ARUd’A (Università “G. d’Annunzio CHIETI -PESCARA)
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Phytochemical Analysis, In Vitro and In Vivo Pharmacological Evaluations of Cordia myxa Fruit and Leave extracts
No full textCordia myxa commonly known as Lasura plant is found in tropical regions of Pakistan. This study aims to assess the preliminary phytochemical analysis and pharmacological activities of C. myxa. After pulverizing the fresh plant, extracts were prepared using different solvents including Aqueous, Methanol, Ethanol, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and n-Hexane. These extracts were examined for total phenolic content using standard biochemical tests and HPLC-PDA analysis and for further evaluation antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, Hen's Egg Test – Chorioallantoic Membrane (HET-CAM) assay, antipyretic, antiinflammatory and anti-diabetic activities were performed. Using Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) and 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays antioxidant potential was determined and max potential was observed in EtOH extracts. Antibacterial effect was checked through disc diffusion against selected strains (E. coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus Vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and staphylococcus aureus method and min inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were also calculated. In Ovo antiviral activity against avian viruses IBV and H9N2 strains were determined through haemagglutination (HA) test and it was observed that almost all extracts of C. myxa exhibit significant antimicrobial activities against selected strains of the viruses and bacteria. According to HET- CAM assay EtOAC and n-Hex extracts were found non-irritant. DCM and EtOAC extracts were found most effective in In Vivo antiinflammatory, antipyretic and antidiabetic activities. Each value represents as mean ± SEM (n = 5). p-value < 0.05 was evaluated using t-test. Overall, the findings suggest that C. myxa possesses huge therapeutic potentials and may serve as a valuable source of economical and effective alternate medicine
Il viceré tra nobili e banditi. Una proposta di rilettura del governo napoletano del VII marchese del Carpio (1683-87)
No full textOf all the viceroys who governed the kingdom of Naples for over two hundred years, Gaspar de Haro, 7th Marquis of Carpio, represents a very special case: an extremely skillful propagandist of himself, he was capable not only of earning the favor of the main chroniclers of his time, but also of gaining almost unanimous appreciation, in the centuries that followed, from historians and scholars of various disciplines. A great collector and refined interpreter of the courtly culture of the Baroque age, Carpio has long been interpreted, during his four years of Neapolitan rule (1683–87), as a viceroy who was decisive in imposing a state order on the kingdom, curbing the overpowering of the barons and defeating, at least temporarily, the rampant plague of banditry. Rereading the manuscript documentation, and building on the most recent historiography on the Spanish monarchy and the kingdom of Naples in the 17th century, the article aims to reevaluate this established view and propose different perspectives, in order to understand the government of the Marquis of Carpio within a peculiar way of doing politics in the 17th century, in the context of the still lively rivalry between France and Spain
1q21.1 Duplication Syndrome and Anorectal Malformations: A Literature Review and a New Case
Full text linkBackground: Anorectal malformations (ARMs) are a common pediatric surgical problem with an incidence of 1:1500 to 1:5000 live births. The phenotypical spectrum extends from anal stenosis to imperforate anus with or without anal fistula to persistent cloaca. They can manifest as either non-syndromic or syndromic conditions. Various environmental and genetic risk factors have been elucidated. The widespread use of genetic screening tests for the investigation of developmental disorders increased the recognition of copy number variants (CNVs) of the 1q21.1 region. Duplications have also been associated with a multitude of congenital anomalies, such as heart disease, short stature, scoliosis, urogenital, and ARMs, and they have also been found in healthy individuals. The aim of this manuscript is to contribute to the definition of the phenotype associated with 1q21.1 duplications. Case presentation: The present case describes a male, referred to us for an ARM, in whom array—comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) identified 1q21.1 duplication inherited from his healthy mother. No other genetic test was performed on the patient. Conclusions: We propose considering genetic evaluation and analysis in patients with only one congenital malformation in order to eventually make an early diagnosis and a better quality of treatments
Early Surgical Resection in Pediatric Patients with Localized Ileo-Cecal Crohn’s Disease: Results of a Retrospective Multicenter Study
