Selective vulnerability of the ventral hippocampus-prelimbic cortex axis parvalbumin interneuron network underlies learning deficits of fragile X mice

High-penetrance mutations affecting mental health can involve genes ubiquitously expressed in the brain. Whether the specific patterns of dysfunctions result from ubiquitous circuit deficits or might reflect selective vulnerabilities of targetable subnetworks has remained unclear. Here, we determine how loss of ubiquitously expressed fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), the cause of fragile X syndrome, affects brain networks in Fmr1y/- mice. We find that in wild-type mice, area-specific knockout of FMRP in the adult mimics behavioral consequences of area-specific silencing. By contrast, the functional axis linking the ventral hippocampus (vH) to the prelimbic cortex (PreL) is selectively affected in constitutive Fmr1y/- mice. A chronic alteration in late-born parvalbumin interneuron networks across the vH-PreL axis rescued by VIP signaling specifically accounts for deficits in vH-PreL theta-band network coherence, ensemble assembly, and learning functions of Fmr1y/- mice. Therefore, vH-PreL axis function exhibits a selective vulnerability to loss of FMRP in the vH or PreL, leading to learning and memory dysfunctions in fragile X mice.

Minute-scale oscillatory sequences in medial entorhinal cortex

The medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) hosts many of the brain's circuit elements for spatial navigation and episodic memory, operations that require neural activity to be organized across long durations of experience1. Whereas location is known to be encoded by spatially tuned cell types in this brain region2,3, little is known about how the activity of entorhinal cells is tied together over time at behaviourally relevant time scales, in the second-to-minute regime. Here we show that MEC neuronal activity has the capacity to be organized into ultraslow oscillations, with periods ranging from tens of seconds to minutes. During these oscillations, the activity is further organized into periodic sequences. Oscillatory sequences manifested while mice ran at free pace on a rotating wheel in darkness, with no change in location or running direction and no scheduled rewards. The sequences involved nearly the entire cell population, and transcended epochs of immobility. Similar sequences were not observed in neighbouring parasubiculum or in visual cortex. Ultraslow oscillatory sequences in MEC may have the potential to couple neurons and circuits across extended time scales and serve as a template for new sequence formation during navigation and episodic memory formation.

How Do You Build a Cognitive Map? The Development of Circuits and Computations for the Representation of Space in the Brain

In mammals, the activity of neurons in the entorhinal-hippocampal network is modulated by the animal's position and its movement through space. At multiple stages of this distributed circuit, distinct populations of neurons can represent a rich repertoire of navigation-related variables like the animal's location, the speed and direction of its movements, or the presence of borders and objects. Working together, spatially tuned neurons give rise to an internal representation of space, a cognitive map that supports an animal's ability to navigate the world and to encode and consolidate memories from experience. The mechanisms by which, during development, the brain acquires the ability to create an internal representation of space are just beginning to be elucidated. In this review, we examine recent work that has begun to investigate the ontogeny of circuitry, firing patterns, and computations underpinning the representation of space in the mammalian brain.

Encephalitis lethargica. What is still wrong?

Encephalitis lethargica developed in epidemic from 1919 to 1926 in Europe and throughout the world. From the clinical point of view, the disturbances of consciousness and alertness and the possible outcomes of a postencephalitic Parkinsonism has attracted much attention. For a long time, it was thought that such a disease may still occur sporadically. In this review, the authors examined historical and current pictures of epidemics that may be related to Encephalitis lethargica. The previous Nona and Russian Influenza exhibited frequent neurological symptoms. The Spanish flu, formerly related to Encephalitis lethargica, would appear an epidemic that had its development in a partially overlapping period. The current pandemic linked to COVID-19 sometimes has aspects that can resemble Encephalitis lethargica. Based on historical analysis and the more recent immunological data, it could be suggested that Encephalitis lethargica was an autoimmune encephalitis that arose in a secondary form to the action of a viral agent. It cannot be ruled out that this agent was a coronavirus. From the nosological point of view, the term Encephalitis lethargica should be abolished in designating autoimmune encephalitis pictures that run sporadically.

Crowding in the middle of marine food webs: A focus on Raja asterias and other mediterranean batoids

The Mediterranean Sea is among the three biodiversity hotspots of the world where elasmobranchs are severely threatened. Elasmobranchs act as apex or meso-predators within marine food webs and the loss/decline of apex predators determines the mesopredator release, leading in turn to increased predation on smaller prey. However, also several mesopredators (including rays, skates and small sharks) are intensively fished, being of commercial interest, or by-caught, and thus mesopredators increase could not be so evident. We analysed the trophic ecology of an endemic Mediterranean ray, the starry ray Raja asterias, at a seasonal scale from the Adriatic basin, one of the most intensively exploited area of the Mediterranean, by means of stomach contents and stable isotopes analyses. Our results evidenced that starry rays rely on benthic sources including species of local commercial values, such as swimming crabs, small cephalopods, and stomatopods and share the same trophic position with other elasmobranchs (rays, skates, and small sharks) and other mesopredators (e.g., common soles, Norway lobsters and mullets). As all mesopredators are overexploited, as well as their benthic prey are affected by intense trawl-fishing, the whole food webs are disrupted and neither the classical trophic cascade nor the mesopredator release hypothesis could be verified. Conservation measures for these species, such as the release after capture or the application of exclusion grids to the net, should be applied in areas where populations are strongly impacted by trawling.

