Thymosin Beta 4 may translocate from the cytoplasm in to the nucleus in HepG2 cells following serum starvation. An ultrastructural study

Due to its actin-sequestering properties, thymosin beta-4 (Tβ4) is considered to play a significant role in the cellular metabolism. Several physiological properties of Tβ4 have been reported;, however, many questions concerning its cellular function remain to be ascertained. To better understand the role of this small peptide we have analyzed by means of transmission immunoelectron microscopy techniques the ultrastructural localization of Tβ4 in HepG2 cells. Samples of HepG2 cells were fixed in a mixture of 3% formaldehyde and 0.1% glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M cacodylate buffer and processed for standard electron microscopic techniques. The samples were dehydrated in a cold graded methanol series and embedded in LR gold resin. Ultrathin sections were labeled with rabbit antibodies to Tβ4, followed by gold-labeled goat anti-rabbit, stained with uranyl acetate and bismuth subnitrate, observed and photographed in a JEOL 100S transmission electron microscope. High-resolution electron microscopy showed that Tβ4 was mainly restricted to the cytoplasm of HepG2 growing in complete medium. A strong Tβ4 reactivity was detected in the perinuclear region of the cytoplasmic compartment where gold particles appeared strictly associated to the nuclear membrane. In the nucleus specific Tβ4 labeling was observed in the nucleolus. The above electron microscopic results confirm and extend previous observations at light microscopic level, highlighting the subcellular distribution of Tβ4 in both cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments of HepG2 cells. The meaning of Tβ4 presence in the nucleolus is not on the best of our knowledge clarified yet. It could account for the interaction of Tβ4 with nucleolar actin and according with this hypothesis, Tβ4 could contribute together with the other nucleolar acting binding proteins to modulate the transcription activity of the RNA polymeras

BAT2 and BAT3 polymorphisms as novel genetic risk factors for rejection after HLA-related SCT.

The genetic background of donor and recipient is an important factor determining the outcome of allogeneic hematopoietic SCT (allo-HSCT). We applied whole-genome analysis to investigate genetic variants - other than HLA class I and II - associated with negative outcome after HLA-identical sibling allo-HSCT in a cohort of 110 β-Thalassemic patients. We identified two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in BAT2 (A/G) and BAT3 (T/C) genes, SNP rs11538264 and SNP rs10484558, both located in the HLA class III region, in strong linkage disequilibrium between each other (R2 =0.92). When considered as single SNP, none of them reached a significant association with graft rejection (nominal P<0.00001 for BAT2 SNP rs11538264, and P<0.0001 for BAT3 SNP rs10484558), whereas the BAT2/BAT3 A/C haplotype was present at significantly higher frequency in patients who rejected as compared to those with functional graft (30.0% vs 2.6%, nominal P=1.15 × 10-8; and adjusted P=0.0071). The BAT2/BAT3 polymorphisms and specifically the A/C haplotype may represent a novel immunogenetic factor associated with graft rejection in patients undergoing allo-HSCT

Meta-review of systematic and meta-analytic reviews on family psychoeducation for schizophrenia

The purpose of family psychoeducation is to increase patients’ and their families’ knowledge and understanding of their illness and treatment. Improved knowledge of schizophrenia is expected to enable people to cope better with their illness. The aim of this review is to summarize and appraise evidence from published systematic and meta-analytic reviews on family psychoeducation in schizophrenia. Thorough search and analysis of reviews on efficacy of family psychoeducation in schizophrenia were carried out in PubMed/Medline (19872015), Ovid/Psych Info (1987-2015), and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. We included only reviews reporting quantitative summary statistics on studies carried out in patients with schizophrenia and written in English. Review methodology was assessed using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) checklist. Double check by two independent assessors was applied. Nine reviews meeting inclusion/exclusion criteria were included in the meta-review. Risk of relapse was reduced in protocols that included family members, whether conducted in single family or in multifamily group sessions. However, effectiveness seems not to be maintained at follow-up. Hospital admission/re-hospitalization was less influenced by family psychoeducation, and no reproducible effect on compliance/medication adherence was found. Overall, quality of evidence on the effectiveness of family psychoeducation in schizophrenia is poo

Optimized electro- and wet-spinning techniques for the production of polymeric fibrous scaffolds loaded with bisphosphonate and hydroxyapatite

