Publications by authors named "Vecchia A"

Zoonotic infections (swine-human) caused by influenza A viruses (IAVs) have been reported and linked to close contact between these species. Here, we describe eight human IAV variant infections (6 mild and 2 severe cases, including 1 death) detected in Paraná, Brazil, during 2020-2023. Genomes recovered were closely related to Brazilian swIAVs of three major lineages (1 A.

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We present a physics-inspired method for inferring dynamic rankings in directed temporal networks-networks in which each directed and timestamped edge reflects the outcome and timing of a pairwise interaction. The inferred ranking of each node is real-valued and varies in time as each new edge, encoding an outcome like a win or loss, raises or lowers the node's estimated strength or prestige, as is often observed in real scenarios including sequences of games, tournaments, or interactions in animal hierarchies. Our method works by solving a linear system of equations and requires only one parameter to be tuned.

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  • A pilot study conducted in July 2022 at the Ntele camp in Mozambique aimed to assess anemia prevalence and its predictors among children aged 6-59 months living there as internally displaced persons.
  • Out of 245 children analyzed, 83% were found to be anemic, with 12% experiencing severe anemia and 39% affected by malaria.
  • The study highlighted a significant correlation between malaria and moderate to severe anemia, indicating an urgent public health concern for children in this camp, particularly emphasizing the vulnerability of younger age groups.
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  • - Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is linked to high direct and indirect costs, primarily from medications, hospital stays, and work absenteeism; this study updated previous analyses on the economic aspects of PsA.
  • - Out of 27 studies, it was found that biologic therapies, particularly bimekizumab and ixekizumab, showed better cost-effectiveness compared to non-biologic treatments for managing PsA.
  • - Despite an increase in economic evaluations since the last review, PsA remains a significant economic burden globally, indicating a need for further studies to understand its financial impact better.
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The study aimed to evaluate the effects of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) acting on the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) or its receptor (anti-CGRP/R mAbs) on migraine comorbidities of depression, anxiety, and fatigue in patients resistant to traditional therapies. The issue addressed in this study is pivotal to unveiling the role of this neurotransmitter beyond pain processing. We conducted an open-label prospective study assessing comorbidities in patients with high frequency (HFEM) and chronic migraine (CM), medication overuse headache (MOH), and resistance to traditional prophylaxis.

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Neuropeptides are involved in numerous brain activities and are responsible for a wide spectrum of higher mental functions. The main purpose of this outline structural qualitative study was to identify the possible immunoreactivity of classical neuropeptides, as well as novel ones such as nesfatin-1, phoenixin (PNX), spexin (SPX), neuromedin U (NMU) and respective receptors within the rat claustrum for the first time. The study shows the novel identification of peptidergic neurotransmission in the rat claustrum which potentially implicates a contribution of this neuropeptide to numerous central neurosecretory mechanisms.

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Introduction: We assessed clinical and laboratory parameters associated with early recurrence of febrile seizure in patients presenting at the Emergency Department with a first episode.

Methods: Case series of patients admitted to the emergency department with the first episode of febrile seizure for ten consecutive years. Exclusion criteria were focal features and prolonged duration (>15 min).

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  • Trait-based ecology traditionally focuses on broad axes of trait variation, but this study emphasizes the importance of intraspecific trait variability (ITV) in understanding plant adaptive strategies.
  • By analyzing ITV across 167 species in various habitats in Italy, the research showed that ITV can rotate the axes of trait variation, enhance the variance explained by these axes, and influence the functional structure of trait space, albeit with small and context-dependent effects.
  • The findings call for a careful approach in applying ITV patterns to different traits and environments, providing a framework to better integrate ITV into future trait space analyses.
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Background: Japanese Kawasaki disease (KD) risk scores cannot be adopted in non-Japanese patients. In North American populations a baseline coronary artery Z-score > 2 and the Son score are associated with coronary artery aneurysms (CAAs) at 4 and 8 weeks from disease onset. In European populations, the Kawanet and Kawanet-echo scores are associated with intravenous immunoglobulin resistance.

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We assessed whether contemporary immunosuppression agents were associated with cancer among kidney transplant recipients (KTR), and if this association varied by age and sex. We studied a retrospective province-wide cohort of primary KTR (1997-2016). Employing multivariable Cox models, we estimated associations of cumulative doses of prednisone, mycophenolate and tacrolimus administered over the past 10 years, lagged by 2 years, with the incidence of primary malignant neoplasms (PMN).

