2,083 research outputs found

    Como elaborar vinho de qualidade na pequena propriedade.

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    Between Constraints and Coercion. Marriage and Social Reproduction in Northern and Central Italy, 18th-19th Centuries

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    In this paper we review the main theories of household and marriage systems, highlighting their inability to account for the astonishing variety of family and marriage patterns that characterized modern Italy. We propose a new interpretative framework, where social reproduction is given pride of place as the main factor shaping marital behavior and household formation in the past. We test our theory analyzing five populations in northern and central Italy, characterized by different ecological, economic, and social conditions. We use an event history analysis approach to model the timing of marriage in the populations under study. The results confirm that coercion mattered much more than Malthusian economic constraints. We conclude suggesting a more general application of our approach to the study of marital behavior, family formation, and residential patterns in the past

    Surgical and postsurgical wound care in hidradenitis suppurativa

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    Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory disorder. Several medical treatments, with varying degree of efficacy, have been developed. However, in most cases of advanced (HS), the definitive treatment option is often represented by surgical excisions. Surgical techniques, reconstructive approach, and local wound care should be accurately designed in order to obtain the best result. In this letter, we analyzed the possible surgical treatments and local wound care. A literature review was performed on the various surgical treatments, reconstructive techniques, and local wound care. Surgical treatment is a common therapeutic modality for HS. Different surgical reconstructive techniques and postsurgical wound care approaches are described for the management of HS patients. There were few high-quality evidence-based studies evaluating the surgical management of HS. Many disparate HS severity scores were used in these studies making comparison between them difficult. Nonetheless, research into different surgical approaches and wound care management has increased substantially in the past decade and has given patients more surgical therapeutic strategies. The description of the best combinations and timing of surgery, wound care and medical therapies, will be a matter of future research for the definition of the optimal management of HS patient

    Co-culture of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells with human osteblasts favours mono/macrophage differentiation at the expense of the erythroid lineage

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    Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are located in the bone marrow in a specific microenvironment referred as the hematopoietic stem cell niche, where HSCs interact with a variety of stromal cells. Though several components of the stem cell niche have been identified, the regulatory mechanisms through which such components regulate the stem cell fate are still unknown. In order to address this issue, we investigated how osteoblasts (OBs) can affect the molecular and functional phenotype of Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells (HSPCs) and vice versa. For this purpose, human CD34+ cells were cultured in direct contact with primary human OBs. Our data showed that CD34+ cells cultured with OBs give rise to higher total cell numbers, produce more CFUs and maintain a higher percentage of CD34+CD38- cells compared to control culture. Moreover, clonogenic assay and long-term culture results showed that co-culture with OBs induces a strong increase in mono/macrophage precursors coupled to a decrease in the erythroid ones. Finally, gene expression profiling (GEP) allowed us to study which signalling pathways were activated in the hematopoietic cell fraction and in the stromal cell compartment after coculture. Such analysis allowed us to identify several cytokine-receptor networks, such as WNT pathway, and transcription factors, as TWIST1 and FOXC1, that could be activated by co-culture with OBs and could be responsible for the biological effects reported above. Altogether our results indicate that OBs are able to affect HPSCs on 2 different levels: on one side, they increase the immature progenitor pool in vitro, on the other side, they favor the expansion of the mono/macrophage precursors at the expense of the erythroid lineage

    Hidradenitis suppurativa: Surgical and postsurgical management

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    Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory disorder. Several medical treatments, with varying degrees of efficacy, have been developed. However, in most cases of advanced HS, the definitive treatment option is often represented by surgical excisions. Objective: Surgical techniques, reconstructive approach, and local wound care should be accurately designed in order to obtain the best result. In this review we analyze the possible surgical treatments and local wound care. Methods: A MEDLINE search was performed on the various surgical treatments, reconstructive techniques, and local wound care. Results: Surgical treatment is a common therapeutic modality for HS. Different surgical reconstructive techniques and post-surgical wound care approaches are described for the management of HS patients. Conclusions: There were few high-quality evidence-based studies evaluating the surgical management of HS. Many disparate HS severity scores were used in these studies, making comparisons between them difficult. Nonetheless, research on different surgical approaches and wound care management has increased substantially in the past decade and it has given patients more surgical therapeutic strategies. The description of the best combinations and timing of surgery, wound care, and medical therapies will be a matter of future research for the definition of the optimal management of the HS patient

    Lower All-Cause Mortality Risk in Females and Males with Peripheral Artery Disease following Pain-Free Home-Based Exercise: A 7-Year Observational Study