A clinical and echocardiographic score to differentiate pulmonary hypertension due to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction from idiopathic pulmonary hypertension: the PH-HFPEF score

Background

One of the most challenging differential diagnoses in pulmonary hypertension clinical practice, is the discrimination between idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) and pulmonary hypertension due to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (PH-HFpEF).

Aim

We elaborate a score (considering patient clinical history, demographics, and echocardiographic characteristics) that can predict, noninvasively, PH-HFpEF vs IPAH diagnosis.

Methods

Data were prospectively collected on 466 consecutive patients with a final diagnosis of IPAH or PH-HFpEF referred to a single tertiary pulmonary vascular disease centre. Data included clinical history, demographics, and parameters of an electrocardiogram and a transthoracic echocardiogram. A multivariate regression model was developed to predict a PH-HFpEF diagnosis, and an integer risk score was generated using adjusted regression coefficients of the multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results

At the multivariate logistic regression a high ratio between left and right ventricular dimensions, a history of atrial fibrillation (AF), a high body mass index (BMI), a reduced mitral deceleration time and a high E-wave at trans-mitral doppler, an advanced age and a high right ventricular fractional area change (FAC) were predictors of PH-HFpEF. The derived PH-HFPEF score is shown in Table 1 and, with a cut-point ≥11, it yielded a specificity/sensitivity, respectively, for the diagnosis of PH-HFpEF, of 100%/49% with an AUC of 0.987.

Conclusions

The PH-HFPEF score can predict PH-HFpEF vs IPAH. The PH-HFPEF score may be used to potentially avoid an invasive diagnostic testing in almost half of PH-HFpEF patients.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None.

All-viral tracing of monosynaptic inputs to single birthdate-defined neurons in the intact brain

Neuronal firing patterns are the result of inputs converging onto single cells. Identifying these inputs, anatomically and functionally, is essential to understand how neurons integrate information. Single-cell electroporation of helper genes and subsequent local injection of recombinant rabies viruses enable precise mapping of inputs to individual cells in superficial layers of the intact cortex. However, access to neurons in deeper structures requires more invasive procedures, including removal of overlying tissue. We developed a method that, through a combination of virus injections, allows us to target 4 or fewer hippocampal cells 48% of the time and a single cell 16% of the time in wild-type mice without use of electroporation or tissue aspiration. We identify local and distant monosynaptic inputs that can be functionally characterized in vivo. By expanding the toolbox for monosynaptic circuit tracing, this method will help further our understanding of neuronal integration at the level of single cells.

Dissecting the Inner Galaxy with γ-Ray Pixel Count Statistics

We combine adaptive template fitting and pixel count statistics in order to assess the nature of the Galactic Center excess in Fermi-LAT data. We reconstruct the flux distribution of point sources well below the Fermi-LAT detection threshold, and measure their radial and longitudinal profiles in the inner Galaxy. We find that all point sources and the bulge-correlated diffuse emission each contributes O(10%) of the total inner Galaxy emission, and disclose a potential subthreshold point-source contribution to the Galactic Center excess.

Impact of the environment on the health: From theory to practice

The Erice 56 Charter titled "Impact of the environment on the health: from theory to practice" was unanimously approved at the end of the 56th course of the "International School of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine G. D'Alessandro" held from 3rd to November 7, 2019 in Erice - Sicily (Italy) and promoted by the Study Group of "Environment and Health" of the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health. The course, that included lectures, open discussions and guided working groups, was aimed to provide a general training on epidemiological and toxicological aspects of the environmental health impact, to be used by public health professionals for risk assessment, without forgetting the risk communications. At the end of the course 12 key points were agreed among teachers and students: they underlined the need of specific training and research, in the perspective of "One Health" and "Global Health", also facing emerging scientific and methodological issues and focusing on communication towards stakeholders. This Discussion highlight the need to improve knowledge of Health and Environment topic in all sectors of health and environmental prevention and management.

