Descrizione di una nuova specie di Psammotettix della Calabria (Hemiptera Cicadellidae Deltocephalinae)

Viene descritto Psammotettix aspromontanus n.sp. di Calabria, Massiccio dell'Aspromonte; la nuova specie è morfologicamente simile a P. jenjouristi (Zachvatkin), P.confinis (Dahlbom) e P. viridiconfinis Remane, dalle quali si distingue per la forma dell'edeago; l'unica stazione di raccolta è una prateria acquitrinosa a circa 1.800 m s.l.m.; non sono note le piante ospiti

Living with phenylketonuria in adulthood: the PKU ATTITUDE study

Dietary treatment is the cornerstone of therapy for phenylketonuria (PKU), but adherence to low- phenylalanine diet progressively decreases after adolescence. We designed a survey to characterize the dietary habits of Italian adult PKU patients and to identify psychological factors influencing disease perception and adherence to diet. Participants to the survey (n = 111; response rate 94%) were asked to complete a structured questionnaire. Patients appeared to have an altered perception and awareness of the disease. About 40% of them did not consider PKU a disease and, despite declaring regular monitoring of phenylalanine levels (85%), nearly half of them reported a high plasma value over the last 6 months (>600 μmol/L, 48%) or were unable to specify it (31%). Adherence to PKU diet was unsatisfactory, with increased consumption of natural protein sources and reduced daily use of amino-acid supplements (<4–5 times/day in 82% patients). In addition to the intrinsic characteristics of AA formula (palatability, ease of use), the most important factor influencing their consumption was the increased social pressure associated with their use (55%). Plasma phenylalanine periodical measurements (61%) and examinations at metabolic centers (49%) were considered relevant for compliance to diet. In Italian adult PKU patients dietary management was found to be inadequate, likely due to inappropriate perception and knowledge of the disease, and lack of awareness of the negative impact of poor metabolic control in adult life. Clinicians should consider implementing more intense and tailored educational measures, as well as structured transitional care processes

Contest-Driven Soft-Robotics Boost: The RoboSoft Grand Challenge

This paper reports the design process, the implementation and the results of a novel robotic contest addressing soft robots, named RoboSoft Grand Challenge. Application-oriented tasks were proposed in three different scenarios where soft robotics is particularly lively: manipulation, terrestrial and underwater locomotion. Starting from about sixty expressions of interest submitted by international teams distributed across the world, nineteen robots were eventually selected to participate in the challenge in two of the initially proposed scenarios, i.e. manipulation and terrestrial locomotion. Results highlight both the effectiveness and limitations of state of the art soft robots with respect to the selected tasks. The paper will also focus on some of the advantages and disadvantages of contests as technology-steering mechanisms, including what we called "reductionist design", a phenomenon in which simplistic solutions are devised to purposely tackle the proposed tasks, possibly hindering more general and desired technological advancements

Evaluation of Proton-Induced Biomolecular Changes in MCF-10A Breast Cells by Means of FT-IR Microspectroscopy

Radiotherapy (RT) with accelerated beams of charged particles (protons and carbon ions), also known as hadrontherapy, is a treatment modality that is increasingly being adopted thanks to the several benefits that it grants compared to conventional radiotherapy (CRT) treatments performed by means of high-energy photons/electrons. Hence, information about the biomolecular effects in exposed cells caused by such particles is needed to better realize the underlying radiobiological mechanisms and to improve this therapeutic strategy. To this end, Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (-FT-IR) can be usefully employed, in addition to long-established radiobiological techniques, since it is currently considered a helpful tool for examining radiation-induced cellular changes. In the present study, MCF-10A breast cells were chosen to evaluate the effects of proton exposure using -FT-IR. They were exposed to different proton doses and fixed at various times after exposure to evaluate direct effects due to proton exposure and the kinetics of DNA damage repair. Irradiated and control cells were examined in transflection mode using low-e substrates that have been recently demonstrated to offer a fast and direct way to examine proton-exposed cells. The acquired spectra were analyzed using a deconvolution procedure and a ratiometric approach, both of which showed the different contributions of DNA, protein, lipid, and carbohydrate cell components. These changes were particularly significant for cells fixed 48 and 72 h after exposure. Lipid changes were related to variations in membrane fluidity, and evidence of DNA damage was highlighted. The analysis of the Amide III band also indicated changes that could be related to different enzyme contributions in DNA repair

