430 research outputs found
The Doctor Is In(ternet): The Mediating Role of Health Anxiety in the Relationship between Somatic Symptoms and Cyberchondria
Cyberchondria is a dysfunctional behavioral pattern characterized by an excessive and anxiety-amplifying engagement in searching for reassuring health information on the Internet. Research demonstrated that somatic symptoms and health anxiety might foster maladaptive health-related behaviors, such as cyberchondria. However, the relationships between somatic symptoms, health anxiety, and cyberchondria have been scarcely examined. Accordingly, this study aimed to test the mediating effect of health anxiety on the association between somatic symptoms and cyberchondria. Four hundred and thirty-one adults from the community (158 males, 36.66%), aged between 18 and 74, were recruited via an online survey. Participants completed self-report measures of somatic symptoms, health anxiety, and cyberchondria. A mediation analysis demonstrated that the severity of somatic symptoms predicted increased levels of cyberchondria and that health anxiety partially mediated this association. Therefore, interventions aimed at decreasing health anxiety may also play a role in decreasing the risk of developing cyberchondria
Early suppression of lymphoproliferative response in dogs with natural infection by Leishmania infantum.
Dogs are the domestic reservoirs of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania
infantum. Early detection of canine infections evolving to clinically patent disease may be
important to leishmaniasis control. In this study we firstly investigated the peripheral blood
mononuclear cell (PBMC) response to leishmanial antigens and to polyclonal activators
concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin and pokeweed mitogen, of mixed-breed dogs with natural
L. infantum infection, either in presymptomatic or in patent disease condition, compared to healthy
animals. Leishmania antigens did not induce a clear proliferative response in any of the animals
examined. Furthermore, mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation was found strongly reduced not
only in symptomatic, but also in presymptomatic dogs suggesting that the cell-mediated immunity
is suppressed in progressive canine leishmaniasis. To test this finding, naive Beagle dogs were
exposed to natural L. infantum infection in a highly endemic area of southern Italy. Two to 10
months after exposure all dogs were found to be infected by Leishmania, and on month 2 of
exposure they all showed a significant reduction in PBMC activation by mitogens. Our results
indicate that suppression of the lymphoproliferative response is a common occurrence in dogs
already at the beginning of an established leishmanial infection. # 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All
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Integration of serum metabolomics into clinical assessment to improve outcome prediction of metastatic soft tissue sarcoma patients treated with trabectedin
Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are a group of rare and heterogeneous cancers with few diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers. This metabolomics study aimed to identify new serum prognostic biomarkers to improve the prediction of overall survival in patients with metastatic STS. The study enrolled 24 patients treated with the same trabectedin regimen. The baseline serum metabolomics profile, targeted to 68 metabolites encompassing amino acids and bile acids pathways, was quantified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Correlations between individual metabolomics profiles and overall survival were examined and a risk model to predict survival was built by Cox multivariate regression. The median overall survival of the studied patients was 13.0 months (95% CI, 5.6–23.5). Among all the metabolites investigated, only citrulline and histidine correlated significantly with overall survival. The best Cox risk prediction model obtained integrating metabolomics and clinical data, included citrulline, hemoglobin and patients’ performance status score. It allowed to distinguish patients into a high-risk group with a low median overall survival of 2.1 months and a low-to moderate-risk group with a median overall survival of 19.1 months (p < 0.0001). The results of this metabolomics translation study indicate that citrulline, an amino acid belonging to the arginine metabolism, represents an important metabolic signature that may contribute to explain the high inter-patients overall survival variability of STS patients. The risk prediction model based on baseline serum citrulline, hemoglobin and performance status may represent a new prognostic tool for the early classification of patients with metastatic STS, according to their overall survival expectancy
Characterization of Composites Manufactured Through Reshaping of EoL Thermoplastic Polymers Reinforced with Recycled Carbon Fibers
This article investigates if and at what extent a recycling process based on grinding, melting and re-shaping of recycled carbon fibers reinforced thermoplastic polymers (rCFRPs) can affect their physical, mechanical and thermal properties. The aim is to establish if they can be taken into consideration in the manufacturing of new composite materials in different sectors: automotive, marine, sporting goods, etc. Composites materials were submitted to the measurement of the fibers length they are composed of, and then analyzed by means of tensile and impact tests and a dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). All the characterizations were performed to both initial and recycled composites and, in some cases, they were replied also after the intermediate accelerated aging. Characterization performed confirmed that, as expected, the recycling process affects the properties of the composites, but in different manners and to a different extent when different polymers are involved. Tensile and impact tests pointed out that the polypropylene based composites showed a less stiff and a more brittle behaviour after the recycling process and the DMA confirmed this evidence, highlighting in addition a more viscous behavior of the polymer after the recycling. Conversely, the polyamide 6 based composites increased their stiffness and ductility after the recycling. For all the composites the tensile strength dropped, confirming the weakening of the materials
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