Synthesis of 2-substituted-6-hydroxy and 6-methoxy benzothiazoles from 1,4-benzoquinone

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Childhood multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19 (MIS-C): Distinct from Kawasaki disease or part of the same spectrum?

One of the most challenging and intriguing phenomena observed during the COVID-19 pandemic has been the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Patients with this condition present with some clinical features similar to those of Kawasaki disease (KD) and display signs and symptoms that are uncommon or rarely occur in this disorder, such as gastrointestinal complaints and myocarditis, often leading to myocardial failure and shock. In addition, patients\u2019 age is older than that of children with classic KD. Management is based on administering intravenous immunoglobulin, glucocorticoids, and anakinra in the most severe instances. It is still debated whether MIS-C and KD are different illnesses or represent a disease continuum

The effects of five anthelmintic treatment regimens on milk production in goats naturally infected by gastrointestinal nematodes

A study was carried out in Southern Italy on 90 Siriana breed goats with naturally occurring infections of gastrointestinal nematodes. Six similar groups of 15 goats were formed, one untreated control group and five groups treated once with ivermectin (I treatment) and once with netobimin (II treatment) at different times. Daily milk volume (ml) was recorded fortnightly for each animal for the whole lactation period. All the treated groups showed a total milk production that was statistically higher than that of the control group, and four of these groups showed at least one fortnightly measurement in which differences from the corresponding values of the control group were statistically significant (P<0.05). The best treatment timing seemed to be October-May, followed by February-June, December-May, and February-May

Distribution of helminths in buffalo farms from central Italy

The aim of the present study was to obtain up-to-date information on the distribution of helminths in buffalo farms of central Italy. The survey was carried out on a sample of 127 farms (epidemiological units), selected using a grid approach within a Geographical Information System, followed by proportional allocation. In each farm the number of buffaloes tested (adults, heifer/steers and calves) ranged from 9 to 21 based on the number of animals on the farm. The total number of faecal samples collected from the 127 farms was 1883. Copromicroscopic examinations were performed using the FLOTAC technique. The following helminths were detected in the examined farms: gastrointestinal strongyles (33.1%), Strongyloides spp. (3.1%), Fasciola hepatica (7.1%), Dicrocoelium dendriticum (2.4%), Paramphistomidae (7.1%), and Moniezia spp. (2.4%)

Fibroblast proliferation and migration in wound healing by phytochemicals: Evidence for a novel synergic outcome

Wound-healing is a dynamic skin reparative process that results in a sequence of events, including inflammation, proliferation, and migration of different cell types as fibroblasts. Fibroblasts play a crucial role in repairing processes, from the late inflammatory phase until the fully final epithelization of the injured tissue. Within this context, identifying tools able to implement cell proliferation and migration could improve tissue regeneration. Recently, plants species from all over the world are coming out as novel tools for therapeutic applications thanks to their phytochemicals, which have antioxidant properties and can promote wound healing. In this paper, we aimed at investigating antioxidant activity of waste extracts from different medicinal plants, endemic of the Mediterranean area, on fibroblast proliferation and wound healing. We determined the amount of total phenols and anti-oxidant activity by ABTS assay. We then evaluated the cytotoxicity of the compounds and the proliferative capabilities of fibroblasts by scratch assay. Our results showed that waste extracts retain antioxidant and regenerative properties, inducing tissue re-establishment after environmental stress exposure. Taken together, our findings suggest that waste material could be used in the future also in combinations to stimulate wound healing processes and antioxidant responses in damaged skin

Antiproliferative activity of N 6-isopentenyladenosine on HCT-15 colon carcinoma cell line

N 6-Isopentenyladenosine (iPA), a member of the cytokinin family of plant hormones, exerts remarkable inhibition on tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis in several tumor cell lines. In this study, we report that iPA is able to inhibit the proliferation and promotes apoptosis in HCT-15 human colon cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner with a concentration of 2.5 \u3bcM, which causes 50% inhibition of cell viability. The cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry showed that iPA-induced growth arrest could be associated to apoptosis. Moreover, suppression of clonogenic activity occurs after exposure to iPA at a concentration of 2.5 \u3bcM for HCT-15

Consensus Statement on Animals’ Relationship with Pediatric Oncohematological Patients, on Behalf of Infectious Diseases and Nurse Working Groups of the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology

: Contact with animals in pediatric oncohematologic patients is associated with many benefits, but the risk of contracting zoonoses, even if low, must be considered by clinicians. In order to assess the awareness about this topic, we surveyed the Italian pediatric oncohematology centers, which resulted in heterogeneous responses. The Infectious Diseases Working Group and the Nurse Working Group of the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, together with veterinarians from the National Federation of Italian Veterinarians, drew up a consensus document to unify the indications to be given to families with the aim of guaranteeing a safe interaction between patients and animals and improving the collaboration of clinicians with veterinarians and families

