A Case of Reversible Dementia? Dementia vs Delirium in Lyme Disease

Chiara Sanchini,Chiara Papia,Chiara Cutaia,Tino Emanuele Poloni,Matteo Cesari 대한노인병학회 2023 Annals of geriatric medicine and research Vol.27 No.1

Lyme disease is an uncommon cause of reversible dementia. A 75-year-old male patient, with a personal history of mild memory deficit, was admitted to Alzheimer’s Disease Care Unit due to hallucinations, confusion and aggressive behavior unresponsive to antipsychotic therapy. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the brain was negative, while blood exams showed a rise in inflammatory parameters. A complete screening of infective diseases showed a positive serology for Borrelia burgdorferi, confirmed at Western blot. Even though the patient refused cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) exam, the brilliant clinical improvement after the appropriate antimicrobial therapy is strongly suggestive for a diagnosis of neuroborreliosis. This case report underlines the importance of a diagnostic approach to dementia, as to find out and treat the reversible causes.

Extracellular vesicles in onco-nephrology

Chiara Gai,Margherita A. C. Pomatto,Cristina Grange,Maria Chiara Deregibus,Giovanni Camussi 생화학분자생물학회 2019 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.51 No.-

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are important mediators of intercellular communication in cancer and in normal tissues. EVs transfer biologically active molecules from the cell of origin to recipient cells. This review summarizes the studies on EVs derived from renal cell carcinoma and from a subpopulation of CD105-positive renal cancer stem cells. While EVs from renal cell carcinoma show mild biological activity, EVs from renal cancer stem cells enhance tumor angiogenesis and metastasis formation. The effect is probably due to the transfer of proangiogenic RNA cargo to endothelial cells, which acquire an activated angiogenic phenotype. In vivo, treatment with EVs favors the formation of a premetastatic niche in the lungs. Moreover, EVs derived from renal cancer stem cells modify gene expression in mesenchymal stromal cells, enhancing the expression of genes involved in matrix remodeling, cell migration, and tumor growth. Mesenchymal stromal cells preconditioned with tumor EVs and then coinjected in vivo with renal cancer cells support tumor growth and vessel formation. Finally, tumor EVs promote tumor immune escape by inhibiting the differentiation process of dendritic cells and the activation of T cells. Thus, tumor-derived EVs act on the microenvironment favoring tumor aggressiveness, may contribute to angiogenesis through both direct and indirect mechanisms and are involved in tumor immune escape.

The Show Must Go On? : The Transformation of the Italian Art Sector During and After C0VID-19

Chiara Carolina Donelli 한국문화예술경영학회 2021 한국문화예술경영학회 학술대회 Vol.2021 No.06

How to Utilize Clinical and Genetic Information for Personalized Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder: Step by Step Strategic Approach

Chiara Fabbri,Alessandro Serretti 대한정신약물학회 2020 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.18 No.4

Depression is the single largest contributor to non-fatal health loss and affects 322 million people globally. The clinical heterogeneity of this disorder shows biological correlates and it makes the personalization of antidepressant prescription an important pillar of treatment. There is increasing evidence of genetic overlap between depression, other psychiatric and non-psychiatric disorders, which varies across depression subtypes. Therefore, the first step of clinical evaluation should include a careful assessment of psychopathology and physical health, not limited to previously diagnosed disorders. In part of the patients indeed the pathogenesis of depression may be strictly linked to inflammatory and metabolic abnormalities, and the treatment should target these as much as the depressive symptoms themselves. When the evaluation of the symptom and drug tolerability profile, the concomitant biochemical abnormalities and physical conditions is not enough and at least one pharmacotherapy failed, the genotyping of variants in CYP2D6/CYP2C19 (cytochromes responsible for antidepressant metabolism) should be considered. Individuals with altered metabolism through one of these enzymes may benefit from some antidepressants rather than others or need dose adjustments. Finally, if available, the polygenic predisposition towards cardio-metabolic disorders can be integrated with non-genetic risk factors to tune the identification of patients who should avoid medications associated with this type of side effects. A sufficient knowledge of the polygenic risk of complex medical and psychiatric conditions is becoming relevant as this information can be obtained through direct-to-consumer genetic tests and in the future it may provided by national health care systems.

Complex open elbow fracture-dislocation with severe proximal ulna bone loss: a case report of massive osteochondral allograft surgical treatment

Chiara Concina,Marina Crucil,Emmanouil Theodorakis,Giorgio Saggin,Silvia Perin,Franco Gherlinzoni 대한견주관절의학회 2021 대한견주관절의학회지 Vol.24 No.3

We report a case of a 69-year-old right-dominant man who had an open Monteggia-like lesion of the right elbow (Gustilo-Andersen IIIA) with severe proximal ulna bone loss associated with an ipsilateral ulnar shaft fracture due to a motorcycle accident. The patient underwent two-stage surgery. Wound debridement and bridging external fixation were performed at first. Three months later, a frozen massive osteochondral ulnar allograft was implanted and fixed with a locking compression plate. A superficial wound infection appeared 5 weeks after the second surgery. Superficial wound debridement, negative pressure therapy, and antibiotics were administered for 3 months, achieving infection healing. At 3 years post-surgery, the elbow range of motion was satisfactory with a Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score of 16.7. Radiographs and computed tomography scans showed good allograft-bone integration without allograft reabsorption or hardware loosening. Although not complication-free, massive ulna osteochondral allograft implantation can be considered a valid option in cases of open Monteggia-like lesions associated with ulnar shaft fracture and severe bone loss in active patients, whenever osteosynthesis or joint replacement is not a proper solution. This type of bone stock restoration allows for future surgery, if needed.

