Studio dell'infiltrato linfocitario peritumorale e dei linfociti circolanti in pazienti affetti da melanoma cutaneo

I linfociti T \u3b3\u3b4 sono un gruppo di effettori \u201cnatural killer\u201d del sistema immunitario innato che hanno rappresentato un interessante oggetto di studio nel corso degli ultimi anni. Il Dipartimento di Discipline Chirurgiche, Oncologiche ed Odontostomatologiche del Policlinico Universitario di Palermo, da anni attivo nei confronti della ricerca scientifica, ha recentemente condotto uno studio mirato alla conoscenza del potenziale effetto immunoterapeutico di questa popolazione linfocitaria verso i melanomi in stadio avanzato. Sulla base della classificazione della American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) i pazienti affetti da melanoma maligno in stadio IV con neoplasia metastatica hanno una prognosi infausta, con una bassa sopravvivenza a 5 anni. Dati statistici stimano che la sopravvivenza globale sia inferiore al 10%, evidenziando come pochi trattamenti terapeutici siano al momento disponibili e ragionevolmente efficaci. I diversi schemi terapeutici proposti ed approvati per il trattamento del melanoma metastatico (interleukina 2 ad alte dosi e chemioterapia) hanno mostrato un tasso di risposta globale del 16% e del 7,5%, con bassa risposta completa e sopravvivenza a lungo termine. Lo studio e l\u2019analisi dell\u2019infiltrato linfocitario peritumorale (TIL) nei pazienti affetti da melanoma maligno e la ricerca di linfociti circolanti nel torrente ematico permetter\ue0 di definire il ruolo chiave dei linfociti T \u3b3\u3b4, e le potenzialit\ue0 del trattamento terapeutico del melanoma maligno metastatico.\u3b3\u3b4 T cells are a group of effectors "natural killer" of the innate immune system, which represented an interesting object of study in recent years. The Department of Surgical, Oncology and Dentistry of the University Hospital of Palermo, active for years in respect of scientific research, has recently conducted a study aimed at understanding the potential effect of this immunotherapeutic lymphocyte population to the advanced-stage melanomas. Based on the classification of the American Joint Committee on Cancer ( AJCC ) patients with stage IV malignant melanoma with metastatic cancer have a poor prognosis, with a low 5-year survival. Statistical data estimate that overall survival is less than 10 %, highlighting how few treatments are currently available and reasonably effective. The different therapeutic schemes proposed and approved for the treatment of metastatic melanoma (high-dose interleukin- 2 and chemotherapy) showed an overall response rate of 16 % and 7.5 %, with a low complete response and long-term survival. The study and analysis of the infiltrated peritumoral lymphocytes ( TIL) in patients with malignant melanoma and the pursuit of lymphocytes circulating in the blood stream will allow you to define the key role of \u3b3\u3b4 T cells, and the potential of the therapeutic treatment of metastatic malignant melanoma

Prefrontal cortex and action sequences: a review on neural computational models

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) can be considered the central executive of cognitive control, responsible for the flexibility of human behavior. By a switching-mechanism PFC can update rules and goals representations stored in working memory, so as to performance novel task and accomplish complex routines. PFC functional organization and relation with specific subcortical areas give an account of representations active mantainance that allows to achieve a goal through a series of sub-goals. On the basis of the most recent studies, we present a rieview of the theories concerning PFC role and neural computational models. The paper incudes a focus section on models developed to study the role of PFC in action-sequences learning and performin

ALGORITHM OF PARTIAL BREAST RECONSTRUCTION WITH PEDICLED PERFORATOR FLAPS

INTRODUCTION: The authors present an algorithm of partial breast reconstruction following quadrantectomy that allows to restore the breast volume defect with the use of pedicled perforator flaps. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between March 2009 and May 2010, at the Plastic and Reconstructive Institute of University of Palermo, pedicled perforator flaps were used to integrate volume and/or breast skin in 12 patients after benign and malignant breast tumors. The flaps used were based on perforators of the thoraco-dorsal artery (TDAP) and of the intercostal arteries (ICAP). TDAP flaps were used to reconstruct defects in any breast quadrant, while ICAP perforator were used to reconstruct lateral and central inferior pole defects. RESULTS: All flaps survived completely. Breast size, shape and volume were satisfactorily restored. Contralateral breast procedure to adjust symmetry were not necessary. Donor sites scars were well hidden in the inframammary fold or under the brassiere. CONCLUSIONS : Partial breast reconstruction can be performed, in selected patients, with pedicled perforator flaps to restore both volume, shape and skin envelope. Donor site scars are negligible and better with the anterior ICAP because the scar is hidden in the submammary sulcus

Event-triggered pinning control of switching networks

This paper investigates event-triggered pinning control for the synchronization of complex networks of nonlinear dynamical systems. We consider networks described by time-varying weighted graphs and featuring generic linear interaction protocols. Sufficient conditions for the absence of Zeno behavior are derived and exponential convergence of a global normed error function is proven. Static networks are considered as a special case, wherein the existence of a lower bound for interevent times is also proven. Numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy

