Seroprevalence of anti-HTLV I/II and anti-HIV-1 antibodies in a sample population in the Marche Region,Italy

A total of 1292 sera, provided by different USLs (Local Health Centers) in the Marche Region (Italy), was tested by ELISA and Western Blot for the detection of anti-HTLV I/II ad HIV-1 antibodies. It was decided not to follow any particular criterion when collecting the sera, so no protocol of admission was established in advance. Of the 1292 sera tested, 12 were found antibody positive to HTLV I/II, 18 to HIV-1 and 4 to both viruses. Of the seropositives, for HTLV I/II and HIV-1, respectively, 2 and 3 were prisoners; 2 and 4 were IVDAs, 3 and 7 were hematological patients, 3 and 2 were hospitalized subjects (not for hematological disorders), and 2 and 2 were positives belonging to a healthy population group. These data suggest that the viruses may also be spreading among groups other than the high-risk ones (homosexuals, IVDAs, prisoners, blood-transfusion recipients, promiscuous heterosexuals).     

Effects of substance P on the spontaneous binding of Salmonella minnesota R345 (Rb) to human peripheral blood lymphocytes

The effects of substance P (SP) on Salmonella minnesota R345 (Rb) binding to human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were evaluated. Two parameters of bacterial cytoadherence were considered, namely the binding lymphocytes (BL) and the number of bound-bacteria/lymphocyte (BB). The results showed that SP inhibits both BL and BB in a significant manner. Furthermore, distribution of Salmonella binding to CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes was studied following SP pretreatment of lymphoid cells. This neuropeptide is able to hamper the bacterial cytoadherence to both T-cell subpopulations and, in particular, the inhibitory effect on the T-suppressor/cytotoxic subset was more pronounced. These findings are discussed in terms of SP intervention in the mechanism of host protection against invading microorganisms.     

Interleukin-1 beta and beta-endorphin circadian rhythms are inversely related in normal and stress-altered sleep.

Normal sleep is associated to physiological nocturnal rises in Interleukin 1 beta (IL 1 beta) secretion. The 24 h pattern of IL 1 beta, beta-Endorphin (beta-EPH), ACTH and cortisol (F) production was evaluated in four male healthy volunteers. Two subjects were unable to sleep, due to the stress of the experiment; in these cases, no detectable plasma IL 1 beta secretion, both diurnal and nocturnal, was present, beta-EPH plasma levels were significantly higher (p < 0.01) than in the subjects who slept regularly and, in one case, increased F plasma levels were also reported. A strong negative correlation between IL 1 beta and beta-EPH plasma levels was present in all the cases. In conclusion, stress-induced sleep alterations might deeply affect both diurnal and nocturnal IL 1 beta plasma secretion, probably due to the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) activation, and beta-EPH might be the reliable marker of the stress-induced HPAA activation level.     

Quantitative exercise technetium-99m tetrofosmin myocardial tomography for the identification and localization of coronary artery disease

The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of quantitative 1-day exercise-rest technetium-99m tetrofosmin tomography in the identification of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and in the detection of individual stenosed coronary vessels. Sixty-one patients with suspected CAD who underwent coronary angiography and 13 normal volunteers were studied. All patients were submitted to two i.v. injections of^99mTc-tetrofosmin, one at peak exercise (370 MBq) and the other (1110 MBq) at rest 3 h after exercise (images 15–30 min after injection for both studies). All patients with CAD (0% luminal stenosis) (n=50) had an abnormal^99mTc-tetrofosmin tomogram. Only one patient without significant coronary narrowing showed abnormal findings. Overall sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy in the detection of individual stenosed vessels were 77%, 93% and 85%, respectively. Sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy in the identification of individuals stenosed coronary vessels were significantly higher (P<0.05) in patients with single-vessel disease (n=21) than in those with multivessel disease (n=29). Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for detecting individual diseased vessels were similar in patients without previous myocardial infarction (n=26) and in those with previous myocardial infarction (n=35). In myocardial territories related to non-infarcted areas (n=128), sensitivity and specificity in the detection of stenosed vessels were 70% and 95%, respectively. In infarcted areas (n=55), sensitivity and specificity in the detection of stenosed vessels were 85% (P=NS vs non-infarcted areas) and 75% (P<0.05 vs non-infarcted areas), respectively. Finally, sensitivity was significantly lower (P<0.05) in vascular territories supplied by vessels with moderate stenosis (50%–75%) than in those supplied by vessels with severe stenosis (>75%). The results of this study demonstrate that quantitative 1-day exercise-rest^99mTc-tetrofosmin single-photon emission tomographic imaging is a suitable and accurate technique to identify patients with CAD and to detect individual stenosed coronary vessels.     

Expression of Friend leukemia virus and spleen focus-forming virus-specific sequences in erythroid bursts and granulocyte-macrophage colonies from spleen and marrow of mice infected with Friend leukemia virus

