University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

About: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia is a education organization based out in Modena, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Transplantation. The organization has 8179 authors who have published 22418 publications receiving 671337 citations. The organization is also known as: Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia & Universita degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia.

Risk of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in Celiac Disease

Abstract: ContextCeliac disease is one of the most common lifelong disorders. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a possible complication of celiac disease and may lead to a large portion of lymphoma cases.ObjectiveTo quantify the risk for developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma of any primary site associated with celiac disease.Design and SettingMulticenter, case-control study conducted between January 1996 and December 1999 throughout Italy.PatientsCases were older than 20 years (median, 57; range, 20-92 years) with non-Hodgkin lymphoma of any primary site and histological type and were recruited at the time of the diagnosis. Controls were healthy adults (2739 men and 2981 women) from the general population.Main Outcome MeasurePositive test result for class A serum antiendomysial antibody.ResultsCeliac disease was diagnosed in 6 (0.92%) of 653 patients with lymphoma. Of the 6 cases, 3 were of B-cell and 3 were of T-cell origin. Four of 6 cases had lymphoma primarily located in the gut. In the control group, 24 (0.42%) had celiac disease. The odds ratio (adjusted for age and sex) for non-Hodgkin lymphoma of any primary site associated with celiac disease was 3.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-7.6), 16.9 (95% CI, 7.4-38.7) for gut lymphoma, and 19.2 (95% CI, 7.9-46.6) for T-cell lymphoma, respectively. The risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma for the overall population, which was adjusted for age and sex, was 0.63% (95% CI, − 0.12% to 1.37%).ConclusionCeliac disease is associated with an increased risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, especially of T-cell type and primarily localized in the gut. However, the association does not represent a great enough risk to justify early mass screening for celiac disease.

Randomized Comparison of Gemcitabine, Dexamethasone, and Cisplatin Versus Dexamethasone, Cytarabine, and Cisplatin Chemotherapy Before Autologous Stem-Cell Transplantation for Relapsed and Refractory Aggressive Lymphomas: NCIC-CTG LY.12

Abstract: Purpose For patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive lymphoma, we hypothesized that gemcitabine-based therapy before autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT) is as effective as and less toxic than standard treatment. Patients and methods We randomly assigned 619 patients with relapsed/refractory aggressive lymphoma to treatment with gemcitabine, dexamethasone, and cisplatin (GDP) or to dexamethasone, cytarabine, and cisplatin (DHAP). Patients with B-cell lymphoma also received rituximab. Responding patients proceeded to stem-cell collection and ASCT. Coprimary end points were response rate after two treatment cycles and transplantation rate. The noninferiority margin for the response rate to GDP relative to DHAP was set at 10%. Secondary end points included event-free and overall survival, treatment toxicity, and quality of life. Results For the intention-to-treat population, the response rate with GDP was 45.2%; with DHAP the response rate was 44.0% (95% CI for difference, -9.0% to 6.7%), meeting protocol-defined criteria for noninferiority of GDP (P = .005). Similar results were obtained in a per-protocol analysis. The transplantation rates were 52.1% with GDP and 49.3% with DHAP (P = .44). At a median follow-up of 53 months, no differences were detected in event-free survival (HR, 0.99; stratified log-rank P = .95) or overall survival (HR, 1.03; P = .78) between GDP and DHAP. Treatment with GDP was associated with less toxicity (P Conclusion For patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive lymphoma, in comparison with DHAP, treatment with GDP is associated with a noninferior response rate, similar transplantation rate, event-free survival, and overall survival, less toxicity and hospitalization, and superior quality of life.

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Gene Copy Number and Clinical Outcome of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treated With Panitumumab

Abstract: Purpose In a previous cohort study, we proposed that responsiveness of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) to anti–epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibodies has a genetic basis, being associated with increased EGFR gene copy number (GCN) as measured by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in individual tumors. The present study was aimed at assessing the predictive role of EGFR GCN, in terms of clinical outcome, in patients treated with panitumumab. Patients and Methods Patients with mCRC refractory to standard therapies were a subset of patients from a phase III trial of panitumumab plus best supportive care (BSC; n = 58) versus BSC alone (n = 34) who were selected on the basis of availability of tumor samples adequate for FISH. Results In patients treated with panitumumab, a mean EGFR GCN of less than 2.5/nucleus or less than 40% of tumor cells displaying chromosome 7 polysomy within the tumor predicted for shorter progression-free survival (PFS; P = .039 and P = .029, respectiv...

Differential integrity of TALE nuclease genes following adenoviral and lentiviral vector gene transfer into human cells

Abstract: The array of genome editing strategies based on targeted double-stranded DNA break formation have recently been enriched through the introduction of transcription activator-like type III effector (TALE) nucleases (TALENs). To advance the testing of TALE-based approaches, it will be crucial to deliver these custom-designed proteins not only into transformed cell types but also into more relevant, chromosomally stable, primary cells. Viral vectors are among the most effective gene transfer vehicles. Here, we investigated the capacity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1- and adenovirus-based vectors to package and deliver functional TALEN genes into various human cell types. To this end, we attempted to assemble particles of these two vector classes, each encoding a monomer of a TALEN pair targeted to a bipartite sequence within the AAVS1 'safe harbor' locus. Vector DNA analyses revealed that adenoviral vectors transferred intact TALEN genes, whereas lentiviral vectors failed to do so, as shown by their heterogeneously sized proviruses in target cells. Importantly, adenoviral vector-mediated TALEN gene delivery resulted in site-specific double-stranded DNA break formation at the intended AAVS1 target site at similarly high levels in both transformed and non-transformed cells. In conclusion, we demonstrate that adenoviral, but not lentiviral, vectors constitute a valuable TALEN gene delivery platform.

Surface-related drain current dispersion effects in AlGaN-GaN HEMTs

Abstract: Drain current dispersion effects are investigated in AlGaN-GaN HEMTs by means of pulsed, transient, and small-signal measurements. Gate- and drain-lag effects characterized by time constants in the order of 10/sup -5/-10/sup -4/ s cause dispersion between dc and pulsed output characteristics when the gate or the drain voltage are pulsed. An activation energy of 0.3 eV is extracted from temperature-dependent gate-lag measurements. We show that two-dimensional numerical device simulations accounting only for polarization charges and donor-like traps at the ungated AlGaN surface can quantitatively reproduce all dispersion effects observed experimentally in the different pulsing modes, provided that the measured activation energy is adopted as the energetic distance of surface traps from the valence-band edge. Within this hypothesis, simulations show that surface traps behave as hole traps during transients, interacting with holes attracted at the AlGaN surface by the negative polarization charge.