19 research outputs found
La Sorveglianza attiva delle paralisi flaccide acute (AFP)in Sardegna nell'obiettivo della eradicazione della poliomielite
Nella storia della salute pubblica, l’umanità sta
per raggiungere un importante obiettivo nel
controllo delle malattie infettive, obiettivo fino
ad ora conquistato solo per il vaiolo. Nel 1988
l’Assemblea Mondiale della Sanità si è infatti
proposta di perseguire, tra i suoi obiettivi, la
eradicazione della poliomielite attraverso una
strategia di base imperneata su a) garanzia di
alti livelli di copertura nella popolazione al di
sotto dei 5 anni di etĂ con vaccinazione routinaria
utilizzando vaccino antipolio orale tipo
Sabin; b) attivitĂ supplementari di vaccinazione
tipo NID (Giornate Nazionali di Immunizzazione)
in quei Paesi in cui la copertura di cui al
punto a) è inferiore al 90%; c) interventi di
“mopping-up” (vaccinazione di tutti i bambini
tra 0 e 5 anni, indipendentemente dal loro stato
vaccinale) nelle zone in cui si verificano focolai
epidemici; d) sorveglianza di tutte le paralisi
flaccide acute (AFP) in modo da identificare
con certezza ogni caso di poliomielite.
Attualmente, i Paesi liberi dalla polio sono oltre
175* (Fig. 1), mentre rimangono ancora critiche
le zone dell’Africa occidentale e centrale (comprese
il Corno d’Africa) e il sub continente
indiano che continuano a notificare il maggior
numero di casi di polio.
Per ottenere il riconoscimento della certificazione
di “polio-free”, ciascun Paese deve documentare,
per un periodo di almeno tre anni consecutivi,
l’assenza di casi di malattia paralitica
da ceppi selvaggi e l’assenza della circolazione
ambientale di poliovirus selvagg
Quick identification of the risk of psychosis: the Italian version of the prodromal questionnaire-brief
Background:
Diagnosing people during the prodromal phase of an incipient psychosis can improve the chance of better outcome. In busy clinical
settings, the ideal tool is a brief, easy-to-complete self-report questionnaire.
Objective:
To test the psychometric properties of the Italian version of one of the most used screening tools for the identification of the risk of
psychosis, the Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief (PQ-B).
Methods:
Cross-sectional design. A convenience sample of college students was enrolled via snowball procedure (n=243; men: 45%). After
understanding and signing the consent form, the participants received a booklet containing the following questionnaires: the 21-item
Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief (PQ-B); the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and the 74-item Schizotypal
Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to assess the capacity of the PQ-B to
identify individuals at risk of psychosis as independently defined based on the combination of GHQ-12 and SPQ thresholds.
Results:
The Italian version of the PQ-B revealed good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and adequate convergent and divergent
validity. The Youden method retrieved a cut-off = 7 for the PQ-B frequency score and a cut-off = 22 for the PQ-B distress score.
Both PQ-B scores had a perfect (99%) negative predictive value.
Conclusion:
The PQ-B is a promising screening tool in two-stage protocols. The major advantage of the PQ-B is to exclude cases that are unlikely
to be at risk of psychosis
La Provincia di Sassari: ambiente, storia, civiltĂ
Essere cittadino di una provincia non significa soltanto abitarvi. Significa anche lavorarvi, esercitarvi una attivitĂ che vada a vantaggio del benessere individuale e insieme del benessere della collettivitĂ .
Per fare questo, per raggiungere meglio questo obiettivo, la realtà in cui si vive e si lavora bisogna conoscerla meno superficialmente di quanto normalmente non succeda. E' una constatazione che si può fare per tutti coloro che abitano in un luogo, ma che si deve fare in modo particolare quando lo strumento di conoscenza che si propone è un libro come questo
Effect of phytochemical concentrations on biological activities of cranberry extracts
Plants of cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) furnish edible fruits and derivates that have been used for the prevention and treatment of urinary tract infections. In the present work we compare two commercial extracts that contain proanthocyanins (PACs) at 4 percent and 20 percent for antimicrobial, antiproliferative, antiradical and protective properties against oxidative stress on cell lines. Both extracts showed antimicrobial activity (MIC values range 3-100 microg/ml). Extract at 20 percent PACs showed higher antiproliferative activity against HepG2 and MCF7 cells, but not against C2C12 cells. Both extracts showed a dose-dependent free-radical scavenging capacity, and a protective effect on the cell damage was also revealed by reduction of intracellular active oxygen species release. Cranberry extracts confirmed antioxidative properties and efficacy in reduction of cell viability that resulted stronger against tumor cells. The pretreatment with cranberry extracts, furthermore, reveal an increase of cell resistance against oxidative stress, suggesting a potential role as a dietary supplement in preventing free-radical damage. The proanthocyanidin content is critical to determine the extract efficacy. In cellular experiments the extracts resulted clearly differentiated in their activity, and the activity was strongly influenced by PACs content. Only in DPPH test the free radical scavenging activity seemed to be directly related to proanthocyanidins content.status: publishe
Bifactor structure of the schizotypal personality questionnaire (SPQ)
