A genotoxicity study on Talitrus saltator (Crustacea, Amphipoda) exposed to lead and benzo(a)pyrene

Sandy beaches are ecosystems often subjected to a variety of pollution sources, including heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, largely due to improper human activities. The sandhopper Talitrus saltator s. l. (Montagu, 1808) typically lives on supralittoral shores where it plays an important ecological role. The purpose of this study was to investigate DNA damage levels on hemocytes of T. saltator by means of the Comet assay. Firstly, we tested the sensitivity and reproducibility of the Comet assay on hemocytes of T. saltator after in vitro exposure (1 h) to the genotoxicant methyl methanesulfonate (MMS). The data demonstrated a DNA damage (defined as % DNA tail) related to MMS exposure in a concentration-dependent manner. Next, we carried out the assay on hemocytes of T. saltator that were exposed in vivo (24 h and 7 days) to: a) lead (Pb), b) benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P), c) mixtures of them. Our data on exposure to Pb or B(a)P showed DNA damage on the hemocytes of T. saltator in a concentration-dependent manner, but apparently with a non-synergistic effect of exposure to their mixtures. Our results provide a background for further studies in order to verify the applicability of Comet assay on T. saltator for assessing genotoxicity levels in sandy beaches subjected to pollutio

Prevention, Screening, Treatment and Follow-Up of Gynecological Cancers: State of Art and Future Perspectives

Objective: This study aims to analyze the available data on prevention and early diagnosis in gynecological cancers. Mechanism: A comprehensive search was performed in the PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE, SCOPUS and Web of Science databases. Findings in Brief: To date the prevention programmes of all degrees exist exclusively for cervical cancer. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination prevents from infection and development of precancerous lesions and contributes significantly to the deflection of the incidence of cervical cancer. Screening for HPV-related lesions is worldwide performed by cervical smear (Pap-test) and HPV test. Finally, tertiary prevention is aimed at the treatment of previously diagnosticated lesions with the aid of surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Unfortunately, to date the prevention programmes of other gynecological tumors have not reached a good performance; indeed, the primum movens that leads to the development of such neoplasms has not been identified yet. Actually, no screening programs for the early diagnosis of endometrial cancer are available, however, it is recommended the adoption of a healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet. Diagnostic biomarkers would be helpful for screening asymptomatic high-risk women, but histopatological examinations remain the gold standard for diagnosis of endometrial cancer. Similarly, there are no screening tests for the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. In recent years many steps forward have been made in this field and new perspectives have been presented, however, additional investigation is needed to optimize the duration and timing of treatment, examine its cost-effectiveness, and identify potential tumor or host biologic factors predictive of the efficacy and adverse events. Finally, there are no primary and secondary prevention for vulvar cancer so patients should be invited to self-examination and pay attention to the presence of symptoms. Conclusions: Are the available screening programs for the diagnosis of gynecological carcinomas sufficient? The prevention and the diagnosis of precancerous lesions is the goal to be achieved for all gynecological cancers in order to improve patient outcomes, reduce the costs for managing the disease and prolonged follow up

Automated Analysis of MUTEX Algorithms with FASE

In this paper we study the liveness of several MUTEX solutions by representing them as processes in PAFAS s, a CCS-like process algebra with a specific operator for modelling non-blocking reading behaviours. Verification is carried out using the tool FASE, exploiting a correspondence between violations of the liveness property and a special kind of cycles (called catastrophic cycles) in some transition system. We also compare our approach with others in the literature. The aim of this paper is twofold: on the one hand, we want to demonstrate the applicability of FASE to some concrete, meaningful examples; on the other hand, we want to study the impact of introducing non-blocking behaviours in modelling concurrent systems.Comment: In Proceedings GandALF 2011, arXiv:1106.081

Insights into the Sesquiterpenoid Pathway by Metabolic Profiling and De novo Transcriptome Assembly of Stem-Chicory (Cichorium intybus Cultigroup "Catalogna")

