Espressione e localizzazione subcellulare della Zinc Finger Protein 9, prodotto del gene della distrofia miotonica tipo 2

Espressione e localizzazione subcellulare della Zinc Finger Protein 9, prodotto del gene della distrofia miotonica tipo 2 Dr. M. B. Panico Il difetto genetico alla base della distrofia miotonica di tipo 2 (DM2) è una espansione CCTG localizzata nell’introne 1 della zinc finger protein 9 (ZNF9) (cromosoma 3q21). ZNF9 è una proteina di 19kDalton di peso molecolare, altamente conservata ed espressa in numerosi tessuti, ma la sua localizzazione cellulare e la sua funzione sono ancora sconosciute. Pertanto, abbiamo utilizzato un anticorpo policlonale precedentemente caratterizzato per studiare attraverso esperimenti di immunofluorescenza (IF) la localizzazione subcellulare di ZNF9 nel tessuto muscolare normale umano e di ratto. In sezioni muscolari longitudinali, l’anticorpo per ZNF9 mostrava un pattern di bandeggiatura trasversale regolare di 1-2 μm di spessore che si estendeva per tutta la lunghezza della fibra. In esperimenti di doppia IF osservata al microscopio confocale, ZNF9 presentava una colocalizzazione con proteine localizzate a livello della giunzione I-Z come l’ATPasi del reticolo sarcoplasmatico Ca/Mg, la regione T12 della titina e la desmina. Inoltre, in sezioni muscolari di pazienti con DM2 la distribuzione intracellulare di ZNF9 risultava paragonabile a quella dei controlli. Questi dati indicano che la proteina ZNF9 è espressa ad un livello elevato nelle miofibrille normali e la sua distribuzione cellulare non è alterata nella DM2.Expression and subcellular localization of myotonic dystrophy type 2 protein ZNF9 Dr. M.B.Panico The genetic defect underlying myotonic dystrophy type 2 (DM2) is a CCTG expansion located in intron 1 of the zinc finger protein 9 (ZNF9) gene in chromosome 3q21. ZNF9 is a 19kDa highly conserved protein expressed in various tissues, but its cellular localization and function are still unclear. We have therefore used a previously characterized polyclonal antibody to detect by immunofluorescence (IF) the subcellular localization of ZNF9 in normal human and rat skeletal muscle. In longitudinally sectioned myofibers, IF reactivity for ZNF9 appeared as regular transverse bands 1-1.2 μm thick, throughout the fiber width. In double IF experiments observed by confocal microscopy, ZNF9 showed co-localization with proteins localized at the I-Z band junction such as the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca/Mg ATPase, the T12 region of titin and desmin. Moreover, in DM2 muscle the ZNF9 intracellular distribution was comparable to that of control. These data indicate that ZNF9 is highly expressed in normal myofibers and its cellular distribution is apparently not disrupted in DM2

Assessment of the EarlyCDT-Lung test as an early biomarker of lung cancer in ever-smokers: A retrospective nested case-control study in two prospective cohorts

The EarlyCDT-Lung test is a blood-based autoantibody assay intended to identify high-risk individuals for low-dose computed tomography lung cancer screening. However, there is a paucity of evidence on the performance of the EarlyCDT-Lung test in ever-smokers. We conducted a nested case-control study within two prospective cohorts to evaluate the risk-discriminatory performance of the EarlyCDT-Lung test using prediagnostic blood samples from 154 future lung cancer cases and 154 matched controls. Cases were selected from those who had ever smoked and had a prediagnostic blood sample <3 years prior to diagnosis. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the association between EarlyCDT-Lung test results and lung cancer risk. Sensitivity and specificity of the EarlyCDT-Lung test were calculated in all subjects and subgroups based on age, smoking history, lung cancer stage, sample collection time before diagnosis and year of sample collection. The overall lung cancer odds ratios were 0.89 (95% CI: 0.34-2.30) for a moderate risk EarlyCDT-Lung test result and 1.09 (95% CI: 0.48-2.47) for a high-risk test result compared to no significant test result. The overall sensitivity was 8.4% (95% CI: 4.6-14) and overall specificity was 92% (95% CI: 87-96) when considering a high-risk result as positive. Stratified analysis indicated higher sensitivity (17%, 95% CI: 7.2-32.1) in subjects with blood drawn up to 1 year prior to diagnosis. In conclusion, our study does not support a role of the EarlyCDT-Lung test in identifying the high-risk subjects in ever-smokers for lung cancer screening in the EPIC and NSHDS cohorts