The best evidence from parallel PCA in the training set was in favor of a two-factor model; the bifactor implementation of this model showed good fit in the subsequent CFA. Two main dimensions of positive and negative symptoms underlie schizotypy in non-clinical samples, entailing specific risk of psychosis. On a measurement level, the study provided support for the use of the total scores of the SPQ to characterize schizotypy.The schizotypal personality questionnaire (SPQ) is used to characterize schizotypy, a complex construct helpful for the investigation of schizophrenia-related psychopathology and putative endophenotypes. The SPQ factor structure at item level has been rarely replicated and no study had tested a bifactor model of the SPQ so far. The unidimensional, the correlated, the second-order and the bifactor models of the SPQ were tested to evaluate whether the items converge into a major single factor defining the schizotypy-proneness of the participants, to be used for grouping purpose. Parallel principal component analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to determine the optimal number of factors and components in a cross-sectional, survey design involving 649 college students (males: 47%). The first-order, nine-subscale model was confirmed by CFA in the whole sample
Evidence for a proinflammatory and proteolytic environment in plaques from endarterectomy segments of human carotid arteries
Objectives—Based on previous observations on apolipoprotein(a), apo(a), in human unstable carotid plaques, we explored
whether in the inflammatory environment of human atheroma, proteolytic events affect other hepatic and topically
generated proteins in relation to the issue of plaque stability.
Methods and Results—Forty unstable and 24 stable plaques from endarterectomy segments of affected human carotid
arteries were extracted with buffered saline (PBS) and then 6 mol/L guanidine-hydrochloride (GdHCl) to identify
loosely and tightly bound products, respectively. The extracts were studied before and after ultracentrifugation at d 1.21
g/mL. In the extracts, the concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6, -8, and -18 were significantly higher in the unstable
plaques and correlated to those of MMP-2 and MMP-9. By Western blots, both apoB and apo(a) were highly fragmented
and mostly present in the d 1.21 bottom that also contained fragments of apoE (10 and 22 kDa), decorin, biglycan, and
versican. Fragmentation was higher in the unstable plaques. In baseline plasmas, concentrations of lipids, lipoproteins,
and ILs did not differ between patients with unstable and stable plaques.
Conclusions—In unstable and to a lesser extent in stable plaques, there is a proinflammatory and proteolytic
microenvironment with the generation of fragments with potential pathobiological significance that requires
investigation
Evaluation of low molecular mass thiols content in carotid atherosclerotic plaques
Objectives:
Despite the evidence that both homocysteine and cysteine are important risk factors for vascular disease and atherosclerosis no information are reported about their effective amount in plaque and on the relationship with the other low molecular weight thiols.
Design and methods:
We used capillary electrophoresis to measure thiols in both carotid plaque specimens and plasma samples from 37 patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy.
Results:
Pearson's correlation shows that intraplaque homocysteine, cysteine and cysteinylglycine levels are related to their plasma concentrations. The distribution of intraplaque GSH and Glu-Cys was higher than that of the same thiols in plasma, whereas the other thiols were significantly less prevalent in plaque than in plasma. Intraplaque haemoglobin and GSH levels were correlated, thus suggesting their common origin from erythrocytes lysis.
Conclusion:
Data suggest that increased levels of intraplaque glutathione may induce important effects on plaque fate by perturbing the normal LMW thiol redox state
A Proteomic approach to differentiate histologically classified stable and unstable plaques from human carotid arteries
Objectives. By using proteomics we isolated and identified proteins that were expressed/retained in stable and unstable human carotid artery atherosclerotic plaques.
Methods. The criteria for plaque instability were the presence of a thin fibrous cap or fissured cap covering the foamy or necrotic core, and the presence of overt, hemorrhagic, ulcerated or thrombotic plaques. Proteins were extracted from finely minced endarterectomy specimens (19 stable and 29 unstable plaques) and separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Coomassie Blue-stained gels were analysed using PD-Quest software.
Results. A total of 57 distinct spots corresponding to 33 different proteins were identified by matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry using the NCBI database. Most of the spots were present in both types of extracts, although significantly (p < 0.05) differing in abundance between them. Compared to stable plaque, unstable ones showed reduced abundance of: protective enzymes SOD3 and GST, small heat shock proteins HSP27 and HSP20, annexin A10, and Rho GDI. In unstable plaques the more abundant proteins were: ferritin light subunit, SOD 2 and fibrinogen fragment D. For fibrinogen fragment D, the increased levels in unstable versus stable plaques was confirmed by Western blot analysis.
Conclusions. Since many of the differentially expressed proteins are known to have a functional role in inflammation and oxidative stress, we speculate that they may be involved in events relating to plaque stability.<br/