Rapporto finale sull'impatto del sistema ISWEC nell'area marina interessata (isola di Pantelleria) dal punto di vista idrologico, dei nutrienti e metalli pesanti.

Il presente report tecnico riporta i risultati di un monitoraggio dei parametri fisici e biogeochimici della colonna d'acqua finalizzati a valutare l'eventuale impatto ambientale del sistema ISWEC (Inertial Sea Wave Energy Converter). Il sistema è un convertitore di tipo galleggiante che utilizza l'inclinazione del fianco dell'onda per produrre energia elettrica ubicato all’interno della zona ZPS (Zona a Protezione Speciale) in prossimità dell’isola di Pantelleria (Stretto di Sicilia). I risultati ottenuti hanno evidenziato una variabilità ipotizzabile interna al sistema marino sia per quanto riguarda le principali caratteristiche chimico-fisiche delle acque che per quanto riguarda la componente biogeochimica intesa come nutrienti disciolti e metalli sia disciolti che in fase particolato

SOS - Piattaforme e Impatti Offshore Report tecnico. I Campagna oceanografica 13-19 maggio 2018

Nell’ambito della convenzione stipulata tra il Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare (MATTM) e il Dipartimento Scienze del Sistema Terra e Tecnologie per l’Ambiente del CNR (DTA), “SOS-Piattaforme & Impatti Off-Shore” è stata prevista un’indagine ambientale nell’area di interesse di 10 piattaforme off-shore ENI presenti nella zona costiera compresa tra Ravenna e Pescara. In particolare, le attività previste fanno riferimento alla sezione Macro-Attività D della convenzione. Obiettivo principale delle attività di indagine è lo studio della modalità di dispersione in mare delle acque di produzione e una caratterizzazione chimico-fisica ed ecotossicologica delle stesse e delle matrici ambientali (acqua, sedimenti, biota) che ricevono lo scarico. L’attività di ricerca prevede un approccio di analisi ‘integrato’ di tipo chimico, e fisico per lo studio degli effetti della dispersione in mare delle acque di produzione ed ecotossicologico per la valutazione di eventuali danni a organismi selezionati dopo la loro esposizione all’acqua di produzione e all’acqua di mare prelevata a diverse distanze dal punto di scarico. Inoltre, l’azione di ricerca è volta alla definizione di un approccio metodologico innovativo per le future attività di monitoraggio da effettuare attorno alle piattaforme off-shore per la verifica di processi e meccanismi di impatto sull’ambiente e l’ecosistema principalmente da parte dello scarico di acque di produzione. Questa relazione descrive le attività di campionamento e acquisizione dati effettuate durante la I Campagna Oceanografica nell’ambito della convenzione “SOS-Piattaforme & Impatti Off-Shore”. La campagna di campionamento si è svolta nel periodo 13-19 maggio 2018 a bordo del mezzo navale ROCCO UNO della Marine Consulting International e dei mezzi navali ENI KING DAVID e MARE GRIGIO

Low plasma PD-L1 levels, early tumor onset and absence of peritoneal carcinomatosis improve prognosis of women with advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer

