Publications by authors named "Ciardi M"

Pig farming generates highly polluted wastewater that requires effective treatment to minimize environmental damage. Microalgae can recover nutrients from piggery wastewater (PWW), but excessive nutrient and turbidity levels inhibit their growth. Solar photo-Fenton (PF) offer a sustainable and cost-effective pretreatment to allow microalgal growth for further PWW treatment.

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Background: COVID-19 vaccines reduced mortality, hospitalizations and ICUs admissions. Conversely, the impact of vaccination on Long COVID-19 syndrome is still unclear. This study compared the prevalence of post-acute sequelae at short and long-term follow-up among hospitalized unvaccinated and vaccinated COVID-19 survivors through a multidisciplinary approach.

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Background: Long-COVID symptoms remain incompletely defined due to a large heterogeneity in the populations studied, case definitions, and settings of care. The aim of this study was to assess, in patients accessing care for Long-COVID, the profile of symptoms reported, the possible clustering of symptoms and cases, the functional status compared to pre-infection, and the impact on working activity.

Methods: Multicentre cohort study with a collection of both retrospective and prospective data.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates long-term symptoms of COVID-19, focusing on both hospitalized and home-isolated patients to detail persistent issues related to long COVID.
  • Conducting a retrospective cohort study with 364 patients, researchers found that 82% experienced at least one symptom, primarily fatigue, and notable lung issues were detected in many patients.
  • The findings highlight significant long-term effects of COVID-19, stressing the need for comprehensive healthcare approaches and multidisciplinary teams to manage and improve patient outcomes.
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The feasibility of exopolysaccharides (EPS) production from cheese whey using Chlorella vulgaris was investigated as an example of circular bioeconomy application. The effects of dairy waste utilization in EPS biosynthesis and rheological properties were evaluated, comparing with both control conditions and commercial xanthan gum (CXG). A twofold increase in yield, up to 0.

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: SARS-CoV-2 is the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though we are no longer in a pandemic situation, people are still getting infected, some of them need hospitalization and a few of them die. : We conducted a retrospective study including 445 patients who accessed the Emergency Section of Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy, where they had routine blood exams.

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Approximately 10% to 20% of individuals with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection may develop long-COVID syndrome, characterized by various physical and mental health issues, including pain. Previous studies suggested an association between small fibre neuropathy and pain in long-COVID cases. In this case-control study, our aim was to identify small fibre neuropathy in patients experiencing painful long-COVID syndrome.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined the immune response to a SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine in solid organ transplant recipients (SOT-Rs) compared to healthy donors (HDs) before and after vaccination at multiple time points.
  • In SOT-Rs, antibody detection increased significantly after the third vaccine dose, but antibody levels were consistently lower than those in HDs, and T-cell responses were also less robust.
  • The findings suggest that while the third dose improved immunity in SOT-Rs, their vaccine effectiveness remains suboptimal, indicating a potential need for additional booster doses and preventive strategies.
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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating neurological disease that has been classified as an immune-mediated attack on myelin, the protective sheath of nerves. Some aspects of its pathogenesis are still unclear; nevertheless, it is generally established that viral infections influence the course of the disease. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a major pathogen involved in alterations of the immune system, including the expansion of highly differentiated cytotoxic CD8+ T cells and the accumulation of adaptive natural killer (NK) cells expressing high levels of the NKG2C receptor.

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Cancer patients (CPs), being immunosuppressed due to the treatment received or to the disease itself, are more susceptible to infections and their potential complications, showing therefore an increased risk of developing severe COVID-19 compared to the general population. We evaluated the immune responses to anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with solid tumors one year after the administration of the third dose and the effect of cancer treatment on vaccine immunogenicity was assessed. Healthy donors (HDs) were enrolled.

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Confinement can have a considerable effect on the behavior of particle systems and is therefore an effective way to discover new phenomena. A notable example is a system of identical bosons at low temperature under an external field mimicking an isotropic bubble trap, which constrains the particles to a portion of space close to a spherical surface. Using path integral Monte Carlo simulations, we examine the spatial structure and superfluid fraction in two emblematic cases.

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Background: Severe COVID-19 is associated with an excessive immunothrombotic response and thromboinflammatory complications. Vaccinations effectively reduce the risk of severe clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19, but their impact on platelet activation and immunothrombosis during breakthrough infections is not known.

Objectives: To investigate how preemptive vaccinations modify the platelet-immune crosstalk during COVID-19 infections.

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We study the low-temperature phases of interacting bosons on a two-dimensional quasicrystalline lattice. By means of numerically exact path integral Monte Carlo simulations, we show that for sufficiently weak interactions the system is a homogeneous Bose-Einstein condensate that develops density modulations for increasing filling factor. The simultaneous occurrence of sizeable condensate fraction and density modulation can be interpreted as the analogous, in a quasicrystalline lattice, of supersolid phases occurring in conventional periodic lattices.