FT-IR Transflection Micro-Spectroscopy Study on Normal Human Breast Cells after Exposure to a Proton Beam

Fourier transform infrared micro-spectroscopy (mu-FT-IR) is nowadays considered a valuable tool for investigating the changes occurring in human cells after exposure to ionizing radiation. Recently, considerable attention has been devoted to the use of this optical technique in the study of cells exposed to proton beams, that are being increasingly adopted in cancer therapy. Different experimental configurations are used for proton irradiation and subsequent spectra acquisition. To facilitate the use of mu-FT-IR, it may be useful to investigate new experimental approaches capable of speeding up and simplifying the irradiation and measurements phases. Here, we propose the use of low-e-substrates slides for cell culture, allowing the irradiation and spectra acquisition in transflection mode in a fast and direct way. In recent years, there has been a wide debate about the validity of these supports, but many researchers agree that the artifacts due to the presence of the electromagnetic standing wave effects are negligible in many practical cases. We investigated human normal breast cells (MCF-10 cell line) fixed immediately after the irradiation with graded proton radiation doses (0, 0.5, 2, and 4 Gy). The spectra obtained in transflection geometry showed characteristics very similar to those present in the spectra acquired in transmission geometry and confirm the validity of the chosen approach. The analysis of spectra indicates the occurrence of significant changes in DNA and lipids components of cells. Modifications in protein secondary structure are also evidenced

Transcriptional modulations induced by proton irradiation in mice skin in function of adsorbed dose and distance

Hadron therapy by proton beams represents an advanced anti-cancer strategy due to its highly localized dose deposition allowing a greater sparing of normal tissue and/or organs at risk compared to photon/electron radiotherapy. However, it is not clear to what extent non-targeted effects such as transcriptional modulations produced along the beamline may diffuse and impact the surrounding tissue. In this work, we analyze the transcriptome of proton-irradiated mouse skin and choose two biomarker genes to trace their modulation at different distances from the beam's target and at different doses and times from irradiation to understand to what extent and how far it may propagate, using RNA-Seq and quantitative RT-PCR. In parallel, assessment of lipids alteration is performed by FTIR spectroscopy as a measure of tissue damage. Despite the observed high individual variability of expression, we can show evidence of transcriptional modulation of two biomarker genes at considerable distance from the beam's target where a simulation system predicts a significantly lower adsorbed dose. The results are compatible with a model involving diffusion of transcripts or regulatory molecules from high dose irradiated cells to distant tissue's portions adsorbing a much lower fraction of radiation

Proton-irradiated breast cells: molecular points of view

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women, highly heterogeneous at both the clinical and molecular level. Radiation therapy (RT) represents an efficient modality to treat localized tumor in BC care, although the choice of a unique treatment plan for all BC patients, including RT, may not be the best option. Technological advances in RT are evolving with the use of charged particle beams (i.e. protons) which, due to a more localized delivery of the radiation dose, reduce the dose administered to the heart compared with conventional RT. However, few data regarding proton-induced molecular changes are currently available. The aim of this study was to investigate and describe the production of immunological molecules and gene expression profiles induced by proton irradiation. We performed Luminex assay and cDNA microarray analyses to study the biological processes activated following irradiation with proton beams, both in the non-tumorigenic MCF10A cell line and in two tumorigenic BC cell lines, MCF7 and MDA-MB-231. The immunological signatures were dose dependent in MCF10A and MCF7 cell lines, whereas MDA-MB-231 cells show a strong pro-inflammatory profile regardless of the dose delivered. Clonogenic assay revealed different surviving fractions according to the breast cell lines analyzed. We found the involvement of genes related to cell response to proton irradiation and reported specific cell line- and dose-dependent gene signatures, able to drive cell fate after radiation exposure. Our data could represent a useful tool to better understand the molecular mechanisms elicited by proton irradiation and to predict treatment outcome

Left hemicolectomy and low anterior resection in colorectal cancer patients: Knight–griffen vs. transanal purse-string suture anastomosis with no-coil placement

