Depletion of CD56+CD3+ invariant natural killer T cells prevents allergen-induced inflammation in humanized mice

2021

Background CD56-expressing natural killer (NK) cells as well as invariant NK T (iNKT) cells have been shown to either promote or inhibit allergic immune responses. Objective The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of these cells in a recently developed humanized mouse model of allergen-induced IgE-dependent gut and lung inflammation. Methods Nonobese diabetic–severe combined immunodeficiency γ-chain knockout mice were injected intraperitoneally with human PBMCs or CD56-depleted (CD56neg) PBMCs from highly sensitized donors with birch or grass pollen allergy together with the respective allergen or with NaCl as a control. Three weeks later, the mice were challenged with th…

Effects of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on Family Functioning

2021

More than a year and a half after the first clinical manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were reported in Wuhan, China,1 , 2 the magnitude of the pandemic across the globe and its related clinical and social effects3 remain unclear.4 The pandemic has affected lives and sparked concerns about everything from health to job security. In high–Gross Domestic Product (GDP) countries, despite trillions in coronavirus aid released by governments, many families still struggle to pay for basic necessities like food and rent, and these difficulties worsened during the pandemic.5 , 6 The general social uncertainty caused by the pandemic seems to have also affected family resilience, w…

First measurements of N-subjettiness in central Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV

2021

The ALICE Collaboration reports the first fully-corrected measurements of the N-subjettiness observable for track-based jets in heavy-ion collisions. This study is performed using data recorded in pp and Pb-Pb collisions at centre-of-mass energies of √s = 7 TeV and √sNN = 2.76 TeV, respectively. In particular the ratio of 2-subjettiness to 1-subjettiness, τ2/τ1, which is sensitive to the rate of two-pronged jet substructure, is presented. Energy loss of jets traversing the strongly interacting medium in heavy-ion collisions is expected to change the rate of two-pronged substructure relative to vacuum. The results are presented for jets with a resolution parameter of R = 0.4 and charged jet …

Development and Validation of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROM) and Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREM) in Home Respiratory Therapies:…

2021

Introduction: Home respiratory therapies (HRT) are treatments aimed at diseases that are generally chronic and that have a significant impact on the biopsychosocial aspects of patients’ lives. No validated patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) and patient-reported experience measures (PREM) are available to assess the impact of these treatments on quality of life (QoL) in HRT. The objective of this work was to identify and validate PROMs and PREMs in HRT. Methods: The process was divided into 5 stages: review of the literature, patient interviews, qualitative validation workshops, cognitive validation, and psychometric validation. For the identification of PROM and PREM, consensus techni…

Plaster ventilated façade system for renovating modern and ancient buildings. A CFD analysis

2021

In the past decades several researches have been related to energy saving and emissions reduction. The technologies that exploit passive natural ventilation, like ventilated roofs and fa ades, have been recognized as the effective methods to provide energy saving and comfort. Ventilated fa ades represent dry assembled coating systems for buildings, traditionally made of panels in different materials. Very few ventilated fa ade systems with plaster finishes are already present on the building market. The potentiality of their design solution can be considered, e.g., when an historic building has to be recovered, since they can enhance the energy efficiency of building without changing its ap…

Ecological Analysis of the Helminth Community of Microtus lusitanicus (Gerbe, 1879) (Rodentia) in Asturias (NW Spain)

2021

Simple Summary The Lusitanian pine vole is an endemic rodent of the Iberian Peninsula, which has a burrowing behaviour and prefers to live underground. It feeds on bark and roots causing severe damage to trees. In Asturias (NW Spain), this species is considered a pest causing economic losses in apple orchards, damaging the tree, and sometimes even causing its death. With the aim to shed light on the helminth community of this rodent pest species and to elucidate which intrinsic and extrinsic factors affect its helminth species, a faunistic-ecological study was carried out. For this purpose, our own collection of 710 voles from several orchards of various locations in Asturias was used. The …

Enfermedad periodontal y diabetes mellitus gestacional: estudio caso-control

2021

Antecedentes Los estudios que relacionan la enfermedad periodontal (EP) y la diabetes mellitus gestacional (DMG) no son concordantes. Nuestro objetivo principal es evaluar la posible asociación entre la EP y la DMG. Además, analizamos los factores de riesgo para la DMG en nuestra muestra. Métodos Participaron 180 gestantes, 90 con DMG y 90 controles, del Hospital La Fe de Valencia. Se pasó un cuestionario y realizo un examen periodontal, valorándose los siguientes parámetros: número de dientes, índices de placa y sangrado al sondaje, profundidad de sondaje (PS) y nivel de inserción de clínica (NIC). La periodontitis se definió según criterios de la CDC-AAP. Resultados Las DMG tuvieron mayor…

