Auto-Global Examination of Mental State (Auto-GEMS): a web-based self-administered cognitive screening.

Recent methodological developments have contributed to a significant advance in computerised neuropsychological instruments and procedures, including those accessible from remote. In this paper we present Auto-GEMS, a newly developed, web-based, self-administered screening test allowing to quickly estimate an individual's cognitive state also considering their cognitive reserve. Auto-GEMS measures cognitive functioning on eleven items similarly to the in-person paper-and-pencil version (GEMS) and to the remote (phone or video call) version (Tele-GEMS) of the same screening.

Cognitive reserve modulates mental health in adulthood.

Cognitive Reserve (CR) reflects acquired knowledge, skills, and abilities throughout life, and it is known for modulating cognitive efficiency in healthy and clinical populations. CR, which was initially proposed to explain individual differences in the clinical presentation of dementia, has subsequently been extended to healthy ageing, showing its role in cognitive efficiency also during middle age. Recently, CR has been linked to affective processes in psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, major depressive and anxiety symptoms, and psychological distress, suggesting its potential role in emotional expression and regulation.

Cognitive reserve proxies for individuals with intellectual developmental disability: A scoping review.

Background: Cognitive reserve (CR) has not been studied in people with Intellectual Developmental Disability, a population with a high incidence of dementia. Commonly adopted CR proxies should be adapted to reflect more specifically the experiences of people with Intellectual Developmental Disability.

Method: This scoping review intended to identify CR proxies relevant to people with this condition.

The Telephone Language Screener (TLS): standardization of a novel telephone-based screening test for language impairment.

Background: This study aimed at developing and standardizing the Telephone Language Screener (TLS), a novel, disease-nonspecific, telephone-based screening test for language disorders.

Methods: The TLS was developed in strict pursuance to the current psycholinguistic standards. It comprises nine tasks assessing phonological, lexical-semantic and morpho-syntactic components, as well as an extra Backward Digit Span task.

Over ninety years old: Does high cognitive reserve still help brain efficiency?

Nonagenarians and centenarians, also called oldest-old, are a very heterogeneous population that counts a limited number of individuals as it is a real challenge to reach this goal. Even if it is well known that cognitive reserve can be considered a factor in maintaining good cognitive functioning in ageing, only very few studies have been carried out on the role of cognitive reserve (CR) in the oldest-old people. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between cognitive reserve and cognitive functioning in a population living in a specific region of Italy, the Blue Zone in Sardinia.

Clinical Profiles in Multiple Sclerosis: Cognitive Reserve and Motor Impairment along Disease Duration.

(i) Background: Cognitive impairment in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been studied in relation to certain clinical variables (e.g., motor disability and disease duration) and lifestyle factors such as cognitive reserve (CR).

s-CRIq: the online short version of the Cognitive Reserve Index Questionnaire.

Background: The wide use of the term Cognitive Reserve (CR) is in need of a clear and shared definition of its concept and of the development of new tools, quick and easy to use and updated for the people of today. This study describes the online short CRIq (s-CRIq), the new shorter version of the CRIq, following an item analysis revision, and compares the data distribution of different samples.

Methods: The s-CRIq was administered online to 435 people while another 440 filled out the s-CRIq in self-administration.

Tele-Global Examination of Mental State (Tele-GEMS): an open tool for the remote neuropsychological screening.

Tele-neuropsychology, i.e., the application of remote audio-visual technologies to neuropsychological evaluation or rehabilitation, has become increasingly popular and widespread during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sexual Dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis: The Role of Executive Function.

Cognitive impairment and sexual dysfunction are common symptoms in persons with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The present study focuses on the relationship between these two dimensions by means of a specific assessment commonly used in clinical practice with this population. Fifty-five persons with a diagnosis of MS underwent specific cognitive tests and answered clinical questionnaires.

Discovery of a Novel Series of Potent SHP2 Allosteric Inhibitors.

Src homology 2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (SHP2) is the first reported nonreceptor oncogenic tyrosine phosphatase connecting multiple signal transduction cascades and exerting immunoinhibitory function through the PD-1 checkpoint receptor. As part of a drug discovery program aimed at obtaining novel allosteric SHP2 inhibitors, a series of pyrazopyrazine derivatives bearing an original bicyclo[3.1.

How long have you exercised in your life? The effect of motor reserve and current physical activity on cognitive performance.

Objectives: Aging of the population encourages research on how to preserve cognition and quality of life. Many studies have shown that (PA) positively affects cognition in older adults. However, PA carried out throughout the individual's lifespan may also have an impact on cognition in old age.

Discovery of a Novel Series of Imidazopyrazine Derivatives as Potent SHP2 Allosteric Inhibitors.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 is an oncogenic protein that can regulate different cytokine receptor and receptor tyrosine kinase signaling pathways. We report here the identification of a novel series of SHP2 allosteric inhibitors having an imidazopyrazine 6,5-fused heterocyclic system as the central scaffold that displays good potency in enzymatic and cellular assays. SAR studies led to the identification of compound , a highly potent SHP2 allosteric inhibitor.

Subcutaneous catabolism of peptide therapeutics: bioanalytical approaches and ADME considerations.

Many peptide drugs such as insulin and glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) analogues are successfully administered subcutaneously (SC). Following SC injection, peptides may undergo catabolism in the SC compartment before entering systemic circulation, which could compromise their bioavailability and in turn affect their efficacy.This review will discuss how both technology and strategy have evolved over the past years to further elucidate peptide SC catabolism.

The Italian telephone-based Verbal Fluency Battery (t-VFB): standardization and preliminary clinical usability evidence.

