University of Milan

About: University of Milan is a education organization based out in Milan, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Transplantation. The organization has 58413 authors who have published 139784 publications receiving 4636354 citations. The organization is also known as: Università degli Studi di Milano & Statale.

Non-redundant role of the long pentraxin PTX3 in anti-fungal innate immune response

Abstract: Pentraxins are a superfamily of conserved proteins that are characterized by a cyclic multimeric structure1. The classical short pentraxins, C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid P component (SAP), are acute-phase proteins produced in the liver in response to inflammatory mediators2,3,4. Short pentraxins regulate innate resistance to microbes and the scavenging of cellular debris and extracellular matrix components2,3,4,5. In contrast, long pentraxins have an unrelated, long amino-terminal domain coupled to the carboxy-terminal pentraxin domain, and differ, with respect to short pentraxins, in their gene organization, chromosomal localization, cellular source, and in their stimuli-inducing and ligand-recognition ability6. To investigate the in vivo function of the long pentraxin PTX3, we generated mice deficient in Ptx3 by homologous recombination. Ptx3-null mice were susceptible to invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Ptx3 binds selected microbial agents, including conidia of Aspergillus fumigatus, and we found that susceptibility of Ptx3-null mice was associated with defective recognition of conidia by alveolar macrophages and dendritic cells, as well as inappropriate induction of an adaptive type 2 response. Thus, the long pentraxin Ptx3 is a secreted pattern-recognition receptor that has a non-redundant role in resistance to selected microbial agents, in particular to the opportunistic fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus.

Incidence and prognosis of intraabdominal hypertension in a mixed population of critically ill patients: a multiple-center epidemiological study.

Abstract: Objective: Intraabdominal hypertension is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in surgical and trauma patients. The aim of this study was to assess, in a mixed population of critically ill patients, whether intraabdominal pressure at admission was an independent predictor for mortality and to evaluate the effects of intraabdominal hypertension on organ functions. Design: Multiple-center, prospective epidemiologic study. Setting: Fourteen intensive care units in six countries. Patients: A total of 265 consecutive patients admitted for >24 hrs during the 4-wk study period. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Intraabdominal pressure was measured twice daily via the bladder. Data recorded on admission were the patient demographics with Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, and type of admission; during intensive care stay, Sepsis-Related Organ Failure Assessment score and intraabdominal pressure were measured daily together with fluid balance. Nonsurvivors had a significantly higher mean intraabdominal pressure on admission than survivors: 11.4 4.8 vs. 9.5 4.8 mm Hg. Independent predictors for mortality were age (odds ratio, 1.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.01‐1.06; p .003), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score (odds ratio, 1.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.05‐1.15; p < .0001), type of intensive care unit admission (odds ratio, 2.5 medical vs. surgical; 95% confidence interval, 1.24‐5.16; p .01), and the presence of liver dysfunction (odds ratio, 2.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.06‐5.8; p .04). The occurrence of intraabdominal hypertension during the intensive care unit stay was also an independent predictor of mortality (relative risk, 1.85; 95% confidence interval, 1.12‐3.06; p .01). Patients with intraabdominal hypertension at admission had significantly higher Sepsis-Related Organ Failure Assessment scores during the intensive care unit stay than patients without intraabdominal hypertension. Conclusions: Intraabdominal hypertension on admission was associated with severe organ dysfunction during the intensive care unit stay. The mean intraabdominal pressure on admission was not an independent risk factor for mortality; however, the occurrence of intraabdominal hypertension during the intensive care unit stay was an independent outcome predictor. (Crit Care Med 2005; 33:315‐322)

Low-frequency positive-pressure ventilation with extracorporeal CO2 removal in severe acute respiratory failure.

Abstract: Forty-three patients were entered in an uncontrolled study designed to evaluate extracorporeal membrane lung support in severe acute respiratory failure of parenchymal origin. Most of the metabolic carbon dioxide production was cleared through a low-flow venovenous bypass. To avoid lung injury from conventional mechanical ventilation, the lungs were kept "at rest" (three to five breaths per minute) at a low peak airway pressure of 35 to 45 cm H2O (3.4 to 4.4 kPa). The entry criteria were based on gas exchange under standard ventilatory conditions (expected mortality rate, >90%). Lung function improved in thirty-one patients (72.8%), and 21 patients (48.8%) eventually survived. The mean time on bypass for the survivors was 5.4 ± 3.5 days. Improvement in lung function, when present, always occurred within 48 hours. Blood loss averaged 1800±850 mL/d. No major technical accidents occurred in more than 8000 hours of perfusion. Extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal with low-frequency ventilation proved a safe technique, and we suggest it as a valuable tool and an alternative to treating severe acute respiratory failure by conventional means. (JAMA1986;256:881-886)

Observation of a centrality-dependent dijet asymmetry in lead-lead collisions at √sNN=2.76 Tev with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Abstract: By using the ATLAS detector, observations have been made of a centrality-dependent dijet asymmetry in the collisions of lead ions at the Large Hadron Collider. In a sample of lead-lead events with a per-nucleon center of mass energy of 2.76 TeV, selected with a minimum bias trigger, jets are reconstructed in fine-grained, longitudinally segmented electromagnetic and hadronic calorimeters. The transverse energies of dijets in opposite hemispheres are observed to become systematically more unbalanced with increasing event centrality leading to a large number of events which contain highly asymmetric dijets. This is the first observation of an enhancement of events with such large dijet asymmetries, not observed in proton-proton collisions, which may point to an interpretation in terms of strong jet energy loss in a hot, dense medium.

High risk of cerebral-vein thrombosis in carriers of a prothrombin-gene mutation and in users of oral contraceptives.

Abstract: Background Idiopathic cerebral-vein thrombosis can cause serious neurologic disability We evaluated risk factors for this disorder, including genetic risk factors (mutations in the genes encoding factor V and prothrombin) and nongenetic risk factors (such as the use of oral contraceptive agents) Methods We compared the prevalence of these risk factors in 40 patients with cerebral-vein thrombosis, 80 patients with deep-vein thrombosis of the lower extremities, and 120 healthy controls The G1691A mutation in the factor V gene and the G20210A prothrombin-gene mutation, which are established genetic risk factors for venous thrombosis, were studied We also assessed the use of oral contraceptives and other risk factors for thrombosis Results The prevalence of the prothrombin-gene mutation was higher in patients with cerebral-vein thrombosis (20 percent) than in healthy controls (3 percent; odds ratio, 102; 95 percent confidence interval, 23 to 310) and was similar to that in patients with deep-vein thro