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Abstract In the field of botany applied to archaeological and palaeoecological studies, the multi- and inter-disciplinary nature of this research produces a lack of data sharing and scattered articles in the specialty literature or in national and international journals. The vast production of archaeobotany and palynology data makes it necessary to develop a tool for the availability, accessibility, and dissemination of existing research. Many databases exist on palaeoecology, archaeobotany or pollen data. There are no collections focused on archaeological sites and human-induced environments and centred on Southern Europe and the Mediterranean. BRAIN - Botanical Records of Archaeobotany Italian Network is the first database listing sites from which all types of plant records are available in Italy and nearby Mediterranean regions. BRAIN represents the largest integrated collection of archaeo/palaeo-botanical data and a range of descriptive information that makes data recovery FAIR ready. This unique network hosts data on the availability of anthropogenic pollen, palynomorphs and plant macroremains in the same database, and experts of different research fields may contribute to it.

Vitamin D3 or calcitriol (VitD3) has been shown to have anticancer and anti-inflammatory activity in in vitro models and clinical studies. However, its effect on HPV-16-related cancer has been sparsely explored. In this study, we aimed to determine whether monotherapy or combination therapy with cisplatin (CP) reduces tumor growth and affects survival and systemic inflammation. Treatments were administered to C57BL/6 mice with HPV-16-related tumors (TC-1 cells) as follows: (1) placebo (100 µL vehicle, olive oil, orally administered daily); (2) VitD3 (3.75 µg/kg calcitriol orally administered daily); (3) CP (5 mg/kg intraperitoneally, every 7 days); and (4) VitD3+CP. Tumor growth was monitored for 25 days, survival for 60 days, and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was evaluated on days 1 (baseline), 7, and 14. VitD3+CP showed greater success in reducing tumor volume compared to CP monotherapy (p = 0.041), while no differences were observed between CP and VitD3 monotherapy (p = 0.671). Furthermore, VitD3+CP prolonged survival compared to CP (p = 0.036) and VitD3 (p = 0.007). Additionally, at day 14 the VitD3 and VitD3+CP groups showed significantly lower NLR values than the CP group (p < 0.05, for both comparisons). Vitamin D3 could be a promising adjuvant in the treatment of cervical cancer or solid tumors and deserves further investigation.

Introduction. Cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, smoking, and dyslipidemia enfold heart disease morbimortality. Diagonal earlobe crease has been proposed as a prognostic marker of extension and severity of illness in patients with acute coronary syndrome. But its usefulness remains unclear in patients with or without coronary disease. Methods. A case-control study was carried out on a total of 805 patients with and without cardiovascular risk factors or acute coronary syndrome. Univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were used to determine the probability of having diagonal earlobe crease with the presence of cardiovascular risk factors and acute coronary syndrome. Data were summarized as odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals and P values. Results. An unadjusted (univariate) analysis showed that being male, being older than 55 years, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, smoking, and dyslipidemia, as well as having acute coronary syndrome, were associated with the presence of diagonal earlobe crease. The multivariate analysis showed that men (OR 1.6, 95% IC 1.1–2.4, P=0.007), being over 55 years old (OR 4.8, 95% IC 3.2–7.2, P

In our study, we assessed the effects of verbenone, the most widely studied bark beetle aggregation inhibitor, on saproxylic beetles in a Mediterranean pine forest in Tuscany. Verbenone pouches were devised in the laboratory and then applied to Ips sexdentatus pheromone traps so that their catches could be compared to those of traps containing just the pheromone. The trial was carried out in spring–summer 2023, and insect catches were collected every two weeks. A total of 9440 beetles were collected that belonged to 32 different families and 57 species. About 80% of the captures were bark beetles, mainly Orthotomicus erosus. Beetle predators accounted for about 17% of the captures, with a total of 12 species. Some of these predator species had not yet been studied in relation to verbenone effects, like other saproxylic beetles recorded in this study. A significant reduction in captures was recorded for some beetles (e.g., I. sexdentatus and O. erosus), while for other species, no differences emerged, and in some cases, captures increased significantly when verbenone was present in the traps (i.e., Hylurgus ligniperda, Corticeus pini, and Aulonium ruficorne). The diversity of caught saproxylic beetles increased significantly in the verbenone traps, highlighting possible implications of the use of verbenone when managing bark beetle outbreaks.

