134,157 research outputs found
The tripartite tractate from Nag Hammadi : a new translation with introduction and commentary
No full textThe thesis intends to provide a better understanding
of the text and the background of the Valentinian
treatise, Nag Hammadi Codex, I,5.
The Introduction studies the manuscript (date and
provenance, purpose, scribal signs, quality), the text
(an anonymous and untitled treatise, originally written
in Greek, representing the Oriental branch of Valentinianism, date most likely second half of the 3rd. cent. A.D.),
the language (a form of Subachmimic, with numerous orthographic and grammatical peculiar ities). A brief survey
of the system is also provided, where it is regarded from
three different angles.
The Translation is primarily meant as an attempt to
elucidate the difficult, and inadequately understood,
Coptic text, and as an index to the following Commentary.
The Commentary discusses the translation and relates
each passage to the treatise as a whole, and to the
system it contains. Valentinian themes and technical
terms are pointed out and analysed systematically. The
broader religious and philosophical background for the
ideas contained in the treatise have also been explored.
A special effort has been made to relate the system of
the treatise not only to Gnostic documents, Christian
literature and Late Jewish material, but also to
Philosophy, and in particular to the emanationist
physics of Neopythagoreanism and Neoplatonism
(Ri)leggere Nag Hammadi: un’introduzione
No full textNell’inverno tra il 1945 e il 1946 vennero ritrovati in Egitto, non lontano dall’odierna Nag Hammadi, dodici codici manoscritti – più alcuni fogli di un tredicesimo – in lingua copta. Realizzati tra IV e V secolo d.C. copiando opere anteriori originariamente composte in greco, contenevano circa cinquanta trattati fra antichi vangeli apocrifi, scritti gnostici, testi ermetici e persino un frammento della Repubblica di Platone. Il volume ne offre la prima traduzione italiana integrale. Le traduzioni, realizzate da un gruppo di specialisti, sono accompagnate da aggiornate introduzioni e da un agile apparato di note. Completano il libro un’introduzione generale su alcune questioni di metodo, una presentazione e traduzione completa dei “colofoni” dei codici, e un saggio sulla contestualizzazione dei codici nella letteratura copta e sul relativo dibattito contemporaneo
Uninary N-Acetyl-Beta-D-Glucosaminidase (NAG) concentration in spinal cord injury patients: Relationships with urodynamic parameters.
No full textOBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationships between urinary N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) concentrations and urodynamic parameters in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). NAG has been proposed as a marker of renal damage.METHODS: Twenty-three patients with SCI were evaluated with urodynamic studies. Urine samples were collected from the 23 patients and 10 healthy volunteers, the NAG levels were evaluated, and the urodynamic parameters were compared with the urinary NAG levels. The patients were divided into two groups according to the amplitude of the hyperreflexic detrusor contractions (HDCs): group A, patients with an HDC amplitude of 40 cm H(2)O or greater, and group B, patients with an HDC amplitude of less than 40 cm H(2)O; group C was composed of healthy volunteers. The urinary NAG concentrations in the three groups were compared.RESULTS: A positive correlation was found between the urinary NAG levels and the HDC amplitude and detrusor leak point pressure (P = 0.015 and 0.007, respectively). The urinary NAG concentration was 3.38 U/g in group A, 2.14 U/g in group B, and 2.12 U/g in group C. The differences in the urinary NAG concentrations between groups A and B and between groups A and C were statistically significant (P = 0.03 and P <0.001, respectively). The concentrations between groups B and C were comparable.CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, the only urodynamic parameters that clearly and positively correlated with the urinary NAG levels were those expressing the amplitude of intravesical pressure. This result stresses the importance of reducing the intravesical pressure in patients with SCI using alternative treatments or surgical procedures if the usual conservative therapies are not effective
Baseline characteristics and risk factors according to urinary <i>N</i>-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase activity–urinary creatinine concentration ratio (urinary NAG/creatinine) quartile<sup>a</sup>.
No full textBaseline characteristics and risk factors according to urinary N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase activity–urinary creatinine concentration ratio (urinary NAG/creatinine) quartilea.</p
Correlations between baseline urinary <i>N</i>-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase activity–urinary creatinine concentration ratio (urinary NAG/creatinine ratio), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and other variables.