Background: This study aimed at standardizing and providing preliminary evidence on the clinical usability of the Italian telephone-based Verbal Fluency Battery (t-VFB), which includes phonemic (t-PVF), semantic (t-SVF) and alternate (t-AVF) verbal fluency tasks.

Methods: Three-hundred and thirty-five Italian healthy participants (HPs; 140 males; age = 18-96 years; education = 4-23 years) and 27 individuals with neurodegenerative or cerebrovascular diseases were administered the t-VFB. Switch number and cluster size were computed latent semantic analyses.

Pattern of recurrence and survival after D2 right colectomy for cancer: is there place for a routine more extended lymphadenectomy?

Background: Conventional Right Colectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy (RC-D2) currently represent the most common surgical treatment of right-sided colon cancer (RCC). However, whether it should be still considered a standard of care, or replaced by a routine more extended D3 lymphadenectomy remains unclear. In the present study, we aim to critically review the patterns of relapse and the survival outcomes obtained from our 11-year experience of RC-D2.

Telephone-based Frontal Assessment Battery (t-FAB): standardization for the Italian population and clinical usability in neurological diseases.

Background: Despite the relevance of telephone-based cognitive screening tests in clinical practice and research, no specific test assessing executive functioning is available. The present study aimed at standardizing and providing evidence of clinical usability for the Italian telephone-based Frontal Assessment Battery (t-FAB).

Methods: The t-FAB (ranging 0-12), comprising two subtests, has two versions: one requiring motor responses (t-FAB-M) and the other verbal responses (t-FAB-V).

A study on biorelevant calciprotein particles: Effect of stabilizing agents on the formation and crystallization mechanisms.

Hypothesis: Calciprotein particles (CPPs) are endogenous nanoparticles consisting of hybrid mineral-organic colloidal complexes made of calcium phosphates and Fetuin-A (Fet-A), a protein that in physiological conditions binds to amorphous calcium phosphate forming primary CPP (CPP1). CPP1 can crystallize resulting in hydroxyapatite-based secondary CPP (CPP2) that can eventually precipitate leading to vascular calcifications. The treatment of patients with molecules and ions that delay the amorphous-to-crystalline transition has shown promising results from a clinical perspective, but the study of their mechanism of action has not been thoroughly examined so far.

Ensemble deep learning for the prediction of proficiency at a virtual simulator for robot-assisted surgery.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to enhance patient safety in surgery, and all its aspects, including education and training, will derive considerable benefit from AI. In the present study, deep-learning models were used to predict the rates of proficiency acquisition in robot-assisted surgery (RAS), thereby providing surgical programs directors information on the levels of the innate ability of trainees to facilitate the implementation of flexible personalized training.

Methods: 176 medical students, without prior experience with surgical simulators, were trained to reach proficiency in five tasks on a virtual simulator for RAS.

Italian telephone-based Mini-Mental State Examination (Itel-MMSE): item-level psychometric properties.

Background: The Italian telephone-based Mini-Mental State Examination (Itel-MMSE), despite being psychometrically sound, has shown relevant ceiling effects, which may negatively impact the interpretation of its scores. In address to overcome such an issue, this study aimed at providing item-level insights on the Itel-MMSE through Item Response Theory (IRT) analyses.

Methods: Five-hundred and sixty-seven healthy Italian adults (227 males, 340 females; mean age: 51 ± 17 years, range 18-96; mean education: 13.

STimulator of INterferon Genes Agonism Accelerates Antitumor Activity in Poorly Immunogenic Tumors.

The innate immune agonist STING (STimulator of INterferon Genes) binds its natural ligand 2'3'-cGAMP (cyclic guanosine-adenosine monophosphate) and initiates type I IFN production. This promotes systemic antigen-specific CD8 T-cell priming that eventually provides potent antitumor activity. To exploit this mechanism, we synthesized a novel STING agonist, MSA-1, that activates both mouse and human STING with higher potency than cGAMP.

Protective factors for subjective cognitive decline individuals: trajectories and changes in a longitudinal study with Italian elderly.

Background And Purpose: Many different factors have been hypothesized to modulate cognition in an aging population according to their functioning at baseline.

Methods: This retrospective study quantifies the relative contribution of age and sex as demographic factors, comorbidity, education and occupation (classified with the International Standard Classification of Occupation 2008) as cognitive reserve proxies in accounting for cognitive aging. All participants (3081) were evaluated at baseline with a complete neuropsychological test battery (T1) and those with unimpaired profiles were classified as subjective cognitive decline, those mildly impaired as mild neurocognitive decline and those severely impaired as major neurocognitive decline.

Combination of EP antagonist MF-766 and anti-PD-1 promotes anti-tumor efficacy by modulating both lymphocytes and myeloid cells.

Prostaglandin E (PGE), an arachidonic acid pathway metabolite produced by cyclooxygenase (COX)-1/2, has been shown to impair anti-tumor immunity through engagement with one or more E-type prostanoid receptors (EP). Specific targeting of EP receptors, as opposed to COX-1/2 inhibition, has been proposed to achieve preferential antagonism of PGE-mediated immune suppression. Here we describe the anti-tumor activity of MF-766, a potent and highly selective small-molecule inhibitor of the EP receptor.

Evaluation of homogeneous proximity immunoassays for preclinical bioanalysis.

Drug discovery is moving at a rapid pace and a fast turnaround of bioanalytical data is needed to sustain this pace. This article focuses on the evaluation of time-saving homogeneous proximity immunoassays such as Amplified Luminescent Proximity Homogeneous Assay, Time-Resolved Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer and Spatial Proximity Analyte Reagent Capture Luminescence as an alternative to industry popular platforms like mesoscale discovery (MSD) and Gyrolab. Our evaluation showed that no one platform can be considered the best for all the parameters assessed.