425 research outputs found
Review Pages: Methods, Tools and Best practices to Increase the Capacity of Urban Systems to Adapt to Natural and Man-made Changes
Starting from the relationship between urban planning and mobility management, TeMA has
gradually expanded the view of the covered topics, always remaining in the groove of rigorous
scientific in-depth analysis. During the last two years a particular attention has been paid on
the Smart Cities theme and on the different meanings that come with it. The last section of the
journal is formed by the Review Pages. They have different aims: to inform on the problems,
trends and evolutionary processes; to investigate on the paths by highlighting the advanced
relationships among apparently distant disciplinary fields; to explore the interaction’s areas,
experiences and potential applications; to underline interactions, disciplinary developments
but also, if present, defeats and setbacks.
Inside the journal the Review Pages have the task of stimulating as much as possible the
circulation of ideas and the discovery of new points of view. For this reason the section is
founded on a series of basic’s references, required for the identification of new and more
advanced interactions. These references are the research, the planning acts, the actions and
the applications, analysed and investigated both for their ability to give a systematic response
to questions concerning the urban and territorial planning, and for their attention to aspects
such as the environmental sustainability and the innovation in the practices. For this purpose
the Review Pages are formed by five sections (Web Resources; Books; Laws; Urban
Practices; News and Events), each of which examines a specific aspect of the broader
information storage of interest for TeMA
Reviews Pages: Methods, tools and best practices to increase the capacity of urban system to adapt to natural and man-made changes 3 (2017)
Starting from the relationship between urban planning and mobility management, TeMA has
gradually expanded the view of the covered topics, always remaining in the groove of rigorous
scientific in-depth analysis. During the last two years a particular attention has been paid on
the Smart Cities theme and on the different meanings that come with it. The last section of the
journal is formed by the Review Pages. They have different aims: to inform on the problems,
trends and evolutionary processes; to investigate on the paths by highlighting the advanced
relationships among apparently distant disciplinary fields; to explore the interaction’s areas,
experiences and potential applications; to underline interactions, disciplinary developments
but also, if present, defeats and setbacks.
Inside the journal the Review Pages have the task of stimulating as much as possible the
circulation of ideas and the discovery of new points of view. For this reason the section is
founded on a series of basic’s references, required for the identification of new and more
advanced interactions. These references are the research, the planning acts, the actions and
the applications, analysed and investigated both for their ability to give a systematic response
to questions concerning the urban and territorial planning, and for their attention to aspects
such as the environmental sustainability and the innovation in the practices. For this purpose
the Review Pages are formed by five sections (Web Resources; Books; Laws; Urban
Practices; News and Events), each of which examines a specific aspect of the broader
information storage of interest for TeMA
Anti-Biofilm Activity of a Long-Chain Fatty Aldehyde from Antarctic Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125 against Staphylococcus epidermidis Biofilm
Staphylococcus epidermidis is a harmless human skin colonizer responsible for ~20% of orthopedic device-related infections due to its capability to form biofilm. Nowadays there is an interest in the development of anti-biofilm molecules. Marine bacteria represent a still underexploited source of biodiversity able to synthesize a broad range of bioactive compounds, including anti-biofilm molecules. Previous results have demonstrated that the culture supernatant of Antarctic marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125 impairs the formation of S. epidermidis biofilm. Further, evidence supports the hydrophobic nature of the active molecule, which has been suggested to act as a signal molecule. In this paper we describe an efficient activity-guided purification protocol which allowed us to purify this anti-biofilm molecule and structurally characterize it by NMR and mass spectrometry analyses. Our results demonstrate that the anti-biofilm molecule is pentadecanal, a long-chain fatty aldehyde, whose anti-S. epidermidis biofilm activity has been assessed using both static and dynamic biofilm assays. The specificity of its action on S. epidermidis biofilm has been demonstrated by testing chemical analogs of pentadecanal differing either in the length of the aliphatic chain or in their functional group properties. Further, indications of the mode of action of pentadecanal have been collected by studying the bioluminescence of a Vibrio harveyi reporter strain for the detection of autoinducer AI-2 like activities. The data collected suggest that pentadecanal acts as an AI-2 signal. Moreover, the aldehyde metabolic role and synthesis in the Antarctic source strain has been investigated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the identification of an anti-biofilm molecule form from cold-adapted bacteria and on the action of a long-chain fatty aldehyde acting as an anti-biofilm molecule against S. epidermidis
Review Pages: Methods, Tools and Best practices to Increase the Capacity of Urban Systems to Adapt to Natural and Man-made Changes 2(2017)
