[Helicobacter heilmannii: anatomo-clinical study of 14 new cases]. / Helicobacter heilmannii: studio anatomo-clinico di 14 nuovi casi.

INTRODUCTION: Helicobacter pylori is one of the most common causes of human gastritis. Recently, a new agent has been isolated, which also causes a gastritis. It has been initially named Gastrospirillum hominis and renamed Helicobacter heilmannii (Hh). Hh is extremely rare. In spite of the rarity it is important to recognize and diagnose it, as it requires a proper therapy, different from Hp therapy. Clinical presentation and serological results of Hh are superimposable to those of HP. Therefore differential diagnosis resides on histological grounds. PURPOSE of the present paper is to report 14 new cases of Hh gastritis, which constitutes the first italian series. RESULTS: Cases constituted 0.01% of all gastric biopsies seen in the period 1994-1998. Nine patients were male and five were female; age ranged from 32 to 76 years (50 years on average). All patients presented a mild to moderate gastritis. Hh is a spiral bacterium, being about 10 micra in length, localized in single or small groups in the glandular mucus. Two cases were associated with Hp. One case was associated with gastric adenocarcinoma. Two cases were diagnosed during the follow-up of duodenal ulcer. In CONCLUSION, the incidence of Hh gastritis in the present series seems consistent with that from other European countries. In all cases the presence of Hh was associated with features of gastritis. This confirms the pathogenetic role of Hh.

[Vaginal colonization of Streptococcus B in pregnancy]. / Colonizzazione vaginale da streptococco B in gravidanza.

In the last few years the importance of GBS as the cause of serious neonatal sepsis has become more evident. The number of cases of this infection clearly exceeds the number of other congenital infections, for which antenatal screening is performed. Asymptomatic colonization of the genital tract of the pregnant woman has the most important role in transmission of GBS and several risk factors are connected to neonatal infection. In order to assess the epidemiological situation in Tuscany, 5079 pregnant women have been recruited by the Obstetrical Department of 16 Hospitals and evaluated for the vaginal colonization by GBS. 3654 couples mother-neonate have also been studied to ascertain the transmission of this germ to the neonate. A vaginal swab was collected at the admission to the Hospital at delivery-time and swabs from several sites of the neonate were obtained just after birth. A blood-agar culture and a latex agglutination test were employed to detect the GBS. GBS was present in 6.6% of the vaginal cultures, with a wide variation in colonization rates. 2.2% of the neonates were positive. The transmission of GBS from the positive mother to the neonate occurred in 20% of the cases. Furthermore one positive neonate out of three was born from a negative mother. No correlation between GBS positivity and preterm delivery was found. The rates of prevalence of GBS in our population, both mother and neonates, suggest a situation that can no longer be neglected. Our data are probably underestimated because of the low sensibility of the culture method. A preventive strategy has to be employed to avoid serious neonatal sepsis. An antenatal screening that provides a vaginal culture at the 36th week of gestation and a chemoprophylaxis intra-partum in the positive cases appears to be the most effective approach.

Microevolution in Perugia: isonymy 1890-1990.

The distribution of surnames in the population of the Comune of Perugia, as it existed in the memory banks of the Municipality Computer in autumn 1991, was studied by age and place of birth. Fisher's alpha and Karlin-McGregor's v were estimated in the total population, in persons born before 1901, and in persons born in the nine decades thereafter, ending with the period 1981-1991, for immigrants and for natives of Perugia, respectively. The wealth of surnames was significantly higher in immigrants than in natives of Perugia, as detected by alpha, v and by the log-log regression of the corresponding distributions. Among residents born in Perugia, Fisher's alpha shows a minimum value during 1921-1930, explained as a consequence of the First World War. The relationship between all possible combinations of cohorts born in the 10 different decades was studied through the Euclidean distance and through Lasker's coefficient of relationship, and a significant correlation between the former and time was revealed, both in immigrants and in natives of Perugia. When compared with the Province of Ferrara, Perugia was far richer in surnames, as measured by Fisher's alpha, for the total population and for each of the 10 decades analysed. Recent immigration, measured by Karlin-McGregor's v, was significantly higher in Perugia until the 1960s, equal in both Provinces during the 1970s, and higher in Ferrara during the 1980s.