A gatekeeper for learning

During associative learning, the perirhinal cortex controls burst firing of sensory neurons

Diagnostic interobserver variability in Crohn's disease- and ulcerative colitis-associated dysplasia: a multicenter digital survey from the IG-IBD Pathologists Group

BACKGROUND

Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis, two forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), are chronic and relapsing conditions of the gastrointestinal tract both characterized by long lasting chronic inflammation and increased risk of dysplasia and colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of our study was to evaluate the interobserver agreement about IBD-associated dysplasia among pathologists belonging to the Italian Group for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IG-IBD P).

METHODS

The present multicenter survey was performed using telepathology, supported by an open source E-learning platform. Biopsy specimens from 30 colonoscopies and from 20 patients were included. The glass slides of any case, including clinical and endoscopic data, were digitalized and uploaded on the E-learning platform. All the digital slides were grouped in 54 diagnostic "blocks". Blinded histopathological evaluation on all the digital slides was performed by 20 gastrointestinal pathologists. Closed-ended questions about (1) the occurrence of IBD; (2) the classification of IBD (as UC or CD); (3) the presence of active versus quiescent disease; (4) the presence of dysplasia; (5) the possible association of dysplasia with the sites of disease (dysplasia-associated lesion or mass-DALM vs adenoma-like mass-ALM); (6) the grading of dysplasia according to the ECCO guidelines (negative, indefinite, low grade, high grade categories) and (7) the presence of associated serrated features, were proposed in each case. Inter-observer agreement was evaluated by mean agreement percentage and kappa statistic, when suitable.

RESULTS

The diagnosis of IBD was confirmed in 19 of 20 patients, 17 of 19 being classified as UC, 2 as CD. The mean interobserver agreement percentages about (1) the evidence of IBD, (2) the presence of either UC or CD and (3) the activity grading resulted to be 80%, 69% and 86%, respectively. Dysplasia was detected in 8/20 patients, with moderate agreement between pathologists (mean 72%, k 0.48). Particularly, low grade dysplasia was found in 13 biopsies (combined k 0.38), whereas high grade dysplasia in 8 (combined k 0.47). When the endoscopic and histopathological data were combined, features consistent with DALM were found in 6 of 20 patients with low grade dysplasia and those consistent with ALM in 2 patients with low grade dysplasia in a single biopsy (mean agreement: 86%). An associated serrated pattern was discovered in 4 patients (7 biopsies).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study showed moderate interobserver agreement about the histopathological detection and classification of IBD-associated dysplasia. Further efforts should be undertaken to integrate the histopathological data with both the ancillary tests and molecular investigations.

Cosmic-ray antinuclei as messengers of new physics: status and outlook for the new decade

The precise measurement of cosmic-ray antinuclei serves as an important means for identifying the nature of dark matter and other new astrophysical phenomena, and could be used with other cosmic-ray species to understand cosmic-ray production and propagation in the Galaxy. For instance, low-energy antideuterons would provide a "smoking gun" signature of dark matter annihilation or decay, essentially free of astrophysical background. Studies in recent years have emphasized that models for cosmic-ray antideuterons must be considered together with the abundant cosmic antiprotons and any potential observation of antihelium. Therefore, a second dedicated Antideuteron Workshop was organized at UCLA in March 2019, bringing together a community of theorists and experimentalists to review the status of current observations of cosmic-ray antinuclei, the theoretical work towards understanding these signatures, and the potential of upcoming measurements to illuminate ongoing controversies. This review aims to synthesize this recent work and present implications for the upcoming decade of antinuclei observations and searches. This includes discussion of a possible dark matter signature in the AMS-02 antiproton spectrum, the most recent limits from BESS Polar-II on the cosmic antideuteron flux, and reports of candidate antihelium events by AMS-02; recent collider and cosmic-ray measurements relevant for antinuclei production models; the state of cosmic-ray transport models in light of AMS-02 and Voyager data; and the prospects for upcoming experiments, such as GAPS. This provides a roadmap for progress on cosmic antinuclei signatures of dark matter in the coming years.

Navigation: How Spatial Cognition Is Transformed into Action

Navigation relies on the brain's ability to build a cognitive map of the environment, and to use such a map to guide the animal's movements to goals. A new study proposes that the secondary motor cortex might convert the map into action.

Lifestyle, environmental exposures and male fertility in healthy young men in North Italy

Background

Human semen quality is affected by metabolic, lifestyle and environmental factors. We planned a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of lifestyle changes on semen quality in healthy young men living in Italian highly polluted areas. We present here some preliminary baseline data on the association between lifestyle and semen quality.

Methods

150 non-smokers, non-alcohol drinkers and non-obese young healthy men, aged 18-22 years, have been assigned to an intervention or control group according to a 1:1 randomization plan. The intervention group follows a 4-month nutritional pathway based on a Mediterranean dietary pattern and receives suggestions on practice of physical activity. All subjects undergo urologic examination, measurement of weight, height and abdominal circumference, an interview on lifestyle variables, and provide blood and semen samples in fasting conditions, at the enrollment and at the end of the intervention and follow-up (after 8 months). Adherence to Mediterranean diet is assessed using the “PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea” (PREDIMED) tool, and physical activity using the “International Physical Activity Questionnaire” (IPAQ). Automated sperm analysis for all semen parameters is performed on the SQA-V GOLD.

