Portulaca ragonesei D. Legrand

El Tuscal, Salinas GrandespublishedVersio

Heliotropium johnstonii Ragonese

entre Totoralejos y Casa de PiedraFil: Ariza Espinar. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentin

Four cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in iatrogenic immunocompromised patients

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) caused by John Cunningham Virus (JCV). We report four PML cases in immunocompromised patients, respectively treated with (1) Natalizumab, (2) Rituximab, (3) autologous stem-cell transplantation, and (4) Tacrolimus. All patients underwent neurological examination, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), JCV-DNA research on biological samples, and lymphocytes subpopulation study. All cases presented with motor, behavioural, and cognitive disorders. Visual, sensitive, and cerebellar deficits developed in three cases. MRI revealed widespread progressive demyelinating areas with active borders; three patients presented contrast enhancement. One patient developed inflammatory reconstitution syndrome (IRIS). At MRS, all cases presented decreased N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) and three cases showed increased choline (Cho). In one patient, plasma and urine tested positive for JCV-DNA, while cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis confirmed JCV in two patients. The fourth patient had a low JCV-DNA blood titer and brain biopsy showed subacute necrosis. Two patients had abnormal lymphocyte subpopulations. Three patients underwent therapy with Mirtazapine, one of whom received Mefloquine in add-on. No clinical response was registered. Clinical onset, MRI and MRS were highly suggestive of PML in all patients, despite three cases presented contrast enhancement. In three cases JCV-DNA detection in biological samples confirmed the diagnosis. The fourth patient fulfilled diagnosis of “presumptive PML”. Our data confirm the importance to complete the diagnostic workup despite the presence of findings not completely consistent with classical PML. We hypothesize that atypical characteristics could due to the clinical conditions leading to PML

Variation-based design of an AM demodulator in a printed complementary organic technology

n/

Effect of 1\u3b1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 in mutant P53 glioblastoma cells: Involvement of neutral sphingomyelinase1

Glioblastoma is one the most aggressive primary brain tumors in adults, and, despite the fact that radiation and chemotherapy after surgical approaches have been the treatments increasing the survival rates, the prognosis of patients remains poor. Today, the attention is focused on highlighting complementary treatments that can be helpful in improving the classic therapeutic approaches. It is known that 1\u3b1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3, a molecule involved in bone metabolism, has many serendipidy effects in cells. It targets normal and cancer cells via genomic pathway by vitamin D3 receptor or via non-genomic pathways. To interrogate possible functions of 1\u3b1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 in multiforme glioblastoma, we used three cell lines, wild-type p53 GL15 and mutant p53 U251 and LN18 cells. We demonstrated that 1\u3b1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 acts via vitamin D receptor in GL15 cells and via neutral sphingomyelinase1, with an enrichment of ceramide pool, in U251 and LN18 cells. Changes in sphingomyelin/ceramide content were considered to be possibly responsible for the differentiating and antiproliferative effect of 1\u3b1,25(OH)2 vitamin D in U251 and LN18 cells, as shown, respectively, in vitro by immunofluorescence and in vivo by experiments of xenotransplantation in eggs. This is the first time 1\u3b1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 is interrogated for the response of multiforme glioblastoma cells in dependence on the p53 mutation, and the results define neutral sphingomyelinase1 as a signaling effector

Giacomo Serpotta e il "pareggiamento delle arti": la decorazione degli oratori fra manipolazione vitalistica e vocazione classicista

