1,721,100 research outputs found
Imported tungiasis: a report of 19 cases and review of the literature
No full textTungiasis is an infestation caused by penetration in the skin of the gravid female of the flea Tunga penetrans. In the period 1991-2006, 19 patients with imported tungiasis were observed at our Institute. All patients were subjected to general and dermatological examination, laboratory tests (including bacteriological examinations) and surgical excision of the lesions with histopathological examination. In all patients tetanus prophylaxis was made. All patients were followed up for at least six weeks. Thirteen patients were males (68.4%) and 6 females (31.6%). The age ranged from 3 to 71 years (average age: 37.8 years). Eleven patients (57.9%) contracted the infestation in Central and South America and 8 (42.1%) in Africa. In 17 patients (89.5%) tungiasis was localized to the feet, in one to the hands and in one to a thigh. In 13 patients (68.4%) the infestation was characterized by a single lesion; in the other 6 patients (31.6%) the lesions were two. In 15 patients (78.9%) tungiasis was characterized by a papular or nodular lesion. Crusted (2 patients), pustular (2 patients) and bullous (1 patient) lesions were also observed; furthermore, one patient presented with a plantar wart-like lesion. In only one patient bacteriological examinations showed the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. All patients healed without complication
Tungiasis in a beach volleyball player: a case report
No full textTungiasis is an infestation caused by penetration of the skin by the gravid female of the flea Tunga penetrans Linnaeus 1758 (Insecta, Siphonaptera: Tungidae). Tunga penetrans is currently found in Central and South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Central Asia. Prevalence is very high in Brazil. We present a case of tungiasis in an Italian beach volleyball player who acquired the infestation in Brazil
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
BIOSYNTHESIS OF GANGLIOSIDES CONTAINING C18/1 AND C20/1 [3-C-14]SPHINGOSINE AFTER ADMINISTRATING [1-C-14]PALMITIC ACID AND [1-C-14]STEARIC ACID TO RAT CEREBELLAR GRANULE CELLS IN CULTURE
No full textThe biosynthesis of ganglioside molecular species containing sphingosine of different structure was investigated by administrating rat cerebellar granule cells in culture with [1-C-14]palmitic and [1-C-14]stearic acids which are the precursors for sphingosine biosynthesis. The incorporation of radioactivity into the sphingosine of the ganglioside species containing C20:1 sphingosine after administrating [1-C-14]stearic acid was low in comparison with the incorporation of radioactivity into the sphingosine of ganglioside species containing C18:1 sphingosine after administration of [1-C-14]palmitic acid, but the ratio between the radioactivity incorporated in the C20:1 and the C18:1 sphingosine of C20 and C18 ganglioside species progressively increased when the cell culture was prolonged. Ceramide-containing radioactive sphingosine was found after palmitic or stearic acid administration. Ceramide-containing C20:1 sphingosine found after adding stearic acid was about 5% of that synthesized starting from palmitic acid and containing C18:1 sphingosine. Free radioactive C18:1 and C20:1 sphingosine were found after adding radioactive palmitic or stearic acid. This is representative of a catabolic process occurring after biosynthesis of the complex sphingolipid starting from the radioactive precursor. In fact it has been proved that only saturated sphingosines are used for the synthesis of complex sphingolipids, the introduction of the double bond at position four of the sphingoid chain occurring at the level of ceramide [Rother, J., van Echten, G., Schwarzmann, G. and Sandhoff, K. (1992) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 189, 14-20]. Saturated sphingosines were not present. The lack of free C20:0 sphingosine confirms the hypothesis that the C20:0 sphingosine synthesis and the process (C20:0 sphingosine-->C20:0 ceramide-->C20:1 ceramide) occur in the correct quantity for the synthesis of C20:1 gangliosides. Moreover, we found only traces of free C20:1 sphingosine, at days 8 and 15 of cell culture when the biosynthesis of complex C20:1 gangliosides and the related catabolic processes occur to a higher extent, thus excluding the idea that a large amount of C20:0 sphingosine can be acylated to C20:0 ceramide and dehydrogenated to C20:1 ceramide which, being not used for ganglioside biosynthesis, is immediately catabolised to C20:1 sphingosine
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