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Introduction: Since early January 2017, a new measles outbreak in Italy has been observed. The aim of the study was to compare features between adults and children measles cases and evaluate the effect of steroid treatment on the above parameters.

Methods: A retrospective multicenter, descriptive study was performed.

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People living with HIV (PLWH) remain at high risk of mortality and morbidity from vaccine-preventable diseases, even though antiretroviral therapy (ART) has restored life expectancy and general well-being. When, which, and how many doses of vaccine should be administered over the lifetime of PLWH are questions that have become clinically relevant. Immune responses to most vaccines are known to be impaired in PLWH.

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: Neurological symptoms (NS) in COVID-19 are related to both acute stage and long-COVID. We explored levels of brain injury biomarkers (NfL and GFAP) and myeloid activation marker (sCD163) and their implications on the CNS. In hospitalized COVID-19 patients plasma samples were collected at two time points: on hospital admission (baseline) and three months after hospital discharge (Tpost).

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Objective: SARS-CoV-2 causes acute respiratory disease, interstitial and alveolar pneumonia, and involves numerous organs and systems such as the kidney, heart, digestive tract, blood, and nervous system. We aimed to evaluate the incidence of renal manifestations in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 infection.

Patients And Methods: We performed a monocentric, cross-sectional, observational study, conducted on 114 patients with SARS-CoV-2.

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The aim of the study was to longitudinally evaluate the association between MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1 and chest radiological findings in COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 patients were evaluated based on their hospital admission (baseline) and three months after hospital discharge (T post) and were stratified into ARDS and non-ARDS groups. As a control group, healthy donors (HD) were enrolled.

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Objectives: To evaluate the impact of vaccination on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and moreover on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia, by assessing the extent of lung disease using the CT severity score (CTSS).

Methods: Between September 2021 and February 2022, SARS-CoV-2 positive patients who underwent chest CT were retrospectively enrolled. Anamnestic and clinical data, including vaccination status, were obtained.

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A significant number of people, following acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, report persistent symptoms or new symptoms that are sustained over time, often affecting different body systems. This condition, commonly referred to as Long-COVID, requires a complex clinical management. In Italy new health facilities specifically dedicated to the diagnosis and care of Long-COVID were implemented.

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Gender medicine is now an approach that can no longer be neglected and must be considered in scientific research. We investigated the systemic and mucosal immune response in a population of women living with HIV (WLWH) who were receiving successful ART and the sexual and psychological repercussions of HIV infection on the women's health. As control group, healthy women (HW) matched for age and sex distribution, without any therapy, were included.

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Background: Since its outbreak, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a life-threatening respiratory illness, has rapidly become a public health emergency with a devastating social impact. Lately, the Omicron strain is considered the main variant of concern. Routine blood biomarkers are, indeed, essential for stratifying patients at risk of severe outcomes, and a huge amount of data is available in the literature, mainly for the previous variants.

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Article Synopsis
  • Ocrelizumab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, is used to treat multiple sclerosis but may increase the risk of infections due to its effect on B-cells and related factors like BAFF, APRIL, and CD40L.
  • The study measured levels of BAFF, APRIL, and CD40L in 38 people with multiple sclerosis and 26 healthy donors at the start of treatment and at 6 and 12 months to assess their relationship with infection risk.
  • Results showed that pwMS had higher levels of BAFF, APRIL, and CD40L at baseline, with BAFF levels increasing over the year, while those who had infections had consistently higher BAFF levels compared to those without infections,
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Article Synopsis
  • The study analyzed clinical characteristics and mortality risk factors for COVID-19 patients in an Italian hospital from March to May 2020, involving 258 patients with a mortality rate of 13.2%.
  • Key findings included that most patients were middle-aged (median age 62), with common symptoms like fever and cough, and a significant number had underlying health issues (66.7%).
  • Factors associated with higher mortality included older age, being male, high blood urea levels, and a decreased PaO2/FiO2 ratio, indicating severity in respiratory distress.
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To support physicians in clinical decision process on patients affected by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in areas with a low vaccination rate, we devised and evaluated the performances of several machine learning (ML) classifiers fed with readily available clinical and laboratory data. Our observational retrospective study collected data from a cohort of 779 COVID-19 patients presenting to three hospitals of the Lazio-Abruzzo area (Italy). Based on a different selection of clinical and respiratory (ROX index and PaO2/FiO2 ratio) variables, we devised an AI-driven tool to predict safe discharge from ED, disease severity and mortality during hospitalization.

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