19 research outputs found

    Upper airway involvement in bronchiectasis is marked by early onset and allergic features

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    The association of bronchiectasis with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) has been reported. However, apart from primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) and cystic fibrosis (CF), predisposing conditions have not been established. We aimed to define clinical and laboratory features that differentiate patients with bronchiectasis with upper airway symptoms (UASs) and without PCD from patients without UASs. We reviewed charts of adults with bronchiectasis, excluding CF and PCD. UASs were defined as nasal discharge most days of the year, sinusitis or nasal polyps. Laboratory data included IgG, total IgE, blood eosinophils, sputum bacteriology and lung function. A radiologist blinded to UAS presence scored bronchiectasis (Reiff score) and sino-nasal pathology (Lund–Mackay score). Of 197 patients, for the 70 (35%) with UASs, symptoms started earlier (34±25 versus 46±24 years; p=0.001), disease duration was longer (median 24 versus 12 years; p=0.027), exacerbations were more frequent (median 3 versus 2 per year; p=0.14), and peripheral blood eosinophil (median 230 versus 200 ΌL−1; p=0.015) and total IgE (median 100 versus 42 IU·mL−1; p=0.085) levels were higher. The sinus computed tomography score was independently associated with exacerbations, with 1 point on the Lund–Mackay score associated with a 1.03-fold increase in the number of exacerbations per year (95% CI 1.0–1.05; p=0.004). These findings may implicate a higher disease burden in patients with UASs. We hypothesise that UASs precede and may in some cases lead to the development of bronchiectasis

    An International Reaserch Project an Armenian archaeological sites: Fission-Tracks dating of obsidian.

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    In the Mediterranean and adjacent regions, the Caucasus is one of the less studied areas in relation to provenance studies of prehistoric obsidian artefacts. In the frame of an international INTAS research project, an extensive surveying and sampling campaign was carried out in the numerous obsidian bearing volcanic complexes of Armenia. 33 obsidian samples were analysed using the fission-track dating method in order to characterise the potential sources of the numerous artefacts found in prehistoric sites. Ages cluster into five groups—Upper Neopleistocene Qiii, Middle Neopleistocene Qii, Lower Neopleistocene Qi, Lower Eopleistocene Qei and Lower Pliocene N groups. This research represents a significant contribution to a better knowledge of chronology of Armenian volcanism for which only few data were available. The resulting data-set appears to be a solid base for future provenance studies

    Provenance studies of obsidian artefacts from Armenian archaeological sites using the fission- track dating methods.

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    Obsidian was widely used by our ancestors for tool making. In the Trans-Caucasian region, obsidian-bearing volcanic deposits are distributed over wide areas. Forty three obsidian occurrences were analysed using the fission-track (FT) dating method to better constrain the history of Plio-Pleistocene volcanism of this region. The determined formation ages cluster into restricted groups: 0.042-0.120, 0.25-0.40, 0.43-0.56, 1.17-1.38, 1.53, 2.34-2.63 and 4.26-4.56 Ma. The FT data-set on geological samples was used for provenance studies of 112 artefacts from Armenian prehistoric sites or of pebbles from river banks. All artefacts originated from Armenian sources or from sources located in adjacent regions of Turkey and Georgia

    Il Medio Oriente: un laboratorio per studi di provenienza dell’ossidiana

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    Nel quadro di progetti di ricerca internazionali sono stati eseguiti studi di provenienza di manufatti di ossidiana di siti archeologici del Medio Oriente con un approccio interdisciplinare, utilizzando la datazione con le tracce di fissione e la caratterizzazione chimica con l'analisi per attivazione neutronica strumentale. Le due tecniche sono risultate efficaci strumenti per la caratterizzazione delle fonti potenziali e per la correlazione dei manufatti con le stesse, salvo rari casi nei quali l'identificazione erisultata dubbia, a causa dell'incompleto data-set relativo alle fonti. Benche la conoscenza delle ossidiane del Medio Oriente e della lora circolazione nella preistoria sia significativamente migliorata, lavoro di campagna eancora necessario in Anatolia per raggiungere un grado di conoscenza pili adeguato delle ossidiane della regione
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