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Vittorio Mazzarello,1 Elisabetta Gavini,2 Giovanna Rassu,2 Matthew Gavino Donadu,1,2 Donatella Usai,1 Gabriella Piu,1 Valeria Pomponi,1 Federica Sucato,3 Stefania Zanetti,1 Maria Antonia Montesu3 1Skinlab, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy; 2Departmentof Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy; 3Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, ItalyCorrespondence: Matthew Gavino DonaduDepartment Chemistry and Pharmacy, School of Specialization of Hospital Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, Sassari, ItalyTel +39 079228463Email mdonadu@uniss.itBackground: Acne is a frequent adolescent disease characterized by inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions whose topical treatment very often presents adverse phenomena such as irritation or resistance to antibiotics that reduce the patient’s compliance.The purpose of this study is to compare a commercial product (Acnatac gel) based on clindamycin-tretinoin (CTG) with a galenic compound containing 2 essential oils (Myrtus communisL. and Origanum vulgare) and tretinoin (MOTC) to evaluate its anti-acne effectiveness and action on the microclimate of the skin.Methods: Sixty volunteers were randomly divided into an A group using MOTC and a B group, as a positive control, using CTG. The effectiveness was assessed with non-invasive skin analysis (Sebumeter, pHmeter, Tewameter and Mexameter) and the counts of the number of lesions, after 15 and 30 days.Results: In both groups, there is a worsening of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) due to tretinoin. MOTC has improved, starting from 15 days of treatment, the papular erythema (p = 0.0329 vs CTG) and has reduced at all times even the rashes of retinoids present in the healthy perilesional skin (p = 0.0329 and p = 0.0017, respectively, at 15 and 30 days).Conclusion: MOTC has shown, compared to Acnatac, to have anti-acne efficacy and to possess an anti-inflammatory activity, due to essential oils, able to reduce in vivo erythematous lesions and those induced by retinoids.Keywords: acne, non-invasive skin analysis, essential oils

Introduction: Bone infections, such as osteomyelitis, are difficult to treat through traditional therapy, as antibiotics administered systemically, have difficulty reaching the site of infection, also due to poor vascularization of the bone tissue and, consequently, the drug is not able to reach the local concentrations necessary to eradicate the bacterium which is additionally protected by the Biofilm [1]. The same problems related to poor vascularization are observed with the intravenous administration of these drugs. For these reasons, an injectable formulation able to adhere to bone tissue, which releases the drug in a controlled and targeted manner and which is able to promote the resorption of necrotic bone, would be ideal for therapy in the treatment of bone infection. and its replacement with the growth of new bone. Methods: A formulation based on a biodegradable polymer capable of delivering Vancomycin Hydrochloride has been developed for the treatment of microbial infections in osteomyelitis. The peculiarity of this system is that it is an easily injectable liquid capable of giving rise to solid microparticles at the injection site. The particles were characterized for shape, size and drug release rate; their biodegradability in a simulated physiological environment was also evaluated. The antibacterial activity against a clinical strain of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from a surgical wound was evaluated on samples taken from day 0 to 60. The effect of the drug released on day 0 on J774-A1 macrophage cells of murine origin was also evaluated [2]. Results & Discussions: The formulation is capable of releasing Vancomycin in a controlled manner over 60 days. No bacterial growth was observed from day 0 to 45. On the 60th day, a Minimum Bactericidal Concentration equal to 0.5% V / V was detected. Cellular suffering of J774-A1 was observed post-treatment with S. aureus and the drug released. Conclusions: From the first data obtained, the formulation developed appears to have good injectability and allows the administration of Vancomycin locally, in therapeutically effective doses. Key words: Vancomycin,osteomyelitis, injectable formulation, microbial infections References 1. Uskoković V, Desai TA. In vitro analysis of nanoparticulate hydroxyapatite/chitosan composites as potential drug delivery platforms for the sustained release of antibiotics in the treatment of osteomyelitis. J Pharm Sci. 2014 Feb;103(2):567-79. 2. Amorese V, Donadu M, Usai D, Sanna A, Milia F, Pisanu F, Molicotti P, Zanetti S, Doria C. In vitro activity of essential oils against Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from infected hip implants. J Infect Dev Ctries. 2018 Nov 30;12(11):996-1001.

Some researchers posit population continuity between Late Palaeolithic hunter–gatherers of the late Pleistocene and Holocene agriculturalists from Lower (northern) Nubia, in northeast Africa. Substantial craniodental differences in these time-successive groups are suggested to result from in situ evolution. Specifically, these populations are considered a model example for subsistence-related selection worldwide in the transition to agriculture. Others question continuity, with findings indicating that the largely homogeneous Holocene populations differ significantly from late Pleistocene Lower Nubians. If the latter are representative of the local populace, post-Pleistocene discontinuity is implied. So who was ancestral to the Holocene agriculturalists? Dental morphological analyses of 18 samples (1075 individuals), including one dated to the 12th millennium BCE from Al Khiday, near the Upper Nubian border, may provide an answer. It is the first Late Palaeolithic sample (n = 55) recovered within the region in approximately 50 years. Using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System to record traits and multivariate statistics to estimate biological affinities, Al Khiday is comparable to several Holocene samples, yet also highly divergent from contemporaneous Lower Nubians. Thus, population continuity is indicated after all, but with late Pleistocene Upper—rather than Lower Nubians as originally suggested—assuming dental traits are adequate proxies for ancient DNA.