Cardiac troponin I but not cardiac troponin T adheres to polysulfone dialyser membranes in an in vitro haemodialysis model: explanation for lower serum cTnI concentrations following dialysis.

BACKGROUND: Elevated serum cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and I (cTnI) can occur in patients with chronic kidney disease. Differences in cTn concentrations between cTnT and cTnI have been reported but the mechanism of such discrepancy has not been investigated. This study investigates the clearance of cTn with the aid of an in vitro model of haemodialysis (HD). METHODS: Serum was obtained before and after a single session of dialysis from 53 patients receiving HD and assayed for cTnT and cTnI. An in vitro model of the dialysis process was used to investigate the mechanism of clearance of cTn during HD. RESULTS: Serum cTnI was significantly lower (p=0.043) following a session of HD whereas cTnT concentrations were similar to those obtained before HD. Using an in vitro model of dialysis, it was demonstrated that cTnI is not dialysed from the vascular compartment but adheres to the dialyser membrane. CONCLUSIONS: The adherence of cTnI to the dialyser membrane is responsible for the observed decrease in serum cTnI following a session of dialysis. The adherence of cTnT or T-I-C complex to the dialyser membrane could not be demonstrated and supports the observation that pre-HD and post-HD serum concentrations of cTnT are similar

No evidence of association between prothrombotic gene polymorphisms and the development of acute myocardial infarction at a young age

Background : we investigated the association between 9 polymorphisms of genes encoding hemostasis factors and myocardial infarction in a large sample of young patients chosen because they have less coronary atherosclerosis than older patients, and thus their disease is more likely to be related to a genetic predisposition to a prothrombotic state Methods and Results : this nationwide case-control study involved 1210 patients who had survived a first myocardial infarction at an age of 45 years who underwent coronary arteriography in 125 coronary care units and 1210 healthy subjects matched for age, sex, and geographical origin. None of the 9 polymorphisms of genes encoding proteins involved in coagulation (G-455A -fibrinogen: OR, 1.0; CI, 0.8 to 1.2; G1691A factor V: OR, 1.1; CI, 0.6 to 2.1; G20210A factor II: OR, 1.0; CI, 0.5 to 1.9; and G10976A factor VII: OR, 1.0; CI, 0.8 to 1.3), platelet function (C807T glycoprotein Ia: OR, 1.1; CI, 0.9 to 1.3; and C1565T glycoprotein IIIa: OR, 0.9; CI, 0.8 to 1.2), fibrinolysis (G185T factor XIII: OR, 1.2; CI, 0.9 to 1.6; and 4G/5G plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1: OR, 0.9; CI, 0.7 to 1.2), or homocysteine metabolism (C677T methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase: OR, 0.9; CI, 0.8 to 1.1) were associated with an increased or decreased risk of myocardial infarction Conclusions : this study provides no evidence supporting an association between 9 polymorphisms of genes encoding proteins involved in hemostasis and the occurrence of premature myocardial infarction or protection against it

Il progetto di miglioramento sismico quale consapevole atto di restauro. Normative e procedure,

Current legislation – the D.P.C.M. prime ministerial decree of 9th February 2011 – is not meant to furnish technical guidelines only; it is a cultural response to the delicate issue of seismically improving monuments because it envisages the firm will to combine historical-construction sensitivity with technical- scientific reasoning, and strongly reaffirms that reinforcement and consolidation is an integral part of a wider restoration project. While the safety of modern buildings is expressed using a predefined calculation where the class of materials used is a priority factor, the seismic improvement of historic buildings - built by craftsmen following the rules of their trade - is linked to specific improvements that lead to their general reinforcement, defined with a total qualitative judgement. This essay aims to define a procedure, both analytical and concise, for understanding the technical aspects of buildings and for understanding in detail the quality of single construction elements, their components and materials by analysing construction features, masonry quality, discontinuity and specific vulnerabilities that require general improvement; moreover, it underlines how often three-dimensional calculation models are insufficient to tackle the seismic improvement of historic buildings

