28 research outputs found
Un contributo alla consapevolezza nelle scelte alimentari, nell'ottica dell'educazione alla salute
No full textViene descritto un progetto di tirocinio realizzato all’interno della SSIS per la formazione degli insegnanti. Il tema scelto riguarda l’alimentazione, la cui educazione è indispensabile per i giovanissimi sempre più soggetti a mode importate e dannose per la salute. Vengono anche descritti esempi di lavoro in classe
Observatory Houses Roccascalegna. Young Architects Competition. Concorso internazionale di idee.
No full textPPARγ in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
No full textPeroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is member of a family of nuclear receptors that interacts with nuclear proteins acting as coactivators and corepressors. The colon is a major tissue which expresses PPARγ in epithelial cells and, to a lesser degree, in macrophages and lymphocytes and plays a role in the regulation of intestinal inflammation. Indeed, both natural and synthetic PPARγ ligands have beneficial effects in different models of experimental colitis, with possible implication in the therapy of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This paper will specifically focus on potential role of PPARγ in the predisposition and physiopathology of IBD and will analyze its possible role in medical therapy
Determinants of symptom burden related to bowel preparation for colonoscopy
No full textSymptoms developing during bowel preparation are major concerns among subjects who refuse the procedure
Intrinsic Anisotropy and Pinning Anisotropy in Nanostructured YBa2Cu3O7 from Microwave Measurements
No full textAnisotropy is an intrinsic factor that dictates the magnetic properties of YBa2Cu3O7−δ and
therefore has a great impact on many applications. Artificial pinning centres are often introduced
in an attempt to mitigate its effect, resulting in less anisotropic electrical and magnetic properties.
However, the nanoengineering of superconductors makes the quantification of the anisotropy
itself uncertain: the intrinsic anisotropy due to the layered structure, quantified by the anisotropy
factor γ, mixes with the additional anisotropy due to pinning. As a consequence, there is no
consensus on the experimental anisotropy factor γ that can result in YBa2Cu3O7−δ when
directional (twin planes, nanorods) or isotropic defects are present. We present measurements of
the magnetic field and angular dependent surface impedance in very different nanostructured
YBa2Cu3O7−δ films, grown by a chemical route and by pulsed laser deposition with different
kind of defects (nanorods, twin planes, nanoparticles). We show that the surface impedance
measurements are able to disentangle the intrinsic anisotropy from the directional pinning
anisotropy, thanks to the possibility of extracting the true anisotropic flux–flow resistivity and by
correctly exploiting the angular scaling. We find in all films that the intrinsic anisotropy
γ = 5.3 ± 0.7. By contrast, the pinning anisotropy determines a much more complex, feature–
rich and nonuniversal, sample–dependent angular landscape.This work has been carried out within the framework of the
EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the
Euratom Research and Training Programme 2014-2018 and
2019-2020 under grant agreement No 633 053. The views and
opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of
the European Commission. We thank Benedetta Belli and
Raffaella Rogai for help in data acquisition. We acknowledge
financial support from Spanish Ministry of Economy and
Competitiveness through the Severo Ochoa Programme for
Centres of Excellence in R&D (SEV-2015-0496), SUMATE
project RTI2018-095853-B-C21, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, COST-Nanohybri
CA16218, DWARFS project (MAT2017-83468-R) and Catalan Government with 2017-SGR-1519 and XRE4S.This work has been carried out within the framework of the
EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the
Euratom Research and Training Programme 2014-2018 and
2019-2020 under grant agreement No 633 053. The views and
opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of
the European Commission. We thank Benedetta Belli and
Raffaella Rogai for help in data acquisition. We acknowledge
financial support from Spanish Ministry of Economy and
Competitiveness through the Severo Ochoa Programme for
Centres of Excellence in R&D (SEV-2015-0496), SUMATE
project RTI2018-095853-B-C21, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, COST-Nanohybri
CA16218, DWARFS project (MAT2017-83468-R) and Catalan Government with 2017-SGR-1519 and XRE4S.Peer reviewe
Incidence, risk and protective factors of symptoms after colonoscopy
No full textBackground
Few studies focused on minor adverse events which may develop after colonoscopy.
Aims
To investigate the incidence and factors associated to post-colonoscopy symptoms.
Methods
This is a prospective study conducted in 10 Italian hospitals. The main outcome was a cumulative score combining 10 gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms occurring the week following colonoscopy. The analyses were conducted via multivariate logistic regression.
Results
Of 793 subjects included in the analysis, 361 (45.5%) complained the new onset of at least one GI symptom after the exam; one symptom was reported by 202 (25.5%), two or more symptoms by 159 (20.1%). Newly developed symptoms more frequently reported were epigastric/abdominal bloating (32.2%), pain (17.3%), and dyspeptic symptoms (17.9%). Symptoms were associated with female sex (odds ratio [OR]=2.54), increasing number of symptoms developed during bowel preparation intake (OR=1.35) and somatic symptoms (OR=1.27). An inverse association was observed with better mood (OR=0.74). A high-risk profile was identified, represented by women with bad mood and somatic symptoms (OR=8.81).
