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PURPOSE: Gastric cancer (GC) is among the leading causes of cancer mortality worldwide. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between dietary fiber intake and GC. METHODS: We pooled data from 11 population or hospital-based case-control studies included in the Stomach Cancer Pooling (StoP) Project, for a total of 4865 histologically confirmed cases and 10,626 controls. Intake of dietary fibers and other dietary factors was collected using food frequency questionnaires. We calculated the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of the association between dietary fiber intake and GC by using a multivariable logistic regression model adjusted for study site, sex, age, caloric intake, smoking, fruit and vegetable intake, and socioeconomic status. We conducted stratified analyses by these factors, as well as GC anatomical site and histological type. RESULTS: The OR of GC for an increase of one quartile of fiber intake was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.85, 0.97), that for the highest compared to the lowest quartile of dietary fiber intake was 0.72 (95% CI: 0.59, 0.88). Results were similar irrespective of anatomical site and histological type. CONCLUSION: Our analysis supports the hypothesis that dietary fiber intake may exert a protective effect on GC.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggest that dietary vitamin C is inversely associated with gastric cancer (GC), but most of them did not consider intake of fruit and vegetables. Thus, we aimed to evaluate this association within the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project, a consortium of epidemiological studies on GC. METHODS: Fourteen case-control studies were included in the analysis (5362 cases, 11,497 controls). We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between dietary intake of vitamin C and GC, adjusted for relevant confounders and for intake of fruit and vegetables. The dose-response relationship was evaluated using mixed-effects logistic models with second-order fractional polynomials. RESULTS: Individuals in the highest quartile of dietary vitamin C intake had reduced odds of GC compared with those in the lowest quartile (OR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.58, 0.72). Additional adjustment for fruit and vegetables intake led to an OR of 0.85 (95% CI: 0.73, 0.98). A significant inverse association was observed for noncardia GC, as well as for both intestinal and diffuse types of the disease. The results of the dose-response analysis showed decreasing ORs of GC up to 150-200 mg/day of vitamin C (OR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.41, 0.71), whereas ORs for higher intakes were close to 1.0. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of our pooled study suggest that vitamin C is inversely associated with GC, with a potentially beneficial effect also for intakes above the currently recommended daily intake (90 mg for men and 75 mg for women).

Em estreita e profícua interlocução com a Educação, a Psicologia Escolar e Educacional tem adentrado o campo do Ensino Superior, notadamente neste século. Neste artigo apresentamos uma proposta de Estágio em Psicologia Escolar, com a participação de estagiárias/os dos cursos de graduação em Pedagogia e Psicologia de uma universidade pública. O projeto, intitulado de EsperançArte, é voltado a ingressantes e propõe encontros permeados pela Arte, em que se discute a entrada na Universidade, a vida universitária, o compromisso social da profissão e outras temáticas relacionadas a esse momento. Fundamentado na Psicologia Histórico-Cultural e na Psicologia Escolar em uma vertente crítica, essa proposta mostra-se como uma alternativa para o enfrentamento à evasão, a atenção e o cuidado com a permanência e a conclusão do curso, considerando-se as condições de alienação e as contradições postas pela sociedade capitalista e vivenciadas pelas/os universitárias/os em seu cotidiano.

Background & Aims: Porto-sinusoidal vascular disorder (PSVD) is a group of vascular disorders characterized by lesions involving portal venules and sinusoids, irrespective of the presence of portal hypertension. Liver biopsy is essential for diagnosis. In a single-center study, we demonstrated high rates of PSVD in patients with persistently elevated gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT). This multicenter study aims to establish PSVD prevalence in a larger dataset of individuals with persistent and unexplained GGT elevation, and to identify associated risk factors. Methods: The study included all patients who underwent liver biopsy for persistent and unexplained GGT elevation in five Italian hepatology units between March 2015 and December 2021. Results: A total of 144 patients met the inclusion criteria. The majority were males (76/144, 52.8%) and mean age was 51.9 years (range 19-74). Only 12 (8.3%) had liver stiffness measurements (LSM) >10 kPa, while 7 (4.8%) had ultrasound evidence of portal hypertension. Histological findings were consistent with PSVD in 96 patients (67%). Alternative diagnoses were steatohepatitis in 13 (9%), sarcoidosis in 3 (2%) and congenital hepatic fibrosis in 3 (2%) patients. Histological findings were non-specific in 29 (20%) patients. PSVD was associated with male sex (odds ratio [OR] 2.60, 95% CI 1.13-5.99), LSM

