immunity. More recently, a pivotal role of LTs in ischemia-reperfusion and shock injury has been suggested. In fact, these pathological conditions are characterized by a severe neutrophil infiltration that gives rise to tissue injury and 5-LO metabolites control neutrophil recruitment in injured tissue by the modulation of adhesion molecule expression. The aim of this review is to analyze the results reported in the literature on the role of 5-LO pathway, with particular regard to LTs, in these pathological conditions. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the role of the 5-LO enzyme and/or its metabolites in the regulation of neutrophil trafficking, might open new perspectives in the therapy of organ dysfunction and/or injury associated with shock and ischemia-reperfusion injury

Inhibition of nitric oxide biosynthesis by anthocyanin fraction of blackberry extract.

Anthocyanins are natural colorant belonging to the flavonoid family, widely distributed among flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Some flavonoids have been found to possess anticarcinogenic, cytotoxic, cytostatic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Since increased nitric oxide (NO) plays a role in inflammation, we have investigated whether the pharmacological activity of the anthocyanin fraction of a blackberry extract (cyanidin-3-O-glucoside representing about 88% of the total anthocyanin content) was due to the suppression of NO synthesis. The markedly increased production of nitrites by stimulation of J774 cells with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for 24 h was concentration-dependently inhibited by the anthocyanin fraction (11, 22, 45, and 90 μg/ml) of the extract. Moreover, this inhibition was dependent on a dual mechanism, since the extract attenuated iNOS protein expression and decreased the iNOS activity in lungs from LPS-stimulated rats. Inhibition of iNOS protein expression appeared to be at the transcriptional level, since the extract and similarly cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (10, 20, 40, and 80 μg/ml, amounts corresponding to the concentrations present in the extract) decreased LPS-induced NF-κB activation, through inhibition of IκBα degradation, and reduced ERK-1/2 phosphorylation in a concentration-dependent manner. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that at least some part of the anti-inflammatory activity of blackberry extract is due to the suppression of NO production by cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, which is the main anthocyanin present in the extract. The mechanism of this inhibition seems to be due to an action on the expression/activity of the enzyme. In particular, the protein expression was inhibited through the attenuation of NF-κB and/or MAPK activatio

Robustness to Non-Independence and Power of the I Test for Trend in Construct Validity

The Multitrait-Multimethod Matrix is used to evaluate construct validity; Sawilowsky (2002) created the I test to analyze the matrix. This article examined the robustness and power of the Sawilowsky I test. Ad hoc critical values were determined to improve the statistical power of the technique for analyzing the Multitrait-Multimethod Matrix

Pietro Paoli, Italian Algebraist

Pietro Paoli was a leading Italian mathematician in the late 18th century. His signed letter pertaining to the death of astronomer Giuseppe Antonio Slop is translated from Italian to flowing (American) English

The Role of parental control and Coping Strategies on adolescents\u2019 problem behaviors

The current study was aimed at contributing to the understanding of the role of perceived parental monitoring, psychological control, and coping strategies on adolescents\u2019 problem behaviors, in terms of anxiety and drinking behavior. Participants were 541 high school students, 17 to 19-year old (M = 17.09, SD = 0.80) high school students in Sicily and Calabria (Italy). Participants completed self-report measures assessing parental monitoring, psychological control, coping strategies (i.e., TaskOriented, Emotion-Oriented, and Avoidance-Oriented). Results of the path analysis showed that coping strategies play a mediating role in the association between parental psychological control and both adolescents\u2019 anxiety and drinking behavior. Furthermore, a direct positive association was reported from parental psychological control and anxiety, while a negative direct association was reported from parental monitoring to drinking behavior. Results of this study provide a comprehensive model that showed that the different coping strategies could explain the psychological mechanisms that underline the associations between two different kinds of parental control (psychological control and monitoring) and both internalizing and externalizing adolescents\u2019 form of maladjustment (e.g. anxiety and drinking behaviors). Overall, coping strategies seem to be a fruitful target for the prevention programs for adolescents\u2019 anxiety and drinking behaviors

RESCUE MANAGEMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF STRUCTURAL DAMAGE BY UAV IN POST-SEISMIC EMERGENCY

Abstract. The increasing frequency of emergencies urges the need for a detailed and thorough knowledge of the landscape. The first hours after a disaster are not only chaotic and problematic, but also decisive to successfully save lives and reduce damage to the building stock. One of the most important factors in any emergency response is to get an adequate awareness of the real situation, what is only possible after a thorough analysis of all the available information obtained through the Italian protocol Topography Applied to Rescue. To this purpose geomatic tools are perfectly suited to create, manage and dynamically enrich an organized archive of data to have a quick and functional access to information useful for several types of analysis, helping to develop solutions to manage the emergency and improving the success of rescue operations. Moreover, during an emergency like an earthquake, the conventional inspection to assess the damage status of buildings requires special tools and a lot of time. Therefore, given the large number of buildings requiring safety measures and rehabilitation, efficient use of limited resources such as time and equipment, as well as the safety of the involved personnel are important aspects. The applications shown in the paper are intended to underline how the above-mentioned objective, in particular the rehabilitation interventions of the built heritage, can be achieved through the use of data acquired from UAV platform integrated with geographic data stored in GIS platforms