BackgroundThe most common subtype of ovarian cancer (OC) showing immunogenic potential is represented by the high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), which is characterized by the presence of tumor-infiltrating immune cells able to modulate immune response. Because several studies showed a close correlation between OC patient's clinical outcome and expression of programmed cell death protein-1 or its ligand (PD-1/PD-L1), the aim of our study was to investigate if plasma levels of immunomodulatory proteins may predict prognosis of advanced HGSOC women.Patients and methodsThrough specific ELISA tests, we analyzed plasma concentrations of PD-L1, PD-1, butyrophilin sub-family 3A/CD277 receptor (BTN3A1), pan-BTN3As, butyrophilin sub-family 2 member A1 (BTN2A1), and B- and T-lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) in one hundred patients affected by advanced HGSOC, before surgery and therapy. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to generate the survival curves, while univariate and multivariate analysis were performed using Cox proportional hazard regression models.ResultsFor each analyzed circulating biomarker, advanced HGSOC women were discriminated based on long (>= 30 months) versus short progression-free survival (PFS < 30 months). The concentration cut-offs, obtained by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, allowed to observe that poor clinical outcome and median PFS ranging between 6 and 16 months were associated with higher baseline levels of PD-L1 (> 0.42 ng/mL), PD-1 (> 2.48 ng/mL), BTN3A1 (> 4.75 ng/mL), pan-BTN3As (> 13.06 ng/mL), BTN2A1 (> 5.59 ng/mL) and BTLA (> 2.78 ng/mL). Furthermore, a lower median PFS was associated with peritoneal carcinomatosis, age at diagnosis > 60 years or Body Mass Index (BMI) > 25. A multivariate analysis also suggested that plasma concentrations of PD-L1 <= 0.42 ng/mL (HR: 2.23; 95% CI: 1.34 to 3.73; p = 0.002), age at diagnosis <= 60 years (HR: 1.70; 95% CI: 1.07 to 2.70; p = 0.024) and absence of peritoneal carcinomatosis (HR: 1.87; 95% CI: 1.23 to 2.85; p = 0.003) were significant prognostic marker for a longer PFS in advanced HGSOC patients.ConclusionsThe identification of high-risk HGSOC women could be improved through determination of the plasma PD-L1, PD-1, BTN3A1, pan-BTN3As, BTN2A1 and BTLA levels

History of migraine and volume of brain infarcts: The italian project on stroke at young age (IPSYS)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Migraine has been shown to increase cerebral excitability, promote rapid infarct expansion into tissue with perfusion deficits, and result in larger infarcts in animal models of focal cerebral ischemia. Whether these effects occur in humans has never been properly investigated. METHODS: In a series of consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke, enrolled in the setting of the Italian Project on Stroke at Young Age, we assessed acute as well as chronic infarct volumes by volumetric magnetic resonance imaging, and compared these among different subgroups identified by migraine status. RESULTS: A cohort of 591 patients (male, 53.8%; mean age, 37.5±6.4 years) qualified for the analysis. Migraineurs had larger acute infarcts than non-migraineurs (median, 5.9 cm3 [interquartile range (IQR), 1.4 to 15.5] vs. 2.6 cm3 [IQR, 0.8 to 10.1], P<0.001), and the largest volumes were observed in patients with migraine with aura (median, 9.0 cm3 [IQR, 3.4 to 16.6]). In a linear regression model, migraine was an independent predictor of increased log (acute infarct volumes) (median ratio [MR], 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.22 to 2.20), an effect that was more prominent for migraine with aura (MR, 2.92; 95% CI, 1.88 to 4.54). CONCLUSION: s These findings reinforce the experimental observation of larger acute cerebral infarcts in migraineurs, extend animal data to human disease, and support the hypothesis of increased vulnerability to ischemic brain injury in people suffering migraine

Candidate biomarkers from the integration of methylation and gene expression in discordant autistic sibling pairs

While the genetics of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has been intensively studied, resulting in the identification of over 100 putative risk genes, the epigenetics of ASD has received less attention, and results have been inconsistent across studies. We aimed to investigate the contribution of DNA methylation (DNAm) to the risk of ASD and identify candidate biomarkers arising from the interaction of epigenetic mechanisms with genotype, gene expression, and cellular proportions. We performed DNAm differential analysis using whole blood samples from 75 discordant sibling pairs of the Italian Autism Network collection and estimated their cellular composition. We studied the correlation between DNAm and gene expression accounting for the potential effects of different genotypes on DNAm. We showed that the proportion of NK cells was significantly reduced in ASD siblings suggesting an imbalance in their immune system. We identified differentially methylated regions (DMRs) involved in neurogenesis and synaptic organization. Among candidate loci for ASD, we detected a DMR mapping to CLEC11A (neighboring SHANK1) where DNAm and gene expression were significantly and negatively correlated, independently from genotype effects. As reported in previous studies, we confirmed the involvement of immune functions in the pathophysiology of ASD. Notwithstanding the complexity of the disorder, suitable biomarkers such as CLEC11A and its neighbor SHANK1 can be discovered using integrative analyses even with peripheral tissues

"Global change, sostenibilità ambientale e Biodiversità": il PCTO delle classi III D e III E, indirizzo (Scienze Applicate) del Liceo Scientifico "Pietro Ruggeri" di Marsala presso l'IAS - CNR Sede Secondaria di Capo Granitola

