Mediterranean Fin Whales (Balaenoptera physalus) Threatened by Dolphin MorbilliVirus

During 2011-2013, dolphin morbillivirus was molecularly identified in 4 stranded fin whales from the Mediterranean Sea. Nucleoprotein, phosphoprotein, and hemagglutinin gene sequences of the identified strain were highly homologous with those of a morbillivirus that caused a 2006-2007 epidemic in the Mediterranean. Dolphin morbillivirus represents a serious threat for fin whales

Does the use of dietary supplements enhance athletes’ sport performances? A systematic review and a meta-analysis

Background: The consumption of dietary supplements has increased in recent years. Despite their widespread use, there is confusion about effects on sport performances. The aim of this study was to investigate association between use of supplements and enhance of athletes’ sports performance. Methods: A review and a meta-analysis of studies conducted on Dietary Supplements and Sports between 2003 and 2013 were performed. Enhancement on sport performances was considered as outcome. The following aspects related to enhancement were considered: ergogenic effect (EE), time to exhaustion (TTE), muscular endurance (ME), post-exercise recovery (PER) and body mass (BM). With respect to meta-analysis, data on level of post Exercise Glucose (GpE [mg/dL]) and level of post exercise Lactate (LpE [mmol/L]) were considered as  indicators of TTE, PER and EE. Similarly, Change in Body Mass (CBM) [kg] was used as indicator of BM. Results: The most investigated dietary supplements were: Creatine, Carbohydrates, Beta-alanine, Proteins. The qualitative analysis evaluating the effect of supplements on sports listed by the International Olympic Committee has achieved interesting results: supplements didn’t show statistically significant effects when compared to placebo in more than 48% of papers. For the quantitative analysis, 15 studies were considered. The meta-analysis showed that there was no significant effect of Beta-alanine, Creatine and Carbohydrates on LpE and GpE. Furthermore, a non-significant increase in BM was observed in athletes undergoing Creatine compared to placebo. Conclusion: Considering the increasing attention to this topic, it would be interesting to investigate the existing awareness about effectiveness and possible risks of supplements

Optimized Identification of High-Grade Prostate Cancer by Combining Different PSA Molecular Forms and PSA Density in a Deep Learning Model

After skin cancer, prostate cancer (PC) is the most common cancer among men. The gold standard for PC diagnosis is based on the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test. Based on this preliminary screening, the physician decides whether to proceed with further tests, typically prostate biopsy, to confirm cancer and evaluate its aggressiveness. Nevertheless, the specificity of the PSA test is suboptimal and, as a result, about 75% of men who undergo a prostate biopsy do not have cancer even if they have elevated PSA levels. Overdiagnosis leads to unnecessary overtreatment of prostate cancer with undesirable side effects, such as incontinence, erectile dysfunction, infections, and pain. Here, we used artificial neuronal networks to develop models that can diagnose PC efficiently. The model receives as an input a panel of 4 clinical variables (total PSA, free PSA, p2PSA, and PSA density) plus age. The output of the model is an estimate of the Gleason score of the patient. After training on a dataset of 190 samples and optimization of the variables, the model achieved values of sensitivity as high as 86% and 89% specificity. The efficiency of the method can be improved even further by training the model on larger datasets

An Intraoperative β−\beta^- Detecting Probe For Radio-Guided Surgery in Tumour Resection

The development of the $\beta^-$ based radio-guided surgery aims to extend the technique to those tumours where surgery is the only possible treatment and the assessment of the resection would most profit from the low background around the lesion, as for brain tumours. Feasibility studies on meningioma, glioma, and neuroendocrine tumors already estimated the potentiality of this new treatment. To validate the technique, prototypes of the intraoperative probe required by the technique to detect $\beta^-$ radiation have been developed. This paper discusses the design details of the device and the tests performed in laboratory. In such tests particular care has to be taken to reproduce the surgical field conditions. The innovative technique to produce specific phantoms and the dedicated testing protocols is described in detail.Comment: 7 pages, 15 figure

Peri-Prostatic Adipocyte-Released TGFβ Enhances Prostate Cancer Cell Motility by Upregulation of Connective Tissue Growth Factor

Periprostatic adipose tissue (PPAT) has emerged as a key player in the prostate cancer (PCa) microenvironment. In this study, we evaluated the ability of PPAT to promote PCa cell migration, as well as the molecular mechanisms involved. Methods: We collected conditioned mediums from in vitro differentiated adipocytes isolated from PPAT taken from PCa patients during radical prostatectomy. Migration was studied by scratch assay. Results: Culture with CM of human PPAT (AdipoCM) promotes migration in two different human androgen-independent (AI) PCa cell lines (DU145 and PC3) and upregulated the expression of CTGF. SB431542, a well-known TGFβ receptor inhibitor, counteracts the increased migration observed in presence of AdipoCM and decreased CTGF expression, suggesting that a paracrine secretion of TGFβ by PPAT affects motility of PCa cells. Conclusions: Collectively, our study showed that factors secreted by PPAT enhanced migration through CTGF upregulation in AI PCa cell lines. These findings reveal the potential of novel therapeutic strategies targeting adipocyte-released factors and TGFβ/CTGF axis to fight advanced PCa dissemination

The emerging landscape of tumor marker panels for the identification of aggressive prostate cancer: the perspective through bibliometric analysis of an Italian translational working group in uro-oncology

Molecular heterogeneity and availability of different therapeutic strategies are relevant clinical features of prostate cancer. On this basis, there is an urgent need to identify prognostic and predictive biomarkers for an individualized therapeutic approach. In this context, researchers focused their attention on biomarkers able to discriminate potential life-threatening from organ-confined disease identify high-grade tumors. Such biomarker could provide aid in clinical decision making, helping in order to choose the treatment which ensures the best results in terms of patient survival and quality of life. To address this need, many new laboratory tests have been proposed, witha clear tendency to use panels of combined biomarkers. In this review we evaluate current data on the application in clinical practice for of the most promising laboratory tests: Phi, 4Kscore and Stockholm 3 as circulating biomarkers, and Mi-prostate score, Exo DX Prostate and Select MD-X as urinary biomarkers, Confirm MDx, Oncotype Dx, Prolaris and Decipher as tissue biomarkers. In particular, the ability of these tests in the identification of clinically significant PCa and their potential use for precision medicine have been explored in this review