Remdesivir administration for SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia in ICU and non-ICU patients: outcome and posttreatment differences - the Italian Military Hospital experience.

Background: Four-hundred forty-nine patients affected by Covid-19 were hospitalized at the Rome Military Hospital between March 2020 and July 2022. Depending on the severity of the disease, they were assigned either to the Functional Health Emergency Unit - if suffering from interstitial pneumonia with a clinical manifestation of dyspnea associated with peripheral oxygen saturation  < 92%, and oxygen atmospheric pressure therapy - or to the intensive care unit - if the blood gas-lytic index P/F (ratio between partial pressure of arterial O2 and inspired fraction of O2) was below 150. This prospective observation and monocentric study aim to verify the outcome (healing/death) of early use of remdesivir in pneumonia patients.

Effects of SARS-CoV-2 on Pulmonary Function and Muscle Strength Testing in Military Subjects According to the Period of Infection: Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Pulmonary function can be impaired as a long-term consequence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on pulmonary function, exercise tolerance, and muscle strength in healthy middle-aged military outpatients according during the period of infection.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from March 2020 to November 2022 at the Military Hospital "Celio" (Rome, Italy).

Anxiety and Depression during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Coping Strategies.

Background: Evidence suggests increased anxious-depressive symptoms in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic, also in its second wave. High symptom variability across individuals suggests that risk and protective factors, including coping strategies, can play a mediating role.

Methods: General Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Brief-COPE questionnaires were administered to people attending a COVID-19 point-of-care.

Evaluation of peritraumatic distress at the point of care: A cross-sectional study.

Background: COVID-19 related peritraumatic distress has been investigated in the general population with contrasting results probably due to the perceived risk of developing COVID-19. Our study aims to investigate this condition in individuals with ascertained or probable SARS-CoV-2 exposure.

Methods: The Coronavirus Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) was administered to people attending a COVID-19 point of care.

Factors associated with the transition of adolescent inpatients from an intensive residential ward to adult mental health services.

Transition of young people from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS) is a complex process. Transition rates are heterogeneously reported, with wide definitions and ranges. Few data are available regarding predictive factors of a successful transition.

Use and Propensity to Use Substances as Cognitive Enhancers in Italian Medical Students.

International media has paid attention to the use of substances by healthy subjects to enhance cognitive performance. Medical students are liable to use cognitive enhancers (CE) with the aim of improving academic performance. The study explored use and attitudes toward the use of CE in Italian medical students.

Perspectives of 1H-NMR-based urinary metabonomics in Fabry disease.

High resolution proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR) of body fluids coupled with multivariate data analysis has led to a new science known as metabonomics. Metabonomics is a powerful tool for investigating any disturbance in the normal homeostasis of biochemical processes. In particular, urine metabonomics provides information on the metabolite phenotype of the human being and is therefore appropriate to study the status of the global system.

Highly routinely reproducible alignment of 1H NMR spectral peaks of metabolites in huge sets of urines.

A method to obtain high reproducibility of (1)H NMR chemical shift of peaks of biofluid metabolites, by simple acidification with HCl is evaluated. Biofluid (1)H NMR analysis is indeed spoiled by a strong chemical shift dependence of metabolite peaks on parameters such as ionic strength, concentration of some earth alkali cations and, mostly, on pH of samples. The resulting chemical shift variations, as large as 0.

Metabonomics and population studies: age-related amino acids excretion and inferring networks through the study of urine samples in two Italian isolated populations.

The study of two different Italian isolated populations was combined with a metabonomic approach to better understand tubular handling of amino acids. Levels of amino acids and metabolites have been analyzed by Nucleic Magnetic Resonance and expressed as ratio vs urinary creatinine concentration (mmol/mol). For most of the amino acids there is an age-related U shape pattern of excretion, with the peaks during childhood and old age, and a significant reduction in the adult age.

In vitro stimulatory effect of anti-apoptotic seminal vesicle protein 4 on purified peroxidase enzymes.

The enzymatic activities of purified horseradish peroxidase, selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase, thyroid peroxidase and myeloperoxidase, but not that of lactoperoxidase, were markedly enhanced when added into a reaction mixture containing 5 mum native seminal vesicle protein 4, a major protein secreted from rat seminal vesicle epithelium. A further increase of horseradish peroxidase activity was obtained using Ser58-phosphorylated or acetylated seminal vesicle protein 4. The activating effect of native seminal vesicle protein 4 was highest (about 60-fold) on horseradish peroxidase when 4-chloro-1-naphtol was used as the electron donor substrate.

Effect of positive charge in VIP 16gamma-glutamyl diamino derivatives on hVPAC1 and hVPAC2 receptor function.

Increase of VPAC receptor s binding to the (16)gamma-glutamyl diaminopropane vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP-DAP) agonist, a vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) structural analogue containing a positive charge at position 16, has confirmed the importance of a positive charge at this site. By investigating the effect of distance from the peptide backbone Calpha of a positive charge in position 16, data are reported here concerning: (i) a novel chemical method used for the synthesis of a new family of (16)gamma-glutamyl diamine VIP derivatives differing among them for single carbon atoms and including diaminoethane (VIP-DAE2), diaminopropane (VIP-DAP3), diaminobutane (VIP-DAB4), diaminopentane (VIP-DAP5), and diaminohexane (VIP-DAH6); (ii) functional characterization of these compounds on human VPAC1 and VPAC2 receptors. In more detail, the EC50 and IC50 values, when measured as a function of the alkylic chain length, show in more detail, that the use of VIP-DAB4 derivative changes the IC50 but not the EC50, thus indicating on hVPAC2 receptor an unexpected relationship between binding and activity that differs from that obtained on hVPAC1.

Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of hydroxytyrosol, a natural antioxidant from olive oil.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylethanol (DOPET) is the major o-diphenol detectable in extra virgin olive oil, either in free or esterified form. Despite its relevant biological effects, mainly related to its antioxidant properties, little data have been reported so far on its toxicity and metabolism. The aim of the present work is to evaluate DOPET toxicity and to investigate its molecular pharmacokinetics by using the (14)C-labeled diphenol.

Diagnosis and follow-up of cystinuria: use of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy of urine (as well as of other biological fluids) is a very powerful technique enabling multi-component analysis useful in both diagnosis and follow-up of a wide range of inherited metabolic diseases. Among these pathologies, cystinuria is characterised by accumulation in urine of four dibasic amino acids, namely lysine, arginine, ornithine and cystine; the last one, being only slightly water soluble, generates urolithiasis. The mentioned aminoacids can be detected in the urine NMR spectrum of cystinuric patients, the most abundant being the lysine (5 mM and over are often detected), whose typical signals become very high; arginine and ornithine are also usually detectable, although pathologic concentrations are lower (usually below 2mM).

Hydroxytyrosol, a natural molecule occurring in olive oil, induces cytochrome c-dependent apoptosis.

2-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)ethanol (DPE), a naturally occurring phenolic antioxidant molecule found in olive oil, has been reported to exert several biological and pharmacological activities. We studied the effect of this compound on the proliferation and survival of HL60 cell line. Concentrations from 50 to 100 microM DPE, comparable to its olive oil content, caused a complete arrest of HL60 cell proliferation and the induction of apoptosis.

Altered intestinal permeability to mannitol in diabetes mellitus type I.

Background: Intestinal permeability has seldom been investigated in diabetes mellitus, even though patients frequently report gastrointestinal symptoms, and it has recently been shown that the prevalence of celiac disease associated with diabetes mellitus is higher than expected.

Methods: Intestinal permeability to cellobiose and mannitol was investigated in 31 patients affected by type I uncomplicated diabetes mellitus. Values were compared with those obtained in 32 normal subjects.

Diagnosis and follow-up of inborn errors of amino acid metabolism: Use of proton magnetic resonance of biological fluids.

Proton magnetic resonance spectra of biological fluids such as urine, plasma and cerebro-spinal fluid can be used for multi-component analysis of highly concentrated species, thus providing information about the general metabolism of the patient. Hydrogen containing analytes in concentration higher than 10µM are indeed often detectable in biological fluid in 15 minutes by means of an unexpensive 200 MHz spectrometer essentially without sample manipulation. Amino acids, keton bodies, organic acids and other metabolites can be easily estimated by this approach; consequently this technique represents a powerful tool particularly in the diagnosis of inborn errors of amino acid metabolism, when improving the prognosis often depends on a very early diagnosis and on an effective method for monitoring the effects of therapy.

Biocompatibility studies on glass ionomer cements by primary cultures of human osteoblasts.

Glass ionomer cements (GICs) are materials largely employed in the dental field that have been considered recently as cements in orthopaedic surgery for their proven osteogenic features. The aim of this study was to compare the response of cultured human osteoblastic cells to a number of commercial glass ionomer cements in order to provide indications useful for the further development of formulations that have potential for use as cements or implants in repair and replacement of bone tissue. The GICs tested were: Ketac-Fil Aplicap, lonocem lonocap 1,0, GC Fuji II, GC Fuji II LC and Vitremer 3M.

Diet treatment of branched chain ketoaciduria studied by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

A novel nuclear magnetic resonance method is proposed for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients affected by branched chain ketoaciduria. The method allows quantitation of the branched chain amino acids (BCAA's) such as leucine, isoleucine and valine and of related keto- and hydroxy acids by means of a single spectrum. The method implies short time of analysis, as opposed to the very long time required by the techniques currently in use (amino acid analyzer combined with gaschromatography/mass spectrometry of keto- and hydroxyacids), it is easy and suitable for adjustements of the dietary treatment even on a daily basis.

Enzymatic basis for the calcium-induced decrease of membrane protein methyl esterification in intact erythrocytes. Evidence for an impairment of S-adenosylmethionine synthesis.

The effect of Ca2+ loading, induced by the ionophore A23187, on methyl esterification of membrane proteins (i.e. bands 2.

Transport and metabolism of double-labelled CDPcholine in mammalian tissues.

Double-labelled [methyl-14C,5-3H]CDPcholine has been synthesized and subjected to a pharmacokinetic analysis in several biological systems. In transport experiments with intact human erythrocytes no incorporation of radioactivity is observable. On the other hand the results obtained with perfused rat liver suggest a rapid cleavage of the pyrophosphate bridge of the molecule, followed by a rapid uptake of the hydrolytic products.

Studies on enzyme-substrate interactions of cholinephosphotransferase from rat liver.

In order to elucidate the reaction mechanism and the substrate-binding sites, CDPcholine:1,2-diacylglycerol cholinephosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.

Mechanism of propylamine-transfer reactions. Kinetic and inhibition studies on spermidine synthase from Escherichia coli.

Spermidine synthase (EC 2.5.1.