GESTIONE DEL CONTEZIOSO MEDICO-LEGALE DELLE INFEZIONI SARS-CoV-2 CORRELATE ALL’ASSISTENZA: CRITERI VALUTATIVI E CASISTICA DEI DECESSI AVVENUTI PRESSO L’OSPEDALE POLICLINICO SAN MARTINO DI GENOVA DAL 20/02/2020 AL 31/12/2021

Healthcare-related SARS-CoV-2 infection is an issue of particular concern during the pandemic. It has important repercussions on the National Health System, which represents a source of medical-legal health disputes. In the healthcare context, there are reports of negative screening at hospital admission (via nasopharyngeal swabs) and subsequent diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection during hospitalization. Such cases cannot be considered a priori of healthcare-related infections but require extensive in-depth evaluation. In this study, we propose an empirical classification to frame cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosed in the hospital (first negative admission swab, with subsequent positive test during hospitalization). The classification is based on five categories: nosocomial, probably nosocomial, indeterminate, probably community, and community cases. We analyzed patients who died after testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 during hospitalization (with initial negative screening) in the largest hospital in northwest Italy from February 2020 to December 31, 2021. A total of 383 cases were tracked: 41 cases (11%) were classified as nosocomial (i.e. 3.2% of COVID-19 deaths). In contrast, 71 cases (19%) were classified as probably nosocomial, 69 (18%) were indeterminate (i.e., the clinical, radiological, and laboratory characteristics did not provide information on the genesis of the infection), 166 (43%) were classified as probably community cases, and 36 (9%) were defined as community cases. Deceased patients with nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection constituted: 3.23% (41/1266) with respect to the total number of COVID-19 deaths, 1.1% (41/3789) with respect to those who entered the hospital with a negative swab and 0.82% (41/4672) with respect to the total of deaths from any cause of death. In this paper we discuss the topic and issues of nosocomial COVID-19 in hospitalized patients and address the Medico-Legal implications

Fatal blunt trauma with rare and undetected superior vena cava rupture: A case report and literature review

Laceration of the superior vena cava is an uncommon clinical entity almost always related to penetrating trauma. Rarely, however, it may occur after blunt thoracic trauma. The authors describe an unusual case of rupture of the vena cava and tear of the aortic arch in a 51-year-old man struck on the chest by a falling tree he was felling. The man arrived at the emergency ward still conscious, but after about 4 hours from the accident was pronounced dead. Autopsy findings consisted in a rupture at the lower third of the superior vena cava, just above the cavo-atrial junction, and an aortic laceration at the level of the isthmus, measuring approximately 3 cm in length. The mechanism of death was attributed to cardiac arrest secondary to hypovolemic shock from massive hemorrhage resulting from rupture of the superior vena cava and aorta laceration

Study of the expression of ecfG1 and ecfG2, two extracytoplasmic function sigma factors (ECFs) in Sphingopyxis granuli estirpe TFA

Motivation: In bacteria, the initiation of transcription requires a specific multi-domain subunits of RNA polymerase (RNAP) called sigma (σ) factors that binds to its core that play critical roles, including the recognition and opening of promoters for the RNA synthesis (Paget, 2015). One type of sigma factors are extracytoplasmic function sigma factors (ECF) which provide a means of regulating gene expression in response to a wide range of environmental changes (Feklistov et al., 2014). Sphingopyxis granuli TFA is a Gram-negative Alphaproteobacteria that is one of the few strains able to grow on the organic solvent tetralin as a sole carbon and energy source and able to grow respiring nitrate under anaerobic conditions (Gonzalez-Flores et al., 2016). In Sphingopyxis granuli TFA two ECF σ factors have been described, EcfG1 and EcfG2, that have a critcal biological role in the General Stress Response (GSR) in this bacterium (de Dios et al., 2020)Methods: With the aim of studying the transcriptional and postranscriptional regulation of each ecfG genes, a recombinant protein was built in which each EcfG have a FLAG-tag fused which allowed us to quantified the amount of each sigma factor by Western Blot studies in different growth conditions. This protein was constructed using a DNA-recombination method based on a double-strand break caused by SceI nuclease. Flanking regions of each ecfG genes were cloned in a multiple cloning site (MCS) of a non-replicative vector, this MCS is flanked by two SceI target sites. When this integrative vector is integrated into the chromosome of TFA, a broad host range vector including SceI gene downstream of an inducible promoter must be introduced and a double-strand break is caused in the chromosome. The final repair of this break results with a high frequency in the deletion of the target gene (ecfG). Thus we only get the gene with the FLAG-tagResults: In this work we analyzed the levels of expression of each sigma factors both at the transcriptional by RNA-seq and at translational level by quantifying the levels of each protein through Western Blot studies under different growth condition

