Okada Purifying Therapy in combination with duloxetine vs. duloxetine alone in patients with TMD and fibromyalgia: a randomized clinical study

Abstract Objectives This randomized study was aimed at evaluating the additional analgesic effect of Okada Purifying Therapy (OPT) when administered in combination with duloxetine in patients with Temporomandibular Disorders (TMDs) and Fibromyalgia (FM). Methods Patients with TMDs visited at Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome who were diagnosed with FM were selected for the study. The final sample was composed of 31 patients: 15 patients were treated only with duloxetine (Group I) and 16 patients underwent also OPT treatment (Group II), for eight weeks. Craniomandibular index, total tenderness score, Brief Pain Inventory Modified Short Form, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory and State and Trait Anxiety Inventory-1 were assessed at the beginning (T0), during the course (T1) and after therapy (T2). Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. Results In all the data analyzed, both groups showed an improvement in particular between T0 and T1. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups during the trial, except for the interaction between treatment and time as to the ability of walking at the BPI-I (F=7.57, p=0.002). No side effects due to the duloxetine were recorded in group II compared to group I. Conclusion The additional complementary treatment (OPT) did not appear to give the patients with TMDs and FM any further benefit but it might improve pharmacological tolerability of the traditional medication

A surge of late-occurring meiotic double-strand breaks rescues synapsis abnormalities in spermatocytes of mice with hypomorphic expression of SPO11

Meiosis is the biological process that, after a cycle of DNA replication, halves the cellular chromosome complement, leading to the formation of haploid gametes. Haploidization is achieved via two successive rounds of chromosome segregation, meiosis I and II. In mammals, during prophase of meiosis I, homologous chromosomes align and synapse through a recombination-mediated mechanism initiated by the introduction of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by the SPO11 protein. In male mice, if SPO11 expression and DSB number are reduced below heterozygosity levels, chromosome synapsis is delayed, chromosome tangles form at pachynema, and defective cells are eliminated by apoptosis at epithelial stage IV at a spermatogenesis-specific endpoint. Whether DSB levels produced in Spo11 +/− spermatocytes represent, or approximate, the threshold level required to guarantee successful homologous chromosome pairing is unknown. Using a mouse model that expresses Spo11 from a bacterial artificial chromosome, within a Spo11 −/− background, we demonstrate that when SPO11 expression is reduced and DSBs at zygonema are decreased (approximately 40 % below wild-type level), meiotic chromosome pairing is normal. Conversely, DMC1 foci number is increased at pachynema, suggesting that under these experimental conditions, DSBs are likely made with delayed kinetics at zygonema. In addition, we provide evidences that when zygotene-like cells receive enough DSBs before chromosome tangles develop, chromosome synapsis can be completed in most cells, preventing their apoptotic elimination

Pilot scale steam-oxygen CFB gasification of commercial torrefied wood pellets. The effect of torrefaction on the gasification performance

Torrefaction is a promising biomass upgrading technology as it makes biomass more coal alike and offers benefits in logistics and handling operations. Gasification is an attractive thermochemical conversion technology due to its flexibility in the product gas end-uses. Therefore, it is valuable to investigate whether additional benefits are foreseen when torrefaction is coupled with gasification. Therefore, two commercial torrefied wood fuels and their parent materials are gasified at 800-850 degrees C under atmospheric steam-oxygen circulating fluidized bed gasification conditions and magnesite as bed material. The torrefied feedstocks consisted of wood residues torrefied by Topell at 250 degrees C (Topell black), and mixed wood and wood residues torrefied by Torrcoal at 300 degrees C (Torrcoal black). The gasification results show that torrefaction resulted in an increased gas quality, as it yielded higher H-2 and CO contents, a decrease of the CO2 content, increased gas yield and a significant decrease of the total tar content for both feedstocks. For the Torrcoal samples, torrefaction resulted in a decrease in the carbon conversion efficiency (CCE). In addition, the cold gas efficiency (CGE) remained approximately the same due to the increase in the H-2 and CO contents. The Topell samples showed an increase in the CCE and CGE upon torrefaction, but this could be attributed to a significant grinding in the screw feeder. It is generally concluded that both torrefied fuels may offer benefits as a feedstock for steam-oxygen blown circulating fluidized bed gasification, in particular in terms of gas quality and yield. (C) 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd

