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Myocardial interleukin-6 in the setting of left ventricular mechanical assistance: relation with outcome and C-reactive protein
Get PDFBackground: In left ventricular assist device (LVAD) recipients, plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-6 are associated with Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (INTERMACS) profiles, reflecting postoperative risk. However, it is not clear how the cardiac. Conclusions: Cardiac IL-6 levels do not contribute to improve risk profile of LVAD recipients in relation to clinical inpatient post-implantation. Instead, plasma IL-6 and serum CRP concentrations are more effective in predicting the severity of the clinical course in the early phase of LVAD therapy. level of IL-6, detectable on the tissue samples at the time of implantation, can contribute to predict the post-operative outcome
The Italian National Rare Diseases Registry.
Get PDFINTRODUCTION:Rare disease registries are a priority at European level and specific actions are being implemented by the European Commission to support their development.In Italy, a National Registry of rare diseases has been established in 2001 as a network of regional registries. The latter have gradually been established and the full coverage of the Italian territory was attained during 2011. METHODS:Here we describe the basic features of the National Registry of rare diseases; the activities carried out to promote consistent operations in the regional registries; and the overall quality and composition of the records collected. RESULTS:After a validation process, including removal of duplicate records, 110,841 records of patients with rare diseases, single and with group denominations, are stored in the National Registry of rare diseases. They correspond to the overall diagnoses communicated to national registry by regional registries up to 30 June 2012.The quality of the data collected by the the National Registry of rare diseases has been assessed with respect to completeness and consistency of procedures. Variables characterising case and diagnosis showed a very limited number of missing values. Records reported at least one case of 485 rare conditions. DISCUSSION:To date, the National Registry of rare diseases is a surveillance system with the main objective of producing epidemiologic evidence on rare diseases in Italy, and of supporting policy making and health services planning.Data quality still represents a limitation for any sound epidemiological estimate of rare diseases in Italy. However, improvements of the quality of collected data and the completeness of case notifications should be strengthened.
Separate and Combined Effects of DNMT and HDAC Inhibitors in treating Human Multi-Drug Resistant Osteosarcoma HOSDXR150 cell line.
Get PDFUnderstanding the molecular mechanisms underlying multi-drug resistance (MDR) is one of the major challenges in current cancer research. A phenomenon which is common to both intrinsic and acquired resistance, is the aberrant alteration of gene expression in drug-resistant cancers. Although such dysregulation depends on many possible causes, an epigenetic characterization is considered a main driver. Recent studies have suggested a direct role for epigenetic inactivation of genes in determining tumor chemo-sensitivity. We investigated the effects of the inhibition of DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) and hystone deacethylase (HDAC), considered to reverse the epigenetic aberrations and lead to the re-expression of de novo methylated genes in MDR osteosarcoma (OS) cells. Based on our analysis of the HosDXR150 cell line, we found that in order to reduce cell proliferation, co-treatment of MDR OS cells with DNMT (5-Aza-dC, DAC) and HDAC (Trichostatin A, TSA) inhibitors is more effective than relying on each treatment alone. In re-expressing epigenetically silenced genes induced by treatments, a very specific regulation takes place which suggests that methylation and de-acetylation have occurred either separately or simultaneously to determine MDR OS phenotype. In particular, functional relationships have been reported after measuring differential gene expression, indicating that MDR OS cells acquired growth and survival advantage by simultaneous epigenetic inactivation of both multiple p53-independent apoptotic signals and osteoblast differentiation pathways. Furthermore, co-treatment results more efficient in inducing the re-expression of some main pathways according to the computed enrichment, thus emphasizing its potential towards representing an effective therapeutic option for MDR OS
Dipendenza della ripetibilit? dei risulati dei test di elica isolata dal numero di Reynolds
Get PDFAccording to current European regulations for calculating measurement uncertainty, besides computation of sensibility coefficients by, for example, OFAT tests, we have to evaluate the own repeatability of measurement device and technique, in order to estimate the influence of not controlled parameters. The aim of the present work is to show that repeatability of open water test results depends on the performed Reynolds number. A large set of tests performed on four screws models, with different shapes, diameters and blades numbers, has shown that, the coefficients of variation of torque and trust measurements, as well as standard deviation of hydrodynamic coefficients KQ and KT, decrease if Reynolds number increases, with a trend well fitted by a rational function like kx-?. The obtained results show that, if Reynolds number is about 750.000, standard deviations of torque and trust are about 0.5% of carried out measures, as well those of KQ and KT that are about 0.001, that is, in the worst case, the 0.5% of the mean value. In addition to what already shown by ITTC (International Towing Tank Conference) procedures, this conclusion provides useful information about the minimum Reynolds