ABSTRACT GIACOMO SERPOTTA AND THE “EQUALIZATION OF THE ARTS”: DECORATION OF THE ORATORIES BETWEEN VITALISTIC MANIPULATION AND CLASSICIST VOCATION Ettore Sessa The value of the whole of Giacomo Serpotta's artistic vision in the orchestration of the figu¬rative apparatuses of his oratories was certainly one of the principal primers of his historical-critical raising in the modernist period. In 1901 Mauceri and in 1911 Ricci and Basile heighten a profile of it, however synthetic, of angling and above all of different breath from the rediscovery realized in positivist age. Classifiable, in fact, among the eighteenth century precedents of Gesamtkunstwerk aesthetical plant (according to a rather diffused custom within the artistic historiography of modernist culturaI area or of decadentist origin, as in different formalistic demonstrations of the wealthiest society Belle Époque) the progress of Serpottas artistic way towards tangible expressions of the idea of «the whole work of art» has a unmistakable im¬print of his and, at the same time, a feasibility thanks to the plasticism of gestures and to the uni¬tary multiplicity of his modeled. In his oratories arrangements the "realist" component, not exempted from hedonistic sensual witty remarks, acts on a foundation of Hellenic taste (also in the use of profiles and architectural elements). With wise modulation and with dosing diversified for intensity, according the nature of the subjects, combines history (see the «teatrini» with perspective sceneries, among which the Lepanto battle), micro history (from feminine allegorical subjects, to attractive dames modernly adorned with ends and brocades, to "picciotti" proudly ragged and to the anecdotal of the daily life), mysticism (from the devotional subjects to the allegories of the virtues), obscurity (from numerological components to philosophical attributes) and, finally, mythology (from the allegorical correspondences between Christianity and paganism to classical simbology). Despite the actual halving of this group of oratories (was destroyed by traumatic events as earthquakes and war actions, or by villainous demolitions big part of Serpottas works, among which the SS. Sacrament oratories to Kalsa and those of Saint Maria del Ponticello), the comparison among the palermitan examples reached us entire allows the individualization of the characters of originality typical of the generaI composition, over that of those figurative unanimously accredited among the most valid of the late- Baroque European sculpture. The typical scheme of these oratories, places with a strong secular imprint (predisposed as for cultural reunions how as for the preclusive congregational assemblies, to which the only ones not admitted affiliate were the artists), has as constants: the hall with a rectangular plant; the skiff or pavilion vault with plaster decorations dissimulating the constructive geometry; the sculptural wall register above of a high plinth; windows on the greatest sides (in number of three); two doors in the counterfacade, originally with desk for the assemblies in central position, below the principal devotional allegorical composition. The first oratory to which Giacomo Serpotta imposes an unitary imprint, except the cappellone only defined between 1717 and the following year) is that of SS. Rosary in S. Cita; he has worked since 1685 to 1688 on behalf of SS. Rosary Company. Serpotta is twenty nine, but already since almost ten years, after the apprenticeship with subordinate roles, he showed himself almost beginning in mute with the decorations of Madonna of the Pity church in Monreale, where he operated like Procopio De' Ferrari's collaborator, and perhaps with his interventions in 1678 in the lateral walls of S. Mercurio oratory, to which follow the 1679 decoration works in the Charity oratory in St. Bartholomeo of the Incurable people (no more existing), perhaps S. Pietro and S. Paolo statues dating back to 1680 for the greatest altar in Gancia church, the marble model for Charles H's equestrian monument for Messina (then realized in 1684) and during the two years 1683-1684 the scenic decorations for the transept altars of Carmine Maggiore church (where he collaborates with his brother Giuseppe and realizes the couples of twisted columns gilded and commented by a theory of plaster miniature scenes disposed according to a spiral development). Immediately after S. Cita oratory he realized, between 1688 and 1691, the decorative apparatuses of the Sacrament oratory in S. Nicolò to Kalsa (destroyed because of 1823 earthquake). Only eight years after the completion of this work (about which it was hypothesized that it were an advancement in comparison to the intervention in S. Cita) Giacomo Serpotta is entrusted by S. Francesco from Assisi and S. Lorenzo Companies to realize the complex allegorical and explanatory cycle of the plasters of S. Lorenzo orato¬ry. He worked partly on Giacomo Amato's sketches (to which are probably owed the reform interventions that confer to this oratory a great architectural "squaring" in comparison to others), completing the presbytery within 1706, while already from 1701 he is busy in the definition of the walls. In 1703 he began the counter facade with the monumental wall framework and high-relief representation of St. Lorenzo Martyrdom

Antitumor activity and expression profiles of genes induced by sulforaphane in human melanoma cells