Full text linkBackground: Crohn’s disease (CD) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that also affects pediatric patients. It frequently presents as a localized disease, affecting the ileocecal area, ileum, or colon. It requires targeted therapy to achieve a good quality of life and long-term control of disease activity. Despite multiple medical therapies available, several patients benefit from surgical treatment. The aim of our study is to demonstrate how an early surgical approach can bring an improvement in disease activity, evaluating the Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn’s Disease (SES-CD) and the Pediatric Crohn’s Disease Activity Index (PCDAI). Methods: A retrospective multicenter study was carried out from 2008 to 2023, including 29 patients, affected by localized CD. These data were analyzed: demographics, SES-CD, and PCDAI, before and after surgery. The differences between groups were analyzed using Student’s t-test for continuous variables, and Pearson’s Chi-squared test or Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables. Results: The SES-CD significantly decreased from 12 (median, range 1–15) to 0 (median, range 0–6) (p < 0.0001) and the PCDAI decreased from 30 (median, range 10–50) to 0 (median, range 0–15) (p < 0.0001). The rate of patients receiving enteral nutrition decreased from 51.7% preoperatively to 0% postoperatively (p = 0.0001). The rate of antibiotic use decreased from 13.8% to 0% (p = 0.0001). The rate of patients receiving ≥2 drugs decreased from 10.3% to 0% (p = 0.0001). Conclusions: The early surgical approach can be considered an excellent therapeutic strategy in patients with localized CD. Both parameters examined, SES-CD and PCDAI, demonstrated a clear improvement in the endoscopic images and in disease activity
Dance and the embodied social cognition of mating: Carlos Saura’s Tango in the perspective of the Tie-Up Theory
Full text linkThis paper analyzes Carlos Saura’s film Tango through the theoretical lens of the
Tie-Up Theory to explore how fictional narratives can serve as laboratories for
investigating the embodied social cognition of romantic relationships. The study
shows how dance, particularly tango, functions both as subject matter and cognitive
metaphor in representing the complex dynamics of couple formation and maintenance.
The film’s meta-representational structure, combining the creation of a dance
performance with the exploration of actual relationships, reveals how cultural forms
serve as cognitive scaffolds for understanding complex social dynamics. The study
contributes to our understanding of how artistic representation can reveal typically
implicit aspects of relationship cognition by demonstrating the value of integrating
multidisciplinary perspectives of cognitive theory, psychology of mating, and cultural
theory
Management of recurrent venous thromboembolism during anticoagulant treatment in patients with cancer: a prospective cohort study
No full textBackground: Recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common complication in patients with cancer-associated VTE. Limited data are available on treatment, particularly in patients receiving direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). Objectives: We aimed to evaluate current management strategies and outcomes in patients with cancer and recurrent VTE during treatment with low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) or DOACs. Methods: This was an international, prospective, observational cohort study. Patients were treated according to local practice, although the study protocol encouraged the use of a dose-escalation strategy in accordance with current clinical guidelines. Primary outcomes were second recurrent VTE and clinically relevant bleeding. Results: Between June 2020 and November 2024, 94 patients were enrolled, of whom 81 were included in the final analysis. At the time of recurrent VTE, 55% of patients were treated with a DOAC, 41% with therapeutic-dose LMWH, and 4% with maintenance-dose LMWH. Of DOAC-treated patients, 51% switched to supratherapeutic-dose LMWH, 42% to therapeutic-dose LMWH, and 7% received other treatments. Of LMWH-treated patients, 70% received dose escalation, 18% maintained the same dose, and 12% received other treatments. At the 3-month follow-up, 10% had developed a second recurrence, 12% clinically relevant bleeding, and 20% died. VTE incidence was similar between patients receiving dose escalation and those maintained on therapeutic doses, while clinically relevant bleeding was more frequent in the latter (6% vs 25%). Conclusion: The risk of second recurrent VTE was substantial despite two-thirds of patients receiving dose escalation. Bleeding was common regardless of treatment intensity, underscoring the challenges in this patient population
The periglacial landforms and estimated subsurface-ice distribution in the northern mid-latitude of Mars
