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Enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) are a subset of long noncoding RNA generated from genomic enhancers: they are thought to act as potent promoters of the expression of nearby genes through interaction with the transcriptional and epigenomic machineries. In the present work, we describe two eRNAs transcribed from the enhancer of Nkx2-5—a gene specifying a master cardiomyogenic lineage transcription factor (TF)—which we call Intergenic Regulatory Element Nkx2-5 Enhancers (IRENEs). The IRENEs are encoded, respectively, on the same strand (SS) and in the divergent direction (div) respect to the nearby gene. Of note, these two eRNAs have opposing roles in the regulation of Nkx2-5: IRENE-SS acts as a canonical promoter of transcription, whereas IRENE-div represses the activity of the enhancer through recruitment of the histone deacetylase sirtuin 1. Thus, we have identified an autoregulatory loop controlling expression of the master cardiac TF NKX2-5, in which one eRNA represses transcription.

Several techniques have been proposed for bone regeneration in patients with atrophic ridges. Nowadays, GBR represents the gold standard, and it allows obtaining sufficient bone volumes for a correct implant-prosthetic rehabilitation. Our goal is to perform a systematic review of the literature on the use of titanium meshes in GBR in order to evaluate the reliability of the procedure, the regeneration obtained, and the failures. Furthermore, we will evaluate the success and survival rate of the inserted implants. The selected articles concern vertical and/or horizontal regeneration of the alveolar ridge using titanium grids, in association or not with biomaterials, before and simultaneously with implant placement. Six articles were selected for the present review, including a total of 139 patients, 156 sites, and 303 implants. Titanium grids in combination with autogenous bone were used in 2 cases, 5 in combination with a mixture of autogenous bone and bone substitutes. The overall survival and success rates of implants were 98.3% and 85.25%, respectively. In conclusion, our review shows how the use of titanium mesh represented a predictable method for the rehabilitation of complex atrophic sites.

In the last decade, the developments of novel technologies, such as Hi-C or GAM methods, allowed to discover that chromosomes in the nucleus of mammalian cells have a complex spatial organization, encompassing the functional contacts between genes and regulators. In this work, we review recent progresses in chromosome modeling based on polymer physics to understand chromatin structure and folding mechanisms. As an example, we derive in mouse embryonic stem cells the full 3D structure of the Bmp7 locus, a genomic region that plays a key role in osteoblastic differentiation. Next, as an application to Neuroscience, we present the first 3D model for the mouse orthologoue of the Williams-Beuren syndrome 7q11.23 human locus. Deletions and duplications of the 7q11.23 region generate neurodevelopmental disorders with multi-system involvement and variable expressivity, and with autism. Understanding the impact of such mutations on the rewiring of the interactions of genes and regulators could be a new key to make sense of their related diseases, with potential applications in biomedicine.

The Sele river coastal plain, located in Campania (southern Italy), is a broad subsiding area associated with rifting of the Tyrrhenian Sea. During the early Holocene, the fast sea-level rise led to a transgressive coastal system with landward shift of beach and marsh-lagoon deposits. During the late Holocene, the decrease of sea-level rise rate resulted in the coastal system progradation and lagoon infilling. Settlement of the sanctuary of Hera Argiva by Greeks, in the Sele coastal plain, occurred in 6th century B.C. Reconstruction of environments at that time allows to locate the coastline 250 m landward with respect to the present. A coastal system comprising a beach and sand dune ridge was present, and extensive bogs and ponds were formed behind the dunes. The sanctuary founded on the levee of the Sele river at the edge of the marshes was surrounded by a natural garden with luxuriant vegetation. The presence of Myrtus plants perhaps introduced by man in the Hera Argiva garden is inferred.

We report our experience in the treatment of pleural effusion in 25 patients with metastatic breast cancer. Seventeen patients received initial systemic therapy and in 13 of them local intrapleural therapy was subsequently employed; the remaining 8 patients received local therapy only. Several modalities of local treatment were used: intrapleural chemotherapy with thiotepa and 5-fluorouracil; the production of pleural adhesion by the use of chest drainage alone or associated with instillation of sclerosing agents, such as nitrogen mustard or tetracycline. Of the 21 patients who were subjected to local therapy, 19 (90.5%) achieved an objective response (16 complete (76.2%) and 3 (14.34%) partial). Complete responses were observed exclusively in patients who had pleurodesis. Our data suggest that pleurodesis is the treatment of choice for neoplastic pleural effusion and that the use of tetracycline as a sclerosing agent is the most useful because of its availability, low cost and low morbidity.