Purpose Human melanoma is a highly aggressive incurable cancer due to intrinsic cellular resistance to apoptosis, reprogramming, proliferation and survival during tumour progression. Sulforaphane (SFN), an isothiocyanate found in cruciferous vegetables, plays a role in carcinogenesis in many cancer types. However, the cytotoxic molecular mechanisms and gene expression profiles promoted by SFN in human melanoma remain unknown. Methods Three different cell lines were used: two human melanoma A375 and 501MEL and human epidermal melanocytes (HEMa). Cell viability and proliferation, cell cycle analysis, cell migration and invasion and protein expression and phosphorylation status of Akt and p53 upon SFN treatment were determined. RNA-seq of A375 was performed at different time points after SFN treatment. Results We demonstrated that SFN strongly decreased cell viability and proliferation, induced G2/M cell cycle arrest, promoted apoptosis through the activation of caspases 3, 8, 9 and hampered migration and invasion abilities in the melanoma cell lines. Remarkably, HEMa cells were not affected by SFN treatment. Transcriptomic analysis revealed regulation of genes involved in response to stress, apoptosis/cell death and metabolic processes. SFN upregulated the expression of pro-apoptotic genes, such as p53, BAX, PUMA, FAS and MDM2; promoted cell cycle inhibition and growth arrest by upregulating EGR1, GADD45B, ATF3 and CDKN1A; and simultaneously acted as a potent inhibitor of genotoxicity by launching the stress-inducible protein network (HMOX1, HSPA1A, HSPA6, SOD1). Conclusion Overall, the data show that SFN cytotoxicity in melanoma derives from complex and concurrent mechanisms during carcinogenesis, which makes it a promising cancer prevention agent

Predictive habitat suitability models to aid conservation of elasmobranch diversity in the central Mediterranean Sea

Commercial fisheries have dramatically impacted elasmobranch populations worldwide. With high capture and bycatch rates, the abundance of many species is rapidly declining and around a quarter of the world’s sharks and rays are threatened with extinction. At a regional scale this negative trend has also been evidenced in the central Mediterranean Sea, where bottom-trawl fisheries have affected the biomass of certain rays (e.g. Raja clavata) and sharks (e.g. Mustelus spp.). Detailed knowledge of elasmobranch habitat requirements is essential for biodiversity conservation and fisheries management, but this is often hampered by a poor understanding of their spatial ecology. Habitat suitability models were used to investigate the habitat preference of nine elasmobranch species and their overall diversity (number of species) in relation to five environmental predictors (i.e. depth, sea surface temperature, surface salinity, slope and rugosity) in the central Mediterranean Sea. Results showed that depth, seafloor morphology and sea surface temperature were the main drivers for elasmobranch habitat suitability. Predictive distribution maps revealed different species-specific patterns of suitable habitat while high assemblage diversity was predicted in deeper offshore waters (400–800 m depth). This study helps to identify priority conservation areas and diversity hot-spots for rare and endangered elasmobranchs in the Mediterranean Sea

Sensitivity and Bias in Decision-Making under Risk: Evaluating the Perception of Reward, Its Probability and Value

BACKGROUND: There are few clinical tools that assess decision-making under risk. Tests that characterize sensitivity and bias in decisions between prospects varying in magnitude and probability of gain may provide insights in conditions with anomalous reward-related behaviour. OBJECTIVE: We designed a simple test of how subjects integrate information about the magnitude and the probability of reward, which can determine discriminative thresholds and choice bias in decisions under risk. DESIGN/METHODS: Twenty subjects were required to choose between two explicitly described prospects, one with higher probability but lower magnitude of reward than the other, with the difference in expected value between the two prospects varying from 3 to 23%. RESULTS: Subjects showed a mean threshold sensitivity of 43% difference in expected value. Regarding choice bias, there was a 'risk premium' of 38%, indicating a tendency to choose higher probability over higher reward. An analysis using prospect theory showed that this risk premium is the predicted outcome of hypothesized non-linearities in the subjective perception of reward value and probability. CONCLUSIONS: This simple test provides a robust measure of discriminative value thresholds and biases in decisions under risk. Prospect theory can also make predictions about decisions when subjective perception of reward or probability is anomalous, as may occur in populations with dopaminergic or striatal dysfunction, such as Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia