Calcite moonmilk of microbial origin in the Etruscan Tomba degli Scudi in Tarquinia, Italy

A white deposit covering the walls in the Stanza degli Scudi of the Tomba degli Scudi, Tarquinia, Italy, has been investigated. In this chamber, which is still preserved from any kind of intervention such as cleaning and sanitization, ancient Etruscans painted shields to celebrate the military power of the Velcha family. Scanning electron microscopy analysis has revealed the presence of characteristic nanostructures corresponding to a calcite secondary mineral deposit called moonmilk. Analysis of the microbial community identified Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria as the most common phyla in strong association with the moonmilk needle fibre calcite and nanofibers of calcium carbonate. Employing classical microbiological analysis, we isolated from moonmilk a Streptomyces strain able to deposit gypsum and calcium carbonate on plates, supporting the hypothesis of an essential contribution of microorganisms to the formation of moonmilk

Women’s preferences and mode of delivery in public and private hospitals: a prospective cohort study

Background Rates of caesarean section have steadily increased in most middle- and high-income countries over the last few decades without medical justification. Maternal request is one of the frequently cited non-medical factors contributing to this trend. The objectives of this study were to assess pregnant women’s preferences regarding mode of delivery and to compare actual caesarean section rates in the public and private sectors. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted in two public and three private hospitals in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 382 nulliparous pregnant women (183 from the private sector and 199 from the public sector) aged 18 to 35 years, with single pregnancies over 32 weeks of gestational age were enrolled during antenatal care visits between October 2010 and September 2011. We excluded women with pregnancies resulting from assisted fertility, women with known pre-existing major diseases or, with pregnancy complications, or with a medical indication of elective cesarean section. We used two different approaches to assess women’s preferences: a survey using a tailored questionnaire, and a discrete choice experiment. Results Only 8 and 6 % of the healthy nulliparous women in the public and private sectors, respectively, expressed a preference for caesarean section. Fear of pain and safety were the most frequently expressed reasons for preferring caesarean section. When reasons for delivery mode were assessed by a discrete choice experiment, women placed the most emphasis on sex after childbirth. Of women who expressed their preference for vaginal delivery, 34 and 40 % ended their pregnancies by caesarean section in public and private hospitals, respectively. Conclusions The preference for caesarean section is low among healthy nulliparous women in Buenos Aires. The reasons why these women had a rate of more than 35 % caesarean sections are unlikely related to their preferences for mode of delivery.Fil: Mazzoni, Agustina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Althabe, Fernando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Gutierrez, Laura. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Gibbons, Luz. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Liu, Nancy H.. UCSF General Internal Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Bonotti, Ana María. Ministerio de Salud de la Nación; ArgentinaFil: Izbizky, Gustavo H.. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Ferrary, Marta. Hospital Magdalena; ArgentinaFil: Viergue, Nora. Centro de Educación Médica e Investigaciones Clínicas “Norberto Quirno”; ArgentinaFil: Vigil, Silvia I.. Hospital Británico de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Zalazar Denett, Gabriela. Hospital Materno Infantil Dr. Carlos Gianantonio; ArgentinaFil: Belizan, Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentin

The impact of morning stiffness duration on the definition of clinical inactive disease in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Objective To investigate the impact of morning stiffness (MS) on parent disease perception in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) with clinical inactive disease (CID). Methods 652 visits in which patients fulfilled 2004 or 2011 Wallace criteria for CID were examined. Parent-reported outcomes were compared among patients with no MS or with MS < or 65 15 minutes. Results Among 652 visits with CID by 2004 criteria, no MS was reported in 554 visits (85%), MS < 15 minutes in 53 (8%), and MS 65 15 minutes in 45 (7%). The frequency of altered physical function, health-related quality of life, and well-being, pain and disease activity visual analog scales was proportionally greater from patients without MS to those with longer MS. The frequency of parent subjective rating of disease state as remission was 87.7%, 58% and 27.7% among patients with no MS, MS < 15 minutes and MS 65 15 minutes, respectively. Conclusion Our results suggest that a change in 2011 CID criteria to require absence of MS should be considered

Renal vein obstruction and orthostatic proteinuria: a review

Objectives. The cause of orthostatic proteinuria is not clear but may often relate to obstruction of the left renal vein in the fork between the aorta and the superior mesenteric artery (= renal nutcracker). However, reports dealing with proteinuria only marginally refer to this possible cause of orthostatic proteinuria. We analysed the corresponding literature. Results. Five reports addressed the frequency of renal nutcracker in 229 subjects with orthostatic proteinuria. Their age ranged between 5.2 and 17years (female-to-male ratio: 0.96:1.00). Imaging studies demonstrated renal nutcracker in 156 (68%) subjects. Renal nutcracker was also demonstrated in 9 anecdotal reports for a total of 53 subjects with postural proteinuria. Very recently, 13 Italian subjects with orthostatic proteinuria associated with renal nutcracker were reassessed 6years after the initial diagnosis: in nine subjects, both orthostatic proteinuria and renal nutcracker had disappeared; in three, both orthostatic proteinuria and renal nutcracker had persisted; and in one, orthostatic proteinuria had persisted unassociated with renal nutcracker. Conclusions. These data provide substantial support for renal nutcracker as a common cause of orthostatic proteinuri

