Multicenter randomized, double-blind controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of laser therapy for the treatment of severe oral mucositis induced by chemotherapy in children: LaMPO RCT

OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate the efficacy of laser photobiomodulation (PBM) compared to that of placebo on severe oral mucositis (OM) in pediatric oncology patients. The primary objective was the reduction of OM grade (World Health Organization [WHO] scale) 7 days after starting PBM. Secondary objectives were reduction of pain, analgesic consumption, and incidence of side effects. METHODS: One hundred and one children with WHO grade > 2 chemotherapy-induced OM were enrolled in eight Italian hospitals. Patients were randomized to either PBM or sham treatment for four consecutive days (days +1 to +4). On days +4, +7, and +11, OM grade, pain (following a 0-10 numeric pain rating scale, NRS) and need for analgesics were evaluated by an operator blinded to treatment. RESULTS: Fifty-one patients were allocated to the PBM group, and 50 were allocated to the sham group. In total, 93.7% of PBM patients and 72% of sham patients had OM grade < 3 WHO on day +7 (P = 0.01). A significant reduction of pain was registered on day +7 in the PBM versus sham group (NRS 1 [0-3] vs. 2.5 [1-5], P < 0.006). Reduced use of analgesics was reported in the PBM group, although it was not statistically significant. No significant adverse events attributable to treatment were recorded. CONCLUSIONS: PBM is a safe, feasible, and effective treatment for children affected by chemotherapy-induced OM, as it accelerates mucosal recovery and reduces pain

Nanomolar oxytocin synergizes with weak electrical afferent stimulation to activate the locomotor CPG of the rat spinal cord in vitro.

Synergizing the effect of afferent fibre stimulation with pharmacological interventions is a desirable goal to trigger spinal locomotor activity, especially after injury. Thus, to better understand the mechanisms to optimize this process, we studied the role of the neuropeptide oxytocin (previously shown to stimulate locomotor networks) on network and motoneuron properties using the isolated neonatal rat spinal cord. On motoneurons oxytocin (1 nM-1 \u3bcM) generated sporadic bursts with superimposed firing and dose-dependent depolarization. No desensitization was observed despite repeated applications. Tetrodotoxin completely blocked the effects of oxytocin, demonstrating the network origin of the responses. Recording motoneuron pool activity from lumbar ventral roots showed oxytocin mediated depolarization with synchronous bursts, and depression of reflex responses in a stimulus and peptide-concentration dependent fashion. Disinhibited bursting caused by strychnine and bicuculline was accelerated by oxytocin whose action was blocked by the oxytocin antagonist atosiban. Fictive locomotion appeared when subthreshold concentrations of NMDA plus 5HT were coapplied with oxytocin, an effect prevented after 24 h incubation with the inhibitor of 5HT synthesis, PCPA. When fictive locomotion was fully manifested, oxytocin did not change periodicity, although cycle amplitude became smaller. A novel protocol of electrical stimulation based on noisy waveforms and applied to one dorsal root evoked stereotypic fictive locomotion. Whenever the stimulus intensity was subthreshold, low doses of oxytocin triggered fictive locomotion although oxytocin per se did not affect primary afferent depolarization evoked by dorsal root pulses. Among the several functional targets for the action of oxytocin at lumbar spinal cord level, the present results highlight how small concentrations of this peptide could bring spinal networks to threshold for fictive locomotion in combination with other protocols, and delineate the use of oxytocin to strengthen the efficiency of electrical stimulation to activate locomotor circuits

Osservo, provo e cambio

La struttura del nostro percorso di Tirocinio \ue8 orientata ad indagare lo sviluppo delle competenze professionali degli studenti. Si tratta quindi di creare un circolo virtuoso, in cui le conoscenze dichiarative di natura teorica si integrino con i saperi sviluppati nella pratica, in modo che lo studente apprenda a elaborare la capacit\ue0 di ragionamento nelle situazioni problematiche concrete tramite l\u2019osservazione delle procedure degli esperti, secondo la tecnica didattica dell\u2019apprendistato cognitivo (Collins, Brown e Newman, 1995). L\u2019apprendistato cognitivo \ue8 una procedura guidata, per cui dapprima gli esperti mostrano ai partecipanti il senso dell\u2019attivit\ue0 e le procedure per risolvere i problemi, progressivamente si attribuisce maggior responsabilit\ue0 ai principianti nel definire e risolvere i problemi emersi nella pratica, infine si analizza a posteriori e collaborativamente lo svolgimento del problem solving

