Immigrants and cancer in Italy: a literature review

Immigration is a growing flow in Italy. Also specific health needs could be imported. We focused on cancer. A systematic search for literature in PubMed was performed on 10th March 2016, limited to articles published between 1st March 1996 and 1st March 2016. Papers were reviewed focusing on: specific risks, prevention and care. Cancer incidence is generally lower for immigrants than for natives, also for the health immigrant effect. However, cancers with an infective etiology may have, among some groups of immigrants, a great relevance. Primary or secondary cancer prevention could be greatly improved among immigrants. Moreover, another specific aspect of immigration is at seeking cancer care for children. Specific preventive strategies should be customized for immigrants to get higher compliance, e.g. for those at high risk for cervical cancers. Moreover, the capability of the Italian health system to cope more comprehensively with sick immigrated children and their families should be improved

An X-ray view of the INTEGRAL/IBIS blazars

Aim of this work is a broad-band study with INTEGRAL, Swift and XMM-Newton satellites of a sample of 9 blazars (7 FSRQ and 2 BL Lac) with redshift up to about 4. The spectral analysis has shown clear evidence of a flattening of the continuum towards the low energies ($E<3$ keV observer frame). This behaviour is well reproduced both with an absorbed power-law model ($N_H\sim10^{20}$-$10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$ in the rest-frame of the sources) or a broken power-law continuum model (with an energy break below 3 keV in the observer-frame). No Compton reflection features, Fe $K\alpha$ line and hump at high energies, have been detected, with the exception of the source IGR J22517+2218 that shows the presence of a weak iron line. In this work we also investigate a possible correlation between the absorption column density $N_H$ and the red-shift. We confirm the existence of a $N_H$-z trend, with the higher absorption at z$>$2 for a larger sample compared to previous results. The distribution of the $N_H$ and the photon index $\Gamma$ is also presented. The hard X-ray data allow us to detect highly absorbed sources (with $N_H\ge10^{23}$cm$^{-2}$ in rest-frame of the source) characterized by photon index distribution peaked at harder values ($\Gamma\sim1.4$) with respect to that obtained with XMM data only ($\Gamma\sim2$).Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA

Brotação da variedade Merlot (Vitis vinifera L.) na região da Campanha Gaúcha em função do tipo de poda e doses de cianamida hidrogenada.

Os objetivos deste trabalho foram avaliar a necessidade de uso e a seleção da dose de CH para promover a brotação uniforme de 'Merlot', conduzida em dois sistemas de poda, nas condições edafoclimáticas da Campanha

Propriedades físico-químicas da uva e do vinho 'Merlot' a partir de cultivos com diferentes proporções de área foliar por planta na Campanha Gaúcha.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi selecionar a proporção de área foliar por planta que possa garantir uma adequada qualidade enológica da uva e do vinho 'Merlot' na Campanha Gaúcha

Novel Approaches to Improve Myeloma Cell Killing by Monoclonal Antibodies

The monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have significantly changed the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) patients. However, despite their introduction, MM remains an incurable disease. The mAbs currently used for MM treatment were developed with different mechanisms of action able to target antigens, such as cluster of differentiation 38 (CD38) and SLAM family member 7 (SLAMF7) expressed by both, MM cells and the immune microenvironment cells. In this review, we focused on the mechanisms of action of the main mAbs approved for the therapy of MM, and on the possible novel approaches to improve MM cell killing by mAbs. Actually, the combination of anti-CD38 or anti-SLAMF7 mAbs with the immunomodulatory drugs significantly improved the clinical effect in MM patients. On the other hand, pre-clinical evidence indicates that different approaches may increase the efficacy of mAbs. The use of trans-retinoic acid, the cyclophosphamide or the combination of anti-CD47 and anti-CD137 mAbs have given the rationale to design these types of combinations therapies in MM patients in the future. In conclusion, a better understanding of the mechanism of action of the mAbs will allow us to develop novel therapeutic approaches to improve their response rate and to overcome their resistance in MM patients

Knowledge and use of biosimilars in oncology:a survey by the European Society for Medical Oncology

