Confronto di metodologie per l'identificazione della tubercolosi latente e attiva

Tuberculosis (TB), together with HIV and Malaria, represents one of the three infectious diseases world-wide. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that one third of the world’s population is infected with Mtb. Only 10%, of the exposed individuals, will develop active tuberculosis disease within 2 years post-exposure, while the remaining 90% of infected subjects contain infection for the duration of their lifetime. Existing diagnostic tools and therapeutic interventions for TB are suboptimal. Thus, new vaccines, immunotherapeutic interventions and new diagnostic tools, that are able to discriminate individuals with LTBI from those with active TB disease, are required to facilitate TB control efforts. The Tuberculin skin test (TST) is one of the few tests that have been used for about 100 years for the diagnosis of Mtb infection. However, the TST also has limitations such as: the reduced sensitivity and specificity and the inability to distinguish latently infected individuals from patients with active TB. Due to the limitations of TST, new in- vitro assays have been developed. These assays measure interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production upon Mtb specific antigen stimulation (IGRAs) and they are more sensitive and specific than TST. However, these assays do not discriminate between active TB and LTBI. Therefore, a possible contribution to discriminate these different TB stages could be envisaged in a more accurate definition of the immunological response of Mtb infection to understand which components of the host immune response or which tubercular antigens could be used to discriminate between two infection stages. It is very important as it could allow to develop new diagnostic tools, resulting in greater control of TB

Tuberculosis in Sardinia: An investigation into the relationship between natives and immigrants

AbstractObjective/background: Tuberculosis (TB) has had a recrudescence in the last few decades in Italy as a result of many factors, among which migration from countries where TB is endemic is one of them. In Sardinia, a major island of Italy, there was no knowledge of the mechanisms of transmission of TB in the immigrant subpopulation and the impact it may have on the native subpopulation and on the community as a whole. Therefore, a molecular epidemiological study was carried out to get a clearer picture of the number and genetic features of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated from immigrants and from natives in Sardinia. Methods: Two groups of clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis, one collected from immigrants and the other one from Sardinians, were analyzed in this study. The genotyping was executed through the variable number tandem repeat-mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units technique and a first-line antimycobacterial drug-susceptibility test was also carried out. Results: Thirty-six clinical isolates from immigrants and 25 from Sardinians were analyzed. Variable number tandem repeat-mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units technique showed that all of them belonged to different strains and there was a quite high allelic diversity among them. Moreover, data collected allowed the finding of, with a good approximation, the phylogenetic relations among the strains isolated and the best-known phylogenetic groups. Conclusion: The study pointed out that since every strain is different, there was no TB transmission in any of the subpopulations and between immigrants and natives. This showed that the presence of immigrants was not a risk factor for contracting TB in the community

Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Properties of the Essential Oil of Myrtus communis L. against Clinical Strains of Mycobacterium spp.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the etiological agent of tuberculosis. The World Health Organization has estimated that 8 million of people develop active TB every year and the situation is complicated by an increase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains resistant to drugs used in antitubercular therapy: MDR and XDR-TB. Myrtle leaf extracts, used as an antiseptic in Sardinian traditional medicine, have strong antibacterial activity as several investigations showed. In this study we investigated the antimicrobial properties of the essential oil of Myrtus communis against clinical strains of M. tuberculosis and M. paratuberculosis

Epidemic of tuberculosis in a high school in Northern Sardinia

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission among high school student and teacher populations in a high school in Northern Sardinia. Tuberculin skin-test screening, chest-X-rays, QuantiFERON-TB Gold, microbiological examination, spoligotyping and variable numbers of tandem repeats (VNTR) analysis of M. tuberculosis isolates were performed. This study indicates the effectiveness of the epidemiological investigation

Comparison of two molecular methods for diagnosis of <i>Chlamydia trachomatis</i>

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular microorganism responsible for several diseases. It is considered the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 92 million new cases of C. trachomatis occur globally every year. An estimated 3 to 4 million new cases are diagnosed every year in the United States, 5 million in Western Europe, and 16 million in sub-Saharan Africa. According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 75% of new cases in the United States are diagnosed in asymptomatic women. The sequelae of chlamydial infection in women are severe and can lead to serious complications, including pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, infertility, and chronic pelvic pain. Chlamydial genital infections have also been reported to increase human immunodeficiency virus transmission and influence the development of human papillomavirus-induced adenocarcinoma. In addition, pregnant women infected with C. trachomatis put their children at risk for conjunctivitis and pneumonitis through mother-to-child transmission. In men C. trachomatis is associated with non-gonococcal urethritis and epididymitis. In the male high-risk group, 50% are asymptomatic with mild symptoms. Today, sexually transmitted diseases are major and ever-expanding public health and social problems because of an increased rate of C. trachomatis infection in both the female and male population within the sexually active 20- to 30-year-old group . Several hypotheses may explain the rise of chlamydial infections, including changes in sexual behavior and insufficient knowledge of sexual life and sexual health. Moreover, the use of more sensitive tests may contribute to the rising rates. In Northern Sardinia as well, the problem is rising among young people. For this reason, screening programs must be implemented to prevent morbidity. Furthermore, a rapid diagnosis of the microorganism is essential to reduce the transmission of infection, most of all in young people.</br

