108 research outputs found
Emotional management and biological markers of dietetic regimen in chronic kidney disease patients
The aim of the study was to investigate the association between psychological characteristics and biological markers of adherence in chronic kidney disease patients receiving conservative therapy, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis (PD), or kidney transplantation. Seventy-nine adult patients were asked to complete the following questionnaires: Toronto Alexithymia scale, SnaithâHamilton Pleasure Scale, and Short Form Health Survey. Biological markers of adherence to treatment were measured. Peritoneal dialysis patients showed a lower capacity to feel pleasure from sensorial experience (pâ=â.011) and a higher values of phosphorus compared to the other patientsâ groups (pâ=â.0001). The inability to communicate emotions was negatively correlated with hemoglobin levels (râ=ââ(0).69; pâ=â.001) and positively correlated with phosphorus values in the PD patients (râ=â.45; pâ=â.050). Findings showed higher psychological impairments and a lower adherence to the treatment in PD patients and suggest the implication of emotional competence in adherence to treatment.The aim of the study was to investigate the association between psychological characteristics and biological markers of adherence in chronic kidney disease patients receiving conservative therapy, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis (PD), or kidney transplantation. Seventy-nine adult patients were asked to complete the following questionnaires: Toronto Alexithymia scale, Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale, and Short Form Health Survey. Biological markers of adherence to treatment were measured. Peritoneal dialysis patients showed a lower capacity to feel pleasure from sensorial experience (pâ=â.011) and a higher values of phosphorus compared to the other patients' groups (pâ=â.0001). The inability to communicate emotions was negatively correlated with hemoglobin levels (râ=â-(0).69; pâ=â.001) and positively correlated with phosphorus values in the PD patients (râ=â.45; pâ=â.050). Findings showed higher psychological impairments and a lower adherence to the treatment in PD patients and suggest the implication of emotional competence in adherence to treatment
Cytosolic activation of cell death and stem rust resistance by cereal MLA-family CC-NLR proteins
Plants possess intracellular immune receptors designated ânucleotidebinding domain and leucine-rich repeatâ (NLR) proteins that translate
pathogen-specific recognition into disease-resistance signaling. The wheat immune receptors Sr33 and Sr50 belong to the class
of coiled-coil (CC) NLRs. They confer resistance against a broad spectrum of field isolates of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, including
the Ug99 lineage, and are homologs of the barley powdery mildewresistance proteinMLA10. Here, we showthat, similarly to MLA10, the
Sr33 and Sr50 CC domains are sufficient to induce cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana. Autoactive CC domains and full-length
Sr33 and Sr50 proteins self-associate in planta. In contrast, truncated CC domains equivalent in size to an MLA10 fragment for which a crystal structure was previously determined fail to induce
cell death and do not self-associate. Mutations in the truncated region also abolish self-association and cell-death signaling. Analysis of Sr33 and Sr50 CC domains fused to YFP and either nuclear
localization or nuclear export signals in N. benthamiana showed that cell-death induction occurs in the cytosol. In stable transgenic
wheat plants, full-length Sr33 proteins targeted to the cytosol provided rust resistance, whereas nuclear-targeted Sr33 was not functional. These data are consistent with CC-mediated induction
of both cell-death signaling and stem rust resistance in the cytosolic compartment, whereas previous research had suggested that
MLA10-mediated cell-death and disease resistance signaling occur independently, in the cytosol and nucleus, respectively
Mitochondrial DNA Regionalism and Historical Demography in the Extant Populations of Chirocephalus kerkyrensis (Branchiopoda: Anostraca)
Background: Mediterranean temporary water bodies are important reservoirs of biodiversity and host a unique assemblage of diapausing aquatic invertebrates. These environments are currently vanishing because of increasing human pressure.
Chirocephalus kerkyrensis is a fairy shrimp typical of temporary water bodies in Mediterranean plain forests and has
undergone a substantial decline in number of populations in recent years due to habitat loss. We assessed patterns of genetic connectivity and phylogeographic history in the seven extant populations of the species from Albania, Corfu Is. (Greece), Southern and Central Italy.