BackgroundColorectal cancer (CRC) is considered one of the most frequent neoplasms of the digestive tract with a high mortality rate. Left hemicolectomy (LC) and low anterior resection (LAR) with minimally invasive laparoscopic and robotic approaches or with the open technique are the gold standard curative treatment.Materials and methodsSeventy-seven patients diagnosed with CRC were recruited between September 2017 and September 2021. All patients underwent a preoperative staging with a full-body CT scan. The goal of this study was to compare both types of surgeries, LC-LAR LS with Knight–Griffen colorectal anastomosis and LC-LAR open with Trans-Anal Purse-String Suture Anastomosis (the TAPSSA group), by positioning a No-Coil transanal tube (SapiMed Spa, Alessandria, Italy), in terms of postoperative complications such as prolonged postoperative ileus (PPOI), anastomotic leak (AL), postoperative ileus (POI), and hospital stay.ResultsThe patients were divided into two groups: the first with 39 patients who underwent LC and LAR in LS with Knight–Griffen anastomosis (Knight–Griffen group) and the second with 38 patients who underwent LC and LAR by the open technique with the TAPSSA group. Only one patient who underwent the open technique suffered AL. POI was 3.76 ± 1.7 days in the TAPSSA group and 3.07 ± 1.3 days in the Knight–Griffen group. There were no statistically significant differences in terms of AL and POI between the two different groups.ConclusionThe important point that preliminarily emerged from this retrospective study was that the two different techniques showed similarities in terms of AL and POI, and therefore, all the advantages reported in the previous studies pertaining to No-Coil also hold good in this study regardless of the surgical technique used. However, randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings

Levodopa-refractory hyperprolactinemia and pituitary findings in inherited disorders of biogenic amine metabolism

Elevated serum prolactin concentrations occur in inherited disorders of biogenic amine metabolism because dopamine deficiency leads to insufficient inhibition of prolactin secretion. This work from the International Working Group on Neurotransmitter Related Disorders (iNTD) presents the results of the first standardized study on levodopa-refractory hyperprolactinemia (LRHP; &gt;1000 mU/L) and pituitary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) abnormalities in patients with inherited disorders of biogenic amine metabolism. Twenty-six individuals had LRHP or abnormal pituitary findings on MRI. Tetrahydrobiopterin deficiencies were the most common diagnoses (n = 22). The median age at diagnosis of LRHP was 16 years (range: 2.5-30, 1st-3rd quartiles: 12.25-17 years). Twelve individuals (nine females) had symptoms attributed to hyperprolactinemia: menstruation-related abnormalities (n = 7), pubertal delay or arrest (n = 5), galactorrhea (n = 3), and decreased sexual functions (n = 2). MRI of the pituitary gland was obtained in 21 individuals; six had heterogeneity/hyperplasia of the gland, five had adenoma, and 10 had normal findings. Eleven individuals were treated with the dopamine agonist cabergoline, ameliorating the hyperprolactinemia-related symptoms in all those assessed. Routine monitoring of these symptoms together with prolactin concentrations, especially after the first decade of life, should be taken into consideration during follow-up evaluations. The potential of slow-release levodopa formulations and low-dose dopamine agonists as part of first-line therapy in the prevention and treatment of hyperprolactinemia should be investigated further in animal studies and human trials. This work adds hyperprolactinemia-related findings to the current knowledge of the phenotypic spectrum of inherited disorders of biogenic amine metabolism

Radiobiological Outcomes, Microdosimetric Evaluations and Monte Carlo Predictions in Eye Proton Therapy

CATANA (Centro di AdroTerapia ed Applicazioni Nucleari Avanzate) was the first Italian protontherapy facility dedicated to the treatment of ocular neoplastic pathologies. It is in operation at the LNS Laboratories of the Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN-LNS) and to date, 500 patients have been successfully treated. Even though proton therapy has demonstrated success in clinical settings, there is still a need for more accurate models because they are crucial for the estimation of clinically relevant RBE values. Since RBE can vary depending on several physical and biological parameters, there is a clear need for more experimental data to generate predictions. Establishing a database of cell survival experiments is therefore useful to accurately predict the effects of irradiations on both cancerous and normal tissue. The main aim of this work was to compare RBE values obtained from in-vitro experimental data with predictions made by the LEM II (Local Effect Model), Monte Carlo approaches, and semi-empirical models based on LET experimental measurements. For this purpose, the 92.1 uveal melanoma and ARPE-19 cells derived from normal retinal pigmented epithelium were selected and irradiated in the middle of clinical SOBP of the CATANA proton therapy facility. The remarkable results show the potentiality of using microdosimetric spectrum, Monte Carlo simulations and LEM model to predict not only the RBE but also the survival curves