The cardiovascular risk of young women with polycystic ovary syndrome: an observational, analytical, prospective case-control study

To evaluate the cardiovascular risk of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), we investigated lipid profile, metabolic pattern, and echocardiography in 30 young women with PCOS and 30 healthy age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched women. PCOS women had higher fasting glucose and insulin levels, homeostasis model assessment score of insulin sensitivity, total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, and TC/high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio and lower HDL-C levels than controls. Additionally, PCOS women had higher left atrium size (32.0 +/- 4.9 vs. 27.4 +/- 2.1 mm; P < 0.0001) and left ventricular mass index (80.5 +/- 18.1 vs. 56.1 +/- 5.4 g/m(2); P < 0.0001) and lower left ventricular ejection fraction (64.4 +/- 4.1 vs. 67.1 +/- 2.6%; P = 0.003) and early to late mitral flow velocity ratio (1.6 +/- 0.4 vs. 2.1 +/- 0.2; P < 0.0001) than controls. When patients and controls were grouped according to BMI [normal weight (BMI, >18 and <25 kg/m(2)), overweight (BMI, 25.1-30 kg/m(2)), and obese (BMI, >30 kg/m(2))], the differences between PCOS women and controls were maintained in overweight and obese women. In normal weight PCOS women, a significant increase in left ventricular mass index and a decrease in diastolic filling were observed, notwithstanding no change in TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, TC/HDL-C ratio, and TG compared with controls. In conclusion, our data show the detrimental effect of PCOS on the cardiovascular system even in young women asymptomatic for cardiac disease

La storia costituzionale americana nella cultura giuridica italiana tra Otto e Novecento

Il saggio ricostruisce la circolazione della storia costituzionale italiana nella storiografia e nella giuspubblicistica italiana tra Otto e Novecento. Risalta un ampio dibattito su una esperienza giuridica e politica cui, dall'Italia, si guarda più come ad un mito che ad un modello, fino alla Costituzione del 1948. L'dea di un ordine che non può essere importato ha per terreno soprattutto il potere costituente e la forma federale. Nella cultura giuridica italiana l’incontro con la storia costituzionale degli Stati uniti è stato segnato dalla tensione tra radici locali e cosmopolitismo. Botta, Romagnosi, Compagnoni, Balbo, Amari guardavano all’America come Storia, nel ‘mito’ del paese più giovane e più ricco del vecchio Continente. Grazie alla Biblioteca di Brunialti i giuristi discutevano La democrazia in America di Tocqueville, la Costituzione degli Stati uniti d’America del Maine, più tardi La repubblica americana di Bryce. La Libertas americana era incompatibile con la cultura statualista e legalista dei Palma, Brunialti, Orlando; l’‘ammirare l’Inghilterra’ rendeva impensabili la supremazia della Carta costituzionale, il controllo di costituzionalità della legge, la cittadinanza come condivisione di diritti, l’equilibrio e bilanciamento di poteri. Chi evocava un ‘fare come gli americani’ guardava alla costruzione di istituzioni poggianti sull’identità nazionale, non sul limite ad una ‘sovranità tirannica’, chiave di volta de «We the people». L’idea del governo di gabinetto era incompatibile con il presidenzialismo; per le «condizioni dell’Italia» la «forma federale» era un’opzione perdente, nonostante Cattaneo. Il legame tra Stato, diritto e politica appariva come un’altra ‘eresia’ per gli ‘ammiratori’ del Rechtsstaat; nel Novecento non guardavano all’America i giuristi della tradizione ma gli intellettuali all’epoca engagés, quali Cantimori, Candeloro, ed i collaboratori del Dizionario di politica del Partito nazionale fascista. La Costituzione del 1948 non portava alcun segno della Carta americana, discussa alla Costituente; nel 1949-1950 Maranini trasfigurava il mito politico in modello giuridico-istituzionale per l’Italia repubblicana, in una sorta di ‘(ri) scoperta dell’America’.In Italian legal culture the encounter with the constitutional history of the United States has been marked by the tension between local roots and cosmopolitanism. Botta, Romagnosi, Compagnoni, Balbo, Amari looked to America as history, in the ‘myth’ of the youngest and richest country on the old continent. Thanks to the Library of Brunialti, jurists were discussing La Democrazia in America by Tocqueville, la Costituzione degli Stati uniti d’America by Maine, later La repubblica americana by Bryce. La Libertas americana was incompatible with the statocentric and legalist culture of Palma, Brunialti, Orlando; ‘admiring England’, made unimaginable the supremacy of the Constitution, the control of constitutionality of the law, citizenship as a sharing of rights, balance and balancing of powers. Those who evoked a ‘doing as Americans’ looked to the construction of institutions based on national identity, not on the limit to a ‘tyrannical sovereignty’, the keystone of We the people. The idea of the cabinet government was incompatible with presidentialism; for the «conditions of Italy» the «federal form» was a losing option, despite Cattaneo. The link between state, law and politics appeared as another ‘heresy’ for the admirers of the Rechtsstaat; in the twentieth century the jurists of tradition did not look to America, but the intellectuals at the time engagés, such as Cantimori, Candeloro, and the collaborators of the Political Dictionary of the Fascist National Party. The italian Constitution did not bear any sign of the Constitution of United States, discussed at the Constituent; in the 1949-1950 Maranini transfigured the political myth into a juridical-institutional model for republican Italy, in a sort of ‘(re) discovery of America’

Fluorescence spectroscopy of normal and follicular cancer samples from human thyroid

