Iodine uptake and distribution in horticultural and fruit tree species.

Iodine is an essential microelement for humans and iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) is one of the most widespread nutrient-deficiency diseases in the world. Iodine biofortification of plants provides an attractive opportunity to increase iodine intake in humans and to prevent and control IDD. This study was conducted to investigate the iodine uptake and accumulation in edible portion of two fruit trees: plum and nectarine, and two horticultural crops: tomato and potato. Two type of iodine treatments (soil and foliar spray application), and, for fresh market tomato, two production systems (open field and greenhouse hydroponic culture) were tested. The distribution of iodine in potato stem and leaves, and in plum tree fruits, leaves, and branches was investigated. Iodine content of potato tubers after postharvest storage and processing (cooking), and iodine content of nectarine fruits after postharvest storage and processing (peeling) were also determined. Differences in iodine accumulation were observed among the four crops, between applications, and between production systems. In open field, the maximum iodine content ranged from 9.5 and 14.3 \u3bcg 100 g 121 for plum and nectarine fruit, to 89.4 and 144.0 \u3bcg 100 g 121 for potato tuber and tomato fruit, respectively. These results showed that nectarine and plum tree accumulated significantly lower amounts of iodine in their edible tissues, in comparison with potato and tomato. The experiments also indicated hydroponic culture as the most efficient system for iodine uptake in tomato, since its fresh fruits accumulated up to 2423 \u3bcg 100 g 121 of iodine. Iodine was stored mainly in the leaves, in all species investigated. Only a small portion of iodine was moved to plum tree branches and fruits, and to potato stems and tubers. No differences in iodine content after fruit peeling was observed. A significant increase in iodine content of potato was observed after baking, whereas a significant decrease was observed after boiling. We concluded that iodine biofortified fresh market tomato salad, both from field and hydroponics cultivation, and baked potatoes can be considered as potential functional foods for IDD prevention

Haemato-oncology and burnout: an Italian survey

This cross-sectional survey aimed to evaluate the prevalence of burnout and estimated psychiatric disorders among haemato-oncology healthcare professionals in Italy. The aspects of work that respondents perceive as stressful and satisfying have also been examined. The assessments were made using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), General Health Questionnaire and a study-specific questionnaire. Logistic regression models were applied to show associations between different sources of work-related stress and burnout. Three hundred and eighty-seven out of 440 (87.95%) returned their questionnaires. The scores on MBI subscales indicate a high level of emotional exhaustion in 32.2% of the physicians and 31.9% of the nurses; a high level of Depersonalisation in 29.8 and 23.6%, respectively; and a low level of personal accomplishment in 12.4 and 15.3% respectively. The estimated prevalence of psychiatric disorders was 36.4% in physicians and 28.8% in nurses. Statistical analysis confirmed age, sex, personal dissatisfaction, physical tiredness and working with demanding patients to be associated with burnout. In conclusion, haemato-oncology healthcare professionals report a level of burnout and estimated psychiatric morbidity comparable to other oncological areas. Knowledge of the mechanisms of burnout and preventing and dealing with them is therefore a fundamental requirement for the improvement of quality in health services and job satisfaction

Major european stressors and potential of available tools for assessment of urban and buildings resilience

Recent data show that there are intensifications of phenomena related to climate change, such as the increasing of heavy rains, more frequent and intense droughts connected with fires, and alterations of the local climatic conditions, including heat islands with consequent impacts on cities, districts, and buildings. Not only are natural hazards stressing Europe but also human-induced events like low-magnitude earthquakes as a direct cause of fracking or mining. This study aimed to investigate the significant stressors and summarize what impact is the most dangerous in each European country. There is a need to secure the operating conditions of urban infrastructures and to preserve a high-quality indoor environment of buildings. The main scope of this paper is to compare selected tools that evaluate the urban and building resilience and to assess their suitability, based on an analysis of natural and human-induced hazards in the European countries. The results represent a contribution to urban and architectural planning practice, and to the consistent implementation of measures to improve the resilience of the built environment by providing guidance as to which assessment tool is most suitable for each country

Selective regulation of recombinantly expressed mGlu7 metabotropic glutamate receptors by G protein-coupled receptor kinases and arrestins

mGlu7 receptors are coupled to Gi/Go-proteins and activate multiple transduction pathways, including inhibition of adenylyl cyclase activity and stimulation of ERK1/2 and JNK pathways. mGlu7 receptors play an important role in cognition and emotion and are involved in stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression and in susceptibility to convulsive seizures. In spite of these potential clinical implications, little is known on the mechanisms that regulate mGlu7-receptor signaling. Here we show that mGlu7 receptor-dependent signaling pathways were regulated in a complementary manner by different GRK subtypes, with GRK4 affecting the adenylyl cyclase and the JNK pathways, and GRK2 selectively affecting the ERK1/2 pathway. Additionally we found that the two isoforms of non-visual arrestins, i.e. β-arrestin1 and β-arrestin2, exerted opposite effects on mGlu7-receptor signaling, with β-arrestin1 positively modulating ERK1/2 and inhibiting JNK, and β-arrestin2 doing the opposite. This represents a remarkable example of "reciprocal regulation" of receptor signaling by the two isoforms of β-arrestin. Finally we found that β-arrestin1 amplified mGlu7 receptor-dependent ERK1/2 activation in response to L-AP4 (an orthosteric agonist), but not in response to AMN082 (an atypical mGlu7-receptor allosteric agonist). The different effect of β-arrestin1 on L-AP4- and AMN082-stimulated ERK1/2 phosphorylation is in line with the emerging concept of β-arrestin-biased agonists. The present study may open new perspectives in elucidating the physio-pathological roles of the mGlu7 receptor and may provide new insights for the possibility to develop specific (biased) agonists that can selectively activate different signaling pathways

Selective regulation of recombinantly expressed mGlu7 metabotropic glutamate receptors by G protein-coupled receptor kinases and arrestins

mGlu7 receptors are coupled to Gi/Go-proteins and activate multiple transduction pathways, including inhibition of adenylyl cyclase activity and stimulation of ERK1/2 and JNK pathways. mGlu7 receptors play an important role in cognition and emotion and are involved in stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression and in susceptibility to convulsive seizures. In spite of these potential clinical implications, little is known on the mechanisms that regulate mGlu7-receptor signaling. Here we show that mGlu7 receptor-dependent signaling pathways were regulated in a complementary manner by different GRK subtypes, with GRK4 affecting the adenylyl cyclase and the JNK pathways, and GRK2 selectively affecting the ERK1/2 pathway. Additionally we found that the two isoforms of non-visual arrestins, i.e. β-arrestin1 and β-arrestin2, exerted opposite effects on mGlu7-receptor signaling, with β-arrestin1 positively modulating ERK1/2 and inhibiting JNK, and β-arrestin2 doing the opposite. This represents a remarkable example of "reciprocal regulation" of receptor signaling by the two isoforms of β-arrestin. Finally we found that β-arrestin1 amplified mGlu7 receptor-dependent ERK1/2 activation in response to L-AP4 (an orthosteric agonist), but not in response to AMN082 (an atypical mGlu7-receptor allosteric agonist). The different effect of β-arrestin1 on L-AP4- and AMN082-stimulated ERK1/2 phosphorylation is in line with the emerging concept of β-arrestin-biased agonists. The present study may open new perspectives in elucidating the physio-pathological roles of the mGlu7 receptor and may provide new insights for the possibility to develop specific (biased) agonists that can selectively activate different signaling pathways

Review of methods for the combined assessment of seismic resilience and energy efficiency towards sustainable retrofitting of existing European buildings

Sustainable retrofitting of existing buildings is a prerequisite for achieving climatic and energy objectives in the EU. Thus, practical tools supporting the evaluation and decision-making process when planning retrofit interventions are required. In specific areas, in addition to energy efficiency, the improvement in building resilience to natural hazards is requested; in several European regions, seismicity poses a significant hazard. This study aims to analyse the state-of-the-art of the integrated methods for the implementation of structural and energy retrofitting. The work consists of reviewing available tools, international sustainability protocols, and methods specifically developed for combined energy and seismic assessment. In the first group of methods, assessment is independently referred to specific criteria for energy performance and seismic safety, quantified according to available codes. Besides, in a second group, integrated evaluation is achieved considering ‘equivalent’ initial or life-cycle costs associated with energy consumption and seismic vulnerability. The collected methods were evaluated for qualitative requirements for optimal integration, such as multidisciplinary, life-cycle approaches, and other indicators. Finally, a critical evaluation is provided, highlighting what can be used for future developments toward a sustainable and resilient retrofitting of existing European buildings