This research activity was aimed at the development of composite bioactive scaffolds made of biodegradable three-arm branched-star poly(ε-caprolactone) (∗PCL), hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HNPs) and clodronate (CD), a bisphosphonate that has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of various bone diseases and as an anti-inflammatory drug. During the experimental work, the processing conditions for the fabrication of fibrous meshes, by either electrospinning or wetspinning, were optimized. Stemming from a previous research activity on electrospinning of ∗PCL, ∗PCL/HNPs 3D meshes were developed, evaluating the influence of fabrication parameters on the fibres’ morphology. By exploiting the binding affinity of bisphosphonates for hydroxyapatite, a methodology was set up for obtaining a physical linkage between CD and HNPs, with the aim of having a dual bioactive system loaded into ∗PCL fibrous mats. Fibres loaded with either CD or CD–HNP particles were thus produced and analysed by scanning electron microscopy for their morphology and by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for their elemental compositionThis work was done within the framework of the European Network of Excellence 'EXPERTISSUES', Project No. NMP3-CT-2004-500283. Professor Ramani Narayan of Michigan Biotechnology Institute and Dr Fabio Neggiani of Abiogen Pharma-Pisa are acknowledged for supplying *PCL and CD, respectively

Professional and personal experiences of workplace violence among Italian mental health nurses: A qualitative study

Background: Violence against healthcare workers in psychiatric settings is a concern in the literature. Violence effects for healthcare professionals and organizations include an absence from work due to injury or illness, a decreased job satisfaction, and a lower quality of work. The aim of this study is to identify the consequences of violence on the health, work habits, and performance of nurses working with psychiatric patients. Methods: The study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 18 nurses from different hospitals and territorial psychiatric settings in Southern Italy. The interviews were conducted from July to December 2020 by telephone and were recorded with the consent of the participants. The collected data were transcribed and analyzed. Results: The narratives revealed five main themes: (1) Feelings about the violence experienced; (2) the effects of violent incidents on nurses; (3) features of the mental health setting related to the phenomenon of the assault; (4) the care and organizational aspects to prevent the assault; and (5) the care in psychiatric settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aggressions resulted in a change in the nurses’ work habits and performances; they were more careful after the aggression and modified their approach to the patient. Additionally, the nurses discussed developing skills and strategies to protect themselves and avoid aggression. Conclusions: Aggression has a negative impact on the health and work performance of nurses. Adopting personal and nursing strategies in place to prevent aggression allows them to improve the patient care and to protect themselves from such incidents. The creation of a safer work environment by healthcare organizations in which professionals work can improve their health, job performance, and the effectiveness of psychiatric nursing care

ENIGMA and global neuroscience: A decade of large-scale studies of the brain in health and disease across more than 40 countries.

This review summarizes the last decade of work by the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) Consortium, a global alliance of over 1400 scientists across 43 countries, studying the human brain in health and disease. Building on large-scale genetic studies that discovered the first robustly replicated genetic loci associated with brain metrics, ENIGMA has diversified into over 50 working groups (WGs), pooling worldwide data and expertise to answer fundamental questions in neuroscience, psychiatry, neurology, and genetics. Most ENIGMA WGs focus on specific psychiatric and neurological conditions, other WGs study normal variation due to sex and gender differences, or development and aging; still other WGs develop methodological pipelines and tools to facilitate harmonized analyses of "big data" (i.e., genetic and epigenetic data, multimodal MRI, and electroencephalography data). These international efforts have yielded the largest neuroimaging studies to date in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. More recent ENIGMA WGs have formed to study anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts and behavior, sleep and insomnia, eating disorders, irritability, brain injury, antisocial personality and conduct disorder, and dissociative identity disorder. Here, we summarize the first decade of ENIGMA's activities and ongoing projects, and describe the successes and challenges encountered along the way. We highlight the advantages of collaborative large-scale coordinated data analyses for testing reproducibility and robustness of findings, offering the opportunity to identify brain systems involved in clinical syndromes across diverse samples and associated genetic, environmental, demographic, cognitive, and psychosocial factors

Perceived importance of facilitators to cycling: the case of a starter cycling city in Italy

The goal of this study is to understand and explore how facilitators to cycling are perceived by different segments of individuals, in view of assessing how to best promote the use of the bicycle in urban areas bicycle-unfriendly. The data for this study is drawn from a survey conducted in the metropolitan area of Cagliari, a starter cycling city in Italy, in 2014-2016 among a sample of local employees. The sample comprises 1,481 observations. All participants were asked to rate, by means of a 5-point Likert Scale, the importance of eight different specified factors that would encourage them to start cycling or to cycle more often. These factors, which are the dependent variables of our study, are modelled jointly using a multivariate ordered probit framework. Our results clearly indicates that how people perceive the implementation of policy measures aimed to encourage more frequent cycling depends on their socio-demographic characteristics. Hence, a holistic approach with a variety of activities is needed, as improvements in cycling infrastructure may not be enough

