Treatment-Related Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome.

Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) is a rare but significant cause of intracranial arteriopathy and stroke in young adults. The syndrome encompasses a spectrum of disorders radiologically characterized by reversible narrowing and dilation of intracranial arteries, often triggered by vasoactive drugs or the postpartum period. The hallmark clinical feature of RCVS is thunderclap headache with or without other neurological signs.

A Novel Correction Methodology to Improve the Performance of a Low-Cost Hyperspectral Portable Snapshot Camera.

The development of spectral sensors (SSs) capable of retrieving spectral information have opened new opportunities to improve several environmental and agricultural practices, e.g., crop breeding, plant phenotyping, land use monitoring, and crop classification.

Low-Cost Hyperspectral Imaging to Detect Drought Stress in High-Throughput Phenotyping.

Recent developments in low-cost imaging hyperspectral cameras have opened up new possibilities for high-throughput phenotyping (HTP), allowing for high-resolution spectral data to be obtained in the visible and near-infrared spectral range. This study presents, for the first time, the integration of a low-cost hyperspectral camera Senop HSC-2 into an HTP platform to evaluate the drought stress resistance and physiological response of four tomato genotypes (770P, 990P, Red Setter and Torremaggiore) during two cycles of well-watered and deficit irrigation. Over 120 gigabytes of hyperspectral data were collected, and an innovative segmentation method able to reduce the hyperspectral dataset by 85.

Preliminary Results of a Combined Score Based on sIL2-Rα and TIM-3 Levels Assayed Early After Hematopoietic Transplantation.

Assays of cytokines in the plasma at the onset of graft-vs. -host disease (GVHD) can predict disease severity and treatment-related mortality (TRM); however, the optimal time during which cytokines should be tested and the specific panel of cytokines with the highest predictive ability remain unknown. We chose a predefined time point, 18 days after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), to measure the levels of six cytokines in the plasma: soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha (sIL2-Rα), T-cell immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain-3 (TIM-3), suppression of tumorigenicity-2 (ST-2), intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), and interleukin-6 (IL-6).

The effect of summer drought on the yield of Arundo donax is reduced by the retention of photosynthetic capacity and leaf growth later in the growing season.

Background And Aims: The development of Arundo donax as a biomass crop for use on drought-prone marginal lands in areas with warm to hot climates is constrained by the lack of variation within this species. We investigated the effect of morphological and physiological variation on growth and tolerance to drought under field conditions in three ecotypes of A. donax collected from habitats representing a climate gradient: a pre-desert in Morocco, a semi-arid Mediterranean climate in southern Italy and a warm sub-humid region of central Italy.

Moderate Drought Stress Induces Increased Foliar Dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) Concentration and Isoprene Emission in Two Contrasting Ecotypes of .

The function of dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) in plants is unclear. It has been proposed as an antioxidant, osmolyte and overflow for excess energy under stress conditions. The formation of DMSP is part of the methionine (MET) pathway that is involved in plant stress responses.

Cost-effectiveness of on-demand plerixafor added to chemotherapy and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor for peripheral blood stem cell mobilization in multiple myeloma.

We here report final results of a phase II/III prospective study that evaluated in Multiple Myeloma the use of on-demand plerixafor (PLX) added to mobilizing chemotherapy for patients showing predictive signs of mobilization failure. A total of 111 patients with MM were registered, all received cyclophosphamide 4 g/m and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). Overall, a successful CD34+ cell mobilization was achieved in 97.

How the knowledge of fracture risk might influence adherence to oral therapy of osteoporosis in Italy: the ADEOST study.

Unlabelled: The patients' adherence to osteoporosis treatments is low. In our study population a history of osteoporotic fractures was associated to better compliance and persistence; however, a 12-month randomized study carried out on 816 osteoporotic women showed that providing the patients with their individual fracture risk information did not prove effective.

Purpose: Several drugs are currently available for the treatment of osteoporosis, but the patients' compliance and persistence with these treatments are low.

Acute GVHD after allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation affects early marrow reconstitution and speed of engraftment.

Our aim was to study the influence of acute graft-versus-host disease (a-GVHD) on primary engraftment times after allogeneic transplantation. Primary engraftment and frequency of marrow granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units and erythroid burst-forming units, at day +18, were studied in 126 allogeneic transplants. Patients were grouped according to the time when a-GVHD treatment with corticosteroids was started.

Agronomic characterization and α- and β-ODAP determination through the adoption of new analytical strategies (HPLC-ELSD and NMR) of ten sicilian accessions of grass pea.

Ten accessions of grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) from different Sicilian sites, cultivated in the same environmental conditions, were analyzed for their morphological and productive parameters and for the content of two non-protein amino acids: α- and β-ODAP (α- and β-N-oxalyl-l-α,β-diaminopropionic acid). The β-isomer is the neurotoxin responsible for the neuron disease known as lathyrism.

Italian Society for Rheumatology recommendations for the management of hand osteoarthritis.

Hand osteoarthritis (OA) is a common and potentially disabling disease, with different features from hip and knee OA so that a specific therapeutic approach is required. Evidence based recommendations for the management of hand OA were developed by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) in 2006. The Italian Society for Rheumatology (SIR) aimed to update, adapt to national contest and disseminate the EULAR recommendations for the management of hand OA.

Regional differences of vitamin D deficiency in rheumatoid arthritis patients in Italy.

Vitamin D deficiency is very common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among the different Italian regions and whether these variations are associated with different severity of the disease. The study includes 581 consecutive RA patients (464 women), not taking vitamin D supplements, from 22 Italian rheumatology centres uniformly distributed across Italy.

Flavonol content and biometrical traits as a tool for the characterization of "Cipolla di Giarratana": a traditional Sicilian onion landrace.