A large number of studies have been carried out to identify the Friend leukemia virus (FV) target cell(s). In FV-infected mice, the kinetics of "primitive" erythroid burst-forming units (P-BFU-E) is perturbed, and their proliferative rate is enhanced. These results indirectly suggest, but do not prove, that cycling P-BFU-E may serve as FV target. In vitro infection studies showed that normal erythroid colony forming units (CFU-E) and "mature" erythroid burst-forming units (M-BFU-E) are targets for FV, while the largely out-of-cycle normal P-BFU-E are not. In an attempt to shed light on these aspects, we have evaluated the expression of viral cytoplasmic RNA sequences in pools of colonies generated by P-BFU-E and granulocyte-macrophage colony forming units (CFU-GM) from spleen and marrow of polycythemic Friend virus (FVP)-infected mice, as measured by liquid hybridization with FVP- or spleen focus-forming polycythemic virus (SFFVp)-specific DNA probes. Moreover, similar assays were performed on RNAs derived from whole spleen or bone marrow from mice treated with FVP or the anemic strain of Friend virus (FVA). Control studies were performed on corresponding colonies and whole tissues from normal animals. FVP- and SFFVp-specific sequences are more abundant in RNA extracted from infected spleen as compared to marrow by a 10-fold factor. On the other hand, FVP and SFFVp-specific sequences are expressed at a comparable level in both P-BFU-E- and CFU-GM-derived colonies from spleen or marrow of FVP-treated mice. Since in vitro spread of FVP infection was excluded by control studies with addition in culture of antibody to the viral glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 70,000 (gp70) these results indicate that P-BFU-E and CFU-GM are infected in vivo by FVP.     

A Hybrid Markov Chain–von Mises Density Model for the Drug-Dosing Interval and Drug Holiday Distributions

Lack of adherence is a frequent cause of hospitalizations, but its effects on dosing patterns have not been extensively investigated. The purpose of this work was to critically evaluate a novel pharmacometric model for deriving the relationships of adherence to dosing patterns and the dosing interval distribution. The hybrid, stochastic model combines a Markov chain process with the von Mises distribution. The model was challenged with electronic medication monitoring data from 207 hypertension patients and against 5-year persistence data. The model estimates distributions of dosing runs, drug holidays, and dosing intervals. Drug holidays, which can vary between individuals with the same adherence, were characterized by the patient cooperativity index parameter. The drug holiday and dosing run distributions deviate markedly from normality. The dosing interval distribution exhibits complex patterns of multimodality and can be long-tailed. Dosing patterns are an important but under recognized covariate for explaining within-individual variance in drug concentrations.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1208/s12248-014-9713-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.KEY WORDS: adherence, circular distribution, compliance, dosing patterns, runs     

Y-chromosome polymorphisms and ethnic group – a combined STR and SNP approach in a population sample from northern Italy

Aim

To find an association between Y chromosome polymorphisms and some ethnic groups.

Methods

Short tandem repeats (STR) and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) on the Y chromosome were typed in 311 unrelated men from four different ethnic groups – Italians from northern Italy, Albanians, Africans from the Maghreb region, and Indo-Pakistanis, using the AmpFlSTR^® Yfiler PCR Amplification Kit and the SNaPshot Multiplex Kit.

Results

STRs analysis found 299 different haplotypes and SNPs analysis 11 different haplogroups. Haplotypes and haplogroups were analyzed and compared between different ethnic groups. Significant differences were found among all the population groups, except between Italians and Indo-Pakistanis and between Albanians and Indo-Pakistanis.

Conclusions

Typing both STRs and SNPs on the Y chromosome could become useful in determining ethnic origin of a potential suspect.Determining the ethnic origin of a suspect through DNA analysis of biological stains left at the crime scene is an important part of criminal investigations. To discriminate between different ethnic groups, short tandem repeat (STR) autosomal marker analysis (1-6) can be complemented by single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assays, which have have been demonstrated to be more useful for this purpose (7,8). The introduction of new markers, mostly from the Y chromosome, offers a better power of discrimination to define even sub-populations of different ethnic groups (9-11). This study aims to compare a sample of Italian men from Brescia (northern Italy) with a sample of men from each of three main ethnic groups living in Brescia county (Albanians, North Africans, Indo-Pakistanis), through STRs and SNPs Y chromosome typing, in order to find the data useful in defining the ethnic origin.     

Clumped vs non-clumped internal enhancement patterns in linear non-mass enhancement on breast MRI

Objective:To compare positive predictive values (PPVs) of clumped vs non-clumped (homogenous and heterogeneous) internal enhancement on MRI detected linear non-mass enhancement (NME) on MRI-guided vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (MRI-VABB).Methods:With IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval, we retrospectively reviewed 598 lesions undergoing MRI-VABB from January 2015 to April 2018 that showed linear NME. We reviewed the electronic medical records for MRI-VABB pathology, any subsequent surgery and clinical follow-up. The X² test was performed for univariate analysis.Results:There were 120/598 (20%) linear NME MRI-VABB lesions with clumped (52/120, 43%) vs non-clumped (68/120, 57%) internal enhancement, average size 1.8 cm (range 0.6–7.6 cm). On MRI-VABB, cancer was identified in 22/120 (18%) lesions, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) was found in 18/22 (82%) and invasive cancer in 4 (18%). 3/31 (10%) high-risk lesions upgraded to DCIS at surgery, for a total of 25/120 (21%) malignancies. Malignancy was found in 12/52 (23%) clumped lesions and in 13/68 (19%) of non-clumped lesions that showed heterogeneous (5/13, 38%) or homogenous (8/13, 62%) internal enhancement. The PPV of linear NME with clumped internal enhancement (23.1%) was not significantly different from the PPV of non-clumped linear NME (19.1%) (p = 0.597). The PPV of linear NME lesions <1 cm (33.3%) was not significantly different from the PPV of lesions ≥1 cm (18.6%) (p = 0.157).Conclusions:Linear NME showed malignancy in 21% of our series. Linear NME with clumped or non-clumped internal enhancement patterns, regardless of lesion size, might need to undergo MRI-VABB in appropriate populations.Advances in knowledge:Evaluation of linear NME lesions on breast MRI focuses especially on internal enhancement pattern.