Background Biosimilars can potentially improve the sustainability of cancer care; however, uptake is sometimes limited by safety concerns and a lack of understanding of the concept of extrapolation. The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) conducted a survey to assess the current level of knowledge, understanding and comfort of use of biosimilars among prescribers specialised in oncology.Methods A 19-question survey was developed using the SurveyMonkey online platform (https://www.surveymonkey.com/). Data collection occurred between September and October 2017 and included paper and online responses.Results Overall, 393 responses were received from prescribers. Overall, 49.0% of prescribers use biosimilars in clinical practice and most (79.2%) rate their general knowledge of biosimilars as average to very high. Potential increased risk of immunogenicity remains a significant concern of switching. Gaps in knowledge identified by the survey include biosimilar development, clinical trial design and endpoint selection, and requirements for extrapolation, which should form the focus of future educational initiatives. A substantial demand remains for further educational activities with equal preference for online and face-to-face initiatives. A higher rate of biosimilar use (56.3% vs 46.5%), knowledge of biosimilar development and trial design, and comfort with extrapolation, but a lower knowledge of European Medicines Agency definitions, was found among prescribers from Asia-Pacific versus those from Europe.Conclusion Encouraging levels of prescriber use and general knowledge of biosimilars were found, but a substantial need for further education remains. Efforts should be made worldwide to align terms, definitions and guidelines for the development and approval of biosimilars.</p

Estimativa da Evapotranspiração de Referência em um vinhedo na Região da Campanha Gaúcha.

O objetivo deste trabalho é ampliar o conhecimento da evapotranspiração de referência (ETo), uma das primeiras etapas para o manejo eficiente e racional de recursos hídricos. A ETo diária foi calculada pelo método de Penman-Monteith, parametrizado pela FAO, a partir de dados da estação meteorológica instalada nas proximidades de um vinhedo da Cooperativa Vinícola Nova Aliança Ltda./Filial 03 localizado no município de Santana do Livramento ? RS

Elaboração de bolo enriquecido com fibras a partir da utilização de resíduo de cervejaria / Preparation of fiber enriched cake from the use of beer waste

A grande disponibilidade do bagaço de malte a baixo custo, associado ao interesse nos benefícios à saúde, constitui nova possibilidade para a sua utilização, visando à sustentabilidade. O propósito deste estudo foi elaborar um bolo com diferentes concentrações de bagaço de malte e avaliar sua aceitação. Foram elaboradas três formulações e todas apresentaram boa aceitação sensorial. Conclui-se que o novo produto pode ser produzido e comercializado

Uncovering the signaling pathway behind extracellular guanine-induced activation of NO System: New perspectives in memory-related disorders

Mounting evidence suggests that the guanine-based purines stand out as key player in cell metabolism and in several models of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Guanosine (GUO) and guanine (GUA) are extracellular signaling molecules derived from the breakdown of the correspondent nucleotide, GTP, and their intracellular and extracellular levels are regulated by the fine-tuned activity of two major enzymes, purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) and guanine deaminase (GDA). Noteworthy, GUO and GUA, seem to play opposite roles in the modulation of cognitive functions, such as learning and memory. Indeed GUO, despite exerting neuroprotective, anti-apoptotic and neurotrophic effects, causes a decay of cognitive activities, whereas GUA administration in rats results in working memory improvement (prevented by L-NAME pre-treatment). This study was designed to investigate, in a model of SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line, the signal transduction pathway activated by extracellular GUA. Altogether, our results showed that: (i) in addition to an enhanced phosphorylation of ASK1, p38 and JNK, likely linked to a non-massive and transient ROS production, the PKB/NO/sGC/cGMP/PKG/ERK cascade seems to be the main signaling pathway elicited by extracellular GUA; (ii) the activation of this pathway occurs in a pertussis-toxin sensitive manner, thus suggesting the involvement of a putative G protein coupled receptor; (iii) the GUA-induced NO production, strongly reduced by cell pre-treatment with L-NAME, is negatively modulated by the EPAC-cAMP-CaMKII pathway, which causes the over-expression of GDA that, in turn, reduces the levels of GUA. These molecular mechanisms activated by GUA may be useful to support our previous observation showing that GUA improves learning and memory functions through the stimulation of NO signaling pathway, and underscore the therapeutic potential of oral administration of guanine for treating memory-related disorders

Vulnerabilidade, saúde mental e clínica-escola: uma resposta de atenção à população

O objetivo do estudo é descrever as características da população encaminhada à clínicaescola, no momento da triagem, contemplando as possíveis condições de vulnerabilidade. Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratória na qual foram analisadas 120 fichas de triagem, correspondentes aos atendimentos realizados no Serviço de Psicologia no ano de 2012. Foi possível identificar que o gênero masculino foi o mais frequente entre os usuários atendidos, e em relação à idade metade dos usuários tinham até dez anos de idade, sendo que, desses 50% apresentaram queixas escolares. O principal encaminhamento realizado foi a psicoterapia individual em 89,2% dos casos. A psicoterapia individual constituiu-se em uma das possibilidades de intervenção que se oferece como proteção à saúde mental diante do contexto vulnerável que se apresenta