Ozone eliminates novel coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 in mucosal samples.

Recent investigations have shown that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is able to resist on the surfaces and that the diffusion occurs through droplets that can remain suspended in the air as an aerosol. The ozone generated in situ from oxygen is an active ingredient with a 'biocidal' action, but little is known about its capacity to inactivate specifically SARS-CoV-2. Here we show, for the first time, the efficiency of the ozone treatment to neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 present in nasopharynx secretion samples with high viral load. Our data show that ozone is effective in SARS-CoV-2 elimination.

Successful Treatment of Kaposi Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Inflammatory Cytokine Syndrome After Kidney-Liver Transplant: Correlations With the Human Herpesvirus 8 miRNome and Specific T Cell Response.

After transplant, patient infection with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) and Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is known to cause aggressive tumors and severe nonneoplastic complications. These latter syndromes are driven by HHV-8/KSHV lytic reactivations and related hyperinflammatory host responses typically characterized by high viral loads, elevated levels of cytokines and other inflammation biomarkers, cytopenia, organ failure, high fever, and worsening conditions (with no evidence of B cell neoplasias). These disorders are associated with a high mortality rate, often due to lack of prompt diagnosis, effective therapeutic approaches, and adequate follow-up. These features resemble most of those defining the so-called KSHV-associated inflammatory cytokine syndrome (KICS), which was recently recognized in patients positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In this report, we describe-for the first time-a case of a KICS-like nonneoplastic recurrent complication occurring after transplant in an HIV-negative patient that was successfully treated by a combination of anti-CD20 monoclonal therapy, antivirals, and modification of the immunosuppressive regimen. In addition to clinical and laboratory findings collected during 3-year follow-up, we report novel experimental data on HHV-8-specific T cell dynamics and circulating microRNA profile, showing correlations with clinical course and other laboratory markers (including viral load, C-reactive protein, and cytokine levels), providing useful information about abnormal cellular and cytokine dynamics underlying HHV-8-associated inflammatory disorders in posttransplant patients.

Adherence in children with growth hormone deficiency treated with r-hGH and the easypod™ device.

PURPOSE: Poor adherence to recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH) therapy is associated with reduced growth velocity in children with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). This twelve-month observational study was to assess adherence in r-hGH patients treated with the easypod™, an electronic, fully automated injection device designed to track the time, date and dose administered. METHODS: Ninety-seven prepubertal patients receiving r-hGH therapy were included in the study from ten Italian clinical sites and 88 completed the study. To avoid possible confounding effects, only GHD patients (79/88; 89.7 % of the overall study population) were considered in the final analysis. The primary endpoint-adherence to treatment-was calculated as the proportion of injections correctly administered during the observational period out of the expected total number of injections. The relevant information, tracked by the easypod™, was collected at months 6 (V1) and 12 (V2) after baseline (V0). At study termination, adherence data were partially available from 16 patients and fully available from 53 patients. As secondary endpoints, serum IGF-1 levels, fasting serum glucose and insulin levels and key anthropometric characteristics (height, waist circumference and BMI) were also determined. RESULTS: The easypod™ data showed that 56.7 % of the patients were considered to be fully (≥92 %) adherent to their treatment throughout the period V0-V2. Treatment improved stature, significantly increased IGF-1 and produced a non-significant increase in blood glucose and insulin levels. CONCLUSIONS: The injection-recording system and other characteristics of easypod™ could enhance the ability of physicians to monitor adherence to r-hGH treatment.

Processing cereal straws by steam explosion in a pilot plant to enhance digestibility in ruminants.