No full textSubsurface ice in the mid-latitude regions is a significant water inventory on present-day Mars, and their volume and distribution are thought to have varied due to the orbitally induced paleoclimatic changes. Using high-resolution satellite images, the present study explores the distributions of three presumed periglacial landforms (thermal contraction polygons, fractured mounds, and brain terrains) that could provide evidence for the present-day subsurface ice distribution in the northern mid-latitude (30°–42°N). We identified the three periglacial landforms concentrated within the regions of 0°–40°E, 60°–100°E, and 160°–210°E in the latitude of >33°N. Their distributions are in agreement with the occurrence of fresh ice-exposing craters and the estimated area of high annual water ice budget obtained by the general circulation model, reflecting the present-day subsurface ice distribution. We further classified the thermal contraction polygons into five types based on their morphology, and investigated various distribution patterns for each type. Among them, high-centered polygons are the most abundant type in the survey area, whereas low-centered polygons are less prominent and observed only at >38°N. The large-sized mixture polygons, which were only found in certain areas of 57°–92°E, are distributed in areas where the atmospheric model indicates that the highest annual water ice budget occurred during the past high-obliquity period, but that the water ice budget has decreased during the present-day low-obliquity condition. These findings, along with insights from possible terrestrial analogs in the Arctic Archipelago and northern Canada, suggest that regions where large-sized mixture polygons formed contained significant amounts of water ice in the past, but have undergone intense degradation over time. © 2024. The Author(s)
Rational construction of CQDs-based targeted multifunctional nanoplatform for synergistic chemo-photothermal tumor therapy.
No full textPhotothermal therapy combined with chemotherapy has shown great promise in the treatment of cancer. In this synergistic system, a safe, stable, and efficient photothermal agent is desired. Herein, an effective photothermal agent, carbon quantum dots (CQDs), was initially synthesized and then rationally constructed a folic acid (FA)-targeted photothermal multifunctional nanoplatform by encapsulating CQDs and the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) in the liposomes. Indocyanine green (ICG), a near infrared (NIR) photothermal agent, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, was embedded in the bilayer membrane to further enhance the photothermal effects and facilitate the rapid cleavage of liposomes for drug release. Triggered by the NIR laser, this engineered photothermal multifunctional nanoplatform, not only exhibited an excellent performance with the photothermal conversion efficiency of up to 47.14%, but also achieved controlled release of the payloads. In vitro, and in vivo experiments demonstrated that the photothermal multifunctional nanoplatform had excellent biocompatibility, enhanced tumor-specific targeting, stimuli-responsive drug release, effective cancer cell killing and tumor suppression through multi-modal synergistic therapy. The successful construction of this NIR light-triggered targeted photothermal multifunctional nanoplatform will provide a promising strategy for the design and development of synergistic chemo-photothermal combination therapy and improve the therapeutic efficacy of cancer treatment
L’eterno mascolino future prossimo. Il protagonista transumano della trilogia antropologica di Borislav Pekić
No full textThis chapter traces the evolution of the protagonist of 1999, the novel by
Yugoslav writer Borislav Pekić (1930-1992) published in 1984 and dedicated
to George Orwell’s 1984. Initially a male figure, in the course of the narrative
this character gradually modifies his nature and from human becomes android
through a metamorphosis that also involves his gender and then eventually
returns to being a male, although with the features now of a robot. The novel,
hovering between science fiction and philosophical speculation, is part of Pekić’s
anthropological trilogy (the other two titles are Atlantis and Rabies) about the
future of our civilisation, here conceived from an Anglo-Saxon point of view
and transposed, from a literary point of view, in line the Dostoevskian paradigm
that accords an absolute highlighting of the human condition and its values. The
almost total absence of women in Pekić’s works is striking, in the sense that they
are never protagonists, and therefore not functional in the plot. This extraordinary
and prolific writer apparently was unable to find the time or the space for a
female protagonist who would be credible in the complex role of a protagonist in
this dystopic future universe. It cannot be ruled out that the constant references
to Dostoevsky could have had its weight in this regard. Like Dostoevsky’s female
figures, those in Pekić’s work are mostly ‘mute’ and marginal. These features are
also evident in 1999, where the woman in the story is an android, a robot, that
seems somehow subjugated by the dominant presence of the male protagonist,
metamorphosed into an android but still male