Exposure to pollution during the first thousand days and telomere length regulation: A literature review.

Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker for cellular senescence and TL erosion is predictive of the risk for age-related diseases. Despite being genetically determined at birth, TL may be susceptible to modifications through epigenetic mechanisms. Pollutant agents are considered one of the major threats to both human and planetary health.

Effect of Addition of Different Phenolic-Rich Extracts on Beer Flavour Stability.

Flavour stability is a key factor in the beer production process. The stabilizing effect of six commercial phenolic-rich extracts was studied. The extracts were added to beer before bottling.

Combined effects of environmental factors on human perception and objective performance: A review of experimental laboratory works.

This study reports the outcomes of a literature survey aimed at exploring how different environmental factors-that is acoustic, thermal, visual, and air quality stimuli-interact in affecting building occupants' perception and performance. Recent laboratory studies have been collected, and their methodological approaches reviewed in terms of experimental design, adopted exposures conditions, perception and performance assessment methods. Results have been summarized and compared to identify interaction patterns between environmental factors and possible practical implications for improving the design of both experimental studies and the built environment.

Entry inhibition of HSV-1 and -2 protects mice from viral lethal challenge.

The present study focused on inhibition of HSV-1 and -2 replication and pathogenesis in vitro and in vivo, through the selective targeting of the envelope glycoprotein D. Firstly, a human monoclonal antibody (Hu-mAb#33) was identified that could neutralise both HSV-1 and -2 at nM concentrations, including clinical isolates from patients affected by different clinical manifestations and featuring different susceptibility to acyclovir in vitro. Secondly, the potency of inhibition of both infection by cell-free viruses and cell-to-cell virus transmission was also assessed.

Role and potential therapeutic use of antibodies against herpetic infections.

Background: The cellular adaptive response directed against herpesviruses is widely described in the scientific literature as a pivotal component of the immune system able to control virus replication. The role of humoral immunity remains unclear and controversial.

Aims: Discussing the role of adaptive immunity in herpesvirus infection control, highlighting the potential role of the humoral branch of immunity through the description of human monoclonal antibodies directed against herpesviruses.

[Nutritional and Functional assessment of peritoneal dialysis patients in the clinical practice: Report from MITO-DP Group].

Nutritional abnormalities and physical inactivity are risk factors of increased morbidity and mortality in patients with ESRD. Identify and define malnutrition, in particular protein-energy depletion (PEW), is an important task in the management of renal patients. The aim of this multicenter observational study was to implement the assessment of nutritional status and functional capacity in patients on peritoneal dialysis, including tests and validated methods which are relatively easy to apply in daily clinical practice.

Novel therapeutic investigational strategies to treat severe and disseminated HSV infections suggested by a deeper understanding of in vitro virus entry processes.

The global burden of herpes simplex virus (HSV) legitimates the critical need to develop new prevention strategies, such as drugs and vaccines that are able to fight either primary HSV infections or reactivations. Moreover, the ever-growing number of patients receiving transplants increases the number of severe HSV infections that are unresponsive to current therapies. Finally, the high global incidence of genital HSV-2 infection increases the risk of perinatal transmission to newborns, in which disseminated infection or central nervous system (CNS) involvement is frequent, with associated high morbidity and mortality rates.

Virus-induced preferential antibody gene-usage and its importance in humoral autoimmunity.

It is known that even the adaptive components of the immune system are based on genetic traits common to all individuals, and that diversity is shaped by the lifelong contacts with different non-self antigens, including those found on infectious pathogens. Besides the individual differences, some of these common traits may be more prone to react against a given antigen, and this may be exploited by the infectious pathogens. Indeed, viral infections can deregulate immune response by subverting antibody (Ab) gene usage, leading to the overexpression of specific Ab subfamilies.

Heterosubtypic protection conferred by the human monoclonal antibody PN-SIA28 against influenza A virus lethal infections in mice.

PN-SIA28 is a human monoclonal antibody (Hu-MAb) targeting highly conserved epitopes within the stem portion of the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) (N. Clementi, et al, PLoS One 6:e28001, 2011, http://dx.doi.

Cloning of the first human anti-JCPyV/VP1 neutralizing monoclonal antibody: epitope definition and implications in risk stratification of patients under natalizumab therapy.

JC virus (JCPyV) has gained novel clinical importance as cause of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare demyelinating disease recently associated to immunomodulatory drugs, such as natalizumab used in multiple sclerosis (MS) cases. Little is known about the mechanisms leading to PML, and this makes the need of PML risk stratification among natalizumab-treated patients very compelling. Clinical and laboratory-based risk-stratification markers have been proposed, one of these is represented by the JCPyV-seropositive status, which includes about 54% of MS patients.

Epitope mapping by epitope excision, hydrogen/deuterium exchange, and peptide-panning techniques combined with in silico analysis.

