Induction chemotherapy followed by neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery in locally advanced rectal cancer: preliminary results of a phase II study

PURPOSE: To report preliminary results of induction chemotherapy (IC) followed by neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and surgery in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is the preliminary evaluation of a phase II study. Patients with histologically proven rectal adenocarcinoma, stage II-III disease, who met the inclusion criteria, received induction FOLFOXIRI (5-FU, leucovorin, oxaliplatin and irinotecan) regimen in combination with targeted agents followed by CRT and surgery. Analysis of the first 8 patients was required to confirm the treatment feasibility before the accrual of 20 additional patients. RESULTS: The first 8 patients were evaluated. The median follow-up time was 23 months. There were no treatment-related deaths. Trimodality strategy was well tolerated with high compliance and a good level of toxicity. There were no evidence of febrile neutropenia and any grade 4 adverse events were recorded. Three patients had pathologic complete response (pCR) and 1 patient had a nearly pCR (ypT1 ypN0). CONCLUSION: Preliminary results are encouraging. FOLFOXIRI regimen plus targeted agents followed by CRT and surgery seems a safe approach. Longer follow-up and higher number of patients are mandatory to confirm such findings

A mobile black soldier fly farm for on-site disposal of animal dairy manure

Black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera Stratiomyidae), is a saprophagous insect that is receiving a growing scientific and economic interest since during the larval stage it is extremely voracious and able to consume a wide range of organic materials. This ethological characteristic is particularly suitable for waste management at industrial scale. The extraordinary ability to accumulate high levels of proteins and lipids, allows the use of resulting larvae as animal feed or biodiesel production; the residue of the bioconversion process, that consists of larval frass and not converted organic matter is assimilable to organic fertilizer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bioconversion process by black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) on fresh and mature dairy manure. A “mobile bioconversion unit” that works as a mobile breeding unit was used, allowing to carry out bioconversion tests directly on fields, in different livestock farms located on the Basilicata territory (Italy). Total larval and frass biomass, bioconversion yield, BSFL development time and substrate reduction were evaluated for each treatment. All the analysed parameters differed from the control (larvae fed in standard diet) but not between the two substrates from the zootechnical chain. Although development time significantly differed across treatments, BSF correctly grow and reduce all substrates confirming larvae can be used to bioconvert animal manure reducing the undesired effects occurring from mismanaged this kind of substrate

Prevalence, sensitivity and specificity of antibodies against carbamylated proteins in a monocentric cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune rheumatic diseases

Antibodies against carbamylated proteins (anti-CarP) have been recently identified in the sera of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The objective of the study was to evaluate the prevalence, sensitivity and specificity of anti-CarP compared to anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA) and rheumatoid factor (RF), replicating the existing data in a large cohort of Italian patients with RA and extending the evaluation to other autoimmune rheumatic diseases (AIRDs)

De novo expression of uncoupling protein 3 is associated to enhanced mitochondrial thioesterase-1 expression and fatty acid metabolism in liver of fenofibrate-treated rats

AbstractUncoupling protein 3 (UCP3) is a member of the mitochondrial carrier superfamily, preferentially expressed in skeletal muscle. Its function is not fully understood and it is debated whether it uncouples oxidative phosphorylation as does UCP1 in brown adipose tissue. Recent evidences suggest a role for UCP3 in the flux of fatty acids in and out mitochondria and their utilization in concert with mitochondrial thioesterase-1 (MTE-1). In fact, mice overexpressing muscle UCP3 also show high levels of MTE-1. Fenofibrate is a hypolipidemic drug that prevents body weight gain in diet-induced obese rats and enhances lipid metabolism by activating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs). Because fatty acids and fenofibrate stimulate PPARs and in turn UCP3, we investigated whether UCP3 expression might be induced ‘de novo’ in situations of increased hepatic mitochondrial fatty acid utilization caused by a combined effect of a high-fat diet and fenofibrate treatment. We also investigated whether Mte-1 expression and β-oxidation were affected. We show here that Ucp3 is induced in liver of fenofibrate-treated rats at the mRNA and protein level. Expression was restricted to hepatocytes and was unevenly distributed in the liver. No increase in cell proliferation, inflammatory or fibrotic responses was found. Mte-1 expression and mitochondrial β-oxidation were upregulated. Thus, Ucp3 can be transactivated in tissues where it is normally silent and fenofibrate can attain this effect in liver. The data demonstrate that UCP3 is involved in fatty acid utilization and support the notion that UCP3 and MTE-1 are linked within the same metabolic pathway

Inhibition of Stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 reverts BRAF and MEK inhibition-induced selection of cancer stem cells in BRAF-mutated melanoma

Combination therapy with BRAF and MEK inhibitors significantly improves survival in BRAF mutated melanoma patients but is unable to prevent disease recurrence due to the emergence of drug resistance. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been involved in these long-term treatment failures. We previously reported in lung cancer that CSCs maintenance is due to altered lipid metabolism and dependent upon Stearoyl-CoA-desaturase (SCD1)-mediated upregulation of YAP and TAZ. On this ground, we investigated the role of SCD1 in melanoma CSCs

