1,486 research outputs found
Multi-systemic alterations by chronic exposure to a low dose of bisphenol a in drinking water: Effects on inflammation and nad+-dependent deacetylase sirtuin1 in lactating and weaned rats
Bisphenol A (BPA) is largely used as a monomer in some types of plastics. It accumulates in tissues and fluids and is able to bypass the placental barrier, affecting various organs and systems. Due to huge developmental processes, children, foetuses, and neonates could be more sensitive to BPA-induced toxicity. To investigate the multi-systemic effects of chronic exposure to a low BPA dose (100 µg/L), pregnant Wistar rats were exposed to BPA in drinking water during gestation and lactation. At weaning, newborn rats received the same treatments as dams until sex maturation. Free and conjugated BPA levels were measured in plasma and adipose tissue; the size of cerebral ventricles was analysed in the brain; morpho-functional and molecular analyses were carried out in the liver with a focus on the expression of inflammatory cytokines and Sirtuin 1 (Sirt1). Higher BPA levels were found in plasma and adipose tissue from BPA treated pups (17 PND) but not in weaned animals. Lateral cerebral ventricles were significantly enlarged in lactating and weaned BPA-exposed animals. In addition, apart from microvesicular steatosis, liver morphology did not exhibit any statistically significant difference for morphological signs of inflammation, hypertrophy, or macrovesicular steatosis, but the expression of inflammatory cytokines, Sirt1, its natural antisense long non-coding RNA (Sirt1-AS LncRNA) and histone deacetylase 1 (Hdac1) were affected in exposed animals. In conclusion, chronic exposure to a low BPA dose could increase the risk for disease in adult life as a consequence of higher BPA circulating levels and accumulation in adipose tissue during the neonatal period
Use of efavirenz or atazanavir/ritonavir is associated with better clinical outcomes of HAART compared to other protease inhibitors: routine evidence from the Italian MASTER Cohort.
Randomized trials and observational cohorts reported higher rates of virological suppression after highly active antiretroviral therapy
(HAART) including efavirenz (EFV), compared with boosted protease inhibitors (PIs). Correlations with immunological and clinical
outcomes are unclear. Patients of the Italian MASTER cohort who started HAART from 2000 to 2010 were selected. Outstanding
outcome (composite outcome for success (COS)) was introduced. We evaluated predictors of COS (no AIDS plus CD4+ count >500/
mm3 plus HIV-RNA <500 copies/mL) and of eight single outcomes either at month 6 or at year 3. Multivariable logistic regression was
conducted. There were 6259 patients selected. Patients on EFV (43%) were younger, had greater CD4+ count, presented with AIDS less
frequently, and more were Italians. At year 3, 90% of patients had HIV RNA <500 copies/mL, but only 41.4% were prescribed EFV, vs.
34.1% prescribed boosted PIs achieved COS (p <0.0001). At multivariable analysis, patients on lopinavir/ritonavir had an odds ratio of
0.70 for COS at year 3 (p <0.0001). Foreign origin and positive hepatitis C virus-Ab were independently associated with worse outcome
(OR 0.54, p <0.0001 and OR 0.70, p 0.01, respectively). Patients on boosted PIs developed AIDS more frequently either at month 6
(13.8% vs. 7.6%, p <0.0001) or at year 3 (17.1% vs. 13.8%, p <0.0001). At year 3, deaths of patients starting EFV were 3%, vs. 5% on
boosted PIs (p 0.008). In this study, naïve patients on EFV performed better than those on boosted PIs after adjustment for imbalances at
baseline. Even when virological control is achieved, COS is relatively rare. Hepatitis C virus-positive patients and those of foreign origin
are at risk of not obtaining COS.
