4,644 research outputs found
Monocyte to lymphocyte blood ratio in tuberculosis and HIV patients: Comparative analysis, preliminary data
Recent data confirmed the hypothesis suggested by historical studies that the ratio of peripheral blood monocytes to lymphocytes (M/L) is associated with the risk of tuberculosis (TB) disease. We retrospectively analyzed the electronic health records of tuberculosis and HIV-positive patients who had followed day-care programs at the AIDS Center of the University of Palermo, Italy. 261 patients were recruited and divided into 6 groups as follows: healthy control group (HCG: 47 pts), latent HIV negative infected TB group (LIG, 43 pts), active HIV negative tuberculosis (TAG: 61 pts), treated tuberculosis HIV negative (TTG: 44 pts), HIV drug-naive patients tested TST and QFT-IT-negative with negative chest x-Ray (HIVnG: 44 pts), and HIV-tuberculosis coinfection (HIVTB-G: 22 pts). For each group, absolute lymphocyte (L), monocyte (M) and M/L ratio by peripheral blood was calculated. The mean value of monocytes in the TAG group was significant, the highest (0.70\uc2\ub10.37 1x103/\uce\ubcl) in comparison to HGC (0.70>0.44, p-value <0.05), HIVnG (0.70>0.40, p-value <0.05) and HIVTB-G (0.70>0.45, p-value<0.05). Monocyte to lymphocyte blood RATIO showed a significant difference between groups (p-value <0.001). In particular, the mean score of M/L ratio was higher in the TAG group compared to the HGC (0.49>0.27, p-value<0.05), LIG (0.49>0.29, p-value<0.05), TTG (0.49>0.32) and HIVTB-G groups (0.49>0.27, p-value<0.05). Our data confirm a significant difference in monocyte to lymphocyte blood ratio in tuberculosis disease. These data may be useful for monitoring and revising implementation plans for the different phases of tuberculosis disease (latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection versus TB active disease). Regarding HIV samples, the small sample size is somewhat offset by the need, fully satisfied in our sample, to enlist specific patients such as co-infected HIV/TBC who voluntarily submit to clinical trials in our geographical area
Lipoprotein abnormalities in chronic kidney disease and renal transplantation
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite the kidney having no direct implications for lipoproteins metabolism, advanced CKD dyslipidemia is usually present in patients with CKD, and the frequent lipid and lipoprotein alterations occurring in these patients play a role of primary importance in the development of CVD. Although hypertriglyceridemia is the main disorder, a number of lipoprotein abnormalities occur in these patients. Different enzymes pathways and proteins involved in lipoprotein metabolism are impaired in CKD. In addition, treatment of uremia may modify the expression of lipoprotein pattern as well as determine acute changes. In renal transplantation recipients, the main lipid alteration is hypercholesterolemia, while hypertriglyceridemia is less pronounced. In this review we have analyzed lipid and lipoprotein disturbances in CKD and also their relationship with progression of renal disease. Hypolipidemic treatments may also change the natural history of CVD in CKD patients and may represent important strategies in the management of CKD patients
Efficacy of a functional therapy program for depression and c-reactive protein: A pilot study
Objective: Affecting more than 264 million people, depression is a systemic and multifactorial disorder that represents one of the leading causes of illness and disability worldwide. Several studies showed an inflammatory response in depressed patients, including the involvement of both chronic low-grade inflammatory response and activation of cell-mediated immunity. The present study aimed to verify the efficacy of a structured functional therapy program for patients with depressed mood, and to determine whether this program can significantly reduce levels of C-reactive protein. Method: 28 outpatients with depressed mood received 20 individual sessions of Functional therapy. Data about socio-demographic variables, depression, self-esteem, and quality of life were collected; moreover, blood specimens were collected before and after treatment, and CRP measurement was performed by immunoenzymatic method. All measures were administered at baseline, at the end of treatment (i.e., 3 months after baseline), and at followâup (i.e., 6 months after baseline). Results: A repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant difference after treatment on depression levels, levels of selfâesteem, and all dimensions of quality of life, such as physical, psychological, social relationships, and environment. Furthermore, a statistically significant difference on levels of CRP was found. Moreover, at followâup, improvements were maintained. Conclusions: The study revealed initial evidence of the efficacy of a functional therapy program on treating depression and its psychological and inflammation-related markers
