Using the Emission of Muonic X-rays as a Spectroscopic Tool for the Investigation of the Local Chemistry of Elements.

There are several techniques providing quantitative elemental analysis, but very few capable of identifying both the concentration and chemical state of elements. This study presents a systematic investigation of the properties of the X-rays emitted after the atomic capture of negatively charged muons. The probability rates of the muonic transitions possess sensitivity to the electronic structure of materials, thus making the muonic X-ray Emission Spectroscopy complementary to the X-ray Absorption and Emission techniques for the study of the chemistry of elements, and able of unparalleled analysis in case of elements bearing low atomic numbers.

Association between sleep disordered breathing, neurocognitive impairment and diastolic function in acute heart failure patients: an insight after the vulnerable phase of the hospitalization.

Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) and neurocognitive impairment (NI) are a typical feature of HF (heart failure), especially with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). So far, very few data exist regarding changes in the severity of SDB, the degree of NI, and the diastolic function in acute HF (AHF) patients and during follow up. In a population of 24 AHF patients (12 with reduced ejection fraction-HFrEF- and 12 HFpEF) with SDB a complete echocardiogram, a set of NI tests, and a polysomnography were performed in the acute phase and after 90 days.

A Prospective, Randomized, Open-Label Trial of Atorvastatin versus Rosuvastatin in the Prevention of Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury, Worsened Renal Function at 30 Days, and Clinical Events After Acute Coronary Angiography: the PRATO-ACS-2 Study.

Background/aims: Both high-dose atorvastatin and rosuvastatin have been shown to reduce contrast-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) occurrence and improve clinical outcomes in high-risk coronary patients undergoing angiographic procedures. However, there is a lack of head-to-head comparative studies on the effects of atorvastatin or rosuvastatin administered upon hospital admission in statin-naive patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS).

Methods: In this open-label, noninferiority study, we compared changes in renal function in 709 NSTE-ACS patients randomized to atorvastatin (80 mg upon admission followed by 40 mg/day) or rosuvastatin (40 mg upon admission followed by 20 mg/day).

Dietary carotenoids in cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy: A review of emerging evidence.

In recent years, natural products have reemerged as biotherapeutic options, with several dietary carotenoids, viz. astaxanthin, fucoxanthin, siphonaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, α-carotene, β-carotene, and lycopene, developing as potential candidates for chemoprevention and chemotherapeutics of breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers. The potent cytotoxic and antiproliferative effects of carotenoids against various cancer cells are mediated by a wide range of molecular mechanisms modulating oxidative stress and redox balance, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and other cellular signaling proteins, transcription factors, caspase cascade pathways of apoptosis, cell cycle progression and proliferation, angiogenesis, metastasis, gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC), and multidrug resistance (MDR).

Micronucleus Test for Diagnosing Uncertain Cases (BI-RADS 3) in Breast Cancer Screening: A Review and Preliminary Results.

Introduction: BI-RADS in mammography screening is the guide to give a standardized terminology in mammary images. The BI-RADS 3 (uncertain cases) protocol requires anew mammography after six months. This matter of time usually generates much concern and anxiety in patients and in the Radiologists.

Omalizumab for Severe Allergic Asthma Treatment in Italy: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis from PROXIMA Study.

Introduction: Inadequately controlled severe asthma patients require additional therapy accounting for significant clinical and economic burden. Our analysis aims to determine the cost-effectiveness of omalizumab in the management of severe allergic asthma in Italy based on observational data from the PROXIMA study.

Methods: Observational data on efficacy, healthcare resource utilization and changes in quality of life at 12 months after the initiation of omalizumab were examined to estimate the cost-effectiveness compared to pre-omalizumab period and results were expressed with Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER).

Modulating "Surprise" with Syntax: A Study on Negative Sentences and Eye-Movement Recording.

This work focuses on a particular case of negative sentences, the Surprise Negation sentences (SNEGs). SNEGs belong to the class of expletive negation sentences, i.e.

Infantile spasms followed by childhood absence epilepsy: A case series.

Purpose: Infantile spasms (IS) represent a severe seizure disorder of infancy and early childhood characterized by epileptic spasms along with hypsarrhythmia often accompanied by intellectual disability. According to the current classification and terminology (3) IS can be categorized as known etiology, formerly known as "symptomatic", when an underlying cause has been observed prior to the onset of spasms, or of "unknown cause" with "unfavorable" and "favorable" outcome (previously referred as "cryptogenic" or "idiopathic", respectively). Single reports described children with "unknown cause and favorable outcome" (UC/FO) IS who later developed childhood absence epilepsy (CAE).

Blockade of IGF2R improves muscle regeneration and ameliorates Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a debilitating fatal X-linked muscle disorder. Recent findings indicate that IGFs play a central role in skeletal muscle regeneration and development. Among IGFs, insulinlike growth factor 2 (IGF2) is a key regulator of cell growth, survival, migration and differentiation.

Multi Dynamic Extraction: An Innovative Method to Obtain a Standardized Chemically and Biologically Reproducible Polyphenol Extract from Poplar-Type Propolis to Be Used for Its Anti-Infective Properties.

Antimicrobial activity is a well-known property of propolis, making it a candidate for antimicrobial surfaces in biomedical devices. Nevertheless, large-scale use of propolis as an anti-infective agent is limited by the heterogeneity of its chemical composition and consequent variation in antimicrobial activity. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that the multi dynamic extraction (M.

Cost-consequence analysis for human recombinant growth hormone (r-hGH) treatment administered via different devices in children with growth hormone deficiency in Italy.

Background: The objective of this analysis was to evaluate the cost-consequence of recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH) administered via the easypod auto-injector (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) versus conventional devices in children with growth hormone deficiency in Italy.

