The Effects of Social Integration on Stress and Risk of Depression in College Students

This study looks at how college students’ levels of social integration in the campus community affects their feelings of stress and depression. The sample of undergraduate students (N = 378) completed a survey designed to measure various social aspects of college life. Four questions which demonstrated a relationship between social integration and depression were specifically used to obtain data for this study. However, this study found no significance relating social integration and stress. Further research would benefit from a more focused research question as well as a stratified sampling method

Ocular, Nasal and Aural Myiasis in an Intoxicated Patient: A Case Report

The authors describe a case of myiasis occurred in a self-intoxicated patient lying outdoor in a reduced state of consciousness for more than two days. The causes and the favoring circumstances of the infestation are described and discussed

Missed Diagnosis of Cancer in Critically Ill Patients: A Single-Center Experience

Abstract Purpose and methods: In order to evaluate the rate of missed diagnoses (MD) of tumors in critically ill patients died in our Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and correlate them with the outcome, all the autopsy records from January 1st, 1996 and December 31st, 2014 have been reviewed. When the tumor was not diagnosed during the admission but discovered only at the post-mortem examination, the effect of the MD on the outcome was classified according to the Goldman\u2019s criteria. Results: A total of, 1045 autopsies were examined; a solid or hematological cancer was discovered in 74 cases (7%, 50 M, 24 F, age 75.5, IQR 29-90 years). Major discrepancies occurred in 42 patients, but only in one of them (2.4%) a class 1 error was identified; in the other cases the MD did not influence the outcome (class 2 errors) due to the underlying conditions determining the ICU admission and/or the very short length of stay in the ICU; for another 32 patients the MD were considered without clinical relevance. Conclusions: In our experience, autopsy remains an extremely valuable tool to detect MD and to improve the clinical and diagnostic procedures

Planul de Amenajare a Teritoriului Judeţean Vrancea

Plan of the Vrancea County is the spatial expression of the socio-economic development of the County. The study will provide a global framework for possibilities and uniform development in regional and national context. P.A.T.J. Vrancea seeks to optimize the use of natural resources, the use of work resources and the distribution of the population in order to create a permanent balance between how to exploit the natural and economic potential, of the one part, and the protection of the environment, on the other hand, through a responsible management of the territory in accordance with the principle of sustainable development. P.A.T.J. Vrancea aimed at solving specific problems of the territory in the context of efficiency, fairness, transparency and the involvement of communities in decision-making

EDUCAÇÃO EM TEMPOS DE PANDEMIA: a (in)visibilidade da Infância na realização do Ensino Remoto na Educação Infantil

O agravamento da pandemia de COVID-19 impôs muitos desafios para o cenário educacional, sobretudo na Educação Infantil e no atendimento às especificidades das crianças e infâncias. Um desses desafios é o Ensino Remoto que muitos munícipios vêm adotando, no intuito de não trazer prejuízos formativos para as crianças. No entanto, o sistema escolar precisou se readequar em um curto espaço de tempo para atender as orientações do Conselho Nacional de Educação para esta nova modalidade de ensino. É neste contexto que este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar, interpretar e debater a aplicabilidade do ensino remoto na educação infantil de maneira dialética. Trata-se de um estudo teórico documental que se embasará em pareceres oficiais sobre a aplicabilidade do ensino remoto, bem como nos pressupostos da Teoria Crítica da Sociedade, a fim de refletir como o conceito de formação (Bildung) tem sido aplicado neste contexto. Por fim, ficou evidenciado que a formação, na aplicabilidade de ensino remoto na Educação Infantil, pode causar uma falsa sensação de produtividade, uma vez que este tipo de ensino pode não contemplar as especificidades das crianças, agravando sua (in)visibilidade, de modo a reproduzir uma educação com pressupostos hegemônicos

Recreating human skin in vitro: should the microbiota be taken into account?

Skin plays crucial roles in the human body: besides protecting the organism from external threats, it acts as a thermal regulator, is responsible for the sense of touch, hosts microbial communities (the skin microbiota) involved in preventing the invasion of foreign pathogens, contains immunocompetent cells that maintain a healthy immunogenic/tolerogenic balance, and is a suitable route for drug administration. In the skin, four defense levels can be identified: besides the physical, chemical, and immune barriers that are inherent to the tissue, the skin microbiota (i.e., the numerous microorganisms living on the skin surface) provides an additional barrier. Studying the skin barrier function or the effects of drugs or cosmetic agents on human skin is a difficult task since snapshot evidence can only be obtained using bioptic samples where dynamic processes cannot properly be followed. To overcome these limitations, many different in vitro models of human skin have been developed that are characterized by diverse levels of complexity in terms of chemical, structural, and cellular composition. The aim of this review is to summarize and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the different human skin models so far available and to underline how the insertion of a proper microbiota would positively impact an in vitro human skin model in an attempt to better mimic conditions in vivo