X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) is a rare, progressive, genetic disease with multisystem impact that typically begins to manifest in early childhood. Two treatment options exist: oral phosphate in combination with active vitamin D (“conventional therapy”) and a fully human monoclonal anti-FGF23 antibody, burosumab. The clinical benefit of conventional therapy in adults is limited, and poor tolerance and complications are common. Burosumab was first approved as a treatment for XLH in 2018 and its disease-modifying benefits in clinical trials in children suggest burosumab treatment could also alter the disease course in adults. Without long-term clinical data on multiple XLH-related sequelae available, the results of an elicitation exercise are reported, in which eight global experts in XLH posited how long-term treatment with burosumab is anticipated to impact the life course of clinical sequelae in adults with XLH. Based on their clinical experiences, the available evidence and their disease understanding, the experts agreed that some long-term benefits of using burosumab are likely in adults with XLH even if they have a misaligned skeleton from childhood. Burosumab treatment is anticipated to reduce the incidence of fractures and halt the progression of clinical sequelae associated with conventional therapy. While the trajectories for established dental abscesses are not expected to improve with burosumab treatment, dental abscess development may be prevented. Starting treatment with burosumab in childhood to increase the likelihood of an aligned skeleton and continuation into and throughout adulthood to maintain euphosphatemia may optimize patient outcomes, although future real-world investigation is required to support this hypothesis.

Almost 70 years after the first excavations, the site of Colombare di Villa di Negrar di Valpolicella is now the focus of a project of archaeological and paleoenvironmental investigations led by the University of Milan and the Cultural Heritage Office for the provinces of Verona, Rovigo and Vicenza. In the light of the archaeological evidence, the site was occupied from the Recent Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age, apparently without interruption. Probably it was founded in the context of systematic activities of extraction, processing and export of the high quality flint of the western Lessini Mountains, but its long duration also implies a deep-rooted presence in the territory due to the agricultural exploitation of the land. The project is based on a rigorously interdisciplinary methodology of investigation, oriented towards the study of the relations between the community settled at Colombare and the surrounding territory, and it avails itself of the collaboration of several research institutes. The results of pollen and archaeobotanical studies show a relatively developed agricultural economy, with cereal growing and wild fruit picking activities. Among these, the vine and the hazelnut are particularly important as species that must have been present in the site, probably cared for and systematically used for human consumption. Radiocarbon dates document a reduction of tree species in favor of herbaceous species starting from the last centuries of the fifth millennium BC, which can be interpreted as the effect of an extensive deforestation. Archaeozoological data, although they’re substantially unreliable in terms of function and chronological detail, indicate a prevalence of domestic animals, including typically Neolithic large cattle, and hunting activities, especially of the large ungulates of forest habitat. The very detailed data of the paleo-environmental researches at Colombare di Negrar allow to advance some considerations on the construction of the agrarian landscape in the alpine and prealpine area during the recent prehistory and protohistory, and on its peculiarities compared to the better known Po Valley area.

Neste breve texto procuramos expor algumas de nossas reflexões sobre a relação entre a Arqueologia e a História como disciplinas do passado; reflexões construídas ao longo de minha carreira na Universidade de São Paulo.

Desde a segunda metade do século XX, o tombamento persiste como principal alternativa de salvaguarda de bens culturais no Brasil, enquanto a partir dos anos 2000, o plano diretor municipal estabelece diretrizes protetivas de áreas remanescentes da narrativa evolutiva de urbes contemporâneas. Diante dessas assertivas, o objetivo geral da pesquisa consiste em analisar os argumentos relativos à proteção da memória do centro histórico de Paranaguá, Paraná. Com caráter exploratório e abordagem qualitativa, a investigação foi apoiada em técnicas de revisão de literatura e em análises documentais. Seus resultados indicam que aquela ferramenta da política patrimonial e o citado documento de ordenamento urbanístico contribuem tanto para alterações positivas, quanto para externalidades adversas, com riscos à cognição do passado no presente e à sua respectiva transmissibilidade ao futuro. Pela interpretação das questões históricas e empíricas do caso estudado, também se pode deduzir que a efetividade dessas ações depende do reconhecimento dos valores e significados do patrimônio individual e coletivo. Por fim, conclui-se que, como decorrência de descompassos de pensamento entre diversas instâncias – públicas e privadas, legados da humanidade restam à deriva e suscetíveis a perdas irreversíveis e ao desaparecimento – completo ou parcial – da história das comunidades locais. Palavras-chave: centros históricos; bens patrimoniais; planejamento urbano; tempo presente.