Stem-chicory of the "Catalogna" group is a vegetable consumed for bitter-flavored stems. Type and levels of bitter sesquiterpene lactones (STLs) participate in conferring bitterness in vegetables. The content of lactucin-and lactucopocrin-like STLs was higher in "Molfettese" than "Galatina" landrace stalks, regardless of the cultivation sites, consistently with bitterness scores and gustative differences. The "Galatina" transcriptome assembly resulted in 58,872 unigenes, 77% of which were annotated, paving the way to molecular investigation of the STL pathway. Comparative transcriptome analysis allowed the identification of 69,352 SNPs and of 1640 differentially expressed genes that maintained the pattern independently of the site. Enrichment analyses revealed that 4 out of 29 unigenes were up-regulated in "Molfettese" vs "Galatina" within the sesquiterpenoid pathway. The expression of two germacrene A -synthase (GAS) and one -oxidase (GAO) genes of the costunolide branch correlated positively with the contents of lactucin-like molecules, supporting that STL biosynthesis regulation occurs at the transcriptional level. Finally, 46 genes encoding transcription factors (TFs) maintained a differential expression pattern between the two varieties regardless of the growth site; correlation analyses among TFs, GAS, GAO gene expressions and STLs contents suggest that one MYB and one bHLH may act in the pathway

Pattern of care for re-irradiation in locally recurrent rectal cancer: a national survey on behalf of the AIRO gastrointestinal tumors study group

PurposeRadical resection (R0) represents the best curative treatment for local recurrence (LR) rectal cancer. Re-irradiation (re-RT) can increase the rate of R0 resection. Currently, there is a lack of guidelines on Re-RT for LR rectal cancer. The Italian Association of Radiation and clinical oncology for gastrointestinal tumors (AIRO-GI) study group released a national survey to investigate the current clinical practice of external beam radiation therapy in these patients.Material and methodsIn February 2021, the survey was designed and distributed to members of the GI working group. The questionnaire consisted of 40 questions regarding center characteristics, clinical indications, doses, and treatment techniques of re-RT for LR rectal cancer.ResultsA total of 37 questionnaires were collected. Re-RT was reported as an option for neoadjuvant treatment in resectable and unresectable disease by 55% and 75% of respondents, respectively. Long-course treatment with 30-40 Gy (1.8-2 Gy/die, 1.2 Gy bid) and hypofractionated regimen of 30-35 Gy in 5 fractions were used in most centers. A total dose of 90-100 Gy as EqD2 dose (& alpha;/& beta; = 5 Gy) was delivered by 46% of the respondents considering the previous treatment. Modern conformal techniques and daily image-guided radiation therapy protocols were used in 94% of centers.ConclusionOur survey showed that re-RT treatment is performed with advanced technology that allow a good management of LR rectal cancer. Significant variations were observed in terms of dose and fractionation, highlighting the need for a consensus on a common treatment strategy that could be validated in prospective studies

Surveillance of Summer Mortality and Preparedness to Reduce the Health Impact of Heat Waves in Italy

Since 2004, the Italian Department for Civil Protection and the Ministry of Health have implemented a national program for the prevention of heat-health effects during summer, which to-date includes 34 major cities and 93% of the residents aged 65 years and over. The Italian program represents an important example of an integrated approach to prevent the impact of heat on health, comprising Heat Health Watch Warning Systems, a mortality surveillance system and prevention activities targeted to susceptible subgroups. City-specific warning systems are based on the relationship between temperature and mortality and serve as basis for the modulation of prevention measures. Local prevention activities, based on the guidelines defined by the Ministry of Health, are constructed around the infrastructures and services available. A key component of the prevention program is the identification of susceptible individuals and the active surveillance by General Practitioners, medical personnel and social workers. The mortality surveillance system enables the timely estimation of the impact of heat, and heat waves, on mortality during summer as well as to the evaluation of warning systems and prevention programs. Considering future predictions of climate change, the implementation of effective prevention programs, targeted to high risk subjects, become a priority in the public health agenda

