1,720,996 research outputs found
Pre-Transplant Screening for Latent Adenovirus in Donors and Recipients
No full textHuman adenoviruses are frequent cause of slight self-limiting infections in immune competent subjects, while causing
life-threatening and disseminated diseases in immunocompromised patients, particularly in the subjects affected by acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome and in bone marrow and organ transplant recipients. Here, infections interest lungs, liver, encephalon,
heart, kidney and gastro enteric tract. To date, human adenoviruses comprise 51 serotypes grouped into seven species, among which
species C especially possesses the capability to persist in infected tissues. From numerous works, it emerges that in the recipient,
because of loss of immune-competence, both primary infection, via the graft or from the environment, and reactivated endogenous
viruses can be responsible for transplantation related adenovirus disease. The transplants management should include the evaluation
of anti-adenovirus pre-transplant screening similar to that concerning cytomegalovirus. The serological screening on
cytomegalovirus immunity is currently performed to prevent viral reactivation from grafts and recipient, the viral spread and
dissemination to different organs and apparatus, and potentially lethal outcome
Relation Between Tensile Properties and Microstructure in a Type 316 Stainless Steel SA Weld Metal
No full textCHARACTERIZATION OF A TITANIUM ALLOY FOR NUCLEAR FUSION APPLICATIONS
No full textCharacterization of a titanium alloy for nuclear fusion application
La fine dell'uomo all'inizio del mondo: principio di pienezza e unigenita natura a partire dal Timeo
No full textScopo di questo saggio è mostrare come, sin dal primo racconto filosofico della cosmogenesi, il Timeo di Platone, l’uomo non risulti necessario né alla nascita né alla durata dell’universo. Per farlo, si sfrutterà la doppia lettura, letterale e metaforica, dell’aggettivo “genetós”, assegnato all’universo sulla base della celeberrima sequenza di Tim., 28 b 1-7 (generato come cominciato nel tempo, generato come causato) e la doppia lettura, di nuovo letterale e metaforica, del sostantivo “dēmiourgós” (demiurgo come artefice, demiurgo come essere). In entrambi i casi, infatti, l’interpretazione metaforica permette di rimpiazzare il punto di vista umano sulla genesi del cosmo (il cosmo è nato nel senso che ha un inizio temporale) e sulla sua causa (il cosmo è stato generato da un artefice come il figlio dal padre e dalla madre o come l’artefatto dall’artigiano) con quello integralmente naturale sugli stessi. Assumendolo, si ha che il cosmo è causato e che la sua causa, sebbene da esso sia distinta, pure non gli è del tutto esterna. In altre parole, la lettura letterale del Timeo è una lettura che interpreta l’ordine morfogenetico del cosmo come qualcosa di trascendente rispetto ad esso perché impostogli da una volontà buona ma umana troppo umana; quella metaforica, di contro, interpreta lo stesso ordine come immanente all’universo, ossia come l’intrinseca legge della sua stessa autoproduzione. Nel primo caso, cioè, l’ordine del cosmo è l’ordine del greco “kósmos”; nel secondo, quello spinoziano indistinguibile dalla textura o connexio rerum.
Per attingere il livello metaforico, tuttavia, è indispensabile: 1. Interpretare l’uscita di scena del demiurgo in Tim., 42 e 7-8; 2. Ridefinire il senso del sostantivo dēmiourgós; 3. Fare un’ipotesi sulla natura di ciò che è presente in Chṓra prima dell’intervento del dio buono (Tim., 52 d 6 – 53 b 7) e, altresì, su quella dei corpi che vi circolano perennemente (Tim., 49 a 5 - 52 d 1). Gli alleati di cui questa impresa può giovarsi sono, invece, quei filosofi che, come Bruno, Spinoza e Whitehead, hanno variamente: 1) giurato contro il dualismo delle sostanze detto anche “biforcazione della natura”; 2) abbandonato una concezione solo difettiva della donna-materia in favore di una attiva ; 3) preferito un modello autoerotico o batteriologico della generazione incentrato sull’autosufficienza della natura a uno solo edipico di stampo prevalentemente artigianale e sessuale; 4) pensato il divenire come processo senza opporlo all’essere; 5) rinunciato all’opposizione tra ordine e disordine, isomorfa, insegna Bergson nel quarto capitolo dell’Evoluzione creatrice a quella tra essere e nulla; 6) scommesso sull’immanenza delle idee – l’ordine – alle cose – la natura
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
Body Plethysmographic Study of Specific Airway Resistance (sRaw) in a Sample of Healthy Adults
No full textBACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:
sRaw (specific airway resistance) is a corrected index (Raw multiplied by thoracic gas volume) that describes airway behaviour regardless of lung volume. Normal values of sRaw in adult subjects have never been formally defined. To establish sRaw interpretation criteria and to define a range of reference values, we evaluated variability, reproducibility and reliability of sRaw measurements in a group of healthy adults.
METHODS:
We analysed 517 subjects of both genders, aged 18-65 (group A), and to assess the reproducibility of the measurements, we investigated intra-individual variation and potential daily and weekly sRaw rhythms in a subgroup of 18 co-operative healthy subjects (group B).