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Background: Inadequate breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices are key determinants of child malnutrition and impact one-third of the under-five mortality rate worldwide. The district of Namuno in Cabo Delgado (Mozambique) has been long registering a high prevalence of acute malnutrition. To date, no data exists about Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices in the area.

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Introduction: Poor adherence to guidelines during empirical antibiotic prescription in low-income countries could increase antimicrobial resistance without improving outcomes. Revised World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines published in 2014 on childhood (2-59 months) pneumonia re-defined the classification of severe pneumonia and changed the first-line treatment. The adherence to WHO guidelines in southern Ethiopia at the hospital level is unknown.

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The pandemics of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change represent severe threats to child health. They co-occur; interact with each other to produce sequelae at biological, psychological, or social levels; and share common underlying drivers. In this paper, we review the key issues concerning child diet and nutritional status, focusing on the interactions with climate and food systems.

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Context: Calculating the resistance provided by elastic resistance is essential with the aim of adjusting the load and controlling the progression of the exercises in programs using elastic resistance. This study aimed (1) to establish a model of the force elongation for CLX bands; (2) to examine whether these models are altered by different aspects of band elongation: the phase of elongation and shortening (concentric and eccentric phases), the elongation speed, and the initial resting length; and (3) to determine the resistance value for 100% of elongation in each color and to compare it with the values reported by Theraband.

Design: Cross-sectional.

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  • Oxytocin (OT) is important for regulating bodily functions and emotions and has implications in various psychiatric disorders, with this study focusing on OT levels in psychiatric patients compared to healthy controls.
  • The study found that healthy women have significantly higher OT levels than men, but this sex difference disappears or reverses in patients with OCD, PTSD, and MDD.
  • Overall, OCD patients had higher OT levels, while those with PTSD and MDD showed lower levels than healthy individuals, suggesting that sex differences in OT may relate to how these psychiatric conditions affect basic adaptive and social functions.
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Objective: Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in the relationship between infections and psychopathology, given the increasing data on the neurotropism and neurological/psychiatric morbidity of the SARS-COV2 virus, responsible for the current worldwide pandemic. Although the majority of observations were those obtained in mood and schizophrenic disorders, a few data are also available on the presence of bacterial or viral infections in patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Therefore, given the limited information, the present paper aimed at reviewing the most updated evidence of infections in neuropsychiatric disorders and their possible mechanisms of actions, with a narrow focus on microbes in OCD.

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Background: Early identification of high-risk patients is essential to stratify treatment algorithms of Kawasaki disease (KD) and to appropriately select patients at risk for complicated disease who would benefit from intensified first-line treatment. Several scores have been developed and validated in Asian populations but have shown low sensitivity in predicting intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) resistance in non-Asian populations. We sought methods to predict the need for secondary treatment after initial IVIG in non-Asian populations.

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Aim: "Antimicrobial stewardship" (AMS) is defined as a healthcare-system-wide approach to promoting and monitoring the judicious use of antimicrobials to preserve their future effectiveness. Therefore, we structured an observational study to monitor the hospital trend of antibiotic consumption and related expenditure before the COVID-19 pandemic and to evaluate how much AMS could affect this trend.

Methods: The research covered the antibiotic prescriptions at the University Hospital (U.

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Background: Kidney transplantation is the preferred treatment option for patients with end-stage renal disease. To maximize patient and graft survival, the allocation of donor organs to potential recipients requires careful consideration.

Objective: This study aimed to develop an innovative technological solution to enable better prediction of kidney transplant survival for each potential donor-recipient pair.

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Background: In primary antibody deficiencies (PADs), pulmonary complications are the main cause of morbidity, despite immunoglobulin substitutive therapy, antibiotic treatment of exacerbations, and respiratory physiotherapy. Current Italian recommendations for surveillance of PADs respiratory complications include an annual assessment of spirometry and execution of chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) every 4 years.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the lung clearance index (LCI) as an early marker of lung damage in patients with PADs.

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  • Neuropeptide S (NPS) is a key regulator with anxiety-reducing effects, but its relationship with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like escitalopram hasn't been thoroughly investigated.
  • The study involved testing adult male rats treated with escitalopram, both alone and with an NPS receptor blocker (SHA-68), to analyze gene expression of related neuropeptides post-treatment.
  • Results showed that escitalopram influences neuropeptide gene expression in different brain areas, with NPSR and NUCB2 expressions being affected depending on the presence of the NPSR blocker.
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Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is highly prevalent worldwide and can cause severe diseases. MRSA is associated with other antibiotic resistance. COVID-19 pandemic increased antimicrobial resistance in adult patients.

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