Starting from the relationship between urban planning and mobility management, TeMA has gradually expanded the view of the covered topics, always remaining in the groove of rigorous scientific in-depth analysis. During the last two years a particular attention has been paid on the Smart Cities theme and on the different meanings that come with it. The last section of the journal is formed by the Review Pages. They have different aims: to inform on the problems, trends and evolutionary processes; to investigate on the paths by highlighting the advanced relationships among apparently distant disciplinary fields; to explore the interaction’s areas, experiences and potential applications; to underline interactions, disciplinary developments but also, if present, defeats and setbacks. Inside the journal the Review Pages have the task of stimulating as much as possible the circulation of ideas and the discovery of new points of view. For this reason the section is founded on a series of basic’s references, required for the identification of new and more advanced interactions. These references are the research, the planning acts, the actions and the applications, analysed and investigated both for their ability to give a systematic response to questions concerning the urban and territorial planning, and for their attention to aspects such as the environmental sustainability and the innovation in the practices. For this purpose the Review Pages are formed by five sections (Web Resources; Books; Laws; Urban Practices; News and Events), each of which examines a specific aspect of the broader information storage of interest for TeMA
Novel translational phenotypes and biomarkers for creatine transporter deficiency
Abstract
Creatine transporter deficiency is a metabolic disorder characterized by intellectual disability, autistic-like behaviour and epilepsy. There is currently no cure for creatine transporter deficiency, and reliable biomarkers of translational value for monitoring disease progression and response to therapeutics are sorely lacking. Here, we found that mice lacking functional creatine transporter display a significant alteration of neural oscillations in the EEG and a severe epileptic phenotype that are recapitulated in patients with creatine transporter deficiency. In-depth examination of knockout mice for creatine transporter also revealed that a decrease in EEG theta power is predictive of the manifestation of spontaneous seizures, a frequency that is similarly affected in patients compared to healthy controls. In addition, knockout mice have a highly specific increase in haemodynamic responses in the cerebral cortex following sensory stimuli. Principal component and Random Forest analyses highlighted that these functional variables exhibit a high performance in discriminating between pathological and healthy phenotype. Overall, our findings identify novel, translational and non-invasive biomarkers for the analysis of brain function in creatine transporter deficiency, providing a very reliable protocol to longitudinally monitor the efficacy of potential therapeutic strategies in preclinical, and possibly clinical, studies
Interrelationship between age, gender, and weight status on motor coordination in Italian children and early adolescents aged 6-13 years old
Although numerous evidences reported a negative correlation between motor coordination (MC) and overweight/obesity in children and adolescents, the interrelationship between age, gender, and weight status is still debatable. Hence, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the association between MC and weight status according to age and gender across childhood and early adolescence in a large sample of Italian elementary and middle school students. A number of 1961 Italian school students (1,026 boys, 935 girls) was stratified in three consecutive age groups (6-7, 8-10, and 11-13 years) and four weight status categories (underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese) according to Cole's body mass index (BMI) cut-off points for children. MC performance was assessed measuring motor quotient (MQ) with the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK). Results showed significantly lower MQ levels in children in overweight (OW) and with obesity (OB) in both sexes for all age groups than peers in normal weight (NW), except in 6-7-year-old boys. Girls in OW and with OB had similar MQ levels across all age groups, while younger boys in OW and with OB showed higher MQ levels than older ones (p < 0.05). The 6-7-year-old boys showed better MQ levels than girls peers in NW, OW, and with OB, while 8-10-year-old boys in underweight (UW), NW, and OW; and 11-13-year-old boys only in NW (p < 0.05). No interaction effect was found between age, gender, and weight status on MQ levels. These outcomes showed the negative impact of higher weight status on MC performance according to age and gender, pointing out the importance of planning targeted motor programs that consider these variables to improve MC performance
Poor Sleep Quality and Its Consequences on Mental Health During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) seriously affected the whole of
Italy. The extreme virulence and the speed of propagation resulted in restrictions and
home confinement. This change was immediately perceived by people who found
themselves exposed to feelings of uncertainty, fear, anger, stress, and a drastic change
in the diurnal but above all nocturnal lifestyle. For these reasons, we aimed to study
the quality of sleep and its connection to distress levels and to evaluate how lifestyle
changed in the Italian population during the lockdown.
Methods: By means of an Internet survey we recruited 6,519 adults during the whole
of the COVID-19 lockdown (from March 10–1st phase to May 4–2nd phase). We
investigated the sociodemographic and COVID-19-related information and assessed
sleep quality using the Medical Outcomes Study–sleep scale (MOS-SS) and mental
health with the short form of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales–21 Items (DASS-
21). Multiple logistic regression model was used to evaluate the multivariate association
between the dependent variable (good sleeper vs. poor sleeper) and all the variables
that were significant in the univariate analysis.
Results: A total of 3,562 (55.32%) participants reported poor sleep quality according
to the MOS-Sleep Index II score. The multiple binary logistic regression results of poor
sleepers revealed several risk factors during the outbreak restrictions: female gender,
living in Central Italy, having someone close who died because of COVID-19, markedly
changed sleep–wake rhythms characterized by earlier or postponed habitual bedtime,
earlier habitual awakening time and reduced number of afternoon naps, and extremely
severe levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.
