Publications by authors named "Iacovelli F"

Joint gravitational-wave and γ-ray burst (GRB) observations are among the best prospects for standard siren cosmology. However, the strong selection effect for the coincident GRB detection, which is possible only for sources with small inclination angles, induces a systematic uncertainty that is currently not accounted for. We show that this severe source of bias can be removed by inferring the a priori unknown electromagnetic detection probability directly from multimessenger data.

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Unlabelled: Limiting the availability of transition metals at infection sites serves as a critical defense mechanism employed by the innate immune system to combat microbial infections. exhibits a remarkable ability to thrive in zinc-deficient environments, facilitated by intricate cellular responses governed by numerous genes regulated by the zinc-responsive transcription factor Zur. Many of these genes have unknown functions, including those within the predicted and operons.

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Desert strains of the genus are among the most desiccation-resistant cyanobacteria capable of anhydrobiosis. The accumulation of two sugars, sucrose and trehalose, facilitates the entrance of anhydrobiotes into a reversible state of dormancy by stabilizing cellular components upon water removal. This study aimed to evaluate, at the atomistic level, the role of trehalose in desiccation resistance by using as a model system the 30S ribosomal subunit of the desert cyanobacterium sp.

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Article Synopsis
  • Activation of neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) by PDGF-C promotes melanoma invasiveness, leading researchers to explore this interaction as a target for new treatments to reduce melanoma spread.
  • By analyzing the structural similarities between PDGF-C and VEGF-A, scientists hypothesized that a specific region on NRP-1 involved in VEGF-A binding might also interact with PDGF-C.
  • After screening compounds from DrugBank, two existing medications, gliclazide and entrectinib, were identified as effective in disrupting the PDGF-C/NRP-1 interaction, thereby inhibiting melanoma cell migration and invasion at non-toxic levels.
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Background: Despite the use of two crossed Perclose ProGlide™ (Abbott Vascular Devices) is the most widespread technique to close the main arterial access in transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TF-TAVI), the safest and most effective strategy still remains much debated.

Aims: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of a single Perclose ProGlide suture-mediated closure device to obtain femoral hemostasis after sheathless implantation of self-expanding transcatheter heart valves through their 14 F-equivalent fix delivery systems.

Methods: This prospective observational study included 439 patients undergoing TF-TAVI at the "Montevergine" Clinic of Mercogliano, Italy.

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Background: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is an almost totally cine-fluoroscopic guided procedure. The amount of radiation used during the procedure is strictly related to the fluoroscopy time (FT), that has already been demonstrated to be associated with outcomes and complexity of coronary procedures. The aim of our study is to demonstrate the relationship between FT and the short-term outcomes after TAVR defined by to the Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC)-2 and -3 consensus documents.

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Background: Accelerated stenotic flow (AsF) in the entire left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD), assessed by transthoracic enhanced color Doppler (E-Doppler TTE), can reveal coronary stenosis (CS) and its severity, enabling a distinction between the microcirculatory and epicardial causes of coronary flow reserve (CFR) impairment.

Methods: Eighty-four consecutive patients with a CFR <2.0 (1.

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Malva sylvestris L. (common mallow) is a plant species widely used in phytotherapy and ethnobotanical practices since time immemorial. Characterizing the components of this herb might promote a better comprehension of its biological effects on the human body but also favour the identification of the molecular processes that occur in the plant tissues.

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(1) Objective: Keloid and hypertrophic scars are a challenge in clinical management, causing functional and psychological discomfort. These pathological scars are caused by a proliferation of dermal tissue following skin injury. The TGF-β/Smad signal pathway in the fibroblasts and myofibroblasts is involved in the scarring process of skin fibrosis.

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Temporary rapid ventricular pacing (TRVP) is required during transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in order to reduce cardiac output and to facilitate balloon aortic valvuloplasty, prosthesis deployment, and post-deployment balloon dilation. The two most frequently used TRVP techniques are right endocardial (RE)-TRVP and retrograde left endocardial temporary rapid ventricular pacing (RLE)-TRVP. The first one could be responsible for cardiac tamponade, one of the most serious procedural complications during TAVI, while the second one could often be unsuccessful.

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Tea Tree Oil (TTO) is an essential oil obtained from the distillation of leaves and branches. Due to its beneficial properties, TTO is widely used as an active ingredient in antimicrobial preparations for topical use or in cosmetic products and contains about 100 different compounds, with terpinen-4-ol, γ-terpinene and 1,8-cineole (or eucalyptol) being the molecules most responsible for its biological activities. In this work, the antimicrobial activity of whole TTO and these three major components was evaluated in vitro against fungi, bacteria and viruses.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the best timing for performing percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), a procedure for severe aortic stenosis with existing coronary artery disease (CAD).
  • An analysis of 1,603 patients from the REVASC-TAVI registry shows that performing PCI after TAVI leads to better 2-year clinical outcomes, with significantly lower rates of all-cause death and major complications compared to PCI before or concurrently with TAVI.
  • The findings suggest that scheduling PCI after TAVI may be more beneficial, but further confirmation through randomized clinical trials is needed.
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Background: Surgical mortality risk scores, even if not properly designed and rarely tested in the transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) setting, still guide the heart team in managing significant aortic stenosis.

