The Role of Uric Acid in Acute and Chronic Coronary Syndromes.

Uric acid (UA) is the final product of the catabolism of endogenous and exogenous purine nucleotides. While its association with articular gout and kidney disease has been known for a long time, new data have demonstrated that UA is also related to cardiovascular (CV) diseases. UA has been identified as a significant determinant of many different outcomes, such as all-cause and CV mortality, and also of CV events (mainly Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS) and even strokes). Furthermore, UA has been related to the development of Heart Failure, and to a higher mortality in decompensated patients, as well as to the onset of atrial fibrillation. After a brief introduction on the general role of UA in CV disorders, this review will be focused on UA's relationship with CV outcomes, as well as on the specific features of patients with ACS and Chronic Coronary Syndrome. Finally, two issues which remain open will be discussed: the first is about the identification of a CV UA cut-off value, while the second concerns the possibility that the pharmacological reduction of UA is able to lower the incidence of CV events

Contributo per un’edizione critica della versione armena dell’Eutifrone di Platone: il manoscritto 1123 della Biblioteca dei Padri Mechitaristi di Venezia e l’edizione a stampa

L’antica traduzione armena dell’Eutifrone di Platone è contenuta in un unico mano-scritto, il n. 1123 della biblioteca dei Padri mechitaristi di San Lazzaro a Venezia. Questa traduzione venne edita da Padre Suk‘rean e successivamente studiata da Fre-derick Cornwallis Conybeare nel 1891 e da Roberto Solari nel 1969. Questi lavori non procedettero a un riesame accurato del manoscritto che invece talvolta restituisce lezioni migliori rispetto a quelle dell’edizione sia dal punto di vista filologico sia da quello linguistico. Il presente lavoro esamina i casi in cui l’edizione va corretta sulla base del confronto col manoscritto e col testo greco

La versione armena degli <i>Atti di Pietro e Paolo</i> dello Pseudo-Marcello: edizione critica, traduzione italiana annotata, analisi comparata del testo armeno e dell’originale greco

Ce travail constitue la première édition critique de la traduction arménienne d’un texte apocryphe grec écrit originellement en latin et connu comme Actes de Pierre et Paul du Pseudo-Marcellus. Ce texte narre les derniers événements des apôtres Pierre et Paul à Rome, soulignant leur unité jusqu’à la mort. Ce texte est une œuvre fondamentale pour la reconstitution de l’histoire des traditions qui associent les deux apôtres dans la prédication et dans le martyr. Après une introduction étoffée, portant sur la place de ce texte en Occident et dans le monde arménien, le texte arménien, résultant de la collation des divers témoins classés dans le premier stemma codicum de cette tradition, est présenté pourvu d’un apparat critique, de la première traduction italienne du texte arménien ainsi que d’un commentaire justifiant les choix d’édition et portant sur l’analyse comparée de la version arménienne et de son original grec. </p

Apostoli che parlano armeno: riflessioni filologico-linguistiche sulla traduzione degli Atti di Pietro e Paolo apocrifi

The Acts of Peter and Paul are an apocryphal text well known and appreciated both in the Western and Eastern worlds, spuriously attributed to one Marcellus ('pseudo-Marcellus') who is also mentioned in other apocrypha. After providing a general introduction to the Acts of Peter and Paul in the Greek, Latin and Armenian traditions, this paper focuses on a comparison between the Greek text and its Armenian translation, providing relevant examples thereof. The philological analysis shows that the Armenian translation depends on a well-attested Greek text and clarifies on which branch of the Greek manuscript tradition it is most likely based. It also offers some possible explanations for the discrepancies between the two texts that cannot be ascribed to accidents occurring in the Greek manuscript tradition

Prevalence and Patterns of Antimicrobial Resistance among <i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Staphylococcus</i> spp. in a Veterinary University Hospital

The occurrence of antimicrobial resistance in commensal strains of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus spp. was investigated in 320 samples collected from patients and the environment of a veterinary university hospital—specifically, the consultation area (CA) and intensive care unit (ICU). E. coli was isolated in 70/160 samples (44%), while Staphylococcus spp. were isolated in 110/160 (69%) samples. The occurrence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates from CA and ICU admission were similar for E. coli (1/12 (8%) versus 4/27 (15%), respectively) and Staphylococcus spp. (10/19 (53%) versus 26/50 (52%), respectively). MDR E. coli isolates increased significantly at hospital discharge (18/31; 58%; p = 0.008). Antimicrobial treatment administered during hospitalization was a risk factor for carriage of MDR E. coli (OR, 23.9; 95% CI: 1.18–484.19; p = 0.04) and MDR Staphylococcus spp. (OR, 19.5; 95% CI 1.30–292.76; p = 0.02), respectively. The odds ratio for MDR E. coli was 41.4 (95% CI 2.13–806.03; p = 0.01), if the administration of fluoroquinolones was evaluated. The mecA gene was detected in 19/24 (79%) coagulase-positive Staphylococcus spp. isolates resistant to oxacillin. High rates of MDR Staphylococcus spp. were reported. Hospitalization in the ICU and antimicrobial treatment were risk factors for colonization by MDR commensal bacteria

Good manufacturing practice-grade fibrin gel is useful as a scaffold for human mesenchymal stromal cells and supports in vitro osteogenic differentiation

Good manufacturing practice-grade fibrin gel is useful as a scaffold for human mesenchymal stromal cells and supports in vitro osteogenic differentiation. Trombi L, D'Alessandro D, Pacini S, Fiorentino B, Scarpellini M, Fazzi R, Galimberti S, Guazzini S, Petrini M. Source Department of Oncology, Transplant and Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Hematology Division, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy. Abstract BACKGROUND: Recently, there has been an increased interest in using mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in bone tissue engineering coupled with a suitable scaffold of both biological and synthetic origin. The cells and these constructs can be combined in vitro or directly in vivo to enhance tissue repair. MSCs are spindle-shaped cells capable of self-renewal and can be induced to differentiate mainly into osteo-, chondro-, and adipogenic-progeny types. Several biomaterials are currently available and, among them, fibrin-based constructs seem to be suitable for guiding the cells during tissue repair or regeneration due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Here, this study describes a simple in vitro system using human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) and fibrin scaffold prepared at different concentrations in fibrinogen (1.5%-3% and 6%) to evaluate cell proliferation and viability inside these constructs. RESULTS: The data demonstrate that the constructs with 3 percent in fibrinogen resulted in the best scaffolds, because within them the cells were able to proliferate and were uniformly distributed. Finally, analyzing the capability of the clots to support osteogenic differentiation of MSCs, we observed that they differentiated into osteoblasts. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that fibrin gel could be useful as a delivery system for hMSCs