Marche Polytechnic University

About: Marche Polytechnic University is a education organization based out in Ancona, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 5905 authors who have published 15769 publications receiving 382286 citations. The organization is also known as: Universitá Politecnica delle Marche & Universita Politecnica delle Marche.

Longterm retention of tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor therapy in a large italian cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis from the GISEA registry: an appraisal of predictors.

Abstract: Objective To evaluate 4-year retention rates of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) inhibitors adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab among patients with longstanding rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as derived from an Italian national registry Methods The clinical records of 853 adult patients with RA in the GISEA (Gruppo Italiano Studio Early Arthritis) registry were prospectively analyzed to compare drug survival rates and the baseline factors that may predict adherence to therapy Results In 2003 and 2004, 324 patients started treatment with adalimumab, 311 with etanercept, and 218 with infliximab After 4 years, the global retention rate of anti-TNF-α therapy was 42% Etanercept survival (514%) was significantly better than that of infliximab (376%) or adalimumab (364%; p Conclusion The 4-year global drug survival of adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab was lower than 50%, with etanercept having the best retention rate The main positive predictor of adherence to anti-TNF-α therapy was the concomitant use of methotrexate Our study provides further evidence that the real-life treatment of patients with RA may be different from that of randomized clinical trials

Polyphenol-Rich Strawberry Extract Protects Human Dermal Fibroblasts against Hydrogen Peroxide Oxidative Damage and Improves Mitochondrial Functionality

Abstract: Strawberry bioactive compounds are widely known to be powerful antioxidants. In this study, the antioxidant and anti-aging activities of a polyphenol-rich strawberry extract were evaluated using human dermal fibroblasts exposed to H2O2. Firstly, the phenol and flavonoid contents of strawberry extract were studied, as well as the antioxidant capacity. HPLC-DAD analysis was performed to determine the vitamin C and β-carotene concentration, while HPLC-DAD/ESI-MS analysis was used for anthocyanin identification. Strawberry extract presented a high antioxidant capacity, and a relevant concentration of vitamins and phenolics. Pelargonidin- and cyanidin-glycosides were the most representative anthocyanin components of the fruits. Fibroblasts incubated with strawberry extract and stressed with H2O2 showed an increase in cell viability, a smaller intracellular amount of ROS, and a reduction of membrane lipid peroxidation and DNA damage. Strawberry extract was also able to improve mitochondrial functionality, increasing the basal respiration of mitochondria and to promote a regenerative capacity of cells after exposure to pro-oxidant stimuli. These findings confirm that strawberries possess antioxidant properties and provide new insights into the beneficial role of strawberry bioactive compounds on protecting skin from oxidative stress and aging.

New and Improved: Does FDI Boost Production Complexity in Host Countries?

Abstract: This article examines the relationship between the presence of foreign affiliates and product upgrading by Turkish manufacturing firms. The analysis suggests that Turkish firms in sectors and regions more likely to supply foreign affiliates tend to introduce more complex products, where complexity is captured using a measure developed by Hidalgo and Hausmann (2009). This finding is robust to controlling for omitted variables, sample selection and potential simultaneity bias. It is also in line with the view that inflows of foreign direct investment stimulate upgrading of indigenous production capabilities in host countries.

Enhanced Public Key Security for the McEliece Cryptosystem

Abstract: This paper studies a variant of the McEliece cryptosystem able to ensure that the code used as the public key is no longer permutation equivalent to the secret code. This increases the security level of the public key, thus opening the way for reconsidering the adoption of classical families of codes, like Reed---Solomon codes, that have been longly excluded from the McEliece cryptosystem for security reasons. It is well known that codes of these classes are able to yield a reduction in the key size or, equivalently, an increased level of security against information set decoding; so, these are the main advantages of the proposed solution. We also describe possible vulnerabilities and attacks related to the considered system and show what design choices are best suited to avoid them.