Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Paestum: nuove ricerche nell'area del santuario settentrionale

Il contributo pubblica i risultati delle ricerche archeologiche condotte nel 2018 presso il santuario settentrionale di Paestum nell'ambito di una concessione triennale (2018-2020) richiesta al Ministero dei Beni Culturali. Nel contributo gli autori illustrano le ragioni di una ricerca avviata 70 anni dopo gli ultimi scavi condotti negli anni Cinquanta da Sestieri. Gli autori illustrano brevemente i risultati delle indagini geofisiche che hanno preceduto e indirizzato lo scavo e i due due saggi, uno più prossimo al tempio, l'altro ai margini meridionali del santuario e a ridosso della plateia settentrionale. Il primo dei due saggi ha consentito di rintrattacare la trincea realizzata negli anni '30 ma anche di recuperare lembi della stratigrafia più antica del santuario. Nell'altro le stratigrafie erano state invece intaccate da uno dei cipressi piantati nel 1928 da Maiuri per delimitare il santuario. Particolare attenzione in questo contributo è dato alla documentazione materiale che non era stata presentata in un precedente contributo che illustrava essenzialmente lo scavo e le sequenze statigrafiche

Molecularly imprinted polymers for solid-phase extraction of 1-methyladenosinefrom human urine

A highly selectivemolecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for 1-methyladenosine (1-MA), an urinarymod- ified nucleoside used as cancer marker, was prepared and its use as solid-phase extraction (SPE) sorbent material was demonstrated. TheMIP was prepared by a very simple procedure usingmethacrylic acid as functional monomer and a mixture acetonitrile/water (4/1, v/v) as porogen, overcoming in this way the problems usually related to the imprinting of biological polar compounds. The MIP was tested in batch experiments in order to evaluate its binding properties and then used as SPE sorbent for the selective clean-up and pre-concentration of 1-MA. The extraction protocol was successfully applied to the direct extractionof 1-MAfromspikedhumanurine indicating that theMIP allowed 1-MAto be pre-concentrated while simultaneously interfering compounds were removed from the matrix

RNA nucleoside recognition by phthalocyanine-basedmolecularly imprinted polymers

Highly selective molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) having a phthalocyanine-based recognition centre as receptors for RNA nucleoside were prepared. In particular, a zinc phthalocyanine peripherally substituted with meth- acrylic groups was synthesized and utilized as functional monomer in combination with methacrylic acid (MAA) to form polymers with the aim to obtain MIPs having improved binding capacity and selectivity for nucleosides. Tri-O-acetyladenosine (TOAA) was utilized as model template in the preparation of the MIPs. The corresponding non metallated phthalocyanine was also prepared and used as functional monomer for the preparation of the MIPs in order to understand the role of the Zinc(II) ion in the binding capacity of the polymers towards the template molecule. The MIP prepared by using both the zinc phthalocyanine and MAA showed higher binding ability towards TOAA compared to the MIPs prepared using only MAA or its combination with the non metallated phthalo- cyanine. The results obtained suggest that the nucleoside is specifically bound to the polymer through multi-point interactions involving both the coordination of the nucleo- side to the metal of the phthalocyanine and hydrogen bonding/electrostatic interactions with MAA and the modi- fiers linked to the phthalocyanines. As for the selectivity, the MIPs exhibited relative high binding affinities for TOAA while they did not show any binding capacity for the other RNA nucleosides

Identification and quantification of anthocyanins in the berries of Pistacia lentiscus L., Phillyrea latifolia L. and Rubia peregrina L.

Anthocyanin composition in the berries of Pistacia lentiscus L., Phillyrea latifolia L. and Rubia peregrina L., three wild shrubs which are widely distributed in the Mediterranean region, was determined for the first time. The pigments were extracted from the berries with 0.1% HCl methanol solution, purified on a C-18 solid-phase cartridge and characterized by means of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)–diode array detection (DAD)–mass spectrometry (MS) analysis. The major anthocyanin of P. lentiscus berries has been identified as cyanidin 3-O-glucoside. Delphinidin 3-O-glucoside and cyanidin 3-O-arabinoside have also been found in minor quantities. The major anthocyanin in the extracts of P. latifolia and R. peregrina berries was cyanidin 3-O-rutinoside. Low quantities of cyanidin 3-O-glucoside have also been found. The attractive color and the great abundance of these plants in the Mediterranean area make them a new and very good source of natural pigments and antioxidant agents