BackgroundYoghurt can modify gastrointestinal disease risk, possibly acting on gut microbiota. Our study aimed at exploring the under-investigated association between yoghurt and gastric cancer (GC).MethodsWe pooled data from 16 studies from the Stomach Cancer Pooling (StoP) Project. Total yoghurt intake was derived from food frequency questionnaires. We calculated study-specific odds ratios (ORs) of GC and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for increasing categories of yoghurt consumption using univariate and multivariable unconditional logistic regression models. A two-stage analysis, with a meta-analysis of the pooled adjusted data, was conducted.ResultsThe analysis included 6278 GC cases and 14,181 controls, including 1179 cardia and 3463 non-cardia, 1191 diffuse and 1717 intestinal cases. The overall meta-analysis revealed no association between increasing portions of yoghurt intake (continuous) and GC (OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.94-1.02). When restricting to cohort studies, a borderline inverse relationship was found (OR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.88-0.99). The adjusted and unadjusted OR were 0.92 (95% CI = 0.85-0.99) and 0.78 (95% CI = 0.73-0.84) for any vs. no yoghurt consumption and GC risk. The OR for 1 category of increase in yoghurt intake was 0.96 (95% CI = 0.91-1.02) for cardia, 1.03 (95% CI = 1.00-1.07) for non-cardia, 1.12 (95% CI = 1.07-1.19) for diffuse and 1.02 (95% CI = 0.97-1.06) for intestinal GC. No effect was seen within hospital-based and population-based studies, nor in men or women.ConclusionsWe found no association between yoghurt and GC in the main adjusted models, despite sensitivity analyses suggesting a protective effect. Additional studies should further address this association.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents a major therapeutic challenge due to its heterogeneous and aggressive phenotype, and limited target-specific treatment options. The trophoblast cell surface antigen (Trop-2), a transmembrane glycoprotein overexpressed in various cancers, has emerged as a promising target for TNBC. Sacituzumab govitecan (SG), an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that targets Trop-2, has recently entered treatment algorithms for advanced and metastatic TNBC, independently from Trop-2 expression status, with manageable toxicity. Despite the impressive results, questions remain unsolved regarding its efficacy, safety profile, and Trop-2 biological role in cancer. Currently, Trop-2 cannot be designated as a predictive biomarker in SG treatment, albeit its expression correlates with disease outcome, yet its levels are not uniform across all TNBCs. Additionally, data regarding Trop-2 expression variations in primary and metastatic sites, and its interplay with other biomarkers are still ambiguous but mandatory in light of future applications of SG in other indications and settings. This poses the questions of a careful evaluation of the efficacy and toxicity profile of SG in such early stages of disease, and in personalized and combinatorial strategies. Research and clinical data are mandatory to address SG drawbacks and minimize its benefits, to realize its full potential as therapeutic agent in different epithelial tumors.

Purpose: Over the last two decades the incidence of meniscal injuries has grown amongst the pediatric population predominantly due to greater involvement in sporting activities. The treatment and the natural history represent a socioeconomic burden for healthcare systems. This study demonstrates the epidemiology of meniscal tears treated surgically in Italy from 2010 to 2019 in a population up to 18 years. Methods: Data was collected from the National Archive of Hospital Discharges. ICD9-CM classification was used to select surgically treated meniscal injuries. Concomitant treatment of associated lesions were excluded. Data on the national population was retrieved from the Italian National Institute for Statistics (ISTAT). Statistical analyses were performed. Results: 17,449 isolated meniscal tears were surgically treated with a mean incidence of 20.6 per 100.000 in the Italian population aged up to 18 from 2010 to 2019. The mean age of patients was 15.85 with 89 % aged 14 or older. 30 % of the population was female. The incidence of medial meniscal surgery was higher than for the lateral meniscus. A declining trend in surgical incidence was observed. The mean hospitalization time was 1.53 days. Conclusions: Our study reveals a reduction in the total number of surgeries performed over the time frame and a significant rise in the incidence of meniscal lesions in pediatric patient above at the age of 13, especially in males. Despite a worldwide shift towards meniscal preservation, this trend is not evident in Italy as the current ICD9-CM classification does not differentiate between meniscectomy and meniscal repair, although an overall reduction in surgery may imply better management. Study design: Cohort study; Level of evidence III.

