Assesment of genetic diversity and relationships among maize inbred lines developed in Italy

The genetic diversity pattern of a sample of 144 maize inbred lines comprising 106 Italian entries, considered representative of the breeding material developed at the Bergamo Maize Breeding Station, and a sample of 38, mainly US Corn Belt based, reference lines was accessed using AFLP markers. A total of 811 polymorphic fragments were identified. Exploration of the variation disclosed by the lines by means of principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering allowed their division into major heterotic groups. The obtained grouping of the inbred lines reflected pedigree information and resulted in the identification of major clusters derived from Lancaster Sure Crop (LSC), Iowa Stiff Stock Synthetic (BSSS), and miscellaneous heterotic breeding material. AMOVA statistics, performed on the established genetic structure, revealed a high proportion of variance between individuals and among populations stressing the high polymorphic nature of the maize pool analyzed. Regarding population structures, the genetic distance among populations (FST = 0.50 } 0.1) and the degree of inbreeding within groups (FSC = 0.46 } 0.1) did not diverge significantly, while both significantly differed from the degree of relatedness between markers within groups (FCT = 0.06 } 0.04). In conclusion, the results presented indicate that AFLPs are useful in assigning inbred lines to heterotic groups and for superior line development with the aim to maximize heterosis and consequently yield performance

Management of thyroid Hurthle cell neoplasms: a single centre experience and literature review = Management delle neoplasie a cellule di Hurthle della tiroide: esperienza di un singolo centro e revisione della letteratura

Aim. We report our experience on the management of Hurthle cell neoplasms (HCNs) of the thyroid and a review of the literature in order to describe the most relevant clinical, diagnostic, biologic and therapeutic aspects. Materials and Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 15 consecutive patients with HCN. The male/female ratio was 1:4 and the mean age was 53.8 years. Fourteen patients underwent total thyroidectomy and one patient lobectomy. Two patients were lost to follow up. The mean follow up time was 54 months. Results. Eleven Hurthle cell adenomas and 4 carcinomas were found. At the time of initial surgical evaluation 9 patients (60%) were symptomatic, with hyperthyroidism and dysphagia being the most frequent manifestations. Only in 6 (40%) cases the diagnosis was obtained by preoperative fine needle aspiration biopsy. Among patients with Hurthle cell adenoma and carcinoma the mean age was 51 and 62 years respectively and the mean lesion size 1.6 and 3.8 cm respectively. No cases of death or recurrence were registered. Conclusions. Clinical manifestations are similar to those for other differentiated thyroid neoplasms. Patients with Hurthle cell carcinoma presented a mean age and a mean tumor size greater than those with Hurthle cell adenoma. Our data suggest that adenomas have not a malignant potential; nevertheless surgical resection is necessary to obtain a precise evaluation of eventual infiltrative events. Surgical resection is also the treatment of choice for the treatment of carcinomas with total thyroidectomy representing the best surgical option. Obiettivo. Riportiamo in questo articolo la nostra esperienza nel management delle neoplasie a cellule di Hurthle (HCNs) ed una revisione della letteratura allo scopo di sottolineare i più importanti aspetti clinici, diagnostici, biologici e terapeutici. Materiali e metodi. Abbiamo esaminato i dati clinici di 15 pazienti consecutivi con HCN. L’età media dei pazienti era di 53,8 anni e il rapporto maschi/femmine 1:4. Quattordici pazienti sono stati sottoposti a tiroidectomia totale ed uno a lobectomia. Due pazienti sono stati persi al follow up. Il tempo medio di follow up era di 54 mesi. Risultati. Undici pazienti sono stati trovati affetti da adenoma a cellule di Hurthle e 4 da carcinoma. Nove pazienti (60%) erano sintomatici, e solo in 6 (40%) casi la diagnosi è stata ottenuta tramite biopsia con ago aspirato. L’età media dei pazienti affetti da adenoma era 51 anni e di quelli con carcinoma 62. La dimensione media delle lesioni era superiore nei pazienti con carcinoma (3,8 cm verso 1,6 in quelli con adenoma). Non sono stati osservati decessi o recidive. Conclusioni. Abbiamo osservato una differenza di età e di dimensione delle lesioni tra i pazienti affetti da adenoma e quelli affetti da carcinoma. I nostri dati suggeriscono che gli adenomi a cellule di Hurthle non hanno potenziale maligno, tuttavia l’asportazione chirurgica è necessaria per la valutazione di eventuali eventi infiltrativi. Il trattamento chirurgico con tiroidectomia totale o resezioni più ampie ove necessario rappresenta il trattamento di scelta per i carcinomi

