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Objective: To evaluate whether a school-based multicomponent educational program could improve adiposity measures in middle-school adolescents. Methods: A non-randomized controlled pilot study was conducted in six state middle schools (487 adolescents, 11-15 years) in townships in an urban area around Milan, three schools (n 5 262 adolescents) being assigned to the intervention group and three schools (n 5 225 adolescents) to the control group. The twoschool-year intervention included changes in the school environment (alternative healthy vending machines, educational posters) and individual reinforcement tools (school lessons, textbook, text messages, pedometers, re-usable water bottles). The main outcome measure was change in BMI z-score. The secondary outcomes were changes in waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and behavioral habits. Results: The intervention was associated with a significant difference in BMI z-score (20.18 6 0.03, P<0.01) and in WHtR (20.04 6 0.002, P < 0.001), after controlling for baseline covariates. Subgroup analysis showed the maximum association between the intervention and the difference in BMI z-score for girls with overweight/obesity. Physical activity increased and consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and high-energy snacks decreased in adolescents after the intervention. Conclusions: A school-based multicomponent intervention conducted at both environmental and individual levels may be effective for reducing adiposity measures mainly in adolescents with overweight/obesity.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a pivotal role in remodeling the extracellular matrix (ECM) and are therefore of interest for new diagnostic tools for the clinical management of diseases involving ECM disruption. This setting ranges from the classical areas of MMP studies, such as vascular disease, cancer progression or bone disorders, to new emerging fields of application, such as neurodegenerative disease or sepsis. Increasing the knowledge about the role of MMPs in the pathogenesis of diseases where a clear diagnostic panel is still lacking could provide new insight and improve the identification and the clinical treatment of these human diseases. This review focuses on the latest descriptions of the clinical use of MMP as biomarkers in the diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of different diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and metastasis, neurodegenerative disorders and sepsis.

The tumor-suppressor protein p53 is over-expressed in a large fraction of squamous-cell carcinomas of the larynx (LSCCs). p53 overexpression is dependent upon the synthesis of mutated versions of the protein and has been associated with the malignant progression of certain tumor types. In order to examine the prognostic value of p53 immunodetection in LSCCs, we performed a retrospective analysis on a selected series of tumors, using the PAb 1801 and CM1 antibodies. No significant difference in the frequency of p53 over-expression was observed between tumors from patients with early relapse (67%) and those who had been disease-free for more than 5 years (84%). The lack of correlation of p53 immunoreactivity with clinical stage and differentiation grade of LSCCs, together with the coordinated expression of p53 in primary tumors and the corresponding lymph-node metastases, indicate that p53 over-expression is probably unrelated to the biological aggressiveness of these tumors. In addition, the detection of p53 immunostaining in pre-invasive areas as well as in preneoplastic lesions suggests that p53 abnormalities probably constitute a very early event in LSCC development.