Influence of Temperature on Characteristics of Particulate Matter and Ecological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals during Sewage Sludge Pyrolysis

2021

The formation process of Particulate Matter (PM) during sludge pyrolysis at different temperatures (300–700 °C) and the ecological risks of heavy metals were studied. The results showed that the particulate matter is mainly condensed on the quartz film in a carbon-based organic matter when the pyrolysis temperature was between 200–500 °C in a volatilization process. Inorganic particles was found in the particulate matter when the temperature was raised to 500–700 °C in a decomposition stage. Heavy metals were enriched in particulate matter with increase in pyrolysis temperature. When the temperature reached 700 °C, the concentration of Pb and Cd in the particulate matter significantly incre…

Comunicare la pandemia tra relazioni sociali, norme e vita familiare: un'analisi quali-quantitativa degli articoli Ansa durante il lockdown

2021

This paper presents the results of a double computer-assisted analysis of selected Ansa news agency texts during the domestic quarantine period (lockdown: 10 March 2020 - May 18 2020). More specifically, the research focuses on lexicon, concepts and interpretative sequences in the construction of three media metaphors: 1) “war-like and post-apocalyptic” (CBPA); 2) “segregationist and normative” (SN), 3) “reactive and participatory” (RP). Some aspects of the new social and family relations in the Covid Age thus emerge - also on the basis of the concept of ‘interactional anomie’.

Aberrant Subnetwork and Hub Dysconnectivity in Adult Bipolar Disorder: A Multicenter Graph Theory Analysis

2021

Abstract Neuroimaging evidence implicates structural network-level abnormalities in bipolar disorder (BD); however, there remain conflicting results in the current literature hampered by sample size limitations and clinical heterogeneity. Here, we set out to perform a multisite graph theory analysis to assess the extent of neuroanatomical dysconnectivity in a large representative study of individuals with BD. This cross-sectional multicenter international study assessed structural and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging data obtained from 109 subjects with BD type 1 and 103 psychiatrically healthy volunteers. Whole-brain metrics, permutation-based statistics, and connectivity of h…

Inflammatory Cytokine IFNγ, IL-6, and IL-10 Association with Childhood Obesity

2021

Abstract Childhood obesity carries a high risk of serious life-threatening cardiometabolic diseases in adulthood, which are associated with low-grade inflammation. The aim of the present study was to measure serum cytokine concentrations in obese children recruited during endocrinology consultations and compared to lean control the results. Blood serum concentrations of interferon gamma (IFNγ), IL-1β, Interleukin 6 IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α were analysed applying Luminex xMap technology with Millipore reagent kits. Statistical analyses were performed using t-test comparisons and Spearman correlations. Obese children had highly significant increased levels of circulating IFNγ (p < 0.0001), I…

Adecuación del uso de los servicios médicos de urgencias por parte del paciente adolescente

2021

Objetivo: Comparar la adecuación de las consultas a urgencias del paciente adolescente que está siendo atendido por el pediatra (12 a 14 años) y los que ya no lo están (15 a 18 años). Métodos: Estudio transversal con pacientes en edades entre 12 y 18 años que acudieron al Servicio de Urgencias del Hospital La Salud de Valencia durante el 2018. Los criterios de adecuación se basaron en el Protocolo de Adecuación de Urgencias Hospitalarias. Las variables de adecuación se describieron mediante frecuencias y como método de comparación se utilizó el test exacto de Fisher y la razón de momios. En todos los casos los contrastes de hipótesis fueron bilaterales, con un nivel de confianza de 95 % y l…

Bio-based Materials. Standardizzazione e processi per la commercializzazione

2021

Il contributo si occupa degli aspetti normativi nel campo della produzione e uso di una malta con componenti organici derivanti dal riciclo di scarti agricoli e silvo-pastorali. Viene prestata attenzione alla normativa internazionale più diffusa e nota, a quella europea e a quella italiana. La riduzione del consumo di suolo e di risorse lapidee, degli scarti, la limitazione dell’utilizzo di materiali di cava naturali sono solo alcuni benefici che hanno indotto la comunità scientifica a investire nell’uso di materie prime-seconde di origine vegetale, ecosostenibili; oggi, lo stato dell’arte è molto ricco. Tuttavia, non ci sono ancora normative tecniche e procedurali relative ai materiali che…

