Talenti locali, pubblico nazionale, format globale: X Factor Italia tra omologazione e adattamento

I talent show sono forme di intrattenimento televisivo diffuse a partire dagli anni Duemila. Una delle più popolari tipologie di talent show è costituita dai cosiddetti talent show musicali: si tratta di spettacoli costruiti attorno alle performances canore dei concorrenti, il cui scopo è individuare una nuova pop star da lanciare nel mercato discografico. Diversi format (1) di talent show musicali sono stati ideati in diversi paesi negli ultimi quindici anni, e successivamente si sono diffusi in tutto il mondo. L’origine di questo tipo di prodotti è da ricercarsi in Gran Bretagna, dove nel 2001 è stato ideato il primo talent show musicale (Pop Idol) seguito nel 2004 dal format X Factor. Entrambi sono format di grande successo e diffusione, tuttora prodotti in diverse edizioni. L’obiettivo di questo articolo è porre l’accento sulla rilevanza dei talent show nel quadro di una riflessione in chiave geografica e territoriale sulla musica, attraverso un focus sulla circolazione dei format e sulle loro mutazioni e adattamenti

Modulation of Milk Allergenicity by Baking Milk in Foods: A Proteomic Investigation

Cow’s milk is considered the best wholesome supplement for children since it is highly enriched with micro and macro nutrients. Although the protein fraction is composed of more than 25 proteins, only a few of them are capable of triggering allergic reactions in sensitive consumers. The balance in protein composition plays an important role in the sensitization capacity of cow’s milk, and its modification can increase the immunological response in allergic patients. In particular, the heating treatments in the presence of a food matrix have demonstrated a decrease in the milk allergenicity and this has also proved to play a pivotal role in developing tolerance towards milk. In this paper we investigated the effect of thermal treatment like baking of cow’s milk proteins that were employed as ingredients in the preparation of muffins. A proteomic workflow was applied to the analysis of the protein bands highlighted along the SDS gel followed by western blot analyses with sera of milk allergic children in order to have deeper information on the impact of the heating on the epitopes and consequent IgE recognition. Our results show that incorporating milk in muffins might promote the formation of complex milk–food components and induce a modulation of the immunoreactivity towards milk allergens compared to milk baked in the oven at 180 °C for ten minutes. The interactions between milk proteins and food components during heating proved to play a role in the potential reduction of allergenicity as assessed by in vitro tests. This would help, in perspective, in designing strategies for improving milk tolerance in young patients affected from severe milk allergies

Parents' Perceptions and Experiences with Their Children's Use of Augmentative/Alternative Communication: A Systematic Review and Qualitative Meta-Synthesis

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) consists of any method of communicating that supplements or completely substitutes oral and/or written language when it is impaired. Therefore, it enables children with complex communication needs to develop their full communicative potential. However, despite the many benefits of AAC and its widespread use, several review studies have underscored the problems faced by parents and children who use AAC in their daily lives. The general objective of this systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis is to provide a complete overview of parents' experiences and perceptions with their children's use of AAC. Specifically, it aimed to identify common themes and subthemes of interest and to analyze the research quality of the selected studies. An exhaustive literature search was carried out using different electronic databases. Nineteen studies were included, involving 297 parents. A thematic synthesis was undertaken. Three main themes and nine subthemes were identified: service support (accessibility, providers and coordination); characteristics of AAC systems (usability and acceptability, features, cost and funding); and integration of AAC in daily life (family, school, social and community). Findings raise a need for more services that support children with complex communication deficits in different contexts, more functional use of AAC systems at school and in real-world situations, as well as service assistance over an extended time period

Circulating extracellular vesicles expressing PD1 and PD-L1 predict response and mediate resistance to checkpoint inhibitors immunotherapy in metastatic melanoma

Background: The immunotherapy with immune checkpoints inhibitors (ICI) has changed the life expectancy in metastatic melanoma (MM) patients. Nevertheless, several patients do not respond hence, the identifcation and validation of novel biomarkers of response to ICI is of crucial importance. Circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) such as PD-L1+ EV mediate resistance to anti-PD1, instead the role of PD1+ EV is not fully understood. Methods: We isolated the circulating EVs from the plasma of an observational cohort study of 71 metastatic melanoma patients and correlated the amount of PD-L1+ EVs and PD1+ EVs with the response to ICI. The analysis was performed according to the origin of EVs from the tumor and the immune cells. Subsequently, we analysed the data in a validation cohort of 22 MM patients to assess the reliability of identifed EV-based biomarkers. Additionally we assessed the involvement of PD1+ EVs in the seizure of nivolumab and in the perturbation of immune cells-mediated killing of melanoma spheroids. Results: The level of PD-L1+ EVs released from melanoma and CD8+ T cells and that of PD1+ EVs irrespective of the cellular origin were higher in non-responders. The Kaplan-Meier curves indicated that higher levels of PD1+ EVs were signifcantly correlated with poorer progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Signifcant correlations were found for PD-L1+ EVs only when released from melanoma and T cells. The multivariate analysis showed that high level of PD1+ EVs, from T cells and B cells, and high level of PD-L1+ EVs from melanoma cells, are independent biomarkers of response. The reliability of PD-L1+ EVs from melanoma and PD1+ EVs from T cells in predicting PFS was confrmed in the validation cohort through the univariate Cox-hazard regression analysis. Moreover we discovered that the circulating EVs captured nivolumab and reduced the T cells trafcking and tumor spheroids killing. Conclusion: Our study identifed circulating PD1+ EVs as driver of resistance to anti-PD1, and highlighted that the analysis of single EV population by liquid biopsy is a promising tool to stratify MM patients for immunotherapy

Leiomyosarcoma of the Oropharynx and Neurogenic Tumors in a Young Patient With Turner's Syndrome

Patient: A case of Turner's syndrome developing a leiomyosarcoma of the oropharynx and metachronous neurogenic tumors (mediastinal ‘ganglioneuroblastoma intermixed’, subcutaneous neurilemoma) is described

Antitumoral efficacy of the protease inhibitor gabexate mesilate in colon cancer cells harbouring KRAS, BRAF and PIK3CA mutations

The employment of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibodies represents a backbone of the therapeutic options for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). However, this therapy is poorly effective or ineffective in unselected patients. Mutations in KRAS, BRAF and PIK3CA genes have recently emerged as the best predictive factors of low/absent response to EGFR-targeted therapy. Due to the need for efficacious treatment options for mCRC patients bearing these mutations, in this short report we examined the antitumoral activity of the protease inhibitor gabexate mesilate, alone and in combination with the anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody cetuximab, in a panel of human CRC cell lines harbouring a different expression pattern of wild-type/mutated KRAS, BRAF and PIK3CA genes. Results obtained showed that gabexate mesilate significantly inhibited the growth, invasive potential and tumour-induced angiogenesis in all the CRC cells employed in this study (including those ones harbouring dual KRAS/PIK3CA or BRAF/PIK3CA mutation), while cetuximab affected these parameters only in CRC cells with KRAS, BRAF and PIK3CA wild-type. Notably, the antitumoral efficacy of gabexate mesilate and cetuximab in combination was found to be not superior than that observed with gabexate mesilate as single agent. Overall, these preliminary findings suggest that gabexate mesilate could represent a promising therapeutic option for mCRC patients, particularly for those harbouring KRAS, BRAF and PIK3CA mutations, either as monotherapy or in addition to standard chemotherapy regimens. Further studies to better elucidate gabexate mesilate mechanism of action in CRC cells are therefore warranted