Nowadays, wild grapevine populations are quite limited and sporadic mainly due to habitat destruction, land-use change, and the spread of pathogens that have reduced their distribution range. Palaeoecological, archaeobotanical, and genetic studies indicate that modern cultivars of Vitis vinifera are the results of the domestication of the dioecious, and sometimes hermaphrodite, wild species standing in riparian zones and wet environments. Wild grapevine populations have declined as a consequence of various forms of anthropogenic disturbance and were assigned by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species to the Least Concern category. The River Crati Natural Reserve (Riserva Naturale Foce del Crati), located in southern Italy, hosts a population of Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris in a rewilding wet forest close to the Ionian Sea. These protected areas are of high scientific, biogeographic, and conservation interest in terms of Mediterranean biodiversity. Dendroecological and pollen morpho-biometric analyses of the wild grapevine are presented in this study. Palaeoecological perspectives for a landscape management strategy aimed at conserving and restoring the relic grapevine population are discussed.

This paper presents palynological data obtained from a trench excavated at the Neolithic pile-dwelling archaeological site of Palù di Livenza (northeastern Italy). The site is in a wetland located in a tectonic basin at the foot of the Cansiglio plateau, crossed by the Livenza river. Environmental conditions have made this wetland a suitable area for settlements since prehistoric times. Thanks to the peaty sediments that characterise the area, archaeological materials and botanical remains have been exceptionally well preserved. Their study has shed light on a Neolithic pile-dwelling settlement that developed in various phases between c. 6350 and 5600 cal BP (c. 4400 and 3650 BC), and has also allowed for a detailed environmental reconstruction of the surrounding environment. A vertical sequence of 20 samples was analysed to study pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs and microcharcoals. An age-depth model was performed based on three radiocarbon dates. The palynological analysis provided insight into the response of vegetation to environmental changes caused by both climatic fluctuations and human pressure. In this sense, it was possible to highlight differences in vegetation cover, some fires, the use of woody resources, the spread of cereal fields, as well as the presence of other cultivated plants and plant processing by the people within the village.

O Ocidente mediterrânico, a partir do século VIII a.C., passou a receber levas de migrantes gregos dispostos a ali se instalarem permanentemente. Levados pela falta de terras agriculturáveis, por problemas políticos em seus locais de origem ou, ainda, pela busca de um modo de vida ligado à atividade comercial, esses grupos, por força, tiveram que estabelecer relações com os habitantes das localidades do Ocidente. Fundando assentamentos de vários tipos – uns mais permanentes, outros mais temporários –, os gregos tornaram-se parceiros de sicânios, sículos, samnitas, fenícios, enótrios e assim por diante em relações muitas vezes de agressão, mas em outras de convívio pacífico, de acomodação, de negociação. Nesse contexto, uma leva de migrantes da Lócrida da Grécia Balcânica chegou ao extremo sul da Península Itálica, pelo lado do mar Jônio, e fundaram uma nova Lócris no século VII a.C.: Lócris Epizefiri. Ao depararem-se com uma faixa costeira muito estreita, esses lócrios logo se aventuraram pelas montanhas do Aspromonte em direção ao mar Tirreno: ali encontraram uma planície muito fértil, onde fundaram dois novos assentamentos: Medma e Hipónio. Neste artigo, procuraremos mostrar o que a Arqueologia revela sobre como essas novas pólis na planície tirrênica de Gioia Tauro se constituíram, ampliando a área de influência de Lócris.

