Increased COVID-19 Lockdown Burden in Italian Adults with Gastrointestinal Diseases

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes not only severe illness but also detrimental effects associated with the lockdown measures. The present study aimed to evaluate reported lifestyle changes in a cohort of adults in Italy, including physical exercise, food choices, and psychological wellbeing, after two months of lockdown. Methods: A web survey on social media (Facebook and LinkedIn) of 32 multiple-choice questions aiming to evaluate the impact of the national COVID-19 lockdown in a sample of Italian adults. Results: We received 1378 complete responses (women 68.3%, mean age 39.5 ± 12.5 years). The percentage of participants reporting regular exercise decreased during lockdown (52 vs. 56.5%). The vast majority of people continued to consume the three traditional meals per day, but the consumption of meat, fish, and eggs significantly decreased. Women reported more frequent anxiety, sadness, fear, and feelings of insecurity than men. The factors predicting the worst outcome during the lockdown were being a woman, low education and income, gastrointestinal diseases. Conclusion: The lockdown has had a limited impact on food choices and physical exercise in Italian adults of our series, since most of them made an effort to improve their lifestyle. However, women with gastrointestinal diseases reported more frequent negative feelings and poor adaptation to the lockdown.     

Association of the Chronotype Score with Circulating Trimethylamine N-Oxide (TMAO) Concentrations

Individual differences in the chronotype, an attitude that best expresses the individual circadian preference in behavioral and biological rhythms, have been associated with cardiometabolic risk and gut dysbiosis. Up to now, there are no studies evaluating the association between chronotypes and circulating TMAO concentrations, a predictor of cardiometabolic risk and a useful marker of gut dysbiosis. In this study population (147 females and 100 males), subjects with the morning chronotype had the lowest BMI and waist circumference (p < 0.001), and a better metabolic profile compared to the other chronotypes. In addition, the morning chronotype had the highest adherence to the Mediterranean diet (p < 0.001) and the lowest circulating TMAO concentrations (p < 0.001). After adjusting for BMI and adherence to the Mediterranean diet, the correlation between circulating TMAO concentrations and chronotype score was still kept (r = −0.627, p < 0.001). Using a linear regression analysis, higher chronotype scores were mostly associated with lower circulating TMAO concentrations (β = −0.479, t = −12.08, and p < 0.001). Using a restricted cubic spline analysis, we found that a chronotype score ≥59 (p < 0.001, R² = −0.824) demonstrated a more significant inverse linear relationship with circulating TMAO concentrations compared with knots <59 (neither chronotype) and <41 (evening chronotype). The current study reported the first evidence that higher circulating TMAO concentrations were associated with the evening chronotype that, in turn, is usually linked to an unhealthy lifestyle mostly characterized by low adherence to the MD.     

Reversal of cell determination in yeast meiosis: postcommitment arrest allows return to mitotic growth.

When yeast from the early stages of meiosis are transferred from sporulation to growth medium, they can reenter the mitotic cell cycle directly. In contrast, cells from later stages of meiosis (after the initiation of the first nuclear division) will complete meiosis and sporulation despite the shift to growth medium, a phenomenon known as "commitment to meiosis." This study reports the surprising finding that when the normal progression of meiosis is arrested, cells from later stages of meiosis can return to growth. Cells were arrested after the first or second meiotic division by three independent means: the spo14 mutation, the spo3-1 mutation, and a high-temperature arrest of wild-type cells. In every case, the arrested cells were able to form buds after transfer to growth medium. These cells, however, experienced a delay upon return to growth relative to uncommitted cells. We propose that the commitment phenomenon results from a transient delay of mitotic growth, which occurs specifically during meiosis, and that commitment does not involve an irreversible inhibition of mitosis as previously thought.     

Videosurgery in oncological pediatrics

As a recent innovation, videosurgery (VS) has enjoyed rapid and widespread development. While colon cancers in adults are quite commonly removed using laparoscopic techniques, children could also benefit from the improved diagnostic and interventional possibilities using VS techniques. From January 1992 to February 1994, we carried out 15 procedures. Eight thoracic operations were performed on 7 patients: diagnostic in 5 cases and metastasis resection in 3. Six patients underwent 7 laparoscopic operations for biopsies (5) or lymph-node harvesting (2). Based on this experience, we discuss the advantages of VS (noninvasive technique for primary or second-look exploration, guided biopsies, and removal of tumors) and its risks (spillage of malignant cells, subjective palpation) in the management of pediatric malignancies.     

Wide-scale installation of insecticide-treated curtains confers high levels of protection against malaria transmission in a hyperendemic area of Burkina Faso

In a region of Sudanese savannah in Burkina Faso, insecticide-treated curtains were installed in 8 out of 16 zones, each covering an area of about 50 km2. Longitudinal entomological monitoring using CDC light traps was performed in 4 villages (2 intervention, 2 control) over a period of 3 years (including 1 year prior to intervention). In the 3rd year a cross-sectional entomological survey using spray catches was performed in 84 villages (40 intervention). Indoor vector densities in protected houses showed large reductions (P = 0.01). The available data were also consistent with an impact on outdoor and unprotected indoor densities. The proportion of mosquitoes carrying sporozoites was 4.1% in protected villages compared with 11.5% in unprotected villages (P = 0.07). Entomological inoculation rates fell substantially (P = 0.01), reflecting these reductions. The impact of this intervention on mosquito survival appears to have been greater than those in similar trials conducted in the Gambia, Ghana and Kenya in which the intervention was applied over smaller areas.     

