Effects of E-Cigarette Exposure on Prenatal Life and Childhood Respiratory Health: A Review of Current Evidence

In the last decade, widespread use of E-cigarettes (EC) has occurred all over the world. Whereas, a large amount of evidence on harm to children from conventional cigarette exposure is available, data on health effects in this population throughout different vulnerability windows are still a matter of concern. Exposure to EC during pregnancy may compromise placental function, resulting in fetal structural abnormalities. Specifically, this may cause physio-pathologic changes in the developing lung, which in turn may impair respiratory health later in life. Furthermore, there is evidence that using EC can cause both short- and long-term respiratory problems in the pediatric population and there is great concern for future young people with nicotine addiction. The low parental perception of the risks connected to EC exposure for children increases their susceptibility to harmful effects from passive vaping. This minireview aims to summarize the current evidence focusing on: (i) prenatal effects of EC passive exposure; (ii) post-natal respiratory effects of EC exposure in youth; (iii) parental attitudes toward EC use and perception of children’s health risks connected to EC exposure; and (iv) addressing gaps in our current evidence

An Overview of Asthma and COVID-19: Protective Factors Against SARS-COV-2 in Pediatric Patients

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus SARS-COV-2. Aberrant innate immunity response and cytokine storm are responsible for the syndrome. Apparently, in asthmatic patients, the inadequate antiviral immune response and the tendency for asthma exacerbation evoked by common respiratory viruses could explain increased susceptibility to SARS-COV-2 infection. However, asthma has not been suggested to be a risk factor in COVID-19 patients. Therefore, in asthmatic patients some potential protective mechanisms against SARS-COV-2 have been hypothesized, like type 2 immune response, number of eosinophils, overproduction of mucus, and asthma treatment, along with behavioral factors not strictly related to asthma, such as social distancing, hygiene measures and wearing facemasks, that contribute to reduce the individual susceptibility to SARS-COV-2 infection. In this mini-review, we will describe the current literature regarding potential protective factors against COVID-19 in children with asthma based on the evidence available so far

Southern Area of the Greek Agora in Kos. Archaeological park project.

The project, included in a degree thesis held at the Polytechnic of Bari, is a plan for an archaeological park set in the area of the Hellenistic agora of Kos (Greece). The proposal is based on a preliminary historical research, in these years carried out by prof. G. Rocco e M. Livadiotti, focused on the reconstruction of the ancient form of the large agora (IV-II cent. B.C.). The study analyses the remains of building structures and architectural fragments discovered in six different diggings. Our project goals are: 1) to allow visitors to understand the original plan of the city, although the deep contrast with the current urban tissue; 2) to redevelop the six archaeological sites analysed in order to make the remains of the ancient agora accessible to the public and, moreover, to allow to consider them as elements of a single monument. The planning is developed at urban scale and involves enlargement and redefinition of the excavated portions, creation of accesses and footbridges and eventually anastylosis in situ of some remains. Other relevant features of the project are: 1) the building of retaining walls made of concrete covered with a earth mixture which makes wall surface similar to the ground; 2) the insertion of 246-2 vegetation in some specific areas which, on one hand, functions as enclosure and visual barrier to modern city and, on the other, it works as instrument to highlight the most important streets of the ancient city. Since it’s not allowed to build in archaeological sites, it’s chosen to use green-system to configure three dimensional space. Therefore, control and knowledge of the specific form of woody species play an important role in the project

Environmental Effects on Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide in Allergic Children

Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is a non-invasive marker of airway inflammation in asthma and respiratory allergy. Environmental factors, especially indoor and outdoor air quality, may play an important role in triggering acute exacerbations of respiratory symptoms. The authors have reviewed the literature reporting effects of outdoor and indoor pollutants on FeNO in children. Although the findings are not consistent, urban and industrial pollution—mainly particles (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2)—as well as formaldehyde and electric baseboard heating have been shown to increase FeNO, whilst ozone (O3) tends to decrease it. Among children exposed to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) with a genetic polymorphisms in nitric oxide synthase genes (NOS), a higher nicotine exposure was associated with lower FeNO levels. Finally, although more studies are needed in order to better investigate the effect of gene and environment interactions which may affect the interpretation of FeNO values in the management of children with asthma, clinicians are recommended to consider environmental exposures when taking medical histories for asthma and respiratory allergy. Further research is also needed to assess the effects of remedial interventions aimed at reducing/abating environmental exposures in asthmatic/allergic patients

Graminex pollen: phenolic pattern, colorimetric analysis and protective effects in immortalized prostate cells (PC3) and rat prostate challenged with LPS

Prostatitis, a general term describing prostate inflammation, is a common disease that could be sustained by bacterial or non-bacterial infectious agents. The efficacy of herbal extracts with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects for blunting the burden of inflammation and oxidative stress, with possible improvements in clinical symptoms, is under investigation. Pollen extracts have been previously reported as promising agents in managing clinical symptoms related to prostatitis. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the protective effects of Graminex pollen (GraminexTM, Deshler, OH, USA), a commercially available product based on standardized pollen extracts, in rat prostate specimens, ex vivo. In this context, we studied the putative mechanism of action of pollen on multiple inflammatory pathways, including the reduction of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NFB), and malondialdehyde (MDA), whose activities were significantly increased by inflammatory stimuli. We characterized by means of chromatographic and colorimetric studies the composition of Graminex pollen to better correlate the activity of pollen on immortalized prostate cells (PC3), and in rat prostate specimens challenged with Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We found that Graminex pollen was able to reduce radical oxygen species (ROS) production by PC3 cells and MDA, NFB mRNA, and PGE2 levels, in rat prostate specimens. According to our experimental evidence, Graminex pollen appears to be a promising natural product for the management of the inflammatory components in the prostate

TURBOGEN: Computer-controlled vertically oscillating grid system for small-scale turbulence studies on plankton

11 pages, 10 figures, 3 tablesIn recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the impact of turbulence on aquatic organisms. In response to this interest, a novel instrument has been constructed, TURBOGEN, that generates turbulence in water volumes up to 13 l. TURBOGEN is fully computer controlled, thus, allowing for a high level of reproducibility and for variations of the intensity and characteristics of turbulence during the experiment. The calibration tests, carried out by particle image velocimetry, showed TURBOGEN to be successful in generating isotropic turbulence at the typical relatively low levels of the marine environment. TURBOGEN and its sizing have been devised with the long-term scope of analyzing in detail the molecular responses of plankton to different mixing regimes, which is of great importance in both environmental and biotechnological processesRachel Macmasters is acknowledged for language check. A.A., M.I.F., D.I., M.R.d’A., and R.W. thank the Flagship project RITMARE—The Italian Research for the Sea Programme (Ricerca ITaliana per il MARE) for partial support. A.A. was funded by the European Union under FP7-People—GA No. 600407Peer Reviewe

Evidence for the Role of Intracellular Water Lifetime as a Tumour Biomarker Obtained by In Vivo Field-Cycling Relaxometry

This project has received funding from the European UnionQs Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 668119 (project “IDentIFY”), and it was performed in the framework of the Consorzio CIRCMSB and of COST Action AC15209 (EURELAX)Peer reviewedPublisher PD