Obstructing left sided colorectal cancer. A retrospective single center study.

Background: In recent years, with population aging, there has been an increased number of colorectal cancer cases in elderly patients with severe occlusion symptoms. About 75% of obstructions due to malignant colorectal cancer (10-30%) occur distal to splenic flexure. Methods: The authors evaluated the best surgical therapeutic strategy to be used in cases of left-sided colorectal carcinoma in patients over 65 years old, especially considering the emergency condition, age of patients and efficacy in terms of postoperative morbidity, mortality and 5 years survival rate. Results: The management of left-sided obstructing colorectal carcinoma is controversial. Hartmann’s procedure is the best therapeutic choice in elderly patients. However, resection with intraoperative colonic wash-out and primary anastomosis has favorable outcome in low risk patients. Conclusions: A review of the literature reveals that primary resection and anastomosis for left-sided obstructing CRC is the correct therapeutic strategy in low risk patients with localized, resectable carcinoma, without peritonitis; Hartmann’s procedure should be adopted in doubtful cases and in high risk patients

miR-181a/b downregulation exerts a protective action on mitochondrial disease models.

Mitochondrial diseases (MDs) are a heterogeneous group of devastating and often fatal disorders due to defective oxidative phosphorylation. Despite the recent advances in mitochondrial medicine, effective therapies are still not available for these conditions. Here, we demonstrate that the microRNAs miR-181a and miR-181b (miR-181a/b) regulate key genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and function and that downregulation of these miRNAs enhances mitochondrial turnover in the retina through the coordinated activation of mitochondrial biogenesis and mitophagy. We thus tested the effect of miR-181a/b inactivation in different animal models of MDs, such as microphthalmia with linear skin lesions and Leber\u27s hereditary optic neuropathy. We found that miR-181a/b downregulation strongly protects retinal neurons from cell death and significantly ameliorates the disease phenotype in all tested models. Altogether, our results demonstrate that miR-181a/b regulate mitochondrial homeostasis and that these miRNAs may be effective gene-independent therapeutic targets for MDs characterized by neuronal degeneration

miR-181a/b downregulation exerts a protective action on mitochondrial disease models.

Mitochondrial diseases (MDs) are a heterogeneous group of devastating and often fatal disorders due to defective oxidative phosphorylation. Despite the recent advances in mitochondrial medicine, effective therapies are still not available for these conditions. Here, we demonstrate that the microRNAs miR-181a and miR-181b (miR-181a/b) regulate key genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and function and that downregulation of these miRNAs enhances mitochondrial turnover in the retina through the coordinated activation of mitochondrial biogenesis and mitophagy. We thus tested the effect of miR-181a/b inactivation in different animal models of MDs, such as microphthalmia with linear skin lesions and Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy. We found that miR-181a/b downregulation strongly protects retinal neurons from cell death and significantly ameliorates the disease phenotype in all tested models. Altogether, our results demonstrate that miR-181a/b regulate mitochondrial homeostasis and that these miRNAs may be effective gene-independent therapeutic targets for MDs characterized by neuronal degeneration.Italian Fondazione Telethon (grant no. TGM16YGM02 to S. Ban, the Fondazione Roma (grant no. RP‐201300000009 to S. Ban)) and the AFM‐Telethon (grant no. 20685 to B.F.). A.I. received an Umberto Veronesi Fellowship. This research was carried out in the frame of Programme STAR, financially supported by UniNA and Compagnia di San Paolo (Bando STAR, 16‐CSP‐UNINA‐048, to A.I)

Dagli spazi educativi fisici all’aula virtuale: il ruolo del docente nell’era della digitalizzazione

Nei contesti educativi, è indispensabile un’attenta progettazione dello spazio in cui si realizza il processo di insegnamento-apprendimento perché esso promuove cambiamenti e processi di innovazione e inclusione. Con la didattica a distanza, la progettazione dei contesti educativi è ancora più importante: gli ambienti di apprendimento online presentano caratteristiche peculiari e, pertanto, non è possibile una semplice trasposizione delle pratiche tradizionali negli ambienti virtuali. La professionalità docente e la formazione, iniziale e continua, sulle competenze digitali e sull’inclusione dei discenti negli spazi educativi virtuali sono fondamentali. Pertanto, in questo articolo riflettiamo sulle caratteristiche degli spazi educativi fisici e virtuali e sul ruolo del docente nei nuovi scenari educativi.In educational contexts, a careful space planning where the training process takes place is indispensable because it promotes changes and innovation and inclusion processes. With the distance learning the design of educational contexts is even more important: online learning environments have peculiar characteristics and, therefore, a simple transposition of traditional practices into virtual environments is not possible. Teaching professionalism and initial and in service training on digital competence and on the inclusion of pupils in virtual educational spaces are fundamental. Therefore, in this article we reflect on the characteristics of the physical and virtual educational spaces and on the role of the teacher in the new educational scenarios

From the physical learning spaces to the virtual classroom: the role of the teacher in the digitization era

