Blue Rubber Bleb Nevus Syndrome Causing Small Bowel Bleeding.

A 79-year-old man with fatigue and melena was diagnosed with severe iron-deficiency anemia. Capsule endoscopy revealed submucosal vascular lesions in the jejunum and active bleeding in the ileum, consistent with Blue Rubber Bleb Nevus Syndrome (BRBNS). Exploratory laparoscopy led to the resection of a 120 cm intestinal segment, confirming the diagnosis.

Progression independent of relapse activity in relapsing multiple sclerosis: impact and relationship with secondary progression.

Objectives: We investigated the occurrence and relative contribution of relapse-associated worsening (RAW) and progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) to confirmed disability accrual (CDA) and transition to secondary progression (SP) in relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: Relapsing-onset MS patients with follow-up > / = 5 years (16,130) were extracted from the Italian MS Registry. CDA was a 6-month confirmed increase in Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score.

Hedonic Analysis of Dried Pasta Prices Using E-Commerce Data-An Explorative Study.

Italy is the world leader in the production of pasta and the Italian market is characterized by strong price competition among large industrial producers. Thus, recently, many small and medium firms have started to differentiate their products as a way to achieve higher margins and escape from price competition. Using data on the prices and characteristics of dried pasta sold online in the Italian market and a hedonic price model, we estimated the implicit prices associated with several attributes that are currently available for dried pasta.

The Value of Craft Beer Styles: Evidence from the Italian Market.

This study aims to estimate the market value, or implicit prices, associated with the main craft beer attributes (e.g., beer style, organic, gluten-free, and package-related features) and support producers in detecting the more profitable marketing strategies.

Safe-Shields: Basal and Anti-UV Protection of Human Keratinocytes by Redox-Active Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles Prevents UVB-Induced Mutagenesis.

Cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria), biocompatible multifunctional nanozymes exerting unique biomimetic activities, mimic superoxide-dismutase and catalase through a self-regenerating, energy-free redox cycle driven by Ce valence switch. Additional redox-independent UV-filter properties render nanoceria ideal multitask solar screens, shielding from UV exposure, simultaneously protecting tissues from UV-oxidative damage. Here, we report that nanoceria favour basal proliferation of primary normal keratinocytes, and protects them from UVB-induced DNA damage, mutagenesis, and apoptosis, minimizing cell loss and accelerating recovery with flawless cells.

An origami paper-based electrochemical biosensing platform for quality control of agri-food waste in the valorization strategy.

The increasing demand for food and the need for a sustainability vision in the agri-food sector have boosted novel approaches for food management, enhancing the valorization of wastes and by-products belonging to the food industry. Herein, we present a novel paper-based origami device to assess the amount of both glucosinolate and glucose in a food waste product belonging to Brassicaceae plants, to evaluate the quality value and the correct management of waste samples. The device has been designed as an origami paper-based platform constituted of two paper-based biosensors to work synergistically in a multiplexed detection.

Nanomaterials and paper-based electrochemical devices: merging strategies for fostering sustainable detection of biomarkers.

In the last few decades, nanomaterials have made great advances in the biosensor field, thanks to their ability to enhance several key issues of biosensing analytical tools, namely, sensitivity, selectivity, robustness, and reproducibility. The recent trend of sustainability has boosted the progress of novel and eco-designed electrochemical paper-based devices to detect easily the target analyte(s) with high sensitivity in complex matrices. The huge attention given by the scientific community and industrial sectors to paper-based devices is ascribed to the numerous advantages of these cost-effective analytical tools, including the absence of external equipment for solution flow, thanks to the capillary force of paper, the fabrication of reagent-free devices, because of the loading of reagents on the paper, and the easy multistep analyses by using the origami approach.

A Hedonic Analysis of Processed Tomato Prices Using Italian Regional Markets Data.

The Italian market of processed tomatoes (whole peeled and unpeeled tomatoes, chopped tomato pulp, tomato purée, and concentrated tomato paste) rose, thanks to the Italian tradition of using such products in many recipes of cuisine, until early 2000; since then, it has declined to date. Moreover, such products are traditionally considered low-price products, and their market is characterized by intense price competition. Thus, recently, producers have started to differentiate their products as a way to achieve higher margins, and escape from competition in price.

Comparing Natural History of Early and Late Onset Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis.

Objective: This study was undertaken to describe and compare disease course and prognosis of early (ie, disease onset before age 11 years) and late (ie, disease onset after age 11 years) onset pediatric multiple sclerosis.