The Italian National Project of Astrobiology-Life in Space-Origin, Presence, Persistence of Life in Space, from Molecules to Extremophiles

The \u2018\u2018Life in Space\u2019\u2019 project was funded in the wake of the Italian Space Agency\u2019s proposal for the development of a network of institutions and laboratories conceived to implement Italian participation in space astrobiology experiments

Clinical features and outcomes of elderly hospitalised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure or both

Background and objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) mutually increase the risk of being present in the same patient, especially if older. Whether or not this coexistence may be associated with a worse prognosis is debated. Therefore, employing data derived from the REPOSI register, we evaluated the clinical features and outcomes in a population of elderly patients admitted to internal medicine wards and having COPD, HF or COPD + HF. Methods: We measured socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, severity and prevalence of comorbidities, clinical and laboratory features during hospitalization, mood disorders, functional independence, drug prescriptions and discharge destination. The primary study outcome was the risk of death. Results: We considered 2,343 elderly hospitalized patients (median age 81 years), of whom 1,154 (49%) had COPD, 813 (35%) HF, and 376 (16%) COPD + HF. Patients with COPD + HF had different characteristics than those with COPD or HF, such as a higher prevalence of previous hospitalizations, comorbidities (especially chronic kidney disease), higher respiratory rate at admission and number of prescribed drugs. Patients with COPD + HF (hazard ratio HR 1.74, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.16-2.61) and patients with dementia (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.06-2.90) had a higher risk of death at one year. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a higher mortality risk in the group of patients with COPD + HF for all causes (p = 0.010), respiratory causes (p = 0.006), cardiovascular causes (p = 0.046) and respiratory plus cardiovascular causes (p = 0.009). Conclusion: In this real-life cohort of hospitalized elderly patients, the coexistence of COPD and HF significantly worsened prognosis at one year. This finding may help to better define the care needs of this population

Development and implementation of the AIDA International Registry for patients with Periodic Fever, Aphthous stomatitis, Pharyngitis, and cervical Adenitis syndrome

Objective: Aim of this paper is to illustrate the methodology, design, and development of the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) International Registry dedicated to patients with the Periodic Fever, Aphthous stomatitis, Pharyngitis, and cervical Adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome. Methods: This is a physician-driven, non-population- and electronic-based registry proposed to gather real-world demographics, clinical, laboratory, instrumental and socioeconomic data from PFAPA patients. Data recruitment is realized through the on-line Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool. This registry is thought to collect standardized information for clinical research leading to solid real-life evidence. The international scope and the flexibility of the registry will facilitate the realization of cutting-edge study projects through the constant updating of variables and the possible merging and transfer of data between current and future PFAPA registries. Results: A total of 112 centers have already been involved from 23 countries and 4 continents starting from August 24th, 2021, to April 6th, 2022. In total 56/112 have already obtained the formal approval from their local Ethics Committees. The platform counts 321 users (113 principal investigators, 203 site investigators, two lead investigators, and three data managers). The registry collects retrospective and prospective data using 3,856 fields organized into 25 instruments, including PFAPA patient's demographics, medical histories, symptoms, triggers/risk factors, therapies, and impact on the healthcare systems. Conclusions: The development of the AIDA International Registry for PFAPA patients will enable the on-line collection of standardized data prompting real-life studies through the connection of worldwide groups of physicians and researchers. This project can be found on NCT 05200715

Prolonged higher dose methylprednisolone vs. conventional dexamethasone in COVID-19 pneumonia: a randomised controlled trial (MEDEAS)

Dysregulated systemic inflammation is the primary driver of mortality in severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Current guidelines favor a 7-10-day course of any glucocorticoid equivalent to dexamethasone 6 mg·day-1. A comparative RCT with a higher dose and a longer duration of intervention was lacking