Metabolic syndrome and nephrolithiasis: can we hypotize a common background?

Metabolic syndrome and nephrolithiasis are quite common disorders presenting similar epidemiological characteristics. Belonging to genetic, environmental and hormonal interaction, they have high incidence and prevalence in the adult population of industrialised countries and are characterised by a high level of morbidity and mortality if not adequately identified and treated. Despite metabolic syndrome is considered a fundamental risk factor for chronic kidney diseases, is not actually known whether it is associated with nephrolithiasis beyond the effect of its individual components, in particular obesity, glucose intolerance, and hypertension. In this paper, the possible pathogenetic links between metabolic syndrome and nephrolithiasis will be presented and discussed

Sars-cov-2 envelope and membrane proteins: structural differences linked to virus characteristics?

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new viral infection caused by the severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Genomic analyses have revealed that SARS-CoV-2 is related to Pangolin and Bat coronaviruses. In this report, a structural comparison between the Sars-CoV-2 Envelope and Membrane proteins from different human isolates with homologous proteins from closely related viruses is described. The analyses here reported show the high structural similarity of Envelope and Membrane proteins to the counterparts from Pangolin and Bat coronavirus isolates. However, the comparisons have also highlighted structural differences specific of Sars-CoV-2 proteins which may be correlated to the cross-species transmission and/or to the properties of the virus. Structural modelling has been applied to map the variant sites onto the predicted three-dimensional structure of the Envelope and Membrane proteins

Women with type 1 diabetes gain more weight during pregnancy compared to age-matched healthy women despite a healthier diet. a prospective case-control observational study

Purpose: Women with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D), especially those with suboptimal glucose control, have 3-4 greater chances of having babies with birth defects compared to healthy women. We aimed to evaluate glucose control and insulin regimen modifications during the pregnancy of women with T1D, comparing the offspring's weight and the mother's weight change and diet with those of non-diabetic, normal-weight pregnant women. Methods: Women with T1D and age-matched healthy women controls (CTR) were consecutively enrolled among pregnant women with normal weight visiting our center. All patients underwent physical examination and diabetes and nutritional counseling, and completed lifestyle and food intake questionnaires. Results: A total of 44 women with T1D and 34 healthy controls were enrolled. Women with T1D increased their insulin regimen during pregnancy, going from baseline 0.9 ± 0.3 IU/kg to 1.1 ± 0.4 IU/kg (p = 0.009), with a concomitant significant reduction in HbA1c (p = 0.009). Over 50% of T1D women were on a diet compared to < 20% of healthy women (p < 0.001). Women with T1D reported higher consumption of complex carbohydrates, milk, dairy foods, eggs, fruits, and vegetables, while 20% of healthy women never or rarely consumed them. Despite a better diet, women with T1D gained more weight (p = 0.044) and gave birth to babies with higher mean birth weight (p = 0.043), likely due to the daily increase in insulin regimen. Conclusion: A balance between achieving metabolic control and avoiding weight gain is crucial in the management of pregnant women with T1D, who should be encouraged to further improve lifestyle and eating habits with the aim of limiting upward insulin titration adjustments to a minimum

Human Arboviral Infections in Italy: Past, Current, and Future Challenges

: Arboviruses represent a public health concern in many European countries, including Italy, mostly because they can infect humans, causing potentially severe emergent or re-emergent diseases, with epidemic outbreaks and the introduction of endemic circulation of new species previously confined to tropical and sub-tropical regions. In this review, we summarize the Italian epidemiology of arboviral infection over the past 10 years, describing both endemic and imported arboviral infections, vector distribution, and the influence of climate change on vector ecology. Strengthening surveillance systems at a national and international level is highly recommended to be prepared to face potential threats due to arbovirus diffusion

Aero-Medical Evacuation during SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: Extraordinary Measure or Emerging Treatment Option?

Aero-medical evacuation has been considered as a feasible and safe treatment option during COVID pandemic, particularly when the needs of affected patients exceed what local clinics and hospitals are supposed to provide. In this article, we analyzed the clinical course of 17 patients medically evacuated to the “L. Spallanzani” Institute in Rome, Italy from foreign countries, mainly Africa and Eastern Europe, who had COVID-19 pneumonia with, or without, coinfections such as malaria, HIV, tuberculosis and microbiologically confirmed sepsis syndrome. The aero-medical evacuation of patients with infectious diseases has become one of the greatest medical achievements we have reached during this pandemic; in fact, only two patients with life threatening coinfections have died. Although logistically difficult and cost consuming, medical evacuation should be considered as a treatment option more than a single extraordinary measure, especially among complex cases that require specific technical and human resources

