Community Cookbooks: Sponsors of Literacy and Community Identity

This article looks at the various ways that communities can be read through their cookbooks. Recipes and collections can reveal much about communities, including shared memories/traditions, geographical identifications, and representations of class

Defining the Critical Hurdles in Cancer Immunotherapy

ABSTRACT: Scientific discoveries that provide strong evidence of antitumor effects in preclinical models often encounter significant delays before being tested in patients with cancer. While some of these delays have a scientific basis, others do not. We need to do better. Innovative strategies need to move into early stage clinical trials as quickly as it is safe, and if successful, these therapies should efficiently obtain regulatory approval and widespread clinical application. In late 2009 and 2010 the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), convened an "Immunotherapy Summit" with representatives from immunotherapy organizations representing Europe, Japan, China and North America to discuss collaborations to improve development and delivery of cancer immunotherapy. One of the concepts raised by SITC and defined as critical by all parties was the need to identify hurdles that impede effective translation of cancer immunotherapy. With consensus on these hurdles, international working groups could be developed to make recommendations vetted by the participating organizations. These recommendations could then be considered by regulatory bodies, governmental and private funding agencies, pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions to facilitate changes necessary to accelerate clinical translation of novel immune-based cancer therapies. The critical hurdles identified by representatives of the collaborating organizations, now organized as the World Immunotherapy Council, are presented and discussed in this report. Some of the identified hurdles impede all investigators, others hinder investigators only in certain regions or institutions or are more relevant to specific types of immunotherapy or first-in-humans studies. Each of these hurdles can significantly delay clinical translation of promising advances in immunotherapy yet be overcome to improve outcomes of patients with cancer

Defining the critical hurdles in cancer immunotherapy

Scientific discoveries that provide strong evidence of antitumor effects in preclinical models often encounter significant delays before being tested in patients with cancer. While some of these delays have a scientific basis, others do not. We need to do better. Innovative strategies need to move into early stage clinical trials as quickly as it is safe, and if successful, these therapies should efficiently obtain regulatory approval and widespread clinical application. In late 2009 and 2010 the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), convened an "Immunotherapy Summit" with representatives from immunotherapy organizations representing Europe, Japan, China and North America to discuss collaborations to improve development and delivery of cancer immunotherapy. One of the concepts raised by SITC and defined as critical by all parties was the need to identify hurdles that impede effective translation of cancer immunotherapy. With consensus on these hurdles, international working groups could be developed to make recommendations vetted by the participating organizations. These recommendations could then be considered by regulatory bodies, governmental and private funding agencies, pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions to facilitate changes necessary to accelerate clinical translation of novel immune-based cancer therapies. The critical hurdles identified by representatives of the collaborating organizations, now organized as the World Immunotherapy Council, are presented and discussed in this report. Some of the identified hurdles impede all investigators; others hinder investigators only in certain regions or institutions or are more relevant to specific types of immunotherapy or first-in-humans studies. Each of these hurdles can significantly delay clinical translation of promising advances in immunotherapy yet if overcome, have the potential to improve outcomes of patients with cancer

N(8)-acetylspermidine as a potential plasma biomarker for Snyder-Robinson syndrome identified by clinical metabolomics

Clinical metabolomics has emerged as a powerful tool to study human metabolism in health and disease. Comparative statistical analysis of untargeted metabolic profiles can reveal perturbations of metabolite levels in diseases and thus has the potential to identify novel biomarkers. Here we have applied a simultaneous genetic-metabolomic approach in twin boys with epileptic encephalopathy of unclear etiology. Clinical exome sequencing identified a novel missense mutation in the spermine synthase gene (SMS) that causes Snyder-Robinson syndrome (SRS). Untargeted plasma metabolome analysis revealed significantly elevated levels of N(8)-acetylspermidine, a precursor derivative of spermine biosynthesis, as a potential novel plasma biomarker for SRS. This result was verified in a third patient with genetically confirmed SRS. This study illustrates the potential of metabolomics as a translational technique to support exome data on a functional and clinical level

Fenomeni di sprofondamento del piano di campagna in pianura padana: il ruolo del contesto geologico, geomorfologico e geotecnico

