L’arte naïf della "Collezione Charlotte Zander": è ancora auspicabile che una raccolta di arte irregolare comprenda questo genere di opere? E queste opere sono poi davvero “un genere”?

Allora, come si inserisce l’arte naïf nel filone dell’arte irregolare? Qual è la linea di demarcazione che differenzia o unisce l’una all’altra? Diverse raccolte italiane ed europee di Art Brut presentano artisti naïfs, le cui opere spesso sono le prime ad essere state acquisite dal collezionista. Il saggio analizza criticamente il modo in cui il contesto naïf è stato assimilato alle collezioni d’arte irregolare, spesso assumendo il carattere di un vero e proprio precedente estetico dell’art brut e outsider. In particolar modo si intende considerare questo aspetto nella collezione di Charlotte Zander, ospitata presso il Castello di Bönnigheim in Germania e che presenta alcune fra le più belle opere di Henri Rousseau, Louis Vivin, Pietro Ghizzardi, selezionate con rigore, coerenza e intuito. Si procederà quindi ad una panoramica della “naiveté” della tradizione croata, francese e del territorio padano fra Reggio Emilia, Parma, Mantova un confronto, nel tentativo di individuare i segni più caratterizzanti di questa espressione creativa gestuale, istintiva e materica. Trying to classify the naive art is a complex enterprise because there are no precise evidences to create a "artistic manifesto" of what we call naive. Naïf artists are original, unique, independent. The individuality of these works is what makes them vital and real, made to be heard and "devoured", rather than explained conceptually. Their authenticity and spontaneity is linked to the outstanding creativity that we find in the artists brut, irregular, outsider. Then, as you enter the naïve art in the tradition of irregular art? What is the dividing line that differentiates or joins to each other? Several collections of Italian and European Art Brut have naïf artists, whose works are often the first to be captured by the collector. The paper examines critically the way in which the naïf art has been assimilated to the irregular art collections, often assuming the character of a real previous aesthetic art brut and outsider. In particular we want to consider this aspect in the collection of Charlotte Zander, hosted at the Castle of Bönnigheim in Germany, that consists of some of the most beautiful works of Henri Rousseau, Louis Vivin, Peter Ghizzardi, selected with coherence and intuition. It’s an overview of the "naivete" of traditional Croatian, French and the Po valley between Reggio Emilia, Parma, Mantua, a comparison, in an attempt to identify the most characteristic signs of this creative expression gestural, instinctive and material

High Mobility Group I Proteins Interfere with the Homeodomains Binding to DNA

Homeodomains (HDs) constitute the DNA binding domain of several transcription factors that control cell differentiation and development in a wide variety of organisms. Most HDs recognize sequences that contain a 5'-TAAT-3' core motif. However, the DNA binding specificity of HD-containing proteins does not solely determine their biological effects, and other molecular mechanisms should be responsible for their ultimate functional activity. Interference by other factors in the HD/DNA interaction could be one of the processes by which HD-containing proteins achieve the functional complexity required for their effects on the expression of target genes. Using gel-retardation assay, we demonstrate that two members of the high mobility group I (HMGI) family of nuclear proteins (HMGI-C and HMGY) can bind to a subset of HD target sequences and inhibit HDs from binding to the same sequences. The inhibition of the HD/DNA interaction occurs while incubating HMGI-C with DNA either before or after the addition of the HD. The reduced half-life of the HD.DNA complex in the presence of HMGI-C, and the shift observed in the CD spectra recorded upon HMGI-C binding to DNA, strongly suggest that structural modifications of the DNA are responsible for the inhibition of the HD.DNA complex formation. Moreover, by co-transfection experiments we provide evidence that this inhibition can occur also in vivo. The data reported here would suggest that HMGI proteins may be potential regulators of the function of HD-containing proteins and that they are able to interfere with the access of the HD to their target genes

Lung on fire. A very severe case of fire-eater's lung

A 19-year-old male smoker presented in the emergency room after accidental aspiration of an unquantifiable amount of Pyrofluid, a liquid mixture of high-boiling aliphatic/paraffin aromatic free hydrocarbons, during a fire-eating performance. A few minutes after the aspiration he started to feel sick, with shortness of breath and mild dry cough. On admission to our hospital, he had an episode of emesis and presented burning retrosternal chest pain and dyspnoea. Physical examination revealed oxygen saturation (SpO2) on ambient air of 92%, tachypnoea, tachycardia, normal temperature. Chest auscultation showed the presence of breath sounds without additional pathological sounds. The rest of the systemic examination was normal. Oropharyngoscopy was negative for oral lesions. Laboratory exams showed a neutrophilic leukocytosis (white cell count (WCC) 15.56×109/L, neutrophil 10.91×109/L), without increased C reactive protein (CRP) levels. Arterial blood gases on room air revealed PaO2 8.9 kPa, PaCO2 5.5 kPa, pH 7.30, (HCO3 -) 20 mmol/L, (Lac) 3.8 mmol/L, and PaO2/inspired oxygen fraction (FiO2) 42.4 kPa. Chest X-ray demonstrated mild accentuation of the broncho-vascular structure with a consolidation in the left basal area (figure 1A). High-resolution chest CT (HRCT) showed bilateral parenchymal consolidation involving most of the inferior lobes and a complete occlusion of the lower lobar bronchus bilaterally; moreover, fluid-dense effusion was present in the right basal area (figure 1B). Although blood cultures and microbiological tests on sputum were negative, a broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy was initiated with piperacillin/tazobactam. The patient was also treated with systemic steroids, analgesics and oxygen therapy via a Venturi mask at FiO2 of 0.4