Beatriz Macías Gómez-Estern es profesora de la Universidad Pablo de Olavide, UPO, en la ciudad de Sevilla, España. Es psicóloga, trabaja en varias áreas que relacionan Psicología, Educación, Ciencias Sociales, estudios de migración, alteridad, entre otras. La profesora tiene una vasta trayectoria de estudios e investigaciones en Europa, Estados Unidos y América Latina. Esta entrevista retrata brevemente este recorrido y ilustra algunos intercambios de conceptos, formas de actuar e interlocución entre conceptos de la Psicología, la Psicología Histórico-Cultural y la relación con otras áreas del conocimiento.

BackgroundThe role of allium vegetables on gastric cancer (GC) risk remains unclear.MethodsWe evaluated whether higher intakes of allium vegetables reduce GC risk using individual participant data from 17 studies participating in the "Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project", including 6097 GC cases and 13,017 controls. Study-specific odds ratios (ORs) were pooled using a two-stage modelling approach.ResultsTotal allium vegetables intake was inversely associated with GC risk. The pooled OR for the highest versus the lowest study-specific tertile of consumption was 0.71 (95% confidence interval, CI, 0.56-0.90), with substantial heterogeneity across studies (I2 > 50%). Pooled ORs for high versus low consumption were 0.69 (95% CI, 0.55-0.86) for onions and 0.83 (95% CI, 0.75-0.93) for garlic. The inverse association with allium vegetables was evident in Asian (OR 0.50, 95% CI, 0.29-0.86) but not European (OR 0.96, 95% CI, 0.81-1.13) and American (OR 0.66, 95% CI, 0.39-1.11) studies. Results were consistent across all other strata.ConclusionsIn a worldwide consortium of epidemiological studies, we found an inverse association between allium vegetables and GC, with a stronger association seen in Asian studies. The heterogeneity of results across geographic regions and possible residual confounding suggest caution in results interpretation.

Abstract Background The pattern recognition receptor long pentraxin-3 (PTX3) plays conflicting roles in cancer by acting as an oncosuppressor or as a pro-tumor mediator depending on tumor context. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents the most aggressive histotype of breast cancer, characterized by the lack of efficacious therapeutic targets/approaches and poor prognosis. Thus, the characterization of new molecular pathways and/or alternative druggable targets is of great interest in TNBC. Methods The expression of PTX3 in BC tumor samples and in BC cell lines has been analyzed using the Gene Expression-Based Outcome for Breast Cancer Online (GOBO), qPCR, Western blot and ELISA assay. The contribution of tumor and stromal cells to PTX3 production in TNBC was assessed by analyzing single cell RNA sequencing data and RNAscope performed on TNBC tumor samples. In order to investigate the effects of PTX3 in TNBC, different cell lines were engineered to knock-down (MDA-MB-231 and BT549 cells) or overexpress (MDA-MB-468 and E0771 cells) PTX3. Finally, using these engineered cells, in vitro (including gene expression profiling and gene set enrichment analyses) and in vivo (orthotopic tumor models in immune-compromised and immune competent mice) analyses were performed to assess the role and the molecular mechanism(s) exerted by PTX3 in TNBC. Results In silico and experimental data indicate that PTX3 is mainly produced by tumor cells in TNBC and that its expression levels correlate with tumor stage. Accordingly, gene expression and in vitro results demonstrate that PTX3 overexpression confers a high aggressive/proliferative phenotype and fosters stem-like features in TNBC cells. Also, PTX3 expression induces a more tumorigenic potential when TNBC cells are grafted orthotopically in vivo. Conversely, PTX3 downregulation results in a less aggressive behavior of TNBC cells. Mechanistically, our data reveal that PTX3 drives the activation of the pro-tumorigenic Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling pathway in TNBC, demonstrating for the first time that the PTX3/TLR4 autocrine stimulation loop contributes to TNBC aggressiveness and that TLR4 inhibition significantly impacts the growth of PTX3-producing TNBC cells. Conclusion Altogether, these data shed light on the role of tumor-produced PTX3 in TNBC and uncover the importance of the PTX3/TLR4 axis for therapeutic and prognostic exploitation in TNBC. Graphical abstract

BackgroundGastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common type of cancer and the fourth most common cause of cancer-related mortality. Although the risk of GC and peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is known to be increased by H. pylori infection, evidence regarding the direct relationship between PUD and GC across ethnicities is inconclusive. Therefore, we investigated the association between PUD and GC in the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) consortium.MethodsHistory of peptic ulcer disease was collected using a structured questionnaire in 11 studies in the StoP consortium, including 4106 GC cases and 6922 controls. The two-stage individual-participant data meta-analysis approach was adopted to generate a priori. Unconditional logistic regression and Firth's penalized maximum likelihood estimator were used to calculate study-specific odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between gastric ulcer (GU)/duodenal ulcer (DU) and risk of GC.ResultsHistory of GU and DU was thoroughly reported and used in association analysis, respectively, by 487 cases (12.5%) and 276 controls (4.1%), and 253 cases (7.8%) and 318 controls (6.0%). We found that GU was associated with an increased risk of GC (OR = 3.04, 95% CI: 2.07-4.49). No association between DU and GC risk was observed (OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.77-1.39).ConclusionsIn the pooled analysis of 11 case-control studies in a large consortium (i.e., the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) consortium), we found a positive association between GU and risk of GC and no association between DU and GC risk.

The necessity of pushing the road mobility towards more sustainable solutions has become of undeniable importance in last years. For this reason, both research and industry are constantly investigating new technologies able to make the usage of battery electric vehicles(BEV) as accessible and usable as traditional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV). One of the most limiting issues concerns the short range of electric vehicles, which complicates their use for long distances, such as for highway travels. A promising solution seems to be the “charge-while-driving” approach, by exploiting the inductive dynamic wireless power transfer (DWPT) technology. Nevertheless, such systems show different issues, first of all, high investment and maintenance costs. Furthermore, it is not clear how extensive a potential dynamic wireless charging infrastructure needs to be to make a real advantage for electric vehicle drivers. As a consequence, the aim of this paper is to introduce a new methodology to estimate the number and length of wireless charging sections necessary to allow the maximum number of electric vehicles to travel a specific highway without the need to stop for a recharge at a service area. Specifically, the methodology is based on a algorithm that, starting by real traffic data, simulates vehicle flows and defines the basic layout of the wireless charging infrastructure. This simulator can provide a decision support tool for highway road operators.

This study investigates whether humans recognize different emotions conveyed only by the kinematics of a single moving geometrical shape and how this competence unfolds during development, from childhood to adulthood. To this aim, animations in which a shape moved according to happy, fearful, or neutral cartoons were shown, in a forced-choice paradigm, to 7- and 10-year-old children and adults. Accuracy and response times were recorded, and the movement of the mouse while the participants selected a response was tracked. Results showed that 10-year-old children and adults recognize happiness and fear when conveyed solely by different kinematics, with an advantage for fearful stimuli. Fearful stimuli were also accurately identified at 7-year-olds, together with neutral stimuli, while, at this age, the accuracy for happiness was not significantly different than chance. Overall, results demonstrates that emotions can be identified by a single point motion alone during both childhood and adulthood. Moreover, motion contributes in various measures to the comprehension of emotions, with fear recognized earlier in development and more readily even later on, when all emotions are accurately labeled.

RESUMO A Teoria da Atividade desenvolvida pelo pensador russo Alexis Leontiev oferece subsídios para compreender a constituição humana a partir das relações sociais e apropriação do conhecimento. Nesse caminho, o desenvolvimento das ações do professor no ensino deve se constituir em atividade. Assim, objetivamos investigar docentes em exercício na Educação Básica para reunir elementos sobre a constituição da atividade docente na sociedade do trabalho. Para isso, três professoras do Ensino Básico público contribuíram com a pesquisa: foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas e acompanhadas as rotinas de trabalho nas escolas envolvidas. Nos resultados, depreendemos que há possibilidades das ações de ensino se constituírem em atividade, mesmo diante das condições alienantes e fragmentadas que o professorado vivencia nesse cenário. Ainda, como considerações, reiteramos a defesa por políticas públicas que garantam condições concretas para a atuação docente para que possa cumprir seu papel junto à transformação e emancipação dos sujeitos pela Educação.