Measurement(s) population Technology Type(s) Count Factor Type(s) time scale • geographic location Sample Characteristic - Organism Aves Sample Characteristic - Location Europe Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13240760

Resumen: El Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 produce la enfermedad COVID-19, cuya manifestación más grave y potencialmente letal es la neumonía. En este artículo revisaremos las manifestaciones clínicas del COVID-19, la fisiopatología de la neumonía, el manejo intrahospitalario previo al ingreso a Unidades de Cuidados Intensivos, la embolia pulmonar que es una complicación muy frecuente de esta enfermedad y el seguimiento de los pacientes posterior al alta. Para esta publicación nos hemos basado en publicaciones médicas y en estudios que hemos hecho durante esta pandemia en nuestro Centro de Enfermedades Respiratorias. Summary: The SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus causes the COVID-19 disease, the most severe and potentially fatal manifestation of which is pneumonia. In this article, we will review the clinical manifestations of COVID-19, the pathophysiology of pneumonia, in-hospital management prior to admission to Intensive Care Units, pulmonary embolism, which is a very frequent complication of this disease, and the follow-up of patients after hospitalization. For this publication we have relied on medical publications and studies that we have done during this pandemic at our Center for Respiratory Diseases.

The Eurasian (née European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60 % from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019).

Game Theory (GT) formalizes dispute scenarios between two or more players where each one makes a move following their strategy profiles. The following paper introduces the integration of GT to selection and crossover steps of Genetic Algorithms as an evolutionary model of the representation of population in a similar way to human social evolution. Two ideas are proposed to be incorporated into the GA. First, the Genetic Algorithm with Social Interaction (GASI), a family of GAs that uses GT in selection phase to increase the diversification of the solutions. Second, the (Game-Based Crossover) GBX and GBX2 crossover operators, competition-based tournament selection methods that employ social dispute to generate more diverse offspring. Performance and robustness of the new approaches were assessed by ten continuous and constrained engineering design optimization problems and compared against variants of the canonical GA, as well as well-known heuristics from the literature. Results indicate significant performance relevance in most instances compared to other algorithms and highlight the benefits of combining GT and GA.

Background: Risk factors for developing long COVID are not clearly established. The present study was designed to determine if any sign, symptom, or treatment of the acute phase, or personal characteristics of the patient, is associated with the development of long COVID. Methods: A cohort study was carried out, randomly selecting symptomatic COVID-19 patients and not vaccinated. The severity of the acute illness was assessed through the number of compatible COVID-19 symptoms, hospitalizations, and the symptom severity score using a 10-point visual analog scale. Results: After multivariate analysis, a severity score ≥8 (RR 2.0, 95%CI 1.1–3.5, p = 0.022), hospitalization (RR 2.1, 95%CI 1.0–4.4, p = 0.039), myalgia (RR 1.9, 95%CI 1.08–3.6, p = 0.027), tachycardia (RR 10.4, 95%CI 2.2–47.7, p = 0.003), and use of antibiotics (RR 2.0, 95%CI 1.1–3.5, p = 0.022), was positively associated with the risk of having long COVID. Higher levels of education (RR 0.6, 95%CI 0.4–0.9, p = 0.029) and type positive B blood group (B + AB, RR 0.44, 95%CI 0.2–0.9, p = 0.044) were protective factors. The most important population attributable fractions (PAFs) for long COVID were myalgia (37%), severity score ≥8 (31%), and use of antibiotics (27%). Conclusions: Further studies in diverse populations over time are needed to expand the knowledge that could lead us to prevent and/or treat long COVID.

Este estudo trata da construção de imagens no patrimônio cultural à luz da semiótica e da estética, envolvendo um diálogo entre arquitetura, percepção, imagem e identidade. De igual modo, discute a necessidade de preservação dos bens culturais no Brasil com base em sua dimensão cultural e não a partir de um historicismo mais ou menos mimético. O referencial teórico é pautado na concepção de Charles Peirce (2005) acerca da semiótica e respalda o debate sobre a aplicação dessa teoria na sua relação com a estética e com o patrimônio cultural. O contexto conceitual-metodológico também aborda o conceito de imagem na arquitetura, abrangendo autores do campo do patrimônio e apresentando conceitos da teoria do restauro que permanecem atuais na contemporaneidade. O objetivo geral é discutir a matéria dos bens culturais edificados como subsídios para a preservação dos valores e da imagem dos lugares acautelados. O resultado pretendido é demonstrar, de maneira teórico-argumentativa, reflexões sobre a conexão entre a semiótica de Charles Peirce, a partir de suas contribuições a respeito dos princípios da linguagem visual, e a estética no patrimônio edificado enquanto experiência cognitiva.

