43 research outputs found
Correlati biologici di stress psicosociale in donne con disturbi dell'umore durante la transizione menopausale
No full textIntroduzione: Lo stress psicosociale si riferisce ad eventi acuti o cronici di origine psicologica e/o sociale che dispongono del potenziale di interferire con l' omeostasi bio-psico-sociale dell'individuo. Studi epidemiologici mostrano che fattori di stress psicosociale sono predittori indipendenti per lo sviluppo di sindrome metabolica in donne in postmenopausa. Essi inoltre aumentano il rischio per lo sviluppo di disturbo depressivo maggiore e sintomi depressivi sottosoglia in donne in peri- e postmenopausa.
Obiettivi: Il presente elaborato presenta dati derivanti da uno studio trasversale su donne con depressione maggiore in regime di ricovero ordinario al fine di 1) confrontare variabili metaboliche in donne in peri- e postmenopausa e 2) studiare la direzione e forza dell'associazione tra fattori di rischio psicosociale (supporto sociale, disaccordo coniugale) e variabili biologiche.
Risultati: Donne in postmenopausa avevano valori medi di pressione arteriosa sistolica e di circonferenza vita maggiori rispetto a donne in perimenopausa della stessa età. Il supporto sociale e il disaccordo coniugale sono risultati associati ai valori di cortisolemia al risveglio (una sola misurazione tramite prelievo di sangue venoso) indipendentemente dalla severità dell'episodio depressivo.
Conclusioni: Il presente elaborato fornisce dati preliminari per formulare future ipotesi su specifiche pathways bio-psico-sociali che leghino fattori di stress psicosociale a morbilità in donne durante la transizione menopausale.Background: Psychosocial stress refers to acute or chronic events of psychological or social origin which challenge the homeostatic state of biological systems. Epidemiological data demonstrate that psychosocial factors may play a causal role in the chain of events leading to the metabolic syndrome in women in postmenopause. Also, psychosocial factors predict the risk for developing major depressive disorder in peri- and postmenopausal women.
Objective: We present data from a cross-sectional study conducted on a sample of 38 female inpatient with diagnosis of major depressive disorder which sought 1) to compare metabolic variables in postmenopausal and perimenopausal women and 2) to assess the relationship between psychosocial risk factor (social support, marital adjustment) and biological variables.
Results: Postmenopausal women showed higher levels of waist circumference and sistolic blood pressure compared to age-matched perimenopausal women. Social support and marital adjustment were significantly associated with levels of plasmatic cortisol at awakening (single time point for blood withdrawal), irrespectively on the severity of current depression.
Conclusions: Results from this study will inform future hypothesis regarding pathways that link psychosocial stress to morbidity in women during the menopausal transition
Serological screening for Leishmania infantum in asymptomatic blood donors living in an endemic area (Sicily, Italy)
No full textThe purpose of our study was to assess whether Leishmania infantum parasitemia occurs in asymptomatic Leishmania-seropositive subjects. Samples from 500 blood donors were tested using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Anti-Leishmania antibodies were not found in any sample. Our findings suggest that the risk of L. infantum transmission by blood transfusion in Sicily is very low
A comparative study of axis I antecedents before age 18 of unipolar depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
No full textBackground: Despite a large scientific literature on early clinical precursors of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and unipolar depression, few data are available on axis I disorders preceding the adult onset of these illnesses. Sampling and Methods: Disorders before the age of 18 years were retrospectively assessed with a structured interview in 3 groups of consecutive adult inpatients with DSM-IV diagnoses of schizophrenia (n = 197), major depressive disorder (n = 287) and bipolar disorder (n = 132). Only patients with adult onset of schizophrenia and of mania/hypomania were included. A sample of the general population served as control group (n = 300). Results and Conclusion: The clinical groups significantly outnumbered the control sample on the majority of early axis I diagnoses. Schizophrenia was significantly associated (1) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), ADHD inattentive subtype, ADHD hyperactive subtype and primary nocturnal enuresis, compared to unipolar depression, and (2) with social phobia and ADHD inattentive subtype, compared to bipolar disorder. Oppositional defiant disorder was significantly associated with bipolar disorder, compared to the other clinical and control groups. The ADHD hyperactive subtype predicted the adult onset of bipolar disorder compared to unipolar depression. Externalizing disorders seem of special importance as regards the clinical pathways toward schizophrenia. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Base
Field Test Performance of Noncontact Ultrasonic Rail Inspection System
No full textThis paper presents the latest results from a noncontact ultrasonic rail inspection system developed at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) under the auspices of the Federal Railroad Administration. Noncontact rail probing is an attractive feature that could potentially allow for new possibilities. The UCSD system utilizes a focused air-coupled transmitter, symmetrically placed air-coupled receivers, and a real-time statistical algorithm to maximize true outliers (defects) and minimize false positives. Two field tests were conducted at the Rail Defect Test Facility of the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado, at test speeds from 1.6 to 24 km/h (1 to 15 mi/h). The results of these tests, evaluated in terms of probability of detection versus probability of false alarms (receiver operating characteristic curves) indicate a good detection performance at the speeds of 1.6 and 8 km/h, with a much poorer performance at the speeds of 16 and 24 km/h. Possible reasons for the performance degradation at the higher speeds are discussed, and future work aimed at mitigating these issues is proposed. (C) 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers
Probable disseminated Mycobacterium abscessus subspecies bolletii infection in a patient with idiopathic CD4+ T lymphocytopenia: a case report.
