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In the attempt of satisfying the quest for new antifouling products tailored for applications on Cultural Heritage, we have synthesized and characterized two different silica nanosystems. The first consists of core-shell nanocapsules and the second one of mesostructured nanoparticles. Both systems have been successfully loaded in situ with the commercial biocide 2-mercaptobenzothizole (MBT). The synthesis procedure and particles characterization measurements, as far as their dimensions and superficial properties, loading capability, and release rate in aqueous solution, are reported. We stress that both particles have the dimensions required to avoid undesired light scattering once dispersed on the artefact surface. Interestingly, the two nanoparticles have complementary properties, suggesting that combining them in a coating may have a higher potential for production of new generation active products. • Two different pore-templating surfactant strategy to obtained silica nanocontainers. • Design of a new silica nanosystem to control the release rate of biocide in antifouling coatings. • Successful encapsulation of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole into two nanosystems with complementary release properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To identify diabetes-related characteristics of individuals at different stages of readiness to change to healthy, low-fat eating.Research Design and Methods: Stage-based differences in demographic, eating-related, health care utilization, and psychosocial factors were examined in a sample of 768 overweight (BMI >27 kg/m(2)) individuals with diabetes enrolled in a randomized behavioral intervention trial.Results: Stage-based differences occurred for type 1 diabetic participants on percent of calories from fat and number of daily vegetable servings. For type 2 diabetic participants, sex, disease-specific quality of life, percent calories from fat, and number of daily vegetables servings differed across stages. Those in action stages were more likely to be female and have a better quality of life and healthier eating habits. Type 2 diabetic insulin-requiring participants in action stages were more likely to be married. Social support was highest for those in the contemplation stage and lowest for those in the action stage. Type 2 diabetic participants on pills in the action stages were older, had a lower BMI, ate more fruit, were nonsmokers, recently attended diabetes education, had a better quality of life and social support, and had less stress. One anomalous finding for type 2 diabetic participants was that precontemplators scored similarly to those in action stages.Conclusions: These data validate the Transtheoretical Model, where those in the action stages displayed healthier eating. They also indicate that demographic and psychosocial factors may mediate readiness to change diet. Precontemplators were a heterogeneous group and may need individually tailored interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STAR is the first italian App for smartphone and tablet entirely dedicated to the cultural astronomy sites in Rome. The user will be guided on a journey to discover mithraea, sundials and Astronomy related places of the Capital. In most cases, these sites are visited by millions of tourists for their historical and artistic value but their astronomical significance point of view is not valorise. Despite many ancient monuments also enclose a strong astronomical significance, linked for example to the original constructive purposes, this aspect is largely ignored by the general public. The aim of STAR is therefore offer the opportunity to discover an unexpected, original and evocative side of the city of Rome to a widest possible audience through an innovative technological support, simple and attractive, which STAR wants to be. This App aims to involve the foreign tourist as the Roman citizen rediscovering the city, the neophyte as the expert of this topic. With STAR it is possible to modulate the itinerary, to choose the number and type of sites to visit, depending on the time available, and the favorite way to reach the sites. Moreover, the user will have the opportunity to select the type of presentation of the site based on the desired level of detail. To add emotional impact to the experience, making more effective the communication of contents, the App allow to reveal the original appearance of the sites or bring to light hidden details using the virtual augmented reality. This tool also allows you to discover places otherwise not be visited because they are not easly accessible, in particular for those who are suffering from disabilities, with particular reference to mitrei for their underground nature. Moreover, STAR replace or compensates the lack of in situ traditional communication systems, mostly absent or very reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although extensively studied, the exact nature of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), the most common tumors in AIDS patients worldwide, is still controversial. KS is a highly vascularised tumor, apparently induced by HHV8 infection of vascular precursors, endothelial cells, circulating endothelial and/or haematopoietic progenitors. Cell lines derived from KS biopsies show similar characteristics: a mixture of mesenchymal and vascular markers. Given the growing interest in cancer stem cells as a new perspective in cancer treatment, we decided to isolate and characterize the potential stem sub-populations in KS cultures and to study whether the interaction of these cells with the microenvironment may influence their tumorigenicity.Two KS cell lines (KS-IMM and SLK), cultured out of biopsy material from KS patients, were used to asses stemness capability of this tumor.KS cells were karyotypically characterized, analyzed by functional genomics with Affymetrix arrays and then grown in specific serum-free stem cell medium. Cell proliferation assay showed an anchorage-independent growth capability of KS and SLK cell lines forming spheroid structures. With increasing passages, these KS-derived spheroids showed an increase in proliferation potential and sphere forming efficiency.Surface expression markers on spheroids were evaluated through flow cytometry and compared to parental cell lines. Consistent increase in CD34 and CD326 and decrease in CD133 and CD144 were found in cells derived from KS-IMM spheroid compared to parental cells, while only ABCG2 is consistently decreased in SLK spheroids. Preliminary results suggest the existence of a KS subpopulation showing stemness features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: The aim of our study was to describe, by a case‐control and cross‐sectional design, the correlation between clinical impairment and age in Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth type 1A (CMT1A) patients. Methods: Seventy CMT1A patients and 70 sex‐ and age‐matched healthy controls were enrolled. Motor performance was assessed through the 10‐m walk test, the 6‐min walk test and the 9‐hole peg test of the dominant and non‐dominant side, and muscle strength was measured by using the Medical Research Council score. In the CMT1A group, disability and quality of life were evaluated using the Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth Neuropathy Score (CMTNS) and the Short Form 36 (SF‐36) questionnaire. Cross‐sectional relationships between age and all clinical measures were analyzed and differences in the slopes between cases and controls were calculated. The occurrence of a structural change in the age‐related progression of clinical measures was explored. Results: The deterioration of motor performance correlated with age in both groups with a greater slope in CMT1A patients than controls. The deterioration of CMTNS and SF‐36 correlated with age in the CMT1A group. The deterioration of all clinical measures with the exception of the SF‐36 questionnaire showed a structural change at the 50th year of age. The rate of deterioration was no different between patients and controls until 50 years of age, whereupon it became significantly greater in CMT1A patients. Conclusion: Our study supports that the disease progression in CMT1A patients is an age‐related process and the 50th year of age represents a critical moment after which the clinical decline becomes faster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Myosin heavy chain 7 (MYH7)-related myopathies are emerging as an important group of muscle diseases of childhood and adulthood, with variable clinical and histopathological expression depending on the type and location of the mutation. Mutations in the head and neck domains are a well-established cause of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy whereas mutation in the distal regions have been associated with a range of skeletal myopathies with or without cardiac involvement, including Laing distal myopathy and Myosin storage myopathy. Recently the spectrum of clinical phenotypes associated with mutations in MYH7 has increased, blurring this scheme and adding further phenotypes to the list. A broader disease spectrum could lead to misdiagnosis of different congenital myopathies, neurogenic atrophy and other neuromuscular conditions.Results: As a result of a multicenter Italian study we collected clinical, histopathological and imaging data from a population of 21 cases from 15 families, carrying reported or novel mutations in MYH7. Patients displayed a variable phenotype including atypical pictures, as dropped head and bent spine, which cannot be classified in previously described groups. Half of the patients showed congenital or early infantile weakness with predominant distal weakness. Conversely, patients with later onset present prevalent proximal weakness. Seven patients were also affected by cardiomyopathy mostly in the form of non-compacted left ventricle. Muscle biopsy was consistent with minicores myopathy in numerous cases. Muscle MRI was meaningful in delineating a shared pattern of selective involvement of tibialis anterior muscles, with relative sparing of quadriceps.Conclusion: This work adds to the genotype-phenotype correlation of MYH7-relatedmyopathies confirming the complexity of the disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study compared diabetes Treatment As Usual (TAU) with Pathways To Change (PTC), an intervention developed from the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM), to determine whether the PTC intervention would result in greater readiness to change, greater increases in self-care, and improved diabetes control.Research Design and Methods: Participants were stratified by diabetes treatment and randomized to treatment with PTC or TAU as well as being randomized regarding receipt of free blood testing strips. The PTC consisted of stage-matched personalized assessment reports, self-help manuals, newsletters, and individual phone counseling designed to improve readiness for self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG), healthy eating, and/or smoking cessation. A total of 1029 individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes who were in one of three pre-action stages for either SMBG, healthy eating, or smoking were recruited.Results: For the SMBG intervention, 43.4% of those receiving PTC plus strips moved to an action stage, as well as 30.5% of those receiving PTC alone, 27.0% of those receiving TAU plus strips, and 18.4% of those receiving TAU alone (P < 0.001). For the healthy eating intervention, more participants who received PTC than TAU (32.5 vs. 25.8%) moved to action or maintenance (P < 0.001). For the smoking intervention, more participants receiving PTC (24.3%) than TAU (13.4%) moved to an action stage (P < 0.03). In intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis of those receiving the SMBG intervention, PTC resulted in a greater reduction of HbA(1c) than TAU, but this did not reach statistical significance. However, in those who moved to an action stage for the SMBG and healthy eating interventions, HbA(1c) was significantly reduced (P < 0 0.001). Individuals who received the healthy eating intervention decreased their percentage of calories from fat to a greater extent (35.2 vs. 36.1%, P = 0.004), increased servings of fruit per day (1.89 vs. 1.68, P = 0.016), and increased vegetable servings (2.24 vs. 2.06, P = 0.011) but did not decrease weight. However, weight loss for individuals who received the healthy eating intervention and who increased SMBG frequency as recommended was significantly greater, with a 0.26-kg loss in those who remained in a pre-action SMBG stage but a 1.78-kg loss in those performed SMBG as recommended (P Conclusions: This study demonstrates that this intervention has the potential of positively impacting the health of broad populations of individuals with diabetes, not just the minority who are ready for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smoking during pregnancy is hazardous as it poses numerous risks to both the mother and the unborn child. Formerly, interventions that were successful for White smokers were thought to be equally appropriate for all smokers. It is now acknowledged that there is a need to tailor interventions for distinct ethnic and cultural groups. This study was designed to identify variables that are associated with smoking status in a low-income sample of pregnant Latina and White women. Results indicate that Latinas had lower levels of addiction to cigarettes and were less likely to have partners who smoked than White women. Identifying differences in the characteristics of ethnically diverse pregnant smokers will assist in the development of interventions that are tailored for women who attend prenatal clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]