Identification of clinical-biological features of newly diagnosed early relapse multiple myeloma patients eligible for autologous stem cell transplantation.

A portion of multiple myeloma (MM) patients relapse early or do not respond to first line treatment. Identification of possible clinical and or biological features of these patients remains an unmet medical need. In this study we assesed the predictive markers for early relapse MM, defined as a progressive disease that occurred within 18 months, from autologoust stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in MM patients who did not have primary refractory disease.

Alien ants spreading through Europe: and in Italy.

The number of known alien ant species throughout Europe has been steadily increasing during the last few decades and Italy has been no exception, with four new taxa reported in the last five years. Here, we document new data on the Asian needle ant (Emery, 1895), an invasive alien species whose first establishment in Europe was detected in the southern Italian city of Naples in 2022 and which has now been found near Lake Como in northern Italy, representing the second European record, about 730 km distant from the first. Furthermore, we report for the first time the presence of (Nylander, 1846) in the country, based on specimens collected both in Rome and near Lake Como.

Acoustic features as a tool to visualize and explore marine soundscapes: Applications illustrated using marine mammal passive acoustic monitoring datasets.

Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) is emerging as a solution for monitoring species and environmental change over large spatial and temporal scales. However, drawing rigorous conclusions based on acoustic recordings is challenging, as there is no consensus over which approaches are best suited for characterizing marine acoustic environments. Here, we describe the application of multiple machine-learning techniques to the analysis of two PAM datasets.

Gonadal vein leiomyosarcoma, from clinical practice to a literature review: surgical, oncological and histopathologic correlation.

Background And Aim: Vascular leiomyosarcomas are rare and generally originate from the muscular wall of the inferior vena cava. Leiomyosarcomas originating from the wall of the gonadal veins are rare and just about ten cases are described in literature. In the present paper, we have described a case of a LMS originating from the left gonadal vein.

Changes in terms of risks/benefits of shifting diets towards healthier and more sustainable dietary models.

Food production and therefore human diet are identified as important sources of environmental impact. Unhealthy and unsustainable diets with high intake of meat and low intake of plant-based products are predominant worldwide. On the other hand, a balance between health and sustainability is necessary, since diets that are environmentally sustainable could lack essential macro- and micronutrients and result in nutrient deficiencies, non-communicable diseases and malnutrition.

I love you too much to keep social distance: Closeness in relationships and (dis)engagement in preventive behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although we are witnessing a new phase in the management of COVID-19, understanding what predicts adherence to preventive behaviors still remains crucial. In this study we focus on interpersonal relationships by specifically investigating whether engagement in preventive behaviors when in the presence of others may be a function of the type of relationship (in terms of closeness) one has with others. Because close others are often perceived similar to the self compared to strangers, we put forward that close relationships may inadvertently decrease COVID-19 risk perceptions which may ultimately decrease compliance with recommended behaviors when in their presence.

Conceptual density functional theory under pressure: Part I. XP-PCM method applied to atoms.

High pressure chemistry offers the chemical community a range of possibilities to control chemical reactivity, develop new materials and fine-tune chemical properties. Despite the large changes that extreme pressure brings to the table, the field has mainly been restricted to the effects of volume changes and thermodynamics with less attention devoted to electronic effects at the molecular scale. This paper combines the conceptual DFT framework for analyzing chemical reactivity with the XP-PCM method for simulating pressures in the GPa range.

Clinical Relevance of Ischemia with Nonobstructive Coronary Arteries According to Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction.

Background In the absence of obstructive coronary stenoses, abnormality of noninvasive stress tests (NIT) in patients with chronic coronary syndromes may indicate myocardial ischemia of nonobstructive coronary arteries (INOCA). The differential prognosis of INOCA according to the presence of coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) and incremental prognostic value of CMD with intracoronary physiologic assessment on top of NIT information remains unknown. Methods and Results From the international multicenter registry of intracoronary physiologic assessment (ILIAS [Inclusive Invasive Physiological Assessment in Angina Syndromes] registry, N=2322), stable patients with NIT and nonobstructive coronary stenoses with fractional flow reserve >0.

Clinical manifestations of a new alpha-1 antitrypsin genetic variant: .

Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is an autosomal, codominant disorder caused by mutations of the gene. Several mutations of have been described associated with the development of pulmonary emphysema and/or chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. Here, we report a very rare variant identified for the first time in an Italian family originally from the city of Parma in Northern Italy.

Gamma-induction in frontotemporal dementia (GIFTeD) randomized placebo-controlled trial: Rationale, noninvasive brain stimulation protocol, and study design.

Introduction: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a neurodegenerative disorder for which there is no effective pharmacological treatment. Recently, interneuron activity responsible for fast oscillatory brain activity has been found to be impaired in a mouse model of FTD with consequent cognitive and behavioral alterations. In this study, we aim to investigate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of a novel promising therapeutic intervention for FTD based on 40 Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), a form of non-invasive brain stimulation thought to engage neural activity in a frequency-specific manner and thus suited to restore altered brain oscillatory patterns.