Antecedents and consequences of parental psychological control and autonomy support: the role of psychological basic needs

Research suggest that psychologically controlling and autonomy supportive parenting can be described within the SDT's framework. Two studies were conducted to examine: (a) the role of parental need frustration as a predictor of parental psychological control, (b) the role of parental need satisfaction as a predictor of parental autonomy support and (c) the role of parents' psychological control and autonomy support in the intergenerational transmission of satisfaction and frustration of the psychological basic needs. Study-1 provided evidence, in a sample of 203 Italian coupled parents, that needs frustration and needs satisfaction represent distinct antecedents of psychological control and autonomy support. Study-2, showed that in 135 families, the intergenerational association between parents' and adolescents' need frustration was partial mediated by psychological control and autonomy support. Results clearly showed that parents who experienced high level of psychological needs frustration are more likely to use psychological control and in turn to promote a feeling of need frustration in their adolescents; differently, parents who experienced high levels of psychological needs satisfaction tend to exert more autonomy support in their relationship with their children and in turn adolescents tend to perceive higher level of needs satisfaction. These findings are discussed in light of SDT and underline the importance of needs in the parenting context and have implications for interventions

Myrtucommulone from Myrtus communis exhibits potent anti-inflammatory effectiveness in vivo.

Myrtucommulone a nonprenylated acylphloroglucinol contained in the leaves of myrtle (Myrtus communis), has been reported to suppress the biosynthesis of eicosanoids by inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase-1 in vitro and to inhibit the release of elastase and the formation of reactive oxygen species in activated polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Here, in view of the ability of MC to suppress typical proinflammatory cellular responses in vitro, we have investigated the effects of MC in in vivo models of inflammation. MC was administered to mice intraperitoneally, and paw edema and pleurisy were induced by the subplantar and intrapleural injection of carrageenan, respectively. MC (0.5, 1.5, and 4.5 mg/kg i.p.) reduced the development of mouse carrageenan-induced paw edema in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, MC (4.5 mg/kg i.p. 30 min before and after carrageenan) exerted anti-inflammatory effects in the pleurisy model. In particular, 4 h after carrageenan injection in the pleurisy model, MC reduced: 1) the exudate volume and leukocyte numbers; 2) lung injury (histological analysis) and neutrophil infiltration (myeloperoxidase activity); 3) the lung intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and P-selectin immunohistochemical localization; 4) the cytokine levels (tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1 β in the pleural exudate and their immunohistochemical localization in the lung; 5) the leukotriene B 4, but not prostaglandin E2, levels in the pleural exudates; and 6) lung peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid-reactant substance) and nitrotyrosine and poly (ADP-ribose) immunostaining. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that MC exerts potent anti-inflammatory effects in vivo and offer a novel therapeutic approach for the management of acute inflammation. Copyright © 2009 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

Up-regulation of prostaglandin biosynthesis by leukotriene C4 in elicited mice peritoneal macrophages activated with lipopolysaccharide/interferon-gamma

Leukotrienes (LT) and prostaglandins (PG) are proinflammatory mediators generated by the conversion of arachidonic acid via 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) and cyclooxygenase (COX) pathways. It has long been proposed that the inhibition of the 5-LO could enhance the COX pathway leading to an increased PG generation. We have found that in in vitro models of inflammation, such as mice-elicited peritoneal macrophages activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/interferon- γ (IFN-γ), the deletion of the gene encoding for 5-LO or the enzyme activity inhibition corresponded to a negative modulation of the COX pathway. Moreover, exogenously added LTC4, but not LTD4, LTE 4, and LTB4, was able to increase PG production in stimulated cells from 5-LO wild-type and knockout mice. LTC4 was not able to induce COX-2 expression by itself but rather potentiated the action of LPS/IFN-γ through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1/2 activation, as demonstrated by the use of a specific mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase inhibitor. The LT-induced increase in PG generation, as well as MAPK activation, was dependent by a specific ligand-receptor interaction, as demonstrated by the use of a cys-LT1 receptor antagonist, although also a direct action of the antagonist used, on PG generation, cannot be excluded. Thus, the balance between COX and 5-LO metabolites could be of great importance in controlling macrophage functions and consequently, inflammation and tumor promotion