"Cipolla di Giarratana", a locally cultivated white onion landrace, is listed as an item in the 'List of Traditional Agro-food Products' of the Italian Department for Agriculture and itemised as 'slow food presidium' by the Slow Food Foundation. Ten local accessions were investigated for their biomorphological and biochemical characteristics in five experimental locations. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection and electron spray-mass spectrometry (HPLC/DAD/ESI-MS) was used to identify the phenolic profile and quantify phenolic content in bulbs: quercetin, quercetin 3,4' di-O-glucoside and quercetin 4'-O-glucoside were detected as major components.

Re-evaluation of traditional Mediterranean foods. The local landraces of 'Cipolla di Giarratana' (Allium cepa L.) and long-storage tomato(Lycopersicon esculentum L.): quality traits and polyphenol content.

Background: The heightened consumer awareness for food safety is reflected in the demand for products with well-defined individual characteristics due to specific production methods, composition and origin. In this context, of pivotal importance is the re-evaluation of folk/traditional foods by properly characterizing them in terms of peculiarity and nutritional value. The subjects of this study are two typical Mediterranean edible products.

Italian Society of Rheumatology recommendations for the management of gout.

Objective: Gout is the most common arthritis in adults. Despite the availability of valid therapeutic options, the management of patients with gout is still suboptimal. The Italian Society of Rheumatology (SIR) aimed to update, adapt to national contest and disseminate the 2006 EULAR recommendations for the management of gout.

Polyphenols as chemotaxonomic markers in Italian "long-storage" tomato genotypes.

"Long-storage" tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a niche product typical of the Mediterranean area, traditionally cultivated under no water supply, the fruits of which combine a good taste with excellent nutritional properties. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection and electron spray-mass spectrometry (HPLC/DAD/ESI-MS) was used to identify the phenolic profile in 10 landraces of long-storage tomato, grown under a typical semiarid climate, as compared to a processing tomato hybrid cultivated in the same environment, under both well-irrigated and unirrigated conditions.

Chemosensitivity of nonleukemic clonogenic precursors in AML patients in complete remission: association with CD34(+) mobilization and with disease-free survival.

A high number of CD34(+) cells in the peripheral blood during mobilization in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in complete remission (CR) is associated with a high relapse rate. The variability in chemoresistance of normal bone marrow precursors has been hypothesized as explanation for the variable CD34 mobilization in AML. In 37 patients with AML in CR, we determined the chemosensitivity of bone marrow clonogenic precursors to maphosphamide and etoposide, which was then correlated with the degree of CD34(+) mobilization.

Prognostic value of CD34+ peak in peripheral blood during mobilization in intermediate-risk AML patients treated in first CR by autologous or allogeneic transplantation.

Ninety-six AML patients in 1st CR were evaluated for peak CD34+ cell levels in peripheral blood (PB) during PBSC mobilization and harvest. Distribution of CD34+ cell peaks was determined and cases were grouped on the basis of 50th and 75th percentile: group A, those having a CD34+ cell peak ≤70 × 10(9)/L (n=48); group B, those having a CD34+ cell peak between 70 and 183 × 10(9)/L (n=24); group C, those having a CD34+ cell peak >183 × 10(9)/L (n=24). Irrespective of post-remission treatment received, group A had a disease free survival (DFS) of 73%, group B a DFS of 51% and group C of 30% (P=0.

Improving adherence in osteoporosis: a new management algorithm for the patient with osteoporosis.

Introduction: Bisphosphonates are the first-choice treatment for osteoporosis. They effectively increase bone mineral density, reduce markers of bone resorption, and lower the incidence of new fractures in patients with osteoporosis-related fracture. However, the efficacy observed in clinical trials may not be realized in a real-life setting, partly due to poor adherence to therapy, with a significant worsening of clinical outcomes.

Expression profile and specific network features of the apoptotic machinery explain relapse of acute myeloid leukemia after chemotherapy.

Background: According to the different sensitivity of their bone marrow CD34+ cells to in vitro treatment with Etoposide or Mafosfamide, Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) patients in apparent complete remission (CR) after chemotherapy induction may be classified into three groups: (i) normally responsive; (ii) chemoresistant; (iii) highly chemosensitive. This inversely correlates with in vivo CD34+ mobilization and, interestingly, also with the prognosis of the disease: patients showing a good mobilizing activity are resistant to chemotherapy and subject to significantly higher rates of Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) and relapse than the others. Based on its known role in patients' response to chemotherapy, we hypothesized an involvement of the Apoptotic Machinery (AM) in these phenotypic features.

Gas exchange and photosynthetic water use efficiency in response to light, CO2 concentration and temperature in Vicia faba.

Light and temperature-response curves and their resulting coefficients, obtained within ecophysiological characterization of gas exchanges at the leaf level, may represent useful criteria for breeding and cultivar selection and required tools for simulation models aimed at the prediction of potential plant behaviour in response to environmental conditions. Leaf-scale gas exchanges, by means of an IRGA open-flow system, were measured in response to light intensity (8 levels from 0 up to 2000 micromol m(-2) s(-1)), CO(2) concentrations (ambient-350 micromol mol(-1) and short-term enriched-700 micromol mol(-1)) and air temperature (from 7 up to 35 degrees C) on three Vicia faba L. genotypes, each representing one of the three cultivated groups: major, equina and minor.

Intermediate dose etoposide plus G-CSF 16 g/kg is more effective than cyclophosphamide 4 g/m(2) plus G-CSF 10 g/kg in PBSC mobilization of lymphoma patients.

We designed intermediate dose etoposide + G-CSF 16 microg/kg as a Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) mobilization schedule suitable for outpatient administration. Forty-one Lymphoma patients received intermediate dose etoposide (200 mg/m(2) i.v.