1,721,696 research outputs found
Frank Scimeca of O.H. Carter Company in Tampa, A
No full textAn employee portrait of Frank Scimeca of O.H. Carter Co. in Tampa, Florida.https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/gandy_commercial/3512/thumbnail.jp
Zabut Film italien de Pasquale Scimeca
No full textVideau André. Zabut Film italien de Pasquale Scimeca . In: Hommes et Migrations, n°1214, Juillet-août 1998. Migrants et solidarités nord-sud. pp. 115-116
Frank Scimeca of O.H. Carter Company in Tampa, E
No full textAn employee portrait of Frank Scimeca of O.H. Carter Co. in Tampa, Florida.https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/gandy_commercial/3513/thumbnail.jp
Frank Scimeca of O.H. Carter Company in Tampa, H
No full textAn employee portrait of Frank Scimeca of O.H. Carter Co. in Tampa, Florida.https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/gandy_commercial/3514/thumbnail.jp
Mammary microcalcifications in breast cancer: simple bystanders or active phenomenon mediated by epithelial to mesenchymal transition?
No full textMammary microcalcifications have a crucial role in breast cancer detection, but the processes that induce their formation are unknown. Moreover, recent studies have described the occurrence of the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in breast cancer, but its role is not defined. In this study, we hypothesized that epithelial cells acquire mesenchymal characteristics and become capable of producing breast microcalcifications. Moreover, we wanted to further investigate the evolution of the breast lesions with microcalcifications hypothesizing and investigating a pathological
mechanism able to describe this phenomenon.
Methods
Breast sample biopsies with microcalcifications underwent energy dispersive X-raymicroanalysis to better define the elemental composition of the microcalcifications. Images by mammographic exams were used to extrapolate pixel-wise values of density-related microcalcification features.
Breast sample biopsies without microcalcifications were used as controls. The ultrastructural phenotype of breast cells near to calcium deposits was also investigated to verify EMT in relation to breast microcalcifications. The mesenchymal phenotype and tissue mineralization were studied by immunostaining for vimentin, BMP-2, β2-microglobulin, β-catenin and osteopontin (OPN).
Results
The complex formation of calcium hydroxyapatite was strictly associated with malignant lesions whereas calcium-oxalate is mainly reported in benign lesions. Notably, for the first time, we observed the presence of magnesium-substituted hydroxyapatite, which was frequently noted in breast cancer but never found in benign lesions. In the 69% of the cases, Mg-Hap wasradiologically detectable as the “casting type” microcalcification. Moreover, pixel measured in correspondence to
microcalcifications revealed that Mg-HAp microcalcifications were significantly more radiodense than those made of HA and CO. Morphological studies demonstrated that epithelial cells with mesenchymal characteristics were significantly increased in infiltrating carcinomas with microcalcifications and in cells with ultrastructural features typical of osteoblasts close to microcalcifications. These data were strengthened by the rate of cells expressing molecules typically involved during physiological mineralization (i.e. BMP-2, OPN) that discriminated infiltrating carcinomas with microcalcifications from those without microcalcifications.
Conclusions
We found significant differences in the elemental composition of calcifications between benign and malignant lesions. Observations of cell phenotype led us to hypothesize that under specific stimuli, mammary cells, which despite retaining a minimal epithelial phenotype (confirmed by cytokeratin expression), may acquire some mesenchymal characteristics transforming themselves into cells with an osteoblast-like phenotype, and are able to contribute to the production of breast microcalcifications
Essays in audit quality and earnings quality in business groups
No full textThe aim of this thesis is to fill some of the gaps in the audit quality/pricing and financial reporting quality literatures by showing how group audit composition and parent-subsidiary relationships can explain group-level outcomes. Empirical proxies we observe for constructs such as audit risk, audit quality and earnings quality depend on the regulatory setting, and on the management/auditor decisions and incentives in both the parent company and group subsidiaries. Yet, the majority of accounting and auditing research has focused on group-level outcomes largely due to the non-availability of granular financial reporting or audit data at the subsidiary level, especially in the United States. In this thesis, I exploit the availability of private company subsidiary data in Europe to answer three main research questions that can be of interest to both regulators and financial statements’ users. In the first chapter, I investigate whether and how unaudited subsidiaries affect the overall group audit quality. I find that unaudited subsidiaries impair group audit quality and that this result is likely driven by group auditors underestimating audit risks when selecting the subsidiaries to be audited in a group. In the second chapter (co-authored), we try to understand whether group fee disclosure requirements and the misalignment between the parent auditor and subsidiary auditors can explain one of the most robust findings in the audit pricing literature, i.e., the audit fee low balling. We show that the first-year audit fee discount (low balling) is an artifact of a higher subsidiary auditor misalignment in the first year of the parent auditor’s appointment, with the fees paid to misaligned subsidiary auditors not being included and reported in group audit fees. In the last chapter, I show how the parent companies of listed domestic groups can conveniently locate earnings management in their domestic subsidiaries in order to manage group earnings, and I model the factors determining the location choice. I find that the earnings management location in the subsidiaries of domestic groups depends on the opportunities and risks of earnings management detection that subsidiaries have compared to the parent company
La realtà trema. Il Verga straniato di Debono, Scimeca, Vaccari
No full textLavorando su materiali e linguaggi diversi, il contributo mostra come la relazione tra «Verga e noi» sia stata articolata in tre riletture/riscritture «moderne», diverse ma accomunate da una sorta di elevazione a potenza dello «straniamento» già insito nel modello: la prima molto emozionata (l’opera Cavalleria rusticana di Delbono, 2012), la seconda spintamente grottesca (il Mastro don Gesualdo televisivo di Vaccari, 1964), l’ultima spintamente attualizzante (il
film Malavoglia di Scimeca, 2010)
New highlight in breast cancer development: the key role of hepcidin and iron metabolism
No full textClinical course of ulcerative colitis
No full text. Dig Liver Dis. 2008 Jul;40 Suppl 2:S247-52.
