66,994 research outputs found
Plasma procalcitonin in rheumatic diseases
No full textData on the origin and biological function of procalcitonin, the pro-hormone of calcitonin, are scarce. Since this peptide can be induced in bacterial invasive infections, serum procalcitonin levels may be useful in differential diagnosis of systemic inflammatory response syndrome. This review will focus on the clinical significance of changes in serum procalcitonin levels in patients with connective tissue diseases and other rheumatic disorders
Syndepositional fractures and architecture of the lastoni di formin carbonate platform: Insights from virtual outcrop models and field studies
No full textThe recent rapid improvement of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, together with advances in photogrammetry and Structure from Motion techniques, have enhanced the role of Digital Outcrop Models in many field of geology, due to the possibility to obtain quantitative information from large and inaccessible areas. In this study we integrated Digital Outcrop Modeling techniques and field survey to investigate the architecture of the Middle Triassic platform of Lastoni di Formin. (Italian Dolomites). The research highlighted the presence of two superimposed carbonate bodies. The lower unit (Cassian I) is dominated by low-angle clinoforms dipping north-northeastward and prograding over the basinal San Cassiano Fm. The upper unit (Cassian II) is characterized by a thick sequence of peritidal cycles connected northward to another generation of clinoforms. The inner platform beds of the upper unit display a lateral thickening that is particularly evident near the shelf break, and that has been interpreted as due to the increased subsidence and the consequent down-to-basin tilting of the outermost part of the platform. Moreover, the structural analysis performed on the Digital Outcrop Models and supported by field observations, highlighted the presence of an early generation of faults and joints that indicate an early gravitational deformation of the buildup, possibly caused by the platform progradation and compaction-induced subsidence of the San Cassiano basinal deposits. These WNW-ESE synsedimentary structures are formed by normal faults and extensional joints that are oriented nearly perpendicular to the direction of progradation of the carbonate platform
IIl dosaggio della procalcitonina plasmatica in reumatologia : Plasma procalcitonin in rheumatic diseases
No full textData on the origin and biological function of procalcitonin, the pro-hormone of calcitonin, are scarce. Since this peptide can be induced in bacterial invasive infections, serum procalcitonin levels may be useful in differential diagnosis of systemic inflammatory response syndrome. This review will focus on the clinical significance of changes in serum procalcitonin levels in patients with connective tissue diseases and other rheumatic disorders
PSI-based methodology to land subsidence mechanism recognition
No full textA methodology based on Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) is proposed in order to disentangle the contribution of different processes that act at different spatio-temporal scales in land subsidence (i.e. vadose zone processes as swelling/shrinkage of clay soils, soil consolidation and fluid extraction). The methodology was applied in different Italian geological contexts characterized by natural and anthropic processes (i.e. a Prealpine valley and the Po Plain in northern Italy)
DICE: An open-source MATLAB application for quantification and parametrization of digital outcrop model-based fracture datasets
No full textAn open-source MATLAB application (app) named Discontinuity Intensity Calculator and Estimator (DICE) was developed in order to quantitatively characterize the fractures, or in more general, discontinuities within a rocky outcrop in three-dimensional (3D) digital data, such as digital outcrop model (DOM). The workflow proposed for the parametrization of the discontinuities consists of the following steps: (1) Analysis and mapping of the fractures detected within the 3D DOMs; (2) Calculation of the orientation, position and dimensions of discontinuities that are represented by best-fit circular planes; (3) Determining the discontinuity parameters (dimension, distribution, spacing and intensity) by the DICE algorithm using different 3D oriented sampling techniques (3D oriented scanline, 3D oriented circular scan window and spherical scan volume). Different sampling methods were bench tested with a synthetic, as well as a natural case study, and compared in order to understand the advantages and limitations of each technique. The 3D oriented circular scan window appears to be the most effective method for fracture intensity estimation with high accuracy (error 0.4%) and stability with variations in scan radius. (c) 2023 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Diagnostic value of procalcitonin measurement in febrile patients with systemic autoimmune diseases
No full textObjective. To determine the usefulness of plasma procalcitonin (PCT) measurement to suspect infectious etiology in febrile patients with systemic autoimmune disease.
Methods. PCT, C-Reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and white blood cell count (WBC) were measured in 44 consecutive inpatients with a diagnosis of systemic autoimmune disease and fever > 38 degrees C. After careful microbiologic screening no obvious infection was demonstrated in 24 patients (Group A) while an infectious bacterial complication was diagnosed in 20 cases (Group B).
Results. Median PCT levels were significantly higher in the group B (1.11 vs 0. 24 ng/ml; p = 0.0007), whereas the differences for CRP, WBC and ESR did not reach statistical significance. PCT also exhibited a good sensitivity and specificity (75%) in differentiating patients with infection from those with disease flare. With respect to positive and negative predictive values (71.4% and 78.2%), PCT markedly exceeded the other variables. By analyzing PCT values by disease we identified a false positive subgroup of patients suffering from adult onset Still's disease (AOSD), showing markedly elevated PCT levels in absence of infection. By excluding these patients, PCT showed a very good sensitivity and specificity (73.6% and 89.4%) and the area under receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve rose from 0.801 to 0.904.
Conclusion. Our data indicate that elevated PCT concentrations offer good sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of systemic bacterial infection in febrile patients with systemic autoimmune diseases. However in fever associated with AOSD PCT may be elevated even in the absence of infectious complication
Permian to Triassic geodynamic and magmatic evolution of the Brescian Prealps (Lombardy, Italy).
No full textRelations between Fault and Fracture Network Affecting the Lastoni di Formin Carbonate Platform (Italian Dolomites) and Its Deformation History
No full textIn this study, we analyze the fault and fracture network of the Middle Triassic carbonate platform of the Lastoni di Formin (Italian Dolomites, Italy). The reconstruction of the deformation history is of primary importance for a full comprehension of the present structural setting of this carbonate platform. The huge dimensions of the carbonate body and superb exposure of its vertical cliffs and gently dipping top plateau make the Lastoni di Formin platform an ideal outcrop to integrate traditional fieldwork with Digital Outcrop Modelling analysis. The results of the structural studies partially confirm that the present-day fracture pattern is the result of differential compaction-induced deformation that generated WNW-ESE-trending extensional fractures and normal faults, perpendicular to the direction of progradation of the platform. Successively, extensional tectonics, likely related to the Jurassic rifting phase, led to the formation of NNW-SSE striking fractures and westward-dipping normal faults. A Neogene compressional tectonic event, characterized by N-S to NW-SE crustal shortening, deformed the platform, essentially with strike-slip structures
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