Clinical Use of Raman Spectroscopy Improves Diagnostic Accuracy for Indeterminate Thyroid Nodules.

Background And Objective: Molecular analysis of thyroid fine-needle aspiration (FNA) specimens is believed to improve the management of indeterminate nodules. Raman spectroscopy (RS) can differentiate benign and malignant thyroid lesions in surgically removed tissues, generating distinctive structural profiles. Herein, the diagnostic performance of RS was tested on FNA biopsies of thyroid gland.

Unraveling the Effects of Carotenoids Accumulation in Human Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

Among the thyroid cancers, papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) accounts for 90% of the cases. In addition to the necessity to identify new targets for PTC treatment, early diagnosis and management are highly demanded. Previous data indicated that the multivariate statistical analysis of the Raman spectra allows the discrimination of healthy tissues from PTC ones; this is characterized by bands typical of carotenoids.

Circulating Levels of Sclerostin Predict Glycemic Improvement after Sleeve Gastrectomy.

Among the different effects of bariatric surgery, here we focus on bone-derived inflammatory molecules, and in particular, sclerostin; an osteocyte product potentially associated with cardio-metabolic diseases. In 94 morbidly obese patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (SG), over-time changes in anthropometric and biochemical measures-including insulin resistance (IR) indexes-were correlated with serum sclerostin levels. Sclerostin was positively associated with anthropometric indexes of obesity, and inversely with IR, namely homeostatic model assessment for peripheral insulin sensitivity (HOMA2%S) (r = -0.

Hydration of Carboxyl Groups: A Route toward Molecular Recognition?

On Earth, water plays an active role in cellular life, over several scales of distance and time. At a nanoscale, water drives macromolecular conformation through hydrophobic forces and at short times acts as a proton donor/acceptor providing charge carriers for signal transmission. At longer times and larger distances, water controls osmosis, transport, and protein mobility.

Chemerin predicts carotid intima-media thickening in severe obesity.

Background And Aims: Chemerin is an adipokine with an emerging role in the crosstalk between adipose tissue and immune system. It is overexpressed in severe obesity, affects adipogenesis and glucose homeostasis and it correlates with early vascular damage. The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between circulating levels of chemerin and early vascular damage in subjects with severe obesity, before and after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG).

Role of Water in Sucrose, Lactose, and Sucralose Taste: The Sweeter, The Wetter?

Natural sugars combine energy supply and, except a few cases, a pleasant taste. On the other hand, exaggerated consumption may impact population health. This has busted the research for the synthesis of increasingly cheaper artificial sweeteners, with low energy content and intense taste.

Metabolic profile of human parathyroid adenoma.

Purpose: Recently, it has been demonstrated that Raman spectroscopy is able to differentiate between healthy parathyroid tissues and parathyroid adenoma based on the basis of a specific molecular fingerprint. However, to our knowledge, no previous studies have been performed to evaluate the metabolic profile of parathyroid adenoma. Therefore, we designed a proof of concept study aimed to investigate the glucose/fatty acid metabolisms, in addition to the mitochondrial changes, in solitary parathyroid adenoma and in healthy parathyroid glands.

Increased plasmatic NETs by-products in patients in severe obesity.

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are DNAs products involved in immune process. Obesity through a low-grade chronic inflammation determines neutrophil activation, but it is still unclear its role in NETs formation. Here we analyzed the NETs levels in healthy and morbid obese, their association with anthropometric and glyco-metabolic parameters and their changes after bariatric surgery.

Serum Bile Acid Levels Before and After Sleeve Gastrectomy and Their Correlation with Obesity-Related Comorbidities.

Background And Aims: The rising prevalence of morbid obesity is increasing the demand for bariatric surgery. The benefits observed after bariatric surgery seems to be not fully explained by surgery-induced weight loss or traditional cardiovascular risk factors regression or improvement. Some evidences suggest that bile acid (BA) levels change after bariatric surgery, thus suggesting that BA concentrations could influence some of the metabolic improvement induced by bariatric surgery.

Lysosomal Acid Lipase as a Molecular Target of the Very Low Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet in Morbidly Obese Patients: The Potential Effects on Liver Steatosis and Cardiovascular Risk Factors.

A very low carbohydrate ketogenic diet (VLCKD) is an emerging technique to induce a significant, well-tolerated, and rapid loss of body weight in morbidly obese patients. The low activity of lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) could be involved in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is a common feature in morbidly obese patients. Fifty-two obese patients suitable for a bariatric surgery intervention underwent a 25-day-long VLCKD.

Folate and Vitamin B12 in Morbid Obesity: The Influence of Folate on Anti-Atherogenic Lipid Profile.

Previous studies showed a high prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies in obese subjects, with low folate and vitamin B12 serum levels and intakes. Correlations between vitamins and lipids have been investigated both in animal and human studies. The aim of our study is to evaluate the influence of dietetic and serum levels of folate and vitamin B12 on lipid pattern in morbidly obese subjects.

