Linking novelty seeking and harm avoidance personality traits to basal ganglia: volumetry and mean diffusivity

Novelty Seeking (NS) and Harm Avoidance (HA) temperamental traits are related to approaching or avoiding motivational circuits relying on the integrity and functionality of distributed brain areas implicated in arousal and action. The present study verified whether and how macro- and micro-structural variations of basal ganglia are correlated with scores obtained in the NS and HA temperamental scales of the Temperament and Character Inventory by Cloninger. To this aim, 125 healthy adults aged 18–67 years of both sexes completed the Temperament and Character Inventory and underwent a high-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and a diffusion tensor imaging using a 3T scanner. The scores obtained in the temperamental scales were associated with volumes, mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy measures of basal ganglia of both hemispheres separately, by using linear regression analyses. We found increased bilateral caudate and pallidum volumes associated with higher NS scores, as well as increased mean diffusivity in the bilateral putamen associated with higher HA scores. Macro- and micro-structural variations of basal ganglia regions contribute to explain the biological variance associated with NS or HA personality phenotype. The present findings evidencing some brain-temperament relationships highlight the importance of obtaining macro- and micro-structural measures in relation to individual differences.     

Interleukin-4 down-regulates MHC class II antigens on cultured rat astrocytes

Mammalian cerebral astrocytes can be brought to express major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules upon appropriate stimulation. It is well established that this expression is subject to modulation by several neurotransmitters and cytokines. We show that the low, basal expression of MHC class II antigens on cultured rat astrocytes is concentration-dependently down-regulated by low concentrations of interleukin-4 (IL-4), reaching maximal inhibition at 10 U/ml. The higher, γ-IFN-induced, expression of class II molecules is also decreased by increasing concentrations of IL-4, significant effects being already observed at 5 U/ml. Since the cAMP as well as the nitric oxide dependent cGMP pathway have previously been shown to mediate an inhibition on astroglial MHC class II expression, we measured the intra-cellular content of cyclic nucleotides after stimulation with IL-4. No rise in cAMP or cGMP is detected. Similarly, IL-4 does not affect the induced synthesis of nitric oxide radicals. Since MHC class II expression is a critical step in many regulatory processes of the cellular immune reaction, IL-4, via its activity on astroglial cells, emerges as an important modulator of immunological activities in the central nervous system. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Solvothermal synthesis and structural characterization of three polyoxotitanium-organic acid clusters

Three new titanium oxo-clusters Ti₄O₂(OⁱPr)₁₀(OOCPhMe)₂ (I), Ti₆O₄(OEt)₈(OOCPhMe)₈ (II) and Ti₆O₆(OEt)₆(OOCCHPh₂)₆ (III) were obtained by easy one-step solvothermal reactions of titanium(iv) isopropoxide, alcohols and carboxylic acids. The three compounds were characterized by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, TGA/DSC, optical and electron microscopy, and FTIR and NMR spectroscopy. X-ray powder diffraction and spectroscopy confirmed the purity of the compounds. Structural analysis indicates that in all compounds the titanium(iv) ions are six-coordinated (distorted octahedra). (I) is a tetranuclear complex containing a Ti₄(μ₄-O)(μ₂-O) core, which is linked by two (μ₂-OOCPhMe), four (μ₂-OⁱPr) and six OⁱPr ligands. (II) and (III) are hexanuclear complexes with different cores, respectively Ti₆(μ₃-O)₂(μ₂-O)₂ and Ti₆(μ₃-O)₆. The coordination sphere of the Ti atoms is filled by eight (μ₂-OOCPhMe), two (μ₂-OEt) and six OEt in (II) and six (μ₂-OOCHPh₂) and six OEt in (III). Different steric hindrance of substituents attached to the carboxyl group or different concentrations lead to three main different cluster geometries with two ligands. The tetranuclear and the hexanuclear clusters were obtained with the OOCPhMe ligand, while the hexagonal prism cluster was obtained with the OOCCHPh₂ ligand. Hirshfeld surface calculations indicated that the packing is driven by C–O⋯H–C weak hydrogen bonds. The clusters can be used as molecular models of organic molecules bonded to titania surface, used in organic photovoltaic (dye sensitized solar cells) or other optoelectronic applications.

Crystal structures of three novel titanium oxo-clusters with different cores and ligands obtained by an easy and convenient solvothermal method.     

Pattern of response of unresectable and metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma to programmed death‐1 inhibitors: A review of the literature

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most frequent nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC). The majority of in situ cSCC [cSCC (Tis)] can be cured surgically, while local advanced and metastatic ones require other treatments, but there are no therapies approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Available treatments for these stages included radiotherapy, chemotherapy as cisplatin, but responses to these treatments are usually of short duration. Programmed death‐1 (PD‐1) inhibitors (pembrolizumab, nivolumab, and cemiplimab) are an innovative immunologic treatment that now has been shown to be useful for the treatment of advanced cSCC. Nowadays, data about the response rate with the use of PD‐1 inhibitors in cSCC are still few and, especially, the duration of the response after the start of treatment is short. Moreover, the number of cases is too small to express the beneficial effects of these treatments, although most data reported in the literature show quite good response rates. This review focused on some of the studies and associated results through an interesting research on search engines of all the cases about these systemic drugs, analyzing effects and side effects, and the research has been conducted considering published cases since March 2016 to October 2019.     

Do acne treatments affect insulin‐like growth factor‐1 serum levels? A clinical and laboratory study on patients with acne vulgaris

Acne is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting sebaceous gland follicles. Lately, acne has considered an insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (IGF‐1) mediated disease. Recent research demonstrated that IGF‐1 levels decrease after 3 months of isotretinoin. The purpose of our study is evaluating the influence of acne treatments on IGF‐1 serum levels. Forty‐six subjects with acne vulgaris aged 14 to 30 years were subdivided into three groups according to their severity of acne and treated following the European Dermatology Forum guidelines. IGF‐1 was measured in patients before and after the treatment and then compared to the IGF‐1 of a healthy population of the same age. IGF‐1 resulted higher in patients than in controls but there was not a statistically significant variation after treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the influence of topical and systemic acne treatment on IGF‐1 serum levels. In contrast with the literature, our results suggest that common therapies for acne are not able to significantly modify IGF‐1 serum levels.     

Cell-based assays for the detection of MOG antibodies: a comparative study

Journal of Neurology - The detection of antibodies to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) is fundamental for the identification of MOG antibody-associated disorders (MOGAD), and the...