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 & Prostate 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.

Clinical and ultrasonographic monitoring of response to adalimumab treatment in rheumatoid arthritis.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate by clinical, laboratory, and sonographic assessment the effects of adalimumab therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) over 24 months of treatment. METHODS: Twenty-five patients with RA were commenced on adalimumab therapy. Before the beginning of the therapy (Time 0) and after 3 (T1), 12 (T2), and 24 (T3) months we evaluated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, physician and patient visual analog scale for disease activity, number of tender and swollen joints, Health Assessment Questionnaire, and Disease Activity Score in 28 joints. In addition, musculoskeletal ultrasound (US) was performed bilaterally in the 2nd and 5th metacarpophalangeal, 3rd interphalangeal, wrist, and knee joints and in the tendon sheaths and bursae of those areas. A semiquantitative score (0 3) was used to indicate the presence of a localized inflammatory process and/or structural damage. The summed total was used as an indicator of global change in each joint (single joint score). The sum of the single joint scores was used as an indicator of overall polyarticular involvement in each patient (total score). RESULTS: Patients who did not submit to the planned examinations strictly on time were excluded from the study. Then 25 patients were examined at T0 and T1, 20 at T2, and 9 at T3. All clinical and laboratory measures as well as the US scores were significantly reduced during the followup. CONCLUSION: A positive response to treatment with adalimumab was demonstrated by clinical, laboratory, and US evaluation by both short- and longterm followup.

Electroencephalographic Fractal Dimension in Healthy Ageing and Alzheimer's Disease.

Abstract: Brain activity is complex; a reflection of its structural and functional organization. Among other measures of complexity, the fractal dimension is emerging as being sensitive to neuronal damage secondary to neurological and psychiatric diseases. Here, we calculated Higuchi’s fractal dimension (HFD) in resting-state eyes-closed electroencephalography (EEG) recordings from 41 healthy controls (age: 20–89 years) and 67 Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) patients (age: 50–88 years), to investigate whether HFD is sensitive to brain activity changes typical in healthy aging and in AD. Additionally, we considered whether AD-accelerating effects of the copper fraction not bound to ceruloplasmin (also called “free” copper) are reflected in HFD fluctuations. The HFD measure showed an inverted U-shaped relationship with age in healthy people (R2 = .575, p < .001). Onset of HFD decline appeared around the age of 60, and was most evident in central-parietal regions. In this region, HFD decreased with aging stronger in the right than in the left hemisphere (p = .006). AD patients demonstrated reduced HFD compared to age- and education-matched healthy controls, especially in temporal-occipital regions. This was associated with decreasing cognitive status as assessed by mini-mental state examination, and with higher levels of non-ceruloplasmin copper. Taken together, our findings show that resting-state EEG complexity increases from youth to maturity and declines in healthy, aging individuals. In AD, brain activity complexity is further reduced in correlation with cognitive impairment. In addition, elevated levels of non-ceruloplasmin copper appear to accelerate the reduction of neural activity complexity. Overall, HDF appears to be a proper indicator for monitoring EEG-derived brain activity complexity in healthy and pathological aging.

Comparison of different strategies for isolation and preliminary identification of Azotobacter from soil samples

Abstract: Due to the role of azotobacteria in nitrogen fixation and to their potential biotechnological applications, there is some challenge in developing an effective strategy for the selective isolation of these micro-organisms from soil. One hundred ninety-six Gram-negative strains were isolated from 35 soils sampled in central Italy, by using and comparing three different methods. The screening of soil samples by means of soil paste–plate method combined with isolation on mannitol-agar proved to be the best strategy in terms of reliability and selectivity. Moreover, preliminary recognition of free-living nitrogen-fixing isolates on differential LG medium revealed to be extremely accurate, since the majority of the isolates with Azotobacter-like morphology on such a medium were presumptively identified as members of the family Azotobacteraceae, by means of amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis.

Cytogenetic map of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.).

Abstract: A cytogenetic map of common bean was built by in situ hybridization of 35 bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) selected with markers mapping to eight linkage groups, plus two plasmids for 5S and 45S ribosomal DNA and one bacteriophage. Together with three previously mapped chromosomes (chromosomes 3, 4, and 7), 43 anchoring points between the genetic map and the cytogenetic map of the species are now available. Furthermore, a subset of four BAC clones was proposed to identify the 11 chromosome pairs of the standard cultivar BAT93. Three of these BACs labelled more than a single chromosome pair, indicating the presence of repetitive DNA in their inserts. A repetitive distribution pattern was observed for most of the BACs; for 38% of them, highly repetitive pericentromeric or subtelomeric signals were observed. These distribution patterns corresponded to pericentromeric and subtelomeric heterochromatin blocks observed with other staining methods. Altogether, the results indicate that around half of the common bean genome is heterochromatic and that genes and repetitive sequences are intermingled in the euchromatin and heterochromatin of the species.

Low-dose thalidomide with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin and high-dose dexamethasone for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: a prospective, multicenter, phase II study

Abstract: The aim of this prospective, multicenter, phase II study was to investigate the combination of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (Caelyx) 40 mg/m2 on day 1 every 28 days, dexamethasone 40 mg p.o. on days 1-4 and 9-12 and thalidomide 100 mg daily in 50 patients with advanced multiple myeloma. Twenty-six percent of patients achieved a complete response, 6% a near complete response, 6% a very good partial response, 38% a partial response, 16% a minor response and 8% progressed, for an overall response rate of 92%. The median event-free survival was 17 months and the median overall survival was not reached. Grade 3 non-hematologic toxicity occurred in 12% of patients, thromboembolic disease in 12% and severe infection in 16%. The combination of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, dexamethasone an thalidomide is safe and very effective in advanced multiple myeloma.