Nei contesti educativi, è indispensabile un’attenta progettazione dello spazio in cui si realizza il processo di insegnamento-apprendimento perché esso promuove cambiamenti e processi di innovazione e inclusione. Con la didattica a distanza, la progettazione dei contesti educativi è ancora più importante: gli ambienti di apprendimento online presentano caratteristiche peculiari e, pertanto, non è possibile una semplice trasposizione delle pratiche tradizionali negli ambienti virtuali. La professionalità docente e la formazione, iniziale e continua, sulle competenze digitali e sull’inclusione dei discenti negli spazi educativi virtuali sono fondamentali. Pertanto, in questo articolo riflettiamo sulle caratteristiche degli spazi educativi fisici e virtuali e sul ruolo del docente nei nuovi scenari educativi.In educational contexts, a careful space planning where the training process takes place is indispensable because it promotes changes and innovation and inclusion processes. With the distance learning the design of educational contexts is even more important: online learning environments have peculiar characteristics and, therefore, a simple transposition of traditional practices into virtual environments is not possible. Teaching professionalism and initial and in service training on digital competence and on the inclusion of pupils in virtual educational spaces are fundamental. Therefore, in this article we reflect on the characteristics of the physical and virtual educational spaces and on the role of the teacher in the new educational scenarios

La professionalità dell’insegnante nella scuola dell’emergenza

L’emergenza causata dalla pandemia di Covid-19 ha avuto un impatto significativo sul sistema di istruzione e formazione. In un momento così complesso e problematico, la rilettura della proposta di Ferrière offre importanti spunti di riflessione: fra questi limitare l’insegnamento a pochi contenuti, rifiutando un’educazione enciclopedica. La scuola, in particolare al tempo dell’emergenza sanitaria che ha visto limitato e ri-pensato il tempo e il luogo didattico, deve orientarsi alla promozione di apprendimenti significativi e allo sviluppo di competenze trasversali. A partire dalle premesse esposte, questo contributo si propone di comprendere come le scuole italiane abbiano affrontato il periodo emergenziale con lo scopo di indagare in che misura la didattica a distanza ha impattato sulla professionalità docente e, in particolare, sull’azione didattica. Il lavoro brevemente presenta gli esiti di una sintesi narrativa dei principali studi di settore che hanno indagato la professionalità docente nella scuola della Pandemia, allo scopo di delineare le caratteristiche dell’insegnamento efficace “d’emergenza” e/o evidenziare i limiti della proposta di insegnamento.The emergency caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic had a significant impact on the education and training system. At this complex and problematic time, the reinterpretation of Ferrière’s proposal offers some food for thought: among them to limit the teaching to a few contents, refusing an encyclopedic education. The school should be geared towards the promotion of meaningful learning and the development of the soft skills, especially at the time of the health emergency which provided for a change in the time and place of teaching. According to the premises, this work aims to understand how the Italian schools have addressed the emergency, with the intention of investigating the extent to which distance learning has impacted on the teaching professionalism and on the teaching action. The work briefly discusses the results of a narrative synthesis of the main studies that investigated the teaching professionalism in the school of Pandemic, to outline the characteristics of effective teaching and/or highlight the limitations of the training proposal

Sex-Specific Effects of Short-Term Oral Administration of Food-Grade Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in the Liver and Kidneys of Adult Rats

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanomaterial is used in several items (implant materials, pills composition, cosmetics, etc.). Although TiO2 is no longer considered safe as a food additive, the general population is exposed daily through different routes, and information is lacking on some aspects of animal and human health. This study evaluated liver and kidney toxicity of food-grade TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) (primary size 2 NPs are known to affect the gastric mucosa, short-term exposure induced sex-specific effects: general toxicity parameters were predominantly altered in female rats, whereas the liver appeared to be more affected than the kidneys in male rats, which also showed overexpression of NPY and SPP1. In the kidneys, the TiO2 NP effects were quantitatively similar but qualitatively different in the two sexes. In conclusion, careful consideration should be paid to the presence of TiO2 NPs in other items that can lead to human exposure

The basal body protein Ofd1 is essential for dorso-ventral patterning and axoneme elongation in the embryonic cortex

Oral-facial-digital type I syndrome (OFDI; OMIM 311200) is an X-linked dominant developmental ciliopathy with lethality in males. Female patients present malformations of the oral cavity, face, digits and central nervous system. The human disease gene OFD1 encodes a centrosome/basal body protein. In the present study we analyzed the neurological phenotype in mouse development of Ofd1 inactivation. Given that male mutant die very early during gestation we focused our analysis on heterozygous female at E12.5 and due to X-inactivation we observed a high degree of variability in phenotypes. The analysis of neurological defects in Ofd1 severe mutant embryos revealed that the basal body protein has a crucial role in the brain development, controlling dorso-ventral patterning of the forebrain. Ultrastructural studies demonstrated that Ofd1 inactivation affected ciliogenesis in severe mutant embryos leading to the absence of ciliary axonemes despite the presence of mature basal bodies correctly oriented and docked. Planar cell polarity pathway and cytoskeletal organization were defective in our mouse model most likely due to the lack of ciliary axonemes. The present study shed light on the role of the basal body protein Ofd1 in development and in ciliogenesis