Hepatitis C virus and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas: Meta-analysis of epidemiology data and therapy options.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global health problem affecting a large fraction of the world\u2019s population: This virus is able to determine both hepatic and extrahepatic diseases. Mixed cryoglobulinemia, a B-cell \u201cbenign\u201d lymphoproliferative disorders, represents the most closely related as well as the most investigated HCV-related extrahepatic disorder. Since this virus is able to determine extrahepatic [non-Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma (NHL)] as well as hepatic malignancies (hepatocellular carcinoma), HCV has been included among human cancer viruses. The most common histological types of HCV-associated NHL are the marginal zone, the lymphoplasmacytic and diffuse large cell lymphomas. The role of the HCV in the pathogenesis of the B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders is confirmed also by the responsiveness of the NHL to antiviral therapy. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the recent literature and a meta analysis of the epidemiology data, to explain the role of HCV in the development of NHL\u2019s lymphoma. Furthermore, the possibility to treat these HCV-related NHL with the antiviral therapy or with other therapeutic options, like chemotherapy, is also discussed

Hepatitis B virus-infection related cryoglobulinemic vasculitis. Clinical manifestations and the effect of antiviral therapy: A review of the literature

Objective: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection causes chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Furthermore, about 20% of the patients develop extrahepatic manifestations such as cryoglobulinemic vasculitis (CV), polyarteritis nodosa, non-rheumatoid arthritis, glomerulonephritis and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This review analyzed literature data on clinical manifestations of HBV-related CV and the impact of antiviral therapy with analoques nucleotide. Methods: A PubMed search was performed to select eligible studies in the literature, up to July 2022. Results: Some studies have analyzed clinical manifestations in HBV-related CV and have investigated the role of antiviral therapy with nucleotides analogues (NAs). Clinical manifestations of CV vary from mild to moderate (purpura, asthenia and arthralgias) to severe (leg ulcers, peripheral neuropathy, glomerulonephritis, and non-Hodking lymphoma). NAs therapy leads to suppression of HBV-DNA; therefore, it is capable of producing clinical response in the majority of patients with mild to moderate symptoms. Conclusion: Antiviral therapy with NAs is the first choice for HBV suppression and control of mild to moderate disease. In severe vasculitis (glomerulonephritis, progressive peripheral neuropathy and leg ulcers), rituximab alone or with plasma-exchange is always indicated in combination with antiviral therapy

Liquid-Phase Exfoliation of Graphite into Single- and Few-Layer Graphene with α-Functionalized Alkanes.

Graphene has unique physical and chemical properties, making it appealing for a number of applications in optoelectronics, sensing, photonics, composites, and smart coatings, just to cite a few. These require the development of production processes that are inexpensive and up-scalable. These criteria are met in liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE), a technique that can be enhanced when specific organic molecules are used. Here we report the exfoliation of graphite in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone, in the presence of heneicosane linear alkanes terminated with different head groups. These molecules act as stabilizing agents during exfoliation. The efficiency of the exfoliation in terms of the concentration of exfoliated single- and few-layer graphene flakes depends on the functional head group determining the strength of the molecular dimerization through dipole-dipole interactions. A thermodynamic analysis is carried out to interpret the impact of the termination group of the alkyl chain on the exfoliation yield. This combines molecular dynamics and molecular mechanics to rationalize the role of functionalized alkanes in the dispersion and stabilization process, which is ultimately attributed to a synergistic effect of the interactions between the molecules, graphene, and the solvent.We acknowledge funding from the European Commission through the Graphene Flagship, the FET project UPGRADE (GA-309056), the Agence Nationale de la Recherche through the LabEx project Nanostructures in Interaction with their Environment (ANR-11-LABX-0058_NIE), the International Center for Frontier Research in Chemistry (icFRC), the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS-FRFC), the ERC synergy grant Hetero2D, ERC PoC HiGRAPHINK, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council grants EP/K01711X/1, EP/K017144/1, and EP/L016087/1.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Chemical Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b0126

Thermal enhancement of the antiferromagnetic exchange coupling between Fe epilayers separated by a crystalline ZnSe spacer

