showing 36 of ~574560 from 574555 documents
ALS monocyte-derived microglia-like cells reveal cytoplasmic TDP-43 accumulation, DNA damage, and cell-specific impairment of phagocytosis associated…
2022
Abstract Background Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disease characterised by the loss of upper and lower motor neurons. Increasing evidence indicates that neuroinflammation mediated by microglia contributes to ALS pathogenesis. This microglial activation is evident in post-mortem brain tissues and neuroimaging data from patients with ALS. However, the role of microglia in the pathogenesis and progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis remains unclear, partly due to the lack of a model system that is able to faithfully recapitulate the clinical pathology of ALS. To address this shortcoming, we describe an approach that generates monocyte-derived mi…
The impact of COVID-19 on the practice of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology in the United States and Canada.
2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted the delivery of healthcare, including oral healthcare services. The restrictions imposed for mitigating spread of the virus forced dental practitioners to adopt significant changes in their workflow pattern. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the pandemic on the practice of oral and maxillofacial pathology in two countries in regard to educational activities, and clinical and diagnostic pathology services.An online questionnaire was distributed to oral and maxillofacial pathologists in the United States and Canada. The survey was designed by combining dichotomous, multiple choice, and Likert response scale questions. Stat…
Motor Conduction Studies and Handgrip in Hereditary TTR Amyloidosis: Simple Tools to Evaluate the Upper Limbs
2022
PurposeHereditary transthyretin amyloidosis with polyneuropathy (ATTRv) is caused by mutations in the TTR gene, leading to misfolded monomers that aggregate generating amyloid fibrils. The clinical phenotype is heterogeneous, and characterized by a multisystemic disease affecting the sensorimotor and autonomic functions along with other organs.Materials and MethodsAll the patients were assessed by complete neurological assessment, neurophysiological evaluation, of the median nerve, and handgrip analysis. The data are presented as means and standard deviations. Parametric and non-parametric assessments have been performed to identify differences between groups. Pearson's correlation has been…
Renal Function Recovery Strategies Following Marathon in Amateur Runners
2022
Long distance races have a physiological impact on runners. Up to now, studies analyzing these physiological repercussions have been mainly focused on muscle and cardiac damage, as well as on its recovery. Therefore, a limited number of studies have been done to explore acute kidney failure and recovery after performing extreme exercises. Here, we monitored renal function in 76 marathon finishers (14 females) from the day before participating in a marathon until 192 h after crossing the finish line (FL). Renal function was evaluated by measuring serum creatinine (sCr) and the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). We randomly grouped our cohort into three intervention groups to compare three dif…
A case of disseminated BCG infection in a daughter of Italian immigrants in Switzerland
2022
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a vaccine against tuberculosis and contains a live, attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis as its essential constituent. Being a live, attenuated strain with potential pathogenicity, BCG can cause different complications, both near the inoculation site and through blood dissemination, especially in patients with immunodeficiency. IFN-γR1 deficiency is an autosomal recessively inherited immunodeficiency characterized by predisposition to infections with intracellular pathogens, in particular mycobacteria.
 We report a rare case of chronic osteomyelitis lasting 30 years due to BCG in a woman with IFN-γR1 deficiency who had previous clinical history of …
Hybrid Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion and Cervical Disc Arthroplasty: An Analysis of Short-Term Complications, Reoperations, and Readmissions
2022
Fizikālās ķīmijas terminologs Jānis Krustiņsons
2022
Raksts par latviešu fizikālķīmiķi un ķīmijas terminoloģijas pilnveidotāju Jāni Krustiņsonu (1892-1946), viņa darba gaitām, publikācijām un zinātniskajiem sasniegumiem.
