Showing papers by "Marche Polytechnic University published in 2001"

Overexpression of functionally coupled cyclooxygenase-2 and prostaglandin E synthase in symptomatic atherosclerotic plaques as a basis of prostaglandin E(2)-dependent plaque instability.

Abstract: Background— Studies have implicated a role for prostaglandin (PG) E2-dependent matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) biosynthesis in the rupture of atherosclerotic plaque. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and PGE synthase (PGES) are coregulated in nucleated cells by inflammatory stimuli. The aim of this study was to characterize the expression of COX-2 and PGES in carotid plaques and to correlate it with the extent of inflammatory infiltration and MMP activity and with clinical features of patients’ presentation. Methods and Results— Plaques were obtained from 50 patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy and divided into 2 groups (symptomatic and asymptomatic) according to clinical evidence of recent transient ischemic attack or stroke. Plaques were analyzed for COX-2, PGES, MMP-2, and MMP-9 by immunocytochemistry and Western blot, whereas zymography was used to detect MMP activity. Immunocytochemistry was used to identify CD68+ macrophages, CD3+ T lymphocytes, and HLA-DR+ cells. The percentage of macrophage-rich areas...

Garlic shows promise for improving some cardiovascular risk factors.

Abstract: Objectives To summarize the effects of garlic on several cardiovascular-related factors and to note its adverse effects. Methods English and non-English citations were identified from 11 electronic databases, references, manufacturers, and experts from January 1966 through February 2000 (depending on the database searched). Reports of cardiovascular-related effects were limited to randomized controlled trials lasting at least 4 weeks. Reports of adverse effects were not limited by study design. From 1798 pertinent records, 45 randomized trials and 73 additional studies reporting adverse events were identified. Two physicians abstracted outcomes and assessed adequacy of randomization, blinding, and handling of dropouts. Standardized mean differences of lipid outcomes from placebo-controlled trials were adjusted for baseline differences and pooled using random effects methods. Results Compared with placebo, garlic preparations may lead to small reductions in the total cholesterol level at 1 month (range of average pooled reductions, 0.03-0.45 mmol/L [1.2-17.3 mg/dL]) and at 3 months (range of average pooled reductions 0.32-0.66 mmol/L [12.4-25.4 mg/dL]), but not at 6 months. Changes in low-density lipoprotein levels and triglyceride levels paralleled total cholesterol level results; no statistically significant changes in high-density lipoprotein levels were observed. Trials also reported significant reductions in platelet aggregation and mixed effects on blood pressure outcomes. No effects on glycemic-related outcomes were found. Proven adverse effects included malodorous breath and body odor. Other unproven effects included flatulence, esophageal and abdominal pain, allergic reactions, and bleeding. Conclusions Trials suggest possible small short-term benefits of garlic on some lipid and antiplatelet factors, insignificant effects on blood pressure, and no effect on glucose levels. Conclusions regarding clinical significance are limited by the marginal quality and short duration of many trials and by the unpredictable release and inadequate definition of active constituents in study preparations.

Effect of Collateral Blood Flow and Cerebral Vasomotor Reactivity on the Outcome of Carotid Artery Occlusion

Abstract: Background and Purpose —Evidence suggests that an alteration in cerebral hemodynamics plays a relevant role in the occurrence of stroke in patients with carotid occlusion. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relationships among baseline characteristics, type and number of collateral pathways, cerebral vasomotor reactivity (VMR), and outcome of patients with carotid occlusion. Methods —One hundred four patients with symptomatic or asymptomatic internal carotid artery occlusion were followed up prospectively for a median period of 24 months. Cerebral VMR to apnea was calculated with transcranial Doppler ultrasonography by means of the breath-holding index (BHI) in the middle cerebral arteries. The patency of the 3 major intracranial collateral vessels was also evaluated. Results —During the follow-up period, 18 patients experienced an ischemic stroke ipsilateral to internal carotid artery occlusion. Among factors considered, only older age, number of collateral pathways, and BHI values in the middle cerebral artery ipsilateral to the occluded side were significantly associated with the risk of ipsilateral stroke ( P <0.001, P =0.008, and P <0.001, respectively; multiple Cox regression analysis). A normal VMR and favorable prognosis characterized patients with full collateral development; in this group, no patient experienced an ischemic event. On the other hand, an impaired VMR and increased probability of experiencing a stroke were found in patients without collateral pathways; the annual risk of ipsilateral stroke in this group was 32.7%. Patients with 1 or 2 collateral pathways showed a different VMR ranging from normal to strongly reduced BHI values. The ipsilateral stroke event risk was 17.5% in patients with 1 collateral vessel and 2.7% in patients with 2 collateral pathways. In this case, the risk of cerebrovascular events occurring during the follow-up period was significantly related to VMR. Conclusions —These data suggest that cerebral hemodynamic status in patients with carotid occlusive disease is influenced by both individual anatomic and functional characteristics. The planning of strategies to define the risk profile and any attempt to influence patients’ outcome should be based on the evaluation of the intracranial hemodynamic adaptive status, with particular attention to the number of collateral vessels and the related VMR.

