Archivio istituzionale della Ricerca - Università degli Studi di Parma
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Exploring sex-specific hematological changes and their impact on quality of life in patients with prolactinoma
No full textFirst report of non-marine ostracods (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from the Dahlak Archipelago (Eritrea), with the description of two new species
No full textThe information on Recent non-marine ostracod faunas of the north-eastern part of the Afrotropical region is still limited. Here we report the first record of ostracods from the Dahlak Archipelago, a group of small islands located in the southern part of the Red Sea off the Eritrean coast. Specimens were obtained by hatching in the laboratory of diapausing eggs occurring in dried mud collected in temporary freshwater ponds, following the so-called "Sars' method". A total of five species were found, including two species new to science, of which four belong to the family Cyprididae (Cypris galefensis, Plesiocypridopsis newtoni, Heterocypris sp., and Chrissia martensi n.sp.) and one to the family Ilyocyprididae (Ilyocypris dahlakensis n.sp.). A detailed description of the morphology of valves and soft parts is given, and COX1 sequences were obtained for four species. Cypris galefensis was so far only known for its type locality in Somalia with a population containing both males and females, whereas our samples consisted exclusively of females. Plesiocypridopsis newtoni, a species characterised by a wide geographic distribution and previously known to occur also in the Afrotropical region, shows marked variability in the prehensile palps of males, as evidenced by comparing the specimens from this study with descriptions available in the literature. The genus Heterocypris (with 15 species) and the genera of the two new species described here, Chrissia (with 17 species) and Ilyocypris (with four species), have been previously reported from this biogeographic region as well. The analysed specimens of Chrissia martensi n.sp. were all females, none of which had sperm inside the carapace, indicating the possibility of parthenogenetic reproduction in this species. A peculiar sexual dimorphism in the valve morphology characterises Ilyocypris dahlakensis n.sp., with females having a straight posterior margin, forming a right angle at the ventral anterior edge. Rehydration of dry sediments collected from arid areas where wet periods are short and often unpredictable has proven to be a successful method for describing aquatic invertebrate biodiversity
Sentinel SENECA risk factors for unsuccessful bi-lateral sentinel lymph node mapping in endometrial cancer
No full textObjective: Our study aims to assess the risk factors associated with bi-lateral sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping failure in endometrial cancer. Methods: The SENECA study was a retrospective multi-center international observational study that reviewed data from 2139 women with clinical stage I-to-II endometrial cancer across 64 centers in 17 countries. Between January 2021 and December 2022, patients underwent surgical treatment with SLN assessment, following the guidelines of the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology. Risk factors associated with the absence of bi-lateral mapping were analyzed using χ2 and t tests. All factors that showed statistical associations were included in a multi-variate regression analysis. Results: Among the 2139 patients, the bi-lateral lymph node detection rate was 82.7%, whereas the unilateral detection rate was 97.3%. In multi-variate analysis, 5 risk factors remained statistically associated with unsuccessful bi-lateral lymph node mapping: high-grade histology (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.79, p = .03), myometrial invasion >50% (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.75, p = .012), low-volume surgeon <20 cases/year (OR 2.11, 95% CI 1.55 to 2.89, p < .01), open surgical approach (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.78, p = .03), and non-indocyanine green tracer (OR 4.59, 95% CI 2.64 to 7.99, p < .01). The addition of bi-lateral pelvic lymphadenectomy and/or paraaortic lymphadenectomy to SLN biopsy caused an increased rate of intra-operative complications (2% vs 8.4%, p < .01) and all-grade post-operative complications (4.1% vs 11.2%, p < .01). Conclusions: Our study identifies 5 risk factors associated with unsuccessful lymph node mapping in endometrial cancer. Efforts should be made to perform this technique with indocyanine green, through minimally invasive surgery, and performed or supervised by an experienced surgeon with ≥20 endometrial cancer cases per year