Results

The data of 101 subjects living in a highly industrialized area in North Italy (mean±SD: age: 20.3±1.2 years, BMI: 22.3±2.2) were analyzed. The sperm cell concentration was higher in subjects with IPAQ score > median than those with lower values (68.3±48.6 vs 63.7±47.0 106/mL). Total percent motility was higher in subjects with abdominal circumference < median (50.7±13.6 vs 41.2±18.8, p = 0.004), in subjects with IPAQ score > median (48.2±16.8 vs 44.2±16.8), and in subjects with PREDIMED score > 7 (47.6±18.8 vs 45.0±15.0).

Conclusions

These preliminary data suggest that semen quality is associated with abdominal fat and physical activity in healthy young men.

Key messages

The semen quality is a sensitive marker of the health status and is predictive of disease occurrence. Our study suggests that semen quality is associated with lifestyle aspects in healthy young men.

Monitoring air pollution effects on children for supporting public health policies (MAPEC_LIFE study)

Background

Children are at high risk of suffering health consequences of air pollution and childhood exposure can increase the risk of developing chronic diseases in adulthood. The MAPEC_LIFE project, funded by EU Life+ Programme (LIFE12 ENV/IT/000614), aimed to evaluate the association between air pollution exposure and biomarkers of early effect in children and to propose guidance for implementing environmental policies.

Methods

The study was carried out on 6-8-year-old children. Micronucleus (MN) frequency was investigated in buccal cells of children and its association with air pollution exposure was assessed applying multiple Poisson regression mixed models, including socio-demographic and lifestyle factors as confounders. We also dichotomize air pollutants concentration according to the EU Ambient Air Quality Directives and WHO Air Quality Guidelines in all Poisson regression models to assess their risk predictive capacity.

Results

The project involved 1149 children providing buccal cells in winter and spring. 2139 biological samples were included in the analysis (1093 collected in winter, 1046 in spring). The analysis of the association between MN frequency and air quality parameters found positive associations for PM10, PM2.5, benzene, SO2 and ozone. Considering EU Directives, an association was found between MN frequency and PM10 exposure higher than the annual limit value, with an increase of the risk of 17.9% (95%CIs: 0.6-38.1%). Considering WHO Guidelines, the exposures to levels of PM10, benzene and BaP higher than the annual limits were associated with MN frequency, with a risk increase of 22.5%, 27.8% and 59.8% (95%CIs: 3.9-44.3%, 3.8-57.3%, 21.0-111.1%), respectively.

Conclusions

The analyses conducted showed an association between MN frequency in buccal cells of children and levels of some air pollutants, even at concentration below EU and WHO thresholds, which hence seemed to be insufficient for protecting children from this type of damage.

Key messages

Air pollution exposure induced chromosomal damage in buccal cells of children, even at concentration below the law limits. Early biological damage detected might be predictive of the occurrence of future harmful effects in humans, at a population level.

Motor Control: Head-Turning Modular Organization of the Superior Colliculus

The superior colliculus supports an animal's ability to orient itself toward objects of interest. A new study suggests that the clustered anatomical organization of a genetically distinct class of neurons provides the substrate for a modular representation of motor space.

Construction and disruption of spatial memory networks during development

Spatial memory, the aspect of memory involving encoding and retrieval of information regarding one's environment and spatial orientation, is a complex biological function incorporating multiple neuronal networks. Hippocampus-dependent spatial memory is not innate and emerges during development in both humans and rodents. In children, nonhippocampal dependent egocentric (self-to-object) memory develops before hippocampal-dependent allocentric (object-to-object) memory. The onset of allocentric spatial memory abilities in children around 22 mo of age occurs at an age-equivalent time in rodents when spatially tuned grid and place cells arise from patterned activity propagating through the entorhinal-hippocampal circuit. Neuronal activity, often driven by specific sensory signals, is critical for the normal maturation of brain circuits This patterned activity fine-tunes synaptic connectivity of the network and drives the emergence of specific firing necessary for spatial memory. Whereas normal activity patterns are required for circuit maturation, aberrant neuronal activity during development can have major adverse consequences, disrupting the development of spatial memory. Seizures during infancy, involving massive bursts of synchronized network activity, result in impaired spatial memory when animals are tested as adolescents or adults. This impaired spatial memory is accompanied by alterations in spatial and temporal coding of place cells. The molecular mechanisms by which early-life seizures lead to disruptions at the cellular and network levels are now becoming better understood, and provide a target for intervention, potentially leading to improved cognitive outcome in individuals experiencing early-life seizures.

