Lateglacial and Holocene vegetation history in the Insubrian Southern Alps—New indications from a small-scale site

Fundamental uncertainties exist in the study region about the former lowland vegetation at local scales. All existing palaeoecological results are derived from sediments of medium- to large-sized sites (8-5000ha), which are thought to record mainly regional vegetation in their pollen content. Therefore the very small mire at Balladrum (0.05ha) was analysed for pollen, plant-macrofossils, and charcoal and the results compared with those of previous studies in the same region. Common regional signals were detected, but also new insights for the tree species Pinus cembra (L.), Abies alba (Mill.) and Castanea sativa (Mill.). Our palaeobotanical data reveal the local dominance of the timberline species P. cembra during the Lateglacial (16500-14250 cal b.p.) at low-altitudes. For A. alba an early presence in the area is suggested by pollen data, corroborating previous high-altitudinal studies indicating the presence of glacial refugia in the region. Occasional findings of C. sativa pollen throughout the Holocene may indicate the local but very rare presence of this species in the Insubrian Southern Alps, in contrast to the conventional opinion that C. sativa was introduced during the Roman Period. Altogether the results confirm the need of multiproxy palaeobotanical records from basins of variable size to assess the past composition of vegetation more accuratel

Determination of perfluoroalkyl acids in different tissues of graminaceous plants

A method for the determination of 12 perfluoroalkylacids (PFAA) in vegetal samples was proposed. The analytical procedure was developed to optimize the detention of short-chain PFAA (C<8) due to their higher potential to be translocated and bioaccumulated in plants than long-chain congeners. The method, based on ultrasonic extraction, clean-up and HPLC-MS/MS analysis, determined PFAA in the different plant tissues allowing to study the PFAA distribution and partition in vegetal compartments. The performance of this analytical procedure was validated by analysing samples (root, stem and leaf) of reed grass. The validated method was then applied to graminaceous plants from an agricultural area impacted by a fluorochemical plant discharge (Northern Italy). The PFAA congeners were detected in the most of samples with PFAA concentrations in whole plant ranging from < LOD to 10.4 ng g-1 ww and with a greater rate of PFAA accumulation in corn cob than corn kernel. The proposed approach is particularly relevant in edible plant investigation because PFAA levels recorded in the comestible fractions provide information for human risk assessment due to vegetable consumption. Furthermore data on the remaining not edible parts, intended for breeding forage, are also useful for the assessment of the PFAA transfer in the breeding trophic chain

Silk Vascular Grafts with Optimized Mechanical Properties for the Repair and Regeneration of Small Caliber Blood Vessels

As the incidence of cardiovascular diseases has been growing in recent years, the need for small-diameter vascular grafts is increasing. Considering the limited success of synthetic grafts, vascular tissue engineering/repair/regeneration aim to find novel solutions. Silk fibroin (SF) has been widely investigated for the development of vascular grafts, due to its good biocompatibility, tailorable biodegradability, excellent mechanical properties, and minimal inflammatory reactions. In this study, a new generation of three-layered SF vascular scaffolds has been produced and optimized. Four designs of the SILKGraft vascular prosthesis have been developed with the aim of improving kink resistance and mechanical strength, without compromising the compliance with native vessels and the proven biocompatibility. A more compact arrangement of the textile layer allowed for the increase in the mechanical properties along the longitudinal and circumferential directions and the improvement of the compliance value, which approached that reported for the saphenous and umbilical veins. The higher braid density slightly affected the grafts' morphology, increasing surface roughness, but the novel design mimicked the corrugation approach used for synthetic grafts, causing significant improvements in kink resistance

Design and Motion Planning for a Reconfigurable Robotic Base

A robotic platform for mobile manipulation needs to satisfy two contradicting requirements for many real-world applications: A compact base is required to navigate through cluttered indoor environments, while the support needs to be large enough to prevent tumbling or tip over, especially during fast manipulation operations with heavy payloads or forceful interaction with the environment. This paper proposes a novel robot design that fulfills both requirements through a versatile footprint. It can reconfigure its footprint to a narrow configuration when navigating through tight spaces and to a wide stance when manipulating heavy objects. Furthermore, its triangular configuration allows for high-precision tasks on uneven ground by preventing support switches. A model predictive control strategy is presented that unifies planning and control for simultaneous navigation, reconfiguration, and manipulation. It converts task-space goals into whole-body motion plans for the new robot. The proposed design has been tested extensively with a hardware prototype. The footprint reconfiguration allows to almost completely remove manipulation-induced vibrations. The control strategy proves effective in both lab experiment and during a real-world construction task.Comment: 8 pages, accepted for RA-L and IROS 202

Clinical and Socio-Demographic Determinants of Self-Care Behaviours in Patients with Heart Failure and Diabetes Mellitus: A Multicentre Cross-Sectional Study