Experimental and Emerging Free Fatty Acid Receptor Agonists for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes
The current management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) includes incretin-based treatments able to enhance insulin secretion and peripheral insulin sensitivity as well as improve body mass, inflammation, plasma lipids, blood pressure, and cardiovascular outcomes. Dietary Free Fatty Acids (FFA) regulate metabolic and anti-inflammatory processes through their action on incretins. Selective synthetic ligands for FFA1-4 receptors have been developed as potential treatments for T2DM. To comprehensively review the available evidence for the potential role of FFA receptor agonists in the treatment of T2DM, we performed an electronic database search assessing the association between FFAs, T2DM, inflammation, and incretins. Evidence indicates that FFA1-4 agonism increases insulin sensitivity, induces body mass loss, reduces inflammation, and has beneficial metabolic effects. There is a strong inter-relationship between FFAs and incretins. FFA receptor agonism represents a potential target for the treatment of T2DM and may provide an avenue for the management of cardiometabolic risk in susceptible individuals. Further research promises to shed more light on this emerging topic
The peculiar heme pocket of the 2/2 hemoglobin of cold-adapted Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125
The 2012 Emilia seismic sequence (Northern Italy): Imaging the thrust fault system by accurate aftershock location
Starting from late May 2012, the Emilia region (Northern Italy) was severely shaken by an intense seismic
sequence, originated from a ML 5.9 earthquake on May 20th, at a hypocentral depth of 6.3 km, with thrusttype
focal mechanism. In the following days, the seismic rate remained high, counting 50 ML â„ 2.0 earthquakes
a day, on average. Seismicity spreads along a 30 km eastâwest elongated area, in the Po river alluvial plain, in the
nearby of the cities Ferrara and Modena. Nine days after the first shock, another destructive thrust-type earthquake
(ML 5.8) hit the area to the west, causing further damage and fatalities. Aftershocks following this second
destructive event extended along the same east-westerly trend for further 20 km to the west, thus illuminating
an area of about 50 km in length, on thewhole. After the first shock struck, on May 20th, a dense network of temporary
seismic stations, in addition to the permanent ones, was deployed in the meizoseismal area, leading to a
sensible improvement of the earthquake monitoring capability there. A combined dataset, including threecomponent
seismic waveforms recorded by both permanent and temporary stations, has been analyzed in
order to obtain an appropriate 1-D velocity model for earthquake location in the study area. Here we describe
the main seismological characteristics of this seismic sequence and, relying on refined earthquakes location,
we make inferences on the geometry of the thrust system responsible for the two strongest shocks
Ageing test of the ATLAS RPCs at X5-GIF
An ageing test of three ATLAS production RPC stations is in course at X5-GIF,
the CERN irradiation facility. The chamber efficiencies are monitored using
cosmic rays triggered by a scintillator hodoscope. Higher statistics
measurements are made when the X5 muon beam is available. We report here the
measurements of the efficiency versus operating voltage at different source
intensities, up to a maximum counting rate of about 700Hz/cm^2. We describe the
performance of the chambers during the test up to an overall ageing of 4 ATLAS
equivalent years corresponding to an integrated charge of 0.12C/cm^2, including
a safety factor of 5.Comment: 4 pages. Presented at the VII Workshop on Resistive Plate Chambers
and Related Detectors; Clermont-Ferrand October 20th-22nd, 200
The 2012 Emilia seismic sequence (Northern Italy): Imaging the thrust fault system by accurate aftershock location
Starting from late May 2012, the Emilia region (Northern Italy) was severely shaken by an intense seismic
sequence, originated from a ML 5.9 earthquake on May 20th, at a hypocentral depth of 6.3 km, with thrusttype
focal mechanism. In the following days, the seismic rate remained high, counting 50 ML â„ 2.0 earthquakes
a day, on average. Seismicity spreads along a 30 km eastâwest elongated area, in the Po river alluvial plain, in the
nearby of the cities Ferrara and Modena. Nine days after the first shock, another destructive thrust-type earthquake
