29 research outputs found
Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients: A Retrospective Italian Cohort Study in Tor Vergata University Hospital, Rome
No full textThe results of tuberculosis (TB) screening and reactivation in a cohort of 323 adult patients undergoing haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from 2015 to 2019 at the University Hospital of Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy, were reported. A total of 260 patients, 59 (18.3%) autologous and 264 (81.7%) allogeneic transplants, underwent Interferon Release (IFN)-γ (IGRA) test screening: 228 (87.7%) were negative, 11 (4.2%) indeterminate and 21 (8.1%) positive. Most of the IGRA-positive patients were of Italian origin (95.2%) and significantly older than the IGRA-negative (p < 0.001); 22 (8.5%) patients underwent a second IGRA during the first year after transplantation, and 1 tested positive for IGRA. Significantly lower monocyte (p = 0.044) and lymphocyte counts (p = 0.009) were detected in IGRA negative and IGRA indeterminate patients, respectively. All latent TB patients underwent isoniazid prophylaxis, and none of them progressed to active TB over a median follow-up period of 63.4 months. A significant decline in TB screening practices was shown from 2015 to 2019, and approximately 19% of patients were not screened. In conclusion, 8.1% of our HSCT population had LTBI, all received INH treatment, and no reactivation of TB was observed during the follow-up period. In addition, 19% escaped screening and 8% of these came from countries with a medium TB burden, therefore at higher risk of possible development of TB
Assessing the impact of rice policy changes in Viet Nam and the contribution of policy research:
No full textThe marketing and policy research on rice of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is described, and the conclusions and recommendations are discussed in the context of the decisionmaking processes in Viet Nam. The role of IFPRI's publication and communications in informing the policy environment are discussed. The author describes the perceptions of partners and stakeholders of the influence of the outcomes of the IFPRI project. They show that the research was regarded as being of high quality, independent, rigorous, and timely. A strong foundation of primary and secondary data gathering and analysis from Viet Nam gave the modeling work on policy options a high degree of credibility among key policymakers. Linking the spatial equilibrium model with income distribution analysis based on national household surveys allowed IFPRI to satisfy policymakers that relaxing rice export quotas and internal trade restrictions on rice would not adversely impact on regional disparities and food security and would have beneficial effects on farm pricesand poverty, giving a degree of confidence to policymakers that relaxing the controls would be in Viet Nam's national interest. They made these decisions earlier than would have been the case without the IFPRI research. A framework for the evaluation of policy research and advice is described, which explicitly recognizes the possibility of alternative suppliers of these two components to IFPRI. The framework is used to assess the impact of IFPRI's research with Viet Nam on alternative internal and external trade policies for rice in that country. The policy assessment framework is used to measure the economic impact of the policy changes, and the contribution of IFPRI's work with Viet Nam on the policies from 1995–97. Around 40 percent of the contribution of IFPRI is estimated to have accrued to the rest of the world as Viet Nam is now a major player in world rice trade.Research., Agricultural policies., Rice., Viet Nam., Vietnam, Impact assessment,
Optimization of the autophagy measurement in a human cell line and primary cells by flow cytometry
No full textThe limited availability of rapid and reliable flow cytometry-based assays for ex vivo quantification of autophagy has hampered their clinical applications for studies of diseases pathogenesis or for the implementation of autophagy-targeting therapies. To this aim, we modified and improved the protocol of a commercial kit developed for quantifying the microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B light chain 3B (LC3), the most reliable marker for autophagosomes currently available. The protocol modifications were set up measuring the autophagic flux in neoplastic (THP-1 cells) and primary cells (peripheral blood mononuclear cells; PBMC) of healthy donors. Moreover, PBMC of active tuberculosis (TB) patients were stimulated with the Mycobacterium tuberculosis purified protein derivatives or infected with live Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG). We found that the baseline median fluorescence intensity (MFI) of THP-1 cells changed depending on the time of sample acquisition to the flow cytometer. To solve this problem, a fixation step was introduced in different stages of the assay’s protocol, obtaining more reproducible and sensitive results when a post-LC3-staining fixation was performed, in either THP-1 cells or PBMC. Furthermore, since we found that results are influenced by the type and the dose of the lysosome inhibitor used, the best dose of Chloroquine for LC3 accumulation were set up in either THP-1 cells or PBMC. Finally, applying these experimental settings, we measured the autophagic flux in CD14+ cells from active TB patients’ PBMC upon BCG infection. In conclusion, our data indicate that the protocol modifications here described improve the stability and accura- cy of a flow cytometry-based assay for the evaluation of autophagy, thus assuring more standardised cell analyses. © the Author(s), 2019
Measuring the poverty impact of ACIAR projects: a broad framework
No full textThis report sets out some broad ideas about how poverty evaluation could be conducted for ACIAR research projects. As with good benefit–cost analysis, there are good practices that need to be observed when undertaking poverty analysis. While poverty is a broad concept, and can be addressed through many means, these need to be grounded in some common understanding of the economics of poverty. This report is concerned mostly with quantitative evaluation, in the same sense that current ACIAR project evaluations are quantitative. That is, it is concerned with saying something about the order of magnitude of the effects of the project. Of course, qualitative analysis is important, and in most cases is a prelude to quantification — there is little point quantifying if you don’t understand what you are talking about. Quantification, however, provides a discipline and focus for qualitative speculation and provides an important extra dimension when comparing the effects of different projects. When quantifying, there are many sensible approaches that could be adopted. We will focus here on approaches that are broadly consistent with the current approaches to benefit–cost analysis and that could readily be used to augment those approaches. The report begins by reviewing some basic notions of poverty (Chapter 2) and then goes on (Chapter 3) to discuss in principle the ways that agricultural research could influence poverty. Chapter 4 explains, with the use of some examples, a range of analytical approaches that could be taken, and Chapter 5 draws some specific implications for ACIAR.poverty evaluation, benefit-cost analysis, poverty analysis, economics of poverty, quantitative evaluation, analytical, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics,
COVID-19 and multiple sclerosis: challenges and lessons for patient care
No full textDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and their healthcare providers have faced unique challenges related to the interaction between SARS-CoV-2, underlying neurological disease and the use of disease- modifying treatments (DMTs). Key concerns arose, primarily related to the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 infection could trigger the initial demyelinating event or exacerbate disease activity. Another major concern was the safety and efficacy i cacy of the COVID-19 vaccines, especially for patients undergoing specific fi c treatments that could weaken their antibody responses. In the post-infection phase, identifying long COVID in patients with MS has been complicated due to the large overlap between post-infection sequelae and MS symptoms. In addition, disruptions in health and rehabilitation services have made it difficult fi cult for MS patients to access care. This Series article explores current evidence on the interaction between MS and SARS-CoV-2, identifies fi es the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in the care of patients with MS, and discusses the significant fi cant adoption of digital health solutions, including telemedicine and new technology-based rehabilitation approaches. Based on lessons learned, recommendations and future directions are offered for managing patients with MS, rethinking healthcare systems and improving health outcomes in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era. Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Spike is the most recognized antigen in the whole-blood platform in both acute and convalescent COVID-19 patients