We have put into evidence the existence of an antiferromagnetic coupling between iron epilayers separated by a ZnSe crystalline semiconductor. The effect has been observed for ZnSe spacers thinner than 4 nm at room-temperature. The coupling constant increases linearly with temperature with a constant slope of ~5.5x 10-9 J/m2K. The mechanisms that may explain such exchange interaction are discussed in the manuscript. It results that thermally-induced effective exchange coupling mediated by spin-dependent on and off resonant tunnelling of electrons via localized mid-gap defect states in the ZnSe spacer layer appears to be the most plausible mechanism to induce the antiferromagnetic coupling.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figure

El club social: participar para registrar, representar para contar

El proyecto de extensión "El club social: Participar para registrar, representar para contar" se propone acercar la comunidad barrial a los clubes sociales, con el fin de propiciar la reconstrucción de la historia de aquellas instituciones culturales y deportivas que nacieron del sueño de un puñado de vecinos y fueron creciendo sumando objetivos e ideales en común. Los resultados que hemos obtenido en los proyectos de investigación desde el año 2006, nos llevan a afirmar que existe una carencia relacionada con la historia de los clubes y que en la actualidad los vecinos no participan en ellos como antaño. La propuesta concreta es la realización de un documental social y la puesta en escena de una obra de teatro comunitario. Actividades que nos permitirán conocer, narrar y difundir la vida de dos instituciones históricas de la ciudad de La Plata tales como, la Asociación Claridad y el club Everton.Facultad de Periodismo y Comunicación Socia

Management of mixed cryoglobulinemia with rituximab: evidence and consensus-based recommendations from the Italian Study Group of Cryoglobulinemia (GISC)

Cryoglobulinemic vasculitis (CV) or mixed cryoglobulinemic syndrome (MCS) is a systemic small-vessel vasculitis characterized by the proliferation of B-cell clones producing pathogenic immune complexes, called cryoglobulins. It is often secondary to hepatitis C virus (HCV), autoimmune diseases, and hematological malignancies. CV usually has a mild benign clinical course, but severe organ damage and life-threatening manifestations can occur. Recently, evidence in favor of rituximab (RTX), an anti-CD 20 monoclonal antibody, is emerging in CV: nevertheless, questions upon the safety of this therapeutic approach, especially in HCV patients, are still being issued and universally accepted recommendations that can help physicians in MCS treatment are lacking. A Consensus Committee provided a prioritized list of research questions to perform a systematic literature review (SLR). A search was made in Medline, Embase, and Cochrane library, updated to August 2021. Of 1227 article abstracts evaluated, 27 studies were included in the SLR, of which one SLR, 4 RCTs, and 22 observational studies. Seventeen recommendations for the management of mixed cryoglobulinemia with rituximab from the Italian Study Group of Cryoglobulinemia (GISC) were developed to give a valuable tool to the physician approaching RTX treatment in CV

Triceps Surae Short Latency Stretch Reflexes Contribute to Ankle Stiffness Regulation during Human Running

During human running, short latency stretch reflexes (SLRs) are elicited in the triceps surae muscles, but the function of these responses is still a matter of controversy. As the SLR is primarily mediated by Ia afferent nerve fibres, various methods have been used to examine SLR function by selectively blocking the Ia pathway in seated, standing and walking paradigms, but stretch reflex function has not been examined in detail during running. The purpose of this study was to examine triceps surae SLR function at different running speeds using Achilles tendon vibration to modify SLR size. Ten healthy participants ran on an instrumented treadmill at speeds between 7 and 15 km/h under 2 Achilles tendon vibration conditions: no vibration and 90 Hz vibration. Surface EMG from the triceps surae and tibialis anterior muscles, and 3D lower limb kinematics and ground reaction forces were simultaneously collected. In response to vibration, the SLR was depressed in the triceps surae muscles at all speeds. This coincided with short-lasting yielding at the ankle joint at speeds between 7 and 12 km/h, suggesting that the SLR contributes to muscle stiffness regulation by minimising ankle yielding during the early contact phase of running. Furthermore, at the fastest speed of 15 km/h, the SLR was still depressed by vibration in all muscles but yielding was no longer evident. This finding suggests that the SLR has greater functional importance at slow to intermediate running speeds than at faster speeds