Medium term effects of a ketogenic diet and a Mediterranean diet on resting energy expenditure and respiratory ratio

none6noneAntonio Paoli;Keith Grimaldi;Antonino Bianco;Alessandra Lodi;Lorenzo Cenci;Andrea ParmagnaniPaoli, Antonio; Keith, Grimaldi; Antonino, Bianco; Lodi, Alessandra; Lorenzo, Cenci; Parmagnani, Andre

Versatile vessel-on-a-chip platform for studying key features of blood vascular tumors

Tumor vessel-on-a-chip systems have attracted the interest of the cancer research community due to their ability to accurately recapitulate the multiple dynamic events of the metastatic cascade. Vessel-on-a-chip microfluidic platforms have been less utilized for investigating the distinctive features and functional heterogeneities of tumor-derived vascular networks. In particular, vascular tumors are characterized by the massive formation of thrombi and severe bleeding, a rare and life-threatening situation for which there are yet no clear therapeutic guidelines. This is mainly due to the lack of technological platforms capable of reproducing these characteristic traits of the pathology in a simple and well-controlled manner. Herein, we report the fabrication of a versatile tumor vessel-on-a-chip platform to reproduce, investigate, and characterize the massive formation of thrombi and hemorrhage on-chip in a fast and easy manner. Despite its simplicity, this method offers multiple advantages to recapitulate the pathophysiological events of vascular tumors, and therefore, may find useful applications in the field of vascular-related diseases, while at the same time being an alternative to more complex approaches.D.C. received funding from the Secretary for Universities and Research of the Ministry of Economy and Knowledge of the Government of Catalonia and the COFUND program of the Marie Curie Actions of the 7th R&D Framework Program of the European Union (BP-DGR 2013). This work was partially funded by Spanish Science Ministry PCIN-2016-025 “Nanovacunas diseñadas para inmunoterapia antitumoral” (NANOVAX) EuroNanomed II platform, and PI20/0056 “Precision medicine in portal vein thrombosis: identification of new therapeutic targets and development of a unique theranostic approach”. Additionally, from the European Commission H2020-MSCA-ITN-2019, Grant Agreement N860436, “EVIDENCE”. The authors also thank the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness through the project SAF2016-75241-R, the Obra Social La Caixa Foundation, and the European Research Council (ERC- StG-757397). The Nanobioengineering Group has support from the Commission for Universities and Research of the Department of Innovation, Universities, and Enterprise of the Generalitat de Catalunya (2017 SGR 1079)

How much do young Italians know about COVID-19 and what are their attitudes toward SARS-CoV-2? Results of a cross-sectional study

Objectives: At the end of 2019, an outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia, called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-2), was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. It subsequently spread throughout China and elsewhere, becoming a global health emergency. In February 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the disease coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The objective of this study was to investigate the degree of knowledge of young Italians about COVID-19 and their current attitudes toward the SARS-CoV-2 and to determine if there were prejudices emerging toward Chinese. Methods: An online survey was conducted on February 3, 4, 5, 2020, with the collaboration of Italian website “Skuola.net”. Young people had the opportunity to participate by answering an ad hoc questionnaire created to investigate knowledge and attitudes about the new coronavirus, using a link published on the homepage. Results: A total of 5234 responses were received, of which 3262 were females and 1972 were males. Most of the participants showed generally moderate knowledge about COVID-19. Male students, middle school students, and those who do not attend school, should increase awareness of the disease; less than half of responders say that their attitudes toward the Chinese population has worsened in the last period

Breast lesion detection through MammoWave device: microwave images’ parameters

MammoWave is a microwave imaging device for breast lesions detection, which operates using two (azimuthally rotating) antennas without any matching liquid. Images, subsequently obtained by resorting to Huygens Principle, are intensity maps, representing the homogeneity of tissues’ dielectric properties. In the paper: “Breast lesion detection through MammoWave device: empirical detection capability assessment of microwave images’ parameters”, we propose to generate, for each breast, a set of conductivity weighted microwave images by using different values of conductivity in the Huygens Principle imaging algorithm. Next, microwave images’ parameters, i.e. features, are introduced to quantify the non-homogenous behaviour of the image. This data set contains such features. We empirically verify on 103 breasts that a selection of these features may allow distinction between breasts with no radiological finding (NF ) and breasts with radiological findings (WF), i.e. with lesions which may be benign or malign. Statistical significance was set at p <0.05. We obtained single features Area Under the receiver operating characteristic Curves (AUCs) spanning from 0.65 to 0.69. In addition, an empirical rule-of-thumb allowing breast assessment is introduced using a binary score S operating on an appropriate combination of features. Performances of such rule-of-thumb are evaluated empirically, obtaining a sensitivity of 74%, which increases to 84% when considering dense breasts only

Thrombotic and bleeding complications in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and severe COVID-19: a study of ERIC, the European Research Initiative on CLL

Background: Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) may be more susceptible to COVID-19 related poor outcomes, including thrombosis and death, due to the advanced age, the presence of comorbidities, and the disease and treatment-related immune deficiency. The aim of this study was to assess the risk of thrombosis and bleeding in patients with CLL affected by severe COVID-19. Methods: This is a retrospective multicenter study conducted by ERIC, the European Research Initiative on CLL, including patients from 79 centers across 22 countries. Data collection was conducted between April and May 2021. The COVID-19 diagnosis was confirmed by the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay for SARS-CoV-2 on nasal or pharyngeal swabs. Severe cases of COVID-19 were defined by hospitalization and the need of oxygen or admission into ICU. Development and type of thrombotic events, presence and severity of bleeding complications were reported during treatment for COVID-19. Bleeding events were classified using ISTH definition. STROBE recommendations were used in order to enhance reporting. Results: A total of 793 patients from 79 centers were included in the study with 593 being hospitalized (74.8%). Among these, 511 were defined as having severe COVID: 162 were admitted to the ICU while 349 received oxygen supplementation outside the ICU. Most patients (90.5%) were receiving thromboprophylaxis. During COVID-19 treatment, 11.1% developed a thromboembolic event, while 5.0% experienced bleeding. Thrombosis developed in 21.6% of patients who were not receiving thromboprophylaxis, in contrast to 10.6% of patients who were on thromboprophylaxis. Bleeding episodes were more frequent in patients receiving intermediate/therapeutic versus prophylactic doses of low-molecular-weight heparin (LWMH) (8.1% vs. 3.8%, respectively) and in elderly. In multivariate analysis, peak D-dimer level and C-reactive protein to albumin ratio were poor prognostic factors for thrombosis occurrence (OR = 1.022, 95%CI 1.007?1.038 and OR = 1.025, 95%CI 1.001?1.051, respectively), while thromboprophylaxis use was protective (OR = 0.199, 95%CI 0.061?0.645). Age and LMWH intermediate/therapeutic dose administration were prognostic factors in multivariate model for bleeding (OR = 1.062, 95%CI 1.017-1.109 and OR = 2.438, 95%CI 1.023-5.813, respectively). Conclusions: Patients with CLL affected by severe COVID-19 are at a high risk of thrombosis if thromboprophylaxis is not used, but also at increased risk of bleeding under the LMWH intermediate/therapeutic dose administration