Publications by authors named "Contini L"

Pimozide is a first-generation antipsychotic used in the treatment of schizophrenia, Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, and other chronic psychoses. Its in vivo efficacy is limited by poor solubility and consequent poor bioavailability. Therefore, adipic acid was used as a coformer for the preparation of a binary product with improved pharmaceutical properties.

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Significance: We explore the feasibility of using time-domain (TD) and continuous-wave (CW) functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to monitor brain hemodynamic oscillations during resting-state activity in humans, a phenomenon that is of increasing interest in the scientific and medical community and appears to be crucial to advancing the understanding of both healthy and pathological brain functioning.

Aim: Our general object is to maximize fNIRS sensitivity to brain resting-state oscillations. More specifically, we aim to define comprehensive guidelines for optimizing main operational parameters in fNIRS measurements [average photon count rate, measurement length, sampling frequency, and source-detector distance (SSD)].

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Bismuth(III) complexes have been reported to act as inhibitors of the enzyme urease, ubiquitously present in soils and implicated in the pathogenesis of several microorganisms. The general insolubility of Bi(III) complexes in water at neutral pH, however, is an obstacle to their utilization. In our quest to improve the solubility of Bi(III) complexes, we selected a compound reported to inhibit urease, namely [Bi(HEDTA)]·2HO, and co-crystallized it with (i) racemic DL-histidine to obtain the conglomerate [Bi(HEDTA)(μ-D-His)]·6HO + [Bi(HEDTA)(μ-L-His)]·6HO, (ii) enantiopure L-histidine to yield [Bi(HEDTA)(μ-L-His)]·6HO, and (iii) cytosine to obtain [Bi(HEDTA)]·Cyt·2HO.

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In this work, we used a hybrid time domain near-infrared spectroscopy (TD-NIRS) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) device to retrieve hemoglobin and blood flow oscillations of skeletal muscle microvasculature. We focused on very low (VLF) and low-frequency (LF) oscillations ( frequency lower than 0.145 Hz), that are related to myogenic, neurogenic and endothelial activities.

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This study evaluates the impact of reducing the default speed limit from 50 km/h to 40 km/h on traffic safety and drivers' behavior in Edmonton, Canada. The research comprehensively examines collision and speed data to assess the outcomes of the new speed limit. Collision data was analyzed across three distinct periods: pre-COVID (2017-2019), the COVID period (2019-2021), and the after-implementation period (August 2021 to July 2022).

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A high power setup for multichannel time-domain (TD) functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measurements with high efficiency detection system was developed. It was fully characterized based on international performance assessment protocols for diffuse optics instruments, showing an improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) with respect to previous analogue devices, and allowing acquisition of signals with sampling rate up to 20 Hz and source-detector distance up to 5 cm. A resting-state measurement on the motor cortex of a healthy volunteer was performed with an acquisition rate of 20 Hz at a 4 cm source-detector distance.

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Circular economy, and concerns about environmental waste, is fostering the development of sustainable alternative products in a range of industries. In the dermo-cosmetic field, the market for sustainable anti-aging skincare products has increasingly grown over the last years. The innovation of this work was to develop chitosan films incorporating lemongrass essential oil (LEO) that could potentially be applied as a green cosmetic skin treatment due to their anti-oxidant and antimicrobial properties, using renewable and biodegradable materials.

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Hybrid coordination polymers are interesting for their ability to converge the properties of both inorganic and organic systems in one single compound and recently attention has been focused on silver based hybrid coordination polymers due to their luminescence properties. We searched the CSD to establish the propensity of AgXL (X = Cl, Br and I) with L as an organic ligand to form hybrid coordination polymers. About 800 AgXL structures are deposited in the CSD, with huge structural variability: indeed, it is possible to recognize some structural preferences based on the halide nature.

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is one of the two species of the order Crocodylia that inhabit Argentina and is considered a species of vital ecological and economic importance in the north-east of Argentina. In this region, pesticides are the most common contaminants in natural environments and wild caiman populations are subject to this contamination constantly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects the main pesticides used in the region: glyphosate (GLY), cypermethrin (CYP) and chlorpyrifos (CPF) -based formulations, as well as the mixture of them, on juveniles under semi-controlled condition of exposure () during 75 days.

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Twenty to thirty percent of patients experience weight regain at mid and long-term follow-up. Impaired cognitive functions are prevalent in people suffering from obesity and in those with binge eating disorder, thereby, affecting the weight-loss outcomes. The aim of our study was to investigate neurocognitive and psychopathological predictors of surgical efficacy in terms of percentage of excess weight loss (%EWL) at follow-up intervals of one year and 4-year.

