Demersal assemblages of the continental shelf and slope edge between the Gulf of Tehuantepec (Mexico) and the Gulf of Papagayo (Costa Rica)

The structure of demersal assemblages (fish, crustaceans and cephalopods) of the continental shelf and upper slope between the Gulf of Tehuantepec and the Gulf of Papagayo was studied from data obtained in the course of surveys carried out by the RV 'Dr. F. Nansen' in 1987, by means of an ordination technique, Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) implemented by the program DECORANA, and a classification technique, Two-Way Indicator Species Analysis (TWIA) implemented by the program TWINSPAN. Three major groups of species were identified: those distributed above the thermocline, those within the range of the thermocline and a third group below the thermocline, where oxygen content is extremely low. Highest biomass densities were found below the thermocline, consisting mainly of the galatheid crustacean Pleuroncodes monodon (H. Milne Edwards, 1837). Correlation of DCA Axis 1 with depth, temperature, salinity and oxygen showed that depth is the main gradient along which faunal changes occur

Improvement of neuropsychological performances and reduction of immune-activation markers after probiotic supplementation and change of life-style in an HIV positive male: targeting the microbiota to act on gut-brain axis

The gut-brain axis is widely in uenced by the intestinal microbiota and dysbiosis is consequently associated with a large dysregulation of its functions. Probiotic supplementation, reducing the harmful effects of dysbiosis, has shown positive effects not only on gut and brain functions, but also on the control of the dangerous effects of immune activation. Mounting evidence has shown that neurocognitive impairment can be a secondary to the impairment of the microbiota-gut-brain axis in HIV positive patients. In this case report we analyzed the im- provement of neurocognitive performances associated with a reduction of levels of peripheral immune-activa- tion, after 6 months of probiotic supplementation. In this case, the achieved result may have been in uenced by a more comprehensive modi cation of the patient’s lifestyle with the introduction of a controlled diet and regular physical activity. Our observations suggest that integrate antiretroviral therapy and non-pharmacological tools into an overall approach, can be a useful strategy to control some non-AIDS related diseases

Probiotics Reduce Inflammation in Antiretroviral Treated, HIV-Infected Individuals: Results of the "Probio-HIV" Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND: HIV infection results in damage to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, microbial translocation and immune activation. These are not completely normalized with combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). Moreover, increate morbidity and mortality of cART-treated HIV-infected individuals is associated with inflammation. METHODS: In order to enhance GI tract immunity, we recruited and treated 20 HIV-infected humans with cART supplemented with probiotics and followed inflammation and immunological parameters (clinical trial number NCT02164344). 11 HIV seronegative subjects were included as control group. The enumeration of CD4+, CD8+, CD38+ and HLA-DR+ lymphocytes were evaluated on peripheral blood; HIV-RNA levels, sCD14, d-dimer, C-reactive protein (CRP) high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), IL-6 and Lipopolysaccharide Binding Protein (LBP) were assayed on plasma. RESULTS: We observe that cART does not normalize the levels of immune activation in HIV positive patients anyway inflammation and markers of microbial translocation were significantly reduced with probiotic supplementation. Patients show a clear and statistically significant reduction in the levels of immune activation on CD4 T-lymphocytes, for both markers CD38 and HLA-DR and their simultaneous expression, LBP and hsCRP plasma levels after probiotic diet supplementation settling to values comparable to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Supplementing cART with probiotics in HIV-infected individuals may improve GI tract immunity and there by mitigate inflammatory sequelae, ultimately improving prognosis

Non—Organ-Specific Autoantibodies in Children with Chronic Hepatitis C: Clinical Significance and Impact on Interferon Treatment

We evaluated the prevalence and clinical significance of non-organ-specific autoantibodies (NOSAs) in 47 hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive children with abnormal alanine transaminase levels and analyzed the association between NOSAs and virus level, genotype, human leukocyte antigen status, and interferon (IFN) response. Forty-two hepatitis B virus (HBV)-positive children and 25 age- and sex-matched healthy children served as control subjects. NOSAs were found in 34% of the HCV-positive children, 12% of the HBV-positive controls, and none of the healthy control subjects. Liver-kidney microsomal antibody type 1 (LKM1) was detected in 11% of the HCV-positive children but in none of the controls. The HCV load was significantly higher in NOSA-negative than in NOSA-positive children. HCV genotype distribution and human leukocyte antigen alleles were similar, irrespective of NOSA status. Long-term response to IFN therapy was achieved by 18% of the NOSA-positive and 55% of the NOSA-negative subjects. Two LKM1-positive children developed acute, self-limited hepatocellular necrosis while receiving IFN therapy. NOSAs are frequently present in children with hepatitis C, who are less likely to benefit from IFN therapy

An Experimental Testbed and Methodology for Characterizing IEEE 802.11 Network Cards

