Representing and Redefining Specialised Knowledge: Medical Discourse

This volume brings together five selected papers on medical discourse which show how specialised medical corpora provide a framework that helps those engaging with medical discourse to determine how the everyday and the specialised combine to shape the discourse of medical professionals and non-medical communities in relation to both long and short-term factors. The papers contribute, in an exemplary way, to illustrating the shifting boundaries in today’s society between the two major poles making up the medical discourse cline: healthcare discourse at the one end, which records the demand for personalised therapies and individual medical services; and clinical discourse the other, which documents research into society’s collective medical needs

MARINE AND NORMARINE TRACE FOSSILS AND PLANT ROOTS IN A REGRESSIONAL SETTING (PLEISTOCENE, ITALY)

The sedimentary structures occurring in one of the Pleistocene marine terraces at the Ionian coast, indicate a shoaling upward trend from the shoreface of a sandy beach to nonmarine conditions. Four main facies have been recognized. Facies A consists of hummocky cross-bedded sands representing a wave-dominated nearshore environment. Physical and biological structures of facies B are suggestive of an abrupt reduction in energy level, possibly related to the establishment of shallow protected environments. Features of facies C suggest a stable environment of upper shoreface but strongly influenced by continental supplies. Upward, this facies passes into sediments deposited in continental conditions. The last facies (D) is related to moist or wet terrestrial environments. Bioturbation levels of facies A to C are in general low. Facies D, however, is well bioturbated, having an ichnofabric dominated by Taenidium isp. Sparse, vertical roots of vascular plants extended in many cases to at least 3 m below the base of facies D. Particularly unusual is the close association of large Taenidium isp. and vertical roots, where the trace fossil is clustered tightly around the plant, in some cases to more than 1 m below the water-sediment interface

Tendinopathy: Pathophysiology, therapeutic options, and role of nutraceutics. a narrative literature review

Tendinopathies are very common in general population and a huge number of tendon-related procedures take place annually worldwide, with significant socio-economic repercussions. Numerous treatment options are commonly used for tendon disorders. Besides pharmacological and physical therapy, nutrition could represent an additional tool for preventing and treating this complex pathology that deserve a multidisciplinary approach. In recent years, nutraceutical products are growing up in popularity since these seem to favor the prevention and the healing processes of tendon injuries. This narrative literature review aims to summarize current understanding and the areas of ongoing research about the management of tendinopathies with the help of oral supplementation

Simulated microgravity induces nuclear translocation of Bax and BCL-2 in glial cultured C6 cells

Alterations in the control of apoptotic processes were observed in cells during space flight or under simulated microgravity, the latter obtained with the 3D-Random Positioning Machine (3D-RPM). Usually the proteins Bax and Bcl-2, act as pro- or anti-apoptotic regulators. Here we investigated the effects of simulated microgravity obtained by the 3D-RPM on cell viability, localization and expression of Bax and Bcl-2 in cultures of glial cancerous cells. We observed for the first time a transient cytoplasmic/nuclear translocation of Bax and Bcl-2 triggered by changing gravity vector. Bax translocates into the nucleus after 1 h, is present simultaneously in the cytoplasm after 6 h and comes back to the cytoplasm after 24 h. Bcl-2 translocate into the nucleus only after 6 h and comes back to the cytoplasm after 24 h. Physiological meaning, on the regulation of apoptotic event and possible applicative outcomes of such finding are discussed

Disturbances in a VLF radio signal prior the M =4.7 offshore Anzio (central Italy) earthquake on 22 August 2005

Abstract. On 22 August 2005 an earthquake with magnitude M=4.7 occurred in the Anzio (central Italy) offshore area. From 2002, a VLF-LF radio receiver is into operation in Bari (southern Italy). The intensity and the phase of the signals transmitted by GB (f=16 kHz, United Kingdom), FR (f=20.9 kHz, France), GE (f=23.4 kHz, Germany), IC (f=37.5 kHz, Island) and IT (f=54 kHz, Sicily, Italy) has been monitored with a 5 s sampling rate. The previous epicenter is near enough to some of the radio paths and the data collected were studied in order to reveal possible seismic effects. The raw analysis revealed a clear drop in the intensity of the FR radio signal on 19 August. Then the wavelet analysis was applied to the intensity and the phase data of the different radio signals. In the mentioned day an increase in the band 60–120 min was revealed in the spectra of the FR signal. Then the principal component analysis was applied and again the 19 August stood up as an anomalous day for the FR radio signal. The path of this signal, among the paths of the five radio signals collected by the Bari receiver, is the nearest to the mentioned epicentre and the anomaly revealed on 19 August appears as a precursor of the earthquake. This result confirms the possible precursor revealed by other researchers in the air Rn content in a site located 5 miles far from the epicenter

