Leptin is a recently identified hormone produced by the adipocyte ob gene which acts as a negative feedback signal critical to the normal control of food intake and body weight. A number of proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL) 1alpha, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha and interferon (IFN) gamma, have been proposed as mediators of cancer cachexia. These data suggest that abnormalities in leptin production/release or in its feedback mechanism play a role in cancer patients. To elucidate this we studied the relationship between total serum leptin and serum cytokines IL-1alpha, IL-6, TNFalpha as well as the production of leptin and cytokines by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) isolated from cancer patients. Sixteen advanced cancer patients (mainly stage IV) with tumors at different sites were included in the study. The serum levels of leptin in cancer patients were significantly lower than those of healthy individuals at all times (7 a.m., noon, 3 p.m.). No significant differences were found in circadian rhythm between patients and controls. Serum levels of IL-1alpha, IL-6, and TNFalpha were significantly higher in cancer patients than in healthy individuals. An inverse correlation between serum levels of leptin and IL-6 was found in cancer patients. The production in culture of leptin by unstimulated PBMCs and those stimulated by phytohemagglutinin M or by phorbol myristate acetate isolated from cancer patients was very low; no differences were observed in comparison with leptin production by PBMCs from healthy individuals.

This paper focuses on the processing and study of 3D models obtained from images captured by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). In particular, we wanted to study the accuracy gains achieved in the surveying and the measurement, such as height, area, and volume, of the dimensions of the buildings in the 3D models obtained with both nadir and oblique UAV flights. These latter types of flights are particularly suitable for the 3D modeling of cities or urban agglomerations, where it is important to achieve a complete building reconstruction, including façades and footprints of buildings. For this purpose, several UAV surveys with both nadir and oblique axes were performed. The nadir flight acquired images over an area of about 3.5 hectares containing 30 buildings, while the second flight, performed with both a nadir camera and an oblique camera, was conducted on a single building. The images from the flights were processed with Photoscan software by Agisoft and with Pix4D, studying their different potentialities and functionality. The results were compared with the data from the 1:2000 scale Geotopographic Database (DBGT), with the results of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) survey and with 3D model from the Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) survey. The obtained results have shown that oblique UAV flights increase the achievable accuracy both in terms of the number of points in a point cloud, and in the in measurements taken on the 3D models, with respect to the limited cost, and at the increase in time for surveying and image processing.

Increasing data suggests that there is a connection between stress and the appearance of psoriasis symptoms. We therefore performed a clinical trial enrolling 40 participants who were randomly allocated to either an 8-week cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) (treatment group) plus narrow-band UVB phototherapy or to an 8-week course of only narrow-band UVB phototherapy (control group). We evaluated the clinical severity of psoriasis (PASI), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-12, Skindex-29 and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) at baseline and by the end of the study. Sixty-five percent of patients in the treatment group achieved PASI75 compared with 15% of standard UVB patients (p = 0.007). GHQ-12 cases were reduced from 45% to 10% in the treatment group and from 30% to 20% in the control group (p = 0.05). The Skindex-29 emotional domain showed a significant improvement in the CBT/biofeedback group compared with control patients (-2.8 points, p = 0.04). This study shows that an adjunctive 8-week intervention with CBT combined with biofeedback increases the beneficial effect of UVB therapy in the overall management of psoriasis, reduces the clinical severity of psoriasis, improving quality of life and decreases the number of minor psychiatric disorders.

LDH may represent an indirect marker of neo-angiogenesis and worse prognosis in many tumour types. We assessed the correlation between LDH and clinical outcome for biliary tract cancer (BTC) patients treated with first-line chemotherapy. Overall, 114 advanced BTC patients treated with first-line gemcitabine and cisplatin were included. Patients were divided into two groups (low vs. high LDH), according to pre-treatment LDH values. Patients were also classified according to pre- and post-treatment variation in LDH serum levels (increased vs. decreased). Median progression free survival (PFS) was 5.0 and 2.6 months respectively in patients with low and high pre-treatment LDH levels (p = 0.0042, HR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.37–0.87). Median overall survival (OS) was 7.7 and 5.6 months (low vs. high LDH) (p = 0.324, HR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.54–1.24). DCR was 71% vs. 43% (low vs. high LDH) (p = 0.002). In 38 patients with decreased LDH values after treatment, PFS and OS were respectively 6.2 and 12.1 months, whereas in 76 patients with post-treatment increased LDH levels, PFS and OS were respectively 3.0 and 5.1 months (PFS: p = 0.0009; HR = 0.49; 95% IC: 0.33–0.74; OS: p < 0.0001; HR = 0.42; 95% IC: 0.27–0.63). Our data seem to suggest that LDH serum level may predict clinical outcome in BTC patients receiving first-line chemotherapy.

The field of Cultural Heritage has inspired, in the course of last few years, an interest more and more important on behalf of scientific community that deals to survey. The idea that knowledge of a site doesn't apply only to its history but must necessarily include its characteristics of position, shape and geometry, is gathering pace. In Geomatic science the field of cultural heritage benefits to an integrated approach of techniques and different technologies. Every cultural site in fact, is a case in itself, with its own characteristics, problems and specificness. Current techniques offer opportunity to achieve new ways of representation and visualization of cultural site, with the aim of a better metric description. This techniques are powerful tools for analysis of sites and supports to activity of reconstruction and repair. Biggest expectations in this field is laser three-dimensional scanning technique; a system which is able to operate in a methodical way in speed of acquisition and in possibility to access data in real time. Documentation and filing of state of a monument or site is essential in case of reconstruction or conservative project. Possibility to detect very complex geometries with great accuracy allows an in depth study of constructive techniques, making analysis of geometrical details easier which is, with traditional techniques, difficult to achieve. Biggest problems about use of laser scanner survey are graphic outputs for restorers and architects, in fact they often don't know real potential of this techniques, methodologies and functionalities and they expect traditional outputs such as floor plans, cross sections and front elevation of cultural asset. Present study is focused on finding a workflow to support activity of study, restoration and conservative project of cultural heritage, extracting automatically (or with a limited manual operation) graphic outputs from laser scanner survey. Some procedure was tested on two case study the Siviller Castle (XV century), situated in Villasor, a city near Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy) and the tower bell of Mores, near Sassari (Sardinia, Italy). The cultural sites were surveyed with laser scanner Focus 3D by Faro and to process clouds point we were used the JRC 3D Reconstructor software * Corresponding author. This is useful to know for communication with the appropriate person in cases with more than one author.