High CTLA-4 expression correlates with poor prognosis in thymoma patients

Thymomas, tumors that arise from epithelial cells of the thymus gland, are the most common neoplasms of the anterior mediastinum, with an incidence rate of approximately 2.5 per million/year. Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Antigen 4 (CTLA-4 or CD152) exerts inhibitory activity on T cells, and since its oncogenic role in the progression of different types of tumors, it has emerged as a potential therapeutic target in cancer patients. In this study, we assessed the expression of CTLA-4 both at mRNA and protein levels in paraffin embedded-tissues from patients with thymomas. Furthermore, we evaluated the relationship between CTLA-4 expression and the clinical-pathologic characteristics and prognosis in patients with thymomas. Sixty-eight patients with median age corresponding to 62 years were included in this analysis. Thymomas were classified accordingly to the WHO and Masaoka-Koga for histochemical analysis and for prognostic significance. A statistical difference was found between CTLA-4 mRNA levels in human normal thymus compared with thymoma specimens. CTLA-4 expression was statistically found to progressively increase in A, B1, B2, AB and it was maximal in B3 thymomas. According to Masaoka-Koga pathological classification, CTLA-4 expression was lower in I, IIA and IIB, and higher in invasive III and IV stages. By confocal microscopy analysis we identified the expression of CTLA-4 both in tumor cells and in CD45+ tumor-infiltrating leukocytes, mainly in B3 and AB thymomas. Finally, CTLA-4 overexpression significantly correlates with reduced overall survival in thymoma patients and in atypical thymoma subgroup, suggesting that it represents a negative prognostic factor

Lifestyle and dietary factors, iron status and one-carbon metabolism polymorphisms in a sample of Italian women and men attending a Transfusion Medicine Unit: a cross-sectional study

Iron (Fe) status among healthy male and female blood donors, aged 18–65 years, is estimated. General characteristics and lifestyle factors, dietary habits and major one-carbon metabolism-related polymorphisms were also investigated. An explorative cross-sectional study design was used to examine a sample of blood donors attending the Transfusion Medicine Unit of the Verona University Hospital, Italy. From April 2016 to May 2018, 499 subjects were enrolled (255 men, 244 women, 155 of whom of childbearing age). Major clinical characteristics including lifestyle, dietary habits and Fe status were analysed. The MTHFR 677C > T, cSHMT 1420C > T, DHFR 19bp ins/del and RFC1 80G > A polymorphisms were also assayed. Mean plasma concentrations of Fe and ferritin were 16·6 µmol/l (95 % CI 16·0, 17·2) and 33·8 µg/l (95 % CI 31·5, 36·2), respectively. Adequate plasma Fe concentrations (> 10·74 µmol/l) were detected in 84·3 % and adequate ferritin concentrations (20–200 µg/l) was found in 72·5 % of the whole cohort. Among the folate-related polymorphisms analysed, carriers of the DHFR 19bp del/del mutant allele showed lower ferritin concentration when compared with DHFR 19bp ins/del genotypes. In a sample of Italian healthy blood donors, adequate plasma concentrations of Fe and ferritin were reached in a large proportion of subjects. The relationship of Fe status with lifestyle factors and folate-related polymorphisms requires more investigation to clarify further gene–nutrient interactions between folate and Fe metabolism

Industria 5.0: il nuovo approccio industriale

Il nuovo approccio “Industria 5.0” si propone di rafforzare e completare l’attuale modello produttivo “Industria 4.0”, mettendo sempre più il benessere del lavoratore al centro del processo produttivo e considerando le tecnologie come mezzo per raggiungere sostenibilità economica, ambientale e sociale. La Commissione Europea ha pubblicato due studi sul nuovo approccio Industria 5.0 e su quale dovrebbe essere la vision europea per Industria 5.0: nel presente lavoro viene presentata la cornice di tale fenomeno con particolare evidenza alle implicazioni geografiche che esso apporta

Smart working 5.0, riorganizzazione della vita e del lavoro e riequilibrio demografico dei territori

Il momento storico che stiamo attraversando, caratterizzato dal Paradigma 4.0, è in continua evoluzione per aspetti industriali, sociali e ambientali; è basato sul modello della smart-manufacturing (modello di produzione che migliora gli aspetti gestionali per creare e fornire prodotti e servizi) e di conseguenza dell’Impresa 4.0 (modalità organizzativa dei processi di impresa che attraverso le tecnologie abilitanti sembrerebbe aver comportato impatti positivi sull’ambiente e sulla società). In questo scenario la complessità è aumentata dalla consapevolezza del ruolo che possono avere le persone, il settore produttivo e le istituzioni in una società che abbia a cuore il benessere delle persone, la tutela dell’ambiente, ed il bene comune. Aspetti del nuovo Paradigma 5.0

Principi di Risk Management nei servizi sanitari casi metodologie, applicazioni, possibili sviluppi

CLINICAL RISK MANAGEMEN