Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia after radiation therapy for lung cancer. A case report

Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP), also known as cryptogenic organizing pneumonia, has mainly been described in patients with breast cancer who received radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery. In this rare case, a 70-year-old man with left apical squamous lung cancer developed BOOP after radiotherapy and only one cycle of concomitant chemotherapy. This case report draws attention to the development of this syndrome in the unusual setting of lung cancer, advising prompt steroid treatment when diagnostic images reveal the characteristic signs of the disease

COX, Harvey, Turning East : The Promise and Peril of the New Orientalism

Excessive soil salinity is a major ecological and agronomical problem, the adverse effects of which are becoming a serious issue in regions where saline water is used for irrigation. Plants can employ regulatory strategies, such as DNA methylation, to enable relatively rapid adaptation to new conditions. In this regard, cytosine methylation might play an integral role in the regulation of gene expression at both the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Rapeseed, which is the most important oilseed crop in Europe, is classified as being tolerant of salinity, although cultivars can vary substantially in their levels of tolerance. In this study, the Methylation Sensitive Amplified Polymorphism (MSAP) approach was used to assess the extent of cytosine methylation under salinity stress in salinity-tolerant (Exagone) and salinity-sensitive (Toccata) rapeseed cultivars. Our data show that salinity affected the level of DNA methylation. In particular methylation decreased in Exagone and increased in Toccata. Nineteen DNA fragments showing polymorphisms related to differences in methylation were sequenced. In particular, two of these were highly similar to genes involved in stress responses (Lacerata and trehalose-6-phosphatase synthase S4) and were chosen to further characterization. Bisulfite sequencing and quantitative RT-PCR analysis of selected MSAP loci showed that cytosine methylation changes under salinity as well as gene expression varied. In particular, our data show that salinity stress influences the expression of the two stress-related genes. Moreover, we quantified the level of trehalose in Exagone shoots and found that it was correlated to TPS4 expression and, therefore, to DNA methylation. In conclusion, we found that salinity could induce genome-wide changes in DNA methylation status, and that these changes, when averaged across different genotypes and developmental stages, accounted for 16.8% of the total site-specific methylation differences in the rapeseed genome, as detected by MSAP analysis

Stereotactic radiotherapy for lung oligometastases

30–60% of cancer patients develop lung metastases, mostly from primary tumors in the colon-rectum, lung, head and neck area, breast and kidney. Nowadays, stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) is considered the ideal modality for treating pulmonary metastases. When lung metastases are suspected, complete disease staging includes a total body computed tomography (CT) and/or positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scan. PET-CT has higher specificity and sensitivity than a CT scan when investigating mediastinal lymph nodes, diagnosing a solitary lung lesion and detecting distant metastases. For treatment planning, a multi-detector planning CT scan of the entire chest is usually performed, with or without intravenous contrast media or esophageal lumen opacification, especially when central lesions have to be irradiated. Respiratory management is recommended in lung SRT, taking the breath cycle into account in planning and delivery. For contouring, co-registration and/or matching planning CT and diagnostic images (as provided by contrast enhanced CT or PET-CT) are useful, particularly for central tumors. Doses and fractionation schedules are heterogeneous, ranging from 33 to 60 Gy in 3–6 fractions. Independently of fractionation schedule, a BED10 > 100 Gy is recommended for high local control rates. Single fraction SRT (ranges 15–30 Gy) is occasionally administered, particularly for small lesions. SRT provides tumor control rates of up to 91% at 3 years, with limited toxicities. The present overview focuses on technical and clinical aspects related to treatment planning, dose constraints, outcome and toxicity of SRT for lung metastases.

Integrazioni alla flora vascolare dell\u2019Italia centrale. Secondo contributo

Additions to the vascular flora of central Italy. Second contribution. In this paper, new floristic records for 55 taxa for central Italy are reported. In particular, 39 taxa are native and 16 aliens, 9 are new or confirmed to Abruzzo, 1 to Marche, 21 to Molise, 16 to Umbria, 1 is excluded from the flora of Abruzzo, 1 from Molise and 1 from Lazio. Furthermore, new distribution data for 2 rare species in Abruzzo and Molise are reported

Contribution to the floristic knowledge of Mount Pennino massif (Umbria-Marche Apennines, central Italy)

The inventory of the taxa collected in 2021 during the annual field trip of the Working Group for Floristics, Systematics, and Evolution of the Italian Botanical Society is reported. The field trip was held in the Mount Pennino massif, between Umbria and Marche administrative regions (central Italy). Theflora documented for the study area amounts to 413 specific and subspecific taxa (including one hybrid), belonging to 234 genera and 64 families. Thirty-seven taxa are endemic to Italy; 42 are included in the IUCN Red List of the Italian Flora. Only three alien taxa were found. Ten taxa and one hybrid are considered floristic novelties because either new or confirmed for the regional flora of Umbria and/or Marche. Particularly, 6 taxa are new and 4 are confirmed for Umbria; one taxon and one hybrid are new for Marche

Effect of internal port on dose distribution in post-mastectomy radiotherapy for breast cancer patients after expander breast reconstruction

Background: In patients with expander-based reconstruction a few dosimetric analyses detected radiation therapy dose perturbation due to the internal port of an expander, potentially leading to toxicity or loss of local control. This study aimed at adding data on this field. Materials and methods: A dosimetric analysis was conducted in 30 chest wall treatment planning without and with correction for port artifact. In plans with artifact correction density was overwritten as 1 g/cm3. Medium, minimum and maximum chest wall doses were compared in the two plans. Both plans, with and without correction, were compared on an anthropomorphic phantom with a tissue expander on the chest covered by a bolus simulating the skin. Ex vivo dosimetry was carried out on the phantom and in vivo dosimetry in three patients by using film strips during one treatment fraction. Estimated doses and measured film doses were compared. Results: No significant differences emerged in the minimum, medium and maximum doses in the two plans, without and with correction for port artifacts. Ex vivo and in vivo analyses showed a good correspondence between detected and calculated doses without and with correction. Conclusions: The port did not significantly affect dose distribution in patients who will receive post-mastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT)

Notulae to the Italian native vascular flora: 5.

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of native vascular flora in Italy are presented. It includes new records and confirmations to the Italian administrative regions for taxa in the genera Allium, Arabis, Campanula, Centaurea, Chaerophyllum, Crocus, Dactylis, Dianthus, Festuca, Galanthus, Helianthemum, Lysimachia, Milium, Pteris, and Quercus. Nomenclature and distribution updates, published elsewhere, and corrections are provided as supplementary material

The Italian National Project of Astrobiology-Life in Space-Origin, Presence, Persistence of Life in Space, from Molecules to Extremophiles

The \u2018\u2018Life in Space\u2019\u2019 project was funded in the wake of the Italian Space Agency\u2019s proposal for the development of a network of institutions and laboratories conceived to implement Italian participation in space astrobiology experiments