65 research outputs found
Paraethomys meini
No full textParaethomys meini (Michaux, 1969) (Fig. 4 A-F) Anthracomys meini Michaux, 1969: 14, pl. 2, figs 6-9. Occitanomys anomalus de Bruijn, Dawson & Mein, 1970: 548, pl. 2, figs 7-12. Paraethomys miocaenicus Jaeger, Michaux & Thaler, 1975: 1674, pl. 1, figs 1-12. Paraethomys anomalus – De Giuli 1989: 204, pl. 2, figs 3-14. Paraethomys cf. anomalus – Cavallo et al. 1993: 15, fig. 7. Paraethomys meini – Minwer-Barakat et al. 2009a: 98, fig. 2; 2009b: 860, fig. 7. (cum syn.). — Colombero et al. 2013: 116, fig. 4A-C, J-L. TYPE LOCALITY. — Sète, France. OCCURRENCE IN THE STUDIED LAYERS. — MCC3, MCC4, MCC5, MCC7. REFERRED MATERIAL. — Nine maxillary fragments bearing M1 and M2; two maxillary fragments bearing M2 and M3; a single mandibular fragment bearing m2 and m3; 32 isolated M1; 26 isolated M2; 20 isolated M3; 30 isolated m1; 31 isolated m2; 13 isolated m3. See Appendix 1 for further details. MEASUREMENTS. — Table 2. DESCRIPTION. M1 t1 and t3 exhibit a posterior spur directed to the t5; t3 smaller than t1; well developed t6 protruding from the labial margin; t4-t5-t6-t9-t8 form a partially developed stephanodont crest since t4 and t8 are not connected; t9 reduced; t12 very poorly developed. M2 t5 and t8 very well developed; t3 much smaller than t1; t9 absent or strongly reduced; t12 absent. M3 t3 absent or represented by a small bulge arising on the enamel; t8 usually isolated; a feeble connection with t4 can occasionally occur; three roots. m1 tma present in 15% of specimens as a tiny cusplet formed by a slight swelling of the enamel; c1 always present; labial cingulum with one or two additional cusplets. m2 Stout anterolabial cuspid; c1 always present; a second cusplet develops occasionally close to the protoconid. m3 An accessory cusplet rarely occurs on the labial side; posterior complex isolated or labially connected to the anterior one. REMARKS The studied material can be assigned to the genus Paraethomys Petter, 1968 primarily due to the mod- erately stephanodont molars and the absence or the presence of reduced t 9 in M1 and M2. The size of the specimens of Paraethomys from MCC fits well with the range of Paraethomys meini (Michaux, 1969) from the type locality of Sète (Michaux 1969), being also consistent with those of many Late Turolian and Ruscinian European localities, including Purcal 4, 7, 13, Calicasas 3B, La Mina 4 from the Granada Basin (García-Alix et al. 2008b), Negratín-1 and Rambla de Chimeneas 3 (Minwer- Barakat et al. 2009a, 2009b), Mont-Hélène (Aguilar et al. 1991), Villalba Alta Río, Peralejos E, Orrios, Celadas 9 and La Gloria 4 from the Teruel Basin (Adrover et al. 1988, 1993a) and Verduno (Colombero et al. 2013). The morphology of the teeth of P. meini from MCC is very similar to that of the teeth from Sète, even if the posterior spurs of the available M1 are MCC usually slightly more developed. Moreover, material referred to P. meini from other localities, particularly La Dehesa 4A and 4B (García-Alix et al. 2008b), is extremely similar to that from MCC. Therefore, the mate- rial from MCC is referred herein to Paraethomys meini. Direct comparative analysis carried out on Paraethomys teeth from the localities of Amama 2 and Albacete housed in the UCBL collections and previously assigned to Paraethomys miocaenicus Jaeger, Michaux & Thaler, 1975 revealed only small differences, mostly related to the lesser development of the spurs on the t3, and the lower t6-t9 connections in the M1 from those localities. The material of P. meini from Brisighella (De Giuli 1989) and Maritsa (de Bruijn et al. 1970), formerly assigned to Paraethomys anomalus (de Bruijn, Dawson & Mein, 1970) shows remarkable affinities with the material from MCC, especially in the development of the spurs on the t3 of the M1, in the close position of the t1 with the t5, as well as in the number of cusplets on the labial cingulum (generally two) of the m1. Thus, there is no relevant argument to support a well-defined distinction between these assemblages and P. meini. Therefore, as already suggested by several authors (van de Weerd 1976; Montenat & de Bruijn 1976; García-Alix et al. 2008b; Minwer-Barakat et al. 2009a, b), it is reasonable to conclude that P. miocaenicus and P. anomalus are junior synonyms of P. meini. On the contrary, a separate status is maintained for Paraethomys abaigari Adrover, Mein & Moissenet, 1988, a Ruscinian species rarely reported from Spain, since it differs from P. meini in having a larger size and more developed spurs on the t3 of M1. The earliest European record of P.meini is reported from Spain, thereby suggesting that this species entered Europe from North-Western Africa at the end of the Turolian (Agustí & Llenas 1996; van Dam et al. 2001; Agustí et al. 2006a). At the beginning of the Ruscinian, its geographical range broadened to the Eastern sector of the Mediterranean, as testified by the Maritsa record (de Bruijn et al. 1970).Published as part of Colombero, Simone, Pavia, Giulio & Carnevale, Giorgio, 2014, Messinian rodents from Moncucco Torinese, NW Italy: palaeobiodiversity and biochronology, pp. 421-475 in Geodiversitas 36 (3) on pages 431-434, DOI: 10.5252/g2014n3a4, http://zenodo.org/record/453856
