Evaluation of the WHO standards to assess quality of care for children with acute respiratory infections: findings of a baseline multicentre assessment (CHOICE) in Italy.

Background: Experience is lacking on the implementation of the WHO standards for improving the quality of care (QOC) for children at facility level. We describe the use of 10 prioritised WHO standard-based quality measures to assess provision of care for children with acute respiratory infections (ARI) in Italy.

Methods: In a multicentre observational study across 11 emergency departments with different characteristics, we collected 10 WHO standard-based quality measures related to case management of children with ARI and no emergency/priority signs.

Encapsulation of Olive Leaf Polyphenol-Rich Extract in Polymeric Micelles to Improve Its Intestinal Permeability.

In the present study, polymeric micelles were developed to improve the intestinal permeability of an extract of L. leaf with a high content of total polyphenols (49% /), with 41% / corresponding to the oleuropein amount. A pre-formulation study was conducted to obtain a stable formulation with a high loading capacity for extract.

Pseudotyped Viruses As a Molecular Tool to Monitor Humoral Immune Responses Against SARS-CoV-2 Via Neutralization Assay.

Pseudotyped viruses (PVs) are molecular tools that can be used to study host-virus interactions and to test the neutralizing ability of serum samples, in addition to their better-known use in gene therapy for the delivery of a gene of interest. PVs are replication defective because the viral genome is divided into different plasmids that are not incorporated into the PVs. This safe and versatile system allows the use of PVs in biosafety level 2 laboratories.

HIV and SARS-CoV-2 Co-Infection: From Population Study Evidence to In Vitro Studies.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have caused two major viral outbreaks during the last century. Two major aspects of HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 co-infection have been extensively investigated and deserve attention. First, the impact of the co-infection on the progression of disease caused by HIV-1 or SARS-CoV-2.

Increased Prevalence of Unstable HLA-C Variants in HIV-1 Rapid-Progressor Patients.

HIV-1 infection in the absence of treatment results in progression toward AIDS. Host genetic factors play a role in HIV-1 pathogenesis, but complete knowledge is not yet available. Since less-expressed HLA-C variants are associated with poor HIV-1 control and unstable HLA-C variants are associated with higher HIV-1 infectivity, we investigated whether there was a correlation between the different stages of HIV-1 progression and the presence of specific HLA-C allotypes.

Microemulsions Enhance the In Vitro Antioxidant Activity of Oleanolic Acid in RAW 264.7 Cells.

Oleanolic acid (OA) is the main triterpenic acid of olive leaves known for numerous pharmacological properties, including antioxidant activity. However, it is poorly soluble in water and consequently with low bioavailability, which limits its pharmacological application. Microemulsions (MEs) are dispersed systems consisting of two immiscible phases that promote rapid solubilization and absorption in the gastrointestinal tract.

Solubility and Permeability Enhancement of Oleanolic Acid by Solid Dispersion in Poloxamers and γ-CD.

Oleanolic acid (OA) is a pentacyclic triterpenoid widely found in the Oleaceae family, and it represents 3.5% of the dry weight of olive leaves. OA has many pharmacological activities, such as hepatoprotection, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-tumor, and anti-microbic activities.

The Role of Purinergic P2X7 Receptor in Inflammation and Cancer: Novel Molecular Insights and Clinical Applications.

The purinergic P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) is a transmembrane protein whose expression has been related to a variety of cellular processes, while its dysregulation has been linked to inflammation and cancer. P2X7R is expressed in cancer and immune system cell surfaces. ATP plays a key role in numerous metabolic processes due to its abundance in the tumour microenvironment.

The Emerging Role of the RBM20 and PTBP1 Ribonucleoproteins in Heart Development and Cardiovascular Diseases.

Alternative splicing is a regulatory mechanism essential for cell differentiation and tissue organization. More than 90% of human genes are regulated by alternative splicing events, which participate in cell fate determination. The general mechanisms of splicing events are well known, whereas only recently have deep-sequencing, high throughput analyses and animal models provided novel information on the network of functionally coordinated, tissue-specific, alternatively spliced exons.

Recovery position significantly associated with a reduced admission rate of children with loss of consciousness.

Background: Loss of consciousness (LOC) is often seen in children. The response of caregivers to a child with LOC has been poorly investigated. Potential caregivers (parents, teachers) seem to have a poor knowledge of the recovery position (RP)-that is, the position into which an unconscious child should be placed in order to protect the airway.

E6/E7 mRNA testing for human papilloma virus-induced high-grade cervical intraepithelial disease (CIN2/CIN3): a promising perspective.

Since the introduction of biomolecular testing for the identification of high-risk human papillomavirus DNA (hrHPV-DNA) in cervical cancer preventive strategies, many interesting aspects have emerged in this field; firstly, HPV-DNA testing has been demonstrated to have better sensitivity than conventional cytology in several settings: screening, triage of ASC-US and in follow-up after treatment. Despite this, some limitations of these new technologies have also been underlined: the major issue is the low specificity of the tests, which cannot discriminate between regressive and progressive infections. Thus, recent research has moved the attention towards novel markers of progression that could more precisely detect cases at real risk of cancer development.

Prognostic significance of immunohistochemical phenotypes in patients treated for high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

Strong evidence exists that the host's immune system plays a crucial role for the development of human papillomavirus-related cervical premalignant and malignant lesions. In particular, effective cell-mediated immunity (CMI) promotes spontaneous infection clearance and cancer precursors regression in healthy subjects, while immunosuppressed individuals are more likely to experience infection persistence, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) lesions, and cervical cancer. In this study, the prognostic significance of immunohistochemical profiling of CD4+ T-cells, CD8+ T-cells, dendritic cells (CD11c+), T-bet+, and GATA-3+ transcription factors has been studied in surgical specimens of 34 consecutive women affected by high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2-3) submitted to cervical conization.

Cervical Human Papillomavirus in transplanted Italian women: a long-term prospective follow-up study.

Background: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the leading cause of cervical cancer among women. Immunosuppression is recognized as one of the major risk factors for HPV infection and persistence.

Objectives: Aim of this study was to determine if solid organs (24 kidney and 24 kidney/pancreas) transplanted Italian women undergoing immunosuppressive therapies were at higher risk of HPV genital infection and cervical precancerous lesions in a ten-year follow-up.