Mobile Technology in Allergic Rhinitis : Evolution in Management or Revolution in Health and Care?

Smart devices and Internet-based applications (apps) are largely used in allergic rhinitis and may help to address some unmet needs. However, these new tools need to first of all be tested for privacy rules, acceptability, usability, and cost-effectiveness. Second, they should be evaluated in the frame of the digital transformation of health, their impact on health care delivery, and health outcomes. This review (1) summarizes some existing mobile health apps for allergic rhinitis and reviews those in which testing has been published, (2) discusses apps that include risk factors of allergic rhinitis, (3) examines the impact of mobile health apps in phenotype discovery, (4) provides real-world evidence for care pathways, and finally (5) discusses mobile health tools enabling the digital transformation of health and care, empowering citizens, and building a healthier society. (C) 2019 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & ImmunologyPeer reviewe

Second Class Resolver: a retrospective analysis. D'Attilio M, Rodolfino D, Filippakos A, Saccucci M, Festa F, Tripodi D.

Abstract AIM: To evaluate the use of Second Class Resolver (SCR), a new fixed orthopaedic appliance, for the treatment of skeletal Class II malocclusion in growing subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Design Retrospective analysis. Forty subjects were treated with Second Class Resolver (SCR). The mean age was 8 years at the beginning of treatment and 10 years at the end of treatment. Digital cephalometric superimpositions on lateral radiographs taken at start and end of treatment were assessed. The cephalometric values were statistically analysed. RESULTS: Cephalometric analysis of changes during treatment shows reduction of ANB angle (mean 2°); reduction of Witts Index (mean 3 mm); reduction of Maxillo-Mandibular angle (MM) (mean 1°); reduction of SNA (angle mean 3°); reduction of gonial angle (mean 1.8°); increase of the mandibular branch length (mean 5 mm); increase of mandibular body (mean 2.9°). CONCLUSION: The Second Class Resolver can be beneficially used for the treatment of Class II malocclusion

Octahedral low spin symmetric configurations vs. high spin octahedral distorted configurations: the case of Fe in natural layered silicates

We performed a full series of DC and AC magnetic measurements, as well as X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) study, on a set of mica samples with variable total iron content in order to characterize their electronic, magnetic and structural properties. We found a magnetic phase transition at T-c similar to 110 K only for a specific Fe2+/Fe3+ occupancy ratio (1.65) of the tetrahedral and octahedral sheets and showed that the magnetic behavior for such a material is strongly anisotropic if measured along the mica planes or orthogonally to them. Moreover, the AC magnetic measurements gave a definite evidence of the transition as a history-dependent phenomenon. Finally, we tried to give a theoretical explanation of our observations in terms of a Hubbard Hamiltonian in an octahedral crystal field. Our conclusions definitively rule out a high-spin to low-spin iron transition. An order-to-disorder phase transition can be a possible alternative mechanism, to be confirmed by future experiments

Papillary thyroid cancer prognosis: an evolving field

Over the last few years, a great advance has been made in the comprehension of the molecular pathogenesis underlying thyroid cancer progression, particularly for the papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), which represents the most common thyroid malignancy. Putative cancer driver mutations have been identified in more than 98% of PTC, and a new PTC classification into molecular subtypes has been proposed in order to resolve clinical uncertainties still present in the clinical management of patients. Additionally, the prognostic stratification systems have been profoundly modified over the last decade, with a view to refine patients’ staging and being able to choose a clinical approach tailored on single patient’s needs. Here, we will briefly discuss the recent changes in the clinical management of thyroid nodules, and review the current staging systems of thyroid cancer patients by analyzing promising clinicopathological features (i.e., gender, thyroid auto-immunity, multifocality, PTC histological variants, and vascular invasion) as well as new molecular markers (i.e., BRAF/TERT promoter mutations, miRNAs, and components of the plasminogen activating system) potentially capable of ameliorating the prognosis of PTC patients

Expression and clinical utility of transcription factors involved in epithelial\u2013mesenchymal transition during thyroid cancer progression

The transcription factors involved in epithelial\u2013mesenchymal transition (EMT\u2010TFs) silence the genes expressed in epithelial cells (e.g., E\u2010cadherin) while inducing those typical of mesenchymal cells (e.g., vimentin). The core set of EMT\u2010TFs comprises Zeb1, Zeb2, Snail1, Snail2, and Twist1. To date, information concerning their expression profile and clinical utility during thyroid cancer (TC) progression is still incomplete. We evaluated the EMT\u2010TF, E\u2010cadherin, and vimentin mRNA levels in 95 papillary TC (PTC) and 12 anaplastic TC (ATC) tissues and correlated them with patients\u2019 clinicopathological parameters. Afterwards, we corroborated our findings by analyzing the data provided by a case study of the TGCA network. Compared with normal tissues, the expression of E\u2010cadherin was found reduced in PTC and more strongly in ATC, while the vimentin expression did not vary. Among the EMT\u2010TFs analyzed, Twist1 seems to exert a prominent role in EMT, being significantly associated with a number of PTC high\u2010risk clinicopathological features and upregulated in ATC. Nonetheless, in the multivariate analysis, none of the EMT\u2010TFs displayed a prognostic value. These data suggest that TC progression is characterized by an incomplete EMT and that Twist1 may represent a valuable therapeutic target warranting further investigation for the treatment of more aggressive thyroid cancers

Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells reduce the severity of experimental necrotizing enterocolitis in a concentration-dependent manner

: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating gut disease in preterm neonates. In NEC animal models, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) administration has reduced the incidence and severity of NEC. We developed and characterized a novel mouse model of NEC to evaluate the effect of human bone marrow-derived MSCs (hBM-MSCs) in tissue regeneration and epithelial gut repair. NEC was induced in C57BL/6 mouse pups at postnatal days (PND) 3–6 by (A) gavage feeding term infant formula, (B) hypoxia/hypothermia, and (C) lipopolysaccharide. Intraperitoneal injections of PBS or two hBM-MSCs doses (0.5 × 106 or 1 × 106 ) were given on PND2. At PND 6, we harvested intestine samples from all groups. The NEC group showed an incidence of NEC of 50% compared with controls (p < 0.001). Severity of bowel damage was reduced by hBM-MSCs compared to the PBS-treated NEC group in a concentration-dependent manner, with hBM-MSCs (1 × 106 ) inducing a NEC incidence reduction of up to 0% (p < 0.001). We showed that hBM-MSCs enhanced intestinal cell survival, preserving intestinal barrier integrity and decreasing mucosal inflammation and apoptosis. In conclusion, we established a novel NEC animal model and demonstrated that hBM-MSCs administration reduced the NEC incidence and severity in a concentration-dependent manner, enhancing intestinal barrier integrity