Atypical multibacterial granulomatous myositis in a horse: First report in Italy

Infectious causes of myositis are reported relatively uncommonly in horses. Among them, bacterial causes include Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus, Actinobacillus equuli, Fusobacterium spp. Staphylococcus spp, and Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. Infection can be spread to muscles via haematogenous or extension from skin lesions. Parasitic myositis has also been documented. In this report, a 12 year-old Italian Quarter Horse mare presented with diffuse subcutaneous nodules and masses ranging from 2 × 3 to 5 × 20 cm in size, and adherent to subcutis and muscles that were first macroscopically and cytologically diagnosed as pyogranulomas. Subsequently, histological, molecular, bacteriological, and biochemical investigations were performed. All the data obtained allowed to diagnose a severe and diffuse multibacterial granulomatous myositis caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and Corynebacterium amycolatum. Following the therapy and an initial disappearance of most of the lesions together with a general improvement of the mare, the clinical condition deteriorated, and new nodules appeared. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) and PCR techniques revealed the presence of bacteria as Glutamicibacter creatinolyticus and Dietzia spp. To the authors’ knowledge, this case report represents the first description of multibacterial granulomatous myositis due to Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, Corynebacterium amycolatum, Glutamicibacter creatinolyticus, and Dietzia spp. in a horse reared in Italy

Intrathecally administered baclofen for treatment of children with spasticity of cerebral origin

Management of severe spasticity in children is often a difficult problem. Orally administered medications generally offer limited benefits. This study examines the value of intrathecally administered baclofen in the treatment of 19 children with severe spasticity of cerebral origin: eight of whom sustained brain injury associated with trauma, near drowning, or cardiac arrest; 10 with cerebral palsy (spastic quadriplegia); and one child with Leigh\u27s disease. At the time of entry into the study, patients ranged from 4 to 19 years of age, and all were completely dependent on caretakers for activities of daily living. Children who responded positively to a trial dose of intrathecal baclofen underwent insertion of a drug delivery system for continuous infusion. This was followed by a double-blind trial of baclofen or placebo and follow-up review at 3 and 6 months, and yearly thereafter. Seven children did not undergo pump implantation because of excess sedation or poor response. The 12 remaining children have been followed for a period of 1 to 5 years. Favorable responses were present in all 12 children as determined by the Ashworth Scale, with the greatest benefit being reduction of lower limb tone. Except in the case of one child who had reduction in lower limb tone that resulted in difficulty with transfers, the caretakers all reported significant benefits from intrathecal baclofen, with improvement in muscle tone, behavior, sitting, and general ease of care being most commonly noted. Central side effects were seen in some children who received continuous intrathecal baclofen infusion and included hypotension (two patients), bradycardia (two), apnea or respiratory depression (two), and sedation (one). During a total of 568 months of pump operation there were 10 mechanical complications, including two related to pump or side port failure and eight related to catheter kinks, extrusions, or dislodgment. Pump pocket effusion occurred in five children and a cerebrospinal fluid fistula was seen in one child. Local infection occurred in three children and meningitis in two children. The results demonstrate the potential value of continuous intrathecal baclofen infusion for treatment of severe spasticity of cerebral origin. However, this treatment can result in significant complications and more experience is required before the long-term benefits can be determined

Curatela di "Shakespeare in the Maze of Contemporary Culture/Shakespeare nei labirinti del contemporaneo" numero monografico della rivista STRATAGEMMI ΣTPATHTHMATA. PROSPETTIVE TEATRALI. Numero speciale 24-25. Dicembre 2012-Marzo 2013.

