Utility of virosomal adjuvated influenza vaccines: a review of the literature

In spite of the efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO), influenza continues to be a major public health problem, both because of its impact on the health of subjects at risk, such as the elderly, and because of the economic burden that it places on society. Adjuvants are agents which, when incorporated into vaccines, enhance the immunogenicity of their antigens. The need for ever more immunogenic and efficacious influenza vaccines has led to the development of innovative vaccines. One of these, the viro- somal vaccine, has been on the market since 1997. The results obtained through controlled clinical studies and wide- spread application in the field suggest that the virosomal vaccine is not only an important tool for the prevention of seasonal influ- enza but also a valid means of potentiating the effect of a pan- demic influenza vaccine and, perhaps, of preparing multivalent or combined vaccines

Two levels for definiteness

Theoretical and Experimental Linguistic

Dinamica spazio-temporale della respirazione eterotrofa del suolo in un sistema agrario mediterraneo

This study focuses on the relationship between land use and soil heterotrophic respiration (Rh) in a Mediterranean agroecosystem under different long term managements: tilled vineyard, grass covered vineyard, rotation of haycrop-pasture with scattered trees of cork oak. Within management we distinguished between microenvironments under or out tree soil canopy influence. Autotrophic respiration was excluded by trenching method. Rh, soil temperature (T) and soil water content (SWC) were measured at the same time, within an year with a frequency between once a week and once a month depending on weather variability, from 9:00 to 14:00 (solar time). Rh was measured with a portable and closed chamber connected to an IRGA. There was a strong seasonal variation in Rh with maximums in spring and autumn. Rh values were averaging higher in haycrop and pasture and lower in the tilled vineyard than in the grass covered vineyard. Moreover, in the pasture and haycrop, the dynamics were affected by positions with respect to woody plant canopy soil vertical projections. In fact, in spring, higher values were observed out tree canopy than under, while in autumn the opposite trend was observed. Rh seasonal variation was correlated to SWC and soil T, except at the maximums. Spatial variation in Rh was found to be correlated to soil organic matter content

Effects of nitrogen fertilizer sources and temperature on soil CO₂ efflux in Italian ryegrass crop under Mediterranean conditions

We report the results of a study that aimed to assess the dynamics of total and heterotrophic soil respiration and its relationships with soil temperature or soil moisture of an Italian ryegrass haycrop managed with different nitrogen (N) fertilizer sources. The field experiment was carried out in the Nitrate Vulnerable Zone of the dairy district of Arborea, a reclaimed wetland in central-western Sardinia, Italy. This is an area characterized by sandy soils, shallow water table and intensive dairy cattle farming systems. Italian ryegrass is grown for hay production in the context of a double cropping rotation with silage maize. We analyzed the effects of N fertilizer treatments on soil carbon dioxide (CO2) efflux, soil water content and soil temperature: i) farmyard manure; ii) cattle slurry; iii) mineral fertilizer; iv) 70 kg ha-1 from slurry and 60 kg ha-1 from mineral fertilizer that corresponds to the prescriptions of the vulnerable zone management plan. During the monitoring period, soil water content never fell below 8.6% vol., corresponding to approximately -33 kPa matric potential. Total and heterotrophic soil respiration dynamics were both influenced by soil temperature over winter and early spring, reaching a maximum in the first ten days of April in manure and slurry treatments. In the last 30 days of the Italian ryegrass crop cycle, total soil respiration decreased and seemed not to be affected by temperature. The analysis of covariance with soil temperature as covariate showed that average respiration rates were significantly higher under the manure treatment and lower with mineral fertilizer than the slurry and slurry+mineral treatments, but with similar rates of respiration per unit increase of soil temperature for all treatments. The average soil respiration rates were significantly and positively related to the soil carbon (C) inputs derived from fertilizers and preceding crop residuals. We concluded that: i) the fertilizer source influenced soil CO2 efflux of the winter haycrop according to the amount of C input; and ii) that the temporal dynamics of soil respiration can be explained by soil temperature regime only in winter and early spring. These findings suggest that further studies are needed to analyze the role of soil biological factors controlling soil respiration dynamics of intensive forage cropping systems under Mediterranean conditions

Neurological, psychological, and cognitive disorders in patients with chronic kidney disease on conservative and replacement therapy

