102 research outputs found
Planetary parameters, XUV environments and mass-loss rates for nearby gaseous planets with X-ray detected host-stars
We leverage Gaia DR2 parallactic distances to deliver new or revised
estimates of planetary parameters and X-ray irradiation for a distance-limited
( pc) sample of 27 gaseous planets (from super-Earths to hot
Jupiters) with publicly available Chandra and/or XMM observations, for which we
carry out a homogeneous data reduction. For 20 planets with X-ray detected host
stars we make use of the photoionization hydrodynamics code ATES to derive
updated atmospheric mass outflow rates. The newly derived masses/radii are not
consistent with the values for five systems; HD 149026b
and WASP-38, for mass; and Au Mic b, HAT-P-20 and HAT-P-2 for radii. Notably,
the lower mass implies a (Saturn-like) density of g cm)
for HD 149026 b. This independent estimate is consistent with the lowest values
reported in the literature. Separately, we report on the X-ray detection of GJ
9827, HD 219134 and LHS 1140 for the first time. The inferred stellar X-ray
luminosity of LHS 1140 ( erg sec)
implies that LHS 1140 b is the least irradiated transiting super-Earth known to
orbit within the habitable zone of a nearby M-dwarf.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures; accepted for publication in Ap
Gut microbiota composition and frailty in elderly patients with Chronic Kidney Disease
Background Frailty is common in older patients affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD). Since gut microbiota (gMB) may contribute to frailty, we explored possible associations between gMB and frailty in CKD. Methods We studied 64 CKD patients (stage 3b-4), categorized as frail (F, 38) and not frail (NF, 26) according to Fried criteria, and 15 controls (C), all older than 65 years. In CKD we assessed serum C-reactive protein, blood neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, Malnutrition-inflammation Score (MIS); gMB was studied by denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis (DGGE), high-throughput sequencing (16S r-RNA gene), and quantitative real-time PCR (RT-PCR). Results No differences in alpha diversity between CKD and C and between F and NF patients emerged, but high-throughput sequencing showed significantly higher abundance of potentially noxious bacteria (Citrobacter, Coprobacillus, etc) and lower abundance of saccharolytic and butyrate-producing bacteria (Prevotella spp., Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Roseburia spp.), in CKD respect to C. Mogibacteriaceae family and Oscillospira genus abundance was positively related to inflammatory indices in the whole CKD cohort, while that of Akkermansia, Ruminococcus and Eubacterium genera was negatively related. Compared with NF, in F there was a higher abundance of some bacteria (Mogibacteriacee, Coriobacteriacee, Eggerthella, etc), many of which have been described as more abundant in other diseases. Conclusions These results suggest that inflammation and frailty could be associated to gMB modifications in CKD
Age at Onset and Social Cognitive Impairment in Clinically Stabilized Patients with Schizophrenia : An Ecological Cross-Sectional Study
Objective: Purposes of the present study were to assess the social cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and to detect if some clinical variables (particularly age at onset) are predictive of general/social cognitive deficit in schizophrenia patients.
Method: Thirty-five clinically stabilized schizophrenia outpatients were assessed by the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) and by Torralva\u2019s social cognition battery. Binary logistic models were performed to find an eventual association between continuous clinical variables and cognitive test failures. The total sample was divided in groups according to dichotomous variables (gender, diagnostic subtypes and type of abuse) and the presence of cognitive deficits was compared between groups by \u3c72 tests.
Results: An earlier age at onset was found to be predictive of frontal cognitive impairment (Tower of London p=0.038, OR=0.702). Female gender was more probably associated with mistakes at MET-HV (\u3c72= 4.80, p=0.05, phi=0.40) and HOTEL tests (\u3c72= 5.25, p=0.04, phi=0.4) than male one. Cannabis abusers showed more frequently deficits on verbal fluency (\u3c72= 9.35, p=0.04, phi=0.52) and executive functioning (Tower of London) (\u3c72= 11.67, p=0.02, phi=0.58) than alcohol/cocaine ones.
Conclusion: Female patients with an early age at onset and cannabis abuse seem to have the worst general and social cognitive profile among patients suffering from schizophrenia
A new critical curve for the Lane-Emden system
We study stable positive radially symmetric solutions for the Lane-Emden
system in , in , where .
