(ÿ)-Fern-7-en-3a-ol from Sebastiania brasiliensis

The structure of a fernane isolated from S. brasiliensis was established as fern-7en-3[alpha]-ol, C30H50O. Rings A and D assume a chair conformation, while rings B and C adopt a twist-boat conformation. Rings A/B, C/D, and D/E are trans fused. The relative orientation of the hydroxy group and that of the iso­propyl group is [alpha].This structure was determined in the Molecular Structure Laboratory of the Department of Chemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. The SMART1000 diffractometer was gratefully obtained with funds provided by NSF grant CHE9610374. This study was supported by NIH grant 5U01TW00316-10 awarded to BNT. This study was undertaken as part of the required course work for the class CHEM 517 offered by Dr J. H. Enemark at the University of Arizona. The authors thank Liliya Yatsunyk for her help in this study

real life triplet fir fox chemotherapy in first line metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma recommended schedule for expected activity and safety and phase ii study

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Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in parents of children with type 1 diabetes during Covid-19 pandemic

Introduction The Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a group of persistent psychological and physiological symptoms due to a traumatic, severe, event. Only few studies focused on the effects of Covid-19 on psychosocial outcomes in children with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and their parents. Aim of the study The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence PTSD in parents of children with T1D during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Patients and methods In the period between March and May 2020 we submitted the "Impact of Event Scale - Revised" (IES-R) questionnaire to the parents of 34 children with Type 1 Diabetes, asking them to express their emotions about the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Results A total of thirty mothers (mean age 43.0 +/- 4.2 years) and 25 fathers (mean age 45.6 +/- 5.9 years) participated in the survey and completed the questionnaires. 29.1% of parents had a score that allows to define a clinically relevant level of PTSD; ten mothers and 6 fathers had a PTSD clinically relevant score, corresponding, respectively, to 28.4 and 24% of total mothers and fathers. Finally, mothers and fathers, both express PTSD symptoms mainly in the form of intrusion and hyperarousal. Conclusions The present study confirms a high prevalence symptoms related to PTSD in mothers and fathers of children with Type 1 Diabetes. We believe that psychosocial outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic should be taken into account in the planning of the next future assistance for children with T1D

Global occurrence of Torque teno virus in water systems

Bacterial indicator organisms are used globally to assess the microbiological safety of waters. However, waterborne viral outbreaks have occurred in drinking water systems despite negative bacterial results. Using viral markers may therefore provide more accurate health risk assessment data. In this study, fecal, wastewater, stormwater, surface water (fresh and salt), groundwater, and drinking water samples were analyzed for the presence or concentration of traditional indicators, innovative indicators and viral markers. Samples were obtained in the United States, Italy, and Australia and results compared to those reported for studies conducted in Asia and South America as well. Indicators included total coliforms, Escherichia coli, enterococci, male-specific coliphages, somatic coliphages and microviradae. Viral markers included adenovirus, polyomavirus, and a potential new surrogate, Torque teno virus (TTV). TTV was more frequently found in wastewaters (38-100%) and waters influenced by waste discharges (25%) than in surface waters used as drinking water sources (5%). TTV was also specific to human rather than animal feces. While TTV numbers were strongly correlated to other viral markers in wastewaters, suggesting its utility as a fecal contamination marker, data limitations and TTV presence in treated drinking waters demonstrates that additional research is needed on this potential viral indicator

Bulk and surface switching in Mn-Fe-based Prussian Blue Analogues

Many Prussian Blue Analogues are known to show a thermally induced phase transition close to room temperature and a reversible, photo-induced phase transition at low temperatures. This work reports on magnetic measurements, X-ray photoemission and Raman spectroscopy on a particular class of these molecular heterobimetallic systems, specifically on Rb0.81Mn[Fe(CN)6]0.95_1.24H2O, Rb0.97Mn[Fe(CN)6]0.98_1.03H2O and Rb0.70Cu0.22Mn0.78[Fe(CN)6]0.86_2.05H2O, to investigate these transition phenomena both in the bulk of the material and at the sample surface. Results indicate a high degree of charge transfer in the bulk, while a substantially reduced conversion is found at the sample surface, even in case of a near perfect (Rb:Mn:Fe=1:1:1) stoichiometry. Thus, the intrinsic incompleteness of the charge transfer transition in these materials is found to be primarily due to surface reconstruction. Substitution of a large fraction of charge transfer active Mn ions by charge transfer inactive Cu ions leads to a proportional conversion reduction with respect to the maximum conversion that is still stoichiometrically possible and shows the charge transfer capability of metal centers to be quite robust upon inclusion of a neighboring impurity. Additionally, a 532 nm photo-induced metastable state, reminiscent of the high temperature Fe(III)Mn(II) ground state, is found at temperatures 50-100 K. The efficiency of photo-excitation to the metastable state is found to be maximized around 90 K. The photo-induced state is observed to relax to the low temperature Fe(II)Mn(III) ground state at a temperature of approximately 123 K.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

