Leaching experiments were carried out on fresh ash samples from Popocatépetl 2012, Etna 2011, and Etna 2012 eruptions, in order to investigate the release of compounds in both double-deionized and ...lake (Lake Ohrid, FYR of Macedonia) waters. The experiments were carried out using different grain sizes and variable stirring times (from 30 min to 7 days). Results were discussed in the light of changing pH and release of compounds for the different leachates. In particular, Etna samples induced alkalinization, and Popocatépetl samples induced acidification of the corresponding leachates. The release of different elements does not show correlation with the stirring time, with the measured maximum concentrations reached in the first hours of washing. General inverse correlation with grain size was observed only for Na+, K+, Cl−, Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42−, and Mn2+, while the other analysed elements show a complex, scattering relationship with grain size. Geochemical modelling highlights leachates' saturation only for F and Si, with Popocatépetl samples sometimes showing saturation in Fe. The analysed leachates are classified as undrinkable for humans on the basis of European laws, due to excess in F−, Mn2+, Fe, and SO42− (the latter only for Popocatépetl samples). Finally, the Etna 2012 and Popocatépetl leachates were used for toxicity experiments on living biota (Xenopus laevis). They are mildly toxic, and no significant differences exist between the toxic profiles of the two leachates. In particular, no significant embryo mortality was observed; while even at high dilutions, the leachates produced more than 20 % of malformed larvae.
Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor family member, which potently inhibits RANKL-mediated osteoclastogenesis. Numerous constructs have been created for therapeutic ...purposes in which the heparin-binding and death homology domains of OPG were removed and the remaining peptide (amino acids 22-194) was fused to the Fc domain of human IgG1 (OPG-Fc). The administration of OPG-Fc efficiently counteracted bone loss in a variety of preclinical models of cancers. However, several in vitro studies have shown that native or recombinant full-length OPG not only neuralizes RANKL, but also the death-inducing ligand TRAIL, suggesting that OPG might potentially counteract the anti-tumor activity of TRAIL. Additional evidence suggests that full-length OPG possesses RANKL- and TRAIL-independent biological properties, mainly related to the promotion of endothelial cell survival and angiogenesis. Finally, breast tumor cells overexpressing OPG have shown increased bone metastatic potential in vivo. The relevance of these apparently conflicting findings in tumor cell biology is highlighted.
Fragmentation in Presence of Data Dependencies De Capitani di Vimercati, Sabrina; Foresti, Sara; Jajodia, Sushil ...
IEEE transactions on dependable and secure computing,
2014-Nov.-Dec., 2014-11-00, 20141101, Letnik:
11, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Fragmentation has been recently proposed as a promising approach to protect the confidentiality of sensitive associations whenever data need to undergo external release or storage. By splitting ...attributes among different fragments, fragmentation guarantees confidentiality of the associations among these attributes under the assumption that such associations cannot be reconstructed by re-combining the fragments. We note that the requirement that fragments do not have attributes in common, imposed by previous proposals, is only a necessary, but not sufficient, condition to ensure that information in different fragments cannot be recombined as dependencies may exist among data enabling some form of linkability. In this paper, we identify the problem of improper information leakage due to data dependencies, provide a formulation of the problem based on a natural graphical modeling, and present an approach to tackle it in an efficient and scalable way.
Sixty-two centres in 16 countries contributed with 2,694 open fractures cases to an international, multi-centric, retrospective cohort study involving different healthcare settings. The INTELLECT ...study results show that there are significant disparities on the management of open lower limb fractures internationally. A timely, multidisciplinary, guideline-directed care is a protective factor for developing infective complications, non-union and requiring an amputation.
Non-medullary thyroid carcinoma (NMTC) is mostly sporadic, but familial clustering is described. We aimed to compare the features of patients with sporadic and familial NMTC (FNMTC) patients and to ...assess whether FNMTC patients with parent-child relationship exhibit the 'anticipation' phenomenon (earlier age at disease onset and increased severity in successive generations). Among 300 NMTCs followed in the Section of Endocrinology (University of Siena, Italy), 34 (11.3%) patients, all with the papillary histotype, (16 kindred), met the criteria of FNMTC. Twenty-seven of them (79.4%) exhibited a parent-child relationship and seven (20.6%) a sibling relationship. These patients were compared with 235 patients with sporadic papillary thyroid cancer (PTCs). To analyze the features of FNMTC of the first and second generations, we cumulated the series of Siena with 32 additional FNMTC patients (15 kindred) from the Department of Endocrinology-Endocrine Oncology, Thessaloniki, Greece. Significant difference between sporadic PTC and FNMTC patients included more frequent tumor multifocality (P=0.001) and worse final outcome in FNMTC patients (P=0.001). Among 47 FNMTC with parent-child relationship, we found an earlier age at disease presentation (P<0.0001), diagnosis (P<0.0001), and disease onset (P=0.04) in the second generation when compared with the first generation. Patients in the second generation were more frequently males (P=0.02); their tumors were more frequently multifocal (P=0.003) and bilateral (P=0.01), had higher rate of lymph node metastases at surgery (P=0.02) and worse outcome (P=0.04) when compared with the first generation. In conclusion, FNMTC displays the features of clinical 'anticipation' with the second generation acquiring the disease at an earlier age and having more advanced disease at presentation.
