Arginine-gingipain-specific IgG in the sera of human patients with periodontal disease is required for opsonophagocytosis of Porphyromonas gingivalis

Thesis (M.S.D)--Boston University, Goldman School of Dental Medicine, 2003 (Oral Biology).Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-59).Porphyromonas gingivalis is a primary etiologic agent of generalized aggressive periodontal disease (GAP), and gingipains, a group of cysteine proteinases, are critical virulence factors expressed by this organism. Gingipains are classified into two groups based on substrate specificity for arginine (Rgp A and RgpB) or lysine (Kgp) residues. In this study we characterized the levels of P. gingivalis-, and gingipain-specific IgG in sera of GAP patients, and examined the ability of gingipain-specific antibodies to facilitate opsonophagocytosis of P. gingivalis by human PMNs using a fluorescent phagocytosis assay. GAP patient sera possessed elevated levels of P. gingivalis-, arginine-gingipain (Rgp)A-, RgpB-, and lysine-gingipain (Kgp)-specific lgG (Kgp>RgpA>P. gingivalis>RgpB). Adsorption of GAP sera with P. gingivalis whole organisms, RgpA-, or RgpB-, but not Kgp-conjugated to sepharose beads significantly reduced opsonophagocytosis of P. gingivalis by PMNs. Our studies demonstrate that GAP patients possess elevated levels of P. gingivalis, and gingipain-specific IgG, demonstrate that arginine-gingipa. in antibodies promote uptake of P. gingivalis by PMNs, and establish that arginine gingipain-specific antibodies are important for control of P. gingivalis infections

Le dimensioni dell’entertainment nei Centri Commerciali: ipotesi di ricerca e prime riflessioni empiriche

The paper addresses the issue of entertainment in the context of Shopping Centers. Starting from the existing literature, the first part is aimed at clarifying the concept of entertainment and at analyzing the most popular entertainment activities. Three main categories are discussed: atmospheric-based entertainment, recreational service-based entertainment and special event-based entertainment. A distinction between hyper-realistic events and mediterranean events is also proposed. In the second part of the paper, we describe and discuss the results of an exploratory and qualitative survey, carried out through direct interviews with the management of ten Italian Shopping Centers, in order to investigate the features of entertainment activities managed within them and to evaluate, in a preliminary way, the significance of the research hypotheses identified in the work. Findings suggest the decreasing effectiveness of entertainment strategies related to the exclusive use of atmospherics and recreational services (which tend to characterize the basic tenat-mix of many Shopping Center) as well as the lower effectiveness of those forms of entertainment based on spectacular and impersonal events, in favor of less standardized events characterized by higher level of customer engagement, socialization and active participation of customers in the value creation process. Final results of this research will provide useful knowledge to support the managers of Shopping Centers in identifying and managing entertainment strategies more consistent with the specific context where they operate

One-Step Laparoscopic Management of a Female Adnexal Tumor of Wolffian Origin

We report a case of female adnexal tumor of Wolffian origin (FATWO), a rare neoplasm arising from the mesonephric ducts. A 48-year-old woman came first to our center for a recent discovery of a pelvic mass. Transvaginal ultrasonographic findings suggested a solid right para-ovarian mass suspected to be malignant. After thorough counseling, the patient underwent operative laparoscopy for excision of the para-ovarian mass with frozen section (FS) examination resulting in the diagnosis of a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. In this case, FS results allowed performing a comprehensive oncological staging, through a totally laparoscopic extrafascial hysterectomy, bilateral adnexectomy, total omentectomy, pelvic wall peritonectomy, and pelvic, parasacral and para-aortic lymphadenectomy. Final pathological and immunohistochemical results confirmed the diagnosis of FATWO. To our knowledge, this is the first case of FATWO managed entirely by a minimally invasive laparoscopic approach in a single surgical session

On Flux Quantization in F-Theory

We study the problem of four-form flux quantization in F-theory compactifications. We prove that for smooth, elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfolds with a Weierstrass representation, the flux is always integrally quantized. This implies that any possible half-integral quantization effects must come from 7-branes, i.e. from singularities of the fourfold. We subsequently analyze the quantization rule on explicit fourfolds with Sp(N) singularities, and connect our findings via Sen's limit to IIB string theory. Via direct computations we find that the four-form is half-integrally quantized whenever the corresponding 7-brane stacks wrap non-spin complex surfaces, in accordance with the perturbative Freed-Witten anomaly. Our calculations on the fourfolds are done via toric techniques, whereas in IIB we rely on Sen's tachyon condensation picture to treat bound states of branes. Finally, we give general formulae for the curvature- and flux-induced D3 tadpoles for general fourfolds with Sp(N) singularities.Comment: 46 page