RESULTS:
In group A, there was no pattern of association between any of the considered anthropometric parameters; mean sRaw was higher in men (6.24 vs.5.95 cmH2O s in females; P = 0.0128), but when the data were stratified by age, gender-related differences were only found in the group aged 46-60 (males 6.45 cmH2O s, females 6.01 cmH2O s; P = 0.0219). In group B, there was no statistically significant, time-dependent variation during the single tests, nor any circadian or weekly rhythm.
CONCLUSIONS:
sRaw is a reliable parameter; therefore, we propose that the lower and upper 95% confidence limits should be considered as reference values for adults of both genders, regardless of age. The availability of reference values may be useful in clinical practice and research
Colonization by Candida auris in critically ill patients: role of cutaneous and rectal localization during an outbreak
No full textBackground: Candida auris infections have been reported worldwide since the pathogen was isolated in 2009. Aim: To analyse the incidence of cutaneous and intestinal colonization, and connection with infections by the organism, in a hospital setting of a C. auris epidemic. Methods: This was a retrospective study in intensive care units (ICUs) at a 1200-bed Italian hospital. The incidence of cutaneous positive swabs, and cutaneous carriers, for C. auris was compared to that of rectal positive swabs, and intestinal carriers, and both were correlated with C. auris infections. Findings: A total of 399 patients were included. Seventy-seven patients were infected by C. auris. The ratio of C. auris positive skin swabs from screening in ICUs was 24%. The ratio obtained from infected patients and intestinal C. auris carriers was 49.1%, likewise rectal swabs from a similar cohort of patients (P = 0.373). Of this cohort, 39.7% and 5.5% were colonized only in skin and in rectum, respectively, while 54.8% was colonized in both sites. Of skin swabs, 12.3% and 83.6%, respectively, were always positive and variable over time in single subjects, while 31.5% and 41.1% of rectal swabs were always positive and variable (P = 0.000). Intestinal colonization was associated with increased risk for C. auris urinary infections (P = 0.006). Conclusion: C. auris intestinal carriers were fewer than cutaneous carriers, but more continuously colonized. Rectal and skin swabs can be good tools for surveillance, respectively, of colonization and of hygiene measures effectiveness. Urinary tract infections by C. auris appeared to increase along with gastrointestinal presence of the yeast
Old Age and Aerobic Microorganisms of Patients Affected by Clostridium difficile Infection are Associated Primarily with the Intestinal Presence of Clostridium difficile
No full textClostridium difficile infection in human occurs when the organism is present and germinating in the bowel. Old
age of patients’ and particular microorganisms in stools are identified as risk factors for the disease onset. We aimed
to investigate if risk factors for C. difficile infections in a large Italian hospital were connected to C. difficile intestinal
presence or to germination. Toxin B positivity was linked with age over 65 years (P=0.03), medical hospitalization
(P=0.015) and growth of Enterobacteriaceae (P=0.029) and Enterococcus (P=0.05) from the same stools. The
presence of tcdB was even more strictly linked with old age (P=0.005), medicine hospitalization (P=0.012) and
growth of Enterobacteriaceae (P=0.003) and Enterococcus (P=0.04). Our results indicated that the presence of C.
difficile in stools, irrespective of being spore or vegetative form, is reliably associated with old age of subjects and
fecal presence of viable Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococcus
Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia: The Impact of Taste Receptor (TAS2R38) Gene Polymorphisms on Disease Outcome and Severity
No full textBackground: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare genetic disease leading to recurrent respiratory infections of upper and lower airways. Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and bronchiectasis are very common in PCD patients. Recently, it has been shown the presence of taste receptors in respiratory tract and the possible involvement of bitter taste receptor TAS2R38 gene in susceptibility to respiratory infections and rhinosinusitis. Objective: Aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of TAS2R38 polymorphisms in PCD patients and their possible correlations with clinical outcomes of the disease. Methods: Genetic and phenotypic data of 35 PCD patients were collected. Clinical evaluation included neonatal respiratory distress (NRD) at birth, presence of situs inversus, CRS, and bronchiectasis. We also measured the number of respiratory infections per year and the relevant pathogens, Lund-Mackay score, FEV1, and modified Bhalla score. With regard to genetics data, 3 polymorphisms (rs1726866, rs713598, and rs10246939) within TAS2R38 gene were analyzed and the patients were classified as PAV/PAV, PAV/AVI, and AVI/AVI. Results: A significant difference in the distribution of TAS2R38 haplotype between patients with and without NRD emerged (p value = 0.01). A lower percentage of PAV/PAV individuals showed frequent respiratory exacerbations (≥2/year) (p value = 0.04) compared to those with AVI/AVI and AVI/PAV haplotypes. Moreover, no patients homozygous for PAV/PAV haplotype presented chronic colonization by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, thus supporting the possible role of TAS2R38 gene in susceptibility to respiratory infections. Conclusions: Here, we report, for the first time, a possible association of TAS2R38 polymorphisms with PCD phenotype
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