Índices de Hispania Epigraphica 1-20 (II: volúmenes 11-20)

Hispania Epigraphica es una serie periódica de actualización bibliográfica y de reseña crítico-científica de las publicaciones novedosas sobre epigrafía latina, griega y en lenguas paleohispánicas de la Península Ibérica hasta época visigoda incluida. Se elabora en el Archivo Epigráfico de Hispania por un nutrido equipo de investigadores, técnicos y colaboradores, asesorados por un comité científico internacional

Índices de Hispania Epigraphica 1-20 (I: volúmenes 1-10)

Hispania Epigraphica es una serie periódica de actualización bibliográfica y de reseña crítico-científica de las publicaciones novedosas sobre epigrafía latina, griega y en lenguas paleohispánicas de la Península Ibérica hasta época visigoda incluida. Se elabora en el Archivo Epigráfico de Hispania por un nutrido equipo de investigadores, técnicos y colaboradores, asesorados por un comité científico internacional

Targeting the gut microbiota with dietary fibers: a novel approach to prevent the development cardiovascular complications linked to systemic lupus erythematosus in a preclinical study.

This study is to investigate whether dietary fiber intake prevents vascular and renal damage in a genetic mouse model of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and the contribution of gut microbiota in the protective effects. Female NZBWF1 (SLE) mice were treated with resistant-starch (RS) or inulin-type fructans (ITF). In addition, inoculation of fecal microbiota from these experimental groups to recipient normotensive female C57Bl/6J germ-free (GF) mice was performed. Both fiber treatments, especially RS, prevented the development of hypertension, renal injury, improved the aortic relaxation induced by acetylcholine, and the vascular oxidative stress. RS and ITF treatments increased the proportion of acetate- and butyrate-producing bacteria, respectively, improved colonic inflammation and integrity, endotoxemia, and decreased helper T (Th)17 proportion in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs), blood, and aorta in SLE mice. However, disease activity (splenomegaly and anti-ds-DNA) was unaffected by both fibers. T cell priming and Th17 differentiation in MLNs and increased Th17 infiltration was linked to aortic endothelial dysfunction and hypertension after inoculation of fecal microbiota from SLE mice to GF mice, without changes in proteinuria and autoimmunity. All these effects were lower in GF mice after fecal inoculation from fiber-treated SLE mice. In conclusion, these findings support that fiber consumption prevented the development of hypertension by rebalancing of dysfunctional gut-immune system-vascular wall axis in SLE.This work was supported by Grants from Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain (MCIN) (Ref. PID2020-116347RBI00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, PID2021- 122490NB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033) co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund FEDER, Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación de la Junta de Andalucía (Ref. CTS 164, P20_00193) with funds from the European Union, and by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBER-CV). IR-V is postdoctoral funded by MINECO (FJC2021-048099-I). JM is a predoctoral fellow of MINECO (FPU18/02561), and CG-C and SM are predoctoral fellow of Junta de Andalucía. The cost of this publication was paid in part with funds from the European Union (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, FEDER, “FEDER una manera de hacer Europa”).S