Towards an EU Charter of the Fundamental Rights of Nature

This Study aims to set a framework for the legal recognition of the Rights of Nature in the EU legal order, as a prerequisite for a different and improved relationship between human beings and Nature. This aim should be possibly accomplished through the development of a EU Charter on Fundamental Rights of Nature. Initially, the Study shows the role of Rights of Nature with respect to environmental protection goals and addresses the reasons why current EU Environmental Law is failing to deliver the required level of nature protection (Section 2). Subsequently, the Study assesses how the "Rights of Nature" may help to overcome the failures of environmental law. To this end, four paradigmatic cases are proposed and analysed (Section 3). Based on the findings of this analysis, the strategic milestones required to achieve genuine ecosystem protection are identified and presented (Section 4). Finally, the possibility of introducing a Charter of the Rights of Nature in the EU legal system, with its basic principles, recommendable features and proposed pathway is discussed (Sections 5, 6 and 7)

Putative role of circulating human papillomavirus DNA in the development of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the middle rectum: A case report

Here we present the case of a patient affected by rectal squamous cell carcinoma in which we demonstrated the presence of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) by a variety of techniques. Collectively, the virus was detected not only in the tumor but also in some regional lymph nodes and in non-neoplastic mucosa of the upper tract of large bowel. By contrast, it was not identifiable in its common sites of entry, namely oral and ano-genital region. We also found HPV DNA in the plasma-derived exosome. Next, by in vitro studies, we confirmed the capability of HPV DNA-positive exosomes, isolated from the supernatant of a HPV DNA positive cell line (CaSki), to transfer its DNA to human colon cancer and normal cell lines. In the stroma nearby the tumor mass we were able to demonstrate the presence of virus DNA in the stromal compartment, supporting its potential to be transferred from epithelial cells to the stromal ones. Thus, this case report favors the notion that human papillomavirus DNA can be vehiculated by exosomes in the blood of neoplastic patients and that it can be transferred, at least in vitro, to normal and neoplastic cells. Furthermore, we showed the presence of viral DNA and RNA in pluripotent stem cells of non-tumor tissue, suggesting that after viral integration (as demonstrated by p16 and RNA in situ hybridization positivity), stem cells might have been activated into cancer stem cells inducing neoplastic transformation of normal tissue through the inactivation of p53, p21, and Rb. It is conceivable that the virus has elicited its oncogenic effect in this specific site and not elsewhere, despite its wide anatomical distribution in the patient, for a local condition of immune suppression, as demonstrated by the increase of T-regulatory (CD4/CD25/FOXP3 positive) and T-exhausted (CD8/PD-1positive) lymphocytes and the M2 polarization (high CD163/CD68 ratio) of macrophages in the neoplastic microenvironment. It is noteworthy that our findings depicted a static picture of a long-lasting dynamic process that might evolve in the development of tumors in other anatomical sites

Interventional radiology of the thyroid gland : critical review and state of the art

Thyroid nodules are a common incidental finding during a routinely ultrasound (US) exam unrelated to the thyroid gland in the healthy adult population with a prevalence of 20-76%. As treated before with surgery, in the last years new minimally invasive techniques have been developed as an alternative to surgery. The aim of this review, based on newly revised guidelines, is to provide some information regarding the basic principles, indications, materials, techniques, and results of mini-invasive procedures or treatments for thyroid nodules. We performed a narrative review including both newest and representative papers and guidelines based on the different procedures of ablation techniques developed in the last years for the diagnosis and the treatment of thyroid nodules. All examined papers referred very good results in term of volume nodule reduction, improvement in related symptoms and cosmetic problems, with a very low rate of complications and side effects for all the minimally invasive technique analyzed. Obviously, some differents between technique based on different kind of thyroid nodules and different indication were found. In conclusion, many thyroid nodules nowadays could be treated thanks to the advent of new mini-invasive technique that are less expensive and present a lower risk of major complications and side effects compared to surgery