Osservo, provo e cambio

La struttura del nostro percorso di Tirocinio \ue8 orientata ad indagare lo sviluppo delle competenze professionali degli studenti. Si tratta quindi di creare un circolo virtuoso, in cui le conoscenze dichiarative di natura teorica si integrino con i saperi sviluppati nella pratica, in modo che lo studente apprenda a elaborare la capacit\ue0 di ragionamento nelle situazioni problematiche concrete tramite l\u2019osservazione delle procedure degli esperti, secondo la tecnica didattica dell\u2019apprendistato cognitivo (Collins, Brown e Newman, 1995). L\u2019apprendistato cognitivo \ue8 una procedura guidata, per cui dapprima gli esperti mostrano ai partecipanti il senso dell\u2019attivit\ue0 e le procedure per risolvere i problemi, progressivamente si attribuisce maggior responsabilit\ue0 ai principianti nel definire e risolvere i problemi emersi nella pratica, infine si analizza a posteriori e collaborativamente lo svolgimento del problem solving

Magmatic processes revealed by anorthoclase textures and trace element modeling: The case of the Lajes Ignimbrite eruption (Terceira Island, Azores)

The Lajes Ignimbrite on Terceira Island (Azores) records the last major pyroclastic density current-forming eruption of Pico Alto Volcano that occurred ca. 21 kyrs ago. This comenditic trachyte ignimbrite contains up to 30 vol% of crystals, mostly anorthoclase. Geochemical investigation of the products collected throughout two key outcrops reveals that major element compositions are poorly variable, whereas trace elements show significant variability, pointing to the presence of a zoned magma reservoir. Thermometry and oxygen fugacity estimations yielded pre-eruptive temperatures of 850-900°C and ∆NNO -2.4 to -1.8. Meltalkali-feldspar hygrometer indicates magmatic H2O contents ranging from 5.8 wt% in the upper part of the reservoir to 3.6 wt% at the bottom, indicating that the magma reservoir (confined at ~4 km depth) was mainly water-undersaturated before the eruption, except for the topmost portion. Two types of anorthoclase crystals were identified. Type 1 crystals show reverse to oscillatory zoning with An contents of 0.4-2.1 mol% and Ba of 200-2000 ppm. They formed in the middle/upper portion of the reservoir, where fractional crystallization processes dominated. Type 2 crystals, mainly present in the less evolved products, are characterized by patchy-zoned cores with large dissolution pockets surrounded by thick oscillatory-zoned rims and show a wide compositional range (An of 0.5-4.7 mol% and Ba of 142-4824 ppm). Their zoning patterns, together with whole-rock and glass compositions of the juvenile clasts, are consistent with the involvement of an anorthoclase-bearing cumulate from the bottom of the reservoir that underwent partial melting. Crystal dissolution was likely induced by the presence of a heat source at depth, without any mass transfer to the eruptible magma as suggested by the lack of petrographic and chemical evidences of mixing between the resident comenditic trachyte and a mafic/intermediate magma. The thermal instability generated convective plumes that were responsible for the admittance of crystals from the cumulate level into the intermediate portions of the magma reservoir and possibly acted as trigger of the explosive eruption.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (project MARES - PTDC/GEO-FIQ/1088/2014)Published44-634V. Dinamica dei processi pre-eruttiviJCR Journa

Curare la terra : luoghi, pratiche, esperienze = Caring for the land : places, practices, experiences

