Search results for " Mal"
showing 10 items of 5318 documents
Analysis of the correlations between oxidative stress, gelatinases and their tissue inhibitors in the human subjects with obstructive sleep apnea syn…
2015
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is commonly associated with endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disorders. On the basis of this observation, our aim was to examine the oxidative status and the matrix metalloproteases (MMP) profile in a group of subjects with OSAS. We enrolled 48 subjects with OSAS defined after a 1-night cardiorespiratory sleep study, who were subsequently subdivided in two subgroups according to the severity of OSAS (low grade = L-OSAS; high grade= H-OSAS). We measured the parameters of oxidative stress, such as lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, total antioxidant status (TAS), nitric oxide metabolites (NOx), and the plasma concentration…
A scale on beliefs about children's adjustment in same-sex families: reliability and validity.
2012
In this study, we developed a new instrument named Scale Beliefs about Children's Adjustment on Same-Sex Families (SBCASSF). The scale was developed to assess of the adults' beliefs about negative impacts on children who are raised by same-sex parents. An initial pool of 95 items was generated by the authors based on a review of the literature on homophobia and feedback from several focus groups. Research findings, based on a sample of 212 university students (mean age 22 years, SD = 8.28), supported the reliability and validity of the scale. The final versions of the SBCASSF included items reflecting the following two factors: individual opposition (α = .87) and normative opposition (α = .…
Factors Associated with Providers' Work Engagement and Burnout in Homeless Services: A Cross-national Study
2021
Contains fulltext : 232434.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) The complexity of homeless service users' characteristics and the contextual challenges faced by services can make the experience of working with people in homelessness stressful and can put providers' well-being at risk. In the current study, we investigated the association between service characteristics (i.e., the availability of training and supervision and the capability-fostering approach) and social service providers' work engagement and burnout. The study involved 497 social service providers working in homeless services in eight different European countries (62% women; mean age = 40.73, SD = 10.45) and was part o…
Sexual Sensation Seeking in Spanish Young Men and Women With Different Sexual Orientations
2014
This study analyzes the relation of sexual orientation and gender to sexual sensation seeking. Participants were 382 individuals (200 men, 182 women) between 17 and 29 years old who completed the Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale. Of the 382 participants, 52.46% self-reported heterosexual orientation, and 47.64% self-reported homosexual orientation. The results showed differences with Sexual Sensation Seeking being more frequent among heterosexuals and men. There were no differences between heterosexual and homosexual men. Heterosexual women had higher sexual sensation seeking scores than did homosexual women. These results and their possible implications for the effective development of preve…
Blood pressure changes after automatic and fixed CPAP in obstructive sleep apnea. Relationship with nocturnal sympathetic activity.
2011
Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) usually causes a reduction in blood pressure (BP), but several factors may interfere with its effects. In addition, although a high sympathetic activity is considered a major contributor to increased BP in OSA, a relationship between changes in BP and in sympathetic nervous system activity after OSA treatment is uncertain. This study was undertaken to assess if, in OSA subjects under no pharmacologic treatment, treatment by CPAP applied at variable levels by an automatic device (APAP) may be followed by a BP reduction, and if that treatment is associated with parallel changes in BP and catecholamine exc…
Periodontal disease and sjogren syndrome: a possible correlation?
2009
Sjögren syndrome (SS) is a chronic autoimmune rheumatic disease characterized by a progressive lymphocytic infiltration of exocrine glands, especially salivary and lachrymal ones, leading to xerostomia, parotid gland enlargement, and xerophthalmia. The aim of this study is to describe the capillaroscopic pattern of the interdental papilla in patients with SS and to evaluate a possible correlation with periodontal disease. Methods: A total of 25 patients affected by SS and 25 healthy controls were examined. The patients with conditions that compromise microcirculation, such as diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or some pharmacological treatments, were not included in the study. All the…
Cerebrospinal fluid T-regulatory cells recognize Borrelia burgdorferi NAPA in chronic Lyme borreliosis.
2013
The NapA protein of B. burgdorferi is essential for the persistence of spirochetes in ticks. One of the most intriguing aspects of NapA is its potential to interfere with the host immune system. Here, we investigated the role of the acquired immune responses induced by NapA in the cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) of patients with chronic Lyme borreliosis. We evaluated the cytokine profile induced in microglia cells and CSF T cells following NapA stimulation. We report here that NapA induced a regulatory T (Treg) response in the CSF of patients with chronic Lyme borreliosis and it is able to expand this suppressive response by promoting the production of TGF-β and IL-10 by microglia cells. Collect…
Intracellular Cytokine Staining and Flow Cytometry: Considerations for Application in Clinical Trials of Novel Tuberculosis Vaccines.
2015
Intracellular cytokine staining combined with flow cytometry is one of a number of assays designed to assess T-cell immune responses. It has the specific advantage of enabling the simultaneous assessment of multiple phenotypic, differentiation and functional parameters pertaining to responding T-cells, most notably, the expression of multiple effector cytokines. These attributes make the technique particularly suitable for the assessment of T-cell immune responses induced by novel tuberculosis vaccines in clinical trials. However, depending upon the particular nature of a given vaccine and trial setting, there are approaches that may be taken at different stages of the assay that are more s…
Plaque removal efficacy of power and manual toothbrushes: a comparative study
2009
The aim of this study was to compare the plaque removal efficacy of a new oscillating/rotating/pulsating toothbrush [Oral-B® Professional Care® 8500 (PC 8500)] with two manual toothbrushes [Oral-B® CrossAction™ Vitalizer (CAV) and Oral-B® Indicator™ (IND), respectively]. The safety of the PC 8500 was also assessed. The study was a single-use, observer-masked, randomised 3×3 Latin square crossover design balanced for carryover effects. The enrolled subjects (n=66) refrained from brushing for 23–25 h before each clinical examination. Plaque scores were recorded before and after brushing with the allocated toothbrush using the Turesky et al. modification of the Quigley and Hein plaque index. T…
Granzyme A as a potential biomarker of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and disease
2015
Cytotoxic molecules such as granulysin, perforin and granzymes produced by cytolytic T cells directly contribute to immune defense against tuberculosis (TB). In search for novel TB biomarkers, we have evaluated the levels of granzyme A in plasma obtained from QuantiFERON-TB Gold In tube (QFT-IT) assays from patients with active TB disease and subjects with latent TB infection (LTBI).Granzyme A serum levels in TB patients were significantly lower than values found in LTBI subjects even after subtraction of the unstimulated levels from the antigen-stimulated responses. The receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve analysis comparing TB patients and LTBI groups, showed that at a cut-off va…