On Flux Quantization in F-Theory II: Unitary and Symplectic Gauge Groups

We study the quantization of the M-theory G-flux on elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfolds with singularities giving rise to unitary and symplectic gauge groups. We seek and find its relation to the Freed-Witten quantization of worldvolume fluxes on 7-branes in type IIB orientifold compactifications on Calabi-Yau threefolds. By explicitly constructing the appropriate four-cycles on which to calculate the periods of the second Chern class of the fourfolds, we find that there is a half-integral shift in the quantization of G-flux whenever the corresponding dual 7-brane is wrapped on a non-spin submanifold. This correspondence of quantizations holds for all unitary and symplectic gauge groups, except for SU(3), which behaves mysteriously. We also perform our analysis in the case where, in addition to the aforementioned gauge groups, there is also a 'flavor' U(1)-gauge group.Comment: 33 pages, 4 figure

Supplementations of industrial multichamber parenteral nutrition bags in critically ill children: safety of the practice

Parenteral nutrition (PN) is sometimes required in critically ill children because of contraindication or intolerance to full enteral nutrition. European guidelines recommend favoring multichamber bag PN (MCB PN), when possible, for quality purposes and ease of use. The prescribers may adjust the MCB PN through supplementations to better fulfill patient needs. The objective of this study is to investigate the use and supplementations of MCB PN. This observational, single-center, retrospective study was conducted in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). We collected prescriptions of MCB PNs and their supplementations added directly into PN bags. A descriptive analysis and a comparison of electrolyte supplementations with the manufacturer's recommendations were undertaken. One hundred thirty-five children (median age 39.2 months [7.0-118.8]) were included, 1449 MCB PNs were administered, and 1652 supplementations were carried out in 736 PN bags. Thirty-two percent of supplementations were vitamins, 32.2% were trace elements, and 35.8% were electrolytes. Around 10% of electrolyte supplementations in PN bags were outside the manufacturer's recommendations. These nonconformities primarily concerned phosphate. This study showed the real-world clinical use of MCB PN in the PICU. Proper attention should be paid to septic risks and physicochemical risks to ensure efficient practice and safety of MCB PN use. [Abstract copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Nutrition in Clinical Practice published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

Process development and validation of expanded regulatory T cells for prospective applications: an example of manufacturing a personalized advanced therapy medicinal product

Background: A growing number of clinical trials have shown that regulatory T (Treg) cell transfer may have a favorable effect on the maintenance of self-tolerance and immune homeostasis in different conditions such as graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), solid organ transplantation, type 1 diabetes, and others. In this context, the availability of a robust manufacturing protocol that is able to produce a sufficient number of functional Treg cells represents a fundamental prerequisite for the success of a cell therapy clinical protocol. However, extended workflow guidelines for nonprofit manufacturers are currently lacking. Despite the fact that different successful manufacturing procedures and cell products with excellent safety profiles have been reported from early clinical trials, the selection and expansion protocols for Treg cells vary a lot. The objective of this study was to validate a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-compliant protocol for the production of Treg cells that approaches the whole process with a risk-management methodology, from process design to completion of final product development. High emphasis was given to the description of the quality control (QC) methodologies used for the in-process and release tests (sterility, endotoxin test, mycoplasma, and immunophenotype). Results: The GMP-compliant protocol defined in this work allows at least 4.11 7 109 Treg cells to be obtained with an average purity of 95.75 \ub1 4.38% and can be used in different clinical settings to exploit Treg cell immunomodulatory function. Conclusions: These results could be of great use for facilities implementing GMP-compliant cell therapy protocols of these cells for different conditions aimed at restoring the Treg cell number and function, which may slow the progression of certain diseases

All dried up: the materiality of drought in Ladismith, South Africa

This paper conceptualizes droughts as socioecological phenomena coproduced by the recursive engagement of human and non-human transformations. Through an interdisciplinary approach that integrates political ecology, material geographies and hydroclimatology, this work simultaneously apprehends the role of politics and power in reshaping drought, along with the agency of biophysical processes —soil, vegetation, hydrology and microclimate— that co-produce droughts and their spatiotemporal patterning. The drought-stricken Ladismith in Western Cape, South Africa, is the instrumental case study and point of departure of our empirical analysis. To advance a materiality of drought that seriously accounts for the coevolution of biophysical and political transformations, we alter the spatiotemporal and empirical foci of drought analyses thereby retracing Ladismith’s socioecological history since colonial times. In turn, such extended framework exposes the agency of soil, vegetation, hydrology and microclimate and their metabolic exchanges with processes of colonization, apartheid, capitalist and neoliberal transformations of South African economy. We argue that the narrow pursuit of profits and capital accumulation of the few has produced a fundamental disruption between nature and society which contributed to transform Ladismith’s drought into a socioecological crisis. Whilst advancing debates on materiality, we note two fundamental contributions to the study of drought. First, our approach makes hydrological accounts of droughts less politically naive and socially blind. Second, it develops a political ecology of droughts and socioecological crises more attuned to the materiality of drought. We contend that apprehending the materiality of drought and the active role of its non-human processes can further understandings of the workings of power and the production of socioecological injustices