Development of a Real-Time Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay for the Rapid Detection of Olea Europaea Geminivirus
2022
A real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed for simple, rapid and efficient detection of the Olea europaea geminivirus (OEGV), a virus recently reported in different olive cultivation areas worldwide. A preliminary screening by end-point PCR for OEGV detection was conducted to ascertain the presence of OEGV in Sicily. A set of six real-time LAMP primers, targeting a 209-nucleotide sequence elapsing the region encoding the coat protein (AV1) gene of OEGV, was designed for specific OEGV detection. The specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy of the diagnostic assay were determined. The LAMP assay showed no cross-reactivity with other geminiviruses and was allow…
Long-term evolution of continence and quality of life after sphincteroplasty for obstetric fecal incontinence
2022
Purpose: This study was performed to evaluate the long-term evolution of continence and patient’s quality of life after surgical treatment for obstetric fecal incontinence.Methods: A prospective longitudinal study was conducted including consecutive patients who underwent sphincteroplasty for severe obstetric fecal incontinence. The first phase analyzed changes in continence and impact on quality of life. The second phase studied the long-term evolution reevaluating the same group of patients 6 years later. Degree of fecal incontinence was calculated using the Cleveland Clinic Score (CCS). Quality of life assessment was carried out with the Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life scale.Results: …
Interpretation of intraoperative parathyroid hormone monitoring according to the Rome criterion in primary hyperparathyroidism
2022
AbstractIntraoperative parathyroid hormone dosage allows real-time monitoring of the decrease in PTH levels during parathyroidectomy and verify procedure’s efficacy. Currently, none of the interpretative criteria used has absolute accuracy. The aim of this study is to evaluate diagnostic accuracy of the Rome criterion verifying diagnostic significance of the individual assays. A total of 205 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism from a single adenoma were retrospectively evaluated and monitored with baseline PTH, PTH at 10 min and PTH at 20 min after adenoma excision. The accuracy of the latter two assays compared with baseline was compared by ROC curves. In addition, was evaluated the …
Economic Logic with Internal Consistency (and Not Only Formal Rigour)
2022
As is well known, during his life Sraffa never published a work explicitly devoted to epistemological issues. This fact should not be interpreted to indicate Sraffa’s lack of interest in such concerns. From Sraffa’s unpublished manuscripts – kept at the Wren Library of Trinity College, Cambridge, and from the books of his personal library – we see that Sraffa had a strong interest in questions of philosophy of 8science (Kurz and Salvadori, 2005). Therefore, a reconstruction of Sraffa’s epistemological theory can only be conjectural and must not leave out of consideration his unpublished manuscripts. In a previous work (Salvadori and Signorino, 2007), we analysed a specific aspect of Sraffa’…
A Conceptual Model for Blockchain-Based Agriculture Food Supply Chain System
2022
In agriculture supply chain management, traceability is a crucial aspect to ensure food safety for increasing customer loyalty and satisfaction. Lack of quality assurance in centralized data storage makes us move towards a new approach based on a decentralized system in which transparency and quality assurance is guaranteed throughout the supply chain from producer to consumer. The current supply chain model has some disadvantages like a communication gap between the entities of the supply chain and no information about the travel history and origin of the product. The use of technology improves the communication and relation between various farmers and stakeholders. Blockchain technology a…
All-day activity of Dolichovespula saxonica (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) colonies in Central Finland
2022
In social vespid wasps, colony activity varies at many temporal scales. We studied the peak season activity (number of individuals entering the nest per min) of colonies of the social vespine wasp Dolichovespula saxonica in its native range in boreal Finland. Six colonies were monitored non-stop for a full day, starting before sunrise and ending after sunset. Shorter monitoring was carried out before and/or after the full-day monitoring. All colonies were active before sunrise and after sunset, and the overall activity was positively linked with colony size. Activity showed irregular minute-to-minute cycles in all colonies. The broader within-day dynamics were idiosyncratic among the coloni…
In silico exploration of Mycobacterium tuberculosis metabolic networks shows host-associated convergent fluxomic phenotypes
2022
This article belongs to the Special Issue Computational Approaches for the Study of Biomolecular Networks
Pirandello a Bonn. Su alcuni parerga e paralipomena del Taccuino
2022
È noto che Pirandello amò dipingere e disegnare per tutta la vita. Ormai possiamo considerarlo un caso, tra i tanti possibili nel Novecento, di “doppio talento” (Doppelbegabung) . Di recente si è compreso che la sua produzione figurativa, oltre a essere consistente e continuativa, merita di essere considerata, non solo in relazione alle sue opere letterarie, ma come l’attività creativa parallela di un artista versatile che si esercitò, spesso con piglio professionale, nella pittura e nel disegno per tutta la sua esistenza. Proprio nel Taccuino di Bonn, ad esempio, troviamo alcuni dei suoi autoritratti più drammatici e significativi, un tema che ovviamente non poteva abbandonare il Pirandell…
COVID-19, Cation Dysmetabolism, Sialic Acid, CD147, ACE2, Viroporins, Hepcidin and Ferroptosis: A Possible Unifying Hypothesis.