No full textINTRODUCTION: Rapidly growing mycobacteria are opportunistic pathogens in patients with underlying riskfactors. Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. bolletii is a newly recognized member of rapidlygrowing mycobacteria, isolated from respiratory tract and cutaneous infections.
CASE PRESENTATION: We describe a case of chronic disseminated infection caused by M. abscessus subsp. bolletiiin a 38-year-old Sri Lankan man with idiopathic CD4+ T lymphocytopenia. Idiopathic CD4+T lymphocytopenia is a rare cause of immunodysfunction that, similar to humanimmunodeficiency virus infection. M. abscessus subsp. bolletii infection was diagnosed byculture isolation from two sputum samples.
CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of M. abscessus subsp. bolletiidisseminated infection in a patient affected by idiopathic CD4+ T lymphocytopenia. Incontrast to previous reports, the isolate of M. abscessus subsp. bolletii presented intermediateresistance to clarithromycin and was susceptible to cefoxitin and imipenem
Non-contact ultrasonic guided wave inspection of rails: field test results and updates
No full textThe University of California at San Diego (UCSD), under a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Office of Research and Development (R&D) grant, is developing a system for high-speed and non-contact rail defect detection. A prototype using an ultrasonic air-coupled guided wave signal generation and air-coupled signal detection, paired with a real-time statistical analysis algorithm, has been realized. This system requires a specialized filtering approach based on electrical impedance matching due to the inherently poor signal-to-noise ratio of air-coupled ultrasonic measurements in rail steel. Various aspects of the prototype have been designed with the aid of numerical analyses. In particular, simulations of ultrasonic guided wave propagation in rails have been performed using a Local Interaction Simulation Approach (LISA) algorithm. The system's operating parameters were selected based on Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves, which provide a quantitative manner to evaluate different detection performances based on the trade-off between detection rate and false positive rate. Results from the first field test of the non-contact air-coupled defect detection prototype conducted at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, Colorado, in October 2014 are presented and discussed in this paper. The results indicate that the prototype is able to detect internal cracks with high reliability
Noncontact ultrasonic guided wave inspection of rails
No full textThis article describes a new system for high-speed and noncontact rail integrity evaluation being developed at the University of California at San Diego. A prototype using an ultrasonic air-coupled guided wave signal generation and air-coupled signal detection has been tested at the University of California at San Diego Rail Defect Farm. In addition to a real-time statistical analysis algorithm, the prototype uses a specialized filtering approach due to the inherently poor signal-to-noise ratio of the air-coupled ultrasonic measurements in rail steel. The laboratory results indicate that the prototype is able to detect internal rail defects with a high reliability. Extensions of the system are planned to add rail surface characterization to the internal rail defect detection. In addition to the description of the prototype and test results, numerical analyses of ultrasonic guided wave propagation in rails have been performed using a Local Interaction Simulation Approach algorithm and some of these results are shown. The numerical analysis has helped designing various aspects of the prototype for maximizing its sensitivity to defects
Defect detection performance of the UCSD non-contact air-coupled ultrasonic guided wave inspection of rails prototype
No full textThe University of California at San Diego (UCSD), under a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Office of Research and Development (R& D) grant, is developing a system for high-speed and non-contact rail defect detection. A prototype using an ultrasonic air-coupled guided wave signal generation and air-coupled signal detection, paired with a real-time statistical analysis algorithm, has been realized. This system requires a specialized filtering approach based on electrical impedance matching due to the inherently poor signal-to-noise ratio of air-coupled ultrasonic measurements in rail steel. Various aspects of the prototype have been designed with the aid of numerical analyses. In particular, simulations of ultrasonic guided wave propagation in rails have been performed using a Local Interaction Simulation Approach (LISA) algorithm. The system's operating parameters were selected based on Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves, which provide a quantitative manner to evaluate different detection performances based on the trade-off between detection rate and false positive rate. The prototype based on this technology was tested in October 2014 at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, Colorado, and again in November 2015 after incorporating changes based on lessons learned. Results from the 2015 field test are discussed in this paper
Correlati biologici di stress psicosociale in donne con disturbi dell'umore durante la transizione menopausale
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