Methodology/Principal Findings: We analyzed sequence variation at two mitochondrial DNA genes (Cytochrome Oxidase I and 16s rRNA) in all the known populations of C. kerkyrensis. We used multiple phylogenetic, phylogeographic and coalescence-based approaches to assess connectivity and historical demography across the whole distribution range of the species. C. kerkyrensis is genetically subdivided into three main mitochondrial lineages; two of them are geographically localized (Corfu Is. and Central Italy) and one encompasses a wide geographic area (Albania and Southern Italy). Most of the detected genetic variation (<81%) is apportioned among the aforementioned lineages.
Conclusions/Significance: Multiple analyses of mismatch distributions consistently supported both past demographic and spatial expansions with the former predating the latter; demographic expansions were consistently placed during interglacial warm phases of the Pleistocene while spatial expansions were restricted to cold periods. Coalescence methods revealed a scenario of past isolation with low levels of gene flow in line with what is already known for other co-distributed fairy shrimps and suggest drift as the prevailing force in promoting local divergence. We recommend that these evolutionary trajectories should be taken in proper consideration in any effort aimed at protecting Mediterranean temporary water bodies
Beta-Blocker Use in Older Hospitalized Patients Affected by Heart Failure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Italian Survey From the REPOSI Register
Beta (ÎČ)-blockers (BB) are useful in reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure (HF) and concomitant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Nevertheless, the use of BBs could induce bronchoconstriction due to ÎČ2-blockade. For this reason, both the ESC and GOLD guidelines strongly suggest the use of selective ÎČ1-BB in patients with HF and COPD. However, low adherence to guidelines was observed in multiple clinical settings. The aim of the study was to investigate the BBs use in older patients affected by HF and COPD, recorded in the REPOSI register. Of 942 patients affected by HF, 47.1% were treated with BBs. The use of BBs was significantly lower in patients with HF and COPD than in patients affected by HF alone, both at admission and at discharge (admission, 36.9% vs. 51.3%; discharge, 38.0% vs. 51.7%). In addition, no further BB users were found at discharge. The probability to being treated with a BB was significantly lower in patients with HF also affected by COPD (adj. OR, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.37-0.67), while the diagnosis of COPD was not associated with the choice of selective ÎČ1-BB (adj. OR, 95% CI: 1.33, 0.76-2.34). Despite clear recommendations by clinical guidelines, a significant underuse of BBs was also observed after hospital discharge. In COPD affected patients, physicians unreasonably reject BBs use, rather than choosing a ÎČ1-BB. The expected improvement of the BB prescriptions after hospitalization was not observed. A multidisciplinary approach among hospital physicians, general practitioners, and pharmacologists should be carried out for better drug management and adherence to guideline recommendations
Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis
Background
Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis.
Methods
A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16â45âyears presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis).
Results
Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which twoâthirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; Pâ<â0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cutâoff score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cutâoff score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent).
Conclusion
Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decisionâmaking by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified
Activity and recognition of AVR-CO39, an effector of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae.
