Conceptual Study and Manufacturing of a Configurable and Weld-Free Lattice Base for Automatic Food Machines

The study is aimed at developing a modular lattice base for automatic food machines, starting with a solution already patented by some of the authors. In this case, welded carpentry modules were interlocked with a system of profiles and metal inserts, also in welded carpentry, and the union was stabilized by structural adhesive bonding. Since welding involves long processing times and thermal distortions to be restored later, the driver of this study is to limit the use of welding as much as possible while increasing the modularity of the construction. For this purpose, various solution concepts have been generated where a common feature is the presence of rods of the same geometry and section to be joined together in configurable structural nodes. The concepts are qualitatively evaluated in light of the requirements, and the selected concept is digitally and physically prototyped. The prototype has been in service from over 5 years without showing any problems whatsoever.     

Technique of injection of onabotulinumtoxin A for chronic migraine: the PREEMPT injection paradigm

The molecular study of circadian rhythms in humans could be an excellent approach to understand the relation between genes and behavior. It is possible that variations in genes involved in neurotransmission and/or synaptic plasticity, such as catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) could be of particular interest in understanding human circadian phenotypes. The aim of this study is to analyze the possible and novel associations of the functional polymorphisms in COMT and SLC6A4 genes (Val158Met and 5-HTTLPR) and circadian phenotypes in healthy Colombian subjects. 191 university students were genotyped for two functional polymorphisms in COMT and SLC6A4 genes (rs4680 and rs4795541). We applied two scales to measure phenotypic patterns of human circadian rhythms: Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). We found a significant association between 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and morning preference score (CSM) (p = 0.027) using an overdominant genotypic model and association of COMT Val158Met with daytime sleepiness (ESS scores) (p = 0.038) in a genotypic recessive model. These results were supported by differences in genotype frequencies between circadian typologies for SLC6A4 gene (p = 0.007) and categories of diurnal sleepiness for COMT gene (p = 0.032). Our results suggest, for the first time, a significant relationship between functional SLC6A4 and COMT polymorphisms with specific human circadian phenotypes: morning preference and diurnal sleepiness. These results need to be replicated in other populations. Further study of functional polymorphisms in other synaptic genes could be of relevance for the identification of novel candidate genes for circadian phenotypes, and related endophenotypes of neuropsychiatric importance, in healthy humans.     

Cerebrovascular risk factors and MRI abnormalities in migraine

Case series have demonstrated an increased incidence of white matter lesions (WMLs) in patients with migraine. It is controversial whether the evidence of subclinical brain lesions relates to a higher risk of cerebrovascular disease. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) subclinical brain lesions and cerebrovascular risk factors (hyperhomocysteinaemia, MTHFR genotype, patent foramen ovale, hypertension, smoking and hypercholesterolaemia). From our database of 1201 patients followed at our Headache Clinic since September 2003 we analysed the MRI findings of 253 individuals. All MRI were blindly analysed by a second neuroradiologist (C.A.) and patients with WMLs (study group) were evaluated. In order to assess the association of WMLs with specific vascular risk factors, patients with WMLs were matched, according to age, sex and ICHD II diagnosis, with an equal number of individuals with normal MRI (control group). Headache was classified by the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD 2004) criteria. We did not find any statistically significant difference between the two groups with regard to the presence of the cerebrovascular disease risk factors considered. Our results confirm that the WMLs are not related to the cerebrovascular disease risk factors.

     

Tympanometry for middle-ear effusion in unconscious ICU patients.

Eighty-six bilateral impedance audiometries were performed weekly in 35 unconscious ICU patients. Tympanometry showed the presence of middle-ear effusion in 43.3% of the examinations (80% of the patients). The incidence of effusion was significantly higher in patients older than 50 years, in intubated and mechanically ventilated patients and in the presence of microbial colonization of the upper airways. The acoustic reflex (AR) was characterized by increased threshold values in 23.8% of the examinations and was absent in 41.3%. Abnormal or absent ARs were usually associated with middle-ear effusion or tube malfunction.     

Immigration and neurological diseases: a longitudinal study in an acute neurological care

Very few data exist on causes and outcomes of hospitalization of immigrants in Italy. Even though immigration is a real challenge for the western countries, we are still unaware of how it reflects on the costs and the management of an acute care department. This study was aimed to compare the patterns of hospital use by immigrants incoming to the Acute Care Department of Neurology in Brescia, Italy, with those of the resident Italian people. The study was based on the hospital discharge data. Discharges of immigrants were compared to those of a random selection of Italian patients matched by age and sex. The length of the study period was of 2.5?years. A similar pattern of hospital use by age was observed between foreigners and Italian patients; however, average length of hospitalization was significantly longer in immigrant population.     