Con la partecipazione ad Esperienza InSegna 2020 (https://www.esperienzainsegna.it/) - Cambiamento climatico e sostenibilità ambientale - organizzata dall'Associazione PALERMOSCIENZA, da martedì 18 a domenica 23 febbraio 2020 presso l'Università degli Studi di Palermo (Edificio 19 - Viale delle Scienze) - l'IAS – CNR porta a termine un'esperienza formativa di successo rivolta a 54 allievi delle classi III D e III E, indirizzo Scienze Applicate, del Liceo Scientifico "Pietro Ruggeri" di Marsala (TP) presso l'IAS – CNR – S. S. di Capo Granitola nell'ambito del Percorso per le competenze trasversali e per l'orientamento (PCTO ex ASL), e regolamentata dalla convenzione Prot. IAS n° 0000030 del 08/01/2020. Il Direttore f.f. di IAS – CNR il Dottor Mario Sprovieri e il Responsabile dell'IAS – CNR Sede Secondaria di Capo Granitola, il Dottor Giorgio Tranchida, hanno promosso e supportato le attività del PCTO, anche quest'anno come negli anni passati, accogliendole come una irrinunciabile occasione per i tecnici, i tecnologi e i ricercatori di perseguire la " terza missione" degli Enti di Ricerca, attraverso l'applicazione diretta, la valorizzazione e l'impiego della conoscenza per contribuire allo sviluppo sociale, culturale ed economico della società. Sono state 25 le unità di personale (8 ricercatori, 2 tecnologi, 11 tecnici e 4 assegnisti di ricerca) dell'IAS – CNR, Sedi Secondarie di Capo Granitola e di Palermo, che hanno lavorato in sinergia e con entusiasmo, presso la S. S. di Capo Granitola, permettendo di elaborare una proposta formativa ricca di contenuti scientifici da trasferire agli alunni delle classi III D e III E del Liceo Scientifico "P. Ruggeri". Il personale scientifico, grazie all'esperienza acquisita negli anni, è ben consapevole del fatto che le pratiche attive, come l'apprendimento collaborativo ed i piccoli gruppi di lavoro, risultano altamente produttive permettendo all'alunno di non acquisire solo conoscenze, ma soprattutto abilità e competenze. Al fine di accrescere le opportunità di conoscenza e accendere l'interesse negli studenti, il PCTO, dal titolo "Global change, sostenibilità ambientale e Biodiversità", è stato programmato e realizzato attraverso una prima parte seminariale, un'esperienza teorico-pratica su campo (per prelevare campioni da analizzare) e una parte laboratoriale. Successivamente: i) una parte relativa a seminari teorico-pratici riguardante l'analisi statistica dei dati scientifici; ii) un gioco di ruolo finalizzato all'apprendimento collaborativo relativo dei concetti scientifici acquisiti ed, infine iii) una visita presso l'Osservatorio Regionale della Biodiversità Siciliano (ORBS) che è ospitato presso la struttura di Capo Granitola. Il personale scientifico ha rivestito un ruolo importante, delicato, di grossa responsabilità nell'accompagnare gli alunni in questo percorso di orientamento (PCTO) e affinché tutti gli alunni "imparassero ad imparare" nel modo per loro più corretto, hanno concordato nell'utilizzare diverse metodologie didattiche efficaci quali: interdisciplinarietà, utilizzo di parole chiavi, cooperative learning, didattica laboratoriale, peer education, problem solving, role playing, studio di caso, discussione, project work. Le metodologie didattiche utilizzate hanno consentito di valorizzare il potenziale di apprendimento

Body mass index and baseline platelet count as predictive factors in Merkel cell carcinoma patients treated with avelumab

BackgroundMerkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive skin cancer, associated with a worse prognosis. The Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs) avelumab and pembrolizumab have been recently approved as first-line treatment in metastatic MCC (mMCC). The clinical observation of improved outcomes in obese patients following treatment with ICIs, known as the “obesity paradox”, has been studied across many types of tumors. Probably due to the rarity of this tumor, data on mMMC patients are lacking.Patients and methodsThis is an observational, hospital-based, study to investigate the role of Body Mass Index (BMI) as predictive biomarker of ICI response in mMCC patients treated with avelumab as first-line treatment. The study population included the patients treated from February 2019 to October 2022 in an Italian referral center for rare tumors. Clinico-pathological characteristics, BMI, laboratory parameters (NLR and platelet count), and response to avelumab were analyzed from a MCC System database prospectively collected.ResultsThirty-two (32) patients were included. Notably, the presence of pre-treatment BMI ≥ 30 was significantly associated with longer PFS [BMI &lt; 30 Group: median PFS, 4 months (95% CI: 2.5-5.4); BMI ≥ 30 Group: median PFS, not reached; p&lt;0.001)[. Additionally, the median PFS was significantly higher in patients with higher PLT (median PFS: 10 months in the “low PLT” Group (95% CI: 4.9, 16.1) vs 33 months (95% CI: 24.3, 43.2) in the “high PLT” Group (p=0.006). The multivariable Cox regression model confirmed these results.ConclusionTo our knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the predictive role of BMI in MCC patients. Our data were consistent with the clinical observation of improved outcomes in obese patients across other tumor types. Thus, advanced age, a weakened immune system, and the obesity-associated “inflammaging”, are key factors that could impact the cancer immune responses of mMCC patients

Beta-Blocker Use in Older Hospitalized Patients Affected by Heart Failure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Italian Survey From the REPOSI Register

Beta (β)-blockers (BB) are useful in reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure (HF) and concomitant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Nevertheless, the use of BBs could induce bronchoconstriction due to β2-blockade. For this reason, both the ESC and GOLD guidelines strongly suggest the use of selective β1-BB in patients with HF and COPD. However, low adherence to guidelines was observed in multiple clinical settings. The aim of the study was to investigate the BBs use in older patients affected by HF and COPD, recorded in the REPOSI register. Of 942 patients affected by HF, 47.1% were treated with BBs. The use of BBs was significantly lower in patients with HF and COPD than in patients affected by HF alone, both at admission and at discharge (admission, 36.9% vs. 51.3%; discharge, 38.0% vs. 51.7%). In addition, no further BB users were found at discharge. The probability to being treated with a BB was significantly lower in patients with HF also affected by COPD (adj. OR, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.37-0.67), while the diagnosis of COPD was not associated with the choice of selective β1-BB (adj. OR, 95% CI: 1.33, 0.76-2.34). Despite clear recommendations by clinical guidelines, a significant underuse of BBs was also observed after hospital discharge. In COPD affected patients, physicians unreasonably reject BBs use, rather than choosing a β1-BB. The expected improvement of the BB prescriptions after hospitalization was not observed. A multidisciplinary approach among hospital physicians, general practitioners, and pharmacologists should be carried out for better drug management and adherence to guideline recommendations

Clinical features and outcomes of elderly hospitalised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure or both

Background and objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) mutually increase the risk of being present in the same patient, especially if older. Whether or not this coexistence may be associated with a worse prognosis is debated. Therefore, employing data derived from the REPOSI register, we evaluated the clinical features and outcomes in a population of elderly patients admitted to internal medicine wards and having COPD, HF or COPD + HF. Methods: We measured socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, severity and prevalence of comorbidities, clinical and laboratory features during hospitalization, mood disorders, functional independence, drug prescriptions and discharge destination. The primary study outcome was the risk of death. Results: We considered 2,343 elderly hospitalized patients (median age 81 years), of whom 1,154 (49%) had COPD, 813 (35%) HF, and 376 (16%) COPD + HF. Patients with COPD + HF had different characteristics than those with COPD or HF, such as a higher prevalence of previous hospitalizations, comorbidities (especially chronic kidney disease), higher respiratory rate at admission and number of prescribed drugs. Patients with COPD + HF (hazard ratio HR 1.74, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.16-2.61) and patients with dementia (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.06-2.90) had a higher risk of death at one year. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a higher mortality risk in the group of patients with COPD + HF for all causes (p = 0.010), respiratory causes (p = 0.006), cardiovascular causes (p = 0.046) and respiratory plus cardiovascular causes (p = 0.009). Conclusion: In this real-life cohort of hospitalized elderly patients, the coexistence of COPD and HF significantly worsened prognosis at one year. This finding may help to better define the care needs of this population