Obituary of Prof. Eligio Pizzigallo Leone, Giuseppe
Mediterranean journal of hematology and infectious diseases,
01/2022, Letnik:
14, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Dendritic cells (DCs) include a heterogeneous family of professional APCs involved in initiation of immunity and in immunologic tolerance. Specifically, peripheral tolerance can be achieved and ...maintained by promoting regulatory T-cell (Treg) responses and/or T-cell anergy or deletion. Until recently, immature developmental stages of DC differentiation were believed to induce T-cell anergy or Treg cells, whereas DCs transformed into mature DCs by activation stimuli were thought to represent immunogenic DCs capable of inciting primary T-cell responses. This paradigm has been challenged by the demonstration of Treg-cell expansion by antigen-bearing, fully mature DCs. Similarly, semimature DCs with a distinctive interleukin 10 (IL-10)+IL-12- cytokine production profile might be endowed with tolerogenic functions, supporting the concept that DC maturation per se should no longer be considered as a distinguishing feature of immunogenic as opposed to tolerogenic DCs (TDCs). Cytokine-modulated TDCs reflect an incomplete or altered status of monocyte differentiation and promote in vitro induction of Treg cells and/or in vivo protection from autoimmune diseases. Several growth factors, including IL-10, transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), modulate DC maturation and favor the differentiation of TDCs. From a therapeutic standpoint, cytokine-modulated TDCs might be beneficial for prevention and/or treatment of posttransplantation graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and autoimmunity.
Background
Flow-diverter devices (FDDs) are new-generation stents placed in the parent artery at the level of the aneurysm neck to disrupt the intra-aneurysmal flow thus favoring intra-aneurysmal ...thrombosis.
Objective
The objective of this review article is to define the indication and results of the treatment of intracranial aneurysms by FDD, reviewing 18 studies of endovascular treatment by FDDs for a total of 1704 aneurysms in 1483 patients.
Methods
The medical literature on FDDs for intracranial aneurysms was reviewed from 2009 to December 2014. The keywords used were: “intracranial aneurysms,” “brain aneurysms,” “flow diverter,” “pipeline embolization device,” “silk flow diverter,” “surpass flow diverter” and “FRED flow diverter.”
Results
The use of these stents is advisable mainly for unruptured aneurysms, particularly those located at the internal carotid artery or vertebral and basilar arteries, for fusiform and dissecting aneurysms and for saccular aneurysms with large necks and low dome-to-neck ratio. The rate of aneurysm occlusion progressively increases during follow-up (81.5% overall rate in this review). The non-negligible rate of ischemic (mean 4.1%) and hemorrhagic (mean 2.9%) complications, the neurological morbidity (mean 3.5%) and the reported mortality (mean 3.4%) are the main limits of this technique.
Conclusion
Treatment with FDDs is a feasible and effective technique for unruptured aneurysms with complex anatomy (fusiform, dissecting, large neck, bifurcation with side branches) where coiling and clipping are difficult or impossible. Patient selection is very important to avoid complications and reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality. Further studies with longer follow-up are necessary to define the rate of complete occlusion.
Abstract
Flow diverter devices have gained wide acceptance for the treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms. Most studies are based on the treatment of large aneurysms harboring on the carotid ...syphon. However, during the last years the “off-label” use of these stents has widely grown up even if not supported by randomized studies. This review examines the relevant literature concerning “off-label” indications for flow diverter devices, such as for distal aneurysms, bifurcation aneurysms, small aneurysms, recurrent aneurysms, and direct carotid cavernous fistulas.
Polyolefins have dominated materials technology over the last century and remain among the most used materials, despite environmental problems have emerged and their public perception deteriorated. ...Polyolefin thermoplastic elastomers (P-TPEs) are a particular class of polyolefins: they can be easily molded and extruded like thermoplastics, featuring at the same time elastic properties. P-TPE advantages over thermoset rubbers are their mechanical flexibility, lightweight, easy processability, and recyclability, fulfilling the requirements for a sustainable circular economy of the next plastic generation. This review describes the recent developments based on a historical account and summarize major breakthroughs with the focus on P-TPEs obtained from olefin insertion and metathesis (co)polymerization catalyzed by molecular transition metal complexes. A survey on blocky, branched and grafted polyolefin microstructures accessible is presented and illustrated with manifold examples. The achievements reported in the field pave the way toward the synthesis of smart materials, such as shape memory, self-healing and polar functionalized P-TPEs that store temporary shapes and integrate molecular level functionality. These advanced materials may find application in multilayer processing technologies for innovative food packaging and coatings, commonly requiring the polymer to have multiple functions, and special applications such as long-term biomedical equipment and tissue engineering, 3D printing, flexible electronic energy storage, separation membranes, photonic band gap materials, and forth on. Issues of olefin polymerization catalysis, future challenges and opportunities for recyclable high performance and lasting P-TPEs are addressed.