Le pouvoir pathogĂšne des microorganismes repose sur leur capacitĂ© Ă manipuler des processus cellulaires de l'hĂŽte Ă l'aide de protĂ©ines sĂ©crĂ©tĂ©es dans le tissu vĂ©gĂ©tal : les effecteurs. En plus de leur rĂŽle primordial dans le pouvoir pathogĂšne, les effecteurs sont centraux pour la rĂ©sistance des plantes. La reconnaissance de certains d'entre eux par des rĂ©cepteurs du systĂšme immunitaire vĂ©gĂ©tal, nommĂ©es protĂ©ines de rĂ©sistance (R), dĂ©clenche la rĂ©sistance de la plante. Cette thĂšse a permis la caractĂ©risation molĂ©culaire d'AVR-CO39, un effecteur du champignon pathogĂšne du riz Magnaporthe oryzae. Nous montrons qu'AVR-CO39 est transloquĂ© dans le cytoplasme des cellules infectĂ©es par un mĂ©canisme indĂ©pendant de facteurs fongiques et est reconnu dans ce mĂȘme compartiment par le produit du locus R nommĂ© Pi-CO39. La surexpression d'AVR-CO39 dans des plantes transgĂ©niques rĂ©vĂšle que cet effecteur influence des processus dĂ©veloppementaux et physiologiques du riz. Un crible double hybride dans la levure a permis d'identifier 9 protĂ©ines du riz potentiellement ciblĂ©es par AVR-CO39. Une d'elles, nommĂ©e RGA5, confĂšre la rĂ©sistance Pi-CO39 avec une seconde protĂ©ine R du riz appelĂ©e RGA4. Nos rĂ©sultats indiquent que RGA4 induit l'activation de la dĂ©fense tandis que RGA5 agit comme rĂ©cepteur de protĂ©ines Avr. En effet, RGA5 interagit physiquement avec AVR-CO39 et AVR-Pia, un autre effecteur de M. oryzae, via un domaine C-terminal homologue Ă des protĂ©ines de liaison au cuivre. Cette thĂšse a donc permis l'identification d'un nouveau domaine de reconnaissance de protĂ©ines Avr et le dĂ©veloppement d'un modĂšle mĂ©canistique pour le fonctionnement de paires de protĂ©ines R chez les plantes.Pathogenic microorganisms secrete numerous proteins during infection into the plant tissue to manipulate host cellular processes. These proteins are called effectors and are central to pathogenicity. Certain effectors are recognized by receptors of the plant immune system called resistance (R) proteins and this recognition triggers plant resistance. The objective of the thesis was the molecular characterization of AVR-CO39, an effector of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Localization studies indicate that AVR-CO39 is translocated into the cytoplasm of infected rice-cells by a mechanism independent of fungal factors and that it is recognized within this compartment by the product of the corresponding R locus Pi-CO39. Overexpression of AVR-CO39 in transgenic rice plants suggests that the effector influences plant physiology and development. Yeast two-hybrid screening identified 9 rice proteins potentially targeted by AVR-CO39. One of them, called RGA5, interacts with a second R protein, RGA4, to confer Pi-CO39 resistance. Our results suggest that RGA4 activates plant defense while RGA5 represses RGA4 function in the absence of effectors proteins and acts as an Avr receptor protein. Indeed, RGA5 physically interacts with AVR-CO39 and another M. oryzae effector named AVR-Pia through a previously undescribed C-terminal domain displaying homology to copper-binding proteins. Therefore, this work identified a new Avr recognition domain in R proteins and generated a new mechanistic model for the action of R protein pairs in plant resistance
Il fenomeno povertĂ tra persistenze, trasformazioni e politiche di contrasto. La condizione giovanile ai tempi della crisi.
Il percorso ricognitivo, si sviluppa a partire da un excursus storico e teorico, finalizzato a delineare la multiformitĂ del concetto di povertĂ , attraverso una ricognizione dei significati attribuiti nel corso del tempo, e contributi di carattere teorico che la letteratura sociologica offre sul tema. Il Secondo Capitolo intende ricostruire e analizzare criticamente lâevoluzione delle politiche di contrasto dei diversi regimi del Welfare State, evidenziandone i limiti strutturali e lâinadeguatezza delle strategie adottate per rispondere alle sfide della modernitĂ avanzata. Il Terzo Capitolo analizza i possibili approcci di studio della povertĂ , partendo dalle differenti definizioni operative proposte dalla letteratura di riferimento e, grazie alla continuitĂ delle rilevazioni realizzate dallâIstat, prosegue fornendo una lettura diacronica delle principali dimensioni del fenomeno nel corso degli ultimi Trentâanni, dando particolare rilievo alle variazioni rilevate a seguito della crisi economica. Alla luce delle dinamiche emerse grazie allâanalisi delle serie storiche il Quarto e ultimo Capitolo fornisce unâanalisi della situazione dei giovani al tempo della crisi, in quanto, a fronte di una parcellizzazione del ârischio di povertĂ â presentano un profilo di rischio particolarmente elevato, al punto da far parlare di svantaggio generazionale. A partire da unâanalisi della âpartecipazione imperfettaâ dei giovani al mercato del lavoro e soffermandosi sul mismatch istruzione-lavoro, il fenomeno dei Neet e dei Drop-out il Capitolo si sofferma sullâanalisi delle strategie di integrazione di questo target di popolazione messe in campo dalla Regione Toscana nel quadro delle politiche comunitarie (Garanzia Giovani e GiovaniSi)
- âŠ