Preliminary Results on Tropospheric ZTD Estimation by Smartphone

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver is one of the many sensors embedded in smartphones. The early versions of the Android operating system could only access limited information from the GNSS, allowing the related Application Program Interface (API) to obtain only the location. With the development of the Android 7.0 (Nougat) operating system in May 2016, raw measurements from the internal GNSS sensor installed in the smartphone could be accessed. This work aims to show an initial analysis regarding the feasibility of Zenith Total Delay (ZTD) estimation by GNSS measurements extracted from smartphones, evaluating the accuracy of estimation to open a new window on troposphere local monitoring. Two different test sites have been considered, and two different types of software for data processing have been used. ZTDs have been estimated from both a dual-frequency and a multi-constellation receiver embedded in the smartphone, and from a GNSS Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS). The results have shown interesting performances in terms of ZTD estimation from the smartphone in respect of the estimations obtained with a geodetic receiver

A doubt of multiple introduction of SARS-CoV-2 in Italy: a preliminary

This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record.Submitted by Raphael Belchior ([email protected]) on 2020-03-23T18:51:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 jmv.25773.pdf: 279664 bytes, checksum: c510bfd52b0360102237d571f389656d (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2020-03-23T19:28:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 jmv.25773.pdf: 279664 bytes, checksum: c510bfd52b0360102237d571f389656d (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2020-03-23T19:28:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 jmv.25773.pdf: 279664 bytes, checksum: c510bfd52b0360102237d571f389656d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2020Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Flavivírus. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome. Unit of Clinical Laboratory Science. Rome, Italy.University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome. Unit of Medical Statistics and Molecular Epidemiology. Rome, Italy.University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome. Unit of Medical Statistics and Molecular Epidemiology. Rome, Italy.The emergence of the novel beta Coronavirus, recently renamed as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, SARS-CoV-2, has raised serious concerns due to the virus rapid dissemination worldwide. Nevertheless, there is limited information about the genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 circulating in Italy from surveillance studies. The shortage of complete genomic sequences available impairs our understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 introduction and establishment in the country. To better understand its dynamics in Italy, we analysed complete genomes of SARS-CoV2 isolates, obtained directly from clinical samples. Our phylogenetic reconstructions suggest possible multiple introduction of SARS-CoV-2. Continued genomic surveillance strategies are needed to improve monitoring and understanding of the currently SARS-CoV-2 epidemics, which might help to attenuate public health impact of infectious diseases

Response to Carletti et al., "About the origin of the first two Sars-CoV-2 infections in Italy: inference not supported by appropriate sequence analysis."

Submitted by Raphael Belchior ([email protected]) on 2020-04-07T13:45:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 [email protected]: 117723 bytes, checksum: 3a35ddbde63a0234e8be77a797ad6b94 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Raphael Belchior ([email protected]) on 2020-04-08T02:35:27Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 [email protected]: 117723 bytes, checksum: 3a35ddbde63a0234e8be77a797ad6b94 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2020-04-08T02:35:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 [email protected]: 117723 bytes, checksum: 3a35ddbde63a0234e8be77a797ad6b94 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2020University Campus Bio‐ Medico of Rome. Unit of Medical Statistics and Molecular Epidemiology. Rome, Italy.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Flavivírus. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Flavivírus. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas. Laboratório de Genética Celular e Molecular. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.University Campus Bio‐ Medico of Rome. Unit of Medical Statistics and Molecular Epidemiology. Rome, Italy.University Campus Bio‐Medico of Rome. Unit of Clinical Laboratory Science. Rome, ItalyThe first one, as the authors should know, that in order to estimate phylogenies on a natural timescale a ‘molecular clock’ analysis has to be applied. A molecular clock is a theory attributed to Emile Zuckerkandl and Linus Pauling (1962), describing the relationship between observed genetic distances and time

A procedure to manage open access data for post-processing in GIS environment

DataBases (DB) are a widespread source of data, useful for many applications in different scientific fields. The present contribution describes an automatic procedure to access, download and store open access data from different sources, to be processed in a GIS environment. In particular, it refers to the specific need of the authors to manage both meteorological data (pressure and temperature) and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) Zenith Total Delay (ZTD) estimates. Such data allow to produce Precipitable Water Vapor (PWV) maps, thanks to the so called GNSS for Meteorology (G4M) procedure, developed through GRASS GIS software ver. 7.4, for monitoring in time and interpreting severe meteorological events. Actually, the present version of the procedure includes the meteorological pressure and temperature data coming from NOAA’s Integrated Surface Database (ISD), whereas the ZTD data derive from the RENAG DB, that collects ZTD estimates for 181 GNSS Permanent Stations (PSs) from 1998 to 2015 in the French-Italian boundary region. Several Python scripts have been implemented to manage the download of data from NOAA and RENAG DBs, their import on a PostgreSQL/PostGIS geoDB, besides the data elaboration with GRASS GIS to produce PWV maps. The key features of the data management procedure are its scalability and versatility for different sources of data and different contexts. As a future development, a web-interface for the procedure will allow an easier interaction for the users both for post-processing and real-time data. The data management procedure repository is available at https://github.com/gtergeomatica/G4M-dat