Pisa syndrome in Parkinson's disease: electromyographic quantification of paraspinal and non-paraspinal muscle activity

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and Pisa syndrome (PS) may present tonic dystonic or compensatory (i.e. acting against gravity) hyperactivity in the paraspinal and non-paraspinal muscles. Electromyographic (EMG) activity was measured in nine patients with PD and PS, three with PD without PS, and five healthy controls. Fine-wire intramuscular electrodes were inserted bilaterally into the iliocostalis lumborum (ICL), iliocostalis thoracis (ICT), gluteus medius (GM), and external oblique (EO) muscles. The root mean square (RMS) of the EMG signal was calculated and normalized for each muscle. In stance condition, side-to-side muscle activity comparisons showed a higher RMS only for the contralateral ICL in PD patients with PS (p=0.028). Moreover, with increasing degrees of lateral flexion, the activity of the EO and the ICL muscles progressively increased and decreased, respectively. The present data suggest that contralateral paraspinal muscle activity plays a crucial compensatory role and can be dysfunctional in PD patients with PS.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Primary Liver Cancer: Implications for Cancer Registration

Aims and background

We evaluated some standardized criteria for classifying incident cases of liver cancer into either primary liver cancer (PLC) or unspecified liver cancer (ULC) on the basis of the diagnostic examinations performed and their results.

Methods

A pilot hospital-based study (98 cases) was carried out in Verona, northern Italy, with the main aim of assessing the feasibility of the method. The same procedures were subsequently applied in a population-based study (349 cases) in Brescia, northern Italy.

Results

Diagnosis was made on histologic data in 38.7% and 41.8% of the hospital based and population-based studies, respectively, with a wide variation among different hospitals. The percentage of cases classified as PLC was 78.6% in the hospital-based study and 78.8% in the population-based study. No differences in the proportion of cases attributed to PLC were found according to patients’ age and sex or hospital of admission. The repeatibility of the procedure was assessed by a cross-panel review of 198 cases, and concordance was found in 91.9% of them.

Conclusions

An operational method for case definition of PLC based on the results of the diagnostic examinations currently performed and some suggestions for cancer registration are proposed.

Breast Cancer Screening in an Urban Population in Northern Italy

A mammographic and clinical screening for breast cancer started in June 1987 in the Health District of Brescia, Northern Italy, including the town and 23 surrounding municipalities. This paper describes the organization and the results of the first 12 months of screening. Of 7791 invited women aged 50–60 years, 5217 (67 %>) agreed to participate. There was a trend for response rates to decline with increasing age and education. Of the 5217 women examined, 66 (1.3%) were referred for biopsy and 64 (1.2%) underwent this procedure. A histologically confirmed malignancy was found in 42 women, corresponding to a prevalence of 8.1/1000. Positive predictive value of the screening was 65.6 %. Among the 42 breast cancers, 4.8% were carcinoma in situ and 42.9 % invasive tumors up to 10 mm in size. According to the p-TNM classification, 92.9 % of all cancers were either TIS or in stage T1, 4.8 % were in T2 and one tumor was classified in T4. Lymph node involvement was assessed in 41 cases, and 71.4% of all cancers detected by screening were negative for lymph node metastasis. In comparison, the classification of tumors found in women of the same age group and living in Brescia, histologically diagnosed in the urban hospitals during 1986, one year before the beginning of the screening, was as follows: 7.1 % carcinoma in situ, and 16.7 % invasive tumors up to 10 mm in size. 38.1%, 2.4% and 2.4% of all tumors were in stages T2, T3 and T4 respectively.

Stellate cells drive maturation of the entorhinal-hippocampal circuit

The neural representation of space relies on a network of entorhinal-hippocampal cell types with firing patterns tuned to different abstract features of the environment. To determine how this network is set up during early postnatal development, we monitored markers of structural maturation in developing mice, both in naïve animals and after temporally restricted pharmacogenetic silencing of specific cell populations. We found that entorhinal stellate cells provide an activity-dependent instructive signal that drives maturation sequentially and unidirectionally through the intrinsic circuits of the entorhinal-hippocampal network. The findings raise the possibility that a small number of autonomously developing neuronal populations operate as intrinsic drivers of maturation across widespread regions of the cortex.

Are 6-8 year old Italian children moving away from the Mediterranean diet?

BACKGROUND

The Mediterranean diet (MD) is considered one of the healthiest dietary models, as it decreases the risk of chronic diseases and may modulate the organism's early response to environmental pollution. In recent decades, Mediterranean countries have been replacing their traditional diet with other less healthy eating habits, especially among children and teenagers.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the MD and the level of adherence to it in 6-8 year old Italian children, in relation to residence, lifestyle, and social and family contexts.

