Efficacy of orange peel extract in psoriasis

Monoterpenes, and especially d-Limonene, display anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic effects which could be efficient in such inflammatory diseases as psoriasis. A pilot study was initiated to test this hypothesis in an open non-randomized setting enrolling nine patients. Orange peel extract containing known amounts of d-Limonene were given twice daily as soft gel capsules ingested and/or emptied and massaged on skin lesions, for 45 days. In spite of the small size of the cohort, highly significant positive effects were observed, with a reduction of clinical scores such as Psoriasis Area Severity Index and Videodermoscopy Scalp Psoriasis Severity Index. Moreover, adding to the global subjective satisfaction of the patients and improvement of the objective Dermatology Life Quality Index was also recorded. This encouraging pilot study should serve to prompt a larger randomized blind study. Indeed, implementation of a non-toxic substance of natural origin in the widespread condition of psoriasis could represent a significant advance in the treatment of this disease

Nanoparticles and thin films formation in ultra-short pulsed laser deposition of vanadium oxide

The ultrashort pulsed laser deposition of vanadium oxide thin films has been carried out by a frequency-doubled Nd:glass laser with a pulse duration of 250 fs. The characteristics of the plasma produced by the laser-target interaction have been studied by ICCD imaging and optical emission spectroscopy. The results confirm that an emitting plasma produced by Ultrashort laser pulses is formed by both a primary and a secondary component. The secondary component consists of particles with a nanometric size, and their composition and spatial angular distribution influence the deposited films. In fact, these films, analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy, are formed by the aggregation of a large number of nanoparticles whose composition is explained by a model based on equilibrium thermal evaporation from particles directly ejected from the target. On these basis, the presence in the films of a mixture of V2O5 and VO2 is discussed

Overexpression of the cohesin-core subunit SMC1A contributes to colorectal cancer development

Abstract Background Cancer cells are characterized by chromosomal instability (CIN) and it is thought that errors in pathways involved in faithful chromosome segregation play a pivotal role in the genesis of CIN. Cohesin forms a large protein ring that binds DNA strands by encircling them. In addition to this central role in chromosome segregation, cohesin is also needed for DNA repair, gene transcription regulation and chromatin architecture. Though mutations in both cohesin and cohesin-regulator genes have been identified in many human cancers, the contribution of cohesin to cancer development is still under debate. Methods Normal mucosa, early adenoma, and carcinoma samples deriving from 16 subjects affected by colorectal cancer (CRC) were analyzed by OncoScan for scoring both chromosome gains and losses (CNVs) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH). Then the expression of SMC1A was analyzed by immunochemistry in 66 subjects affected by CRC. The effects of SMC1A overexpression and mutated SMC1A were analyzed in vivo using immunocompromised mouse models. Finally, we measured global gene expression profiles in induced-tumors by RNA-seq. Results Here we showed that SMC1A cohesin core gene was present as extra-copies, mutated, and overexpressed in human colorectal carcinomas. We then demonstrated that cohesin overexpression led to the development of aggressive cancers in immunocompromised mice through gene expression dysregulation. Conclusion Collectively, these results support a role of defective cohesin in the development of human colorectal cancer