IMPROVING SOCIAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS USING PROGRAMMABLE TOY ROBOTS

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of lifelong disabilities that affect people’s ability to communicate and understand social cues. An individual with ASD has difficulties in recognizing body language, making eye contact, and understanding other people’s emotions. Rapid progress in technology offers increasing possibilities for innovation in treatment for individuals with ASD.In recent years, advances have enabled programmable toy robots (PTRs) to help individuals improve their social skills and communication abilities. Over the past decade, the use of PTRs with autistic children has received considerable attention, even though research on this topic is in its infancy.This article analyzes the recent progress in the use of PTRs in the ASD scope. It illustrates an exploratory research conducted on four adolescents with ASD aimed at defining an experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of PTRs in their social communication.The exploratory research results are encouraging, although they demonstrated the complexity in determining the feasibility and validity of robots in the social communication of autistic people.

Cell wall composition and biofilm formation of azoles-susceptible and -resistant Candida glabrata strains

In the present study, three strains of Candida glabrata have been investigated to shed light on the mechanisms involved in azole resistance during adherence and biofilm formation. In particular, a clinical isolate, susceptible to azole-based drugs, DSY562 and two different resistant mutagenic strains deriving from DSY562, SFY114 and SFY115, have been analysed with different approaches for their cell wall composition and properties. A proteomic analysis revealed that the expression of six cell wall-related proteins and biofilm formation varied between the strains. The SFY114 and SFY115 strains resulted to be less hydrophobic than the susceptible parental counterpart DSY562, on the other hand they showed a higher amount in total cell wall polysaccharides fraction in the total cell wall. Accordingly to the results obtained from the hydrophobicity and adherence assays, in the resistant strain SFY115 the biofilm formation decreased compared to the parental strain DSY562. Finally, the total glucose amount in resistant SFY115 was about halved in comparison to other strains. Taken together all these data suggest that azole drugs may affect the cell wall composition of C. glabrata, in relation to the different pathogenic behaviours

Cell wall composition and biofilm formation of azoles-susceptible and -resistant Candida glabrata strains

In the present study, three strains of Candida glabrata have been investigated to shed light on the mechanisms involved in azole resistance during adherence and biofilm formation. In particular, a clinical isolate, susceptible to azole-based drugs, DSY562 and two different resistant mutagenic strains deriving from DSY562, SFY114 and SFY115, have been analysed with different approaches for their cell wall composition and properties. A proteomic analysis revealed that the expression of six cell wall-related proteins and biofilm formation varied between the strains. The SFY114 and SFY115 strains resulted to be less hydrophobic than the susceptible parental counterpart DSY562, on the other hand they showed a higher amount in total cell wall polysaccharides fraction in the total cell wall. Accordingly to the results obtained from the hydrophobicity and adherence assays, in the resistant strain SFY115 the biofilm formation decreased compared to the parental strain DSY562. Finally, the total glucose amount in resistant SFY115 was about halved in comparison to other strains. Taken together all these data suggest that azole drugs may affect the cell wall composition of C. glabrata, in relation to the different pathogenic behaviours

Nuclear Shield: A Multi-Enzyme Task-Force for Nucleus Protection

In eukaryotic cells the nuclear envelope isolates and protects DNA from molecules that could damage its structure or interfere with its processing. Moreover, selected protection enzymes and vitamins act as efficient guardians against toxic compounds both in the nucleoplasm and in the cytosol. The observation that a cytosolic detoxifying and antioxidant enzyme i.e. glutathione transferase is accumulated in the perinuclear region of the rat hepatocytes suggests that other unrecognized modalities of nuclear protection may exist. Here we show evidence for the existence of a safeguard enzyme machinery formed by an hyper-crowding of cationic enzymes and proteins encompassing the nuclear membrane and promoted by electrostatic interactions

Gut Microbiota Functional Traits, Blood pH, and Anti-GAD Antibodies Concur in the Clinical Characterization of T1D at Onset

Alterations of gut microbiota have been identified before clinical manifestation of type 1 diabetes (T1D). To identify the associations amongst gut microbiome profile, metabolism and disease markers, the 16S rRNA-based microbiota profiling and H-1-NMR metabolomic analysis were performed on stool samples of 52 T1D patients at onset, 17 T1D siblings and 57 healthy subjects (CTRL). Univariate, multivariate analyses and classification models were applied to clinical and -omic integrated datasets. In T1D patients and their siblings, Clostridiales and Dorea were increased and Dialister and Akkermansia were decreased compared to CTRL, while in T1D, Lachnospiraceae were higher and Collinsella was lower, compared to siblings and CTRL. Higher levels of isobutyrate, malonate, Clostridium, Enterobacteriaceae, Clostridiales, Bacteroidales, were associated to T1D compared to CTRL. Patients with higher anti-GAD levels showed low abundances of Roseburia, Faecalibacterium and Alistipes and those with normal blood pH and low serum HbA(1c) levels showed high levels of purine and pyrimidine intermediates. We detected specific gut microbiota profiles linked to both T1D at the onset and to diabetes familiarity. The presence of specific microbial and metabolic profiles in gut linked to anti-GAD levels and to blood acidosis can be considered as predictive biomarker associated progression and severity of T1D

