SGR 0418+5729: a low-magnetic-field magnetar

Soft gamma-ray repeaters and anomalous X-ray pulsars are a small (but growing) group of X-ray sources characterized by the emission of short bursts and by a large variability in their persistent flux. They are believed to be magnetars, i.e. neutron stars powered by extreme magnetic fields 1E14-1E15 G). We found evidence for a magnetar with a low magnetic field, SGR 0418+5729, recently detected after it emitted bursts similar to those of soft gamma-ray repeaters. New X-ray observations show that its dipolar magnetic field cannot be greater than 8E12 G, well in the range of ordinary radio pulsars, implying that a high surface dipolar magnetic field is not necessarily required for magnetar-like activity. The magnetar population may thus include objects with a wider range of magnetic-field strengths, ages and evolutionary stages than observed so far.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; to appear in the Proceedings of the Pulsar Conference 2010, Chia, Sardinia (Italy), 10-15 October 201

A Pig Model of Hemivascular Liver Occlusion for The Study of Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: Use of an Infrared System for Detecting Ischemic Areas

Aim: Different animals are used as experimental models for the hepatic Ischemia- Reperfusion (IR) injury investigations and for each one of these animal models, many different surgical approaches have been performed. The aim of our study was to establish a new surgical pig model in which a hemi-liver is used to study the pathophysiology of hepatic IR injury. Contro-lateral hemi- liver is used as an internal control in the same animal. Methods: Liver ischemia was performed in six pigs by clamping the hepatic artery and vein and the portal vein to isolate the left hepatic lobe. Four hours of warm ischemia were followed by 4-hourrs of reperfusion. Biochemical and hematological analyses were performed throughout the experiments. Needle biopsies were obtained prior to ischemia and then hourly during the reperfusion for evaluation of tissue damage. To assess local temperature gradients on the liver surface a focal plane array detector camera was used. Results: Four hours ischemia induced mild signs of hepatic damage on the left ischemic lobe while more dramatic changes were evidenced after 2-hours reperfusion. Absence of tissue damage was detected on the right lobe. The liver functional test reached their maximum value at 2-4 hours after reperfusion. Conclusion: Our model is easy to perform, feasible and reproducible. This surgical model minimizes biases dependent on the individual response of different animals under the same conditions. In this IR model the new technology of an infrared thermocamera was used to control temperature changes and provide clinically important real-time information during surgery

Health-related quality of life and functional changes in DMD:A 12-month longitudinal cohort study

Family caregivers of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) live stressful lives in which they spend most of their time caring for their loved ones and managing difficult situations, thereby reducing the time spent in taking care of themselves. This situation may last several years. Previous literature has widely highlighted that this situation reduces caregivers' quality of life and increases their psychological distress and risk of health problems, but there is a lack of studies that focus on psychological interventions for these situations. This qualitative study examined a pilot experience of two mutual support groups for family caregivers of people with ALS. The aim was to identify caregivers' needs, the prominent aspects of their experience, and to understand whether and how this intervention strategy might help them. Six partners (four men and two women) and six adult children (five women and one man) participated in the groups, which were conducted in northern Italy. After the support groups finished, participants underwent semi-structured interviews. The authors conducted a content analysis of the transcripts of the interviews and the 20 group sessions. The thematic areas identified were "caregiving," "being the son/daughter of a person with ALS," "being the partner of a person with ALS," "group experience" and "group evaluation." The caregiving experience was profoundly different depending on whether the caregiver was a son/daughter or a partner of a patient with ALS. Moreover, comparison with peers and mutual support helped participants to better cope with ALS and its consequences, to improve their care for their relatives and to overcome typical caregiver isolation. These results suggest the usefulness of involving communities in caregiver support in order to create new networks and activate personal and social resources for well-being

Mesenchymal stem cells from Shwachman\u2013Diamond syndromepatients display normal functions and do not contribute tohematological defects