2022
Background: iron and calcium dysmetabolism, with hyperferritinemia, hypoferremia, hypocalcemia and anemia have been documented in the majority of COVID-19 patients at later/worse stages. Furthermore, complementary to ACE2, both sialic acid (SA) molecules and CD147 proved relevant host receptors for SARS-CoV-2 entry, which explains the viral attack to multiple types of cells, including erythrocytes, endothelium and neural tissue. Several authors advocated that cell ferroptosis may be the core and final cell degenerative mechanism. Methods: a literature research was performed in several scientific search engines, such as PubMed Central, Cochrane Library, Chemical Abstract Service. More than 5…
Evaluating the Reform of Healthcare System in Sicily: variations of efficiency and appropriateness between 2008 and 2010
2022

 
 Background. Sicilian government has developed a very ambitious Reform through the Regional Law n. 5 (14th April 2009). Hospitals were requested to ensure the quality of care through monitoring of appropriateness and quality of service. The aim of this study was to assess variations of efficiency and organizational appropriateness of healthcare delivery before and after this Reform and to show patterns associated to different types of healthcare delivery organizations.
 Methods. This study was based on repeated cross-sectional data for 118 (out of 129) short-term, acute-care, non teaching-and-research Sicilian hospitals, in 2008 and 2010. Congestion and slacks analysis was…
Free vibrations analysis of cracked variable stiffness composite plates by the eXtended Ritz method
2022
Variable stiffness composite laminates show advantageous structural features related to their enlarged design space. They are attractive candidates for advanced engineering applications where the assessment of static and dynamic behavior and strength in the presence of cracks is often required. In the present work, a single-domain extended Ritz formulation is proposed to study the free vibrations of cracked variable stiffness composite plates. The plate model is based on the first-order shear deformation theory whose primary variable, i.e. displacements and rotations, are approximated via a set of orthogonal polynomial trial functions enriched with a set of special crack functions. These fu…
TLR4 expression in ex-Lichenoid lesions—oral squamous cell carcinomas and its surrounding epithelium: the role of tumor inflammatory microenvironment
2022
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) regulate innate and adaptive immune responses. Moreover, TLRs can induce a pro-survival and pro-proliferation response in tumor cells. This study aims to investigate the expression of TLR4 in the epithelium surrounding oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) in relation to its inflammatory microenvironment. This study included 150 human samples: 30 normal oral control (NOC), 38 non-lichenoid epithelium surrounding OSCC (NLE-OSCC), 28 lichenoid epithelium surrounding OSCC (LE-OSCC), 30 OSCC ex-non oral lichenoid lesion (OSCC Ex-NOLL), and 24 OSCC ex-oral lichenoid lesion (OSCC Ex-OLL). TLR4 expression was investigated by immunohistochemistry and the percentage of posi…
La redistribution des droits audiovisuels par la Ligue de football professionnel n'est pas une prérogative de puissance publique
2022
International audience
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) vis-à-vis amnesties and pardons : factors concerning or affecting the degree of ECtHR’s deference to states
2022
States have adopted amnesties/pardons concerning serious human rights violations to transition from crises, dictatorships, or conflicts worldwide, including Europe. Although the ECtHR has yet to review amnesties/pardons directly, it has increasingly decided on the effects of amnesties/pardons on the rights of individuals. Thus, the main research question herein is to identify which factors may determine whether and to what extent the ECtHR defers to states regarding amnesties/pardons in cases of serious human rights violations, namely, factors concerning or affecting the degree of ECtHR’s deference to states in these cases. Based on ECtHR’s jurisprudence on amnesties/pardons, this article a…
Chemical Compositions and Antioxidant Activities of Essential Oils, and Their Combinations, Obtained from Flavedo By-Product of Seven Cultivars of Si…
2022
In this work, seven Citrus aurantium essential oils (EOs) derived from flavedo of cultivars ‘Canaliculata’, ‘Consolei’, ‘Crispifolia’, ‘Fasciata’, ‘Foetifera’, ‘Listata’, and ‘Bizzaria’ were investigated. EOs were also combined in 1:1 (v/v) ratio to identify possible synergism or antagonism of actions. GC-MS analysis was done to investigate Eos’ phytochemical profiles. The antioxidant activity was studied by using a multi-target approach based on FRAP, DPPH, ABTS, and β-carotene bleaching tests. A great difference was observed in EOs’ phytochemical profiles. d-limonene (33.35–89.17%) w…
Geomorphing effect of sand fences in primary dunes of Gulf of Riga
2022
Finding a the most appropriate solution for the problems caused by coastal eros ion is very important, as erosion prevention and habitat management measures must promote the restoration of the natural balance (order of things before anthropogenic disturbances) and restore the coastal status quo as much as possible [6; 2].Dune fences are a very widespread erosion management tool on developed sandy coastal areas due to ease of installation, inexpensiveness, and generally positive public attitude [1]. Effectiveness and impact of fences have also been studied in many places around the world, however previous studies in Latvia have been very limited and episodic [16].This article shows the obser…
Circulating Endothelial Cell Levels Correlate with Treatment Outcomes of Splanchnic Vein Thrombosis in Patients with Chronic Myeloproliferative Neopl…
2022
Circulating endothelial cells (CECs) are viable, apoptotic or necrotic cells, identified by CD 146 surface antigen expression, considered a biomarker of thrombotic risk, given their active role in inflammatory, procoagulant and immune processes of the vascular compartment. Growing evidence establishes that CECs are also involved in the pathogenesis of several hematological and solid malignancies. The primary aim of this study was to verify if CEC levels could predict both the course and treatment responses of splanchnic vein thrombosis (SVT), either in patients affected by myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) or liver disease. Thus, a retrospective multicenter study was performed; fifteen pa…
Could a Behavioral Model Explain Adherence to Second-Level Colonoscopy for Colon Cancer Screening? Results of a Cross-Sectional Study of the Palermo …
2022
According to Italian Essential Levels of Assistance (ELA), a colonoscopy is strongly recommended after a positive fecal occult blood test (FOBT) due to its effectiveness in early colorectal cancer detection. Despite the evidence, the Palermo province population (Italy), after a positive FOBT, have a lower colonoscopy adherence compared to Italian standards. This cross-sectional study analyzed patients’ perceptions of colonoscopy procedures to understand the reasons for non-adherence. Patients with a positive FOBT who did not undergo a colonoscopy within the national organized screening program were administered a telephone interview based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) questionnaire. The …
Quality of Life and Job Loss during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mediation by Hopelessness and Moderation by Trait Emotional Intelligence
2022
This study contributes to the knowledge on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by examining a moderated mediation model in which the impact of job loss over quality of life (QoL) is mediated by hopelessness and moderated by trait emotional intelligence (trait EI). Data were collected from a large nationally representative Italian sample of adult workers (N = 1610), who completed a series of anonymous online questionnaires. Total, direct and indirect effects were estimated through bootstrapped mediated moderation analyses providing 95% bias corrected bootstrap confidence intervals. After controlling for the effects of gender and age range, job loss was found to be negatively associated with…
Shooting down the price: Evidence from Mafia homicides and housing prices
2022
In this paper, we estimate the effect of the homicides by the Camorra, the Neapolitan Mafia, on housing prices in Naples. The study develops on a unique panel data set at the administrative district level for the period 2002–2018 of geo-localized homicides involving innocent victims (denoted as IVH), which are treated as exogenous shocks that negatively affect housing demand. We find that the occurrence of such homicides causes a decrease in housing prices in the range of 2.5–3.8 percentage points. This effect decreases with the distance from an IVH and over time. These results are robust to the utilization of different econometric specifications and to the considerations of possible confou…
Religious Education in Secularist Kindergartens? Pedagogical Leaders on Religion in Norwegian ECEC
2022
According to the legal framework, religion forms a certain part of Norwegian early childhood education in publicly owned kindergartens. As the only Scandinavian country where this is the case, the object clause (statement of purpose) for Norwegian kindergartens defines basic values in the Christian and humanist heritage and tradition as the value foundation for the institution. In this article we explore the impact of the processes of secularization and pluralization on the pedagogical content of early childhood education, and how some pedagogical leaders understand the religious elements. Empirically, the article is partly based on qualitative interviews targeting seven public kindergarten…
On the second-order regularity of solutions to the parabolic p-Laplace equation
2022
AbstractIn this paper, we study the second-order Sobolev regularity of solutions to the parabolic p-Laplace equation. For any p-parabolic function u, we show that $$D(\left| Du\right| ^{\frac{p-2+s}{2}}Du)$$ D ( D u p - 2 + s 2 D u ) exists as a function and belongs to $$L^{2}_{\text {loc}}$$ L loc 2 with $$s>-1$$ s > - 1 and $$1<p<\infty $$ 1 < p < ∞ . The range of s is sharp.