Enhanced diagnostic protocol to identify E.coli VTEC from milk filters

The EHEC (enterohemorrhagic E. coli) are a subgroup of VTEC with strong pathogenicity. The most well-known EHEC serotype is E. coli O157:H7, which has been implicated in many large outbreaks of deadly human diseases. However, EHEC strains of other serotypes have increasingly been implicated in sporadic cases and outbreaks of serious illness in humans, e.g., serotypes O26, O45, O103, O111, O121 and O145. Epidemics studied from 1982 to date have shown that ruminants, and in particular bovine, appear almost always involved in the transmission of these bacteria to humans through direct or indirect fecal contamination of foods. Unpasteurized milk and milk products are considered minor, but important sources of infection. The possible ways to the entrance of VTEC in milk are fecal contamination and mammary excretion during E.coli mastitis. Between the two ways, the first is considered much more frequent in practice, but it cannot be excluded that a small part of EHEC found in milk resulting from mammary gland, as reported. Previous investigation suggested that milk filters used in milking machines could be a useful control point to identify the presence of EHEC in dairy herds. However, conventional methods to identify the presence of EHEC have a poor sensitivity due the high content of fecal bacteria of these filters. In order to set up a monitoring scheme to identify herds at risk, we developed and tested a diagnostic protocol involving VIDAS\uae UP E.coli serogroups (ESPT) which is a method using phage recombinant proteins for the immuno-concentration (IC) of E.coli serogroups O157, O26, O103, O111, O145, O45 and O121 from food, multiplex PCR and high resolution melting analysis (HRMA). Practically, bulk tank milk or washing solution obtained from milk filters after stomacher mixing were analyzed by Vidas ESPT. After incubation, the solution obtained was analyzed by multiplex PCR based on serotype-specific primers coding for O-antigen regions of the seven major VTEC serogroups available in literature. If PCR was positive for any of the seven serogroups, a HRMA-based protocol to detect virulence-predictive SNPs, as discovered by Norman et al., 2012, was applied to confirm the presence of a EHEC strain. The protocol was preliminary validated by inoculation of milk and milk filters with a known concentration of the seven EHEC serotypes (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145, O157). The results confirmed that this protocol was able to identify as low as 101 UFC in both milk and milk filters. The protocol applied to milk and milk filters obtained from 70 dairy herds allow to identify 2 EHEC from milk and 17 from milk filters for one or more of the EHEC serogroups considered. The proposed protocol confirmed to be useful in detecting the presence of EHEC and that milk filters are an important critical control point to identify herd at risk

A new integrated approach to analyze bulk tank milk and raw milk filters for the presence of the E. coli serogroups frequently associated with VTEC status

We optimized a combination of microbiological and molecular methods to quickly identify the presence of the O157 and the six non-O157 serogroups (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121 and O145) most frequently associated with VTEC status, at herd level. The lower detection limit of this methodology is 101 CFU/ml for each of the serogroups tested. We tested 67 bulk tank milk (BTM) and raw milk filters (RMF) derived from dairy herds located in Lombardy and Trentino Alto Adige. We identified 3 positive samples and 20 positive samples out of 67 respectively in the BTM and RMF. Interestingly, several samples showed positivity for more than one serogroups at the same time. We also identified the presence of E. coli O45 and O121 for the first time in raw milk and raw milk filters. Once screened the seven serogroups of interest in our samples, we evaluated the real pathogenicity of our positive, non-O157 samples through two parallel molecular biology methods: virulence gene research by PCR, and HRMA and sequencing. The most frequently isolated serogroups in milk were O157 (2.64%), O103 (2.11%), and O145 (1.06%), while in RMF the frequencies were, respectively 14.92%, 4.48%, and 2.98%. Moreover, this is the first published report in Italy of positive recovery of O45 and O121 serogroups in milk and milk filters. The new diagnostic approach proposed investigate the presence of the O157 and big six non-O157 serogroups at farm level and not to identify VTEC hazard only once the product is processed and/or is ready to be consumed

