A study on organogenic potential in the Vitis genus

In order to increase the number of grape genotypes adapted to in vitro manipulation studies, an investigation on the regenerative potentiality in the Vitis genus was conducted on cultivars of Vitis vinifera L., (Barbera, Cabernet franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Canner Seedless bianco, Chardonnay, Enantio, Moscato bianco, Riesling, Sultana moscato bianco and Sultanina rouge), V. vinifera silvestris G., V. amurensis R., V. armata D. and G., V. riparia M., V. simpsonii M., as well as the rootstocks 110 Richter and Schwarzmann, and the interspecific variety Staufer. Regeneration was induced via direct organogenesis from young leaves, and a relevant genotypic influence on the morphogenic potentiality was observed. Among the 18 different genotypes tested, regeneration occurred with different efficiencies and precocity. Agreeable efficiencies were obtained for Sultana moscato, Riesling, Chardonnay and Cabernet franc, while Enantio and Cabernet Sauvignon were recalcitrant to shoot regeneration. V. armata was the most favourable to this regeneration system

OLD OR NEW WAVES IN CAPO GRAZIANO DECORATIVE STYLES?

Six main decorative styles have been tentatively distinguished in the Early-Middle Bronze age Capo Graziano incised pottery of the Aeolian Islands. This experimental study focuses on the analysis of 68 bowls from the islands of Lipari, Filicudi, Salina and Stromboli and from Milazzo in Sicily. The clas-sification is based on motifs and styles, and integrates typology, technology, composition and decoration in their identification. The styles are linked to production centres showing different spatial and temporal va-riations and appear to reflect different dynamics: the expert “individual” craftsman, the design in fashion, the symbolic code or the fulfilment of specific functions. The evaluation of skill in application and varia-bility in the concept are measured in order to assess the social implications in the production of the pottery. This interim investigation will continue to refine the chronology and to establish the decorative styles in other Aeolian Islands. It is possible that schematic elements in the decorative styles, such as undulating lines and metopes, reflect the maritime and insular environment of the Aeolian Islands

Amino-functionalized poly(l-lactide) lamellar single crystals as a valuable substrate for delivery of HPV16-E7 tumor antigen in vaccine development

Background: Poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) is a biodegradable polymer currently used in many biomedical applications, including the production of resorbable surgical devices, porous scaffolds for tissue engineering, nanoparticles and microparticles for the controlled release of drugs or antigens. The surfaces of lamellar PLLA single crystals (PLLAsc) were provided with amino groups by reaction with a multifunctional amine and used to adsorb an Escherichia coli-produced human papillomavirus (HPV)16-E7 protein to evaluate its possible use in antigen delivery for vaccine development. Methods: PLLA single crystals were made to react with tetraethylenepentamine to obtain amino-functionalized PLLA single crystals (APLLAsc). Pristine and amino-functionalized PLLAsc showed a two-dimensional microsized and one-dimensional nanosized lamellar morphology, with a lateral dimension of about 15–20 µm, a thickness of about 12 nm, and a surface specific area of about 130 m2/g. Both particles were characterized and loaded with HPV16-E7 before being administered to C57BL/6 mice for immunogenicity studies. The E7-specific humoral-mediated and cell-mediated immune response as well as tumor protective immunity were analyzed in mice challenged with TC-1 cancer cells. Results: Pristine and amino-functionalized PLLAsc adsorbed similar amounts of E7 protein, but in protein-release experiments E7-PLLAsc released a higher amount of protein than E7-APLLAsc. When the complexes were dried for observation by scanning electron microscopy, both samples showed a compact layer, but E7-APLLAsc showed greater roughness than E7-PLLAsc. Immunization experiments in mice showed that E7-APLLAsc induced a stronger E7-specific immune response when compared with E7-PLLAsc. Immunoglobulin G isotyping and interferon gamma analysis suggested a mixed Th1/Th2 immune response in both E7-PLLAsc-immunized and E7-APLLAsc-immunized mice. However, only the mice receiving E7-APLLAsc were fully protected from TC-1 tumor growth after three doses of vaccine. Conclusion: Our results show that APLLA single crystals improve the immunogenicity of HPV16-E7 and indicate that E7-APLLAsc could be used for development of an HPV16 therapeutic vaccine against HPV16-related tumors

Cluster of invasive Neisseria meningitidis infections on a cruise ship, Italy, October 2012.

We describe a cluster of four cases of invasive meningococcal disease that occurred on a cruise ship sailing along the Italian coast in October 2012. All four cases were hospitalised with severe illness and one of them died. This report illustrates the importance of rapid implementation of emergency control measures such as administration of prophylaxis to all crew members and passengers to prevent the spread of the disease in such a close environment

Serum levels of soluble CD30 in adult patients affected by atopic dermatitis and its relation to age, duration of disease and Scoring Atopic Dermatitis index.

