1,722,428 research outputs found
Espressione e ruolo funzionale dei linfociti Th-17 nella gastrite correlata all'infezione da helicobacter pylor
Full text linkL'infezione da Helicobacter pylori (Hp) è caratterizzata da una marcata infiltrazione di cellule infiammatorie nella mucosa gastrica. I meccanismi molecolari che controllano la risposta infiammatoria associata all'infezione sono complessi, ma diverse evidenze suggeriscono che citochine, localmente prodotte, contribuiscano a sostenere tale infiammazione.
Già precedentemente abbiamo dimostrato che la produzione dell' interleuchina (IL)-17 è aumentata nella mucosa gastrica di paziente con infezione da Hp, e che tale citochina stimoli la sintesi di IL-8, il principale fattore coinvolto nella chemiotassi dei granulociti neutrofili. Purtroppo, i meccanismi e/o fattori che regolano l'espressione di IL-17 non sono ancora noti.
Nel presente lavoro, abbiamo inizialmente confermato che le cellule T CD4+ e CD8+ rappresentano la principale fonte di produzione di IL-17 nei campioni prelevati dai pazienti con infezione da Hp Alla luce di numerose evidenze che dimostrano come l'IL-23 stimoli la produzione di IL-17 da parte di cellule T in corso di infezioni batteriche, abbiamo esaminato il ruolo dell' IL-23 nel regolare l'espressione di IL-17 nella mucosa gastrica di pazienti Hp-positivi. Abbiamo analizzato l'espressione dell' IL-23 mediante real time PCR e saggio ELISA. Tale espressione è significativamente aumentata nei pazienti con infezione da Hp rispetto ai relativi controlli sani. La stimolazione di cellule mononucleate, isolate dalla lamina propria (LPMC) di mucosa sana, con IL-23 induce l'attivazione del fattore di trascrizione, Stat3, e la secrezione di IL-17. Parallelamente, l'inibizione di Stat3 previene la sintesi di IL-17 mediata dall' IL-23. Consistente con ciò, il blocco dell'IL-23 in colture di LPMC isolati da pazienti con infezione da Hp, riduce l'attivazione di Stat3 e la produzione di IL-17.
In aggiunta, abbiamo esaminato l'espressione dell' IL-21, una citochina prodotta dalle cellule Th-17, nella mucosa gastrica in presenza di infezione da Hp, e abbiamo valutato se l'IL-21 fosse in grado di regolare la produzione di enzimi della matrice (MMPs), una famiglia di proteasi coinvolte nella patogenesi del processo di ulcerazione mucosale, la cui sintesi è regolata positivamente da citochine prodotte da cellule T. I risultati indicano che l'IL-21 è costitutivamente espressa nella mucosa gastrica, ma in misura maggiore nelle biopsie e nelle cellule T CD3+ isolate da pazienti con infezione da Hp rispetto ai controlli sani. Abbiamo inoltre dimostrato che il recettore dell'IL-21 (IL-21R) è espresso sia da cellule epiteliali gastriche primarie che da linee cellulari epiteliali dello stomaco (AGS e MKN28). Consistente con ciò, le cellule AGS rispondono alla stimolazione con IL-21 aumentando la produzione di MMP-2 e MMP-9, ma non di MMP-1, -3, -7 e degli inibitori tissutali delle MMPs. In aggiunta, abbiamo dimostrato che il trattamento di espianti di mucosa gastrica, prelevati da pazienti Hp-positivi, con un anticorpo neutralizzante l'IL-21, riduce la produzione di MMP-2 e MMP-9 da parte delle cellule epiteliali. Complessivamente i nostri dati suggeriscono che le cellule Th-17 possano svolgere un ruolo patogenetico nella mucosa gastrica in corso di infezione da HpHelicobacter pylori (Hp) infection associates with a marked infiltration of the gastric mucosa with inflammatory cells. The molecular pathways that control Hp-associated inflammatory reaction are complex, but locally-induced cytokines seem to contribute to maintain the ongoing inflammation. We previously showed that interleukin (IL)-17 is over-produced in Hp-infected gastric mucosa, and that IL-17 stimulates the synthesis of IL-8, the major neutrophil chemoattractant. Factors/mechanisms that regulate IL-17 expression remain however unknown. In this study, we initially expanded on our previous data and showed that CD4+ and CD8+ T cells are a source of IL-17 in Hp-infected samples. Since IL-23 enhances T cell-derived IL-17 during bacterial infections, we then assessed the role of IL-23 in controlling IL-17 expression in Hp-colonized stomach. By real-time PCR and ELISA, IL-23 was detected in all gastric biopsies, but its expression was more pronounced in Hp-infected samples in comparison to controls. Treatment of normal gastric lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMC) with IL-23 enhanced Stat3 activation and IL-17 secretion, and pharmacologic inhibition of Stat3 prevented IL-23-driven IL-17 synthesis. Consistently, blockade of IL-23 in cultures of LPMC from Hp-infected patients reduced Stat3 activation and IL-17 production.
