456 research outputs found
Determinants associated with obesity and physical activity in the public and private schools of the city of palermo
Introduction: Obesity is a medical condition associated with premature death and it is a risk factor for many chronic diseases. In this context, performing a regular physical activity promotes a healthy lifestyle, with significant health benefits. The aim of the study was to investigate behaviors that increase the risk of obesity and the determinants that encourage physical activity among adolescents. Materials and methods: The HBSC (Health Behavior in School-aged Children) questionnaire was administered to students in Palermo's private and public schools. For the sampling of public schools the protocol of the HBSC Surveillance System was followed; for the private ones it was opportunistic. Results: Private school students are more likely to exercise more than 3 days per week (OR 1.58) and are more likely to exercise more than 2 times a week (OR 2.08). Obese students in private schools in Palermo are more likely to perform physical activity for less than 3 days a week (OR 3.52) and a higher risk of not having breakfast (OR 10.11) and a snack between main meals (OR 3.82) every day. For all the schools examined, it emerged that obese subjects are more likely not to consume fruit (OR 3.13), to stay more than 6 hours a day in front of PCs and video games (OR 3.24) and more than 2 hours a day in front of TV (OR 3.79). Male students are more likely to perform physical activity for more than 3 days per week (OR 1.48) and intense physical activity at least 2 times per week (OR 1.76) Conclusions: It is necessary to intervene early with training on school and family in order to promote correct and responsible food choices and increase the level of physical activity among students. Therefore prevention interventions must be an integral part of coherent strategies based on tests of agreed effectiveness in order to minimize the risk linked to the development of diseases
Antimicrobial peptide human β-defensin-2 improves in vitro cellular viability and reduces pro-inflammatory effects induced by enteroinvasive Escherichia coli in Caco-2 cells by inhibiting invasion and virulence factors’ expression
Escherichia coli is one of the commensal species most represented in the intestinal microbiota. However, there are some strains that can acquire new virulence factors that enable them to adapt to new intestinal niches. These include enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) that is responsible for the bacillary dysentery that causes severe diarrheal symptoms in both children and adults. Due to the increasing onset of antibiotic resistance phenomena, scientific research is focused on the study of other therapeutic approaches for the treatment of bacterial infections. A promising alternative could be represented by antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), that have received widespread attention due to their broad antimicrobial spectrum and low incidence of bacterial resistance. AMPs modulate the immune defenses of the host and regulate the composition of microbiota and the renewal of the intestinal epithelium. With the aim to investigate an alternative therapeutic approach, especially in the case of antibiotic resistance, in this work we created a line of intestinal epithelial cells able to express high concentrations of AMP human β-defensin-2 (HBD-2) in order to test its ability to interfere with the pathogenicity mechanisms of EIEC. The results showed that HBD-2 is able to significantly reduce the expression of the proinflammatory cytokines by intestinal epithelial cells, the invasiveness ability of EIEC and the expression of invasion-associated genes
Evidence for complex order parameter in La_{1.83}Sr_{0.17}CuO_4
The in-plane magnetic field penetration depth (\lambda_{ab}) in
single-crystal La_{1.83}Sr_{0.17}CuO_4 was investigated by means of the
muon-spin rotation (\muSR) technique. The temperature dependence of
\lambda^{-2}_{ab} has an inflection point around 10-15K, suggesting the
presence of two superconducting gaps: a large gap (\Delta_1^d) with d-wave and
a small gap (\Delta_2^s) with s-wave symmetry. The zero-temperature values of
the gaps at \mu_0H=0.02T were found to be \Delta_1^d(0)=8.2(2)meV and
\Delta_2^s(0)=1.57(8)meV.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Muon-spin-rotation measurements of the penetration depth in Li_2Pd_3B
Measurements of the magnetic field penetration depth in the ternary
boride superconductor LiPdB ( K) have been carried out by
means of muon-spin rotation (SR). The absolute values of , the
Ginzburg-Landau parameter , and the first and the second
critical fields at T=0 obtained from SR were found to be
nm, , mT, and
T, respectively. The zero-temperature value of the
superconducting gap 1.31(3) meV was found, corresponding to the
ratio . At low temperatures saturates and
becomes constant below , in agreement with what is expected for
s-wave BCS superconductors. Our results suggest that LiPdB is a s-wave
BCS superconductor with the only one isotropic energy gap.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure
Comparative evaluation of synergy of combinations of \u3b2-lactams with fluoroquinolones or macrolides in Streptococcus pneumoniae
OBJECTIVES: Streptococcus pneumoniae has shown a great ability to develop
efficacious mechanisms of resistance to the main drugs for the treatment of
pneumonia, such as \u3b2-lactams, macrolides and fluoroquinolones. The present study
aimed to compare the antipneumococcal activity of combinations of respiratory
fluoroquinolones with cephalosporins (either parenteral or oral) or protected
penicillin versus the standard combinations (i.e. a macrolide with a protected
penicillin or cephalosporin) against 100 isolates with different susceptibilities
to macrolides and/or penicillin.
