102,396 research outputs found
In vitro and ex vivo enhancement of nonspecific phagocytosis by cefodizime
No full textThe in vitro and ex vivo effects of cefodizime on some functional activities of both human neutrophils and monocytes were studied. In vitro experiments were performed with antibiotic concentrations ranging from 1 to 200 μg/ml. For the ex vivo study, 7 adult healthy controls were treated intravenously with 4 g/day of cefodizime for 6 days. We found that the drug modulated phagocytosis frequency and index when nonopsonized zymosan and heat-killed Candida albicans were used as phagocytic challenge both in vitro (from 25 μg/ml) and ex vivo 12 h after the last administration of cefodizime. No effect on the other phagocyte functional parameters was shown. The in vitro enhancement of nonspecific phagocytosis was demonstrated both in the presence of cefodizime and when phagocytes and particles were separately incubated with the drug
Economies of scale and scope of universities - towards bigger size and specialization?
No full textThis paper provides an estimation of the specific cost structure of the Italian public universities, considering their complex function of producing teaching and research. The analysis employs a quadratic cost function and an innovative dataset for the year 2016. When modelling the cost structure, we explicitly take the potential inefficiency into account, using a Stochastic Frontier Analysis. Current levels of marginal and average costs suggest that economies of scale can be still exploited. Strong diseconomies of scope between teaching and research also exist. Policies dealing with mergers and specialization are justified from the cost-efficiency point of view
Modeling Disk Caching Policies for Video on Demand Systems
No full textThe paper introduces generalized stochastic Petri nets models for the description and the analysis of the performance of a video on demand service. We present simple models of the server and briefly discuss how this methodology can be useful in order to compare the effectiveness of different disk caching policies. Numerical results show the relative performances of some different choices in a multiclient environment. © 2002 IEEE
Modulation of the CD8+-T-cell response by CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells in patients with Hepatitis B virus infection
No full textCD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells have been shown to maintain peripheral tolerance against self and foreign
antigens. In this study we analyzed the effect of circulating CD4+ CD25+ T cells on CD8+-T-cell responses of
patients with chronic and resolved hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. We demonstrated that circulating CD4+
CD25+ T cells modulate the function and expansion of HBV-specific CD8+ cells ex vivo in all patients,
regardless of whether they have chronic or resolved HBV infection. The possible role of CD4+ CD25+ T cells
in the pathogenesis of chronic HBV infection is not supported by these data. However, these results might have
implications for optimizing future immunotherapeutic approaches to HBV treatment
Preneoplastic lesions of the larynx: diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Our experience in 185 cases
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