Transcriptional Network of p63 in Human Keratinocytes

p63 is a transcription factor required for the development and maintenance of ectodermal tissues in general, and skin keratinocytes in particular. The identification of its target genes is fundamental for understanding the complex network of gene regulation governing the development of epithelia. We report a list of almost 1000 targets derived from ChIP on chip analysis on two platforms; all genes analyzed changed in expression during differentiation of human keratinocytes. Functional annotation highlighted unexpected GO terms enrichments and confirmed that genes involved in transcriptional regulation are the most significant. A detailed analysis of these transcriptional regulators in condition of perturbed p63 levels confirmed the role of p63 in the regulatory network. Rather than a rigid master-slave hierarchical model, our data indicate that p63 connects different hubs involved in the multiple specific functions of the skin

Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide Rapidly Inhibits Expression of C–C Chemokine Receptors in Human Monocytes

The present study was designed to investigate the effect of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on C–C chemokine receptors (CCR) expressed in human mononuclear phagocytes. LPS caused a rapid and drastic reduction of CCR2 mRNA levels, which binds MCP-1 and -3. CCR1 and CCR5 mRNAs were also reduced, though to a lesser extent, whereas CXCR2 was unaffected. The rate of nuclear transcription of CCR2 was not affected by LPS, whereas the mRNA half life was reduced from 1.5 h to 45 min. As expected, LPS-induced inhibition of CCR2 mRNA expression was associated with a reduction of both MCP-1 binding and chemotactic responsiveness. The capacity to inhibit CCR2 expression in monocytes was shared by other microbial agents and cytokines (inactivated Streptococci, Propionibacterium acnes, and to a lesser extent, IL-1 and TNF-α). In contrast, IL-2 augmented CCR2 expression and MCP-1 itself had no effect. These results suggest that, regulation of receptor expression in addition to agonist production is likely a crucial point in the regulation of the chemokine system

Single step multiple genotyping by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, for evaluation of minor histocompatibility antigens in patients submitted to allogeneic stem cell transplantation from HLA-matched related and unrelated donor

The outcome of patients underwent to allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo- SCT) is closely related to graft versus host disease (GvHD) and graft versus leukemia (GvL) effects which can be mediated by mHAgs. 23 mHAgs have been identified and reported to be differently correlated with GVHD or GVL and the aim of this work was develop a method to genotype the mHAgs described so far. For this study we used MALDI-TOF iPLEX Gold Mass Array technology. We tested 46 donor/recipient matched pairs that underwent allo-SCT because of Philadelphia positive (Ph+) chronic myeloid leukemia (n=29) or Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n=17). Our data show that sibling pairs had a lesser number of mHAgs mismatches compared to MUD pairs. Notably, donor/recipient genomic mismatch on DPH1 was correlated with an increased risk of acute GvHD and LB-ADIR-1R mismatch on graft versus host direction was correlated with a better RFS with no increase of GvHD risk. Our work provides a simple, accurate and highly automatable method for mHAgs genotyping and suggest the role of mHAgs in addressing the immune reaction between donor and host

Cost-Effectiveness of Dimethyl Fumarate Compared to Teriflunomide for Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Patients in Italy

BACKGROUND: The objective of this economic analysis was to compare the cost-effectiveness of dimethyl fumarate vs teriflunomide for the treatment of adult patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in the Italian setting. Additionally, the cost-effectiveness analysis was used to predict some patient-relevant outcomes such as burden of relapses and survival with disability over time.METHODS: A Markov model was used to conduct the cost-effectiveness analysis. The model measured health outcomes and costs of RRMS patients treated with either dimethyl fumarate or teriflunomide. Data from a published mixed treatment comparison were used for efficacy and safety input. Local economic data were used to calculate costs. A supplementary analysis was carried out to assess ICER variability over time from the Italian National Healthcare Service (NHS) and societal perspectives. Further analyses were conducted to compare clinical effectiveness of the alternatives over time, in terms of incidence of relapses, proportion of patients with EDSS (Expanded Disability Status Scale) score ≤3 and EDSS score ≥6.RESULTS: In the base-case analysis (lifetime horizon; societal perspective) dimethyl fumarate was dominant over teriflunomide (6.526 vs 5.953 QALYs – quality-adjusted life-years; € 1.01 M vs € 1.03 M). The most relevant cost savings (per-patient) with dimethyl fumarate were related to relapses (-€ 5,096), inpatient care (-€ 5,767), informal care (-€ 9,603), long-term absence/early retirement (-€ 14,187). The additional analysis of ICER by time horizon shows that dimethyl fumarate is cost-effective vs teriflunomide (i.e., ICER <€ 50,000 per QALY gained) at already 6 years and at 15 years in societal or NHS perspectives, respectively. Results favoured dimethyl fumarate vs teriflunomide also for: cumulative burden of relapses (-0.23 and -1.37 relapses saved per patient already at 1 year and 10 years, respectively), proportion of patients with mild disability (+4.0% at 10 years), proportion of patients with severe disability (-4.0% at 10 years).CONCLUSIONS: Dimethyl fumarate is dominant (societal perspective), or cost-effective (NHS perspective), referring to a threshold of € 50,000 per QALY gained, vs teriflunomide for the first-line treatment of RRMS, in the Italian setting