Vandetanib versus Cabozantinib in Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Focus on Anti-Angiogenic Effects in Zebrafish Model

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a tumor deriving from the thyroid C cells. Vandetanib (VAN) and cabozantinib (CAB) are two tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting REarranged during Transfection (RET) and other kinase receptors and are approved for the treatment of advanced MTC. We aim to compare the in vitro and in vivo anti-tumor activity of VAN and CAB in MTC. The effects of VAN and CAB on viability, cell cycle, and apoptosis of TT and MZ-CRC-1 cells are evaluated in vitro using an MTT assay, DNA flow cytometry with propidium iodide, and Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide staining, respectively. In vivo, the anti-angiogenic potential of VAN and CAB is evaluated in Tg(fli1a:EGFP)^y1 transgenic fluorescent zebrafish embryos by analyzing the effects on the physiological development of the sub-intestinal vein plexus and the tumor-induced angiogenesis after TT and MZ-CRC-1 xenotransplantation. VAN and CAB exert comparable effects on TT and MZ-CRC-1 viability inhibition and cell cycle perturbation, and stimulated apoptosis with a prominent effect by VAN in MZ-CRC-1 and CAB in TT cells. Regarding zebrafish, both drugs inhibit angiogenesis in a dose-dependent manner, in particular CAB shows a more potent anti-angiogenic activity than VAN. To conclude, although VAN and CAB show comparable antiproliferative effects in MTC, the anti-angiogenic activity of CAB appears to be more relevant.     

Passive adaptation or active engagement? The challenges of Housing First internationally and in the Italian case

In recent years, a peculiar homelessness policy that goes under the name of ‘Housing First’ has become increasingly popular all over the world. Epitomising a quintessential case of policy-mobility, Housing First can today be considered an heterogeneous assemblage of experiences and approaches that sometimes have little in common with each other. Introducing and commenting upon this heterogeneity, the paper critically analyses why and how Housing First has become a planetary success and what are the issues at stake with its widespread implementation. If recent scholarship published in this journal has granted us a fine understanding of Housing First’s functioning in the US, this paper offers something currently absent from the debate: a nuanced and critical understanding of the ambiguities related to the international success of this policy, with specific references to the challenges associated to its translation in the Italian case.     

Quail egg yolk (Coturnix coturnix japonica) enriched with omega-3 fatty acids

This experiment was carried out with 58-week old laying quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) assigned to four treatment groups with eight quails per replication in six repetitions in a completely randomized design. The treatments consisted of diets with different levels of flaxseed (0, 1.5, 3.0, and 5.0%). The amounts of cholesterol and total lipids and the fatty acid composition of quail egg yolk were determined in four 21-day cycles. No difference was found in cholesterol levels between the four treatments and the four cycles. The increased ingestion of linolenic acid (LNA) in diet reduced the formation of arachidonic acid (AA) significantly. The 3.0 and 5.0% treatment groups presented a reduction in total saturated fatty acids (TSFA) with the increase in percent flaxseed in feed comparatively to the control value. The n-3 fatty acid level was high in all treatments when compared to that of the control group. The n-6/n-3 ratio decreased from 21.30 (control) to 4.52 (5.0%), which is a better value from the nutritional viewpoint.     

阳光下的"冰山"法国波尔多Seeko''o旅馆

Seeko'o旅馆位于法国波尔多市北部的夏特隆区(Chartrons),美丽的加伦河(Garonne)左岸,Quai de Bacalan街与Cours EdouardVaillant街的交叉口.     

Replacing "who is the client?" with a different ethical question.

The familiar question, "Who is the client?" has become a distraction from more important ethical questions. By requiring a singular answer, the question obscures the fact that psychologists have ethical obligations toward every party in a case, no matter how many or how named. Making the question plural is not a sufficient solution, because identifying the client(s) should not be treated as an end in itself; it is simply a means of clarifying the nature of the relationship(s) and understanding the accompanying ethical obligations. After exploring the underlying implications for informed consent, confidentiality, and other ethical duties, the author suggests that psychologists adopt an alternative ethical question: "What are my ethical responsibilities to each of the parties in this case?" Finally, a case example illustrates the fact that the old question has several different meanings (and therefore different answers), depending upon whether it is asked as an ethical, clinical, legal, or reimbursement question. The proposed new question avoids such confusion because it is easily identifiable as an ethical question and its meaning is clear. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

LANASOL(R)染料比媒介染料更适用于羊毛染色

欧洲化学品管理局(ECHA)现已将重铬酸盐列入了高关注物质(SVHC)的名单.用含有重铬酸钾和重铬酸钠等的媒介染料染制羊毛的工厂正面临着越来越大的压力.这意味着采用这种技术的染厂未来可能要得到特别授权才能使用这种化学品.     

Early development in males with Fragile X syndrome: a review of the literature

This article reviews the current bibliographic knowledge on early neurobehavioral development and milestones in Fragile X syndrome (FraX), with emphasis on males affected by the condition. Three broad areas of early development were examined: (1) gross and fine motor, (2) speech and language, and (3) social. The result of the current review indicates very limited information on the developmental milestones in all three areas. The scarce literature on motor development shows that in FraX there is an early developmental delay. Research on speech and language demonstrates pervasive deficits in conversational skills and severe developmental delay, with increasing discrepancy between language level and chronological age in young males with FraX. Finally, deficits in social development in FraX include abnormal gaze, approach and avoidance conflict, and high incidence of autistic spectrum disorders.