Editorial: Infection, inflammation, and neurodegeneration: A critical path to Alzheimer\u27s disease, Volume II.

No abstract availabl

The Undoing Effect of Positive Emotions

Positive emotions are hypothesized to undo the cardiovascular aftereffects of negative emotions. Study 1 tests this undoing effect. Participants (n = 170) experiencing anxiety-induced cardiovascular reactivity viewed a film that elicited (a) contentment, (b) amusement, (c) neutrality, or (d) sadness. Contentment-eliciting and amusing films produced faster cardiovascular recovery than neutral or sad films did. Participants in Study 2 (n = 185) viewed these same films following a neutral state. Results disconfirm the alternative explanation that the undoing effect reflects a simple replacement process. Findings are contextualized by Fredrickson's broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (B. L. Fredrickson, 1998).Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45369/1/11031_2004_Article_292902.pd

Relationship between herpes simplex virus-1-specific antibody titers and cortical brain damage in Alzheimer's disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment

This work was supported by 2012–2014 Ricerca Corrente (Italian Ministry of Health).Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a multifactorial disease with a still barely understood etiology. Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) has long been suspected to play a role in the pathogenesis of AD because of its neurotropism, high rate of infection in the general population, and life-long persistence in neuronal cells, particularly in the same brain regions that are usually altered in AD. The goal of this study was to evaluate HSV-1-specific humoral immune responses in patients with a diagnosis of either AD or amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and to verify the possible relation between HSV-1-specific antibody (Ab) titers and cortical damage; results were compared to those obtained in a group of healthy controls (HC). HSV-1 serum IgG titers were measured in 225 subjects (83 AD, 68 aMCI, and 74 HC). HSV-specific Ab avidity and cortical gray matter volumes analyzed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were evaluated as well in a subgroup of these individuals (44 AD, 23 aMCI, and 26 HC). Results showed that, whereas HSV-1 seroprevalence and IgG avidity were comparable in the three groups, increased Ab titers (p < 0.001) were detected in AD and aMCI compared to HC. Positive significant correlations were detected in AD patients alone between HSV-1 IgG titers and cortical volumes in orbitofrontal (region of interest, ROI1 RSp0.56; p = 0.0001) and bilateral temporal cortices (ROI2 RSp0.57; p < 0.0001; ROI3 RSp0.48; p = 0.001); no correlations could be detected between IgG avidity and MRI parameters. Results herein suggest that a strong HSV-1-specific humoral response could be protective toward AD-associated cortical damage.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

dj 1 is a reliable serum biomarker for discriminating high risk endometrial cancer

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Human growth hormone enhances progesterone production by human luteal cells in vitro. II. Evidence of a distinct effect on two luteal cell types

OBJECTIVE: To examine the differential effect of human GH (hGH) on basal and hCG-stimulated production by cultured small and large human luteal cells. DESIGN: Distinct cultures of small and large luteal cells from early and midluteal phase. SETTING: All corpora lutea were obtained from the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of the Catholic University, a public care center in Rome, Italy. PATIENTS, PARTICIPANTS: Ten nonpregnant women between 31 and 43 years of age underwent surgery for various nonendocrine disorders such as leiomyomatosis. INTERVENTIONS: Corpora lutea were obtained at the time of hysterectomy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Small and large luteal cells were incubated with or without hCG and/or hGH at different concentrations. RESULTS: Human GH neither at 250 nor at 500 micrograms/L increased basal P production by small luteal cells, whereas from 1,000 micrograms/L, P concentration in media was significantly increased. The concomitant treatment with ineffective doses of hCG (30 and 60 IU/L) and hGH (250 and 500 micrograms/L) enhanced P production to that obtained with the highest doses of hGH (1,000 micrograms/L or more) or hCG (125 to 250 IU/L) alone. Human GH addition did not change the amount of P release by large luteal cells at any concentration. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate a distinct and differential effect of hGH on in vitro luteal steroidogenesis by the two luteal cell type

Changes in fatty acids sebum composition during human menstrual cycle: possible relationships with fertile period

Changes in fatty acids sebum composition during human menstrual cycle: possible relationships with fertile perio

A deep learning approach for Spatio-Temporal forecasting of new cases and new hospital admissions of COVID-19 spread in Reggio Emilia, Northern Italy

Since February 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic has rapidly spread throughout Italy. Some studies showed an association of environmental factors, such as PM10, PM2.5, NO2, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, solar radiation and mobility with the spread of the epidemic. In this work, we aimed to predict via Deep Learning the real-time transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the province of Reggio Emilia, Northern Italy, in a grid with a small resolution (12&nbsp;km&nbsp;×&nbsp;12&nbsp;km), including satellite information

Human growth hormone enhances progesterone production by human luteal cells in vitro: evidence of a synergistic effect with human chorionic gonadotropin

OBJECTIVE: To examine the possible direct effect of human growth hormone (hGH) on basal and human chorionic gonadodotropin (hCG)-stimulated progesterone (P) production by cultured human luteal cells. DESIGN: Cultures of human luteal cells from early and midluteal phase. SETTING: All corpora lutea were obtained from the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of the Catholic University, a public care center. PATIENTS, PARTICIPANTS: Twelve nonpregnant women between 35 and 47 years of age underwent surgery for various nonendocrine disorders such as leiomyomatosis. INTERVENTIONS: Corpora lutea were obtained at the time of hysterectomy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Luteal cells were incubated with or without hCG and/or hGH at different concentrations. RESULTS: Human growth hormone neither at 250 nor at 500 ng/mL increased basal P production, whereas from 1,000 ng/mL P concentration in media was significantly increased (P less than 0.05). The concomitant treatment with uneffective doses of hCG (6 and 12 ng/mL) and hGH (250 and 500 ng/mL) enhanced P production similarly to that obtained with the highest doses of hGH (1,000 ng/mL or more) or hCG (25 to 50 ng/mL) alone. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate a direct effect of hGH on the luteal steroidogenesis in vitr