METHODS

A questionnaire was administered to the children's parents in two seasons in 5 Italian towns. The diet section contained 116 questions investigating the frequency of consumption of different types of food. The Italian Mediterranean Index (IMI) was calculated according to the intake of 6 typical Mediterranean and 4 non-Mediterranean foods. On the basis of IMI score, MD adherence was classified as low (≤ 3 IMI score), medium (4-5) and high (≥ 6). Total energy load and diet composition in micro- and macronutrients were calculated from consumption frequency.

RESULTS

Diet analysis was computed on 1164 subjects with two complete questionnaires. Body mass index, calculated for each subject, showed that 28.9% of the children were overweight, the figure varying slightly with area of residence. Our findings showed that 59.0% of the children had a low score for MD adherence.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study showed that most Italian children did not follow the MD and socio-economic characteristics appeared not to be associated with type of diet.

Feasibility and reliability of a questionnaire for evaluation of the exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollutants, diet and physical activity in 6-8-year-old children

INTRODUCTION

The MAPEC-Life project aims to study the biological effects of early exposure to air pollutants on the oral mucosa cells of school-age children in five Italian cities. A questionnaire was created to evaluate the association between outdoor and indoor airborne pollutants, lifestyle, diet and biomarker effects. The feasibility and reliability of the questionnaire were evaluated.

METHODS

A questionnaire was drawn up to be filled in by the parents of 6-8-year-old children. It consisted of 148 questions on the children's health, physical activity, environmental exposures and the frequency of food consumption at the main meals. First we conducted a questionnaire feasibility study involving 53 volunteer parents. We then performed a reliability study by administering the questionnaire to a further 156 parents and again one month later (test/retest method). The correlations between answers at the first and second administration of the questionnaire were evaluated using the Kappa statistic and Spearman's coefficient.

RESULTS

After verifying the feasibility of the questionnaire, we conducted a reliability analysis on 132 completed questionnaires. The percentage of agreement between the first and the second responses given was over 70%, all K values being greater than 0.6. The analysis of calories and macronutrients also showed good agreement.

CONCLUSIONS

The questionnaire drawn up for the study proved to be sufficiently reliable for gathering information about the factors of interest in our study of the relationship between air pollution and early biological effects in children.

Early- and late-born parvalbumin basket cell subpopulations exhibiting distinct regulation and roles in learning

Brain networks can support learning by promoting acquisition of task-relevant information or by adhering to validated rules, but the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. Upon learning, local inhibitory parvalbumin (PV)-expressing Basket cell networks can switch to opposite configurations that either favor or interfere with further learning, but how this opposite plasticity is induced and relates to distinct learning requirements has remained unclear. Here, we show that PV Basket cells consist of hitherto unrecognized subpopulations, with distinct schedules of neurogenesis, input connectivities, output target neurons, and roles in learning. Plasticity of hippocampal early-born PV neurons was recruited in rule consolidation, whereas plasticity of late-born PV neurons was recruited in new information acquisition. This involved regulation of early-born neuron plasticity specifically through excitation, and of late-born neuron plasticity specifically through inhibition. Therefore, opposite learning requirements are implemented by distinct local networks involving PV Basket cell subpopulations specifically regulated through inhibition or excitation.

Hepatitis C virus infection and glomerular disease

The association between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and chronic kidney disease (CKD) is well established and remains an area of intense research. HCV infection is associated with a large spectrum of histo-pathological lesions in both native and transplanted kidneys. The frequency of kidney damage in HCV-infected patients appears low even if is not fully detailed. The most frequent HCV-associated renal lesion is type I membrano-proliferative glomerulonephritis, usually in the context of type II mixed cryoglobulinemia. Various approaches have been tried for the treatment of HCV-related glomerulonephritis, including immunosuppressive therapy (corticosteroids and cytotoxic agents), plasma exchange and antiviral agents. Antiviral treatment of HCV-associated glomerulonephritis has shown encouraging results. Immunosuppressive therapy is particularly recommended for cryoglobulinemic kidney disease. Two distinct approaches should be considered for the treatment of HCV-associated cryoglobulinemic glomerulonephritis according to the level of proteinuria and kidney failure. Some evidence on rituximab therapy for HCV-related cryoglobulinemic glomerulonephritis exists but several questions related to its use need to be addressed.

The novel ss469415590 variant predicts virological response to therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus type 1 infection

BACKGROUND

A novel dinucleotide variant TT/∆G (ss469415590) has been associated with hepatitis C virus clearance.

AIM

To assess the role of the ss469415590 variant, compared with the known IL28B polymorphisms (rs8099917, rs12979860 and rs12980275) for predicting virological response to therapy in chronic hepatitis C, and its association with the CXCL10 chemokine serum levels - a surrogate marker of interferon-stimulated genes activation.

