The films showed non-cytotoxicity to human keratinocytes and human gingival fibroblasts but exhibited potent anticancer activity in oral cancer cells. Therefore, these curcumin-loaded films showed their potential for use as leave-on skin applications. These versatile films can be further developed to achieve desirable characteristics for local topical patches for wound care, periodontitis and oral cancer treatment.E3 ubiquitin ligase plays a vital role in the ubiquitin-mediated heat-related protein degradation pathway. Herein, we report that the expression of AtPPRT1, a C3HC4 zinc-finger ubiquitin E3 ligase gene, was induced by heat stress, and the β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene driven by the AtPPRT1 promoter has shown increased activity after basal and acquired thermotolerance. To further explore the function of AtPPRT1 in heat stress response (HSR), we used the atpprt1 mutant and AtPPRT1-overexpressing lines (OE2 and OE10) to expose in heat shock. In this study, the atpprt1 mutant had a lower germination and survival rate than those of Col-0 when suffered from the heat stress, whereas OEs enhanced basal and acquired thermotolerance in Arabidopsis seedlings. When compared to Col-0 and OEs, loss-of-function in AtPPRT1 resulted in lower chlorophyll retention and higher content of reactive oxygen species (ROS) after heat treatment. Moreover, the transcript levels of AtPPRT1 and several heat-related genes (AtZAT12,AtHSP21 and AtHSFA7a) were upregulated to greater extents in OEs and lower extents in atpprt1 compared to Col-0 after heat treated. Hence, we suggest that AtPPRT1 may act as a positive role in regulating the high temperature by mediating the degradation of unknown target proteins.Crop plants can become contaminated with human pathogenic bacteria in agro-production systems. Some of the transmission routes of human pathogens to growing plants are well explored such as water, manure and soil, whereas others are less explored such as seeds. Fenugreek seeds contaminated with the entero-hemorrhagic Escherichia coli O104H4 were suspected to be the principle vectors for transmission of the pathogen to sprouts at the food-borne disease outbreak in Hamburg and surrounding area in 2011. In this study we raised the questions of whether cells of the entero-aggregative E. coli O104H4 strain 55989 is capable of colonizing developing plants from seeds and if it would be possible that, via plant internalization, these cells can reach the developing embryonic tissue of the next generation of seeds. To address these questions, we followed the fate of strain 55989 and of two other E. coli strains from artificially contaminated seeds to growing plants, and from developing flower tissue to mature seeds upons of cells of E. coli strains to developing flowers also did not result in internal seed contamination, indicating that internal seed contamination with E. coli is an unlikely event. The fact that all three E. coli strains showed stronger preference for the root-soil zones of growing pea plants than for the above soil plant compartments, in spite of their differences in clinical behaviour and origin, indicate that E. coli in general will colonize root compartments of crop plants in production systems.Serelaxin (RLX) designates the pharmaceutical form of the human natural hormone relaxin-2 that has been shown to markedly reduce tissue and cell damage induced by hypoxia and reoxygenation (HR). The evidence that RLX exerts similar protective effects on different organs and cells at relatively low, nanomolar concentrations suggests that it specifically targets a common pathogenic mechanism of HR-induced damage, namely oxidative stress. In this study we offer experimental evidence that RLX (17 nmol L-1), added to the medium of HR-exposed H9c2 rat cardiac muscle cells, significantly reduces cell oxidative damage, mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis. These effects appear to rely on the up-regulation of the cellular availability of reduced glutathione (GSH), a ubiquitous endogenous antioxidant metabolite. Conversely, superoxide dismutase activity was not influenced by RLX, which, however, was not endowed with chemical antioxidant properties. Taken together, these findings verify the major pharmacological role of RLX in the protection against HR-induced oxidative stress, and shed first light on its mechanisms of action.Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) selectively is able to increase apoptosis in cancer cells as agent with minimum toxicity to noncancerous cells. However, all cancer cells are not sensitive to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. In this study, we showed the sub-lethal concentrations of a lysosomotropic autophagy inhibitor, IITZ-01, sensitizes cancer cells (renal, lung, and breast carcinoma) to TRAIL-induced apoptosis through DR5 upregulation and survivin downregulation through ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Knockdown of DR5 or overexpression of survivin inhibited combined treatment with IITZ-01 and TRAIL-induced apoptosis. IITZ-01 downregulated protein expression of Cbl, ubiquitin E3 ligase, and decreased expression level of Cbl markedly led to increase DR5 protein expression and TRAIL sensitivity. Moreover, IITZ-01 decreased expression level of survivin protein via downregulation of deubiquitinase ubiquitin-specific protease 9X (USP9X) expression. Taken together, these results provide the first evidence that IITZ-01 enhances TRAIL-mediated apoptosis through DR5 stabilization by downregulation of Cbl and USP9X-dependent survivin ubiquitination and degradation in renal carcinoma cells.Endorsing prototypes of cigarette smokers predicts cigarette smoking, but less is known about prototypes of users of other tobacco products. Our study sought to establish the reliability and validity of a measure of prototypes of smokers and e-cigarette users. Participants