Individual Earnings, International Outsourcing and Technological Change: Evidence from Italy

Chiara Broccolini,ALESSIA LO TURCO,ANDREA F. PRESBITERO,STEFANO STAFFOLANI 한국국제경제학회 2011 International Economic Journal Vol.25 No.1

The aim of this paper is to evaluate empirically the relative effects of international outsourcing of materials and services and of ICT capital deepening on wage inequality between blue and white collars in the Italian manufacturing industry during the period 1985-1999. We merge an administrative data set on workers' wages and individual characteristics with data on imported inputs from Italian input-output tables and other sector-level variables. Our results confirm that both material and service outsourcing widen the skilled/unskilled wage gap while ICT capital deepening positively affects real wages regardless of the worker's status. However, important differences emerge when the overall sample is split between traditional and innovative sectors.

Effect of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase supplementation in the extender on chilled semen of fertile and hypofertile dogs

Chiara Del Prete,Francesca Ciani,Simona Tafuri,Maria Pia Pasolini,Giovanni Della Valle,Veronica Palumbo,Lucia Abbondante,Antonio Calamo,Vincenza Barbato,Roberto Gualtieri,Riccardo Talevi,Natascia Cocc 대한수의학회 2018 Journal of Veterinary Science Vol.19 No.5

This study investigated the correlation between oxidative stress status and key canine sperm parameters and the effect of addition of a superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) combination in egg yolk tris-citrate glucose (EYT-G) extender on semen during 10 days of storage at 4oC. Ten Boxer dogs were divided into two groups, fertile (F) and hypofertile (H), depending on pregnancy and live birth rate status in the previous year. Semen evaluation was performed on the day of collection (D0) and after 5 (D5) and 10 (D10) days of cooled storage. Sperm motility, kinetic parameters, and DNA integrity were assessed. A correlation between oxidative status and key semen parameters in both F and H groups was observed. Total and progressive motilities were significantly higher in the treated (SOD, CAT, and GPx addition) versus control groups at D10 in both F and H groups, and at D5 in the H group. DNA integrity was significantly higher in both treated groups (H and F) at D5 and D10. In conclusion, the addition of SOD, CAT, and GPx in the extender allows preservation of semen quality for up to 10 days of storage at 4oC in both fertile and hypofertile dogs.

Prediction of the Risk of Lymph Node Metastases in Early Gastric Cancer: Contrast-Enhanced Harmonic Endoscopic Ultrasonography May Help

( Chiara Pierantoni ),( Andrea Lisotti ),( Pietro Fusaroli ) 대한간학회 2021 Gut and Liver Vol.15 No.6

Ion Pump Design for Improved Pumping Speed at Low Pressure

Chiara Paolini,Mauro Audi,Mark Denning 한국진공학회 2016 Applied Science and Convergence Technology Vol.25 No.6

Even if ion pumps are widely and mostly used in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions, virtually every existing ion pump has its maximum pumping speed around 1E-6 mbar (1E-4 Pa). Discharge intensity in the ion pump Penning cell is defined as the current divided by pressure . This quantity reflects the rate of cathode bombardment by ions, which underlies all of the various pumping mechanisms that occur in ion pumps (chemisorption on sputtered material, ion burial, etc.), and therefore is an indication of pumping speed. A study has been performed to evaluate the influence of magnetic fields and cell dimensions on the ion pump discharge intensity and consequently on the pumping speed at different pressures. As a result, a combination of parameters has been developed in order to design and build an ion pump with the pumping speed peak shifted towards lower pressures. Experimental results with several different test set-ups are presented and a prototype of a new 200 l/s ion pump with the maximum pumping speed in the 1E-8 mbar (1E-6 Pa) is described. A model of the system has also been developed to provide a framework for understanding the experimental observations.

Numerical investigation of glass windows under near-field blast

Chiara Bedon,Damijan Markovic,Vasilis Karlos,Martin Larcher Techno-Press 2023 Coupled systems mechanics Vol.12 No.2

The determination of the blast protection level and the corresponding minimum load-bearing capacity for a laminated glass (LG) window is of crucial importance for safety and security design purposes. In this paper, the focus is given to the window response under near-field blast loading, i.e., where relatively small explosives would be activated close to the target, representative of attack scenarios using small commercial drones. In general, the assessment of the load-bearing capacity of a window is based on complex and expensive experiments, which can be conducted for a small number of configurations. On the other hand, nowadays, validated numerical simulations tools based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) are available to partially substitute the physical tests for the assessment of the performance of various LG systems, especially for the far-field blast loading. However, very little literature is available on the LG window performance under near-field blast loads, which differs from far-field situations in two points: i) the duration of the load is very short, since the blast wavelength tends to increase with the distance and ii) the load distribution is not uniform over the window surface, as opposed to the almost plane wave configuration for far-field configurations. Therefore, the current study focuses on the performance assessment and structural behaviour of LG windows under near-field blasts. Typical behavioural trends are investigated, by taking into account possible relevant damage mechanisms in the LG window components, while size effects for target LG windows are also addressed under a multitude of blast loading configurations.