Fathoming the kynurenine pathway in migraine: why understanding the enzymatic cascades is still critically important

Kynurenine pathway, the quantitatively main branch of tryptophan metabolism, has been long been considered a source of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, although several of its products, the so-called kynurenines, are endowed with the capacity to activate glutamate receptors, thus potentially influencing a large group of functions in the central nervous system (CNS). Migraine, a largely unknown pathology, is strictly related to the glutamate system in the CNS pathologic terms. Despite the large number of studies conducted on migraine etio-pathology, the kynurenine pathway has been only recently linked to this disease. Nonetheless, some evidence suggests an intriguing role for some kynurenines, and an exploratory study on the serum kynurenine level might be helpful to better understand possible alterations of the kynurenine pathway in patients suffering from migrain

Poesie 1968-2018

Il volume è pubblicato (in edizione digitale ad accesso aperto con licenza Creative Commons) come secondo titolo della "Bibliotheca Umbra" ideata e diretta da Luigi M. Reale. Arricchito dalla presentazione di Gianni Oliva, che fornisce anche una calorosa testimonianza di antica amicizia, consiste in un’edizione dell’intera produzione poetica di Francesco Curto nell’arco di cinquantanni, a partire da quella che l’autore stesso considera la sua prima silloge organica, "Sono vivo". Ogni sezione, corrispondente alle diverse pubblicazioni in ordine di tempo, è preceduta da una scheda preliminare in cui si trascelgono citazioni dalle più significative osservazioni critiche e testimonianze sulle rispettive raccolte. In appendice, una bibliografia ragionata. - Francesco Curto è nato ad Acri (Cosenza) il 22 luglio 1949; dal 1969 vive a Perugia. Si è laureato in Lettere Moderne all’Università di Perugia discutendo una tesi su Cesare Pavese. Ha esordito come poeta nel 1968. Nel 2003 ha pubblicato un romanzo autobiografico. Le sue poesie sono state tradotte in lingua turca da Necdet Adabag e in inglese da Annalisa Saccà. Sull'insieme della sua opera sono state pubblicate due monografie di Carmine Chiodo e Sandro Allegrini

Comparative genomic hybridization on microarray (a-CGH) in constitutional and acquired mosaicism may detect as low as 8% abnormal cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The results of cytogenetic investigations on unbalanced chromosome anomalies, both constitutional and acquired, were largely improved by comparative genomic hybridization on microarray (a-CGH), but in mosaicism the ability of a-CGH to reliably detect imbalances is not yet well established. This problem of sensitivity is even more relevant in acquired mosaicism in neoplastic diseases, where cells carrying acquired imbalances coexist with normal cells, in particular when the proportion of abnormal cells may be low.</p> <p>We constructed a synthetic mosaicism by mixing the DNA of three patients carrying altogether seven chromosome imbalances with normal sex-matched DNA. Dilutions were prepared mimicking 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 10% and 15% levels of mosaicism. Oligomer-based a-CGH (244 K whole-genome system) was applied on the patients' DNA and customized slides designed around the regions of imbalance were used for the synthetic mosaics.</p> <p>Results and conclusions</p> <p>The a-CGH on the synthetic mosaics proved to be able to detect as low as 8% abnormal cells in the tissue examined. Although in our experiment some regions of imbalances escaped to be revealed at this level, and were detected only at 10-15% level, it should be remarked that these ones were the smallest analyzed, and that the imbalances recurrent as clonal anomalies in cancer and leukaemia are similar in size to those revealed at 8% level.</p

Investigating energy saving potential in a big shopping center through ventilation control

This paper investigates energy saving measures for the ventilation system of large shopping centers. This kind of buildings is characterized by high yearly energy consumptions, because of the high level of operating hours and the frequent use of obsolete technologies. In the analyzed case studies, three big Do It Yourself (DIY) shops, located in Italy, are considered. Two different approaches are considered, they are aimed at reducing the annual energy consumption for the indoor air exchange of the sales area. The first considered retrofit solution consists in the installation of heat recovery exchangers, reducing the energy demand for the air thermal treatment without changing the airflow value. In the second scenario, smart air quality sensors are inputs for the modulation of the air exchange rate according to the actual requirement for indoor air quality. In a third scenario, the application of both retrofit solutions is considered. For each scenario, the paper reports the yearly energy savings, the avoided CO2 emissions and cost saving indicators. Furthermore, as the three shops are equipped with different heating systems and are located in different parts of Italy, a technological and climatic comparison is provided

The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets. IX. Exoplanets orbiting HD 100777, HD 190647, and HD 221287