No full textObjectives: To identify the best experimental approach to detect a SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell response using a whole-blood platform. Methods: Whole-blood from 56 COVID-19 and 23 “NO-COVID-19” individuals were stimulated overnight with different concentrations (0.1 or 1 μg/mL) of SARS-CoV-2 PepTivator® Peptide Pools, including spike (pool S), nucleocapsid (pool N), membrane (pool M), and a MegaPool (MP) of these three peptide pools. ELISA was used to analyse interferon (IFN)-γ levels. Results: The IFN-γ-response to every SARS-CoV-2 peptide pool was significantly increased in COVID-19 patients compared with NO-COVID-19 individuals. Pool S and MegaPool were the most potent immunogenic stimuli (median: 0.51, IQR: 0.14–2.17; and median: 1.18, IQR: 0.27–4.72, respectively) compared with pools N and M (median: 0.22, IQR: 0.032–1.26; and median: 0.22, IQR: 0.01−0.71, respectively). The whole-blood test based on pool S and MegaPool showed a good sensitivity of 77% and a high specificity of 96%. The IFN-γ-response was mediated by both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and independently detected of clinical parameters in both hospitalized and recovered patients. Conclusions: This easy-to-use assay for detecting SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses may be implemented in clinical laboratories as a powerful diagnostic tool. © 2021 The Author(s
The impact of trade liberalization on household welfare in vietnam
No full textWhat is the effect of trade liberalization on households in developing countries? To what extent do the poor benefit when local markets are made more accommodative to international trade? The author empirically analyzes the distributional impact of trade policies on households in a low-income country with a large rural economy where labor markets are imperfect. The methodology in this paper, which can be applied to various types of labor market conditions, relates changes in prices attributed to trade reforms to changes in household welfare, income distribution, and poverty using theoretically consistent measures of producer and consumer welfare. The author investigates the effects on poverty and income distribution of national and international market integration in Vietnam's rice sectorand fertilizer market between 1993 and 1998, a period of ongoing market reforms when the national poverty rate fell sharply from 59 percent to 37 percent. He finds that when the effects of opening the rice and fertilizer market are isolated, Vietnam's agricultural trade reforms did not contribute to a significant improvement in overall household welfare or decline in poverty over this period. Nonetheless, the liberalization exercise can explain about half of the reduction in poverty incidence among farm households. The results also show that liberalization did not exacerbate income inequality, but did generate gains for rural households across the distribution, particularly the poor, at the expense of urban households.Access to Markets,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Markets and Market Access
Reply to "comment on "diamond (111) surface reconstruction and epitaxial graphene interface"
No full text\ua9 2025 authors. Published by the American Physical Society. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article\u27s title, journal citation, and DOI.In the Comment by Goletti et al. [Phys. Rev. B 111, 117301 (2025)10.1103/PhysRevB.111.117301], concerns are raised regarding the interpretation of our experimental findings, as well as the application of basic ground-state density functional theory (DFT) models pertaining to the C(111)-(2
71) surface presented in our earlier publication [Reed et al., Phys. Rev. B 105, 205304 (2022)2469-995010.1103/PhysRevB.105.205304]. These concerns are addressed and our interpretation of the results is ultimately reconfirmed. We present further analysis of the original data and introduce new measurements on previously unreported regions of the surface reconstructed (2
71) Brillouin zone, aiding in the evaluation of the dispersion relation at other high-symmetry points. We gain insights relating to the current use of DFT calculations that include many-body theories when relating to the occupied electronic structure of this surface as measured by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy
Within-Host Dynamics of Multi-Species Infections:Facilitation, Competition and Virulence
No full textHost individuals are often infected with more than one parasite species (parasites defined broadly, to include viruses and bacteria). Yet, research in infection biology is dominated by studies on single-parasite infections. A focus on single-parasite infections is justified if the interactions among parasites are additive, however increasing evidence points to non-additive interactions being the norm. Here we review this evidence and theoretically explore the implications of non-additive interactions between co-infecting parasites. We use classic Lotka-Volterra two-species competition equations to investigate the within-host dynamical consequences of various mixes of competition and facilitation between a pair of co-infecting species. We then consider the implications of these dynamics for the virulence (damage to host) of co-infections and consequent evolution of parasite strategies of exploitation. We find that whereas one-way facilitation poses some increased virulence risk, reciprocal facilitation presents a qualitatively distinct destabilization of within-host dynamics and the greatest risk of severe disease.</p
