Macular capillary displacement in exudative and tractional macular oedema: a multimodal imaging study and pathophysiological hypothesis.

Purpose: This study aims to describe vessel density differences in tractional versus exudative macular oedema with the aid of novel custom imaging analysis techniques.

Methods: In this retrospective study, patients with exudative and tractional macular oedema were imaged with optical coherence tomography (OCT), en-face OCT, OCT-angiography and fluorescein angiography. A novel image processing algorithm was developed to extrapolate data from the vessel density maps.

Aberrant Expression of Long Non Coding RNA HOTAIR and De-Regulation of the Paralogous 13 HOX Genes Are Strongly Associated with Aggressive Behavior of Gastro-Entero-Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors.

Gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (GEP-NENs) are rare diseases occurring in the gastrointestinal tract and pancreas. They are characterized by the loss of epithelial tubular gland elements, and by the increased expression of neuroendocrine markers. GEP-NENs are subdivided into two histo-pathological types, gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) and gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinomas (GEP-NECs).

Preservation of Contractile Reserve and Diastolic Function by Inhibiting the NLRP3 Inflammasome with OLT1177 (Dapansutrile) in a Mouse Model of Severe Ischemic Cardiomyopathy Due to Non-Reperfused Anterior Wall Myocardial Infarction.

Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), a product of the NLRP3 inflammasome, modulates cardiac contractility and diastolic function. We proposed that OLT1177 (dapansutrile), a novel NLRP3 inhibitor, could preserve contractile reserve and diastolic function after myocardial infarction (MI). We used an experimental murine model of severe ischemic cardiomyopathy through the ligation of the left coronary artery without reperfusion, and after 7 days randomly assigned mice showing large anterior MI (>4 akinetic segments), increased left ventricular (LV) dimensions ([LVEDD] > 4.

Risks and Protective Factors Associated With Mental Health Symptoms During COVID-19 Home Confinement in Italian Children and Adolescents: The #Understandingkids Study.

To identify risk and protective factors for mental health symptoms associated with lifestyle changes caused by home confinement in pediatric subjects and in children and adolescents with a neuropsychiatric disorder. This was a prospective, cross-sectional study conducted from May 10 to May 31, 2020. Two online anonymous surveys were developed: population-based and clinical-based (children with neuropsychiatric disorders).

The Ratio of GrzB - FoxP3 over CD3 T Cells as a Potential Predictor of Response to Nivolumab in Patients with Metastatic Melanoma.

The understanding of the molecular pathways involved in the dynamic modulation of the tumor microenvironment (TME) has led to the development of innovative treatments for advanced melanoma, including immune checkpoint blockade therapies. These approaches have revolutionized the treatment of melanoma, but are not effective in all patients, resulting in responder and non-responder populations. Physical interactions among immune cells, tumor cells and all the other components of the TME (i.

Evaluation of Gene Methylation in Neuroendocrine Neoplasms.

Unresectable neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) often poorly respond to standard therapeutic approaches. Alkylating agents, in particular temozolomide, commonly used to treat high-grade brain tumors including glioblastomas, have recently been tested in advanced or metastatic NENs, where they showed promising response rates. In glioblastomas, prediction of response to temozolomide is based on the assessment of the methylation status of the gene, as its product, -methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase, may counteract the damaging effects of the alkylating agent.

Retraining selective trunk muscle activity: A key to more successful rehabilitation outcomes for hemiparetic stroke patients.

Background: Hemiparetic patients lose the ability to move their trunk selectively, abdominals are affected and neither voluntary nor reflex activity is present.

Objective: To investigate if the inclusion of specific exercises for the trunk muscles in a rehabilitation program for chronic hemiparetic patients could lead to an additional improvement.

Methods: A multiple-participant single-subject design was replicated in patients with hemiplegia.

Severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) in pregnancy and breastfeeding: focus on second-generation long acting injectable antipsychotics.

: Pregnant women and fetuses are more likely than ever to be exposed to antipsychotic drugs (APs) during pregnancy and postpartum period. Second-generation APs (SGA) are increasingly used among women in reproductive age. Key outcomes (i.

Elliptic Flow of Electrons from Beauty-Hadron Decays in Pb-Pb Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV.

The elliptic flow of electrons from beauty hadron decays at midrapidity (|y|<0.8) is measured in Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC.

Innovative Polymeric Hybrid Nanocomposites for Application in Photocatalysis.

The immobilization of inorganic nanomaterials on polymeric substrates has been drawing a lot of attention in recent years owing to the extraordinary properties of the as-obtained materials. The hybrid materials, indeed, combine the benefits of the plastic matter such as flexibility, low-cost, mechanical stability and high durability, with them deriving from their inorganic counterparts. In particular, if the inorganic fillers are nanostructured photocatalysts, the originated hybrid systems will be able to utilize the energy delivered by light, catalysing chemical reactions in a sustainable pathway.

Increased orexin A concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia.

Orexins are hypothalamic neuropeptides that regulate several physiological functions, such as appetite, arousal, cognition, stress, sleep and metabolism. Emerging pieces of evidence suggest an orexinergic dysfunction in several neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety and addiction. A syndromic overlap between behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and several psychiatric disorders was recently demonstrated.

Telemonitoring of Patients With Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury: A Pilot Study.

Telehealth systems have shown success in the remote management of several neurological disorders, but there is a paucity of evidence in disorders of consciousness (DOC). In this study, we explore the effectiveness of a new telemonitoring system, for monitoring Vegetative State (VS) and Minimally Conscious State (MCS) patients. This was a prospective, mono-center randomized controlled study.

