AN INVESTIGATION ON THE SCHOOL INTEGRATION IN ITALY: MAINSTREAM AND SPECIAL TEACHERS’ POINT OF VIEW, AND SENSE OF LONELINESS IN DISABLED AND NOT DISABLED STUDENTS

The Italian scholastic system provides for disabled students a complete social and teaching integration in the classes of the public schools.The present study is focused on the evaluation of the quality of school integration in 36 classes of different schools in the district of Rome, Italy. The school integration of the disabled students was analyzed through the teachers’ evaluation; in each class it was also analyzed the sense of loneliness in the disabled and not disabled students.Results showed a good teachers’ evaluation of the integration process, and the students, disabled and not disabled, reported low scores in the sense of loneliness in their class, although a difference between the two groups was noticed.The present work re-affirm the need to monitor the quality of the school integration process, in order to find efficient quality indicators, and each possible improvement in usual procedures carried on in school systems concerning the disabled students integration

The histone deacetylase inhibitor romidepsin synergizes with lenalidomide and enhances tumor cell death in T-cell lymphoma cell lines

We investigated the cytotoxic interactions of romidepsin, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, and lenalidomide, an immunomodulatory agent, in a T-cell lymphoma preclinical model. Hut-78 and Karpas-299 cells were treated with romidepsin and lenalidomide alone and in combination. The interaction between romidepsin and lenalidomide was evaluated by the Chou–Talalay method, and cell viability and clonogenicity were also evaluated. Apoptosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, and cell cycle distribution were determined by flow cytometry. ER stress, caspase activation, and the AKT, MAPK/ERK, and STAT-3 pathways were analyzed by Western blot. Combination treatment with romidepsin and lenalidomide had a synergistic effect in Hut-78 cells and an additive effect in Karpas-299 cells at 24 hours and did not decrease the viability of normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This drug combination induced apoptosis, increased ROS production, and activated caspase-8, −9, −3 and PARP. Apoptosis was associated with increased hallmarks of ER stress and activation of UPR sensors and was mediated by dephosphorylation of the AKT, MAPK/ERK, and STAT3 pathways.The combination of romidepsin and lenalidomide shows promise as a possible treatment for T-cell lymphoma. This work provides a basis for further studies

The Effect of Simple Melodic Lines on Aesthetic Experience: Brain Response to Structural Manipulations

This fMRI study investigates the effect of melody on aesthetic experience in listeners na \u308\u131ve to formal musical knowledge. Using simple melodic lines, whose syntactic structure was manipulated, we created systematic acoustic dissonance. Two stimulus categories were created: canonical (syntactically \u201ccorrect,\u201d in the Western culture) and modified (made of an altered version of the canonical melodies). The stimuli were presented under two tasks: listening and aesthetic judgment. Data were analyzed as a function of stimulus structure (canonical and modified) and stimulus aesthetics, as appraised by each participant during scanning. The critical contrast modified versus canonical stimuli produced enhanced activation of deep temporal regions, including the parahippocampus, suggesting that melody manipulation induced feelings of unpleasantness in the listeners. This was supported by our behavioral data indicating decreased aesthetic preference for the modified melodies. Medial temporal activation could also have been evoked by stimulus structural novelty determining increased memory load for the modified stimuli. The analysis of melodies judged as beautiful revealed that aesthetic judgment of simple melodies relied on a fine-structural analysis of the stimuli subserved by a left frontal activation and, possibly, on meaning attribution at the charge of right superior temporal sulcus for increasingly pleasurable stimul

Improvement of skeletal muscle performance in ageing by the metabolic modulator Trimetazidine

BACKGROUND: The loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia) and the associated reduced muscle strength are key limiting factors for elderly people's quality of life. Improving muscle performance does not necessarily correlate with increasing muscle mass. In fact, particularly in the elderly, the main explanation for muscle weakness is a reduction of muscle quality rather than a loss of muscle mass, and the main goal to be achieved is to increase muscle strength. The effectiveness of Trimetazidine (TMZ) in preventing muscle functional impairment during ageing was assessed in our laboratory. METHODS: Aged mice received TMZ or vehicle for 12 consecutive days. Muscle function was evaluated at the end of the treatment by a grip test as well as by an inverted screen test at 0, 5, 7 and 12 days of TMZ treatment. After sacrifice, muscles were stored for myofiber cross‐sectional area assessment and myosin heavy chain expression evaluation by western blotting. RESULTS: Chronic TMZ treatment does not affect the mass of both gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscles, while it significantly increases muscle strength. Indeed, both latency to fall and grip force are markedly enhanced in TMZ‐treated versus untreated mice. In addition, TMZ administration results in higher expression of slow myosin heavy chain isoform and increased number of small‐sized myofibers. CONCLUSIONS: We report here some data showing that the modulation of skeletal muscle metabolism by TMZ increases muscle strength in aged mice. Reprogramming metabolism might therefore be a strategy worth to be further investigated in view of improving muscle performance in the elderly

Analysis of stability in time of marginal adaptation of endosequence root repair material on biological samples

Introduction: The introduction of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and bioceramic sealers increased the success rate of endodontic surgery and perforation repair. The aim of this study was to evaluate the marginal adaptation at different times of endosequence root repair material (ERMM) in order to evaluate its dimensional stability using variable pressure-scanning electron microscope (VP-SEM). Material and Methods: Fourty-eight teeth were selected shaped up to a master apical size of 25. Then a 3mm cut perpendicular to the long axis and a retrograde cavity preparation were performed. In order to obtain 2mm thick sample a second cut was done and, in this disk, ERMM was inserted. The samples were stored at 37°.The samples were divided into four time-depending groups observed with VP-SE Mat time0 (Group 1) andafter2 (Group2),7(Group 3) and 30 days (Group4) after ERRM setting. Statistical analysis with one way-ANOVA test was performed (95%). Results: None of the four groups analyzed showed a complete marginal adaptation between dentin and ERRM. Instead, in all groups ERRM exhibited a completely preserved marginal adaptation to the dentin wall in all time-dependent groups. The mean (±SD) gap value was fortime0,3.91(±2.55) mmafter2days,4.32(±2.69), after7days4.49(±2.53), and after30days4.81(±2.85) mm. No statistically significant difference was found between the four groups. Conclusions: The results of the present study demonstrate the dimensional stability over time of ERMM

From winery waste to bioactive compounds and new polymeric biocomposites: a contribution to the circular economy concept

The paper aims at optimising and validating possible routes toward the full valorisation of grape agrowaste to produce bioactive molecules and new materials. Starting from Merlot red pomace, phenol complex mixtures were successfully extracted by using two different approaches. Extracts obtained by solvent-based (SE) technique contained up to 46.9 gGAeq/kgDW of total phenols. Depending on the used solvent, the prevalence of compounds belonging to different phenol families was achieved. Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) gave higher total phenol yields (up to 79 gGAeq/kgDW) but a lower range of extracted compounds. All liquid extracts exerted strong antioxidant properties. Moreover, both SE and PLE extraction solid residues were directly exploited (between 5 and 20% w/w) to prepare biocomposite materials by direct mixing via an eco-friendly approach with PHBV polymer. The final composites showed mechanical characteristics similar to PHVB matrix. The use of pomace residues in biocomposites could therefore bring both to the reduction of the cost of the final material, as a lower amount of costly PHBV is used. The present research demonstrated the full valorisation of grape pomace, an agrowaste produced every year in large amounts and having a significant environmental impact