Evolution of the La(III) ion coordination sphere in ethylammonium nitrate solution upon water addition

A thorough structural study of La(NO3)3 salt solutions in mixtures of the ethylammonium nitrate (EAN) ionic liquid (IL) and water with EAN molar fraction (X EAN) ranging from 0 to 1 has been carried out by means of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements at the La K-edge and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Both the XAS and MD outcomes agree in finding that the composition of the La3+ ion first solvation shell undergoes steadily changes when moving from pure water to pure EAN. Upon increasing of the IL concentration, the La3+ solvation complexes progressively lose water molecules to accommodate more and more nitrate anions, and the ratio between the two ligands continuously changes across the explored composition range. The nitrate ligands coordinate the metal ion only in a monodentate fashion for the lower EAN contents, while the percentage of bidentate nitrates becomes more and more predominant as the EAN concentration increases. When moving from pure water to pure EAN, the La3+ ion coordination passes from a 9-fold tricapped trigonal prismatic geometry to a 12-fold icosahedral one, while a 10-fold coordination with bicapped square antiprism geometry is the dominant species for the mixed compositions. The remarkable flexibility of this solvation complex in accommodating a variable amount of water molecules and nitrate ligands at dependence of the system composition is key for its predominance in all the EAN/water mixtures

Spatiotemporal dynamics of covert versus overt processing of happy, fearful and sad facial expressions

Behavioral and electrophysiological correlates of the influence of task demands on the processing of happy, sad, and fearful expressions were investigated in a within-subjects study that compared a perceptual distraction condition with task-irrelevant faces (e.g., covert emotion task) to an emotion task-relevant categorization condition (e.g., overt emotion task). A state-of-the-art non-parametric mass univariate analysis method was used to address the limitations of previous studies. Behaviorally, participants responded faster to overtly categorized happy faces and were slower and less accurate to categorize sad and fearful faces; there were no behavioral differences in the covert task. Event-related potential (ERP) responses to the emotional expressions included the N170 (140-180 ms), which was enhanced by emotion irrespective of task, with happy and sad expressions eliciting greater amplitudes than neutral expressions. EPN (200-400 ms) amplitude was modulated by task, with greater voltages in the overt condition, and by emotion, however, there was no interaction of emotion and task. ERP activity was modulated by emotion as a function of task only at a late processing stage, which included the LPP (500-800 ms), with fearful and sad faces showing greater amplitude enhancements than happy faces. This study reveals that affective content does not necessarily require attention in the early stages of face processing, supporting recent evidence that the core and extended parts of the face processing system act in parallel, rather than serially. The role of voluntary attention starts at an intermediate stage, and fully modulates the response to emotional content in the final stage of processing

Arx acts as a regional key selector gene in the ventral telencephalon mainly through its transcriptional repression activity

AbstractThe homeobox-containing gene Arx is expressed during ventral telencephalon development and required for correct GABAergic interneuron tangential migration from the ganglionic eminences to the olfactory bulbs, cerebral cortex and striatum. Its human ortholog is associated with a variety of neurological clinical manifestations whose symptoms are compatible with the loss of cortical interneurons and altered basal ganglia-related activities. Herein, we report the identification of a number of genes whose expression is consistently altered in Arx mutant ganglionic eminences. Our analyses revealed a striking ectopic expression in the ganglionic eminences of several of these genes normally at most marginally expressed in the ventral telencephalon. Among them, Ebf3 was functionally analyzed. Thus, its ectopic expression in ventral telencephalon was found to prevent neuronal tangential migration. Further, we showed that Arx is sufficient to repress Ebf3 endogenous expression and that its silencing in Arx mutant tissues partially rescues tangential cell movement. Together, these data provide new insights into the molecular pathways regulated by Arx during telencephalon development

Efficacy of neuro-psychomotor approach in children affected by autism spectrum disorders: A multicenter study in Italian pediatric population

Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social interaction and reciprocal communication. ASD affects about 1% of the general population and is associated with substantial disability and economic loss. A variety of approaches to improve the core deficits and lives of people with ASD have been developed, including behavioral, developmental, educational, and medical interventions. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a neuro-psychomotor approach in children affected by ASD. Methods: The sample consisted of 84 children (66 males, mean age 56.9 ± 15.8 months) affected by ASD assessed between September 2020 to March 2021. The trained therapist was asked to complete the ASD behavior inventory (ASDBI) test at baseline (T0) (September 2020) and after six months (T1) (March 2021) to assess the child’s evolution over the observational period. The study was carried out in southern Italy (Campania Region). Results: ASD children showed a significant improvement for AUTISM composite after 6 months of neuro-psychomotor treatment (T1) compared to baseline (65.4 ± 12.2 vs. 75.8 ± 11.5, p < 0.0001). In particular, significant changes were observed for such domains as the problems of excitability (ECCIT), aggression (AGG), behaviors in social relations (RELSOC), expressive (all p < 0.001), sense/perceptual contact modes (SENS) (p = 0.0007), ritualisms/resistance to changes (RIT) (p = 0.0002), pragmatic/social problems (PPSOC) (p = 0.0009), specific fears (FEARS) (p = 0.01), and learning and memory (AMLR) (p = 0.0007). No differences for the domains Semantic/pragmatic problems (PPSEM) and language (LESP) were found. Conclusions: Our preliminary results suggest the usefulness of the neuro-psychomotor treatment in children with ASD. Although promising, these findings need to be tested further to better understand the long-term effects of this specific type of approach

Field emission properties of carbon nanotube arrays grown in porous anodic alumina

AbstractCarbon nanotubes (CNTs), with their excellent electronic properties and extremely high aspect ratio, represent an ideal material for building electron sources based on field emission. Fowler‐Nordheim equation describes quite successfully the field emission phenomenon, especially for single or isolated tips. However, some complications arise when populations of CNTs are considered, where collective effects and large variability in the emitters features influence the measured I–V characteristics. In this work, the emission properties of multi‐walled CNTs grown within ordered anodic alumina templates are investigated. These CNT matrices produce current densities up to some tens of mA/cm2, and the field enhancement factor for collective emission sources can be estimated. Such material can be modelled as an ordered and uniform array of emitters and a simulation of the electrostatic field on the emission tips can be done in order to evaluate the field enhancement factor and its dependence on various geometries. This allows comparing predictions from simulation and experimental measurements, in a direct way. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Long-term results of a multicenter SAKK trial on high-dose ifosfamide and doxorubicin in advanced or metastatic gynecologic sarcomas

Background: Dose intensive chemotherapy has not been tested prospectively for the treatment of gynecologic sarcomas. We investigated the antitumor activity and toxicity of high-dose ifosfamide and doxorubicin, in the context of a multidisciplinary strategy for the treatment of advanced and metastatic, not pretreated, gynecologic sarcomas. Patients and methods: Thirty-nine patients were enrolled onto a phase I-II multicenter trial of ifosfamide, 10 g/m2 as a continuous infusion over 5 days, plus doxorubicin intravenously, 25 mg/m2/day for 3 days with Mesna and granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor every 21 days. Salvage therapy was allowed after chemotherapy. Results: Among the 37 evaluable patients, the tumor was locally advanced (n = 11), with concomitant distant metastases (n = 5) or with distant metastases only (n = 21). After a median of three (range 1-7) chemotherapy cycles, six patients experienced a complete response and 12 a partial response for an overall response rate of 49% (95% CI 32% to 66%). The response rate was higher in poorly differentiated tumors (62%) compared with moderately well differentiated ones (18%), but was not different according to histology subtypes. Eleven patients had salvage therapy, either immediately following chemotherapy (n = 7) or at time of progression (n = 4). With a median follow-up time of 5 years, the median overall survival was 30.5 months. Hematological toxicity was as expected neutropenia, thrombopenia and anemia ≥grade 3 at 50%, 34% and 33% of cycles respectively. No toxic death occurred. Conclusions: High-dose ifosfamide plus doxorubicin is an active regimen for all subtypes of gynecological sarcomas. Its toxicity was manageable in a multicentric setting. The prolonged survival might be due to the multidisciplinary strategy that was possible in one-third of the patient