Compréhension de scènes urbaines basées sur la polarisation

2021

Humans possess an innate ability to interpret scenes under any condition. Computer Vision tends to mimic these capabilities by implementing intelligent algorithms to address complex understanding problems. In this regard, we are interested in understanding outdoor urban scenes in various weather conditions. This thesis specifically addresses the problems arising from the presence of specularity in the scenes. To this end, we aim to take advantage of polarization indices to define such surfaces in addition to traditional objects. In terms of understanding, we aim to introduce polarization to the fields of computer vision and deep learning.This thesis focuses on the following underlying challeng…

246 Survival of elderly patients with endometrial cancer – predicted by preoperative G-8 geriatric screening tool

2021

Introduction/Background* We evaluated the prognostic impact of various global health assessment tools in accordance to conventional prognostic factors in patients with endometrial cancer (EC) older than 60 years. Methodology G-8 geriatric screening tool (G-8 geriatric score), Lee Schonberg prognostic index (Lee-Index), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA-PS) – Physical Status System were retrospectively determined in a consecutive cohort of elderly patients with EC. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses and Kaplan-Meier method were performed to determine the impact of the global health assessment tools on progression free survival (P…

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on music: a method for clustering sentiments

2021

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was highly stressful for people. In general, fear and anxiety about a disease can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. One way to cope with this stress consists in listening to music. Aim of this work is to understand if the music heard during the lock-down reflects the emotions generated by the pandemic on each of us. So, the primary goal of this work is to build two indices for measuring the anger and joy levels of the top streamed songs by Italian Spotify users (during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic), and study their evolution over time. A Hierarchical Cluster Analysis has been applied in order to identify groups o…

Qu’est-ce que la sociabilité ?

2021

International audience

CLAYS IN COSMETICS AND PERSONAL-CARE PRODUCTS

2021

Clays are used in various cosmetic formulations, such as sunscreens, toothpastes, deodorants, creams, hair cosmetics, makeups, nail polish, facial masks, and shampoos, among others, to improve the organoleptic and physicochemical characteristics, to increase the stability, or to facilitate elaboration. Together with their technological functionalities, clays are cosmetologically active ingredients with cleaning, anti-aging, anti-wrinkling, and sun-care functionalities. Talc, kaolinite, mica, and some smectites are the clay minerals used most frequently in cosmetic products, but several other phyllosilicates as well as modified and synthetic clays are also used. Sometimes, clays are useful i…

The emerging role of miRNA-132/212 cluster in neurologic and cardiovascular diseases: Neuroprotective role in cells with prolonged longevity

2021

Abstract miRNA-132/212 are small regulators of gene expression with a function that fulfills a vital function in diverse biological processes including neuroprotection of cells with prolonged longevity in neurons and the cardiovascular system. In neurons, miRNA-132 appears to be essential for controlling differentiation, development, and neural functioning. Indeed, it also universally promotes axon evolution, nervous migration, plasticity as well, it is suggested to be neuroprotective against neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, miRNA-132/212 disorder leads to neural developmental perturbation, and the development of degenerative disorders covering Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and epilepsy’s …

Everyone Loves Live Music: A Theory of Performance Institutions

2021

Low-level environmental metal pollution is associated with altered gut microbiota of a wild rodent, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus)

2021

Mining and related industries are a major source of metal pollution. In contrast to the well-studied effects of exposure to metals on animal physiology and health, the impacts of environmental metal pollution on the gut microbiota of wild animals are virtually unknown. As the gut microbiota is a key component of host health, it is important to understand whether metal pollution can alter wild animal gut microbiota composition. Using a combination of 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and quantification of metal levels in kidneys, we assessed whether multi-metal exposure (the sum of normalized levels of fifteen metals) was associated with changes in gut microbiota of wild bank voles (Myodes glareo…

Academic Achievement and Delay: A Study with Italian Post-Graduate Students in Psychology

2021

Premessa all'edizione italiana

2021

Si tratta di traduzione della Premessa all'edizione italiana del volume di Claude Calame, L'uomo e il suo ambiente. Al di là dell'opposizione natura/cultura

La sophrosyne dei Greci. Due saggi di L. Gernet a confronto : « La préhistoire d’une vertu morale : la “tempérance” chez les Grecs » (in Les Grecs sa…