Background Self-care is vital for patients with heart failure to maintain health and quality of life, and it is even more vital for those who are also affected by diabetes mellitus, since they are at higher risk of worse outcomes. The literature is unclear on the influence of diabetes on heart failure self-care as well as on the influence of socio-demographic and clinical factors on self-care. Objectives (1) To compare self-care maintenance, self-care management and self-care confidence of patients with heart failure and diabetes versus those heart failure patients without diabetes; (2) to estimate if the presence of diabetes influences self-care maintenance, self-care management and self-care confidence of heart failure patients; (3) to identify socio-demographic and clinical determinants of self-care maintenance, self-care management and self-care confidence in patients with heart failure and diabetes. Design Secondary analysis of data from a multicentre cross-sectional study. Setting Outpatient clinics from 29 Italian provinces. Participants 1192 adults with confirmed diagnosis of heart failure. Methods Socio-demographic and clinical data were abstracted from patients’ medical records. Self-care maintenance, self-care management and self-care confidence were measured with the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index Version 6.2; each scale has a standardized score from 0 to 100, where a score \u3c70 indicates inadequate self-care. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed. Results Of 1192 heart failure patients, 379 (31.8%) had diabetes. In these 379, heart failure self-care behaviours were suboptimal (means range from 53.2 to 55.6). No statistically significant differences were found in any of the three self-care measures in heart failure patients with and without diabetes. The presence of diabetes did not influence self-care maintenance (p = 0.12), self-care management (p = 0.21) or self-care confidence (p = 0.51). Age (p = 0.04), number of medications (p = 0.01), presence of a caregiver (p = 0.04), family income (p = 0.009) and self-care confidence (p \u3c 0.001) were determinants of self-care maintenance. Gender (p = 0.01), number of medications (p = 0.004) and self-care confidence (p \u3c 0.001) were significant determinants of self-care management. Number of medications (p = 0.002) and cognitive function (p \u3c 0.001) were determinants of self-care confidence. Conclusions Self-care was poor in heart failure patients with diabetes mellitus. This population needs more intensive interventions to improve self-care. Determinants of self-care in heart failure patients with diabetes mellitus should be systematically assessed by clinicians to identify patients at risk of inadequate self-care

Increasing agrin function antagonizes muscle atrophy and motor impairment in spinal muscular atrophy

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a pediatric genetic disease, characterized by motor neuron (MN) death, leading to progressive muscle weakness, respiratory failure, and, in the most severe cases, to death. Abnormalities at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) have been reported in SMA, including neurofilament (NF) accumulation at presynaptic terminals, immature and smaller than normal endplates, reduced transmitter release, and, finally, muscle denervation. Here we have studied the role of agrin in SMAΔ7 mice, the experimental model of SMAII. We observed a 50% reduction in agrin expression levels in quadriceps of P10 SMA mice compared to age-matched WT controls. To counteract such condition, we treated SMA mice from birth onwards with therapeutic agrin biological NT-1654, an active splice variant of agrin retaining synaptogenic properties, which is also resistant to proteolytic cleavage by neurotrypsin. Mice were analyzed for behavior, muscle and NMJ histology, and survival. Motor behavior was significantly improved and survival was extended by treatment of SMA mice with NT-1654. At P10, H/E-stained sections of the quadriceps, a proximal muscle early involved in SMA, showed that NT-1654 treatment strongly prevented the size decrease of muscle fibers. Studies of NMJ morphology on whole-mount diaphragm preparations revealed that NT-1654-treated SMA mice had more mature NMJs and reduced NF accumulation, compared to vehicle-treated SMA mice. We conclude that increasing agrin function in SMA has beneficial outcomes on muscle fibers and NMJs as the agrin biological NT-1654 restores the crosstalk between muscle and MNs, delaying muscular atrophy, improving motor performance and extending survival

Acute kidney injury and acute kidney disease in high-dose cisplatin-treated head and neck cancer

Background: In locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA-SCCHN) at least 200mg/m2 (standard dose 300 mg/m2) of cisplatin concomitant with radiotherapy represents the standard of care, both in postoperative and conservative settings. Nevertheless, high dose administration every 3 weeks is often replaced with low dose weekly cisplatin to avoid toxicities like kidney injury, though often failing to reach the therapeutic dose. Our aim was to investigate the incidence of renal impairment in the real-life setting, integrating high dose cisplatin with adequate supportive therapy, and to explore both Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) and Acute Kidney Disease (AKD), a recently described clinical renal syndrome that encompasses functional alterations of the kidney lasting fewer than 3 months. Methods: One hundred and nine consecutive patients affected by LA-SCCHN and treated with at least a cumulative dosage of 200 mg/m2 of cisplatin concomitant with radiotherapy were enrolled in this prospective observational study. Results: AKI was reported in 12.8% of patients, 50% of whom were stage 1 (KDIGO criteria), while 25.7% of the cohort developed AKD. Patients with baseline estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) &lt; 90 ml/min showed a higher incidence of AKD (36.2% vs 17.7%). Hypertension, baseline eGFR, and therapy with Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors proved to be significant factors associated with both AKI and AKD. Conclusion: AKI and AKD are not rare complications of high-dose cisplatin, but an appropriate prevention strategy and accurate monitoring of patients during treatment could lead to a reduction of the burden of these conditions

Impact of Drug Release Kinetics on Vascular Response to Different Zotarolimus-Eluting Stents Implanted in Patients With Long Coronary Stenoses

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Severe Hypothyroidism Causing Pre-Eclampsia-Like Syndrome

Objective. Analyzing and managing pre-eclampsia-like syndrome due to severe hypothyroidism. Methods. Presentation of a case of severe hypothyroidism due to Hashimoto's syndrome, associated with a severe early-onset preeclampsia-like syndrome, managed in our Gynecology Department. Results. Severe pre-eclampsia led to miscarriage at 24 weeks of gestational age in a 42-year-old woman, although we attempted to correct hypothyroidism with increasing doses of levothyroxine and liothyronine sodium. Conclusion. Recognizing pre-eclampsia-like syndrome caused by overt hypothyroidism from other forms of pregnancy-induced hypertension is essential for choosing the correct treatment

Glutathione S-transferase homozygous deletions and relapse in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a novel study design in a large Italian AIEOP cohort

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