Wheat, barley and oat straws were treated by steam explosion (SE) and then washed with 50g/l NaOH solution. The SE treatment was optimized at batch scale on the basis of carbohydrate recovery. Stocks of fodder (300kg) were produced at 198 degrees C for 2.5min by a continuous reactor and used for in vivo digestibility tests carried out on sheep. The flow-sheet and the mass balances were obtained for the entire process. For the three straws, the water consumption has been 7.3kg/kg of straw. To delignify and improve the digestibility of the straws, 20g of NaOH/kg straw was used. The yield of fodder, lignin and hemicellulose is dependant on the nature of the starting straw. Delignified fodder (insoluble fraction) can be produced with a yield of 0.64, 0.59, 0.55, respectively, from wheat, barley and oat straw. SE improved the digestibility of the straw by 25%; alkaline washing further increased it by 9%. Balanced rations containing, on a DM basis, 1/4 of treated straw, had digestibility coefficients similar to those of commercial rations based on alfalfa.

Effect of critical dimension variation on SAW correlator energy.

The effect of critical dimension (CD) variation and metallization ratio on the efficiency of energy conversion of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) correlator is examined. We find that a 10% variation in the width of finger electrodes predicts only a 1% decrease in the efficiency of energy conversion. Furthermore, our model predicts that a metallization ratio of 0.74 represents an optimum value for energy extraction from the SAW by the interdigitated transducer (IDT).

Nipple leiomyoma in man: a case report.

We describe a rare case of a man, 38 year old, with a nipple leiomyoma, and report the presentation as a small nodule of the areola spreading the nipple, the symptoms, the clinical signs, the treatment that includes a complete excision; free margins should be histologically established to prevent recurrence.

Short stature and body proportion in thalassaemia.

Short stature and short trunk have been reported in thalassaemic patients. We report a study on stature and body proportions in 476 patients (2-36 years old) with beta-thalassaemia major, followed in 12 Italian centres. Auxological data (standing height, sitting height, subischial leg length, target height), haematological data (age at first transfusion, age at start of desferrioxamine [DFX] chelation, mean dose of DFX, ferritin values) and information regarding the presence of endocrine disorders and of bone lesions, were collected and analysed according to the age of the patients, in order to investigate the natural history of the disproportion and the role of siderosis, DFX toxicity and endocrine disorders. Our data indicate that about 18% of thalassaemic patients exhibit short stature; disproportion between the upper and lower body segments is present in 14%; however, a short trunk despite normal stature is present in another 40% of patients. This is due to a spinal growth impairment which starts in infancy and progressively aggravates. We think that a short trunk is peculiar to the disease itself; however, other factors such as hypogonadism, siderosis, or DFX-induced bone dysplasia are probably involved in aggravating the body disproportion in these patients.

Venous drainage of the stomach in the laboratory mouse (Mus musculus v. alba) and the laboratory rat (Rattus norvegicus v. alba).

The authors studied the venous drainage pattern of the stomach in 30 adult laboratory mice (Mus musculus v. alba) and in 31 adult laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus v. alba) of both sexes. In mice, two basic patterns of the venous drainage of the stomach have been found, the first one (50.0% of cases) with a vena gastroepiploica dextra, while in the second pattern (50.0% of cases) the vena gastroepiploica dextra is absent and the venous blood from the curvatura major ventriculi and fundus ventriculi is drained only via the v. lienalis. In rats, three basic patterns of venous drainage of the stomach were found, the first group (35.2%) with the v. gastroepiploica dextra, the second group (38.4%) with prevalence of the v. gastrica sinistra and the third group with various tributaries of the v. lienalis from the stomach (25.6%). The vena gastrica sinistra is the only constant venous channel in both animals examined. Between interorganic venous anastomoses in the mouse and the rat no great differences exist. In spite of the great variability of veins the results indicate that it is possible to differentiate some basic patterns of the venous drainage of the stomach in the animals studied.

[Levels of Cathepsin D in breast cyst fluid]. / Dosaggio della Catepsina-D nel fluido di macrocisti della mammella.

Cathepsin-D was assayed in serum and in breast cyst fluid of 60 non neoplastic patients with GCD. The results are independent from cytological type or possible cyst relapse. Although the study confirms the high levels of Cat-D in breast cyst fluid no predictive value has been demonstrated. Its expression may be related to systemic endocrine factors.