The fine characterization of protective B cell epitopes plays a pivotal role in the development of novel vaccines. The development of epitope-based vaccines, in fact, cannot be possible without a clear definition of the antigenic regions involved in the binding between the protective antibody (Ab) and its molecular target. To achieve this result, different epitope-mapping approaches have been widely described (Clementi et al.

Peptide-based vaccinology: experimental and computational approaches to target hypervariable viruses through the fine characterization of protective epitopes recognized by monoclonal antibodies and the identification of T-cell-activating peptides.

Defining immunogenic domains of viral proteins capable of eliciting a protective immune response is crucial in the development of novel epitope-based prophylactic strategies. This is particularly important for the selective targeting of conserved regions shared among hypervariable viruses. Studying postinfection and postimmunization sera, as well as cloning and characterization of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), still represents the best approach to identify protective epitopes.

Adjustable intragastric balloon vs non-adjustable intragastric balloon: case-control study on complications, tolerance, and efficacy.

Background: The objective of this study is the comparison of a new intragastric balloon recently introduced, the Adjustable Balloon System (ABS), with the BioEnterics intragastric balloon (BIB) in terms of tolerance, safety, and weight loss parameters.

Methods: A case-control study was done: 40 patients were matched with 80 controls. To achieve the same duration therapy (12 months), a single ABS positioning was compared with a BIB followed by another BIB (6 + 6 months).

Fibrosis and sclerosis: different disorders or different stages?

Peritoneal sclerosis is very common in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. It can vary from the mild, clinically silent sclerosis always present after years of PD, to rare but dramatic and often fatal cases. In our opinion, peritoneal sclerosis is a single disorder, so its variable manifestations are different stages of one nosological entity: this opinion relies mainly on strong connections in pathophysiology.

The self-locating catheter: review and cost analysis.

The self-locating catheter invented by Nicola Di Paolo has been increasingly used in Italy and elsewhere since 1994, with about a thousand patients currently implanted every year. Twelve grams of tungsten inserted in the tip of the conventional Tenckhoff catheter during extrusion do not significantly change its form, but suffice to keep the tip firmly in the Douglas cavity. The validity of the new catheter is confirmed by a multicentric controlled study in a large population of peritoneal dialysis patients.

Necrotizing fasciitis successfully treated with extracorporeal blood oxygenation and ozonization (EBOO).

A case of necrotizing fasciitis in a dialysis patient is described. Since traditional therapies were unsuccessful, extracorporeal blood oxygenation and ozonation (EBOO) was tried. This technique is no longer in the experimental stage and is used routinely in our hospital.

Ozonation of blood during extracorporeal circulation. II. Comparative analysis of several oxygenator-ozonators and selection of one type.

Exposure of human blood ex vivo to oxygen-ozone (O2-O3) using either dialysis exchangers or normal oxygenators gives rise to a number of problems, one of which linked to platelet activation, leads to rapid occlusion and no gas exchange. Semipermeable membranes were found unsuitable because, except for one, they were gas-transfer inefficient, allowed ultrafiltration and were more or less vulnerable to O3. Over the last three years we have examined several types of hydrophobic O3-resistant hollow fiber capillaries but, if the polypropylene surface is not properly coated, there is platelet aggregation and blood coagulation.

[Ampullary and periampullary tumors].

Ninety-eight consecutive patients with ampullary and periampullary carcinoma diagnosed between 1983-1993 were studied retrospectively. Among these patients, 66 had a carcinoma of the head of the pancreas, 10 a carcinoma of the papilla of Vater, 8 a carcinoma of the duodenum, and 14 a carcinoma of the distal common bile duct. Resectability rate ranged from 12% to 90% according to the tumor location and histologic type.

[Cholecystosis: anatomo-clinical profile and therapeutic considerations].

In the last 5 years 16 patients with cholecystosis were observed. In this period the most recent diagnostic and therapeutic techniques were used including ultrasound which allowed to diagnose 60% of adenomyomatosis, 33.3% of cholecystosis and 6.

[Current trends in therapeutic indications in gallstones].

In the last 3 years, 300 consecutive patients (110 men, 190 women) were treated for gallstone disease using either traditional open surgery or the video laparoscopic approach. The relative clinical data and results were compared and analysed. The Authors conclude that video laparoscopy presents a number of advantages such as minor costs, reduced pain, quick return to work, compared to traditional surgery, especially when correctly indicated.

[Carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile ducts].

In the last 5 years 25 patients (11 men, 14 women) with carcinoma of the extrahepatic biliary duct were studied. The most frequent localization of the carcinoma was the hepatic hilum. D.

Administration of gallopamil by long-term venous infusion in spontaneous angina. A single-blind, self-controlled study versus placebo.

In order to assess the efficacy and tolerability of gallopamil (D-600, CAS 16662-47-8) by long-term venous infusion in the treatment of spontaneous angina, 15 consecutive patients were studied in a single-blind, self-controlled trial versus placebo. Following a 24-h Holter ECG recording of the patients receiving a saline infusion (run-in phase), i.v.