No full textCorrelations between baseline urinary N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase activity–urinary creatinine concentration ratio (urinary NAG/creatinine ratio), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and other variables.</p
N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and NAG isoenzymes in children with upper and lower urinary tract infections
No full text: The use of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) to diagnose the site of urinary tract infection was studied in pediatric patients. Differentiation between upper and lower tract infections (UTI) was based on clinical grounds and on elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein and fever. NAG excretion expressed as nmol X h-1 X mg-1 of urinary creatinine was higher in children with upper UTI (mean +/- SE 906 +/- 236) than in those with lower UTI (145 +/- 23) or healthy children (151.6 +/- 10) (p less than 0.01 by Duncan's test). In children with upper UTI, NAG excretion fell in parallel with the remission due to antibiotic treatment. This however was not seen in children treated with aminoglycosides. A specific and significant elevation (p less than 0.01) of the B isoenzyme of NAG was documented in children with upper UTI but not in those with lower UTI (B form in upper UTI 49.2% +/- 3.9 versus 21.9 +/- 3.3 in lower UTI; healthy children 18.9 +/- 3.4). The percentage of B isoenzyme excreted was high in two children with upper UTI but was low total NAG urinary excretion, suggesting that the quantification of isoenzymes offers further specificity in diagnosis. We conclude that the measurement of NAG and its isoenzymes in children with UTI provides useful information in the diagnosis of the site of infection
Urinary N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) in lupus nephritis and rheumatoid arthritis
No full textIncreased activity of urinary N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) can be used as an early indicator of damage to the tubular epithelium. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune rheumatic disease. Nephritis is known as the most serious complication of SLE and the strongest predictor of poor outcome. In this study urinary NAG excretion was investigated in 24 SLE patients with normal renal function (serum creatinine ? 1.2 mg/dL) and the results were compared with those from 26 untreated patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 27 healthy controls. The SLE patients were divided into two groups according to their urinary total protein levels: group A consisted of 16 patients with ? 3.5 g/day proteinuria, and group B consisted of eight patients with nephrotic-range proteinuria (> 3.5 g/day). Serum and urinary creatinine, total urinary protein levels, and urinary NAG excretion were measured in patients with SLE and RA. In addition, serum C3 and C4 levels were determined in the SLE patients. Renal biopsies were performed in all of the SLE patients. Glomerular lesions were classified according to WHO criteria for lupus nephritis (LN) I-V. The Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) was used to assess disease activity. Urinary NAG excretion was significantly higher in the SLE groups than in the healthy controls (P < 0.001). In urinary NAG excretion there was also significant difference between SLE groups and RA patients (P < 0.001). However, there was no significant difference in NAG excretion between the RA and control groups (P = 0.062). Urinary NAG excretion was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in group B compared to group A. There were no differences in SLEDAI scores, ages, and serum creatinine levels between study groups (P = 0.601, P = 0.285, P = 0.669, respectively). Elevated SLEDAI values and hypocomplementemia were detected more often in younger patients (P < 0.010, r = -0.529 and P < 0.010, r = -0.569, respectively). There was a strong positive correlation between proteinuria and urinary NAG activity (P < 0.001, r = 0.759). These results suggest that the determination of urinary NAG activity may be a useful supplement to the routine biochemical analysis performed on the urine in cases of SLE. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc
Urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activity in the early detection of diabetic nephropathy
No full textOne of the serious outcomes of diabetes mellitus is nephropathy. Measurement of microalbuminuria is a routine clinical practice for screening the diabetic nephropathy, but the injury to the kidney may be happening even without microalbuminuria. The association between urinary enzyme activities of N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and urine microalbumin was assessed in this study to define the possible biofactor for detection of early diabetic nephropathy. Urinary enzyme activities of NAG and ACE and urine microalbumin of 24 h, serum ACE, and some other clinical features are investigated in 35 type 2 diabetic patients. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), triglycerides, serum ACE, and urine NAG were significantly elevated in diabetic groups compared to the healthy controls. There was no relation between urine NAG and microalbuminuria except in the group of diabetic patients which had urine NAG activity upper than 25 IU/ml; there was a correlation between urine NAG and serum ACE. We may conclude that before the finding of microalbumin in urine, the elevated urine NAG, as an early indicator of renal damage, is associated with serum ACE which is related to kidney vascular microangiopathies. © 2015, Research Society for Study of Diabetes in India
Conversion of chitin derived N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (NAG) into polyols over transition metal catalysts and hydrogen in water
No full textN-Acetyl-D-glucosamine (NAG), the monomer of the world's second most abundant biopolymer chitin, has been for the first time converted to its corresponding amide/amino substituted sugar alcohols, smaller C2–4 polyols and N-acetylmonoethanolamine (NMEA), over noble metal catalysts in the presence of hydrogen in water. Four commercialized catalysts were investigated, and Ru/C exhibited the best performance—achieving 8.7% NMEA, 6.1% C4 polyols, and 71.9% C6 polyols (N-containing) under 180 °C, 40 bar H2, 1 h with 1 mol% loading. Kinetic studies were conducted, which revealed four major reaction pathways that lead to various products. In particular, retro-aldol reaction-hydrogenation was confirmed to be the pathway forming NMEA. The effects of additives (NaOH and WO3) on the reaction were also tested.</p
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