Palynological and archaeobotanical analyses have been carried out as part of the interdisciplinary project of Colombare di Negrar, a prehistoric site in the Lessini Mountains (northern Italy). The palaeoenvironmental and economic reconstruction from the Late Neolithic to the beginning of the Early Bronze Age was based on 16 pollen samples and three samples of macroremains taken from two contiguous trenches. The landscape reconstruction shows the presence of natural clearings in the wood. Forest cover was characterised by oak wood, with Ulmus and Tilia. The intermediate morphology of size and exine of Tilia cordata/platyphyllos pollen may be regarded as the first palynological evidence of lime hybrids in palaeorecords. Hygrophilous trees and Vitis vinifera testify to the presence of riparian forests and moist soils. Among trees supplying fruits, in addition to the grapevine, hazelnut (Corylus avellana) and walnut (Juglans regia) were present. A mixed economy based on animal breeding and cultivation of cereals (Hordeum vulgare, Triticum monococcum, T. dicoccum, T. timopheevii) emerged from the data. The combined analysis of pollen and plant macroremains suggests that different activities were carried out simultaneously in Colombare and a relationship between natural resources and the socio-economic and cultural evolution of the territory.

A segunda metade do século XX foi marcada pela revisão e crítica à ideologia do movimento moderno e por novas abordagens dos conceitos de cultura e de história, cujas reverberações estenderam-se aos bens culturais. O objeto do patrimônio começou a abranger novas temporalidades e naturezas de valor patrimonial e passou a ser aplicado a tipologias materiais e imateriais, momento em que produz uma mercadoria e um objeto de consumo. Inseridas nesse contexto, as cores das superfícies arquitetônicas refletem as práticas de preservação e os princípios gerais que norteiam as intervenções. Nesse cenário, este artigo enfatiza as narrativas imagéticas e identifica a recorrência de atitudes estruturantes na base das intervenções cromáticas em bens culturais edificados. Identificadas como paradigmas, fundamentam-se no culto ao valor de novidade, em tendências cromáticas como o uso do amarelo na arquitetura historicista e no turismo cultural. O artigo analisa a existência de tais paradigmas a partir de intervenções cromáticas realizadas em bens culturais edificados no Brasil. O referencial teórico aborda o conceito de imagem urbana e é fundamentado nas reflexões de Jean Baudrillard, Guy Debord, Pierre Jeudy, no restauro crítico de Cesare Brandi e na interpretação cultural contemporânea de Flávio Carsalade. Os resultados demonstram que apesar do discurso teórico consolidado que preconiza a análise caso a caso, na prática as decisões projetuais cromáticas não refletem as tendências atuais da teoria da restauração e revelam que a questão da cor no patrimônio cultural não foi superada e deve ser discutida em toda sua complexidade histórica, teórica e fenomenológica.

This paper reports on the most ancient unusual morphological trait of the apertures of Poaceae pollen found in archaeological layers. In Poaceae, high levels of hybridization, polyploidy, apomixis, and multiporate pollen are often related. Multiple genomes in polyploids are critical for the adaptation of plant species to stresses and could be revealed by anomalies in pollen development. Therefore, the paleoenvironmental research can gain great benefits from identifying polyploids in past contexts by observing anomalous pollen morphology during pollen counts. The occurrence of multiporate pollen in Poaceae has also been related to special features of the ecology of the species showing this anomaly, as well as to climatic and environmental stresses experienced by Poaceae living in a given region. Multiporate and bi- or tri-porate instead of monoporate pollen grains have been observed in samples taken from Takarkori rockshelter, an archaeological site in southwestern Libya (central Sahara) that has been occupied between ~10,200 and ~4650 cal BP. Multiporate pollen was found in organic sands and coprolites of ovicaprines. On the basis of archaeobotanical research, this work aims to investigate whether the presence of supernumerary pores in Poaceae pollen may be an effect of both climatic/hydrological changes and continued anthropogenic pressure on the wild grasses living in the region. The presence of multiporate pollen reveals that Poaceae that lived in central Sahara tackled several kinds of stress during the early and middle Holocene. The Takarkori pollen record suggests that climate change could have played a major role in the early Holocene, while human pressure became stronger during the middle Holocene. The change in environmental conditions determined adaptive responses of polyploid grasses even in the form of multiporate pollen.