Budget impact analysis of universal rotavirus vaccination in the Local Health Unit 11 Empoli, Tuscany, Italy

Background. Rotavirus (RV) infection is the first cause of acute viral gastroenteritis in children under five years of age all over the world; it mainly affects children between six and 24 months of age and can cause serious acute diarrhoea and dehydration. The aim of this study is to perform the budget impact analysis of universal rotavirus vaccination in the Local Health Unit (LHU) 11 Empoli, Tuscany, Italy.Methods. An ad hoc mathematical simulation model was developed to evaluate the budget impact analysis of 5-years universal rotavirus vaccination. Particularly, incidence of rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE), hospitalizations, nosocomial diarrhoea, medical consultations, prescriptions and accesses to emergency department were taken into account in the analysis. The direct medical costs due to RV diarrhoea and the costs of vaccination campaign were considered as the main outcome measures in the study.Results. The adoption of universal rotavirus vaccination campaign for five years in the LHU 11 Empoli results in relevant savings due to the health cares avoided. These savings would overlapped the costs of vaccination yet from the second year after the introduction of vaccination. The saving for the Health Service would be 1.5 million Euro after five years of campaign.Conclusions. Universal vaccination against rotavirus results clinically and economically favourable for both the Health Service and the Society perspectives

Molecular changes underlying decay of sensory responses and enhanced seizure propensity in peritumoral neurons

Background: Glioblastoma growth impacts on the structure and physiology of peritumoral neuronal networks, altering the activity of pyramidal neurons which drives further tumor progression. It is therefore of paramount importance to identify glioma-induced changes in pyramidal neurons, since they represent a key therapeutic target. Methods: We longitudinal monitored visual evoked potentials after the orthotopic implant of murine glioma cells into the mouse occipital cortex. With laser microdissection we analysed layer II-III pyramidal neurons molecular profile and with Local Field Potentials (LFP) recordings we evaluated the propensity to seizures in glioma-bearing animals with respect to control mice. Results: We determine the time course of neuronal dysfunction of glioma-bearing mice and we identify a symptomatic stage, based on the decay of visual response. At that time point, we microdissect layer II-III pyramidal neurons and evaluate the expression of a panel of genes involved in synaptic transmission and neuronal excitability. Compared to the control group, peritumoral neurons show a decrease in the expression of the SNARE complex gene SNAP-25 and the alpha1 subunit of the GABA-A receptor. No significant changes are detected in glutamatergic (i.e., AMPA or NMDA receptor subunit) markers. Further reduction of GABA-A signalling by delivery of a benzodiazepine inverse agonist, DMCM (methyl-6,7-dimethoxy-4-ethyl-beta-carboline-3-carboxylate) precipitates seizures in two mouse models of tumor-bearing mice. Conclusions: These studies reveal novel molecular changes that occur in the principal cells of the tumor-adjacent zone. These modifications may be therapeutically targeted to ameliorate patients' quality of life

Neuroserpin Inclusion Bodies in a FENIB Yeast Model.

FENIB (familial encephalopathy with neuroserpin inclusion bodies) is a human monogenic disease caused by point mutations in the SERPINI1 gene, characterized by the intracellular deposition of polymers of neuroserpin (NS), which leads to proteotoxicity and cell death. Despite the different cell and animal models developed thus far, the exact mechanism of cell toxicity elicited by NS polymers remains unclear. Here, we report that human wild-type NS and the polymerogenic variant G392E NS form protein aggregates mainly localized within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) when expressed in the yeast S. cerevisiae. The expression of NS in yeast delayed the exit from the lag phase, suggesting that NS inclusions cause cellular stress. The cells also showed a higher resistance following mild oxidative stress treatments when compared to control cells. Furthermore, the expression of NS in a pro-apoptotic mutant strain-induced cell death during aging. Overall, these data recapitulate phenotypes observed in mammalian cells, thereby validating S. cerevisiae as a model for FENIB

Development and Validation of a Multilingual Lexicon as a Key Tool for the Sensory Analyses and Consumer Tests of Blueberry and Raspberry Fruit

A comprehensive lexicon is a necessary communication tool between the panel leader and panelists to describe each sensory stimulus potentially evoked by a product. In the current scientific breeding and trading scenario, a multilingual sensory lexicon is necessary to ensure the consistency of sensory evaluations when tests are conducted across countries and/or with international panelists. This study aimed to develop a reference multilingual lexicon for raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) and blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) to perform comparative sensory tests through panels operating in different countries using their native language. Attributes were collected from state-of-the-art literature and integrated with a detailed description of the sensory stimulus associated with each term. A panel of sensory judges was trained to test lexicon efficacy. After training, panelists evaluated three cultivars of blueberry and raspberry through RATA (Rate All That Apply), which allowed missing attributes to be excluded while rating those actually present. Results showed the discerning efficacy of the lexicon developed can be a valuable tool for planning sensory evaluations held in different countries, opening up further possibilities to enrich blueberry and raspberry descriptor lists with emerging terms from local experience and evaluations of berry genotypes with peculiar traits.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101000747. Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga