260 research outputs found
Validation of a commercially available kit to detect anti-phosphatidylserine/prothrombin antibodies in a cohort of systemic lupus erythematosus patients.
Anti-prothrombin (aPT) and anti-phosphatidylserine/prothrombin (aPS/PT) antibodies and the risk of thrombosis in the antiphospholipid syndrome. A systematic review.
Correlation of Static Stress Changes and Earthquake Occurrence in
A systematic analysis is made of static Coulomb stress changes and
earthquake occurrence in the area of the North Aegean Sea, Greece, in order to assess the
prospect of using static stress changes to construct a regional earthquake likelihood
model. The earthquake data set comprises all events of magnitude M ≥ 5.2 which have
occurred since 1964. This is compared to the evolving stress field due to constant tectonic
loading and perturbations due to coseismic slip associated with major earthquakes (M ≥
6.4) over the same period. The stress was resolved for sixteen fault orientation classes,
covering the observed focal mechanisms of all earthquakes in the region. Analysis using
error diagrams shows that earthquake occurrence is better correlated with the constant
tectonic loading component of the stress field than with the total stress field changes since
1964, and that little, if any, information on earthquake occurrence is lost if only the
maximum of the tectonic loading over the fault orientation classes is considered.
Moreover, the information on earthquake occurrence is actually increased by taking the
maximum of the evolving stress field since 1964, and of its coseismic–slip component,
over the fault orientation classes. The maximum, over fault orientation classes, of linear
combinations of the tectonic loading and the evolving stress field is insignificantly better
correlated with earthquake occurrence than the maximum of the tectonic loading by itself.
A composite stress–change variable is constructed from ordering of the maximum
tectonic loading component and the maximum coseismic–slip component, in order to
optimize the correlation with earthquake occurrence. The results indicate that it would be
difficult to construct a time–varying earthquake likelihood model from the evolving stress
field that is more informative than a time–invariant model based on the constant tectonic
loading
Lithium and bipolar depression
Kelly1 has recently disputed the recommendations of several international guidelines on the use of lithium in bipolar depression. In his scrutiny, the author points to three main errors that seem to have affected systematically ten international guidelines, namely the Woozle effect (evidence by citation), reference inflation (inappropriate citation of pivotal, generally old, studies) and belief perseverance (inability to modify evidence‐based recommendations despite the presence of contrary data). We concur with the author that the evidence supporting the effectiveness of lithium in acute bipolar depression, and to a lesser degree also in major depressive episodes, remains inadequate.2, 3 A different matter is, in our opinion, to label guidelines recommendations as inaccurate or biased, even if, as the author stated, no deceptive intentions were present
Evidence of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) infection in human and pigs in Sardinia, Italy
Introduction. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence
of anti-HEV antibodies in humans sera and to study
HEV prevalence in swine from different Sardinian farms, testing
viral HEV-RNA in bile samples.
Methods. In the first six months of 2008, 532 subjects of whom
402 blood donors and 130 workers at zoonotic risk, were
enrolled. Anti-HEV were determined with an enzyme linked
immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In positive subjects, RNA was
extracted and tested by RT-Nested-PCR.
From July 2006 to March 2007, 95 bile samples were collected
from randomly selected pigs. RNA was extracted from 250 ?l of
bile and tested by RT-Nested-PCR.
Results. The overall prevalence of anti-HEV antibodies was
4.3%; 5.0% among blood donors and 2.3% among workers at
zoonotic risk, with no statistically significant differences between
sex, age classes and occupation. The search for HEV-RNA in the
subjects positive for antibodies, gave negative results.
HEV genome was detected in 6 of the 95 swine bile samples
tested. Sequences were clustered within the genotype 3 and are
edited on GenBank under accession number: from FJ850960 to
FJ850962 and from FJ883000 to FJ883002.
Discussion. The overall prevalence of anti-HEV shows that the
virus circulates without giving origin to cases of acute hepatitis.