Vascular Health in American Football Players: Cardiovascular Risk Increased in Division III Players

Studies report that football players have high blood pressure (BP) and increased cardiovascular risk. There are over 70,000 NCAA football players and 450 Division III schools sponsor football programs, yet limited research exists on vascular health of athletes. This study aimed to compare vascular and cardiovascular health measures between football players and nonathlete controls. Twenty-three athletes and 19 nonathletes participated. Vascular health measures included flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT). Cardiovascular measures included clinic and 24 hr BP levels, body composition, VO2 max, and fasting glucose/cholesterol levels. Compared to controls, football players had a worse vascular and cardiovascular profile. Football players had thicker carotid artery IMT (0.49 ± 0.06 mm versus 0.46 ± 0.07 mm) and larger brachial artery diameter during FMD (4.3 ± 0.5 mm versus 3.7 ± 0.6 mm), but no difference in percent FMD. Systolic BP was significantly higher in football players at all measurements: resting (128.2 ± 6.4 mmHg versus 122.4 ± 6.8 mmHg), submaximal exercise (150.4 ± 18.8 mmHg versus 137.3 ± 9.5 mmHg), maximal exercise (211.3 ± 25.9 mmHg versus 191.4 ± 19.2 mmHg), and 24-hour BP (124.9 ± 6.3 mmHg versus 109.8 ± 3.7 mmHg). Football players also had higher fasting glucose (91.6 ± 6.5 mg/dL versus 86.6 ± 5.8 mg/dL), lower HDL (36.5±11.2 mg/dL versus 47.1±14.8 mg/dL), and higher body fat percentage (29.2±7.9% versus 23.2±7.0%). Division III collegiate football players remain an understudied population and may be at increased cardiovascular risk

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing in a combined screening approach to individuate pulmonary arterial hypertension in systemic sclerosis

Objectives The DETECT algorithm has been developed to identify SSc patients at risk for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) yielding high sensitivity but low specificity, and positive predictive value. We tested whether cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) could improve the performance of the DETECT screening strategy. Methods Consecutive SSc patients over a 30-month period were screened with the DETECT algorithm and positive subjects were referred for CPET before the execution of right-heart catheterization. The predictive performance of CPET on top of DETECT was evaluated and internally validated via bootstrap replicates. Results Out of 314 patients, 96 satisfied the DETECT application criteria and 54 were positive. PAH was ascertained in 17 (31.5%) and pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension in 23 (42.6%) patients. Within CPET variables, the slope of the minute ventilation to carbon dioxide production relationship (VE/VCO2 slope) had the best performance to predict PAH at right-heart catheterization [median (interquartile range) of specificity 0.778 (0.714\u20130.846), positive predictive value 0.636 (0.556\u20130.750)]; exploratory analysis on pre-capillary yielded a specificity of 0.714 (0.636\u20130.8) and positive predictive value of 0.714 (0.636\u20130.8). Conclusion In association with the DETECT algorithm, CPET may be considered as a useful tool in the workup of SSc-related pulmonary hypertension. The sequential determination of the VE/VCO2 slope in DETECT-positive subjects may reduce the number of unnecessary invasive procedures without any loss in the capability to capture PAH. This strategy had also a remarkable performance in highlighting the presence of pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension

A specific amino acid motif of HLA-DRB1 mediates risk and interacts with smoking history in Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease in which genetic risk has been mapped to HLA, but precise allelic associations have been difficult to infer due to limitations in genotyping methodology. Mapping PD risk at highest possible resolution, we performed sequencing of 11 HLA genes in 1,597 PD cases and 1,606 controls. We found that susceptibility to PD can be explained by a specific combination of amino acids at positions 70-74 on the HLA-DRB1 molecule. Previously identified as the primary risk factor in rheumatoid arthritis and referred to as the "shared epitope" (SE), the residues Q/R-K/R-R-A-A at positions 70-74 in combination with valine at position 11 (11-V) is highly protective in PD, while risk is attributable to the identical epitope in the absence of 11-V. Notably, these effects are modified by history of cigarette smoking, with a strong protective effect mediated by a positive history of smoking in combination with the SE and 11-V (P = 10-4; odds ratio, 0.51; 95% confidence interval, 0.36-0.72) and risk attributable to never smoking in combination with the SE without 11-V (P = 0.01; odds ratio, 1.51; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-2.12). The association of specific combinations of amino acids that participate in critical peptide-binding pockets of the HLA class II molecule implicates antigen presentation in PD pathogenesis and provides further support for genetic control of neuroinflammation in disease. The interaction of HLA-DRB1 with smoking history in disease predisposition, along with predicted patterns of peptide binding to HLA, provide a molecular model that explains the unique epidemiology of smoking in PD