Effect of Addition of Green Coffee Parchment on Structural, Qualitative and Chemical Properties of Gluten-Free Bread

Green coffee parchment (GCP) is becoming interesting, due to the diffusion of wet processing in which coffee parchment is collected separately; it is one of the less studied coffee by-products, but it is reported to be rich in phenolic compounds and dietary fiber. The addition of GCP (355–500 μm) at 2 % to gluten-free breads was investigated in terms of physical properties (volume, moisture content, water activity, crumb grain, texture, and color), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total phenol content during three days of storage. Moreover, the effects of GCP on sensorial characteristics, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), and oxidative stability was evaluated. From the sensorial analysis, bread with 2% addition resulted in being acceptable for consumers with no significant differences from the control, while 4% of GCP was discarded by consumers, as it resulted in being too bitter. Moreover, GCP at 2% addition did not modify volume, moisture content, and water activity. On the contrary, GCP deeply affected the color with a darker aspect that was appreciated by consumers. Regarding texture, 2% of GCP did not affect hardness, cohesiveness, and staling process during storage. Interestingly, 2% of GCP significantly improved the TAC and oxidative stability of the bread; in accordance with these results, 2% of GCP reduced the HMF content, thanks to its antioxidant compounds

Effect of different atmospheric and subatmospheric cooking techniques on qualitative properties and microstructure of artichoke heads

Quartered Violetto artichokes were cooked with different treatments (boiling, steaming, sous vide and vacuum cooking) at the same cooking value at the thermal centre. Then, the physical (moisture content, texture and colour), histological and chemical (phenolic, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furan content, total antioxidant capacity) features of bracts and hearts were assessed. A deeply modified microstructure was observed in boiled and steamed samples with an evident decrease in hardness both for bracts and hearts. Lightness of two anatomical parts was decreased by all the treatments (with the exception of sous vide bracts). The highest total colour difference was recorded for steamed samples, whereas the lowest was noted for sous vide samples. Steamed and sous vide artichoke exhibited the highest total phenolic content and total antioxidant capacity. Sous vide samples exhibited the highest concentrations of HMF, 2-furan-methanol and 2,4-dihydroxy-2,5-dimetyl-3(2H)-furanone, whereas the by-product 5-metylfuraldheide was only detected in the steamed product

MicroRNAs differentially expressed in actinic keratosis and healthy skin scrapings

: Actinic keratosis (AK) is a carcinoma in situ precursor of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), the second most common cancer affecting the Caucasian population. AK is frequently present in the sun-exposed skin of the elderly population, UV radiation being the main cause of this cancer, and other risk factors contributing to AK incidence. The dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) observed in different cancers leads to an improper expression of miRNA targets involved in several cellular pathways. The TaqMan Array Human MicroRNA Card assay for miRNA expression profiling was performed in pooled AK compared to healthy skin scraping samples from the same patients. Forty-three miRNAs were modulated in the AK samples. The expression of miR-19b (p < 0.05), -31, -34a (p < 0.001), -126, -146a (p < 0.01), -193b, and -222 (p < 0.05) was validated by RT-qPCR. The MirPath tool was used for MiRNA target prediction and enriched pathways. The top DIANA-mirPath pathways regulated by the targets of the 43 miRNAs are TGF-beta signaling, Proteoglycans in cancer, Pathways in cancer, and Adherens junction (7.30 × 10-10 < p < 1.84 × 10-8). Selected genes regulating the KEGG pathways, i.e., TP53, MDM2, CDKN1A, CDK6, and CCND1, were analyzed. MiRNAs modulated in AK regulate different pathways involved in tumorigenesis, indicating miRNA regulation as a critical step in keratinocyte cancer

Systemic inflammatory response in erderly patients following hernioplastical operation