Body fat MRS

The increasing levels of obesity, and its associated comorbidities, have prompted a reassessment of the techniques used for assessing body fat, including content, distribution, and composition. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is one among the many invaluable in vivo tools available today to evaluate the role of body fat in health and disease. However, although MRS has become a powerful technique for assessing ectopic fat in vivo, it has had limited use in other areas of research associated with body fat. MRS has found some success as a fast method to determine whole body adiposity in rodent models of disease, as well as a noninvasive method of obtaining an index of the overall composition of body fat in human subjects. Its more significant use has been in the understanding of bone marrow fat content, where important advances have been made, especially in longitudinal studies. In conclusion, in the area of body fat, MRS continues to be an adjunct technique to more precise and versatile MRI methods

hyperthermic nanoparticles to trigger adipolysis

Here, we demonstrate that, under appropriate administration conditions, polyhedral iron oxide nanoparticles are efficiently and safely taken up by 3T3 cell linederived adipocytes (3T3 adipocytes) in vitro. Since these nanoparticles proved to effectively produce heat when subjected to alternating magnetic field, 3T3 adipocytes were submitted to superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles- mediated hyperthermia treatment (SMHT), with the aim of modulating their lipid content. Notably, the treatment resulted in a significant delipidation persisting for at least 24 h, and in the absence of cell death, damage or dedifferentiation. Interestingly, transcript expression of adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), a key gene involved in canonical lipolysis, was not modulated upon SMHT, suggesting the involvement of a novel/ alternative mechanism in the effective lipolysis observed. By applying the same experimental conditions successfully used for 3T3 adipocytes, SMHT was able to induce delipidation also in primary cultures of human adipose-derived adult stem cells. The success of this pioneering approach in vitro opens promising perspectives for the application of SMHT in vivo as an innovative safe and physiologically mild strateg

Caratterizzazione preclinica in vitro di nuovi inibitori non peptidomimetici della glutatione trasferasi P1-1

Glutathione transferases (formerly glutathione S-transferases, GSTs) are a superfamily of enzymes involved in the glutathione (GSH)-dependend detoxification of a wide range of chemicals, including drugs. Moreover, certain members of this superfamily interact with and modulate the activity of protein kinases involved in key cellular processes, including proliferation and apoptosis [Ruzza et al., 2009]. Among them, GSTP1-1 is frequently overexpressed in a variety of human tumors, where it contributes to conferring resistance to different anticancer agents. In light of these observations, several GST inhibitors or GST-activated prodrugs have been investigated throughout the years; however, none of them has been approved for use as antitumor drug [Ruzza et al., 2009; Sau et al., 2010]. 6-(7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-ylthio)hexanol (NBDHEX) and its structural analogue MC3181 are promising anticancer agents with potent inhibitory activity towards GSTP1-1 [Ricci et al., 2005; Pasello et al., 2011; De Luca et al., 2014]. A first aim of this work was to evaluate the metabolic fate of these compounds in humans and in laboratory animal species. The metabolic stability of NBDHEX and MC3181 was assessed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or LC coupled to diode array detection and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-DAD-MS/MS), upon incubation of each drug with human, mouse or rat liver microsomes or cytosol as enzyme source. The reactions investigated were UDP-glucuronic acid (UDPGA)-dependent glucuronidation, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-dependent microsomal oxidation, and oxidized nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)-dependent cytosolic oxidation. Both NBDHEX and MC3181 underwent glucuronidation and microsomal NADPH-dependent oxidation in all of the investigated species. Moreover, NBDHEX, but not MC3181, underwent alcohol dehydrogenase-dependent oxidation in both human, rat and mouse cytosol. The identity of NBDHEX glucuronide was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance analyses. Finally, interspecies differences were identified in the glucuronidation of both compounds and in the cytosolic oxidation of NBDHEX, while sex-related differences were observed in the rate of glucuronidation of MC3181 as well as in the rate of cytosolic oxidation of NBDHEX. Sulfasalazine (sulfasalazopyridine; SASP), a drug currently used to treat rheumatic and inflammatory bowel diseases, is a non-substrate inhibitor of various human GSTs, including GSTP1-1 [Ahmad et al., 1992]. Despite this, its poor oral bioavailability and metabolic instability (which is mainly linked to the presence of an azo group in its structure) hinder its use as an anticancer agent. In this work, 30 SASP analogues containing an imidazole ring in substitution of the azo group of SASP (i.e. salycylbenzoimidazole derivatives, EML), have been investigated as potential inhibitors of human GSTP1-1. Further structural modifications involved the sulfonamide as well as the aminosalicylic moiety of the drug. Seven out of 30 of the salycylbenzoimidazole derivatives studied (i.e. EML340, EML277, EML259, EML337, EML357, EML279, and EML338) inhibited human placental GST (mostly GSTP1-1) conjugation activity more efficiently than the parent compound, SASP. Thus, the azo group seems to be not essential for inhibition of the enzyme activity. Further enzyme inhibition assays carried out using human recombinant GST A1-1, M1-1 and P1-1, showed that EML337 displays a certain grade of selectivity for GSTP1-1, while EML340 and EML277 were highly selective towards GSTM1-1. Finally, preliminary in vitro cytotoxicity assays indicate that the methyl esters EML259, EML337 and EML339 can interfere with the growth of A375 and SK-MEL 23 human melanoma cell lines

Luminescence and fluorescence of essential oils. Fluorescence imaging in vivo of wild chamomile oil

Essential oils are currently of great importance to pharmaceutical companies, cosmetics producers and manufacturers of veterinary products. They are found in perfumes, creams, bath products, and household cleaning substances, and are used for flavouring food and drinks. It is well known that some of them act on the respiratory apparatus. The increasing interest in optical imaging techniques and the development of related technologies have made possible the investigation of the optical properties of several compounds. Luminescent properties of essential oils have not been extensively investigated. We evaluated the luminescent and fluorescent emissions of several essential oils, in order to detect them in living organisms by exploiting their optical properties. Some fluorescent emission data were high enough to be detected in dermal treatments. Consequently, we demonstrated how the fluorescent signal can be monitored for at least three hours on the skin of living mice treated with wild chamomile oil. The results encourage development of this technique to investigate the properties of drugs and cosmetics containing essential oils