N-Methylacetamide Aqueous Solutions: A Neutron Diffraction Study.

The hydration of N-methylacetamide (NMA) in solution has been determined by neutron diffraction with isotopic Hydrogen/Deuterium substitution (NDIS), augmented by Monte Carlo simulation. This study is representative of the hydration of the peptide bonds characteristic of proteins and might shed light on aggregation phenomena in intrinsically disordered proteins. It is found that NMA forms hydrogen bonds with water at both O and H peptide sites, although of different lengths and strengths.

Protection against Dehydration: A Neutron Diffraction Study on Aqueous Solutions of a Model Peptide and Trehalose.

The ability of a wide class of organisms to reversibly go through cycles of suspended life and active metabolism, depending on the turnover of drought and normal water availability conditions, represents a challenging issue. The interest in the natural mechanism for drought survival has grown over time along with the request for always more efficient conservation techniques for biological materials. Carbohydrates, such as trehalose, accumulated in the cytoplasm of drought resistant cells, are considered responsible for desiccation tolerance.

Morbid obesity and hypertension: The role of perirenal fat.

Accumulation of fat in renal sinus and hilum is associated with hypertension development. We evaluated the relationship between perirenal fat and hypertension in a population of morbidly obese patients and the potential variations after sleeve-gastrectomy. Two hundred and eighty-four morbidly obese patients were included in the study, and 126 underwent sleeve-gastrectomy.

Trehalose in Water Revisited.

Trehalose, commonly found in living organisms, is believed to help them survive severe environmental conditions, such as drought or extreme temperatures. With the aim of trying to understand these properties, two recent neutron scattering studies investigate the structure of trehalose water solutions but come to seemingly opposite conclusions. In the first study, which looks at two concentrations of trehalose-water mole ratios of 1:100 and 1:25, the conclusion is that trehalose hydrogen-bonds to water rather weakly and has a relatively minor impact on the structure of water in solution compared to bulk water.

Microcirculatory Improvement Induced by Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy Is Related to Insulin Sensitivity Retrieval.

Aims: Microvascular dysfunction is a potential factor explaining the association of obesity, insulin resistance, and vascular damage in morbidly obese subjects. The purpose of the study was to evaluate possible determinants of microcirculatory improvement 1 year after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) intervention.

Methods: Thirty-seven morbidly obese subjects eligible for bariatric surgery were included in the study.

Super resolution imaging of chromatin in pluripotency, differentiation, and reprogramming.

Chromatin fiber organization is essential for gene function in all cell types. Moreover it helps to determine cell fate in embryonic/adult stem cells and in somatic cells undergoing reprogramming to pluripotency. Until now the diffraction limit of light has limited the inspection of the chromatin fiber organization to a level sufficient to understand how it impacts gene function.

Plasma cholesterol homeostasis, HDL remodeling and function during the acute phase reaction.

Acute phase reaction (APR) is a systemic inflammation triggered by several conditions associated with lipid profile alterations. We evaluated whether APR also associates with changes in cholesterol synthesis and absorption, HDL structure, composition, and cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC). We analyzed 59 subjects with APR related to infections, oncologic causes, or autoimmune diseases and 39 controls.

Myc Regulates Chromatin Decompaction and Nuclear Architecture during B Cell Activation.

50 years ago, Vincent Allfrey and colleagues discovered that lymphocyte activation triggers massive acetylation of chromatin. However, the molecular mechanisms driving epigenetic accessibility are still unknown. We here show that stimulated lymphocytes decondense chromatin by three differentially regulated steps.

Sleeve Gastrectomy Efficacy on Metabolic and Cardiovascular Dysfunction With a Focus on the Role of Comorbidities.

We evaluated the effects of sleeve gastrectomy (SG) on metabolic/cardiovascular parameters according to weight loss, visceral fat area (VFA), and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-insulin resistance index; we also assessed the influence of SG on comorbidities (diabetes/hypertension). At baseline and 10 to 12 months after SG, we assessed anthropometric and biochemical parameters, bioimpedentiometry, ultrasonographic VFA, liver steatosis, flow-mediated dilation, and echocardiography in 110 patients with obesity. We found that 23 (21%) patients had diabetes.

Dynamical behavior of microgels of interpenetrated polymer networks.

Microgel suspensions of an interpenetrated Polymer Network (IPN) of PNIPAM and PAAc in DO have been investigated through dynamic light scattering as a function of temperature, pH and concentration across the Volume Phase Transition (VPT). The dynamics of the system is slowed down under H/D isotopic substitution due to different balance states between polymer/polymer and polymer/solvent interactions suggesting the crucial role played by H-bonding. The swelling behavior, reduced with respect to PNIPAM and water, has been described by the Flory-Rehner theory, tested for PNIPAM microgel and successfully expanded to higher order for IPN microgels.