Two traditions of cognitive sociology : an analysis and assessment of their cognitive and methodological assumptions
2022
Cognitive sociology has been split into cultural and interdisciplinary traditions that position themselves differently in relation to the cognitive sciences and make incompatible assumptions about cognition. This article provides an analysis and assessment of the cognitive and methodological assumptions of these two traditions from the perspective of the mechanistic theory of explanation. We argue that while the cultural tradition of cognitive sociology has provided important descriptions about how human cognition varies across cultural groups and historical periods, it has not opened up the black box of cognitive mechanisms that produce and sustain this variation. This means that its expla…
Second trimester uterine arteries pulsatility index is a function of placental pathology and provides insights on stillbirth aetiology: A multicenter…
2022
Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between maternal vascular malperfusions (MVM) and second trimester uterine arteries pulsatility index (UtA-PI) in cases of stillbirth (SB), compared to live-birth (LB) matched controls. Methods: This was a multicentre, observational, matched case-control study performed at five referral maternity centres over a 4-year period including SB and LB control pregnancies at high-risk for preeclampsia (PE) and/or fetal growth restriction (FGR), matched and stratified for UtA-PI MoM quartiles values of the SB cases. Logistic regression was used to assess the rates of each MVM finding, within each increasing MoM quartile subcate…
Biological, Psychological, and Physical Performance Variations in Football Players during the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Prospective Cohort Study
2022
This prospective cohort study aimed to evaluate whether COVID-19 lockdown caused biological, psychological, and/or physical performance variations in footballers. We compared the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons evaluating the plasma volume, hematological parameters, iron/ferritin, creatine kinase, vitamin D, cortisol, testosterone, and physiological state of players of the Italian football major league (Serie A). Measurements were performed before the preparatory period (T0), at the beginning (T1) and in the middle (T2) of the championship, and in March (T3) and at the end of season (T4). The results showed that in the 2019/2020 season affected by the lockdown, the weight, BMI, and fat mass…
Cascaded Multilevel Inverter-Based Asymmetric Static Synchronous Compensator of Reactive Power
2022
The topology of the static synchronous compensator of reactive power for a low-voltage three-phase utility grid capable of asymmetric reactive power compensation in grid phases has been proposed and analysed. It is implemented using separate, independent cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverters for each phase. Every inverter includes two H-bridge cascades. The first cascade operating at grid frequency is implemented using thyristors, and the second one—operating at high frequency is based on the high-speed MOSFET transistors. The investigation shows that the proposed compensator is able to compensate the reactive power in a low-voltage three-phase grid when phases are loaded by highly asymmet…
Influence of Fe-clustering on the water oxidation performance of two-dimensional layered double hydroxides
2022
Among the two-dimensional (2D) materials family, layered double hydroxides (LDHs) represent a key member due to their unparalleled chemical versatility. In particular, Fe-based LDHs are distinguished candidates due to their high efficiency as oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts. Herein, we have selected MgFe-based LDH phases as model systems in order to decipher whether Fe-clustering exerts an effect on the OER performance. For that, we have optimized hydrothermal synthesis by using triethanolamine (TEA) as the chelating agent. The magnetic characterisation allows us to identify the Fe-clustering degree by following both magnetic susceptibility as well as magnetization values a…
Cusp deflection and fracture strength of root canal filled premolars with two access cavities designs (Conservative vs Traditional).
2022
This study evaluated two endodontic access designs (Conservative (Cons) vs Traditional (Trad)) of class I and class II cavities on cusp deflection (CD) and fracture strength (FS) of root canal filled maxillary premolars.Seventy-two sound maxillary first premolars were included in this study; Teeth were randomly assigned into nine groups (n=8), a positive control group where teeth left sound and the other eight according to the access cavity designs (Cons class I, Trad class I, Cons class II and Trad class II). After access preparation, teeth were endodontically-treated. Four groups were restored with FiltekTM Bulk-Fill composite. While the other four groups were left without coronal restora…
Could Europe Apply a Suitable Control Method for the Small Hive Beetle (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)?
2022
Abstract The European bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), is a fundamental resource for the pollination of a great variety of botanical species used by humans for sustenance. Over the last few decades, bee colonies have become vulnerable to a new pest that has advanced beyond its native sub-Saharan territory: the small hive beetle, Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae). This currently presents a pressing problem in the United States and Australia, but it has also been recorded in Portugal and Italy and it is likely to spread in the rest of Europe too. This study represents a systematic review, based on EFSA guidelines, of the various control treatments for small hive bee…