Synthesis of α-Hydroxy Fatty Acids from Fatty Acids by Intermediate α-Chlorination with TCCA under Solvent-Free Conditions: A Way to Valorization of Waste Fat Biomasses.

Within food wastes, including edible and inedible parts, fat biomasses represent a significant portion, often uneconomically used or improperly disposed causing pollution issues. Interesting perspectives for their management and valorization could be opened by conversion of fatty acids (FAs), which are their main constituents, into α-hydroxy FAs (α-HFAs), fine chemicals of great, but largely untapped potential, possibly due to current poor availability. Here, a simple and efficient procedure is reported to α-chlorinate FAs with trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA), a green halogenating agent, under solvent-free conditions and to directly convert the resultant α-chloro FAs, without previous purification, into α-HFAs.

Green Oxidation of Ketones to Lactones with Oxone in Water.

Cyclic ketones were quickly and quantitatively converted to 5-, 6-, and 7-membered lactones, very important synthons, by treatment with Oxone, a cheap, stable, and nonpollutant oxidizing reagent, in 1 M NaHPO/NaHPO water solution (pH 7). Under such simple and green conditions, no hydroxyacid was formed, thus making the adoption of more complex and non-eco-friendly procedures previously developed to avoid lactone hydrolysis unnecessary. With some changes, the method was successfully applied also to water-insoluble ketones such as adamantanone, acetophenone, 2-indanone, and the challenging cycloheptanone.

Efficient conversion of d-mannitol into 1,2:5,6-diacetonide with Aquivion-H as a recyclable catalyst.

Heterogeneous solid catalysis by the commercially available perfluorosulfonic ionomer Aquivion-H allowed 1,2:5,6-diacetonide of d-mannitol (1), immediate precursor of important unichiral C3-synthons, to be efficiently obtained from d-mannitol and 2,2-dimethoxypropane in DMF at room temperature. The 1,2-monoacetonide, whose intermediate formation is the rate-limiting step, could be almost completely converted into 1 with limited concurrent transformation of 1 into triacetonides. In line with recent literature reports, these results indicate that heterogeneous catalysis by Aquivion-H surpasses the performances of homogeneous acidic catalysis assuring, presumably for its peculiar morphology, a higher product selectivity.

Cancer Diagnostic Delay in Northern and Central Italy During the 2020 Lockdown Due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.

Objectives: We performed data collection concerning the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic-related delay in the diagnosis of cancers to individuate proper corrective procedures.

Methods: A comparison was made among the number of first pathologic diagnoses of malignancy made from weeks 11 to 20 of 2018, 2019, and 2020 at seven anatomic pathology units serving secondary care hospitals in northern-central Italy.

Results: Cancer diagnoses fell in 2020 by 44.

Comparison of different calculation techniques for absorbed dose assessment in patient specific peptide receptor radionuclide therapy.

Aim: The present work concerns the comparison of the performances of three systems for dosimetry in RPT that use different techniques for absorbed dose calculation (organ-level dosimetry, voxel-level dose kernel convolution and Monte Carlo simulations). The aim was to assess the importance of the choice of the most adequate calculation modality, providing recommendations about the choice of the computation tool.

Methods: The performances were evaluated both on phantoms and patients in a multi-level approach.

Partial volume effect of SPECT images in PRRT with 177Lu labelled somatostatin analogues: A practical solution.

Background: At present activity quantification is one of the most critical step in dosimetry calculation, and Partial Volume Effect (PVE) one of the most important source of error. In recent years models based upon phantoms that incorporate hot spheres have been used to establish recovery models. In this context the goal of this study was to point out the most critical issues related to PVE and to establish a model closer to a biological imaging environment.

Magnetic resonance imaging in central nervous system vasculitis in a patient affected by crioglobulin-negative hepatitis C virus infection: A likely correlation.

A 56-year-old man with behavioural disorders and facial-brachio-crural right hemiparesis presented with a brain lesion studied with computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and brain biopsy, leading to the diagnosis of cerebral vasculitis. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in a phase of activity, without cryoglobulins, was also detected. Brain biopsy, laboratory analysis and response to a specific therapy supported the diagnosis of central nervous system vasculitis that was HCV related.

Influence of seasonality, air mass origin and particulate matter chemical composition on airborne bacterial community structure in the Po Valley, Italy.

The integration of chemical and biological data in aerosol studies represents a new challenge in atmospheric science. In this perspective it will be possible to gain a clearer and deeper comprehension of biogeochemical cycles in the atmosphere. In this view, this study aimed to investigate the relationships occurring between bacterial populations and PM chemical composition in one of the most polluted and urbanized areas in Europe: the Po Valley (Italy).

Shift in microbial community structure of anaerobic side-stream reactor in response to changes to anaerobic solid retention time and sludge interchange ratio.

A laboratory scale nutrient removal activated sludge system coupled with an anaerobic side-stream reactor was operated for 300 days treating real urban wastewater. A significant decrease in sludge production was obtained increasing the anaerobic solid retention time (SRT) and decreasing the sludge interchange ratio (IR). In this study, the microbial community structure was analyzed and compared with the sludge reduction performance.

Unravelling the bacterial diversity in the atmosphere.

The study of airborne biological particles ('bioaerosols') has gained interest in recent years, due to an increasing amount of evidence suggesting that this fraction of airborne particulate matter may play a critical role in the negative effects of aerosols on biological systems. Pioneer investigations demonstrated that bacteria do exist in the atmosphere and can be metabolically active, although studies have not proved whether they actually form ecological communities or are merely assemblages of organisms passively transported from different sources. For a long time, cultivation-based methods have been the gold standard to describe and quantify airborne microorganisms.

