826 research outputs found
Asthma worsened by benzoate contained in some antiasthmatic drugs.
Here, we report our experience on benzoate hypersensitivity. Drug and food additives are known to induce pseudo-allergic reactions such as urticaria, eczema, asthma and rhinitis. These reactions are often under-diagnosed, above all in allergic patients treated with additive containing drugs. On the contrary, attention to additives present in some drug formulations and foods may often permit more correct diagnosis
Application of SINTACS method to the aquifers of Piana di Palermo, Siciliy,Italy
Piana di Palermo is characterized by the presence of two different aquifers: one shallow, constituted by calcarenites and the other deep in fractured carbonates. The calcarenitic aquifer presents a low potential compared to the carbonatic aquifer. The chemistry of the water in both aquifers reflects water-rock interaction, seawater intrusion, ionic exchange etc. The application of SINTACS method showed that about 80% of the study area can be classified as of high to very high vulnerability.Piana di Palermo es caracterizada por la presencia de dos acuÃferos diferentes: uno somero constituido por calcarenitas y otro profundo en rocas carbonatadas fracturadas. El acuÃfero calcarenÃtico presenta un bajo potencial hÃdrico comparado con el acuÃfero carbonático. El comportamiento quÃmico del agua en ambos acuÃferos refleja severos procesos como interacción agua-roca, intrusión marina, cambio iónico, etc. La aplicación del método SINTACS mostró que cerca del 80 % del área en estudio puede ser clasificada como de alta a muy alta vulnerabilidad
Combined effects of electromagnetic fields on immune and nervous responses.
In technologically developed countries, there is concern about hazards from electromagnetic fields (EMFs). Several studies have reported that immune and neuroendocrine systems exert an integrated response to EMF exposure. The aim of this review is to summarize the results of studies on the effect of low and high frequency EMF on immune and neuroendocrine systems on which our research group has been working for several years
Cost-effectiveness of tenofovir in the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B: data from literature
Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is a complex disease with significant social impact both on the patients' quality of life of and the economic resources involved. Its chronicity affects considerably not only the clinical management of the disease (for the need for drugs with proven long-term safety and low rate of resistance), but also the economic impact (for the high costs of treatment, the management of complications, and the constant monitoring of therapy).Since, as is well known, the main problem of modern health care systems is the general scarcity of available resources in the face of growing demand for health, the issue of economic evaluation of therapies for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B has been addressed in numerous national and international studies. In fact, clinicians find a strong support for the choice of the most suitable therapeutic pathway in the major scientific societies' guidelines (European Association for the Study of The Liver – EASL, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases – AASLD, Associazione Italiana per lo Studio del Fegato – AISF), while the analysis of the economic implications is rather more difficult, even for the methodological differences and peculiarities of the different countries.The aim of this paper is to present a brief summary of some of the recently conducted cost-effectiveness analyses and extrapolate some data to support the economic evidence related to the treatment of CHB with nucleos(t)ide analogs. In particular, the article focuses on the comparison between entecavir (ETV) and tenofovir (TDF), the two oral antiviral therapies recommended for first-line treatment. In the selected studies, the comparison between the different treatment options was conducted in order to assess the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) and the results were expressed in terms of QALYs (Quality Adjusted Life Years) gained.Despite the methodological differences among the selected studies, tenofovir is found to be, in the context of first-line oral antiviral therapies, the most cost-effective treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis B
Axion search with a quantum-limited ferromagnetic haloscope
A ferromagnetic axion haloscope searches for Dark Matter in the form of
axions by exploiting their interaction with electronic spins. It is composed of
an axion-to-electromagnetic field transducer coupled to a sensitive rf
detector. The former is a photon-magnon hybrid system, and the latter is based
on a quantum-limited Josephson parametric amplifier. The hybrid system consists
of ten 2.1 mm diameter YIG spheres coupled to a single microwave cavity mode by
means of a static magnetic field. Our setup is the most sensitive rf
spin-magnetometer ever realized. The minimum detectable field is
T with 9 h integration time, corresponding to a limit on
the axion-electron coupling constant at 95% CL.
The scientific run of our haloscope resulted in the best limit on DM-axions to
electron coupling constant in a frequency span of about 120 MHz, corresponding
to the axion mass range -eV. This is also the first apparatus
to perform an axion mass scanning by changing the static magnetic field.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
HCV and diabetes: Towards a 'sustained' glycaemic improvement after treatment with DAAs?
We read with interest the paper by Pavone and colleagues [1]
describing the rapid reduction of fasting glucose (FG) levels in diabetic
hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive patients receiving directacting
antiviral agents (DAAs).
