Naked-Eye Food Freshness Detection: Innovative Polymeric Optode for High-Protein Food Spoilage Monitoring

An innovative smart label for naked-eye protein food freshness evaluation, based on polymeric sensing films, is presented. The proposed device consists of six miniaturized sensors, obtained by cova..

By the sound of it:an ERP investigation of human action sound processing in 7-month-old infants

Recent evidence suggests that human adults perceive human action sounds as a distinct category from human vocalizations, environmental, and mechanical sounds, activating different neural networks (Engel et al., 2009 and Lewis et al., 2011). Yet, little is known about the development of such specialization. Using event-related potentials (ERP), this study investigated neural correlates of 7-month-olds’ processing of human action (HA) sounds in comparison to human vocalizations (HV), environmental (ENV), and mechanical (MEC) sounds. Relative to the other categories, HA sounds led to increased positive amplitudes between 470 and 570 ms post-stimulus onset at left anterior temporal locations, while HV led to increased negative amplitudes at the more posterior temporal locations in both hemispheres. Collectively, human produced sounds (HA + HV) led to significantly different response profiles compared to non-living sound sources (ENV + MEC) at parietal and frontal locations in both hemispheres. Overall, by 7 months of age human action sounds are being differentially processed in the brain, consistent with a dichotomy for processing living versus non-living things. This provides novel evidence regarding the typical categorical processing of socially relevant sounds

Three-year-olds’ rapid facial electromyographic responses to emotional facial expressions and body postures

Rapid Facial Reactions (RFRs) to observed emotional expressions are proposed to be involved in a wide array of socioemotional skills, from empathy to social communication. Two of the most persuasive theoretical accounts propose RFRs to rely either on motor resonance mechanisms or on more complex mechanisms involving affective processes. Previous studies demonstrated that presentation of facial and bodily expressions can generate rapid changes in adult and school age children’s muscle activity. However, up to date, there is little to no evidence to suggest the existence of emotional RFRs from infancy to preschool age. To investigate whether RFRs are driven by motor mimicry or could also be a result of emotional appraisal processes, we recorded facial electromyographic (EMG) activation from the zygomaticus major and frontalis medialis muscles to presentation of static facial and bodily expressions of emotions (i.e, happiness, anger, fear and neutral) in 3-years old children. Results showed no specific EMG activation in response to bodily emotion expressions. However, observing others’ happy faces lead to the increased activation of the zygomaticus major and decreased activation of the frontalis medialis, while observing angry faces elicited the opposite pattern of activation. This study suggests that RFRs are the result of complex mechanisms in which both affective processes and motor resonance may play an important role

Circulating functional T cells specific to human herpes virus 6 (HHV6) antigens in individuals with chromosomally integrated HHV6

Circulating functional T cells specific to human herpes virus 6 (HHV6) antigens in individuals with chromosomally integrated HHV

Parvoviruses in Blood Donors and Transplant Patients, Italy

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BCR-ABL-specific cytotoxic T cells in the bone marrow of patients with Ph(+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia during second-generation tyrosine-kinase inhibitor therapy.

BCR-ABL-specific cytotoxic T cells in the bone marrow of patients with Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia during second-generation tyrosine-kinase inhibitor therap

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in non-promyelocytic acute myeloid leukemia (AML): results of combination of ATRA with low-dose Ara-C in three elderly patients with NPM1-mutated AML unfit for intensive chemotherapy and review of the literature

Based upon the clinical behavior of three patients, we suggest that the combination of low-dose Ara-C and all-trans retinoic acid may potentially be effective in some elderly patients, unfit for intensive chemotherapy, affected with NPM1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia without FLT3 mutations, warranting perspective clinical studies in these selected patients

The bone marrow represents an enrichment site of specific T lymphocytes against filamentous fungi

Bone marrow has already been described as an enrichment site for several antigen-specific T lymphocytes, but the presence of mould-specific T cells has never been investigated in the bone marrow. We have previously demonstrated that mould-specific T cells emerge in the peripheral blood of patients with invasive fungal infections (IFI) but tend to become undetectable after disease resolution. In seven patients with a history of IFI, we investigated the presence of mould-specific T cells secreting different cytokines in bone marrow and peripheral blood paired samples. The results showed that the frequencies of mould-specific T cells secreting the protective cytokine IFNI3 are significantly higher in bone marrow (BM) and are mainly represented by CD8+ T lymphocytes with effector phenotype. A putative disappearance of such protective BM responses after myeloablative therapy could contribute to the increased risk of IFI in hematologic patients