Background
Osteosarcoma (OSA) should be differentiated from other less frequent primary bone neoplasms, metastatic disease, and tumor‐like lesions, as treatment and prognosis can vary accordingly. ...Hence, a preoperative histologic diagnosis is generally preferred. This requires collection of multiple biopsies under general anesthesia, with possible complications, including pathological fractures. Fine‐needle aspiration cytology would allow an earlier diagnosis with a significant reduction of discomfort and morbidity.
Hypothesis/Objectives
The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of cytological and histologic biopsies in the diagnosis of canine osteodestructive lesions.
Animals
Sixty‐eight dogs with bone lesions.
Methods
Retrospective study. Accuracy was assessed by comparing the former diagnosis with the final histologic diagnosis on surgical or post‐mortem samples or, in the case of non‐neoplastic lesions, with follow‐up information.
Results
The study included 50 primary malignant bone tumors (40 OSAs, 5 chondrosarcomas, 2 fibrosarcomas, and 3 poorly differentiated sarcomas), 6 carcinoma metastases, and 12 non‐neoplastic lesions. Accuracy was 83% for cytology (sensitivity, 83.3%; specificity, 80%) and 82.1% for histology (sensitivity, 72.2%; specificity, 100%). Tumor type was correctly identified cytologically and histologically in 50 and 55.5% of cases, respectively.
Conclusions and Clinical Importance
The accuracy of cytology was similar to histology, even in the determination of tumor type. In no case was a benign lesion diagnosed as malignant on cytology. This is the most important error to prevent, as treatment for malignant bone tumors includes aggressive surgery. Being a reliable diagnostic method, cytology should be further considered to aid decisions in the preoperative setting of canine bone lesions.
Recurrent Bell’s palsy (RBP) has been reported to range from 2.6 to 15.2% of primary Bell’s palsy (BP) and has been associated with systemic comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension. A ...retrospective analysis of patients affected by BP and RBP were performed to define the signs and symptoms associated with recurrence and the outcomes. Clinical and subjective characteristics of 341 patients affected by facial palsy were analysed. Facial function was assessed via House-Brackmann and Sunnybrook grading system. Characteristics of the palsy and systemic comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension, herpetic infections, autoimmunity disorders, audio-vestibular symptoms) were analysed in BP and RBP patients applying Fisher exact and the Mann-Whitney U tests, while time to recovery was explored with univariate and multivariate analysis. Twenty-four patients presented two or more episodes of facial palsy, representing a recurrence rate of 7%. Associated symptoms (e.g. retroauricular pain, taste disorder, dry eye etc.) were similar between BP and RBP patients. RBP occurred at older age than primary episode (p = 0.03). Recurrence was a risk factor for delayed recovery (p = 0.02), although final facial function was similar between the two groups. In conclusion, no significant differences were found between primary BP patients and RBP patients in terms of symptoms, palsy severity and presence of comorbidities. Delayed facial nerve function recovery in RBP did not affect the final outcome. Treatment of facial nerve recurrences must be the same of the primary episode, although the presence of prodromal symptoms may alert the patient and early corticosteroid treatment may be commenced even before the onset of paresis.
Glutamate decarboxylase (Gad) catalyzes glutamate to γ-aminobutyrate conversion. Plant Gad is a ∼340 kDa hexamer, involved in development and stress response, and regulated by pH and binding of Ca
...2+/calmodulin (CaM) to the C-terminal domain. We determined the crystal structure of
Arabidopsis thaliana Gad1 in its CaM-free state, obtained a low-resolution structure of the calmodulin-activated Gad complex by small-angle X-ray scattering and identified the crucial residues, in the C-terminal domain, for regulation by pH and CaM binding. CaM activates Gad1 in a unique way by relieving two C-terminal autoinhibition domains of adjacent active sites, forming a 393 kDa Gad1–CaM complex with an unusual 1:3 stoichiometry. The complex is loosely packed: thanks to the flexible linkers connecting the enzyme core with the six C-terminal regulatory domains, the CaM molecules retain considerable positional and orientational freedom with respect to Gad1. The complex thus represents a prototype for a novel CaM-target interaction mode. Thanks to its two levels of regulation, both targeting the C-terminal domain, Gad can respond flexibly to different kinds of cellular stress occurring at different pH values.
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