Salivary Biomarkers for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Diagnosis and Follow-Up: Current Status and Perspectives

Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer type in the world, and 90% of it is represented by oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Despite progress in preventive and therapeutic strategies, delay in OSCC diagnosis remains one of the major causes of high morbidity and mortality; indeed the majority of OSCC has been lately identified in the advanced clinical stage (i.e., III or IV). Moreover, after primary treatment, recurrences and/or metastases are found in more than half of the patients (80% of cases within the first 2 years) and the 5-year survival rate is still lower than 50%, resulting in a serious issue for public health. Currently, histological investigation represents the “gold standard” of OSCC diagnosis; however, recent studies have evaluated the potential use of non-invasive methods, such as “liquid biopsy,” for the detection of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in body fluids of oral cancer patients. Saliva is a biofluid containing factors such as cytokines, DNA and RNA molecules, circulating and tissue- derived cells, and extracellular vesicles (EVs) that may be used as biomarkers; their analysis may give us useful information to do early diagnosis of OSCC and improve the prognosis. Therefore, the aim of this review is reporting the most recent data on saliva biomarker detection in saliva liquid biopsy from oral cancer patients, with particular attention to circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), EVs, and microRNAs (miRNAs). Our results highlight that saliva liquid biopsy has several promising clinical uses in OSCC management; it is painless, accessible, and low cost and represents a very helpful source of diagnostic and prognostic biomarker detection. Even if standardized protocols for isolation, characterization, and evaluation are needed, recent data suggest that saliva may be successfully included in future clinical diagnostic processes, with a considerable impact on early treatment strategies and a favorable outcome

Empathy profiles differ by gender in people who have and have not attempted suicide

Peer reviewe

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) powder as dietary supplementation in rabbit: life performances, carcass characteristics and meat quality

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary Zingiber officinale Roscoe (ginger) powder on rabbit productive performances, meat quality and shelf-life of raw and cooked meat. Ninety hybrid rabbits of 60 days old were fed three different diets: basal diet (control, C), basal diet supplemented by 4 g of ginger powder on 100 g of feed (G4) and basal diet supplemented by 8 g of ginger powder on 100 g of feed (G8) (3.6 and 7.2 g/100 g of dry matter for G4 and G8, respectively). Live weight, average daily gain and feed intake were recorded. Ten rabbits of each group were slaughtered at 90 days of age and meat quality was assessed during seven days of storage at 4 °C. Live performance and slaughter traits did not show any significant differences. Dietary ginger powder induced modification in pH of raw samples and in colour indexes of both raw and cooked meat. Lipid oxidation of raw samples was delayed in time by ginger feed addition even if no modification was highlighted in antioxidant capacity. Ginger powder could be a potential supplementation in diet of rabbits for increasing meat shelf-life

Caries Severity, Decayed First Permanent Molars and Associated Factors in 6-7 Years Old Schoolchildren Living in Palermo (Southern Italy).

To date, there are very few epidemiologic studies on caries disease in 6-7 year old children living in Sicily (Southern Italy). The first permanent molar (FPM) is the most commonly affected tooth in this target population, and a one-unit increase in the number of decayed FPMs is predictive of caries in other teeth and in adulthood. The primary aim of this research is to estimate the prevalence of caries in 6-7 year old schoolchildren living in Palermo and, as a secondary aim, to estimate the prevalence of affected FPMs. It was designed as a cluster cross-sectional survey on 995 children from 16 schools, selected based on their geographical location, in one of the eight city districts. Caries data were recorded using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System for each tooth surface. The relation between socio-economic status, behavioural determinants, and clinical information and the number of teeth with initial caries (IC), moderate caries (MC), or extensive caries (SC) was analysed through the ordinal logistic regression. Among the 995 schoolchildren, 662 (66.5%) had at least one lesion and 742 (74.6%) had FPMs. Of the latter, 238 (32.0%) were affected by IC, 86 (11.6%) were affected by MC, and only 3 (0.4%) were affected by SC. During multivariable analysis, there was evidence of an increased risk of MC and SC related to the deprivation of the district in which the children lived and went to school, as well as to the protective role of parental education and employment. The same significant determinants were found for IC and MC FPMs. The study showed the important role of socio-economic determinants, unhealthy behaviours, and social deprivation related to the increased risk of moderate and extensive caries in 6-7 year old schoolchildren. Investigating this target population is very important, as early development of caries in FPMs may have serious consequences in the prognostics of oral health in an adult

The Italian validation of the University Student Engagement Inventory

Student Engagement (SE) refers to the extent to which a student participates in academic and non-academic activities, invests in and commits to learning, belonging and identification with the educational institution. Despite the relevance of SE for students’ success, a few valid and reliable instruments have been developed. This study presents the Italian validation of the University Student Engagement Inventory (USEI), which adopts both a 3 first-order conceptualization of the SE and a secondorder construct (engagement). The paper reports the psychometric analyses (test–retest reliability, construct, convergent, discriminant validities, internal consistency) on a validation sample of 628 Italian university students from 2 areas of study (psychology and biology). Criterion validity was assessed in relation to students’ drop-out intention, academic achievements, Grade Point Average (GPA) and motivation. Invariance analysis was performed for gender and area of studies. Results showed that the USEI presented a good test–retest reliability and factorial construct validity (both for the three-factor and one-factor models), it positively predicted students’ academic motivation, GPA and academic achievements, and negatively intention to drop out. The results indicate that the USEI can produce valid data on SE in the Italian context and may have implications for assessing SE and implementing intervention programs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Paediatric Sleep Questionnaire for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome Screening: Is Sleep Quality Worthy of Note?

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is the most severe condition on the spectrum of sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBDs). The Paediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) is one of the most used and validated screening tools, but it lacks the comprehensive assessment of some determinants of OSAS, specifically anamnestic assessment and sleep quality. This study aims to assess the accuracy of some specific items added to the original PSQ, particularly related to the patient’s anamnestic history and to the quality of sleep, for the screening of OSAS in a paediatric population living in Sicily (Italy). Fifteen specific items, divided into “anamnestic” and “related to sleep quality” were added to the original PSQ. The whole questionnaire was administered via a digital form to the parents of children at 4 schools (age range: 3–13 years). For each item, sensitivity and specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and positive and negative likelihood ratios were calculated. The highest sensitivity (80.0, 95% CI: 28.4; 99.5), in combination with the highest specificity (61.1, 95% CI: 35.7; 82.7), was found for the Item 32 (“assumption of bizarre or abnormal positions during sleep”). This item was found statistically significant for predicting the occurrence of OSAS in children (p-value ≤0.003). The study demonstrates the accuracy of specific items related to sleep quality disturbance for the preliminary assessment of the disease. Although these results should be validated on a larger sample of subjects, they suggest that including the factors discriminating sleep quality could further increase the efficiency and accuracy of PSQ

A Bayesian Network Approach for the Interpretation of Cyber Attacks to Power Systems

The focus of this paper is on the analysis of the cyber security resilience of digital infrastructures deployed by power grids, internationally recognized as a priority since several recent cyber attacks targeted energy systems and in particular the power service. In response to the regulatory framework, this paper presents an analysis approach based on the Bayesian Networks formalism and on real world threat scenarios. Our approach enables analyses oriented to planning of security measures and monitoring, and to forecasting of adversarial behaviours