The value of CD30 and the soluble circulating fragment of CD30 (sCD30) for atopic dermatitis (AD) remains unclear. In particular, little is known about the effects of age, duration of disease and Scoring Atopic Dermatitis index (SCORAD) on the levels of serum sCD30 in patients affected by AD. In the present study, we have analysed serum sCD30 levels of adult patients affected by AD. The study's population includes 18 non-smoking outpatients, with a diagnosis of AD. As a control group we studied 18 non-atopic subjects from laboratory staff, matched for sex and age. These subjects had no history of AD, urticaria or seasonal or perennial rhinitis or asthma, and had negative skin prick test to a panel of allergens. The sCD30 serum levels were clearly higher in patients affected by AD (14.2+/-9.0 IU/ml) than in healthy subjects (1.2+/-0.8 IU/ml) (p<0.001). No differences were observed between males and females affected by atopic dermatitis, regarding age, duration of disease and SCORAD. Significant correlations were found between serum levels of sCD30 levels and age (r=-0.55; 95% confidence interval (CI) for r (Fisher's z transformed)=-0.81 to -0.12; p=0.01), duration of the disease (months) (r=-0.64; 95% CI for r (Fisher's z transformed)=-0.85 to -0.24; p=0.004) and SCORAD (r=-0.74; 95% CI for r (Fisher's z transformed)=-0.89 to -0.42; p=0.004). As demonstrated by the close correlation with age, duration of disease and SCORAD, serum levels of sCD30 appear to be an additional marker for the follow-up of AD

An Original Single-Body Synthetic Heart Valve: Feasibility Study And Prototype Realization

The research for durable, non-thrombogenic heart valve prostheses able to overcome the limits of biological and mechanical ones, promoted the development of synthetic valves. Their success has been hampered by lack of durability, due to calcification and thromboembolic complications. The aim of this work was to develop a prototype of a new elastomeric biocompatible valve, durable and free from calcification

A New Elastomeric Biomaterial for Arterial Diseases Applications

The covering of self-expandable stents (S-ESs) with elastic biocompatible membrane may avoid the atherosclerotic plaque prolapse between the stent struts into the lumen. In this work it is proposed a new elastomeric biomaterial, combined with a spray-technique, to realise a thin membrane for covering S-ESs. The membrane resulted adherent to metallic struts and able to follow stent deformation. The new biomaterial, an elastomeric silicone (polydimethylsiloxane PDMS) based poly(ether)urethane (PEtU/PDMS), deposited on the S-ESs by the spray-technique, showed in vitro good adhesion to metallic struts, even after deformation and recoil, and did not compromise its elastic behaviour. Capitalising on the good biocompatibility and low trombogenicity demonstrated by the material within previous studies it is expected that it can be used successfully for S-ESs covering for iliac-femoral applications

Deep-MEG: spatiotemporal CNN features and multiband ensemble classification for predicting the early signs of Alzheimer's disease with magnetoencephalography

AbstractIn this paper, we present the novel Deep-MEG approach in which image-based representations of magnetoencephalography (MEG) data are combined with ensemble classifiers based on deep convolutional neural networks. For the scope of predicting the early signs of Alzheimer's disease (AD), functional connectivity (FC) measures between the brain bio-magnetic signals originated from spatially separated brain regions are used as MEG data representations for the analysis. After stacking the FC indicators relative to different frequency bands into multiple images, a deep transfer learning model is used to extract different sets of deep features and to derive improved classification ensembles. The proposed Deep-MEG architectures were tested on a set of resting-state MEG recordings and their corresponding magnetic resonance imaging scans, from a longitudinal study involving 87 subjects. Accuracy values of 89% and 87% were obtained, respectively, for the early prediction of AD conversion in a sample of 54 mild cognitive impairment subjects and in a sample of 87 subjects, including 33 healthy controls. These results indicate that the proposed Deep-MEG approach is a powerful tool for detecting early alterations in the spectral–temporal connectivity profiles and in their spatial relationships

Polymorphic variants of IGF2BP3 and SENCR have an impact on predisposition and/or progression of Ewing sarcoma

Ewing sarcoma (EWS), the second most common malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents, occurs abruptly without clear evidence of tumor history or progression. Previous association studies have identified some inherited variants associated with the risk of developing EWS but a common picture of the germline susceptibility to this tumor remains largely unclear. Here, we examine the association between thirty single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the IGF2BP3, a gene that codes for an oncofetal RNA-binding protein demonstrated to be important for EWS patient's risk stratification, and five SNPs of SENCR, a long non-coding RNA shown to regulate IGF2BP3. An association between polymorphisms and EWS susceptibility was observed for three IGF2BP3 SNPs - rs112316332, rs13242065, rs12700421 - and for four SENCR SNPs - rs10893909, rs11221437, rs12420823, rs4526784 -. In addition, IGF2BP3 rs34033684 and SENCR rs10893909 variants increased the risk for female respect to male subgroup when carried together, while IGF2BP3 rs13242065 or rs76983703 variants reduced the probability of a disease later onset (&gt; 14 years). Moreover, the absence of IGF2BP3 rs10488282 variant and the presence of rs199653 or rs35875486 variant were significantly associated with a worse survival in EWS patients with localized disease at diagnosis. Overall, our data provide the first evidence linking genetic variants of IGF2BP3 and its modulator SENCR to the risk of EWS development and to disease progression, thus supporting the concept that heritable factors can influence susceptibility to EWS and may help to predict patient prognosis

Twenty years of surveillance of Invasive Meningococcal Diseases in Puglia, Italy

The study aims to investigate the change in the burden of disease and the microbiological characteristics of Invasive Meningococcal Disease (IMD) in Puglia in comparison with overall incidence from 1994 through 2014