Characterization of extracellular vesicles in osteoporotic patients compared to osteopenic and healthy controls

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are mediators of a range of pathological conditions. However, their role in bone loss disease has not been well understood. In this study we characterized plasma EVs of 54 osteoporotic (OP) postmenopausal women compared to 48 osteopenic (OPN) and 44 healthy controls (CN), and we investigated their effects on osteoclasts and osteoblasts. We found no differences between the three groups in terms of anthropometric measurements and biochemical evaluation of serum calcium, phosphate, creatinine, PTH, 25-hydroxy vitamin D and bone biomarkers, except for an increase of CTX level in OP group. FACS analysis revealed that OP patients presented a significantly increased number of EVs and RANKL(+) EVs compared with both CN and OPN subjects. Total EVs are negatively associated with the lumbar spine T-score and femoral neck T-score. Only in the OPN patients we observed a positive association between the total number of EVs and RANKL(+) EVs with the serum RANKL. In vitro studies revealed that OP EVs supported osteoclastogenesis of healthy donor peripheral blood mononuclear cells at the same level observed following RANKL and M-CSF treatment, reduced the ability of mesenchymal stem cells to differentiate into osteoblasts, while inducing an increase of OSTERIX and RANKL expression in mature osteoblasts. The analysis of miRNome revealed that miR-1246 and miR-1224-5p were the most upregulated and downregulated in OP EVs; the modulated EV-miRNAs in OP and OPN compared to CN are related to osteoclast differentiation, interleukin-13 production and regulation of canonical WNT pathway. A proteomic comparison between OPN and CN EVs evidenced a decrease in fibrinogen, vitronectin, and clusterin and an increase in coagulation factors and apolipoprotein, which was also upregulated in OP EVs. Interestingly, an increase in RANKL(+) EVs and exosomal miR-1246 was also observed in samples from patients affected by Gorham-Stout disease, suggesting that EVs could be good candidate as bone loss disease biomarkers. (c) 2022 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR)

Mass Spectrometry Based-Proteomic Analysis of Anisakis spp.: A Preliminary Study towards a New Diagnostic Tool

Anisakiasis is nowadays a well-known infection, mainly caused by the accidental ingestion of Anisakis larvae, following the consumption of raw or undercooked fishes and cephalopods. Due to the similarity of symptoms with those of common gastrointestinal disorders, this infection is often underestimated, and the need for new specific diagnostic tools is becoming crucial. Given the remarkable impact that MALDI–TOF MS biotyping had in the last decade in clinical routine practice for the recognition of bacterial and fungi strains, a similar scenario could be foreseen for the identification of parasites, such as nematodes. In this work, a MALDI–TOF MS profiling of Anisakis proteome was pursued with a view to constructing a first spectral library for the diagnosis of Anisakis infections. At the same time, a shotgun proteomics approach by LC–ESI–MS/MS was performed on the two main fractions obtained from protein extraction, to evaluate the protein species enriched by the protocol. A set of MALDI–TOF MS signals associated with proteins originating in the ribosomal fraction of the nematode extract was selected as a potential diagnostic tool for the identification of Anisakis spp

Effectiveness on urinary symptoms and erectile function of Prostamev Plus® vs only extract Serenoa repens

Prostatic inflammation is widespread in the male population. Two groups of 50 patients each with symptoms of prostatic inflammation and ecocolorDoppler indicative of prostatitis were identified. Both groups were further subdivided into two subgroups (respectively A1, A2, B1, and B2). Group A1 underwent therapy with oral levofloxacin 500 mg daily for 10 days plus co-treatment with oral Serenoa repens (320 mg) plus Bromeline plus Nettle (Prostamev Plus®) daily for two months; Group A2 with oral levofloxacin 500 mg daily for 10 days plus oral Serenoa repens extract 320 mg/day for two months; Group B1 specific antibiotic treatment for 10 days (included levofloxacin if sensitive) plus co-treatment with oral Serenoa repens (320 mg) plus Bromeline plus Nettle (Prostamev Plus®) daily for two months; Group B2 with specific antibiotic treatment for 10 days plus Serenoa repens 320 mg/day for two months. The groups treated with Prostamev Plus® in comparison to the groups treated with Serenoa repens extract (saw palmetto) achieved better improvements of both IPSS score, urinary flow and sexual life