Inhibitory 2B4 contributes to NK cell education and immunological derangements in XLP1 patients

X-linked lymphoproliferative disease 1 (XLP1) is an inherited immunodeficiency, caused by mutations in SH2D1A encoding Signaling Lymphocyte Activation Molecule (SLAM)-associated protein (SAP). In XLP1, 2B4, upon engagement with CD48, has inhibitory instead of activating function. This causes a selective inability of cytotoxic effectors to kill EBV-infected cells, with dramatic clinical sequelae. Here, we investigated the NK cell education in XLP1, upon characterization of killer Ig-like receptor (KIR)/KIR-L genotype and phenotypic repertoire of self-HLA class I specific inhibitory NK receptors (self-iNKRs). We also analyzed NK-cell cytotoxicity against CD48+ or CD48− KIR-ligand matched or autologous hematopoietic cells in XLP1 patients and healthy controls. XLP1 NK cells may show a defective phenotypic repertoire with substantial proportion of cells lacking self-iNKR. These NK cells are cytotoxic and the inhibitory 2B4/CD48 pathway plays a major role to prevent killing of CD48+ EBV-transformed B cells and M1 macrophages. Importantly, self-iNKR defective NK cells kill CD48− targets, such as mature DCs. Self-iNKR− NK cells in XLP1 patients are functional even in resting conditions, suggesting a role of the inhibitory 2B4/CD48 pathway in the education process during NK-cell maturation. Killing of autologous mature DC by self-iNKR defective XLP1 NK cells may impair adaptive responses, further exacerbating the patients’ immune defect

Incidencia natural de parasitoides em ovos de percevejos (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) encontrados na soja no Distrito Federal.

Um levantamento das especies de parasitoides de ovos de pentatomideos presentes na soja foi realizado em Planaltina, DF. Doze especies de parasitoides de ovos (Telenomus edessae Fabricius, Telenomus podisi Ashmead, Telenomus sp.; Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston), Trissolcus brochymenae Ashmead, Trissolcus sp., Trissolcus teretis Johnson, Trissolcus urichi Crawford; Anastatus auriceps Ashmead, Eupelmus sp., Ooencyrtus sp. e Neorileya sp.) foram encontradas em sete especies de percevejos em soja: Acrosternum aseadum Rolston, Edessa meditabunda (Fabricius), Euschistus heros (Fabricius), Nezara viridula Linnaeus, Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood), Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas) e Thyanta perditor (Fabricius). Registrando-se, pela primeira vez, a ocorrencia de novos hospedeiros de A.auriceps (A.aseadum); T. teretis (E.heros e T.perditor); T.urichi (A.aseadum, P.guildinii e P.nigrispinus)

The European VLF/LF radio network to search for earthquake precursors: setting up and natural/man-made disturbances

In the last years disturbances in VLF/LF radio signals related to seismic activity have been presented. The radio data were collected by receivers located on the ground or on satellites. The ground-based research implies systematic data collection by a network of receivers. Since 2000 the “Pacific VLF network”, conducted by Japanese researchers, has been in operation. During 2008 a radio receiver was developed by the Italian factory Elettronika (Palo del Colle, Bari). The receiver is equipment working in VLF and LF bands. It can monitor 10 frequencies distributed in these bands and, for each of them, it saves the power level. At the beginning of 2009, five receivers were made for the realization of the “European VLF/LF Network”; two were planned for Italy and one for Greece, Turkey and Romania, respectively. In 2010 the network was enlarged to include a new receiver installed in Portugal. In this work, first the receiver and its setting up in the different places are described. Then, several disturbances in the radio signals related to the transmitters, receivers, meteorological/geomagnetic conditions are presented and described