Shwachman\u2013Diamond syndrome (SDS) is a rare inherited disorder characterized by bone marrow (BM) dysfunction and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. SDS patients have an increased risk for myelodisplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are the key component of the hematopoietic microenvironment and are relevant in inducing genetic mutations leading to leukemia. However, their role in SDS is still unexplored. We demonstrated that morphology, growth kinetics and expression of surface markers of MSCs from SDS patients (SDS-MSCs) were similar to normal MSCs. Moreover, SDS-MSCs were able to differentiate into mesengenic lineages and to inhibit the proliferation of mitogen-activated lymphocytes. We demonstrated in an in vitro coculture system that SDS-MSCs, significantly inhibited neutrophil apoptosis probably through interleukin-6 production. In a long-term coculture with CD34\ufe-sorted cells, SDS-MSCs were able to sustain CD34\ufe cells survival and to preserve their stemness. Finally, SDS-MSCs had normal karyotype and did not show any chromosomal abnormality observed in the hematological components of the BM of SDS patients. Despite their pivotal role in the hematopoietic stem cell niche, our data suggest that MSC themselves do not seem to be responsible for the hematological defects typical of SDS patients

20-Year Risks of Breast-Cancer Recurrence after Stopping Endocrine Therapy at 5 Years

The administration of endocrine therapy for 5 years substantially reduces recurrence rates during and after treatment in women with early-stage, estrogen-receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. Extending such therapy beyond 5 years offers further protection but has additional side effects. Obtaining data on the absolute risk of subsequent distant recurrence if therapy stops at 5 years could help determine whether to extend treatment

Caratterizzazione biologico-molecolare di isolati di fitoplasmi

I fitoplasmi sono procarioti privi di parete cellulare, appartenenti alla classe dei Mollicutes e filogeneticamente correlati a batteri Gram-positivi. La difficolt\ue0 nel coltivarli in substrato artificiale ha portato nel tempo a sviluppare tecniche sempre pi\uf9 complesse e accurate di analisi molecolare per la loro identificazione e classificazione, basate sul gene ribosomico 16S, e confermate dall\u2019impiego di numerosi altri geni conservati a livello di \u2018Candidatus\u2019 genere. Negli ultimi anni tuttavia sono state messe a punto tecniche che permettono, grazie al supporto di substrati artificiali complessi, l\u2019isolamento e la crescita di vari fitoplasmi da materiale vegetale infetto, sia mantenuto in micropropagazione (Catharanthus roseus, vinca) che raccolto in campo (vite). In questo lavoro si sono perfezionate alcune condizioni di crescita e si sono studiate alcune caratteristiche biologiche di isolati di fitoplasmi volte alla loro caratterizzazione biologica ed al loro differenziamento all\u2019interno del gruppo di Mollicutes. In particolare sono stati sperimentati diversi substrati liquidi e solidi per la crescita ed il mantenimento di ceppi di fitoplasmi, precedentemente isolati da viti sintomatiche infette su substrati CB. I vari substrati differivano per diverse combinazioni di antibiotici; differenti fonti di carbonio e concentrazione di NaCl. La valutazione della loro \u201cperformance\u201d \ue8 stata effettuata mediante osservazione visiva del grado di torbidit\ue0 del substrato dovuto alla presenza di microorganismi contaminanti e/o simbionti presenti nel tessuto di isolamento (substrati liquidi) e dalla presenza di colonie con morfologia simile a quella dei fitoplasmi (substrati agarizzati). Per confermare i risultati ottenuti dall\u2019osservazione visiva ed al microscopio ottico, le colonie con morfologia caratteristica sono state sottoposte ad estrazione di acidi nucleici mediante kit commerciali (DNeasy Plant Mini Kit, Quiagen, USA) e ad analisi molecolare PCR \u201cnested\u201d seguita da RFLP e/o da sequenziamento, che hanno confermato l\u2019identit\ue0 dei fitoplasmi in coltura. Sono inoltre stati effettuati saggi di tipo biochimico per valutare in particolare la capacit\ue0 di questi microorganismi in coltura di fermentare il glucosio e presentare attivit\ue0 dovuta alla presenza di arginina deidrolasi. I risultati ottenuti hanno permesso di differenziare i fitoplasmi in coltura da colture di controllo di Acholeplasma laidlawii ceppo ACC # 1039, gentilmente fornito da dr. M. Kube (Th\ufcnen-Istituto di Genetica Forestale, Gro fhansdorf, Germania)