Pediatric non alcoholic fatty liver disease: old and new concepts on development, progression, metabolic insight and potential treatment targets

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the leading cause of chronic liver disease in children. NAFLD has emerged to be extremely prevalent, and predicted by obesity and male gender. It is defined by hepatic fat infiltration >5% hepatocytes, in the absence of other causes of liver pathology. It includes a spectrum of disease ranging from intrahepatic fat accumulation (steatosis) to various degrees of necrotic inflammation and fibrosis (non-alcoholic steatohepatatis [NASH]). NAFLD is associated, in children as in adults, with severe metabolic impairments, determining an increased risk of developing the metabolic syndrome. It can evolve to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, with the consequent need for liver transplantation. Both genetic and environmental factors seem to be involved in the development and progression of the disease, but its physiopathology is not yet entirely clear. In view of this mounting epidemic phenomenon involving the youth, the study of NAFLD should be a priority for all health care systems. This review provides an overview of current and new clinical-histological concepts of pediatric NAFLD, going through possible implications into patho-physiolocical and therapeutic perspectives

Herbal highs: review on psychoactive effects and neuropharmacology

Background: A new trend among users of new psychoactive substances’ the consumption of “herbal highs”: plant parts containing psychoactive substances. Most of the substances extracted from herbs, in old centuries were at the centre of religious ceremonies of ancient civilizations. Currently, these herbal products are mainly sold by internet web sites and easily obtained since some of them have no legal restriction. Objective: We reviewed psychoactive effects and neuropharmacology of the most used “herbal highs” with characterized active principles, with studies reporting mechanisms of action, pharmacological and subjective effects, eventual secondary effects including intoxications and/or fatalities Method: The PubMed database was searched using the following key.words: herbal highs, Argyreia nervosa, Ipomoea violacea and Rivea corymbosa; Catha edulis; Datura stramonium; Piper methysticum; Mitragyna speciosa. Results: Psychoactive plants here reviewed have been known and used from ancient times, even if for some of them limited information still exist regarding subjective and neuropharmacological effects and consequent eventual toxicity when plants are used alone or in combination with “classical” drugs of abuse. Conclusion: Some “herbal highs” should be classified as harmful drugs since chronic administration has been linked with addiction and cognitive impairment; for some others taking into consideration only the recent trends of abuse, studies investigating these aspects are lacking

Social Media, Depressive Symptoms and Well-Being in Early Adolescence. The Moderating Role of Emotional Self-Efficacy and Gender

The study of the psychological effects of social media use on adolescents’ adjustment has long been the focus of psychological research, but results are still inconclusive. In particular, there is a lack of research on the positive and negative developmental outcomes and on possible moderating variables, especially concerning early adolescence. To fill these gaps in literature, the present study longitudinally investigated the relationships between social media use, depressive symptoms, affective well-being and life satisfaction, as well as the moderating role of emotional self-efficacy and gender. The study involved 336 Italian early adolescents (mean age = 13, sd = 0.3; 48% girls) who completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire twice within a year. Main results showed that higher social media use was related to higher depressive symptoms, lower affective well-being and lower life satisfaction among girls with lower emotional self-efficacy. Conversely, high social media use was related to higher affective well-being and higher life satisfaction for girls with higher emotional self-efficacy. Results are discussed in relation to their implications for risk prevention and health promotion among early adolescents. In particular, our results suggest that promoting emotional self-efficacy can be very helpful in making the use of social media an opportunity for well-being and life satisfaction rather than a developmental risk

Lumped parameter model for the time-domain soil-structure interaction analysis of structures on pile foundations

A lumped parameter model for the time domain inertial soil-structure interaction analysis is proposed with reference to square pile group foundations. Simplified formulas are presented for estimating its parameters. The model is able to reproduce the coupled rotational-translational behaviour of the soil-foundation system. Formulas are calibrated from results of an extensive non-dimensional parametric analysis considering head-bearing pile groups. The closed-form expressions may be readily adopted to define the compliant base restraints of a generic structure for the non linear dynamic analysis carried out with commercial software

FUNCODE: Effective Device-to-System Analysis of Field Coupled Nanocomputing Circuit Designs

