Impact of covid-19 pandemic on remote monitoring of cardiac implantable electronic devices in italy: Results of a survey promoted by aiac (italian association of arrhythmology and cardiac pacing)

11noopenThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the organisation of health care in Italy, with an acceleration in the development of telemedicine. To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the spread of remote monitoring (RM) of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) in Italy, a survey addressed to cardiologists operating in all Italian CIED-implanting centres was launched. A total of 127 cardiologists from 116 Italian arrhythmia centres took part in the survey, 41.0% of all 283 CIED-implanting centres operating in Italy in 2019. All participating centres declared to use RM of CIEDs. COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an increase in the use of RM in 83 (71.6%) participating centres. In a temporal perspective, an increase in the median number of patients per centre followed up by RM was found from 2012 to 2017, followed by an exponential increase from 2017 to 2020. In 36 participating centres (31.0%) a telehealth visits service was activated as a replacement for in-person outpatient visits (in patients with or without CIED) during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 pandemic has caused an acceleration in the use of RM of CIEDs and in the use of telemedicine in the clinical practice of cardiology.openMaines M.; Palmisano P.; Del Greco M.; Melissano D.; De Bonis S.; Baccillieri S.; Zanotto G.; D'onofrio A.; Ricci R.P.; De Ponti R.; Boriani G.Maines, M.; Palmisano, P.; Del Greco, M.; Melissano, D.; De Bonis, S.; Baccillieri, S.; Zanotto, G.; D'Onofrio, A.; Ricci, R. P.; De Ponti, R.; Boriani, G

Faking like a woman? Towards an interpretative theorization of sexual pleasure.

This article explores the possibility of developing a feminist approach to gendered and sexual embodiment which is rooted in the pragmatist/interactionist tradition derived from G.H. Mead, but which in turn develops this perspective by inflecting it through more recent feminist thinking. In so doing we seek to rebalance some of the rather abstract work on gender and embodiment by focusing on an instance of 'heterosexual' everyday/night life - the production of the female orgasm. Through engaging with feminist and interactionist work, we develop an approach to embodied sexual pleasure that emphasizes the sociality of sexual practices and of reflexive sexual selves. We argue that sexual practices and experiences must be understood in social context, taking account of the situatedness of sex as well as wider socio-cultural processes the production of sexual desire and sexual pleasure (or their non-production) always entails interpretive, interactional processes

Nuclear translocation of haeme oxygenase-1 is associated to prostate cancer

The role of oxidative stress in prostate cancer has been increasingly recognised. Acute and chronic inflammations generate reactive oxygen species that result in damage to cellular structures. Haeme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has cytoprotective effects against oxidative damage. We hypothesise that modulation of HO-1 expression may be involved in the process of prostate carcinogenesis and prostate cancer progression. We thus studied HO-1 expression and localisation in 85 samples of organ-confined primary prostate cancer obtained via radical prostatectomy (Gleason grades 4–9) and in 39 specimens of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). We assessed HO-1 expression by immunohistochemical staining. No significant difference was observed in the cytoplasmic positive reactivity among tumours (84%), non-neoplastic surrounding parenchyma (89%), or BPH samples (87%) (P=0.53). Haeme oxygenase-1 immunostaining was detected in the nuclei of prostate cancer cells in 55 of 85 (65%) patients but less often in non-neoplastic surrounding parenchyma (30 of 85, 35%) or in BPH (9 of 39, 23%) (P<0.0001). Immunocytochemical and western blot analysis showed HO-1 only in the cytoplasmic compartment of PC3 and LNCaP prostate cancer cell lines. Treatment with hemin, a well-known specific inducer of HO-1, led to clear nuclear localisation of HO-1 in both cell lines and highly induced HO-1 expression in both cellular compartments. These findings have demonstrated, for the first time, that HO-1 expression and nuclear localisation can define a new subgroup of prostate cancer primary tumours and that the modulation of HO-1 expression and its nuclear translocation could represent new avenues for therapy

“This is not a test”:How do human resource development professionals use personality tests as tools of their professional practice?

Although human resource development (HRD) professionals enjoy the use of personality tests in their practice, the appeal of these tests to some is harshly criticized by others. Personality tests attract through optimistic descriptions and ease of use for individual and team development while often lacking predictive and discriminant validities. Despite those concerns, the personality‐testing market can be characterized as a dynamic industry, with many professionals using assessments in developmental settings such as management training and executive coaching. The aim of this article is to explore how individual meaning‐making and organizational sensemaking theories help to explain the widespread and sustained use of personality tests in developmental contexts among HRD professionals. Using grounded theory and inductive analysis, we distill meaning from semistructured interviews with 18 HRD professionals. Through pattern analysis, we establish six strategies that describe practical approaches in personality testing: 1. Ethical‐protective, 2. Scientific‐selective, 3. Cautious‐avoiding, 4. Cautious‐embracing, 5. User friendly‐pragmatic, and 6. Knowledgeable‐accommodating. We find that HRD professionals deal with cognitive dissonances and paradoxical situations in their professional personality test use practice on a regular basis. Research limitations and implications for practice and future research are discussed