Bacterial community structure on two alpine debris-covered glaciers and biogeography of Polaromonas phylotypes.

High-elevation cold environments are considered ideal places to test hypotheses about mechanisms of bacterial colonization and succession, and about bacterial biogeography. Debris-covered glaciers (glaciers whose ablation area is mainly covered by a continuous layer of rock debris fallen from the surrounding mountains) have never been investigated in this respect so far. We used the Illumina technology to analyse the V5 and V6 hypervariable regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplified from 38 samples collected in July and September 2009 at different distances from the terminus on two debris-covered glaciers (Miage and Belvedere--Italian Alps).

Temporal variability and effect of environmental variables on airborne bacterial communities in an urban area of Northern Italy.

Despite airborne microorganisms representing a relevant fraction of atmospheric suspended particles, only a small amount of information is currently available on their abundance and diversity and very few studies have investigated the environmental factors influencing the structure of airborne bacterial communities. In this work, we used quantitative PCR and Illumina technology to provide a thorough description of airborne bacterial communities in the urban area of Milan (Italy). Forty samples were collected in 10-day sampling sessions, with one session per season.

The tumor microenvironment of colorectal cancer: stromal TLR-4 expression as a potential prognostic marker.

Background: Colorectal cancer can be efficiently treated when found at early stages, thus the search for novel markers is of paramount importance. Since inflammation is associated with cancer progression and angiogenesis, we investigated expression of cytokines like IL-6 and other mediators that play a key role in the innate immune system, in particular toll like receptor 4 (TLR4), in the microenvironment of lesions from different stages of colon disease progression, from ulcerative colitis to adenoma and adenocarcinoma to find useful markers.

Methods: The presence of inflammatory cells and expression of key cytokines involved in the inflammation process were quantified by immunohistochemistry in specific tissue compartments (epithelial, stromal, endothelial) by immunohistochemistry.

Hierarchical clustering analysis of pathologic and molecular data identifies prognostically and biologically distinct groups of colorectal carcinomas.

This work has evaluated the potential superiority of a morphomolecular classification based on the combination of clinicopathologic and molecular features of colorectal cancers. A cohort of 126 colorectal carcinomas was investigated by unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis to combine 13 routinely assessed clinicopathologic features and all five molecular markers recently suggested by Jass' classification to distinguish four molecular subtypes of sporadic colorectal carcinomas. Survival analysis was assessed by a Cox proportional hazards model.

Colonic carcinoma with a pancreatic acinar cell differentiation. A case report.

A case of a colonic carcinoma showing a pancreatic acinar cell differentiation is described for the first time. A 65-year-old woman underwent surgical resection for an ulcerated protruding tumour of 4 x 2.5 cm in size on the anterior wall of the sigmoid colon.

Up-regulation of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 transcriptional pathway in colorectal carcinomas.

The aim of the study was to identify the impact on prognosis of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 genetic program in colorectal carcinomas and to develop an experimental procedure that would allow a reliable quantitative gene expression analysis in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue. The expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha and 13 hypoxia-inducible factor-1 target genes (AMF, CAIX, VEGF, VEGFR1, VEGFR2, HGF, MET, TGFalpha, EGFR, IGF2, MMP2, PLAUR, NIX) was quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction in 18 colorectal, poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas and in 60 invasive colorectal carcinomas. Moreover, hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors--frequency, malignancy, and new prognostic factors: the experience of a single institution.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are c-Kit-positive neoplasms of the digestive tract. Few studies have reported their real incidence and malignancy. Two systems of risk assessment of aggressive behavior were recently proposed.

Up-regulation and stabilization of HIF-1alpha in colorectal carcinomas.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is a transcription factor that regulates gene expression in critical pathways involved in tumor growth and metastases. In our study we evaluated the expression of HIF-1alpha transcript and protein by quantitative real time PCR and by immunohistochemistry in a total of 78 colorectal carcinomas (CRCs) and in 8 samples of normal colorectal mucosa in order to identify the impact on prognosis of HIF-1alpha overexpression in CRCs. Our study demonstrates a significant up-regulation of HIF-1alpha mRNA as well as a high frequency of the protein immunoreactivity in colorectal cancers compared to normal samples.

Simultaneous medullary and papillary thyroid cancer: two case reports.

Background: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) have always been considered different from each other; in their incidence, their cell origin and their histopathological features.

Case Presentation: This paper describes two rare cases of the simultaneous occurrence of MTC and PTC in the thyroid gland. Case 1 is unique for different reasons: (a) the patient was affected by both multicentric MTC and PTC; (b) a "composite thyroid carcinoma" with mixed feautures of MTC and PTC carcinomas was found in the istmus of the gland; and (c) these tumors were associated with diffuse lymphocytic-type thyroiditis (LT).

Intratumour T cells, their activation status and survival in gastric carcinomas characterised for microsatellite instability and Epstein-Barr virus infection.

Gastric carcinomas (GCs) with high microsatellite instability (MSI) or an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection are prevalently poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas with abundant lymphoid infiltration. The aims of the study were to clarify (1) if tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and cytotoxic-activated TILs are associated with a better clinical outcome in patients with GCs characterised for the presence of MSI and EBV; (2) if the nature and the activation status of TILs are involved in tumour cell apoptosis, evaluated using the M30 antibody, directed against a fragment of cytokeratin-18 caspase-cleaved during early steps of epithelial cell apoptosis. The immunophenotype of TILs and the tumour cell apoptosis were analysed with immunohistochemistry in 96 GCs, including 35 MSI GCs, and 61 GCs without MSI [microsatellite stable (MSS)], 17 of which were EBV+.