It has been observed that IEEE 802.11 commercial cards produced by different vendors show a different behavior in terms of perceived throughput or access delay. Performance differences are evident both when the cards contend alone to the channel, and when heterogeneous cards contend together. Since the performance disaligment does not disappear by averaging the environmental factors (such as propagation conditions, laptop models, traffic generators, etc), it is evident that the well known throughput-fairness property of the DCF protocol is not guaranteed in actual networks. In this paper we propose a methodological approach devised to experimentally characterize the IEEE 802.11 commercial cards thus understanding and predicting their performances in different network scenarios. We set up some specific experiments using a custom test equipment, able to classify the card behavior not only in terms of figures which are evident to the user perspective (such as the throughput), but also in terms of low-level channel access operations and delays. Our approach is able to detect potential hardware limits or not-standard MAC implementations, which severely affect the contending card performance

El mantenimiento para las "Estaciones del Arte" en Nápoles

Las “Estaciones del Arte” nacen a partir de un proyecto promovido por la Administración Municipal de Nápoles, junto con la Empresa Metronapoli, para realizar un plan estratégico de fomento y localizar en la línea 1 el eje portador de la movilidad con la construcción de nuevas estaciones, que se convierten en ocasión de recualificación urbana para algunos puntos neurálgicos de la ciudad. De las 34 estaciones del Sistema Metronapoli, 13 son aquellas definidas como “Estaciones del Arte”, 9 de la línea uno (Tab. 1) y 4 de la línea seis, diseñadas por: Óscar Tusquets Blanca, Karim Rashid, Atelier Mendini, Gae Aulenti, Domenico Orlacchio, Michele Capobianco y Renato Miano. La propuesta de los proyectistas de acuerdo con el crítico de arte Achille Bonito Oliva, encargado por el Ayuntamiento de Nápoles de la dirección artística, ha transformado los espacios de tránsito de las estaciones en lugares de encuentro con el arte contemporáneo para los ciudadanos que diariamente utilizan las líneas 1 y 6. Se trata de una asignación insólita del arte, en un lugar de paso, definido a menudo como “non luogo” del transporte público, que se vuelve una escenografía de una operación cultural de gran envergadura, en la que se ven implicados los nombres más importantes del arte contemporáneo. Con su patrimonio artístico compuesto por unas 200 obras realizadas por 95 artistas Metronapoli constituye un ejemplo único de museo descentrado y distribuido en el área urbana, que exprime el deseo de querer interactuar e integrarse con el territorio, contribuyendo no solamente a mejorar la movilidad urbana sino también a dar un valor adicional a la ciudad desde el punto de vista ético y estético, e incidiendo en el ámbito socio-cultural. Con este proyecto, el arte contemporáneo encuentra una amplia difusión en la capital de la región Campania desde el año 1995, cuando por entonces la administración promovió un proyecto denominado «gli Annali delle Arti» y otras iniciativas dirigidas a un público a menudo poco atraído por este género de arte.Tópico 2: Patrimonio Arquitectónico, Ingenieril y Arqueológico (urbano, rural, industrial, religioso, funerario). Construcciones en Tierra. Intervenciones en construcciones con patologías estructurales (aplicación de refuerzos). Técnicas de limpieza y conservación. Sostenibilidad (iluminación, ventilación, acústica, climatización, etc.) Biodeterioro del Patrimonio y técnicas de intervención sobre distintos sustratos

remitting relapsing carbamazepine overdosage mimicking vertebrobasilar transient ischemic attacks

The objective of this article is to describe an atypical, remitting-relapsing presentation of carbamazepine toxicity due to its interaction with nebivolol. The method we use is a case report of an elderly epileptic patient in treatment with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and antihypertensive drugs, manifesting transient neurological symptoms in association with high blood pressure values. The case report is of a 72-year-old male by forty years of age had tonicclonic seizures related to the presence of a cerebral arteriovenous malformation. Seizures had been successfully controlled for many years by the same dosage of carbamazepine and lamotrigine, and recently total serum carbamazepine levels resulted within the "therapeutic range." He had also a history of controlled essential hypertension, but lately he manifested a scarce control of his blood pressure values. Few days after a modification of his antihypertensive therapy, the patient had two transient episodes of dysarthria, ataxia, and dizziness. At the emergency department, his blood pressure values were 190/110 mmHg, ECG and routine blood tests were normal, and a brain CT did not show acute lesions; about two hours later, his neurological examination was normal. Morning fasting carbamazepine serum levels were "normal" too; therefore, his symptoms were initially interpreted as vertebrobasilar transient ischemic attacks. However, the recurrence of similar episodes despite the normalization of his blood pressure suggested a carbamazepine intoxication. Indeed, its dosage resulted too high just in occasion of one of his attacks. A moderate reduction of carbamazepine was followed by cessation of toxicity. This case reminds us to be aware of adverse consequences of other drugs in patients assuming carbamazepine: in this case, its toxicity was consequential to a likely metabolic interaction with nebivolol

Wandering spleen with a ten-time twisted vascular pedicle

Torsion of a wandering spleen is a rare cause of acute abdomen in children, usually diagnosed with color-Doppler ultrasonography and enhanced computed tomography. We report a pediatric case of torsion of wandering spleen

Wandering spleen with a ten-time twisted vascular pedicle

Torsion of a wandering spleen is a rare cause of acute abdomen in children, usually diagnosed with color-Doppler ultrasonography and enhanced computed tomography. We report a pediatric case of torsion of wandering spleen