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Smart cities are demanding solutions for improved traffic efficiency, in order to guarantee optimal access to mobility resources available in urban areas. Intelligent video analytics deployed ...directly on board embedded sensors offers great opportunities to gather highly informative data about traffic and transport, allowing reconstruction of a real-time neat picture of urban mobility patterns. In this paper, we present a visual sensor network in which each node embeds computer vision logics for analyzing in real time urban traffic. The nodes in the network share their perceptions and build a global and comprehensive interpretation of the analyzed scenes in a cooperative and adaptive fashion. This is possible thanks to an especially designed Internet of Things (IoT) compliant middleware which encompasses in-network event composition as well as full support of Machine-2-Machine (M2M) communication mechanism. The potential of the proposed cooperative visual sensor network is shown with two sample applications in urban mobility connected to the estimation of vehicular flows and parking management. Besides providing detailed results of each key component of the proposed solution, the validity of the approach is demonstrated by extensive field tests that proved the suitability of the system in providing a scalable, adaptable and extensible data collection layer for managing and understanding mobility in smart cities.
DNA methylation was first described almost a century ago; however, the rules governing its establishment and maintenance remain elusive. Here we present data demonstrating that active transcription ...regulates levels of genomic methylation. We identify a novel RNA arising from the CEBPA gene locus that is critical in regulating the local DNA methylation profile. This RNA binds to DNMT1 and prevents CEBPA gene locus methylation. Deep sequencing of transcripts associated with DNMT1 combined with genome-scale methylation and expression profiling extend the generality of this finding to numerous gene loci. Collectively, these results delineate the nature of DNMT1-RNA interactions and suggest strategies for gene-selective demethylation of therapeutic targets in human diseases.
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a disorder of the monoclonal plasma cells and is the second most common hematologic malignancy. MM initiation and progression are dependent upon complex genomic ...abnormalities. The current pathogenic model of MM includes two types of primary events, represented by chromosome translocations or chromosome number alterations resulting in hyperdiploidy. These primary molecular events are observed both in MM and in monoclonal gammopathy, its premalignant precursor. Subsequent genetic events allow the progression of monoclonal gammopathy to MM and, together with primary events, contribute to the genetic complexity and heterogeneity of MM. Newer therapies have considerably improved patient outcomes; however, MM remains an incurable disease and most patients experience multiple relapses. The dramatic progresses achieved in the analysis of the heterogeneous molecular features of different MM patients allowed a comprehensive molecular classification of MM and the definition of an individualized prognostic model to predict an individual MM patient's response to different therapeutic options. Despite these progresses, prognostic models fail to identify a significant proportion of patients destined to early relapse. Treatment strategies are increasingly. Based on disease biology, trials are enriched for high-risk MMs, whose careful definition and categorization requires DNA sequencing studies.Multiple myeloma (MM) is a disorder of the monoclonal plasma cells and is the second most common hematologic malignancy. MM initiation and progression are dependent upon complex genomic abnormalities. The current pathogenic model of MM includes two types of primary events, represented by chromosome translocations or chromosome number alterations resulting in hyperdiploidy. These primary molecular events are observed both in MM and in monoclonal gammopathy, its premalignant precursor. Subsequent genetic events allow the progression of monoclonal gammopathy to MM and, together with primary events, contribute to the genetic complexity and heterogeneity of MM. Newer therapies have considerably improved patient outcomes; however, MM remains an incurable disease and most patients experience multiple relapses. The dramatic progresses achieved in the analysis of the heterogeneous molecular features of different MM patients allowed a comprehensive molecular classification of MM and the definition of an individualized prognostic model to predict an individual MM patient's response to different therapeutic options. Despite these progresses, prognostic models fail to identify a significant proportion of patients destined to early relapse. Treatment strategies are increasingly. Based on disease biology, trials are enriched for high-risk MMs, whose careful definition and categorization requires DNA sequencing studies.
Dichloro(2,2'-bipyridine)copper was synthesized by reacting copper dichloride with bypyridine, and its behavior, in combination with methylaluminoxane (MAO), in the polymerization of butadiene, ...isoprene, 2,3-dimethyl-1,3 butadiene, and 3-methyl-1,3-pentadiene was examined. The purpose of this study is to find catalytic systems that are more sustainable than those currently used for the polymerization of butadiene and isoprene (e.g., Co and Ni), but that are comparable in terms of catalytic activity and selectivity. Predominantly, syndiotactic 1,2 polybutadiene, crystalline syndiotactic 3,4 polyisoprene, crystalline syndiotactic 1,2 poly(3-methyl-1,3-pentadiene), and crystalline
-1,4 poly(2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene) were obtained in a manner similar to that observed with the analogous iron complex. As far as we know, the investigated catalytic system represents the first example of a copper-based catalyst in the field of stereospecific polymerization. Given the great availability of copper, its extremely low toxicity (and therefore high sustainability), and the similarity of its behavior to that of iron, the result obtained seems to us of considerable interest and worthy of further investigation.
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