Heterozygous deletion of KLHL1/ATX8OS at the SCA8 locus is unlikely associated with cerebellar impairment in humans

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 8 (SCA8) (MIM 608768) is a dominantly inherited ataxia typically occurring in adulthood, with onset of the disease that may range from age 1 to 65 years. Common initial symptoms are scanning dysarthria with a characteristic drawn-out slowness of speech and gait instability. Some individuals present with nystagmus, dysmetric saccades and, occasionally ophthalmoplegia. Hyperreflexia and extensor plantar responses are present in some severely affected individuals. Life span is typically not shortened

Allergic Rhinitis Improvement After Septorhinoplasty in a Sample of Allergic Rhinitis Patients With Septal Deviation: A Quasi-Experimental Study

[Abstract] BACKGROUND: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects almost 30% of the adult population. OBJECTIVE: To describe and compare the evolution of symptoms in patients diagnosed with AR and septal deviation prior to and following septoplasty (STP). DESIGN AND SETTING: Quasi-experimental study developed in A Coruña University Hospital. METHODS: Patients aged 18-65 years who had been diagnosed with AR and septal deviation were recruited. Obstruction airflow was evaluated before and after surgery, by means of anterior rhinomanometry (RNM). Severity symptoms and quality of life were assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and the ESPRINT questionnaire, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 50 subjects underwent STP and 42 were included in this study. Their mean age at the time of surgery was 34.16 ± 9.74 years (range 18-64). Significant reductions in mean VAS and ESPRINT were observed after surgery (P < 0.01). These outcomes were considered to represent an overall improvement in quality of life. The RNM results also improved significantly, from mean values of 478.07 ± 165.4 cm3/s before STP to 826.4 ± 175.5 cm3/s afterwards (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The negative correlations of VAS and ESPRINT with RNM, from before and to after STP, demonstrate the efficacy of scales and questionnaires as objective methods for determining obstruction in the absence of rhinomanometry. Patients with allergic rhinitis and septal deviation showed improvements in obstruction severity and medication use after STP. OBJECTIVE: To describe and compare the evolution of symptoms in patients diagnosed with AR and septal deviation prior to and following septoplasty (STP). DESIGN AND SETTING: Quasi-experimental study developed in A Coruña University Hospital. METHODS: Patients aged 18-65 years who had been diagnosed with AR and septal deviation were recruited. Obstruction airflow was evaluated before and after surgery, by means of anterior rhinomanometry (RNM). Severity symptoms and quality of life were assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and the ESPRINT questionnaire, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 50 subjects underwent STP and 42 were included in this study. Their mean age at the time of surgery was 34.16 ± 9.74 years (range 18-64). Significant reductions in mean VAS and ESPRINT were observed after surgery (P < 0.01). These outcomes were considered to represent an overall improvement in quality of life. The RNM results also improved significantly, from mean values of 478.07 ± 165.4 cm3/s before STP to 826.4 ± 175.5 cm3/s afterwards (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The negative correlations of VAS and ESPRINT with RNM, from before and to after STP, demonstrate the efficacy of scales and questionnaires as objective methods for determining obstruction in the absence of rhinomanometry. Patients with allergic rhinitis and septal deviation showed improvements in obstruction severity and medication use after STP

Corticotroph tumor progression after bilateral adrenalectomy (Nelson’s syndrome):systematic review and expert consensus recommendations

Corticotroph tumor progression (CTP) leading to Nelson's syndrome (NS) is a severe and difficult-to-treat complication subsequent to bilateral adrenalectomy (BADX) for Cushing's disease. Its characteristics are not well described, and consensus recommendations for diagnosis and treatment are missing