Relating atomic energy, radius and electronegativity through compression.

Trends in atomic properties are well-established tools for guiding the analysis and discovery of materials. Here, we show how compression can reveal a long sought-after connection between two central chemical concepts - van-der-Waals (vdW) radii and electronegativity - and how these relate to the driving forces behind chemical and physical transformations.

Bouveret syndrome in a cholecystoduodenal fistula.

The treatment of Bouveret syndrome lacks specific guidelines and is strictly interdisciplinary. Especially, if electrohydraulic lithotripsy is not available and endoscopic removal fails, a timely surgical approach is advised.

Magnetically responsive polycaprolactone nanocarriers for application in the biomedical field: magnetic hyperthermia, magnetic resonance imaging, and magnetic drug delivery.

There are huge demands on multifunctional nanocarriers to be used in nanomedicine. Herein, we present a simple and efficient method for the preparation of multifunctional magnetically responsive polymeric-based nanocarriers optimized for biomedical applications. The hybrid delivery system is composed of drug-loaded polymer nanoparticles (poly(caprolactone), PCL) coated with a multilayer shell of polyglutamic acid (PGA) and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), which are known as bio-acceptable components.

Standard treatment-refractory cytomegalovirus encephalitis unmasked by immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome and successfully treated with virus-specific hyperimmune globulin.

Objectives: Cytomegalovirus (CMV)-related encephalitis is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication of CMV infection in immunocompromised patients. The high mortality rate is associated with deficient immune system reconstitution after hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) and poor bioavailability of antiviral drugs in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). CMV-related central nervous system (CNS) infection may occur with aspecific symptoms, without evidence of either blood viral load or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signs of encephalitis.

Predicting needlestick and sharps injuries in nursing students: Development of the SNNIP scale.

Aim: To develop an instrument to investigate knowledge and predictive factors of needlestick and sharps injuries (NSIs) in nursing students during clinical placements.

Design: Instrument development and cross-sectional study for psychometric testing.

Methods: A self-administered instrument including demographic data, injury epidemiology and predictive factors of NSIs was developed between October 2018-January 2019.

Proteomic analysis of reserve proteins in commercial rice cultivars.

Rice consumption is rising in western countries with the adoption of new nutritional styles, which require the avoidance of gluten. Nevertheless, there are reports of rice allergic reactions. Rice grains contain a low amount of proteins most of which are storage proteins represented by glutelins, prolamins, albumins, and globulins.

Severe acute respiratory failure due to a multifactorial diffuse alveolar haemorrhage.

Diffuse alveolar haemorrhage (DAH) is a life-threatening syndrome caused by infection, coagulation disorders or autoimmune diseases. We here report the case of an 81-year-old male subject affected by a multifactorial DAH, in which the bleeding was related to the administration of clopidogrel and warfarin, both implicated in the context of a polycythaemia. He developed a severe acute respiratory failure treated with a ventilatory support by means of a continuous positive airway pressure (C-PAP) therapy.

Bilateral tonsillar infiltration of T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia.

Tonsillar lymphoma usually presents as unilateral or bilateral infiltration of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. We report a case of a 79-year-old man with near-complete obstruction of the upper airways due to T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia cells. Surgical resection was safely performed to reduce burden of disease.

A pulmonary infection by and in an immunocompetent patient with dental caries.

Actinomycosis is a rare, chronic granulomatous infection, frequently associated with immunocompromised states, but it can also affect healthy people. Here, we report a case of a pulmonary infection by and due to a dental caries in an immunocompetent 65-year-old man patient.

Traditional plant functional groups explain variation in economic but not size-related traits across the tundra biome.

Aim: Plant functional groups are widely used in community ecology and earth system modelling to describe trait variation within and across plant communities. However, this approach rests on the assumption that functional groups explain a large proportion of trait variation among species. We test whether four commonly used plant functional groups represent variation in six ecologically important plant traits.

Pleuritis with pleural effusion due to a Bacillus megaterium infection.

Pleural effusions may be related to pleuro-pulmonary or systemic disorders, including malignancy. Thoracentesis and thoracoscopy may be useful to diagnosis. In some cases, the diagnosis may be difficult and uncommon.

Pulmonary hernia: Case report and review of the literature.

Pulmonary hernia (PH) is an uncommon condition. We report a case of PH secondary to thoracic surgical intervention. In addition to the rarity, the peculiarity of the case is given by the clinical course as it is characterized by a clinical latency before the onset.

Towards the co-ordination of terrestrial ecosystem protocols across European research infrastructures.

The study of ecosystem processes over multiple scales of space and time is often best achieved using comparable data from multiple sites. Yet, long-term ecological observatories have often developed their own data collection protocols. Here, we address this problem by proposing a set of ecological protocols suitable for widespread adoption by the ecological community.