Prevalence and Clinical Picture of Celiac Disease in Italian Down Syndrome Patients: A Multicenter Study

Abstract: Background: A multicenter research study of Down syndrome patients was carried out to estimate the prevalence of celiac disease in patients with Down syndrome and to show clinical characteristics and laboratory data of Down syndrome patients. Methods: The authors studied 1,202 Down syndrome patients. Fifty-five celiac disease patients (group I ) were compared with 55 immunoglobulin A antigliadin-positive antiendomysium antibodies-negative patients (group 2) and with 57 immunoglobulin A antigliadin-negative antiendomysium antibodies-negative patients (group 3). Results: Celiac disease was diagnosed in 55 of 1,202 Down syndrome patients (4.6%). In group 1, weight and height percentiles were shifted to the left, whereas these parameters were normally distributed in groups 2 and 3. In celiac patients, diarrhea, vomiting, failure to thrive, anorexia, constipation, and abdominal distension were higher than in the other two groups. Low levels of hemoglobinemia, serum iron, and calcium were observed more frequently in group 1. The diagnosis of celiac disease was made after a mean period of 3.8 years from the initiation of symptoms. Sixty-nine percent of patients showed a classic presentation, 11% had atypical symptoms, and 20% had silent celiac disease. Autoimmune disorders were more frequent (30.9%) in group I than in the other two groups examined (15%; P<0.05). Conclusions: This study reconfirms a high prevalence of celiac disease in Down syndrome. However, the diagnostic delay, the detection of atypical symptoms or silent form in one third of the cases, and the increased incidence of autoimmune disorders suggest the need for the screening of celiac disease in all Down syndrome patients.

Roles for inositol-phosphoryl ceramide synthase 1 (IPC1) in pathogenesis of C. neoformans

Abstract: Cryptococcus neoformans is a leading cause of life-threatening fungal infection in immunocompromised patients. Inositol-phosphoryl ceramide synthase 1 (Ipc1) is a fungus-specific enzyme, encoded by the essential IPC1 gene, that catalyzes the formation of complex sphingolipids and may also regulate the levels of phytoceramide and diacylglycerol. Here, we investigated the functions of this essential gene by modulating its expression in C. neoformans using a galactose-inducible promoter. Down-regulation of IPC1 significantly lowers the expression of certain virulence traits such as melanin pigmentation and, remarkably, impairs pathogenicity of C. neoformans in an established rabbit model. Interestingly, we found that IPC1 down-regulation significantly decreases the intracellular growth of C. neoformans in the J774.16 murine macrophage-like cells. Finally, we studied the effect of IPC1 expression under different stress conditions and found that down-regulation of IPC1 confers a defect on in vitro growth at low pH. Because this environment is similar to that in the phagolysosome of J774.16 macrophage-like cells, our findings indicate that down-regulation of IPC1 confers a growth defect in vivo through a pH-dependent mechanism. In conclusion, our study is the first to define a novel and crucial function of Ipc1 in fungal pathogenesis.

A Note on the Balassa Index of Revealed Comparative Advantage

Abstract: It is customary in the empirical trade literature to analyze specialization patterns of countries using Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) measures This paper explores the pros and cons of the most commonly used RCA index: the Balassa (1965) Index of RCA After describing the properties of the Balassa Index, we analyze two different normalizations of the original Index recently proposed by Laursen (2000) and Proudman and Redding (1998) to remedy some of the shortcomings of the original index, and we propose an alternative and more traditional strategy in order to analyze the dynamics of specialization

Expression of ZO-1 and occludin in normal human placenta and in hydatidiform moles

