Histopathology of COVID-19 pneumonia in two non-oncological, non-hospitalised cases as a reliable diagnostic benchmark

In lung cancer patients infected with COVID-19, pathological features are not easy to distinguish. This report presents detailed histopathological findings in two non-neoplastic subjects whose out-of-hospital deaths were caused by COVID-19 infection. These \u2018pure\u2019 cases differ in the time of presentation of symptoms, the phase of lung anatomopathological patterns (acute lung injury versus diffuse alveolar damage) and the mechanism of death. The results provide a valid diagnostic benchmark for evaluating the evolution of COVID-19 pneumonia

Risk or Opportunity? Exploring the Relationship Between Entrepreneurial Decision and the Use of Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns in Less- and Well-Developed Regions in Italy

Entrepreneurial decision-making is a complex area that impacts the creation and development of new ventures and is one of the main subjects of entrepreneurial research. Our study focuses on the impact of regional disparities on the entrepreneurial decision-making process regarding the adoption of alternative funding sources such as crowdfunding. Crowdfunding has recently garnered considerable interest because of its ability to “democratize” access to capital. Using a least-squares method (OLS) and inferential t-test statistics, we analyze how the entrepreneurial decision-making process differs across Italian regions on the adoption of equity crowdfunding campaigns as fundraising tools. Our results show that regional disparities matter in the entrepreneur’s decision-making process, pushing it towards alternative tools such as crowdfunding. Overall, we provide evidence that crowdfunding has gained prominence in Italy in recent years and may be a viable option for entrepreneurs operating in less developed regions to bridge the traditional regional disparity gap

Marketing innovation and internationalization in smart city development: a systematic review, framework and research agenda

Purpose: Smart cities and their internationalization process and efforts in order to gain the competitive advantage in the international arena have received a great deal of attention by marketing scholars and practitioners alike. Yet, the growing number of studies focused on this topic has led to considerable fragmentation and theoretical confusion. Design/methodology/approach: To move the domain forward, this study applies the systematic review methodology and reviews 41 peer-reviewed articles published in highly esteemed publication outlets. Findings: Building on the antecedents–phenomenon–consequences framework, the authors discuss the antecedents and consequences of the various innovative marketing strategies that smart cities adopt for their internationalization and development of an international competitive advantage. In the process of doing so, the authors synthesize the findings of the studies as well as literature gaps that provide fruitful avenues for future research. Originality/value: This article offers a systematic review of extant marketing research on smart cities and their efforts to internationalize. In particular, this study advances the conceptual development of smart city internationalization and innovation by a marketing lens, provides an integrative, international-oriented framework that maps the extant literature across disciplines and countries, expands the boundaries of this research domain into new research paths and offers implications for policy and practice

Smart City’s Internationalization and International Management Strategies in the Digital Era: A Systematic Literature Review

The impact of the smart city concept in the urban landscape has been the subject of considerable attention over the last few years. Cities are changing their development strategies by trying to attract not only capital but also knowledge and talent. This change has led cities to turn increasingly to the outside world by developing international strategies and raising their internationalization process towards the global context. The purpose of the paper is to develop a systematic overview of the literature examining the relationship between smart cities and the internationalization process. Emphasis will be placed on global management strategies for the international development of smart cities. The study aims to examine existing research through the adaptation of the Systems Literature Review (SLR). As a result, new knowledge on the state of the art in policy, practice, and academia can be generated to identify significant theoretical insights and knowledge gaps for future research. We provide a descriptive analysis, a state of the art of research topic, and an integrative vision of the development of smart cities concerning international management and the internationalization process

Echocardiographic Evaluation in Paediatric Sickle Cell Disease Patients: A Pilot Study

Cardiovascular involvement has a great impact on morbidity and mortality in sickle cell disease (SCD). Currently, few studies are available regarding the paediatric setting and, moreover, current guidelines for the echocardiogram screening program in the asymptomatic paediatric population are controversial. We performed a retrospective observational monocentric study on 64 SCD patients (37 male and 27 female, median age 10) at the Bambino Gesù Childrens’ Hospital, who had undergone a routine transthoracic echocardiogram. In total, 46 (72%) patients had at least one cardiac abnormality. Left atrial dilatation (LAD) was present in 41 (65%) patients and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) was found in 29 (45%) patients. Patients with LAD showed lower median haemoglobin levels (p = 0.009), and a higher absolute reticulocyte count (p = 0.04). LVH was negatively correlated with the median haemoglobin value (p = 0.006) and positively with the reticulocyte count (p = 0.03). Moreover, we found that patients with cardiac anomalies had higher transfusion needs and a lower frequency of pain crises. In our setting, cardiac involvement has a high prevalence in the paediatric cohort and seems to be associated with specific laboratory findings, and with a specific clinical phenotype characterized by complications related to high haemodynamic load