Aspectos históricos y políticos del federalismo argentino

Como en el tomo primero -que analizara los aspectos fiscales y económicos-, también hemos concretado una visión interdisciplinaria, en este caso de historiadores, juristas y politólogos, sobre un fenómeno tan complejo como el del proceso federal de nuestro país, en lo específicamente histórico y político.Introducción / Antonio María Hernández -- ASPECTOS HISTÓRICOS DEL FEDERALISMO ARGENTINO. Aspectos históricos y políticos del federalismo argentino / Antonio María Hernández -- El origen del federalismo, su consolidación en Iberoamérica, y la lucha por la libertad / Eugenio Luis Palazzo -- Confederación y Estado federal en la historia constitucional / Antonio Castagno -- El federalismo en la República Argentina / Eduardo Martiré -- El anhelo constituyente / Isidoro J. Ruiz Moreno -- La tragedia del federalismo argentino / Armando Raúl Bazán -- El federalismo en la Argentina / Alberto Zarza Mensaque -- Federalismo: aspectos históricos en la República Argentina. Proyecciones en el presente / Néstor Osvaldo Losa -- La reconstrucción del orden constitucional por las provincias / Sergio Díaz Ricci -- Los modelos históricos y la arquitectura rentística argentina de 1853-60-66 / Miguel Angel Asensio -- La federación argentina como resultado estratégico de los conflictos interprovinciales / Julio Saguir -- ASPECTOS POLÍTICOS DEL FEDERALISMO ARGENTINO. Consideraciones en torno al federalismo argentino / Daniel Alberto Sabsay -- Ilegitimidades constitucionales en nombre del federalismo / Mario A. R. Midón -- Aspectos políticos del federalismo / Guillermo E. Barrera Buteler -- Notas sobre organización y funcionamiento de los partidos políticos en el federalismo argentino / José Manuel Belisle (h) -- ASPECTOS HISTÓRICOS Y POLÍTICOS DEL FEDERALISMO ARGENTINO. Federalismo agrario, derecha e izquierda. Una respuesta en Norberto Bobbio / Enrique José Marchiaro --Fil: Hernández, Antonio María. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Palazzo, Eugenio Luis. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Castagno, Antonio. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Martiré, Eduardo. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Ruíz Moreno, Isidoro J. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Bazán, Armando Raúl. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Zarza Mensaque, Alberto. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Losa, Néstor Osvaldo. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Díaz Ricci, Sergio. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Asensio, Miguel Ángel. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Saguir, Julio. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Sabsay, Daniel Alberto. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Midón, Mario A. R. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Barrera Buteler, Guillermo E.. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Belisle (h), José Manuel. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Marchiaro, Enrique José. Academia Nacional de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de Córdoba; Argentina

The “Diabetes Comorbidome”: A Different Way for Health Professionals to Approach the Comorbidity Burden of Diabetes

(1) Background: The disease burden related to diabetes is increasing greatly, particularly in older subjects. A more comprehensive approach towards the assessment and management of diabetes’ comorbidities is necessary. The aim of this study was to implement our previous data identifying and representing the prevalence of the comorbidities, their association with mortality, and the strength of their relationship in hospitalized elderly patients with diabetes, developing, at the same time, a new graphic representation model of the comorbidome called “Diabetes Comorbidome”. (2) Methods: Data were collected from the RePoSi register. Comorbidities, socio-demographic data, severity and comorbidity indexes (Cumulative Illness rating Scale CIRS-SI and CIRS-CI), and functional status (Barthel Index), were recorded. Mortality rates were assessed in hospital and 3 and 12 months after discharge. (3) Results: Of the 4714 hospitalized elderly patients, 1378 had diabetes. The comorbidities distribution showed that arterial hypertension (57.1%), ischemic heart disease (31.4%), chronic renal failure (28.8%), atrial fibrillation (25.6%), and COPD (22.7%), were the more frequent in subjects with diabetes. The graphic comorbidome showed that the strongest predictors of death at in hospital and at the 3-month follow-up were dementia and cancer. At the 1-year follow-up, cancer was the first comorbidity independently associated with mortality. (4) Conclusions: The “Diabetes Comorbidome” represents the perfect instrument for determining the prevalence of comorbidities and the strength of their relationship with risk of death, as well as the need for an effective treatment for improving clinical outcomes