Abstract: Zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and occludin are key molecules in cell–cell contacts. They are tight junction constituents and therefore play a pivotal role in tissue differentiation and organogenesis. In the present report we have investigated the expression of ZO-1 and occludin in normal human placentae and in hydatidiform moles using immunohistochemical and Western blot analyses. In normal placentae, ZO-1 and occludin were mainly localized in the apical part of the syncytium, in cell–cell contacts between syncytium and villous cytotrophoblastic cells as well as between the latter. Extravillous cytotrophoblast of cell islands and cell columns was positive for ZO-1 and occludin in the cell layers proximally located to the villous stroma whereas the cytotrophoblastic cells, distally located from the villous stroma, were totally negative. Furthermore, fetal vessels showed a positive staining pattern for ZO-1 throughout gestation, whereas a positive reaction for occludin was produced mainly at term. A striking result was the altered expression of ZO-1 and occludin in partial and complete moles. In 11 moles, these two molecules were not expressed at all, while in the other nine, their expression was only cytoplasmic in syncytium and villous cytotrophoblastic cells. These findings suggest that ZO-1 and occludin participate in normal placental development, maintaining the organization and functions of different tissue components. The down-regulation and/ or dysregulation of these two molecules may be related to phenotypic changes associated with epithelial cell transformation of the chorionic villi in partial and complete moles.

Time to discontinuation of the first highly active antiretroviral therapy regimen: a comparison between protease inhibitor- and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-containing regimens.

Abstract: Data from a cohort of HIV-positive individuals who were antiretroviral naive at enrollment were analysed to estimate the probability of discontinuing the first highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimen, comparing protease inhibitor- and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase-containing regimens Of the 2002 individuals who began HAART, 857 (428%) discontinued their first regimen No statistically significant difference was found in the time to discontinuation by specific type of regimen, either when considered overall or by specific reason

Taste laterality in the split brain

Abstract: Two patients with corpus callosum resection, one complete and the other sparing the genu and the rostrum, were tested for discrimination of three basic taste stimuli (sour, bitter, salty) applied to the right or left sides of the tongue. Responses were made by pointing with either hand to written words or images of visual objects corresponding to the stimuli, a language-based discrimination. In both patients, response accuracy was significantly above chance for both hemitongues but there was a significant advantage for the left side. Reaction time was shorter for left stimuli than for right stimuli but the difference was not significant. Eight normal controls matched for age with the patients performed equally well with right and left hemitongue stimuli and so did a third callosotomy patient with sparing of the posterior callosum, including the splenium. Tactile and visual tests showed that the left hemisphere was responsible for language-based responses in the first two patients. The results confirm and extend previous findings in another callosotomy patient, indicating that: (i) taste information from either side of the tongue can reach the left hemisphere in the absence of the corpus callosum; (ii) the ipsilateral input from the tongue to the left hemisphere is more potent functionally than the contralateral input and (iii) in the normal brain, the corpus callosum, specifically its posterior part including the splenium, appears to equalize the effects of the ipsilateral and contralateral gustatory inputs on the left hemisphere. Taken together with evidence about lateralized taste deficits following unilateral cortical lesions, the results also suggest that the gustatory pathways from tongue to cortex are bilaterally-distributed with an ipsilateral predominance that may be subject to individual variations.

Chitosan and Gelatin as Engineered Dressing for Wound Repair

Abstract: A therapeutic support for the less effective steps in skin’s recovery should improve reparative capacity. A morphological and immunohistochemical evaluation of tissue repair in rats in the presence...

Cerebral hemodynamics in patients with carotid artery occlusion and contralateral moderate or severe internal carotid artery stenosis

Abstract: Object. The purpose of this study was to evaluate cerebral hemodynamics in patients suffering from occlusion of the carotid artery (CA) and contralateral CA stenosis. Methods. Using transcranial Doppler ultrasonography, the cerebrovascular reactivity to hypercapnia in the middle cerebral arteries was evaluated by calculating the breath-holding index (BHI) of 69 symptomatic patients suffering from internal CA (ICA) occlusion and moderate or severe contralateral ICA stenosis. To evaluate which variables influenced BHIs ipsilateral to the site of ICA occlusion, a multiple stepwise linear regression analysis was performed that included the following factors: patient age, percentage of contralateral ICA stenosis, contralateral BHI, number of collateral pathways, and presence of hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and hyperlipidemia. An analysis of variance was conducted to evaluate the impact of the type of collateral vessels on the BHI. A regression analysis showed that the BHI ipsilateral to the site of ICA occ...