We aimed to assess if a similar decreasing trend of FG levels
occurred in our study population and if it was maintained after the
end of treatment (EOT). Therefore, we retrospectively evaluated
449 patients treated with DAAs at our centre (64 HIV/HCV coinfected)
Reactive oxygen intermediates mediate angiotensin II-induced c-Jun.c-Fos heterodimer DNA binding activity and proliferative hypertrophic responses in myogenic cells
Angiotensin II (Ang-II) receptor engagement activates many immediate early response genes in both vascular smooth muscle cells and cardiomyocytes whether a hyperplastic or hypertrophic response is taking place. Although the signaling pathways stimulated by Ang-II in different cell lines have been widely characterized, the correlation between the generation of different second messengers and specific physiological responses remains relatively unexplored. In this study, we report how in both C2C12 quiescent myoblasts and differentiated myotubes Ang-II significantly stimulates AP1-driven transcription and c-Jun.c-Fos heterodimer DNA binding activity. Using a set of different protein kinase inhibitors, we could demonstrate that Ang-II-induced increase in AP1 binding is not mediated by the cAMP-dependent pathway and that both protein kinase C and tyrosine kinases are involved. The observation that in quiescent myoblasts Ang-II increase of AP1 binding and induction of DNA synthesis and, in differentiated myotubes, Ang-II stimulation of protein synthesis are abolished by the cysteine-derivative and glutathione precursor N-acetyl-L-cysteine strongly suggests a role for reactive oxygen intermediates in the intracellular transduction of Ang-II signals for immediate early gene induction, cell proliferation, and hypertrophic responses
NEUROBEHAVIORAL FUNCTIONS, SERUM PROLACTIN AND PLASMA RENIN ACTIVITY OF MANGANESE-EXPOSED WORKERS
Objective of this study was to assess effects of manganese (Mn) exposure on 56 workers employed in a Mn welding workshop of a machine building factory in Taiyuan (Shanxi Province, P.R. China) for a mean period of 16.1 years. The mean air Mn level in the workshop was 138.4 μg/m3. Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery (NCTB), including the Profile of Mood States (POMS), was performed. Blood pressure (BP) increase following immediate stand-up (BP-IS), serum prolactin (PRL) and plasma renin activity (PRA) in supine position were also determined. Most of the NCTB scores of the Mn-exposed workers were lower than those of the controls, while the POMS scores were higher, indicating a Mn-induced impairment of neurophysiological functions and a deflection of mood towards negative emotion states. PRL values of the Mn-exposed workers were higher than those of the controls. BP-IS of Mn-exposed workers was significantly lower than that of the controls. PRA of the same workers was augmented more than 200 %. In the Mn-exposed workers, the higher PRL values are possibly due to a reduced inhibitory effect on pituitary lactotrope cells by the tubero-infundibular dopamine system; the decreased BP-IS was referred to imbalance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic activities, whereas the higher basal PRA was thought to depend on neuroendocrine changes (including increased central sympathetic tone) and/or on a direct effect of Mn on renal juxta-glomerular cells. On the whole, this study demonstrates that occupational Mn exposure is responsible for neurobehavioral changes coexisting with alterations of neuroendocrine and humoral systems
Immunotoxicity and Sensitizing Capacity of Metal Compounds Depend on Speciation
Immunotoxicity of metal compounds is an issue of great importance due to the recent industrial application of metals with unknown toxicity on the immune system and the discovery of metal intermediary compounds not sufficiently studied yet. In this report we show results of our study on the immunotoxicity of the following metals: the Platinum group elements (Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium), Titanium and Arsenic. We applied functional and non functional assays and investigated both innate and adaptive immune systems, in particular, cell proliferation, cytokine production by PBMCs and O−2 production by neutrophils. We obtained the following results: only some Ti compounds (Titanocene, Ti ascorbate and Ti oxalate) show immunotoxicity. Trivalent As compounds (Sodium arsenite and tetraphenyl arsonium chloride) are more immunotoxic than the other investigated As compounds. Genotoxicity of Pt group compounds is in the following order: Pt < Rh < Pd. Immunotoxicity of Pt group compounds is in the following order: Pd < Pt < Rh. Lymphocytes and macrophages show a different reaction of neutrophils to metal toxicity. We can conclude that these studies show that metal immunotoxicity depends on speciation. In general speciation provides additional and often essential information in evaluating metal toxicity. However, there are many difficulties in applying speciation in investigating toxico-kinetic aspects to many metals, mainly due to the lack of information about the existence and significance of species and to the lack of analytical methods for measuring species in biological samples
"In vitro" comparative immune effects of different titanium compounds.
Exposure to Ti compounds is today an occupational and environmental health hazard. Object of this study was to determine "in vitro" effects of different Ti salts on cultured human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) proliferation and cytokine release. 10−4 and 10−7 M Ti compounds did not modify spontaneous PBMC proliferation. Ti dioxide (a biocompatible material and sunscreen component) did not exert effects on phytoemagglutinin (PHA) stimulated PBMC proliferation and on PHA stimulated IFN-γ and TNF-α release from PBMC. On the other hand, 10−4 M Ti oxalate (with wide industrial applications) and Ti ascorbate (used mainly in agriculture) inhibited about 70 % the PHA stimulated PBMC proliferation; both these Ti compounds at 10−4 and 10−7 M concentrations significantly inhibited TNF-α release, while only Ti oxalate inhibited that of IFN-γ. Titanocene (used in chemotherapy) did not exert effects on PBMC proliferation but markedly inhibited IFN-γ and TNF-α release. On the whole, this study demonstrates that Ti dioxide is not immunotoxic; Ti oxalate shows marked immunotoxicity; titanocene exerts selective toxicity on cytokine release but not on PBMC proliferation, while Ti ascorbate affects TNF-α release from PBMC but not IFN-γ release. In conclusion, these data show that immunotoxicity of Ti depends on speciation
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