Comparison of urinary cortisol, urinary cortisol-to-creatinine ratio, and basal serum cortisol as screening tests for hypoadrenocorticism in dogs
No full textObjective: This study investigates whether urinary cortisol (UC) and UC-to-creatinine ratio (UCCR) perform better than basal serum cortisol (BSC) in identifying dogs with hypoadrenocorticism (HA). Methods: A retrospective, multicenter study with 120 client-owned dogs included: 20 with HA, 42 healthy, and 60 with diseases mimicking HA. The UC and UCCR were determined on urine samples using a chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay. The diagnostic performance of the UC and UCCR were assessed based on receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves. Results: A cutoff value of UC < 2 μg/dL revealed 100% sensitivity (95% CI, 83.2 to 100) and 90.0% specificity (95% CI, 79.5 to 96.2) in diagnosing HA. A cutoff value of UCCR < 8.5 X 10-6 revealed 100% sensitivity (95% CI, 83.1 to 100) and 71.7% specificity (95% CI, 58.6 to 82.6) in diagnosing HA. A cutoff value of BSC < 2 μg/dL and < 1 μg/dL revealed 100% sensitivity (95% CI, 83.2 to 100) and 51.7% specificity (95% CI, 38.5 to 64.8) and 100% sensitivity (95% CI, 83.9 to 100) and 90% specificity (95% CI, 79.8 to 95.3) in diagnosing HA, respectively. Conclusions: BSC < 1 μg/dL showed the same sensitivity but higher specificity than BSC < 2 μg/dL. The UC < 2 μg/dL showed noninferior performance compared with the BSC < 1 μg/dL. Clinical relevance: UC should be considered a promising screening test for canine HA
Examining the influence of entrepreneurial ecosystem pressure on the economic, social, and environmental orientation of startups
No full textStartups are agile entities capable of fostering innovation and swiftly navigating turbulent market conditions. Against the backdrop of global challenges, particularly environmental and social issues, startups have gained prominence as potential agents of positive change. Recognizing their value, stakeholders, including large corporations, universities, and governments, actively seek collaboration and support for startup growth. This network of actors, or entrepreneurial ecosystem, exerts different types of pressure on startups. In particular, although efficiency, speed, and reliability are emphasized for economic success, there is an increasing emphasis on environmental and social sustainability within entrepreneurial ecosystems. This study explores the dynamics of entrepreneurial ecosystems and their impact on startup performance, specifically focusing on the dual pressures exerted on startups. The study delves into the potential conflict or synergy between these pressures, aiming to answer the research question regarding the impact of entrepreneurial ecosystem pressures on both economic and environmental/social sustainability. Through a survey conducted among Italian startups, the research reveals that these pressures do not compromise either economic or sustainability objectives. The findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of entrepreneurship, highlighting the interconnectedness between entrepreneurial ecosystems and individual company performance. Moreover, the study advances the sustainability literature by demonstrating that sustainability-oriented ecosystems can coexist with economic growth objectives, offering valuable insights for entrepreneurs, universities, public administration, and large companies
First-line immune-based combinations or sunitinib in favorable-risk metastatic renal cell carcinoma: a real-world retrospective comparison from the ARON-1 study
No full textIntroduction: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common types of urogenital cancer. The introduction of immune-based combinations, including dual immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) or ICI plus tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), has radically changed the treatment landscape for metastatic RCC, showing varying efficacy across different prognostic groups based on the International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium (IMDC) criteria.
Materials and methods: This retrospective multicenter study, part of the ARON-1 project, aimed to evaluate the outcomes of favorable-risk metastatic RCC patients treated with immune-based combinations or sunitinib. Patients were assessed for overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall response rate. We carried out a survival analysis by a Cox regression model.