Il volume raccoglie tredici contributi in buona parte provenienti dalle \u201cGiornate internazionali di studio sul paesaggio\u201d della Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche (Treviso, febbraio 2014). Indagando il senso contemporaneo della \u201ccura\u201d come pratica paesaggistica e forma di progetto, l\u2019opera mette a confronto questioni di natura storico-filosofica con esperienze che esprimono forme di responsabilit\ue0 e attitudini culturali specifiche in questo campo di lavoro, con un diverso sguardo ai temi della tutela e della conservazione. Visto in chiave progettuale, il tema dell\u2019avvicinamento alla terra, si manifesta come sostanziale adesione a un mondo in divenire che chiede alla disciplina del paesaggio nuove strumentazioni culturali e operative

Caratterizzazione microstrutturale e meccanica di rivestimenti in lega AA 2024 ottenuti mediante Electrospark Deposition

In questo studio sono stati caratterizzati rivestimenti in lega d’alluminio AA2024 realizzati su substrato omologo mediante ElectroSpark Deposition (ESD). L’ESD è un processo di microsaldatura ad arco pulsato che utilizza impulsi elettrici di breve durata, generati dalla scarica di un condensatore, per trasferire il materiale di un elettrodo mobile ad un substrato metallico. I rivestimenti prodotti, analizzati con indagini in microscopia ottica ed elettronica a scansione, sono di tipo strato su strato, componendosi di diversi strati sovrapposti. All’interno di ciascuno strato deposto la microstruttura è risultata abbastanza fine a causa delle elevate velocità di raffreddamento coinvolte nel processo. La durezza media dei rivestimenti non cambia in maniera significativa al variare dei parametri di processo considerati. I rivestimenti presentano difettosità quali vuoti e micro-cricche perpendicolari o parallele all’interfaccia con il substrato. Anche il substrato è caratterizzato dalla presenza di micro-cricche all’interfaccia. All’aumentare dell’energia di scarica si è osservata una riduzione delle difettosità all’interno del coating e un aumento della lunghezza media delle micro-cricche nel substrato

Oxytocin reinstates fictive locomotor oscillations, despite subthreshold concentrations of neurochemicals.

<p>Alternating oscillations of a stable FL, evoked by the addition of 3 μM NMDA and 10 μM 5HT (A), slow down once the concentration of neurochemicals is finely titrated down to 1.7 μM NMDA and 5 μM 5HT (B). A further decrease in NMDA (1.5 μM) + 5HT (4 μM) suppresses locomotor-like discharges, which are finally replaced by a tonic activity (C). By adding oxytocin (1 nM) to subthreshold concentrations of NMDA and 5HT, no FL oscillations reappear (D). By augmenting the neuropeptide to 100 nM, locomotor-like oscillations are restored (E). Further increase in oxytocin (1 μM) does not affect periodicity of the reinstated pattern nor its cycle amplitude (F).</p

Low nanomolar concentrations of oxytocin synergize with FL<i>i</i>stim in expressing fictive locomotor patterns.

<p>A, FL<i>i</i>stim (0.2×Th) generates cumulative depolarization with alternating oscillations among homolateral L2 and L5 VRs and among controlateral homosegmental VRs. When stimulus intensity is halved (0.1×Th), a slight cumulative depolarization with synchronous discharges (time locked with the stimulating pattern) appears among all VRs (B). Despite the weak electrical stimulation (FL<i>i</i>stim 0.1×Th), the addition of low concentration of oxytocin (1 nM) re-establishes cumulative depolarization and FL cycles (C). Increased concentration of oxytocin (100 nM) fails to synergize with the same FL<i>i</i>stim 0.1×Th (D). Cross correlation analysis for traces related to the pair of L2 VRs in A–C shows a negative peak centered around zero lag for suprathreshold FL<i>i</i>stim (blue trace) or subthreshold FL<i>i</i>stim plus 1 nM oxytocin (red trace). The weak FL<i>i</i>stim alone (black trace) has a CCF value close to zero, corresponding to an uncorrelated activity among the two VRs (E). F, histograms show that, by increasing the concentration of oxytocin, the probability of bringing FL to threshold with a weak FL<i>i</i>stim diminishes in a dose dependent manner (*; Chi-square vs FL<i>i</i>stim 0.1×Th alone; P = 0.005; n = 8).</p