sj-docx-1-ijl-10.1177_15347346211009427 - Supplemental material for Skin Ulcers are Predictors of 30-Day Hospital Readmission, But are Under-represented in the DRG Coding: A Retrospective Case–Control Study From an Italian Internal Medicine Unit
No full textSupplemental material, sj-docx-1-ijl-10.1177_15347346211009427 for Skin Ulcers are Predictors of 30-Day Hospital Readmission, But are Under-represented in the DRG Coding: A Retrospective Case–Control Study From an Italian Internal Medicine Unit by Valerio Vallini, Luigi Venturini, Roberto Andreini, Gabriella Sibilia, Elisabetta Rinaldi, Raffaella Bassu, Maddalena Mura and Simone Meini in The International Journal of Lower Extremity Wounds</p
The Paradox of the Low Prevalence of Current Smokers Among COVID-19 Patients Hospitalized in Nonintensive Care Wards: Results From an Italian Multicenter Case-Control Study
No full textIntroduction: COVID-19, a respiratory illness due to SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, was first described in December 2019 in Wuhan, rapidly evolving into a pandemic. Smoking increases the risk of respiratory infections; thus, cessation represents a huge opportunity for public health. However, there is scarce evidence about if and how smoking affects the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.Methods: We performed an observational case-control study, assessing the single-day point prevalence of smoking among 218 COVID-19 adult patients hospitalized in seven Italian nonintensive care wards and in a control group of 243 patients admitted for other conditions to seven COVID-19-free general wards. We compared proportions for categorical variables by using the chi(2) test and performed univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to identify the variables associated with the risk of hospitalization for COVID-19.Results: The percentages of current smokers (4.1% vs 16%, p= .00003) and never smokers (71.6% vs 56.8%, p = .0014) were significantly different between COVID-19 and non-COVID 19 patients. COVID-19 patients had lower mean age (69.5 vs 74.2 years, p= .00085) and were more frequently males (59.2% vs 44%, p = .0011). In the logistic regression analysis, current smokers were significantly less likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 compared with nonsmokers (odds ratio = 0.23; 95% confidence interval, 0.11-0.48, p< .001), even after adjusting for age and gender (odds ratio = 0.14; 95% confidence interval, 0.06-0.31, p < .001).Conclusions: We reported an unexpectedly low prevalence of current smokers among COVID-19 patients hospitalized in nonintensive care wards.The meaning of these preliminary findings, which are in line with those currently emerging in literature, is unclear; they need to be confirmed by larger studies
Effect of iloprost on plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine and plasma and platelet serotonin in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease
No full textBackground
Iloprost, a prostacyclin analogue, is used in the treatment of peripheral arterial occlusive disease at Leriche–Fontaine stages III–IV, through intravenous infusion for at least 21 days. Recently, iloprost has been shown to be safe and effective in critical limb ischemia patients when administered per 7 days. We investigated in patients at Leriche–Fontaine stages III–IV the effect of 1-week treatment with iloprost on plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), plasma and platelet serotonin, and on clinical response.
Methods and results
Twenty-four critical limb ischemia patients (16 men and 8 women, mean age 76 ± 9.7 years) were included in the study and treated with intravenous iloprost (titrated from 0.5 up to 1.5 ng/kg/min) for 16 h a day for seven consecutive days. Blood samples were drawn before infusion on days 1, 4 and 8 of treatment, under the same conditions. Clinical assessment was performed by clinical evaluation, ankle/brachial pressure index and treadmill exercise test. During treatment with iloprost patients clinically improved and plasma levels of ADMA significantly decreased (p < 0.001). We also observed a significant increase of serotonin (p < 0.01) in platelets and a significant decrease of serotonin (p < 0.001) in plasma. Similar variations of ADMA and serotonin were found in two subgroups of patients, diabetics and non-diabetics.