METHODS: Chequerboard assays for all isolates and time-kill curves for nine
isolates with different patterns of susceptibility were performed. Synergy
between antibiotics at serum peak concentrations was also determined.
RESULTS: The combination of levofloxacin with ceftriaxone produced the highest
rate of synergy (54/100), mainly against macrolide-resistant strains (22/30).
Antagonism was not observed for any tested combination apart from clarithromycin
with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (22/100 isolates). Although the killing
activities of all antibiotics improved when they were tested in combination,
synergy was observed only for some combinations after 12 and/or 24 h. Serum
concentrations were effective in inhibiting the growth of the tested strains.
CONCLUSIONS: Combinations of levofloxacin with parenteral cephalosporins were the
most active among all the tested combinations, while antagonism occurred when
clarithromycin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid were tested
Bacterial contamination of saline nasal irrigations in children: An original research
Microbiologic analysis of nasal saline irrigations (NSIs) used in hospitalized children was performed.
Of 253 collected samples, 24.9% were positive, and the number of positive samples significantly increased over time (P < .001). Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently detected bacterium (28.6%). None of the 118 patients who received NSIs developed a nasosinusal infection.
Colonization by cutaneous and environmental germs is frequent and develops early. Hygienic measures should be advocated to reduce contamination
investigation of the dgat1 k232a and vntr mutations in dairy and dual purpose cattle breeds
AbstractSeveral studies have reported that the centromeric end of bovine chromosome 14 harbours QTL for milk production and composition traits. The acyl-Coenzyme A:diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) gene was indicated to be the quantitative trait gene affecting these traits with a major effect on milk fat content. A two bp mutation in exon 8 causing a nonconservative lysine to alanine amino acid substitution at codon 232 (K232A) showed a confirmed effect across breeds with allele K resulting associated with an increase on fat yield, fat percentage and protein percentage while allele A was associated with higher milk yield. Another mutation in the 5' regulatory region of this gene, a variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) of 18 bp, was suggested to affect fat percentage. The objective of the present work was to investigate the occurrence of the DGAT1 K232A and VNTR polymorphisms in several Italian dairy and dual purpose cattle breeds as a first step to evaluate their effects on milk production trait..
Pressure effects on the transition temperature and the magnetic field penetration depth in the pyrochlore superconductor RbOs_2O_6
We report magnetization measurements under high hydrostatic pressure in the
newly discovered pyrochlore superconductor RbOs_2O_6 (T_c\simeq6.3K at p=0). A
pronounced and {\it positive} pressure effect (PE) on T_c with dT_c/dp
=0.090(1)K/kbar was observed, whereas no PE on the magnetic penetration depth
\lambda was detected. The relative pressure shift of T_c [ dlnT_c/dp \simeq
1.5%/kbar] is comparable with the highest values obtained for highly underdoped
high-temperature cuprate superconductors. Our results suggest that RbOs_2O_6 is
an adiabatic BCS-type superconductor.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Study of the magnetic penetration depth in RbOs_2O_6
Measurements of the magnetic field penetration depth \lambda in the
pyrochlore superconductor RbOs_2O_6 (T_c\simeq6.3 K) were carried out by means
of the muon-spin-rotation (\muSR) technique. At low temperatures
\lambda^{-2}(T) saturates and becomes constant below T\simeq 0.2T_c, in
agreement with what is expected for weak-coupled s-wave BCS superconductors.
The value of \lambda at T=0 was found to be in the range of 250 nm to 300 nm.
\muSR and equilibrium magnetization measurements both reveal that at low
temperatures is almost (at the level of 10%) independent of the
applied magnetic field. This result suggests that the superconducting energy
gap in RbOs_2O_6 is isotropic.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure
A new qualitative RT-PCR assay detecting SARS-CoV-2
The world is facing an exceptional pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. To allow the diagnosis of COVID-19 infections, several assays based on the real-time PCR technique have been proposed. The requests for diagnosis are such that it was immediately clear that the choice of the most suitable method for each microbiology laboratory had to be based, on the one hand, on the availability of materials, and on the other hand, on the personnel and training priorities for this activity. Unfortunately, due to high demand, the shortage of commercial diagnostic kits has also become a major problem. To overcome these critical issues, we have developed a new qualitative RT-PCR probe. Our system detects three genes—RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), envelope (E) and nucleocapsid (N)—and uses the β-actin gene as an endogenous internal control. The results from our assay are in complete agreement with the results obtained using a commercially available kit, except for two samples that did not pass the endogenous internal control. The coincidence rate was 0.96. The LoD of our assay was 140 cp/reaction for N and 14 cp/reaction for RdRp and E. Our kit was designed to be open, either for the nucleic acid extraction step or for the RT-PCR assay, and to be carried out on several instruments. Therefore, it is free from the industrial production logics of closed systems, and conversely, it is hypothetically available for distribution in large quantities to any microbiological laboratory. The kit is currently distributed worldwide (called MOLgen-COVID-19; Adaltis). A new version of the kit for detecting the S gene is also available
- …