Magnesium is an important base material for non-permanent implants, even though its corrosion rate in the human body is usually elevated for most applications. In order to reduce that rate, polymer coatings can be a better option than heavy-metal containing Mg alloys. In this work, random copolymers of PMMA and PMAA were synthesized and used for coating pure Mg by simply immersing Mg coupons into a diluted copolymer solution. It has been shown by SEM analysis and quantitative adsorption analysis that the copolymers have adsorbed onto the Mg surface. All the coated materials presented a lower corrosion rate than the uncoated Mg, reaching close to 100% reduction for most of the copolymer up to 6 hours of testing. The copolymers with 5, 8 and 13% of PMAA in their composition showed the best performances as corrosion controllers.

Amphiphilic copolymers have a wide variety of medical and biotechnological applications, including DNA transfection in eukaryotic cells. Still, no polymer-primed transfection of prokaryotic cells has been described. The reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymer synthesis technique and the reversible deactivation radical polymerization variants allow the design of polymers with well-controlled molar mass, morphology, and hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity ratios. RAFT was used to synthesize two amphiphilic copolymers containing different ratios of the amphiphilic poly[2-(dimethyl-amino) ethyl methacrylate] and the hydrophobic poly [methyl methacrylate]. These copolymers bound to pUC-19 DNA and successfully transfected non-competent Escherichia coli DH5α, with transformation efficiency in the range of 103 colony-forming units per µg of plasmid DNA. These results demonstrate prokaryote transformation using polymers with controlled amphiphilic/hydrophobic ratios.

This study aimed to investigate matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity in human dentin using in-situ and gelatin zymography, after at-home and in-office bleaching, related to their clinical exposure times. Dentin specimens (n = 5) were treated with 35% hydrogen peroxide (50 min per session/4 sessions), 10% carbamide peroxide (180 min/21 sessions), or no treatment. All were subjected to in-situ zymography. Dentin slices were, subsequently, obtained, covered with fluorescein-conjugated gelatin, and examined with confocal laser-scanning microscopy. The fluorescence intensity was quantified and statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni tests (α = 0.05). Furthermore, gelatin zymography was performed on protein extracts obtained from dentin powder (N = 8 teeth), treated with hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide, with different exposure times (10/50 min for hydrogen peroxide; 252/1260 min for carbamide peroxide). The results of the in-situ zymography showed no statistical differences between the bleached specimens and the control group, with a medium level of gelatinolytic activity expressed in the dentin tubules. The results of gelatin zymography showed an increased expression of pro-MMP-9 in carbamide peroxide groups. The expression of pro-MMP-2 decreased in all the experimental groups. The bleaching treatments performed on the enamel of sound teeth do not influence dentinal enzymatic activity. However, when unprotected dentin tissue is bleached, matrix metalloproteinases are more expressed, particularly when carbamide peroxide is used, proportional to the exposure time.

[This short note provides the first ever evidence of the successful breeding of the Golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos in the Pratomagno massif, an “anti-Appenines” mountain chain straddling the provinces of Florence and Arezzo (Tuscany), outside the known breeding area. The couple have successfully nested three years after its first observation; in previous years the appearance of the species had become more regular]. [Article in Italian]

