Plants react to O3 threat by setting up a variety of defensive strategies involving the co-ordinated modulation of stress perception, signalling and metabolic responses. Although stomata largely ...controls O3 uptake, differences in O3 tolerance cannot always be ascribed to changes in stomatal conductance but cell protective and repair processes should be taken into account. O3-driven ROS production in the apoplast induces a secondary, active, self-propagating generation of ROS, whose levels must be finely tuned, by many enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant systems, to induce gene activation without determining uncontrolled cell death. Additional signalling molecules, as ethylene, jasmonic and salicylic acid are also crucial to determine the spreading and the containment of leaf lesions. The main recent results obtained on O3 sensing, signal transduction, ROS formation and detoxification mechanisms are here discussed. A dissection of the complex network of interacting mechanisms which determine the cell fate under ozone stress.
•Decreased levels of most phenolics were detected in UV-B-treated fruit after 24 h.•Accumulation of phenolics was observed 36 h after UV-B irradiation.•Down-accumulation of carotenoids was detected ...regardless of UV-B dose.•Lipids decreased but their biosynthetic intermediates increased after UV-B exposure.•Pteridins increased and indole alkaloids decreased in 60 min UV-B-treated fruit.
The possibility to modify plant metabolic profile of plants and fruit to improve their healthy properties using eco-friendly tools, rather than transgenic approaches, gained interest in the last decades. Ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation, at low levels, thanks to its ability to influence plant secondary metabolism, could be successfully used to achieve this goal. However, few studies have been conducted so far on the effects of post-harvest UV-B treatments on fruit metabolomics. The present research, aimed to evaluate the impact of UV-B on peach metabolites profile through non-targeted metabolomics (UHPLC-ESI/QTOF-MS) coupled with multivariate chemometrics, provided evidence that 10 and 60 min of post-harvest UV-B irradiation influenced several classes of metabolites. Most phenolics were down-accumulated 24 h after both UV-B treatments, though, after 36 h, anthocyanins, flavones and dihydroflavonols increased (2.06−, 1.92−, 1.68-fold with 10 min UV-B; 6.65−, 2.53−, 2.05-fold with 60 min UV-B, respectively). UV-B reduced carotenoids and most lipids and increased some biosynthetic intermediates and degradation products, some of them known for their positive role in human health. Among alkaloids, some pteridines accumulated, likely derived from folates degradation, while indole alkaloids decreased. Despite the decrease of some bioprotective metabolites as carotenoids, the UV-B-induced up-accumulation of many antioxidant phenolics after 36 h from the exposure suggests an improvement of the healthy properties of peach fruit and reinforces the potential of UV-B controlled irradiation as a nutraceuticals-increasing tool in fruit.
Motor adaptations are responsible for recalibrating actions and facilitating the achievement of goals in a constantly changing environment. Once consolidated, the decay of motor adaptation is a ...process affected by available sensory information during deadaptation. However, the cortical response to task error feedback during the deadaptation phase has received little attention. Here, we explored changes in brain cortical responses due to feedback of task-related error during deadaptation. Twelve healthy volunteers were recruited for the study. Right hand movement and EEG were recorded during repetitive trials of a hand reaching movement. A visuomotor rotation of 30° was introduced to induce motor adaptation. Volunteers participated in two experimental sessions organized in baseline, adaptation, and deadaptation blocks. In the deadaptation block, the visuomotor rotation was removed, and visual feedback was only provided in one session. Performance was quantified using angle end-point error, averaged speed, and movement onset time. A non-parametric spatiotemporal cluster-level permutation test was used to analyze the EEG recordings. During deadaptation, participants experienced a greater error reduction when feedback of the cursor was provided. The EEG responses showed larger activity in the left centro-frontal parietal areas during the deadaptation block when participants received feedback, as opposed to when they did not receive feedback. Centrally distributed clusters were found for the adaptation and deadaptation blocks in the absence of visual feedback. The results suggest that visual feedback of the task-related error activates cortical areas related to performance monitoring, depending on the accessible sensory information.