Methods: Prospectively collected clinical information from Italian Multiple Sclerosis Register of 1993 pediatric multiple sclerosis patients, of whom 172 had early onset, was analyzed. Cox models adjusted for sex, baseline Expanded Disability Status Scale score, and disease-modifying treatments and stratified for diagnostic criteria adopted (Poser vs McDonald) were used to assess the risk of reaching irreversible Expanded Disability Status Scale scores of 3, 4, and 6, and conversion to secondary progressive phenotype in early versus late onset pediatric patients.

Effect of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on hippocampal subfields in multiple sclerosis patients.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism was shown to strongly affect BDNF function, but its role in modulating gray matter damage in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients is still not clear. Given BDNF relevance on the hippocampus, we aimed to explore BDNF Val66Met polymorphism effect on hippocampal subfield volumes and its role in cognitive functioning in MS patients. Using a 3T scanner, we obtained dual-echo and 3DT1-weighted sequences from 50 MS patients and 15 healthy controls (HC) consecutively enrolled.

Assessment of the genetic contribution to brain magnetic resonance imaging lesion load and atrophy measures in multiple sclerosis patients.

Background And Purpose: Multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility is influenced by genetics; however, little is known about genetic determinants of disease expression. We aimed at assessing genetic factors influencing quantitative neuroimaging measures in two cohorts of progressive MS (PMS) and relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients.

Methods: Ninety-nine PMS and 214 RRMS patients underwent a 3-T brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, with the measurement of five MRI metrics including T2 lesion volumes and measures of white matter, grey matter, deep grey matter, and hippocampal volumes.

Cognitive Issues in Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the leading causes of disability in young adults. The onset of MS during developmental age makes pediatric patients particularly susceptible to cognitive impairment, resulting from both disease-related damage and failure of age-expected brain growth. Despite different test batteries and definitions, cognitive impairment has been consistently reported in approximately one-third of pediatric patients with MS.

Early Predictors of 9-Year Disability in Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess early predictors of 9-year disability in pediatric patients with multiple sclerosis.

Methods: Clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessments of 123 pediatric patients with multiple sclerosis were obtained at disease onset and after 1 and 2 years. A 9-year clinical follow-up was also performed.

Identifying the Distinct Cognitive Phenotypes in Multiple Sclerosis.

Importance: Cognitive impairment is a common and disabling feature of multiple sclerosis (MS), but a precise characterization of cognitive phenotypes in patients with MS is lacking.

Objectives: To identify cognitive phenotypes in a clinical cohort of patients with MS and to characterize their clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This multicenter cross-sectional study consecutively screened clinically stable patients with MS and healthy control individuals at 8 MS centers in Italy from January 1, 2010, to October 31, 2019.

An Improved HRPE-Based Transcriptional Output Reporter to Detect Hypoxia and Anoxia in Plant Tissue.

Oxygen levels in plant tissues may vary, depending on metabolism, diffusion barriers, and environmental availability. Current techniques to assess the oxic status of plant cells rely primarily on invasive microoptodes or Clark-type electrodes, which are not optimally suited for experiments that require high spatial and temporal resolution. In this case, a genetically encoded oxygen biosensor is required instead.

In vivo gradients of thalamic damage in paediatric multiple sclerosis: a window into pathology.

The thalamus represents one of the first structures affected by neurodegenerative processes in multiple sclerosis. A greater thalamic volume reduction over time, on its CSF side, has been described in paediatric multiple sclerosis patients. However, its determinants and the underlying pathological changes, likely occurring before this phenomenon becomes measurable, have never been explored.

Clinical Relevance of Multiparametric MRI Assessment of Cervical Cord Damage in Multiple Sclerosis.

Background In multiple sclerosis (MS), knowledge about how spinal cord abnormalities translate into clinical manifestations is incomplete. Comprehensive, multiparametric MRI studies are useful in this perspective, but studies for the spinal cord are lacking. Purpose To identify MRI features of cervical spinal cord damage that could help predict disability and disease course in MS by using a comprehensive, multiparametric MRI approach.

Dynamic gray matter volume changes in pediatric multiple sclerosis: A 3.5 year MRI study.

Objectives: To assess, using MRI, the spatial patterns of gray matter (GM) atrophy in pediatric patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), their dynamic changes over time, and their clinical relevance.

Methods: Sixty-eight pediatric patients with MS (30 with a clinical and MRI follow-up after 3.5 years) and 26 healthy controls (HC) underwent clinical and MRI evaluation.