High prevalence of anti-hepatitis e virus antibodies among blood donors in central Italy, february to march 2014

Prevalence of anti-hepatitis E virus (HEV) antibodies is highly variable in developed countries, which seems partly due to differences in assay sensitivity. Using validated sensitive assays, we tested 313 blood donors attending a hospital transfusion unit in central Italy in January and February 2014 for anti-HEV IgG and IgM and HEV RNA. Data on HEV exposure were collected from all donors. Overall anti-HEV IgG prevalence was 49% (153/313). Eating raw dried pig-liver sausage was the only independent predictor of HEV infection (adjusted prevalence rate ratio = 2.14; 95% confidence interval: 1.23–3.74). Three donors were positive for either anti-HEV IgM (n = 2; 0.6%) or HEV RNA (n = 2; 0.6%); they were completely asymptomatic, without alanine aminotransferase (ALT) abnormalities. Of the two HEV RNA-positive donors (both harbouring genotype 3), one was anti-HEV IgG- and IgM-positive, the other was anti-HEV IgG- and IgM-negative. The third donor was positive for anti-HEV IgG and IgM but HEV RNA-negative. HEV infection is therefore hyperendemic among blood donors (80% men 18–64 years-old) from central Italy and associated with local dietary habits. Nearly 1% of donors have acute or recent infection, implying potential transmission to blood recipients. Neither ALT nor anti-HEV IgM testing seems useful to prevent transfusion-transmitted HEV infection. © 2016, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

Cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy clusters: X-ray scaling relations and their evolution

We analyse cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy clusters to study the X-ray scaling relations between total masses and observable quantities such as X-ray luminosity, gas mass, X-ray temperature, and $Y_{X}$. Three sets of simulations are performed with an improved version of the smoothed particle hydrodynamics GADGET-3 code. These consider the following: non-radiative gas, star formation and stellar feedback, and the addition of feedback by active galactic nuclei (AGN). We select clusters with $M_{500} > 10^{14} M_{\odot} E(z)^{-1}$, mimicking the typical selection of Sunyaev-Zeldovich samples. This permits to have a mass range large enough to enable robust fitting of the relations even at $z \sim 2$. The results of the analysis show a general agreement with observations. The values of the slope of the mass-gas mass and mass-temperature relations at $z=2$ are 10 per cent lower with respect to $z=0$ due to the applied mass selection, in the former case, and to the effect of early merger in the latter. We investigate the impact of the slope variation on the study of the evolution of the normalization. We conclude that cosmological studies through scaling relations should be limited to the redshift range $z=0-1$, where we find that the slope, the scatter, and the covariance matrix of the relations are stable. The scaling between mass and $Y_X$ is confirmed to be the most robust relation, being almost independent of the gas physics. At higher redshifts, the scaling relations are sensitive to the inclusion of AGNs which influences low-mass systems. The detailed study of these objects will be crucial to evaluate the AGN effect on the ICM.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures, 5 tables, replaced to match accepted versio

Functional repair in massive immobile rotator cuff tears leads to satisfactory quality of living : results at 3-year follow-up

Purpose: The aim of this retrospective study was to report clinical results of a selective population undergone to arthroscopic functional repair of massive, contracted, immobile rotator cuff tears. Methods: From 2005 to 2009, 311 patients with rotator cuff tears were treated at our institution. Of them, 26 shoulders in 25 patients with a mean age of 64 years that presented a massive, contracted immobile tear repaired using an interval slide technique, were included in this study. Results: The mean postoperative follow-up period was 39 months (range 19-70 months). The mean postoperative disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (DASH) score and simple shoulder test (SST) score were, respectively, 20.91 and 8.8 (range DASH: 0.83-59.1; range SST: 2-12). Based on single assessment numeric evaluation score, the outcome of surgery was satisfactory with a mean of 76 % (range 0-100 %). The residual level of pain was low, as reported by a final mean visual analog scale score of 1.8 (range 0-8). The mean postoperative range of motion was 157.5 in forward elevation (range 90 -180) and 55.3 in extra rotation (range 0 -90). Eleven patients reached mid-back, in 7, the lower back and in 8 cases, upper back. Conclusion: Arthroscopic functional repair could be considered an appropriate treatment option in case of massive, contracted and immobile cuff tears. This treatment can provide improvement in pain and function that positively affects patients' quality of life without precluding other, more invasive, eventually consequent solutions

Superclusters of galaxies from the 2dF redshift survey. II. Comparison with simulations