An autofluorescence analysis has been performed on healthy as well as tumour thyroid tissue samples to distinguish follicular cancer from normal thyroid. Complete spectra and synchronous spectra have been recordered from properly stored samples. Fluorescence bands located at 350 nm and 400 nm has been observed in the analysed cancer samples

Early impairment of endothelial structure and function in young normal-weight women with polycystic ovary syndrome

The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of early vascular damage in young normal-weight women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).Thirty young normal-weight women with PCOS, who had no additional metabolic or cardiovascular diseases, and 30 healthy women (controls) matched for age and body mass index were studied. A complete hormonal assay was performed in each subject. Serum insulin and glucose levels were measured at baseline and after the oral glucose tolerance test. Plasma endothelin-1 levels and serum lipid profile were also assessed. The endothelial function was studied by flow-mediated dilation on the brachial artery, and arterial structure was evaluated by intima-media thickness measurement using Doppler ultrasound of both common carotid arteries.A significant (P < 0.05) difference in flow-mediated dilation (14.3 +/- 1.9% vs. 18.1 +/- 2.0% for PCOS patients and controls, respectively) and in intima-media thickness (0.53 +/- 0.09 mm vs. 0.39 +/- 0.08 mm for PCOS patients and controls, respectively) was found between PCOS and control subjects. Serum endothelin-1 levels were also significantly (P < 0.05) higher in PCOS patients compared with controls (1.1 +/- 0.4 pmol/liter vs. 0.5 +/- 0.2 pmol/liter for PCOS patients and controls, respectively).In conclusion, our data show that young, normal-weight, nondyslipidemic, nonhypertensive women with PCOS have an early impairment of endothelial structure and function

Thyroid nodules treated with percutaneous radiofrequency thermal ablation: a comparative study

Percutaneous radiofrequency thermal ablation (RTA) was reported as an effective tool for the management of thyroid nodules (TNs). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of RTA and to establish whether they were treatment-related by comparison with a matched, untreated control group

Time spent with cats is never wasted: Lessons learned from feline acromegalic cardiomyopathy, a naturally occurring animal model of the human disease

<div><p>Background</p><p>In humans, acromegaly due to a pituitary somatotrophic adenoma is a recognized cause of increased left ventricular (LV) mass. Acromegalic cardiomyopathy is incompletely understood, and represents a major cause of morbidity and mortality. We describe the clinical, echocardiographic and histopathologic features of naturally occurring feline acromegalic cardiomyopathy, an emerging disease among domestic cats.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Cats with confirmed hypersomatotropism (IGF-1>1000ng/ml and pituitary mass; n = 67) were prospectively recruited, as were two control groups: diabetics (IGF-1<800ng/ml; n = 24) and healthy cats without known endocrinopathy or cardiovascular disease (n = 16). Echocardiography was performed in all cases, including after hypersomatotropism treatment where applicable. Additionally, tissue samples from deceased cats with hypersomatotropism, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and age-matched controls (n = 21 each) were collected and systematically histopathologically reviewed and compared.</p><p>Results</p><p>By echocardiography, cats with hypersomatotropism had a greater maximum LV wall thickness (6.5mm, 4.1–10.1mm) than diabetic (5.9mm, 4.2–9.1mm; Mann Whitney, p<0.001) or control cats (5.2mm, 4.1–6.5mm; Mann Whitney, p<0.001). Left atrial diameter was also greater in cats with hypersomatotropism (16.6mm, 13.0–29.5mm) than in diabetic (15.4mm, 11.2–20.3mm; Mann Whitney, p<0.001) and control cats (14.0mm, 12.6–17.4mm; Mann Whitney, p<0.001). After hypophysectomy and normalization of IGF-1 concentration (n = 20), echocardiographic changes proved mostly reversible. As in humans, histopathology of the feline acromegalic heart was dominated by myocyte hypertrophy with interstitial fibrosis and minimal myofiber disarray.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>These results demonstrate cats could be considered a naturally occurring model of acromegalic cardiomyopathy, and as such help elucidate mechanisms driving cardiovascular remodeling in this disease.</p></div

First-time lidar measurement of water vapor flux in a volcanic plume

The CO2 laser-based lidar ATLAS has been used to study the Stromboli volcano plume. ATLAS measured water vapor concentration in cross-sections of the plume and wind speed at the crater. Water vapor concentration and wind speed were retrieved by differential absorption lidar and correlation technique, respectively. Lidar returns were obtained up to a range of 3 km. The spatial resolution was 15 mand the temporal resolution was 20 s. By combining these measurements, the water vapor flux in the Stromboli volcano plume was found. To our knowledge, it is the first time that lidar retrieves water vapor concentrations in a volcanic plume.Published1295–12981.10. TTC - TelerilevamentoJCR Journalreserve

Syphilis with HIV in Florence, 2003-2009: a 7-year epidemiological study.

SUMMARYThe aims of this study were to describe the trend of acquired syphilis in the city of Florence and its province over a 7-year period, to investigate sexual behaviours in the syphilis-infected population and to analyse syphilis/HIV co-infection. A total of 259 patients were classified according to age, sex and HIV infection. We estimated that from 2004 to 2008 cases increased by 248%. Most patients with concurrent HIV infection were male (31–45 years), but 40- to 60-year-old men who had sex with men predominated in both male and HIV-positive patients. Oral sex was identified as the most significant route of transmission, although most patients did not consider it so. Late-presenters with HIV accounted for 33% of HIV-positive patients: they were unaware of their HIV status and showed syphilis lesions only. In these cases, syphilis heralded the presence of HIV infection and allowed earlier diagnosis