In Italy, natural sinkhole phenomena which are not connected to karst processes are relatively frequent. In the plains of Veneto and Emilia-Romagna, for example, several small subcircular lakes are described, whose formation is thought to have been caused by evorsion (erosional processes related to vertical turbulence) and/or suffosion (piping) in alluvial sediments. This paper deals with particular phenomena and related landforms, recently developed in the Po Plain between the provinces of Modena and Bologna. These processes have periodically produced shallow sinks, up to 2 m wide and deep, that disrupted agricultural works and exposed farm equipment to hazard, requiring costly remedial measures. In some cases, the land productivity itself was impaired. On the basis of literature information, as well as available geological, geomorphological and geotechnical data, the possible triggering factors and the evolution of these phenomena are described. An inventory carried out some years ago shows that these phenomena tend to develop in different geological settings, from the apex of the alluvial fans down to the lower alluvial plain (from 64 to 6 m a.s.l.), generally within relatively short distances from streams and artificial channels. In most cases, the affected soils have silty-sandy textures, related to alluvial ridges. The latter are composed by sandy channel fills, bounded by levees of mixed sand and silt, which pass outwards to finer silts and clays of interchannel zones. As sediments accrete, distributary streams shift laterally, forming new channels. Old channels are then gradually buried under interchannel silts and clays. As a result, the siltyclay body of the alluvial plain is laced with intersecting strings of loose sands surrounded by less permeable sediments. These sand strings, which may be recharged by streams and channels, behave as artesian aquifers at their distal ends. On the basis of Cone Penetration Tests (CPTs), some of the affected areas have been characterized with reference to lithology, stratigraphy and relevant geotechnical parameters. Under an overconsolidated cohesive unit, with sufficient clay fraction to form and retain shrinkage cracks in the so-called active zone, at a depth in the order of 6 meters, a sandy unit can be typically found, that has shown to be susceptible of liquefaction as a consequence of natural or artificial causes (seismic shaking, water table sudden drawdown, heavy vehicles transit etc.). The liquefaction and subsequent packing of loose sediments leads to the development of proto-chambers, that reveal as sinkholes when their roofs collapse. In the proposed conceptual model, triggering and evolution of these phenomena depend on the grain size of sediments involved, and on specific hydraulic conditions related to the distal sectors of alluvial ridges in a recent alluvial plain

Différences individuelles et techniques d’entrevue : effets sur la déclaration d’une agression sexuelle

Bien souvent, l’agression sexuelle (AS) d’un enfant est un événement à caractère secret, dont seul l’agresseur et la victime peuvent témoigner. Puisque l’agresseur tend à nier les faits, la déclaration de l’enfant pendant l’entrevue d’investigation constitue bien souvent la seule preuve disponible pour confirmer les allégations d’AS. L’objectif de cette recension des écrits vise à documenter les différences individuelles qui influencent le rappel d’un événement, soit l’âge, les habiletés cognitives, le tempérament et la nature des événements à se remémorer. Dans l’ensemble, la synthèse des principaux résultats de recherche souligne l’importance de considérer non seulement les techniques d’entrevue, mais également les caractéristiques de l’enfant et des événements vécus lorsqu’il est question des facteurs influençant la déclaration d’une AS. Il est donc important que l’entrevue d’investigation soit conduite en utilisant des techniques adéquates et adaptées à l’enfant et à la situation d’AS vécue, dans le but d’obtenir une déclaration détaillée de l’AS, souvent nécessaire pour protéger l’enfant

WAIST TO HEIGHT RATIO: A SIMPLE TOOL IN RECOGNISING CHILDREN AT INCREASED RISK FOR METABOLIC SYNDROME

Metabolic Syndrome (MS) is one of the most important comorbidity linked to obesity, also in children. Visceral adiposity is part of MS cluster, so that measurement of Waist Circumference (WC) is an essential step for screening MS in adulthood and in childhood. Up today, valid cut-off percentiles for WC are not available for the whole pediatric population, arising some difficulties to diagnose the syndrome. The aim of this study was to find a simple clinical diagnostic tool for screening obese children at high risk for MS