Hypogéisme et phénomènes de paléosismicité du Monte Acuto (Sardaigne, Italie)

Le Monte Acuto, district administratif du centre-nord de la Sardaigne, a constitué durant la Préhistoire un habitat idéal grâce à la présence d'une plaine fertile traversée par le système fluvial du Rio Mannu-Coghinas, passage naturel vers les ports marins. Les grandes nécropoles, véritables villes des morts, documentant par la pierre les installations préhistoriques témoignent de l’attrait de la région. Les hypogées du Monte Acuto ont été utilisés sur une longue période à partir de la fin du Néolithique jusqu’à l’âge du Bronze. La présente étude porte sur les relations entre les données culturelles, environnementales et spatiales issues de l’observation des hypogées ainsi que sur les effets des phénomènes de paléosismicité sur la gestion de ce type de tombes.The Monte Acuto, an administrative district of north-central Sardinia, was an ideal habitat for the human settlement due to the presence of a fertile plain crossed by the river system of the Rio Mannu-Coghinas, a natural transition to the marine landings. This is testified by great Necropolis, veritable city of the dead, documenting the characteristics of prehistoric settlements. The hypogean Monte Acuto has a long term starting from the final stages of the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. The present paper gives notice of the settlement aspects (architectural, worship) and cultural, environmental and spatial relations and phenomena of paleoseismicity encountered in the hypogeum

Predictive values of two frailty screening tools in older patients with solid cancer: a comparison of SAOP2 and G8

Objectives: Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA), the gold standard for detecting frailty in elderly cancer patients, is time-consuming and hard to apply in routine clinical practice. Here we compared the performance of two screening tools for frailty, G8 and SAOP2 for their accuracy in identifying vulnerable patients. Material and Methods: We tested G8 and SAOP2 in 282 patients aged 65 or older with a diagnosis of solid cancer and candidate to undergo surgical, medical and/or radiotherapy treatment. CGA, including functional and cognitive status, depression, nutrition, comorbidity, social status and quality of life was used as reference. ROC curves were used to compare two screening tools. Results: Mean patient age was 79 years and 54% were female. Colorectal and breast cancer were the most common types cancer (49% and 24%). Impaired CGA, G8, and SAOP2 were found in 62%, 89%, and 94% of the patients, respectively. SAOP2 had a better sensitivity (AUC 0.85, p<0.032) than G8 (AUC 0.79), with higher performance in breast cancer patients (AUC 0.93) and in patients aged 70-80 years (AUC 0.87). Conclusions: G8 and SAOP2 both showed good screening capacity for frailty in the cancer patient population we examined with SAOP2 showing a slightly better performance than G8

Infected pancreatic necrosis: outcomes and clinical predictors of mortality. A post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study

: The identification of high-risk patients in the early stages of infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) is critical, because it could help the clinicians to adopt more effective management strategies. We conducted a post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study to assess the association between clinical risk factors and mortality among adult patients with IPN. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify prognostic factors of mortality. We identified 247 consecutive patients with IPN hospitalised between January 2019 and December 2020. History of uncontrolled arterial hypertension (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.135-15.882; aOR 4.245), qSOFA (p = 0.005; 95% CI 1.359-5.879; aOR 2.828), renal failure (p = 0.022; 95% CI 1.138-5.442; aOR 2.489), and haemodynamic failure (p = 0.018; 95% CI 1.184-5.978; aOR 2.661), were identified as independent predictors of mortality in IPN patients. Cholangitis (p = 0.003; 95% CI 1.598-9.930; aOR 3.983), abdominal compartment syndrome (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.090-6.967; aOR 2.735), and gastrointestinal/intra-abdominal bleeding (p = 0.009; 95% CI 1.286-5.712; aOR 2.710) were independently associated with the risk of mortality. Upfront open surgical necrosectomy was strongly associated with the risk of mortality (p < 0.001; 95% CI 1.912-7.442; aOR 3.772), whereas endoscopic drainage of pancreatic necrosis (p = 0.018; 95% CI 0.138-0.834; aOR 0.339) and enteral nutrition (p = 0.003; 95% CI 0.143-0.716; aOR 0.320) were found as protective factors. Organ failure, acute cholangitis, and upfront open surgical necrosectomy were the most significant predictors of mortality. Our study confirmed that, even in a subgroup of particularly ill patients such as those with IPN, upfront open surgery should be avoided as much as possible. Study protocol registered in ClinicalTrials.Gov (I.D. Number NCT04747990)

