SINTESI CONTROLLATA DI QUANTUM DOTS STABILIZZATI DA POLIMERI CONIUGATI FUNZIONALIZZATI PER APPLICAZIONI FOTOELETTRONICHE

Synthesis and characterization of mono-functionalized polythiophene and cadmium selenide nanoparticles for photovoltaic applications. Sintesi e caratterizzazione di politiofene conduttore mono-funzionalizzato e di nanoparticelle di seleniuro di cadmio per applicazioni fotovoltaiche

An electrooptical muscle contraction sensor

An electrooptical sensor for the detection of muscle contraction is described. Infrared light is injected into the muscle, the backscattering is observed, and the contraction is detected by measuring the change, that occurs during muscle contraction, between the light scattered in the direction parallel and perpendicular to the muscle cells. With respect to electromyography and to optical absorption-based sensors, our device has the advantage of lower invasiveness, of lower sensitivity to electromagnetic noise and to movement artifacts, and of being able to distinguish between isometric and isotonic contractions

A novel mutation in NDUFB11 unveils a new clinical phenotype associated with lactic acidosis and sideroblastic anemia

NDUFB11, a component of mitochondrial complex I, is a relatively small integral membrane protein, belonging to the 'supernumerary' group of subunits, but proved to be absolutely essential for the assembly of an active complex I. Mutations in in the X-linked nuclear encoded NDUFB11 gene have recently been discovered in association with two distinct phenotypes, i.e. microphthalmia with linear skin defects and histiocytoid cardiomyopathy. We report on a male with complex I deficiency, caused by a de novo mutation in NDUFB11 and displaying early onset sideroblastic anemia as the unique feature. This is the third report that describes a mutation in NDUFB11 but all are associated to a different phenotype. Our results further expand the molecular spectrum and associated clinical phenotype of NDUFB11 defects

Molecular signature of retinoic acid treatment in acute promyelocytic leukemia

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a distinct subtype of acute myeloid leukemia characterized by a block of differentiation at the promyelocytic stage. APL patients respond to pharmacological concentrations of all-trans retinoic acid ( RA) and disease remission correlates with terminal differentiation of leukemic blasts. The PML/RAR oncogenic transcription factor is responsible for both the pathogenesis of APL and for its sensitivity to RA. In order to identify physiological targets of RA therapy, we analysed gene expression profiles of RA-treated APL blasts and found 1056 common target genes. Comparing these results to those obtained in RA-treated U937 cell lines revealed that transcriptional response to RA is largely dependent on the expression of PML/RAR. Several genes involved in the control of differentiation and stem cell renewal are early targets of RA regulation, and may be important effectors of RA response. Modulation of chromatin modifying genes was also observed, suggesting that specific structural changes in local chromatin domains may be required to promote RA-mediated differentiation. Computational analysis of upstream genomic regions in RA target genes revealed nonrandom distribution of transcription factor binding sites, indicating that specific transcriptional regulatory complexes may be involved in determining RA response

Spectral approximation of a strain-limiting nonlinear elastic model

We construct a numerical algorithm for the approximate solution of a non-linear elastic limiting strain model based on the Fourier spectral method. The existence and uniqueness of the numerical solution are proved. Assuming that the weak solution to the boundary-value problem possesses suitable Sobolev regularity, the sequence of numerical solutions is shown to converge to the weak solution of the problem at an optimal rate. The numerical method represents a finite-dimensional system of nonlinear equations. An iterative method is proposed for the approximate solution of this system of equations and is shown to converge, at a linear rate, to the unique solution of the numerical method. The theoretical results are illustrated by numerical experiments

La gestione del prurito nel paziente con dermatite atopica

La dermatite atopica (DA) \ue8 una patologia in continuo aumento in tutti i paesi industrializzati. Come emerge da diversi studi epidemiologici, la sua prevalenza nella popolazione pediatrica varia dal 10% al 20%. Il prurito rappresenta un criterio maggiore (addirittura obbligatorio per l'UK working party) per la diagnosi di DA ed \ue8 il sintomo principale della malattia. La sua persistenza conduce a un'amplificazione del quadro clinico della patologia e contrastarlo rappresenta, pertanto, uno degli interventi primari nel trattamento della DA. I farmaci sistemici pi\uf9 utilizzati sono gli antistaminici, specie quelli di vecchia generazione, apparentemente pi\uf9 efficaci sul sintomo prurito. Essi inducono, tuttavia, sonnolenza che da un lato pu\uf2 essere gradita nelle ore notturne quando, specie nei bambini pi\uf9 piccoli, il prurito causa insonnia e irritabilit\ue0, ma lo \ue8 assai meno di giorno nei bambini pi\uf9 grandi che frequentano le scuole. Talora si ricorre a un antistaminico di vecchia generazione, con azione anche sedativa, per le ore notturne e a uno di nuova generazione, non sedativo, per il giorno. Va, tuttavia, sempre ricordato che, quando l'eczema recede, anche il prurito recede, per cui la corretta terapia locale dell'eczema (corticosteroidi topici, inibitori topici della calcineurina, emollienti, tessuti ingegnerizzati, etc) \ue8 in grado di condurre a un calo marcato del prurito. Le ricerche recenti della scuola Giapponese sul prurito hanno dimostrato una maggiore innervazione delle aree malate; in sintesi \ue8 stato possibile dimostrare che le terminazioni nervose libere sono pi\uf9 abbondanti nell'ambito dell'epidermide dei pazienti affetti da DA. In tal senso una semplice protezione passiva \ue8 gi\ue0 altamente consigliabile in attesa che si evidenzino i fattori che portano a questa alterazione anatomica

News in bacterial infections

Introduction: Although the skin is effective in providing protection against infections, cutaneous bacterial diseases are nevertheless a common presentation. These infections are often the result of an accidental break in the integrity of the skin but, sometimes, they are due to a more subtle cause as the demonstration of decreased production of antimicrobial peptides. Methods: The recent scientific literature has been reviewed and compared with the author's experience in the last 20 years. Results: In human skin naturally occurring antibiotics like RNase 7 are expressed constitutively and can be found at high levels in the upper layers of healthy epidermis. Others like the human beta defensins (HBD) 2 and 3 require induction to be present in relevant concentrations. Some findings indicate that a 30% lower level of mRNA coding for RNase 7 corresponds to an approximate twofold increase in risk of staph, disease. Recently lower induction of HBD-3, but not HBD-2, was associated with more severe S. aureus skin infection. This suggests that inducibility of HBD-3 influences the severity of gram+ skin infection in vivo. The function of HBD-2 remains unclear. The role of stress and Vit. D have also recently studied. Stress mobilizes elements from the neuroendocrine system to modulate immune responses; new findings indicate a mechanism for the negative regulation of host-innate AMP response to infection through cholinergic activation. Vit. D, has a pivotal role in maintaining optimal health and reducing the risk of chronic and infectious diseases. While serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels for optimal health are in the range of 40-60ng/mL, mean population values in some North European countries are around 20-25ng/mL. Conclusions: The treatment of pyodermas is complex and the choice of the best and most appropriate treatment strategy is difficult. This arises largely from lack of evidence

Dermatologia delle pieghe

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