Repeated reserpine administration up-regulates the transduction mechanisms of D1 receptors without changing the density of [3H]SCH 23390 binding

Behavioural studies have shown that stimulation of D1 receptors, which is uneffective in normal rats, induced strong hypermotility in rats pretreated with reserpine for 5 days. On this basis, we investigated D1 receptor plasticity using the 5-day treatment with reserpine (1 mg/kg; s.c.) as an experimental model. The function of striatal D1 receptors was determined both in binding studies with [3H]SCH 23390 and by measuring formation of cAMP in response to the selective agonist, SKF 82526. The results indicate that the responsiveness of adenylate cyclase (AC) to D1 receptor stimulation was markedly increased after reserpine administration, while no significant changes were found in [3H]SCH 23390 binding site density. Moreover, formation of cAMP after stimulation of Gs protein with GppNHp was markedly enhanced in dopamine (DA)-depleted rats; the responsiveness of AC to forskolin, which directly stimulates the AC catalytic unit, was not affected by reserpine administration. These data indicate that reserpine-induced D1 receptor up-regulation is apparently mediated by a marked enhancement of the coupling efficiency of Gs protein, suggesting that the D1 behavioral supersensitivity does not correlate with the density of D1 receptors, but is reflected by a selective up-regulation of their transduction mechanisms.     

Amylin receptor components and the leptin receptor are co‐expressed in single rat area postrema neurons

Amylin is a pancreatic β‐cell hormone that acts as a satiating signal to inhibit food intake by binding to amylin receptors (AMYs) and activating a specific neuronal population in the area postrema (AP). AMYs are heterodimers that include a calcitonin receptor (CTR) subunit [CTR isoform a or b (CTRa or CTRb)] and a member of the receptor activity‐modifying proteins (RAMPs). Here, we used single‐cell quantitative polymerase chain reaction to assess co‐expression of AMY subunits in AP neurons from rats that were injected with amylin or vehicle. Because amylin interacts synergistically with the adipokine leptin to reduce body weight, we also assessed the co‐expression of AMY and the leptin receptor isoform b (LepRb) in amylin‐activated AP neurons. Single cells were collected from Wistar rats and from transgenic Fos‐GFP rats that express green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of the Fos promoter. We found that the mRNAs of CTRa, RAMP1, RAMP2 and RAMP3 were all co‐expressed in single AP neurons. Moreover, most of the CTRa+ cells co‐expressed more than one of the RAMPs. Amylin down‐regulated RAMP1 and RAMP3 but not CTR mRNAs in AMY+ neurons, suggesting a possible negative feedback mechanism of amylin at its own primary receptors. Interestingly, amylin up‐regulated RAMP2 mRNA. We also found that a high percentage of single cells that co‐expressed all components of a functional AMY expressed LepRb mRNA. Thus, single AP cells expressed both AMY and LepRb, which formed a population of first‐order neurons that presumably can be directly activated by amylin and, at least in part, also by leptin.     

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (Glu298Asp) polymorphism is an independent risk factor for migraine with aura

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the functional endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) Glu298Asp polymorphism, which has been demonstrated to decrease the endothelial NOS activity, might be a risk factor for migraine. BACKGROUND: It has widely demonstrated that nitric oxide (NO) is involved in migraine pathogenesis. Several genetic risk factors have been associated with migraine, but no study has unraveled a possible relationship between migraine and eNOS Glu298Asp. Methods.-One hundred fifty-six migraine patients and 125 healthy nonheadache volunteers entered the study. Demographic and clinical characteristics were carefully recorded, and a neurological workup was performed. RESULTS: eNOS AspAsp homozygous patients had a 3-fold time risk for migraine with aura (MA) when compared to migraine without aura (MO) patients (OR-3.02, 95% CI-1.21 to 7.51), and more than 2-fold time increased risk when compared to control subjects (OR-2.21, 95% CI-1.00 to 5.04). In migraine patients, no difference in age at onset, mean attack's intensity, family history for any of the studied comorbidities, or the presence of comorbidities was found in eNOS AspAsp homozygous compared to eNOS GluGlu or eNOS GluAs carriers. CONCLUSIONS: Homozygous Asp298, a common variant of the eNOS gene, is an independent risk factor for MA in this study population.     

Frontotemporal dementia: impact of P301L tau mutation on a healthy carrier

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the second commonest form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease, but its clinical and biological features are less well known. To uncover its earliest signs, we studied the main clinical, neuroimaging, and biochemical findings in an asymptomatic carrier from a three generation FTD family, bearing the P301L pathogenic mutation in the tau gene. Except for selective impairment on the Verbal Fluency Test for letters, all cognitive tests were normal. The brain computed tomography scan was normal, but the brain single photon emission computed tomography and statistical parametric mapping (SPECT-SPM) scan revealed bilateral frontal lobe hypoperfusion. Levels of total tau, 181P-tau, and Abeta1-42 in the cerebrospinal fluid were increased compared with control values. We conclude that detection of these distinctive abnormalities should improve early diagnostic accuracy for FTD and help distinguish it from Alzheimer's disease.