Glucagon stimulates GH secretion after intramuscular but not intravenous administration. Evidence against the assumption that glucagon per se has a GH-releasing activity.

In order to verify the true GH-releasing effect of glucagon and to explain the mechanism underlying this effect, we studied the effect of glucagon (GLU, 1 mg) administered either iv or im on both basal and GHRH (1 microgram/kg)-induced GH rise in 48 normal short children and adolescents. Moreover, the in vitro effect of GLU on rat anterior pituitary cells was studied. Intravenous administration of GLU induced no significant GH rise. On the other hand, im GLU administration induced a clear-cut GH increase (mean +/- SE GH peak after GLU vs placebo = 25.7 +/- 3.9 vs 10.1 +/- 3.6 micrograms/L, p < 0.01). Intravenous administration of GLU failed to modify the GHRH-induced GH rise either when coadministered with the neurohormone (35.2 +/- 4.1 vs 34.1 +/- 6.0 micrograms/L) or when given 60 min earlier (20.2 +/- 5.8 vs 21.1 +/- 8.3 micrograms/L). Differently from iv GLU, im GLU strikingly potentiated the GH response to GHRH given 90 min later (57.5 +/- 6.3 vs 24.7 +/- 9.1 micrograms/L, p < 0.01). Mean plasma glucose levels increased 30 min after GLU, administered either iv or im, and returned to basal levels 60 min later. GH secretion from dispersed rat pituitary cells was unaffected by incubation with GLU (10(-10)-10(-4) mol/L). Incubation of the cells with 10(-7) mol/L GHRH induced instead a clear-cut stimulation of GH release. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that glucagon per se has not GH-releasing activity as indicated by its uneffectiveness to release GH in vitro and after intravenous administration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Low dose orally administered arginine is able to enhance both basal and growth hormone-releasing hormone-induced growth hormone secretion in normal short children.

Aim of this study was to verify whether arginine (ARG), which likely inhibits hypothalamic somatostatin release, has an enhancing effect on the GHRH-induced GH rise, even when administered orally at low dose. To this goal we studied the effects of 4 g orally administered ARG, either hydrochloride (ARG-H) or aspartate (ARG-A), on both basal and GHRH (1 microgram/Kg i.v.)-stimulated GH secretion in 31 children with familial short stature (11 males and 20 females, aged 5.5-13.8 yr, pubertal stage I-III, and compared the results with those of i.v. infusion of 0.5 g/kg ARG-H. Oral ARG-H (Group A, n = 11) induced a significant increase of basal GH levels (4.2 +/- 1.3 vs 1.0 +/- 0.4 micrograms/L, p < 0.02) and enhanced the GH response to GHRH (41.1 +/- 8.6 vs 25.3 +/- 6.7 micrograms/L, p < 0.02). Oral ARG-A (Group B, n = 10) induced a slight, but not statistically significant increase in serum GH levels (3.4 +/- 1.5 vs 1.0 +/- 0.3 micrograms/L) and enhanced the GHRH-induced GH rise (49.7 +/- 9.8 vs 26.1 +/- 8.4 micrograms/L, p < 0.05). Intravenous ARG-H (Group C, n = 10) stimulated basal GH levels (6.2 +/- 1.2 vs 1.2 +/- 0.3 micrograms/L, p < 0.005) and increased the GHRH-induced GH rise (46.7 +/- 5.0 vs 17.1 +/- 2.3 micrograms/L, p < 0.005). This response was similar to those after oral ARG-H or ARG-A plus GHRH. No variation was observed in PRL levels after oral ARG (either ARG-H or ARG-A) and/or GHRH.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

DNA restriction fragment analysis of the somatostatin gene in familial isolated growth hormone deficiency type I.