Many beyond-CMOS technologies, based on different switching mechanisms, are arising. Field-coupled technologies are the most promising as they can guarantee an extremely low-power consumption and combine logic and memory into the same device. However, circuit-level explorations, like layout verification and analysis of the circuit performance, considering the constraints of the target technology, cannot be done using existing tools. Here, we propose a methodology to take on this challenge. We present FUNCODE (FUNction & COnnection DEtection), an algorithm that can detect element connections, functions and errors of custom-layouts and generate its corresponding VHDL netlist. It is proposed for in-plane and perpendicular Nano Magnetic Logic as a case study. FUNCODE netlists, which take into account the physical behavior of the technology, were verified using circuits with increasing complexity, from 6 up to 1400 gates with a number of layout elements varying from 200 to 2.3e6

Hepatotoxicity induced by greater celandine (Chelidonium majus L.): a review of the literature

The available literature assessing Chelidonium majus L. (CM) hepatotoxicity potential, and its risk to benefit assessment has been reviewed in this paper. Identification of significant scientific literature was performed via the following research databases: Cochrane Central, Google Scholar, EMBASE, Medline, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, using the following keywords: "Chelidonium majus", "greater celandine", "Hepatotoxicity", "Liver" "Injury", "Toxicity" individually investigated and then again in association. CM named also greater celandine, swallow-wort, or bai-qu-cai (Chinese), has been used for a long time in traditional Chinese medicine and phytotherapy. Its extracts have been claimed to display a wide variety of biological activities: antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, spasmolytic, antineoplastic, hepatoprotective, and analgesic. Moreover, herbal medicine suggests this plant have numerous additional effects which have not yet been scientifically evaluated, such as antitussive, diuretic, and eye-regenerative. However, despite its claimed hepatoprotective effects, several hepatotoxicity cases have been reported to be probably or highly probably connected with CM exposure, after their evaluation through liver-targeted causality assessment methods. CM hepatotoxicity has been defined as a distinct form of herb-induced liver injury (HILI), due to an idiosyncratic reaction of the metabolic type. This evidence has to be considered in relationship with the absence of considerable benefits of CM therapy. Therefore, the risk to benefit ratio of the use of herbal products containing greater celandine can actually be considered as negative

<b><i>Topoisomerase 1</i></b> Promoter Variants and Benefit from Irinotecan in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients

Objective: Topoisomerase 1 (topo-1) is an important target for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the correlation between topo-1 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and clinical outcome in metastatic CRC (mCRC) patients. Methods: With the use of specific software (PROMO 3.0), we performed an in silico analysis of topo-1 promoter SNPs; the rs6072249 and rs34282819 SNPs were included in the study. DNA was extracted from 105 mCRC patients treated with FOLFIRI ± bevacizumab in the first line. SNP genotyping was performed by real-time PCR. Genotypes were correlated with clinical parameters (objective response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival). Results: No single genotype was significantly associated with clinical variables. The G allelic variant of rs6072249 topo-1 SNP is responsible for GC factor and X-box-binding protein transcription factor binding. The same allelic variant showed a nonsignificant trend toward a shorter progression-free survival (GG, 7.5 months; other genotypes, 9.3 months; HR 1.823, 95% CI 0.8904-3.734; p = 0.1). Conclusion: Further analyses are needed to confirm that the topo-1 SNP rs6072249 and transcription factor interaction could be a part of tools to predict clinical outcome in mCRC patients treated with irinotecan-based regimens

Aulogous fibrin sealant (Vivostat®) in the neurosurgical practice: Part II: Vertebro-spinal procedures

Background: Epidural hematomas, cerebrospinal fluid fistula, and spinal infections are challenging postoperative complications following vertebro-spinal procedures. We report our preliminary results using autologous fibrin sealant as both fibrin glue and a hemostatic during these operations. Methods: Prospectively, between January 2013 and March 2015, 68 patients received an autologous fibrin sealant prepared with the Vivostat®system applied epidurally to provide hemostasis and to seal the dura. The surgical technique, time to bleeding control, and associated complications were recorded. Results: Spinal procedures were performed in 68 patients utilizing autologous fibrin glue/Vivostat®to provide rapid hemostasis and/or to seal the dura. Only 2 patients developed postoperative dural fistulas while none exhibited hemorrhages, allergic reactions, systemic complications, or infections. Conclusions: In this preliminary study, the application of autologous fibrin sealant with Vivostat®resulted in rapid hemostasis and/or acted as an effective dural sealant. Although this product appears to be safe and effective, further investigations are warranted