High MYC Levels Favour Multifocal Carcinogenesis

The term “field cancerisation” describes the formation of tissue sub-areas highly susceptible to multifocal tumourigenesis. In the earlier stages of cancer, cells may indeed display a series of molecular alterations that allow them to proliferate faster, eventually occupying discrete tissue regions with irrelevant morphological anomalies. This behaviour recalls cell competition, a process based on a reciprocal fitness comparison: when cells with a growth advantage arise in a tissue, they are able to commit wild-type neighbours to death and to proliferate at their expense. It is known that cells expressing high MYC levels behave as super-competitors, able to kill and replace less performant adjacent cells; given MYC upregulation in most human cancers, MYC-mediated cell competition is likely to pioneer field cancerisation. Here we show that MYC overexpression in a sub-territory of the larval wing epithelium of Drosophila is sufficient to trigger a number of cellular responses specific to mammalian pre-malignant tissues. Moreover, following induction of different second mutations, high MYC-expressing epithelia were found to be susceptible to multifocal growth, a hallmark of mammalian pre-cancerous fields. In summary, our study identified an early molecular alteration implicated in field cancerisation and established a genetically amenable model which may help study the molecular basis of early carcinogenesis

Capillary barriers during rainfall events in pyroclastic deposits of the Vesuvian area

In the present paper, the capillary barrier formation at the interface between soil layers, which is characterized by textural discontinuities, has been analyzed. This mechanism has been investigated by means of a finite element model of a two-layer soil stratification. The two considered formations, belonging to the pyroclastic succession of the “Pomici di Base” Plinian eruption (22 ka, Santacroce et al., 2008) of the Somma–Vesuvius volcano, are affected by shallow instability phenomena likely caused by progressive saturation during the rainfall events. This mechanism could be compatible with the formation of capillary barriers at the interface between layers of different grain size distributions during infiltration. One-dimensional infiltration into the stratified soil was parametrically simulated considering rainfall events of increasing intensity and duration. The variations in the suction and degree of saturation over time allowed for the evaluation of stability variations in the layers, which were assumed as part of stratified unsaturated infinite slopes

A Novel Vasoactive Peptide “PG1” from Buffalo Ice-Cream Protects from Angiotensin-Evoked High Blood Pressure

Arterial hypertension is the most important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, myocardial infarction, heart failure, renal failure and peripheral vascular disease. In the last decade, milk-derived bioactive peptides have attracted attention for their beneficial cardiovascular properties. Methods: Here, we combined in vitro chemical assay such as LC-MS/MS analysis of buffalo ice cream, ex vivo vascular studies evaluating endothelial and smooth muscle responses using pressure myograph, and translational assay testing in vivo the vascular actions of PG1 administration in murine models. Results: We demonstrate that a novel buffalo ice-cream-derived pentapeptide “QKEPM”, namely PG1, is a stable peptide that can be obtained at higher concentration after gastro-intestinal digestions (GID) of buffalo ice-cream (BIC). It owns potent vascular effect in counteract the effects of angiotensin II-evoked vasoconstriction and high blood pressure levels. Its effects are mediated by the inhibitory effect on AT1 receptor leading to a downregulation of p-ERK½/Rac1-GTP and consequent reduction of oxidative stress. Conclusions: These results strongly candidate PG1, as a novel bioactive peptide for the prevention and management of hypertension, thus expanding the armamentarium of preventive strategies aimed at reducing the incidence and progression of hypertension and its related cardiovascular complication

Targeted gene panel screening is an effective tool to identify undiagnosed late onset Pompe disease

Mutations in the GAA gene may cause a late onset Pompe disease presenting with proximal weakness without the characteristic muscle pathology, and therefore a test for GAA activity is the first tier analysis in all undiagnosed patients with hyperCKemia and/or limb-girdle muscular weakness. By using MotorPlex, a targeted gene panel for next generation sequencing, we analyzed GAA and other muscle diseasegenes in a large cohort of undiagnosed patients with suspected inherited skeletal muscle disorders (n = 504). In this cohort, 275 patients presented with limb-girdle phenotype and/or an isolated hyperCKemia. Mutational analysis identified GAA mutations in ten patients. Further seven affected relatives were identified by segregation studies. All the patients carried the common GAA mutation c.-32-13T > G and a second, previously reported mutation. In the subcohort of 275 patients with proximal muscle weakness and/or hyperCKemia, we identified late-onset Pompe disease in 10 patients. The clinical overlap between Pompe disease and LGMDs or other skeletal muscle disorders suggests that GAA and the genes causing a metabolic myopathy should be analyzed in all the gene panels used for testing neuromuscular patients. However, enzymatic tests are essential for the interpretation and validation of genetic results. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

MYC Rearranged Aggressive B-Cell Lymphomas: A Report on 100 Patients of the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi (FIL)

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Designing the Future: An Intelligent System for Zero-Mile Food Production by Upcycling Wastewater

The project deals with the environmental problem of water consumption. The aim of this work is to experiment the recycling of dishwasher wastewater through its reuse in growing edible vegetables or ornamental plants; this can also accomplish the valorization of nutrients present in the wastewater. This new process allows to ensure washing functions coupled with vegetables production and to affect users’ environmental awareness and habits, following a user-centered system design approach to understand the users and involve them actively in the system development. The presented work is also aimed to experiment a multidisciplinary approach in order to face environmental problems