Segmental ureterectomy vs. radical nephroureterectomy for ureteral carcinoma in patients with a preoperative glomerular filtration rate less than 90 ml/min/1.73 m2: A multicenter study

Objectives: To compare segmental ureterectomy (SU) and radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) in terms of overall survival (OS) and impact on postoperative renal function in patients treated for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) of the ureter with preoperatively reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Materials and methods: We retrospectively collected the data of consecutive patients treated for UTUC, in 6 Italian tertiary referral centers, from 2003 to 2013, and analyzed those treated with RNU or SU for ureteral cancer and with a preoperative eGFR <90 ml/min/1.73m2. The primary outcome was to compare the postoperative eGFR variation and the OS according to the surgical technique chosen. Results: Out of 521 patients with UTUC, 228 patients had preoperative reduced eGFR. Out of these patients, 93 had ureteral cancer and were included in the primary analyses \u2013 67 (72.0%) treated with RNU and 26 (28.0%) with SU. Preoperative characteristics were similar in the 2 groups. The overall median follow-up period was 26.5 months. A nonsignificant postoperative eGFR decrease of 3.0 ml/min/1.73m2 was found overall (P = 0.094), with nonsignificant difference between the 2 groups (P = 0.735). A comparable 5-year OS was calculated for RNU and SU patients (P = 0.99). Conclusions: The type of surgery (SU vs. RNU) has a low impact on postoperative renal function and OS in patients with ureteral cancer and preoperative eGFR <90 ml/min/1.73m2. The indications for kidney sparing surgery for UTUC should be based on the surgical and oncological risks in these patients

The social brain and emotional contagion: Covid-19 effects

Background and objectives: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious infectious disease, responsible for a global pandemic that began in January 2020. Human/COVID-19 interactions cause different outcomes ranging from minor health consequences to death. Since social interaction is the default mode by which individuals communicate with their surroundings, different modes of contagion can play a role in determining the long-term consequences for mental health and emotional well-being. We examined some basic aspects of human social interaction, emphasizing some particular features of the emotional contagion. Moreover, we analyzed the main report that described brain damage related to the COVID-19 infection. Indeed, the goal of this review is to suggest a possible explanation for the relationships among emotionally impaired people, brain damage, and COVID-19 infection. Results: COVID-19 can cause several significant neurological disorders and the pandemic has been linked to a rise in people reporting mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. Neurocognitive symptoms associated with COVID-19 include delirium, both acute and chronic attention and memory impairment related to hippocampal and cortical damage, as well as learning deficits in both adults and children. Conclusions: Although our knowledge on the biology and long-term clinical outcomes of the COVID-19 infection is largely limited, approaching the pandemic based on lessons learnt from previous outbreaks of infectious diseases and the biology of other coronaviruses will provide a suitable pathway for developing public mental health strategies, which could be positively translated into therapeutic approaches, attempting to improve stress coping responses, thus contributing to alleviate the burden driven by the pandemic

Effects of a Plastic-Free Lifestyle on Urinary Bisphenol A Levels in School-Aged Children of Southern Italy: A Pilot Study

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disruptor (ED) frequently used in food packaging. BPA is used as a monomer in the manufacture of some food packaging. This study aimed to evaluate the urinary BPA concentration in an Italian pediatric cohort, testing the levels of this ED over a period of 6 months, evaluating the effects of a diet regimen with a reduction of Plastic Food Packaging (PFP). One hundred thirty Italian children were enrolled and divided into two groups “School Canteen” and “No School Canteen.” The first group consumed one meal at school using a plastic-free service for 5 days/weeks, while the other group did not modify their normal meal-time habits. The BPA levels were tested in urine samples at three time points: T0, is the time before the application of the plastic-free regimen diet; T3, 3 months later; and T6, 6 months later. A reduction of urine BPA levels was detected in the “School Canteen” group. In particular, the reduction was significant analyzing both the intra (among the three testing times) group and inter (between “School Canteen” and “No School Canteen”) group variability. Our results show the effects of a diet regimen with a reduction of PFP, demonstrating a connection between urinary BPA levels and food packaging