Questo numero monografico raccoglie gli interventi delle giornate del convegno internazionale Shakespeare nei labirinti del contemporaneo, organizzato presso la Facolt\ue0 di Lettere e Filosofia dell\u2019Universit\ue0 degli Studi di Milano dal 28 al 30 marzo 2012. In quella sede abbiamo voluto prendere in considerazione l\u2019influsso molteplice di William Shakespeare sulla cultura contemporanea, con un taglio interdisciplinare che teneva conto della presenza di Shakespeare nel teatro, nel cinema e alla televisione, nelle letterature europee ed extraeuropee. Sulla base di approcci critici che si avvalgono sia della lunga e consolidata tradizione di studi shakespeariani, sia degli studi sul contemporaneo, che vedono i testi shakespeariani dialogare con la cultura popolare e i media pi\uf9 avanzati, abbiamo cercato di delineare un quadro in cui il pieno recupero di uno Shakespeare \u2018nostro contemporaneo\u2019 \ue8 fonte inesauribile di ispirazione, rielaborazione, manipolazione, appropriazione, ricodificazione, ben al di l\ue0 del contesto culturale britannico. Alla composizione di questo quadro hanno contribuito voci a tutti note, tra cui vorremmo ricordare quelle di Thomas Cartelli, l\u2019autore di "Repositioning Shakespeare. National Formations, Postcolonial Appropriations" (1999) e di Carla Dente, fino allo scorso anno Presidente di Iasems, Italian Association of Early Modern Studies. Appoggiati da un nutrito numero di colleghi e di colleghe del nostro ateneo, provenienti dal Dipartimento di Scienze del linguaggio, ma anche da quello di Mediazione linguistica e culturale, abbiamo potuto inoltre contare sulla presenza attiva di studiosi e studiose autorevoli delle universit\ue0 di Bergamo, Bologna, Ferrara, Napoli \u201cL\u2019Orientale\u201d, Pisa, Roma 3.Sul versante squisitamente teatrale e su quello didattico-traduttologico, il dibattito si \ue8 articolato soprattutto in due tavole rotonde, coordinate rispettivamente da Mariacristina Cavecchi e Alessandra Marzola, che fanno parte integrante anche di questo volume, a testimonianza della vivacit\ue0 con cui la cultura milanese si confronta ancora oggi con le opere di Shakespeare. N\ue9 vogliamo dimenticare il contributo di Fabio Cavalli, l\u2019autore di una straordinaria messinscena del Giulio Cesare con la compagnia del carcere di Rebibbia, poi ripresa dai fratelli Taviani nel film "Cesare deve morire". D\u2019altra parte, proprio mentre il convegno aveva luogo, sul palcoscenico del Piccolo Teatro di Milano debuttava il "Giulio Cesare" per la regia di Carmelo Rifici, anch\u2019egli presente al convegno e in queste pagine. Abbiamo avuto cos\uec conferma che in tutte le sue metamorfosi e interpretazioni Shakespeare continua a essere una guida e un\u2019esperienza preziosa da sviluppare a scuola e all\u2019universit\ue0, da rintracciare al cinema e alla televisione, da verificare nelle traduzioni, da rinnovare ogni volta a teatro. Se la nostra contemporaneit\ue0 assomiglia tanto a un labirinto insidioso, Shakespeare continua a tessere il filo del suo linguaggio teatrale, per indicare a ognuno di noi un percorso praticabile, una possibile via di salvezza, che ci consenta di sfuggire all\u2019agguato del Minotauro

Pharmacodynamic evaluation of oral estradiol nanoparticles in estrogen deficient (ovariectomized) high-fat diet induced hyperlipidemic female rat model

It is believed that estrogen deficiency contributes importantly to the pathogenesis of menopausal metabolic syndrome and symptoms can be ameliorated with estradiol therapy. The present study reports efficacy of 17-β estradiol encapsulated nanoparticles in treating the postmenopausal dyslipidemic condition. Estradiol encapsulated poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles were prepared by emulsion-diffusion-evaporation method and evaluated in estrogen deficient (ovariectomized) high fat diet induced hyperlipidemic rat model. The results obtained showed that estradiol nanoparticles were equally/more effective in treatment of estrogen deficient hyperlipidemic conditions at three times reduced dose and frequency in comparison to that of drug suspension administered orally. Together, these results demonstrate the ability of nanoparticles in improving oral bioavailability/efficacy of estradiol