ELISA and UPLC/FLD as Screening and Confirmatory Techniques for T-2/HT-2 Mycotoxin Determination in Cereals

T-2 and HT-2 toxins are secondary metabolites of various species of Fusarium. These molecules can have high potential toxic effects for human and animal health. In this work, ELISA and ultra performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (UPLC/FLD) were implemented and validated as screening and confirmatory tests for the detection of these two toxins in cereal samples. The developed methods were tested by analyzing 100 samples of cereals by ELISA screening for reducing costs and analysis time and then using UPLC/FLD for confirmation purposes. Both methods met the performance criteria for sensitivity, linearity, selectivity, precision, and ruggedness, as reported in the European Decision No. 2002/657/EC and in Regulation (EC) No. 401/2006. The correlation between ELISA and UPLC/FLD approaches showed good results (r = 0.9056), confirming that these two techniques should be considered to be complementary in the official control activities of cereal and derived products

Identification of small molecules affecting the interaction between human hemoglobin and Staphylococcus aureus IsdB hemophore

Abstract Human hemoglobin (Hb) is the preferred iron source of Staphylococcus aureus. This pathogenic bacterium exploits a sophisticated protein machinery called Iron-regulated surface determinant (Isd) system to bind Hb, extract and internalize heme, and finally degrade it to complete iron acquisition. IsdB, the surface exposed Hb receptor, is a proven virulence factor of S. aureus and the inhibition of its interaction with Hb can be pursued as a strategy to develop new classes of antimicrobials. To identify small molecules able to disrupt IsdB:Hb protein–protein interactions (PPIs), we carried out a structure-based virtual screening campaign and developed an ad hoc immunoassay to screen the retrieved set of commercially available compounds. Saturation-transfer difference (STD) NMR was applied to verify specific interactions of a sub-set of molecules, chosen based on their efficacy in reducing the amount of Hb bound to IsdB. Among molecules for which direct binding was verified, the best hit was submitted to ITC analysis to measure the binding affinity to Hb, which was found to be in the low micromolar range. The results demonstrate the viability of the proposed in silico/in vitro experimental pipeline to discover and test IsdB:Hb PPI inhibitors. The identified lead compound will be the starting point for future SAR and molecule optimization campaigns

Chasing new targets to fight antimicrobial resistance: identification of small molecules affecting the interaction of human hemoglobin with the IsdB hemophore of Staphylococcus aureus

Human hemoglobin (Hb) is the preferred iron source of Staphylococcus aureus. This pathogenic bacterium exploits a sophisticated protein machinery called Iron-regulated surface determinant (Isd) system to bind Hb, extract and internalize heme and finally degrade it to complete iron acquisition. IsdB, the surface exposed Hb receptor, is a proven virulence factor of S. aureus and the inhibition of its interaction with Hb can be pursued as a strategy to develop new classes of antimicrobials. To identify small molecules able to disrupt IsdB:Hb protein-protein interactions (PPIs), we carried out a structure-based virtual screening campaign and developed an ad-hoc immunoassay to screen the retrieved set of commercially available compounds. Saturation-transfer difference (STD) NMR was applied to verify specific interactions of a sub-set of molecules, chosen based on their efficacy in reducing the amount of Hb bound to IsdB. Among molecules for which direct binding was verified, the best hit was submitted to ITC analysis to measure the binding affinity to Hb, which was found to be in the sub-micromolar range. The results demonstrate the viability of the proposed in silico/in vitro experimental pipeline to discover and test IsdB:Hb PPI inhibitors. The identified lead compound will be the starting point for future SAR and molecule optimization campaigns

Mitigation and adaptation strategies to offset the impacts of climate change on urban health: A European perspective

Climate change threatens urban health, whether that refers to the human or environmental aspects of urban life. At the same time, initiatives of city regeneration envision alternative forms of the urban environment, where derelict spaces have the potential to be brought back to life in ways that would not compromise urban health. Regeneration processes should utilise mitigation and adaptation strategies that consider the future needs and anticipated role of cities within the context of the discourse about climate change, accounting for expected and unforeseen impacts and regarding the city as an agent of action rather than a static territory, too complex to change. Nevertheless, literature implicating these three parameters synchronously, namely, climate change, cities, and health, has been scarce. This study aims to fill this gap through a systematic literature review, exploring climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies that can be employed in urban regeneration efforts seeking to mitigate climate-exacerbated phenomena and their impacts on urban health as well as identifying the main trends and opportunities overlooked. Findings show that even though the emphasis is given to the physical actions and impacts of climate change and urban health, an emerging theme is a need to engage civic society in co-designing urban spaces. Synergistic relationships, collaborations and avoidance of lock-in situations appear to be the most significant subtopics emerging from this literature review. One main recommendation is the promotion of a community-driven, inclusive, participatory approach in regeneration projects. That will ensure that different vulnerabilities can be adequately addressed and that diverse population groups will have equitable health benefits