[Splenic embolization and hepatic chemoembolization: combined transcatheter treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis with hypersplenism]. / Embolizzazione splenica e chemioembolizzazione epatica: trattamento combinato transcatetere del carcinoma epatocellulare su cirrosi con ipersplenismo.

Liver cirrhosis with hypersplenism is often associated with HCC. In many such cases, chemoembolization (TACE) may be very difficult because of the high incidence of hemorrhagic complications due to treatment and/or following portal hypertension, as well as for poor hematologic tolerance to antiblastic drugs in cirrhotic patients. Six patients with nodular HCC and cirrhosis (Child B) with hypersplenism were treated by combined TACE and partial splenic embolization (PSE) to reduce splenic size and to improve hematologic and hepatic function rates. Actual and long-lasting (up to 6 months since TACE/PSE) positive results were observed in splenic size and in hepatic function synthesis, as well as on hematologic and hemocoagulation factors. The clinical-laboratory improvement following TACE/PSE allowed TACE to be completed in all cases, following the usual protocol based on 3 procedures. Therefore, in the patients with advanced/decompensated cirrhosis and hypersplenism associated with HCC, the combined one-step TACE/PSE treatment can be said to improve patients' tolerance to antiblastic drugs and to reduce the risk of hemorrhagic complications due to invasive radiologic procedures and/or to portal hypertension.

Microevolution in Ferrara: isonymy 1890-1990.

The distribution of surnames in the population of the town of Ferrara, as it existed in the memory banks of the Municipality Computer in June 1990, was studied by sex, age and place of birth of residents. Random isonymy was studied separately in persons born before 1901, and in persons born in the nine decades thereafter, ending with the period 1981-90. Isonymy was higher in the older age groups studied. Also other indicators of the abundance of surnames in the distribution, the common ecological indexes derived from entropy, were calculated and compared between age groups. It was found that redundancy, as isonymy, is larger in older age classes than in younger classes. Surname effective number was defined as the inverse of isonymy corrected for sample size, and it was observed that it is practically identical with Fisher's alpha. It was then possible to separate random isonymy into two components, so that for sample size N its formulation becomes Ir = 1/alpha + 1/N It was found that in Ferrara alpha increased significantly in time, indicating enrichment of surnames in the population in the century 1890-1990.

Isonymy in records of births and deaths in Ferrara.

Surname distributions were studied in records of male and female births in Ferrara in the period 1982-89, and in records of male and female deaths in the same period. Average year of birth and standard deviation was 1985 +/- 2.3 for the birth series, and 1912 +/- 14.4 for the death series. Then the surname distributions, in two independent samples at an average distance of 73 years, were compared. It was observed that random isonymy within series, which depends on the shape of the distribution, stays fairly constant at three generations of distance, indicating near-equilibrium of surname turnover. The migrational contribution is indicated by the significant decrease of random isonymy between series, measured with the method of Lasker. It was also observed that immigrants to Ferrara have a life-span significantly longer than people born in the town.