The somatostatin (SST) gene was analyzed to detect possible molecular variations in subjects with familial isolated growth hormone deficiency type I (IGHD I). No gross alterations in restriction fragments were observed with 18 used enzymes. The association with two RFLPs closely linked to the SST gene was also negative, adding weight to the evidence that the SST gene is not involved in the etiology of IGHD I. The nucleotide variability of a 23-kb DNA segment containing the SST gene and its flanking sequences was studied by restriction analysis of a sample of 19 Italians. The data suggest that approximately 1 in 400 bp is variant in this region.

[A report of 2 cases of Turner's syndrome with a ring X chromosome]. / Descrizione di due casi di sindrome di Turner con cromosoma X ad anello.

The authors report two cases of Turner syndrome with clinical evidence of only primitive hypogonadism and short stature. Karyotype analysis showed X ring mosaicism which is present only in 5% of cases of Turner syndrome. The authors agree with the hypothesis suggesting no relationship between break points on the X chromosome and phenotypical aspect. An earlier diagnosis is auspicious so that, using correct therapy, final height should be improved.

[The effects of treatment with growth hormone alone or in combination with oxandrolone in a group of Turner's syndrome children. A preliminary study]. / Effetti del trattamento con ormone della crescita da solo e in associazione con oxandrolone in un gruppo di bambine Turner. Studio preliminare.

The authors analyzed the clinical and psychological effects of GH (group 1) and GH plus oxandrolone (group 2) in a group of 11 Turner girls aged 6.3-14 years. The results showed a significant improvement of posttreatment height velocity vs pretreatment height velocity for both study groups. No significant differences were found between the two groups. A girl of group 2 manifested a defect of sexual identification.

[Circadian variability of IgE in children: effects of a thymic hormone (thymomodulin)]. / Variabilità circadiana delle IgE nel bambino: effetto di un ormone timico (timomodulina).

Since thymic factor activity can modulate immunoglobulin production, thymomodulin effect on IgE secretion was studied in thirty children (20 atopic and 10 control patients). Before treatment circadian variability of IgE was verified in all the children. Thymomodulin (3 mg/kg/die) was given daily for 30 days in both groups. Disappearance of circadian IgE variability were observed in atopic children, while no change of serum IgE circadian levels occurred in control group. On the basis of our results an improvement of IgE disregulation in atopic children may be postulated.

[Hormonal receptors in gingival inflammation]. / Studio dei recettori ormonali nell flogosi gengivali.

An empiric correlation between the inflamed gingiva and hormonal variations during physiological conditions such as pregnancy and menstrual cycle is already known. The demonstration of specific steroid receptors in human gingiva has suggested a relationship between the ovarian hormones and the dimensional changes of the gingiva. In this work, estrogen and progesterone receptors in healthy and inflamed gingiva have been studied.

Chemical characterization and regulation of endogenous morphine and codeine in the rat.

Data on the tissue distribution of morphine and codeine in rat are presented. The concentration of these two opiate alkaloids seems to be distributed uniformly in the cortex, midbrain, pons/medulla and cerebellum. The spinal cord and the adrenal gland have high levels of morphine and codeine and the adrenal has more codeine than morphine. The major fraction of the alkaloids reside in a synaptosomal fraction and are present in tissues as the sulfate conjugate. The levels of morphine in the spinal cord and the urinary excretion of morphine are elevated in the arthritic rat model. We used extracted alkaloid samples from arthritic rats spinal cord for analysis by mass spectrometry and found molecular ions identical with morphine and codeine. The results are discussed in the light of possible physiological roles of endogenous morphine and codeine.

Morphine and codeine are endogenous components of human cerebrospinal fluid.

We have examined cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from twelve patients who were not on any medication and found them to contain both morphine and codeine in concentrations of 2 to 339 fmol/ml. These are comparable to the concentration of opioid peptides in spinal fluid. Both morphine and codeine are present mainly in conjugated form from which the free alkaloids can be released by acid hydrolysis.