Conclusion: This is the first study designed to understand sleep quality and sleep habits
during the whole of the lockdown period in the Italian population that provides more than
6,000 participants in a survey developed specifically for the health emergency related to
COVID-19. Our study found that more than half of the Italian population had impaired
sleep quality and sleep habits due to elevated psychological distress during the COVID-
19 lockdown containment measures. A multidisciplinary action should be undertaken in
order to plan appropriate responses to the current crisis caused by the lockdown for the
COVID-19 outbreak
Cyclocreatine treatment ameliorates the cognitive, autistic and epileptic phenotype in a mouse model of Creatine Transporter Deficiency
Creatine Transporter Deficiency (CTD) is an inborn error of metabolism presenting with intellectual disability, behavioral disturbances and epilepsy. There is currently no cure for this disorder. Here, we employed novel biomarkers for monitoring brain function, together with well-established behavioral readouts for CTD mice, to longitudinally study the therapeutic efficacy of cyclocreatine (cCr) at the preclinical level. Our results show that cCr treatment is able to partially correct hemodynamic responses and EEG abnormalities, improve cognitive deficits, revert autistic-like behaviors and protect against seizures. This study provides encouraging data to support the potential therapeutic benefit of cyclocreatine or other chemically modified lipophilic analogs of Cr
Valproic Acid Synergizes With Cisplatin and Cetuximab in vitro and in vivo in Head and Neck Cancer by Targeting the Mechanisms of Resistance
Recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC) is a
devastating malignancy with a poor prognosis. The combination of cisplatin (CDDP) plus
cetuximab (CX) is one of the standard first-line treatments in this disease. However, this
therapeutic regimen is often associated with high toxicity and resistance, suggesting that
new combinatorial strategies are needed to improve its therapeutic index. In our study,
we evaluated the antitumor effects of valproic acid (VPA), a well-known antiepileptic
agent with histone deacetylase inhibitory activity, in combination with CDDP/CX doublet
in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) models. We demonstrated, in
HNSCC cell lines, but not in normal human fibroblasts, that simultaneous exposure to
equitoxic doses of VPA plus CDDP/CX resulted in a clear synergistic antiproliferative and
pro-apoptotic effects. The synergistic antitumor effect was confirmed in four different
3D-self-assembled spheroid models, suggesting the ability of the combined approach
to affect also the cancer stem cells compartment. Mechanistically, VPA enhanced
DNA damage in combination treatment by reducing the mRNA expression of ERCC
Excision Repair 1, a critical player in DNA repair, and by increasing CDDP intracellular
concentration via upregulation at transcriptional level of CDDP influx channel copper
transporter 1 and downregulation of the ATPAse ATP7B involved in CDDP-export.
Valproic acid also induced a dose-dependent downregulation of epidermal growth factor
receptor (EGFR) expression and of MAPK and AKT downstream signaling pathways
and prevent CDDP- and/or CX-induced EGFR nuclear translocation, a well-known
mechanism of resistance to chemotherapy. Indeed, VPA impaired the transcription
of genes induced by non-canonical activity of nuclear EGFR, such as cyclin D1 and thymidylate synthase. Finally, we confirmed the synergistic antitumor effect also
in vivo in both heterotopic and orthotopic models, demonstrating that the combined
treatment completely blocked HNSCC xenograft tumors growth in nude mice. Overall,
the introduction of a safe and generic drug such as VPA into the conventional treatment
for R/M HNSCC represents an innovative and feasible antitumor strategy that warrants
further clinical evaluation. A phase II clinical trial exploring the combination of VPA and
CDDP/CX in R/M HNSCC patients is currently ongoing in our institute
Brivaracetam as Early Add-On Treatment in Patients with Focal Seizures: A Retrospective, Multicenter, Real-World Study
Introduction In randomized controlled trials, add-on brivaracetam (BRV) reduced seizure frequency in patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy. Most real-world research on BRV has focused on refractory epilepsy. The aim of this analysis was to assess the 12-month effectiveness and tolerability of adjunctive BRV when used as early or late adjunctive treatment in patients included in the BRIVAracetam add-on First Italian netwoRk Study (BRIVAFIRST). Methods BRIVAFIRST was a 12-month retrospective, multicenter study including adult patients prescribed adjunctive BRV. Effectiveness outcomes included the rates of sustained seizure response, sustained seizure freedom, and treatment discontinuation. Safety and tolerability outcomes included the rate of treatment discontinuation due to adverse events (AEs) and the incidence of AEs. Data were compared for patients treated with add-on BRV after 1-2 (early add-on) and >= 3 (late add-on) prior antiseizure medications. Results A total of 1029 patients with focal epilepsy were included in the study, of whom 176 (17.1%) received BRV as early add-on treatment. The median daily dose of BRV at 12 months was 125 (100-200) mg in the early add-on group and 200 (100-200) in the late add-on group (p < 0.001). Sustained seizure response was reached by 97/161 (60.3%) of patients in the early add-on group and 286/833 (34.3%) of patients in the late add-on group (p < 0.001). Sustained seizure freedom was achieved by 51/161 (31.7%) of patients in the early add-on group and 91/833 (10.9%) of patients in the late add-on group (p < 0.001). During the 1-year study period, 29 (16.5%) patients in the early add-on group and 241 (28.3%) in the late add-on group discontinued BRV (p = 0.001). Adverse events were reported by 38.7% and 28.5% (p = 0.017) of patients who received BRV as early and late add-on treatment, respectively. Conclusion Brivaracetam was effective and well tolerated both as first add-on and late adjunctive treatment in patients with focal epilepsy
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