University of Cagliari

About: University of Cagliari is a education organization based out in Cagliari, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Dopamine. The organization has 11029 authors who have published 29046 publications receiving 771023 citations. The organization is also known as: Università degli Studi di Cagliari & Universita degli Studi di Cagliari.

Suicidal Behavior and Psychological Distress in University Students: A 12-nation Study.

Abstract: This study investigated the prevalence of suicidal behavior and psychological distress in university students across 12 nations. A total of 5,572 university students from 12 countries were surveyed about suicide ideation, suicide attempts, and psychological distress by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Almost 29% of the samples reported having contemplated suicide and 7% reported attempting suicide. Of the total sample, 51.1% scored above the General Health Questionnaire-12 ≥ 3 cut-off points, 41.6% above the GHQ-12 ≥ 4 cut-off points, and 33.8% scored above the GHQ-12 ≥ 5 cut-off points. While odds of suicide ideation were elevated in Austria and the UK, reduced ORs were detected for China, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Turkey. Similarly, while odds of suicide attempt were high in Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and to some extent in Turkey, reduced ORs were observed for Austria, China, Italy, Japan and the United States. Elevated ORs for psychological distress were seen in Japan, Jordan, ...

Cardiovascular Effects of Stimulant and Non-Stimulant Medication for Children and Adolescents with ADHD: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Trials of Methylphenidate, Amphetamines and Atomoxetine.

Abstract: Many children and adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are treated with stimulant and non-stimulant medication. ADHD medication may be associated with cardiovascular effects. It is important to identify whether mean group effects translate into clinically relevant increases for some individual patients, and/or increase the risk for serious cardiovascular adverse events such as stroke or sudden death. To evaluate potential cardiovascular effects of these treatments, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of methylphenidate (MPH), amphetamines (AMP), and atomoxetine (ATX) on diastolic and systolic blood pressure (DBP, SBP) and heart rate (HR) in children and adolescents with ADHD. We conducted systematic searches in electronic databases (PsychINFO, EMBASE and Medline) to identify published trials which involved individuals who were (i) diagnosed with ADHD and were aged between 0–18 years; (ii) treated with MPH, AMP or ATX and (iii) had their DBP and SBP and/or HR measured at baseline (pre) and the endpoint (post) of the study treatment. Studies with an open-label design or a double-blind randomised control design of any duration were included. Statistical analysis involved calculating differences between pre- and post-treatment measurements for the various cardiovascular parameters divided by the pooled standard deviation. Further, we assessed the percentage of clinically relevant increased BP or HR, or documented arrhythmias. Eighteen clinical trials met the inclusion criteria (10 for MPH, 5 for AMP, and 7 for ATX) with data from 5837 participants (80.7% boys) and average duration of 28.7 weeks (range 4–96 weeks). All three medications were associated with a small, but statistically significant pre–post increase of SBP (MPH: standard mean difference [SMD] 0.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.08–0.42, p < 0.01; AMP: SMD 0.09, 95% CI 0.03–0.15, p < 0.01; ATX: SMD 0.16, 95% CI 0.04–0.27, p = 0.01). MPH did not have a pre–post effect on DBP and HR. AMP treatment was associated with a small but statistically significant pre–post increase of DBP (SMD 0.16, CI 0.03–0.29, p = 0.02), as was ATX treatment (SMD 0.22, CI 0.10–0.34, p < 0.01). AMP and ATX were associated with a small to medium statistically significant pre–post increase of HR (AMP: SMD 0.37, CI 0.13–0.60, p < 0.01; ATX: SMD 0.43, CI 0.26–0.60, p < 0.01). The head-to-head comparison of the three medications did not reveal significant differences. Sensitivity analyses revealed that AMP studies of <18 weeks reported higher effect sizes on DBP compared with longer duration studies (F(1) = 19.55, p = 0.05). Further, MPH studies published before 2007 reported higher effect sizes on SBP than studies after 2007 (F(1) = 5.346, p = 0.05). There was no effect of the following moderators: type of medication, doses, sample size, age, gender, type of ADHD, comorbidity or dropout rate. Participants on medication reported 737 (12.6%) other cardiovascular effects. Notably, 2% of patients discontinued their medication treatment due to any cardiovascular effect. However, in the majority of patients, the cardiovascular effects resolved spontaneously, medication doses were changed or the effects were not considered clinically relevant. There were no statistically significant differences between the medication treatments in terms of the severity of cardiovascular effects. Statistically significant pre–post increases of SBP, DBP and HR were associated with AMP and ATX treatment in children and adolescents with ADHD, while MPH treatment had a statistically significant effect only on SBP in these patients. These increases may be clinically significant for a significant minority of individuals that experience larger increases. Since increased BP and HR in general are considered risk factors for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality during adult life, paediatric patients using ADHD medication should be monitored closely and regularly for HR and BP.