Additionally, we examined the expression of IL-21, a Th-17-related cytokine, in the Hp-infected gastric mucosa, and whether IL-21 regulates the production of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a family of proteases which has been involved in the pathogenesis of mucosal ulceration and whose synthesis is positively regulated by T cell-derived cytokines. We showed that IL-21 is constitutively expressed in gastric mucosa, and is more abundant in biopsies and purified mucosal CD3+ T cells from Hp-infected patients compared to normal and disease controls. We also demonstrated that IL-21R is expressed by primary gastric epithelial cells, as well as by the gastric epithelial cell lines AGS and MKN28. Consistently, AGS cells responded to IL-21 by increasing production of MMP-2 and MMP-9, but not MMP-1, MMP-3, MMP-7, and tissue inhibitors of MMPs. Finally, we showed that treatment of Hp-infected gastric explants with anti-IL-21 reduces epithelial cell-derived MMP-2 and MMP-9 production
Overall these data suggest that Th-17 cells may play a pathogenic role in Hp-infected gastric mucosa
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe 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
Hooliganism and demand for football in Italy Evidence for the period 1962-2011
No full textThis paper investigates the impact of hooliganism on attendance inItalian stadium and the effect of anti-violence measures adopted byItalian Government in 2007. Results first show that a structural breaktook place on Serie A average attendance in season 1979/80. Theeconometric investigation focused on the average of tickets sold pergame as dependent variable. We have found a robust negative impactof hooliganism and match-fixing scandals on stadium attendance. Inthe light of the previous results we focus on recent policy measuresadopted by Italian authorities aiming at reducing hooliganism. Thesemeasures, grounded on a ‘fidelity card’, were designed to keep outthe extreme and violent part of committed fans in favour of the uncommitted.According to our econometric investigation involvingsingle match played in Serie A from season 2007/08 to 2011/12 thesubstitution effect failed and the ‘fidelity card’ strategy did not turnto be successful if considering the average attendance point of view.[...
Allo stadio come alla guerra? Ostilità internazionale e aggressività sul campo
No full textIl significato di una partita di calcio trascende, spesso, la pura rilevanza sportiva. La storia del football è stata segnata da eventi che hanno contribuito ad acuire, se non addirittura a generare, tensioni politiche e crisi diplomatiche. Questa attitudine si spiega con il fatto che lo sport in generale, ed il calcio in particolare, sono spesso percepiti come vera e propria cassa di risonanza finalizzata alla promozione di messaggi politici. Non sorprende, quindi, che l’approccio sociologico allo sport individui nelle partite di calcio una guerra combattuta su un diverso fronte: quello dell’identità e dell’orgoglio nazionale. Su tale approccio si è cercato di interpretare molti fenomeni sportivi correlati al manifestarsi di episodi di violenza, come quelli praticati dai tifosi. Minore attenzione si è posta sul possibile ruolo giocato dai fattori culturali, politici ed economici nel determinare l’aggressività sul campo da gioco. Questo contributo si propone di analizzare se, e quanto, l’ostilità in campo economico, politico e diplomatico si ripercuotono nell’atteggiamento dei calciatori durante le partite. L’analisi empirica si concentra sulle partite disputate dalle squadre nazionali nelle fasi finali del Campionato Europeo e del Campionato del Mondo dal 2000 al 2012. I risultati dimostrano che, una volta depurata dalle componenti tipicamente sportive, l’aggressività sul campo è positivamente correlata con le variabili di ostilità da noi introdotte.[...
Variations on the Author
Full text link“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
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Psychotherapeutic interventions
No full textPsychotherapy is an integrative and integrated part of modern patient/relation-centered care in the advanced and terminal phases of physical illness. Psychiatric disorders (e.g. depressive spectrum, stress-related, and anxiety disorders), other clinically significant psychosocial conditions (e.g. demoralization, existential pain) and interpersonal, psychological, and spiritual needs have to be addressed by psychological intervention. Supportive-Expressive Group Psychotherapy (SEGT), Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy (MCT), Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully Therapy (CALM), cognitive-existential therapy, dignity therapy (DT) and other psychotherapeutic interventions have been developed over the last 40 years. These treatments have proved to be effective in increasing the patients' sense of dignity, purpose, and meaning, and to reduce demoralization, anxiety, and existential distress at the end of life. Also Family Focused Grief Therapy (FFGT) and grief therapy have shown to be effective in overcoming anxiety, depression, and complicated grief symptoms both before and after loss. Psychotherapy should thus be considered a mandatory ingredient of palliative care. © Oxford University Press 2018. All Rights Reserved.Psychotherapy is an integrative and integrated part of modern patient/relation-centered care in the advanced and terminal phases of physical illness. Psychiatric disorders (e.g. depressive spectrum, stress-related, and anxiety disorders), other clinically significant psychosocial conditions (e.g. demoralization, existential pain) and interpersonal, psychological, and spiritual needs have to be addressed by psychological intervention. Supportive-Expressive Group Psychotherapy (SEGT), Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy (MCT), Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully Therapy (CALM), cognitive-existential therapy, dignity therapy (DT) and other psychotherapeutic interventions have been developed over the last 40 years. These treatments have proved to be effective in increasing the patients' sense of dignity, purpose, and meaning, and to reduce demoralization, anxiety, and existential distress at the end of life. Also Family Focused Grief Therapy (FFGT) and grief therapy have shown to be effective in overcoming anxiety, depression, and complicated grief symptoms both before and after loss. Psychotherapy should thus be considered a mandatory ingredient of palliative care
Premessa
No full textPremessa a un volume sulle conseguenze politico-economiche della Pandemia da Covid-19
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