We obtain a new critical curve that optimally describes the existence of such
solutions.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figur
Hybrid fibroin/polyurethane small-diameter vascular grafts: from fabrication to in vivo preliminary assessment
To address the need of alternatives to autologous vessels for small-calibre vascular applications (e.g. cardiac surgery), a bio-hybrid semi-degradable material composed of silk fibroin (SF) and polyurethane (Silkothane (R)) was herein used to fabricate very small-calibre grafts (o(in) = 1.5 mm) via electrospinning. Bio-hybrid grafts were in vitro characterized in terms of morphology and mechanical behaviour, and compared to similar grafts of pure SF. Similarly, two native vessels from a rodent model (abdominal aorta and vena cava) were harvested and characterized. Preliminary implants were performed on Lewis rats to confirm the suitability of Silkothane (R) grafts for small-calibre applications, specifically as aortic insertion and femoral shunt. The manufacturing process generated pliable grafts consisting of a randomized fibrous mesh and exhibiting similar geometrical features to rat aortas. Both Silkothane (R) and pure SF grafts showed radial compliances in the range from 1.37 +/- 0.86 to 1.88 +/- 1.01% 10(-2) mmHg(-1), lower than that of native vessels. The Silkothane (R) small-calibre devices were also implanted in rats demonstrating to be adequate for vascular applications; all the treated rats survived the surgery for three months after implantation, and 16 rats out of 17 (94%) still showed blood flow inside the graft at sacrifice. The obtained results lay the basis for a deeper investigation of the interaction between the Silkothane (R) graft and the implant site, which may deal with further analysis on the potentialities in terms of degradability and tissue formation, on longer time-points
Anthropometric indices of sarcopenia in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease
The Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a kidney dysfunction for which the estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) result
Homoclinic orbits for damped vibration systems with asymptotically quadratic or subquadratic potentials
Naloxone inhibits immune cell function by suppressing superoxide production through a direct interaction with gp91phox subunit of NADPH oxidase
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Both (-) and (+)-naloxone attenuate inflammation-mediated neurodegeneration by inhibition of microglial activation through superoxide reduction in an opioid receptor-independent manner. Multiple lines of evidence have documented a pivotal role of overactivated NADPH oxidase (NOX2) in inflammation-mediated neurodegeneration. We hypothesized that NOX2 might be a novel action site of naloxone to mediate its anti-inflammatory actions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Inhibition of NOX-2-derived superoxide by (-) and (+)-naloxone was measured in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated midbrain neuron-glia cultures and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-stimulated neutrophil membranes by measuring the superoxide dismutase (SOD)-inhibitable reduction of tetrazolium salt (WST-1) or ferricytochrome c. Further, various ligand (<sup>3</sup>H-naloxone) binding assays were performed in wild type and gp91<it><sup>phox-/- </sup></it>neutrophils and transfected COS-7 and HEK293 cells. The translocation of cytosolic subunit p47<it><sup>phox </sup></it>to plasma membrane was assessed by western blot.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both (-) and (+)-naloxone equally inhibited LPS- and PMA-induced superoxide production with an IC50 of 1.96 and 2.52 μM, respectively. Competitive binding of <sup>3</sup>H-naloxone with cold (-) and (+)-naloxone in microglia showed equal potency with an IC50 of 2.73 and 1.57 μM, respectively. <sup>3</sup>H-Naloxone binding was elevated in COS-7 and HEK293 cells transfected with gp91<sup><it>phox</it></sup>; in contrast, reduced <sup>3</sup>H-naloxone binding was found in neutrophils deficient in gp91<sup><it>phox </it></sup>or in the presence of a NOX2 inhibitor. The specificity and an increase in binding capacity of <sup>3</sup>H-naloxone were further demonstrated by 1) an immunoprecipitation study using gp91<sup><it>phox </it></sup>antibody, and 2) activation of NOX2 by PMA. Finally, western blot studies showed that naloxone suppressed translocation of the cytosolic subunit p47<sup><it>phox </it></sup>to the membrane, leading to NOX2 inactivation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Strong evidence is provided indicating that NOX2 is a non-opioid novel binding site for naloxone, which is critical in mediating its inhibitory effect on microglia overactivation and superoxide production.</p
Risk of hospitalization for heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes newly treated with DPP-4 inhibitors or other oral glucose-lowering medications: A retrospective registry study on 127,555 patients from the Nationwide OsMed Health-DB Database
Aims Oral glucose-lowering medications are associated with excess risk of heart failure (HF). Given the absence of comparative data among drug classes, we performed a retrospective study in 32 Health Services of 16 Italian regions accounting for a population of 18 million individuals, to assess the association between HF risk and use of sulphonylureas, DPP-4i, and glitazones. Methods and results We extracted data on patients with type 2 diabetes who initiated treatment with DPP-4i, thiazolidinediones, or sulphonylureas alone or in combination with metformin during an accrual time of 2 years. The endpoint was hospitalization for HF (HHF) occurring after the first 6 months of therapy, and the observation was extended for up to 4 years. A total of 127 555 patients were included, of whom 14.3% were on DPP-4i, 72.5% on sulphonylurea, 13.2% on thiazolidinediones, with average 70.7% being on metformin as combination therapy. Patients in the three groups differed significantly for baseline characteristics: age, sex, Charlson index, concurrent medications, and previous cardiovascular events. During an average 2.6-year follow-up, after adjusting for measured confounders, use of DPP-4i was associated with a reduced risk of HHF compared with sulphonylureas [hazard ratio (HR) 0.78; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.62-0.97; P = 0.026]. After propensity matching, the analysis was restricted to 39 465 patients, and the use of DPP-4i was still associated with a lower risk of HHF (HR 0.70; 95% CI 0.52-0.94; P = 0.018). Conclusion In a very large observational study, the use of DPP-4i was associated with a reduced risk of HHF when compared with sulphonylureas
Impact of gastrointestinal side effects on patients’ reported quality of life trajectories after radiotherapy for prostate cancer: Data from the prospective, observational pros-it CNR study
Radiotherapy (RT) represents an important therapeutic option for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. The aim of the current study is to examine trajectories in patients’ reported quality of life (QoL) aspects related to bowel function and bother, considering data from the PROState cancer monitoring in ITaly from the National Research Council (Pros-IT CNR) study, analyzed with growth mixture models. Data for patients who underwent RT, either associated or not associated with androgen deprivation therapy, were considered. QoL outcomes were assessed over a 2-year period from the diagnosis, using the Italian version of the University of California Los Angeles-Prostate Cancer Index (Italian-UCLA-PCI). Three trajectories were identified for the bowel function; having three or more comorbidities and the use of 3D-CRT technique for RT were associated with the worst trajectory (OR = 3.80, 95% CI 2.04–7.08; OR = 2.17, 95% CI 1.22–3.87, respectively). Two trajectories were identified for the bowel bother scores; diabetes and the non-Image guided RT method were associated with being in the worst bowel bother trajectory group (OR = 1.69, 95% CI 1.06–2.67; OR = 2.57, 95% CI 1.70–3.86, respectively). The findings from this study suggest that the absence of comorbidities and the use of intensity modulated RT techniques with image guidance are related with a better tolerance to RT in terms of bowel side effects
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