number to perform open water tests limiting the uncertainty intervals.Secondo quanto previsto dall\u27attuale normativa europea per la determinazione dell\u27incertezza di misura [1], oltre ad individuare i coefficienti di sensibilit? mediante ad esempio prove OFAT (one factor a time), ? necessario stimare la ripetitivit? intrinseca del sistema di misura cos? da valutare l\u27influenza dei parametri non sotto controllo. Obiettivo del presente Rapporto Tecnico ? mostrare come la ripetitivit? dei risultati ottenuti in una prova di elica isolata dipenda dal numero di Reynolds a cui ? stata eseguita. In particolare l\u27esecuzione di un cospicuo numero di misure (627 punti sperimentali) su 4 eliche con caratteristiche geometriche diverse, ha mostrato che, al crescere del numero di Reynolds, il coefficiente di variazione relativo alle misure di coppia e di spinta, nonch? la deviazione standard dei coefficienti idrodinamici KQ e KT, diminuiscono con andamenti generalmente ben approssimabili con funzioni razionali del tipo kx-?. I risultati ottenuti mostrano che, quando il numero di Reynolds raggiunge i 750.000, le deviazioni standard delle misure di coppia e di spinta scendono intorno allo 0,5% delle misure effettuate, e quelle di KT e KQ scendono intorno a 0.001, che, nel peggiore dei casi analizzato, ? anch\u27esso circa lo 0,5% del valore medio. Tale risultato fornisce utili indicazioni per l\u27individuazione del numero minimo di Reynolds a cui ? opportuno effettuare prove di elica isolata all\u27Insean
Il Carbonio organico nel Lago Maggiore: tendenza evolutiva, origine e caratteristiche qualitative
Get PDFNot availableRicerche sull\u27evoluzione del Lago Maggiore. Aspetti limnologici. Programma triennale 2013-2015. Campagna 2013. Il Carbonio organico nel Lago Maggiore: tendenza evolutiva, origine e caratteristiche qualitative. TOC (Total Organic Carbon). TEP (Transparent Exopolymeric Particels). CDOM (Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter
La chimica delle deposizioni atmosferiche nelle aree del programma CONECOFOR nell\u27anno 2013
No full textOpen field and throughfall deposiztion analysis in 8 forest plots in Ital
Journal of Limnology Vol. 73 (s1)
No full textIn order to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Institute of Ecosystem Study, we published a special issue of Journal of Limnology, dealing with potential new advances in limnology. Our idea was to invite scientists to write on how new advances can help limnology, and how limnology can help the general advancement of science. We build on the previous experiences of the already available special issues, by going a step further. In fact, Limnology, once a fundamental part of ecological studies, it has experienced a failure to keep up with the moving scientific trends. Limnologists working in the past were among the leading names in ecology, and most of their studies on plankton and eutrophication lead to the developments of current ecological sciences. Nowadays, lakes, ponds, and swamps may still be exploited to advance science. They could be used as model systems, for manipulation experiments, for their high local biological diversity, for the availability of many long-term data series, for their response to environmental changes, and for everything we learned from polluting and recovering them. The rationale of this volume is to deal with this problem, in order to give limnology its important place in science again
Sweeten our crops. Sustain a high diversity of beneficials through "sweet food" from plants
Get PDFSweeten our crops. Sustain a high diversity of beneficials through "sweet food" from plants. A sweet tooth overhangs the terrestrial ecosystems, it is nursed by plants constantly producing pollen and nectar and indirectly honeydew and honey. Truly the "green" Earth is "a land flowing with milk and honey" for myriads of species: from lizards to bees, from birds to flies, from man to ants, through marsupials, beetles, bats and so on. This sweet plant-provided food is the powerful basis of pollination and of many other multi-trophic interactions
Assessing recovery from acidification of European surface waters in the year 2010: evaluation of projections made with the MAGIC model in 1995
Get PDFIn 1999 we used the MAGIC (Model of Acidification of Groundwater In Catchments) model to project acidification of acidsensitive European surface waters in the year 2010, given implementation of the Gothenburg Protocol to the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP). A total of 202 sites in 10 regions in Europe were studied. These forecasts can now be compared with measurements for the year 2010, to give a "ground truth" evaluation of the model. The prerequisite for this test is that the actual sulfur and nitrogen deposition decreased from 1995 to 2010 by the same amount as that used to drive the model forecasts; this was largely the case for sulfur, but less so for nitrogen, and the simulated surface water [NO3?\u27] reflected this difference. For most of the sites, predicted surface water recovery from acidification for the year 2010 is very close to the actual recovery observed from measured data, as recovery is predominantly driven by reductions in sulfur deposition. Overall these results show that MAGIC successfully predicts future water chemistry given known changes in acid deposition
Introduction to "Conflict and Aggression"
No full textDuring the XXXVII CICA we will be talking about Developmental and Social Conditions of Conflict and Aggression. All participants will have the opportunity to listen to two keynote speakers, eight sessions of scientific presentations, one poster session and two panel discussions. All these kinds of activities will be focused on a variety of types of conditionings of aggression and violence, on methods to measure readiness for aggression and on the practical implications of this knowledge to be used by specialists and practitioners