(ML 5.8) hit the area to the west, causing further damage and fatalities. Aftershocks following this second
destructive event extended along the same east-westerly trend for further 20 km to the west, thus illuminating
an area of about 50 km in length, on thewhole. After the first shock struck, on May 20th, a dense network of temporary
seismic stations, in addition to the permanent ones, was deployed in the meizoseismal area, leading to a
sensible improvement of the earthquake monitoring capability there. A combined dataset, including threecomponent
seismic waveforms recorded by both permanent and temporary stations, has been analyzed in
order to obtain an appropriate 1-D velocity model for earthquake location in the study area. Here we describe
the main seismological characteristics of this seismic sequence and, relying on refined earthquakes location,
we make inferences on the geometry of the thrust system responsible for the two strongest shocks.Published44-552T. Tettonica attivaJCR Journalope
System Test of the ATLAS Muon Spectrometer in the H8 Beam at the CERN SPS
An extensive system test of the ATLAS muon spectrometer has been performed in
the H8 beam line at the CERN SPS during the last four years. This spectrometer
will use pressurized Monitored Drift Tube (MDT) chambers and Cathode Strip
Chambers (CSC) for precision tracking, Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) for
triggering in the barrel and Thin Gap Chambers (TGCs) for triggering in the
end-cap region. The test set-up emulates one projective tower of the barrel
(six MDT chambers and six RPCs) and one end-cap octant (six MDT chambers, A CSC
and three TGCs). The barrel and end-cap stands have also been equipped with
optical alignment systems, aiming at a relative positioning of the precision
chambers in each tower to 30-40 micrometers. In addition to the performance of
the detectors and the alignment scheme, many other systems aspects of the ATLAS
muon spectrometer have been tested and validated with this setup, such as the
mechanical detector integration and installation, the detector control system,
the data acquisition, high level trigger software and off-line event
reconstruction. Measurements with muon energies ranging from 20 to 300 GeV have
allowed measuring the trigger and tracking performance of this set-up, in a
configuration very similar to the final spectrometer. A special bunched muon
beam with 25 ns bunch spacing, emulating the LHC bunch structure, has been used
to study the timing resolution and bunch identification performance of the
trigger chambers. The ATLAS first-level trigger chain has been operated with
muon trigger signals for the first time
Post-mortem findings in vaccine-induced thrombotic thombocytopenia
Greinacher et al.1 and Schultz et al.2 were the first to independently report the main clinical and laboratory
features of 11 and five respective patients from Germany, Austria and Norway who developed life-threatening thrombohemorrhagic complications 5 to 16 days after the administration of the first dose of the chimpanzee adenoviral vector vaccine ChAdOx1nCoV-19 against SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. Subsequently Scully et al.3 reported similar findings in 23 patients treated with the same vaccine in the United Kingdom. More recently, See et al.4 reported a case series of 12 patients from the USA with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis following the vaccination with Ad26.CoV2.S employing a human adenoviral vector. The main post-vaccination features common to the case series were the occurrence of venous thromboembolism mainly in unusual sites (cerebral and abdominal veins) and the concomitant presence of bleeding symptoms associated with severe thrombocytopenia, often accompanied by laboratory signs of consumption coagulopathy with low plasma fibrinogen and hugely increased levels of D-dimer. The majority of reported patients reacted positively for serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to the platelet factor 4 PF4/heparin complex. 1-4 Another common feature was the high mortality
rate. The mechanism of this very rare thrombohemorrhagic syndrome was postulated to be a vaccine-triggered autoimmune reaction, with the development of antibodies against a still ill-defined PF4/polyanion complex that causes platelet activation as in heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT),1-4 notwithstanding the fact that no cases were exposed to heparin before the onset of thrombosis and thrombocytopenia. We report herewith the detailed post-mortem macroscopic and microscopic findings in two similar cases that occurred in the Italian region of Sicily
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