Targeting the gut microbiota with dietary fibers: a novel approach to prevent the development cardiovascular complications linked to systemic lupus erythematosus in a preclinical study

This work was supported by Grants from Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain (MCIN) (Ref. PID2020-116347RB- I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, PID2021- 122490NB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033) co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund FEDER, Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación de la Junta de Andalucía (Ref. CTS 164, P20_00193) with funds from the European Union, and by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBER-CV). IR-V is postdoctoral funded by MINECO (FJC2021-048099-I). JM is a predoctoral fellow of MINECO (FPU18/02561), and CG-C and SM are predoctoral fellow of Junta de Andalucía. The cost of this publication was paid in part with funds from the European Union (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, FEDER, “FEDER una manera de hacer Europa”).This study is to investigate whether dietary fiber intake prevents vascular and renal damage in a genetic mouse model of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and the contribution of gut microbiota in the protective effects. Female NZBWF1 (SLE) mice were treated with resistantstarch (RS) or inulin-type fructans (ITF). In addition, inoculation of fecal microbiota from these experimental groups to recipient normotensive female C57Bl/6J germ-free (GF) mice was performed. Both fiber treatments, especially RS, prevented the development of hypertension, renal injury, improved the aortic relaxation induced by acetylcholine, and the vascular oxidative stress. RS and ITF treatments increased the proportion of acetate- and butyrate-producing bacteria, respectively, improved colonic inflammation and integrity, endotoxemia, and decreased helper T (Th)17 proportion in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs), blood, and aorta in SLE mice. However, disease activity (splenomegaly and anti-ds-DNA) was unaffected by both fibers. T cell priming and Th17 differentiation in MLNs and increased Th17 infiltration was linked to aortic endothelial dysfunction and hypertension after inoculation of fecal microbiota from SLE mice to GF mice, without changes in proteinuria and autoimmunity. All these effects were lower in GF mice after fecal inoculation from fiber-treated SLE mice. In conclusion, these findings support that fiber consumption prevented the development of hypertension by rebalancing of dysfunctional gutimmune system-vascular wall axis in SLE.Grants from Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain (MCIN) (Ref. PID2020-116347RB- I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, PID2021- 122490NB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033)European Regional Development Fund FEDER, Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación de la Junta de Andalucía (Ref. CTS 164, P20_00193) with funds from the European Union, and by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBER-CV)MINECO (FJC2021-048099-I)MINECO (FPU18/02561)Junta de AndalucíaEuropean Union (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, FEDER, “FEDER una manera de hacer Europa”

Studies of jet quenching within a partonic transport model

Background: Finite mixture models posit the existence of a latent categorical variable and can be used for probabilistic classification. The authors illustrate the use of mixture models for dietary pattern analysis. An advantage of this approach is taking classification uncertainty into account. Methods: Participants were a random sample of women from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer. Food consumption was measured using dietary questionnaires. Mixture models identified latent classes in food consumption data, which were interpreted as dietary patterns. Results: Among various assumptions examined, models allowing the variance of foods to vary within and between classes fit better than alternatives assuming constant variance (the K-means method of cluster analysis also makes the latter assumption). An eight-class model was best fitting and five patterns validated well in a second random sample. Patterns with lower classification uncertainty tended to be better validated. One pattern showed low consumption of foods despite being associated with moderate body mass index. Conclusion: Mixture modelling for dietary pattern analysis has advantages over both factor and cluster analysis. In contrast to these other methods, it is easy to estimate pattern prevalence, to describe patterns and to use patterns to predict disease taking classification uncertainty into account. Owing to substantial error in food consumptions, any analysis will usually find some patterns that cannot be well validated. While knowledge of classification uncertainty may aid pattern evaluation, any method will better identify patterns from food consumptions measured with less error. Mixture models may be useful to identify individuals who under-report food consumption

Mitochondrial DNA copy number variation, leukocyte telomere length, and breast cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study.

Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) copy number and deletions have been proposed as risk markers for various cancer types, including breast cancer (BC)