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    We evaluated the sex-specific difference in response upon participation in an exercise program with respect to the risk of adverse clinical outcomes among patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) and claudication. The records of 400 PAD patients were assessed between 2012 and 2015. Two hundred of them were addressed to a walking program prescribed at the hospital and executed at home at symptom-free walking speed (Ex), while the remaining 200 acted as a control group (Co). The number and date of deaths, all-cause hospitalizations, and amputations for a 7-year period were collected from the regional registry. At baseline, no differences were observed (MEX n = 138; FEX n = 62; MCO n = 149; FCO n = 51). The 7-year survival rate was significantly higher in FEX (90%) than in MEX (82% hazard ratio, HR: 0.542 95% CI 0.331–0.885), FCO (45%, HR: 0.164 95% CI 0.088–0.305), and MCO (44%; HR: 0.157 95% CI 0.096–0.256). A significantly lower rate of hospitalization (p < 0.001) and amputations (p = 0.016) was observed for the Ex group compared to the Co group, without differences by sex. In conclusion, in PAD patients, active participation in a home-based pain-free exercise program was associated with a lower rate of death and better long-term clinical outcomes, particularly among women

    Long-Term Effect of Physical Exercise on the Risk for Hospitalization and Death in Dialysis Patients. A Post-Trial Long-Term Observational Study

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    Background and objectives In the EXerCise Introduction to Enhance Performance in Dialysis (EXCITE) trial, a simple, personalized 6-month walking exercise program at home during the day off of dialysis improved the functional status and the risk for hospitalization in patients with kidney failure. In this post-trial observational study, we tested whether the same intervention was associated with a lower long-term risk of death or hospitalization (combined end point) during a follow-up extended up to 36 months. Design, setting, participants, & measurements In total, 227 patients (exercise, n5104; control, n5123) completed the 6-month trial and entered the post-trial observational study. Data were analyzed by unadjusted and adjusted Cox regression analyses and Bayesian analysis. Results In the long-term observation (up to 36 months), 134 events were recorded (eight deaths not preceded by hospitalization and 126 hospitalizations, which were followed by death in 38 cases). The long-term risk for hospitalization or death was 29% lower (hazard ratio, 0.71; 95% confidence interval, 0.50 to 1.00), and in an analysis stratified by adherence to the walking exercise program during the 6-month trial, the subgroup with high adherence (.60% of prescribed sessions) had a 45% lower risk as compared with the control group (hazard ratio, 0.55; 95% confidence interval, 0.35 to 0.87). A Bayesian analysis showed that the posterior probability of a hazard ratio of 0.71 (95% confidence interval, 0.50 to 1.00) for the risk of the composite outcome observed in the post-trial observational study was 93% under the conservative prior and 97% under the optimistic prior. Sensitivity analyses restricted to the risk of hospitalization only or censoring patients at the time of transplantation fully confirmed these findings. Conclusions A simple, personalized, home-based, low-intensity exercise program was associated with a lower risk of hospitalization

    Sexual Dysfunction in Men Receiving Methadone Maintenance Treatment: Clinical History and Psychobiological Correlates

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    A variety of studies evidenced a relationship between drug use disorders and sexual dysfunction. In particular, heroin and opioid agonist medications to treat heroin dependence have been found to be associated with erectile dysfunction and reduced libido. Controversial findings also indicate the possibility of factors other than the pharmacological effects of opioid drugs concurring to sexual dysfunction. With the present study, we investigated the link between sexual dysfunction and long-term exposure to opioid receptor stimulation (heroin dependence, methadone maintenance treatment, methadone dosage), the potentially related hormonal changes reflecting hypothalamus-pituitarygonadal axis function and prolactin (PRL) pituitary release, the role of adverse childhood experiences in the clinical history and the concomitant symptoms of comorbid mental health disorders in contributing to sexual problems. Forty male patients participating in a long-term methadone treatment program were included in the present study and compared with 40 healthy control subjects who never used drugs nor abused alcohol. All patients and controls were submitted to the Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX), Child Experiences of Care and Abuse-Questionnaire (CECA-Q) and the Symptom Check List-90 Scale. A blood sample for testosterone and PRL assays was collected. Methadone dosages were recorded among heroin-dependent patients on maintenance treatment. Methadone patients scored significantly higher than controls on the 5-item rating ASEX scale, on CECA-Q and on Symptoms Check List 90 (SCL 90) scale. Testosterone plasma levels were significantly lower and PRL levels significantly higher in methadone patients with respect to the healthy control group. ASEX scores reflecting sexual dysfunction were directly and significantly correlated with CECA-Q neglect scores and SCL 90 psychiatric symptoms total score. The linear regression model, when applied only to addicted patients, showed that methadone dosages were not significantly correlated with sexual dysfunction scores except for 'erectile dysfunction', for which an inverse association was evidenced. Testosterone values showed a significant inverse correlation with ASEX sexual dysfunction scores, CECA-Q neglect scores and psychiatric symptom at SCL 90 among methadone patients. PRL levels were directly and significantly correlated with sexual dysfunction scores, psychiatric symptoms at SCL 90 and CECA-Q neglect scores. Both testosterone and PRL did not correlate with methadone dosages. The present findings appear to support the view of childhood adversities and comorbid psychiatric symptoms contributing to sexual dysfunction and related hormonal changes among methadone patients, challenging the assumption that attributes sexual problems entirely to the direct pharmacological effects of opioid agonist medications
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