Background: The bioactive cell-free formulation (BIOF2) for cartilage regeneration has shown a major therapeutic response in severe knee osteoarthritis. However, its effect on patients with mild or moderate stages of the disease has not been studied. Objective: To evaluate the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score, minimal clinically important improvement (MCII) and sleep disturbances in mild, moderate, and severe stages of knee osteoarthritis (OA) with the novel cell-free formulation treatment (BIOF2). Methods: An open-label, nonrandomized, baseline-controlled, parallel group study on patients with mild, moderate, and severe knee OA was conducted to evaluate the effect of intra-articular administration of BIOF2. Clinical improvement was determined through the WOMAC score and MCII, whereas sleep disturbances were measured through a Likert scale questionnaire. Results: At 6 months post-treatment, the mean decrease in the total WOMAC score was 16.4 +/- 4.7%, 49.9 +/- 6.4%, and 62.7 +/- 4.5% in the patients with mild, moderate, and severe disease, respectively ( p < 0.001, analysis of variance test). MCII at 6 months was 18%, 78%, and 100% for mild, moderate, and severe disease, respectively ( p < 0.001, likelihood-ratio χ 2 test). Concerning sleep disturbances, 60% of the patients with severe OA had important sleep problems before beginning treatment, and those difficulties were overcome 6 months after treatment. Only 18% of the patients with mild disease and 16% with moderate disease had serious sleep disturbances at the beginning of the study, and there was slight improvement after treatment. No adverse events were recorded during follow-up. Conclusion: BIOF2 generates better patient-reported health outcomes (on pain, stiffness, function, and sleep) in the more severe cases of knee OA.

We are all familiar with the main questions involved in the adoption and use of coined metal by the Greeks back in the 6th-5th centuries BC; questions such as the steps in the expansion in the Mediterranean area of the habit of coining; abstract value and concrete value; intrinsic value and “fiduciarity” of coined money and so forth. In this short paper, our intention is to focus attention on coin and metal finds in general (hoards, excavations, sporadic findings) in Southern Italy during the 8th- 5th centuries BC our case study intends to call attention to the ways of contact between the apoikiai and non-Greeks communities showing how the expansion of coinage promoted cultural change in this area and period specially as far as the notion of value goes.

The interview with Professor Maria Beatriz Borba Florenzano of the Museum of Archeology and Ethnology of the University of São Paulo (MAE-USP), discusses the professional and academic career and the transition of her object of study made between numismatics and the ancient city. The interview highlights the history and importance of the Labeca laboratory in achieving the research objectives. The interview also focuses on the new perspectives and contributions of history and archeology that reveal the complexity and diversity of ancient Greek cities, beyond Athenocentrism and concepts of polis, city-state, colony and periphery. Finally, Maria Beatriz Borba Florenzano considers the relationship and importance of these debates in contemporary Brazil, also speaking also about the reception of the MAE exhibition “A Pólis: viver na cidade grega”.

A entrevista com a professora Maria Beatriz Borba Florenzano, do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MAE-USP), aborda sua carreira profissional e acadêmica e a transição de seu objeto de estudo entre a numismática e a cidade antiga. Na entrevista se destaca a história e importância do laboratório Labeca na consecução dos objetivos da pesquisa. Igualmente a entrevista centra-se em as novas perspectivas e contribuições da História e da Arqueologia que mostram a complexidade e a diversidade das cidades antigas gregas, além do atenocentrismo e dos conceitos de pólis, Cidade-Estado, colônia e periferia. Por fim, Maria Beatriz Borba Florenzano considera a relação e importância desses debates no Brasil contemporâneo, tratando também sobre a recepção da exposição do MAE “A Pólis: viver na cidade grega”.

Tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome clinically characterized by bone pain, fractures and muscle weakness. It is caused by tumoral overproduction of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) that acts primarily at the proximal renal tubule, decreasing phosphate reabsorption and 1α-hydroxylation of 25 hydroxyvitamin D, thus producing hypophosphatemia and osteomalacia. Lesions are typically small, benign mesenchymal tumors that may be found in bone or soft tissue, anywhere in the body. In up to 60% of these tumors, a fibronectin-1(FN1) and fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 (FGFR1) fusion gene has been identified that may serve as a tumoral driver. The diagnosis is established by the finding of acquired chronic hypophosphatemia due to isolated renal phosphate wasting with concomitant elevated or inappropriately normal blood levels of FGF23 and decreased or inappropriately normal 1,25-OH2-Vitamin D (1,25(OH)2D). Locating the tumor is critical, as complete removal is curative. For this purpose, a step-wise approach is recommended, starting with a thorough medical history and physical examination, followed by functional imaging. Suspicious lesions should be confirmed by anatomical imaging, and if needed, selective venous sampling with measurement of FGF23. If the tumor is not localized, or surgical resection is not possible, medical therapy with phosphate and active vitamin D is usually successful in healing the osteomalacia and reducing symptoms. However, compliance is often poor due to the frequent dosing regimen and side effects. Furthermore, careful monitoring is needed to avoid complications such us secondary/tertiary hyperparathyroidism, hypercalciuria, and nephrocalcinosis. Novel therapeutical approaches are being developed for TIO patients, such as image-guided tumor ablation and medical treatment with the anti-FGF23 monoclonal antibody KRN23 or anti FGFR medications. The case of a patient with TIO is presented to illustrate the importance of adequate and appropriate evaluation of patients with bone pain and hypophosphatemia, as well as an step-wise localization study of patients with suspected TIO.

