The TNG Near Infrared Camera Spectrometer

NICS (acronym for Near Infrared Camera Spectrometer) is the near-infrared cooled camera-spectrometer that has been developed by the Arcetri Infrared Group at the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory, in collaboration with the CAISMI-CNR for the TNG (the Italian National Telescope Galileo at La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain). As NICS is in its scientific commissioning phase, we report its observing capabilities in the near-infrared bands at the TNG, along with the measured performance and the limiting magnitudes. We also describe some technical details of the project, such as cryogenics, mechanics, and the system which executes data acquisition and control, along with the related software.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, compiled with A&A macros. A&A in pres

Efficacy of adalimumab as second-line therapy in a pediatric cohort of crohn’s disease patients who failed infliximab therapy: The Italian society of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition experience

Background: Adalimumab (Ada) treatment is an available option for pediatric Crohn’s disease (CD) and the published experience as rescue therapy is limited. Objectives: We investigated Ada efficacy in a retrospective, pediatric CD cohort who had failed previous infliximab treatment, with a minimum follow-up of 6 months. Methods: In this multicenter study, data on demographics, clinical activity, growth, laboratory values (CRP) and adverse events were collected from CD patients during follow-up. Clinical remission (CR) and response were defined with Pediatric CD Activity Index (PCDAI) score ≤10 and a decrease in PCDAI score of ≥12.5 from baseline, respectively. Results: A total of 44 patients were consecutively recruited (mean age 14.8 years): 34 of 44 (77%) had active disease (mean PCDAI score 24.5) at the time of Ada administration, with a mean disease duration of 3.4 (range 0.3–11.2) years. At 6, 12, and 18 months, out of the total of the enrolled population, CR rates were 55%, 78%, and 52%, respectively, with a significant decrease in PCDAI scores (P<0.01) and mean CRP values (mean CRP 5.7 and 2.4 mL/dL, respectively; P<0.01) at the end of follow-up. Steroid-free remission rates, considered as the total number of patients in CR who were not using steroids at the end of this study, were 93%, 95%, and 96% in 44 patients at 6, 12, and 18 months, respectively. No significant differences in growth parameters were detected. In univariate analysis of variables related to Ada efficacy, we found that only a disease duration >2 years was negatively correlated with final PCDAI score (P<0.01). Two serious adverse events were recorded: 1 meningitis and 1 medulloblastoma. Conclusion: Our data confirm Ada efficacy in pediatric patients as second-line biological therapy after infliximab failure. Longer-term prospective data are warranted to define general effectiveness and safety in pediatric CD patients

A new mucoadhesive dosage form for the management of oral lichen planus : formulation study and clinical study

The work aimed at studying a new mucoadhesive prolonged release tablet containing 24\u3bcg clobetasol-17 propionate (CP) suitable for the management of oral lichen planus. Low swellable dosage forms were designed by combining a mucoadhesive polymer, i.e. poly(sodium methacrylate, methylmethacrylate), with hydroxypropylmethylcellulose and MgCl2. This formulation was selected to modify the tablet erosion rate in order to obtain a release of CP over a 6-h period. A double-blind, controlled study was performed using three groups of patient (n=16) who received three applications-a-day over 4weeks of the developed CP tablets (group CP-T), placebo tablets (group CP-P) or commercial CP ointment for cutaneous application (123\u3bcg/application) extemporary mixed with Orabase\u2122 (group CP-O). At the end of the study, pain and ulceration resolved in 13/16 and 11/16 patients of group CP-T and group CP-O, respectively. In the group CP-O, a transient acute hyperaemic candidosis (n=2) and taste alteration (n=4) were also observed. No changes in clinical signs of patients in the group CP-P were evident. The application of mucoadhesive tablet containing 24\u3bcg CP 3 times a day appeared to be effective, avoiding the side effects of the generally used treatment

SBOL-OWL: An ontological approach for formal and semantic representation of synthetic biology information

Standard representation of data is key for the reproducibility of designs in synthetic biology. The Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL) has already emerged as a data standard to represent information about genetic circuits, and it is based on capturing data using graphs. The language provides the syntax using a free text document that is accessible to humans only. This paper describes SBOL-OWL, an ontology for a machine understandable definition of SBOL. This ontology acts as a semantic layer for genetic circuit designs. As a result, computational tools can understand the meaning of design entities in addition to parsing structured SBOL data. SBOL-OWL not only describes how genetic circuits can be constructed computationally, it also facilitates the use of several existing Semantic Web tools for synthetic biology. This paper demonstrates some of these features, for example, to validate designs and check for inconsistencies. Through the use of SBOL-OWL, queries can be simplified and become more intuitive. Moreover, existing reasoners can be used to infer information about genetic circuit designs that cannot be directly retrieved using existing querying mechanisms. This ontological representation of the SBOL standard provides a new perspective to the verification, representation, and querying of information about genetic circuits and is important to incorporate complex design information via the integration of biological ontologies

Genetic and epigenetic changes in primary metastatic and nonmetastatic colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) develops as multistep process, which involves genetic and epigenetic alterations. K-Ras, p53 and B-Raf mutations and RASSF1A, E-Cadherin and p16INK4A promoter methylation were investigated in 202 CRCs with and without lymph node and/or liver metastasis, to assess whether gene abnormalities are related to a metastogenic phenotype. K-Ras, B-Raf and p53 mutations were detected in 27, 3 and 32% of the cases, with K-Ras mutations significantly associated with metastatic tumour (P=0.019). RASSF1A, E-Cadherin and p16INK4A methylation was documented in 20, 44 and 33% of the cases with p16INK4A significantly associated with metastatic tumours (P=0.001). Overall, out of 202 tumours, 34 (17%) did not show any molecular change, 125 (62%) had one or two and 43 (21%) three or more. Primary but yet metastatic CRCs were prevalent in the latter group (P=0.023) where the most frequent combination was one genetic (K-Ras in particular) and two epigenetic alterations. In conclusion, this analysis provided to detect some molecular differences between primary metastatic and nonmetastatic CRCs, with K-Ras and p16INK4A statistically altered in metastatic tumours; particular gene combinations, such as coincidental K-Ras mutation with two methylated genes are associated to a metastogenic phenotype