Gamma-Ray Burst observations by the high-energy charged particle detector on board the CSES-01 satellite between 2019 and 2021

In this paper we report the detection of five strong Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) by the High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD-01) mounted on board the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES-01), operational since 2018 on a Sun-synchronous polar orbit at a $\sim$ 507 km altitude and 97$^\circ$ inclination. HEPD-01 was designed to detect high-energy electrons in the energy range 3 - 100 MeV, protons in the range 30 - 300 MeV, and light nuclei in the range 30 - 300 MeV/n. Nonetheless, Monte Carlo simulations have shown HEPD-01 is sensitive to gamma-ray photons in the energy range 300 keV - 50 MeV, even if with a moderate effective area above $\sim$ 5 MeV. A dedicated time correlation analysis between GRBs reported in literature and signals from a set of HEPD-01 trigger configuration masks has confirmed the anticipated detector sensitivity to high-energy photons. A comparison between the simultaneous time profiles of HEPD-01 electron fluxes and photons from GRB190114C, GRB190305A, GRB190928A, GRB200826B and GRB211211A has shown a remarkable similarity, in spite of the different energy ranges. The high-energy response, with peak sensitivity at about 2 MeV, and moderate effective area of the detector in the actual flight configuration explain why these five GRBs, characterised by a fluence above $\sim$ 3 $\times$ 10$^{-5}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ in the energy interval 300 keV - 50 MeV, have been detected.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ

Espressione e localizzazione subcellulare della Zinc Finger Protein 9, prodotto del gene della distrofia miotonica tipo 2

Espressione e localizzazione subcellulare della Zinc Finger Protein 9, prodotto del gene della distrofia miotonica tipo 2 Dr. M. B. Panico Il difetto genetico alla base della distrofia miotonica di tipo 2 (DM2) è una espansione CCTG localizzata nell’introne 1 della zinc finger protein 9 (ZNF9) (cromosoma 3q21). ZNF9 è una proteina di 19kDalton di peso molecolare, altamente conservata ed espressa in numerosi tessuti, ma la sua localizzazione cellulare e la sua funzione sono ancora sconosciute. Pertanto, abbiamo utilizzato un anticorpo policlonale precedentemente caratterizzato per studiare attraverso esperimenti di immunofluorescenza (IF) la localizzazione subcellulare di ZNF9 nel tessuto muscolare normale umano e di ratto. In sezioni muscolari longitudinali, l’anticorpo per ZNF9 mostrava un pattern di bandeggiatura trasversale regolare di 1-2 μm di spessore che si estendeva per tutta la lunghezza della fibra. In esperimenti di doppia IF osservata al microscopio confocale, ZNF9 presentava una colocalizzazione con proteine localizzate a livello della giunzione I-Z come l’ATPasi del reticolo sarcoplasmatico Ca/Mg, la regione T12 della titina e la desmina. Inoltre, in sezioni muscolari di pazienti con DM2 la distribuzione intracellulare di ZNF9 risultava paragonabile a quella dei controlli. Questi dati indicano che la proteina ZNF9 è espressa ad un livello elevato nelle miofibrille normali e la sua distribuzione cellulare non è alterata nella DM2.Expression and subcellular localization of myotonic dystrophy type 2 protein ZNF9 Dr. M.B.Panico The genetic defect underlying myotonic dystrophy type 2 (DM2) is a CCTG expansion located in intron 1 of the zinc finger protein 9 (ZNF9) gene in chromosome 3q21. ZNF9 is a 19kDa highly conserved protein expressed in various tissues, but its cellular localization and function are still unclear. We have therefore used a previously characterized polyclonal antibody to detect by immunofluorescence (IF) the subcellular localization of ZNF9 in normal human and rat skeletal muscle. In longitudinally sectioned myofibers, IF reactivity for ZNF9 appeared as regular transverse bands 1-1.2 μm thick, throughout the fiber width. In double IF experiments observed by confocal microscopy, ZNF9 showed co-localization with proteins localized at the I-Z band junction such as the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca/Mg ATPase, the T12 region of titin and desmin. Moreover, in DM2 muscle the ZNF9 intracellular distribution was comparable to that of control. These data indicate that ZNF9 is highly expressed in normal myofibers and its cellular distribution is apparently not disrupted in DM2