The Late Neolithic palafitte site, Ustie na Drim, in the northern part of Lake Ohrid (North Macedonia), excavated in 1962, offered ceramic fragments of large, flat, elongated pans. These artifacts could be dated by relative chronology to roughly around 5200–5000 BC. According to their shape and technological traits, the ceramic pans were probably used for baking. The attached materials on the surface of studied pan fragments were sampled for consequent chemical and microscopical analyses (i.e., analyses of starch, phytoliths, and microscopic animal remains). An immunological method revealed the presence of pork proteins in samples. The presence of organic residues of animal origin was, moreover, confirmed by the detection of cholesterol using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Analysis of detected microscopic botanical objects revealed starch grains of several plants (i.e., oak, cattail, and grasses). An interesting find was the hair of a beetle larva, which could be interpreted contextually as the khapra beetle, a pest of grain and flour. Based on our data, we suppose that the ceramic pans from Ustie na Drim were used for the preparation of meals containing meat from common livestock in combination with cereals and wild plants.

Abstract The muscarinic receptor response to acetylcholine regulates the hippocampal-related learning, memory, neural plasticity and the production and processing of the pro-nerve growth factor (proNGF) by hippocampal cells. The development and progression of diabetes generate a mild cognitive impairment reducing the functions of the septo-hippocampal cholinergic circuitry, depressing neural plasticity and inducing proNGF accumulation in the brain. Here we demonstrate, in a rat model of early type-1 diabetes, that a physical therapy, the electroacupuncture, counteracts the diabetes-induced deleterious effects on hippocampal physiology by ameliorating hippocampal-related memory functions; recovering the impaired long-term potentiation at the dentate gyrus (DG-LTP) and the lowered expression of the vesicular glutamate transporter 1; normalizing the activity-dependent release of proNGF in diabetic rat hippocampus. Electroacupuncture exerted its therapeutic effects by regulating the expression and activity of M1- and M2-acetylcholine muscarinic receptors subtypes in the dentate gyrus of hippocampus. Our results suggest that a physical therapy based on repetitive sensory stimulation could promote hippocampal neural activity, neuronal metabolism and functions, and conceivably improve the diabetes-induced cognitive impairment. Our data can support the setup of therapeutic protocols based on a better integration between physical therapies and pharmacology for the cure of diabetes-associated neurodegeneration and possibly for Alzheimer’s disease.

AIMS - As part of the WHO Harm from others’ drinking project, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Chile, Nigeria and Vietnam undertook scoping studies to examine: which service agencies in low and middle income countries responded to people affected by others’ drinking; how commonly key informants from these agencies indicated alcohol was part of the problems they managed; and whether any routine reporting systems collected information on alcohol’s harm to others (AHTO) and the types and examples of harms experienced across the six countries. METHODS - Researchers synthetised within country peer-review literature, reports, news and agency website information. Additionally, researchers interviewed key informants to investigate current structures, functions and practices of service agencies, and in particular their recording practices surrounding cases involving others’ drinking. RESULTS - 111 key informants agreed to participate from 91 purposively selected agencies from health, social protection, justice and police, and ‘other’ sectors. National and provincial level data, as well as state-run and civil society agency data were collected. Diverse service response systems managed AHTO in the different countries. A large range in the percentage of all cases attributed to AHTO was identified. Case story examples from each country illustrate the different responses to, and the nature of, many severe problems experienced because of others’ drinking. CONCLUSIONS - AHTO was a major issue for service systems in LMIC, and significantly contributed to their workload, yet, very few recording systems routinely collected AHTO data. Recommendations are outlined to improve AHTO data collection across multiple sectors and enable LMIC to better identify and respond to AHTO.