Multi-Objective Blended Ensemble for Highly Imbalanced Sequence Aware Tweet Engagement Prediction

In this paper we provide a description of the methods we used as team BanaNeverAlone for the ACM RecSys Challenge 2020, organized by Twitter. The challenge addresses the problem of user engagement prediction: the goal is to predict the probability of a user engagement (Like, Reply, Retweet or Retweet with comment), based on a series of past interactions on the Twitter platform. Our proposed solution relies on several features that we extracted from the original dataset, as well as on consolidated models, such as gradient boosting for decision trees and neural networks. The ensemble model, built using blending, and a multi-objective optimization allowed our team to rank in position 4

Weekly alternate intensive regimen FIrB/FOx in metastatic colorectal cancer patients: an update from clinical practice

Background: Several trials evaluated the role of intensive regimens, made of triplet chemotherapies plus bevacizumab, as first-line treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). We previously reported, in a Phase II prospective study, the efficacy and the tolerability of FIrB/FOx regimen, reporting interesting results in terms of received dose intensities (rDIs) and safety. Methods: We reported a retrospective update of 85 patients treated with FIrB/FOx, an intensive regimen of 5-fluorouracil, bevacizumab, and weekly alternate irinotecan and oxaliplatin, to confirm its feasibility in \u201creal life\u201d. Subgroup analyses were performed, particularly among patients treated with standard and modified FIrB/FOx (based on age, performance status, and/or comorbidities). Results: Overall, 3-month objective response rate (ORR) and 6-month ORR were 75.9% and 55.3%, respectively. Median progression-free survival (PFS) and median overall survival (OS) were 14.4 and 34.9 months, respectively. Among the patients treated with standard and modified regimens, 3-month ORR, PFS, and OS were 75.8% and 76% (P=1.0000), 14.4 and 14.4 months (P=0.8589), and 37.8 and 26.6 months (P=0.7746), respectively. Among the K/NRAS wild-type and K/NRAS mutant patients, 3-month ORR, PFS, and OS were 95.2% and 74.5% (P=0.0526), 15.3 and 14.4 months (P=0.8753), and 37.8 and 51.4 months (P=0.8527), respectively. The rDIs were 6580% of full doses both in the standard and in the modified regimens subgroups. Cumulative G3/4 toxicities were neutropenia (14.1%), diarrhea (17.6%), asthenia (9.4%), vomiting (5.6%), and hypertension (16.5%). Conclusion: This update shows that intensive regimens such as FIrB/FOx are also feasible options for first-line treatment of mCRC patients in the \u201creal-life\u201d setting

Human telomerase reverse transcriptase mRNA expression assessed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction predicts chemosensitivity in patients with ovarian carcinoma

Purpose: To evaluate in vivo whether the expression of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene, the catalytic subunit of the telomerase complex, is predictive of response to chemotherapy in ovarian cancer patients. Patients and Methods: Fifty-nine advanced-stage ovarian cancer patients who were treated with platinum-based chemotherapy were studied. hTERT levels were evaluated by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on tumor specimens obtained before the treatment. Variables were analyzed by the χ2 and Fisher's exact tests. Logistic regression analysis was also performed to account for the effects of all the covariates investigated (residual disease, stage, histotype, and grade). Results: Twenty-eight (47%) of the 59 tumors showed low hTERT levels, whereas 31 (53%) tumors displayed high hTERT levels. Seventy-five percent of complete responders showed high levels of hTERT expression, whereas 66% of partial responders or nonresponders exhibited low HTERT levels (P = .002). Only residual disease and hTERT expression were independent predictors of response (odds ratios, 13.455 and 7.586, respectively). The combination of these two parameters provides powerful predictive information: 18 of the 20 patients with residual disease more than 2 cm and low hTERT levels were partial responders or nonresponders, whereas 11 of the 12 patients with residual disease less than 2 cm and high hTERT levels showed a complete response (χ2 = 21,416; P < .00001). Conclusion: Our data indicate that hTERT expression, measured by real-time RT-PCR, is a possible independent marker of response to platinum-based therapy in advanced stage ovarian cancer patients. Prospective validation of this marker will be required to further define its predictive value