Ricerc@Sapienza

Pros-IT CNR study provides a real-life report on changes in quality of life 6 mo after the diagnosis of prostate cancer

Raman spectroscopy is a non-destructive label-free technique providing biochemical tissue fingerprint. The objective of the present work was to test if Raman spectroscopy is a suitable tool to differentiate lymph nodes affected by different conditions, such as reactive follicular hyperplasia (benign), follicular lymphoma (low grade primary tumour), diffuse large B cell lymphoma (high grade primary tumour) and tumour metastasis (secondary tumours). Moreover, we tested its ability to discriminate follicular lymphomas by the tumour grade and the BCL2 protein expression.

Objectives: Workers in the mining industry in altitude are subjected to several risk factors, e.g., airborne silica and low barometric pressure. The aim of this study has been to assess the risks for this work category, evaluating single risk factors as airborne silica, altitude and work shift, and relating them with cardiovascular and ventilatory parameters. Material and Methods: Healthy miners employed in a mining company, Chile, working at varied altitudes, and subjected to unusual work shifts, were evaluated. Cardiovascular and respiratory parameters were investigated.

The biosynthesis of endogenous androgenic anabolic steroids (EAAS) in males varies with age. Knowledge of the general urinary EAAS profile's dependence from aging – not reported up to now – may represents a prerequisite for its exploitation in the screening and diagnostic support for several pathologies. Extended urinary EAAS profiles were obtained from healthy and pathological individuals, using a GC–MS method which was fully validated by a stepwise, analyst-independent scheme.

Neotropical cichlids include hundreds of species whose taxonomy has benefited of molecular phylogeny and whose karyotype evolution has been related to the amount and distribution of different classes of repetitive sequences. This study provides the first integrative molecular (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 and 16S sequences) and cytogenetic analyses of wild samples of the green terror Andinoacara rivulatus, a cichlid naturally distributed in Ecuador and spread throughout the world as an aquarium pet.

Meligethes (Odonthogethes) trapezithorax sp. n., M. (O.) tricuspidatus sp. n., and M. (O.) luteomaculatus sp. n. are described from Hubei Province, China, based on a series of recently collected specimens. The new species appear morphologically closely related to M. (O.) brassicogethoides Audisio, Sabatelli Jelínek, 2015 from Yunnan [M. (O.) trapezithorax sp. n.], M. (O.) occultus Audisio, Sabatelli Jelínek, 2015 from Yunnan [M. (O.) tricuspidatus sp. n.], as well as M. (O.) pallidoelytrorum Chen Kirejtshuk, 2013 from Sichuan and M.

Background and aims: Vascular disease (VD), as assessed by history of myocardial infarction or peripheral artery disease or aortic plaque, increases stroke risk in atrial fibrillation (AF), and is a component of risk assessment using the CHA2DS2-VASc score. We investigated if systemic atherosclerosis as detected by ultrasound carotid plaque (CP) could improve the predictive value of the CHA2DS2-VASC score. Methods: We analysed data from the ARAPACIS study, an observational study including 2027 Ialian patents with non-valvular AF, in whom CP was detected using Doppler Ultrasonography.

Excitotoxicity is known to modulate the nuclear accumulation, and thus activity state, of histone deacetylases (HDACs) in pyramidal neurons. In the retina, deregulation in activity and expression of different HDACs has been linked to pathological conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa, retinal ischemia, glaucoma, and acute optic nerve injury. Up to now, however, the effects of in vivo excitotoxicity on the different HDACs in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) have not been thoroughly investigated.

Fragile X-related disorders are due to a dynamic mutation of the CGG repeat at the 5′ UTR of the FMR1 gene, coding for the RNA-binding protein FMRP. As the CGG sequence expands from premutation (PM, 56-200 CGGs) to full mutation (> 200 CGGs), FMRP synthesis decreases until it is practically abolished in fragile X syndrome (FXS) patients, mainly due to FMR1 methylation. Cells from rare individuals with no intellectual disability and carriers of an unmethylated full mutation (UFM) produce slightly elevated levels of FMR1-mRNA and relatively low levels of FMRP, like in PM carriers.

Background Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a disorder affecting the respiratory, digestive, reproductive systems and sweat glands. This lethal hereditary disease has known or suspected links to the dysbiosis gut microbiota. High-throughput meta-omics-based approaches may assist in unveiling this complex network of symbiosis modifications. Objectives The aim of this study was to provide a predictive and functional model of the gut microbiota enterophenotype of pediatric patients affected by CF under clinical stability.