COVID-19 Outbreak and Cancer Radiotherapy Disruption in Lombardy, Northern Italy

none37nononeJereczek-Fossa B.A.; Palazzi M.F.; Soatti C.P.; Cazzaniga L.F.; Ivaldi G.B.; Pepa M.; Amadori M.; Antognoni P.; Arcangeli S.; Buffoli A.; Beltramo G.; Berlinghieri S.; Bignardi M.; Bracelli S.; Bruschieri L.; Castiglioni S.; Catalano G.; Di Muzio N.; Fallai C.; Fariselli L.; Filippi A.R.; Gramaglia A.; Italia C.; Lombardi F.; Magrini S.M.; Nava S.; Orlandi E.; Pasinetti N.; Sbicego E.L.; Scandolaro L.; Scorsetti M.; Stiglich F.; Tonoli S.; Tortini R.; Valdagni R.; Vavassori V.; Marvaso G.Jereczek-Fossa, B. A.; Palazzi, M. F.; Soatti, C. P.; Cazzaniga, L. F.; Ivaldi, G. B.; Pepa, M.; Amadori, M.; Antognoni, P.; Arcangeli, S.; Buffoli, A.; Beltramo, G.; Berlinghieri, S.; Bignardi, M.; Bracelli, S.; Bruschieri, L.; Castiglioni, S.; Catalano, G.; Di Muzio, N.; Fallai, C.; Fariselli, L.; Filippi, A. R.; Gramaglia, A.; Italia, C.; Lombardi, F.; Magrini, S. M.; Nava, S.; Orlandi, E.; Pasinetti, N.; Sbicego, E. L.; Scandolaro, L.; Scorsetti, M.; Stiglich, F.; Tonoli, S.; Tortini, R.; Valdagni, R.; Vavassori, V.; Marvaso, G

Major Surface Glycoproteins of Insect Forms of Trypanosoma brucei Are Not Essential for Cyclical Transmission by Tsetse

Procyclic forms of Trypanosoma brucei reside in the midgut of tsetse flies where they are covered by several million copies of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins known as procyclins. It has been proposed that procyclins protect parasites against proteases and/or participate in tropism, directing them from the midgut to the salivary glands. There are four different procyclin genes, each subject to elaborate levels of regulation. To determine if procyclins are essential for survival and transmission of T. brucei, all four genes were deleted and parasite fitness was compared in vitro and in vivo. When co-cultured in vitro, the null mutant and wild type trypanosomes (tagged with cyan fluorescent protein) maintained a near-constant equilibrium. In contrast, when flies were infected with the same mixture, the null mutant was rapidly overgrown in the midgut, reflecting a reduction in fitness in vivo. Although the null mutant is patently defective in competition with procyclin-positive parasites, on its own it can complete the life cycle and generate infectious metacyclic forms. The procyclic form of T. brucei thus differs strikingly from the bloodstream form, which does not tolerate any perturbation of its variant surface glycoprotein coat, and from other parasites such as Plasmodium berghei, which requires the circumsporozoite protein for successful transmission to a new host

Vicenza in scena. Realt\ue0 e visione nelle vedute di Cristoforo Dall'Acqua

Il catalogo della mostra "Vicenza in scena. Realt\ue0 e visione nelle vedute di Cristoforo Dall'Acqua" (Vicenza, Palazzo Cordellina, 2 maggio-2 giugno 2019) presenta i risultati delle ultime ricerche condotte su Cristoforo Dall'Acqua (1734-1787): il pi\uf9 importante incisore vicentino del Settecento. I saggi in cui si articola il volume offrono una ricostruzione del percorso artistico di Dall'Acqua, ponendo l'accento sul rapporto privilegiato che egli aveva con il mondo dell'editoria, e presentano una nuova indagine sulle celebri vedute di Vicenza, incise dall'artista fra il 1760 e il 1764

Metodo e apparato per il trattamento di materiali polimerici di riciclo, in particolare materiali polimerici contenenti sostanze contaminanti

Un metodo per il trattamento di materiali polimerici di riciclo, in particolare materiali polimerici contenenti sostanze contaminanti, comprende una fase di estrusione di un materiale polimerico di riciclo e almeno una fase di trattamento del materiale polimerico di riciclo con almeno un agente di trattamento comprendente o costituito da fondi di caffè e/o bicarbonato di sodio

Intumescent material fire stop device

An intumescent material fire stop device, comprising a support body shaped so as to take a collar-like shape around an axis and to define an opening intended to house a pipe, an expandable element, made up of at least one intumescent material and positioned in the support body, and one or more foldable fin joined to the support body by at least one respective hinge portion along a radially inner peripheral edge of said opening. Due to the expansion of the expandable element, the fins are movable between an initial position, in which the fins are substantially parallel to each other and not intercepting said opening, to a closing position, in which the fins converge towards the axis to close at least partially the opening. Advantageously the expandable element is made of at least one first intumescent material, expandable at temperatures equal to or greater than a first activation temperature T1, and at least one second intumescent material, expandable at temperatures equal to or greater than a second activation temperature T2 higher than said first activation temperature T1. The first intumescent material and the second intumescent material are axially staggered

In vivo import of unspliced tRNATyr containing synthetic introns of variable length into mitochondria of Leishmania tarentolae.

The mitochondrial genomes of trypanosomatids lack tRNA genes. Instead, mitochondrial tRNAs are encoded and synthesized in the nucleus and are then imported into mitochondria. This also applies for tRNATyr, which in trypanosomatids contains an 11 nt intron. Previous work has defined an exon mutation which leads to accumulation of unspliced precursor tRNATyr. In this study we have used the splicing-deficient tRNATyr as a vehicle to introduce foreign sequences into the mitochondrion of Leishmania tarentolae. The naturally occurring intron was replaced by synthetic sequences of increasing length and the resulting tRNATyr precursors were expressed in transgenic cell lines. Whereas stable expression of precursor tRNAsTyr was obtained for introns up to a length of 76 nt, only precursors having introns up to 38 nt were imported into mitochondria. These results demonstrate that splicing-deficient tRNATyr can be used to introduce short synthetic sequences into mitochondria in vivo. In addition, our results show that one factor which limits the efficiency of import is the length of the molecule

Equipment, staffing, and provision of radiotherapy in Lombardy, Italy: Results of three surveys performed between 2012 and 2016

Introduction: Several efforts are being implemented at the European level to measure provision of up-to-date radiation treatments across the continent. Methods: A snapshot survey involving all radiation oncology centers within Lombardy, Italy, was performed in 2012 and repeated in 2014 and 2016, in cooperation with regional governmental officers. Centers were asked to provide detailed information concerning all individual patients being treated on the index day, and to report data on available local resources. Results: We observed an increase in the number of centers and of megavoltage units (MVU) (from 76 to 87, i.e., 8.7 MVU per million inhabitants in 2016). Mean number of MVU per center was 2.5. Average age of MVU increased from 5.3 to 7.5 years and patients on the waiting list also increased. Conformal 3D radiotherapy (RT) treatments decreased from 56% to 42% and were progressively replaced by intensity-modulated RT treatments (from 39% to 49%). Waiting times were overall satisfactory. Radiation oncologists treated on average 152 and radiation therapists 100 RT courses per year. Average reimbursement per course was €4,879 (range €2,476-€8,014). Conclusions: The methodology of snapshot survey proved feasible and provided valuable information about radiation oncology provision and accessibility in Lombardy