Methods: A patient-level simulation, decision-analytical model was developed to estimate the average height gains and growth hormone treatment costs for a cohort of boys and girls until their bone maturation age. The calculations were performed using listed growth hormone drug prices (base case) and a scenario analysis was also conducted using published tender prices.

Symptoms, disease severity and treatment of adults with a new diagnosis of severe aortic stenosis.

Objective: Contemporary data on patients with previously undiagnosed severe aortic stenosis (AS) are scarce. We aimed to address this gap by gathering data from consecutive patients diagnosed with severe AS on echocardiography.

Methods: This was a prospective, multicentre, multinational, registry in 23 tertiary care hospitals across 9 European countries.

In vivo evaluation of the effectiveness of biocellulose facial masks as active delivery systems to skin.

Background: In recent years, bacterial cellulose (BC), or biocellulose, a natural polymer synthesized by certain bacteria, has attracted great interest in dermatology and cosmetic applications. Several bioactive ingredients are currently loaded into BC masks. However, only a few studies have reported the effectiveness of such delivery systems.

Antidepressive effects of a chemically characterized maqui berry extract (Aristotelia chilensis (molina) stuntz) in a mouse model of Post-stroke depression.

Mood disorders occur in 30% of stroke patients, and of these post-stroke depression (PSD) is the most significant. This study aimed to evaluate the antidepressive-like effects and in vivo antioxidant activity of a chemically characterized maqui berry (Aristotelia chilensis (Molina) Stuntz) extract obtained from an optimized extraction method, on a murine PSD model. The extraction process was optimized to maximize anthocyanin content, and the phytochemical profile of the extract was evaluated using a multi-methodological approach including a liquid chromatographic method coupled with mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Bioactive peptides and proteins as alternative antiplatelet drugs.

Antiplatelet drugs reduce the risks associated with atherothrombotic events and show various applications in diverse cardiovascular diseases including myocardial infarctions. Efficacy of the current antiplatelet medicines including aspirin, clopidogrel, prasugrel and ticagrelor, and the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonists, are limited due to their increased risks of bleeding, and antiplatelet drug resistance. Hence, it is important to develop new effective antiplatelet drugs, with fewer side-effects.

Shadow cost of oral corticosteroids-related adverse events: A pharmacoeconomic evaluation applied to real-life data from the Severe Asthma Network in Italy (SANI) registry.

Background: Asthma is one of the most common non-communicable respiratory diseases, affecting about 6% of the general population. Severe asthma, even if afflicts a minority of asthmatics, drives the majority of costs of the disease. The aim of this study is to create a pharmacoeconomic model to predict the costs of corticosteroid-related adverse events in severe asthmatics and applying it to the first published epidemiologic data from the Severe Asthma Network in Italy (SANI) registry.

Bioavailability and In Vivo Antioxidant Activity of a Standardized Polyphenol Mixture Extracted from Brown Propolis.

Several lines of evidence demonstrate the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of propolis, mostly ascribed to its polyphenol content. However, little is known regarding the bioavailability of propolis in acute and prolonged settings of oral administration. In this study, we first determined the content of the main polyphenols in a brown propolis extract obtained using a patented extraction method (Multi Dinamic Extraction-M.

FRoG-A New Calculation Engine for Clinical Investigations with Proton and Carbon Ion Beams at CNAO.

A fast and accurate dose calculation engine for hadrontherapy is critical for both routine clinical and advanced research applications. FRoG is a graphics processing unit (GPU)-based forward calculation tool developed at CNAO (Centro Nazionale di Adroterapia Oncologica) and at HIT (Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center) for fast and accurate calculation of both physical and biological dose. FRoG calculation engine adopts a triple Gaussian parameterization for the description of the lateral dose distribution.

Outcomes after transaortic transcatheter aortic valve implantation: long-term findings from the European ROUTE†.

Objectives: There is lack of data regarding the longer-term outcomes of patients undergoing transaortic (TAo) transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). We aimed to provide a contemporary snapshot of the types and frequencies of events in the year following TAo-TAVI.

Methods: The Registry of the Utilization of the TAo-TAVI approach using the Edwards SAPIEN Valve (ROUTE) is a multicentre, European, prospective, observational registry of aortic stenosis patients undergoing TAo-TAVI.

Cells with stemness features are generated from in vitro transformed human fibroblasts.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been involved in the maintenance, progression and relapse of several tumors, but their origin is still elusive. Here, in vitro transformed human fibroblasts (cen3tel cells) and the tumorsphere assay were used to search for and possibly characterize CSCs in transformed somatic cells. Cen3tel cells formed spheres showing self-renewal capacity and Sox2 overexpression, suggesting that they contained a subset of cells with CSC-like features.

Electroclinical features of epilepsy monosomy 1p36 syndrome and their implications.

Objectivies: Monosomy 1p36 syndrome is a recognized syndrome with multiple congenital anomalies; medical problems of this syndrome include developmental delay, facial dysmorphisms, hearing loss, short stature, brain anomalies, congenital heart defects. Epilepsy can be another feature but there are few data about the types of seizures and long term prognosis. The aim of this work was to analyse the electroclinical phenotype and the long-term outcome in patients with monosomy 1p36 syndrome and epilepsy.

The importance of occlusal trauma in the primary etiology of periodontal disease.

The presence of periodontal disease can be ascertained by clinical examination (redness, edema and probe depth, bleeding-on-probing). Occlusal adjustment can lead to a marked, stable improvement in periodontal health in terms of bacterial profile and clinical appearance, presumably by obviating tissue distress caused by occlusal dysfunction, thereby providing unfavorable conditions for bacterial growth. Therefore, occlusal trauma can be an essential indicator of the periodontal disease and, if not corrected, could lead to a relapse.