What we observe is biased by what other people tell us: beliefs about the reliability of gaze behavior modulate attentional orienting to gaze cues

For effective social interactions with other people, information about the physical environment must be integrated with information about the interaction partner. In order to achieve this, processing of social information is guided by two components: a bottom-up mechanism reflexively triggered by stimulus-related information in the social scene and a top-down mechanism activated by task-related context information. In the present study, we investigated whether these components interact during attentional orienting to gaze direction. In particular, we examined whether the spatial specificity of gaze cueing is modulated by expectations about the reliability of gaze behavior. Expectations were either induced by instruction or could be derived from experience with displayed gaze behavior. Spatially specific cueing effects were observed with highly predictive gaze cues, but also when participants merely believed that actually non-predictive cues were highly predictive. Conversely, cueing effects for the whole gazed-at hemifield were observed with non-predictive gaze cues, and spatially specific cueing effects were attenuated when actually predictive gaze cues were believed to be non-predictive. This pattern indicates that (i) information about cue predictivity gained from sampling gaze behavior across social episodes can be incorporated in the attentional orienting to social cues, and that (ii) beliefs about gaze behavior modulate attentional orienting to gaze direction even when they contradict information available from social episodes

Determining Nutrient Recommendations for Agricultural Crops Based on Soil and Plant Tissue Analyses Between Different Analytical Laboratories

There is limited information concerning the disparities between soil and plant tissue testing laboratories. Soil and plant tissue analyses are crucial to determining nutrient applications for agricultural field crops. Accurate fertility inputs improve crop production and long-term agricultural sustainability. The over application of nutrients can potentially decrease yields and reduce profits. A study was established in 2016 at Louisiana State University at Alexandria (LSUA) in Alexandria, Louisiana to 1) assess and compare soil and plant tissue nutrient values, ratings and recommendations between research and commercial laboratories for field corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max), and 2) compare crop response and yields between the different recommendations provided by each laboratory. A survey was also conducted to identify soil and plant tissue testing procedures and methods followed by local growers. The majority of growers perform soil tests and do so regularly, while plant tissue analyses are conducted less often than soil. For fertility questions and recommendations, the option ‘other’ was most selected by responders, while the second option was equal between LSU AgCenter extension agents and agriculture consultants. The experiment was prepared in a randomized complete block design on a Coushatta silt loam soil. Soil and plant tissue samples were collected and analyzed for elemental levels using the Mehlich-3 extraction method (extractable Ca, Cu, K, Mg, Na, P, S and Zn). The soil was a Plant tissue agricultural metals, (Al, B, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, P, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, S and Zn) were extracted using hydrochloric and nitric acid plant tissue digestion. Overall procedures and methods remained congruent among research and commercial laboratories. Following the elemental analyses of soil and plant tissue, nutrients were applied as recommended by each laboratory throughout the growing season. Ratings and recommendations were based on fertility method. The sufficiency approach to fertilization applied enough nutrients for the growing season; the build-up and maintenance method built the elemental concentration of soil until it reached the soil critical level and then maintained the amount of nutrients in the soil, so it was never limiting. For both field corn and soybean, commercial laboratories recommended higher nutrient applications for soil and plant tissue for each year of study, although elemental results remained similar in value between laboratories. Overall yield results exhibited minor variation between research and commercial laboratories. The results of the survey indicated soil and plant tissue testing are performed regularly by local growers, however, the distribution of sample analyses and information obtained varied. Agriculture sustainability and conservation was also rated high by participants

Grip Force Reveals the Context Sensitivity of Language-Induced Motor Activity during “Action Words

Studies demonstrating the involvement of motor brain structures in language processing typically focus on \ud time windows beyond the latencies of lexical-semantic access. Consequently, such studies remain inconclusive regarding whether motor brain structures are recruited directly in language processing or through post-linguistic conceptual imagery. In the present study, we introduce a grip-force sensor that allows online measurements of language-induced motor activity during sentence listening. We use this tool to investigate whether language-induced motor activity remains constant or is modulated in negative, as opposed to affirmative, linguistic contexts. Our findings demonstrate that this simple experimental paradigm can be used to study the online crosstalk between language and the motor systems in an ecological and economical manner. Our data further confirm that the motor brain structures that can be called upon during action word processing are not mandatorily involved; the crosstalk is asymmetrically\ud governed by the linguistic context and not vice versa

A Gaze into politics. The role of ideology, personality and political group processing in shaping automatic social behaviors

Studies in human and non-human primates indicate that basic socio-cognitive operations are inherently linked to the power of gaze in capturing reflexively the attention of an observer. Here I report a series of behavioral and neural investigation studies that I and my collaborators have conducted on the modulation of this automatic social behavior by high order factors as politics. In particular, we showed that Gaze following behavior is permeable to social identities within the political domain, individual differences in ideology and personality and low level facial features that drive our inferences on the personality of a character. Furthermore I discussed which are the social processes that underly this basic social cognitive behavior and sketched future directions to better clarify this issue