We investigate properties of superclusters of galaxies found on the basis of the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, and compare them with properties of superclusters from the Millennium Simulation. We study the dependence of various characteristics of superclusters on their distance from the observer, on their total luminosity, and on their multiplicity. The multiplicity is defined by the number of Density Field (DF) clusters in superclusters. Using the multiplicity we divide superclusters into four richness classes: poor, medium, rich and extremely rich. We show that superclusters are asymmetrical and have multi-branching filamentary structure, with the degree of asymmetry and filamentarity being higher for the more luminous and richer superclusters. The comparison of real superclusters with Millennium superclusters shows that most properties of simulated superclusters agree very well with real data, the main differences being in the luminosity and multiplicity distributions.Comment: 15 pages, 13 Figures, submitted for Astronomy and Astrophysic

Il controllo del sanguinamento nella protesi totale di ginocchio

Total knee arthroplasty is associated with high blood loss and high incidence of blood transfusion. In order to reduce the bleeding after total knee replacement, several strategies have been used simultaneously, including surgical and medical techniques, technological devices and drugs. The synergistic use of the available methods may be a good solution for reducing blood loss and requests for autologous blood transfusion

A non-targeted metabolomics study on Xylella fastidiosa infected olive plants grown under controlled conditions

In the last decade, the bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa has devastated olive trees throughout Apulia region (Southern Italy) in the form of the disease called “Olive Quick Decline Syndrome” (OQDS). This study describes changes in the metabolic profile due to the infection by X. fastidiosa subsp. pauca ST53 in artificially inoculated young olive plants of the susceptible variety Cellina di Nardò. The test plants, grown in a thermo-conditioned greenhouse, were also co-inoculated with some xylem-inhabiting fungi known to largely occur in OQDS-affected trees, in order to partially reproduce field conditions in terms of biotic stress. The investigations were performed by combining NMR spectroscopy and MS spectrometry with a non-targeted approach for the analysis of leaf extracts. Statistical analysis revealed that Xylella-infected plants were characterized by higher amounts of malic acid, formic acid, mannitol, and sucrose than in Xylella-non-infected ones, whereas it revealed slightly lower amounts of oleuropein. Attention was paid to mannitol which may play a central role in sustaining the survival of the olive tree against bacterial infection. This study contributes to describe a set of metabolites playing a possible role as markers in the infections by X. fastidiosa in olive

Revision reverse shoulder arthroplasty in failed shoulder arthroplasties for rotator cuff deficiency

PURPOSE: the aim of this systematic literature review is to report clinical outcomes of reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) used as a revision surgery following failure of the primary implant due to rotator cuff insufficiency. METHODS: a systematic review was performed using the following key words: revision, shoulder, rotator cuff deficiency, outcome assessment, treatment outcome, complications. Studies eligible for inclusion in the review were clinical trials investigating patients in whom a primary shoulder arthroplasty implant with an incompetent rotator cuff was replaced with a reverse shoulder prosthesis. RESULTS: nine articles were identified and further reviewed. The results refer to a total of 226 shoulders that were treated with RSA as revision surgery. The patients in the studies had a mean age ranging from 64 to 72 years and the longest follow-up was 3.8 years. Improvements in function and reduction of pain were shown by many studies, but the mean Constant score ranged from 44.2 to 56. High complication rates (of up to 62%) were recorded, and a mean reoperation rate of 27.5%. CONCLUSIONS: RSA as revision surgery for patients with rotator cuff deficiency is a valid option, and often the only solution available, but it should be limited to elderly patients with poor function and severe pain. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: level IV, systematic review of level I-IV studies

Environmental Enhancement of DM Haloes

We study the properties of dark matter haloes of a LCDM model in different environments. Using the distance of the 5th nearest neighbour as an environmental density indicator, we show that haloes in a high density environment are more massive, richer, have larger radii and larger velocity dispersions than haloes in a low density environment. Haloes in high density regions move with larger velocities, and are more spherical than haloes in low density regions. In addition, low mass haloes in the vicinity of the most massive haloes are themselves more massive, larger, and have larger rms velocities and larger 3D velocities than low mass haloes far from massive haloes. The velocities of low mass haloes near massive haloes increase with the parent halo mass. Our results are in agreement with recent findings about environmental effects for groups and clusters of galaxies from deep (SDSS and LCRS) surveys.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, submitted for Astronomy and Astrophysic

Luminous superclusters: remnants from inflation

We derive the luminosity and multiplicity functions of superclusters compiled for the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (Data Release 4), and for three samples of simulated superclusters. We find for all supercluster samples Density Field (DF) clusters, which represent high-density peaks of the class of Abell clusters, and use median luminosities/masses of richness class 1 DF-clusters to calculate relative luminosity/mass functions. We show that the fraction of very luminous (massive) superclusters in real samples is more than tenfolds greater than in simulated samples. Superclusters are generated by large-scale density perturbations which evolve very slowly. The absence of very luminous superclusters in simulations can be explained either by non-proper treatment of large-scale perturbations, or by some yet unknown processes in the very early Universe.Comment: 6 pages, 3 Figures, submitted for Astronomy and Astrophysic