Paolo Mengozzi; Mohammed Bedjaoui: actos de investidura

Discursos del Acto de investidura como Doctor Honoris Causa del profesor Dr. Paolo Mengozzi en la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid el 23 de enero de 1998 y del profesor Dr. Mohammed Bedjaoui el 27 de enero de 2000.Prefacio / Fernando M. Mariño Menéndez .-- Acto de investidura como Doctor Honoris Causa del profesor Dr. Paolo Mengozzi (23 de enero de 1998).-- Laudatio de Don Paolo Mengozzi por el Dr. Fernando M. Mariño Menéndez.-- Lección magistral de investidura del nuevo Doctor Honoris Causa Don Paolo Mengozzi.-- Discurso del Excmo. Sr. Rector Magnífico de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.-- Acto de investidura como Doctor Honoris Causa del profesor Dr. Mohammed Bedjaoui (27 de enero de 2000).-- Laudatio de Don Mohammed Bedjaoui por el Dr. Fernando M. Mariño Menéndez.-- Lección magistral de investidura del nuevo Doctor Honoris Causa Don Mohammed Bedjaoui

La verità visibile nella natura e nella scrittura. Sul baco da seta di Khamis bar Qardahe (fine del XIII secolo)

Khamis bar Qardaḥe was an East Syrian author active in the last decades of the 13th century, probably a representative member of the East-Syrian community at the court camp of the Il-Khans, and somehow connected with the town of Arbela. In the present article, his poetic work is presented in the broader context of the so-called ‘Syriac Renaissance’, as an example of late East-Syriac literature profoundly influenced by Persian poetry. The poem On the Silk-Worm is here critically edited and translated for the first time into a European language. Its complicated imagery turns out to be an interesting mélange of philosophical concepts, meta-literary reflection – poetry as a way to knowledge and salvation –, Christian themes – including the virginal conception of Mary –, and Persian, possibly Sufic, motifs. The monorhyme poem is rich with sound figures such as alliteration and etymological play

Endogenous erythropoietin as part of the cytokine network in the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Erythropoietin (EPO) is of great interest as a therapy for many of the central nervous system (CNS) diseases and its administration is protective in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Endogenous EPO is induced by hypoxic/ischemic injury, but little is known about its expression in other CNS diseases. We report here that EPO expression in the spinal cord is induced in mouse models of chronic or relapsing-remitting EAE, and is prominently localized to motoneurons. We found a parallel increase of hypoxia-inducible transcription factor (HIF)-1 alpha, but not HIF-2 alpha, at the mRNA level, suggesting a possible role of non-hypoxic factors in EPO induction. EPO mRNA in the spinal cord was co-expressed with interferon (IFN)-gamma and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and these cytokines inhibited EPO production in vitro in both neuronal and glial cells. Given the known inhibitory effect of EPO on neuroinflammation, our study indicates that EPO should be viewed as part of the inflammatory/anti-inflammatory network in MS

Glucocorticoid remediable aldosteronism: low morbidity and mortality in a four-generation italian pedigree.

Glucocorticoid remediable hyperaldosteronism (GRA) is a monogenic form of inherited hypertension caused by a chimeric gene originating from an unequal cross-over between the 11 beta-hydroxylase (CYP11B1) and aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2) genes. GRA is characterized by high plasma levels of aldosterone (regulated by ACTH) with suppressed plasma renin activity and the production of two rare steroids, 18hydroxycortisol and 18oxocortisol. Affected patients usually show severe hypertension and an elevated frequency of stroke at a young age. Affected women have a high risk of developing preeclampsia during pregnancy. Here, we describe a 5-generation pedigree from Sardinia in which the presence of the chimeric gene is demonstrated in 4 generations. This family displays a mild phenotype with average blood pressure levels of 131/86 mm Hg for GRA+ patients. The occurrence of stroke is very low, and preeclampsia was not observed in 29 pregnancies from 8 GRA+ mothers. We investigated whether the cross-over site (between the CYP11B1 and CYP11B2 genes) or biochemical characteristics could explain this phenotype. The cross-over site was located at the end of intron 3, in the same region as described in other families. We found a significant correlation between blood pressure and 18hydroxycortisol, 18oxocortisol, and plasma aldosterone levels, but not with kallikrein. However, none of the biochemical or genetic parameters investigated could explain the mild phenotype of the family

Prognostic Value of Mid-Regional Proadrenomedullin Sampled at Presentation and after 72 Hours in Septic Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department: An Observational Two-Center Study

The prognostic value of mid-regional proADM (MR-proADM) in septic patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) is not well established. In this prospective observational study enrolling septic patients evaluated in two EDs, MR-proADM was measured at arrival (t0) and after 72 h (t72). MR-proADM(%change) was calculated as follows: (MR-proADM(t72h) − MR-proADM(t0))/MR-proADM(t0). In total, 147 patients were included in the study, including 109 with a final diagnosis of sepsis and 38 with septic shock, according to the Sepsis-3 criteria. The overall 28-day mortality (outcome) rate was 12.9%. The AUC for outcome prognostication was 0.66 (95% CI 0.51–0.80) for MR-proADM(t0), 0.77 (95% CI 0.63–0.92) for MR-proADM(t72) and 0.74 (95% CI 0.64–0.84) for MR-proADM(%change). MR-proADM(t0) ≥ 2.78 nmol/L, MR-proADM(t72) ≥ 2.7 nmol/L and MR-proADM(%change) ≥ −15.2% showed statistically significant log-rank test results and sensitivity/specificity of 81/65%, 69/80% and 75/70% respectively. In regression analysis, MR-proADM(%change) was a significant outcome predictor both in univariate and multivariate analysis, after adjustment for age, SOFA and APACHEII scores, providing up to 80% of added prognostic value. In conclusion, time trends of MR-proADM may provide additional insights for patient risk stratification over single sampling. MR-proADM levels sampled both at presentation and after 72 h predicted 28-day survival in septic patients presenting to the ED