Effects of altered gravity induced by clinorotation on the cholinesterase activity of the non-sentient model Paramecium primaurelia (Protozoa)

Compounds known as chemical mediators, including acetylcholine, have been found not only in humans and animals, but also in living organisms, like protozoa, which lack nervous system. In Paramecium primaurelia has been described a cholinergic system, which is proven to play an important role in cell-cell interactions during its developmental cycle. In our work we investigated the effects of exposure to simulated microgravity (3D Random Positioning Machine, 56 rpm, 10-6 g) on the cholinesterase activity of the eukaryote unicellular-organism alternative-model P. primaurelia. Our results show that the exposure of P. primaurelia to microgravity for 6 h, 24 h, 48 h affects the localization and the amount of cholinesterase activity compared to cells grown under Earth gravity conditions (1 g). However, these effects are transient since P. primaurelia restores its normal cholinesterase activity after 72 h under microgravity conditions, as well as cells exposed up to 72 h to microgravity and then placed under terrestrial gravity for 48 h

Final results of the second prospective AIEOP protocol for pediatric intracranial ependymoma

BACKGROUND: This prospective study stratified patients by surgical resection (complete = NED vs incomplete = ED) and centrally reviewed histology (World Health Organization [WHO] grade II vs III). METHODS: WHO grade II/NED patients received focal radiotherapy (RT) up to 59.4 Gy with 1.8 Gy/day. Grade III/NED received 4 courses of VEC (vincristine, etoposide, cyclophosphamide) after RT. ED patients received 1-4 VEC courses, second-look surgery, and 59.4 Gy followed by an 8-Gy boost in 2 fractions on still measurable residue. NED children aged 1-3 years with grade II tumors could receive 6 VEC courses alone. RESULTS: From January 2002 to December 2014, one hundred sixty consecutive children entered the protocol (median age, 4.9 y; males, 100). Follow-up was a median of 67 months. An infratentorial origin was identified in 110 cases. After surgery, 110 patients were NED, and 84 had grade III disease. Multiple resections were performed in 46/160 children (28.8%). A boost was given to 24/40 ED patients achieving progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates of 58.1% and 68.7%, respectively, in this poor prognosis subgroup. For the whole series, 5-year PFS and OS rates were 65.4% and 81.1%, with no toxic deaths. On multivariable analysis, NED status and grade II were favorable for OS, and for PFS grade II remained favorable. CONCLUSIONS: In a multicenter collaboration, this trial accrued the highest number of patients published so far, and results are comparable to the best single-institution series. The RT boost, when feasible, seemed effective in improving prognosis. Even after multiple procedures, complete resection confirmed its prognostic strength, along with tumor grade. Biological parameters emerging in this series will be the object of future correlatives and reports

Ipertensione arteriosa: epidemiologia, cause, prevenzione e trattamento nutrizionale

Negli adulti, la pressione sistolica aumenta di circa 0,6 mmHg all’anno, con la conseguenza che l’incidenza della patologia ipertensiva aumenta dopo i 50 anni ed in particolare nell’età geriatrica. Numerosi studi hanno evidenziato come un approccio integrato farmacologico e dietologico nella terapia dell’ipertensione porti a maggiori risultati in termini di riduzione della pressione arteriosa e dell’incidenza di patologie cardiocerebrovascolari, renali e metaboliche

Traceability and Online Publication of Weather Station Measurements of Temperature, Pressure, and Humidity

A project to enhance the quality of climate data has been running at the Italian Institute of Metrology (INRiM) since 2007. The focus of the project has been the installation and development of a weather station to monitor temperature, air humidity, and pressure; the collection and storage of the measurements; and the provision online to allow open-access. The project aims to improve the traceability of measurement through development of calibration and measurement protocols able to be applied to the wide variety and geographical spread of weather stations. The data collected have a short traceability to the national standards and a well-known uncertainty budget. In this work the project progress in terms of data collection and calibration of the weather station is reported. The instant measured values of the weather parameters have been published online, as is a complete database of the recordings, stored in daily, monthly, and annually collected data archives. This is the first example at the Italian national level of an archive of reliable climate data open to public access. A traceability study was carried out through calibration of the weather station instruments both in situ (over the course of one seven-hour period) and in the laboratory (under the full range of expected temperature, humidity, and pressure conditions). Significant differences in the results of the two calibrations are noted and implications for the provision of traceability discussed