Clinical course of ulcerative colitis.
Cottone M, Scimeca D, Mocciaro F, Civitavecchia G, Perricone G, Orlando A.
Department of Medicine, Pneumology and Nutrition Clinic, V. Cervello Hospital,
University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
AIM: To provide a review of studies on prognosis in ulcerative colitis by
reviewing the relevant population-based cohort studies. On the basis of incidence
and population studies, ulcerative colitis has a favourable clinical course, with
good quality of life, a chronic course characterized by at least one relapse, and
a surgery rate of 30% after 10 years from diagnosis. Patients affected by severe
ulcerative colitis have a higher risk of colectomy, and some clinical variables
may predict the disease's clinical course. Most patients respond to steroids and
only a low percentage become dependent, or non-responders to steroids. Patients
who have a long-lasting ulcerative colitis (>10 years) or are affected by an
extensive disease have an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer, while
those treated with immunosuppressants for long period of time may have an
increased risk of developing lymphomas. Data on mortality in ulcerative colitis
patients are not homogeneous, but if a real risk exists it is in patients with
extensive or severe disease. The evidence that patients with severe ulcerative
colitis are often non-smokers may explain why in one study the mortality rate was
lower
Targeted therapies for Malignant Mesothelioma
No full textMalignant mesothelioma (MM) is an aggressive neoplasia arising from mesothelial cells that line serous cavities, such as pleura, peritoneum, pericardium, and vaginal tunic. It is defined as an occupational disease because it is related to asbestos exposure. It mainly affects people between 50 and 70 years of age, with a male to female mortality ratio of 4:1. Despite traditional multidisciplinary treatment, involving the combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, prognosis remains poor. This is partly due to the delay of the diagnosis and partly due to the inadequacy of therapeutic approaches. The aim of this project is to find new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of MM based on a molecular targeted approach.
In this study the in vitro and in vivo anticancer effects of Bortezomib (Bor), the first selective and reversible proteasome inhibitor, on MM have been investigated. Bor was able to inhibit cell growth in a dose- and time-dependent manner; to induce apoptosis in treated cell lines, both human (H-Meso-1, MM-F1 and MM-B1) and murine (#40a); to modulate the expression of several molecules deregulated in MM, such as EGFR, ErbB2 and AKT; to induce Unfolded Protein Response, altering the expression of Grp78, CHOP and BiP. In vivo studies on C57BL/6 murine MM model have shown that Bor inhibited tumor growth and increased mice overall survival. Moreover, Bor treatment was able to modulate tumor immune microenvironment [1].
The ErbB receptor family is often overexpressed in MM patients and the use of EGFR-targeted drugs can inhibit MM cell proliferation. It is described that the use of a specific unitarget drugs can induce drug-resistance leading to the activation of different deregulated signaling pathways, such as those mediated by ErbB family receptor, Hedgehog, Axl, Wnt [2]. Recent studies in our laboratory, investigated the in vitro and in vivo effects of a specific inhibitor of ErbB family receptor, Afatinib (AFA), in combination with a multitarget molecule, Curcumin (CUR). CUR was able to enhance AFA effects increasing the AFA-induced reduction of the proliferation rate and pro-apoptotic effects in vitro. Indeed, in vivo AFA-antitumor activity was enhanced by its combination with CUR significantly increasing mice overall survival [3].
In another study from our laboratory the effects of inhibitors of Hh- (GANT-61) and ErbB receptors (AFA)-mediated signaling pathways, involved in neoplastic transformation and progression, were evaluated. The combined treatment with two inhibitors was more effective than the single treatments in reducing MM growth in vitro and in vivo, overcame the occurrence of drug resistance.
Based on these results, we are currently studying whether combined treatment using three different molecular targeted drugs, used at low doses, is more effective than single and dual treatments in inhibiting tumor growth in MM. Specifically, we are testing the combination of AFA, with Y15, a FAK inhibitor, and TP-0903, an Axl inhibitor.
Our preliminary data showed an increase of cell proliferation inhibition, with a proportional increase in cell death, in all cell lines treated with the triple combination compared to single and dual treatments in a time-dependent manner. Moreover, the use of 3D cultures has made possible to study the antitumor effects of these three inhibitors on systems that are more complex and more representative of in vivo tumor models. Spheroids treated with AFA, Y15 or TP-0903, used alone or in double combination, showed a significant inhibition of growth compared to control spheroids, and the triple combination significantly decreases spheroid growth compared to control, single or double treated spheroids. Finally, the triple combination reduced cell viability in treated spheroids compared to control ones.
In conclusion, targeted therapy offers significant promise in achieving better treatment outcomes with fewer side effects than conventional therapies. This study could be helpful in developing new personalized therapies that are more effective for MM patient
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