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Purpose: Pre-surgical psychosocial evaluation of bariatric surgery (BS) patients should identify psychiatric issues that could worsen after surgery and those requiring additional ongoing intervention. In this view, the use of reliable, appropriate and concise evaluating instruments is of critical importance. The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical utility of both the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R) and its brief unidimensional version, the so-called Symptom-Checklist-K-9 (SCL-K-9) in detecting the presence of psychiatric disorders among bariatric surgery (BS) candidates.

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Objective: To identify the strategies used in the development of planned and scientifically documented physical activity, as well as the results achieved with those interventions in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Methods: Systematic analysis of scientific articles regarding the use of physical activity as a therapeutic tool for children with ASD. Articles published between 2006 and 2016 were included in the review.

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The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of process conditions (inlet air temperature, paste flow rate, and whey protein concentration) on the physical and physicochemical characteristics of the powder obtained from spray dried grape skin-whey protein concentrate mixture. The experiments were performed according to the 2 factorial design, with repetition of the central point. The highest values of anthocyanin retention (> 92%) were obtained with the highest inlet air temperature (190 °C) and the highest whey protein concentration (15% (w/w)).

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Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with high female predominance in reproductive years. It is characterized by a pronounced inflammation and production of a variety of autoantibodies. SLE pathogenesis is influenced by genes, hormones and environmental agents.

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The City of Edmonton began its intersection safety device (ISD) program in 2009 with the installation of 50 cameras throughout the city. The ISDs are approach-specific and combine automated enforcement of red-light running and speed violations during the red and green phases of the intersection control. The goal of this study is to evaluate the safety performance of ISDs within the city of Edmonton, Canada and to identify factors that can lead to successful selection of future ISD sites.

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Since the onset of the worst epidemic of Ebola virus disease in December 2013, 28,637 cases were reported as confirmed, probable, or suspected. Since the week of 3 January 2016, no more cases have been reported. The total number of deaths have amounted to 11,315 (39.

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Introduction: Infectious diseases are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with connective tissue diseases. Corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs, such as cyclophosphamide (CYC), increases the risk of infections. The objective of this study was to estimate the incidence rates of severe infections in patients who received treatment with CYC.

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Background: Methylmalonic aciduria combined with homocystinuria (MMA-HC) is the biochemical trait of a metabolic disorder resulting from impaired conversion of dietary cobalamin (cbl, or vitamin B12) to its two metabolically active forms. Effects on urinary purine and pyrimidine levels have not been described for this condition.

Methods: Urine samples were collected from three patients with methylmalonic aciduria combined with homocystinuria and from 70 healthy subjects.

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Human toxocariasis is a parasitic disease found worldwide. The most important etiological agent is Toxocara canis, a dog parasite. Humans are infected by the ingestion of their eggs; the eggs hatch in the small intestine and the larvae migrate through the capillaries, taking up residence in different tissues.

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Angiotensin II exerts its cardiovascular effects mainly through the activation of AT(1) receptors. These receptors can be regulated at a post-transcriptional level, that is through the modulation of the mRNA stability. This regulation usually involves proteins which are able to bind the 3'UTR of the mRNA molecule.

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The aim of this work was to determine Giardia and Cryptosporidium levels in surface water used either as recreational or drinking water source, and to estimate the relationship with bacteriological and physicochemical parameters determining water quality. This study was carried out during 22 months, in Santa Fe and Santo Tomé cities (Santa Fe Province, Argentina). Cryptosporidium from 100% of the recreational samples (44-2404 oocysts/100 l) and from 92% of water sources (< 20-539 oocysts/100 l) was detected, while Giardia was found in lower concentrations and frequencies: 72% (< 20-670 cysts/100 l) and 31% (< 20-65 cysts/100 l), respectively.

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An important mechanism of regulation of the expression of the AT(1) receptors is the modulation of the mRNA stability. AUF1, a human RNA-binding protein, may play an important role. Since AUF1 seems to bind to AU-rich regions of the 3'-untranslated region of the mRNAs, we verified the nucleotide sequence of human AT(1) receptor 3'-untranslated region and we found possible binding sites.

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Fourty-eight patients entered the study, 37 of whom were evaluable, who underwent a nonrandomized combined modality approach plus a randomized immunotherapy treatment assigning the patients to one of the three arms: 1) thymostimulin, 2) beta IFN, 3) thymostimulin + beta IFN. The patients enrollment started in May 1991 and was closed in February 1993: the final evaluation was in February 1994. An immunological evaluation was made for all patients enrolled.

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The aim of the investigation was to directly study the IL 2 receptor (IL 2 R) and its subunits, p55 and p75 chains, either membrane-bound or soluble, on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients with solid malignancies and, indirectly, the same patients' PBMC ability to produce IL 2. Fifty-eight cancer patients, 29 men and 29 women, were studied: their mean age was 57.3 years, range 35-79.

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