Change in the DGS Level of Coverage Due to the 2008 Financial Crisis: First Basic Impact Evaluation

Scope of this report is the assessment of the impact of increasing the DGS level of coverage for banks¿ deposits (from current levels up to 50K¿ or possibly 100K¿) as a consequnce of the 2008 financial crisis.JRC.G.9-Econometrics and statistical support to antifrau

Geochemical and mineralogical datasets on waters and stream precipitates from an abandoned mining site: Montevecchio-Ingurtosu district, Rio Irvi (SW Sardinia)

Geochemical modelling data and Powder X-Ray Diffraction data on samples collected along Rio Irvi (Montevecchio-Ingurtosu mining district, SW Sardinia, Italy) are reported in this paper. The data show the results of data processing to calculate water chemical speciation of ions and saturation indices of relevant mineral phases. These data are related with the research article: De Giudici G. et al (2018), Application of hydrologic-tracer techniques to the Casargiu adit and Rio Irvi (SW-Sardinia, Italy): Using enhanced natural attenuation to reduce extreme metal loads, Applied Geochemistry, vol.96, 42–54. The comparison of the calculated saturation indices of relevant Fe-bearing phases with the PXRD data of samples collected along the stream confirm the quality of the SI dataset and the good correlation between the calculations and the observed data. The comparison of this dataset with others can help to deeper understand and quantify the impact of past and current mining activity on water bodies, contributing to implement the scientific background for the application of remediation actions

Effects of antihypertensive drugs on carotid intima-media thickness: Focus on angiotensin II receptor blockers. A review of randomized, controlled trials

Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaques have been shown to have a strong continuous relationship with cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality; therefore, carotid atherosclerosis, as assessed by ultrasonography, can be regarded as a reliable surrogate end-point for therapeutic interventions. In this survey, we report the results of 16 double blind, randomized, controlled studies comparing: 1) antihypertensive drugs versus placebo/no treatment (five trials including 3,215 patients); 2) different active antihypertensive drug regimens (five trials including 4,662 patients); 3) angiotensin-II receptor blockers (ARBs) versus other antihypertensive agents (six trials including 841 patients). Our main findings can be summarized as follows: I) Long-term antihypertensive treatment has a blunting effect on carotid IMT progression, regardless of types of drugs. II) Calcium-channel blockers (CCBs) are more effective than other antihypertensive drugs including diuretics, beta-blockers, and angiotensin converting-enzyme (ACE)-inhibitors in this blunting effect; III) the effect of ARBs compared to other antihypertensive regimens (mostly based on atenolol) on carotid atherosclerosis progression needs to be further elucidated, as a protective effect was demonstrated by some, but not all studies examined. Thus, further studies are needed to clarify the role of ARBs in this therapeutic area

Metabolic syndrome and multiple organ damage in essential hypertension

Aim. We investigated the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MS) in hypertensive patients categorized according to the number of markers of organ damage (OD) in order to assess the value of a systematic search for cardiac and extra-cardiac OD in the MS setting. Methods. A total of 3119 untreated and treated essential hypertensives included in the Evaluation of Target Organ Damage in Hypertension (ETODH), an observational registry of hypertension-related OD, were considered for this analysis. All patients underwent extensive investigation for left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) or LV concentric remodeling (cardiac OD), carotid plaques and/or intima-media thickening (vascular OD) and microalbuminuria (MA) and/or increased serum creatinine (renal OD). Subjects were classified as: positive for none (group 0), one (group I), two (group II) or three markers (group III) of OD. Results. MS prevalence rates progressively rose across the groups stratified according to the OD score, reaching a 2.3-fold increase in group III compared with their MS counterparts in group 0. The distribution of subjects with and without the MS across the groups was 15% vs 29% (group 0), 32% vs 38% (group I), 39% vs 26% (group II) and 14% vs 7% (group III), respectively. Thus, subjects having two or three markers of OD were 53% among those with MS and 33% (p<0.01) among those without it. Conclusion. Our findings indicate a strong association between the MS and OD by showing that a clustering of two or three markers of OD is the prevalent cardiovascular phenotype in MS hypertensives referred to a specialist center and call for a systematic evaluation of cardiac and extracardiac OD in this setting

Children With Short Stature Display Reduced ACE2 Expression in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

