Destructive arthritis in a patient with chikungunya virus infection with persistent specific IgM antibodies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chikungunya fever is an emerging arboviral disease characterized by an algo-eruptive syndrome, inflammatory polyarthralgias, or tenosynovitis that can last for months to years. Up to now, the pathophysiology of the chronic stage is poorly understood.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the first case of CHIKV infection with chronic associated rheumatism in a patient who developed progressive erosive arthritis with expression of inflammatory mediators and persistence of specific IgM antibodies over 24 months following infection.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Understanding the specific features of chikungunya virus as well as how the virus interacts with its host are essential for the prevention, treatment or cure of chikungunya disease.</p

Inflammatory Cytokine Expression Is Associated with Chikungunya Virus Resolution and Symptom Severity

The Chikungunya virus infection zones have now quickly spread from Africa to parts of Asia, North America and Europe. Originally thought to trigger a disease of only mild symptoms, recently Chikungunya virus caused large-scale fatalities and widespread economic loss that was linked to recent virus genetic mutation and evolution. Due to the paucity of information on Chikungunya immunological progression, we investigated the serum levels of 13 cytokines/chemokines during the acute phase of Chikungunya disease and 6- and 12-month post-infection follow-up from patients of the Italian outbreak. We found that CXCL9/MIG, CCL2/MCP-1, IL-6 and CXCL10/IP-10 were significantly raised in the acute phase compared to follow-up samples. Furthermore, IL-1β, TNF-α, Il-12, IL-10, IFN-γ and IL-5 had low initial acute phase levels that significantly increased at later time points. Analysis of symptom severity showed association with CXCL9/MIG, CXCL10/IP-10 and IgG levels. These data give insight into Chikungunya disease establishment and subsequent convalescence, which is imperative to the treatment and containment of this quickly evolving and frequently re-emerging disease

Dal disegno alla scienza della rappresentazione. Documenti per una storia della rappresentazione architettonica in Occidente

Attraverso l'analisi di sei famosi documenti (l'archivio- progetti del tempio di Apollo a Didime, la Forma Urbis severiana, la pianta del convento di San Gallo, il taccuino di Villard d'Honnecourt, i Quattro Libri dell'Architettura di Andrea Palladio, la Géométrie Descriptive di Gaspard Monge) si delinea un racconto trasversale: frammenti di una storia della rappresentazione architettonica che ha coinvolto, e coinvolge ancora oggi, discipline campi del sapere tra loro assai distanti. Punto di partenza e oggetto d'indagine del libro sono le diverse facies che il disegno assume nel corso della storia: disciplina empirica, strettamente collegata alla pratica costruttiva di cantiere; codice simbolico, indicativo di valori qualitativi caratterizzanti il contesto culturale; strumento di comunicazione concepito per la visualizzazione dello spazio progettato; scienza della rappresentazione, linguaggio tecnico scientifico universalmente riconosciuto

An interface project for the Gallerie dell’Accademia

Aim of this project is to create a considerable amount of possible links between the paintings of the Life of Saint Ursula by Vittore Carpaccio and the art, architecture and history of 15th century Venice - that is to say a complex information system -, by using a motor-perceptive cognitive approach as opposed to the classic and more specialised logical-deductive approach