Trans-Iliac Aortic Valve Replacement: Feasibility, Safety, and Medium-Term Follow-up

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is nowadays generally accepted as the treatment of choice for high- to intermediate-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis not suitable for the standard surgical replacement. Many vascular accesses have been described for the valve delivery, comprising the common iliac artery as the arterial site of access. METHODS: From September 2008 to June 2014, 440 patients underwent TAVR at our institution. We report a series of 12 patients that have undergone TAVR via a trans-iliac (TI) retroperitoneal surgical approach and also discuss its feasibility, security, and medium-term follow-up. RESULTS: The 30-day survival rate was 92%. Only 1 local vascular access major complication occurred requiring an iliac-femoral bypass grafting with a vascular graft. Two patients experienced transient neurological ischemic attack. At 3-year follow-up, all the 11 patients were alive and well and the echocardiographic evaluation revealed good function of the prosthesis. CONCLUSIONS: The TI route seems to be feasible with a low profile of local complications. It may be a reasonable access alternative to the femoral artery and to the trans-apical approach. A broader, prospective study is advisable to gain general consensus on this approach

PLIO: a generic tool for real-time operational predictive optimal control of water networks

This paper presents a generic tool, named PLIO, that allows to implement the real-time operational control of water networks. Control strategies are generated using predictive optimal control techniques. This tool allows the flow management in a large water supply and distribution system including reservoirs, open-flow channels for water transport, water treatment plants, pressurized water pipe networks, tanks, flow/pressure control elements and a telemetry/telecontrol system. Predictive optimal control is used to generate flow control strategies from the sources to the consumer areas to meet future demands with appropriate pressure levels, optimizing operational goals such as network safety volumes and flow control stability. PLIO allows to build the network model graphically and then to automatically generate the model equations used by the predictive optimal controller. Additionally, PLIO can work off-line (in simulation) and on-line (in real-time mode). The case study of Santiago-Chile is presented to exemplify the control results obtained using PLIO off-line (in simulation)Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

First AMBER/VLTI observations of hot massive stars

AMBER is the first near infrared focal instrument of the VLTI. It combines three telescopes and produces spectrally resolved interferometric measures. This paper discusses some preliminary results of the first scientific observations of AMBER with three Unit Telescopes at medium (1500) and high (12000) spectral resolution. We derive a first set of constraints on the structure of the circumstellar material around the Wolf Rayet Gamma2 Velorum and the LBV Eta Carinae

Extended adjuvant endocrine treatment for premenopausal women: A Delphi approach to guide clinical practice

The use of an aromatase inhibitor (AI) in combination with ovarian function suppression (OFS) has become the mainstay of adjuvant endocrine therapy in high-risk premenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Although five years of such therapy effectively reduces recurrence rates, a substantial risk of late recurrence remains in this setting. Multiple trials have shown that extending AI treatment beyond five years could offer further protection. However, as these studies comprised only postmenopausal patients, no direct evidence currently exists to inform about the potential benefits and/or side effects of extended AI + OFS therapies in premenopausal women. Given these grey areas, we conducted a Delphi survey to report on the opinion of experts in breast cancer treatment and summarize a consensus on the discussed topics. A total of 44 items were identified, all centred around two main themes: 1) defining reliable prognostic factors to pinpoint premenopausal patients eligible for endocrine therapy extension; 2) designing how such therapy should optimally be administered in terms of treatment combinations and duration based on patients’ menopausal status. Each item was separately discussed and anonymously voted by 12 experts representing oncological institutes spread across Italy. The consensus threshold was reached in 36 out of 44 items (82%). Herein, we discuss the levels of agreement/disagreement achieved by each item in relation to the current body of literature. In the absence of randomized trials to guide the tailoring of extended AI treatment in premenopausal women, conclusions from our study provide a framework to assist routine clinical practice

Effects of Bisphosphonate Treatment on Circulating Lipid and Glucose Levels in Patients with Metabolic Bone Disorders

Bisphosphonates are the first-choice treatment of osteoporosis and Paget’s disease of bone. Among the bisphosphonates, the non-amino-bisphosphonates, such as clodronic acid, are intracellular converted into toxic analogues of ATP and induce cellular apoptosis whereas the amino-bisphosphonates, such as zoledronic acid, inhibit the farnesyl-diphosphate-synthase, an enzyme of the mevalonate pathway. This pathway regulates cholesterol and glucose homeostasis and is a target for statins. In this retrospective cohort study, we evaluated the effects of an intravenous infusion of zoledronic acid (5 mg) or clodronic acid (1500 mg) on blood lipid (i.e. total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and triglycerides) and glucose levels in patients with osteoporosis and Paget’s disease of bone. All patients were evaluated before, 1 and 6 months after bisphosphonate treatment. Pagetic and osteoporotic patients treated with zoledronic acid showed a significant reduction in glucose and atherogenic lipids during follow-up whereas these phenomena were not observed after clodronic treatment. The effect on circulating lipid levels was similar in naïve and re-treated Pagetic patients. Zoledronic acid treatment was associated with a reduction in blood glucose and atherogenic lipids in patients with metabolic bone disorders. The extent of change was similar to that obtained with the regular assumption of a low-intensity statin. Further studies are warranted to better evaluate the clinical implications of these observations