Results: A total of 524 favorable-risk patients were included in the analysis. After a median follow-up of 37.2 months, the median OS in the overall population was 56.1 months. There was no significant difference in OS between patients receiving sunitinib and those receiving TKI + ICI combinations (p = 0.761). Patients on TKI + ICI had significantly longer PFS compared to patient treated with sunitinib (30.7 vs 22.9 months, p = 0.007). Analysis of OS and PFS based on metastatic site revealed that patients with bone metastases benefited more from ICI plus TKI (56 patients with bone metastases receiving IO + TKI, 38 received pembrolizumab plus axitinib, 15 cabozantinib plus nivolumab and 3 pembrolizumab plus lenvatinib), while sunitinib was more effective for pancreatic and glandular metastases. Additionally, the number of metastatic sites played a role, with TKI plus ICI showing superiority in patients with a single metastatic site. The time from RCC diagnosis to metastatic disease also impacted outcomes, with TKI plus ICI being more effective in patients with a shorter interval (i.e., < 36 months).
Conclusions: The choice between upfront combination or monotherapy for metastatic favorable prognosis RCC remains a current issue. While combination therapy offers prolonged PFS, it does not necessarily translate to improve OS compared to sunitinib. This real-world study supports the superiority in terms of PFS of TKI plus ICI vs TKI monotherapy but not in OS. Probable, other clinical factors should be taking into account to make clinical treatment decisions in this setting
Clustering Zwitterionic Amino Acids at the Upper Rim of Cone Calix[4]arene Triggers the Selective Recognition of Gram-Negative Bacterial Envelope
No full textEleven calix[4]arene ligands, bearing zwitterionic α-amino acids or charged ammonium or sulfonate/carboxylate groups, are synthesized and screened for the binding to the envelopes of three bacterial strain representatives of Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and mycobacteria. The binding is followed by on-cell Saturation Transfer Difference Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) experiments directly on alive cells. While the anionic tetrasulfonatocalixarene does not bind to any bacterial strains significantly and the cationic calixarenes strongly bind to both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, the zwitterionic tetraprolino- and tetraphenylalaninocalix[4]arene show a remarkable selectivity for Gram-negatives over Gram-positives and mycobacteria. The tetraprolinocalixarene binds to the lipopolysaccharides extracted from two Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas putida or Escherichia coli), suggesting these biomacromolecules as possible targets in the recognition of their cell walls. The ligand binding epitope map demonstrates a deep involvement of the amino acids and calixarene aromatic nuclei in the interaction. In this study, for the first time, the ability of synthetic macrocycles to selectively recognize the envelope of Gram-negative bacteria is highlighted, and the way to the chemical modifications of the ligand structure is paved to develop devices for the detection or treatment of bacterial infections, thus allowing to add another string to the bow for the fight against antimicrobial resistance
Real‐Life Impact of Enfortumab Vedotin or Chemotherapy in the Sequential Treatment of Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma: The ARON‐2 Retrospective Experience
No full textBackground: Recently, a plethora of novel systemic agents have been incorporated into the therapeutic armamentarium of advanced urothelial carcinoma (aUC). The antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), enfortumab vedotin (EV), has demonstrated relevant clinical benefit in patients with aUC refractory to platinum and immune-checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. Our study provides a retrospective, international, real-world analysis comparing the effectiveness of EV to chemotherapy in this setting.
Methods: The data were extracted from the medical records of patients treated with EV or chemotherapy following pembrolizumab for recurrent or progressive aUC after platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients were assessed for overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), overall response rate (ORR) and duration of response (DoR).
Results: Our analysis included 247 patients treated with EV (88, 36%) or chemotherapy (159, 64%). Median OS was 9.1 months (95%CI 7.2-10.7) in the overall study population, 13.6 months (95%CI 10.0-31.0) in patients receiving EV and 6.8 months (95%CI 6.0-8.9) in patients receiving chemotherapy (p < 0.001). The OS benefit of EV was not affected by primary tumour site and histology, metastatic sites, type of first platinum-based chemotherapy or response to pembrolizumab. In the EV cohort, the median PFS was significantly longer (8.8 months [95%CI 6.5-17.0] vs. 3.0 months [95%CI 2.6-3.7]) and the ORR was significantly higher (56% vs. 23%) than in the chemotherapy cohort.
Conclusions: The results of our international analysis of real-world data confirm the effectiveness of EV in the sequential strategy of aUC patients who have received prior platinum-based chemotherapy and anti-PD-1 pembrolizumab, regardless of commonly considered prognostic factors. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05290038