ENIGMA and global neuroscience: A decade of large-scale studies of the brain in health and disease across more than 40 countries

This review summarizes the last decade of work by the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) Consortium, a global alliance of over 1400 scientists across 43 countries, studying the human brain in health and disease. Building on large-scale genetic studies that discovered the first robustly replicated genetic loci associated with brain metrics, ENIGMA has diversified into over 50 working groups (WGs), pooling worldwide data and expertise to answer fundamental questions in neuroscience, psychiatry, neurology, and genetics. Most ENIGMA WGs focus on specific psychiatric and neurological conditions, other WGs study normal variation due to sex and gender differences, or development and aging; still other WGs develop methodological pipelines and tools to facilitate harmonized analyses of "big data" (i.e., genetic and epigenetic data, multimodal MRI, and electroencephalography data). These international efforts have yielded the largest neuroimaging studies to date in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. More recent ENIGMA WGs have formed to study anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts and behavior, sleep and insomnia, eating disorders, irritability, brain injury, antisocial personality and conduct disorder, and dissociative identity disorder. Here, we summarize the first decade of ENIGMA's activities and ongoing projects, and describe the successes and challenges encountered along the way. We highlight the advantages of collaborative large-scale coordinated data analyses for testing reproducibility and robustness of findings, offering the opportunity to identify brain systems involved in clinical syndromes across diverse samples and associated genetic, environmental, demographic, cognitive, and psychosocial factors

An overview of the first 5 years of the ENIGMA obsessive–compulsive disorder working group: The power of worldwide collaboration

Abstract Neuroimaging has played an important part in advancing our understanding of the neurobiology of obsessive?compulsive disorder (OCD). At the same time, neuroimaging studies of OCD have had notable limitations, including reliance on relatively small samples. International collaborative efforts to increase statistical power by combining samples from across sites have been bolstered by the ENIGMA consortium; this provides specific technical expertise for conducting multi-site analyses, as well as access to a collaborative community of neuroimaging scientists. In this article, we outline the background to, development of, and initial findings from ENIGMA's OCD working group, which currently consists of 47 samples from 34 institutes in 15 countries on 5 continents, with a total sample of 2,323 OCD patients and 2,325 healthy controls. Initial work has focused on studies of cortical thickness and subcortical volumes, structural connectivity, and brain lateralization in children, adolescents and adults with OCD, also including the study on the commonalities and distinctions across different neurodevelopment disorders. Additional work is ongoing, employing machine learning techniques. Findings to date have contributed to the development of neurobiological models of OCD, have provided an important model of global scientific collaboration, and have had a number of clinical implications. Importantly, our work has shed new light on questions about whether structural and functional alterations found in OCD reflect neurodevelopmental changes, effects of the disease process, or medication impacts. We conclude with a summary of ongoing work by ENIGMA-OCD, and a consideration of future directions for neuroimaging research on OCD within and beyond ENIGMA

Sensors integration for smartphone navigation: performances and future challenges

Nowadays the modern Smartphones include several sensors which are usually adopted in geomatic application, as digital camera, GNSS receivers, inertial platform and RFID system. In this paper the Authors would like to testing the performances of internal sensors (IMU) of three modern smartphones (Samsung GalaxyS4, Samsung GalaxyS5 and iPhone4) compared to external mass-market IMU platform in order to verify their accuracy levels, in terms of positioning. Moreover, the Image Based Navigation (IBN) approach is also investigated: this approach can be very useful in hard-urban environment or for indoor positioning, as alternative to GNSS positioning. IBN allows to obtain a sub-metrical accuracy, but a special database of georeferenced images (DB) is needed, moreover it is necessary to use dedicated algorithm to resizing the images which are collected by smartphone, in order to share it with the server where is stored the DB. Moreover, it is necessary to characterize smartphone camera lens in terms of focal length and lens distortions. The Authors have developed an innovative method with respect to those available today, which has been tested in a covered area, adopting a special support where all sensors under testing have been installed. Geomatic instrument have been used to define the reference trajectory, with purpose to compare this one, with the path obtained with IBN solution. First results leads to have an horizontal and vertical accuracies better than 60 cm, respect to the reference trajectories. IBN method, sensors, test and result will be described in the paper