Besides a similar clinical presentation, idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) and chronic migraine (CM) also share relevant risk factors, show a higher prevalence of allodynic symptoms and both ...respond to topiramate. Moreover, sinus stenosis, a radiological marker of IIH, in CM patients is much more prevalent than expected. As a consequence of these striking similarities, IIH without papilledema (IIHWOP) may be easily misdiagnosed as CM. Actually, IIHWOP has been found in up to 14 % of CM clinical series. Considering that, on one hand, an asymptomatic sinus stenosis-associated raised intracranial pressure (ICP) may be highly prevalent in the general population, and on the other, that IIH clinical presentation with chronic headache may require a migraine predisposition, we have proposed that an overlooked IIHWOP could represent a risk factor for migraine progression. This hypothesis prompted us to investigate the prevalence of IIHWOP and its possible role in the process of migraine chronification in a consecutive series of CM patients selected for unresponsiveness to medical treatment and evidence of significant sinus stenosis. The main finding of our study is that the large majority of such patients actually suffer from a chronic headache secondary to IIHWOP. This implies that an IIHWOP mimicking CM is much more prevalent than believed, is commonly misdiagnosed as CM on the basis of ICHD criteria and is strictly predicted by refractoriness to preventive treatments. However, our data fully comply with the alternative hypothesis that an overlooked IIHWOP, although highly prevalent amongst healthy individuals, in migraine-prone subjects is a powerful (and modifiable) risk factor for the progression and the refractoriness of pain. The normalization of ICP by even a single LP with CSF withdrawal may be effective in a significant proportion of patients with a long history of refractory chronic headache, who represent about one-fifth of the patients screened in our study. We suggest that IIHWOP should be considered in all patients with almost daily migraine pain, with evidence of sinus stenosis and unresponsive to medical treatment, referred to specialized headache clinics.
Introduction
Parastomal hernia (PSH) is the most common and challenging complication after stoma creation, with an estimated 50% incidence 2 years after the index surgery. Mesh repair is the ...treatment of choice. Laparoscopic and/or robotic approaches allow acceptable outcomes.
Materials and methods
A systematic literature review from January 2012 to November 2023 was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Embase, PubMed, and Scopus search were performed to select articles dealing with minimally invasive surgical treatment for PSH after end colostomy.
Results
603 studies were found, and 24 were chosen. When compared to open surgery, laparoscopy showed decreased postoperative complications and recurrence. The main laparoscopic approaches are the keyhole (KH), the Sugarbaker (SB), and the sandwich technique. Continuous improvement in surgery, mesh technology, and surgeons’ expertise led to an amelioration of surgical outcome and recurrence rate after repair. Recent studies showed comparable outcomes for SB and KH techniques, while novel surgical approaches have been proposed in an attempt to further increase the operative and long-term results. Reports on PSH robotic repairs are scarce and describe small series results, suggesting a role of the initial learning curve as a risk factor for complications.
Conclusion
End-colostomy PSH surgical repair still represents a challenge for surgeons. Recent evidence has not shown a significant advantage in postoperative complications and recurrence with a specific repair among SB, KH, and sandwich technique. The paucity of data on robotic surgery does not allow to draw definitive conclusion. Further primary, multicentric, and larger cohort studies are needed.
The QSkin Sun and Health Study comprises a cohort of 43 794 men and women aged 40-69 years randomly sampled from the population of Queensland, Australia in 2011. The cohort was established to study ...the development of skin cancer and melanoma in the population with the highest reported incidence of these diseases in the world. At baseline, besides demographic items and general medical history, information about standard pigmentary characteristics (including hair and eye colour, freckling tendency, tanning ability and propensity to sunburn), past and recent history of sun exposure and sunburns, sun protection behaviours, use of tanning beds and history of skin cancer was collected by self-completed questionnaire. Participants have given their consent for data linkage to the universal national health insurance scheme and for linkage to cancer registries and pathology databases, thus ensuring complete ascertainment of all future skin cancer and melanoma occurrences and medical treatments and other cancer events. Linkage to these registers will occur at predetermined intervals. Approval to access QSkin data can be obtained on application to the study investigators and submission of a formal research plan that has previous approval from the human research ethics committee of the applicant's institution.
The existence of a light dark force mediator has been tested with the KLOE detector at DAΦNE. This particle, called U, is searched for using the decay chain ϕ→ηU, η→π+π−π0, U→e+e−. No evidence is ...found in 1.5 fb−1 of data. The resulting exclusion plot covers the mass range 5<MU<470 MeV, setting an upper limit on the ratio between the U boson coupling constant and the fine structure constant, α′/α, of ⩽2×10−5 at 90% C.L. for 50<MU<420 MeV.
The existence of a new force beyond the Standard Model is compelling because it could explain several striking astrophysical observations which fail standard interpretations. We searched for the ...light vector mediator of this dark force, the U boson, with the KLOE detector at the DAΦNE e+e− collider. Using an integrated luminosity of 1.54 fb−1, we studied the process e+e−→Uγ, with U→e+e−, using radiative return to search for a resonant peak in the dielectron invariant-mass distribution. We did not find evidence for a signal, and set a 90% CL upper limit on the mixing strength between the Standard Model photon and the dark photon, ε2, at 10−6–10−4 in the 5–520 MeV/c2 mass range.