Background: The cause of short stature remains often unknown. The renin-angiotensin system contributes to growth regulation. Several groups reported that angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)-knockout mice weighed less than controls. Our case-control study aimed to investigate if children with short stature had reduced ACE2 expression as compared to controls, and its significance. Materials and Methods: children aged between 2 and 14 years were consecutively recruited in a University Hospital pediatric tertiary care center. Cases were children with short stature defined as height SD ≤ −2 diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) or idiopathic short stature (ISS), before any treatment. Exclusion criteria were: acute diseases, kidney disease, endocrine or autoimmune disorders, precocious puberty, genetic syndromes, SGA history. ACE and ACE2 expression were measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, angiotensins were measured by ELISA. Results: Children with short stature displayed significantly lower ACE2 expression, being 0.40 fold induction (0.01-2.27) as compared to controls, and higher ACE/ACE2, with no differences between GHD and ISS. ACE2 expression was significantly and inversely associated with the risk of short stature, OR 0.26 (0.07-0.82), and it had a moderate accuracy to predict it, with an AUC of 0.73 (0.61-0.84). The cutoff of 0.45 fold induction of ACE2 expression was the value best predicting short stature, identifying correctly 70% of the children. Conclusions: Our study confirms the association between the reduction of ACE2 expression and growth retardation. Further studies are needed to determine its diagnostic implications

Engineering-geological modeling for supporting local seismic response studies. Insights from the 3D model of the subsoil of Rieti (Italy)

A high-resolution 3D engineering-geological model of the subsoil can be derived by integrating stratigraphic and geophysical data in order to represent reliably the geological setting, and therefore support several geological studies such as local seismic response analyses. In this study, we show how an accurate 3D engineering-geological model suggests the proper seismic response modeling approach (1D or 2D) in a peculiar and complex geological context, such as the historical city center of Rieti (Italy), selected as test site, and characterized by important lateral heterogeneities between stiff travertine and alluvial soft deposits. The proposed methodology involves three steps: (i) conceptual geological modelling, obtained from data and maps of literature; (ii) engineering-geological modeling, validated through geophysical data; and (iii) a 3D model restitution achieved by a geodatabase (built basing on the previous steps), that collects, stores, reliably represents, and integrates properly the geospatial data. The analysis of seismic ambient noise measurements specifically available for the study area allowed to infer the shear wave velocity value for each lithotecnical unit and to retrieve some additional stratigraphies. These synthetic log stratigraphies allowed to improve the detail of the geodatabase and therefore a more accurate 3D geological model. Such a reliable engineering-geological model of the subsoil is required to perform a site-specific seismic response characterization which is a fundamental tool in the framework of seismic risk management

Frozen sections and complete resection in oral cancer surgery

OBJECTIVES: Although the reliability of frozen sections for the intraoperative assessment of complete tumour excision has been established, the best location for collection and the impact of the type of sampling are still debated. We retrospectively investigated the reliability of frozen sections when collected from the surgical bed as tissue strips representative of the whole superficial margin and as a bowl of tissue underlying the resection site for deep margin, and the possibility of relying on frozen section negativity to consider resections complete. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Frozen section reliability was calculated by comparing histology before and after formalin embedding and then categorised by sampling type, in 182 patients undergoing transoral resection of oral cancer. RESULTS: Comparing frozen and permanent histology, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 69%, 98% and 96%, respectively; categorisation by sampling type failed to produce statistically significant differences. Based on frozen section negativity after formalin embedding, complete resections were obtained in 91.7% of patients with multiple-strip and bowl frozen sections. CONCLUSION: Frozen sections collected as tissue strips and bowl are as reliable as point sampling in the intraoperative guidance of surgical resections. They effectively provide for margin enlargement, thereby increasing the surgeon's confidence that negative margins are clear

Topical natural-origin polynucleotides in radiation-induced skin and mucosal toxicity

Seventy to 90 percent of patients who have received radiation treatment struggle with radiation skin and mucosal toxicity. The inflicted damage to progenitor cells and local microcirculation makes it more likely that wounds, infections, and fibrosis may occur; lesions of variable severity often co-exist. Acute erythema, hyperpigmentation, and mild desquamation usually wane in weeks and require only minor treatment. Conversely, the management of persistent radiation dermatitis and telangiectasia remains unsatisfactory; chronic lesions may progress to tissue atrophy and disfiguring fibrosis. Protrophic, natural-origin polynucleotides, formulated as Class III medical devices, have long shown to be a reliable topical option to stop the progression of radiation-related lesions. The present review illustrates the rationale of polynucleotides in skin and mucosal radiodermatitis management. It also illustrates the clinical results in a series of exploratory clinical studies carried out with polynucleotide devices over the last decade. The examined studies open the way to the high-level clinical research program, which will develop over the next years