2021

Il contributo propone la rilettura dei seguenti due saggi dello studioso francese Louis Gernet sul tema della sophrosyne: « La préhistoire d’une vertu morale : la “tempérance” chez les Grecs » (in Les Grecs sans miracle, a cura di R. Di Donato, Parigi, 1983, 48-57) e « Thucydide et l’histoire » (in Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales, 20/3 [1965], 570-575. The paper proposes a re-reading of the following two essays by the French scholar Louis Gernet on the theme of sophrosyne: "La préhistoire d'une vertu morale : la "tempérance" chez les Grecs" (in Les Grecs sans miracle, edited by R. Di Donato, Paris, 1983, 48-57) and "Thucydides et l'histoire" (Annales et l'histoire) and "Thucydides et l…

The Lightfield Microscope Eyepiece

2021

Lightfield microscopy has raised growing interest in the last few years. Its ability to get three-dimensional information about the sample in a single shot makes it suitable for many applications in which time resolution is fundamental. In this paper we present a novel device, which is capable of converting any conventional microscope into a lightfield microscope. Based on the Fourier integral microscope concept, we designed the lightfield microscope eyepiece. This is coupled to the eyepiece port, to let the user exploit all the host microscope’s components (objective turret, illumination systems, translation stage, etc.) and get a 3D reconstruction of the sample. After the optical design, …

Protein Cargo of Salivary Small Extracellular Vesicles as Potential Functional Signature of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

2021

The early diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is still an investigative challenge. Saliva has been proposed as an ideal diagnostic medium for biomarker detection by mean of liquid biopsy technique. The aim of this pilot study was to apply proteomic and bioinformatic strategies to determine the potential use of saliva small extracellular vesicles (S/SEVs) as a potential tumor biomarker source. Among the twenty-three enrolled patients, 5 were free from diseases (OSCC_FREE), 6 were with OSCC without lymph node metastasis (OSCC_NLNM), and 12 were with OSCC and lymph node metastasis (OSCC_LNM). The S/SEVs from patients of each group were pooled and properly characterized before perf…

L’educatore socio-pedagogico nei contesti scolastici per un agire inclusivo

2021

This work aims to reflect on the figure of the social educator, starting from the idea that over time has laboriously matured at a cultural level. In this context, the contribution aims to trace the specific professional, theoretical and practical, of the social educator and the pedagogist and the transversal skills necessary for the design of an inclusive educational action, especially in secondary schools. The DL 65/2017 highlights the importance of specific professional skills, essential to qualify with scientific foundation educational interventions in the different areas of services to the person, in all stages of his life

Experimental and CFD evaluation of ozone efficacy against coronavirus and enteric virus contamination on public transport surfaces

2021

The limited information about the routes of the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within the ongoing pandemic scenario mobilized the administration, industry and academy to develop sanitation and disinfection systems for public and private spaces. Ozone has been proposed as an effective disinfection method against enveloped and non-enveloped viruses, including viruses with similar morphology to SARS-CoV-2. Due to this efficacy, numerous gaseous and aqueous phase ozone applications have emerged potentially to inhibit virus persistence in aerosols, surfaces, and water. In this work, a numerical model, a RANS CFD model for ozone dispersion inside tram and underground coach has been developed includin…

Influence of Socio-Demographic Factors in the Promotion of Social Entrepreneurship: A Service-Learning Programme

2021

Social entrepreneurship (SE) is often presented in the literature as the key to solve many of this world’s persistent social problems. SE offers a special opportunity to address the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to boost the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This research examines the effects of Service Learning (SL) on the SE of university students and to examine whether certain sociodemographic factors (i.e., age, entrance studies, family studies, social participation, and employment situation) are associated with students’ SE competence development when applying SL. Pre-service teachers (n = 98) of the degree in early childhood education applied a physical education SL …

Thiourea Organocatalysts as Emerging Chiral Pollutants: En Route to Porphyrin-Based (Chir)Optical Sensing

2021

Environmental pollution with chiral organic compounds is an emerging problem requiring innovative sensing methods. Amino-functionalized thioureas, such as 2-(dimethylamino)cyclohexyl-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)thiourea (Takemoto’s catalyst), are widely used organocatalysts with virtually unknown environmental safety data. Ecotoxicity studies based on the Vibrio fischeri luminescence inhibition test reveal significant toxicity of Takemoto’s catalyst (EC50 = 7.9 mg/L) and its NH2-substituted analog (EC50 = 7.2–7.4 mg/L). The observed toxic effect was pronounced by the influence of the trifluoromethyl moiety. En route to the porphyrin-based chemosensing of Takemoto-type thioureas, their s…

