La donazione del sangue come prassi sociale. Scenario per AVIS al 2027

Gli studi di scenario planning costituiscono ormai da circa quindici anni un’importante risorsa del CNR-Irpps. L’innovativa metodologia Delphi sviluppata dall’Istituto e perfezionata nel tempo dal curatore di questo paper ha avuto numerose applicazioni in campo nazionale e internazionale, e su tematiche diverse che hanno riguardato aspetti sociali, culturali, demografici e sanitari della popolazione. Il paper presenta i risultati di uno studio Delphi in tema di donazione di sangue in Italia. Il lavoro, commissionato nel 2016 all’Istituto dall’Associazione Volontari Italiani del Sangue (AVIS), ha coinvolto i concetti di dono e di volontariato, che sotto il profilo socio-culturale costituiscono le matrici di senso dell’atto della donazione di sangue, delineando strategie comunicative e organizzative che potranno rafforzare nel corso dei prossimi dieci anni la pratica della donazione in Italia. Si apre così la strada a uno scenario futuro innovativo, in cui il concetto di dono diviene sinonimo di benessere, integrazione sociale, socializzazione

Partial block by riluzole of muscle sodium channels in myotubes from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.

International audienceDenervated muscles undergo fibrillations due to spontaneous activation of voltage-gated sodium (Na(+)) channels generating action potentials. Fibrillations also occur in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Riluzole, the only approved drug for ALS treatment, blocks voltage-gated Na(+) channels, but its effects on muscle Na(+) channels and fibrillations are yet poorly characterized. Using patch-clamp technique, we studied riluzole effect on Na(+) channels in cultured myotubes from ALS patients. Needle electromyography was used to study fibrillation potentials (Fibs) in ALS patients during riluzole treatment and after one week of suspension. Patients were clinically characterized in all recording sessions. In myotubes, riluzole (1 μM, a therapeutic concentration) reduced Na(+) current by 20%. The rate of rise and amplitude of spikes evoked by depolarizing stimuli were also reduced. Fibs were detected in all patients tested during riluzole treatment and riluzole washout had no univocal effect. Our study indicates that, in human myotubes, riluzole partially blocks Na(+) currents and affects action potentials but does not prevent firing. In line with this in vitro finding, muscle Fibs in ALS patients appear to be largely unaffected by riluzole

BEAT: Bioinformatics Exon Array Tool to store, analyze and visualize Affymetrix GeneChip Human Exon Array data from disease experiments

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It is known from recent studies that more than 90% of human multi-exon genes are subject to Alternative Splicing (AS), a key molecular mechanism in which multiple transcripts may be generated from a single gene. It is widely recognized that a breakdown in AS mechanisms plays an important role in cellular differentiation and pathologies. Polymerase Chain Reactions, microarrays and sequencing technologies have been applied to the study of transcript diversity arising from alternative expression. Last generation Affymetrix GeneChip Human Exon 1.0 ST Arrays offer a more detailed view of the gene expression profile providing information on the AS patterns. The exon array technology, with more than five million data points, can detect approximately one million exons, and it allows performing analyses at both gene and exon level. In this paper we describe BEAT, an integrated user-friendly bioinformatics framework to store, analyze and visualize exon arrays datasets. It combines a data warehouse approach with some rigorous statistical methods for assessing the AS of genes involved in diseases. Meta statistics are proposed as a novel approach to explore the analysis results. BEAT is available at <url>http://beat.ba.itb.cnr.it</url>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>BEAT is a web tool which allows uploading and analyzing exon array datasets using standard statistical methods and an easy-to-use graphical web front-end. BEAT has been tested on a dataset with 173 samples and tuned using new datasets of exon array experiments from 28 colorectal cancer and 26 renal cell cancer samples produced at the Medical Genetics Unit of IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza.</p> <p>To highlight all possible AS events, alternative names, accession Ids, Gene Ontology terms and biochemical pathways annotations are integrated with exon and gene level expression plots. The user can customize the results choosing custom thresholds for the statistical parameters and exploiting the available clinical data of the samples for a multivariate AS analysis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Despite exon array chips being widely used for transcriptomics studies, there is a lack of analysis tools offering advanced statistical features and requiring no programming knowledge. BEAT provides a user-friendly platform for a comprehensive study of AS events in human diseases, displaying the analysis results with easily interpretable and interactive tables and graphics.</p

Testing the steady-state fluctuation relation in the solar photospheric convection

The turbulent thermal convection on the Sun is an example of an irreversible non-equilibrium phenomenon in a quasi-steady state characterized by a continuous entropy production rate. Here, the statistical features of a proxy of the local entropy production rate, in solar quiet regions at different timescales, are investigated and compared with the symmetry conjecture of the steady-state fluctuation theorem by Gallavotti and Cohen. Our results show that solar turbulent convection satisfies the symmetries predicted by the fluctuation relation of the Gallavotti and Cohen theorem at a local level

A Rare Case of Perforated Descending Colon Cancer Complicated with a Fistula and Abscess of Left Iliopsoas and Ipsilateral Obturator Muscle

Perforation of descending colon cancer combined with iliopsoas abscess and fistula formation is a rare condition and has been reported few times. A 67-year-old man came to our first aid for an acute pain in the left iliac fossa, in the flank, and in the ipsilateral thigh. Ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed a left abdominal wall, retroperitoneal, and iliopsoas abscess that also involved the ipsilateral obturator muscle. It proceeded with an exploratory laparotomy that showed a tumor of the descending colon adhered and perforated in the retroperitoneum with abscess of the iliopsoas muscle on the left-hand side, with presence of a fistula and liver metastases. A left hemicolectomy with drainage of the broad abscess was performed. Pathologic report findings determined adenocarcinoma of the resected colon

IBIS2.0: The new Interferometric BIdimensional Spectrometer

We present the IBIS2.0 project, which aims to upgrade and to install the Interferometric BIdimensional Spectrometer at the solar Vacuum Tower Telescope (Tenerife, Spain) after its disassembling from the Dunn Solar Telescope (New Mexico, USA). The instrument is undergoing a hardware and software revision that will allow it to perform new spectropolarimetric measurements of the solar atmosphere at high spatial, spectral and temporal resolution in coordination with other ground- and space-based instruments. Here we present the new opto-mechanical layout and control system designed for the instrument, and describe future steps...