University of Siena

About: University of Siena is a education organization based out in Siena, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 12179 authors who have published 33334 publications receiving 1008287 citations. The organization is also known as: Università degli studi di Siena & Universita degli studi di Siena.

Randomized controlled open study of sublingual immunotherapy for respiratory allergy in real‐life: clinical efficacy and more

Abstract: Background: Some aspects of sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) still need to be addressed: magnitude of the clinical efficacy, effect on the bronchial hyperreactivity adherence to treatment, preventive effect. We attempted to clarify these points in a randomized open, controlled, two parallel group study in a real-life setting. Methods: Five hundred and eleven patients with allergic rhinitis with or without intermittent asthma were randomized to drugs only or drugs + SLIT (rate 2 : 3) for 3 years. The clinical score (symptoms + drug intake) was measured each year during the allergen exposure. Pulmonary function test, methacholine challenge and skin tests were performed at the beginning and at the end of the study. Adherence to treatment was assessed by measuring the consumed extract. Results: Three hundred and nineteen patients received SLIT and 192 drugs only. Dropouts were 15% in the SLIT group and 12% in the controls. There was a significant improvement of clinical scores in the SLIT group: baseline 147 ± 3.3, first year 72.9 ± 1.3, second year 68.3 ± 1.8, third year 54.7 ± 2.8 (P 80% in 72% and >60% in 18% of patients. The number of patients with a positive MCh challenge decreased significantly after 3 years only in the SLIT group. New skin sensitizations appeared in 38% of the controls and in 5.9% of the SLIT patients (P = 0.01). Conclusion: Sublingual immunotherapy approximately halved the clinical scores and significantly reduced the bronchial hyperreactivity. Similarly to subcutaneous immunotherapy, SLIT displayed a preventive effect on the onset of new skin sensitizations. The adherence rate was quantitatively satisfactory.

Wolbachia-induced delay of paternal chromatin condensation does not prevent maternal chromosomes from entering anaphase in incompatible crosses of Drosophila simulans

Abstract: The behavior of parental chromosomes during the first mitosis of Drosophila simulans zygotes obtained from unidirectional incompatible crosses is described and it is demonstrated that the condensation of parental chromatin complements was asynchronous. The timing of paternal chromatin condensation appeared to be delayed in these embryos, so that condensed maternal chromosomes and entangled prophase-like paternal fibers congressed in the equatorial plane of the first metaphase spindle. At anaphase the maternal chromosomes migrated to opposite poles of the spindle, whereas the paternal chromatin lagged in the midzone of the spindle. This resulted in dramatic errors in paternal chromatin inheritance leading to the formation of embryos with aneuploid or haploid nuclei. These observations suggest that the anaphase onset of maternal chromosomes is unaffected by the improper alignment of the paternal complement. Since the first metaphase spindle of the Drosophila zygote consists of twin bundles of microtubules each holding one parental complement, we suspect that each half spindle regulates the timing of anaphase onset of its own chromosome set. In normal developing embryos, the fidelity of chromosome transmission is presumably ensured by the relative timing required to prepare parental complements for the orderly segregation that occurs during the metaphase-anaphase transition.

Roadmap on metasurfaces

Abstract: Metasurfaces are thin two-dimensional metamaterial layers that allow or inhibit the propagation of electromagnetic waves in desired directions. For example, metasurfaces have been demonstrated to p ...

Incompatibility of self-etch adhesives with chemical/dual-cured composites: two-step vs one-step systems.

Abstract: This study tested the null hypothesis that there no difference between two-step and one-step self-etch adhesives in their compatibility with these composites. The microtensile bond strengths (microTBS) of two two-step systems (Clearfil SE Bond, Kuraray and Tyrian SPE/One-Step Plus, BISCO) were compared with two one-step systems (Xeno III, Dentsply DeTrey and Brush&Bond, Parkell) for their coupling to a dual-cured composite. Silver tracer penetration of the four adhesives bonded to a light-cured or a chemical-cured composite was examined using TEM. Significant differences in microTBSs between composite curing modes were seen only in the one-step adhesives. For one-step self-etch adhesives bonded to the chemical-cured composite, TEM revealed signs of frank composite uncoupling along the adhesive-composite interface, which may be attributed to the adverse chemical interaction between the acidic adhesive and the composite. In addition, "water trees" that represent channels of increased permeability with the polymerized adhesive layer were also observed in the one-step adhesives. Both features were absent along the resin-dentin interfaces when chemical-cured composites were coupled to the two-step self-etch adhesives.