Aflibercept or bevacizumab in combination with FOLFIRI as second-line treatment of mRAS metastatic colorectal cancer patients: the ARBITRATION study protocol.

Background: The intensive study of predictive factors has strongly ameliorated the therapeutic flow-chart of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) by allowing the selection of patients who benefit from specific therapies. For instance, in mRAS (mutated RAS) mCRC patients, anti-EGFR drugs (cetuximab and panitumumab) are not recommended; in this group of patients, the use of anti-angiogenic drugs (bevacizumab and aflibercept) is predominant. However, at progression to standard bevacizumab-based first-line chemotherapy, still to date, there are no studies to guide oncologists in the choice of the best second-line anti-angiogenic drug (bevacizumab beyond progression aflibercept).

Psychosocial burden and professional and social support in patients with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv) and their relatives in Italy.

Background: Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (hATTR), alias ATTR variant (ATTRv) is a severe and disabling disease causing sensory and motor neuropathy, autonomic dysfunction, and cardiomyopathy. The progressive decline of patient's functional autonomy negatively affects the patient's quality of life and requires increasing involvement of relatives in the patient's daily life. Family caregiving may become particularly demanding when the patient is no longer able to move independently.

Mitigation of Radiation-Induced Lung and Heart Injuries in Mice by Oral Sepiapterin after Irradiation.

After radiation exposure, endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation is impaired due to impaired nitric oxide production. Endothelial dysfunction is characterized by uncoupled endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity, oxidation of the reduced cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin to dihydrobiopterin as one well recognized mechanism. Oral treatment with sepiapterin, a tetrahydrobiopterin precursor, decreased infiltrating inflammatory cells and cytokine levels in mice with colitis.

Suitability of Different Titanium Dioxide Nanotube Morphologies for Photocatalytic Water Treatment.

Photocatalysis has long been touted as one of the most promising technologies for environmental remediation. The ability of photocatalysts to degrade a host of different pollutants, especially recalcitrant molecules, is certainly appealing. Titanium dioxide (TiO) has been used extensively for this purpose.

The Role of Nasal Nitric Oxide and Anterior Active Rhinomanometry in the Diagnosis of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma: A Message for Pediatric Clinical Practice.

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma are two common atopic diseases, often associated with a common ethiopathogenesis characterized by a Th2 inflammatory response with the release of many biomarkers, such as nitric oxide (NO).

Purpose: To evaluate and compare inflammatory (nFeNO and eFeNO) and functional (mNF and FEV1) parameters in AR children with or without asthma in comparison to controls. Secondly, we aimed to identify nFeNO cut-off values and verify their reliability to predict the presence of rhinitis or asthma alone or in combination.

Isolated intestinal Ganglioneuromatosis: case report and literature review.

Background: Intestinal Ganglioneuromatosis (IG) is a rare disorder of the enteric nervous system. In pediatric age it is often associated with genetic syndromes such as Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1), multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B (MEN2B) and Cowden syndrome (PTEN mutation), and ganglioneuromas (GNs) may be sometimes the first sign of the disease. Isolated GNs are rare and sporadic.

Amnion-Derived Teno-Inductive Secretomes: A Novel Approach to Foster Tendon Differentiation and Regeneration in an Ovine Model.

Regenerative medicine has greatly progressed, but tendon regeneration mechanisms and robust tendon differentiation protocols remain to be elucidated. Recently, tendon explant co-culture (CO) has been proposed as an model to recapitulate the microenvironment driving tendon development and regeneration. Here, we explored standardized protocols for production and storage of bioactive tendon-derived secretomes with an evaluation of their teno-inductive effects on ovine amniotic epithelial cells (AECs).

Relationship between gait profile score and clinical assessments of gait in post-stroke patients.

Background: Gait Profile Score (GPS) was validated as quality measure for the Gait Analysis (GA) in several patholgies, but GPS was never compared with clinical scales in post-stroke patients.

Objective: The aim of the study was to quantify functional limitation of post-stroke hemiparetic patients using clinical-functional scales and GPS and to assess the presence of correlation between GPS and the clinical-based outcome scales.

Methods: Thirty-three patients were assessed with the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS), Functional Ambulation Category (FAC), Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and Ten-Meter Walk Test (10-MWT); GPS was obtained by GA.

Psychological Well-Being in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome Associated With Obesity: The Relationship With Personality, Cognitive Functioning, and Subjective and Objective Sleep Quality.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome severely affects psychological well-being. This syndrome frequently occurs in obesity; however, no previous study has investigated the level of psychological well-being in the case of OSA syndrome associated with obesity. In this work, we assessed the level of psychological well-being in fifty-two individuals affected by OSA syndrome and obesity through the Psychological General Well-Being Index.

The Role of NLRP3 Inflammasome in Pericarditis: Potential for Therapeutic Approaches.

Human samples of patients with chronic pericarditis and appropriate control subjects were stained for the inflammasome components. A mouse model of pericarditis was developed through the intrapericardial injection of zymosan A. Different inflammasome blockers were tested in the mouse model.

Targeting tumor-derived NLRP3 reduces melanoma progression by limiting MDSCs expansion.

Interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-mediated inflammation suppresses antitumor immunity, leading to the generation of a tumor-permissive environment, tumor growth, and progression. Here, we demonstrate that nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich containing family, pyrin domain-containing-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation in melanoma is linked to IL-1β production, inflammation, and immunosuppression. Analysis of cancer genome datasets (TCGA and GTEx) revealed greater NLRP3 and IL-1β expression in cutaneous melanoma samples ( = 469) compared to normal skin ( = 324), with a highly significant correlation between NLRP3 and IL-1β ( < 0.