METHODS

Multivariate analysis of factors predicting rapid and sustained virological response in 280 consecutive, treatment-naïve, nondiabetic, Caucasian patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with peginterferon alpha and ribavirin.

RESULTS

In hepatitis C virus genotype 1, the OR (95% CI) for rapid and sustained virological response for the wild-type ss469415590 TT was 9.88 (1.99-48.99) and 7.25 (1.91-27.51), respectively, similar to those found for rs12979860 CC [9.55 (1.93-47.37) and 6.30 (1.71-23.13)] and for rs12980275 AA [9.62 (1.94-47.77] and 7.83 (2.02-30.34)], but higher than for rs8099917 TT [4.8 (1.73-13.33) and 4.75 (2.05-10.98)]. In hepatitis C virus genotype 1, mean (SD) CXCL10 levels in patients with the TT/TT, TT/∆G and ∆G/∆G variants were, respectively, 355.1 (240.6), 434.4 (247.4) and 569.9 (333.3) (P = 0.04). In patients with genotypes 2 and 3 no significant association was found for TT/∆G with viral response. The predictive value of ss469415590 was stronger in patients with advanced fibrosis.

CONCLUSIONS

The novel IL28B variants at marker ss469415590 predict response to IFN alpha in chronic hepatitis C patients, especially in those with advanced fibrosis. Their determination may be superior to that of known IL28B variants for patient management using IFN-based regimens.

Life-history traits and population decline of the Atlantic mackerel Scomber scombrusin the Adriatic Sea

This study investigated demographic structure and reproductive characteristics of the Atlantic mackerel Scomber scombrus, in relation to landing trends in the northern-central Adriatic Sea. Results highlighted the occurrence of only small-sized and young-age individuals, and a marked decline from the 1990s to the present in maximum age (from 8 to 3 years) and total length (L(T); from 420 to 360 mm). Fecundity ranged between 40,000 and 190,000 eggs, and was related to female L(T). High levels of atresia implied lower values of actual fecundity. Sexual maturity was attained by 72·8% of individuals in their first year of life at 200 mm. The reduction in maximum L(T) resulted in a marked decline in the population egg production, while the reduction in maximum age implied that females participated in fewer spawning events.

Who is more likely to respond to dual treatment with pegylated-interferon and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C? A gender-oriented analysis

We assessed, in real-life practice, viral, demographic, genetic and metabolic factors influencing the sustained virologic response (SVR), with a gender-oriented analysis, in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin. Six hundred and seventy naïve patients were treated with dual therapy and evaluated by gender and HCV genotype. Associations between baseline variables and SVR were assessed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Among 362 genotype 1 patients, SVR was achieved in 158 patients (44%), and SVR was independently associated with age less than 50 years (OR 2.12; 95% CI 1.09-4.30; P=0.039) and C/C genotype rs12979860 SNP (OR 2.83; 1.19-6.74; P=0.002) in 163 females, while absence of visceral obesity (OR 2.491; 1.131-5.487; P=0.023), HCV-RNA lower than 400,000 IU/mL (OR 2.66; 1.273-5.558; P=0.009) and C/C genotype rs12979860 SNP (OR 4.969; 2.401-10.283; P<0.001) were independently associated with SVR in 199 males. Combining favourable baseline variables, the probability of obtaining SVR ranged from 27.6% to 84.2% in females, and from 14.3% to 85.7% in males. The rate of SVR was 81.1% in 175 genotype 2 patients, and 69% in 100 genotype 3 patients. Rapid virologic response was the only valid predictor of SVR regardless of other features. In conclusions, in the setting of HCV genotype 1, chronic hepatitis, combining rapid virologic response and predictive factors, which are different for females and males, allows clinicians to single out a group of patients whose likelihood of SVR exceeds 80%. For these patients, triple therapy with first-generation protease inhibitors may be unwarranted.

Monitoring urinary excretion of 5-hydroxymethyluracil for assessment of oxidative DNA damage and repair

Abstract Urinary excretion of oxidized nucleobases and nucleosides has been used as a biomarker of oxidative DNA damage and repair. Most studies have focused on the measurements of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine; however, the urinary levels of other DNA modifications may represent useful indicators of oxidative stress. We developed a method for the determination of 5-hydroxymethyluraciI (5-HMUra), consisting of the separation of the modified base in urine by HPLC and quantification by GC/MS in the selective ion monitoring mode. This experimental approach was subsequently validated in human samples, with the effect of storage and the inter- and intra-individual variations in 5-HMUra excretion being evaluated. Results showed that 5-HMUra is stable in samples frozen at-80 °C for at least 4 months. Inter-individual variations in 5-HMUra excretion were observed when the results were expressed either as nmoles excreted per kg per day (1.2-2.4) or corrected by creatinine values (7.2-12.2 nmoles 5-HMUra per mmoles creatinine). Intra-individual variability was low, varying slightly at different time collections for several individuals. Differences in the excretion of 5-HMUra in urine collected at three different 8-h intervals during the day were not significant and, in particular, the levels of 5-HMUra calculated from the overnight or the 24-h samples were highly correlated. These results indicate that monitoring urinary levels of 5-HMUra could be a suitable indicator of oxidative damage in human studies.