The number of old and oldest old patients undergoing surgery of varying severity is increasing. Ageing is a process that changes the performances of most physiological systems and increases susceptibility to diseases and death; accordingly, host responses to surgical stress are altered with ageing and the occurrence of age-related increase in susceptibility to post-operative complications has been claimed. Twenty-four male patients undergoing Lichtenstein (LH) hernioplasty for unilateral inguinal hernia were included in this study and divided in two groups (Young and Old respectively), according to their age. As expression of the acute phase response, we measured changes in concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines Tumor necrosis factor-α and Interleukin-1β, leukocytes, acute phase proteins C-reactive protein and α 1-antitrypsin. Elderly humans showed prolonged and strong inflammatory activity compared to younger subjects in response to surgical stress, indicating that the acute-phase response to surgical stress of elderly humans varies from that of the young, showing initial hyperactivity and a delayed termination of the response. Thus, the acute phase response to surgical stress is higher in old subjects, but the clinical significance of this remains unclear. It is not known whether a causal relationship exists between this stronger acute phase response and the increases in susceptibility to post-operative complications observed in aged patients

Rapamycin promotes differentiation increasing βIII-tubulin, NeuN, and NeuroD while suppressing nestin expression in glioblastoma cells

Glioblastoma cells feature mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) up-regulation which relates to a variety of effects such as: lower survival, higher infiltration, high stemness and radio- and chemo-resistance. Recently, it was demonstrated that mTOR may produce a gene shift leading to altered protein expression. Therefore, in the present study we administered different doses of the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin to explore whether the transcription of specific genes are modified. By using a variety of methods we demonstrate that rapamycin stimulates gene transcription related to neuronal differentiation while inhibiting stemness related genes such as nestin. In these experimental conditions, cell phenotype shifts towards a pyramidal neuron-like shape owing long branches. Rapamycin suppressed cell migration when exposed to fetal bovine serum (FBS) while increasing the cell adhesion protein phospho-FAK (pFAK). The present study improves our awareness of basic mechanisms which relate mTOR activity to the biology of glioblastoma cells. These findings apply to a variety of effects which can be induced by mTOR regulation in the brain. In fact, the ability to promote neuronal differentiation might be viewed as a novel therapeutic pathway to approach neuronal regeneration

The new paradigm of Network Medicine to analyse breast cancer phenotypes

Breast cancer (BC) is a heterogeneous and complex disease as witnessed by the existence of different subtypes and clinical characteristics that poses significant challenges in disease management. The complexity of this tumor may rely on the highly interconnected nature of the various biological processes as stated by the new paradigm of Network Medicine. We explored The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-BRCA data set, by applying the network-based algorithm named SWItch Miner, and mapping the findings on the human interactome to capture the molecular interconnections associated with the disease modules. To characterize BC phenotypes, we constructed protein–protein interaction modules based on “hub genes”, called switch genes, both common and specific to the four tumor subtypes. Transcriptomic profiles of patients were stratified according to both clinical (immunohistochemistry) and genetic (PAM50) classifications. 266 and 372 switch genes were identified from immunohistochemistry and PAM50 classifications, respectively. Moreover, the identified switch genes were functionally characterized to select an interconnected pathway of disease genes. By intersecting the common switch genes of the two classifications, we selected a unique signature of 28 disease genes that were BC subtype-independent and classification subtype-independent. Data were validated both in vitro (10 BC cell lines) and ex vivo (66 BC tissues) experiments. Results showed that four of these hub proteins (AURKA, CDC45, ESPL1, and RAD54L) were over-expressed in all tumor subtypes. Moreover, the inhibition of one of the identified switch genes (AURKA) similarly affected all BC subtypes. In conclusion, using a network-based approach, we identified a common BC disease module which might reflect its pathological signature, suggesting a new vision to face with the disease heterogeneity