Restauro e miglioramento sismico: ricerca di modelli di comportamento aderenti alla realtà storico-costruttiva

L’attuale normativa, la DPCM 9/2/2011, rappresenta una risposta culturale e non un semplice orientamento tecnico al delicato tema del miglioramento sismico dei monumenti. Essa è stata concepita con la ferma volontà di coniugare sensibilità storico-costruttive a ragionamento tecnico-scientifico in modo da equilibrare la necessità di conservazione con quella di un rigoroso intervento tecnico di miglioramento statico. Quest’ultimo non può prescindere dall’esercizio di una capacità intuitiva nel saper selezionare e adattare tecniche tradizionali e materiali innovativi al contesto del caso specifico. In quest’ottica di ragionamento, il contributo intende affrontare con criticità il delicato rapporto fra realtà costruttiva della fabbrica, modelli di comportamento e strumenti di verifica numerica. In specie si intende analizzare l’attendibilità dei metodi di indagine conoscitiva proposti e si intende determinare fra i modelli di comportamento utilizzati per le verifiche quale di essi sia più attendibile alla realtà costruttiva del caso reale del Municipio di Mirandola interessato dagli eventi sismici del 20 e 29 maggio 2012. The norm in force DCPM 9/2/2011 represents a cultural answer and not only a simple technical orientation to the delicate theme of monuments’ seismic improvement. It has been conceived in the resolute will to combine historic-constructive sensibilities with a technical-scientific reasoning, in order to balance the necessity of conservation with a rigorous technical intervention of static improvement. The latter cannot excludes the practice of an intuitive ability in selecting and adapting traditional techniques and innovative materials, in the contest of the specific case. From this reasoning, this contribute wants to critically exanimate the delicate relation between constructive reality of the building, behavior’s models and numerical verify tools. In particular will be analyzed the reliability of proposed survey’s methods and determined which behavior model, used for verifications, is the most reliable with the constructive reality in the specific case of Mirandola’s City Hall, damaged during the seismic events of 20-29nd May 2012

Il cancro come problema biologico. IV Revisione e aggiornamento della eziopatogenesi dei tumori. La immunosorveglianza - Coagulazione e cancro.

La ricerca oncologica negli ultimi decenni ha evidenziato una serie di alterazioni sia cromosomiche che geniche sempre più complesse. Da qui ne conseguono alcune domande (alle quali abbiamo qui cercato di rispondere) e riflessioni Tali alterazioni devono considerarsi la causa primaria della malignità nei tumori o la conseguenza? Come interpretare la patogenesi dei tumori oggi? L’ossigeno stimola il sistema immunitario? E quindi l’ossigenoterapia ha azione antiblastica?C’è un legame tra immunosorveglianza, coagulazione e cancro

Colloidal mercury (Hg) distribution in soil samples by sedimentation field flow fractionation coupled to mercury cold vapour generation atomic absorption spectrometry

Dimensional characterisation of potentially toxic elements present in soil is of crucial importance for determining their actual impact on the environment and understanding the role played by colloidal particles in mobilising pollutants. Recently, a number of measurement determinations have been available for this purpose; nevertheless a single technique is often not exhaustive enough to completely determine particle size distribution and element concentration. The present work concerns the investigation of mercury in soil samples collected from a polluted industrial site. The analytical approach here proposed makes use of sedimentation field flow fractionation (SdFFF) instrumentation coupled off-line to a cold vapour generation electrothermal atomic absorption spectroscopic (CV-ETAAS) technique to achieve the complete Hg characterisation in colloidal soil fractions. In the investigated samples the results demonstrated a predominant presence of Hg in the fraction between 400 and 700 nm. The apparent relation between concentration of Hg and organic matter (O.M.) content in the soil samples seems to be not related to Hg sorbtion to soil O.M. but rather to the presence of colloidal mercuric sulphides particles which size is likely to be controlled by the occurrence of dissolved O.M. This research pointed out how relatively high levels of mercury in the original soil samples can become even more alarming if concentrated in the submicronic fraction