Identification of Six Putative Novel Human Papillomaviruses (HPV) and Characterization of Candidate HPV Type 87

Abstract: Six putative novel human papillomavirus (HPV) types were detected by using general primers for a conserved L1 HPV region in patients examined in gynecologic centers. One of the isolates, detected in samples from 4 patients with koilocytic atypia at cervical cytology (3 of whom were also infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1), was completely sequenced, identified as a new HPV genotype, and designated candidate HPV87 (candHPV87) by the Reference Center for Human Papillomavirus. candHPV87 shows the classic HPV genome organization and the absence of a functional E5 coding region. Phylogenetic analysis documented that the candHPV87 genome clusters within the A3 group of HPVs, together with HPV61, HPV72, HPV83, HPV84 and candHPV86, which have been completely sequenced, and a number of other putative novel genotypes (two of which are described in this work), which have been partially characterized. To address the growth-enhancing potential of candHPV87, the E6 and E7 putative coding regions were cloned and expressed in tissue cultures. The data indicate that both proteins stimulate cell division in tissue cultures more than those of low-risk HPVs, though not as much as those of HPV16. Taken together, the clinical, molecular, and biological data suggest that the novel papillomavirus characterized in the present study is a low- to intermediate-risk HPV.

Competition Through Innovation: Atms in Italian Banks

Abstract: This paper reports results from a study of location, ownership, and acquisitions of automated teller machines (ATMs) by a sample of large Italian banks between 1991 and 1995. The sample banks had 85% of Italian banking assets. Data are collected at the provincial level for each bank. The underlying model is recursive; a bank is presumed to make branching decisions (analyzed in a separate paper) and then, conditional on branching decisions, decisions about ATMs. Several sets of cross-sectional data are studied using OLS and Tobit models yielding the following results: 1) The logarithm of ATMs in a province is related positively to the logarithms of interest-bearing deposits and GDP and negatively to the logarithm of population, as was predicted from a variation of Baumol's transactions demand for cash model; 2) The number of a bank's ATMs in a province is related positively to the numbers of its branches and deposit accounts, a province's per capita GDP, the bank's deposits, and the bank's number of employees per branch in the province and negatively to the bank's share of a province's branches; 3) Changes in a bank's ATMs in a province are positively related to changes in the number of its branches and those of competitors; and 4) Concentration indices of ATMs, branches, deposits, and loans decreased at the provincial level between 1991 and 1995.

Cardiovascular phenotype of young adults and angiotensinogen alleles.

Abstract: OBJECTIVES AND DESIGN Angiotensinogen (AGT) gene variants influence angiotensinogen plasma levels in children and young adults. The angiotensinogen promoter (-6)A variant facilitates gene transcription in human tissues and it has been associated with high blood pressure in older adults. A young adult population can be used as a model to study genotype/phenotype associations between AGT (-6) variants and cardiovascular variables. METHODS AND RESULTS Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure and heart rate were taken in 422 white Caucasian students (mean age 23.5 years, SD 2.5 years). Family history for hypertension, physical activity and smoking history were evaluated. Left ventricular variables were measured by echocardiography. Carotid artery wall intimal-media thickness (IMT) was measured by high resolution sonography and digitalized morphometry. The AGT G(-6)A alleles were evaluated by mutagenically separated polymerase chain reaction controlled by direct sequencing. No significant associations were found between angiotensinogen genotype and blood pressure, cardiac variables [except for deceleration time in females which increased with the number of (-6)A alleles] and IMT. Allele frequencies were similar between the first and third tertile of blood pressure and left ventricular mass, and were also similar between negative or positive family history for hypertension (the last group having significantly higher systolic blood pressure in males, P = 0.04 and diastolic blood pressure in females, P < 0.01). Moreover, no relevant interaction on the cardiovascular variables was found between AGT genotype and body mass index. CONCLUSIONS The angiotensinogen G(-6)A variants do not affect cardiovascular parameters in young adults, but an effect of this polymorphism on cardiovascular phenotype (and hypertension) in older adults cannot be excluded. Additional factors, associated with ageing, should be present to unleash the supposed unfavourable potential of the (-6)A angiotensinogen variant.

Banks' Inefficiency and Economic Growth: A Micro-Macro Approach

Abstract: This paper offers a methodological contribution to the empirical analysis of the relationships between banking and economic growth by suggesting a new indicator for the state of development of the banking system based on a measure of bank microeconomic efficiency. This choice helps to overcome the problem of causality and to capture the effects of the banks' allocative activity. This new approach is then applied to analyse the relationship between the banking system and economic growth in the Italian regions, through a dynamic panel technique. The empirical results show the existence of an independent effect exerted by the efficiency of banks on regional growth.