Methods: After splitting 1763 consecutive patients retrospectively based on their mortality risk thresholds, the composite endpoint early safety (ES) was adjudicated according to Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC)-2 and -3 consensus documents.

Results: ES incidence was higher if VARC-2 rather than VARC-3 defined.

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During the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (winter 2020), the northern part of Italy has been significantly affected by viral infection compared to the rest of the country leading the scientific community to hypothesize that airborne particulate matter (PM) could act as a carrier for the SARS-CoV-2. To address this controversial issue, we first verified and demonstrated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome on PM samples, collected in the city of Bologna (Northern Italy) in winter 2021. Then, we employed classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the possible recognition mechanism(s) between a newly modelled PM fragment and the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein.

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Phthalocyanine and hypericin have been previously identified as possible SARS-CoV-2 Spike glycoprotein fusion inhibitors through a virtual screening procedure. In this paper, atomistic simulations of metal-free phthalocyanines and atomistic and coarse-grained simulations of hypericins, placed around a complete model of the Spike embedded in a viral membrane, allowed to further explore their multi-target inhibitory potential, uncovering their binding to key protein functional regions and their propensity to insert in the membrane. Following computational results, pre-treatment of a pseudovirus expressing the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein with low compounds concentrations resulted in a strong inhibition of its entry into cells, suggesting the activity of these molecules should involve the direct targeting of the viral envelope surface.

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Background: According to current guidelines, hemodynamic status should guide the decision between immediate and delayed coronary angiography (CAG) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients without ST-segment elevation. A delayed strategy is advised in hemodynamically stable patients, and an immediate approach is recommended in unstable patients.

Objectives: This study sought to assess the frequency, predictors, and clinical impact of acute coronary occlusion in hemodynamically stable and unstable OHCA patients without ST-segment elevation.

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Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a frequent complication associated with adverse outcomes and mortality. Various scores have been developed to predict this complication in the coronary setting. However, none have ever been tested in a large TAVI population.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study assesses the management of stable coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), highlighting inconsistencies in existing evidence.
  • Using data from the REVASC-TAVI registry with 2407 patients, researchers compared outcomes between those who underwent complete versus incomplete myocardial revascularization.
  • Findings indicate no significant differences in all-cause death or composite outcomes (like stroke and rehospitalization for heart failure) between the two groups after 2 years, suggesting that the completeness of revascularization may not impact outcomes for TAVI patients with stable CAD.
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A balanced diet is critical for human health, and edible plants play an important role in providing essential micronutrients as well as specific microRNAs (miRNAs) that can regulate human gene expression. Here we present the effects of (MO) miRNAs (-miRs) on lipid metabolism. Through studies we identified the potential genes involved in lipid metabolism targeted by -miRs.

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Human topoisomerase 1B regulates the topological state of supercoiled DNA enabling all fundamental cell processes. This enzyme, which is the unique molecular target of the natural anticancer compound camptothecin, acts by nicking one DNA strand and forming a transient protein-DNA covalent complex. The interaction of human topoisomerase 1B and dimethylmyricacene, a compound prepared semisynthetically from myricanol extracted from root bark, was investigated using enzymatic activity assays and molecular docking procedures.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted global health. The aim of this study was to compare predictors of symptoms-to-emergency-call timing delay in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and their impact on mortality before and during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Methods: We collected sociodemographic, clinical data, procedural features, preadmission and intra-hospital outcomes of consecutive patients admitted for ACS in seventeen Italian centers from March to April 2018, 2019, and 2020.

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SARS-CoV-2 causes COVID-19, a predominantly pulmonary disease characterized by a burst of pro-inflammatory cytokines and an increase in free iron. The viral glycoprotein Spike mediates fusion to the host cell membrane, but its role as a virulence factor is largely unknown. Recently, the antiviral activity of lactoferrin against SARS-CoV-2 was demonstrated in vitro and shown to occur via binding to cell surface receptors, and its putative interaction with Spike was suggested by in silico analyses.

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Phage therapy (PT), as a method to treat bacterial infections, needs identification of bacteriophages targeting specific pathogenic host. , a Gram-positive coccus resident in the human gastrointestinal tract, may become pathogenic in hospitalized patients showing acquired resistance to vancomycin and thus representing a possible target for PT. We isolated four phages that infect and characterized them by host range screening, transmission electron microscopy, and genome sequencing.

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The significance of the slow coronary flow phenomenon (SCFph), as visualized in patients (pts) with angiographically normal coronary arteries, is controversial. Absolute coronary flow reserve (CFR) in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD), non-invasively assessed by a transthoracic color-guided pulsed-wave Doppler (E-Doppler TTE), is a reliable parameter to assess coronary microcirculatory dysfunction (CMD). Mild and angiographically hidden epicardial atherosclerosis (Hath), as visualized by intracoronary ultrasound (IVUS), which could be the clue to atherosclerotic coronary microvascular involvement, has never been investigated together with CFR in patients.

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