Pediatric haedaches epidemiology in emergency department during COVID-19

2021

Background and aims Recent studies have showed that in emergency department (ED) pediatric admissions for headache are increasing in the last years. However Covid-19 pandemic may have changed the use of health services for several reasons. Aim of this study is to analyze the rates of admission for pediatric headaches in ED before and during Covid19 Pandemic. Methods we have collected retrospectively the records of children (range of age 5–14) admitted on ED in 2012, 2019 and 2020. We selected the records including Headache and Headache associated to other symptoms (vomit, fever, dizziness, etc.), collecting further the use of computed tomography (CT) and neurological consultation. Results I…

Human Drug Pollution in the Aquatic System: The Biochemical Responses of Danio rerio Adults

2021

Simple Summary The release of medicinal products for human use in the aquatic environment is now a serious problem, and can be fatal for the organisms that live there. Danio rerio is a freshwater fish that provides the possibility to study the effects of these pollutants on the health of aquatic organisms. The results of the various existing scientific studies are scarce and conflicting. Here, we review the scientific studies that have analyzed these effects, highlighting that the impacts of drugs are evident in the biochemical responses of these animals. Abstract To date, drug pollution in aquatic systems is an urgent issue, and Danio rerio is a model organism to study the toxicological ef…

Upper Secondary School and University Level Students’ Perceptions of Extractions in Context: Experiences from a Simple Laboratory Experiment

2021

We discuss the pedagogical challenges associated with the current way of introducing extraction in upper secondary school chemistry education. These challenges were identified based on a survey of upper secondary school textbooks and verified through a questionnaire study. To address the identified challenges, we introduce a simple and effective extraction experiment which focuses on building a deeper conceptual understanding of extraction processes. The operationally simple extraction experiment and the accompanying questionnaire revealed that while students have several chemical misconceptions arising from the use of superficial everyday examples, they have all the necessary knowledge for…

Expression of the Sonic Hedgehog Embryonic Signalling Pathway Components in Matched Pre-Treatment and Relapsed Small Cell Lung Cancer Biopsies

2021

Abstract Cancer stem cells may be responsible for tumour regrowth and acquisition of resistance in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The Hedgehog pathway regulates survival and proliferation of tissue progenitor and stem cell populations, promoting the expression of stem cell related and proliferative genes. We evaluated the Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) embryonic signalling pathway in relapsed SCLC. Expression levels of Shh related genes GLI1, SMO, SUFU, PTCH1, HHIP, BCL2, BMI, ZEB1, ZEB2, N-MYC, Twist1 were analysed by qRT-PCR in matched pre-treatment and relapsed tumour fresh frozen biopsies of three SCLC patients. Expression of each gene was compared using the paired samples t-test, as well as comp…

L'uomo e il suo ambiente. Al di là dell'opposizione natura/cultura

2021

Il saggio rappresenta la prosecuzione delle ultime ricerche di Claude Calame, grecista di fama mondiale: dopo il Prometeo genetista (Sellerio, Palermo 2016, ed. or. Paris 2011), adesso lo studioso svizzero propone una riflessione sui rapporti tra l’essere umano e il suo ambiente, maturata sulla base del serrato confronto tra l’idea originaria, greca, di physis e la nozione di ‘natura’ per come essa si è sviluppata a partire dal pensiero illuministico e deterministico. Dei cinque capitoli in cui il saggio è complessivamente strutturato, il primo (dal titolo En Grèce ancienne : l’homme et son milieu) ricostruisce con accuratezza storico-filologica e acume critico il concetto greco di physis, …

Effects of natural extracts in the treatment of oral ulcers: A systematic review of evidence from experimental studies in animals

2021

Background To evaluate the clinical and histopathological effects of natural extracts in the treatment of oral ulcers induced in animal experimental models. Material and methods We carried out a search in the Medline, Scopus, WoS and Embase databases from the start of the databases to December 2020, and also made a manual search of the references. The search and selection were carried out by two researchers independently. The inclusion criteria were: experimental studies in animal models, in english, which complied with the study object. Results A total of 705 articles were identified. After selection by title, abstract and full text, 19 articles were finally included. Natural extracts of J…