PIP: In the study of surname distribution in population structure, there are 2 lines of inquiry: surnames as alleles at a haploid locus with models of neutral evolution, and surnames in a diploid state with estimation of marital and random isonymy in males and females. Both approaches are used in the analysis of surname distribution among births and deaths in Ferrara, Italy, in the period 1982-89. The purposes were to determine whether surname distribution had changed perceptibly in the population in the course of an average human life span and to report on the variation of isonymy in deaths and births. A comparison was made of the shape of the surname distributions and of isonomy within and between samples. The assumption was that a random sample of people born at an average of 73 years ago are representative of surname distributions existing at the time of their birth in Ferrara. The data were classified by sex and place of birth for death and sex only for births. There were 7509 deaths of those born in Ferrara with 1894 surnames among the deaths and 14,572 deaths total with 3896 surnames among the total deaths. There were 6066 births with 2561 surnames among births. Surnames were studied fitting a regression to the log-log transformation to the number of surnames which were represented "k" times. Entropy and the equivalent surname number were also calculated. Random isonymy was calculated within series and between series using the method of Lasker, and standardized isonymy between 2 series was calculated according to Chen and Cavalli-Sforza. Estimates of abundance of surnames and migration rates were calculated according to the method of Fisher, and Karlin and McGregor. The results revealed that the distribution of surnames in Ferrara in 19185 maintain a shape very similar to the shape in 1912. The slopes of the log-log regressions for migration show a significant affect, but migration affects the shape only slightly. Isonymy remains almost the same during the 73 years. The reason random isonymy did not change significantly over the years may be due to only recent growth of birth rates and the immigration of entire family groups. It would appear that the genetic structure of the population stayed almost constant, as described by isonymy. An interesting characteristic was that immigrants were the most long-lived, even after infant deaths are excluded.

Linkage of biopsy, cancer, and population records aimed at the estimation of family risks in neoplasia: a pilot study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim was to link individual demographic and medical records into sibships to obtain the sibling distribution of biopsies and cancers, and thereby calculate heritability and recurrence risks in families, thus aiding early diagnosis and prevention of cancers. DESIGN: The 157,823 individual records of the inhabitants of the town of Ferrara in Italy were automatically linked into 106,821 sibships. A 10% sample (10,842 sibships) was then extracted from the distribution of sibships and tabulated, for linkage to medical records. PATIENTS: The biopsy records at the Institute of Pathological Anatomy of the University of Ferrara were manually linked to cancer records and then to sibships. It was possible to construct the distribution of 2062 biopsies and of 829 cancers in sibships. RESULTS: From the distribution of biopsies and tumours in sibships, it was possible to estimate the incidence of tumours in the population (0.052) and in siblings of affected (0.083), and to apply to such distributions current methods for the estimate of heritability (h2 = 0.246) and of recurrence risks of tumours in sibships, age independent. CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that the procedure resulting in the estimation of incidences and recurrence risks for tumours could be completely automated, and extended to whole populations and homogeneous subgroups in post industrial cultures.

Isonymy in emigrants from Ferrara in 1981-1988.

The distribution of surnames in the emigrants from the population of the town of Ferrara in the period 1981-88 was studied by sex and place of birth, namely Ferrara versus other places. Emigrants born in Ferrara were defined as first time emigrants and those who had previously immigrated to Ferrara were defined second time emigrants. It was found that random isonymy is smaller in second time emigrants. Sex ratio is not different in the two types of emigrants. As indicators of the abundance of surnames in a distribution, the common ecological indexes derived from entropy were used and compared between types of emigrants. It was found that redundancy, as isonymy, is larger in the first time emigrants than in second time emigrants. It was observed that second time emigrants were consistently and significantly older than first time emigrants, and that a considerable fraction of them, (22.4%) returned to their place of birth. A sexual dimorphism in age at emigration was observed in second time emigrants, females emigrating at an older age than males.

[Clinical evaluation of the use of somatostatin (VAL 787) in the treatment of upper digestive hemorrhage]. / Valutazione clinica dell'uso della somatostatina (VAL 787) nel trattamento delle emorragie digestive superiori.

Personal experience with 30 patients treated with Somatostatin for upper gastrointestinal bleeding is reported. The conclusion is drawn that this drug, reducing chloro-peptic secretion and hepatic portal blood flow, can reduce and control bleeding and postpone the surgical operation, which has a high rate of mortality.

Isonymy and migration distance.

