Lymphocyte Subsets and Inflammatory Cytokines of Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance and Multiple Myeloma

Almost all multiple myeloma (MM) cases have been demonstrated to be linked to earlier monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). Nevertheless, there are no identified characteristics in the diagnosis of MGUS that have been helpful in differentiating subjects whose cancer may progress to a malignant situation. Regarding malignancy, the role of lymphocyte subsets and cytokines at the beginning of neoplastic diseases is now incontestable. In this review, we have concentrated our attention on the equilibrium between the diverse lymphocyte subsets and the cytokine system and summarized the current state of knowledge, providing an overview of the condition of the entire system in MGUS and MM. In an age where the therapy of neoplastic monoclonal gammopathies largely relies on drugs capable of acting on the immune system (immunomodulants, immunological checkpoint inhibitors, CAR-T), detailed knowledge of the the differences existing in benign and neoplastic forms of gammopathy is the main foundation for the adequate and optimal use of new drugs

Topology and energy transport in networks of interacting photosynthetic complexes

We address the role of topology in the energy transport process that occurs in networks of photosynthetic complexes. We take inspiration from light harvesting networks present in purple bacteria and simulate an incoherent dissipative energy transport process on more general and abstract networks, considering both regular structures (Cayley trees and hyperbranched fractals) and randomly-generated ones. We focus on the the two primary light harvesting complexes of purple bacteria, i.e., the LH1 and LH2, and we use network-theoretical centrality measures in order to select different LH1 arrangements. We show that different choices cause significant differences in the transport efficiencies, and that for regular networks centrality measures allow to identify arrangements that ensure transport efficiencies which are better than those obtained with a random disposition of the complexes. The optimal arrangements strongly depend on the dissipative nature of the dynamics and on the topological properties of the networks considered, and depending on the latter they are achieved by using global vs. local centrality measures. For randomly-generated networks a random arrangement of the complexes already provides efficient transport, and this suggests the process is strong with respect to limited amount of control in the structure design and to the disorder inherent in the construction of randomly-assembled structures. Finally, we compare the networks considered with the real biological networks and find that the latter have in general better performances, due to their higher connectivity, but the former with optimal arrangements can mimic the real networks' behaviour for a specific range of transport parameters. These results show that the use of network-theoretical concepts can be crucial for the characterization and design of efficient artificial energy transport networks.Comment: 14 pages, 16 figures, revised versio

Galleria mellonella larvae allow the discrimination of toxic and non-toxic chemicals

This is the final version. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordThe acute toxicities of 19 chemicals were assessed using G. mellonella larvae. The results obtained were compared against LD50 values derived from in vitro cytotoxicity tests and against in vivo acute oral LD50 values. In general, cell culture systems overestimated the toxicity of chemicals, especially low toxicity chemicals. In contrast, toxicity testing in G. mellonella larvae was found to be a reliable predictor for low toxicity chemicals. For the 9 chemicals tested which were assigned to Globally Harmonised System (GHS) category 5, the toxicity measured in G. mellonella larvae was consistent with their GHS categorisation but cytotoxicity measured in 3T3 or NHK cells predicted 4 out of 9 chemicals as having low toxicity. A more robust assessment of the likely toxicity of chemicals in mammals could be made by taking into account their toxicities in both cell cultures and in G. mellonella larvae.This work was supported by the UK National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) award NC/S01604/1

Data segmentation based on the local intrinsic dimension

One of the founding paradigms of machine learning is that a small number of variables is often sufficient to describe high-dimensional data. The minimum number of variables required is called the intrinsic dimension (ID) of the data. Contrary to common intuition, there are cases where the ID varies within the same data set. This fact has been highlighted in technical discussions, but seldom exploited to analyze large data sets and obtain insight into their structure. Here we develop a robust approach to discriminate regions with different local IDs and segment the points accordingly. Our approach is computationally efficient and can be proficiently used even on large data sets. We find that many real-world data sets contain regions with widely heterogeneous dimensions. These regions host points differing in core properties: folded versus unfolded configurations in a protein molecular dynamics trajectory, active versus non-active regions in brain imaging data, and firms with different financial risk in company balance sheets. A simple topological feature, the local ID, is thus sufficient to achieve an unsupervised segmentation of high-dimensional data, complementary to the one given by clustering algorithms

Use of xanthan gum and calcium ascorbate to prolong cv. Butirra pear slices shelf life during storage