The HARPS high-resolution high-accuracy spectrograph is offered to the astronomical community since the second half of 2003. Since then, we have been using this instrument for monitoring radial velocities of a large sample of Solar-type stars (~1400 stars) in order to search for their possible low-mass companions. Amongst the goals of our survey, one is to significantly increase the number of detected extra-solar planets in a volume-limited sample to improve our knowledge of their orbital elements distributions and thus obtain better constraints for planet-formation models. In this paper, we present the HARPS radial-velocity data and orbital solutions for 3 Solar-type stars: HD 100777, HD 190647, and HD 221287. The radial-velocity data of HD 100777 is best explained by the presence of a 1.1 M_Jup planetary companion on a 384--day eccentric orbit (e=0.36). The orbital fit obtained for the slightly evolved star HD 190647 reveals the presence of a long-period (P=1038 d) 1.9 M_Jup planetary companion on a moderately eccentric orbit (e=0.18). HD 221287 is hosting a 3.1 M_Jup planet on a 456--day orbit. The shape of this orbit is not very well constrained because of our non-optimal temporal coverage and because of the presence of abnormally large residuals. We find clues for these large residuals to result from spectral line profile variations probably induced by stellar activity related processes.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, RV data added in paper. A&A in pres

Flexibility Services to Minimize the Electricity Production from Fossil Fuels. A Case Study in a Mediterranean Small Island

The design of multi-carrier energy systems (MES) has become increasingly important in the last decades, due to the need to move towards more efficient, flexible and reliable power systems. In a MES, electricity, heating, cooling, water and other resources interact at various levels, in order to get optimized operation. The aim of this study is to identify the optimal combination of components, their optimal sizes and operating schedule allowing minimizing the annual cost for meeting the energy demand of Pantelleria, a Mediterranean island. Starting from the existing energy system (comprising diesel generators, desalination plant, freshwater storage, heat pumps and domestic hot water storages) the installation of solar resources (photovoltaic and solar thermal) and electrical storage were considered. In this way, the optimal scheduling of storage units injections, water desalination operation and domestic hot water production was deduced. An energy hub model was implemented using MATLAB to represent the problem. All equations in the model are linear functions, and variables are real or integer. Thus, a mixed integer linear programming algorithm was used for the solution of the optimization problem. Results prove that the method allows a strong reduction of operating costs of diesel generators also in the existing configuration

Clonal chromosome anomalies and propensity to myeloid malignancies in congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia (OMIM 604498).

Congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia (CAMT, OMIM 604498) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by absent or reduced number of megakaryocytes in the bone marrow (BM) since birth, elevated serum levels of thrombopoietin (TPO), and very low platelet count. Prognosis of CAMT patient

Materials for SDGs: A Synergy Towards Sustainable Development

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a tangible and holistic vision of sustainable development, embodying a systemic vision that integrates environmental, social, and economic aspects. By adopting such a systemic vision, designers can drastically reduce the negative impact of their products. Materials represent a design element capable of influencing the entire life cycle of a product. Indeed, in the last decade there has been a frenetic race towards greener materials, focusing mostly on the environmental aspects of sustainability and neglecting economic and social dimensions. This paper aims to investigate a new thread of thought regarding sustainability within the design process, analysing the connections between SDGs and materials. The result is a taxonomy of materials that meet the SDGs and enhance their relationships by offering designers a new approach to sustainable material selection and development

Chromosome anomalies in bone marrow as primarycause of aplastic or hypoplastic conditions andperipheral cytopenia: disorders due to secondaryimpairment of RUNX1 and MPL genes

Background Chromosome changes in the bone marrow (BM) of patients with persistent cytopenia are often considered diagnostic for a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Comprehensive cytogenetic evaluations may give evidence of the real pathogenetic role of these changes in cases with cytopenia without morphological signs of MDS. Results Chromosome anomalies were found in the BM of three patients, without any morphological evidence of MDS: 1) an acquired complex rearrangement of chromosome 21 in a boy with severe aplastic anaemia (SAA); the rearrangement caused the loss of exons 2-8 of the RUNX1 gene with subsequent hypoexpression. 2) a constitutional complex rearrangement of chromosome 21 in a girl with congenital thrombocytopenia; the rearrangement led to RUNX1 disruption and hypoexpression. 3) an acquired paracentric inversion of chromosome 1, in which two regions at the breakpoints were shown to be lost, in a boy with aplastic anaemia; the MPL gene, localized in chromosome 1 short arms was not mutated neither disrupted, but its expression was severely reduced: we postulate that the aplastic anaemia was due to position effects acting both in cis and in trans, and causing Congenital Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia (CAMT). Conclusions A clonal anomaly in BM does not imply per se a diagnosis of MDS: a subgroup of BM hypoplastic disorders is directly due to chromosome structural anomalies with effects on specific genes, as was the case of RUNX1 and MPL in the patients here reported with diagnosis of SAA, thrombocytopenia, and CAMT. The anomaly may be either acquired or constitutional, and it may act by deletion/disruption of the gene, or by position effects. Full cytogenetic investigations, including a-CGH, should always be part of the diagnostic evaluation of patients with BM aplasia/hypoplasia and peripheral cytopenias