The low prevalence value found in workers at zoonotic risk do
not apparently support the hypothesis of professional risk. In
this study, HEV-RNA was isolated from pigs in Sardinia for the
first time confirming the role of swine as HEV reservoir and the
possibility of virus transmission to humans
Clinical course and features of persistent polyclonal B-cell lymphocytosis with BCL-6 amplification during pregnancy
Background: Persistent polyclonal B-cell lymphocytosis is a rare nonmalignant disorder characterized by mild persistent lymphocyte proliferation with possible evolution to aggressive lymphoma. Its biology is not well known, but it is characterized by a specific immunophenotype with rearrangement of the BCL-2/IGH gene, whereas amplification of the BCL-6 gene has rarely been reported. Given the paucity of reports, it has been hypothesized that this disorder is associated with poor pregnancy outcomes. Case report: To our knowledge, only two successful pregnancies have been described in women with this condition. We report the third successful pregnancy in a patient with PPBL and the first with amplification of the BCL-6 gene. Conclusions: PPBL is still a poorly understood clinical condition with insufficient data to demonstrate an adverse effect on pregnancy. The role of BCL-6 dysregulation in the pathogenesis of PPBL and its prognostic significance are still unknown. Evolution into aggressive clonal lymphoproliferative disorders is possible and prolonged hematologic follow-up is warranted in patients with this rare clinical disorder
Chronic graft vs. host disease and hypogammaglobulinemia predict a lower immunological response to the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Due to the high mortality rate of COVID-19, the assessment of BNT162b2 SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) efficacy in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients is mandatory
TSPAN5 Enriched Microdomains Provide a Platform for Dendritic Spine Maturation through Neuroligin-1 Clustering
Tetraspanins are a class of evolutionarily conserved transmembrane proteins with 33 members identified in mammals that have the ability to organize specific membrane domains, named tetraspanin-enriched microdomains (TEMs). Despite the relative abundance of different tetraspanins in the CNS, few studies have explored their role at synapses. Here, we investigate the function of TSPAN5, a member of the tetraspanin superfamily for which mRNA transcripts are found at high levels in the mouse brain. We demonstrate that TSPAN5 is localized in dendritic spines of pyramidal excitatory neurons and that TSPAN5 knockdown induces a dramatic decrease in spine number because of defects in the spine maturation process. Moreover, we show that TSPAN5 interacts with the postsynaptic adhesion molecule neuroligin-1, promoting its correct surface clustering. We propose that membrane compartmentalization by tetraspanins represents an additional mechanism for regulating excitatory synapses
The U-shaped relationship between parental age and the risk of bipolar disorder in the offspring: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Parenthood age may affect the risk for the development of different psychiatric disorders in the offspring, including bipolar disorder (BD). The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to appraise the relationship between paternal age and risk for BD and to explore the eventual relationship between paternal age and age at onset of BD. We searched the MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, PsycINFO online databases for original studies from inception, up to December 2021. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted. Sixteen studies participated in the qualitative synthesis, of which k = 14 fetched quantitative data encompassing a total of 13,424,760 participants and 217,089 individuals with BD. Both fathers [adjusted for the age of other parent and socioeconomic status odd ratio – OR = 1.29(95%C.I. = 1.13–1.48)] and mothers aged ≤ 20 years [(OR = 1.23(95%C.I. = 1.14–1.33)] had consistently increased odds of BD diagnosis in their offspring compared to parents aged 25–29 years. Fathers aged ≥ 45 years [adjusted OR = 1.29 (95%C.I. = 1.15–1.46)] and mothers aged 35–39 years [OR = 1.10(95%C.I. = 1.01–1.19)] and 40 years or older [OR = 1.2(95% C.I. = 1.02–1.40)] likewise had inflated odds of BD diagnosis in their offspring compared to parents aged 25–29 years. Early and delayed parenthood are associated with an increased risk of BD in the offspring. Mechanisms underlying this association are largely unknown and may involve a complex interplay between psychosocial, genetic and biological factors, and with different impacts according to sex and age range. Evidence on the association between parental age and illness onset is still tentative but it points towards a possible specific effect of advanced paternal age on early BD-onset
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