Clinical Microbiology and Infection © 2014 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All
rights reserved
Risk of Severe Non AIDS Events Is Increased among Patients Unable to Increase their CD4+ T-Cell Counts >200+/μl Despite Effective HAART
Immunological non-response (INR) despite virological suppression is associated with AIDS-defining events/death (ADE). Little is known about its association with serious non-AIDS-defining events (nADE)
Pontine extension of a tentorial schwannoma without cranial nerve involvement: a case report
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Intracranial schwannomas unrelated to the cranial nerves are uncommon. We report a new case of tentorial schwannoma unrelated to the cranial nerves, with extension into the pons. A literature review with discussion of the most relevant pathogenetic aspects is also performed.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 42-year-old Caucasian man was admitted with right-sided paresthesias and weakness of his upper and lower extremities. The neurological examination revealed right hemiparesis and hemi-hypoesthesia. A brain magnetic resonance imaging scan revealed a cerebellopontine lesion, arising from the left free edge of the tentorium, and extending into his pons. A piecemeal removal was performed through a retrosigmoid approach. The lesion was not found to be associated with any cranial nerves. The histological examination revealed a schwannoma Antoni type A. His postoperative course was uneventful. At one year follow-up, the patient was neurologically intact and the magnetic resonance imaging of his brain performed at that time showed complete removal without signs of recurrence.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Tentorial schwannomas are rare clinical entities. Knowledge of their clinical, radiological and anatomical characteristics is very important for the correct diagnosis and management.</p
Association of kidney disease measures with risk of renal function worsening in patients with type 1 diabetes
Background: Albuminuria has been classically considered a marker of kidney damage progression in diabetic patients and it is routinely assessed to monitor kidney function. However, the role of a mild GFR reduction on the development of stage 653 CKD has been less explored in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of kidney disease measures, namely albuminuria and reduced GFR, on the development of stage 653 CKD in a large cohort of patients affected by T1DM. Methods: A total of 4284 patients affected by T1DM followed-up at 76 diabetes centers participating to the Italian Association of Clinical Diabetologists (Associazione Medici Diabetologi, AMD) initiative constitutes the study population. Urinary albumin excretion (ACR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) were retrieved and analyzed. The incidence of stage 653 CKD (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) or eGFR reduction > 30% from baseline was evaluated. Results: The mean estimated GFR was 98 \ub1 17 mL/min/1.73m2 and the proportion of patients with albuminuria was 15.3% (n = 654) at baseline. About 8% (n = 337) of patients developed one of the two renal endpoints during the 4-year follow-up period. Age, albuminuria (micro or macro) and baseline eGFR < 90 ml/min/m2 were independent risk factors for stage 653 CKD and renal function worsening. When compared to patients with eGFR > 90 ml/min/1.73m2 and normoalbuminuria, those with albuminuria at baseline had a 1.69 greater risk of reaching stage 3 CKD, while patients with mild eGFR reduction (i.e. eGFR between 90 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) show a 3.81 greater risk that rose to 8.24 for those patients with albuminuria and mild eGFR reduction at baseline. Conclusions: Albuminuria and eGFR reduction represent independent risk factors for incident stage 653 CKD in T1DM patients. The simultaneous occurrence of reduced eGFR and albuminuria have a synergistic effect on renal function worsening
Search for the lepton flavour violating decays () at Belle
We present a search for the lepton-flavour-violating decays , with , using the full data sample of pairs recorded by the Belle detector at the KEKB
asymmetric-energy collider. We use events in which one meson is
fully reconstructed in a hadronic decay mode. We find no evidence for decays and set upper limits on their branching fractions
at the 90% confidence level in the - range. The obtained
limits are the world's best results.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
Understanding Factors Associated With Psychomotor Subtypes of Delirium in Older Inpatients With Dementia
Measurement of Differential Distributions of and Implications on
We present a measurement of the differential shapes of exclusive ( and ) decays with
hadronic tag-side reconstruction for the full Belle data set of
integrated luminosity. We extract the
Caprini-Lellouch-Neubert (CLN) and Boyd-Grinstein-Lebed (BGL) form factor
parameters and use an external input for the absolute branching fractions to
determine the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element and find
and with the zero-recoil lattice QCD point
. We also perform a study of the impact of
preliminary beyond zero-recoil lattice QCD calculations on the
determinations. Additionally, we present the lepton flavor universality ratio
, the electron and muon
forward-backward asymmetry and their difference , and the electron and muon longitudinal polarization fraction and
their difference . The
uncertainties quoted correspond to the statistical and systematic
uncertainties, respectively
First Simultaneous Determination of Inclusive and Exclusive
The first simultaneous determination of the absolute value of the
Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element using inclusive and exclusive
decays is performed with the full Belle data set at the
resonance, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 711 fb. We
analyze collision events in which one meson is fully reconstructed in
hadronic modes. This allows for the reconstruction of the hadronic system
of the semileptonic decay. We separate exclusive
decays from other inclusive and backgrounds with a two-dimensional fit, that
utilizes the number of charged pions in the system and the four-momentum
transfer between the and system. Combining our measurement with
information from lattice QCD and QCD calculations of the inclusive partial rate
as well as external experimental information on the shape of the form factor, we determine
and , respectively, with the uncertainties
being the statistical error, systematic errors, and theory errors. The ratio of
is compatible with unity.Comment: 7 pages, 3 captioned figures, including supplemental materia
Study of the lineshape of using decays to
We present a study of the lineshape in the decay using a data sample of
pairs collected at the resonance with the Belle
detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy collider. The peak near the
threshold in the invariant mass spectrum is fitted
using a relativistic Breit-Wigner lineshape. We determine the mass and width
parameters to be and , respectively. The branching fraction is found to be
. The signal from decays is observed for the first
time with significance, and the ratio of branching fractions
between charged and neutral decays is measured to be . The peak is also studied using a Flatt\'{e}
lineshape. We determine the lower limit on the coupling
constant to be at 95% credibility in the parameter region where the
ratio of to the mass difference from the threshold
is equal to , as measured by LHCb.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev
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