After cut, pear fruit (Pyrus communis L.) during shelf life can be subjected to color and flavor changes. To maintain flesh colour and firmness, different technologies could be employed during shelf life, such as chemical, physical and edible coating treatments. In the present study, the effects of two edible coating formulations containing xanthan gum and calcium ascorbate on fresh­cut pear fruit were investigated. After harvest, 200 fruits were cut and coated with Xanthan Gum (XAN) and distilled water or Xanthan gum + Calcium Ascorbate (ASC), respectively, while control (CTR) pear fruit slices were soaked in distilled water and lastly packed in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packages sealed with a composite film (PP­PET). All samples were stored at 5±0.5°C with RH 90% for 10 days. Measurements were carried out at 3, 5, 7 and 10 days of storage evaluating visual quality score, browning index, color, total solid soluble content (TSS), flavor, ascorbic acid content and total phenols content. The results showed that ASC treatment was the most efficient treatment in terms of color changes, ascorbic acid content, visual quality score and browning index, until the 7th day of storage. Moreover, (ASC) treatment reported lower mean values in terms of taste and flavor score if compared to CTR and XAN treatments. Untreated pear slices (CTR) kept good values concerning flavor score until the 3rd day of storage while on the 5th and 7th day off­flavor values were the same as treated samples

Cactus pear fruit extract exerts anti-inflammatory effects in carrageenin-induced rat pleurisy

Nutritional research has recently shifted from alleviating nutrient deficiencies to chronic disease prevention. In this study activity of cactus pear fruit extract (CPFE) from Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. has been investigated in carrageenin-induced pleurisy, a rat model of acute inflammation. In our experimental design rat pleurisy was achieved by the injection of 0.2 ml of λ-carrageenin in the pleural cavity. At selected time points, rats were sacrificed; cells recruited in pleura were counted and exudates collected to analyse inflammatory parameters such as NO, PGE2, IL-1β, TNF-α. CPFE (in the range between 5 and 20 g fresh fruit equivalent/kg), orally given 30 min before the injection, time- and dose-dependently reduced the exudate volume (up to 72%) and the number of leukocytes recruited in the pleural cavity (up to 96%), at 24 h. These anti-inflammatory effects were accompanied by an inhibited release of inflammatory mediators (PGE2, NO, IL-1β, TNF-α). Our in vivo findings unveil for the first time an anti-inflammatory potential for cactus pear fruit and suggest further investigations to propose cactus pear fruit as a functional food able to improve health, possibly by preventing inflammation-based disorders. © 2015, International Society for Horticultural Science. All rights reserved

Animal models of compulsive eating behavior

In industrialized nations, overeating is a significant problem leading to overweight, obesity, and a host of related disorders; the increase in these disorders has prompted a significant amount of research aimed at understanding their etiology. Eating disorders are multifactorial conditions involving genetic, metabolic, environmental, and behavioral factors. Considering that compulsive eating in the face of adverse consequences characterizes some eating disorders, similar to the way in which compulsive drug intake characterizes drug-addiction, it might be considered an addiction in its own right. Moreover, numerous review articles have recently drawn a connection between the neural circuits activated in the seeking/intake of palatable food and drugs of abuse. Based on this observation, “food addiction” has emerged as an area of intense scientific research and accumulating evidence suggests it is possible to model some aspects of food addiction in animals. The development of well-characterized animal models would advance our understanding of the etiologic neural factors involved in eating disorders, such as compulsive overeating, and it would permit to propose targeted pharmacological therapies. However, to date, little evidence has been reported of continued food seeking and intake despite its harmful consequences in rats and mice

The influence of Indian Ocean atmospheric circulation on Warm Pool hydro-climate during the Holocene epoch

Existing paleoclimate data suggest a complex evolution of hydroclimate within the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP) during the Holocene epoch. Here we introduce a new leaf wax isotope record from Sulawesi, Indonesia and compare proxy water isotope data with ocean-atmosphere general circulation model (OAGCM) simulations to identify mechanisms influencing Holocene IPWP hydroclimate. Modeling simulations suggest that orbital forcing causes heterogenous changes in precipitation across the IPWP on a seasonal basis that may account for the differences in time-evolution of the proxy data at respective sites. Both the proxies and simulations suggest that precipitation variability during the September–November (SON) season is important for hydroclimate in Borneo. The preëminence of the SON season suggests that a seasonally lagged relationship between the Indian monsoon and Indian Ocean Walker circulation influences IPWP hydroclimatic variability during the Holocene