Smarter city, less just destination? Mobilities and social gaps in Barcelona

Purpose. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a critical framework to analyse how “smart” plays out in tourism places. Moving from a recognition of the strategies, expected impacts and imageries of Smart City, the authors engage with the mobilities literature to identify pitfalls in the quest of “smartening up” cities for hypermobile populations. Design/methodology/approach. The study adopted a set of geoanalytical techniques to establish the potential relationship between the territorial upgrade of mobility and the socio-economic change processes the city of Barcelona is experiencing. Findings. The paper suggests the effect of “smart” in cities could indeed be one of economic recovery; however, one triggering fundamental transformation of the social fabric of the city, whose most evident facet is the creation of globalised functional enclaves that may be forcefields of exclusion for the most vulnerable populations. Originality/value. This paper contributes to a new stream of critical research on “smart” with a strong focus on the power of mobilities and mobility systems, whose digital enhancement plays out as a leveraging agent of new place connections and negotiations for short-term populations, but at the same time, may exclude disadvantaged subjects in their capacity to access and afford the system network.Funding from the EU’s programme HORIZON 2020 under the Grant Agreement no. 870753, and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (contract number PID2020-112525RB-I00)

Palaeoseismic event in the Bronze Age in northern Sardinia (Italy) evidences from megalithic monuments

Megalithic monuments of northern Sardinia, referable to the Copper and Bronze age, are used to test the hypothesis that the observed building damage is of seismogenic nature. For this purpose have been analysed 100 megalithic sites covering an area of about 500 Km2 occurring in an area geologically characterized by very low seismic activity and located in the horst shoulders made up of Palaeozoic basement at the edge of Oligo-Miocene Logudoro basin. Observed monuments show structural damage including torsion of top block in rock-cut tombs (the so called “Domus de Janas”), horizontal displacement of ashlars and collapse orientation in nuraghs. Observed collapses of nuraghs show a maximum of frequency around N, indicating a possible palaeosismicity activity. The proposed interpretation is in agreement with the occurrence of recentmost volcanic activity of Plio-Pleistocene anorogenic cycle ending at about 0.5 Ka as well as the distribution of seismic events in historical times

Molecular Aspects of FKBP51 that Enable Melanoma Dissemination

FKBP51 (FKBP5 Official Symbol) is large molecular weight member of the FK506 binding protein family, a subfamily of the immunophilin proteins. FKBP51 exerts multiple biological functions in the cell, including modulation of steroid hormone response, immune regulation, cell proliferation, regulation of pAkt levels and control of NF-κB activation. Several lines of evidence support a role for this protein in cancer biology, especially in resistance to chemo- and radio-therapy. Recent research studies highlighted functions of FKBP51 in promoting the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) transdifferentiation program in melanoma. This process, which is classically regulated by Transforming Growth Factor (TGF)-β, enables cancer cells to disseminate from primary tumors and spread to distant locations, acquiring resistance to therapy and self-renewal capability. This last, in turn, is crucial to their subsequent expansion at sites of dissemination. The aim of the present article is to review recent literature data that involve FKBP51 in the mechanisms that switch the TGF-β from a tumor suppressor to a pro-metastatic invader

Cell stemness, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and immunoevasion: Intertwined aspects in cancer metastasis.

Recent advances in tumor immunology, fostered by dramatic outcomes with cancer immunotherapy, have opened new scenarios in cancer metastasis. The cancer stemness/mesenchymal phenotype and an excess of immune suppressive signals are emerging as Intertwined aspects of human tumors. This review examines recent studies that explored the mechanistic links between cancer cell stemness and immunoevasion, and the evidence points to these key events in cancer metastasis as two sides of the same coin. This review also covers the mechanisms involved in tumor expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1), a major factor exploited by human neoplasias to suppress immune control. We highlight the convergence of mesenchymal traits and PD-L1 expression and examine the functions of this immune inhibitory molecule, which confers cancer cell resistance and aggressiveness