Safety and clinical outcomes of abiraterone acetate (aa) after docetaxel (doc) in octogenarians with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mcrpc)

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Influenza Virus Respiratory Infection and Transmission Following Ocular Inoculation in Ferrets

While influenza viruses are a common respiratory pathogen, sporadic reports of conjunctivitis following human infection demonstrates the ability of this virus to cause disease outside of the respiratory tract. The ocular surface represents both a potential site of virus replication and a portal of entry for establishment of a respiratory infection. However, the properties which govern ocular tropism of influenza viruses, the mechanisms of virus spread from ocular to respiratory tissue, and the potential differences in respiratory disease initiated from different exposure routes are poorly understood. Here, we established a ferret model of ocular inoculation to explore the development of virus pathogenicity and transmissibility following influenza virus exposure by the ocular route. We found that multiple subtypes of human and avian influenza viruses mounted a productive virus infection in the upper respiratory tract of ferrets following ocular inoculation, and were additionally detected in ocular tissue during the acute phase of infection. H5N1 viruses maintained their ability for systemic spread and lethal infection following inoculation by the ocular route. Replication-independent deposition of virus inoculum from ocular to respiratory tissue was limited to the nares and upper trachea, unlike traditional intranasal inoculation which results in virus deposition in both upper and lower respiratory tract tissues. Despite high titers of replicating transmissible seasonal viruses in the upper respiratory tract of ferrets inoculated by the ocular route, virus transmissibility to naïve contacts by respiratory droplets was reduced following ocular inoculation. These data improve our understanding of the mechanisms of virus spread following ocular exposure and highlight differences in the establishment of respiratory disease and virus transmissibility following use of different inoculation volumes and routes

Exploring the cultural dimensions of environmental victimization

It has become increasingly clear in recent years that our understanding of ‘victimisation’ is informed by a whole range of societal and political factors which extend well beyond whatever particular form of words appears in any given directive, code or legislative instrument concerning crime, crime victims or criminal justice systems. In this paper, I will seek for the first time to apply recent developments in our understanding of so-called 'cultural victimology' to the issue of environmental harm and its impact on human and non-human animals. McCGarry and Waklate (2015) characterise cultural victimology as broadly comprising of two key aspects. These are the wider sharing and reflection of individual and collective victimisation experiences on the one hand and, on the other, the mapping of those experiences through the criminal justice process. In this discussion I will examine how environmental victimisation is viewed by and presented to society at large and will argue that such representations often fail, as a form of testimony, to adequately convey the traumas involved. Nor is this achieved through the application of present models of criminal, civil or administrative justice regimes in many jurisdictions. This lack of cultural acknowledgement of the harms vested on environmental victims, it is argued, afford us a clearer understand of the continued reticence amongst lawmakers, politicians and legal practitioners to adequately address the impacts of such victimisation through effective justice or regulatory mechanisms. This is unfortunate given that the often collective nature of environmental victimisation makes this particularly suited to a more cultural analysis and understanding. It is argued that various forms of environmental mediation processes might hold the key to this cultural reticence to accept environmental harm as a 'real' and pressing problem as compared to other criminal and civil justice concerns

Fungal iron availability during deep seated candidiasis is defined by a complex interplay involving systemic and local events

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Heme Oxygenase Isoforms Differ in Their Subcellular Trafficking during Hypoxia and Are Differentially Modulated by Cytochrome P450 Reductase

Heme oxygenase (HO) degrades heme in concert with NADPH cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) which donates electrons to the reaction. Earlier studies reveal the importance of the hydrophobic carboxy-terminus of HO-1 for anchorage to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) which facilitates the interaction with CPR. In addition, HO-1 has been shown to undergo regulated intramembrane proteolysis of the carboxy-terminus during hypoxia and subsequent translocation to the nucleus. Translocated nuclear HO-1 was demonstrated to alter binding of transcription factors and to alter gene expression. Little is known about the homologous membrane anchor of the HO-2 isoform. The current work is the first systematic analysis in a eukaryotic system that demonstrates the crucial role of the membrane anchor of HO-2 for localization at the endoplasmic reticulum, oligomerization and interaction with CPR. We show that although the carboxy-terminal deletion mutant of HO-2 is found in the nucleus, translocation of HO-2 to the nucleus does not occur under conditions of hypoxia. Thus, we demonstrate that proteolytic regulation and nuclear translocation under hypoxic conditions is specific for HO-1. In addition we show for the first time that CPR prevents this translocation and promotes oligomerization of HO-1. Based on these findings, CPR may modulate gene expression via the amount of nuclear HO-1. This is of particular relevance as CPR is a highly polymorphic gene and deficiency syndromes of CPR have been described in humans