The still under-investigated role of cognitive deficits in PML diagnosis

Background: Despite cognitive deficits frequently represent the first clinical manifestations of Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) in Natalizumab-treated MS patients, the importance of cognitive deficits in PML diagnosis is still under-investigated. The aim of the current study is to investigate the cognitive deficits at PML diagnosis in a group of Italian patients with PML. Methods: Thirty-four PML patients were included in the study. The demographic and clinical data, the lesion load and localization, and the longitudinal clinical course was compared between patients with (n = 13) and without (n = 15) cognitive deficit upon PML suspicion (the remaining six patients were asymptomatic). Clinical presentation of cognitive symptoms was described in detail. Result: After symptoms detection, the time to diagnosis resulted to be shorter for patients presenting with cognitive than for patients with non cognitive onset (p = 0.03). Within patients with cognitive onset, six patients were presenting with language and/or reading difficulties (46.15%); five patients with memory difficulties (38.4%); three patients with apraxia (23.1%); two patients with disorientation (15.3%); two patients with neglect (15.3%); one patients with object agnosia (7.7%), one patient with perseveration (7.7%) and one patient with dementia (7.7%). Frontal lesions were less frequent (p = 0.03), whereas temporal lesions were slightly more frequent (p = 0.06) in patients with cognitive deficits. The longitudinal PML course seemed to be more severe in cognitive than in non cognitive patients (F = 2.73, p = 0.03), but differences disappeared (F = 1.24, p = 0.29) when balancing for the incidence of immune reconstitution syndrome and for other treatments for PML (steroids, plasma exchange (PLEX) and other therapies (Mefloquine, Mirtazapine, Maraviroc). Conclusion: Cognitive deficits at PML onset manifest with symptoms which are absolutely rare in MS. Their appearance in MS patients should strongly suggest PML. Clinicians should be sensitive to the importance of formal neuropsychological evaluation, with particular focus on executive function, which are not easily detected without a formal assessment

CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS IN CYSTIC FIBROSIS PATIENTS: SMELL EVALUATION

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) involves the upper airways with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) causing nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, mouth breathing, facial pain, and olfactory dysfunction. Twelve to 71% of CF patients report smelling alterations impacting nutrition and quality of life. The aim was to study olfaction performance in CF patients with CRS that worsens quality of life. One hundred and twenty-one subjects were enrolled in this study. Seventy-one had CF and underwent ear, nose, and throat evaluation with nasal endoscopy, SNOT-22, VAS and “Sniffin’ Sticks”. Fifty subjects were age-matched with healthy controls. All 71 CF patients were affected by CRS; 59/71 (83.1%) had CRS without nasal polyps and 12/71 (16.9%) had CRS with early nasal polyps. None of the 50 controls had CRS. Total SNOTT-22 mean values in the 71 CF patients was 38.10 ± 21.08 pts. If considering only the 59 CF patients without nasal polyps the SNOTT-22 mean value was 36.76 ± 21.52 pts. Moreover, based on the VAS scores, the degree of nasal symptoms was classified as mild for facial pain, smell alteration, nasal discharge, and sneezing and resulted in moderate symptoms for nasal blockage and headache. Among the CF patients, 55/71 (76.5%) declared normosmia while the smelling ability assessed by “Sniffin’ Sticks” showed that only 4/71 (5.63%) were normosmic, 58 (81.69%) were hyposmic, and 9 (12.68%) were anosmic. In the controls 41(82%) were normosmic, 9 (18%) were hyposmic, and none were reported anosmia (p < 0.001). The study confirms that most CF patients have a relevant olfactory impairment, although only a low percentage declare it. A careful evaluation with simple and rapid tests helps to select the patients that may benefit from specific therapies

Clinical effectiveness of different natalizumab interval dosing schedules in a large Italian population of patients with multiple sclerosis

Introduction Natalizumab (NTZ) is one of the most effective treatment options for multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment. Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of NTZ when administered according to the extended dosing strategy compared with standard 4-weekly administration in a large Italian MS population. Materials and methods This retrospective multicentre study included patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RR-MS) who received NTZ administrations between the 1 June 2012 and the 15 May 2018 and were followed by the ’Italian MS Register’. All patients with MS were stratified into two groups based on NTZ administration schedule: standard interval dosing (SID) patients who received infusions on average from 28 to 32 days (median 30) and extended interval dosing (EID) including patients who have been infused with interval between 33 and 49 days (median 43). Clinical data were assessed at baseline (before starting NTZ), after 12 (T1) and 24 months (T2) of treatment. Results Out of 5231 patients with RR-MS screened, 2092 (mean age 43.2±12.0, 60.6% women) were enrolled. A total of 1254 (59.9%) received NTZ according to SID, and 838 (40.1%) according to EID. At 12 and 24 months, no differences in terms of annualised relapse rate and disability status were found between the two groups. Progression index and confirmed disability worsening were similar between the two groups. Discussion The use of NTZ with an extended interval schedule showed similar effectiveness compared with SID. Unchanged clinical efficacy of EID schedule may raise the question of a possible advantage in terms of tolerability and safety