Antidiabetic Drug Prescription Pattern in Hospitalized Older Patients with Diabetes

Objective: To describe the prescription pattern of antidiabetic and cardiovascular drugs in a cohort of hospitalized older patients with diabetes. Methods: Patients with diabetes aged 65 years or older hospitalized in internal medicine and/or geriatric wards throughout Italy and enrolled in the REPOSI (REgistro POliterapuie SIMI—Società Italiana di Medicina Interna) registry from 2010 to 2019 and discharged alive were included. Results: Among 1703 patients with diabetes, 1433 (84.2%) were on treatment with at least one antidiabetic drug at hospital admission, mainly prescribed as monotherapy with insulin (28.3%) or metformin (19.2%). The proportion of treated patients decreased at discharge (N = 1309, 76.9%), with a significant reduction over time. Among those prescribed, the proportion of those with insulin alone increased over time (p = 0.0066), while the proportion of those prescribed sulfonylureas decreased (p &lt; 0.0001). Among patients receiving antidiabetic therapy at discharge, 1063 (81.2%) were also prescribed cardiovascular drugs, mainly with an antihypertensive drug alone or in combination (N = 777, 73.1%). Conclusion: The management of older patients with diabetes in a hospital setting is often sub-optimal, as shown by the increasing trend in insulin at discharge, even if an overall improvement has been highlighted by the prevalent decrease in sulfonylureas prescription

Event reconstruction for KM3NeT/ORCA using convolutional neural networks

The KM3NeT research infrastructure is currently under construction at two locations in the Mediterranean Sea. The KM3NeT/ORCA water-Cherenkov neutrino detector off the French coast will instrument several megatons of seawater with photosensors. Its main objective is the determination of the neutrino mass ordering. This work aims at demonstrating the general applicability of deep convolutional neural networks to neutrino telescopes, using simulated datasets for the KM3NeT/ORCA detector as an example. To this end, the networks are employed to achieve reconstruction and classification tasks that constitute an alternative to the analysis pipeline presented for KM3NeT/ORCA in the KM3NeT Letter of Intent. They are used to infer event reconstruction estimates for the energy, the direction, and the interaction point of incident neutrinos. The spatial distribution of Cherenkov light generated by charged particles induced in neutrino interactions is classified as shower- or track-like, and the main background processes associated with the detection of atmospheric neutrinos are recognized. Performance comparisons to machine-learning classification and maximum-likelihood reconstruction algorithms previously developed for KM3NeT/ORCA are provided. It is shown that this application of deep convolutional neural networks to simulated datasets for a large-volume neutrino telescope yields competitive reconstruction results and performance improvements with respect to classical approaches

Event reconstruction for KM3NeT/ORCA using convolutional neural networks

The KM3NeT research infrastructure is currently under construction at two locations in the Mediterranean Sea. The KM3NeT/ORCA water-Cherenkov neutrino de tector off the French coast will instrument several megatons of seawater with photosensors. Its main objective is the determination of the neutrino mass ordering. This work aims at demonstrating the general applicability of deep convolutional neural networks to neutrino telescopes, using simulated datasets for the KM3NeT/ORCA detector as an example. To this end, the networks are employed to achieve reconstruction and classification tasks that constitute an alternative to the analysis pipeline presented for KM3NeT/ORCA in the KM3NeT Letter of Intent. They are used to infer event reconstruction estimates for the energy, the direction, and the interaction point of incident neutrinos. The spatial distribution of Cherenkov light generated by charged particles induced in neutrino interactions is classified as shower-or track-like, and the main background processes associated with the detection of atmospheric neutrinos are recognized. Performance comparisons to machine-learning classification and maximum-likelihood reconstruction algorithms previously developed for KM3NeT/ORCA are provided. It is shown that this application of deep convolutional neural networks to simulated datasets for a large-volume neutrino telescope yields competitive reconstruction results and performance improvements with respect to classical approaches