Evaluation of the antimicrobial properties of the essential oil of <i>Myrtus communis L.</i> against clinical strains of <i>Mycobacterium spp.</i>

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the etiological agent of tuberculosis. The World Health Organization has estimated that 8 million of people develop active TB every year and the situation is complicated by an increase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains resistant to drugs used in antitubercular therapy: MDR and XDR-TB. Myrtle leaf extracts, used as an antiseptic in Sardinian traditional medicine, have strong antibacterial activity as several investigations showed. In this study we investigated the antimicrobial properties of the essential oil of Myrtus communis against clinical strains of M. tuberculosis and M. paratuberculosis

Lire la ville de Jacques Poulin avec l'œil d'Italo Calvino

Composée jusqu à présent de douze romans écrits entre 1967 et 2009, l œuvre de Jacques Poulin entretient avec la ville de Québec une relation tout à fait particulière. Or, ce n est pas la ville tout entière qui intéresse cet auteur québécois, mais le quartier historique du Vieux-Québec. Dans cet univers, protégé par les remparts de la ville et par le fleuve Saint-Laurent, un personnage-type poulinien se promène, traverse la ville, en sort quelquefois en répondant tantôt à l appel de l ouest, du côté de l Amérique, tantôt à l appel de l est, vers les origines françaises mais toujours pour y revenir. Nous allons étudier la relation qui s instaure entre la ville et le personnage qui la traverse. Cette ville, qui n est jamais décrite au sens propre du terme, reste pourtant reconnaissable pour le lecteur poulinien. Afin d explorer comment se construit son image, Les Villes invisibles d Italo Calvino s avèrent une clé précieuse. À travers l œil de cet auteur italien, nous allons prêter attention au dialogue qui se noue entre lecteur et narrateur dans la création de la ville littéraire. Les nombreux mouvements d entrée et de sortie, la présence d un parcours cyclique permettent de repérer une certaine analogie de la ville avec l œuvre. En essayant de repérer les enjeux qui travaillent l espace de la ville, nous nous proposons de mettre en évidence la poétique dont le Vieux-Québec est chargé dans l œuvre de Jacques Poulin et d analyser la quête identitaire, collective et personnelle, qui s y joue, mais pour laquelle il est tout aussi bien un répondant symbolique.Composed till now of twelve novels written between 1967 and 2009, the work of Jacques Poulin maintains a very special relationship with Quebec City. Yet this Quebecois author is not interested in the entire city, but rather the historic quarter of Old Quebec. In this world, protected by the city s ramparts and the St. Lawrence River, a Poulinian character type wanders through the city, leaving occasionally sometimes in response to the call of the West, from America, sometimes to the call of the East, from his French origins but always returning.This thesis will study the relationship established between the city and the character who passes through it. The city, which is never described in the true sense of the term, is nevertheless recognizable for the Poulinian reader. In order to explore how its image is built, Italo Calvino s Invisible Cities will prove to be a valuable key. Through the eyes of this Italian author, this thesis will pay special attention to the dialogue that develops between reader and narrator in the creation of the literary city. The numerous comings and goings and the presence of a cyclical path allow the reader to notice a certain analogy between the city and the work. By attempting to identify the issues at work towards building the city s space, this thesis proposes to bring to light the poetics of Old Quebec abundant in Jacques Poulin s work and to analyze the search for identity, collective and personal, which is at play, but for which he is just as much a symbolic respondant.PARIS4-Bib. électronique (751059905) / SudocSudocFranceF

La Francophonie et l'Europe

L’Europe et la Francophonie sont deux réalités historiques, politiques et conceptuelles, qui révèlent des liens intéressants et des analogies étonnantes ainsi que des enjeux similaires pour l’avenir. La réflexion sur l’une ou l’autre de ces deux réalités nous apprend à mieux concevoir l’altérité dans ses expressions renouvelées. Partant de cette hypothèse, ce volume rassemble les textes de sept spécialistes rodés à la réflexion sur la notion de «francophonie», et plus spécifiquement au dialogue entre une langue européenne mondialement diffusée et le continent européen

Antimycotic activity of Myrtus communis L. towards Candida spp. from isolates.

This item has no abstact. Follow the link below to access the full text