Full-scale testing of different seismic upgrading metal techniques on an existing RC building

STESSA 2003 Fourth International Conference Naples, Italy 09 - 12 June 200

Regional cerebral saturation versus transcranial Doppler during carotid endarterectomy under regional anaesthesia

Background and objective The aim of this study was to compare a cerebral oximeter with transcranial Doppler (TCD) as a neurological monitor in patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy under regional anaesthesia. Methods Forty patients were enrolled for this prospective study. We recorded every adverse neurological event after arterial clamping and variations in parameters evaluated by the two monitoring systems in order to determine whether there was any correlation between TCD data and those obtained by regional cerebral saturation, the timing of detection of the adverse event in both clinical examination and instrumental data and the presence of any false positives or negatives in any of the two monitoring systems. Results Shunting was necessary in eight patients, following clinical signs of a neurological deficit during clamping. In these patients, a significant reduction in TCD values and regional cerebral saturation values from baseline was recorded. We observed a drastic reduction in TCD values in four patients during clamping (6 +/- 5 versus 41 +/- 4 cm s(-1)) that was not associated with any neurological deficit or reduction in regional cerebral saturation values (51 +/- 4 versus 54 +/- 7%). Instrumental detection of a neurological deficit anticipated the clinical observation of about 5-10 s. Conclusion We observed a greater reliability with the cerebral oximeter than with TCD in our patients. Eur J Anaesthesiol 26:643-647 (C) 2009 European Society of Anaesthesiology

Time Dependence of the electron and positron components of the cosmic radiation measured by the PAMELA experiment between July 2006 and December 2015

Cosmic-ray electrons and positrons are a unique probe of the propagation of cosmic rays as well as of the nature and distribution of particle sources in our Galaxy. Recent measurements of these particles are challenging our basic understanding of the mechanisms of production, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays. Particularly striking are the differences between the low energy results collected by the space-borne PAMELA and AMS-02 experiments and older measurements pointing to sign-charge dependence of the solar modulation of cosmic-ray spectra. The PAMELA experiment has been measuring the time variation of the positron and electron intensity at Earth from July 2006 to December 2015 covering the period for the minimum of solar cycle 23 (2006-2009) until the middle of the maximum of solar cycle 24, through the polarity reversal of the heliospheric magnetic field which took place between 2013 and 2014. The positron to electron ratio measured in this time period clearly shows a sign-charge dependence of the solar modulation introduced by particle drifts. These results provide the first clear and continuous observation of how drift effects on solar modulation have unfolded with time from solar minimum to solar maximum and their dependence on the particle rigidity and the cyclic polarity of the solar magnetic field

Assessment of the EarlyCDT-Lung test as an early biomarker of lung cancer in ever-smokers : A retrospective nested case-control study in two prospective cohorts

The EarlyCDT-Lung test is a blood-based autoantibody assay intended to identify high-risk individuals for low-dose computed tomography lung cancer screening. However, there is a paucity of evidence on the performance of the EarlyCDT-Lung test in ever-smokers. We conducted a nested case-control study within two prospective cohorts to evaluate the risk-discriminatory performance of the EarlyCDT-Lung test using prediagnostic blood samples from 154 future lung cancer cases and 154 matched controls. Cases were selected from those who had ever smoked and had a prediagnostic blood sample &lt;3 years prior to diagnosis. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the association between EarlyCDT-Lung test results and lung cancer risk. Sensitivity and specificity of the EarlyCDT-Lung test were calculated in all subjects and subgroups based on age, smoking history, lung cancer stage, sample collection time before diagnosis and year of sample collection. The overall lung cancer odds ratios were 0.89 (95% CI: 0.34-2.30) for a moderate risk EarlyCDT-Lung test result and 1.09 (95% CI: 0.48-2.47) for a high-risk test result compared to no significant test result. The overall sensitivity was 8.4% (95% CI: 4.6-14) and overall specificity was 92% (95% CI: 87-96) when considering a high-risk result as positive. Stratified analysis indicated higher sensitivity (17%, 95% CI: 7.2-32.1) in subjects with blood drawn up to 1 year prior to diagnosis. In conclusion, our study does not support a role of the EarlyCDT-Lung test in identifying the high-risk subjects in ever-smokers for lung cancer screening in the EPIC and NSHDS cohorts