were from a national survey of smokers and non-smokers (n = 1414), a randomized clinical trial (RCT) of adult smokers (n = 2149), and adolescent children of adults in the trial (n = 112). The Prototypes of Tobacco Users Scale (POTUS) has four positive adjectives (cool, sexy, smart, and healthy) and four negative adjectives (disgusting, unattractive, immature, and inconsiderate) describing cigarette smokers and e-cigarette users. Confirmatory factor analyses identified a two-factor solution. The POTUS demonstrated strong internal consistency reliability in all three samples (median α = 0.85) and good test-retest reliability among adults in the RCT (median r = 0.61, 1-4 weeks follow-up). In the RCT, smokers more often agreed with negative prototypes for smokers than for e-cigarette users (mean = 2.03 vs. 1.67, p less then 0.05); negative prototypes at baseline were also associated with more forgoing of cigarettes and making a quit attempt at the end of the trial (Week 4 follow-up). The POTUS may be useful to public health researchers seeking to design interventions that reduce tobacco initiation or cessation through the manipulation of tobacco user prototypes.This review summarizes the latest advancements in phytochemicals as functional antiviral agents. We focused on flavonoids, like apigenin, vitexin, quercetin, rutin and naringenin, which have shown a wide range of biological effects including antiviral activities. The molecular mechanisms of their antiviral effects mainly consist in the inhibition of viral neuraminidase, proteases and DNA/RNA polymerases, as well as in the modification of various viral proteins. Mixtures of different flavonoids or combination of flavonoids with antiviral synthetic drugs provide an enhancement of their antiviral effects. Recent strategies in drug delivery significantly contribute to overcoming the low bioavailability of flavonoids. Frequent viral infections worldwide have led to the need for new effective antiviral agents, which can be identified among the various phytochemicals. In this light, screening the antiviral activities of a cocktail of flavonoids would be advantageous in order to prevent viral infections and improve current antiviral therapies.At the beginning of the coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Italy was one of the most affected countries in Europe. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is less frequent and less severe in children than in adults. This study analyzed the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infection among all children aged less then 18 years in the Apulia region of southern Italy and the characteristics of the infected children. Clinical and demographic data were collected through the national platform for COVID-19 surveillance. Of the 166 infected children in the Apulia region, 104 (62.6%) were asymptomatic, 37 (22.3%) had mild infections, 22 (13.3%) had moderate infections, and 3 (1.8%) had severe infections. Only ten children (6.0%) were hospitalized, but none required intensive care support and none died. SARS-CoV-2 infection was transmitted mainly from parents or relatives to children. Because of school closure during the lockdown, infection was unlikely to have been transmitted among children. It is unclear whether school reopening would enhance virus spread, leading the Italian government to develop guidelines for safe school reopening. The actual role of children in virus transmission remains unclear. A sensitive surveillance system, prompt identification of cases, testing, and contact tracing will be key to reducing the further spread of infection.Malignant melanoma represents the most aggressive type of skin cancer. Modern therapies, including targeted agents and immune checkpoint inhibitors, have changed the dismal prognosis that characterized this disease. However, most evidence was obtained by studying patients with frequent subtypes of cutaneous melanoma (CM). Consequently, there is an emerging need to understand the molecular basis and treatment approaches for unusual melanoma subtypes. Even a standardized definition of infrequent or rare melanoma is not clearly established. For that reason, we reviewed this challenging topic considering clinical and molecular perspectives, including uncommon CMs-not associated with classical V600E/K BRAF mutations-malignant mucosal and uveal melanomas, and some unusual independent entities, such as amelanotic, desmoplastic, or spitzoid melanomas. Finally, we collected information regarding melanomas from non-traditional primary sites, which emerge from locations as unique as meninges, dermis, lymph nodes, the esophagus, and breasts. The aim of this review is to summarize and highlight the main scientific evidence regarding rare melanomas, with a particular focus on treatment perspectives.The non-selective property of conventional polyurethane (PU) foam tends to lower its oil absorption efficiency. To address this issue, we modified the surface properties of PU foam using a rapid solvent-free surface functionalization approach based on the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method to establish an extremely thin yet uniform coating layer to improve foam performance. The PU foam was respectively functionalized using different monomers, i.e., perfluorodecyl acrylate (PFDA), 2,2,3,4,4,4-hexafluorobutyl acrylate (HFBA), and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO), and the effect of deposition times (1, 5 and 10 min) on the properties of foam was investigated. The results showed that all the modified foams demonstrated a much higher water contact angle (i.e., greater hydrophobicity) and greater absorption capacities compared to the control PU foam. This is due to the presence of specific functional groups, e.g., fluorine (F) and silane (Si) in the modified PU foams. Of all, the PU/PHFBAi foam exhibited the highest absorption capacities, recording 66.