Conclusions
One-week treatment with iloprost in critical limb ischemia patients induced changes of peripheral markers of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis, such as ADMA and serotonin, associated to a clinical improvement
Reading and understanding an antibiogram
No full textIn recent years, we have been facing a significant increase in antimicrobial resistance and complex enzymatic mechanisms. The challenge of antibiotic resistance is becoming dramatic. Among gram-positive it is spreading resistance to glycopeptides, reducing the possibility to use these drugs empirically. Among gram-negative rods, beside the spreading of extended-spectrum β-lactamases, there is an increased diffusion of carbapenemases. In order to administer the correct antibiotic therapy, physicians need a rapid and correct interpretation with non-automated tests to implement appropriate therapeutic strategies. The automated reporting systems do not always provide complete and accurate information on antimicrobial resistance phenotype, making it difficult to interpret. Recently, the European Committee of Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) has proposed a new breakpoint system to be adopted by European countries. An interpretative reading of an antibiogram aims to analyze the overall susceptibility pattern, not just the result for an individual antibiotic, and so to predict the underlying resistance mechanisms. The purpose of this work is to guide physicians in reading and understanding antibiograms through an attempt of phenotypic interpretation of resistance mechanism
NOVEL DIARYL UREA DERIVATIVES AS CANNABINOID TYPE 1 RECEPTOR ALLOSTERIC MODULATORS
No full textCannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1R) is an important target to address several pathological conditions like nausea, pain, multiple sclerosis, obesity, nicotine- and alcohol-addiction. Compounds 1-4 and 5-8 were recently reported in literature as analogs of the diaryl ureic CB1R-allosteric modulator PSNCBAM-1.
These derivatives showed good results in increasing the binding affinity and in decreasing the receptor functionality of the orthosteric reference compound CP 55,940. In order to identify more potent and selective CB1R-allosteric modulators and to expand the knowledge on the structure-activity relationships for these type of molecules, we designed and synthesized new derivatives combining the structural modifications described in different recently published works,1,2 and performed the biological assessment of three series of compounds: biphenyl derivatives (A), compounds carrying an amine spatial linker with bipyridinyl structure (B) or without the pyrrolidine ring (C).
The compounds were subjected to radioligand binding assays (1 nM - 10 μM), using hCB1-CHO cell membrane preparations. Then, through [35S]GTPγS functional assays, we made a selection of compounds based on their inability to significantly alter the cellular response in absence of the orthosteric agonists. These derivatives were furtherly tested in presence of CP 55,940. Compounds 10 and 17 gave the best biological results, behaving as positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) in binding assays and as negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) in functional assays, in line with the parental compound PSNCBAM-1. This outcome seems to suggest that the combination of the biphenyl system and the piperidine ring and, the association of the p-fluorophenyl moiety and the amine spatial linker are significant structural features, which could be taken in account for further developments
Clinical outcomes in elderly patients with infections caused by NDM-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae: results from a real-life retrospective single center study in an endemic area
No full textReal-life outcomes data for elderly patients with infections caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae producing New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM-Kp) are lacking. We conducted a retrospective cohort study enrolling 33 consecutive adult patients (mean age 77.4 years; 48.5% males; mean Charlson Comorbidity Index-CCI 5.9) hospitalized for NDM-Kp infections during a 24-month period in an Italian highly endemic area. 78.8% were admitted to Internal Medicine ward. 45.4% of patients had bloodstream infections (BSI), 39.4% urinary tract infections (UTI) without BSI, 9.1% respiratory tract infections and 6.1% intra-abdominal infections. 93.9% had rectal colonization.Adequate definitive antibiotic therapy (mainly represented by aztreonam plus ceftazidime/avibactam) was provided to 36.4% of cases. Mean age and CCI of patients adequately treated were significantly lower than those inadequately treated (71.2 vs 80.9 years, p = 0.041, and 4.6 vs 6.7, p = 0.040, respectively). Patients adequately treated had a mean hospitalization length significantly higher (28 vs 15 days, p = 0.016). The overall 30-day survival rate of patients adequately and inadequately treated was 83.3% and 57.1%, respectively: this difference was not statistically significant. Mean age and CCI of 22 patients who survived at 30 days were lower than those of 11 patients who died (73.7 vs 84.8 years, p = 0.003, and 5.3 vs 7.2, p = 0.049, respectively). Twelve survivors received an inadequate therapy: 8/12 had UTI. Six of nine patients inadequately treated who died within 30 days, died before microbiological diagnosis. Our study provides real-life data on outcomes of elderly and multimorbid patients hospitalized for infections caused by NDM-Kp. Further studies with larger sample size are warranted
Synthesis and biological evaluation of new compounds as cannabinoid receptor type 1 allosteric modulators
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