1,721,762 research outputs found
An experience with paediatric burn wounds treated with a plantderived wound therapeutic
No full textl O bjective: To observe the efficacy of a plant-derived wound dressing (1 Primary Wound Dressing®), a mixture of hypericum and neem oil, in different types of paediatric burns. l Method: A retrospective review was conducted over the complete healing course of 9 paediatric patients with a mean age of 8.17±3.35 (1-11 years), presenting mixed, partial or full-thickness burns. The treatment applied by the wound care specialist consisted of daily cleansing of the wound with a saline solution and application of 1 Primary Wound Dressing on the whole wound surface. There was no application of a secondary dressing. The time to heal, wound size, ease of handling, pain and complications were recorded. Procedural and background pain were observed in six of the patients older than 5 years (mean age 9.6±2.39, range 8-11 years). Due to the small number of patients examined during the period studied, it was not possible to perform statistical analyses. l Results: The mean wound size was 50.76±48.32cm2 (4.63-132.0cm2). A rapid induction of granulation tissue and re-epithelialisation was observed. Time to complete healing was 16.6±4.69 days (10-22 days). No complications related to wound infection was observed. The 6 patients older than five years reported a strong relief of pain, from an initial value of 7-8 out of 10 to 0 out of 10 within the first week of treatment. This remained at the 0 out of 10 level during the second and third weeks of treatment. l Conclusion: This retrospective, non-controlled examination suggests that 1 Primary Wound Dressing could be an effective therapy for the treatment of burn wounds, with benefits including pain reduction and simplicity of use. Further evaluations with a larger population are required to document the effectiveness of this plant-derived wound dressing in a controlled fashion. l Declaration of interest: There were no external sources of funding for this study. F. Carnevali is a researcher and co-inventor of 1 Primary Wound Dressing®
On Bookchin's Hidden Spinozism
Get PDFThis paper argues that Murray Bookchin’s conception of matter and thought aligns with Spinoza’s views, particularly as outlined in Spinoza’s treatment of bodies in the second part of the Ethics. I argue that Bookchin’s redefinition of matter in terms of a dynamic interaction of self-organized organisms echoes Spinoza’s conception of bodies. Both thinkers reject a fundamental separation between humans and nature, recognizing human complexity as a natural outgrowth of nonhuman organization. Furthermore, I read Bookchin’s ideas on natural mind alongside Hasana Sharp’s renaturalization of ideology, which emphasizes Spinoza’s notion of a transindividual power of thinking involving both human and nonhuman beings. I maintain that this conception of thought challenges modern science’s view of nature as an object of thought but not a thinking entity, thus theorizing a power of thinking inherent to nature. By reconceptualizing matter, rationality, and science, this approach forms the basis of an ecological ethics that recognizes alterity as an active element in natural and social history, grounding Bookchin’s theory of ecological ethics in Spinoza’s philosophy
Evoluzione del titolo anticorpale ed alterazioni riproduttive in capre siero positive verso Toxoplasma gondii.