Incidence of AIDS-defining cancers and virus-related and non-virus-related non-AIDS-defining cancers among HIV-infected patients compared with the general population in a large health district of Northern Italy, 1999-2009

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the study was to investigate the incidence of AIDS-defining cancers (ADCs) and virus-related and non-virus-related non-AIDS-defining cancers (NADCs) in HIV-infected patients compared with the general population, and to assess the risk factors associated with these malignancies.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective cohort study for the period from 1999 to 2009 of HIV-infected patients residing in the Local Health Authority of Brescia (northern Italy). Observed cancers in patients with HIV infection were compared with expected cancers in the population living in the same area using standardized incidence ratios (SIRs). Risk factors were assessed using Poisson regression analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 5090 HIV-infected patients were included in the study, with 32 390 person-years of follow-up. We recorded 416 tumours in 390 HIV-infected patients. Two hundred of these (48.1%) were ADCs, 138 (33.2%) were non-virus-related NADCs and 78 (18.7%) were virus-related NADCs. An increased risk (SIR = 4.2) of cancers overall was found in HIV-infected patients. A large excess of ADCs (SIR = 31.0) and virus-related NADCs (SIR = 12.3) was observed in HIV-infected patients, while the excess risk for non-virus-related NADCs was small (SIR = 1.6). The highest SIRs were observed for Kaposi sarcoma among ADCs and for Hodgkin lymphoma among virus-related NADCs. Conversely, among non-virus-related NADCs, SIRs for a broad range of malignancies were close to unity. In multivariate analysis, increasing age and CD4 cell count < 50 cells/μL were the only factors independently associated with all cancers.

CONCLUSIONS

Among HIV-infected people there was an excess of ADCs and also of NADCs, particularly those related to viral infections. Ageing and severe immunodeficiency were the strongest predictors.

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics and behaviours of individuals with newly diagnosed HIV infection: a multicentre study in north Italy

INTRODUCTION

We aimed to investigate socio-demographic, clinical and epidemiological characteristics and behaviours of subjects with new HIV diagnosis.

METHODS

We carried out a multi-centre cross-sectional study comprising 17 infectious diseases units in the Lombardy Region, North Italy. All subjects with a first positive test for HIV infection examined in 2008-09 were interviewed using a structured questionnaire.

RESULTS

472 patients were enrolled (mean age 39.8 years, standard deviation [SD] 11.5), mostly males (78%), and born in Italy (77%). The most common routes of HIV transmission were heterosexual intercourse (49%) and sex among men who have sex with men (MSM) (40%). Never/sometimes use of a condom with occasional partners was associated with male gender, heterosexual transmission route, and with >10 sexual partners in their lifetime. 47% had previous HIV negative tests. Having had more than 2 previous HIV negative tests was associated with younger age, MSM transmission route, CD4+ lymphocyte count >350/microl and self-perception of risk.

DISCUSSION

This study shows that there is a large portion of the adult population, especially heterosexual men aged 45 years and over, who are at high risk of acquiring and transmitting HIV infection and undergoing the HIV diagnostic test late, due to risk behaviours combined with a low perception of being at risk. Compared to people infected by heterosexual contacts, MSM show a greater awareness of being at risk of infection, but this knowledge has a low impact in reducing at-risk behaviours.

Goal-oriented searching mediated by ventral hippocampus early in trial-and-error learning

Most behavioral learning in biology is trial and error, but how these learning processes are influenced by individual brain systems is poorly understood. Here we show that ventral-to-dorsal hippocampal subdivisions have specific and sequential functions in trial-and-error maze navigation, with ventral hippocampus (vH) mediating early task-specific goal-oriented searching. Although performance and strategy deployment progressed continuously at the population level, individual mice showed discrete learning phases, each characterized by particular search habits. Transitions in learning phases reflected feedforward inhibitory connectivity (FFI) growth occurring sequentially in ventral, then intermediate, then dorsal hippocampal subdivisions. FFI growth at vH occurred abruptly upon behavioral learning of goal-task relationships. vH lesions or the absence of vH FFI growth delayed early learning and disrupted performance consistency. Intermediate hippocampus lesions impaired intermediate place learning, whereas dorsal hippocampus lesions specifically disrupted late spatial learning. Trial-and-error navigational learning processes in naive mice thus involve a stereotype sequence of increasingly precise subtasks learned through distinct hippocampal subdivisions. Because of its unique connectivity, vH may relate specific goals to internal states in learning under healthy and pathological conditions.