Study on the Effectiveness of a Copper Electrostatic Filtration System "Aerok 1.0" for Air Disinfection.

Background: Bioaerosols can represent a danger to health. During SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, portable devices were used in different environments and considered a valuable prevention tool. This study has evaluated the effectiveness of the air treatment device "AEROK 1.

Virological surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in an Italian Northern area: differences in gender, age and Real Time RT PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values in three epidemic periods.

Background And Aim Of The Work: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a global public health emergency. The aim of this study was to investigate cases characteristics and Real Time RT PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values distribution of COVID-19 in an Italian Northern area during three periods: first period, February-May 2020; second period, June-August 2020; third period, September 2020-February 2021.

Methods: Real Time RT PCR was used to detect SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory samples (oro/nasopharyngeal swabs).

Virological surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in an Italian northern area: comparison of Real Time RT PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values in three epidemic periods.

Aim of the study was to investigate the differences in Ct values in nasopharingeal swabs collected in three SARS-CoV-2 epidemic periods: first one from February 23 to March 25 (14 days from lockdown started on March 11); the second one from  March  26 to May 18 (14 days  from the end of strict lockdown on May 4) and the third one from May 19 until June 15. Viral RNA was detected in nasopharyngeal swabs obtained both from inpatients and outpatients. COVID-19 infection was confirmed according to the Ct values for N1 and N2 genes ascertained by Real-Time RT-PCR assay as described by the CDC.

[Fungal contamination in a University building].

Unlabelled: Fungal contamination in a University building.

Background.: It is recognized that airborne fungi can cause illnesses in humans but data on environmental exposure are still poor.

Passive air sampling: the use of the index of microbial air contamination.

Background: Bioaerosol plays an important role in human life with potentially infectious, allergic and toxic effects. Active and passive methods can be used to assess microbial air contamination, but so far there is not a unanimous consensus regarding the indications about methods to be used and how to interpret the results. The passive method has been standardized by the Index of Microbial Air contamination (IMA).

Immunity status against tetanus in young migrants: a seroprevalence study.

Background And Aim Of The Work: Thanks to the highly effective vaccine, tetanus became sporadic in high-income countries with well-established primary childhood immunization programs, but it is common in low-income countries. The migrants, leaving countries with poor immunization programs or where vaccinations have been interrupted, may represent a new risk group for tetanus in host countries. A seroprevalence study was conducted to estimate the immunological status against tetanus in young migrants without vaccination documentation.

A novel mutation in the NR0B1 gene in a family with monozygotic twin sisters and congenital adrenal hypoplasia affected children.

Objective: Congenital adrenal hypoplasia (CAH) is a rare disorder that can be inherited in an X-linked or autosomal recessive pattern. CAH is frequently associated with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HHG) with absent or arrested puberty and impaired fertility caused by abnormalities in spermatogenesis. It is estimated that more than 50% of boys with idiopathic adrenal insufficiency have mutations in the NR0B1 gene product, DAX1.

Markers of insulin sensitivity in placentas and cord serum of intrauterine growth-restricted newborns.

Objective: Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) has been related to a higher incidence of insulin resistance in adult life, which is associated with low adiponectin and high resistin, insulin and interleukin (IL)-6 serum concentrations. This study assessed cortisol, insulin, total insulin receptor, resistin, adiponectin and IL-6 concentrations, as markers of insulin sensitivity, in placental lysates and cord serum of IUGR and appropriate for gestational age (AGA) newborns, to establish relationships among peptides and with growth parameters at birth.

Design And Patients: Whole villous tissue and cord serum at birth were collected from 24 AGA and 18 IUGR newborns of comparable gestational age.

The IGF system and cytokine interactions and relationships with longitudinal growth in prepubertal patients with cystic fibrosis.

Objective: Growth delay is a feature of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). CF is a condition characterized by chronic inflammation that has been shown to modify the IGF system, which is essential for normal growth, and is related to pulmonary function in CF patients. We aimed to verify whether circulating levels of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-6, insulin and the IGF system were related and/or had relationships with linear growth in children with CF.

Ghrelin inhibits steroid biosynthesis by cultured granulosa-lutein cells.

Context: Growing evidence indicates that ghrelin may participate in the regulation of different aspects of reproductive function. The genes encoding for this peptide and its receptor are expressed in the human ovary, but their functional role is still unknown.

Objective: The aim of our study was to assess whether ghrelin has any effect on steroid synthesis by human granulosa-lutein cells and to identify the receptor isoform through which this potential effect is exerted.

Changes and relationships of IGFS and IGFBPS and cytokines in coeliac disease at diagnosis and on gluten-free diet.

Objective: To evaluate changes and relationships of IGFs and IGFBPs, serum interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and auxological parameters at diagnosis of coeliac disease (CD) and at 6 months and 12 months after starting a gluten-free diet (GFD), compared with a control population.

Patients: Twenty patients were enrolled at diagnosis (9 male, 11 female; age 9.6 +/- 0.

Changes in interleukin-6 and IGF system and their relationships in placenta and cord blood in newborns with fetal growth restriction compared with controls.

Objectives: The IGF system is central to fetal growth. Recently, the relationships between cytokines and the IGF system have been shown in specific tissues. It is unknown whether these occur in the placenta.

Inflammation is a modulator of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF)/IGF-binding protein system inducing reduced bioactivity of IGFs in cystic fibrosis.

Objective: In inflammatory bowel diseases, increased serum interleukin (IL)-6 levels are associated with high serum insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 2 (IGFBP-2) levels, and cytokines modify the insulin-like growth factor (IGF)/IGFBP system in models in vitro. In cystic fibrosis (CF) the IGF/IGFBP system has not been extensively studied, and relationships with proinflammatory cytokines have not been explored. The aim of this study was to investigate the IGF/IGFBP system and verify changes dependent on IL-1beta, IL-6, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), and insulin.

Differentiation of leptospires of the serogroup Pomona by monoclonal antibodies, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction.

All reference strains described as representing separate serovars belonging to the serogroup Pomona and a clinical leptospiral isolate (LP2) from this serogroup were analyzed using a battery of 9 monoclonal antibodies, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR). Monoclonal antibody analysis provided taxonomic results which were in agreement with the current classification of the serogroup Pomona into six serovars and allowed the classification of the isolate LP2 in the serovar pomona. PFGE and AP-PCR, although in general agreement with monoclonal antibody analysis, also were able to demonstrate some differences in the restriction patterns of strains Pomona, Monjakov and CB.