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a highly prevalent condition in the world. Neurological, psychological, and cognitive disorders, related to CKD, could contribute to the morbidity, mortality, and poor quality of life of these patients. The aim of this study was to assess the neurological, psychological, and cognitive imbalance in patients with CKD on conservative and replacement therapy. Seventy-four clinically stable patients affected by CKD on conservative therapy, replacement therapy (hemodialysis (HD), peritoneal dialysis (PD)), or with kidney transplantation (KT) and 25 healthy controls (HC), matched for age and sex were enrolled. Clinical, laboratory, and instrumental examinations, as renal function, inflammation and mineral metabolism indexes, electroencephalogram (EEG), psychological (MMPI-2, Sat P), and cognitive tests (neuropsychological tests, NPZ5) were carried out. The results showed a significant differences in the absolute and relative power of delta band and relative power of theta band of EEG (P=0.008, P<0.001, P=0.051), a positive correlation between relative power of delta band and C-reactive protein (CRP) (P< 0.001) and a negative correlation between estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (P<0.001) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25-(OH)2D3) (P<0.001), in all the samples. Qualitative analysis of EEG showed alterations of Grade 2 (according to Parsons-Smith classification) in patients on conservative therapy, and Grade 2-3 in KT patients. The scales of MMPI-2 hysteria and paranoia, are significantly correlated with creatinine, eGFR, serum nitrogen, CRP, 1,25-(OH)2D3, intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), phosphorus, and cynical and hysterical personality, are correlated with higher relative power of delta (P=0.016) and theta band (P= 0.016). Moreover, all NPZ5 scores showed a significant difference between the means of nephropathic patients and the means of the HC, and a positive correlation with eGFR, serum nitrogen, CRP, iPTH, and vitamin D. In CKD patients, simple and noninvasive instruments, as EEG, and cognitive-psychological tests, should be performed and careful and constant monitoring of renal risk factors, probably involved in neuropsychological complications (inflammation, disorders of mineral metabolism, electrolyte disorders, etc.), should be carried out. Early identification and adequate therapy of neuropsychological, and cognitive disorders, might enable a better quality of life and a major compliance with a probable reduction in the healthcare costs

Neisseria meningitidis: pathogenetic mechanisms to overcome the human immune defences

Neisseria meningitidis is hosted only by humans and colonizes the nasopharynx; it survives in the human body by reaching an equilibrium with its exclusive host. Indeed, while cases of invasive disease are rare, the number of asymptomatic Neisseria menin- gitides carriers is far higher. The aim of this paper is to sum- marize the current knowledge of survival strategies of Neisseria meningitides against the human immune defences. Neisseria meningitidis possesses a variety of adaptive character- istics which enable it to avoid being killed by the immune system, such as the capsule, the lipopolysaccharide, groups of proteins that block the action of the antimicrobial proteins (AMP), pro- teins that inhibit the complement system, and components that prevent both the maturation and the perfect functioning of phago- cytes. The main means of adhesion of Neisseria meningitides to the host cells are Pili, constituted by several proteins of whom the most important is Pilin E. Opacity-associated proteins (Opa) and (Opc) are two proteins that make an important contribution to the process of adhesion to the cell. Porins A and B contribute to neisserial adhesion and penetration into the cells, and also inhibit the complement system. Factor H binding protein (fhbp) binds factor H, allowing the bac- teria to survive in the blood. Neisserial adhesin A (NadA) is a minor adhesin that is expressed by 50% of the pathogenic strains. NadA is known to be involved in cell adhesion and invasion and in the induction of proinflam- matory cytokines. Neisserial heparin binding antigen (NHBA) binds heparin, thus increasing the resistance of the bacterium in the serum. The full article is free available on www.jpmh.or

Domain wall-localized phonons in BiFeO3: spectrum and selection rules

Abstract Ferroelectric domain walls (DWs) are nanoscale topological defects that can be easily tailored to create nanoscale devices. Their excitations, recently discovered to be responsible for GHz DW conductivity, hold promise for faster signal transmission and processing compared to the existing technology. Here we find that DW phonons have unprecedented dispersion going from GHz all the way to THz frequencies, and resulting in a surprisingly broad GHz signature in DW conductivity. Puzzling activation of nominally forbidden DW sliding modes in BiFeO3 is traced back to DW tilting and resulting asymmetry in wall-localized phonons. The obtained phonon spectra and selection rules are used to simulate scanning impedance microscopy, emerging as a powerful probe in nanophononics. The results will guide the experimental discovery of the predicted phonon branches and design of DW-based nanodevices operating in the technologically important frequency range

Health Technology Assessment and vaccinations in Italy

Vaccines are a basic investment in the long term, both for Countries and the whole world – where they are estimated to save 2.5 million lives among children each year. In this perspective vaccine r..