Estudios citogenéticos y morfo-anatómicos comparativos entre diploides y poliploides de Solanum elaeagnifolium (Solanaceae)

Solanum elaeagnifolium, morfológicamente variable, se multiplica sexual- y asexualmente y es invasora en distintas partes del mundo. Se desconoce su rango de origen y como se propagó fuera de él. En Argentina existen poblaciones naturales diploides, tetraploides y hexaploides. Presenta tres linajes genéticos claramente distanciados, dos en Sudamérica con poblaciones poliploides y un tercero solo con diploides en América del Norte y áreas invadidas. Nuestro objetivo es detectar relaciones entre nivel de ploidía, linaje y procedencia con características morfológicas de las plantas y variables climáticas. Se realizaron preparados cromosómicos y mediciones de caracteres de epidermis, flor y semilla, en individuos 2x, 4x y 6x de diferente linaje y origen geográfico. Se compararon los valores medios obtenidos mediantes tests estadísticos y la similitud global se evaluó mediante análisis multivariados. Resultados: Únicamente número de estomas y masa de semillas resultaron significativamente diferentes entre niveles de ploidía: los tetraploides presentan menor número de estomas y semillas más pesadas. Las restantes variables morfoanatómicas contribuyen a la diferenciación global de los citotipos, aunque las medias no variaron proporcionalmente con el aumento de ploidía. La precipitación media anual contribuye a la discriminación entre citotipos, coincidiendo la distribución occidental de los tetraploides con la diagonal árida en Argentina. Las diferencias en el tetraploide no pueden atribuirse a un efecto de la poliploidización. El patrón global de datos podría explicarse por múltiples orígenes independientes de la poliploidía, plasticidad fenotípica y presiones del ambiente.Fil: Mancini, Miguel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Chiarini, Franco Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Calviño, Ana Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Stiefkens, Laura Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentin

Hopelessness and burnout in Italian healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic: the mediating role of trait emotional intelligence

Objective: The study aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers’ work-related stress during the first wave of the pandemic in Italy. The main objective is to investigate the existence of a positive correlation between hopelessness and burnout, assuming that burnout may be  a riskfactor for the development of hopelessness, and to analyze the role thattrait Emotional Intelligence (TEI) and changes in workload could have in this relationship. Furthermore, evaluate any significant differences in burnoutand hopelessness levels in the function of some demographic variables, such as gender, professional profiles, and different working zones of Italy, tobetter understand how the diverse diffusion of the pandemic had affected Italian healthcare workers. Methods: An online survey was used to collect data between April and June,2020, with 562 responses among nurses (52.1%) and physicians (47.9%).Demographics and changes in workload and work conditions were collectedthrough an ad hoc questionnaire. The Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF), The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and the Link Burnout Questionnaire (LBQ) were used to assess Trait Emotional Intelligence(TEI), hopelessness, and burnout, respectively. Results: Correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship betweenhopelessness and each burnout dimension. TEI showed negative correlations both with burnout dimensions and hopelessness. Significant differences in burnout and hopelessness levels emerged as a function of some demographic variables such as gender, professional profiles (nurses or physicians), and different working zone of Italy (northern or southern). Results showed that TEI partially mediated the relationship between hopelessness and every burnout dimension,while the interaction of changes in workload was non-significant.Discussion: The mediating role of TEI in the burnout-hopelessness relationship partly explains the protective role that individual factors had on healthcareworkers mental health. Our findings support the need to integrate considerations on both psychological risk and protective factors into COVID-19 care, including the monitoring of psychological symptoms and social needs, especially among healthcare workers

A geology-based 3D velocity model of the Amatrice Basin (Central Italy)

In this paper we present a new methodological approach which integrates geological and geophysical data into a 3D modelling process to be mainly employed in seismic hazard assessment studies of earthquake-prone areas around the world, as well as in applications for land use and urban planning. As a case study, the reconstruction of a geology-based 3D velocity model of the uppermost hundreds of metres of the Amatrice high-seismic-hazard area is described. The model was constructed using geological (e.g., maps, cross-sections and core-wells) and geophysical (e.g., down-hole, MASW, refraction, and seismic noise measurements) data, which were georeferenced and uploaded into 3D geological modelling software, where faults, stratigraphic boundaries, and geophysical attributes were digitised, checked, hierarchised, and modelled. The performed 3D geological model was parameterised with Vs and Vp velocities and, finally, the environmental noise (i.e., horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio analysis, HVSR) recorded at some seismic stations was compared with the seismic responses modelled at some nearby control points. In the study area, the proposed geology-based 3D velocity model represents both a new potential geophysical prediction tool for areas devoid of geophysical measurements (i.e. HVSR curves) and a potential input-model for future ground-motion and seismic-wave-propagation simulations aimed at a more precise local seismic response assessment and, consequently, at the development of more realistic seismic hazard scenarios. The model here presented constitutes a first version of the 3D geological-geophysical model for the studied area, which will be improved with new data and more advanced algorithms available in the future