The distribution of surnames of the living immigrants in the population of the town of Ferrara was studied by sex of immigrants and by distance of their place of origin from Ferrara. It was found that isonymy decreases with distance from the place of origin and that there is sexual dimorphism in migration distance: females migrate preferentially at short distances and males at long and very long distances. As indicators of the abundance of surnames in a distribution, the common ecological indices derived from entropy were used, and compared between migration ranges. It was found that redundancy, like isonymy, decreases with migration distance, and that it may be useful in detecting very-long-distance migration.

Family resemblance in blood pressure measurements.

The correlation for diastolic and systolic blood pressure was studied in two samples of quartets each consisting of two pairs. The first sample comprised pairs of sisters and their husbands, and the second sample was comprised of brothers and their wives. All siblings were between 30 and 55 years of age and had been married for at least 5 years. It was found that unrelated men married to sisters had a significant correlation in both diastolic (r = 0.28) and systolic (r = 0.41) pressure. For systolic blood pressure, the correlation between pairs of unrelated men married to sisters was significantly larger than the homologous correlation existing in pairs of brothers married to unrelated women. The correlations of systolic and diastolic pressure in sisters were significantly smaller than the same correlations measured in the wives of brothers. The correlations in height for men, used as an internal control to compare marital and genetic effects, were unaffected by marriage, as expected. The correlations in height for pairs of sisters, however, were no larger than those observed in pairs of unrelated women married to brothers. It was concluded that in adult married men and women of the Ferrara population, aged 30 to 55 years, the influence of genetic factors on blood pressure is less important than the influence of cultural factors.

Surnames in Ferrara: distribution, isonymy and levels of inbreeding.

The distributions of surnames in populations of small and large towns are almost exactly linearized by a log-log transformation. This indicates probable fit of genetic models to most such distributions, even when the number of surnames is very large. Genetic parameters can then be conveniently calculated from surname distributions. It was found that inbreeding indicators calculated from isonymy are negatively correlated with the size of the towns from which the names were extracted. It was also found that the levels of inbreeding at present observed in Ferrara have little effect on the frequency of homozygotes for the beta-thalassaemia gene.

Gas chromatographic determination of avilamycin total residues in pig tissues, fat, blood, feces, and urine.

A gas chromatographic (GC) procedure is presented for the determination of residues of avilamycin and all its metabolites/conjugates which can be converted to the common moiety dichloroisoeverninic acid (DIA). The method involves alkaline hydrolysis to DIA, cleanup by partitioning with chloroform, acidification of the aqueous phase, and partitioning of DIA into methylene chloride. After methylation of DIA, the product, 3,5-dichloro-4,6-dimethoxy-2-methylbenzoic acid methyl ester, is cleaned up on a silica gel column prior to the final determination by electron capture GC. The method is sensitive to 0.1 mg/kg avilamycin equivalent. Overall average recoveries were 85.4%, with a standard deviation of 9.1% for n = 20. Analyses of feces, urine, tissues, and fat of pigs treated with avilamycin demonstrated that 93% of the administered substance is excreted in feces and urine, within 72 h after treatment, and that no residues (less than 0.01 mg/kg) can be found in the tissues and fat of the animals at any time between 0 and 7 days after treatment with medicated feed.

Gas chromatographic determination of residues of bromopropylate and two of its degradation products in honey.

An analytical procedure is described for determination of residues of bromopropylate (BP) and its main degradation product 4,4'-dibromobenzophenone (BBP) in honey. The method also allows the determination of 4,4'-dibromobenzilic acid (BBA), a potential intermediate to BBP. The method involves dissolution of the honey in water and separation of BP and BBP from BBA on a partition column. BP and BBP are further cleaned up and separated on a silica gel column and determined by gas chromatography (GC) with electron capture (EC) detection. BBA is oxidized with potassium dichromate to BBP, which is partitioned into dichloromethane and further cleaned up on a silica gel column before determination by GC with EC detection. The method is sensitive to 0.02 mg BP or BBP/kg and 0.023 mg BBA/kg honey.