Search results for "Reference"
showing 10 items of 2491 documents
Understanding Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia: Experience From a Mediterranean Diagnostic Reference Centre
2020
Background: Due to the lack of a gold standard diagnostic test, reference centres with experienced personnel and costly procedures are needed for primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) diagnostics. Diagnostic flowcharts always start with clinical symptoms. Therefore, the aim of this work is to define differential clinical criteria so that only patients clinically compatible with PCD are referred to reference centres. Materials and methods: 18 variables from 476 Mediterranean patients with clinically suspicious PCD were collected. After analysing cilia function and ultrastructure, 89 individuals were diagnosed with PCD and 387 had a negative diagnosis. Simple logistic regression analysis, consider…
Accelerated soil formation due to paddy management on marshlands (Zhejiang Province, China)
2014
Inundation of paddy soils for submerged rice production strongly impacts soil formation. Here we used chronosequences with up to 2000 years of cultivation history to compare soil formation in non-inundated (non-paddy) cropping systems with the formation of soils used for paddy rice production. This approach allowed us to identify the influence of agricultural management at different stages of pedogenesis. Soil samples were taken from two chronosequences derived from uniform parent material in the coastal region of the Zhejiang Province (P.R. China). One chronosequence consisted of paddy soils of different ages (50-2000 years), characterized by a yearly cropping sequence of rice cultivation …
Exposure and Risk Assessment of Hg, Cd, As, Tl, Se, and Mo in Women of Reproductive Age Using Urinary Biomonitoring
2021
The present study analyzed the exposure and risk assessment of 4 toxic (Hg, Cd, As, Tl) and 2 essential (Se, Mo) elements in 119 Spanish women of reproductive age. The focus was on the elements for which risk-based benchmark, biomonitoring equivalents, or health-related human biomonitoring values have already been established. All elements presented frequencies of detection of 100% (greater than the limit of detection), except for Cd (99%). The 95th percentile concentrations were, for the toxic metals, 358.37 µg/L (total As), 1.10 µg/L (Cd), 0.41 µg/L (Tl), and 3.03 µg/L (total Hg) and, for the essential elements, 68.95 µg/L (total Se) and 154.67 (Mo). We examined sociodemographic factors a…
Designing Outcome-Based Performance Management Systems to Assess Policies Impacting on Caesarean Section Rate: An Analysis of the Sicilian Maternity …
2017
The reduction in Caesarean sections (CSs) is widely considered a priority in the public decision makers agenda. Though the World Health Organisation has strongly encouraged countries to implement policies to reduce CSs to 10–15%, after almost thirty years this goal appears still far from its achievement. The literature depicts CS as a multifaceted phenomenon whose causes involve different factors, ranging from the patient sphere to the health care level of services provided, and the societal preference of CS practice. Policy makers aiming to standardise cares and to reduce CSs often implement maternity pathways (MP). By investigating the MP introduced in the Sicilian region, the authors hig…
Sensitive screening of synthetic cannabinoids using liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry after solid phase extraction.
2021
Analysis of synthetic cannabinoids still poses a challenge for many institutions due to the number of available substances and the constantly changing drug market. Both new and well-known substances keep appearing and disappearing on the market, making it hard to adapt analytical methods in a timely manner. In this study, we developed a qualitative screening approach for synthetic cannabinoids and their metabolites by means of liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS). Samples were measured in data-dependent auto-MS/MS mode and identified by fragment spectra, retention time and accurate mass. Two established solid phase extractions were compared using fo…
Involvement of 5-hydroxytryptamine 5-HT3 serotonergic receptors in the acquisition and reinstatement of the conditioned place preference induced by M…
2013
Some MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) users develop dependence as a result of chronic consumption. The present study evaluated the role of 5-hydroxytryptamine 5-HT₃ receptors in the acquisition, expression and reinstatement of the conditioned place preference (CPP) induced by MDMA. Adolescent male mice were conditioned with 10 mg/kg of MDMA and then treated with 1 or 3mg/kg of the 5-hydroxytryptamine 5-HT₃ antagonist MDL72222 during acquisition of conditioning (experiment 1), before expression of CPP in a post-conditioning test (experiment 2) or before a reinstatement test (experiment 3). MDL72222 was devoid of motivational effects but blocked acquisition of the MDMA-induced CPP. Mo…
Attitudes toward Different Formulations of Psychotropic Drugs
2006
Attitudes toward psychotropic drug treatment are likely to be a factor in medication adherence and outcome, but preferences regarding different drug formulations have been rarely assessed. To explore attitudes toward different drug formulations in a cross-sectional study in psychiatric patients and a comparison group of healthcare professionals. Inpatients (n = 59, age 46 ± 14 years, 63% female) and staff members (n = 96, age 40 ± 10 years, 65% female) of a psychiatric department were surveyed using a questionnaire on attitudes toward 18 possible application forms of psychotropic drugs including newer formulations such as fast-dissolving tablets. The questionnaire asked respondents to rate …
Adolescent pre-exposure to ethanol and 3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA) increases conditioned rewarding effects of MDMA and drug-induced re…
2011
Many adolescents often take ethanol (EtOH) in combination with 3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA). In the present work, we used a mouse model to study the effect of repeated pre-exposure during adolescence to EtOH (2 g/kg), MDMA (10 or 20 mg/kg) or EtOH + MDMA on the rewarding and reinstating effects of MDMA in the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm. Pre-exposure to EtOH, MDMA or both increased the rewarding effects of a low dose of MDMA (1.25 mg/kg). These pre-treatments did not affect the acquisition of the CPP induced by 5 mg/kg of MDMA. However, the CPP was more persistent in mice pre-exposed to both doses of MDMA or to EtOH + MDMA20. After extinction of the CPP induced…
New Analgesics Designed by Molecular Topology
1996
Molecular topology has been applied to the design of new analgesic drugs, utilizing linear discriminant analysis and connectivity functions using different topological descriptors. Of a total of 26 compounds selected, 17 showed analgesic activity. The following stood out particularly, showing analgesic values greater than 75% regarding ASA (acetylsalicylic acid), the reference drug: 2-(1-propenyl)phenol, 2′4′ dimethylacetophenone, p-chlorobenzohydrazide, 1-(p-chlorophenyl) propanol and 4-benzoyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one. The usefulness of the design method has been demonstrated in the search of new chemical structures having analgesic effects, some of which could become “lead dru…
Dopamine D2 receptors mediate the increase in reinstatement of the conditioned rewarding effects of cocaine induced by acute social defeat
2017
Social stress modifies the activity of brain areas involved in the rewarding effects of psychostimulants, inducing neuroadaptations in the dopaminergic mesolimbic system and modifying the sensitivity of dopamine receptors. In the present study we evaluated the effect of the dopamine D1- and D2-like receptor antagonists (SCH23390 and raclopride, respectively) on the short-time effects of acute social defeat (ASD). Male OF1 mice were socially defeated before each conditioning session of the conditioned place preference (CPP) induced by 1mg/kg or 25mg/kg of cocaine plus the corresponding dopamine antagonist. A final experiment was designed to evaluate the effect of the dopamine antagonists on …