Conclusion
About half of the patients develop de novo GI symptoms following colonoscopy. Improving bowel preparation tolerability may reduce the incidence of post-colonoscopy symptoms, especially in more vulnerable patients
Impact of colonoscopy on working productivity: a prospective multicenter observational study
No full textBackground and Aims: Patients undergoing colonoscopy are often in the workforce. Therefore, colonoscopy may affect patients’ work productivity in terms of missed working days and/or reduced working efficiency. We aimed to investigate the impact of colonoscopy on work productivity and factors influencing this impact. Methods: We conducted a prospective, observational, multicenter study in 10 Italian hospitals between 2016 and 2017. We collected information on individual characteristics, work productivity, symptoms, and conditions before, during, and after the procedure from patients undergoing colonoscopy for several indications using validated tools. Outcomes were interference of preparation with work, absenteeism, and impaired work performance after the procedure. We fitted multivariate logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for potential predictors of the outcomes. Results: Among 1137 subjects in the study, 30.5% reported at least 1 outcome. Impaired work performance was associated with bowel preparation regimen (full dose on the day of colonoscopy vs split dose: OR, 4.04; 95% CI, 1.43-11.5), symptoms during bowel preparation (high symptom score: OR, 3.21; 95% CI, 1.15-8.95), and pain during the procedure (OR, 2.47; 95% CI, 1.40-4.35). Increasing number of working hours and less comfortable jobs were associated with absenteeism (P for trend =.06) and impairment of working performance (P for trend =.01) and GI symptoms both before and after colonoscopy. Conclusions: Occupational and individual characteristics of patients should be considered when scheduling colonoscopy because this procedure may impair work productivity in up to one-third of patients. Split-dose bowel preparation, performing a painless colonoscopy, and preventing the occurrence of GI symptoms may minimize the impact of colonoscopy on work productivity
Mucosal healing in inflammatory bowel disease: Treatment efficacy and predictive factors
No full textAbstractIn recent years mucosal healing has emerged as an important therapeutic goal for patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Growing evidence suggests that achieving mucosal healing can improve patient outcomes and, potentially, alter the course of the disease. Drugs currently used in the management of inflammatory bowel disease are potentially able of inducing and maintaining mucosal healing, but the effect size is difficult to assess because of different definitions of mucosal healing, differences in study designs, and timing of endoscopic evaluation. Mucosal healing has been studied extensively in the biologic era. Data available from different sources, such as controlled trials and observational studies, show that anti-TNFα therapies can induce rapid and sustained mucosal healing in a variable percentage of patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colits. No controlled study has been designed to identify possible predictors of mucosal healing. Some clinical characteristics such as extensive disease, young age at diagnosis, and smoking status may be predictive of a more aggressive clinical course and, presumably, of a reduced clinical and endoscopic response to therapy. Changes and normalization of C-reactive protein and faecal calprotectin may be useful tools to predict outcomes, guide the timing for endoscopic evaluation and, possibly, reduce the need of endoscopic evaluation in assessing mucosal healing
Mongersen, an OralSMAD7Antisense Oligonucleotide, and Crohn’s Disease
No full textBACKGROUND:
Crohn's disease-related inflammation is characterized by reduced activity of the immunosuppressive cytokine transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) due to high levels of SMAD7, an inhibitor of TGF-β1 signaling. Preclinical studies and a phase 1 study have shown that an oral SMAD7 antisense oligonucleotide, mongersen, targets ileal and colonic SMAD7.
METHODS:
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial, we evaluated the efficacy of mongersen for the treatment of persons with active Crohn's disease. Patients were randomly assigned to receive 10, 40, or 160 mg of mongersen or placebo per day for 2 weeks. The primary outcomes were clinical remission at day 15, defined as a Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) score of less than 150, with maintenance of remission for at least 2 weeks, and the safety of mongersen treatment. A secondary outcome was clinical response (defined as a reduction of 100 points or more in the CDAI score) at day 28.
RESULTS:
The proportions of patients who reached the primary end point were 55% and 65% for the 40-mg and 160-mg mongersen groups, respectively, as compared with 10% for the placebo group (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the percentage of participants reaching clinical remission between the 10-mg group (12%) and the placebo group. The rate of clinical response was significantly greater among patients receiving 10 mg (37%), 40 mg (58%), or 160 mg (72%) of mongersen than among those receiving placebo (17%) (P=0.04, P<0.001, and P<0.001, respectively). Most adverse events were related to complications and symptoms of Crohn's disease.
CONCLUSIONS:
We found that study participants with Crohn's disease who received mongersen had significantly higher rates of remission and clinical response than those who received placebo. (Funded by Giuliani; EudraCT number, 2011-002640-27.)