Physical and Chemical Adsorption of Mucor javanicus Lipase on SBA-15 Mesoporous Silica. Synthesis, Structural Characterization, and Activity Performance

Abstract: In this work a sample of SBA-15 mesoporous silica was synthesized and characterized by TEM, XRD, and N2 adsorption. The sample had a high value of specific surface area (1007 m2 g-1) and total pore volume (2.1 cm3 g-1). The pore diameter was 67 A, so it was large enough to accommodate protein molecules inside the channels. Immobilization by physical adsorption of a commercial lipase preparation from Mucor javanicus was performed at different pH values (pH 5−8). pH 6 gave the highest lipase loading and hydrolytic activity of the corresponding biocatalyst. Chemical modification of the SBA-15 via glutardialdehyde allowed also the enzyme immobilization through chemical adsorption. This preparation was active toward tributyrin hydrolysis. On the contrary, very low activity toward triolein hydrolysis was observed. The reduction of the size of the channels due the immobilization process has been suggested as a possible explanation.

Interaction of antibacterial compounds with RND efflux pumps in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract: Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections are becoming increasingly difficult to treat due to intrinsic antibiotic resistance and the propensity of this pathogen to accumulate diverse resistance mechanisms Hyperexpression of efflux pumps of the Resistance-Nodulation-Division-type multidrug efflux pumps (eg MexAB-OprM), chromosomally encoded by mexAB-oprM, mexCD-oprJ, mexEF-oprN, and mexXY (-oprA) is often detected in clinical isolates and contributes to worrying multi-drug resistance phenotypes Not all antibiotics are affected to the same extent by the aforementioned RND efflux pumps The impact of efflux on antibiotic activity varies not only between different classes of antibiotics but also between members of the same family of antibiotics Subtle differences in physicochemical features of compound-pump and compound-solvent interactions largely determine how compounds are affected by efflux activity The combination of different high-resolution techniques helps to gain insight into the functioning of these molecular machineries This review discusses substrate recognition patterns based on experimental evidence and computer simulations with a focus on MexB, the pump subunit of the main RND transporter in P aeruginosa

Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) and Lymphotoxin-α (LTA) Polymorphisms and Risk of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in the InterLymph Consortium

Abstract: In an International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium pooled analysis, polymorphisms in 2 immune-system-related genes, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin-10 (IL10), were associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) risk. Here, 8,847 participants were added to previous data (patients diagnosed from 1989 to 2005 in 14 case-control studies; 7,999 cases, 8,452 controls) for testing of polymorphisms in the TNF -308G>A (rs1800629), lymphotoxin-alpha (LTA) 252A>G (rs909253), IL10 -3575T>A (rs1800890, rs1800896), and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain containing 2 (NOD2) 3020insC (rs2066847) genes. Odds ratios were estimated for non-Hispanic whites and several ethnic subgroups using 2-sided tests. Consistent with previous findings, odds ratios were increased for "new" participant TNF -308A carriers (NHL: per-allele odds ratio (OR(allelic)) = 1.10, P(trend) = 0.001; diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL): OR(allelic) = 1.23, P(trend) = 0.004). In the combined population, odds ratios were increased for TNF -308A carriers (NHL: OR(allelic) = 1.13, P(trend) = 0.0001; DLBCL: OR(allelic) = 1.25, P(trend) = 3.7 x 10(-6); marginal zone lymphoma: OR(allelic) = 1.35, P(trend) = 0.004) and LTA 252G carriers (DLBCL: OR(allelic) = 1.12, P(trend) = 0.006; mycosis fungoides: OR(allelic) = 1.44, P(trend) = 0.015). The LTA 252A>G/TNF -308G>A haplotype containing the LTA/TNF variant alleles was strongly associated with DLBCL (P = 2.9 x 10(-8)). Results suggested associations between IL10 -3575T>A and DLBCL (P(trend) = 0.02) and IL10 -1082A>G and mantle cell lymphoma (P(trend) = 0.04). These findings strengthen previous results for DLBCL and the LTA 252A>G/TNF -308A locus and provide robust evidence that these TNF/LTA gene variants, or others in linkage disequilibrium, are involved in NHL etiology.