No full textRole of Xenosialylation in Post-Infectious and Post-Vaccination Complications, Including Covid-19 and Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination
No full textThe host glycosylation mechanism, with sialic acids as a key component, is essential for synthesizing carbohydrate components in viral glycoproteins. We hypothesize a correlation between the presence of the Neu5Gc on the host tissue and the development of infectious complications, adverse vaccine reactions, and autoimmune diseases. In certain mammals, including humans, the loss of the Cytidine Monophospho-N-Acetylneuraminic Acid Hydroxylase gene (negative-CMAH) prevents the synthesis of Neu5Gc, which acts as a Mammalian-associated Carbohydrate Antigen (MCA), (XeSiAs-Neu5Gc). When negative-CMAH species consume products from positive-CMAH mammals or are exposed to non-human cell-derived medicines, Neu5Gc can be integrated into their glycocalyx through a process called xenosialylation, eliciting an inflammatory response (xenosialitis) and prompting the production of circulating anti-Neu5Gc antibodies aimed at eliminating Neu5Gc. We hypothesize that in the case of xenosialylation, neutralizing antiviral antibodies from infections or vaccinations—including those for SARS-CoV-2—may cross-react with the XeSiAs-Neu5Gc glycans, as these resemble viral envelope antigens produced by the host’s glycosylation. Additionally, circulating anti-Neu5Gc antibodies may also react with other circulating antibodies, including newly formed antiviral ones with a XeSiAs-Neu5Gc-contaminated Fc region. This can lead to the serum removal of the anti-inflammatory antibodies, leaving only hyperinflammatory IgG agalactosylated antibodies. Such conditions are also seen in various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. We hypothesize that the combination of antibody cross-reaction and the removal of the XeSiAs-Neu5Gc-contaminated Fc region anti-inflammatory antibodies may intensify severe inflammatory responses like cytokine storms and coagulopathies in COVID-19 patients and those vaccinated. Assessing serum levels of total XeSiAs-Neu5Gc antibodies could be a valuable method for identifying patients at risk of severe complications from viral infections and vaccinations, including SARS-CoV-2. This strategy may also deepen our understanding of the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases linked to post-infectious and post-vaccination complications, particularly for viruses utilizing the host glycosylation machinery, such as SARS-CoV-2, IAV, EBV, and others
The Xenopus laevis beta TrCP gene: genomic organization, alternative splicing, 5' and 3' region characterization and comparison of its structure with that of human beta TrCP genes.
No full texthTrCP plays a relevant role in the control of stability of several key protein factors. In Xenopus, hTrCP acts as an inhibitor of Wnt
signaling and dorsal axis formation. We determined the primary structure of the frog hTrCP gene, which consists of 14 exons and 13 introns,
spanning over 34 kb. Isoforms of x-hTrCP have been found, which show differences in the NH2 and COOH regions. NH2 isoforms differ for
the presence or absence of a 30 aa sequence, coded by exon III. In COOH isoforms, 19 C-terminal amino acids are replaced by three different
amino acids. Occurrence of two 5V splice donor sites for splicing of intron XIII provides an explanation for these isoforms, based on
alternative splicing. The DNA region of the putative hTrCP promoter contains several TATA elements, one GCCAAT box, and putative
binding sites for Ets, Tcf/Lef and NF-nB transcription factors. Two transcription initiation sites have been mapped downstream of TATA
boxes proximal to ATG for start of translation. Comparison of the Xenopus and human hTrCP genes indicates high conservation of exon
nucleotide and amino acid sequences, size and organization; differences are limited to exons coding for N- and C-terminal regions
Management of severe head injury with brain exposure in three loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta
No full textThe loggerhead Caretta caretta is the most common sea turtle in the Mediterranean. Currently, sea turtles are considered endangered, mainly due to the impact of human activities. Among traumatic lesions, those involving the skull, if complicated by brain exposure, are often life-threatening. In these cases, death could be the outcome of direct trauma of the cerebral tissue or of secondary meningoencephalitis. This uncontrolled study aims to evaluate the use of a plantderived dressing (1 Primary Wound Dressing®) in 3 sea turtles with severe lesions of the skull exposing the brain. Following surgical curettage, the treatment protocol involved exclusive use of the plant-derived dressing applied on the wound surface as the primary dressing, daily for the first month and then every other day until the end of treatment. The wound and peri-wound skin were covered with a simple secondary dressing without any active compound (non-woven gauze with petroleum jelly). Data presented herein show an excellent healing process in all 3 cases and no side effects due to contact of the medication with the cerebral tissue. © Inter-Research 2016
HrpF, a human sequence-specific DNA-binding protein homologous to XrpFl, a Xenopus Iaevis oocyte transcription factor
No full textThe identification in HeLa nuclei of a novel DNA-binding protein, designated HrpF, is presented. This factor recognizes and binds a sequence of the Xenopus Iaevis L14 ribosomal protein (r-p) gene promoter bound by the Xenopus r-p transcription factor I (XrpFl) (1). We show here that XrpFl and HrpF share a conserved DNA-binding domain. We also present evidences suggesting that the two factors perform similar functions in the cell. We discuss the hypothesis that closely related factors might be involved in the control of rp-gene transcription in vertebrates
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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