Health and war

Not available     

Complete mutism after midbrain periaqueductal gray lesion

Several neurophysiological studies have highlighted the role of the midbrain periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) in the initiation of vocalization in various animal species, from frogs to primates. With regard to humans, only two cases of complete mutism following a lesion to the PAG have been reported so far. This article describes a new case of a patient (GM) who, following an ischemic lesion to the periaqueductal gray region of the midbrain, presented with complete and irreversible mutism, though her language comprehension functions and her non-verbal expression capacity were preserved. This clinical case provides evidence that in humans the PAG also acts as a link between different vocalization-eliciting external and internal stimuli (which reach the PAG from sensory and emotional structures) and the vocal-motor coordinating mechanisms in the lower brain stem.     

Peripelvic abscesses: a diagnostic dilemma

Acute hematogenous peripelvic infections are common in tropical climates. However, in more temperate regions, this is a rare and often overlooked diagnosis. Because of the subtle and subacute nature of the symptoms, the diagnosis is often delayed. We report our experience with nine children treated for a hematogenous peripelvic infection. The hospital and clinic charts were reviewed of nine consecutive patients with the diagnosis of a peripelvic abscess. Patients ranged in age from 2 to 13 years. Symptoms were present from 5 to 20 days. The most consistent symptom was a hip-flexion pseudocontracture (eight patients). The initial diagnosis was correct in only three patients. Computed tomography (CT) scan was diagnostic in all nine patients, providing diagnosis and localization. Seven of the nine patients underwent irrigation and debridement followed by a variable course of intravenous (i.v.) and oral antibiotics. All seven had rapid resolution of their symptoms. Two patients were treated with i.v. antibiotics alone, one of whom had a recurrence of symptoms. All nine patients had microbiologic confirmation of the infecting organisms [seven at surgery, one from blood cultures, one from sacroiliac (SI) joint aspiration]. Eight of the nine were infected by Staphylococcus aureus and one by group A Streptococcus. All had complete resolution of their symptoms at follow-up. Although acute retrofascial abscesses are rare in temperate climates, they should be considered in the differential diagnosis in the child with lower abdominal or hip pain. CT scan was the most helpful diagnostic test in these patients. Surgical drainage resulted in the most consistent results in this small series of patients.     

Injection of endothelin-1 into the raphe obscurus of rats induces depressor responses predominantly through endothelin ETA receptors

We used in vitro autoradiography to identify the endothelin-1 receptor subtype(s) in the nucleus raphe obscurus of rats. These studies showed dense binding of [¹²⁵I]PD151242 (for endothelin ET_A receptors), while tissues incubated with [¹²⁵I]BQ3020 (for endothelin ET_B receptors) had low binding. In addition, we examined the effects of the endothelin receptor antagonists FR 139317 (endothelin ET_A receptor-selective antagonist), SB 209670 (endothelin ET_A/ET_B receptor-non-selective antagonist) and BQ-788 (endothelin ET_B receptor-selective antagonist) on the blood pressure responses following administration of endothelin-1 into the nucleus raphe obscurus. The basal mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) of the rats was 110 ± 7 mmHg (n = 5). This was decreased in a dose-dependent manner by endothelin-1 (0.1, 1 and 10 pmol) microinjected into the nucleus raphe obscurus. This effect occurred within 1–6 s and recovered within 4 ± 1.2 min at a dose of 10 pmol. The doses of 0.1 pmol and 1 pmol ET-1 had responses which lasted 1 ± 0.4 min and 2 ± 0.2 min, respectively. Small decreases in heart rate accompanied the MAP responses to endothelin-1. For instance, the heart rate decreased by 16 ± 4 beats min^–1 after 10 pmol endothelin-1 (control, 366 ± 6 beats min^–1, n = 5). Decreases in blood pressure induced by endothelin-1 were greatly reduced by pre-administration to the nucleus raphe obscurus of FR139317 (5 nmol/rat) or SB209670 (3 nmol/rat; 97 ± 7% and 95 ± 6%, P < 0.01, n = 5, respectively), but were not affected by BQ-788 (50 nmol/rat; 8 ± 3%, P > 0.05, n = 5). The antagonists did not influence heart rate when injected to the nucleus raphe obscurus prior to endothelin-1. FR139317 (0.5 nmol) and SB209670 (0.3 nmol) had no effects on endothelin-induced changes in arterial blood pressure. Therefore, the autoradiographic study showed that there are binding sites for ET-1 within the nucleus raphe obscurus of rats, which are predominantly of ET_A type. The in vivo study showed that ET_A receptors are the predominant mediators of depressor responses induced by endothelin-1 injected into this nucleus. Received: 6 August 1998 / Accepted: 16 February 1999